4/29 -- Pregame notes

Greetings from Pittsburgh, where you can't walk two blocks without being bombarded by a Steelers' jersey or a vendor selling "Terrible Towels." You can't go into a restaurant, or a hotel, or any place with a TV, and not see coverage of the NFL Draft, either.

But there is a baseball game tonight, and here's what's going on at PNC Park.

The Phillies have altered their lineup, albeit slightly, against Pirates lefty Paul Maholm. In an effort to split up his left-handed hitters, manager Charlie Manuel has moved right-hander Aaron Rowand into the No. 3 spot and shifted Bobby Abreu to clean-up. Thus, the lineup looks like this ...

SS Jimmy Rollins (switch-hitter)
2B Chase Utley (lefty)
CF Aaron Rowand (righty)
RF Bobby Abreu (lefty)
LF Pat Burrell (righty)
1B Ryan Howard (lefty)
3B David Bell (righty)
C Mike Lieberthal (righty)
P Cory Lidle (righty)

Stay tuned to see if it works ...

***

People are still talking about Ian Snell's performance last night. Here are a few reactions that didn't make their way into your Saturday paper.

From Pirates manager Jim Tracy, "I would hope this is a game for Ian to build on. When you look at what he’s done in the minor leagues, there’s not a lot more for him to prove there. He’s a guy who can get major-league hitters out."

From Manuel, "I saw this kid in the minor leagues, and I like this kid. He’s pretty good. That tonight is an indication of how good he can be. He’s got real good stuff. If you look up there, he can throw 94, 96 when he wants to."

***

One more note on Snell: He told reporters after the game that he was pitching with a chip on his shoulder because of something that was said about the Pirates on ESPN. Turns out, Snell's father called him after seeing a segment on "Jim Rome Is Burning." The outspoken Rome was talking about the Pirates' wretched start (5-19), and a picture of Snell accompanied the commentary.

"[Teams] think they’re going to come here and bully us around," Snell said. "I didn’t want that to happen."