Game 81, Josh Fogg at Dontrelle Willis

It's game 81, the mid-point of the 162-game season. And the Bucs are playing pretty well.

Doug Jones Josh Fogg will don the funny wig, the red ball nose, and the oversized shoes for the Pirates. He's starting on short rest but no worry. Said Josh,

"I don't throw the ball hard enough to get any wear and tear," Fogg joked. "When you are throwing the ball 85 miles an hour, you are not really straining yourself too much."

Are we sure he was joking? Thanks again to Ed Eagle for putting that quote in his recent report.

Dontrelle Willis is having your basic sophomore slump. In his last three starts, he hasn't lasted five innings. He's allowed three homers, seven walks, and twenty-five hits in his last thirteen innings. We all know that means he's due for a good game tonight. The Pirates haven't seen much of Willis. And that's always an advantage for the pitcher provided the pitcher can take advantage of that advantage (to paraphrase Tony LaRussa). Kendall has four hits in six at-bats against him. Maybe he'll continue to climb out of the mini-funk he's been in for the last ten days or so.