The reason for the roster change …

… is that Troncoso was never really on the roster to begin with. And to be fair to Torre, he never told Ramon that he was on the roster. He only told US that he was. Torre did tell McDonald yesterday that he was NOT on the roster, then called him back in five minutes later and told him that it was still undecided. They ultimately decided they liked what McDonald showed them in September enough that they were willing to live with the fact that as a season-long starter in the minors, he can only be brought in at the start of an inning, where Troncoso could have been brought in at any time and, unlike McDonald, could warm up more than once a game. McDonald has made four big-league appearances and pitched six innings and still hasn’t given up a run in the majors. … With the wind blowing in, Piniella went for defense, starting DeRosa at 2B and Fukudome in RF. … Ran into Steve Garvey downstairs. He didn’t make the roster, but he still looks like he could have.