Sunday Buffet

-- Zach Duke was added to the NL's All-Star team as an injury replacement for the Giant's Matt Cain. Duke, selected for the first time, is 8-8 with a 3.29 ERA. The Zachster deserves it; he's easily been the Pirates' most consistent pitcher this season and served as its stopper more than once.

Duke is the first Pirates starter to be an All-Star since Denny Neagle was selected in 1995.

-- A quick snapshot of our recent trades: Nyjer Morgan is hitting .324 for the Nats. He has 1 HR, 5 RBI, and is 5-of-5 in the stolen base category in nine games. His replacement, Garrett Jones, is batting .316 with 4 HR, 6 RBI, and has three stolen sacks without a throw-out in ten games.

Sean Burnett is 0-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 5 appearances, with 2 hits, 5K and 0 BB surrendered in 6-1/3 innings. Joel Hanrahan is 0-0 with and 11.42 ERA in 2-1/3 frames covering three outings. He's given up five hits and 2 walks to go with 3 Ks.

Lastings Milledge has just come off the DL and was assigned to Indy.

Nate McLouth is hitting .282/5/15 for the Braves, and has stolen 3 bases in four tries. Andrew McCutchen's line is .340/2/23, and has stolen seven bases in seven tries. Primo piece of the deal Charlie Morton is 1-2 with a 4.29 ERA in five starts.

Gorkys Hernandez is is hitting .264/2/7 at Altoona with 4 stolen bases in six tries. Jeff Locke is 1-2 with a 4.25 ERA as a starter at Lynchburg.

-- Pedro Alvarez and Brad Lincoln are playing in the All-Star Futures Game today in St. Louis. The game, which begins at 2 PM, will be televised on ESPN2, opposite the Pirates All-Star get-away game, starting at 1:30 PM on FSN.

-- The Lastings Milledge watch can officially start. He went 2 for 5 with a sacrifice bunt, walk and steal. Milledge also threw out a runner at home plate for Indy last night. Not bad for his first real action after a stint on the DL.

-- Much dissed first-rounder C Tony Sanchez is 13-for-30 in his first eight games at West Virginia. He's batting .433 with a homer and 12 RBI. Hey, it's admittedly a very miniscule sample size, but maybe the kid can play.

-- The Bucs continue their string of international signings. They inked C Dylan Child, 18, of Australia, and RHP Dovydas Neverauskus, 16, of Lithuania.

Child will train at the major-league academy in Australia. Neverauskus will attend the fall Florida Instructional League. He's the first European player ever inked by the Bucs, and is thought to be the first Lithuanian to ever sign a MLB deal.