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Post game news and notes: 4/5
- The Pirates struck out for a total of 11 times during Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. First baseman Lyle Overbay told Nate Latasch of MLB.com, I think we’re kind of doubting our game plan a little bit,. You end up taking the pitches that you should be hitting and swinging at their pitches. It’s just a matter of getting up and making sure we’re swinging at our pitches and not letting the pitcher dictate what we want to swing at.”
- The Pirates signed Left-hand pitcher Dan Meyer and right-hander Tim Wood on Tuesday according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. They both were assigned them to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin season.
Meyer was released by the Phillies on Monday. He appeared in 13 games with the Florida Marlins in 2010 where he allowed 10 runs on 15 hits with 12 walks over 9.1 innings.
Wood appeared in 26 games for the Marlins last season where he allowed 19 runs (17 earned) with 15 walks and 10 strikeouts over 27.2 innings.
- The Triple-A Indians rotation this year will be: Brian Burres, Sean Gallagher, Justin Wilson, Daniel McCutchen and Rudy Owens.
- Neil Walker has had a hot bat so far this spring. Walker has a team leading seven hits and seven RBI over four games. Manager Clint Hurdle has been impressed from what he’s seen from the second baseman.
He told Nate Latsch of MLB.com, “He’s a ballplayer. I do hear comments from time to time that he can’t do this and he can’t do that. We live in a society that we’re so quick to try and point out how smart we are and something that somebody can’t do.”
“You let the kid play and you watch him play. He comes to play. He comes to win. He’s going to do whatever it takes on the offensive and defensive side of the ball to win a ballgame. He’ll lay out. Does he have work to do? Can he improve? All of us can. I like the way he embraces the game and he has embraced this opportunity.”
- Evan Meek has had back-to-back shaky innings where he has allowed seven runs (four earned ) in two appearances.
John Wehner, the Pirates color analyst, reported that Meek has also been fighting a cold. It’s still very early to be worried about two bad performances.
Meek told Karen Price of MLB.com, “It’s a long season, and obviously I’m not pitching how I can or how I should be right now, but it’s too early to panic.”
“This situation is just one of those things where you have to have a good outing to build off of, and you have to do the best you can not to be negative and dwell on your last outing or your last couple outings because that’s not going to be productive.”
Ohlendorf struggles, Bucs lose 8-5 to Phillies
Ross Ohlendorf’s struggles this spring continued as he threw 94 pitches over four innings as the Pirates lost to the Phillies 8-5 at Citizen Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Ohlendorf has only thrown five innings in a start this spring once. He allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits with one walk and a strikeout over four innings.
Ohlendorf has now allowed 24 runs (20 earned) on 34 hits over 18.1 innings this spring.
Ohlendorf told Mike Radano of MLB.com, “I wish Spring Training had gone better, but I feel as if I’m ready. I feel like tonight, that even though the results were similar to my other starts, I feel like I threw the ball much better.”
“Where I didn’t do well is I threw too many pitches. I felt that with the exception of a couple of at-bats, I wasn’t getting hit as hard as I was in the last game, and the ball was coming out much better, and [catcher Ryan] Doumit did, too. I’m definitely heading in the right direction.”
Manager Clint Hurdle is not concered with Ohlendorf’s spring struggles. Hurdle told Mike Radano of MLB.com, “I have no concerns or misgivings. He’s in our starting rotation. I’ve seen guys have springs in which they didn’t get anybody out, and when the season started they rolled right through it.”
Lyle Overbay came through with a two-RBI double in the 1st inning off of Roy Oswalt to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead. Both Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez walked in the inning.
Jimmy Rollins successfully stole second base in the bottom of the 1st inning. Catcher Ryan Doumit’s throw to second went into center field allowing Luis Castillo to score and put the Phillies on the board.
Right Fielder Ben Francisco homered off Ohlendorf in the 2nd inning to tie the game at two. Ohlendorf continued struggled in the 2nd. Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Luis Castillo hit a grounder to short, an easy double play to end the inning, but Ronny Cedeno bobbled the ball allowing a run to score. Jimmy Rollins hit a sac fly to score Ruis and give the Phillies a 4-2 lead.
Two more runs scored in the 4th inning off of Ohlendorf, who hit Rollins, his third batter of the night. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins both hit RBI singles in the inning.
Josh Rodriguez and Jose Tabata drew back-to-back walks in the 5th. Neil Walker hit a single, but advanced to third base on an error by the Francisco. Both Rodriguez and Tabata scored. Andrew McCutchen followed with a RBI single to cut the lead to 6-5.
Chris Leroux’s leadoff walk to Victorino scored on a ground out by Rollins in the 6th. Leroux was pulled after just 1/3 of an inning.
Former Bucco Erik Kratz scored off of Evan Meek in the 8th. The Phillies went on to win 8-5.
Notes:
- Jose Tabata went 0-for-2 with three walks and two runs.
- Neil Walker reached base four times tonight. He went 3-for-4 with a RBI, a walk and two runs scored.
- Right-hander Kevin Correia, who will be the Pirates opening day starter in Chicago, is eager to get the season started right. He will be facing the Cub’s Ryan Dempster on April 1st.
Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I’d trade in an Opening Day start for a good start. If we’re going to turn this thing around, it would be nice to win that first game. It’s exciting, but you can’t get caught up too much in it. You’ve got to approach it like any other start.”
- Although it hasn’t been officially announced, Mike Crotta has made the Pirates 25-man roster according to reports. Crotta, who has never pitched above AAA, has had himself a great spring. He’s allowed just two earned runs over 12.1 innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
Crotta told Mike Radano of MLB.com, “I feel like [Spring Training] couldn’t have gone better for me. I [went to Florida] in the beginning of December because I had some elbow issue to work through. From the first day, I’ve just worked with [Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage] on getting the right mentality to be a reliever, and working on getting the ball down in the zone.”
“I’ve learned a lot this spring, and it’s something I can take with me into my career. It’s awesome to be here, and the whole experience is awesome. From the plane ride to playing in a game, it’s all just awesome. I’m ready to go.”
- Corey Giger of the Altoona Mirror reports that Pirates pitching prospects Jeff Locke and Bryan Morris will start the season with Double-A Altoona. Left-hander Justin Wilson is still undetermined whether he will go back to Altoona, or start the year with Triple-A.
Catcher Tony Sanchez and Starling Marte, ranked as the Pirates No. 2 and No. 4 prospects by Baseball America, will start in Double-A.
Another interesting move will be with shortstop Chase D’Arnaud. If the Pirates decide that Pedro Ciriaco will be the everyday shortstop in Indianapolis, then D’ARnaud will start the season at Double-A again.
- The Pirates will face the Phillies again tomorrow for the final exhibition game before opening day kicks off on Friday. Charlie Morton will start for the Bucs against Cole Hamels.
Who is Mike Crotta?
Right-hander Mike Crotta has quietly had himself a great spring. In eight appearances (10.1 innings), Crotta has not allowed an earned run. He’s held the opponents to just four hits (.114 opp avg) with one walk and three strikeouts.
So just who is Michael Crotta? You may, or may not have heard of the 6’6″ righty.
The 26-year-old spent the 2010 season with both Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis where he went 7-10 with a 4.42 ERA in 28 starts (156.2 innings) combined.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com after just two appearances this spring, “He’s definitely got the attention of some people. He’s pitching with purpose.”
Crotta still remains with the big league club but will most likely start the season back at Triple-A.
His future with the Pirates is an interesting one. Crotta is on the 40-man roster, but he will be competing this season with some of the Bucs best starting pitching prospects; Bryan Morris, Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson and Jeff Locke are all either slated to start in Triple-A, or they are not too far behind. Let’s not forget about Aaron Thompson and Tony Watson who can also start. Brad Lincoln, Brian Burres and Daniel McCutchen could all wind up in Indianapolis too.
While he’s not a prospect to keep an eye on (a career 4.61 ERA in five minor league seasons), I’d say his spring stats are more than worthy of some attention.
*Photo credit: Derick Hingle
Bucs cut four from spring training
The Pirates made four cuts on Saturday morning: Kyle McPherson was optioned to Bradenton (High-A), Bryan Morris was optioned to Indianapolis (Triple-A) and Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson were reassigned to minor league camp.
McPherson appeared in one game this spring where he allowed one hit and no runs through two innings. McPherson was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 2007 draft. The 23-year-old right-hander went 9-9 in 28 games (21 starts) with a 3.48 ERA combined with West Virginia Power and Bradenton Marauders last season.
Morris allowed two runs on four hits with one strike out through three innings (two games) this spring. Morris was drafted in the 1st round (26th overall) of the 2006 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers (He was one of the players acquired in the Jason Bay trade). He went 6-4 in 19 games (16 starts) with a 4.25 ERA with the Altoona Curve in 2010. Morris struck out 124 batters in 133.2 innings combined with Double-A and High-A last season.
Owens allowed three runs on six hits this spring through four innings (two games) and walked two. Owens was drafted in the 26th round by the Pirates in the 2006 draft. The 23-year-old lefty went 12-6 with a 2.46 ERA with Double-A Altoona last year. He struck out 132 batters in 150 innings, walking just 23.
Wilson allowed three runs on one hit with four walks and three strikeouts this spring in 1.2 innings. Wilson was drafted in the 5th round by the Pirates in 2008. He went 11-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 26 starts with 71 walks and 134 strikeouts.
54 players remain at big league camp.
“[With the] small snapshots that I was able to view, I was impressed with all of them,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “It just reinforces everything I heard, everything I felt, everything I had seen about our player development system. These guys are grounded. These guys are focused. These guys are committed. They are professionals. They used their eyes so well, their ears so well here.”
Bucs morning workouts and Piratefest
I arrived to McKechnie Field early on Sunday, partially for Pirate fest (which was held outside the ballpark prior to the game) but also to catch some of the Bucs early morning workouts. Here are some pictures from both:
Paul Maholm and Neil Walker working out with Bucs trainer.
Pedro Alvarez taking swings in the batting cage.
Video of Pedro Alvarez taking swings in the cages.
Josh Fields during batting practice.
Jeff Locke and Josh Rodriguez signing with fans at Piratefest.
Justin Wilson and Justin Thomas signing with fans at Piratefest.
Pirates strike out in 5-0 loss to the Blue Jays
The Pirates struck a total of 13 times on Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at McKechnie Field.
No player struck out more than once. That’s a pretty rare feat –but not in a good way.
James McDonald started for the Bucs and he had a rough time from the first pitch he threw (ball). It took him 29 pitches to get out of the first inning in which he allowed two runs, three hits, a walk and a strike out. After a 1-2-3 second, Manager Clint Hurdle pulled him in the third inning after throwing 52 pitches.
“I’ve got to focus on getting strike one,” said McDonald, who had thrown two scoreless innings his first time out. “Early innings, just I got a little out of whack.”
“I was pleased with some of the pitches I threw,” McDonald said. “Some of the results to me were good. It might not look that good out there because they hit it in play. But it was the pitch I wanted and I executed it. Things are going fine.”
Former Pirates third baseman Jose Bautista 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI.
The Blue Jays Ricky Romero sailed through four innings allowing one hit and no runs. He struck out six and walked two.
Notes:
- James McDonald, who is 1-for-33 at the plate lifetime, wants to have at least 10 hits this season.
“I vowed that I would get at least 10 hits,” McDonald said. “If I can be decent at hitting and at least get my bunts down, I can help this team.”
- Corey Wimberly made his first start this spring at shortstop today and it didn’t go so well. He made a bad throw to first baseman Josh Fields in the third inning which sailed over his head. The error cost the Pirates two unearned runs.
Wimberly is 0-for-12 this spring with four walks and two stolen bases. He is battling for an extra infielder spot on the roster.
“We’re just going to keep working with him,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We ran him out for a bunch of innings and couldn’t get him a groundball and they came in bunches today. We’ve got to loosen him up a little bit so he’ll be able to pick up some rhythm and timing at short. At the end of the day, we’ve got to be able to have him at short. We’ve got to be able to have him at centerfield.”
- Aaron Thompson is quietly having himself a nice spring training. Through three innings of work he hasn’t allowed a hit, run or walk, and has struck out three.
- Joel Hanrahan had a nice outing allowing no hits or runs in the fourth inning.
- Justin Wilson bounced back from his last trip to the mound, he struck out three and walked one in the seventh.
- Gift Ngoepe, the south African player the Pirates signed in 2008, pinch hit for Jeff Locke in the 9th inning (struck out).
- The Pirates will face the Tampa Bay Rays at McKechnie field on Monday at 1:05. Ross Ohlendorf will get the start for the Bucs.
Right hander Evan Meek is scheduled to make his spring training debut tomorrow. Meek has been sidelined with a tight right calf and will pitch one inning following Ohlendorf.
Jose Veras, Tyler Yates, Michael Crotta and Daniel Moskos will follow.
Day 21 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
- The Pirates will face the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, FLA.
You can watch the game for free at home today MLB.tv.
ROOT Sports (formally FSN Pittsburgh) will air the game today –the first of four spring training games this year.
- James McDonald will start for the Bucs, followed by Joel Hanrahan, Chris Resop, Aaron Thompson, Daniel McCutchen, Justin Wilson, Jeff Locke, and Justin Thomas.
Ricky Romero will start for the Blue Jays.
- Dusty Brown, who the Pirates signed as a minor league free agent this offseason, has spent the past 10 years in the Red Sox organization. This spring, he has been getting familiar with his new pitching staff.
“The young guys in camp really have good stuff,” Brown said. “In comparison to the Red Sox, as far as the young pitchers go, there are better arms with a lot more velocity here. I’m excited to see where they all go and how things end up. I think there is potential to be a very good staff in a couple of years.”
- With a few weeks remaining in spring training, the Bucs season opener is on the road this year in Chicago. Manager Clint Hurdle is aware of the horrible road record (17-64) from last season and is preparing to change it this year.
“We’ve definitely had long conversations with the front office, and we’ve got some plans that we’ve just barely started scratching the surface on,” he said. “More talk will ramp up the last two weeks of spring training when we cut the club down to size. We’re going to approach things differently in some areas. One of the traps players can fall into, and it’s not their fault, but awareness can help, that at home you have a scheduled routine. Especially if you’re married and have kids, and if not you still have a routine. The luxuries on the road where you can roll out of bed and go to the park, you can eat. … We’re going to try to find ways to get them up a little earlier, get them moving a little earlier, get our preparation done a little more succinctly on the road, find more time for ourselves to prepare, maybe a workout pattern we’re going to implement on the road to make us more comfortable in visiting cities. We’ve got a plan in place.”
Blue Jays
Lineup: Patterson CF, Escobar SS, Bautista 3B, Snider DH, Encarnacion 1B,Thames LF, Davis RF, Aprencibia C, McCoy 2B
Pitchers: Romero, Rauch, Francisco, Villanueva, Stewart
Pirates
Lineup: Wimberly SS, Ciriaco 2B, McCutchen CF, Alvarez 3B, Diaz LF, Pearce RF, Fields 1B, Brown C, McDonald P
Pitchers: McDonald, Hanrahan, Resop, Thompson, D. McCutchen, Wilson, Locke, Thomas
**The Pirates will for the first time this spring will have the pitchers bat in the lineup. They have been using designated hitters up to this point.
Pirate City workouts: 3/2
It was much better weather on my second trip to Pirate City. No rain today, thank goodness.
The major league players had a three hour MLB Players Association meeting in the early am so most of the fields were occupied by the minor leaguers.
A funny moment happened later in the morning (after the major leaguers arrived) when a fan called over Matt Diaz for an autograph. He handed him a picture of John Bowker, who wore No. 23 last year. Diaz said, “That’s not me. That’s Bowker.” The fan said that he was wearing No. 23, but Diaz laughed and told him that when your old like me you can take the younger players numbers.
I recorded bullpen sessions by Kyle McPherson and Bryan Morris as well as Rudy Owens.
Pedro Ciriaco and Josh Rodriguez took grounders at shortstop this afternoon.
Justin Wilson throwing a bullpen session.
Minor leaguers taking batting practice.
Players practicing drills (Brock Holt, Jim Negrych, Starling Marte)
Players stretching before workouts.
Beimel shutdown after bullpen session
Joe Beimel threw his bullpen session on Tuesday, and it did go as well as expected. The Pirates have decided to shut Beimel down after he experienced discomfort in his left forearm after throwing about 10 pitches.
Beimel is expected to have a MRI at 4pm today.
“Things didn’t go great today,” Beimel said. “It’s definitely getting better. I would have liked to have thrown a little more today and I started to feel it so I shut it down. They just want to go and see if there is anything in there. Just talking to the doctors and things like that, they said it shouldn’t be a big deal and that it’s more muscular than anything else. Want to get the MRI to make sure.”
Beimel, who was signed to a minor league contract, was favored to be the late inning lefty reliever from the ‘pen. The Pirates other options of left-handed help would be: Scott Olsen (if healthy and doesn’t make the 5th spot in the rotation). Daniel Moskos and Tony Watson, both of them has no major league experience. Brian Burres and Justin Wilson are both lefty’s, but neither are on the 40-man roster.
“It’s something we’ll address when and if it happens,” Huntington said. “We’re optimistic that it’s going to be just a short shutdown and as a reliever that he can get back out there pretty quickly. He’s in tremendous shape. It’s not really something necessary to talk about right now.”
Pirates 9th inning rally not enough, as Bucs lose 6-4 to O’s
Miles Durham’s late inning two run bomb brought the Pirates within two runs of the Orioles on Monday afternoon, but Ryan Doumit struck out to end the rally as the Bucs lost 6-4.
Paul Maholm started for the Pirates. He allowed two runs (one solo home run) on four hits, with two strike outs through two innings of work.
“I didn’t get ahead of as many hitters as I wanted, but for the most part it felt good,” Maholm said. “I went after guys. I was a little jumpy and left some over the plate, but that’s the first outing of spring. It happens.”
All those pick off drills being worked at camp Hurdle are paying off. Maholm picked off Craig Tatum in the second inning.
Paul Maholm warming up before the Bucs battled the Baltimore Orioles.
Jeff Karstens also pitched two innings on Monday. He allowed two hits, no runs and walked one.
Tyler Yates (Tommy John surgery) pitched one inning allowing one hit and struck out one. It was nice to see Yates back on the mound again. He’s a great story, and definitely a player you want to root for to succeed.
Tyler Yates on the mound, battling for a bullpen spot this year.
Justin Wilson had a horrible outing. Manager Clint Hurdle pulled him after just pitching .2 innings. He allowed three runs on one hit, with three walks. He also allowed a double steal against him.
The Pirates invited three players from Minor League camp — Miles Durham, Mel Rojas Jr. and Jim Negrych to play against the Orioles.
Rojas Jr and Negrych both were o’ffers, but Durham hit a two run homer in the ninth and drew a walk in the 7th inning.
Some notes:
- After the game ended, I noticed former Manager John Russell walk towards the Bucs dugout to talk to some of the players. Ryan Doumit was the only one that walked over to Russell, giving him a hug.
- Hurdle is very much different from Russell. Throughout the game, Hurdle would yell words of encouragement to the players during tough at-bats, etc.
- Pedro Alvarez, who still wants to prove he can stay at third base, missed several balls that could have been playable.
“All I know is that I am a third baseman and that’s what I’m working for,” Alvarez said. “That’s where I am working to stay for the rest of my career. I play to get better.”
“Can he play third base? I’m going to say yes,” Leyva said. “I’ve been around for a long time and I’ve seen a lot of infielders that people think maybe someone can’t. It’s my job that he can when it’s all over. Pedro is a good athlete. We’ve got to take that into consideration when we start working with him. I’m not going to ask him to do some things that he is not capable of doing. If so, I’m not doing my job.”
Added Hurdle: “He’s working hard. He knows the value of a good third baseman. He knows what he’s capable of doing. He’s had some very good defensive stretches. He’s had some stretches that weren’t Major League quality, and he knows that. He’s out to become the best third baseman he can be.”
Jose Tabata on deck and leading off for the Pirates.
Kristy Robinson
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