Tuesday Tidbits

OK, now we know. Clint Hurdle says the Bucs have to be "all in." Frank Coonelly says this is a "doing league." Bob Nutting says that the organization is committed to building a championship team; at least that's what he expects.

We don't see much that the FO did to improve this team enough to meet any of those stated goals except to shore up RF a bit. They needed a short-term first baseman, long term shortstop and top end starter, and got none of the above.

Their on-field players should be better, with lots of ifs. Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata will play their first full season; they could adapt well, ala Andrew McCutchen, or battle with the adjustments they'll see, like Garrett Jones. Ronny Cedeno could settle down or continue his yo-yo play, and Lyle Overbay can bounce back or keep rolling down the ol' hill.

Their performance will go a long way to determining the kind of year the Pirates have in 2011; it sure doesn't appear that the pitching got noticeably better.

-- Nutting told the beat guys yesterday that financial considerations will not affect the Pirates draft choice this year. They hold the #1 spot, and money has become a popular question as Scott Boras is Anthony Rendon's advisor.

-- Pedro Alvarez sat out of the team's workout on Monday due to a muscle spasm in his neck. The soreness is expected to be a minor issue, and he's listed as day-to-day. For those who enjoy reading tea leaves, Garrett Atkins took his place at third base yesterday.

-- Scott Olsen and Kevin Hart are throwing, but off a flat mound.

-- The Cubs already announced that Ryan Dempster will get the call on Opening Day against the Buccos at Wrigley on April 1st. The Pirates? Still TBA, and likely to be for awhile. Clint Hurdle hasn't announced who's starting the Grapefruit League opener this weekend, much less Opening Day.

-- Former Pirates shortstop Dick Groat is one of seven athletes and coaches who will be inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame on July 3rd. Not only was he a linchpin for Pirate and Cardinal championships, but one heck of a college guard at Duke.

Also to be inducted is Terry Francona of New Brighton HS, who coached the Red Sox and Phils after a ten-year MLB career.

The Daily News

Another quiet day on the ranch...guess that's good news, hey? The beat guys report:

-- Scott Olsen was diagnosed with a slightly strained hammy; he'll be off a week before the docs check him out again. If he just misses a week, it shouldn't hurt him in his battle with Charlie Morton for the fifth rotation spot, but if it lingers, he could be in trouble before he even gets out of the gate - and give new life to darkhorses like Brad Lincoln, Brian Burres or even Rudy Owens.

-- Everybody is in camp as of today and ready to go; we believe that Jeff Clement, Kevin Hart and Donnie Veal are the only guys that aren't ready to go full-tilt.

-- Looks like this year's player-under-the-microscope will be Pedro Alvarez and his beefy bod. Hey, he's a big kid, and conditioning doesn't seem to be his favorite way to spend the winter. The Pirates could keep a better eye on him in the off-season, but the faster he eats his way to first base, the better off the team is in the long run.

-- Steve Pearce got some balls in the outfield; Pedro took some throws at first base.

-- Tom Krasovic of Fanhouse tweets that "UCLA hoss Cole being scouted today by Pirates, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Padres, others. If drafted No. 1, West Coast Bias not stunned."

That "hoss" would be UCLA RHP Gerrit Cole, a flame-throwing strikeout artist and potential top pick in the 2011 draft.

-- The Blue Jays agreed to a $64M, 5-year extension with ex-Bucco Jose Bautista. He'll earn $8M in 2011 and $14M/season from 2012-15 with a team $14M option for 2016. Funny what 54 bombs will do for your bank account.

-- Sean Casey keeps on keepin' on. He's working on a new area Field of Dreams, this one in Upper St. Clair. It will cost an estimated $1M to build; he's already raised half the money. Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette has the story.

Stan the Man, Manny, and oh yah, Camp...

-- Stan the Man Musial from Donora, for you young 'uns, is the greatest ballplayer that Western Pennsylvania has ever produced, or at least one side of a coin with Honus Wagner.

He was an outfielder/first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941-63, played on three World Series champions, was MVP three times, had a career BA of .331 and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1969. The Man was also one of the best humans to ever play the game, right up there with Chuck Tanner.

The 90 year-old added the crowning touch to his trophy case today as he was one of 16 people to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award bestowed by our grand nation. Other winners were George Herbert Bush, Maya Angelou, Bill Russell, Yo-Yo Ma, Warren Buffet...well, you get the idea. It's a big deal.

Bob Cohn of the Tribune-Review has his bio. If you're not aware of Musial's accomplishments on and off the field, give it a read. He's one of the unsung giants of the game.

-- This weekend, Manny Sanguillen was inducted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame along with Edgar Martinez, Luis Tiant, Andres Galarraga, Rico Carty, Dennis Martinez and Fernando Valenzuela, reports Jen Langosch of MLB.com on her blog.

In 13 seasons (1967-1980), twelve with the Pirates, he put together a .296/65/585 slash, was an All-Star three times and played on a pair of World Series-winning clubs.

-- Sifting through the tweets and reports from camp, here's today's news: Tyler Yates and Mike Crotta were throwing well, the Bucs will announce their closer sooner rather than later (maybe this week) and James McDonald got engaged. Hey, what did you expect for day 2?

Pitchers, Catchers Take The Field

The pitchers and catchers took the field this afternoon, dressed in their new yellow practice jerseys (think Big Bird.) No missing them in that outfit.

MIA is RHP Jose Ascanio, who expects to be tied up a day or two getting out of Venezuela, and the guys with workout limits are LHP Donnie Veal and RHP Kevin Hart. Hart is out of options and may start the year on the DL.

The pitchers (34): Ramon Aguero, Jose Ascanio, Joe Beimel*, Brian Burres*, Kevin Correia, Michael Crotta, Sean Gallagher*, Joel Hanrahan, Kevin Hart, Jeff Karstens, Chris Leroux, Brad Lincoln, Jeff Locke, Paul Maholm, Daniel McCutchen, James McDonald, Kyle McPherson, Evan Meek, Bryan Morris, Charlie Morton, Daniel Moskos, Fernando Nieve*, Ross Ohlendorf, Scott Olsen, Rudy Owens*, Chris Resop, Justin Thomas*, Cesar Valdez*, Donnie Veal*, Jose Veras*, Aaron Thompson, Tony Watson, Justin Wilson* and Tyler Yates*.

The catchers (7): Dusty Brown*, Ryan Doumit, Eric Fryer*, Jason Jaramillo, Tony Sanchez*, Chris Snyder and Wyatt Toregas*.

* Non-Roster Invitee; the other players are on the 40-man roster.

The Opening Bell Rings...

Thirty-eight of the club's forty-one pitchers and catcher required to report to Pirate City by the end of the day are signed in. Still missing as of early afternoon were pitchers Jose Veras, Jose Ascanio and Cesar Valdez. What makes us think visa problems, lol? (Although showing up fashionably late may also be the reason; we'll see soon.) EDIT - Veras and Valdez were fashionably late; Venezuelan Ascanio has visa problems and is expected in camp Tuesday or Wednesday.

Not much drama this year. The lineup is set, and the battles are for a fifth starter, closer, bridge bullpen arms, and a couple of bench spots. Here's the link to the official list of non-roster invitees.

Kristy Robinson of Hands Off My Pirates Booty blog tweeted the only hard news so far: "Jeff Clement has been removed from the list of non-roster invitees -- he's still recovering from surgery and will report to Minor League camp."