Pirates spring training thread

[Witlon]

Weekly Roundup for last week.
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/06064/665313.stm

Notes and quotes from the week in Bradenton
Sunday, March 05, 2006

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


On the bubble



Peter Diana, Post-Gazette photos
Victor Santos: 17-33 in parts of five major-league seasons.
Click photo for larger image.






Starting rotation: The loss of Kip Wells expanded not only the openings available but also the field of candidates. Beforehand, Pirates' management was citing only Victor Santos, Ryan Vogelsong and Ian Snell. Now, Sean Burnett, Tom Gorzelanny and Brandon Duckworth are in the mix as well. The pitcher who clearly moves to the top of the list now is Santos, given he is the only one who can replace Wells' experience.

Advantage: Santos

Bullpen: Vogelsong showed enough positives Thursday to illustrate why the team kept him this winter, but he will be bullpen-bound if he is not consistent all spring. If he is back in relief, that would leave one vacancy. Terry Adams and Scott Strickland have been impressive in the early going, but Jorge Vasquez did himself no favors with four walks yesterday.

Advantage: Vogelsong, Giovanni Carrara

Utilityman: The Pirates say they will keep an eye on Yurendell DeCaster while he plays in the World Baseball Classic, but his absence leaves more playing time for Jose Hernandez right under the staff's nose. Also, do not dismiss from this competition Mike Edwards, a Jim Tracy bench stalwart last season in Los Angeles. He had an outfield assis and the winning sacrifice fly yesterday.

Advantage: Hernandez



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On the spot


Three questions for infielder Freddy Sanchez:

Q. Your favorite part of spring training?

A. The very beginning. Just walking out onto that field, getting back out there, you know the season is going to be starting soon. It's only six weeks, and that's exciting.

Q. Most annoying part?

A. I'd have to say it's getting up in the morning. During the season, we have night games. During the offseason, we sleep in. Man, that first morning down here when you hear that alarm clock going off, that's tough for me. It's a different world.

Q. What do you do away from the field? Head to the beach at all?

A. I don't do much. I have my wife, Alissa, and my 10-month-old, Evan, so I basically go home and play dad. We might go out to dinner once in a while or go out and sit by the pool. The beach? No, I'm not a big fan of the beach. I can handle the swimming pool.



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On the way up


Reliever Matt Capps, 22, was perhaps the most surprising of the Pirates' September callups last season, given that he never pitched above Class AA Altoona. But really, not much about Capps should sneak up on anyone.

He is a two-pitch pitcher -- fastball and changeup -- and he did not begin developing a slider until the second half of last season.

Moreover, he throws those pitches in pretty much the same spot every time.

"I throw strikes," Capps said. "I challenge hitters. That's my game."

His control numbers support that contention convincingly: In 52 appearances between Class A Hickory and Altoona, plus four in Pittsburgh, he struck out 68 while walking only six. He posted a 2.44 ERA in the minors, 4.50 with the Pirates.

He said he took the most from his time in the majors.

"It meant so much, just knowing I can go out and compete at that level. Whether I go back to Pittsburgh right away or not, I can take that confidence from my time there, feeling like I belong there. If I make it, great. If not, I'm going to fight all year until I get back there."

Capps will return to Altoona to open the year.


On deck


Wednesday: As if practicing and playing games for 40 of 41 days is not enough, the Pirates will double their workload with their first of four split-squad doubleheaders. In the afternoon, one group will make the short ride south to Sarasota to take on the Cincinnati Reds. (Think Sean Casey will be one of them?) In the evening, another group will head north to Tampa to take on the New York Yankees.

[go_bucs2000]

Jason Bay went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run in his first spring training game, not bad hes produceing already

[Witlon]

Love seeing news like this posted in ST.
Credit: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/06073/669957.stm

Pirates Notebook: Pirates' big hitters batter Yankees
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

By Paul Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates had their version of "Murderer's Row" perform pretty well against the New York Yankees yesterday.

Sean Casey, Jason Bay, Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Randa -- the Nos. 3 through 6 batters in their lineup yesterday -- combined to go 7 for 10 with two home runs and seven RBIs in the Pirates' 9-8 split-squad victory.

"That shows the potential of what they can be all about," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "There are definitely a lot of major-league bats in there."

It seems probable that when the season begins April 3 in Milwaukee Tracy will write those four names in that same order on his lineup card for his Pirates managerial debut.

"It has a chance to look like that," Tracy said.


Secondary win


The other Pirates team also won, beating Detroit, 9-2, in Lakeland.

Reliever Roberto Hernandez made his spring debut and worked a perfect eighth inning, striking out one, getting another batter on a ground ball and a third on a fly ball.

Rajai Davis had four hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. Freddy Sanchez had three hits and three RBIs.

Paul Maholm started and pitched four innings. He allowed seven hits and two runs. Tom Gorzelanny followed and zipped through three scoreless innings.

While Maholm figures to be in the Pirates' rotation along with Zach Duke and Oliver Perez, Gorzelanny is among six candidates for the final spots.

Sean Burnett, coming back from shoulder and elbow surgery, and Ian Snell, both of whom pitched well against the Yankees yesterday, are in that group. Ryan Vogelsong, Victor Santos and Brandon Duckworth are the other three. The latter two are scheduled to pitch tomorrow against Minnesota.


Perez work minimal


Tracy and general manager Dave Littlefield probably would love the opportunity to see more of Perez this spring.

Perez, pitching for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, worked just one inning in Mexico's first four games. That 35-pitch inning produced 19 balls, three strikeouts, three walks and no runs.

It seems there's at least the possibility that Perez won't be built up enough inning-wise to be effective when the season begins.

Littlefield did point out that Perez pitched in an exhibition game for Mexico before the WBC started, so that gives him a little bigger body of spring work.

"I don't see it as being a significant problem," Littlefield said of Perez's low inning total. "Obviously, you'd like to have him get more [work] here sooner than later, but we'll have to see how [Mexico] plays."


Roster moves


The Pirates made seven roster cuts yesterday, sending pitchers Mike Johnston, Matt Peterson, Jonah Bayliss and Josh Sharpless, shortstop Javier Guzman, second baseman Craig Stansberry and center fielder Andrew McCutchen to minor-league camp.

Johnston's relatively early dismissal raised a few eyebrows.

"I told the players before spring training began that I'm not looking for 25 players. I'm looking for 36 or 37 players," Tracy said. "Does Mike Johnston fall into that category? Absolutely he does. Does he have the type of stuff to get major-league hitters out? Absolutely he does.

"The thing he has to realize is that he needs to throw strikes and throw major-league strikes. Being consistent with his fastball is very, very important."

Tracy indicated Sharpless, a right-hander from Freedom, will be used as a starter in the minor leagues now. He has not started a professional game.

"Since minicamp [in January] he's stair-stepped his way upward," Tracy said. "It's only a matter of time before we talk strongly about him coming here to start."

McCutchen, the Pirates' No. 1 pick in the amateur draft in June, was impressive in major-league camp.

"He showed poise," Tracy said. "He was not fazed at all by being in major-league camp. He's going to be a major-league player."

Tracy paused.

"A good major-league player," he added.

Another pause.

"A very good major-league player."

[Witlon]

Credit: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260315109

FINA

GPFT FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 12 1
MINNESOTA 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 x 5 10 0 FINAL

WP - MATT GUERRIER (1-0)
LP - BRANDON DUCKWORTH (1-1)

HOME RUNS: PIT - MIKE EDWARDS (1) OFF LEW FORD IN THE 9TH
MIN - SHANNON STEWART (1) OFF BRANDON DUCKWORTH IN THE 3RD
RONDELL WHITE (3) OFF VICTOR SANTOS IN THE 5TH

TIME: 2:54 ATT: 6,586



Box Score

PITTSBURGH (3) AT MINNESOTA (5)

PITTSBURGH AB R H BI MINNESOTA AB R H BI
N McLouth cf 5 1 3 1 S Stewart lf 2 1 1 2
G Dawkins ss 4 0 3 1 J Tyner lf 2 0 0 0
F Sanchez 3b 2 0 1 0 L Rodriguez 2b 2 0 0 0
J Bautista 3b 2 0 0 0 F Molina 2b 0 0 0 0
J Bay lf 3 0 1 0 M Redmond c 3 0 1 0
M Edwards lf 2 1 1 1 S Wooten c 1 0 0 0
J Burnitz rf 3 0 0 0 R White dh 3 1 1 1
R Davis cf 2 0 0 0 J Rabe dh 1 0 1 0
B Eldred 1b 4 0 0 0 T Hunter cf 1 0 0 0
J Hernandez 2b 3 0 0 0 L Ford cf 2 0 0 0
J Alfaro 2b 1 0 1 0 R Sierra rf 2 1 1 0
R Sadler dh 3 0 1 0 J Pridie rf 2 0 1 0
H Cota c 2 1 1 0 T Batista 3b 3 0 1 0
C Maldonado c 0 0 0 0 G Williams 3b 1 0 1 0
Y DeCaster ph 0 0 0 0 T Tiffee 1b 2 1 1 0
G Jones 1b 2 0 0 0
J Bartlett ss 2 1 1 2
G Velazquez ss 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 36 3 12 3 TOTALS 32 5 10 5

PITTSBURGH 000 020 001 -- 3
MINNESOTA 002 210 00x -- 5

E--V Santos. DP--PITTSBURGH 2, MINNESOTA 2.
LOB--PITTSBURGH 11, MINNESOTA 8. 2B--J Rabe, J
Bartlett, G Dawkins, H Cota. HR--R White 1 (3)
(off V Santos), S Stewart 1 (1) (off B Duckworth),
M Edwards 1 (1) (off L Ford). SB--J Bartlett 1
(1). CS--T Hunter. S--F Sanchez.
IP H R ER BB SO HR
PITTSBURGH
B Duckworth (L,1-1) 3 1-3 3 2 2 3 1 1
C Nitkowski 1-3 3 2 2 2 0 0
V Santos 2 1-3 1 1 1 0 1 1
M Gonzalez 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
J Grabow 1 2 0 0 0 2 0
MINNESOTA
M Garza 2 3 0 0 2 1 0
M Guerrier (W,1-0) 2 4 2 2 0 4 0
R Glynn 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
P Munro 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
J DePaula 1 1 0 0 0 2 0
M Ford 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

HBP--C Maldonado by J DePaula. SO--PIT: N McLouth
2, B Eldred 2, G Dawkins, J Hernandez, R Sadler.
MIN: G Jones 2, R White, G Velazquez. BB--PIT: H
Cota, R Sadler, Y DeCaster. MIN: L Rodriguez 2, T
Hunter, S Stewart, J Bartlett. T--2:54. A--6,586.

Good outing for Santos, even if Duckworth struggled. I still like Victor as one of the extra starters, probably a little better than Maholm(right now, anyway). McLouth is quickly becoming one of my favorite players with what he did the end of last year and lines like this.

[Witlon]

More 5th starter goodies, Tracy still undecided. Come on Victor!

Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06090/678286-63.stm

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Next?

The Pirates' fifth-starter duel fizzled in an emphatic way yesterday when neither Victor Santos nor Brandon Duckworth could reach the fifth inning in simultaneous starts on different diamonds.

Santos lasted 4 1/3 innings in the major-league team's 7-5 loss to Minnesota at McKechnie Field. The Twins tagged him for seven runs -- five earned -- on 12 hits, including a home run and four doubles.

Duckworth lasted one out longer in against the Cincinnati Reds' Class AAA affiliate at Pirate City, and he fared little better. The minor-league lineup scored five runs -- three earned -- on five hits and two walks.

Those performances couldn't have done much to crystallize management's outlook on a critical missing piece with four days left to the season opener. Nonetheless, general manager Dave Littlefield and his staff planned to meet on the matter last night, and the team is expected to name one of them the winner today.

It is possible that the loser will make the team as a long reliever, Littlefield and manager Jim Tracy said. There are two undeclared spots in the bullpen.

Littlefield has maintained all spring that the organization doesn't need to look to the outside for a starter, be it through a trade or other method.

Asked yesterday if the Pirates still felt that way, he replied, "Yeah, we do."


BASEBALL 2006


Wednesday: Jason Bay realizes he could be bigger in another city, but he doesn't believe he would be better


Yesterday: Get inside the head of Jim Tracy for a glimpse of the strategies he will apply from the Pirates' dugout. Plus, take our quick quiz to see how closely your moves match those Tracy would make.

Tomorrow: Paul Meyer's review of the Pirates' minor-league system. Plus, the Post-Gazette's annual ranking of the organization's top 10 prospects.

Sunday: For years, the Pirates have been accused of having no plan. Is that the case? Why is it taking so long to win? Dejan Kovacevic examines the team's baseball operations from Panama to PNC Park. Plus, a position-by-position outlook, and the three reasons why the Pirates will -- or will not -- have a winning season.

Monday: Oliver Perez will take the mound in Milwaukee for the opener, but which version of the Perez will the Pirates get? Plus, the team's game and broadcast schedules, along with our picks for the top events in Pittsburgh and across the majors.



All concerned downplayed the significance of yesterday.

"You take into account a lot of things," Littlefield said. "It's not about one outing."

"We're not going to base this decision on 4 2/3 innings or whatever," Tracy said. "You don't just look at today and say, 'He won.' "

That would be good news for Santos and Duckworth.

Santos looked strong in the first inning, throwing 12 of 14 pitches for strikes. But a Bradenton bloop landed in front of left fielder Jason Bay for a double, and Justin Morneau lined an RBI double to put the Twins up, 1-0.

Santos stayed in the zone the rest of the way -- he fanned five, and 48 of 67 pitches were strikes -- but Minnesota had little trouble making firm contact.

"I felt pretty good through the whole game," Santos said. "I threw a lot of quality strikes and, whenever I made a mistake, they took advantage."

Santos closed his spring 0-2 with a 6.27 ERA and, maybe most alarming, gave up 33 hits in 18 2/3 innings.

He was asked if he felt he proved his worth to management.

"Yeah. I've had some bad games. I've had some good games, too, so they saw the good and bad. That's just me. I'm going out there and throwing, whether I have it that day or not."

Duckworth labored through his 4 2/3 innings, walking three and running up a pitch count of 98. He struck out seven, though, continuing a spring-long trend. In Grapefruit League games, he is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.

"I feel I've shown I can pitch at this level," Duckworth said. "I know I can pitch deep into games. I've done it before. And I feel I can pitch out of the bullpen, as well. My main thing was to come in here and show them I still have good stuff."