The finale

The Bucs will try and break out the brooms today, but only if they can even lift their arms after last night's marathon. Still, it was more of a nightmare for the Astros to lose a game like that, so I'd much rather be in our position today. Fernando Nieve takes the mound for the 'Stros and will face off against Oliver Perez. Perez has had two pretty decent starts his last two times out, so hopefully he can keep the ball moving in the right direction. Nieve's been pretty crappy this year, but two of his last three starts have been pretty solid. Suffice to say, these are not the starters that Phil Garner and Jim Tracy would pick to have on the mound after a game like last night's if they had the option. The Bucs' lineup is curious, of all the people Tracy thought would need a day off after last night, he's chosen Castillo to ride the pine, shifting Bautista to third and Sanchez to second (to make room for Burnitz in right, of course). It's insane to sit down Castillo, but most of what we do is insane anyways. Paulino will start behind the plate, even after catching 7 innings late last night and not getting off the field until after 12:30, Ante Meridian. If Cota isn't starting today, I'd assume it means there is no situation that Humberto Cota will ever start in and we're wasting a roster spot on him. If there was ever a situation in which teams would wish they had three catchers, this would be it. Also, Tracy has decided to move Craig Wilson back down to sixth after three straight days of batting him fifth behind Bay. Because, you know, that move hadn't worked well for all parties involved or anything. I suppose that's Craig's reward for finally calling "bullshit" on all the people who blame the team's slow start on the fact that he has to start at first instead of Sean Casey.

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