Results tagged ‘ octavio dotel ’
Beimel, Olsen debut in Pirates 8-2 loss to Orioles
Left-handers Joe Beimel (left forearm soreness) and Scott Olsen (left hamstring strain) finally made their spring debuts on Monday afternoon, each allowing an earned run in the 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, Fla.
Beimel’s outing went well, despite the numbers in the box score. He did allow Jake Fox to hit a solo-home run off his very first pitch (fastball over the plate) but that was his only earned run of the inning. Three runs did score, but two were unearned and he struck out two.
Reliever Joe Beimel told Rob Biertempfel of the Trib, “That was messed up. First pitch of spring and he swings and hits a homer off me. I wasn’t too happy about that.”
It felt amazing,” Beimel said. “It really did. It might not have looked like it but I felt like everything was coming out pretty good. I was missing up a little bit, but for the first outing, I was actually pretty excited about it.”
“I just have to fine-tune things from here,” Beimel said. “I think stuff-wise, I felt like the ball was coming out pretty good. That’s usually what you have to build up to. I think I’m right on track.”
Olsen needed just 11 pitches to get through the eighth inning. He retired the first two batters, then allowed a solo home run to Nick Green. After the homer, Broadcaster Bob Walk said, “That was the furthest ball we’ve seen hit this afternoon. It cleared everything.”
Olsen allowed a triple to Josh Bell before getting out of the inning.
Kevin Correia started for the Pirates. Through five innings he allowed four runs on seven hits with a strikeout. After three great innings, Correia ran into trouble in the fourth. He allowed a RBI single by Markakis, as sac fly hit by Vladi Guerrero and a RBI single by Mark Reynolds. He also even threw a wild pitch.
Starter Kevin Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “The command was good. Everything was pretty good except one inning, when I kind of got a little quick to the plate trying to keep the running game down. I know that’s something that I tend to do when guys get on base, so I need to work on it before the season starts.”
“I’d say I’m two starts away from being ready for a regular-season game,” Correia said. “My pitch count was better today. I threw one less pitch than I did last outing and I went one more inning. The runs are one thing, but I want to stay out there as long as possible. So to get the pitch count down today was one of my main goals.”
Notes:
- James McDonald will skip a turn in the starting rotation this week. McDonald injured his side while throwing a pitch in the third inning of Friday’s game. The Pirates have not announced the exact injury or the severity of it.
The Bucs did issue a statement on saying that McDonald is feeling better, but they did not say whether he may be at risk to miss any additional starts.
- Charlie Morton today threw four innings (63 pitches) in a minor league camp game at Pirate City. He allowed three runs –all off a home run. Otherwise, it was reported that he was sharp.
- It was a good day for Steve Pearce who hit 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and Jason Jaramillo who had a double and a RBI.
- Evan Meek had a nice bounce back inning of work. He allowed just one hit with no runs or walks with one strikeout.
- Andrew McCutchen proved today that there are no limits to his talent. After Randy Winn hit a solo-home run to center, McCutchen who jumped to try to catch the ball, lost his glove over the wall. With no one around to retrieve it, he took the matter into his own hands and leaped over the wall to get it himself.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “He’s got six tools. We saw the sixth tool today.”
- Pedro Ciriaco made an outstanding throw to Alvarez to get Nick Markakis at third base (he was trying to stretch a double into a triple).
He’s got a gun,” Hurdle said. “The arm strength is there. It’s a big arm. And it took a big arm to make that play. That’s one thing we’ve seen from Pedro.”
- The Pirates have an off day on Tuesday. Wednesday Paul Maholm will start against the Toronto Blue Jays. Jeff Karstens, Joel Hanrahan are scheduled to pitch.
Kyle Drabek (son of former Bucco Doug Drabek) will be pitching for the Jays. Former Pirate closer Octavio Dotel is also scheduled to throw.
Pirates cut Locke, Moskos, 8 others from camp
The Pirates cut 10 players from camp on Monday Morning: Andrew Lambo, Brian Friday, Chase D’Arnaud, Aaron Thompson, Ramon Aguero, Jeff Locke, Tony Watson, Gorkys Hernandez, Alex Presley and Daniel Moskos.
Lambo was reassigned to minor league camp. Expect him to play a corner infield (with first base as a fall back option) with the Triple-A Indians this year. Lambo was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 4th round of the 2007 draft (He was acquired in the Octavio Dotel trade last July). In 26 games with the Altoona Curve, Lambo batted .275 with two homeruns and10 RBI.
Friday was reassigned to minor league camp. He should spent the most of his playing time at second base. Friday was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2007 draft by the Pirates. In 93 games with the Triple-A Indians, the 25-year-old batted .257 with two home runs and 28 RBI.
D’Arnaud was reassigned to minor league camp. He will spend the season playing short, but General Manager Neal Huntington said he will also play some time at third base. D’Arnaud was drafted in the 4th round of the 2008 draft by the Pirates. In 132 games with the Altoona Curve, the 24-year-old batted .247 with 33 doubles, nine triples, six home runs and 48 RBI.
Thompson was optioned to Double-A Altoona. Although he was optioned to the Curve, he could start the season at Triple-A, depending on how the pitching shakes out. Thompson was drafted in the 1st round (22nd overall) by the Florida Marlins in the 2005 draft. The Pirates claimed the lefty off waivers from the Washington Nationals. Last year, combined with Double-A and Triple-A for the Nats, the 24-year-old went 5-13 with a 5.64 ERA in 141.2 innings.
Aguero was optioned to Double-A Altoona. Aguero had an injury plagued 2010 season (elbow soreness and back stiffness) and only pitched in 25 games. He had a 6.14 ERA combined with the High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona.
Locke was optioned to Double-A Altoona, but like Thompson could start the season with Triple-A. Locke was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft (He was acquired in the Nate McLouth trade). The 23-year-old went 12-5 with a 3.56 ERA combined with High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona last year. He also struck out 139 batters in 144 innings.
Watson was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. The organization is still undecided on if he will be used as a starter or a reliever. Watson was drafted by the Pirates in the 9th round of the 2007 draft. The 25-year-old went 6-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 34 games (nine starts) with Double-A Altoona in 2010.
Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis and will be the Indians primary center fielder. Hernandez batted .266 with 11 doubles, two homers, 26 RBI and 10 stolen bases with Double-A Altoona.
Alex Presley was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Presley will bounce around in the outfield with Hernandez being the teams primary center fielder. Presley was drafted in the 8th round of the 2006 draft. In 136 games (combined with Double-A and Triple-A) last season, the 25-year-old batted .320 with 28 doubles, 13 triples, 12 home runs 85 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Presley also made his major league debut with the Bucs where he batted .261 in 19 games.
Daniel Moskos was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Although he and Watson were two lefty candidates for the Bucs bullpen, the organization believes they could use more seasoning in the minors before making their debuts. Moskos was drafted in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2007 draft. He had a 4.14 ERA in 56 games (1.52 ERA with Double-A Altoona) with 61 strikeouts over 58.2 innings. Moskos also picked up 22 saves.
44 players remain at big league camp.
Closer role still undecided
The Pirates still have not decided who will close out games during the 2011 season: Joel Hanrahan or Evan Meek.
“They haven’t said anything,” said Meek, here at Pirate City for a weeklong voluntary minicamp. “In terms of [management officials] making their decision, they have haven’t said anything, but it isn’t something that should keep you up at night. Whether it is the eighth or ninth inning that I end up working, you still need to go out and get three outs. You know that as a person who does what I do.”
“If they’ve got their mind up already about who the closer is going to be, I don’t know,” Hanrahan said. ”I’m just trying to get ready for spring training. I’d be happy with doing either one, working the eighth or ninth. I know I’d be fine with whatever role it is, just as long as we are getting the opportunities. If we get the opportunities, that means we are winning games and, really, that’s the main concern around here.”
General Manager Neal Huntington has said they are discussing the role, and would name a closer before spring training starts (pitchers and catchers report February 13th, first workout for all players is on the 19th). It’s also not his main priority in mid-January.
“We have talked in generalities of choosing one or the other for those specific roles. We have talked in generalities of using both. Clint and I need to spend some more time, in the future, talking about this because I know both guys, Evan and Joel, are hungry to pitch.”
“This is not something that we have to answer right now, but this is something that we want to have an answer to before spring training,” Huntington said. We won’t have a competition for the closer … during spring training. Whoever is our closer, is our closer.”
After Octavio Dotel was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July, both Hanrahan and Meek split closing duties; Joel picking up six, Evan four.
The guys in the pen, however, are used to routine and the uncertainty of who would pitch in the ninth did effect them.
“It was different,” Hanrahan said of last season. “Everyone likes to have a role and know when exactly the situations are that they Dere going to come into a game. Last year was different. We’d kind of sit there and look at each other, and then the phone rang [in the bullpen] and sometimes that is how we found out who was going to work. It was just different.”
Both have said they would they would be happy being the closer, but there is no adversarial between them.
“You just learn to control the things that you can control. That is all you can do,” Meek said. “And, after that, you let everything else just be. That is something you learn the more you play this game.”
Minor League News and Notes
- The Pirates have not decided on a starting rotation for Triple-A system for 2011. Those players who do not make the major league roster could be factored into the Indians rotation. The candidates include: Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, Bryan Morris and Jared Hughes (who could begin trickling into the Pirates rotation after July).
- Infielder Josh Harrison finished the finished well in the Arizona Fall League where he hit .330 in 22 games and finished with a .516 slugging percentage. He could be a candidate to start the season in Triple-A.
“He’s a guy that’s going to continue to challenge people to think that he’s better than what they think,” farm director Kyle Stark said. “He went out there and played very well.”
- Andrew Lambo also finished well in the AFL, batting .274 with 23 RBIs in 28 games (The 22-year-old outfielder was acquired by the Dodgers in the Octavio Dotel trade). Lambo is also a starting candidate for Triple-A.
Dotel persued by seven teams
According to MLB Trade Rumors, seven teams are interested in veteran right hander Octavio Dotel. The Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Orioles, Twins, Pirates and Yankees have reportably inquired.
Dotel, 37, spent the 2010 season with the Pirates, Dodgers and Rockies while posting a 4.08 ERA. He had 21 saves as the Bucs closer.
Kristy Robinson
Recent Comments