Leroux DFA'ed, Morris Gets Call

The Pirates recalled RH reliever Bryan Morris today and DFA'ed Chris Leroux..

Morris, 26, had a couple of saves in three outings at Indy without yielding a run, and had a cup of coffee last year with the Bucs,  putting up a 1.80 ERA with six strikeouts in five innings. The RHP was converted to a reliever in 2011 after going through a nagging list of injuries. He's the last remaining piece of the Jay Bay trade.

Leroux, 28, went downhill after repping Canada in the Olympics. A pitcher the Pirates liked, he was pedestrian in camp. He was worse when it counted: in four MLB innings this year, he walked six and gave up four hits, working to a 6.75 ERA. Leroux was 1-2 in four Bucco seasons (2010-13) with a 4.20 ERA and 43 K in 45 IP. He also pitched for the Marlins before the Bucs claimed the righty from the Fish in 2010. There's a decent chance he could clear waivers and be assigned to Indy to straighten out (or become an FA; his option). We'll known in a couple of days.

Pirates History 4/12

A birthday, a presidential scouting report and some oddball games:

• 1876 - Vic Willis was born. The Hall of Fame righty spent four seasons in Pittsburgh (1906-09) with an 89-46/2.08 line and was part of the 1909 team that won the World Series (the first Pittsburgh title team) against the Tigers. He won 249 games over a 13 year career.
• 1937 - The Pirates and White Sox played an exhibition game with a new “dead ball” the league was experimenting with. The score ended up 9-6 Chicago with a couple of dozen hits. All but one hit was a single, and that was a double.
• 1942 - Tommie Sisk was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The righty tossed seven seasons for Pittsburgh (1962-68) as a swingman after spending just two years in the minors. He went 37-35 with a 3.69 ERA. His best effort was against the Mets on September 20th, 1965 when he tossed a two-hitter.
• 1958 - On a recommendation from former GM Branch Rickey’s bud President Dwight D. Eisenhower‚ the Pirates signed RHP Preston Bruce‚ the son of the White House doorkeeper, and assigned him to Salem in the short-season Class D Appalachian League. DDE wasn’t much of a scout; Bruce put up a 15.60 ERA and his pro career ended the following season.
• 1965 - Bob “Beetles” Bailey hit a walk-off homer to give Bob Veale a 1-0 win in ten innings over the Giants’ Juan Marichal (both guys went the distance) at Forbes Field in the Bucco Opener.
• 1966 - The first major league game played in Atlanta featured Braves' hurler Tony Cloninger pitching thirteen innings and fanning a dozen in a losing effort to the Pirates, 3-2. Willie Stargell hit a two-run, two out homer in the thirteenth to provide the winning runs for Don Schwall at Atlanta Stadium.
• 1983 - In the 8th inning of the home opener, Bill Madlock took a long lead off first with 1B Keith Hernandez playing well behind him. Bruce Sutter checked the runner and spun off the mound to chase him back - and beat him to the bag for an unassisted pickoff! The Bucs lost to the Cards 4-3.
• 1985 - In their first night home opener, the Bucs prevailed over the Cards 6-4. A crowd of 47,335 watched Maz throw out the first pitch and Jason Thompson mash a two-run homer. Starter John Candelaria came on to earn the save of Don Robinson’s win.
• 2002 - Cubbie Sammy Sosa set the PNC Park record with a 484’ home run off Dave Williams during a 7-3 Chicago victory.
• 2009 - With runners on the move from first and second base, the Reds' Edwin Encarnacion's soft liner to Pirates' SS Jack Wilson was turned into a triple play, the Bucs' first since 1993. Pittsburgh still lost at Great American Ballpark by a 2-0 score on Aaron Harang’s three hitter, the first MLB shutout of the year. The game’s only runs came on a first inning two out, two run homer by Brandon Phillips off Ian Snell.

Bucco History: 4/11

A heart attack, a clunker and some palpitating games:

• 1961 - Bill Virdon smacked a two-out, three-run HR to right off reliever Mike McCormick to give the Pirates a ninth inning, 8-7 win over the Giants in SF’s home opener.
• 1975 - The Bucs scored four times in the ninth to overtake Jerry Koosman and the Mets 4-3 on a chilly Opening Day match played in front of 43,880 at TRS. Richie Zisk (who had three hits) and Manny Sanguillen knocks tied the game; Richie Hebner’s one-out bloop into no-man’s land in left center was the walk-off hit. Larry Demery won the game in relief of Jerry Reuss.
• 1976 - At Philadelphia‚ Doc Medich, walking in from the bullpen, spotted a man having a heart attack in the stands. He jumped over the railing and applied CPR to revive him. Sadly‚ the fan later passed away in the hospital.
• 1988 - A record crowd of 54,089, the first baseball sellout in TRS history, watched the Bucs handle the Phils 5-1, thanks to an eighth inning, bases-loaded triple by Spanky LaValliere. It was the Bucs home opener, and Mr. Rogers tossed out the first ball.
• 2010 - The Diamondbacks scored a team-record 13 runs in the fourth inning of a 15-6 victory over Pittsburgh at Chase Field. Daniel McCutchen started and gave up three homers in the fourth; he left after tossing 3-1/3 innings. McCutchen was charged with nine of the runs that inning; Hayden Penn was credited with giving up the other four.

The Young and the Restless

Ok, we have a couple of weeks of baseball under our belts, and while it's early, we thought we'd spend our off day taking a peek at the guys who were on the cusp at camp and the second wave of young 'uns waiting to find some room at the inn.

Pitching - Everyone wants to know where Gerrit Cole is. Well, he's busy learning his craft at Indy. People were excited by a couple of competent outings in the spring, but the truth is that he's tossed two AAA games total at the end of last season, and got beat up in one of them. He's only lasted six frames in two Tribe starts this year with an ERA of 6.00. Could he master his trade in the majors as easily as in the minors was the question: the FO took the prudent financial and professional view that a little more time wouldn't hurt. He'll be here soon enough.

Lefty Andy Oliver, a once highly touted Tiger prospect, has gone two outings and pitched 11 scoreless frames with 11K. He's also lived up to his MO of a wild child by walking six, but has mitigated that a bit by allowing just five hits. Kyle McPherson has just one outing, and gave up a three-spot in three frames.

The other guys have had limited innings, but LHP Kris Johnson and righty relievers Bryan Morris, Duke Welker and Vin Mazzaro have been collecting goose eggs and punchouts when given the ball. Veterans Ryan Reid and Mike Zagurski are off to solid starts as well.

Altoona is just starting to reach the second turn in the rotation, and Jameson Taillon and Stolmy Pimentel have combined for 11 innings of six hit, shutout ball in the first go-around. There's a long line of arms behind them, but none in line for a gold star quite yet.

Luis Heredia is in extended spring training, meaning that he's probably looking at joining Jamestown in the short season NY-PA League if an opening at West Virginia doesn't appear soon. Rehabbing hurlers Francisco Liriano, Charlie Morton and Jose Contreras are all hoping to get to Pittsburgh before June, while Jeff Karstens is still in the slow lane. It's certain the staff in Pittsburgh now won't last intact into the summer.

Outfield - The pair that were the last to leave Pirate City were Alex Presley and Felix Pie, both who had strong camps. No one has many more than 20 at-bats yet, so the numbers need taken with a grain of salt, but Presley is still bopping away with a .412 BA. Pie has gone the opposite direction, with a 2-for-24 (.083) start.

The Curve have a pair of guys squaring up on everything in Andrew Lambo and Adalberto Santos. Lambo, a top LA youngster, came to Pittsburgh as part of the Octavio Dotel deal. After some injury-bitten seasons, he's out of the box now with a .417/.500./.833 line. Santos, who projects as a corner utility guy, has a scorching .450/.542/.700 line.

The lower levels have up-and-comers Gregory Polanco, Josh Bell, Barrett Barnes and Elvis Escobar working their way through the system.

Infield - Jordy Mercer is playing his usual solid game, hitting .280, while Ivan DeJesus is off to a .200 start for Indy. Brandon Inge is 2-for-23. At Altoona, neither Jarek Cunningham nor Gift Ngoepe has shown much with the stick (EDIT - an hour after the post, Cunningham doubled and homered while Gift went long!). The talent is still stacked in A Ball with Alen Hansen, Dilson Herrera and Max Moroff.

Catching - Aye carumba! Tony Sanchez is 1-for-11 to date; the cavalry of Wyatt Mathison and Jin-De Jhang is still buried deep in the misty underworld of Low A ball. Carlos Paulino and Jacob Stallings have the glove to be MLB receivers, but haven't flashed enough bat.

For five years of drafting, the upper levels are pretty bare outside of pitching and fourth outfielders. Jordy Mercer is the only infield guy who could help quickly. Those A babes better grow up in a hurry!

Pirates Pummeled 10-2

Well, pretty much all you have to do is look at this line: 3-1/3 innings, nine runs, all earned, on eight hits (two were homers) with four walks and a beaned batter and two whiffs. That was Jonathan Sanchez's contribution to the day, and it ended up a long one as the Bucs lost 10-2.

Chris Leroux and Jared Hughes (two perfect frames) closed out the final 4-2/3 frames with minimal damage, although a couple of bases loaded walks by Leroux, who issued free passes to the first three D-Backs he faced, helped jack up Sanchez's stats some.

The only bright spot on offense was once again Starling Marte, who banged out a couple of more hits and has a .333 BA in the early going.

The Pirates get a day to lick their wounds. They return to PNC Park to begin a 10-game home stand on Friday against the Reds, followed by the Cards and the Braves.

• Wandy Rodriguez has been diagnosed by the Pirates as having a left hamstring strain. His status is still undetermined, but it's not likely he'll make his next scheduled start.
• Clint Barmes had another 0-fer today; and he's hitting .087. He has some work to do to catch up to 2012's April, when he hit .149.
• Gerrit Cole lasted two innings in his start at Indy today. The righty worked two frames, giving up a run on four hits with two walks and five K while tossing 63 pitches. The Tribe was leading 5-1 when he left the game, so it wasn't the pitching line but the pitch count that got him the early hook in an eventual 7-2 victory. An outfielder that wasn't on the spring roster but looked in place in his few outings at camp is Brett Carroll (.368), who went 3-for-4 and added a dazzling catch. Brandon Inge went 0-for-5 and is hitting .087 after 23 at-bats. Altoona was rained out.
• Brad Hawpe doesn't have baseball out of his system yet; he inked a minor league deal with the Angels.

Bucs Go For Sweep

My, how the worm has turned. After being left for road kill against LA, the Buc bats have finally come to life and outscored the Arizona offensive machine. Today it's Jonathan Sanchez's turn on the hill, facing off against Wade Miley in a matchup of southpaws.

Sanchez had a so-so game against LA, and has been pedestrian in his career against the D-Backs with a 4.88 ERA in twenty games (he has seen them plenty), and he does have seven wins. The Pirate bullpen has picked up 10-2/3 innings in the first two games of the series, and even with the off day tomorrow, a deep outing by Sanchez would be what the doc ordered. Miley had a good outing against Milwaukee, whiffing eight Brewers and yielding just a run in six frames. The game begins at 3:40 and will be on both Root Sports and The Fan 93.7.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jose Tabata RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Russell Martin C, Josh Harrison 3B, Clint Barmes SS, John McDonald 2B and James McDonald P.

Sheesh! Walker finally gets a hit and Clint sits him down, even if it is to give his back a two-day rest. Otherwise, just what you'd expect for a getaway day lineup against a lefty, including Pedro being benched. Well, maybe a Mike McKenry sighting would make it more normal, but with tomorrow off, no biggie for Martin to catch.

Arizona lineup: Gerardo Parra RF, AJ Pollack CF, Martin Prado 3B, Paul Goldschmidt 1B, Miguel Montero C, Alfredo Marte LF, Cliff Pennington SS, Josh Wilson 2B and Wade Miley P.

• Garrett Jones and Starling Marte both have four hits so far against Arizona.
• Neal Huntington is playing his cards close to the vest. He told Tom Singer of MLB.com that if Wandy can't go on Sunday, "we've got options internally, or it may be one of our guys in Triple-A." He did rule out Gerrit Cole.
• The Pirates are sniffing after their first road sweep since June 14-16th, 2011, in Houston.
• Funny how teams match up. The Bucs can't buy a win against LA, but Arizona hasn't won a season series against Pittsburgh since the 2009 season.
• Right on time: Today's Snake starter, Wade Miley, is interviewed by David Laurila of Fangraphs.

Bucs Bite Snakes 6-5

Man, if J-Mac could just get out of the first inning. The problem he had in the spring continued on last night when the Bucco righty gave up a quick four spot to the D-Backs after the first bell, but then found his focus and put up enough zeroes to allow the suddenly awake Pirate bats to bang out a 6-5 victory.

Pittsburgh actually scored first. Starling Marte started the game off with a knock (and it that seems familiar, that's because it is; he's on a four-game leadoff streak) and stole second. Cutch flew out foul to right, advancing Marte 90', and he touched home on Garrett Jones infield single. The Bucs could have had another but for a bad bounce. Russell Martin's two-out double hopped the fence, and Jones had to stop at third, where he was stranded. The early 1-0 edge wouldn't be a very long-lasting margin.

McDonald sandwiched a pair of four-pitch walks around a strikeout, and Miggy Montero brought them both home with a laser shot double to center. An line out later, Jason Kubel took a fastball yard to left to make it 4-1. The Bucs tried to answer, but instead shot themselves in the foot the next frame.

Travis Snider led off with a double and Clint Barmes walked. But J-Mac couldn't move them over, bunting into a force at third against the wheel play; there seems to be a lot of that D going around. Arizona tried to take the sting off by throwing the ball away looking for two to put Bucs on the corners, but Marte banged into a 4-6-3 DP to end it. The game went along fairly quietly until the fourth inning when the Bucs broke out.

Pedro's liner to right was misplayed by Kubel, allowing him to reach.Snider walked, and an out later, J-Mac rolled one up the middle (all the D-Backs were scattered, as they were running a wheel play) to load the bases. Martes doubled home a pair and Neil Walker singled in two more.

The three consecutive hits were all on 0-2 counts; McCarthy apparently doesn't believe in wasting any tosses. The Kid moved to second on a ground out and scored on Jones' knock to right (also on an 0-2 pitch). After that, the Bucs were done, running through the raindrops to hang on for the win.

In the fifth, Gerardo Parra doubled and an out later Aaron Hill was bopped by a pitch. J-Mac dodged that bullet by getting a 3-6-3 twin killing of Montero's bat, turned improbably by Jones. In the sixth, McDonald walked the first batter, bringing on Tony Watson. J-Mac did his job, though - he allowed just one hit and the walk after a miserable first frame to keep his team hangin' around. Watson walked the first guy he faced, but then got Eric Chavez to roll into a 6-4-3 DP.

In the seventh, Alfredo Marte led off with a two-bagger and went to third on a ground out. The call went out to Jared Hughes, who walked the next pair of Snakes. Montero crushed a shot to center, but Cutch tracked it down, limiting the damage to a sac fly, making it 6-5.

That was the end of the drama. Mark Melancon worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Jason Grilli picked up his third save, giving up a soft, two-out single to Martin Prado before ending the show. We assume that he'll be hors d' combat today; there was some question whether Hurdle would even use him yesterday after working the last two days. But Grilled Cheese only used up nine pitches, so it worked out just dandy.

Good formula at work in Phoenix. Put up a big inning and get the bullpen to stymie the Snakes. Hopefully the Bucs can get wring one more win out of it this afternoon when Jonathan Sanchez takes the hill.

• Pittsburgh pitchers gave up more walks/beans (8) than hits (6). The team collected 11 hits in the game; that's the same number they had during the entire LA series.
• Neil Walker ended an 0-for-21 streak; Russell Martin doubled his way out of an 0-for-17 line. But Pedro Alvarez (0-for-21) and Clint Barmes (0-for-13) are still in a funk.
• Travis Snider went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
• LHP Andy Oliver worked another scoreless outing for Indy, and Duke Welker picked up the win as the Tribe won 3-2 over Toledo. Jordy Mercer homered in the contest.
• Andrew Lambo hit for the first cycle in the history of  the Altoona Curve last night as part of a 14-6 romp over Akron.
• Gerrit Cole takes the hill tonight for Indy.

April 10th In Bucco History

Birthdays, big games and Lanny makes his debut...

• 1906 - Howdy Groskloss, a bench IF for the Bucs from 1930-32, was born. He became the oldest living major league baseball player in 2005 at the age of 99, and lived to pass the century mark. The son of a family friend of team owner Barney Dreyfuss, Groskloss was a native Pittsburgher who went on to become a doctor, medical teacher and wartime flight surgeon in the Pacific theater.
• 1935 - Joe Gibbon, who began as a starter and finished as a reliever during his 13 year MLB career, was born on this date. The lefty spent eight seasons as a Pirate, going 44-46 with a 3.61 ERA. As a rookie, he pitched for the 1960 World Series club and returned to toss in the 1970 NLCS after spending four seasons with the Giants.
• 1948 - Lee Lacy, who spent six years in Pittsburgh as a mainly part-time outfielder, was born in Texas. Lacy hit .304 during his Bucco era and was a member of the 1979 championship team. In his 16 year career, he was part of three LA Dodger World Series teams, all of which lost. In fact, his ‘79 Series appearance was the third straight year he got to play in the Fall Classic. It was his last, and the only one he won.
• 1962 - Roberto Clemente spanked a grand slam and Bob Friend twirled a complete game, five hit shutout as the Bucs blanked the Phils in their home opener at Forbes Field 6-0. It was the only Pirates Opening Day grand slam until Neil Walker banged one in 2011.
• 1968 - Roberto Clemente hit a homer and made an unbelievable grab of Hal King’s drive down the right field line, but it went for naught. The Bucs scored a pair in the top of the ninth at the Astrodome to take a 4-2 lead, but Jim Bunning, Juan Pizarro and Ronnie Kline couldn’t hold the fort, losing 5-4.
• 1971 - Willie Stargell hit three bombs in a 5-4 loss at Atlanta.
• 1976 - Lanny Frattare made his broadcast debut as the Pirates defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, at Veterans Stadium. Dave Parker scored the winning run in a collision at home that cost C Johnny Oates two months of the season with a broken collarbone. Frattare went on to become the Pirates longest tenured announcer, announcing victories with his tag line "...and there was noooo doubt about it" for 33 seasons before his retirement to academia..
• 2006 - The Bucs were dissed by actor Michael Keaton, who threw the first pitch at the PNC Park home opener and then said afterwards of ownership "I fear they will take advantage of the good will of the people who continue to show up. For my money, that's disrespectful. At some point, you have to write the check.” The Pirates seemed to validate his claim as the Dodgers bombed Zach Duke in an 8-3 laugher.

Bucs v D-Backs

James McDonald takes the bump against righty Brandon McCarthy tonight. J-Mac is trying to build on a nice effort against the Cubs last outing, but history isn't with him. He's not much of a road warrior (14-20/5.30 ERA) and not had much luck at Chase Field (1-1/6.48 ERA). McCarthy was toasted by the Cards in his opening outing, giving up six runs in five frames. The game starts at 9:40 and will be aired by Root Sports and The Fan 93.7. For TV fans, it's another Pens-Pirates twinbill.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones 1B, Russell Martin C, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Travis Snider RF, Clint Barmes SS and James McDonald P.

Same order as yesterday. Why not?

Arizona lineup: Gerardo Parra CF, Martin Prado LF, Aaron Hill 2B, Miguel Montero C, Paul Goldschmidt 1B, Jason Kubel RF, Eric Chavez 3B, Cliff Pennington SS and Brandon McCarthy P.

C Miguel "Miggy" Montero is back in the lineup. The D-Backs gave him a day off yesterday after he caught the first six games, two of which went extra innings. Jason Kubel is in the lineup, too, so it's a little more dangerous than yesterday's order.

• IF Brandon Inge is eligible to return from the disabled list tomorrow. He went 0-for-3 for Indy yesterday after homering on Monday.
• Flippin' thru Fangraphs: In the first week, the Pirates threw the most curves (22%) and the second highest rate of fastballs (68%) in baseball. They're near the bottom when it comes to sliders/cutters (6%) and changeups (4%). We'll check on those ratios a little later in the season. We're wondering if avoiding sliders is a protect-the-arm thing or just a manifestation of the Pirates' preference for sinkers as the two-seam pitch.
• Jason Notte of The Street reports that " A Major League Baseball game remains the best bargain among the top-tier sporting events."

April 9th - Buc Dates In History

PNC Opens, Holdouts Come and Go, Notable Games:

• 1930 - After a contract clash, spitballer Burleigh Grimes was sold to the Boston Braves. They in turn flipped him to the Cards later in the season. St. Louis made to the Series in ‘30, losing to the Philadelphia Athletics and Lefty Grove, but took it all the following year as Grimes won 17 games for them plus a pair in the Series as the Cards dethroned the Athletics in the rematch. Grimes had an oddball relationship with the Pirates; he started, spent the middle, and ended his career with Pittsburgh, spending five of his 19 MLB seasons with the Bucs.
• 1937 - The 1936 batting champ‚ Paul Waner‚ ended his holdout and signed his 1937 contract. No official announcement was made of the amount, believed to be in the ballpark of $16,000.
• 1953 - In an exhibition game at Forbes Field‚ Mickey Mantle crushed a Bill MacDonald curve and launched it over the RF roof‚ joining the Babe and Ted Beard as the only hitters to accomplish that since the upper deck was added in 1925. In all, 18 balls would fly over the roof, seven put in orbit by Willie Stargell.
• 1963 - The Bucs and Braves traded ninth inning runs during the season opener, with the Bucs rallying for a 3-2 win in front of 29,615 faithful. With two down in the ninth, Pittsburgh banged back-to-back-to-back hits from Bill Virdon, Bob Bailey and pinch-hitter Ted Savage to win the game for ElRoy Face, who had worked out a bases-loaded, no out pickle in the Milwaukee ninth.
• 1990 - The Bucs turned Doc Gooden every which way but loose as they won 12-3 at Shea Stadium behind Doug Drabek’s arm and homers by Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bo. At 0-1, Gooden had a losing record for the first time in nine seasons. It’s also the first time in 21 years that the Mets lost a home opener.
• 1999 - Rookie RHP Kris Benson beat the Cubs 2-1 in his first MLB start. He became the second #1 draft pick to win his debut, following Texas’ David Clyde who was the first in 1973. Benson went six innings, giving up a run on two hits with three walks and three K.
• 2001 - PNC Park, the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1887, opened along the North Shore of the Allegheny River hours after Pirate icon Willie Stargell passed away from a stroke in Wilmington, NC. Local boy Sean Casey had four hits and five RBI to lead the Reds to an 8-2 win in the park’s debut match against Todd Ritchie. The game was played in lovely 77 degree weather and 36,954 came out to catch the action, started when Kevin McClatchy tossed out the first ceremonial pitch.