Pittsburgh vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 20 April 2007

10:40 PM, FSNP, WPGB

Tony Armas (0-1, 13.50) vs. Randy Wolf (2-1, 4.00).

Armas makes only his second start of the year, and he may not get it in; it's raining in Southern California right now, and there's a good chance of rain later tonight. If the game does happen, it's as late a game as they ever schedule, and it'll be extremely late for east coasters. The one benefit of this is that the twenty-somethings among you will be able to watch the end of the game live even after a long night of drinking. If you end up doing this, please post your thoughts in the comments.

This has got me thinking - wouldn't it be a cool idea for some cities to have very late games, at, say, 9:30 PM, on five or so Fridays or Saturdays per year? Dodger Stadium is in a fairly remote location, so it wouldn't work there, but in someplace like San Diego, where the ballpark is right in the middle of a huge party district, it would be ideal. They'd do very well at the concession stands.

Anyway, if the last few starts are any indication, Wolf seems to be fully recovered from his 2005 Tommy John surgery. He's never been a flamethrower, but reports this spring said his fastball was as hard as 94 MPH. He has a good curve and change and also throws a cut fastball and a slider.

Here's the box. The Pirates are going with their "Outfield defense? Whatever" configuration, starting Xavier Nady in center and Brad Eldred in right. This is odd given Dodger Stadium's roomy outfield, and especially odd given that you'd think L.A.'s outfield dimensions would be something Jim Tracy would know about.

It's still fairly early here; I may go out before the end of the game, but I'll be around to post some comments. Again, feel free to join in!