Batting Practice

-- Neal Huntington had his weekly on-line chat. Here's what he said:

On the draft: "We focused more on quality this year over quantity. We were more focused on signing talent than filling a short-season roster with a college senior.

We would have liked to have added a few more players, but we lost some in the delay of the signing process, and we had others whose [asking price] increased after the Draft."

On Lastings Milledge: "We felt Lastings still had the tools to be an above-average Major League player.

Lastings has been very candid about the level of instruction he has had in the past and how excited he is to be working with our instructors. There is no questioning that Nyjer has played far better for the Nationals than he did for the Pirates, but we remain optimistic about the impact Lastings will make for the Pirates."

-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com saved GW some legwork. She looked up what all the new Pirate minor league prospects are doing, how the ex-Buccos are playing in their new digs, and posted the results here.

She also had an unexpected blurb on Phil Dumatrait: "Judging by Huntington's expression, I'd say the Pirates are very hesitant to add Dumatrait to the big league roster. His numbers haven't been good, and I've not heard very positive reports about his stuff in Indy. Since Dumatrait is out of options, the Pirates could put him on waivers and assign him to Triple-A once he passes through."

-- Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette tells us how the Pirates will find innings for all the arms they've drafted in the past two years: "The Pirates plan to piggyback starters with both Class A teams next year. Some of that already is happening at West Virginia and Bradenton. In the piggyback (system), prospects pitch 3-4 innings each of a given game, each treated as a start because the second guy enters only with a clean inning."

Two starters per game also plays into the Pirates' obsession with low pitch counts, though we fail to see where it helps get them to pitch deeper into games.

-- Ryan Braun, take note. According to Chris Haft of MLB.com: "Two days after a scary beaning that put him on the disabled list with a concussion, David Wright returned to Citi Field on Monday and met with the man who threw the pitch: Matt Cain.

When he met with the Giants pitcher, the discussion included an extended hand and a pat on the shoulder. He said, 'I understand it was an accident,' said Cain."

Bucs Beat Brewers

The Baby Buccos, perhaps feeling a bit under the scope when team president Frank Coonelly decided to spend some quality time with them in Chicago, broke out of their funk tonight with a 9-5 win over the Brew Crew.

No one got beaned, but there was excitement enough as PNC looked like Wrigley on the Allegheny when five balls left the yard - and amazingly, three were by the Pirates. Andy LaRoche, Garrett Jones, and Ronny Cedeno all went long, more than answering blows from Prince Fielder and Mike Cameron.

Kevin Hart gave the Bucs five good innings before giving up a two run blast to Cameron in the sixth. He finished out the frame to notch his first Pittsburgh win, aided by three innings of one-run work by the pen.

Take an early lead, add on as the game progresses, and get a decent job from the bullpen. Sounds easy, but it's been a long time since the Bucs did all three. Maybe Bryce Harper and Scott Boras aren't in the Bucs' near future, after all.

Andrew McCutchen continues to make sick plays in the outfield, and makes them look routine. The same can't be said for his new running mate, Lastings Milledge. For a five-tool guy, he sure hasn't shown much yet. It'll be interesting to see if he is just overrated or a player badly in need of some serious coaching up by the staff.

Steve Pearce made a couple of very nice plays at first. He reminds us more and more of Andy LaRoche - a young corner guy with leather galore but not much pop. They can't make them all second basemen, can they?

It'll be a long, strange trip for the Pittsburgh Baseball Club in the next couple of seasons. And anyone that thinks they can predict how the chips will fall, well, Nostrademus didn't even risk a quatrain on this team. It may not end up pretty, but it will be interesting.

-- Indy RHP Daniel McCutchen was named the International League's pitcher of the week. He went 2-0 and pitched 13 2/3 scoreless innings while walking two and striking out 12.

In 30 starts this year, the former Oklahoma Sooner has posted a 15-9 record with a 3.76 ERA (74 ER in 177.2 IP) and 140 strikeouts compared to 34 walks.

McCutchen entered the 2009 season rated by Baseball America as the Pittsburgh's No. 9 prospect and as having the organization's "Best Control". He was also rated by the same publication as the No. 14 prospect in the New York Yankees Organization entering the 2008 season.

Team mate Eric Hacker won the award last week.

-- Matthew Eddy of Baseball America on Neil Walker's chances of being called up in September: "Walker has had an awesome couple of weeks with Indy, he's got a couple years at Triple-A under his belt and he's on the 40-man. That's a combination that could warrant a September callup. But the Pirates' new regime has less incentive to call him up than did the old one. They have less at stake."-- Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette reports that Pedro Alvarez has been invited to represent the United States in the International Baseball Federation's World Cup, which begins September 9th and takes place in various major cities across Europe.

Class AA Altoona's season ends September 7th, and the Pirates hadn't planned to call Pedro up this season. It looks like a nice opportunity knocking on the door for the third baseman to close out his first full season as a pro.

Roll Out The Tarp

-- The Bucco rain dance worked. The Cubs delayed the start of the game when it rained, then sat for two dry hours until another storm reached Wrigley, and finally called the game at 5:30 or so. Of, course, it quit raining five minutes after they pulled the plug. Oh well, it's not like the Pirates can't use a day off.

-- Donnie Veal is going to Altoona this week for his rehab work. He's eligible to come back later this month, though he'll probably be held out until the September free-for-all.

The plans for the big lefty are to join an Arizona Fall League rotation after the season, pitch at Indy in 2010, and hopefully challenge for a MLB spot in 2011.

-- RHP Daniel McCutchen is making a strong case for some innings in Pittsburgh come September. He threw six shutout innings last night - he tossed 7-1/3 zippo frames last outing - and is 12-6 with a 3.40 ERA. The 26 year-old has worked 129-2/3 innings, with 99 Ks and just 27 walks.

-- Pedro is tearing it up at Altoona. Scott Boras' gift to Pittsburgh is raking it at a .343 clip with 9 homers and 28 RBI. He's struck out 46 times and walked 23 in 166 at-bats.

-- In his first week in the Carolina League, Lynchburg's Rudy Owens was named the league's Pitcher-of-the-Week. Owens made two starts and posted a 1-0 record for the Hillcats. He allowed six hits, no runs, a walk and recorded 10 strikeouts in 9-1/3 innings pitched.

Owens won't get much work over the next few weeks; he's already practically doubled his inning count from 58 in 2008 to 110 so far this season, and they skipped over his scheduled start earlier this week to keep his arm fresh.

-- The Bucs' 2009 numero uno, C Tony Sanchez, is off to a sizzling start at West Virginia. The BC grad is hitting .367, with 5 homers, 13 doubles, 33 RBI, and a .624 slugging percentage in 28 games.

He's K'ed 20 times and walked 16 in 109 at-bats. Sanchez has also thrown out 10 of 32 base stealers, a 31% rate.

-- In the short-season league at State College, 22 year-old Phillip Irwin is 1-1 with a 0.41 ERA in four starts. The RHP from Mississippi has struck out 24 and walked just 4 in 22 innings. He was a 21st round pick in this year's draft.

-- A couple of guys are looking good for the Bradenton Pirates of the Rookie GCL. LHP Jhonatan Ramos is 5-0 with a 1.82 ERA. He's struck out 33 and walked 3 in 34-1/3 innings. Opponents have hit just .192 off the Venezuelan, and he has a WHIP of 0.75.

LF Rogelios Noris is hitting .304 with 6 long balls, 17 RBI, and a .609 slugging percentage in 29 games. The 20 year-old Mexican prospect has struck out 35 times in 92 at-bats, while drawing 9 walks.

Duke Denied Again

Ya know, it's amazing that Zach Duke hasn't taken a bat to the water cooler yet - or his team mates, for that matter. He's been the only consistent performer for the Bucs in the past three weeks, and a lotta good it's done him.

The Zachster went down again, 3-1, to the Cubs today. It was his eleventh loss; the Pirates have scored a total of 14 runs behind him in those defeats. He's been trying for his tenth win since his July 24th victory over Arizona.

Losing to Gorzo has to be doubly galling, especially as he drove in the eventual winning run with a two out single in the second inning.

Gorzelanny may have earned the win, but he wasn't pitching any better than he was at Pittsburgh. The difference is that he was pitching against the Pirates instead of for them.

He gave up a run on three hits and struck out eight in five innings. Gorzelanny had no fastball command, his bugaboo here, but it made no difference to the undisciplined Bucco batters.

Every one of his strikeouts was on a pitch out of the zone that was swung at and missed. During the day, 13 Pirates struck out; eleven were on swings and misses of balls off the dish.

The Pirates had a chance to make a game of it. In the fifth, they loaded the bases with no one out. Andrew McCutchen flew out to the track in center to bring home a run, but Lastings Milledge struck out on four pitches; only one was a strike. Garrett Jones roped one to the ivy in right with two away, but Milton Bradley got there for the catch.

The Baby Bucs better figure out the strike zone. It's way past the point of crediting the opponents' pitching; the answer is in the mirror.

-- The deck keeps on getting shuffled. Brian Bixler, who's been tearing it up again at Indy, is in, along with *ouch* Denny Bautista (2-3-1, 4.88 ERA). Jose Ascanio was placed on the 15-day DL with tendinitis while Jeff Salazar of the .043 batting average was DFA'ed, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette.

BB, who's been groomed as a utility guy at Indy, becomes the new reserve center fielder. Our guess on Bautista is that he's Phil Dumatrait's placeholder for a few days and will be considered no great loss when he's lopped off the 40-man roster again.

-- Matt Pouliot of Circling The Bases has been checking out what a team's current lineup would look like with nothing but active home-grown talent. Pittsburgh's collection ranked #23; decent pitching, punchless batting order.

A Thought Or Three

-- Should the Pirates try to plug a hole or two with free agents? Hey, that horse is out of the corral. No FA worth his oats would come to Pittsburgh; first, the Pirates would have to grossly overpay a decent player, and secondly, Neal Huntington gets rid of them so quickly that they don't have enough time to tell the Mon from the Allegheny.

The only free agents left on the Pirate 40-man roster are Chris Bootcheck, Ramon Hernandez, and Garrett Jones.

-- Is dealing players for prospects the way to go? The Bucs minor league system was running on empty and needed a boost; of that there was no question. But there are problems with making 2 or 3-for-1 deals all the time.

First, the street rule is that 1 of 3 prospects makes it as a viable MLB player. That's why Huntington goes for quantity whenever he can. But...

Eventually, the 40-man roster runs out of room, and your fringe hopefuls get claimed by other teams. Next, the better guys that were protected create a bulge in arbitration eligibility. Remember, agents now consider arbitration years as the new free agency.

The final point is that the Pirates haven't traded for any top guns. All have some flaw, partially because teams are protective of their top-shelf talent, and partially because Pittsburgh hasn't had any difference makers to move, Jay Bay and Freddy Sanchez included. They are both very good players, but not building blocks. So the Pirates are taking some chances with guys that aren't slam-dunks.

-- Are the Pirates any good at evaluating players? That has yet to be seen. Judging by the major trade returns, their eye is a bit out of focus. Ross Ohlendorf looks like a major league pitcher and Andy LaRoche is serviceable, although not at a corner. There's renewed talk about him moving to second if the Delwyn Young experiment blows up in Perry Hill's puss, where both bats are more acceptable.

The rest of the pack? Only time will tell. The guys being force-fed into the MLB grinder are being chewed up so far; they're young and there's a reason their teams thought they were expendable.

One thing that concerns us is the Pirate belief that they can coach up players that other teams couldn't; sounds awfully arrogant to us. After all, the Yankee, Dodger, and Red Sox systems turn out some pretty capable players, and that's where Pittsburgh has been fishing.

There's also the question of scouting. Are the Pirates too reliant on the brave new world of computer generated profiles? Some say about time; others bemoan the lack of immeasurables, like production, attitude and coachability. Only time will tell if their players are better suited for fantasy leagues than MLB baseball, though it must be said that the old eye-ball scouting method didn't turn out so well.

Pedro, Jose, and some of the newbies drafted in the past couple of years are progressing very nicely in the minors. But the biggest step in baseball is from AAA to PNC. They've done well in the draft by all accounts, especially this year, but are seasons away from any possible upgrades in the roster with those two exceptions.

-- Does the madcap trading have a purpose, or is the focus too much on the future? Sooner or later, the MLB team has to show some progress. It's regressed in the past two years, and things look dismal for its short-term outlook.

So the question Pirate fans have is whether the suits will consolidate what they have and try to put together a competitive Pirate team, or are they going to continually recycle major leaguers for prospects? Trades for the sake of bulking up the bushes will turn PNC Park into a ghost town, and it's possible that Huntington's pick-ups will have a longer tenure in Pittsburgh than he does if things don't turn around.

The only way GW can see to reach that goal is to package some of our prospects for a player or two. It won't be next year; the system isn't that deep yet. But until Pittsburgh becomes a destination for free agents - ie, competitive - the only way to bolster the MLB roster will be through trades for proven talent, not more prospects.

-- Is JR the problem or the solution? John Russell has been a lightning rod for the team's performance, and probably unfairly. We question some of his pitching moves, as all armchair GM's will, but the truth is he's trying to juggle nine innings from a staff that's quite a few bricks shy of a load.

The only criticisms GW has so far is that he sits hot batters for completely inexplicable reasons, refuses to drop unproductive guys like Adam LaRoche and Ryan Doumit lower in the order (some of the Bucs batting woes are management inflicted, in more ways than one), and that he bunts way too often.

Hey, let McCutch steal a base or hit behind a runner; and if the pitcher's not batting, let a guy swing with no one out and a runner at second. Senior Circuit or not, we're not fans of giving away outs.

But we'll withhold judgment until he's given a team to manage. His bullpen is constantly shaken up and as consistent as quicksand; even he has to look at the scorecard to see who's in his rotation; and his everyday players haven't been introduced to a razor blade yet.

Our feeling is that if JR is in trouble, it's because the guys upstairs need a scapegoat for the MLB product they cobbled together.

We know the suits were put between a rock and a hard place when they got here. The minors were virtually a little league, and there was no pitching depth at all. They could either continue to patchwork the team or blow it up; they chose the latter. Whether its complete demolition was required or not is the question.

The biggest problem Frank Coonelly and Huntington faced wasn't the lack of an organization; it's how they totally misread the dynamics of Pittsburgh's fans. Being a two-decade joke among MLB teams, especially in a City with Super Bowl and Stanley Cup trophies to its credit, has led to a huge disconnect between the Pirate Nation and its management, especially where spending a buck is concerned.

And while many credit the new suits for their frankness, we find their statements quite disingenuous. Remember early in the season when they said being competitive in 2009 was their goal? Well, now the finish line is 2012. Will it shift again?

Would a slower approach have picked up the pace? Actually, no, it would have hindered it, if anything. But if 2012 is the target date, it would have only been delayed a season or two while the draft picks floated to the top, albeit at the cost of a wad of Bob Nutting cash. And the team on the field would have been competent. That's the trade-off.

A Worm's Belly Looks Up To Me...

Hey, some people see the glass as half full; other see it as half empty. Then there's Pittsburgh, that doesn't even have a glass to look at.

The Bucs were pounded again today, 17-2, by the Cubbies. The Phils' had just swept a three-game series from the Cubs, and Chicago had lost seven of the last eight, the last five in a row. They had the Pirates right where they wanted them.

Even by Pirate standards, the pitching was horrendous. Charlie Morton gave up 10 runs in an inning - he started the second, but never got an out, allowing six straight runners to get aboard. When JR sent him to the showers, he had given up seven hits, including a homer, two triples and a double, with three walks.

Not that it made much difference, but Chris Bootcheck let the next three guys reach base on his way to giving up seven runs in 2-1/3 innings. Steve Jackson tossed 4-2/3 frames of shutout ball after that, earning the eternal thanks of the bullpen. We can only assume by that time, the Chicago hitters were worn out.

We could talk about the fielding (both triples were misplayed balls), but why pile on? Suffice to say that Pittsburgh has the look of a AAA team right about now, and not a particularly good one.

If JR can prevent the current train wreck of a squad from losing 100+ games, he deserves a medal. Going 17-30 over the final six weeks isn't much of a challenge for most teams, but it may prove to be Mt. Everest for the Baby Buccos.

We can understand the hitting woes, because too many players are pups.

Here's the career at-bats for the thirteen guys on the roster: Ramon Vazquez (1,891); Ryan Doumit (1,212); Ronny Cedeno (1,138); Lastings Milledge (946); Andy LaRoche (695); Brandon Moss (539); Delwyn Young (386); Jeff Salazar (296); Andrew McCutchen (251); Steve Pearce (246); Garrett Jones (223); Jason Jaramillo (163); and Luis Cruz (76).

The pitching isn't much more mature, though a couple of the guys have been around the block and overall, the staff should be better. Their career games, starts, and innings:

Matt Capps (256 G, 255.2 IP); Joel Hanrahan (132 G, 11 GS, 183 IP); Zach Duke (122 G, 121 GS, 751 IP); Paul Maholm (120 G, 120 GS, 749.1 IP); Chris Bootcheck (79 G, 3 GS, 134.1 IP); Evan Meek (68 G, 60 IP); Jesse Chavez (67 G, 63.2 IP); Ross Ohlendorf (59 G, 28 GS, 205 IP); Jeff Karstens (55 G, 28 GS, 200.2 IP); Kevin Hart (39 G, 6 GS, 77.2 IP); Jose Ascanio (35 G, 39.2 IP); Charlie Morton (26 G, 25 GS, 124.1 IP); Steve Jackson (21 G, 23 IP); and Donnie Veal (11 G, 10 IP).

The Pirates have four players on the roster that will end 2009 with 1,000+ career at-bats, and four pitchers with 200+ innings of work in the bigs. There's a lot of learning going on, and no one left on the 25-man to teach them. And that's the downside of blowing up a team. The only constant is inconsistency.

-- Ryan Doumit sat out for the second day in a row. His right wrist, the one that was cut earlier in the season, is sore after taking a foul ball on Wednesday. X-rays came back negative, and his status is day to day. It's supposed to be unrelated to the previous injury, but...

-- Phil Dumatrait will work out of the bullpen at Indy to finish off his rehab. He had been starting, but is slotted to join the pen when he returns to Pittsburgh. He has to be recalled to the team by August 19th.

-- Donnie Veal will begin his rehab assignment next week. The Pirates plan to send him to the Arizona Fall League after the season to pitch as a starter.

-- Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet this week is kind of a mixed bag for the Bucs. Tony Sanchez and Pedro Alvarez are ranked one-two on the "Hot Sheet" portion; Brad Lincoln and Daniel Moskos are ranked one-two in the "Not So Hot Sheet."

-- According to Baseball America's Jim Callis, the Pirates signed RHP Jeffrey Inman, the club's 12th-round selection from Stanford for $425K, well over slot value.

His report is that he throws a heater in the 90-93 range with run, and has a plus curve. The downside is he stays up in the zone and needs a third pitch. The Pirates have now signed 23 of their 51 selections from this year's draft, including each of their first 14 selections.

August 1: Pittsburgh's Drop-Deadline

Let's see...the Pirates got three hits, the Rockies got ten runs. Even for another August loss, this 10-1 groaner was ugly.

Paul Maholm gave up seven of the runs, two in the first frame, in 6-1/3 innings of work. He surrendered eleven hits, two that went yard and four more that were doubles. Matt Capps gave up three more in the final inning.

The fielding fit right in with the pitching and hitting. Andy LaRoche's wild throw in the sixth led to one Rox run.

The next inning, Jason Jaramillo tried to pick off a runner at first. Steve Pearce didn't get to the bag, and the throw went into right field. Not that it made much difference. It was closer to the first base coach than the sack. The error scored a run, and Maholm gave up a homer four pitches later. It took him 118 pitches to get 19 outs.

Capps faced six batters in the eighth; four got knocks, three of them doubles. Colorado ended up with 15 hits, eight for extra bases. Hey, it could have been worse. At least the Pirates didn't walk anyone.

Maholm, who was touted to be ready for a breakout season after a strong April start, is now 6-7 with a 4.93 ERA. He's 0-3 in his last six starts and has allowed at least four runs in each of his past five starts. Today was his second consecutive two-homer game.

Capps, the closer, has a 6.57 ERA, and has surrendered five runs in his last two outings, covering 2/3 of an inning, since striking out four D-Backs on August 6th.

The Bucs are 2-10 this month. That 7-21 finish in August of 2008 is looking better and better. The Pirates sure know how to put the dead in post-deadline play; maybe they should lobby for a four-month season.

Now Pittsburgh is off to meet the Cubbies; MLB.com has the pitching matchups listed here. Saturday afternoon's game features Zach Duke going against Tom Gorzelanny, a pair of lefties joined at the hip in the Pirate system until last month.

-- Tim Dierkes has a list of the worst closers in baseball for Roto Authority. Lotta Matt Capps in the stats.

-- Adam Guttridge of The Hardball Times applies some science to the Freddy Sanchez - Tim Alderson deal, and he likes how the Pirates came out.

-- Chuck Finder of the Post Gazette reports that the Pirates have signed 10th-round pick Joey Schoenfeld for $195,000, according to Baseball America.

Schoenfeld is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound prep catcher from Garden Grove, California, and a Tony Gwynn recruit at San Diego State University. Scouts consider him an upside prospect who could move to a corner infield or outfield position.

-- Jason Stark of ESPN writes that

"Adam LaRoche might be more than a two-month rental in Atlanta after all. By trading Casey Kotchman, whom they could have controlled beyond this year, the Braves left themselves without a first baseman - at least until phenom Freddie Freeman arrives, probably in 2011. So don't be surprised to see them attempt to bring back LaRoche next year on a short-term deal."

They're Baaaack...

The Pirate one-game winning streak is but a distant memory tonight, as Colorado brought them back to reality with a 8-0 drubbing at Coors Field.

Ubaldo Jimenez won his tenth game, putting more Pirates on base by himself than the Pirates did on their own. He walked four and hit one; the Bucs could only bang three singles off him.

Jimenez touched 99 MPH on his heater, regularly hitting 96-97, and had a nasty split. The Pirates didn't hit a ball squarely all night as he overpowered the young lineup.

They had one shot at making it a game in the fifth, behind 3-0 at that point and loading the bases with two outs. But Andrew McCutchen softly rolled out to short on the first pitch, and that was the game.

Kevin Hart showed a good fastball, and his curve had some bite. But his slider wasn't sharp, and the second batter, Carlos Gonzalez, took one knee high and on the outside part of plate and lined it over the left field fence, giving the Rox a lead they'd never relinquish.

Jeff Karstens had another rough outing, giving up three runs in two innings of work. And Lastings Milledge showed that he still has a way to go before he's a finished product in the outfield.

He played a couple of angles poorly in Coors spacious pasture, turning one-base hits into extra-base knocks, and his slow release in getting a ball back into the infield allowed a Rockie to turn a single into a hustle double.

In that way, he represents the whole team; a work in progress. And it will continue. There's sure to be a couple of changes next year, and surely wholesale movement further down the road.

So settle in. It's gonna be more of the same for another season or two.

Players on the Move, Baby Bucs

-- Evan Meek suffered a left oblique strain last night and was placed on the 15-day DL; he's expected to miss at least a month. The Pirates brought back human yo-yo Steven Jackson from AAA Indianapolis to replace him. He's 2-2 with a 4.37 ERA in 20 games during two previous stints with the Pirates.

-- LHP Phil Dumatrait made his fifth rehab start on Tuesday. He allowed just one earned run in his six innings of work for Indy. The Pirates can give him one more outing or bring him up now; they're still undecided.

-- Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette reports a couple of Bucco moves. RHP Bryan Morris has been taken off suspension for yapping at an ump and will pitch tonight.

The Pirates also claimed 25 year-old AAA reliever John Meloan off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. The RHP had a 5.52 ERA in 25 appearances with Columbus, Cleveland's AAA squad, and a 3.38 ERA in 10 appearances with Durham of the Rays for an overall 5.02 ERA, with no decisions this season.

Meloan is a converted starter, and he features a low-90s four seam fastball that he can cut around 90 mph and has a big breaking low 80s curveball. He was a fifth round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2005, and was a top ten prospect in their organization during the 2007-08 seasons.

He went on the 40-man roster when Tyler Yates was placed on the 60-day DL, but Dumatrait is due back soon. The 40-man doesn't have any openings, so someone is going to have to go.

-- Indy RHP Eric Hacker has been named the International League's Pitcher of the Week for August 3-9. The 26-year-old went 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (3 ER in 13.0 IP) and 14 strikeouts in two starts during the stretch.

Hacker has gone 5-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 15 starts with Indy, giving him a combined 5-4 record with a 3.95 ERA in 18 IL games between the Pirate and Yankees top farm clubs.

-- Jose Tabata continues to be successful since joining Indy. The 20-year old has collected at least one hit in eight of his nine games, including five multi-hit performances, and is batting .385 with a homer.

-- In a dozen games with Indy, DH Jeff Clement has a line of .283/6/9.

-- Brian Bixler went 1-for-4 with an RBI double for Indy last night and has now reached base in 21 consecutive contests, including his current team best 13-game hitting streak.

During his current run, Bixler is batting .357 (31-for-88) with 17 runs, four triples, six home runs, 17 RBI and two stolen bases. BB is batting .359 (28-for-78) with 32 RBI when runners are in scoring position, both team highs over that period.

-- Over his last 11 games, Indy 3B Neil Walker has exploded offensively as the 2008 Indians MVP has batted .405 (17-for-42) with seven runs, five doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI and a stolen base.

-- At Altoona, Pedro Alvarez has a .331/8/26 line in 41 games. The numero uno has 42 strikeouts and drawn 19 walks in 151 at-bats.

-- Jim Callas of Baseball America likes the Pirates 2009 draft.

"Kudos to the Pirates. Small-revenue clubs can't compete with big-revenue teams for big league free agents, so they have to build aggressively through the draft, and that's exactly what Pittsburgh has done"

Finally!

Thank you, Colorado Rockies. Nine walks, three errors, and a couple of misadventures in the field, mixed in with eleven Bucco hits, propelled Pittsburgh to a 7-3 victory tonight, breaking the Pirates' eight-game losing skein (and a seven game Coors Field losing streak).

Hey, the Pittsburgh nine didn't really do anything a lot different than they had during the past few days. They stranded a dozen runners, including the leadoff hitter at second twice and a runner on third with no outs once.

The starting pitcher went six innings again. But this time, JR pulled the plug pronto on the weak link from the bullpen - tonight it was Jose Ascanio - and the rest of the gang got through without allowing any further damage.

Between the sixth and seventh innings, Ross Ohlendorf and Ascanio ran up 2-0 or 3-0 counts on nine straight batters, but somehow got away with yielding just two runs. JR made the move of the game when he yanked Ascanio after three hitters for Jesse Chavez.

Chavez, Evan Meek - who faced one batter and left the game with what looked liked an oblique or rib cage injury - and Joel Hanrahan closed the door on the Rox over the last three innings.

It was enough for Ollie to become the first Pirate 10-game winner since 2007, even if he was a one trick pony tonight, throwing a two and four seam fastball until it finally caught up to him in the sixth inning.

And he was bringing the heat; his two-seamer was 91-92 MPH and his four-seamer hit 94-95 all night. But he'll have to come up with a curve or change-up he can drop into the strike zone if he wants to get past a lineup more than once or twice.

The Pirates' running game, with a couple of glaring exceptions, was as aggressive tonight as it's been all year. Ryan Doumit took a couple of chances that turned into a run, and the Bucs stole five bases; Andrew McCutchen had three (guess he took the quiz before the game, hehe).

But twice, with runners on third and no one out, Garrett Jones and Lastings Milledge stayed anchored on slow rollers that should have easily scored them. Jones eventually came in; Milledge was stranded.

We assume they were under orders to make sure the ball got through the infield instead of going on contact, the safe bet with no outs and a halfway-in infield. But if allowed to read the play, they would have both touched the plate, probably without throws. Of course, the hitters could have made it easy by lofting a fly to right, too.

But hey - mistakes make a lot more difference when you lose; they're just learning experiences when you win.

And some of the work is paying off. Milledge looks like he's becoming more comfortable in left, and made a possible game-saving grab at the fence, leaping to pull back a ball that was destined for the top of the wall, if not over it. He saved at least a run, maybe two, at a point when the game's momentum could have shifted quickly.

Ryan Doumit was strong catching, blocking everything and framing pitches beautifully. It helped that everyone was throwing fastballs and sliders tonight; there were very few of the soft off speed pitches he struggles with for him to handle.

Delwyn Young is making GW eat crow. Some Perry Hill pixie dust and an above and beyond the call of duty work ethic before games is transforming him into a competent second baseman, something we never thought we'd see, at least this quickly. Give them both props.

Garrett Jones will be a constant in the lineup; Steve Pearce and Brandon Moss will rotate until September, mostly because there are no alternatives right now.

Moss has lost his stroke again, and Pearce refuses to adjust to the soft-and-away stuff he's seeing, insisting on pulling everything instead of driving pitches on the outside half of the plate into center field. The pitchers have the book on him; he should read it, too.

Maybe he thinks the longball is his ticket to the bigs, but it's not working so far. His fielding, though, has been excellent; he has quite a bit more range than the steady but plodding Adam LaRoche.

Anyway, we'd be surprised if we didn't see Jose Tabata in the outfield come September with Jones a fixture at first. The pieces may be starting to fall together.

It'll be an interesting month. The Pirates are said to be looking at a six man rotation came call-ups. Ascanio is one name that's been mentioned as possibly being added to the staff; under the radar Dan McCutchen may be another guy that gets a shot; Eric Hacker is a darkhorse candidate.

McCutchen isn't on the 40-man roster. They could switch Tyler Yates, who is out after surgery, from the 15 day DL to the 60 day to clear some room, but his spot is probably being held for Phil Dumatrait. So where that leaves McCutchen in the game of musical chairs is yet to be seen. We'll find out in 2-1/2 weeks.

The next generation hasn't arrived in Pittsburgh by a long shot yet, but arriving it is.