To see the hop in his step yesterday, it would have been difficult to detect that Oliver Perez was the guy experiencing the ignominy of being skipped in the rotation.

"I'm feeling good," he said, smiling. "Really good."

Good enough, he added, to predict his fortunes will reverse when he takes the mound again Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds.

"I know it. I know I'm going to be better, with how I feel, how I'm throwing."

	MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT Sunday's results INDIANAPOLIS (21-15) beat Durham, 8-1. RHP Brandon Duckworth (5-2, 2.30) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked two. RHP Terry Adams (1.69) pitched two scoreless innings of relief. 3B Yurendell DeCaster (.236) hit his fourth home run. ALTOONA (24-13) beat Binghamton, 3-1. RHP Landon Jacobsen (5-3, 3.66) allowed one run in six innings. RHP Josh Sharpless (0.86) pitched a scoreless ninth and struck out two for his eighth save. SS Javier Guzman (.231) went 2 for 4. LYNCHBURG (16-17) and Winston-Salem were rained out. HICKORY (13-21) lost at Greenville, 3-2. RHP Joe Bauserman (2-2, 4.41) allowed one run in six innings. 1B Steve Pearce (.299) went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. CF Andrew McCutchen (.312) went 0 for 4.

Perez was to have pitched four days ago against the Arizona Diamondbacks but, when that game was rained out, the Pirates used the opportunity to have Perez miss a turn and use the time for three bullpen sessions -- two more than usual -- with pitching coach Jim Colborn.

Two of those have been completed, and the third will come today at PNC Park. Perez and Colborn will stay behind when most of the team goes to Cooperstown, N.Y., to face the Reds in the Hall of Fame Game.

By all accounts, Perez has progressed in the sessions. He has kept his mechanics in line, thrown strikes, kept the ball down and even shown some zip to his fastball.

It remains to be seen, though, how that translates to a game. Perez has done well in other bullpen sessions before recent starts without carrying it into competition.

"I don't know why," Perez said. "Maybe, if I throw a good pitch and the hitter does a good job to hit it, I change a little bit. I need to stay with my pitches, stay consistent. That's what I feel like I'm doing right now. My delivery, my release point, everything feels good."

Wells pitching, too

Colborn also will oversee starter Kip Wells' first bullpen session, today at PNC Park.

Wells has been recovering from a March surgery to repair a blocked artery in his right arm. He is projected to return by early July but could be back sooner.

Hall of a time

The Pirates and Reds were to arrive in Cooperstown last night in time for a private tour of the Hall of Fame.

Jim Tracy, the Pirates' manager, took a similar tour in 1996 while a coach with the Montreal Expos, and he sounded eager for another look.

"I was overwhelmed," he said. "You could spend a long time in there. I felt like I had to rush through. ... You have no idea what this game and its history mean to me."

The game, it is safe to say, will mean much less. Tracy plans to lean heavily on the 13 minor-league players the Pirates will add to the roster for a day.

"We'll go there to fulfill our obligation and cross our fingers that our players get through the ballgame in one piece," Tracy said.

He did not reveal his starting pitcher. The Reds will use veteran Eric Milton as part of his rehabilitation from knee surgery.

Wilson to return soon

Shortstop Jack Wilson could be back in the lineup at some point in the Cincinnati series that begins tomorrow.

He had been held out of two consecutive games because of his nagging, strained hamstring, apparently to set the stage for placement on the 15-day disabled list. But he pinch-hit yesterday in the seventh inning and said he had little trouble running

"After the first couple steps, it was, like, 'Hey, this is OK'" Wilson said. "It's feeling much better."

Catcher Ryan Doumit has been slowed by a similar injury, but he expressed optimism that he will avoid the disabled list: "I'm getting better every day."

Buried treasure

Catcher Neil Walker, the Pirates' top hitting prospect, will play in the game today. Littlefield said he did not know when Walker might begin his season at Class A Lynchburg. Because of December wrist surgery, Walker's action has been limited to extended spring training. "I'm back to 100 percent," Walker said in the Pirates' clubhouse. "But this was a test of my patience, for sure."

Right fielder Jeromy Burnitz changed his mind and used the pink bats that were part of Major League Baseball's program to raise awareness of breast cancer on Mother's Day. Several of the Marlins did likewise.