Crow's Nest
By Jim Lachimia

*  Right now there's a lot of talk in Pirates' circles about changing the culture - more precisely, changing it from a losing one to a winning one. First baseman Adam LaRoche, who played on successful teams in Atlanta before coming to Pittsburgh, says that's a lot easier said than done. "You can't just come in and install it like it's a computer program. It takes some doing," he said. "It takes having a good team, being lucky, getting some good breaks, and winning for awhile. Then all of a sudden it's, 'Man, we're pretty good!'"

*  On the 1990s hit TV series "Melrose Place," womanizing character Dr. Michael Mancini once said: "If your wife catches you cheating, just deny it. Even if she has video of you cheating, just say 'That's not me.'" Many of the baseball players that have been linked to steroids and other performance enhancing drugs remind me of that guy. No matter how bad it looks, they just deny, deny, deny.

*  Astros' GM Ed Wade had an extremely productive first two weeks of December. During that period, he signed free agent second baseman Kaz Matsui to replace the retired Craig Biggio, and then swung deals for shortstop Miguel Tejada (a former A.L. MVP) and closer Jose Valverde (the N.L. leader in saves in 2007). Houston is now a starting pitcher or two away from being the favorite to win the N.L. Central this year.

*  Salomon Torres' revelation that he wasn't in the shape he should have been last spring was puzzling. Remember, he headed into 2007 as the Pirates' closer. That should have been motivation enough to get himself into peak physical condition, right? Torres is a fascinating guy and he performed yeomanly duty out of the bullpen here for a few years, but he became his own worst enemy long before GM Neal Huntington traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers.

*  Jose Castillo's fall from grace in the Pirates' organization was every bit as stunning-and painful-as the one by Oliver Perez. Castillo was absolutely dripping with talent, but he was like young colt that didn't want to be tamed. Lanny Frattare referred to him as "the Rodney Dangerfield of the Pirates" late last season, but the truth is he was far too undisciplined at plate to be a good situational hitter and he took too many unnecessary chances on defense. Nonetheless, a lot of us were left shaking our heads and wondering what might have been when the 26-year-old infielder was released last month.