Stuff that occurred to me:

-P- "Duke changes delivery":

"(Pirates 14-10 win) also featured starter Zach Duke returning to a delivery that's very close to the one he used as a rookie in 2005 when he went 8-2 with a 1.81 earned run average in 14 starts.

Duke has struggled pretty much since.

(Duke and Jim Colborn) looked at videotape of Duke as a rookie and noticed a big change in his delivery, no doubt some of that difference being a tweak Colborn made in it a year ago."

I don't have enough fingers to count the things wrong here.

1. Why did he ever leave the delivery he used as a rookie?

2. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn but rather to lend perspective to the ability of the Pittsburgh coaching staff - I noted in the comments here at Bucs Dugout (and at WHYGAVS) during Duke's previous start that his curveball was different than it was in 2005, that it was more of a side-breaking curve than a downward-breaking one. Here's another quote from the Post-Gazette story:

This tweak in Duke's delivery is supposed to allow him to get more of a downward plane on his pitches.

I also emailed this question to Dejan Kovacevic several weeks ago. How the f(lip) are the Pirates coaches the last to know?

3. They noticed a "big" change in his delivery. Big? Really? Major League Pitching Coach Jim Colborn needed his pitcher to come to him first, and then to look at videotape, to notice a "big" change?

4. I find it curious Paul Meyer just says "no doubt" some of the difference was the mysterious tweak Colborn made. It's curious because every time someone brings it up, Kovacevic quotes Duke throwing cold water all over it - It was nothing. It's imperceptible. It's not an issue.

I'm not even sure of the ultimate point(s) I want to make. Colborn's an idiot. There may be hope for Duke yet. If Colborn "broke" Duke, is he skilled enough to fix him?

-P- Andrew McCutchen is hitting .364 over his last 10 games, with 6 walks and only 4 strikeouts. Neil Walker has four homers in his last three games, and his walk rate isn't truly horrible. This is great. And, well, maybe not.

They could create the illusion of a sound farm system, overflowing with soon-to-be stars. If this year's Drive For 75 is successful, then DL keeps his job another year. Then in 2008 those two (hopefully) succeed in Indy and get a call up. Help is on the way. The future is right around the corner. The Illusion continues.