Full Notepad...

Lotta notes and stuff going on today:

• The Tribe beat the Reds 3-2 in 10 innings last night to get the Bucs within 2-1/2 games of the lead. Aroldis Chapman took the loss. He hasn't been the same since Clint Barmes and Mike McKenry tagged-teamed him during their last series.
• How do the Bucs do it? LaVelle Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote " You look at the Pirates, see they are last in the majors in runs scored and it's easy to wonder how they are over .500. Opponents said the same thing about the 2002 Twins when they began winning division titles.The Pirates are proof, just like that Twins team, that a team can win with good pitching and an opportunistic offense.
• Kevin Correia's last three home wins, spanning over a year, were all against AL teams - Detroit, Baltimore, and Minnesota.
• Mea culpa. In yesterday's game post, we reported that Josh Harrison's homer bounced off Josh Willingham's glove, off the fence and over the wall. In reality, it hit the top of the padding first, then Willingham before hopping the wall, and per league ground rules, should have been a double.
• If you're wondering, Joe Mauer is limited to pinch hitting with a quad problem, and reliever Matt Capps is working through a strain/dead arm.
• BTW, the Bucs had to get permission to get Maz and The Quail on the bench for this series. MLB rules restrict the number of uniformed non-players to six coaches and one manager, but Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire gave his nod to Clint Hurdle to allow Mazeroski and Virdon to pull on a uni and join the dugout gang. Nice move by both clubs.
• The Pirates have had their last scheduled day off on Monday until the All-Star Break. They've got a 20-game streak booked, beginning yesterday. They host the Tigers next, then visit Philly and St. Louis, closing out with series against the Astros and Giants.
• Pitching coach Tom Filer’s Indy Indian's staff has put up an International League-leading 2.98 ERA with nine shutouts. Filer was just named a coach for the U.S. Team in the All-Star Futures Game.
• Gerrit Cole makes his first upper-level start tonight for Altoona.
• There is talk now that the Bucs may eventually switch their short-season team from State College to Morgantown, as WVU has plans to build a new ballyard (the Spikes and PSU share their stadium).
• The Tigers announced that they released Brad Eldred from their Triple-A roster and that he has elected to sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan. 
• Jim Tracy is at it again. With a staff that's the MLB's worst, he's decided to go to a four man rotation - but with a 75 pitch limit. Lotta confidence in that bullpen, hey?
• Happy birthday, Rob Mackowiak. Whack-A-Mack turns 36 today.