Bucs Lose Last Tuneup; Morton Struggles Badly, Heads to DL.

Ugh - the first seven batters reached against Charlie Morton, and only a DP saved him from utter ruin; he still gave up a four spot with three walks and two hit batters (we won't mention the wild pitch). he gave up a couple more, adding two more walks and another wild pitch, lasting just 1-2/3 IP. It was enough to give the Phils a 6-4 sweep and to get Charlie placed on the DL (hip). He'll go to extended spring training; Morton probably pushed his recovery a little harder than wise and needs to get his post-surgery technique in order.

Vance Worley - back in the rotation (photo: Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

That move drops some dominoes in place. Vance Worley will go to the rotation, and Stolmy Pimentel somehow has escaped the Turk, but it appears for just a brief time. Clint Hurdle told the media gang that Andrew Lambo, Radhames Liz, Jared Hughes and Arquimedes Caminero are pretty much in, so that leaves one roster spot open. Might Big John Holdzkom get a reprieve? Will the Bucs carry gloveman Pedro Florimon and go with a short pen? Do the Bucs have a deal in the works? At any rate, Stolmy looks like the odd man out, although it's possible the FO still have him in that final mix. Both he and Florimon are out of options, so they'd have to clear waivers to remain with the organization.

Today's only official move was placing Morton on the DL and slotting Vanimal for Saturday's start. The roster is complete except for that last bullpen/bench position. The 25-man has to be set by 3PM tomorrow.

Phils Walk Off Bucs, Today's Lineup & Notes

The Bucs got beat up at the start, beat up at the end, and the three-run first and ninth frames carried the Phils to an ugly 7-5 win. Jeff Locke gave up four runs in his stint, with the Pirates throwing  three balls (Fran Cervelli, Josh & Pedro) astray behind him. Angel Sanchez got a chance to close; another throw away (Tony Sanchez) set the stage for Ben Revere's two-out walkoff homer. The offense continued to roll, though. Cutch went 3-for-4, Starling  2-for-3, Jordy homered, and Jung-Ho & El Coffee both doubled and scored as the Pirates banged out 13 hits. Still, the club went 4-for-17 with RISP, so they had chances to run away and hide both offensively and defensively that they couldn't cash in.

Starling Marte - photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

Today's Game: Charlie Morton climbs the hill at 1:05 as the Bucs close out the spring season at Citizens Park in a Philadelphia rematch. The game will be carried on 93.7 The Fan, and if you're up early looking for Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies, MLB Network will have the tape delay replay on at 6AM Sunday morning. After this match, the roster will be trimmed and Monday, Frankie Liriano and Johnny Cueto kick the Bucco season off.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte CF, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro 1B, Jordy Mercer SS, Tony Sanchez C, Sean Rodriguez LF, Morton
Today's Bench: Fran Cervelli, Pedro Florimon, Jung-Ho Kang, Corey hart, Andrew Lambo and others.
Today's Pitchers: Jared Hughes, Mark Melancon, Arquimedes Caminero, Vance Worley, Stolmy Pimentel and more.
Cutch and Cervelli get the day off. None of the bubble guys have started this Phil exhibition set; we guess the decisions have been made and perhaps the FO is trying to move a body or two before the final cuts.

• The Bucs continued their emphasis on pitchers getting their swings as the Phils used a DH while Pittsburgh batted its hurlers. With pinch-hitters, Jeff Locke was the only pitcher to hit. He went 2-for-3 with a RBI.
• Tony Watson has tossd eight scoreless innings this spring while allowing just three hits and striking out 11.
• Pirate Prospects' Tim Williams catches up on Chris Volstad, the Bucs quiet reclamation project.
• Carson Cistulli of Fangraphs picks the Top Five Pirate prospects by their projected WAR.
• The Nats' Nate McLouth (shoulder) has yet to resume throwing, so he'll start the year on the DL.

Bucs Drop Last Grapefruit Game; Lineup for Philly & Notes

The Yanks whupped the Pirates 6-2 yesterday. AJ Burnett ran through a couple raindrops, especially in the second when he needed a Marte gun-down at home and a bases-loaded DP to escape, but put up four zeroes. Jordy Mercer had a couple of hits, while Starling and prospect Josh Bell had the RBIs. Jared Hughes gave up three runs in two frames, while minor leaguer Matt Benedict surrendered the last trio of tallies.

Jordy Mercer 2013 Topps series

Today's Game: The Bucs are playing back-to-back at Citizens Park against the Phils. Jeff Locke toes the rubber tonight at 7:05, with the game shown on Root Sports & 93.7 The Fan. For out of area rooters, it's also live on MLB.TV (mlb.com) as the Free Game of the Day. One caveat: the weather is a lot like ours, so it may be a no-go tonight.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Starling Marte LF, Pedro Alvarez 1B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy Mercer SS, Locke.
Today's Bench: All hands on deck with a pineful of minor league guys.
Today's Pitchers: All the relievers are in play along with some minor leaguers.

Looks like the regular lineup; good to see Cutch back in the saddle after a scary twist yesterday. Surpriesed to see so many minor leaguers, but Indy and Altoona are nearby. The Indians start their year on the 9th and the Curve on the 16th.

The Pirates current active roster consists of 31 players and 27 broke camp with them (Chris Stewart, Jaff Decker & Justin Sellers stayed behind to rehab at Pirate City while Brandon Cumpton has yet to be moved to the DL). By Sunday, the FO has to hand out DLs to the Florida gang and figure out the last bench player & the loser of the bullpen musical chairs to get to the 25-man limit either by cut or trade.

• When Frankie Liriano takes the hill Monday, it will be his third career Opening Day assignment.
• The Pirates picked up AAA 1B Hunter Morris from the Brewers for a PTBNL. He was a former top prospect that tread water in AAA. Where he fits will become clear after the weekend when we see how Andrew Lambo fares in his quest to earn a spot on the club.
• Andy Oliver was waived by the Phillies. As a Rule 5 pick from the Pirates, if he's not claimed, Philly has to offer him back to the Bucs or work out a deal with Pittsburgh to keep him.
• John Sickels of Minor League Baseball picks the Bucs farm system as #7.
• Wandy Rodriguez's comeback hit the wall after Atlanta released him today following a trade for Trevor Cahill. He had a decent spring, despite being beat up by his old teammates in late March, going 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA and 1.304 WHIP.
• Joe Beimel, who was released after a terrible spring with the Rangers, signed a minor league deal with Seattle.
• Old Hans' baseball card still brings in the bucks, per KDKA. 

Bucs, O's Tie; Notes & Lineup For Grapefruit Finale

Sheesh, another tie. The Pirates and Orioles went 10 innings and walked off the field with a 3-3 draw. The big blow for the Bucs was Pedro's blast, yanking a 3-2 change up over the RF wall. If his spring translates into the summer, Pittsburgh's middle-of-the-order suddenly looks imposing with El Toro, Cutch, The Kid and El Coffee. The pitching was OK; Frankie and Gerrit each worked three, with Liriano touched for a solo dinger; their next outings will be against the Reds when the games count. . Also, Jung-Ho Kang looked quite at home playing short, making a nice play in the hole. The only bummer was a slip out of the box by Cutch, who gimped back to the dugout. He's got a scheduled off day today; let's hope yesterday's tweak didn't aggravate whatever aches he had a few days ago.

Jung-Ho Kang getting comfortable (photo Tommy Gilligan/USAToday Sports)

Today's Game: AJ leads the squad to Tampa to face the NY Yankees.The game starts at 1:05 and will be webcast on pirates.com. This is the last outing of the Grapefruit League; afterward, the Bucs pack it up and head to Philly for a pair of exhibitions.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Jordy Mercer SS, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte CF, Pedro 1B, Fran Cervelli C, Andrew Lambo LF, Sean Rodriguez 2B, AJ P.
Today's Bench: Wilkins Castillo, Pedro Florimon, Tony Sanchez, Jung-Ho Kang, The Kid, Corey Hart, Gustav Nunez and a flock of minor leaguers.
Today's Pitching: All eight relievers on the roster.

A couple of thoughts to take home: it looks like Pedro, despite his 5 HR, 17 RBI & .318 BA will hit fifth. That makes perfect sense as the spring cleanup role has fallen to Neil Walker, and constructing the middle of the order around a switch-hitting #4 is the ideal. Here's how the order looks, judging from camp - Josh will bat leadoff, Gregory Polanco second (maybe swapping spots with Jordy against lefties), Cutch third, The Kid (maybe dropping a spot when Hart plays), Pedro, Starling Marte, Mercer/Cervelli.

• Pedro's strong spring has made Corey Hart's role more backup than platoon; we're guessing he'll get some at bats in right when a lefty is on the hill. Pedro, btw, is looking more comfortable at first; he certainly has more range than the Ike/Gaby duo of last season.
• Jaff Decker (left calf strain) and Justin Sellers (sore Achilles) are expected to open season on DL, along with C Chris Stewart (sore hamstring).
• Mike Axisa of CBS Sports thinks that Jung-Ho Kang has a darkhorse chance to become the NL Rookie of the Year. 
• Charlie Deitch of The City Paper picks out the X-Factors in the Pirate depth charts.
• The Bucs are 15-10-4 in Grapefruit League play.
• Jeff Moore of Baseball Prospectus has some not-so-flattering notes regarding prospects Josh bell & Stetson Allie.
• The Pirates picked up minor league 1B Hunter Morris from the Brewers for a PTBNL. Morris was Milwaukee's minor-league-POY in 2012, but has stalled the past two seasons in AAA.

Bucs Tame Tigers; Richard Stays, Notes and Lineup

Vance Worley took the news that he's going to the bullpen in stride and gave the Bucs three workmanlike innings as Pittsburgh won 7-3 against the Tigers at Lakeland. The game got off to a good start as Petrina McCutchen, Andrew's mama, sang the National Anthem. David Price retired the first nine Buccos, but a quick burst keyed by Fran Cervelli's two-run bomb and doubles by Cutch and Jung-Ho Kang led to a four-spot. Pittsburgh's first-rounder from last year, Cole Tucker, even got three frames in at short. Minor league hurler John Kucha tossed three hitless frames, getting seven grounders and a K, so it was a nice spotlight game for a couple of youngsters.

Francisco Cervelli (photo Brynn Anderson/Sports Illustrated)

Today's Game: Frankie Liriano is on the hill against Baltimore tonight as the Bucs travel to Sarasota for a 7:05 game. The match will be aired by the MLB Network and 93.7 The Fan.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Starling Marte LF, Pedro 1B, Jung-Ho Kang SS, Tony Sanchez C, Liriano P.
Today's Bench: Minor league.
Today's Pitchers: Gerrit Cole, minor leaguers.

We'd guess that this is the regular Pirate lineup against righties if you slip Francisco Cervelli in for Sanchez and Jordy Mercer for Kang. Against lefties, we'd expect Mercer to switch with Polanco and a little bit of wiggle in the middle, depending where Clint bats Corey Hart.

• The media gang reports that Clayton Richard didn't exercise his opt-out clause and will stay with the Bucs. He'll remain in extended spring training at Pirate City after camp  breaks and later join Indy, following the trail plowed by Vance Worley last year.
• Speaking of Vanimal, Worley is gonna need a crash course in bulllpen life. Now that he's in the pen, those four day breaks are a thing of the past, and he hasn't pitched as a reliever but once since 2011 (last July). It's not an easy transition.
• Pirates Prospects has the run-down on the injured prospects in the system like Clay Holmes, Harold Ramirez and Rinku Singh.
• A better sign of spring than even a robin: the Pirate equipment truck is on its way back to Pittsburgh.
• Alex Presley was DFA'ed by the Astros.
• If you ever wondered what the meal money was for players on the road, Robert Raiola (‏@SportsTaxMan) tweeted that MLB players will receive a $100.50 per diem on road days this year, up from $99 last year. The mean average pay this year is $4.3M.

Bucs Rock; Holdzkom to Indy, Worley to Pen; Lineup & Notes

Pedro hit two long flies, including a grand salami, while Josh Harrison, Starling Marte, Tony Sanchez and Pedro Florimon also went long as the Bucs rolled over the Phils (good choice, AJ) 18-4. The most excitement came when a fourth inning quick pitch to Sean Rodriguez led to some yapping and an inning later, to some on-field milling about by the players. The only collateral damage came when coaches Rick Sofield and Juan Samuel were ejected. Clint was bounced in the sixth when he griped over a ball-strike call. Guess everyone is getting bored of the camp routine by now.

Pedro Alvarez 2014 Bowman series

Today's Game: The Bucs travel to Lakeland to meet the Tigers at 1:05 with Vance Worley on the hill against David Price. Detroit, btw, will be the Pirates Home Opener foes on April 13th.

Today's Lineup: Jordy Mercer SS, Neil Walker 2B, Cutch CF, Corey Hart 1B, Jung-Ho Kang 3B, Francisco Cervelli C, Sean Rodriguez RF, Mel Rojas Jr LF, Worley.
Today's Bench: Andrew Lambo, Pedro Florimon, Tony Sanchez, Wilkins Castillo.
Today's Pitchers: Antonio Bastardo & minor league guys.

The clock winds down; the only decision left is to choose among Lambo, Florimon and Jaff Decker for the 25th man spot. Florimon has been closing fast; he's out of options (Lambo & Decker can be sent down) and the Bucs don't have a true glove man on the pine right now. It'll be an interesting call.

• John Holdzkom was sent to Indy along with Rob Scahill, while Blake Wood was assigned to minor league camp. Holdzkom's option made either him or Jared Hughes the likeliest to go, and Hughes is a ground ball guy, something lacking in the Bucs power bullpen. Big John also had some control issues, and the staff will work on that and adding a second pitch to his arsenal. Stolmy Pimemtel used up another of his nine lives for the time being, tho there is still a bullpen cut to go. Melancon, Watson, Bastardo & Worley are in; Liz & Caminero are all but in, and leaves one spot.
• As first reported by Bill Brink of the Post Gazette, Jeff Locke has won the fifth starter spot, bumping Vanimal to the bullpen.
• Clayton Richard can opt of his contract today, so we'll see what happens on that front.
• Ex-Pirate farmhand Andy Oliver pitched yesterday, as did Upper St. Clair's Kevin Slowey. The Phils also have lefty Joely Rodriguez, traded for Antonio Bastardo, on their 40-man roster; he's on their AAA roster after a strong spring.
• Steeler coach Mike Tomlin was at McKechnie for the game. Maybe he came to watch center Maurkice Pouncey throw out first pitch.
• The Reds released Paul Maholm; he wants to remain a starter and lost out trying to claim a spot in the Cincy rotation.

Kang Goes Yard In Bucco Win; Decker Hurt; Lineup & Notes

Pittsburgh whipped the Braves 4-2 in dramatic fashion, with Jung-Ho Kang's two-run shot in the ninth providing the winning margin. Kang had two hits and three RBI, so that little week-long time out seems to have been right on time. Pedro Florimon's sac fly brought home Austin Meadows, who had tripled, with the Bucs opening tally. All the in-the-mix pitchers - Stolmy Pimentel, Radhames Liz, John Holdzom - tossed passably, though Big John had a plunk and walk in his frame while Liz was touched up for a homer.

Andrew Lambo went 0-for-4, and it may be that the final roster spot will come down to him or Florimon. Jaff Decker, who had an impressive spring, was helped off the field with a calf strain, picking about the worse possible time to get hurt with camp breaking later this week.

Pedro Florimon stayin' alive (Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Today's Game: The Pirates play their last spring home match at McKechnie Field against the Phils. It begins at 1:05 and will be webcast on pirates.com. Mark Melancon will get to start so that he gets to see some regular-season batters; we expect Vanimal to follow.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte CF, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro 1B, Tony Sanchez DH, Jordy Mercer SS, Francisco Cervelli C, Sean Rodriguez LF.
Today's Bench: Wilkins Castillo, Jung-Ho Kang, Pedro Florimon, Andrew Lambo.
Today's Pitching: Vance Worley, Antonio Bastardo, John Holdzkon, Adrian Sampson.

The days of the 15-man bench are done as guys get their fielding routines down at their at-bats up. Ditto for the pitchers; it's time to get in some innings.

• Jaff Decker told reporters that he doesn't believe his calf sprain is anything more than a tweak. He plans to throw and soft-hit today, but no running.
• Today is the Pirates last spring game at Bradenton. They have three more games on the road, break camp Thursday and play two with the Phils at Citizen's Park (why never PNC?) over the weekend before the April 6th Opener at Cincinnati.
• Hunter Strickland, the fireballer who the Giants claimed from the Bucs in 2013 and became a 15-minute story during last year's pennant race, has been sent to AAA Sacramento.

Bucs Romp; Notes & Lineup

The wind blew out, the wind blew in, and in between the gusts the Bucs took an 8-3 win from the Jays. Charlie Morton gave up a pair of homers, but he had the bad luck to toss with the wind whistling toward the fences (altho the first dinger needed no help) and gave up three runs in six innings of work. Gregory Polanco homered for the second time, Neil Walker had three RBI and the Pirates pounded out six extra-base hits; even prospect Reese McGuire got into the act with a double.

Gregory Polanco heating up (photo Mike James/Baseball America)

Today's Game: The Bucs take a trip to Lake Buena Vista to meet the Braves, with Stolmy Pimentel getting the starting nod. The game starts at 1:05 and will be broadcast by 93.7 The Fan.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Jaff Decker LF, Starling Marte CF, Corey Hart DH, Jung-Ho Kang 2B, Andrew Lambo 1B, Wilkins Castillo C, Pedro Florimon SS, Austin Meadows RF.
Today's Bench: All minor leaguers, topped by Reese McGuire.
Today's Pitchers: Antonio Bastardo, Radhames Liz, John Holdzkom, Blake Wood.

Big game for Stolmy. He's out of options and so far this spring, he's not given the Pirates much reason to keep him on the active roster. Don't expect a long outing; he's still considered bullpen material. It's also a test day for guys looking to claim that 25th spot, with Decker, Lambo and Florimon all starting. A couple of pedigree pups get off the porch today as Meadows gets the call in the outfield and McGuire is on the bench.

• AJ Burnett worked six innings at Pirate City in a minor league game yesterday, giving up a pair of unearned runs and whiffing seven, tossing 96 pitches. His control was much sharper - he walked one -  as he rounds into shape for April.
• A couple of food-for-thought tidbits: Rob Biertempfel of the Trib notes that the Bucs haven't had back-to-back Opening Day starters at first since Adam LaRoche (2007-09) while David Laurila of Fangraphs, in a notes column, wonders if catchers (and we'd add coaches) shouldn't take Spanish classes instead of putting all the onus on the Latino players.
• The Pirates broke the spring attendance record at Bradenton's 93-year-old McKechnie Field yesterday when 6,300+ spun the turnstiles, bringing the attendance to 99,450 fans for 14 games with one more contest to go. The old record was 93,433 fans set in 2013, the first season that McKechnie Field seating was expanded from 6,600 to 8,500. It is a little misleading; last year's average was 7,587 fans per game compared to 7,104 warm bodies this campaign.
• Ol' Bucco Ross Ohlendorf was assigned to minor league camp by the Rangers.

Bucs Win, Lineup & Notes

Gregory Polanco homered and so did Tony Sanchez as the Bucs defeated the Twins 4-2 yesterday. Jung-Ho Kang tripled and scored; Starling Marte and Jaff Decker had RBI doubles. Jeff Locke gave up both runs over 5-2/3 IP. It was a short game; a Florida rainstorm brought it to a halt in the eighth inning after Blake Wood and Antonio Bastardo got what would prove to be the final four outs.

Jung-Ho Kang - the transition hasn't been easy (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Today's Game: The Bucs face the Blue Jays at McKechnie in a 1:05 contest with Charlie Morton taking the ball. The game will be aired by 93.7 The Fan.

The Lineup: Jordy Mercer SS, Gregory Polanco RF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Corey Hart 1B, Andrew Lambo LF, Francisco Cervelli C, Sean Rodriguez 3B, Morton P.
The Bench: Jaff Decker, Wilkins Castillo, Tony Sanchez, Pedro Florimon, Jung-Ho Kang and a minor league group led by Reese McGuire.
The Pitchers: Mark Melancon (Happy B-Day!), Jared Hughes, Rob Scahill and minor league guys led by Zack Dodson.

The innings are getting tougher to come by for the players remaining on the major league roster. Clint's working in the regulars and making sure the bench guys get a couple of swings before camp breaks. Decisions still loom for the fifth starter, the last player on the bench and the bullpen composition, so the games still are meaningful for a handful of fringers.

• The Pirates are featured on tonight's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" on MLB Network at 7PM.
• Neal Huntington says Pedro Florimon is still in the hunt for the final bench spot. That says something about wanting a late-inning glove guy on the bench and the versatility of the players that have already won spots on the pine.
• Justin Sellers still has an Achilles problem and Chris Stewart is slowly getting back into action with a hammy issue.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred visited camp today. Notably, he gave the Bucco ownership & FO lots of love and backed off his stance of looking into defensive shifting.

Bravos Beat Bucs; 12 Pared From Roster; Lineup & Notes

Neil Walker went 2-for-4 with a double and a HR, Josh Harrison went yard, Jordy Mercer had three knocks and Cutch two more, but it wasn't enough as the Braves beat the Bucs 7-5 yesterday. Atlanta scored twice in the ninth (and had another cut down at home) after going seven innings without scoring. Vance Worley was tagged for five first-inning runs, then adjusted on the fly and blanked the Braves over the next five innings, retiring 13 in a row at one point. His adjustment was just to work away; they were teeing off on pitches on the inside half. Clayton Richard put up a pair of goose eggs before tiring in the ninth and being charged with the Bravo's final tallies.

Josh Harrison has been rockin' steady all spring (2014 Topps series)

Today's Game: The Pirates go to Fort Myers to take on the Twins with Jeff Locke on the hill. Once again the game will be on webcast only at pirates.com.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, Tony Sanchez C, Pedro 1B, Jung-Ho Kang SS, Jeff Decker CF, Sean Rodriguez 2B, Locke.
Today's Bench: Andrew Lambo, Pedro Florimon, Wilkins Castillo and a flock of minor league hands.
Today's Pitching: Antonio Bastardo, John Holdzkom, Rob Scahill.

Kang is back in action after a time-out to work on some hitting. Decker is getting some time too; he's a dark horse to break camp, but is putting some pressure on Lambo, who is having another not so memorable spring. So we'll see what the FO reads into Florida's small sample sizes.

• This morning, the Pirates reassigned Deolis Guerra, Gorkys Hernandez, Charlie Leesman, Brad Lincoln, Steve Lombardozzi, Brent Morel, Gustavo Nunez, Deibinson Romero, Jose Tabata, Sebastian Valle & Josh Wall to minor league camp. Bobby LaFromboise was optioned to Indy.
• Stephanie Apstein of SI previews the 2015 Pirates.
• Tyler Waite of Fansided compares the Pirates with the other elite squads in the NL.
• The Sporting News ranks Clint as a Top Ten manager. Interestingly, they have him just behind Lloyd McClendon.
• Ya think Nick Leyva was lost coaching at third base? AJ Cassavell and Paul Casella of Sports on Earth would beg to disagree.
• Monica Gagnier of The Pittsburgh Business Times takes a look at fan value, using the Pirates ticket Cost Per Win as her beacon.

Bucs v Braves, Lineup & Notes

The Pirates get back on the bike today against the Braves with Vanimal on the hill against once-upon-a-time Bucco Wandy Rodriguez. The game's at McKechnie Field, scheduled for a 1:05 start. It will be aired on pirates.com.

The Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Cutch CF, Corey Hart RF, Starling Marte LF, Jordy Mercer SS, Pedro 1B, Francisco Cervelli C, Worley.
The Bench: Jaff Decker, Wilkins Castillo, Jose Tabata, Andrew Lambo, Steve Lombardozzi, Sebastian Valle, Gregory Polanco, Pedro Florimon, Deibinson Romero, Gustav Nunez, Gorkys Hernandez, Brent Morel, Sean Rodriguez, Tony Sanchez. Yep, home game, so all hands all deck.
The Pitchers: Clayton Richard, Deolis Guerra and three guys from minor league camp; it's time to start streeeeeeetching out those arms.

The no-doubt-about-it Bucco SS (Topps 2013 Rookie card)

Cory Hart continues to get some outfield work as Vance Worley tries to build on what's been a very solid spring for him. This is as close as they've gotten to a regular season lineup; add El Coffee and that's it. Opening Day is just around the corner on April 6th and there are only seven Grapefruit League games left. It should be just about time for The Turk to make his rounds.

• Cutch cut his hair; he'll auction off the dreads at MLB.com for Pirate Charities. 
• Jung-Ho Kang was originally part of the game roster, but was scratched to take more batting work at Pirate City.
• Forbes has released its always controversial MLB Franchise Value report. Not unexpectedly, the Bucco club has zoomed way up in the ratings.
• Tim Williams is flipping his popular Pirates Prospects site from an ad-revenue model to subscription basis, beginning April 13th. You can sign up on his home page.

Spring Battles Still Unsettled...

The Bucs came into camp with just a couple of spots open for the taking. We've watched a couple of questions resolves themselves, but other battles are still being waged.

The Rotation: The starting five right now are Frankie Liriano (who will toss on Opening Day), Gerrit Cole (who should get the home Opener), AJ Burnett, Vince Worley and Charlie Morton. The performances of AJ and Morton in camp haven't been terribly uplifting so far. Burnett has whiffed 12 in his 12-2/3 IP but walked eight; hopefully his control will come around. Charlie has been getting hit pretty hard, and he chalked it up to too much thinking, too little trust. The clock for getting him back on track - Ray Searage & Jim Benedict are trying to simplify his motion - is ticking.

There are a couple of things that bode well, though. Jeff Locke and Rahdames Liz should both make the club and can step in if someone does falter. And if Charlie needs a little more time to get comfortable, he could be skipped during the season's first week so that his first outing wouldn't be until April 15th. So even with Brandon Cumpton's TJ surgery, the Pirates seem solid enough. Clayton Richard may replace Cumpton (who would move to the DL) on the 40-man roster - he's performed well and has an opt-out clause if he's not on that list.

The Bullpen: Mark Melancon, Tony Watson and Antonio Bastardo are in. Jeff Locke and Radhames Liz are very likely to join them; both are out of options and both are stretched enough to bail out the rotation if and as required. That leaves two spots for John Holdzkom, Jared Hughes, Stolmy Pimentel and Arquimedes Caminero. It may come down to options - Holdzkom & Hughes have one; Caminero & Pimentel don't.

Has Arquimedes made the cut? (Photo: Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Performance would make it an easy decision; Arquimedes and Big John have been head and shoulders above the other pair so far. But Stolmy has a big arm and Jared has 170 big-league appearances, so all sorts of mix-and-match are in play.  Unless he implodes, Carmenero should claim one of the spots while the other is still up for grabs; we'd guess Holdzkom has the edge for that final spot as of now.

The Starters: Nothing has changed the set lineup, with the questions being whether Pedro and El Coffee could pick it up. So far, Alvarez has been solid, going the opposite way and cutting his K rate down to 23% while Polanco is still under the Mendoza Line. But 30 - 40 plate appearances does not make a trend, so... Josh Harrison, who is due to a return to earth, has given no indication of letting up so far, hitting a healthy .321.

The Bench: It's more competitive than first thought. Sean Rodriguez is in, Tony Sanchez - who has been tearing it up in camp - will get at least an April cup of joe until Chris Stewart returns and Cory Hart also has had a decent spring as the RH compliment at first. Andrew Lambo, again off to a slow start, has gotten some competition from Jaff Decker. Lambo and Decker still have options in their pockets, so that's one battle where it that won't come into play. The current make-up of all RH hitters on the pine fairly much limits the final cut to these two.

Management may be sorry they touted Jung-Ho Kang as a lock on the active roster. He's had adjustment problems, as a .111 BA and 41% K rate show. We're certainly not saying he's a bust at this stage of the game, but he is quite obviously in a learning cycle. That makes his bench use somewhat problematic, but the Pirates may have painted themselves in a corner. Pedro Florimon and Steve Lombardozzi are the next men up and both are veteran bench players.

Jung-Ho Kang...he's not in Kansas any more (photo: USAToday Sports)

The Pirates are in a pretty good spot now. The rotation has some back-end depth, even if it lacks a true ace. The bullpen may be a bit jerry-rigged to protect depth starters like Locke and Liz, but carrying two long men shouldn't be too much of a burden. The position starters are set and the bench is stocked with guys who have mainly been there, done that and are versatile enough to warm Clint Hurdle's chess-playing heart.

Bucs Go Long To Top Rays 7-6; Today's Lineup v Orioles & Notes

AJ Didn't have the greatest of starts, and it was made worse by Brad Lincoln. Burnett went 4-2/3 frames and left with a runner on third. Two walks and two beaned batters later by Lincoln led to a couple more runs before that third out was recorded. But Arquimedes Caminero, Bobby LaFromboise and Deolis Guerra put up zeroes, and the Pirate bats saved the day.

Gorkys Hernandez had three hits, including a homer, Francisco Cervelli (two RBI) went yard and Pedro Florimon dinged one to pull out the win, along with RBI from Andrew Lambo, Starling Marte and Wilkins Castillo, who had a ninth inning knock to put Pittsburgh over the top. It wasn't pretty, but every team needs to win an ugly game every so often.

Today's hero Gorkys Hernandez (photo US Presswire)

Today's Game - The Orioles come to McKechnie today with Radhames Liz getting the starting honors. The game starts at 1:05 and will be streamed by pirates.com.

Today's Lineup - Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker DH, Starling Marte LF, Pedro 1B, Jordy Mercer SS, Jung-Ho Kang 2B, Tony Sanchez C.
Today's Bench - Jaff Decker, Gustav Nunez, Deibinson Romero, Andrew LAmbo, Pedro Florimon, Sebastian Valle, Steve Lombardozzi, Jose Tabata, Wilkins Castillo, Sean Rodriguez.
Today's Pitchers - Charlie Leesman, Jared Hughes, Brad Lincoln, Deolis Guerra, Josh Wall.

Pass the ammunition, Cutch is back. For that matter, so is Kang. He was shut down for a little drill work, and instead of competing with Jordy today, he'll man the middle with him. Lincoln and Guerra are making back-to-back appearances from the pen; it's getting to that time of year, and Brad could sure use a bounce-back outing.

• The Bucs are off tomorrow. They'll be back in the saddle Thursday to face the Braves.
• Matt Snyder of CBS Sports has his 2015 Pirate team preview.
• Saint Mary's Joe was released by the Rangers yesterday. The 37-year-old had a 2.20 ERA over 56 appearances with the Mariners last season, but gave up 14 runs (11 earned) in just three spring innings for Texas, including three homers.

Bucs, Bosox Tie; Lineups & Notes

Who said baseball games don't end in ties? The Bucs and the Bosox played nine innings and ended up sister-smooching in a 2-2 draw. Starters Frankie Liriano and Wade Miley were in good form, with Francisco ringing up six whiffs in his four frames. The outing did take him 81 pitches, so he still could zero in on some quicker at-bats.

The Pirates scored when Starling Marte, who had a pair of knocks, singled, stole second and came around on a Corey Hart knock. The next run was scored by Gorkys Hernandez, who is quietly having a nice spring, hitting over .350. He tripled and plated on a Clint Hurdle special, a suicide squeeze dropped down by Gustav Nunez. Deolis Guerra gave up one Red Sox run, and the tying tally came in on a two-out, ninth inning single off Stolmy Pimentel, who is not having a nice spring. His ERA is 9.00.

Marte Partay; he steals second and scores on Corey Hart's single (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Tomorrow's Game: The Pirates go on the road to Kissimmee to meet the Astros in a 1:05 match. Charlie Morton will toe the rubber. He missed his last outing, instead pitching a minor-league sim game. The game will be aired by the MLB Network and on 93.7 The Fan.

The Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Jordy Mercer SS, Gregory Polanco RF, Tony Sanchez C, Pedro 1B, Jaff Decker CF, Steve Lombardozzi LF, Pedro Florimon 2B, Morton P.
The Bench: Andrew Lambo, Gustav Nunez, Gorkys Hernandez, Brent Morel, Sebastian Valle, Deibinson Romero.
The Pitchers: John Holdzkom, Blake Wood, Rob Scahill.

Cutch is still out; Hurdle said he'd be running bases today. Just idle speculation, but sounds like he's working through a hammy/groin tweak; he's not slated to play tomorrow, either. Brent Morel is back after being on injury ice for a spell. And hey - who ever thought they'd see Tony Sanchez hitting cleanup? Josh has been hitting leadoff a lot; looks like he'll be back in the top spot again in 2015. 

• Frankie, Tony Watson and Antonio Bastardo K'ed 12 Red Sox in six innings, with Watson & Bastardo striking out the side.
• Jung-Ho Kang was scratched today. He's not hurt, just getting in some extra work. He's a scratch for tomorrow, so the staff is emphasizing some field drills for him during his transition from full-time KBO All-Star to Pirate prospect.

Great Day To Play Two As Bucs Sweep; Lineup & Notes

The Pirates swept a split squad doubleheader yesterday, beating the Phils 6-5 at McKechnie Field and taking a 4-2 decision in Ft. Myers' Hammond Field over the Twins. Neither starting pitcher was overwhelming, but both Vance Worley and Gerrit Cole went five innings. Cole got the win against the Phils, while Vanimal notched a spring W against Minnesota.

v. Philadelphia: Pedro went 3 for 4 with a double and a homer, both to left center, as he continues his opp field approach. Jordy Mercer went 3-for-5 while Tony Sanchez added an RBI double. Sebastian Valle doubled home Mercer for the winning walk-off run. Starling Marte and Steve Lombardozzi had a pair of hits. Clayton Richard gave up two runs in three innings of work, but Rob Scahill closed the door in the ninth for the save.

Jordy Mercer - photo Charles LeClair/USAToday Sports

v. Minnesota: Francisco Cervelli went 2 for 3 with two solo home runs. Gerrit Cole drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs to plate the third run and a Josh Harrison single brought home the insurance tally. Charlie Leesman, Brad Lincoln, Josh Wall and Bobby LaFromboise all tossed scoreless frames with LaFromboise getting the save.

Today's Game: Boston visits the Pirates with Frankie Liriano on the hill. The game starts at 1:05 and will be aired by Root Sports & 93.7 The Fan.

The Lineup: Jose Tabata RF, Neil Walker 2B, Jung-Ho Kang 3B, Corey Hart 1B, Starling Marte CF, Francisco Cervelli C, Sean Rodriguez SS, Gorkys Hernandez LF, Liriano P.
The Bench: Jaff Decker, Wilkins Castillo, Tony Sanchez, Steve Lombardozzi, Sebastian Valle, Andrew Lambo, Gustav Nunez, Deibinson Romero, Pedro Florimon, Gregory Polanco.
The Pitchers: Tony Watson, Mark Melancon, Antonio Bastardo, Stolmy Pimentel, Deolis Guerra & Minor League Campers.

Kang continues his infield tour, moving to third today, and Partay Marte looks like a fixture in the middle of the order. Sean Rodriguez is also a guy with many hats, playing short. We don't think these are spring look-see moves, but part of the team philosophy of player versatility, a concept that Clint embraces.

• Jung-Ho Kang has decided not to take part in the media craze for the time being; he's cut off interviews until camp breaks and the season begins. That's probably a good decision; he has plenty on his plate as is.
• Stetson Allie, who had been working as an OF/1B, will become a full-time outfielder per Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects. He's got the arm for right, if he can cover the ground. The move indicates he's transitioning pretty well into a position player and the Bucs are already looking to avoid a jam-up at first between Josh Bell and Allie down the road. One thing for sure is that the switch will add another strong prospect to the list of outfielders already in the system; that's a deep deck the FO has to deal from.
• Clint Hurdle told the media gang that Tony Sanchez has made the club as Chris Stewart isn't expected to be ready for at least two more weeks.
• Even with the wave of young guns, Jim Callis of MLB.com ranks the Pirate farm system as #4 in MLB.
• David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal writes that Wandy Rodriguez looks like he's earned a spot in the Braves' rotation.
• Joe Lucas of Yardbarker reminds us not to go asleep on the Brewers this year. They led the pack for a good portion of 2014 and still have a healthy collection of lumber.

Bucs Lose, Play Two Today; Kingham & Diaz Cut, Lineups & Notes

The Bucs dropped a 6-4 decision to the Orioles yesterday. The bats are warming up a bitt: Jordy Mercer went 3-for-3, Corey Hart went 2-for-4 with a home run and even Gorkys Hernandez had two hits, including a triple, and plated twice. The pitching was not so hot, with long balls being a bugaboo. Radhames Liz started (he's being groomed as a long man out of the pen) and surrendered a run on two hits in his two frames. Stolmy Pimentel gave up two runs on three hits in the 8th inning to pick up the loss. The camp's most pleasant surprise, Arquimedes Caminero, had the magic leave him yesterday as he gave up a pair of solo homers. And Steve Lombardozzi didn't do much to aid his cause, throwing a pair of balls away at second.

Gorkys Hernandez trip-trip-triples (photo by Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Todays Games: The Pirates play a split squad DH, taking on the Phillies in Bradenton at McKechnie Field and the Twins in Fort Myers. Vance Worley faces Philly and Gerrit Cole goes against the Twins today, with both games at 1:05. They'll be carried on MLB.com's Gameday audio feed.

v Phils:

The Lineup: Steve Lombardozzi LF, Jordy Mercer SS, Gregory Polanco RF, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro 1B, Tony Sanchez C, Sean Rodriguez 3B, Vanimal.
The Bench: Gustav Nunez, Deibinson Romero, Sebatian Valle, Jose Tabata and some guys from minor league camp, highlighted by Reese McGuire.
The Pitchers: Clayton Richard, Rob Scahill, Deolis Guerra and several young arms from minor league camp.

The Pirate pitchers are approaching stretch time; we assume that Clint is looking for seven frames between Worley and Richard, and that means the reliever innings are going to become much harder to come by.  Cutch is still out but doing all the drills, so we expect they'll reboot him next week.

v Twins:

The Lineup: Josh Harrison, Francisco Cervelli C, Jaff Decker LF, Jung-Ho Kang 2B, Andrew Lambo 1B, Gorkys Hernandez CF, Austin Meadows RF, Pedro Florimon SS, Cole P.
The Bench: Wilkins Castillo and eight minor-league campers.
The Pitchers: Bobby LaFromboise, Brad Lincoln, Charlie Leesman, Josh Wall and a handful of minor league guys.

The game has a couple of strong sidebars: Gerrit Cole trying to stretch it out a few innings, Kang with his first look at second and hot but young prospect Austin Meadows gets to show his stuff.

• The Pirates continue to pare the roster, sending Nick Kingham and Elias Diaz, both of whom performed well in camp, to Indy. The roster now sits at 45 players.
• True Beliver: Buster Olney of ESPN picks the Bucs to win the World Series. 
• The Bucs Top 30 Prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline.
• Joely Rodriguez, 23, the soft-tossing lefty that the Bucs sent to the Phils for Antonio Bastardo, was optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia is a good spot for him; their rotation doesn't have nearly the depth of Pittsburgh's, and he's now part of an organization that's thin in lefty pitching. Don't be surprised to see him earn a call-up this year.

Bucs Hold Off Tigers Before Record Crowd, Cut-Down Day, Lineup & Notes

Home runs by Tony Sanchez, Starling Marte (3-for-3) and Willy Garcia helped the Bucs take an 8-7 win from the Tigers last night. The bats were hot as Pittsburgh pounded out 14 hits. AJ was strong for three frames before hitting his pitch count and being charged with a pair of runs in the fourth. Antonio Bastardo gave up a run (he's been scored on in 4-of-5 appearances) while notching a pair of K, and dark horse bullpen candidate Bobby LaFromboise was lit up for four runs and five hits (all ground ball singles) trying to put away the game in the ninth. Josh Hill came on to get the final two outs on a DP grounder after giving up his own worm-burner knock..

Starling Marte pointing toward a breakout seaon? (photo ESPN/AP)

Today's Game: Radhames Liz gets his first Grapefruit League start (he's made four relief appearances) as the Bucs travel to Sarasota to face the Orioles again. Game time is 1:05, and there is no TV or radio; log into MLB.com.

The Lineup: Jaff Decker CF, Steve Lombardozzi 2B, Corey Hart DH, Jordy Mercer SS, Sean Rosdriguez 1B, Elias Diaz C, Persdo Florimon 3B, Gorkys Hernandez LF.
The Bench: Andrew Lambo, Alen Hansen, Willy Garcia, Gift Ngoepe, Sebastian Valle, Wilkins Castillo, Deibinson Romero, Gustav Nunez, Mel Rojas Jr. and a handful of guys from the minor league camp.
The Pitchers: Nick Kingham, Jared Hughes, Arquimedes Caminero, Stolmy Pimentel, Collin Balester.

Still no Cutch. He is taking field drills, so he should be close. Sean Rodriguez gets a look at first today; we're surprised Lambo hasn't gotten much time at the spot.

Also today, the Bucs announced eight cuts: Casey Sadler, Jameson Taillon and Alen Hanson have been optioned to Indy, Willy Garcia to Altoona and Collin Balester, Jeremy Bleich, Gift Ngoepe and Mel Rojas Jr. were assigned to minor league camp.

• Jose Tabata had to be carted off the field when he fouled a ball off the inside of his ankle. It was diagnosed as a contusion, not a break.
• Chris Stewart was called "week-to-week" with his hammy sprain and is expected to miss another two weeks, which may prove glad tidings to the new and improved Tony Sanchez.
• The game last night drew a record crowd to McKechnie Field of 9,018, the most people to catch a game in the franchise's 92 year history.
• Jung-Ho Kang must be coming along OK in the field; the Bucs plan to introduce him to second base in the coming days.
• Justin Sellers hopped a flight to California yesterday to be with his wife for the birth of their child. Sellers factoid: His dad, Jeff, pitched for the Red Sox in the mid-to-late eighties.
• Congrats to Joe Jordano, Pitt skipper. He's in his 15th season with the Panthers and just collected his 500th coaching win.

Bucs Blasted, Frankie Gets Opening Day Nod, Pump Up vid, Lineup & Notes

The Bucs were bum-rushed yesterday, falling to the Astros 13-7. Jeff Knock...oops, Locke gave up six runs, and his bullpen fireman, Deolis Guerra, came in and poured a can of gas on the flames. Big John Koldzkom was also touched up for a pair. On the plus side, The Kid had a three run homer to go with a two-bagger, Elias Diaz had a broken-bat two-run knock, Andrew Lambo doubled home a score and Gustav Nunez added the other RBI.

Today's Game: The Bucs host Detroit at McKechnie Field in Bradenton today at 6:05 with AJ doing the honors v Shane Green. The game will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

AJ Burnett photo UASToday Sports Images

The Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Jose Tabata LF, Jung-Ho Kang SS, Neil Walker 2B, Starling Marte CF, Pedro 1B, Tony Sanchez C, Andrew Lambo RF, AJ.
The Bench: 17 deep, with Gregory Polanco, Elias Diaz & Jaff Decker being the main cogs. Brent Morel is also on the card, so he's recovered from his hammy tweak.
The Pitchers: Tony Watson, Mark Melancon, Bobby LaFromboise, Josh Wall, Casey Sadler, Antonio Bastardo, Charlie Leesman (not sure which ones Clint plans to toss after AJ gets his four innings/65 pitches worth of work)

• Well, one not so deep mystery solved: Frankie Liriano will be the Opening Day pitcher against the Reds. He's the first guy to get the OD nod back-to-back since 2005-06 when Ollie Perez kicked off the seasons. Before that, you have to go back to 1992 when Doug Drabek got his third consecutive Opening Day start.
• The rotation, as announced by Clint Hurdle, will be Liriano , Gerrit Cole, A.J. Burnett, Vance Worley/Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton. That leaves Cole scheduled to pitch in the home opener on April 13th v the Tigers.
• Cutch was a scratch again, although he has taken batting practice the past two days. Chris Stewart has also missed some time with a sore hammy.
• The Pirates black matte batting helmets were a hit at camp, so much so that they're going to wear them during the season.

Ready for some baseball? "Pump Up" by, oddly enough, Hockey Night In Pittsburgh, ought to get the juices flowing again..

 

Bucs Beat Birds 4-2

The Bucs struck quickly, jumping up 1-0 after back-to-back lead-off doubles by Josh and The Kid. Alas, they stranded five runners - four in scoring position with one out - in the first three frames. Vanimal went his four frames putting up a zippo, struggling only in the fourth when a walk and two-out lob put Birds on the corners, but he got Manny Machado on a hard-hit one-hopper to second. Pittsburgh put together another score on a Sean Rodriguez single, a grounder that moved him to second and a pinch hit knock by Tony Sanchez. It stayed knotted after five, with Mark Melancon working a clean frame.

Whatever Vanimal and Elias Diaz decided today, it pretty much worked (photo: Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Antonio Bastardo gave the lead up in the sixth. A five pitch walk followed by a heater down the middle that Steve Pearce lined into the bullpen made it 2-2 in a hurry. Starling Marte tried to start the Pirates engines, but he decided to cruise into second instead of going hard on a ball to left and was called out. He beat the throw and quick swipe by a hair, but his mental TOOTBLAN put him in a position to be rung up (no replay during the spring) and he was.

Arquimedes Caminero had his first multi-inning outing of the spring, tossing a pair of goose eggs. The Bucs took the lead in the eighth. Stetson Allie singled and stole second (which we don't expect to see very often). Andrew Lambo hit one to the gap; the wind held it up long enough to be corraled, but it moved Allie to third. He plated when Gorkys Hernandez banged one through a drawn-in infield to put Pittsburgh up by a run. Gorkys got to third on a poorly handled ball by Everth Cabrera and scored when Alen Hansen slapped a slicer into right to make it 4-2. Blake Wood made the tally stand with a scoreless ninth.

They tied the B game 2-2, with Willy Garcia driving in the tying run with two outs in the seventh (the last inning).  Frankie Liriano went four frames/58 pitches and gave up both runs. Ya gotta love B games; Matt Weiters' arm is still untested after June TJ surgery. He caught six frames for the Birds with the gentleman's agreement that no one would try to steal off him.

The Pirates are off tomorrow, with the Astros paying them a visit on Tuesday. Jeff Locke will match up against Roberto Hernandez. The club will be on TV Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday night.

• Worley and Liriano became the first Buc hurlers to go four full innings as the pitchers are now being stretched out to the four IP/60 pitch range.
• Stetson Allie was reassigned to minor league camp after the game. He showed well during his time in the big league group.
• Who sez you can't go home anymore? Travis Snider and Steve Pearce combined for five of the seven Oriole hits today. 
• Cutch sat again and Clint said he was "day to day." We hope that with tomorrow's off-day, he should be good to go on Tuesday. Sometimes the Pirates blow smoke around injury reports better than the Penguins. 
• Chris Stewart is slated to return Tuesday; he was out with a hammy tweak.
• Jim Benedict took the strolls to the mound today; Ray Searage has a bum Achilles and left the walking and talking to Benedict.

Pirates Claim 5-2 Win, Today's Lineups & Notes

The Bucs handled the Bosox this time around by a 5-2 score. Both runs came of Gerrit Cole, who couldn't solve Mike Napoli. He banged a pair of solo shots off Cole, hammering hung off-speed offerings. Clayton Richard had another nice outing, going two frames with three K. Starling Marte was a man on a mission - he doubled, tripled, walked, stole a base and scored twice. Tony Sanchez added a pair of knocks, while Jordy Mercer, Stetson Allie & Pedro Florimon banged out doubles. Bradenton infielder Adam Frazier, called up from the minor league camp, drove in a pair for the Bucs.

Clayton Richard & Ray Searage are doin' something right... (Photo: Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Today's Games: The Bucs play two against the Orioles. The B Game kicks it off at 10 at Pirate City with Frankie on the hill, while the main bout starts at 1:05 at McKechnie Field. Vance Worley starts for Pittsburgh in that one. The game will be on both TV and radio, with Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan sending the action back home. It's also being carried by MLB Network if you live outside the Pittsburgh viewing area.

A Game:

The Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Jordy Mercer SS, Corey Hart 1B, Starling Marte CF, Jose Tabata LF, Sean Rodriguez RF, Elias Diaz C, Vanimal P.
The Bench: Andrew Lambo, Gift Ngoepe, Pedro Florimon, Gorkys Hernandez, Sebastian Valle, Stetson Allie, Deibinson Romero, Tony Sanchez and a handful of guys from the B Game roster when they bus it back.
The Pitchers: Antonio Bastardo, Bobby LaFromboise, Mark Melancon, Arquimedes Caminero, Blake Wood.

Cutch is still out with "lower body soreness." There's no point pushing the Franchise in mid-March, so we'll chalk it up to TLC. 

B Game:

The Lineup: Steve Lombardozzi 2B, Francisco Cervelli C, Gregory Polanco RF, Jung-Ho Kang 3B, Pedro 1B, Jaff Decker CF, Mel Rojas Jr LF, Gustav Nunez SS, Francisco Liriano P
The Bench: Alen Hanson, Willy Garcia, Wilkins Castillo
The Pitchers: Jeremy Bleich, Charlie Leesman, Josh Wall.

Kang is starting at third again, with Nunez at short. And he's batting clean-up, ahead of Pedro. We're guessing Cervelli is catching to get him up to speed with Frankie, and he's batting in his usual two-hole.

---

Camp should start getting interesting pretty soon. There are some early battles - Decker v Lambo, Worley v Locke, the bullpen configuration, the depth starters (and remember, a team generally goes through 8-10 starters throughout the season due to performance or physical issues), Diaz v Sanchez for the #3 catcher spot - that should intensify as the next couple of weeks roll along. Even the batting order is a work in progress.

It's all good that there's so much competition; for too long the Bucs have had too many positions won by default. It may well end up that minor league options or lack thereof may become the determining factor in a couple of the final roster decisions.