Gorzelanny-Snell: Tale of two pitchers

Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell appear to be headed in slightly different directions this spring.

Gorzelanny came into camp in very good shape, dropping 20 pounds from last season. He started off his spring season Friday with two scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves and reportedly looked very sharp.

"It felt good, I felt strong out there," Gorzelanny told the Associated Press. "I want to prove to everybody that I do belong in this rotation and on this team."

Snell, meanwhile, allowed two unearned runs and walked two in his first outing on Thursday, though he struck out three. He is headed to the World Baseball Classic for a couple of weeks where he will pitch for Puerto Rico.

Snell is coming off the worst season of his career. He was 7-12 with a 5.42 ERA. He is also not that far removed from an elbow injury he had in the middle of last season which caused him to miss time.

Snell talked glowingly about new pitching coach Joe Kerrigan in today's Post-Gazette. Here's the thing, he's done so about the other pitching coaches who have been in Pittsburgh the last two years - Jim Colborn and Jeff Andrews.

There was also a very interesting quote in Chuck Finder's story about the adjustments being made.

"Mechanical. Not mental. I'm always there mentally. Mechanically, I was doing one thing wrong," Snell said in the P-G article. "He (Kerrigan) looked at the film one time. And that was it. Solved."

Snell might have the mechanical thing down, but the mental part remains in question. Anyone who has been around the Pirates more than a week knows that Snell has the tendency to go off. He lets his emotions get to him on the mound and he can also be less than polite in the clubhouse. I know because I've seen it first-hand.

Snell should be the last player to be going off to the WBC for a couple of weeks, basically unsupervised. He needs to get himself in check in a hurry if he wants any chance of keeping his spot in the rotation for the entire season.

Game 2, Ohlendorf's opening statement

If Ross Ohlendorf is one of the two top finalists for the fifth starter's job, he made a strong opening argument Thursday that the job should be his.

Ohlendorf was dominant during his two innings against the Red Sox. He retired all six batters he faced in the third and fourth innings and struck out three.

After being traded along with Karstens, pitcher Daniel McCutchen and outfielder Jose Tabata in the Xavier Nady-Damaso Marte trade, Ohlendorf was roughed up with the Pirates. He was 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA in five starts. He allowed 36 hits in 22 2/3 innings, struck out 13 and walked 12.

Not exactly numbers that scream starting rotation, but a good beginning Thursday definitely helped his case.

In other news:
* The Pirates play Atlanta today at 1:05 p.m. Tom Gorzelanny is scheduled to go two innings, followed by Zach Duke, Jason Davis and Dan McCutchen.

* Third baseman Andy LaRoche, who had a back injury which sidelined him for several days, started and went 1-for-2.

* From the Now We can Go On With Our Lives Department, Doug Mientkiewicz signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers.

Look, Mientkiewicz is a good guy and a gritty player. But COME ON. The way some people in Pittsburgh wrote about the guy you would have thought it was Mickey Mantle. Some writers get their man-crushes and it was clear some in Pittsburgh had one on Mientkiewicz. But in all honesty, WAAYYYYY too much was written about a guy with two home runs and 30 RBI.

Good luck, Doug.

What I saw on the radio, Spring game 1

Here are some random thoughts from the Pirates first spring game Wednesday.

* Don't read too much into it. Chris Bootcheck pitched a very nice inning and Matt Capps had a rough one though neither gave up a run. The exact opposite could happen the next time out.

* Sanchez starting off with two hits a good sign considering all of the problems he had last season

* The hitters are usually ahead of the pitchers at this stage of the spring and the 8 runs the Pirates had prove that.

* Nyjer Morgan and Steve Pearce both made nice first impressions. They'll need to do continue to play well to solidify spots.

* Second baseman Shelby Ford, who will be at either Class AA or AAA to start the season, gave a glimpse of what he can bring when he hit a home run. He'll be Sanchez's replacement in the near future, maybe next season.

* For those that listened to the game, give new play-by-play man Tim Neverett a chance. Yes, on first impression he sounds like a cross between Whitey Wilson (Scott Paulsen's old character from the DVE days) and Skip Caray, but he has a different style than we're used to.

One major positive, he actually talked about the game rather than Bob and Mary O'Donnell from Baldwin coming down to Bradenton and saying "Hi' for the 28th straight year.

Let the games begin

In a matter of hours, Chris Boothceck will take to the mound for your Buccos to begin the exhibition season (can you feel the excitement kids, Chris Boothceck!)

Anyway, with the spring training games beginning this afternoon at 1 p.m. (WPGB-FM 104.7), it's time to take a look at some potential spring training battles as the games wear on this spring. There isn't a ton of turnover from the end of last season (sadly), so many of the names will be the same. Still, there are a couple of position battles ready to play out between now and opening day April 6 in St. Louis.

Let's start first with the locks. Here are the guys virtually guaranteed to be on the 25-man roster to begin the season barring trades or injuries:

Catcher - Ryan Doumit
Infield - Adam LaRoche (1st base), Freddy Sanchez (2nd base), Jack Wilson (shortstop), Andy LaRoche (third base), Ramon Vasquez (utility).
Outfield - Nate Mclouth, Brandon Moss, Nyjer Morgan, Eric Hinske.
Starting pitchers - Paul Maholm, Ian Snell, Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny.
Relief pitchers - Matt Capps, Tyler Yates, John Grabow, Sean Burnett.

That's 18 of 25 spots. Here's a look at who will have a chance to fill the remaining seven position on the opening day roster.
Catcher - Either Robinzon Diaz or Jason Jamarillo. I think Jamarillo has the inside track here. He played for manager John Russell in 2007 in Class AAA and is a bit more experienced. This race is pretty even, however.

Utility - I'm not totally convinced the Pirates will add another infielder just for the sake of adding one. Since Vasquez can play three infield positions and Hinske can play two corner infield and outfield positions, the Pirates have some flexibility for this role. It could be infielders Brian Bixler or Luis Cruz, or an extra outfielder like Steve Pearce, Craig Monroe or even Andrew McCutchen if one of those three do not win the job for the fifth outfielder's spot. The early bet here Cruz, provided he gets healthy after sustaining a hip injury Tuesday.

Outfield - If Monroe impresses, I have a feeling it's his job to lose. Pearce will need to show A LOT to make the rosterand I think the club is convinced that McCutchen will need a bit more time at Class AAA before he arrives in Pittsburgh later this season.

Starting pitcher - Though there are six guys up for this spot, my money is on either Ross Ohlendorf or Jeff Karstens. The loser of that battle will head to the bullpen and look for the rest (Jason Davis, Jimmy Barthmaier, Phil Dumatrait, Daniel McCutchen) to wind up in Class AAA.

Relief pitchers - Either Ohlendorf or Karstens will take up one spot. I have a hunch Rule Five pick Donnie Veal will win the second. That leaves Romulo Sanchez, Ronald Uviedo, Juan Mateo, Craig Hansen, Evan Meek and Jesse Chavez likely battling for the final position.

Enjoy the games and if you have any different opinions, pass them along and lets discuss. It should be an interesting spring.

Baseball America's top prospects list

Baseball America, THE authority on prospects and the minor leagues, has put out its annual top 100 prospects list.

There are three Pirates on the list - Pedro Alvarez (No. 12), Andrew McCutchen (33) and Jose Tabata (75).

For the complete list, follow this link:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/top-100-prospects/2009/267698.html

Bad baseball cards

Sunday was photo day for the Pirates, which included pictures for wire services and baseball card companies.

Who knows yet how this year's cards (which go for about $9 a pack now I think?) will look, but hopefully they will look better than these ones. Here are a couple of the worst cards in history.

If you have your own least favorites, or any good baseball card stories, pass them along and share them with us.

Pirates give Russell another year

The Pirates have exercised the contract of manager John Russell for the 2010 season.

“JR met or exceeded expectations in his first year as the Pirates manager. His club worked hard to play the game properly and battled from the first out until the last,” said general manager Neal Huntington.

“His leadership, knowledge, attention to detail, ability to see the big picture and passion for things being done the right way made him the ideal choice as our manager a year ago and made the decision to pick up his option for 2010 an easy decision. I look forward to working closely with him for years to come as we build a consistent championship caliber organization in Pittsburgh.”

This will be Russell's second year as manager. The Pirates were 67-95 last season.

Ex-Pirate Benson to sign with Texas

The Texas Rangers are on the verge of signing former Pirate pitcher Kris Benson to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training, according to mlb.com.

Benson hasn't pitched in the majors since the 2006 season. He was forced to miss the 2007 season after a torn rotator cuff and had 11 starts for Class AAA Lehigh Valley last season. he was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA.

Benson, the former No.1 overall pick of the Pirates in the 1996 draft, has a 68-73 career record. He was traded by the Pirates to the New York Mets in 2004 and, if possible, his career has taken a sharp downward turn since.

Though she hasn't been in the headlines much lately, the soft-spoken Benson is known as much for his wife, model/ex-stripper Anna and her exploits. For those who forget, here's a reminder of Anna in action.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2006/12/photo-archives-hosts-of-christ.html

Why is Andy LaRoche a sure thing?

I recently did a story on Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche. In it, I questioned why LaRoche has been already named the club's starting third baseman for this season despite having proven anything, and I mean ANYTHING, last season?

Barring injury, all indications are that LaRoche will be at third and batting either seventh or eighth when the Pirates open the 2009 season in St. Louis. I say that because LaRoche left workouts Thursday with muscle spasms in his lower back, though the team listed him as "day to day."

Assuming this is a minor injury, LaRoche will be back soon and his progress will not be stunted. Lord knows if it is stunted any more, he might as well go work on his brother Adam's ranch rather than play across the diamond from him.

Though it was a small sample size (to use a Joe Bendel term), LaRoche proved worthy of earning nothing last season. Yes, he played with a torn ligament in his thumb for much of the season and there is something to be said for playing through pain.

But a .152 batting average and nine errors in 49 games isn't a healthy resume from which to build on.

I'm not saying it's LaRoche's fault, he seemingly tried the best that he could. The question is with management. In an organization where there is such little room for error, why just give a position to a player who underperformed and who is looking like an injury liability?

There are guys who could give LaRoche competition, including free-agent pickups Eric Hinske and Ramon Vasquez, along with Neil Walker.

To just give this guy the starting third baseman's job seems premature to me. This could turn out to be the dumbest move to begin a season since a computer thought that Tike Redman could bat third.

Late-night shows have fun with A-punchline

Both David Letterman and Jay Leno are having fun at Alex Rodriguez's expense in the wake of his steroids admission.

From David Letterman:
"The results are in: A-Rod has tested positive for bullshit."

From Jay Leno:
"Over the weekend they named the baseball field at the University of Miami after Alex Rodriguez. They also named the chemistry lab after him as well."

Griffey Jr. headed back to Seattle

In what will likely be one of those walking-off-into-the-sunset moves, Ken Griffey Jr. is headed back to the Seattle Mariners this season.

Griffey, 39, has reportedly signed a one-year contract with the Mariners worth $2 million, according to mlb.com, with the chance to reach as much as $4 million based on incentives.

Griffey played his first 11 seasons in Seattle and hit more than 40 home runs six times with the Mariners and drove in more than 100 runs seven times. There is a good chance this will be Junior's last season in the majors.

This is a great move for both sides. It will give the sagging Mariners a boost in attendance and it will give Griffey the chance to have one more year in the sun with the team that drafted him. This is also a no-lose situation for both sides, since the Mariners aren't likely to have a winning season this year with or without Griffey and he won't make them appreciably better. It has the chance to turn into a nice story and here's hoping it does.

Since I worked in Washington County for almost seven years, I dealt with Griffey a lot as a member of the Reds since both he and his father, Ken, were born in Donora, Pa. which is also in the county. As big of a player as Griffey has been, he has also been one of the better players to deal with, never refusing an interview request and being very gracious during the interviews. He is also a very personable player to talk to off the record, something missing from a number of today's players.

Good luck Junior, and here's to solidifying your final steps to the Hall of Fame.

A-Fraud? A-Roid? A-bad liar!

Alex Rodriguez is one of the best baseball players in the world. There is no denying that. He was before he started to use performance-enhancing drugs and he is now that he is allegedly clean.

What A-Rod isn't is a good liar, or at least a good storyteller. The Swiss cheese story he told Tuesday had too many holes still to be filled in. And because he likely didn't come clean - again - it will likely cost him more down the road.

Here are just some of the holes in A-bad liar's story, there are so many the list needs to be whittled down:

How did he get the drugs? First, A-bad liar blamed himself. Now, a cousin in the Dominican Republic is involved?

And where did the drugs come from? A week ago it was a GNC, now it was an over-the-counter drug in the Dominican smuggled into the U.S.

HUH?

Hell, a week ago A-bad liar didn't remember was he was taking. Tuesday, he magically remembered it was Primobolan, or "boli" as he called it, because he wanted an "energy boost."

Please.

The thing that gets me about all of these guys who take performance-enhancing drugs is when they play the "I didn't know exactly what it was card." Bull. These guys are some of the top athletes in the world and their bodies are their temples and, more importantly, their moneymakers. These guys ALWAYS know what they are putting into their bodies. Don't be fooled otherwise.

Funny too, that a week ago Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts was on a witchhunt to get Rodriguez, according to the interview with Peter Gammons. Then, two days later he apologizes and says well she wasn't exactly on a witchhunt.

If A-bad liar wanted people to believe him Tuesday and to move on from this episode, he definitely struck out.

McLouth update

The salaries on Nate McLouth's new contract are out.

He reportedly gets a $1.5 million signing bonus and a $2 million salary this season. In 2010, that jumps to $4.5 million and $6.5 in 2011. There is also a $10.65 million club option for 2012 with a $1.25 million buyout. There are also performance bonuses included in each year of the contract that, if reached, could make the total value of the contract around $27 million.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Nate on a multi-year contract that gives us the ability to keep him in a Pirates uniform through at least the 2012 season,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement released by the club. “Nate is a quality person off the field and a talented, intelligent player that plays the game the right way on the field. His dedication, work ethic and commitment should serve as an example on how to approach the game."

This a good move for the Pirates and a much-needed P.R. boost to boot.

McLouth, along perhaps catcher Ryan Doumit, is the new face of the franchise. He's been built up as much all winter and is an important part of the organization moving ahead off the field.

On the field, he is coming off a career year and should be rewarded as such. A team needs to be strong up the middle in baseball and the Pirates have two important pieces in McLouth and Doumit.

Both Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly have a plan and they are sticking with it, signing the young talent to long-term deals to take away their arbitration years. Huntington knows the plan can work as he saw first-hand as a member of the Cleveland organization and he's hoping the same happens in Pittsburgh.

It will be up to the players to perform and earn these new contracts.

McLouth, Pirates agree to three-year deal

The Pirates and All-Star outfielder Nate McLouth have reportedly agreed to a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that the two sides agreed to the deal early this morning, thereby avoiding their scheduled arbitration hearing set for this afternoon in Arizona.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting the deal is worth $15.75 million guaranteed.

The contract wipes out all three of McLouth's arbitration seasons and the option year would cover his first year of free agency. The deal will formally be announced in Bradenton, Fla. at the Pirates spring training home later this afternoon after McLouth returns from Arizona.

McLouth, 27, had a breakout season in 2008, where he was named to his first All-Star game and won his first Gold Glove in center field.

McLouth hit .276 last season with 26 home runs, 94 RBI and stole 23 bases.

Image from mlb.com

Welcome all

Welcome to the first day of my new blog: "Doug's View from the Cheap Seats."

My name is Doug Street and I have been a sports writer for 10 years and a baseball writer for seven, though my days of covering Pirates games date back to 1998. I have covered the lowest of the minor leagues (short-season rookie ball in the Appalachian League for two seasons) to the best the majors has to offer (though that was usually the Pirates opponents.)

The view of the game used to be from a different (albeit higher) locale at PNC Park. To use a baseball term, I have been designated by assignment. So now, the view is from a different part of the park, but the love for the game remains.

My hope is that you will find something a little bit different with this blog from others. Sure, I will do my best to keep you updated ont he latest information around baseball. However, I hope do so with a style not seen in other places, especially since this blog can be a bit ore uninhibited than my last one.

I hope that you enjoy the blog and I welcome all comments, questions, etc. I want this to be very interactive and I appreciate feedback about the blog.

Thanks you.