Thursday, March 28, 2013

Bucs v Yankees, Then Heading Home

The Bucs will break camp after taking one last Grapefruit League road trip to Tampa and George M. Steinbrenner Field to face off against the Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda. Jeff Locke makes the start for the Bucs with the pressure off for a bit. The game begins at 1:05 and won't be aired.

Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Garrett Jones RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Russell Martin C, Clint Barmes SS and Jeff Locke P.

Jones is not only in the OF again, but is in the two hole for another day. He, Russell Martin, Neil Walker, Travis Snider and Jose Tabata have all spent time there; looks like that spot may become the Pirates' mix-and-match lineup position. 

Pitchers: Jeff Locke and ?

Locke had a so-so spring, putting up a 3.38 ERA without any shiny peripherals. But he kept an even keel as the other starters took on water in the last week or two of camp, and became the Bucs' #5 starter by default, at least until the DL gives up its posse in the coming weeks.

The Pirates are off tomorrow and then play an exhibition at Altoona on Saturday.

  • ESPN finished its Top 500 MLB Players series. They're often ridiculously slotted, but hey...
  • Happy birthday, Mark Melancon. The righty turned 28 today. And B-Day wishes to Avery Bryan Morris, too, as the Indy reliever hits 26.
  • On this day in 1946 - Cum Posey, who owned the Homestead Grays from 1912-46, died in Mercy Hospital from cancer. He played until 1929 and managed until 1937. Posey was a big-time owner, and his teams played regularly in Forbes Field and Washington DC’s Griffith Stadium. The Grays won eight Negro League pennants and three World Series titles. 
  • And in 1972, Owen “Donie” Bush died in his hometown of Indianapolis (until 1996, the Indy ballyard was called Bush Field before a new downtown park, Victory Field, opened). He managed the Bucs briefly, from 1927-29, taking them to a World Series in 1927 against the Yankees’ “Murderers’ Row” club (and the Pirates got murdered; they were swept by the Bronx Bombers). But he’s probably best remembered for his feud with Hall-of-Fame OF Kiki Cuyler, whom he benched and then traded to the Cubs.
  • BTW, curious about who really invented baseball? The History Channel has the 411.

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