Some quick thoughts and links

Rob Mackowiak is 13 for his last 26. Any reason we don't let this guy play every day? He's gotta be better than Wigginton against lefties.

Ron Cook thinks the Pirates turnaround is due to Jose Castillo. While Castillo has been better than I expected, I don't really agree with this. I think (as I said last night) the pitching is due mostly to the great pitching we've been getting. Most of the stuff Cook says in the article fills me with so much rage I don't even want to repeat it.

Oliver Perez could return next weekend, but then again he might not. He seems healthy, but then again he might not be. My question... HAS ANYONE DONE AN MRI ON THIS GUY YET? How can we know until we do an MRI?

Mark Redman's hot start has mertited a mention in Jayson Stark's latest Useless Information on ESPN.com, and I'm not talking about his pitching.

A beautiful day today and another big game. A win here takes the series at home, something we haven't done all year. Dave Williams and Gary Glover face off. Glover is not very good and has been mostly used as a reliever during his career. We need to make him work early (read: TAKE PITCHES, something we're terrible at) and get to the Brewer's pen before the 7th inning, because they've been lights out in the 7th, 8th, and 9th this year. This is a game we should win. We're better than the Brewers and we need to prove it.