NFL draft

So, what do you have on, the draft or the bone-chilling game in Chicago?

I see the Brownies wound up with one of the it wideouts. With all their needs, they should have split their #3 into multiple lower picks by trading down. The Brownies will probably snag a QB with their next pick.

As always, I think the Steelers should use their top five picks on linemen. You can't have too many linemen.

...touchdown, Miller! Bouchette called it.

Steelers get their man. Eric Green ... brings back memories ... of "Super Bowl" videos.

Game 17: Pirates at Cubs

36 bone-chilling degrees, Maddux one-hitting the Pirates. Now to the top of the 6th.

Bloggered

Can't solve the mystery of the white space above the blog title and posts. I haven't changed the template for the site in a month. Blogger has done something, I guess, to make the old template display this way. Sorting through the HTML on the template, I don't see what can be done to have this side of the table aligned at the top and display full-size. Any suggestions from HTML wizards out there?

Game 17: Pirates at Cubs

Sweet, beautiful day game. First pitch 3:20pm. I will need help from Rowdy Jr. to catch this one. Mark Redman at Greg Maddux.

We discussed the Alfredo Amezaga waiver-snag a bit in comments. News that he's Humberto Cota's childhood friend somewhat explains it to me. But I'll still go with my gut response - looks to me like the Bucs are preparing to trade away a middle infielder. Or preparing to put one on the disabled list for a long time. It signals the need for a player, or the anticipation of a need for a player. It reminds me of when they put Ronny Paulino on the 40-man roster.

I see rumors out there that the Mets, like everyone else, covet our left-handed bullpen people. If the Bucs are going to trade with the Mets, I hope they get Victor Diaz.

Enjoy the game.

Game 16: Pirates at Reds

First pitch 12:35pm. Kip "Sir Stopper" Wells vs. Eric Milton.

Game 15: Pirates at Reds

Ollie "Super-Stopper" Perez at Paul Wilson. First pitch 7:10pm.

Game 14: Cardinals at Pirates

Matt Morris at Josh "The Stopper" Fogg. First pitch 7:05pm.

Four and nine

Lots of stats in today's Stats Geek.

I thought the Bucs would improve this year. I've said I'll wait until they've played 19 or 21 games to evaluate the prospects of the season. The hole they've dug, however, is getting large enough to lie in. The chances of a mixed or positive outlook after 21 games are fading.

The pitching, overall, has been about what I expected. And it shows promise. Dave Williams looks good to me. Ollie should come around.

Obviously the problem is the hitting. Here are the numbers. Like I said, I don't like samples smaller than three weeks.

Lawton has been as we hoped - his .288 / .403 / .423 is almost best-case scenario.

Jack Wilson may come back to earth this year, but there's no way he finishes with a 426 OPS. Hidden vigorish there. Ditto with Wigginton and his 322 OPS and Ward with his 472 OPS.

What's no consolation, however, is that the team, as a whole, pretty much choked when the games mattered the most -- at the start of the season. This is no reason to fire McClendon. A mid-season manager change won't help. I find the prospect of one somewhat disgraceful and dishonorable.

I've always thought that it was more difficult to play well when your opponents were taking you seriously. When the Bucs got on a roll last year, what discounted the roll for me was the fact that they started as the laughingstock of the NL Central. They swept the Cardinals late last June in part because Tony LaRussa used the three-game series to rest Jim Edmonds.

Mac may be right, the Bucs might rip off five wins starting now. What I want to see, though, is not some winning from the bottom of the grave. I want to see some winning when the team is at .500, when the team is within a few games of first place. Until that happens, I'll be more and more of the opinion that many of our players just aren't fit to start for a winning team.

We have a number of starters who are getting what will be there only or last chance to play as a big-league starter. I'm sure they are making the most of this opportunity. If they don't get it done, they can't get it done.

Game 13: Cardinals at Pirates

Mark Mulder at Dave Williams. There has been talk that Mulder is not right physically. Dave Williams, on the other hand, looked great his last time out.

Dayun podcast

Will Carroll's Baseball Prospectus Radio featured Dejan Kovacevic. You can download an mp3 version here.

...listening to it now. Great story about Zach Duke and Bobby Abreu. I guess we're not trading that guy. Also good things to hear about Brad Eldred and Graham Koonce.

Lots of news

In Dejan's notebook. Also read Rob Biertempfel's notebook.

4-8 sucks. Four games under .500 sucks. Starting slow sucks.

I want to see what the team looks like after three full weeks before I become unhinged. Odds are they will be four games under .500. And that would suck.

McClatchy angry, issues statement

Bucs fall to 4-8, McClatchy issues statement. Choice selections:

"Enough is enough. I am bitterly disappointed as I'm sure all Pirate fans are by the lack of performance by our team," McClatchy said in a statement issued immediately after the game.

"It is unbelievable to me that the most motivated team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk. They are not playing like true Pirates. They have the talent to win and they are not winning. I expect Lloyd McClendon, his complete coaching staff and the team to turn this around."

Full story here.

Game 12: Cubs at Pirates

Greg Maddux at Mark Redman. Look for the pinstripe uniforms.

Lots of news in Dejan Kovacevic's notebook.

Note how Friday night's win was rewarded with Saturday walk-up sales of 8,806, second-largest in PNC Park history.