D-Lee for MVP

What a weekend for the Buc sand Derrek Lee. After dropping a Thursday afternoon sandwich game to the Dodgers and being shut down by Dana freaking Eveland, the Bucs bounced back to take 2 out of 3 from the Cubbies and the series opener from the Astros yesterday afternoon.

Friday's 3-1 win at the friendly confines saw roster expansion beneficiary Brian "One 'S' " Burres got 5.1 IP surrendering only a solo HR to Carlos Pena and fanning 5 while only walking one. The bullpen didn't allow a hit and with some timely hitting, including a pair of triples from the King, the pulled out the W. The Hammer notched his 33rd save in the victory.

Saturday's game featured some unheralded late game heroics from Derrek Lee upon his return from the DL. I did not see the game live, as I was witnessing some 87 Super Unleaded Football, but Lee's dramatics are certainly noteworthy. With the Bucs trailing 5-3 with 2 outs in the top of the 9th, Lee found himself at the plate with the bases juiced full of Pirates. He was already 2 for 4 with an RBI in his first game back since Marmol broke his hand,  but Lee had bigger things on his mind, sending a Marmol offering into the bleachers for a grand slam. UNREAL. The Hammer worked a scoreless 9th for the 2nd straight outing the Bucs were 7-5 victors.

Sunday's battle was part 1,000 in the Charlie Morton Jekyll/Hyde Show. Morton only went 4.1 innings, allowing 4 runs, 3 of which were earned, giving up 7 hits and walking 5 to only 2 K. While his 9-9 W/L record and 3.81 ERA on the season are a vast improvement over last year, Morton's 1.54 WHIP is less than impressive. He 96 K to 68 BB on the year.... Offensively, D-Lee went 3 for 4 with and RBI and the Pride of PR went yard for his 12th of the season, but it wasn't enough to overcome the less than stellar pitching and defense, highlighted by Suckdeno's 2 errors. With 13 Errors for the season, and some generous scoring at home ignoring a few more, Cedeno is 8th in the NL for errors amongst SS.

Yesterday, J-Mac continued a solid season in earning his 9th win of the season. McDonald went 7.1IP, allowing 3 hits and 3 BB while fanning 6 and allowing only 1 run. Trailing 1-0, Doumit and Ole Harrison gave the Bucs a 2-1 lead in the 4th with an RBI double and single respectively. D-Lee homered in the 9th to add some insurance and the Hammer worked the 9th for his 3rd save in the last 4 games, giving him 35 on the season.

This has been a nice little run from the Bucs. While there is nothing really left to salvage, there are some questions worth asking.

#1 is what to do with Derrek Lee? In his 8 games with the Buccos, he's batting .400 (12 for 30) with 4 HR and 10 RBI and an OPS of 1.304. If the Bucs don't make a serious effort to resign him, especially with Overpaid and Diaz having gone by the wayside, the cash should be there.

BTW, Huntington should win GM of the year for getting the Braves to take Diaz off our hands last week, even if he is 6 for 11 with the Braves. He still has no RBI and 0 XBH. How is that possible? My guess if fish fillets to RF against lefties

#2- What about Josh Harrison? Speaking of fish fillets, Harrison is never going to be revered for his power, but he has proved that he can hit MLB pitching at a decent clip. At the very least, he can be a good bat off the bench, but with his mediocre fielding and playing a position that has been designated for Kdro, I am not sure where he fits in the big picture. With that said, I like Harrison and what he brings to the table. But with an OF full of speed and little power, 3B is a position where the Bucs will need to see some serious pop.

#3- J-Mac is the 2nd half CY Young for the Bucs with a 3.26 ERA and 54 K to 21 BB since the All-Star Break.  He always seems to be the guy that people are uncertain on, but I think he has the right set of tools as well as desire to succeed. From what I have seen, McDonald isn't afraid to pitch to contact when he needs outs. Many "strikeout" pitchers would be far too happy with trying to paint the corners and walk a ton of guys, ahem, Kip Wells, but J-Mac's K to BB ratio has gone from roughly 1.59 : 1 before the break to 2.57 : 1 since.

With only 21 games left, it will interesting to see how the Bucs finish this one out. While the season has been an overall disappointment, there are some pieces in place that make it look as though the Bucs may one day be a competitive MLB team.

It's just REALLY hard to say when that day might be