Cover Up...

For your viewing pleasure: A vid of Joe Mauer stealing the Tigers' signs off of Gerald Laird and passing them on to Jason Kubel as the Twins try to stay alive in the AL Central:


The Twins deny the whole thing.

Credit: Craig Calcaterra of NBC's Circling the Bases.

Thursday Tidbits

-- The usually button-downed Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette offered this bit of speculation in his Q&A column:

"I would be quite sure that Huntington has had input in the decision to stay with LaRoche rather than look at Walker. And, although no one with the Pirates would acknowledge such a thing, I would be equally sure that the trade had something to do with it.

How could it not?

If Walker fails, that is just another lousy pick by Dave Littlefield. If LaRoche fails, that is a painful blow -- maybe the most painful one -- in what already is shaping up to be a bad Jason Bay trade."

-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com has a piece on the tragic summer of third base coach Tony Beasley.

-- Hey, the Bucs win! The Bucs win! The Bucs....ooops, sorry. I meant the Hillcats. Lynchburg won the Carolina League championship tonight in wild west fashion, hanging on to outlast Salem 8-7.

Ronald Uviedo saved the win for Mike Crotta when he came on in the ninth with runners on first and second and one away. The righty got a pair of infield rollers to close out the game for the 2009 Class A kings, stranding the tying run at third and lead run at second.

Lynchburg leaped ahead 7-4 after two innings - starter Jeff Locke got rocked - and were helped tremendously by back-to-back baby Red Sox errors, with a wild pitch sandwiched between. The miscues led to four unearned runs.

The hitting heroes were Jordy Mercer, who went 4-for-5 with two doubles, 2 RBI, and a run scored, and forgotten man Jamie Romak, who was 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI. Chase d'Arnaud had a double and 2 RBI, while Josh Harrison plated three times.

Well done. Maybe in a few years Mercer, d'Arnaud, Matt Hague, Tony Sanchez, Rudy Owens and company will bring their winning ways to the show.

-- The Roberto Clemente "Day of Giving" recognition is scheduled for Friday's game against San Diego. Paul Maholm will be recognized as the team's Roberto Clemente Award winner and MLB nominee. Maholm won the award for his work with the Gilda's Club of Western Pennsylvania. The Pirate minor league awardees will be honored, too.

-- The so-far quiet Pedro Alvarez blew up on the Tapei team today for the US in the World Cup. He hit three home runs and had six RBI in the United States' 14-3 runaway victory.

-- The Rangers signed 44th overall draft pick RHP Tanner Scheppers. Reports claim that he received a signing bonus of $1.25M, a record for the supplemental first round. Texas couldn't sign their first rounder, freeing up a couple of extra bucks for Scheppers, who the Pirates drafted #48 last year but didn't sign.

Scheppers will make his pro debut at the Arizona Fall League.

Monday Munchies...

-- Delwyn Young is out again, but the past couple of days it hasn't been because of his minuscule batting of late; he has a balky back, and is day-to-day. Too bad; a series against his old mates - the first of the year - could have been the cure to what ails him.

-- When the Pirates shut down Ross Ohlendorf in a start or two, we expect them to use Donny Veal as one starter and perhaps Virgil Vasquez as the other, backed up by Jeff Karstens and maybe Eric Hacker. They'll try to get three or four innings from each and hand the ball off to the bullpen.

If they close down Kevin Hart, too, expect the four to become a mix-and-match two headed replacement.

Veal, unlike the others, is in Pittsburgh's long-term plans as a potential starter. He's going to the Arizona League as a rotation guy after the season, and he'll join Indy's starters in 2010, when his Rule 5 sentence has ended.

-- The Pirates are carrying a 32-man roster this month; 17 pitchers and 15 position players. Jose Ascanio should also join the pack for the last couple of weeks of the year.

-- Hey, the only Bucco team in the playoffs is up 1-0 in the Carolina League championship series.

Lynchburg is facing the Salem Red Sox in the CLCS for the Mills Cup. LHP Justin Wilson led the Hillcats to an opening victory tonight, 9-2. He went 5-2/3 innings, giving up five hits and two runs, one earned.

Lynchburg banged out twelve hits, primed by CF Jose De Los Santos, 1B Matt Hague and 2B Chase d'Arnaud.

De Los Santos went 3-for-3, and tripled, scored, drove in two runs, stole a base and walked. Hague had two hits and a walk, including a homer, and scored three times while driving in a pair. d'Arnaud also had a pair of hits, a double, stolen base, and three RBIs.

Lynchburg beat Wilmington, 5-2, in Game 5 of the Carolina League's Northern Division championship series yesterday to qualify.

RHP Bryan Morris allowed one run and seven hits in 6-2/3 innings, striking out one and walking one. RHP Ronald Uviedo pitched 1-1/3 innings of perfect relief, whiffing a pair and notching his second playoff save.

The slugging hero was Cubby pick-up 3B Josh Harrison, who went 2 for 3 with a double, walk and four RBIs. 2B Chase d'Arnaud brought home the other run while scoring twice and stealing a sack.

The Hillcats are doing it without their closer, RHP R. J. Rodriguez (6-3-27, 3.08 ERA), and bridge guy RHP Tom Boleska (1-1, 1.60), who are both playing in the World Cup.

-- Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle surpassed Hall of Famer "Wee" Willie Keeler yesterday, when he legged out an infield single that gave him his ninth consecutive 200-hit season. Keeler set the previous record of eight straight from 1894-1901 for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Ichiro tied the Georgia Peach, Ty Cobb, with his ninth overall 200-hit season. The most 200-hit years in a career is ten, a record set by Charlie the Hustler, Pete Rose.

-- From Aaron Gleeman of NBC's Circling The Bases: "Conventional wisdom is that strikeouts are a terrible thing. (But) Among all hitters with at least 400 plate appearances this season, the 10 guys who strike out most often have an average OPS of .938 and the 10 guys who strike out least often have an average OPS of .753."

As he asks, would you rather send up Adam Dunn or David Eckstein to bat for your nine?

West Coast Waiting Room

-- Garrett Jones could be around for awhile if he keeps raking, even though he's 28. It's his second season in the bigs, but his service time will be less than a year since both gigs were mid-season call-ups.

The Pirates will have him under team control through 2014; Jones isn't arbitration-eligible until 2012. That makes him a very affordable piece of the puzzle the suits are fitting together as either a regular player or another shiny bauble to dangle as trade bait down the road.

-- Freddy Sanchez is in a deep, dark funk. He went 0-for-20 last week, dropping his average from .311 to .296, and struck out nine times in the past five games. In late May, he suffered through a 6-for-40 stretch, breaking out with a six hit game against the Cubs.

-- Ian Snell lasted five innings in his start with AAAA Indianapolis on Sunday. Snell allowed two earned runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out four. He now has a 0.96 ERA in six starts with the Indians. Several teams are supposed to be looking at him, notably the Yankees, but the offers have all been low-balled for his services.

-- His brother demotee, Tom Gorzelanny (4-3, 2.46), has been on fire over his last eight starts as he has posted a 3-2 record, 1.00 ERA (5 ER in 45-1/3 innings), and 47 strikeouts. He hasn't allowed more than a single earned run in any of those eight outings.

He's probably a September call-up because of service time issues unless he gets dealt, and even that's iffy. The suits could risk him becoming a "Super Two" player, eligible for four years of arbitration instead of three if they time it wrong. You qualify by finishing in the top 17% of guys with 2-3 years of service time.

-- The beat writers mention some interest in Robby Diaz, too, particularly Detroit, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette, who has the rumors wrapped up in one article.

GW is actually surprised his name hasn't come up more often. Catchers with a stick are worth something, even in this market.

The Tiger bird dogs have been watching Pittsburgh closely, and they need a laundry list of players. Just wonderin' if a multi-player deal could be in the works?

-- Pitching for short-season State College, Phil Dumatrait allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out four and walking none in his second rehab start (the first was with the GCL Bradenton Pirates). Dumatrait is set to now join AA Altoona.

-- Twins starter Kevin Slowey of Upper St. Clair will have surgery on his injured right wrist and will likely miss the remainder of the season. He was 10-3.

-- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reports that Pete Rose may get back in the good graces of baseball. Bud Selig's conditions for any reinstatement would include another public apology and a prohibition from managing.

If Selig does reinstate him, Rose would become eligible for the Hall of Fame, but on the Veterans Committee ballot, as his 15 years on the Baseball Writers ballot expired. He would have to be elected by the 65 living members of the Hall of Fame.

All Star Appetizer

-- Henry Schulman in the San Francisco Chronicle column "The Splash" writes "I keep hearing one version of a possible Giants deal for Pirates second baseman Fred Sanchez expanded to include (Zach) Duke, too."

-- John Perrotto of Pirates Report has another rumor to monger:

"The most interesting one is the reincarnation of a deal that could have been made at the winter meetings 2005 that would have the Pirates sending left-hander Paul Maholm to Toronto for right fielder Alex Rios.

He has a .262 batting average with 10 homers and 46 RBIs in 88 games this season.

The Blue Jays would have to eat a sizeable portion of Rios’ contract before the Pirates would even consider making this deal. There is approximately $62 million remaining on the seven-year, $69.835-million contract Rios signed prior to last season with a $13.5-million club option for 2015.

Maholm is in the first year of a three-year, $14.5-millon contract with a $9.75-million option for 2012."

They can say they're not dumping salaries, but Rios' contract is way too rich for the suits to pick up. He's a right-handed Nate McLouth in our eyes, a nice ballplayer but not a $10,000,000 man.

-- 42 year-old Tim Wakefield (11-3, 4.31 ERA) became the oldest first-time All-Star selection since Satchel Paige, who was 46 in 1952.

-- To break the streak and finish at 82-80, the Pirates need to roll up a 44-30 second half record, playing at a .594 pace. Not impossible, but Vegas would love to book your bet.

-- According to a Harris Poll, the Pittsburgh Pirates are the 22nd most popular team in baseball. Not too bad, actually, considering the streak.

-- Hey, they can stop laughing at the Bucco foray into India now. LHP Rinku Singh (1-0, 12.00 ERA) struck out the only batter he faced in the Bradenton Pirates' 10-5 victory over the little Tigers to earn the W. He is thought to be the first Indian born player to ever win a professional baseball game in the US.

-- The Miguel Sano saga should end this week, when MLB's investigation into his age is expected be complete. The money has been flying around the Caribbean; we'll soon see how much of it sticks to young Mr. Sano.

And don't be surprised if the league offices try to rein in the costs at some point. Some Latino kids are getting way above comparable draft slot money, and without a background of high school or college ball to judge them by.

They're getting signed on rep, not performance. In this year's Futures game, there were only two Latin players under 26 years-old playing; there are no guarantees.

Three recommendations are to throw them in the draft, cap international signing budgets, or to get the Latin Leagues under the MLB umbrella to replace the buscone tryout system.

-- And from Yahoo Sports: When the Red Sox chose Casey Kelly in the 2008 draft, Kelly said he would turn down a scholarship to play quarterback at the University of Tennessee and sign with Beantown under one condition: He gets to play shortstop.

So even though the Red Sox (and almost every other team) viewed him as a potential top-of-the-rotation pitcher, they offered a compromise: play shortstop in 2008, then pitch the first half of 2009 before returning to shortstop in the second half.

He hit .215/1/13 in 130 at-bats in 2008. Kelley's pitching line this year was 7-5 with a 2.08 ERA and WHIP of .853. He's shut down now and in training camp taking grounders to get ready for the second half of the season.

Pirate Pre-Game Potpourri

-- OK, the Indy hop is done for the time being. Ryan Doumit, Luis Cruz, and Donnie Veal came up; Robby Diaz, Steve Pearce, and Steve Jackson went down. Diaz will get work at the corner infield and second while he's there. Like Delwyn Young, they like the bat, and are trying to find a big-league spot, even if it's on the PNC pine, for him.

-- Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune writes:

There have been rumors that the Twins have been talking to Pittsburgh about a trade for former National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez, who is hitting .316; and/or relief pitchers Matt Capps (1-4 with a 4.71 ERA) or John Grabow (3-0, 3.49 ERA).

If the Twins are going to make a run at the division title, they need to make some deals the way other teams have with Pittsburgh to give themselves a chance to compete

.John Perrotto of the Pirates Report has this report on the rumors:

Colorado has emerged as the front runner for Sanchez and the Pirates have strong interest in Rockies second base prospect Eric Young, Jr., a 24-year-old who is hitting .289 at Class AAA Colorado Springs.

The Rockies are said to be willing to part with relief prospect Casey Weathers, their first-round draft pick in 2007, who will miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow in March.

Another name that has reportedly has been brought up in trade talks is Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. The 23-year-old left-handed hitter began the season with AAA Colorado Springs and had a .339 batting average with 10 homers, 59 RBIs and six steals in 48 games. He's on the Rox roster now.

San Francisco continues to have interest in Sanchez along with Minnesota. Other contenders who have need for second base help include Atlanta, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee.

-- Hey, Jason Stark of ESPN notes that the Nats have taken an onus of the Bucco backs:

While we're on the subject of landmark Nationals feats, they've already done something this year that no team had done since Pop Corkhill's 1891 Pirates:

They were the victims of a 250th win (by Jamie Moyer) and a 300th win (by Randy Johnson) in the same year. In fact, they even did it in the same week. So take that, Pop.

-- Matt Fortuna of the Altoona Mirror features 2B prospect Jim Negrych and the growing pains he and the Curve are experiencing this year.

-- The Bucs inked Robert "Tagg" Bozied to a minor league deal. Bozied, an infielder, has spent most of the past eight seasons roaming the bushes, hitting over 20 HRs three times. He played with Xavier Nady for Team USA in 1999. Taggs started this season playing for the Brother Elephants of the Taiwanese League.

-- The Pirates signed six Latino players today - no, not Sano - and DK of the Post Gazette has capsule reports on them from Rene Gayo.

-- Kip Wells is like the energizer bunny; you can't get rid of him. The Reds signed Wells to a minor-league contract and assigned the 32-year-old RHP to AAA Louisville. He was DFA'ed by Washington on June 24 after he went 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA in 23 bullpen appearances.

Hampton's Houston Hex

Hey, all ya gotta do is point Mike Hampton to the mound, and the ballgame's over for Pittsburgh. He beat the Bucs for the tenth straight time, 4-1. The last streak against the Pirates of that proportion belonged to the Phil's Robin Roberts, who won 15 in a row between 1951-53.

The difference is that Roberts was dominating the NL during the fifties; Hampton is 5-5 with a 4.16 ERA. He has one win against a team other than Pittsburgh.

Two plays in the first inning probably decided the game. With the first two runners on, Andy LaRoche hit a screamer up the middle. Hampton snagged it, although it almost knocked him over, and got a DP. With two outs and two on in the bottom half, Garrett Jones crashed into the wall to make a tough catch - and had the ball pop out of his glove on impact. 2-0 'Stros, game, set, match.

-- Byron Kerr of MASN.com says GM Rizzo should get the interim tag removed from his title after the NyMo/Burney deal:

"The acquisition of outfielder Nyjer Morgan and relief pitcher Sean Burnett was a perfect Rizzo deal. Morgan has already paid huge dividends with his energy, defense and scrappy attitude to get on base. Morgan makes catches in center the center fielder is supposed to make. He makes catches you think he shouldn't be able to make. Even when he drops a ball that he dove for, he gets up quickly and fires to 2nd to gun down the runner anyway. Burnett had that hiccup versus the Marlins in his debut, but still has some good numbers in his last 6 appearances, allowing just 1 earned run."

-- 27 year-old SS Jhonny Peralta is supposed to be on the meat market. Let's see...he has a little pop with the bat, is a Cleveland Indian product, and the Bucs may be looking for a shortstop soon. Just wonderin'...

-- Eric Hinske will make his first start for the Bronx Bombers tonight in RF, according to Brian Hoch of MLB.com. Seems like nothin' but lefties have taken the hill since the Bucs dealt him; the Yankees plan to use him in a platoon role.

-- Ian Browne of MLB.com on 42-year-old Tim Wakefield's first All-Star selection:

"Wakefield became the oldest player to make the All-Star team for the first time since Satchel Paige. After years of dominance in the Negro Leagues, Paige went to his first major league All-Star game in 1952 at the age of 46. Jamie Moyer (40 in 2003) and Connie Marrero (40 in 1951) are the only other players to become All-Stars for the first time at age 40 or older."

-- Ian Snell threw another shutout for Indy yesterday, giving up six hits and striking out six in a complete game (seven innings) win. Too bad he can't match that kind of performance at PNC.

-- LHP Rudy Owens (10-1, 1.79) keeps mowing 'em down at West Virginia. The 21 year-old threw five goose eggs and allowed two hits, with 3 Ks and a walk.

-- Mike Whiteford of the West Virginia Gazette has the story of first round selection Tony Sanchez's long, strange journey from Boston College to Charleston.

Same Ol' Song

Ah, the Bucs ease back into Central division play against the reeling Cubbies, losers of 6 of the last 7 games and home of Milton Bradley driven discord. Rich Harden, with a 4.95 ERA and without a victory since May 12th, was on the hill against Pirate ace Zach Duke. Time to make hay, hey?

Nah. Duke was OK, giving up three runs in seven innings and none after the fourth, but the Bucs couldn't get the clutch hit and dropped a 3-1 decision to Chicago.

The Pirates banged out eight hits between the fifth and seventh innings, and scored just one run. Seven of the knocks were singles, and no hit advanced a runner more than station-to-station. They left the bases juiced in the fifth, wasted back-to-back hits in the sixth, and ended the seventh with a DP.

After two more against the Cubs and a make-up against the Mets, the Pirates take to the road for nine games before the All-Star break. These next two weeks could prove crucial to their hopes in 2009. If they get through that stretch and late July within sight of the Central leader board, Pittsburgh will be home for 35 games in the friendly confines of PNC.

If not, plan on buying a scorecard. The team will surely look a whole lot different for those last two months of the season. If they hang around, there will still be a house cleaning, but more likely during the off-season (even the Pirate suits should know better than to blow up a team while it's still got a pulse.)

Whether they stay in the race or not will depend on the pitching. Pittsburgh is 28-15 when yielding four runs or less, but 7-26 when giving up five or more. There's not much wiggle room when the staff has a bad night.

-- Ryan Doumit's estimated return date is July 17th, after the All-Star break. His estimated trade date, July 30th. Just jokin'...maybe.

-- Don't be surprised if Donnie Veal isn't completely "rehabbed" by July 8th and spends some more time on the DL. The Rule 5 claim needs to spend 90 days on the roster to stick with the organization; since he went on the DL June 1st, he has 55 days under his belt.

JR looks quite comfortable with the bullpen's current configuration, and seems to have confidence in all the staff now that Steve Jackson and Jeff Karstens have joined the mix. The Pirates may not want to disrupt his comfort zone. And if they DL Veal until the September call-up, they only have to carry him for a week in 2010 to complete their claim.

He can join other out-of-option pitchers Phil Dumatrait, Tyler Yates, and Craig Hansen on the see ya in September list.

If they can't poke and prod an extended injury out of him, look for Evan Meek or perhaps Jackson to spend a few weeks in Indy.

-- We're still scratching our heads over the Steve Pearce call-up. Unless Adam LaRoche is about to be moved, he's the odd man out both in right and first base. Wouldn't the time have been better spent at Indy, playing ball instead of watching?

-- We're also a little curious why the Buc suits are badmouthing Ian Snell, calling his contract a mistake and admitting that they've been trying to move him for months. Doesn't exactly sound like the way to plump up a guy's value to us. Then again, they're probably just verbalizing what the rest of MLB already knows.

The biggest block in moving Snell is that he's locked into a contract that pays him starter wages when the rest of the league sees him as a reliever. At any rate, judging by the roaring inferno of burning bridges, it's unlikely that Snell will ever pull on a Pirate jersey again, seventeen strikeouts or not.

-- Pedro Alvarez's knee injury is tendinitis; he's expected to miss a couple more days. He's looking more and more like a first base candidate.

-- Think the Pirates have issues with their minor league pitching? The Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) and the High Desert Mavericks (Mariners) slugged it out to the tune of 51 runs in Lake Elsinore's 33-18 victory in the Class A California League. Hey, we know the west coast leagues are hitter's paradises, but geez...score eighteen runs and still lose by fifteen?

Rumors and Notes

-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com on Ian Snell and some Pirate possibilities:

Snell does have one option year left, which means the Pirates could send him down as they did with Tom Gorzelanny around this time last year. Triple-A Indianapolis starter Virgil Vasquez was pulled from his start on Tuesday after one inning, and it was confirmed that his early exit was because the Pirates wanted to keep him available as an option for the big league club.

He could be an option if the Pirates are interested in making a move. Or, maybe the more likely scenario, the Pirates could call on Vazquez as bullpen reinforcement after Snell's start forced five relievers to have to pitch on Tuesday.

GM Neal Huntington confirmed that Snell will make his next start.

The Pirates are still not certain whether righty Charlie Morton will be able to make his start Friday. He hasn't completely gotten over his achy hamstring, so the Bucs may skip his turn and have Virgil Vasquez make the start.

-- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports:

Phillies scouts have looked at every starter who is, might be or, in some wild scenario, could be available. They wonder whether they could make a deal with the Pirates for Paul Maholm, or even Zack Duke.

-- According to John Perrotto of the Pirate Report:

The Pirates have been looking to add a veteran right-handed reliever to their young bullpen and are considering trading for Luis Ayala, who has been designated for assignment.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported the Pirates’ interest Tuesday night and a baseball source confirmed it. Ayala, 31, was 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA in 28 games this season. He struck out 21 in 32 2/3 innings and walked eight.

-- Tyler Yates (right elbow inflammation) remains in Pirate City. There is no timetable for his return. Yates is on the 15-day DL. Craig Hansen (neck spasms) is also there and isn't throwing, either. Hansen is on the 60-day DL. No word on Phil Dumatrait.

-- Another of Kip Wells' nine lives has given up the ghost. The Nationals DFA'ed the reliever today. Wells, a 32-year-old righty, has an ERA of 6.49 in just over 26 innings, with 18 strikeouts and as many walks.

-- Sound familiar? Brewers CF Chris Duffy, assigned outright to Class AAA Nashville on May 26, has been placed on that club's inactive list. Duffy went home to Arizona for the birth of a child after playing three games with Nashville and never rejoined the club.

Off Day Reader

-- John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports say there are moves afoot to deal Ian Snell. The most likely destination is Colorado, which expressed interest in him last season and whose new skipper, Jim Tracy, likes Snell.

-- After Dontrelle Willis' outing yesterday, some media types are calling for him to pull a Ricky Ankiel and head to the outfield.

-- LHP Rudy Owens (6-1, 2.48), SS Chase D'Arnaud (.298/3/28), DH/1B Calvin Anderson (.286/7/37), manager Gary Green and pitching coach Jeff Johnson were selected to the Sally League All-Star game, representing the Class A West Virginia Power.

-- BTW, before the beefing about Tony Sanchez gets too out of hand, here's when the other guys considered by Pittsburgh went: Aaron Crow, (12th round), Grant Green, (13th round), Matthew Purke (14th round), Alex White (15th round), Kyle Gibson (22nd round), and Tanner Sheppers (44th round). It's not as if Pittsburgh forfeited the second coming by selecting the BC catcher.

-- RHP Kyle Hansen, the 6-foot-7 younger brother of injured Pirates hurler Craig Hansen, was taken by Milwaukee in the 40th round of the draft. He's committed to his brother's alma mater, St. John's.

Rockies manager Jim Tracy, himself a former big league outfielder, saw his third son drafted on Wednesday when Mark, a catcher at Duquesne University, was taken in the 49th round by the Rockies. Middle son Chad is an outfielder in the Rangers system at Double-A Frisco, while his oldest son, Brian, is the pitching coach at short-season State College in the Pittsburgh system.

-- Stephen Strasburg and his honcho Scott Boras haven't even gotten to yank the Nat's chain yet, but the next big thing, 16 year-old Bryce Harper, is trying to steal their limelight.

The phenom will skip his last two years of high school in order to enter the MLB draft sooner. Bryce's father, Ron Harper, told the Las Vegas Journal-Review that his son, a junior, will focus on earning his GED instead of a diploma, which he believes will make him draft-eligible next year instead of 2011.

Harper burst onto the national scene on June 8 when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline "Baseball's Chosen One."

The a 6-3 catcher has signed a letter of intent and completed enrollment forms at the College of Southern Nevada, according to the paper.

Pre-Game Potpourri

-- Here's one to ponder: Buster Olney of ESPN in his blog (subscriber only) says, according to MLB Trade Rumors, that he heard that the Pirates were concerned about Nate McLouth's defensive abilities, so they moved him now before his trade value diminished.

We know the Braves plan to shift him to a corner once primo prospect Jordan Schafer is ready for the show, just as the Pirates would have done when Andrew McCutchen came up, but still... Have the stat freaks taken over the game that much? He'll never be known as a rifleman, but he did cover some ground and was certainly a more than adequate glove in center.

GW would hate to think the suits are floating little balloons out to the media in a CYA effort after the fan beating they took over the deal.

-- In his Ump Bump blog, Nick Kapur picks one player every team should cut. His Bucco choice:

OF Brandon Moss: Lots of people have mentioned how one good side of trading away Nate McLouth was that it has “cleared playing time for blocked prospect Andrew McCutchen.” But hardly anyone mentions that one of the players who was allegedly “blocking” McCutchen is Brandon Moss, a corner outfielder who has been playing every day this season despite posting a .310 OBP and only a single home run.

-- RHP Mike Koplove, 32, was signed by the Pirates as a free agent from the Phil's organization and sent to AAA Indianapolis.

He was 1-3 with six saves and a 1.14 ERA in 21 relief appearances with AAA Lehigh Valley this season. He pitched in the show for seven seasons with Arizona (2001-06) and Cleveland (2007), going 15-7 with two saves and a 3.82 ERA in 222 games.

Why doesn't it surprise us that his his last MLB stop was with the Indians?

-- Listen, the Nate McLouth trade was a stunner. But consider what GM Frank Wren did on Wednesday to change the face of the Braves: He cut Tom Glavine, promoted Tommy Hanson and traded for McLouth. Now that's shake-up. And he's supposed to be looking at Brad Penny. All that from a contender, yet.

-- The MLB is trying to build a little buzz around draft day, ala the NFL. According to the Biz of Baseball, the changes include:

The 2009 First-Year Player Draft will expand from two days to three days, with the final two days being conducted via conference call from MLB headquarters in New York City.

The first day will consist of the first 111 picks, including Round One, Compensation Round A, Round Two, Round Three and Compensation Round B. There will be four minutes between first round picks and one minute between all other selections. On Wednesday, June 10th, the Draft will resume in the fourth round at 12:00 p.m. (EDT) and will be tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The Draft will conclude on Thursday, June 11th, which is set to cover the 31st-50th rounds, beginning at 11:30 a.m. (EDT).

MLB Network will broadcast the selections made in the first round live.

Hampton, Houston, Hammer Bucs

Hey, against the rest of the league, Mike Hampton is a batting practice pitcher. But show up with a "P" over your heart, and he turns into Sandy friggin' Koufax.

Hampton went seven innings, and gave up a run on five singles with five punch-outs as the 'Stros rolled over the Bucs 9-1 at Minute Maid park tonight.

He has four wins and an ERA of 4.65, with three coming against Pittsburgh. The Pirates have scored two runs in twenty innings against the veteran lefty. Even by Bucco standards, that's domination.

Not that he needed much help. Jeff Karstens had a tough third inning, and then lost it in the sixth. In 5-2/3 frames, he surrendered six runs on nine hits with four walks.

Evan Meek made sure the stake was driven through the Buc's heart when he came on and gave up a couple of walks followed by a Carlos Lee grand salami before he got the third out.

Ah well, good one to get out the system, we hope. Paul Maholm tries to right the ship tomorrow against Roy Oswalt.

-- We're wondering if the Bucs would be better served by using Craig Monroe when there's a lefty on the mound.

He's averaging .263 against port-siders, while Nyjer Morgan was hitting .156 against southpaws. Freddy Sanchez could slide back into the two hole, where he's batting .337; he's hitting .172 in the third spot so far this season.

JR says he's committed to Andrew McCutchen and Morgan at the top and Sanchez in the RBI spot; we'll see how that works out.

It may just be a statistical blip so far this year because of a small sample size (29 at-bats) for Freddy. In his career, Sanchez has batted third more than any other position in the order and has a .309 lifetime average there.

Still, if Morgan can't get it on against lefties...

-- It's gonna take a while for the outfield to get back in order. McCutchen has to learn to take charge and the guys have to learn to mesh again; we saw some hesitation on a couple of balls that may have been catchable. Spring training over again...

McCutch had an 0-for tonight, but he hit the ball on the nose three times in four appearances.

-- Nate McLouth sounds about ready to turn the page. He told Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that

"You want to win when you’re an athlete, not a lot of that went on there when I was over there,” McLouth said. “It’s unfortunate because there are a lot of people over there who work hard and deserve it. But to come into a situation like this where winning is expected, winning happens, it’s a breath of fresh air.”

-- And the story goes on. Howard Megdal of MLB Trade Rumors has a short piece "Who Goes In A Pirate Firesale." *sigh* Who's safe?

-- In a post by NBC's Matthew Pouliot of "Circling the Bases" that rates possible NL Rookie of the Year candidates ranked by VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), guess who's fifth? Jason Jaramillo.

-- Not such a great mention: Baseball America's latest "Prospect Hot Sheet" has newly acquired LHP Jeff Locke on it - under the "Not So Hot" section! Great welcome to a new organization, hey?

-- If you're still wondering why Jay Bay was dealt, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports has the answer in a nutshell: "Bay's numbers would put him in the neighborhood of fellow Boston corner outfielder J.D. Drew, who agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal..."

-- Why is taking a pitcher such a roll of dice in the draft? Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has one reason in his article "Overuse of College Pitchers A Concern."

A Little Light Reading On A Rainy Wednesday

Hey, so the rain did something the Mets couldn't; it stopped the Pirates tonight. The game was called about 5:30, and they'll go at it Thursday afternoon, if the heavens shut it down long enough. The scheduled starters for today, Mike Pelfrey (4-1, 3.88) and Ross Ohlendorf (5-5, 4.45), will hook up tomorrow instead.

-- Tyler Yates is expected to start throwing off a mound tomorrow; still no word on when his rehab will begin. Donnie Veal is penciled in to go to Indy next week; he's allowed 30 days of rehab before he has to rejoin the roster.

-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com has the lowdown on Nyjer Morgan and how he managed to turn in the skates for some spikes.

She's been a busy little beat writer; she also has an article on Brad Lincoln, the Bucs #1 pick in 2006 who has overcome TJ surgery to shine bright as a prospect again.

-- In his web chat, Frank Coonelly says he expects Andrew McCutchen to hit PNC this year; he sounds kinda blah on the odds of Neil Walker (who dislocated his pinky, but should only miss a week) or Brad Lincoln joining him in the bigs this year.

He also likes the progress that 2008 picks Pedro Alvarez, Robbie Grossman, Chase D'Arnaud, Jeremy Farrell, Matt Hague, and Calvin Anderson are making in the bushes.

-- BTW, even with the Pens flyin' high, the Pirates are holding their own on the FSN ratings, as posted by Biz of Baseball. Their rating is 3.4, which is nearly an 11% increase over last season and 15th in MLB. 39,000 TVs are tuned in to an average game, which is 25th.

-- Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette has a piece on Pitt All-America second-baseman Chris Sedon, who is expected to go anywhere from the tenth round of the draft on. He's got a bona-fide stick; Sedon broke some of Jim Negrych's Panther records.

-- BTW, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe notes that of Jay Bay's 16 home runs, 13 have come with a runner on the base, the best mark in the majors.

-- Old Pirate coach Jeff Cox, now with the White Sox, just put in his tenth year in MLB according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. He's pension-eligible now, no mean feat for a guy that spent 26 years in the minors. Cox called his old bosses to thank them, including Jim Tracy.

Sunday Afternoon Notes

-- It's Nyjer Morgan's turn to get a day off. Nate McLouth will lead off, with Andy LaRoche in the two hole and Freddy Sanchez batting third.

Morgan's replacement, Craig Monroe, will bat clean-up. Robby Diaz is catching back-to-back, an oddity when a night game is followed by a day game.

And the Astros are moving Bucco killer Edwin Maysonet to leadoff from the eighth spot. Meteoric rise, hey?

-- Donnie Veal was placed on the 15-day DL with a groin pull that he suffered in his Friday outing when he slipped on the mound. It shouldn't have any bearing on his Rule 5 status; the draftee must be active for at least 90 days, and he's almost 2/3's of the way there.

Copacetic timing for the injury, with Tyler Yates and Craig Hansen out and Gorzo largely ineffective of late. The bullpen could use a fresh arm to eat a few innings.

We're guessing that the recently acquired RHP Steven Jackson (eleven appearances, 1-0-1, 3.10 ERA, fifteen Ks in 20-1/3 innings) will get the call from Indy. He was touted as a middle reliever while in the Yankee system.

But maybe not; Neal Huntington is always full of surprises. The beat writers are speculating that Virgil Vasquez or Chris Bootcheck may be in line for the job, too. We'll find out tomorrow.

-- John Perrotto of the Pirates Report.com has all the current trade rumors wrapped up in one neat column today.

-- Circle May 30, 2009, on your calendars. Yesterday marks the date of the first win for David Price of the Rays and the first hit for Matt Wieters of the O's. We expect a lot more to follow.

Houston Calling...

Let's see...Houston's on a seven game losing streak. In last place. The local paper is calling for the manager's head. The guy that's on the mound has an 8.13 ERA after seven starts.

Hey, just another day at the office for the Astros, and sadly enough, the Pirates. Houston outpitched and outhit the Bucs, taking an easy 6-1 win that could have been bigger if the 'Stros hadn't run the bases like hopped-up kamikazes.

The only noteworthy happening was a Donnie Veal sighting. He came on in the seventh inning, and gave up a run on three hits, with a walk and two strikeouts, in two frames of work. His heater was all over the place, but he showed a pretty nice hook.

And more importantly, he threw much better in his second inning than the first; the butterflies from his first appearance in three weeks had a chance to settle.

It just might be that they're getting ready to actually, you know, use him a little now that the pen is short, either as a long guy or mop-up arm. About time; the kid needs to face some MLB batters if he's ever to become a MLB pitcher.

-- Matt Capps was given the OK to pitch tonight if needed. Talk about dodging a bullet.

-- Ryan Doumit can begin strengthening exercises on his right wrist, fractured on April 20th. He'll begin warming up pitchers Saturday, though he won't be allowed to throw.

Doumit will be examined next on June 15th, and if that goes well, he can start a minor-league rehab stint. Still, the timetable seems to be about six more weeks for his return.

The Pirates don't seem to be in a hurry to rush him back and then have to shut him down again, and Robby Diaz and Jason Jaramillo are taking the sting out of Doumit's absence.

-- No news on Tyler Yates or Craig Hansen, who had tests done a couple of days ago. Guess they're not on a fast track to return, seeing how no one can quite figure out what's wrong with them. Ah well, someone has to keep Phil Dumatrait company.

-- Tom Verducci of SI's "Three Strikes" column says of Tampa Bay after the injury to 2B Akinori Iwamura:

"The Rays have hit a crisis point...If they do decide to make a trade, one scout suggested that they ought to pry away Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates. Sanchez is exactly the kind of player who fits well in the way Tampa stresses defense and grinding out at-bats."

-- Neal Huntington explained to MLB.com's Jen Langosch all about his recent moves in building up the minor league pitching.

He explains that they need depth, guys with options, and don't need pitchers that won't buy into the program; so some of it is just addition by subtraction.

-- Speaking of signing pitchers, the Bucs inked RHP Scott Nestor and sent him to Altoona. Nestor was last in the Phillies organization. The 24 year-old has a power arm and no control; he has a minor league ERA of 5.07, averaging 10 K and 6 BB per nine innings. Pittsburgh continues to be a fastball flophouse for wild children.

-- The Pirates have traded Altoona IF Anderson Machado to the Cubs for a PTBNL or cash.

-- 2006 first-round pick RHP Brad Lincoln extended his streak of scoreless innings to 19 after tossing six shutout innings for the Curve on Wednesday. Lincoln is four innings away from matching the Altoona record for consecutive scoreless innings, 23, a mark that was set in 2006 by Franklin Perez.

Not to downplay Perez's achievement, but now he's pitching for the indie Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish. Been there for three years, as a matter of fact. Sic transit gloria.

As for Lincoln, he made this week's version of Baseball America's "Prospect Hot Sheet" again. They think a call to Indy should be coming shortly.

-- And hey, forget about hot-stoving the Pirate draft. This year, every mock draft has the Pirates picking someone different, pitchers and position players. Should be an interesting call in June. GW will stick his neck out and scratch any Scott Boras clients.

-- Guess who's managing again? Jim Tracy is baaaaack. The Rockies fired manager Clint Hurdle earlier today and promoted Tracy, who was Colorado's bench coach, to the top spot.

A Short Night In Chicago

Ian Snell has the best stuff of anyone on the staff - and the worst production. He's 1-6 with a 5.43 ERA after losing a 5-inning, rain shortened game tonight, 6-1. Jeff Karstens, who is the number five guy and holding on to that spot by a gnat's eyelash, is 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA. Go figure.

GW gives up; he has no idea whassup with Snell. Apparently, neither does Joe Kerrigan. And the suits thought Gorzo needed a boot in the pants? Snell refuses to build on his few and far between good outings, reverting to too many pitches, too many balls, too many two-out lapses, too many bottom-of-the-order runs, and too many losses.

We don't know if the Pirates' patience is wearing thin with him, but it's about time for a change, if not in performance, then teams. Or does Indy only take ex-Yankee pitchers?

-- X-rays taken of the right elbow of Pirates reliever Matt Capps, who was struck by a Geovany Soto line drive yesterday, were negative.

That's the good news; the bad news is that he was struck very close to the bruised bone that caused him to miss a week earlier in the season. So there's still an outside chance he could end up on the 15-day DL. Capps hopes to return over the weekend, according to the Associated Press, but "it's kind of out of my hands," he said

That puts John Grabow or perhaps Jesse Chavez in line to close for the Pirates; maybe Tyler Yates if Capps is gone beyond a week.

-- RHP Tyler Yates is scheduled to throw off a mound today for the first time since going on the DL May 17 with elbow inflammation. He's eligible to come back Sunday, though he may pitch a couple of rehab games first.

-- RHP Craig Hansen had more tests in Pittsburgh yesterday to see if the docs can figure out what's causing his neck and back spasms. Results are due today.

-- Who knows whassup with LHP Phil Dumatrait? Last we heard, he's still in Pirate City, rehabbing from impingement surgery.

-- C Ryan Doumit, who broke his right wrist on April 20, is scheduled for a CAT scan on Thursday. If the results of that are OK, he could quit cheerleading and start participating in baseball drills within days.

Jason Jaramillo (.288) and Robinzon Diaz (.321) have done unexpectedly fine jobs during his absence; it'll be interesting to see who goes down when Doumit comes back, and what the future plans are for the duo. We're sure rumors of a possible position switch for the fragile Doumit will fly again, at least among the fans.

-- Only one Bucco ever had a better day at the plate than Freddy Sanchez yesterday. That was 2B Rennie Stennett, who went 7-for-7 when Pittsburgh routed the Cubs, 22-0 on September 16, 1975, also at Wrigley Field. Sanchez credits his rejuvenated eye to shortening his swing and staying back on the ball.

Freddy joins a select group of seven Pirates who have gone 6-for-6 or better; Stennett, OF Hazen "Kiki" Cuyler (08/09/1924), OF Paul "Big Poison" Waner (08/26/1926), OF/1B Johnny "Hippity" Hopp (05/14/1950), SS Dick Groat (05/13/1960), and 2B Wally Backman (04/27/1990).

Six hits is a pretty big deal. The Biz of Baseball's Maury Brown lists everyone that's done it in MLB history. There ain't that many.

-- Don't be in a rush to see Wilson or Adam LaRoche leave town, says Fox Sport's writer Ken Rosenthal:

Clubs that expect the Pirates to dump contracts out of financial desperation will be disappointed. The team is in strong enough position to maintain its payroll through the end of the season and still be aggressive in the draft and Latin America, according to one source with knowledge of the club's thinking.

The industry-wide shortage at shortstop has led to multiple inquiries on Jack Wilson, who is earning $7.25 million in the final year of his contract. The rap on Wilson is his low on-base percentage — .295 this season, .311 for his career. But he remains a quality defender.

Here's the problem: The Pirates are philosophically opposed to the idea of a low-revenue team sending money to a high-revenue team to secure better prospects in a trade, the way the Indians did last season when they moved third baseman Casey Blake to the Dodgers.

Most teams do not want Wilson at even the pro-rated portion of his current salary. Ditto for first baseman Adam LaRoche, who is earning $7.05 million.

-- The minor-league injury update: Altoona OF Jose Tabata (strained right hamstring) will report to Bradenton today to begin his rehab assignment. Lynchburg RHP Bryan Morris (right shoulder) is already in Pirate City, where he has made two starts in extended spring training. Morris has two more starts scheduled in Florida.

-- How about a little national politics to throw into the mix? President Barack Obama nominated judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Does the name sound familiar? It should; on March 30, 1995, she issued a preliminary injunction against the owners preventing them from unilaterally implementing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and using replacement players. For all intents and purposes, that ended the strike, and the 1995 season was played.

Sotomayor was born in the Bronx, and is supposed to be a big Yankee fan. Well, no one's perfect.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Buc bats continued to smoke as they drilled a season-high eighteen hits off the Cubbies. And they needed them all, hanging on for a 10-8 win at Wrigley.

The game had it all; the good, the bad, and the ugly:

The Good: Freddy Sanchez went 6-for-6, the first Pirate to do that since Wally Backman in 1990. He homered, doubled, stole a base, scored four runs and drove in three, and raised his average from .297 to .320 - in one game. Oh, did we mention three or four pretty sweet plays by Steady Freddy in the field, too? How quickly things turn; two days ago he couldn't hit a ball off a tee.

Also, six Bucco relievers held the Cubs to one run over the last five innings. Gorzo got the win, his second, and Burney the save, his first in the show.

The Bad: 13 runners left on base didn't help the cause. Andy LaRoche hit into a bases-loaded DP with one out when he swung at ball four and tapped into a 1-2-3 twin killing. It was on a 3-2 pitch after Ryan Dempster had just walked in two runs.

Paul Maholm struggled mightily; he gave up seven runs in four innings; his fastball was high and his change-up caught too much of the plate. Good thing the wind was blowing in tonight; 12 pitchers combined to give up 18 runs, 28 hits, and 11 walks on 371 pitches. The game lasted over 3-1/2 hours.

And a special mention to Mr. T; he did "Take Me Out To The Ball Game," and his voice is definitely not A-Team musically. He did manage to snarl a "Pity the Pirates" when he was done. Mr. T did dress for the day, sporting a Stars and Stripes bandanna with matching MC Hammer harem pants.

The Ugly: Matt Capps took a line drive squarely off the elbow in the ninth; it hit him so hard that it almost ricocheted into the dugout. He was immediately taken to the locker room; guess we'll know more about the extent of the injury tomorrow.

So OK, the Bucs are 5-3 on this road trip, and can come home with a winning record for the 10 day trek away from PNC. We expect to see more rock 'em, sock 'em baseball in the next two days. The Cubs were due to explode after scoring just 5 runs in their six-game road trip, and the Pirates look like they've dumped the Slumber and returned to the Lumber.

-- We'll see how a day off affects Adam LaRoche. So far he's gotten his months mixed up; LaRoche hit .269 with 5 HR and 14 RBI during April, but so far in May he's batting .175 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. He's a notorious streak hitter; hopefully he's due.

He spent his day off by pitching a half-hour of BP to his teammates; it must have worked. Adam knows his way around a mound. His dad Dave was a long-time MLB pitcher, and hey, LaRoche probably throws as hard as Mark Buehrle.

-- Not a good sign for the Pirates: their average attendance is 15,668, way last in MLB and a couple of thousand less warm booties per outing than the next-to-last Oakland A's, who draw 17,772. And remember, in spite of TV and MLB.com revenues, the gate is still the biggest cash generator for teams.

Last year the Bucs averaged 19,865 fans. But the gate is pretty much on pace with 2008's for the early part of the season; Pittsburgh traditionally doesn't draw well until the weather warms up, the kids are out of school, and those pesky Penguins finish their playoff run.

Ya sure can't fault the marketing people. Pittsburgh has more bobble heads, give-aways, concerts, fireworks, buck dog nights, and loaded tickets than you can shake a stick at. But if the attendance lags, Bob Nutting may have to tighten his purse strings as far as the draft and Latino signings are concerned, and that's not good.

As far as extending those 2010 $8M infielders Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez (if he doesn't vest) and Adam LaRoche, well...

-- Today is the anniversary of the Bambino hitting his final home run in 1936, number #714, at Forbes Field. It was said to be a monster shot, landing on Joncaire Street and rolling down to Panther Hollow, gleefully chased by a pack of youngsters. It was the final blast of three he hit that day (the second and third were launched off of Guy Bush) in an 11-7 Boston Brave loss.

-- Memorial Day is traditionally when teams take stock of their position in the pack and how it relates to earning a spot in the pre-season. Is it a good barometer? Eh, kinda, according to MLB.com's Races Come Into Focus On Memorial Day."

Since 1995, about 60 percent of the teams leading the division or Wild Card on Memorial Day qualified for the postseason, revealed an MLB.com analysis. Of 116 teams in first place, or leading the Wild Card race on the last Monday of May, 70 made it to the postseason.

The Pirates are six games back, both in the division and wild card races going into today.

Fat Lady Changes Her Tune

Hey, there's a reason baseball is the only sport that's not hooked up to a clock. Today, Jack Splat was that reason.

In a game that the Bucs appeared destined to do everything but win, Wilson took Bobby Jenks deep with two outs in the ninth to tie the game, followed quickly by a Nyjer Morgan double and Delwyn Young game-winning single, and the Fat Lady switched outfits.

Three Matt Capp K's later, the Pirates avoided the broom and won an improbable 4-3 victory over the White Sox, sending 28,309 Chicago fans home to cry in their cookout beer.

If Wilson hadn't come through with his heroics, the Pirates would have had no one but themselves to blame if they lost. They pounded 12 hits off Mark Buehrle in seven innings, and scored just once.

And as it was, something like 12 of their 16 hits came with two outs and nobody on base. Except for Eric Hinske's first inning double, no clutch hit was to be had off Buehrle. (In fairness, GW must note that every run in the game scored after two were out; all four Pirate scores and two of Chicago's came after two out with nobody on.)

Pittsburgh also ended three innings on the basepaths, when Wilson was thrown out at third, Freddy Sanchez was doubled off second on a soft liner, and Brandon Moss was caught taking a needless wide turn at first. Those are little league mistakes.

Jeff Karstens did a nice job against the Sox, with a two-out exception in the second, when Carlos Quentin doubled and a 3-2 curve ball to the next hitter, Brian Anderson, dropped right down the middle and was launched into the left field seats.

The Bucs treated the highly touted White Sox bullpen like they were the Washington Nationals relief corps. Besides roughing up Jenks, Hinske homered off of Octavio Dotel in the eighth.

So now it's off from the South Side to the North Side as the Bucs take on the Cubs. Da Cubs have lost seven in a row; it would be nice to keep their streak going. Here are the probable pitchers for the Cub series, compliments of MLB.com.

-- Give JR some love for this win. He shook up the lineup, giving Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche the day off, and put Hinske at first, Craig Monroe at DH, and Young in right. They combined for five hits and three RBI.

-- Three home runs were hit today, by Brian Anderson, Eric Hinske, and Jack Wilson. It was the first of the year for all three.

-- How's this for home cookin'? Pittsburgh is settled in at their Chicago hotel, living the life of Riley, while the Cubs have to fly in from San Diego for the upcoming series at Wrigley. Ah, those MLB computers; gotta love 'em!

-- GW doesn't see many AL games (mostly by choice), but he was impressed by Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez. He can do it all, and could easily become the next great AL SS.

-- GW was also impressed by the White Sox brand of ball; it has a lot of NL elements. Notably, they bunt, both for basehits and to move runners up, steal, and love to put men in motion on the bases, opening up the infield for their hitters. Running Anderson set up their third run today and led to a score yesterday. Thumbs up to Ozzie.

-- Hey, it's been 50 years since the Kitten hurled his classic. Here's the story:
Green Weenie: The Night The Kitten Roared;
Post-Gazette: In 1959 Harvey Haddix Pitched Perhaps The Best Game Ever - And Lost;
Trib-Review: Haddix Masterpiece Outing Turns 50
MLB.com: Fifty Years Since Haddix Masterpiece

-- From the Pirates Report, an in-depth and revealing look at Pedro Martinez by Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror.

Calling Doctor Long...

Let's see - the past couple of nights, it was all the Bucs could do to wring a run or two out of the Nats AAA pitchers. Tonight, Gavin Floyd of the 7.71 ERA was on the hill. Eight innings, two hits, two walks, eight Ks, no runs. GW spots a trend here.

One problem is that the top of the order, Nyjer Morgan and Freddy Sanchez aren't getting on at the Herculean pace that they started out on; in fact, Sanchez looks lost at the dish, something we've never seen before, even when he wasn't hitting .300.

But more than that, the team's falling into a pattern of watching the first pitch split the middle of the plate, and swinging at the second, which is generally bounced to the dish. Hey, we're all for patience, but there's a reason that the NL batters are hitting .327 when they go after the first pitch and .144 when it's 0-2.

At any rate, we understand that Long and JR had a pow-wow after the game; expect a little more aggressiveness from the Pirate hitters tomorrow.

The pity is that it wasted a brilliant effort by Zach Duke. The lefty gave up just six hits, walked a pair and struck out seven. His complete game gave the Buc bullpen a desperately needed day off, and if he could have solved Alexei Ramirez, who scored both runs, they might still be playing. But he couldn't, and lost 2-0.

The Big O, Ross Ohlendorf, takes the mound against LHP Clayton Richard. Richard has been up and down; he went seven innings against the Jays in his last start, giving up a pair of runs. The start before that, the As rattled him for seven tallies in four innings. We'll should see which guy we get early on.

-- RHP Craig Hansen was shut down in extended spring training after throwing just one side session. Hansen will return to Pittsburgh and have some tests run on his neck and shoulders. He may be on the DL for the foreseeable future; no one can figure out what's causing his neck spasms.

-- Baseball Weekly came out with this week's "Prospect Hot Sheet, and a Pirate pitcher finally made it. Altoona's Brad Lincoln was ranked #7, and here's what BA had to say about Pittsburgh's 2006 numero uno draft choice:

Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.56, 16 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 3 BB, 11 SO
The Scoop: The fourth overall pick in '06, Lincoln had Tommy John surgery in April 2007 and missed that entire season. If you're an avid BA reader you know that already, but did you realize how effective Lincoln had been this season in jumping to Double-A? For a pitcher who compiled a 4.69 ERA in two A-ball stops last year, while striking out 6.5 per nine innings, Lincoln's early '09 performance has been a revelation. He ranks fourth in the EL with 40 strikeouts, ninth with a 2.31 ERA and third with 46 2/3 innings. Yes, it appears he's made it all the way back from surgery.

-- The Pirates sent RHP Eric Krebs to the Dodgers as the PTBNL in the Delwyn Young trade. Krebs was pitching out of the bullpen at AA Altoona, where he was 2-4 with a 4.86 ERA.

-- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus chirped in with his mock draft (it's a subscriber-only article) and has the Pirates going with Missouri RHP Kyle Gibson, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review. Gibson is a 6'6" fastball-slider pitcher and is thought to have a high ceiling even if he's not ready for prime time yet.

-- After using the bullpen for 13-1/3 innings in a doubleheader Wednesday, the Marlins called up LHP Dave Davidson, who they got off waivers earlier in the season from Pittsburgh. His stay may be short, but they need arms tonight and are carrying 14 pitchers.

-- Remember the ex-Pirate tree involved with the Jody Gerut deal that we posted yesterday? Well, it goes on. The Brewers DFA'ed Chris Duffy to make room for Jody Gerut. So Duffy beat out Tony Gwynn for the last roster spot, and now he's the one out of a job. Baseball is a funny game.

Ye Gods!

Ya know, sometimes it looks like the baseball gods have it out for ya. Take Ian Snell, who's self-inflicted enough wounds that he doesn't need divine intervention.

But he got it tonight. The gods apparently were tired of playing with the Nats, and started Snell off by having his AAA opponent, Craig Stammen, throw four perfect innings to begin his first MLB outing.

Then they had runs score off a ball that went off Adam LaRouche's glove, an excuse-me soft lob that Nate McLouth had to slide for to make the catch, allowing the runner to tag, and a two-out seeing eye RBI single that barely eluded the gloves of Snell and Freddy Sanchez before trickling gently into center field.

But in the seventh, apparently the gods got bored and changed channels. With his adreneline gone and his sinker up, Stammen got the hook, due greatly to a two-run shot by Adam LaRoche. The Bucs were up 4-3, and into the Nats bullpen.

But hey, the gods hit the remote, and tuned back into Nationals Park. Julian Tavarez shut the Bucs down for two innings, and Gorzo finally proved he was human, giving up a pair of runs in the eighth on four hits, only one of which was smacked hard enough to crack an egg.

The key was with one out, runners on first and third, and nobody in yet. Gorzelanny got Ryan Zimmerman, second in the NL in DPs, to bounce a ball to second. But it found the hole, and that was the beginning of the end. It was 5-4 before Jesse Chavez doused the flames.

Joel Hanrahan of the bloated ERA and save percentage came in, and like Matt Capps the evening before, coaxed a 400' fly out, this one off the bat of Adam LaRoche. Brandon Moss singled, but the gods had enough. He struck out the next two batters, the fat lady sang, and the baseball gods wandered off to their Valhalla sports bar, another night's work done.

Who woulda thunk that the Nats could make a couple plays in the field and get three innings out of their bullpen? It could only be the Ruthian deities.

The pitching matchups for the White Sox series, from MLB.com.

-- Despite the three runs, Snell pitched pretty well tonight. All three pitches were working, and it was the best outing he's had in quite a spell. He was calm and in command on the mound, and looks this close to turning it around.

-- OK, Jack Splat isn't going to the M's. Geoff Baker of the Mariners Blog says:

We mentioned the (Yuniesky) Betancourt-to-Pittsburgh for Jack Wilson rumors a couple of days ago. Well, I'm now told that's not going to happen. Why? The Pirates think Betancourt is too pricey.

Well, for Pirate purposes, he is. Yuni is a big-time downgrade with the glove, maybe a push with the bat, and is tied up with a guaranteed contract worth $1.5M for the rest of this year, $3M next season, $4M in 2011 and has a $6M club option in 2012 with a $2M buyout.

The truth is they don't want him that on the books that long and don't want on the hook for the $10.5M remaining on his deal. We're glad they saw the light.

-- According to Corey Brock of MLB.com: The Padres are bringing Tony Gwynn Jr. home to his native San Diego.

The Padres traded outfielder Jody Gerut to the Brewers for Gwynn Jr., who was hitting .309 with a .387 on-base percentage for Milwaukee's AAA Nashville or the PCL. Gerut, 31, was hitting .227 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 37 games with the Padres.

Gerut is an ex-Bucco; Gwynn lost his roster spot to another former Pittsburgher, Chris Duffy. Old Pirates never die, they just get recycled.

-- Ditto with old Pirate coaches. Joe Slusarski was fired as pitching coach for AA Frisco of the Rangers' organization. Jeff Andrews, who was working at the A level after spending 2008 as the Bucs' pitching coach, was named to replace him.