Jeff Karstens will be removed from the rotation as Ross Ohlendorf returns:
Russell praised Karstens' effectiveness in two of three starts -- including six scoreless innings Saturday against St. Louis -- but said management looked at Ross Ohlendorf's return tonight and an off-day coming Thursday and decided it would take too long to get Karstens back on the mound as a starter.
I'd like to second Russell here--this last week or two of baseball would have been a lot worse if Karstens and Brian Burres had done what we might have expected them to do. Instead, Karstens had two good starts out of three (the ones against the Cards and Brewers), and Burres had two terrific starts (against the Cubs and Dodgers), and the Pirates won all four of those games. Their peripherals and stuff suggest that neither of them can stay good for long, but in the past couple of weeks, Karstens and Burres have been unlikely heroes, and I give them credit.