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News Roundup

-P- In Class AAA Altoona, Nerio Rodriguez has been suspended for 50 games for using some sort of performance enhancing drug. Jason Roach was called up from Altoona to replace him. A few weeks ago, the Pirates may have been thinking about calling Rodriguez up to Pittsburgh, but this and some lukewarm performances recently have killed those chances.

-P- Another nice outing for Paul Maholm today. Sorry I didn't get a game thread up. In case you're wondering why you see Yurendell DeCaster's name in the boxscore, it's because he's replacing Jose Bautista, who's on bereavement leave. If you're wondering why Jose Hernandez just pinch-hit for Craig Wilson with the game on the line, well, so am I.

-P- Jason Bay has been hitting well since Jim Tracy moved him to sixth in the order. So, the latter must have caused the former, right?

Bay doesn't read much into the one-day lineup switch, attributing his recent change in fortune to the "cycles of baseball."

"I don't really think it did anything other than the fact that it was a little bit of a story. It was just the one day," Bay said. "It was just coincidental. All of the sudden since then, things have gone pretty well. And if that's the reason, then that's fine, but I really don't think it was that big of a deal."

-P- Romo Phone Home has a nice post about Pirates coverage in the mainstream media. By the way, this new column from Bob Smizik is actually pretty good.

-P- It doesn't sound like Joe Randa is anywhere near ready to return.

-P- Via Van Slyke, here's a funny article:

[Craig] Wilson says this as he sits in front of his locker, thumbing through the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine. When I mention that I work for the Worldwide Leader, he says, "Oh, really?" and then tosses the magazine to the carpeted floor.