Anyone who likes the idea of the Sean Casey extension should be subjected to Chinese water torture.

What are the facts about Casey?

1. He'll be 32 at the All-Star break. That's old, even for a perennial All-Star, which he isn't.
2. He is, and has been, what he has shown us this year - a very excellent hitter when he is healthy. However, this is the 4th time in the 8 years since he became an everyday starter that he has missed at least one month due to injuries. He also has had several freak injuries (not necessarily in nature, but in occurence.
3. He is making 8.5 million off his current contract.

I would have no problem giving Casey a multi-year extension if a) he was 28 or younger, b) he was a regular all-star, c) I could have any faith in his ability to stay healthy, d) we didnt have an obviously younger, better, and cheaper option.

If I'm GM of a team, it seems to only make sense that I would never, under any circumstances, give a contract longer than one year to a player who is over age 30 and has not been an all-star at least once.

Strike one.

If I'm GM of a team, there is no way I am going to give more than $5 million a year to a player who can't guarantee me 140+ games a year. (In Casey's situation, it isn't that he can't guarantee health, but that he can't guarantee avoidance of injury.) Casey is the 5th highest paid 1st baseman in the NL, and 7th highest in the league. He could take a $2 million per year pay cut and he'd still be 5th and 7th highest, respectively. That's ridiculous considering the production gap between himself and the 1B who are above him (and even immediately below him) on that list. Compared to other 1B around the league, he is grossly overpaid compared to his production (overall, not just this year).

Strike two.

If I'm a GM, I have Craig Wilson, who isn't Derek Lee, but is at least above average defensively at 1B (and could only get better with regular reps), is an absolute monster against LHP, and in spite of his streakiness is a perfectly capable 25-90-280 type guy (the kind of guy you want to give a 3 year, $14 million deal to (thats a full mil a year raise for Craig). Even if the team has screwed Craig over to the point that keeping him might worsen his attitude, there are plenty of viable options available through free agency.

Strike three, DL is out?

The Diamondbacks designated Russ Ortiz for assignment (akin to releasing him, since I don't thing ayone is stupid enough to sign him).

Keith Law of Scouts Inc. presents a good explanation of the difference between "eating" a contract (what folks say ARI is doing) and a "sunk cost" (which is the real case) summary if you're too lazy to read the article:

Basically, Russ Ortiz signed a 4 year, $33 million contract with Arizona prior to the 2005 season. It was, as with most large contracts, a guaranteed contract (3.5 million bonus, and escalating yearly amounts - 6.5/7/7.5/8.5 million). So the folks who say the Diamondbacks are eating his salary are wrong, the money was already spent. The moment that contract was signed, the Diamondbacks guaranteed Russ Ortiz that they would give him 3.5 million for signing the contract and 29.5 million over the next 4 years no matter what. So the D-backs payroll is the same today without Ortiz on the roster as it was yesterday. Ortiz will still get his 7 million this year AND his 16 million the next two years, no matter what. Therefore, whether he was on the team and pitching like **** or off the roster and playing golf, he gets paid. That is a sunk cost - the money is already gone. The D-backs make their payroll for the next two seasons with that $16 million already on the books.

Dave Littlefield could learn something from this. Granted, his sunk costs aren't in the form of $20 million over the next 2 1/2 seasons, but it still exists. The $18.35 million (roughly $113,271 per game) being paid to Burnitz, Randa, Hernandez, and Casey is going to be paid to them no matter how well or poorly they play this year, so it's silly to try and wait it out and see if they eventually play up to a level worthy of their salaries (and I think in Burnitz and Randa's cases, and probably Jose K's too, it's fairly obvious as to whether or not that will happen). So if they are going to get paid no matter what, why not just cut the sunk cost and give someone else the roster spot (Boeve, DeCaster)? Because this is the Pirates, and they have no intention of admitting the mistakes until they can say "see? mistake taken care of, he's not on the payroll"...which is kind of like having your little boy mess his pants, walk around with it all day, and then at the end of the day say "oh, that. well, all gone now!" - he can function with it there, but it will be an awkward burden, and one which is easily rectified.

Sweet, I just compared DL to a kid who pooped his pants. A banner journalistic day for me!

Today? Another game that was probably a bit more high scoring than we'd like, but a win is a win is a win, right? Things still stayed true to form, and the real Sidney Ponson showed up. I knew that 1.66 WHIP since May 1st and 1.94 WHIP his last 3 starts was a cavern that was going to collapse on him eventually. Duke got the old Snell treatment - he struggled all day, but got enough offense to snag a win (which is only fair considering the number of wins he should have).

1st star: Jose Castillo. Another multi-hit night for Jose, who is now (quietly? unexpectedly? finally?) at 10 HR, 38 RBI, .297 AVG (and .833 OPS in case you're wondering). That's a very impressive 25-93-.297 season if he manages to keep it up. Yes, that is a big if, but not an unrealistic one. Perhaps Jose's night at the plate earned him that gift DP? Final line - 2-4, 2B HR 2R 4RBI

2nd star: Craig Wilson/Freddy Sanchez. Both managed two hits and three runs scored, which means Freddy earns another day starting and Craig moves a step closer to (insert team who is going to fleece us). Final line - 2-3, 2B(CW) 3R

3rd star: Jack Wilson/Zach Duke. Duke wasn't really great on the mound, and the defense wanst a terrible help (most of his help came from Cardinals runners). But he made up for it at the plate, snagging two hits and probably more RBI than he'll ever have again in a season. Wilson finally snapped an 0fer with an RBI single in the 5th. Final line - Duke- 2-3, 3 RBI  Wilson- 1-5, RBI

Anyone care to explain to me why it is that Burnitz played and played and struck out and played some more and struck out.....but Tracy gave Wilson a day off to 'find himself' after going 0-9?!?! Double standard, methinks.

Tomorrow? Not sure what to expect. Mark Mulder is capable of pitching like Carpenter did Tuesday, but he's only been better than average once since May 1st. Matter of fact, subtract out Mulder's one dominant start May 17th against the Mets, and since May 1st he is: 2-4, 7.90 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 21K & 17BB in 37 2/3 innings. He faced us in April and gave up two runs in 7 2/3 innings in spite of allowing 10 baserunners, partly because randa and jose K were starting, partly because we hit into 4 inning ending double-plays.

Mulder is curious. In 2004, Mulder's numbers (runs, earned runs, home runs) were all the worst they had been since his rookie year, a noticeable drop from previous seasons. Then last year Mulder posted his lowest K/BB and K/9 ratios since his rookie year. It was the 4th time he pitched 200+ innings, and the first time he didn't reach 130 K's...perhaps he's tailing? I know a guy who has averaged 17 wins and a 3.50 ERA over the last 5 seasons doesn't suddenly drop off a cliff at 28...but perhaps that injury in 2003 was more than what everyone made of it?

Anyways, here's hoping the Mulder who has been showing up lately comes to the ballpark this afternoon against the Santos who has been showing up lately (how ironic that lately Mulder and Santos have been pitching like each other).

1st star: Jose Bautista. Almost gave it to Walnuts, but I had to give it to He of the Game Winning Salami. He cranked one off Schmidt that just drifted foul, then made sure the second time and planted it in left-center. This is the timely hitting that has been adrift at sea for so long. Final line - 2-5, 2B, HR, 4RBI

2nd star: Paul (ie Walnuts) Maholm. I probably should give Paulie the #1 star, since he went up against Jason Freaking Schmidt and held his own, and his line would have been more impressive without Freddy's error. I dost believe the boy has arrived. Not at the same bus stop as Snell, but close. Final line - 6IP 8H 4R 3ER 4BB 7K

3rd star: Mike Gonzalez. Alright Cory, he earned the BOOM tonight. Three saves in a row, and second in a row under 10 pitches tonight. Final line - 1 IP, 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 1 K, SV (11)

Back home we come to play an equally mortal looking St. Louis Cardinals team that won tonight for the third time in their last 9 games.

Dead Men's Tales (the new name for my notes)

• We gave Brandon Duckworth to Kansas City for cash. Strange on many fronts. One: so yeah, we gave away a good pitcher that we didnt need but someone actually wanted, and got NOTHING in return. (unless that cash is at least 8 figures, it's meaningless). Two: Kansas City immediately called up Duckworth this afternoon and sent down a rookie who they had just called up last Monday. Three: This means we might actually face a decent pitcher when we go to KC next week (though not likely).
• The next 10 games are veeeeeeeeeery winnable for the Pirates. Assuming there are no major shifts in any opposing pitching rotations, here is what we're looking at...

1. Chris Carpenter - Will be making his second start (umbilical hernia) since coming off the DL - hasn't really looked like Chris Carpenter lately. 1-2, 4.20 ERA, 1.57 WHIP in 5 starts since May 1st. He is also only one of two starters on this list averaging more than 4.5 K/9.
2. Sidney Ponson - Best pitcher in STL's rotation at this present moment...which is kind of sad. He is three starts removed from the DL. He isnt striking anyone out (23K's and 18 BB's in 48 1/2 IP), and with a 1.66 WHIP since May 1st and a 1.94 WHIP his last 3 starts, he's probably more lucky than good.
3. Mark Mulder - Normally, this would be "Mark Mulder. You know, THE Mark Mulder." However, this is now a guy who is 3-4 with a 6.56 ERA since May 1st, and has given up 22 runs in 14 innings in his last 3 starts.
4. Carlos Silva - Silva was removed from the rotation in mid-May because he was pitching so horribly. Since returning to the rotation June 1st, he has been less awful, but has still given up 9 runs on 19 hits in 11 innings. He too, can't strike anyone out, with 22 K's in 64 IP.
5. Boof Bonser - A rookie, I don't know a ton about him except that Bob Walk finds his name awfully funny. Bonser is a reasonable comparison to both Noah Lowry and Matt Cain, and is probably closer to Cain than Lowry right now, if that tells you anything. Oh, and he doesnt strike anyone out, either. unfortunate edit: Bonser is being skipped, Liriano moved up to this spot, and followed by Johan Santana. Not even going to dusciss that one.
6. Francisco Liriano - Probably the second* best pitcher we'll face in this stretch, he just one-hit the Orioles over 7 innings tonight, upgrading him from just another rookie to asterisk on the schedule in my book. This is the best strikeout guy we'll face, by far, unless Carpenter returns to form quick fast in a hurry. Yeah, it isn't like he one-hit the White Sox, but this wasn't KC either.
7. Claudio Vargas - Held us to two runs on five hits through six innings last time we faced him, so I won't just gloss over him in this rundown. However, he is pitching for an Arizona team that is on a 7 game losing streak, has been outscored 58-16 in those 7 games, and ahs committed at least one error in 6 of those 7 games. So we'll check in on Vargas a little closer to the game.
8. Mark Redman - Started the season hurt, and also spent a week on the bereavement list. When he has started, he has made 9 appearances, and his most recent outing (8IP, 9H, 2R vs TB) was only the third where he pitched 6+ innings and gave up less than 5 runs. 23 K's, 20 BB's, and 59H in 49 innings.
9. Scott Elarton - Gave up 8 runs in 20 innings in his first three starts of the season. He has either given up 5+ runs or not made it out of the 5th inning 8 times in 10 starts since then. His line in that period? 60 2/3 66H 41R 39ER 27BB 24K.
10. Mike Wood - Just recently moved into the rotation solidly, though that may change with the acquisition of Duckworth. He has made three starts totalling 14 1/3 innings, and 3 relief appearances of 4+ innings. He's a homeless man's Ryan Vogelsong. Yech. 19 K's, 16 BB's, and 54H in 41 2/3 innings.

Like I said, extremely winnable games. I predicted that, starting with the 4th game against Milwaukee, the Bucs would go 15-6 through June 21st. So far they are 6-5, and I think they have a reasonable shot at 13-8 over that stretch. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that Mulder, Liriano, and Redman are the only lefties in that group.

I felt like crunching numbers:

Ian Snell

Season                6-3, 5.26 ERA, 56K, 26BB, 10HR, 65 IP, 7.75 K/9, 2.15 K/BB

Since April 17      6-2, 3.96 ERA, 48K, 20BB, 6HR, 50IP, 8.64 K/9, 2.4 K.BB

Since April 17*     6-1, 2.78 ERA, 48K, 18BB, 4HR, 48 2/3 IP 8.89 K/9, 2.67 K/BB

(*minus the Marlins game)

not too darn shabby, reasonable improvement being made, I think.

Paul Maholm

Season -            2-5, 4.57 ERA, 45K, 33BB, 6HR, 69IP, 5.87 K/9, 1.36 K/BB

Since April 24    2-2, 3.17 ERA, 36K, 20BB, 1HR, 48 1/3 IP, 6.71 K/9, 1.8 K/BB

once again, notice that whole improvement thingy.

Zach Duke

Season -            4-6, 4.25 ERA, 52K, 33BB, 10HR, 84 2/3 IP, 5.53 K/9, 1.58 K/BB

Since April 11    4-5, 3.91 ERA, 41K, 27BB, 7HR, 73 2/3 IP, 5.01 K/9, 1.52 K/BB

Since May 1       3-4, 3.46 ERA, 34K, 18BB, 5HR, 54IP, 5.67 K/9, 1.89 K/BB

more gradual, but still improvement.

I think I can be fairly happy with all these numbers considering, of course, that A) these guys are 25, 24, and 23 respectively and B) they had zilcho experience between the three of them before this year.

Heck, there's even this!

Victor Santos

Season -             4-6, 4.50 ERA, 51K, 25BB, 8HR, 74IP, 6.2 K/9, 2.04 K/BB

Since April 15     3-4, 3.90 ERA, 41K, 19BB, 8HR, 60IP, 6.15 K/9, 2.15 K/BB

Once again, there's that daggone improvement thing.

Matter of fact...simple addition...the Pirate's rotation has a 3.79 ERA since April 27th, over which time the Pirates are 18-21. So perhaps we've been seeing the "real" Pirates since way back then?

1st star: Victor Santos. Look at that, top billing goes to the rotation again. Victor's outing was excellent tonight (I use excellent instead of merely good since this is Victor Santos we're talking about). He made several batters look stupid all night, and held on for win #4. Final line - 7IP 4H 2R 2ER 1BB 3K.

2nd star: Once again, Sean Casey. Sean went 4-4 to bring his two game total to 8-9. and he has scored? two runs. Again I say, you sure you don't want this guy, Felipe? Sell! Sell! Sell! Final line - 4-4 1R 1RBI

3rd star: Matt Morris. He had absolutely no business putting up the line he did, plain and simple, but I commend him for it. Final line - 8IP 8H 3R 3ER 0BB 8K

Tomorrow we face Noah Lowry, the "other" phenom in the Giant's system. He is now one month removed from the DL. He has not been consistently better than O.K., posting a 4.24 ERA, 15 K's and 13 BB's in 36 2/3 innings since returning. I hope for a win since he's facing Snell, though it will very likely be another 3-2 game.

Sanchez hit behind Bay tonight. Maybe Tracy read my blog?

And I can't wait to read Cory's blog about how Mike "Here Comes the Blown Save" Gonzalez was awesome, when he was actually one bad bounce from blowing it. Another junk outing that he turned into a save somehow.

The defense was atrocious. Paulino proved he isnt getting any better at blocking the ball. Jack Wilson let Sanchez attempt a kamikaze dive on a pop-up that he had an obviously easier play on. Ditto Burnitz with Castillo. These are veterans who should know better (though an unfortunate extenuation for Burnitz, since he probably genuinely couldnt get to the **** ball).

If I told you I was putting together a team that had:

• one All-Star caliber outfielder who was in the top 10 of every significant offensive category
• a third baseman who was leading the NL in batting average
• a catcher who was leading all rookies in batting average
• 5 everyday starters hitting at least .300
• 3 regular starters and a bench player with at least 8 HR's in the first 1/3 of the season
• a starting rotation that was young, and wasn't lights out, but managed to keep each game competitive

what would YOU think this team's record would be? Sounds a lot like a .500 team, not a 22-39 stink-bomb.

1st star: Sean Casey. He had a great night, SF seems like a good park for him. Maybe the Giants would like to trade for him? Final line - 4-5, 2B, RBI

2nd star: Zach Duke. He wasn't amazing tonight, but he put up another quality start, and managed to wiggle out of consecutive 2nd/3rd no out jams. plus he got a hit, which is more than Burnitz did. Final line - 6+ IP 6H 3R 3ER 3BB 3K (full house)

3rd star: Lance Niekro. I was going to give this to Jack Wilson until he shot his own team in the head in the 9th, rendering his 2-4 night worthless. I'd give it to Bay but I'd rather give it to Niekro, the only guy to manage multiple hits before the bullpen showed up. Final line - 3-5, 2 2B 2R

Think about this one for a minute. Jack Wilson + Sean Casey + Jason Bay = 7-10, 2 2B, 4 BB, 4R.

Let me say that again. Our 2/3/4 hitters reached base 11 times in 14 plate appearances and scored four runs.

Here's something new to think about: Jeromy Burnitz is many bad things, but he is single-handedly depleting Jason Bay's value.

Jason Bay is our lone All-Star caliber player, and therefore (rightfully so) should be given every opportunity to improve his team's chances of winning every night. In Jason's case, this includes stealing bases, since he is a legitimate 20-20 guy and, considering his hitting this year, maybe borderline 30-30.

Where is Jason hitting all season? Directly in front of Jeromy Burnitz, he of the 48 K's in 199 AB's. Yup, a strikeout every 4 at-bats. I can't even begin to count the number of times, i.e. tonight in the ninth, where Bay was in a situation where normally, you would send the runner, but Bay CAN'T run because Burnitz is such a huge candidate for a strikeout-throwout DP. If Burnitz maintains his current pace, he will have 3 consecutive months of decreased AB's and increased K's (93/20 in April, 82/21 in May, currently on pace for 75/22 this month). It is a travesty that a player who stole 20 bases in 20 attempts last year is 5 for 6 through 61 games and 2 for 2 in the last 40 games.

some random numbers...

Burnitz is hitting .381 with 5 HR and 17 RBI when he puts the first or second pitch in play, .207/4/13 otherwise.

Craig Wilson is hitting .395 leading off the inning, and .462/5/13 when he puts the first or second pitch in play, including a ******** .583 with a 1.083 SLG (2 2B, 2 3B, 2HR) when he puts the first pitch in play.

(OK, now I'm reaching for obscurity)

Paulino is hitting .387 leading off an inning, and is overall a .392 hitter with no runners on (odd sidenote: according to his ESPN splits, Paulino has somehow had two at-bats where there was noone on and noone out, but he wasn't leading off an inning.) He is hitting .400 when he puts a first pitch in play, .390 when he makes contact in any one-strike count, and .451 on everything BUT 0-2, 1-0, 1-1, and 1-2 pitches (.196)

She passed away over the weekend after recieving 7 gunshots to her torso, from the gun of her boyfriend of three years.

She was a major Cleveland Indians and Grady Sizemore fan.

Boy I hope the Indians do something in recognition. That would be proper.

Good to see the old Ian Snell, the old Ronny Paulino, and the usual Freddy show up tonight. We did well against Aaron Cook (who has been extremely steady if not fantastic this year).

1st star: Ian Snell, just barely. He did a good job tonight. mixing things up and managing to strike out 10 - while only allowing 5 baserunners in the first 6 innings (though this Rockies team hasnt been seeing things so great of late) - before getting a tad sloppy in the 7th. Final line: 6.1 IP 6H 2R 2ER 1BB 10K

2nd star: Freddy Sanchez. An excellent night, posting his 9th game with 3+ hits and a couple two out RBI, including one that salvaged a nearly wasted bases-loaded inning. Final line: 3-5, 2B 2RBI

3rd star: Ronny Paulino/Jason Bay. Paulino gets the start because of his amazing cERA *snicker* and has a great night, with two singles, a grounder that was almost a hit, and a double that was almost a home run in four at-bats. Bay played his usual good game, reaching base 4 times in his 5 plate appearances. Final line: Paulino - 3-4, 2B  Bay - 2-3, 2B 2BB 1RBI

I think I am giving a couple anti-stars tonight to the WIlsons. Jack for going 0-3 with 2 K's with RISP, and Craig for a pinch-hit GIDP. But, I hope to see them rebound tomorrow.

Here's hoping we keep the mojo flowing with Paulie Walnuts tomorrow.

Typical Burnitz, couldnt hit a daggone fly ball to the outfield to score Bay when we needed it. Yes, Chris Young pitched well, but he did not pitch 8 shoutout innings well.

Still, not going to complain about a 7-3 homestand.

1st star: Chris Young. Yes, we made him look better than he actually pitched, but he's going to be at least a #3 guy for several years to come if he continues his current work.

2nd star: Jason Bay. Yet another hustle play that created the Pirates only serious run-scoring threat. He even said that he knew the team was doing diddly, so he needed to bust tail to third. Too bad he stayed there.

3rd star: Bullpen. I certainly can't complain about 4 innings of shutout relief, even if it wasn't completel perfect.

Fact -

• It appears Dave Littlefield isn't completely stupid after all. He just stated on his pregame show that Freddy Sanchez has been "great" on offense and "nice" on defense (which I think is accurate) and that there is "no way we can remove Freddy from the lineup right now....Freddy is our third baseman." I can't really complain about that.
• DL: "One thing that is difficult to do is figure out how a guy is going to do." *sigh* And the interview was going so well.
• DL again: "You have to play 162 games, and you have injuries, and you can't bring up AA players to fill those spots." Yes, I actually quoted that verbatim. Since when can you not bring up AA players to cover for injuries? Isn't that what Ray Sadler did last year? And what about all those AAA players? Strange, strange man.

Rumor -

• It is being strongly rumored that Albert Pujols is hurt badly enough to go on the DL for at least two weeks and is expected to miss the three game series at PNC next week. That could make for an interesting series - I wonder how STL would shift their lineup to accomodate (just plugging in Luna at 1B just doesn't ring of "solution" to me).
• Rumors are also floating that the Dodgers are expressing interest in Greg Maddux. That honestly sounds like a win-win situation for both teams. Madduz has shown enough lately that I'm fairly sure that the Maddux from here on out will be closer to his April performance than his May performance, and the odds of that can only increase in moving to a contender like the Dodgers. The Dodgers win by being able to trot out a Penny/Lowe/Maddux/Tomko rotation, which would certainly become the NL's best rotation. The Cubs would win because this season is probably in the books for them (much like ours is) and obviously, if you aren't contending, you're prospecting. The Dodgers have numerous prospects available to trade, most of whom would be warmly welcomed into the Cubs rather thin minor-league organization.

Just Funny - Roaming the Blogosphere, I found out that the BlueJays will soon have "Gustavo Chacin Cologne Night." No joke. Apparently one of the local radio stations cracked a joke about how Chacin's name resembled a fancy fragrance. The franchise heard about this and decided to actually have Gustavo visit the perfume people and have them come up with his own scent. Now why can't the Pirates do fun things like this? Find out what your players like, or joke about, or what the local media talks about, and have fun promotions based on that. You know, instead of non-stop fireworks and bobbleheads. Here's calling for the days of "Jay Buhner Night" (Seattle promotion where if you shaved your head and put a goatee on your chin to resemble Jay Buhner, you got in half-price).

Looking Back - I think we're already starting to see a regression to the mean within our division.

• Pirates - have won 7 of 9, finished May with best team ERA and BA, and were generally right with St. Louis in pretty much every category
• Cubs - Chicago has won 4 of 5 (including two in a row vs. STL), though that is on the heels of a stretch where they lost 24 of 30 from April 26th through May 28th. The Cubs are still finding their middle ground after a pretty good April and an awful May.
• Reds - Cincinnati has won three in arow after a stretch of losing 12 of 17. They were similar to the Pirates in May, above average pitching, and just as much run scoring in spite of worse peripheral numbers.
• Brewers - Milwaukee is continuing the funk the Pirates put them in and have now lost seven straight. Their pitching was easily the worst in the division, more than their surprisingly good offense could overcome
• Astros - Houston has now lost 9 of their last 11. Their pitching has been pretty darned awful lately, with the starters who smoked in April (nieve, Rodriguez, and Buchholz) pretty much getting hammered in May. They also are still finding their groove.
• St. Louis was consistent, posting another 17 wins in May, though it certainly wasn't due to their rotation, with only one starter posting an ERA under 4.50.

Looking Ahead - This should be an interesting month, and a lot has to do with health.

• One would expect St. Louis to continue rolling, at least compared to the rest of the division. However, they lost their second straight to Chicago today, with Mark Mulder giving up 8 runs for the second start in a row(!). Couple that with the injury to Pujols, and we may see the Cards slip just enough to possibly make things interesting as we approach the break.
• Milwaukee is going to continue to falter unless their pitchers can start finding the plate. Capuano's start against Pittsburgh was probably an anomaly considering the year he has had otherwise, and Davis has shown fits and starts of his old self, but even then, the Brewers would need a completely healthy and true-to-form Ben Sheets to get things back in order.
• Houston has had June start off just as poorly as May ended, with Rodriguez and Pettite both giving up 5+ runs for the 4th time in their last 6 starts (Though perhaps I should look into why Pettite started on short rest today). Between that and the shaky bullpen (which has ad most of it's good innings after the starters had already given up chunks of runs), it's safe to say the Astros are more than just Roger Clemens away from moving up the current divisional ladder.
• Chicago's rotation is starting to come around, namely Sean Marshall and Carlos Zambrano, but now it's all up to Kerry Wood continuing to improve, and Mark Prior and Derek Lee returning healthy and productive - though all that still may not be enough to crawl out of the huge hole the Cubs dug for themselves.
• Cincinnati is rebuilding momentum with a good pummeling of Houston this weekend, and continuing to get quality innings from Arroyo, Harang, and Elizardo Ramirez. Couple that with the prodictive returns of both Junior Griffey (.281, 6HR, 23 RBI) and Eric Milton (15.2 IP, 3R, 10K last 2 starts) and the Reds stand a decent chance of pulling even with the Redbrids by months end.
• How about those Pirates? They put up excellent numbers in May, but only manages a 12-16 record for the month. That tells me they're improving, not getting obliterated, but still losing a few that they should win. We'll face some fairly mediocre teams the next few weeks (Colorado, San Francisco, Minnesota, Kansas City) outside of St. Louis, and my expectation is for the Pirates to parlay that into a 34-40 record by the morning of June 23rd. Unfortunately, after that, the Bucs will hit a very large wall that is built with bricks named Los Angeles, Chicago (AL), Detroit, and New York (NL). Once we get back to the notedly better pitching of those top notch teams, I expect the Pirates to slip a bit and find their win percentage right around where it is now heading into the break.

1st star: Zach Duke, of course. As I mentioned above, Duke had a pretty awful first inning, but turned it around to turn in seven innings and a quality start for his second win in a row. Final line: 7IP 4H 3R 3ER 2BB 4K

2nd star: Ronny Paulino. Ronny had a pretty good night, it would seem. I didn't see the game, so I don't know how well he caught, but he did manage two hits, including a single that brought home the game tying and game winning runners. Final line: 2-3, 3RBI

3rd star: The Weather. Thanks to Mother nature for allowing this game to be fit in. I know you're on your annual "I have to make it rain during the Three Rivers Arts Festival" rant, but take it easy tomorrow, huh?