Link time

I saw this a couple days ago and meant to post a link to it but kind of forgot, so here's Gene Wojciechowski's piece on what it's like to be a Pirates fan. He's not a Pirates fan (I don't think), so he doesn't completely capture the feeling, but most of the piece rings pretty true, causing you to chuckle a little bit and shudder on the inside.

Chris Duffy is at home right now and he's planning on reporting to Indy, but apparently only on his own terms. He says he isn't protesting being sent down and the article by Meyer vaguely makes it sound like he's got some kind of unspecified personal problems.

Tom Gorzellany is probably ready to come to Pittsburgh, I can't imagine there's anything else for him to prove at Indy. However, the same article reports that Nerio Rodriguez is being suspended 50 games for steroid use, throwing a wrench in Dave Littlefield's master plan to win an International League championship.

Speaking of Littlefield, Charlie is soliciting ideas to clean up Littlefield's mess and try to win at a level that's slightly above the International League. Like, you know, the National League.