Notebook

Traditionally, the slowest news day in baseball is the travel day after an All-Star game. Here's a couple of tidbits to stoke your baseball jones a bit today...

• All three Bucs got into the ASG last night. Cutch went 1-for-3, Josh played left and went 0-for-2 and Tony Watson even got to face a batter, getting Jose Abreu to fly out to Josh.
• David Tobeher of Bloguin has a post "Trades Every Team Needs To Make" and wrote the Bucs and Huston Street are a natural.
• The Pirates local TV ratings, among the highest in MLB last year, have increased slightly in 2014 according to Patty Tascarella of the Pittsburgh Business Times.
• The Pirates offered 33rd round draft pick RHP Zack Lewis top ten bonus money according to Scott Allen of the Daily Republican Register, but he decided to stay in school. He's at Wabash Valley, a two-year school, so he's draft eligible again next season. 
• The inner workings of a defensive shift are explained by David Manel at Bucs Dugout. There's a lot more going into it than is apparent at first glance.