Snell Looks Sharp, as Puerto Rico Advances

I was able to watch the first 5 innings or so of the WBC first round match-up between Puerto Rico and the Netherlands tonight. The Pirates' Ian Snell, pitching for Puerto Rico, looked pretty sharp in four innings of work. He allowed 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk with 5 strikeouts. Snell allowed all three hits and the run in the second inning, though the lead off hit he allowed was misplayed into a double by left fielder Bernie Williams. He then allowed a sharp single down the right field line by ex-Buc Yurendell DeCaster that brought home the run. The next batter reached on a seeing-eye single up the middle before Snell got out of the jam with a double-play and a strike out. Snell opened the fourth by walking another former Pirate, and sausage assailant, Randall Simon, but was able to recover and retire the next three hitters. He ended up throwing only 50 pitches in his four innings. Snell looked very good though he did leave a few fastballs up, but you can get away with that when the opposing team can't find a better cleanup hitter than Simon. Still, it was nice to see him pitch well and I have high hopes for him for this season and beyond.


Speaking of pitching, the Pirates lost their Grapefruit League match-up against Boston today. The final score: 15-14. Most of the damage was done against Tom Gorzelanny, Chris Bootcheck, Brian Slocum and Juan Mateo. The other 4 Pirate pitchers fared much better. At least the offense was working as Jose Tabata returned to action with 3 hits and 4 RBIs. Nyjer Morgan, Garrett Jones, Neil Walker and Robinzon Diaz each had 2 hits. The Pirates were down by 8 early and battled back to force extra innings. The resiliency was nice to see. Up next, the Pirates' first day off of the Spring.