Oliver Perez to be Opening Day starter

[General]

Oliver Perez will be the Pirates' Opening Day starter, manager Jim Tracy said Tuesday.
Perez gets the nod over No. 2 starter Zach Duke. "The most important thing is to have young pitchers slotted where they're supposed to be at this point in their careers," Tracy said. "We have some young pitchers with an awful lot of ability. But I don't think I would sleep too well at night if I knew I was force feeding a young pitcher." Following Duke will be Paul Maholm and Ian Snell

Good choice.

[redsrbetter]

I think that rotation is a force waiting to explode. Perez is nasty when he is on his game. We all know about Duke's ability and Maholm is a bigtime up and comer.

I am afraid to face this Pirates staff as a Reds fan.

[General]

Don't forget Sean Burnett (beast) and my boy VBS.

[MarinersFan87]

Cool. I'm sure Jamie Moyer is going to be our opening day starter lol, doesn't mean he is the real number one. I always figured it was just whoever was gonna get the most fans out to the park, but I would've figured that would've been Duke.

[Witlon]

I kinda expected this, after Kip went down. I don't think they want to put Duke under that kind of a microscope on opening day.

Victor Santos should have the 5th starter job nailed down with Burnett's demotion.

[DirtyKash]

Don't forget Sean Burnett (beast) and my boy VBS.

Burnett got sent down to Triple-A with Gorzellany.

Anyways, the Pirates have too many lefties.

[Witlon]

Burnett got sent down to Triple-A with Gorzellany.

Anyways, the Pirates have too many lefties.

Impossible to have too many lefties.

[DirtyKash]

Is that the same thing as the Reds GM's motto of "Can never have enough catching"?

[Witlon]

No, DK, it's not. See, you can start 5 left handed starters. You can only start 1 catcher...I know they don't play much baseball up north, so I figured I'd explain it nicely.

Another Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06081/674483.stm

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Left-hander Oliver Perez will start the Pirates' season opener April 3 in Milwaukee, manager Jim Tracy said yesterday.

Tracy also said Ian Snell will be in the rotation, along with Zach Duke and Paul Maholm, and that Ryan Vogelsong will begin the season in the bullpen.

The only rotation spot still undecided concerns the pitcher who will start the second game of the season in Milwaukee. At this point, that's a battle between right-handers Brandon Duckworth and Victor Santos, a former Brewers pitcher.

Duckworth and Santos are scheduled to pitch Saturday against Philadelphia at McKechnie Field.

Duke is scheduled to start the third game of the season, with Snell and Maholm following.

"Opening day obviously is a very special day," Tracy said. "It's a very special day on the road, but it's also a very special day at PNC Park."

Duke is scheduled to start the home opener April 10 against Los Angeles, which Tracy managed the previous five seasons.

"Zach Duke deserves to pitch the home opener in Pittsburgh," Tracy said. "He's earned that right."

Perez, 24, is coming off a pothole-filled season in which he made two starts against the Brewers and yielded eight earned runs in 10 innings. He got a late start in spring training because of left shoulder stiffness. He started the season opener against Milwaukee at PNC Park and, after a clean first inning, allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and 6 runs in the next four-plus innings in a 9-2 loss. He missed two starts in early May to try to smooth out his mechanics.

His toe was broken in St. Louis kicking a laundry cart in the clubhouse June 26 and he was on the disabled list until Sept. 2. He finished 7-5 with a 5.85 earned run average in 20 starts, over which the Pirates were 13-7.

That followed a sensational 2004 in which he was 12-10 -- for a team that wound up 17 games under .500 -- with a 2.98 ERA. In 196 innings, he allowed only 145 hits and struck out 239.

"Something that's intriguing about Perez is, you don't strike out 239 by accident," Tracy said. "That's not possible. Last year, he was 7-5 and we're talking that he had a bad year, but he was 7-5."

"I will be anxious to see the real Oliver Perez step forward and become who we all know he's capable of becoming. It would be very interesting to see where that takes us over the course of six months."

Tracy said Perez's 3 1/2 seasons of major-league experience -- plus the fact he started the opener a year ago -- worked in his favor.

"Oliver Perez has been in the big leagues long enough to understand that it's time for him to step up and be a [major] guy for this ballclub," Tracy said.

Perhaps the Pirates, in entrusting him with the start in the season opener, are trying to make sure Perez understands that.

"He needs to know that," Tracy said.

The start in the opener will be the 90th of Perez's big-league career.

Duckworth, 30, has made 66 major-league starts. Santos, 29, has made 65 big-league starts.

Duke (14), Snell (6) and Maholm (6) have made a total of 26 major-league starts.

"I do not want to feed a young player more than is necessary at an early juncture in his major-league career, and all three fall into that category," Tracy said. "The way they're lined up, we have them in an environment where if their abilities come out like we know they're capable of we're going to get up on a lot of days and really like the matchup we have.

"We have some young pitchers here with a tremendous amount of ability. But along with that comes the positive psychological aspect that you have to have. I don't think I'd sleep too well at night if I knew I was force-feeding a young pitcher.

"I think it's very important early on to place these guys in situations that make the most sense and give them the best opportunity to build a very solid foundation for themselves and see where it takes us. Then if we have to [make changes] that's exactly what we'll do."

Snell, a hard-throwing right-hander is slotted between Duke and Maholm to break up two softer throwing left-handers.

"Ian Snell has pitched his way into this rotation and he's come a long way," Tracy said. "He's made a hell of a lot of progress and really deserves a lot of credit for the job he's done this spring."

Tracy met with all four starters in his office at noon yesterday. Among the topics he stressed was throwing strikes.

"It is not in the best interests of the Pirates to have guys on the mound not throwing strikes," Tracy said. "When you have a defense which is as capable as this one, go get the bat. That's what I want to see. I want to see aggression and I want them to go get the bat."

Tracy said he'll be very pleased "if we're throwing quality strikes and the ball's in play and the ball's on the ground and it's giving [the defense] a chance to field it, [because] we're going to catch the ball."

Tracy also had a chat with Vogelsong in his office yesterday.

"We're very hopeful that during the season he's going to emerge and become a [strong] guy for us," Tracy said. "Right now, I feel like it's in his best interest and the ballclub's best interest to put him in [the bullpen] and see where he goes with it."

Vogelsong came to camp determined to win a starting spot.

Said Tracy: "You want to pitch in the rotation? Make me do it -- and I'll be more than happy to do so."

As for Vogelsong wanting to be in the rotation. When you start throwing like you belong in the majors, maybe you'll get a shot, kid.

[redsrbetter]

Is that the same thing as the Reds GM's motto of "Can never have enough catching"?

HaHa, you punk! Nice one.

But I have to agree with you and I hate having to feel this way about a new GM, but I am lost on he Ross addition.

[Dry1313]

Wow, Ian Snell is my boy, just because he changed his name from Ian Oquendo to Ian Snell and hes gonna be mad good. I project 27 wins, a 0.04 ERA, a 0.02 WHIP, and 574 K's. Modest.

[redsrbetter]

What the...

You are insane Dry, simply insane but I like your thinking and I agree.

[go_bucs2000]

what the rotation SHOULD be if Mac was here:

1.Duke
2.Perez
3.Sean Burnett
4.Victor Santos
5.Ryan Vogelsong(they had a thing going )