With CC taking the mound tonight after yet another short week of rest, Thursday's starter has yet to be released to the public by interim manager Dale Sveum.  Why?  Because he really has no idea what to do. 

Ben Sheets is questionable with his elbow tenderness and won't be available until the weekend.  Yovani Gallardo has improved his arm strength in Phoenix and can go a couple of innings, but he's yet to swing the bat, and hasn't done a whole lot of covering first base in his simulated games.  Manny Parra has hit a wall after going far over his innings limit.  Jeff Suppan is either over the hill or still struggling with an elbow injury that forced him to miss a start earlier this year.  Geez... what to do?

There's obviously a few right off the bat no-no's in my book.  Sheets should not pitch the rest of the regular season, unless somehow a one-game playoff were to rear it's ugly head.  I know it's his last year, but there's no way i try and ruin a guy's career for one game that may or may not give you a playoff run.  Manny Parra is out too.  If Manny is used at all the rest of the way, it should be as a one or two inning relief guy or a pinch hitter in a game that may go too long.  So that leaves Suppan and Gallardo.

Gallardo makes me nervous.  He's going to be the cornerstone of this franchise for the next four or five years, and should be perfectly complemented by Manny Parra during that era.  With that being said, this isn't football, and the risk of an additional tear is slim from what I understand.  Would I put Yo-Go out on the mound?  Yes, but there would be some guidelines.

1.  Swing 80% at the plate if swinging is necessary at all.  If there's two outs and no one on, I don't even want you to swing.

2.  If you do happen to hit the ball, DO NOT run the bases with any effort.  If the run is important, I'll pinch run you and let Mark DiFelice do his thing if its early.

3.  Lastly, if you feel any discomfort, and I mean if it itches, tell me, because I'm pulling you.

Gallardo isn't my number one choice though.  It's too risky.  And Jeff Suppan isn't my choice either, considering his 5.82 ERA in 17 innings against Pittsburgh this season.  My choice is the man mentioned in Yo's guidelines. 

The Pirates haven't seen Mark DiFelice all season.  He pounds the strike zone and avoids the long ball, which means he has the ability to get through four or five innings without a lot of pitches despite his limited arm strength.  If something happens, you can bring in Suppan to cover the bullpen's behind, but DiFelice really understands the dire situation.  Since coming up, Mark has pitched 4.2 scoreless innings including two important innings in the only victory against the Chicago Cubs.  Look, if he can shut out the Cubs over two innings, he should be more than capable of slowing down the Pirates.  All I ask is he gets us through four.  Gallardo and Suppan should be able to pick up the slack.

What do you think Brewers fans?