Lineup, Notes

Wandy Rodriguez takes on Jason Hammel at 8:05 tonight. The game will be on Root Sports, WGN and 93.7 The Fan. Wandy is making his way back from an arthritic arm; he pitched passably in his first outing, though his velocity was down a tick or two. Hammels tossed well against the Bucs, but is a fly-ball pitcher who gave up several loud outs in PNC Park. The two matched up on Thursday, with Hammels earning a 3-2 win.

The lineup: Starling Marte LF, Travis Snider RF, Cutch CF, Pedro 3B, Russ Martin C, Neil Walker 2B, Travis Ishikawa 1B, Jordy Mercer SS and Wandy P. Same ol' order; we're watching to see how Jordy Mercer handles a steady diet of RHP.

Buc BP at Wrigley image from @pirates

• There's some buzz now about Adam LaRoche perhaps hitting the 1B market. Ryan Zimmerman may make a move to first because of an arthritic shoulder, both saving his arm and clearing a spot for 3B prospect Anthony Rendon. LaRoche's $12M salary is a big chunk of cash for teams to digest, though, so we'll see whassup with DC's moving pieces. He could also platoon with Zimmerman while the Nats eat the last year of his contract.
• A quest for an elusive baseball card leads The Hardball Time's Bruce Markusen to memories of Manny Sanguillen and Roberto Clemente.
• If you're curious as to what colleges and conferences have been the best feeder systems for MLB, JJ Cooper of Baseball America has the answer.
• Ex-Bucs: Sean Burnett has been shut down with elbow problems.