and [catcher Michael] McKenry is going to be back," Hurdle said in his final pregame media session of the season.

This was taken from the Pirates website. Though I think we still need a big hitting catcher to help fill the void, as long as Barajas is not back, I'm good.

Gamethread 14 September -- Hey all, I'm having trouble getting the gamethread to post to the front page. So please use this thread. James McDonald vs. Chris Rusin, 2:20.

cliff jordan (chicago, il): It's been fun to see Brock Holt shoot up the ladder and then get 4 hits last night in a Bucco win. Since he's blocked at 2nd base, 3rd base, and the outfield (hard to believe I'm saying this about the Pirates!), does he have a chance to play major league average shortstop? Thanks. Jim Callis: Maybe, though he's probably best suited to be a utilityman. Baseball America: Prospects Chat With Jim Callis, 09/05/2012

The Pirates season-series win over the Cardinals would give them home field in a one-gm playoff should they end up tied for a wild card spot

Brian McElhinny (of Raise the Jolly Roger). Mind-boggling tiebreakers: They're not just for football fans anymore!

#Pirates promote top prospect RH Gerrit Cole from @AltoonaCurve to AAA @IndyIndians.

Kristy_Robinson

ESPN has...made a commitment to showcase each of the 30 MLB clubs at least once per season in a live game telecast.

Mark Newman, MLB.com, 8/28/12 ESPN will be forced, however briefly, to acknowledge that we exist.

We want to make decisions based on who can help us win," he said. ... Tony [Sanchez] had a very good developmental year, but I would not expect Tony to be [called up and placed on the 40-man roster].

Paul Zeise, "Reliever activated; Qualls on DL", The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/27/12 This is something of a surprise, as Sanchez will need to go on the 40-man roster anyway at the end of the year in order to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. It seems unlikely that the team will go without a third catcher after the roster expansion, but Sanchez looked like the most deserving possibility. Jose Morales is hurt, Eric Fryer is on the 40-man roster but has played pretty terribly all year, and while Jeff Clement has expressed a willingness to act as an emergency catcher, it's questionable whether he'd be able to last an entire game. Would the team go all the way down to AA for Ramon Cabrera (who is also Rule 5-eligible at the end of the year)? Or are they going to make do with Fryer, for no particular reason?

@Pirates: RHP Juan Cruz cleared outright waivers, refused his assignment to Triple-A and has been released by the organization.

https://twitter.com/Pirates UPDATE from David: No surprise here, based on Clint Hurdle's comments the other day. However, it does make me wonder if there was more to it. Cruz hasn't been overly effective since June, but one would think eight days in Indy and then being added back to the roster might suit everyone's best interests, with the appropriate 40-man caveats. Apparently not. He was a good gamble for Neal Huntington and I think in the end it probably paid off a little better than expected.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle adds another consideration when deciding upon September call-ups: cost. In Biertempfel's piece, Hurdle pointed out, "In my rookie year, if you got a call-up, you made $5,000 or $6,000 (in September). Now you’re talking about making $75,000. So if you call up 10 guys, you’re picking up $750,000 in salary and everything that goes with it."

From MLBTR. I'm surprised this is considered a real issue even, in spite of the fact that the Pirates have picked up salary in trades and whatnot. Not to mention that comparing amounts with Hurdle's rookie year makes as much sense as some of Hurdle's in-game moves (yeah, i couldn't resist, in spite of today's good showing by Hurdle)

Brad Lincoln for Travis Snider