Notebook

Paul Meyer's notebook today reminds the fans that as much as St. Louis is a measuring stick for the NL Central, the Brewers are the current measuring stick for the Pirates. As painful as it is to think of things that way, it's true at the moment. Of course, in reality the Pirates need to follow the Brewers model for putting a young, good, low-budget team together. In the fantasy world of this article and in Lloyd McClendon's mind the two teams are practically even, with only injuries separating the two teams. I guess the Brewers didn't miss Ben Sheets when he was hurt in May and they won't miss him for the rest of the year.

Also in the notebook:

Dave Williams, who originally was scheduled to start last night, was skipped after the rainout of the game Monday.

"He's made every start [this season] and he's showing little signs of fatigue," McClendon said.

"We thought it would be a good idea to freshen him up for the homestretch."

I wonder who thinks these things up. I can just imagine the conversation, "Hey, Dave, thanks for stopping by. I know your arm feels great, and the truth is you've been our ace this year and you've exceeded every expectation we had for you prior to the year. In reward we're going to skip you in the rotation and give your start to Mark Redman, you know, that guy that pitches with a similar style to you, only about 100 times worse."