Call to bullpen: 'Give me R2-D2'

While Pirates pitcher Oliver Perez's job is in no danger, coaches and others who pitch batting practice before games could one day be relegated to the bench by a robot.

A preview could come tonight, when the S-3 Platform Robot, built by Aliquippa-based RoPro Design and Beaver County Area Vocational Technical School, will deliver the first pitch as the Pirates square off against the Baltimore Orioles on "Robotics Night" at PNC Park.

So automated pitching machines don't count? I guess they never use them in a game. They should have a 0th inning, where 3 batters from both teams compete in hitting against a really powerful pitching robot. This could be used both to break ties and humiliate merely human players.