For want of a hit...

2nd and 3rd nobody out. How many runs should you score? Minimum of 1 obviuously and most teams will get two. What do the bucs get? 0. I guess we should be happy that at least they didn't have someone thrown out at the plate this time. The next wave of trades can't be far behind...

Thursday

"Used to meet every Thursday Thursday Thursday in the afternoon
for a couple of beers and a game of pool" - Morphine

- Well, know we know that the people giving prospective NBA draftees are liable to give bad information. How else can you explain that 6 (six!) non-seniors left the SEC early and were not drafted. How can you explain that Chris Taft fell into the middle of the 2nd round, where some people were saying he was a top 5 pick at the beginning of the year.

- Can you explain why baseball players in high school can enter the draft, get drafted and then go to school? But basketball players, if they declare and stay in the draft, are ineligbile. Doesn't seem to make much sense.

- Bucs lose another heartbreaker in their first game at RFK. But what else can you expect from a team apparently so devoid of fundamentals. Then again, they weren't the team that gave away a game by not properly running the bases (thank you Abraham Nunez!)

Top 3 Stories of the Day

Lots of stuff going on for a Tuesday:

#3: Bucs beat the Nats. So far in this brutal stretch of games, the Bucs are 11-10 against the Marlins, Braves, Orioles, D-Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, and Nats. Not bad, but you still wonder what could have been with two different ump's calls in NYC and Boston.

#2: Carl Krauser decides to drop out of the NBA draft. OK, that makes sense. But now, he is saying that he may go to Europe instead of playing at Pitt next year. Where'd that come from? Not sure I have heard that come from many high profile US players. I guess he doesn't enjoy Pitt the way that Tim Duncan enjoyed Wake for 4 years.. Then again, there is no tobacco stench in the air of Pittsburgh...

#1: Myron reties. All that needs to be said is Oi!

Finally...

Well, at least they'll get 1 win on this trip. The offense continued to struglle, leaving 15 on base. But they did manage to score which is more than you can say for the Red Sox. Mesa had little problem this time (except for his harmless error). If they can win tomorrow, 2-4 will be disappointing but at least they'll have some modicum of momentum.

Jose or Mike?

You knew heading into the ninth inning that the Bucs were going to lose. You knew that there was no way that Mesa was going to hold a 1-run lead in Yankee Stadium facing the top of the yankees line-up. Not a good feeling when you can't trust your closer, is it? Plus, with each passing day, Mesa's trade value continues to diminish. So, the question that has to be asked is when does Mike Gonzalez get annointed as the closer? Will it happen this year or is Mesa entrenched until he blows enough games?

Randy vs. Ollie tonight. Here's to hoping for a 10-9 game that is won by the Bucs on a Jose Castillo homer. Now wouldn't that be fitting :)

Roster Moves?

So what happens when (if?) Craig Wilson comes back? There seem to be two options. One would be to send down/release Michael Restovich. He seems like a spare part as is. The other scenario would be to send down/release David Ross. The skipper seems to love his defense and leadership, but with Cota and now Doumit, there seems to be little need for a third catcher. And, in a pinch, Craig can always be the 3rd catcher. I would vote for the latter scenario but we'll see what happens.

No surprise

You knew after yesterday's outburst that this was bound to happen. That the bucs would not be able to come up with 1 small run the day after runs were falling from the sky. So many chances...What happened to Matt Lawton? Did the ghost of Jose Guillen invade him? Getting thrown out twice at 2nd is inexcusable. Then loading the bases in the 10th and then hitting into the double play. I'm sure someone out there is questioning having Doumit bunt there instead of trying to have him use his hot bat to drive home the winning run. Oh well. Still a great homestand. Let's see what happens this week. Johnson vs. Perez on Thursday has the makings of a real treat.

18-2!!!

18 runs? Can you believe it? .500 record? But...you can't get excited too quickly. This kind of excitement happens at least once a year. Remember last year, after the amazing double-header over the cubs? Remember last year after the sweep of the Cards and Wilson's scamper home? And where did that get us? Next week is the real test. Can the team sustain this? Getting out of New York and Boston with a 3-3 record should be the goal.

I'm Back...

Back from a long break...some thoughts:

-- The Bucs: You knew they weren't as terrible as they started (or at least you hoped), but their recent run is quite the surprise. But getting Wiggington and Santiago out of the way seems to be reaping dividends. If they can get above .500 before the big trip to NY and BOS, that will be quite an accomplishment. Now if they can just get Perez on track and Wilson back from the DL. The other question is if they really don't have a realistic shot at the playoffs come the end of July, who should they look to deal. I think M. Redman is the obvious choice but recent newspaper reports seem to suggest that the team is not looking that way.

-- Steelers: Interesting 1st round choice of Heath Ledger...I mean Miller. Schedule is not friendly. And Ben won't get off his motorcycle...

-- Pitt: Football team has a chance. But the 1st three (starting with ND at home in what should be a fun start for both teams and then ending at Nebraska). Hoops team was a little disapointing this year. What are Taft and Krauser thinking?