Pittsburgh 4 - Atlanta 3

No Met game, so I listened to the Pirates & Braves instead. I do that a lot. When there isn't a Met game I'll choose another NL game to listen to. I rarely listen to the AL.

Anyway, it's always good when Atlanta loses. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Zach Duke had gotten the win because he's on my fantasy team. Oh well.

Mike Hampton was supposed to pitch, but was scratched just at game time. The Atlanta announcers explained later that Hampton had a strain in his pectoral muscle. They were pretty downcast about it. This was going to be Hampton's first start since August 19, 2005 . Hard luck for Hampton, but I'm shedding no tears for the Braves and their pitching problems.

Before the game I heard some of Skip Carey's pre-game interview with Bobby Cox. Cox is not a fan of the maple bats. He said that too many of them are breaking and that they're a lethal weapon and pitchers, fielders, fans and others are at risk. He said the player's union won't consider banning them.