All hail Spin

From John Perrotto's report on Vogelsong's strong effort yesterday:

"I thought Vogelsong threw well and the most important thing is that he threw strikes," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Whenever he throws strikes, his stuff is as good as anybody in the league."

In an effort to throw more strikes, Vogelsong made some mechanical adjustments with pitching coach Spin Williams in recent days that kept him from throwing across his body.

"I was cutting myself off in my delivery and not giving myself a chance (to throw strikes)," Vogelsong said. "The first inning, I got caught in between because I was trying out new stuff with my mechanics but still getting into bad habits with my old mechanics. After the first inning, though, I felt very comfortable."

Vogelsong, who has been guilty of outthinking himself in the past, then stopped and smiled.

"My motto for this season is: Just get them out," he said. "It doesn't matter how, just get them out."

This is how Ollie's emergence began--with some kind of Spring Training delivery adjustment. Maybe this is nothing, but it is a bit of evidence that his good day was more than just luck.