North Shore Notes
View From The Crow's Nest
By Jim Lachimia

o   Earlier this year-in this space-I said Zach Duke was going to be the Pirate who improved the most from 2006 to 2007. That turned out to be the worst prediction since everybody said Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were going to be incredibly hot by the time they turned 21. Still, I believe the real (and healthy) Duke is a lot closer to what you saw in 2005 than the utterly hittable version of the last two years.

o   You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in either league throwing better than Orioles lefty Erik Bedard these days. His 15-strikeout performance against Texas last month-a two-hit shutout in which he did not walk a batter and faced the minimum-was a beauty. Afterwards, Baltimore Pitching Coach Leo Mazzone raved, "That ranks right up there with any of the greatest performances I've ever seen."

o   Watching Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez perform in last month's All-Star Game reminded me that he may be the best there's ever been at blocking balls in the dirt. He's like a hockey goalie that not only makes the save, but also controls the rebound. The baseball rarely gets away from him.

o   Pudge Part II: Playing on World Series teams in Florida and Detroit has rejuvenated the 35-year-old Rodriguez. Toward the end of his stay in Texas, it was known that he sometimes he would not talk to his starting pitcher prior to the game. Todd Stottlemyre once called time during the opening frame and motioned for his catcher come to the mound. "What do you want?" Pudge asked. "Nothing, I just haven't talked to you all day. I wanted to see how you were doing," Stottlemyre said.

o   Ben Sheets being sidelined for upwards of six weeks with an injury to the middle finger of his pitching hand was a significant blow to the Brewers as they try to finish what they started and capture the N.L. Central title. Milwaukee still has capable guys like Jeff Suppan and Chris Capuano in the rotation, but Sheets is an ace - the kind of guy you want on the mound during the pennant race and the playoffs.

o   So far, trading Adam LaRoche hasn't work out so well for Atlanta. The key player the Braves got in the deal-reliever Mike Gonzalez-pitched only until mid-May when it was discovered he needed Tommy John surgery. Plus Scott Thorman, who replaced LaRoche at first base, was batting below .220 toward the end of July, causing the club to sign Julio Franco (who will turn 49 this month) for help at that position.

o   The local media didn't take too kindly to Pirates' manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Jim Colborn telling them the incident between Colborn and Jack Wilson in the dugout last month wasn't newsworthy. Maybe that was just poor choice of a word. Jim and Jim would have been well within their rights to say they didn't care to discuss it. But no one should expect the media to say nothing and write nothing after viewing such an out-of-the-ordinary situation.