-P- Pat has a long recap of the 2003 season, and my eyes are burning. For better or for worse--mostly for worse--2003 has to qualify as one of the more colorful and entertaining seasons in recent Pirates history.

-P- I enjoyed this story about former Pirates top draft pick Bobby Bradley and sympathized with his outlook on his career:

“I’ve read things where people said I was a bust and I don’t think that is necessarily fair,” said Bradley, the Pirates’ first-round draft pick in 1999 from Wellington (Fla.) Community High School, who never reached the majors. “I pitched pretty well when I was healthy but I had injuries. I had Tommy John surgery on my elbow. I had shoulder surgery. At the end of my career, I couldn’t feel the fingers on my left hand and had surgery to repair a nerve. I did everything I could to pitch.”

Well, a bust due to injury is still a bust, but I understand what Bradley's saying. Pitchers have injuries, and Bradley had about a million of them. That's probably not his fault.

Anyway, Bradley now plays a lot of golf and is a competitive poker player.

-P- Via Primer, the Mariners have hired Tangotiger, a.k.a. Tom Tango as a statistical consultant. Tangotiger runs the Inside the Book website and has occasionally posted here at Bucs Dugout and other SB Nation sites.

-P- The Rays are reportedly close to signing Pat Burrell to a two-year, $16 million deal, which amazes me--the Phillies gave Raul Ibanez $30 million, but their old star, a somewhat similar but younger and probably better player, gets half as much? Anyway, Burrell would DH for the Rays, and he'll be a good one. Nice signing. The Rays just keep getting more interesting.