Camp Opens & Thursday Tidbits

The team is shufflin' into camp...can spring be far behind?

• No visa or injury problems this year; all the Buc pitchers and catchers are in camp.
• A couple more pieces of the Burnett deal: Travis Sawchk of the Trib confirmed the Pirate bid was for $12M, and another source says that the Philadelphia contract contains a 2015 mutual option and a limited no-trade clause.
• With AJ gone, the Bucs may look to add another arm. Drew Silva of Hardball Talk says that the Pirates are one of the teams that have been watching Johan Santana.
• Per Pirate Prospects' John Dreker, Pittsburgh agreed to a deal with LHP Yao-Hsun Yang, a veteran starter from Taiwan. It's a minor league deal with a camp invite
• Michael Clair of The Daily Dish picks the four least productive teams during this off season, and your Buccos are one of them. Stan McNeal of Fox Sports has a different take. In his Central rundown, he notes that most of the clubs in the division are filling in with homegrown players rather than FAs.
• On the other hand, John Lembo of the Bradenton Herald has five reasons to follow the Bucs, at least through spring training.
• CBS Sports has been running a series on the best teams by single season performance, and capped it with a simulation season among the creme de la creme. The Central Division was a red hot race, and man, did Honus Wagner have himself a simulated year!
• Marc Hulet and Fangraphs has their Top 100 Prospect list out; seven young Bucs are on the roster.
• Tom Smith of Rumbunter makes a case for the Bucs establishing their own secondary ticket outlet, like the Yankees and Dodgers, both for security and financial reasons. 
• Ex Bucs: Ronny Paulino was suspended for 100 games after being busted for his second PED violation.
• Should be a great year for rookie OFers in the Central Division - aside from Gregory Polanco, the Cards' Oscar Tavaras and the Reds Billy Hamilton should all be playing this summer.
• A band of ex-minor leaguers are suing baseball over their wages, or lack thereof. We've never understood why the MLBPA hasn't tried to cultivate some kind of relationship with the farm guys.