The return of Dejan

Our very own Pirates beat writer (the only reliably objective one left in the city since the Trib has gone over to the Dark Side and Perrotto technically isn't in the city) has returned from vacation in Romania to answer some questions. He says that Hank Blalock is pretty much off the table since we aren't giving up Ollie. I agree with him in that this is the right move. We can adequately fill third base enough that it simply isn't worth the risk of trading the mountain of potential we have in Perez for Blalock (who has good numbers for such a young guy but suspicious splits away from that comfy park in Arlington). I say we give Perez some time with the new coaching staff before we give up on him. And if I was hired to manage the Pirates and they traded a guy like Perez before I ever managed a game, I'd be pretty pissed.

He also gives a pretty good explanation for why DeCaster was put on the 40-man and Boeve was left off, namely that DeCaster is much closer to the majors (Boeve is 25 and started last year in A ball) and mauling the ball in Venezuela.

The rest of the stuff is normal Q&A fare, what are the odds of Giles coming back (slimmer than an Olsen twin) and why Jumpin' Jack got jobbed for the Gold Glove (black and orange is much more attractive to voters than black and gold). Dejan also promises his first Pirates' Hot Stove Report on Sunday and says that the phone calls that he's made give him evidence the team actually is serious about increasing the payroll to the $45-50M range.