SB Nation - Tyler Yates

Huntington: We Will Try to Keep Tyler Yates

Charlie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:13:47 -0000

Thanks for your patience while I was away. I'm done traveling until Thanksgiving. Incidentally, I'm about 95% sure I saw Jay Mariotti, looking sort of dapper in a sport coat and jeans, at a Hudson News in O'Hare today. I didn't say anything to him, just walked by the store a couple times to make sure it was him. Most of the things I think about that guy are things I'd be ashamed to say out loud. I texted a few people and got a bunch of suggestions about things to say. It goes without saying that most of those would be inappropriate to share here, but most people seemed to agree that fake adulation would have been the way to go.

Anyway, when a general manager says that he'd love for a player who's been recently cut to return, it's often wise to just chalk that up to the GM being polite. But in this case, I think Neal Huntington really would love for Tyler Yates to come back. Since there certainly wouldn't be a major league contract involved, I suppose there's no problem with it, but I'd frankly breathe a sigh of relief if Yates were gone forever. He's 32 and has had one major league season (2006) in which he's been any good. He also has big-time control problems and puts way too many batters on base, to the point that back in 2008 I was arguing that the Pirates just shouldn't put him out there at the start of an inning, lest he walk the first two batters.

Yates is also well past the age at which his good fastball should be interpreted as a sign of things to come. He's one of many relievers who Neal Huntington has acquired seemingly purely on the basis of his stuff. It's true that you can't teach velocity, but it's also true that after a certain age, the results have to speak for themselves. If you want to take a 24-year-old Evan Meek on the basis of his stuff in the Rule 5 draft, that's one thing. If you want to trade for a 30-year-old Yates and stick him in high-leverage situations over and over again despite mediocre or poor results, that's another.

This season, John Russell inserted Yates in high-leverage situations well past the point when it was obvious he had nothing. To be fair, Russell didn't have a lot of options. But I don't want him to be given that choice again. The line between Yates and obvious cannon-fodder like Denny Bautista is relatively thin, even when Yates is healthy.

Pirates Dump Denny Bautista, Craig Hansen, Chris Bootcheck

Charlie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:22:23 -0000

They're all off the 40-man.

Sorry there's no picture for this post; the only photos that come up in SB Nation's widget when you search for these players' names are shots of hitters homering off them.

Bautista and Bootcheck are no surprise. The big news here is the removal of Hansen, who was one of four players acquired in the Jason Bay deal. Hansen has a nerve disorder that could take years to heal, which is bad enough, but there's also the fact that he was hardly a reliably great pitcher even before that was diagnosed. Perhaps he'll wind up back in the Pirates' minor league system, but they were probably wise to take him off the roster.

These moves should allow the Pirates to move Jose Ascanio and Evan Meek from the 60-day DL back to the 40-man roster. (Hansen was already on the 60-day DL and was not occupying a roster spot; the same is true for Tyler Yates, though I can't imagine he'll be protected.)

Who ARE These Guys? - Cubs vs. Pirates Preview, Friday 8/14, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Write your own caption.

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A little over a year ago -- on July 24, 2008, just before last year's trading deadline -- the Pittsburgh Pirates began a trading spree that I think is nearly unprecedented in recent baseball history.

Today, August 14, 2009, as the Pirates come to Wrigley Field for a three-game series, know how many players are left from the 25-man roster on 7/24/2008?

Three. Ryan Doumit, Paul Maholm and Zach Duke. (Four, if you count Matt Capps, who was on the DL on 7/24/2008). All the rest are gone. Some of the players they have acquired or promoted are decent players; Andrew McCutchen is a real talent. Lastings Milledge has some talent, if he could ever actually put a full season together. Some of the pitchers have good arms. But basically, it's a Triple-A visiting team coming to Wrigley Field this weekend. The Cubs took two of three in two series earlier this year from the Pirates, one at Wrigley and one at PNC; this time, they both need to sweep, and should sweep. Aramis Ramirez returns today; that should help.

Courtesy of John Lewis' research on a SABR mailing list to which I subscribe, here's where the departed Pirates went:

LF Jason Bay              traded to Red Sox 2008
CF Nate McLouth           traded to Braves 2009
RF Xavier Nady            traded to Yankees 2008
OF Jason Michaels         free agency 2008
1B Adam LaRoche           traded to Red Sox 2009
2B Freddy Sanchez         traded to Giants 2009
3B Jose Bautista          traded to Blue Jays 2008
SS Jack Wilson            traded to Mariners 2009
1B-3B Doug Mientkiewicz   free agency 2008
2B-SS Luis Rivas          free agency 2008
INF Chris Gomez           free agency 2008
C  Raul Chavez            free agency 2008
P John Van Benschoten     free agency 2008
P Franquelis Osoria       free agency 2008
P Damaso Marte            traded to Yankees 2008
P John Grabow             traded to Cubs 2009
P Sean Burnett            traded to Nationals 2009
P Ian Snell               traded to Mariners 2009
P T.J. Beam               on waivers to Blue Jays 2009
P Denny Bautista          to AAA Indianapolis
P Yoslan Herrera          to AA Altoona
P Tyler Yates             on disabled list

Lewis also notes that:

The Pirates' record was 48-54 (.471) on July 24, 2008. Since then, it is 64-103 (.383).

Today's Starting Pitchers


Randy Wells Cubs	vs.	Charlie Morton Pirates

8-5	W-L	2-5
3.01	ERA	3.81
68	SO	33
25	BB	18
9	HR	4
vs. Pit	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Randy Wells	8-5	17	17	0	0	0	0	107.2	102	39	36	9	25	68	3.01	1.18

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Charlie Morton	2-5	10	10	0	0	0	0	49.2	53	21	21	4	18	33	3.81	1.43

Charlie Morton will be making his second career start against the Cubs. He started a game for the Braves against the Cubs a year and a day ago on August 13, 2008. He didn't make it out of the third inning. The big blow off him was a home run by Jim Edmonds -- remember him? Geovany Soto hit a two-run double off Morton.

Randy Wells started and defeated the Pirates on July 1 in Pittsburgh, but the Pirates have remade their team since then. Three of the starting eight that day aren't on the Pirates any more.

The Cubs are on WGN today -- that's the only TV; there is no Pirates telecast. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Former Braves reliver Tyler Yates undergoes Tommy John surgery

gondeee — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:25:05 -0000

Via Pirates Report, news about one of our former relivers:

Pirates reliever Tyler Yates will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John reconstructive surgery on his right elbow.

James Andrews performed the surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Ala, to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Yates had been on the disabled list since May 16 with what had been termed elbow inflammation.

He wasn't the best reliever we had, in fact sometimes he was downright awful, but he had some moments of decency. His line in his two years as a member of the Atlanta Braves has some good and some bad:

The Good: 115 SO in 116 IP, and only 106 hits allowed for a .241 BAA

The Bad: 62 BB in those 116 IP, and a lot of those hits went for extra bases for a .403 slugging percentage against

It's never a good thing, though, when a player has to have a major surgery. I wish Tyler the best in his recovery.

Tyler Yates Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

Brendan Scolari — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:59:02 -0000

via farm4.static.flickr.com

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pirates right-hander Tyler Yates will miss the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery yesterday. Kovacevic writes:

Just spoke at length with Yates, and he sounded plenty confident he will return, by early next season at the latest. "I know I'll be back," he said. "It's going to be a lot of work, but I've been through this before." He had Tommy John on the same elbow ligament in 2002. He also had shoulder surgery in 2005.

Yates was 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA in 12 innings this season but was decent the last couple of years pitching out of the bullpen for the Pirates and the Braves.

Tyler Yates Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

Charlie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:30:46 -0000

On his right elbow. This should end the Tyler Yates era in Pittsburgh. Yates would have been eligible for free agency after the 2010 season, and Tommy John surgery takes nine months or more to come back from. Realistically, Yates might not be at full strength until the middle of next season, and he's not worth the trouble of taking to arbitration. He's been bad enough even when healthy.

Much has changed since the last time the Pirates and Rockies met

Poseidon's Fist — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:22:00 -0000

More photos » by John Heller - AP

It sure isn't Nate McLouth pirating flyballs to center these days.

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First, the Rockies had to prove they could win a series (Cardinals). Then they had to prove it wasn't a fluke (Brewers). Then the Rox had to show it could translate at home (Mariners). Then there was the challenge of winning against a world-class offense (Rays). And we've done all that.

So what does a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates offer? How about winning a series while being clearly the better team for once? Believe it or not, this is the first series the Rockies have gone into with a better record than their opponent since April 10th, the first home series of the years against the Phillies. Can we respond now that we are no longer the underdog? It would be our first series win (in two tries) against a team with an inferior record.

Or how about redemption? One month ago, the ~~Pirates embarrassed the Rockies~~ Rockies embarrassed themselves in Pittsburgh (see 10-run, 2-error inning). A dramatic ninth inning home run by Brad Hawpe was all that staved off the sweep. That series more or less sealed the fate of Clint Hurdle. After failing to lose series at Atlanta and Detroit, the move was delayed, but the losing attitude was smothering.

So now's the chance to get back and show the Pirates what real Rockies baseball is. They have treaded water at 15-14 since the series, and the Rockies have gone 19-11, passing Pittsburgh and five other teams in the wild card race in that month. We won't have to face Nate McLouth, who was traded to Atlanta, but Charlie Morton - who came in that trade - is slated to pitch on Saturday.

Also, check out Bucs Dugout, Pittsburgh's SBNation site. Check it out, but be friendly.

Pittsburgh Pirates (31-35, L1, t-5th, 6 GB)

Friday-Sunday : 3-game series at Coors Field

The Bats: D+

A weak offense got weaker when Nate McLouth got shipped to Georgia, but it should be noted that two young players have stepped up in his absence. Delwyn Young (1.120 OPS in June), who Pittsburgh basically got for free from the Dodgers this spring, and top prospect Andrew McCutchen (.849 OPS since his callup June 4) have really excelled with regular playing time. Still, they are only 20th in wOBA this season and 19th in runs, and that ought to be adjusted downward by tossing out McLouth's contributions. Then consider their 40 home runs, second to only the Giants' 38 for MLB futility. Take McLouth's nine out of the equation...and their roster is by far the weakest in the bigs. I mean, the Rockies have six players who have more dingers than Freddy Sanchez, second on the roster.

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI
Andrew McCutchen - CF	.333	1	9
Nyjer Morgan - LF	.256	1	24
Freddy Sanchez - 2B	.314	5	25
Adam LaRoche - 1B	.260	9	32
Delwyn Young - RF	.360	1	11
Andy LaRoche - 3B	.278	3	31
Robinzon Diaz - C	.295	1	15
Jack Wilson - SS	.274	1	20

Ryan Doumit is still on the DL, so Jason Jaramillo will get one or two starts this weekend. Brandon Moss still finds a start about half the time in the outfield, and Eric Hinske, Craig Monroe, and Ramon Vazquez fill out the bench.

The Arms: C-

The Pirates started strong in allowing the fewest runs in the league, but after getting three shutouts in four games April 17-20, Pittsburgh has failed to record another one in the two months since. Their ERA is a bit above average at 12th (4.24), though thier FIP is 22nd (4.51), and their tRA is even higher - 4.63 in the rotation and 5.00 in the bullpen. In fact the bullpen has the fourth worst FIP in the majors, partially due to Matt Dicus Capps having an ERA near 5.00 And yes, that's his real middle name.

Charlie Morton will take Jeff Karstens' rotation spot Saturday, and that may help things in the rotation, but they've still been deceptively below average. We will miss their worst starter so far this year (Ian Snell) but also arguably their best (Zach Duke), so the series will be a pretty fair shake.

The D: A

The Pirates have made just 27 errors, 3rd least in MLB, which has led to 24 unearned runs yet are also tied for the 3rd best UZR/150 rating at 6.6. Replacing McLouth with Andrew McCutchen in center also improves their defensive picture.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 7:10 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Ross Ohlendorf	6-5	4.56	1.27	39	22

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Marquis	8-4	3.77	1.35	41	31

Saturday, June 20, 6:10 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Charlie Morton	0-0	0.00	1.00	0	0

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Hammel	4-3	4.10	1.48	42	15

Thursday, June 18, 1:10 MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Paul Maholm	4-3	4.23	1.41	54	28

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	2-7	5.81	1.49	76	33

Adam LaRoche is really starting to heat up. He is 9 for his last 19 with 2 HR. Delwyn Young, Jack Wilson, Andrew McCutchen, and Freddy Sanchez are all OPSing over .930 over the past week as well. Ross Ohlendorf allowed only one run and two hits in his previous start.

Nyjer Morgan and Andy LaRoche have been the biggest flops recently, each collecting just three hits and one home run over the past week. Paul Maholm was torched for eight runs in his last start.

Ryan Doumit is still on the DL with a wrist injury he sustained April 20, when the Pirates were over .500. Tyler Yates (elbow) and Donald Veal (groin) are on the 15-day, and Phil Dumatrait (shoulder) and Craig Hansen (neck) are on the 60-day.

Poll

What says you for the last June home series?

The real Rockies have shown up. We'll have no trouble with the Pittsburgh. Something tells me Pirates would have trouble in the Rockies anyway

55 votes

We will inexplicably lose a game just because. But a series win is practically in pen now.

77 votes

Time for a letdown. Pirates take the series

6 votes

Aaargh. Jim Tracy must love his old teams too much. A sweep to the Pirates shocks us all.

0 votes

138 votes | Poll has closed

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:12:32 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Manny Parra, center, gathers with his teammates to discuss their blatant disrespect for the game and untucked shirts.

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Some things to read while waiting for lunch.

If all had gone according to plan, the Brewers would be enjoying an off day on the road today and getting ready to open a series with the Astros tomorrow. Instead, they're in St. Louis waiting for tonight's makeup game, and probably won't get to Houston until early tomorrow morning. Some notes on tonight's game:

Kyle Lohse, who pitched the first couple of innings of Friday's rainout, will start for the Cardinals.
He'll face Braden Looper, who has something to prove to a Cardinal organization that decided not to pursue him after the 2008 season.
Tonight's game will be televised in HD.

Rickie Weeks will not be with the team tonight. He left last night's game in the first inning with a sore left wrist and will travel to Phoenix to get it checked out by the specialist that performed the previous surgeries on his right wrist (Also noted in FanShot). Barring something unforeseen, Weeks is expected to rejoin the team tomorrow but doesn't know when he'll be ready to play.

Jason Kendall enters today's game with 1999 career hits. If he picks up a hit in the next couple of days, he may reach 2000 before Todd Helton.

Saturday's game was the Brewers' third 1-0 contest of the season, and they're now 2-1 in those games. Trevor Hoffman picked up the save in that game: UmpBump has a look at his early success and Adam McCalvy reports on a prank Hoffman pulled on Ken Macha over the weekend.

Of course, a fair amount of the credit for Saturday's shutout goes to Jeff Suppan, who pitched seven innings and allowed just eight baserunners. The Bucky Channel says Jeff Suppan is making them like him.

How much credit for the Brewers' early success belongs to Ken Macha? Jeff Fletcher of MLB FanHouse sees Macha's fingerprints in some of the changes in the team's philosophy, and also offers some insight into the role of third base coach Brad Fischer.

When will we get to see Mat Gamel? No one seems to know. FanGraphs was excited to see him come up, but he has just one plate appearance in three games as a Brewer, and none since Thursday. Ken Macha has said Gamel wasn't just brought up to ride the bench, but Saturday's game saw Craig Counsell pinch hitting instead in a key situation, and Todd Coffey was allowed to hit for himself in the late innings yesterday.

David Riske threw 30 pitches in the bullpen before Saturday's game and could be headed out for a minor league rehab assignment in the near future. With the strength of the current bullpen, that could be a very long rehab assignment.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Cody Scarpetta threw five hitless innings for Wisconsin yesterday, and sat down with The Official Site's Mason Kelley to talk about his philosophy.
Mike Burns, who wasn't expected to start the season in the rotation for Nashville in the first place, improved his record to 6-0 with a win yesterday.
Cutter Dykstra, #11 in our prospect rankings, was demoted from Wisconsin to Helena over the weekend, and will learn to play second base at that level (h/t Rattler Radio). Helena's season doesn't open until late June, so Dykstra will spend some time in extended spring training breaking in an infielder's glove.

Balking Traditionalism reports the Brewers are second in the NL in Wins Above Replacement, and Summer Loving moved them up to fifth in their power rankings.

Here's a nice note on the fan-friendliness of the Brewer organization: The Brewers charge a $2 "convenience fee" for the right to purchase tickets online, the lowest in all of baseball.

Nearly a week has passed, but blogs continue to pile on The Happy Youngster, as they should. The Biz of Baseball, Miller Park Drunk and True Blue Brew are just three of the dozens of sites that have taken note.

Around the league:

Marlins: Designated John Koronka for assignment.
Mets: Signed catcher Javier Valentin and reliever Tom Martin to minor league deals, and placed Carlos Delgado on the DL with a hip impingement.
Nationals: Designated reliever Logan Kensing for assignment, placed catcher Jesus Flores on the DL with a bruised shoulder and DL'ed starter Scott Olsen with shoulder tendinitis.
Orioles: Placed Luke Scott on the DL with a sore left shoulder.
Padres: Claimed infielder Josh Wilson off the DL from the D-Backs and designated reliever Duaner Sanchez for assignment.
Pirates: Acquired starter Eric Hacker from the Yankees for AAA reliever Romulo Sanchez and placed Tyler Yates on the DL.
Phillies: Designated Miguel Cairo for assignment.
Rangers: Are expected to sign reliever Mike Hinckley, who opted for free agency after being DFA'd by the Nationals last week, to a minor league deal. They also placed closer Frank Francisco on the DL with biceps tendinitis.
Rays: Placed Pat Burrell on the DL with stiffness in his neck.
Rockies: Reliever Matt Daley has been placed on the DL after tripping on a bat home plate umpire Bill Welke attempted to kick out of the way.
Tigers: Reliever Juan Rincon has declined a minor league assignment and is now a free agent.

By now, you've probably heard about yesterday's Rays-Indians game, where pitcher Andy Sonnanstine ended up batting third due to a scorecard mistake. Marc Lancaster has a list of Sonnanstine's feats.

Remember months ago, when we wanted the Brewers to sign Odalis Perez? After he refused to report to Nationals camp on a minor league deal this spring, he remains unsigned, and Jorge Says No! wants to know why.

Will Odalis Perez find a job before Cecil Cooper loses his? Cooper is having his decisions second-guessed in Houston, and it doesn't sound like his team is behind him at all.

Ben Sheets hasn't started throwing yet and says he hasn't started thinking about who he'll pitch for once he's healthy, but he was in Arlington over the weekend, paying a visit to Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux.

When you're as small at Tim Lincecum, as young as Tim Lincecum, you throw as hard as Tim Lincecum and you rack up as many innings as Tim Lincecum, I guess you shouldn't be surprised when your velocity falls like Tim Lincecum's.

This year, maybe you'll actually get some sleep in October: Major League Baseball is changing World Series start times to get the games going earlier.

Oh, and it's probably pretty difficult to bring a harp on the road.

Drink up.

Mets 7, Pirates 2: Tyler Yates Dampens Evening

Charlie — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:41:18 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

Luis Castillo steals second against Brian Bixler and the Pirates on Friday.

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The Mets really seemed to want the Pirates to win this game (the box score only lists one error--a bad throw by Jose Reyes--but there were also a couple of bungled plays in the outfield), but a tepid offense and Tyler Yates wouldn't let them. Jeff Karstens actually pitched pretty well, even throwing some breaking balls that were among the best I've ever seen from him, but he left the game after six with the score tied, 2-2.

And then, Yates. Tyler got through one inning without incident, but John Russell sent him back for more in the eighth, and Yates started the inning with a single, a walk, and an RBI single by Carlos Beltran. Then Sean Burnett relieved Yates and promptly gave up a three-run jack to Carlos Delgado. By the end of the inning, the Bucs were down by five, and the mini-rally they staged in the bottom of the ninth wasn't nearly enough.

I understand the Bucs' problems with their bullpen right now. They have an injured closer and they're carrying several inexperienced pitchers, including a Rule 5 pick who doesn't belong in the big leagues. I get that, and I can live with that. But even within those constraints, it's past the point where Yates should be in high-leverage situations. He wasn't a good pitcher even last year, when there weren't many complaints about him. This year, everyone in the comment thread knows what's going to happen the second he walks through the bullpen door. Jesse Chavez and Evan Meek and John Grabow should get those innings. I'd even prefer the Pirates call up, oh I don't know, Romulo Sanchez, or Juan Mateo, or Jeff Sues, and have one of them pitch. Let Yates pitch mop-up duty.

Brewers 7, Pirates 4: Bucs Drop 17th Consecutive Game Against Milwaukee

Charlie — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:08:27 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Matt Capps allowed four runs in the ninth.

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The Bucs grabbed an early lead in this one off a suddenly-hittable Yovani Gallardo with an RBI triple by Brandon Moss and a homer by Andy LaRoche that smacked the left-field foul pole. When those two events happened, any Bucs fan could be forgiven for wondering how the Pirates could've possibly lost. After all, it was only Moss' third RBI and Luigi's first homer--the gods had to be on Pittsburgh's side, right?

Well, no. Paul Maholm looked great the entire evening, locating his pitches well, throwing nifty breaking balls and racking up strikeouts and ground balls. He left the game with one out and a man on in the eighth. Flood Gates Yates shockingly faced a batter without allowing a walk. But then John Grabow allowed two batters to reach base and gave up a two-out double to Ryan Braun that tied the game. Jason Jaramillo put the Pirates ahead with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning. (It was Jaramillo's second double of the game; remarkably, seven of his 39 at bats have been doubles.)

And then... Matt Capps. Capps allowed four runs on a couple of singles, a walk, a sacrifice fly, and a three-run jack by Rickie Weeks. It was Capps' second meltdown in three days, which will really get you if you're a reliever--he could be dominant the rest of the year and still be fighting to get that ERA down. It's entirely possible that he'll run off a streak of great outings for the next month and this blowup will be forgotten everywhere but in Capps' stat line, but for now, he has an ERA of 7.56. Before the season, if you'd asked me to list the Bucs' relievers from most reliable to least reliable, I probably would've said something like this:

Capps, Grabow, Yates, Chavez, Burnett, Hansen, Veal

...And if I'd written that, some of you might've chimed in to endorse Burnett over Chavez, but that's about it. Everything else is straightforward. Today, though? Hansen is gone for the time being and Veal is still down at the bottom, but based on what's happened so far, it might go

Grabow, Chavez, Burnett, Meek, Capps, Yates, Veal

...With Meek and Veal getting docked a bit for all their walks. Grabow has been fine (despite his struggles today and the fact that he hasn't done a good job preventing inherited runners from scoring), Chavez and Burnett have been surprisingly good, and Capps and Yates have been disastrous. There's not much sense worrying about small sample sizes, but my sense is that Capps will recover and Yates will not. If either of them continue to struggle, Chavez will start seeing some more high-leverage innings. He's already starting to, but my sense is that we'll be seeing him more in the seventh and eighth. It'll be interesting to see how the league reacts to seeing him a few times--he's already adjusted some by adding more breaking balls than he was throwing a few weeks ago.

This has been a surprisingly long tangent. But here are the basics.

Maholm = good

Pirates = can't beat Brewers

Bullpen = ???