Karstens is back, Raynor is gone

Well another unbelievable game has come and gone. The Pirates gave up 9 runs in the 8th inning. Ugly is not a strong enough word.

But the big news of the day is Jeff Karstens is going to make a start. He was added to the 40 man roster by the dropping of John Raynor, the Rule 5 Pick. This means that the Pirates are now carrying an extra man on the pitching staff. It also means that the Pirates are going to have to trade to keep Raynor. Raynor has talent, but I hope that they don't trade away some of the great lower minor league talent they have for this borderline starter. Better to just get half their money back from the Marlins.

Another point to make is that Brian Bass is on the major league roster now. I like that move. He took Brandon Jones's spot on the 40 man roster. Jones was always extraneous, and it is no big loss to have this guy on waivers. In fact, we probably get to keep him as he was not tearing it up in Triple A.

I like Karstens starting today unlike some other guys. Jeff showed he was pretty good out of the pen. More importantly he made some spot starts in the past, so this is not new to him. If I remember correctly he made at least three starts last year and won two of them. I know his history with the Brewers is bad, but if Lincoln has to stay in the minors then this is as good as it gets.