Bullpen Abuse: A Guide to the Pirates Relievers for Use in Ashburn Alley

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When we were at the game Tuesday night, we stopped by Ashburn Alley per our norm to bask in the smell of Old Bay and Tony Luke's. and take in the standing room only setting. Part of this experience always includes a trip over the other team's bullpen, which is a hot dog's throw from the rail, but heavily secured by event staff and cops. They'll let you heckle the pitchers below, but you have to keep it within reason or they will stare at you have you escorted out faster than you can say "It was that guy."

The tough part is having good material on what often amounts to a bunch of nobodies, as was demonstrated Tuesday night while Matt Lindstrom warmed up. With this in mind, we thought we'd give you a primer on the quad-A relievers the Pirates are bringing to town tonight.

Importantly, after the dumping of Damaso Marte to the Yankees, who was the only really decent arm in the Bucs' pen with talented closer Matt Capps on the shelf, the Pirates are without a definite 9th inning man. John Grabow is the favorite for saves, with some chatter about ex-Brave Tyler Yates. However, Yates has been away from the team for a personal matter, and there's no word on when he'll rejoin them on the road.

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