Funkytown

Ouch. At least Stynes capitalized on Riggleman's brilliant defensive shift to avoid the ultimate humiliation. Nice effort by class-act Alvarez, who after the game commented `If they want me in the bullpen, I'll do it. I just want to win'.

'He threw a good ballgame, but we just didn't swing the bats at all,'McClendon said. 'It wasn't much of an effort on our part. He hit his spots, but we can hit the ball better than that. The fact is, we're in a funk right now.'

Tonight the Bucs hitters looked like E.T. in the creek- all weak and sickly. We've lost four in a row and are in the basement. BUT Perez looked good again and Bay is back, and we still believe in our .500 prognostication.

We hope everything's OK with Mondy and his family. Come back soon, big guy, your Pirate family needs you too.

Vogelsong vs. Nomo today, look for Bucs to rebound big.