-P- A Cubs blogger has some good questions about the Pirates' new uniforms.
-P- The Bucs dropped both of the games they finished today. First, they lost 8-6 in the ending to last night's game. Then, Ian Snell walked four batters, threw a wild pitch, and hit a batter - all in the same inning. He was generally okay other than that - he allowed two runs (one on a homer by Alfonso Soriano), struck out three and walked none in the other four innings he pitched. The Bucs only managed four hits, and their only run came on a solo homer by Ryan Doumit. Jonah Bayliss was bad for the second consecutive day, suddenly raising his ERA to an unsightly 6.57.
-P- After allowing two more runs today, John Wasdin has now pitched 13 innings, and he has five strikeouts, seven walks, and a 6.92 ERA. I don't mean to belabor the point, but I'm just saying: this is a journeyman. Why would the Pirates continue to bother with this kind of performance from a journeyman? Marty McLeary and Brian Rogers are both pitching very well at Indianapolis.
-P- Dejan Kovacevic thinks Bryan Bullington might get the call if the Pirates needed a starter. It's great that Bullington apparently looks good on the mound, but his line right now simply reeks of sample-size problems. He has 14 strikeouts and 12 walks in 30.2 innings. A guy with those ratios just isn't pitching that well - I don't care what his ERA says.
-P- Jamie Romak has been promoted to Lynchburg. I'm mystified as to what his month in Hickory was supposed to achieve. He'd already proven himself at that level, and all the Pirates front office proved this month is that if you leave him at a level he's too good for, he will crush the ball. Way to go, Dave.