Results tagged ‘ scott olsen ’
Morton pitching aggressive this spring, eyes 5th spot
By the way that Charlie Morton has pitched this spring, It looks like he is the front runner for the fifth spot in the starting rotation.
After a disastrous 2010 season (a 2-12 record with a 7.57 ERA), Morton appears more confident this year –both on and off the mound. He is battling Lefty Scott Olsen and Former First round pick in 2006, Brad Lincoln, for the final spot in the rotation.
Charlie Morton told Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I feel like I’m pitching well enough this spring to be in the rotation, but it’s not my call. I know I can pitch in the majors. I’ve done it before.”
“For the most part, I think I’ve been pretty aggressive,” Morton said. “I mean, there’s some things I’m working on. But I’m just glad to get out there and compete.
“Fastball command is huge. Keeping the ball down. Doing everything the same coming out of my hand, making sure I have the same arm angle on every pitch. Trying to be aggressive and consistent. Staying aggressive.”
So far this spring, Morton has allowed two earned runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts over eight innings.
*Photo credit: Tribune-Review
Day 31 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 in Bradenton, Fla., today.
Paul Maholm will start for the Bucs against Kyle Drabek.
According to Rob Biertemepfel of the Trib, Woody Huyke will manage the Pirates this afternoon, as Manager Clint Hurdle spends the day at Pirate City watching minor league camp. Huyke has spent the past 43 years with the Pirates organization.
- Injury updates:
According to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com,
James McDonald will throw on flat ground on Thursday. He will also to throw a bullpen over the weekend. McDonald tells Langosch, that he feels “way better”.
Chris Snyder is taking it easy today after waking up with back stiffness. He has been hitting and throwing the last two days.
Ryan Doumit (oblique strain) took batting practice this morning. He will also take some at-bats during a minor league game on Thursday. Doumit tells Langosch, “Feel just fine. I knew it was nothing to begin with.”
- During Tuesday’s game against the Orioles, Andrew McCutchen stole second base with Pedro Alvarez (batting fourth) at the plate and no outs. Clearly, McCutchen will still be stealing despite batting third.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “You have to remember who we are,. Our four hitter right now, we want to get runners in scoring position for him. If Pedro is hot and rolling during the season, we might not take as many chances. But we’ve got usable speed and if we can go get a base, we’re planning on going and getting a base.”
“We’ve got to take some chances. Pedro is a power hitter in growth. It’s not like we’re running with [Albert] Pujols up at the plate. It’s a whole different complex, a whole different dynamic. We want to keep this mindset of going, of being aggressive, especially with Andrew. I do think that’s a part of his game that he can continue to open up more and we don’t want to take that away at all if he ends up in the three spot.”
- Left Fielder Jose Tabata is getting more comfortable leading off this spring.
Tabata told Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazete, “I feel comfortable leading off, but I will do whatever they want. If they say lead off, I’ll be there. If they say bat second or third, I want to do whatever I can to help my team.”
Tabata batted .255 when leading off, .328 in the No. 2 spot last season.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Musselman, “I really like his approach leading off. He’s shown some discipline. He’s had some walks. He can hit the ball the other way. He’s a contact hitter. You can use him to hit and run. You can use him various ways. He’s got speed when he gets on.”
- Ross Ohlendorf (three or four innings) will start on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles. Joe Beimel (one), Scott Olsen (one or two), Daniel McCutchen (one or two) and Sean Gallagher (one or two) will follow.
- Brian Burres will pitch the first four innings Thursday at Pirate City. Tyler Yates (two), Fernande Nieve, Jeff Karstens (three or four) and Evan Meek (two) also will throw.
Blue Jays
Lineup: Patterson CF, McCoy SS, Encarnacion 3B, Thames LF, Molina DH, Cooper 1B, Arencibia C, Tolisano RF, Diaz 2B
Pitchers: Drabek, Villanueva, Janssen, Henn, Lewis
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Walker 2B, McCutchen CF, Alvarez 3B, Overbay 1B, Jones RF, Cedeno SS, Brown C, Maholm, LHP
Pitchers: Maholm, Hanrahan, Resop, Veras, Crotta
*Photo credit: @Colin_Dunlap
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.
Olsen still in running for the 5th spot
Left-hander Scott Olsen is scheduled to make his first appearance of the spring and as a Bucco on Monday against the Orioles.
Olsen has been sidelined due to a mild hamstring strain this spring. But despite being behind on schedule, the Pirates are still considering him for the fifth spot in the rotation.
With less than three weeks remaining until opening day, does Olsen even have time to be stretched out enough to start? If he were to pitch every fifth day (increasing his outings by an inning and 15 pitches) Olsen would have the strength to pitch about five innings (75 pitches).
General Manager Neal Huntington told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “It’s a challenge, but provided Scott continues to feel good, provided he continues to make strides, there is enough time. There’s not a lot of room for a setback or margin for error, but he has continued to progress as we go forward. If he’s not ready, that’s a decision we’ll make at the end of Spring Training — what happens at that point in time.”
Olsen has had an injury plagued career. Since 2007, he has been placed on the disabled list three times (twice 15-day, once 60-day) –most of the setbacks were from sore shoulder, inflammation and labrum surgery.
Olsen has made it known that he is not interested in a bullpen role. In early March, he told the Pittsburgh- Post Gazette, “They didn’t bring me in here to be a bullpen guy. They want to do that, we are going to have to have a conversation about it, and we haven’t had one about it.”
If he is unable to sufficiently build up his arm –and let’s not forget, both Charlie Morton and Brad Lincoln are having themselves great springs –Olsen will have no choice but to pitch from the ‘pen. He said on Sunday, “I don’t really have much of a choice,” Olsen said, when asked if he’d accept a relief role. “I’m open for whatever.”
Day 29 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
- The Pirates will face the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 in Sarasota, Fla. You can watch the game on MLB TV, or listen on MLB.com.
- Kevin Correia will start for the Bucs (pitching five innings) against the O’s Jake Arrieta.
- The Pirates cut 10 players from big league camp this am. You can read more here.
- It was reported that Ryan Doumit (right oblique) was taking dry swings this morning. That’s a good sign for the catcher who has been sidelined since last week. The Pirates will update Doumit’s status on Wednesday.
- Joe Beimel and Scott Olsen will be making their spring debuts today. Each will pitch one inning.
- John Bowker is back in the lineup today. He will be debuting at first base. The Pirates want him to be versatile in case he needs to step in to play there this season. Bowker is having himself a hot spring –batting .333 in 16 at-bats with a double, two homers and four RBI.
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Josh Rodriguez was selected by the Pirates first overall in the Rule 5 draft. The infielder is looking to not only make an impression, but for spot on the 25-man with the Bucs.
I was hoping that with the season I put up, I’d opened up some eyes out there,” said Rodriguez, a career .266 hitter with a .356 on-base percentage and .426 slugging percentage in five minor-league seasons. “I think the most surprising part was just being taken No. 1 overall. The Rule 5 draft you usually see a bunch of pitchers go, but not too many position players. So to be taken No. 1 overall was definitely a surprise and definitely made me feel good.”
“We got him for a reason,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “There are people who think highly of him who saw him in the minor-league system last year and as we look to fill that utility spot he’s someone we want to take a long look at. We still have two weeks to evaluate him.” -
A great article on why the players and Manager love pitching coach Ray Searage –Pittsburgh Tribune
Pirates
Lineup: Ciriaco 2B, Bowker 1B, McCutchen CF, Alvarez 3B, Diaz LF, Pearce RF, Rodriguez SS, Jaramillo C, Correia RHP
Pitchers: Correia, Meek, Olsen, Beimel, Crotta
Orioles
Lineup: Winn, LF, Pie CF, Markakis RF, Guerrero DH, Scott 1B, Reynolds 3B, Wieters C, Andino 2B, Izturis SS
Pitchers: Arrieta, Berken
Bucs score big in front of largest crowd, beat the Red Sox 9-4
6,602 fans –the largest attendance in the 42-year-history of McKechnie Field –watched the Pirates beat the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, 9-4.
Brad Lincoln started for the Bucs, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts over three innings.
Lincoln retired the first six batters in a row and was really throwing his changeup with confidence.
He got into a good rhythm at times,” Manager Clint Hurdle said. “There were a few times when he rushed and he was missing arm-side out, arm-side up a little bit. I was happy with the way he pinched off the (third) inning. It was an extended inning, with two runs scored, but he put up the outs after that. He’s working in the right direction, no doubt.”
Josh Beckett allowed five runs on four hits through four plus innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
The Pirates scored six runs in the fifth inning –lead by Pedro Alvarez’s two-run double. Ronny Cedeno lead off the inning with a home run, Andy Marte walked and Jose Tabata was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Neil Walker hit an RBI single followed by Alvarez’s two-RBI double. Lyle Overbay hit a two-run single –12 batters came to the plate in the inning.
Notes:
- Jeff Karstens and Joel Hanrahan both allowed a home run in their outing on Sunday.
Hanrahan’s mistake was his only hit of the inning. He retired the other three batters.
“It was just something today that I really didn’t have the feel for,” Hanrahan said. “I would have liked to have been able to throw a 3-2 slider, but I didn’t feel like it was a good pitch to throw today.”
- Chris Resop allowed no hits or runs with three strikeouts during through two innings.
- John Bowker picked up his second homerun of the spring in the second inning –a solo blast. He is batting .333 in 18 at-bats.
- Jose Tabata started in center field today, a plan of “what if’s” by Manager Clint Hurdle.
“I want to explore as many Plan Bs as we might have to run into the season so we’re not doing it on the fly come the season,” Hurdle said. “(Garrett) Jones is going to get some reps at first base. (John) Bowker will be at first also. (Pedro) Ciriaco was at third today. (Josh Rodriguez) will probably get a couple games at third also. We’ll move some people around just to see how much versatility we have.”
- Hurdle is still unsure of where Andrew McCutchen will bat in the lineup just yet, but seems to like Jose Tabata batting leadoff.
“I’ve really liked his approach leading off,” Hurdle said of Tabata. “He’s shown some discipline. He’s had some walks. He can hit the ball the other way. He’s got speed when he gets on. He looks like that’s something that he’s able to do.”
- The Pirates will face the Baltimore Orioles on Monday in Sarasota, Fla.
Kevin Correia is scheduled to pitch the first five innings, followed by Evan Meek, Scott Olsen, Joe Beimel and Mike Crotta.
** Olsen and Beimel will be making their Pirates spring debuts.
Hurdle is looking forward to seeing them pitch on Monday.
“I’m very anxious, and anxious for them to be able to get out and compete. Each of them had a setback and they’ve worked hard to get back in the position where they can take the mound and make pitches. Hopefully, they’re not too amped up and they can just go out, throw their pitches, get their work in.”
Pearce comes up big in Bucs 8-7 win over Rays
Steve Pearce knocked in Andrew Lambo from third in the ninth inning for the go-ahead run in the 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte, Fla., on Friday.
The Pirates combined for 15 hits –the most this season and picked up their 7th victory this spring. The seven wins tie the total of wins the Bucs had last year, with 19 games still remaining.
The Bucs greeted Rays’ Wade Davis win runs rather quickly. They tacked on four on seven hits through the first two innings.
Davis pitched three innings allowing four runs on seven hits with two walks.
James McDonald’s outing started off well –a 1-2-3 first inning for the right-hander. McDonald was pulled after just two innings, four hits, two runs (one earned) with two walks, after suffering discomfort in his left side. Manager Clint Hurdle, along with the training staff met him off the mound and he walked off the field holding his left hip. McDonald could be suffering from an oblique injury, but at this time, the Pirates have not announced any more information.
Brian Burres pitched three shutout innings, giving up just two hits. He did walk four and struck out one.
The Pirates at one point had a comfortable 7-2 lead over the Rays, but things began to unraveled quickly from the bullpen.
Daniel Moskos allowed four runs on three hits with one walk and a strike out. The pitching staff combined for eight walks this afternoon.
Fernando Nieve picked up the save after pitching a scoreless frame, allowing just one hit.
Notes:
- Scott Olsen completed his second live batting practice session Friday morning without any issues.
- John Bowker hit a pinch hit two-run homer in the Bucs 8-7 win over the Rays, extending his hit streak to five games. Bowker is battling for a bench spot on the roster this year.
- Pedro Alvarez continues his hot bat this spring. He went 1-for-3 with a RBI. Alvarez is batting .310 in 10 games this year.
- Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI. He was pulled in the third inning due to discomfort in his left wrist. He, along with McDonald were taken back to Bradenton for further tests. No additional information on their injuries has been announced. You can read more on their injuries here.
- Ryan Doumit was officially diagnosed with a right oblique strain on Friday. The Pirates said he will be reevaluated on March 16th –which means it’s unlikely to get any playing time before then.
Doumit said on Friday that the injury was not serious but, “These things can get a lot worse if you’re not careful with them, so I’m going to play it safe.”
- The Pirates have 20 stolen bases so far this spring (15 games).
- Corey Wimberly, who picked up his first hit of the spring on Thursday, went 2-for-3 with a stolen base. He was also picked off at third base.
- Josh Rodriguez replaced Ronny Cedeno in the fifth after being sidelined for several days. Hurdle: “We’re just happy to get him back. He’s been out a few days; he was dinged up a little bit, and we had to shut him down. … He made a couple nice plays at short today, moved around well. He seems to be physically fit; we just need a long look at him.”
- Chris Leroux entered the eighth inning with a 7-6 lead. He allowed two hits, a walk and the tying run to score. According to reports, Leroux walked off the mound, covered his mouth with his glove, and let out quite the howl.
Leroux is fighting for a spot in the Bucs’ bullpen this year, and has been working on, well, everything.
“I’ve been working on a lot on my mechanics, [which are] almost totally different than I used to be when I came into camp,” the 6-foot-6 right-hander said. “I’m working on following through. I tend to come up when I finish, and that leaves the ball up sometimes. My front step, I need to keep my front side closed, and it’s just a bunch of different things. My mind’s racing a mile a minute when I’m out there.”
“I always like to think that I have a chance of making it,” Leroux said, “but now with all my mechanical changes, I realize that it’s going to be a process.”
Leroux has allowed two runs over five innings on six hits with three walks.
- Ross Ohlendorf will start Saturday (four innings) in a split-squad game against the Phillies. He’ll be followed by Jose Veras (one or two innings), Aaron Thompson (two) and Tyler Yates (one).
Jeff Locke (two innings) will start the other game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. He’ll be followed by Sean Gallagher (two or three), Daniel McCutchen (two), Ramon Aguero (one) and Mike Crotta (two or three).
Day 26 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Tampa Bay Rays (for the fifth time this spring) in Port Charlotte, Fla,, at 1:05 today. You can listen to the game on mlb.com.
James McDonald will get the start for the Bucs against the Rays’ Wade Davis.
- One of Ronny Cedeno’s goals for the 2011 season is to cut down on the strikeouts (Cedeno struck out 106 times in 468 at-bats last year).
“I feel good — much better,” Cedeno said. “Last year was a bad year. I have a new year, and I need to make an adjustment. I need to put the ball in play, and get in the right position to hit.”
- Injury updates:
Joe Beimel and Scott Olsen will remain in Bradenton, Fla., as the team heads to Port Charlotte today for the game against the Rays. They will both throw batting practice; Beimel (20 pitches), Olsen (35 pitches). This marks Olsen’s second batting practice session this week and should be cleared to pitch in a game soon.
Joe Beimel is scheduled to make his spring debut on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Jose Ascanio (right elbow) threw a successful side session on Wednesday and is scheduled to throw another on Friday.
Brian Friday (left hand) and Josh Rodriguez (right quadricep) are said to be recovering and are listed as day-to-day.
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports that Tyler Yates family have not been effected by the Tsunami this am (Yates is from Hawaii). “Tyler Yates said he expects his home, family in Hawaii are safe from tsunami”
- Manager Clint Hurdle has been focusing a lot on aggressive base running this spring. Can the other teams expect most of the players to run? Matt Diaz, who stole 12 bases in 2009, says you shouldn’t count him out.
“I’ll sneak it in there. I don’t want it out there because they see a short, fat, white guy on first and they really don’t pay too close of attention. So, [I'll] try to steal, stealth wise. Try to lull them to sleep,”
- Ryan Doumit was reevaluated this morning and has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain. Doumit should be sidelined for a few days. He’s doing light exercise, but is not cleared to swing a bat.
- Ohlendorf will pitch the first four innings on Saturday in a split-squad game against the Phillies. Those scheduled to follow are Jose Veras (one or two innings), Aaron Thompson (two) and Tyler Yates (one).
Jeff Locke will start in the other game against the Blue Jays. He will pitch the first two innings followed by Sean Gallagher (two or three innings), Daniel McCutchen (two), Ramon Aguero (one) and Mike Crotta (two or three).
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Jones RF, McCutchen CF, Alvarez 3B, Walker 2B, Fields 1B, Cedeno SS, Brown C, McDonald P
Pitchers: McDonald (four innings), Burres (two), Moskos, Thomas, Leroux
Rays
Lineup: Ramirez DH, Rodriguez 2B, Kotchman 1B, Shoppach C, Lopez 3B, Johnson SS, Jennings CF, Fuld LF, Vogt RF
Pitchers: Davis, Hellickson, Farnsworth, Peralta, Russell, Cobb
Bucs 3-run rally in ninth seals 5-2 victory over Twins
A ninth inning rally by the Pirates broke open a 2-2 ballgame, who went on to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 at Hammond Stadium on Tuesday.
Pedro Ciriaco hit a sac fly and Andrew Lambo hit a two-run single giving the Bucs the edge.
Brian Burres pitched two perfect innings against the Twins on Tuesday, extending his no run streak to six innings so far this spring. In his three appearances he has allowed just three hits, no walks with four strike outs.
“He’s staying in competition,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Everything we’ve asked him to do, he’s done. He’s a flexible guy, a versatile guy, but we still want to take looks at him, stretch him out a little bit. I’m anticipating that next time.”
Burres, 29, can benefit the Pirates both as a starter or a reliever. Last season with the Bucs he went 4-5 with a 4.99 ERA in 20 appearances (13 starts).
“Any time you can offer multiple roles for yourself, it’s an asset to you,” Burres said. “Obviously, coming out of the bullpen you’re short on warm up throws, but you kind of try to approach it the same way. Honestly, whatever role they need me to be, I’m perfectly happy doing it. I prefer pitching in the big leagues.”
Carl Pavano pitched four innings allowing just two hits and striking two.
The game remained scoreless until a sacrifice fly by Ryan Doumit in the fifth inning gave the Bucs a 1-0 lead. Luke Hughe hit a sac fly of his own in the sixth, tying the game at one. The Twins then took the lead after a RBI double by Matthew Down. Lyle Overbay tied the game back up at 2 in the seventh.
Brad Lincoln started the “B” game against the Twins, which was located on the back field. But that didn’t change Lincoln’s attitude on the mound.
After a 30 pitch first inning, loading the bases and down 3-0 in the count, he managed to get out of the inning allowing no runs. He only needed six pitches for a perfect second inning.
“It’s still a baseball game, you still got everybody watching you, you got all the coaches over there looking,” said Lincoln, who went two innings in a shortened game the Twins won, 4-2. “You don’t want a lackadaisical hang-your-head-because-you’re-pitching-in-a-’B'-game-type attitude.”
Lincoln is battling Charlie Morton and Scott Olsen (hamstring) for the 5th spot in the rotation. “There’s not a whole lot of talk going on right now about what their plans are with anybody, but right now, I’m still competing for the job,” he said. “They still want me to work on some things, but I have to compete at the same time. I have to put those two together.”
Notes:
- Andy Marte hit a solo home run in game “B” against the Twins.
- Steve Pearce made his spring debut at third base today (he only has five career appearances at third) and he even made a pretty good play at the hot corner.
“He made a [heckuva] play,” said right-hander Brad Lincoln, who was on the hill and having a rough inning. “It probably did save me a run.”
Pearce, who has been with the Pirates organization since being drafted in 2005, knows the team well and would love the shot at being the Bucs corner-utility fielder (He is also battling Josh Fields, Garrett Atkins and Andy Marte for that one open spot).
“We brought guys in, and we brought four or five guys in and they’re all competing for that one spot,” Pearce said. “Of course, we know it’s out there, but you want to control how you play. You can’t control what other people think. You just give your best and hopefully you open some eyes.”
- Brian Friday was hit in the hand by a pitch in game “B” today. The x-rays were negative and he is listed as day-to-day.
- Joe Beimel pitched a successful bullpen session today.
- The Pirates will face the New York Yankees on Wednesday –the first night game of the spring. Kevin Correia will start for the Bucs, pitching four innings and the Yankees will send Bartolo Colon. The game will start at 7:05 in Tampa, FLA.
Day 23 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
- The Pirates will face the Minnesota Twins in two games today (Game “A” and Game “B”) at 1:05. You can listen to live on MLB.TV
Brian Burres will start for Game “A” and Brad Lincoln will start Game “B”.
- Corey Wimberly, who the Pirates acquired this offseason from the Oakland A’s, is still hitless this spring in 12 at-bats. He has four walks and two stolen bases and may be trying too hard to make the big club.
“Coming to a new organization and all the new faces, you want to show them what you can do, Wimberly said Monday. “I’m just trying a little too hard to do things, but I’ll settle down and start making some things happen soon. … Can’t get worse, so you can only move forward.”
- Scott Olsen completed a 30-pitch (plus 2 pitchouts), “2-inning” session against live hitters at Pirate City this morning and said he felt fine afterwards.
- Ever wonder what some of the players do in the clubhouse prior to a game to relax? On Monday Neil Walker sat down with fan mail, in which he read every letter that he received. He also signed baseball cards that were sent to him.
Dusty Brown’s morning routine involves crossword puzzles (he finishes them every time too!) –something he picked up from Tim Wakefield when he was with the Red Sox organization.
- James McDonald is entering spring training this year for the first time in his career in the starting rotation.
“You come into the season knowing what you’re going to be doing,” he said. “That’s nice. It’s not like coming to camp and working as a reliever, and all of a sudden, you might be a starter next week.
“You know what kind of shape your arm needs to be in. You know what kind of shape your body needs to be in. You know your routine.”
McDonald says it’s tough bouncing back and forth but is ready this spring because he knows of his role.
It’s hard bouncing back and forth from the bullpen to starter, but it’s something I had to do to try to help my career,” McDonald said.
Pirates
Lineup (A): McCutchen CF, Tabata LF, Alvarez 3B, Overbay 1B, Walker 2B, Jones RF, Cedeno SS, Doumit C, Burres P
Pitchers (A): Burres, Gallagher, Nieve, Leroux, Locke, D. McCutchen
Lineup (B): Wimberly SS, Presley LF, Pearce 3B, Lambo RF, Marte 1B, Hernandez CF, Jaramillo DH, Friday 2B, Toregas C, Lincoln P
Pitchers (B): Lincoln, Morris, McPherson, Wilson, Aguero.
*This will be Brian Burres third appearance this spring, but first start.
**Steve Pearce will be making his spring debut at third base.
Twins
Lineup (A): Revere LF, Nishioka 2B, Valencia DH, Brown 3B, Tolbert 1B, Dinkelman RF, Repko CF, Casilla S, Butera C, Pavano P
Pitchers (A): Pavano,
Lineup (B): Tosoni LF, Benson CF, Young DH, Parmelee 1B, Hughes 2B, Bailey RF, Plouffe 3B, Lambin SS, Holm C, Slowey P
Pitchers (B): Slowey,
Kristy Robinson
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