-P- First, my apologies for missing the gamethread on today's 7-4 loss to the Cardinals, in which Ian Snell gave up six runs in four innings. I scheduled the thread to be posted at 9:00, which the system thought meant I wanted it to go up at 9:00 PM. Oh well.
-P- The Pirates are leaning toward selecting Pedro Alvarez if he's available in this week's draft, the Post-Gazette reports.
-P- Todd Redmond, the minor league pitcher the Bucs traded for Tyler Yates, is quietly having a terrific year for the Braves' Class AA affiliate in Mississippi. I didn't see that coming, but this is one reason you don't trade prospects if you're a team in the Pirates' position. It's still far from clear that Redmond will have a career -- with only 50 whiffs in 67 innings, his strikeout rate is a bit low -- but he looks like a far better prospect than he did when the Pirates traded him. Yates, meanwhile, is piling up walks like it's his job. He needs to fix that, or his ERA is going to be a lot higher than his current 4.38. Obviously, it's far too early to say the Bucs are losing this deal, but I bet the Braves -- who have suffered a number of injuries to relievers already but still have a ton of pitchers better than Yates -- like their chances of coming out ahead.
-P- Tony Armas, who's trying to battle his way back to the majors with the New Orleans Zephyrs, has some nice things to say about the 2007 Pirates coaches. Anyway, he's pitching very well in AAA and will probably get another chance at some point this year.
-P- Jay Bruce homered again for the Reds today. He's now hitting 13/22 with five extra base hits in the first six games of his career. Also, Johnny Cueto no-hit the Braves through five. Watch out for this team.