Bucs Face O's

Get used to the Baltimore Orioles; the Bucs face them seven times in GL competition. Wandy Rodriguez gets his first spring action at McKechnie Park, opening the first of three consecutive home matches. Today's game isn't on local radio; you'll have to find a computer to follow them.

Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Russell Martin C, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Garrett Jones 1B, Gaby Sanchez DH, Brad Hawpe 9 and Clint Barmes SS.

Hmmm... Russell Martin is back in the two hole. We don't expect to see much more of that come April, though it is a commentary on how few top-of-the-order guys Pittsburgh has on its current roster. Jordy Mercer hit second yesterday.

Pitchers: Wandy Rodriguez, Andrew Oliver, Vin Mazzaro, Bryan Morris, Hunter Strickland, Duke Welker and Mike Zagurski.

It's our first peep ay Wandy and LHP Andy Oliver, the power arm the Bucs picked up from the Tigers for C Ramon Cabrero in December.

• Wandy Rodriguez is slated for one more spring start before joining the Dominican team for the WBC. Jason Grilli (Italy) and Chris Leroux (Canada) are the other active roster players in the tourney.
• Kyle McPherson only threw 15 pitches in his two inning stint against the Twins, but the Bucs didn't give him a third, as they did for Jeff Locke on Sunday. They're breaking him in genty after McPherson was shut down in winter ball with tendinitis.
• Jim Krug of Sports Web has the Bucs 2013 preview. He questions the team's direction, saying "...at least 3-4 AAA prospects with some ceiling will be blocked by veterans with no remaining projection."
• For you guys that would like a look at what's happening at Pirate City instead of Bradenton, Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects has a complete list of all the minor-league players at camp.