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If the lefties are quality, why not start them, as long as there are righties in the pen to compliment the lefties in the starting 5.

Restovich is terrible, but what can you expect coming from the Rockies. Creeg will be traded, he strikes out way to much and plays a decent left field. I like the outfield with Bay, Mackowiack, and Lawton, with Tike playing when he is needed.

This away stretch can't end soon enough, I love the buccos, but I can honestly say they don't belong on the same field as the Red Sox and the Yankees. Yes, I'm saying this even after the 2-0 W over the Sox last night. If they could have held on vs. the Yankee's on Wednesday night, I might be singing a different tune after they pick up a W here tonight in the land of the Tea Party. Winning 2 of 6 in NY and Boston isn't too bad, but it also isn't good. At least this is a good reality check for all playoff hopeful Buccos fans'....

only thing i do is get rid of the bad players and bring up the good players in the minors

Well with Perez on the DL, now we get to see what Snell can do. Not sure why they brought him up instead of Duke, especially when they sent a leftie back down to the minors and now have two on the DL. Also McLouth was brought up too. Hope these guys make the decisions harder for the real GM.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Duke get a call up to start on Saturday.

Was a little shocked to see Snell come out of the bullpen last night. He appeared to be an easy choice to fill the opening in the starting rotation.

If Duke does get called to pitch Saturday who do the Pirates send back down? Choices: Snell, McLouth or Doumit.
Just my opinion, but it should be Doumit. He isn't getting the at bats now that interleague play is over and the Pirates don't really have anywhere for him to play right now. The Pirates can't continue to carry three catchers and Doumit is not ready to play the outfield. So he is the logical choice.

Moot discussion if Snell gets the starting nod on Saturday

well p-burgh is not 34-42 after another tough loss to the nationals 5-7......whats going on my fellow pirates lovers

no clue what is going on. also canidates to send down are Ross (to allow Doumit more playing time), Restovich (i think he is still up with them), or McLouth. I dont see them sending down a pitcher right now until one comes off the DL. I would like to see Duke pitch though too.

I question the decision to not pinch hit for Redman with the bases juiced. From what I understand Duke will be getting the start tonight against the Brew Crew so we'll see how he does.

Personally, I would rather see the Bucs send down Ross and leave Doumit. Let's face it, Ross isn't doing crap. I would leave Snell in the pen as a middle reliever.

The bucs are slowly fading as they have hit their usual June slump. They are going to have to turn it around fast if they want to stand a chance of doing anything positive this year.

I couldn't agree with you anymore JungleJuice....

As i sit here and watch in the bottom of the 7th i see Tike PINCH HITTING for Humberto Cota....yes cota who has been hitting the ball reasonably well.......and i think why is a player batting for a positen player and last nights game Mac didnt pinch hit for A PITCHER.....a really question that and i wish he would think a little....man anyone could see that...........and David Ross and Ryan Doumit both are not impressing me

Yeah, it was another hard game to watch. Again i question why they keep him as a manager. I dont know what he was thinking pinch-hitting Redman of all people, and what he was doing pinch-hitting for Duke after just striking out the side. Maybe if they were losing, but they were tied. Just letting our bullpen blow another one. Duke pitched a heck of a game and if he continues, he has to stay in the rotation.

As of right now i would also like to see Snell stay in the bullpen and send someone else down when that time comes. Say Vogelsong or White. Then when Perez comes back (and if Duke continues to pitch this well), send one of the starters to the bullpen. It would make their terrible bullpen a little better.

None of the Pirates catchers are really impressing me. The think Cota is their catcher of the future even though we are loaded with catchers and won't bench him no matter how bad he plays. Doumit isnt playing well, but also isnt playing as much. His average is as good as the other two that have experience, so hopefully with more playing time he will get better. They have to send either Doumit or Ross down b/c Doumit needs playing time somewhere, not to sit on the bench. All of Ross's numbers came in the first two weeks he played and he hasnt done anything since.

dave littlefield's to-do list before the all-star game should include:

trade matt lawton. this guy can hit, but his defense is just pathetic for the price the bucs are paying for him. i really don't care what they get for him. a lower level prospect would be fine w/ me. lawton will be traded.

release michael restovich once craig comes back. this guy needs at bats to even be an average player. he is terrible coming off the bench.

make the starting rotation zack duke, ian snell, oliver perez, dave williams, and josh fogg. they need to find out what they have with snell as a starter. pitching out of the bullpen will not help to project what type of major league starter snell can be. to make this possible...

trade kip wells. he needs to pitch well in his next few starts to increase his value. he is an enigma to me. for the bucs to move towards being a playoff team, they need to have starters who consistently have quality starts. wells does not do this. he pitches like roger clemens once or twice a month and like todd van poppel every other start. in a trade involving wells, littlefield needs to get a 3b or cf. this player needs to be in the majors or close to it. he needs to have good plate discipline and be very good defensively.

keep mesa and redman to provide veteran leadership. find a place for them. redman has done a good job coaching up williams and will do wonders for duke as well. mesa is an excellent influence on the bullpen and the entire team. llloyd should just be more careful in putting him in difficult situations. he cannot be trusted to hold a one run lead in the ninth inning. both redman and mesa's situation can be re-evaluated at the end fo the year.

extend lloyd's contract for one more year. i am starting to think that his style of managing is not the best for the line up the pirates have. he has the trust of all the young players on the pirates rotation. a lot can be said for that. i feel the pirates are pretty lucky to have lloyd compared to some of the other bad managers in the league right now.