Pre Game Yada

-- Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors says that there's some smoke regarding a possible Jack Wilson - Yuniesky Betancourt deal. He doesn't like it; neither do we. Betancourt isn't an improvement at the plate, a downgrade in the field, and a head case that was benched to boot. GW sniffs the fetid aroma of a possible salary dump.

-- Corey Brock of MLB.com ran a survey of the league's most under-rated players, and the poll gave some love to Ryan Doumit.

-- Baseball America's latest Prospect Hot Sheet has Andrew McCutchen ranked #9. They say:

"McCutchen will have to suffice for Pittsburgher's looking for something to get excited about. He's clearly become a formidable leadoff man, and he has hit the same number of doubles (eight) as triples and enters tonight's game at Rochester coming off a four-hit game that followed a three-hit, three-runs, two-doubles effort."

-- The Pirates claimed RHP Steven Jackson off waivers from the Yankees, and gave RHP Jimmy Barthmaier, who just underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery, his unconditional release to clear up a spot on the 40-man roster. Talk about adding insult to injury!

Jackson had a 1.88 ERA and one save in 14-1/3 innings for AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre. The 27-year-old has never pitched in the show, and he'll report to Indy's bullpen.

The 6'5" righty has a curve, a split finger fastball that he throws in the low 90's, and he's working on adding a slider. Jackson's a ground ball guy with a 3:1 K to BB ratio, and can work long, mid, or short relief.

Is no Yankee pitcher safe from the clutches of the Bucs?