Reality Creeps In; Bucs Suffer First Spring Loss

The Pirates lost their first game of the Spring today, 5-2 against the Atlanta Braves. The pitching was poor and the offense was almost non-existent. Jason Davis, Zach Duke and Daniel McCutchen all struggled in their respective one inning appearances. Tom Gorzelanny, however, pitched fairly well, save back-to-back walks to start the second. He allowed just those two walks, with no runs or hits, in two innings of work. And Donnie Veal threw a perfect seventh, with a strikeout. The Pirate's offense managed just six hits, though Pedro Alvarez, in his first professional start, singled and walked in four plate appearances and Neil Walker added a double and an RBI. The Bucs take on the Astros on Saturday.

Eric Hinske missed Friday's game due to a left ribcage bruise. He could miss up to a week, though the injury is not considered to be serious. Alvarez got the start in his place.

8 days until the Pirates are the featured team on MLB Network's 30 Clubs in 30 Days series. I've been watching bits and pieces of some episodes on other teams and these shows are much more casual than I expected. It's mostly one of the Matt Vasgersian types chatting with a couple of the lesser MLB talking heads and John Hart, former GM and currently advisor for the Texas Rangers, interspersed with some Spring workout footage and a couple interviews. Now I know the Pirates are no marquee team, and I'm sure the MLB Network is not about to go out of its way to make sure their best and brightest are on hand for the Pirates episode, but I really hope we don't get Dan Pleasac or Sean Casey or Mitch Williams for our show. I don't think Pleasac takes it very seriously, Casey seems too awkward and Williams, well, I just don't think he's that bright. I'm crossing my fingers that we luck out and up with Harold Reynolds and Al Leiter. Or maybe I've just put too much thought into this. Hmm.

Bucs Win Again!

The Mighty Pirates improved to 2-0 in Spring Training today by rallying for 3 runs in the ninth to pull off a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. The Pirate's future looked good in doing so, as Pedro Alvarez doubled home Neil Walker with the first run in the ninth. Jose Tabata scored soon after and Alvarez himself then came home as the decisive run. Ian Snell overcame a rough first inning (exacerbated by a Brian Bixler error) and struck out the side in the second. Ross Ohlendorf, Jimmy Barthmaier, Denny Bautista and Sean Burnett each were perfect in relief. Okay okay, I know it's Spring Training, but good pitching and clutch hitting really makes me happy. Up next, the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

Dirty Doug officially moves on. Today, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Mientkiewicz to a minor league contract with an invite to their Spring camp. We all knew at this point that Doug Mientkiewicz was not coming back to Pittsburgh, so this is not shocking news by any means. Mientkiewicz played well for the Pirates last year and was a fan favorite, but Bob Smizik of the Post-Gazette can't help but wonder if management just didn't want him around any longer. If that's the case, I'm going to have to support the Pirate's brass here. Though I don't expect the major league ball club to be very good this year, I haven't felt so optimistic about the near future of the Pirates in quite some time.

Pirates Thump Phillies; and Other News

One game into Spring Training and the Pirates are over .500! Enjoy it while you can, people. In the exhibition opener today in Bradenton, FL, our Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 8-2. Obviously, you cannot judge a team, or even individual players, based on one Spring Training game. But it does feel nice to start off with a win. Some notable performances include Shelby Ford hitting a 3-run home run, Freddy Sanchez with 2 hits and an RBI and Craig Hansen not walking a batter in his inning of work. Three of our top prospects made appearances as well: Andrew McCutchen went 0 for 2, Neil Walker 0 for 2 with an RBI, and Pedro Alvarez struck out in his only at-bat. The Bucs take on the Red Sox tomorrow. Can they knock off the '07 champs too?

The official rosters for the World Baseball Classic were announced yesterday. 9 Pirates made it, including 2 who are sure to make the '09 Pirate's team: Ian Snell and Ramon Vasquez (both Puerto Rico). The others are all minor leaguers (though pitcher Dave Davidson [Canada] is on the 40-man roster). The rest are: Ray Chang (China), Chi-Hung Cheng (Chinese Taipei), Joshua Hill (Australia), Paul Mildren (Australia), Eliecer Navarro (Panama), and Gift Ngoepe (South Africa). If you don't recognize too many names there (or any names), don't feel bad. You're not alone. There has been some concern that the WBC could lead to injuries or poorer performances, since Jake Peavy and Pedro Martinez, among others, suffered, at least statistically, in 2006, following the previous WBC. That concern is just, so keep an eye on Ian Snell. The Pirates really need a healthy and productive Snell to scratch respectability this year.

The Pirates have signed 26 year old infielder Ruben Gotay to a minor league contract. Gotay has played in parts of five seasons for the Royals, Mets and Braves. Though primarily a second baseman, he has played some third and short in the majors. Gotay doesn't have much pop, or speed, or plate discipline even, so he appears to be in camp as an insurance policy. With Ramon Vasquez signed as the team's primary reserve infielder, there would appear to be little need for an inferior reserve infielder with little to no upside. The only way Gotay makes the team will be if Sanchez or Wilson goes down with a significant injury, or if none of the young kids impress. Well, based on Brian Bixler's performance last year, maybe Gotay does have a chance. But even so, I would rather see Bixler as the 6th infielder, or better yet, Luis Cruz, than Gotay. The Pirates will not reach the postseason this year, so let's see what the younger players can do.

Bucs Pick Up Option for Manager Russell

Though the team finished with a very Jim Tracy like record of 67-95 in 2008, Pirates' manager John Russell had his 2010 option picked up today, ESPN.com reports. Actually, Tracy averaged 67.5 wins in his two years as the Bucs' skipper. I'm kidding a bit because Jim Tracy actually did a pretty horrible job and John Russell has seemed much more capable. Tracy had Jason Bay, Damaso Marte and, for most of his tenure, Xavier Nady. Russell had those three for only about 2/3 of the year, and the teams' win/loss record for '08 suffered considerably once those three were traded. Russell seems much more even-handed and competent than his predecessor, though part of this perception is due to team president Frank Coonelly and GM Neal Huntington. I'm not sure, if under Tracy and former GM Dave Littlefield, we would have seen Matt Morris, and his ginormous salary, released a month into the season. I also have doubts that Ronny Paulino and Tom Gorzelanny would have been sent to the minors after their disappointing performances. The only real instance last year of a player getting more chances than he earned would be with Andy LaRoche, but since he was a key component of the Jason Bay trade, and the Pirates were out of contention, I can understand it. Well I guess the continued use of John Van Benschoten was a little dubious too, but that really had more to do with pitching depth than anything else. So as we move into year two of the Russell era, I feel confident in our skipper. Hopefully we will see an increase in major league talent over the next two years to justify my faith in him.

In ex-Pirate news, former can't-miss-savior-pitcher Kris Benson has signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. Benson has not pitched in a majors since 2006, and he has not pitched well since 2000. Well, he did alright for the Mets in '05, but 2000 was really his only season of much quality. I have no hard feelings for him; it's not his fault that he failed to become a perennial Cy Young candidate. He just symbolizes the Pirates' failures in the Bonifay/Littlefield era. I wish him luck though.

Also, Pirate single game tickets went on sale today. Now that I live within a day's drive of PNC Park, I really have no excuse not to go. The prices are not too bad either. Okay, I have a new goal: One game this season. And at least one game each year we're in Indiana. That's doable.

History Will Be Made on March 7

Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. On Saturday March 7, at 11:30 pm, the MLB Network will premiere it's season preview of the Pittsburgh Pirates. 60 minutes of programming, including commercials, on a national network, devoted to the Pirates. I cannot recall the last time that happened. I'm pretty sure it's been years since ESPN televised a Pirate game on their Sunday night telecast. They may have slipped one in on a Wednesday night or something, but even that I'm not sure about. Okay, WGN is a national network and they do end up showing maybe half a dozen Pirate games per year, but I'm not counting that. They're televising Cubs games, and ESPN, if they happened to show a Pirate's game in recent year, were airing the Pirate's opponent primarily. But this folks, MLB Network's Pirate themed episode of their 30 Clubs in 30 Days series, is truly historic. And yes, I did notice that the Pirate episode premieres on a Saturday night at nearly midnight. The Red Sox and Yankee episodes, for example, initially air at 8 pm on their respective dates. But I'm okay with that. I'll take our Jericho or Firefly-esque scheduling. I know the Pirates are ratings poison. But just being included is a nice enough feeling for me.

It's Official: McLouth Signs Multi-Year Deal

Hours before their scheduled arbitration hearing today, the Pittsburgh Pirates and center fielder Nate McLouth agreed to terms on a three year contract, which includes a club option for a fourth year. The deal includes a signing bonus of $1.5 million and salaries of $2 million for this year, $4.5 million for 2010, $6.5 million for 2011 and $10.65 million for 2012, the option year, with a $1.25 million buyout. The minimum total value for the deal is $15.75 million. There are also escalator clauses in the contract that could increase McLouth's salary in 2010 through 2012. The escalators are based on All-Star appearances and Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards won. The total maximum value of the deal is $27 million.

The deal provides security, and a hefty raise, for McLouth. It also allows the Pirates to have one of their top players under contract, at a reasonable rate, for the next 3 years. Come 2012, the Pirates can then decide if the team is in good enough shape to shell out a pretty hefty salary for one player. I would imagine if the team is playing well, and making a little more money, retaining McLouth at that price might be reasonable. Of course that is 3 years off, and who knows how well McLouth will continue to play over the next few seasons. But for now, I'm pleased.