Pirates cut three, Ohlendorf in rotation

The Pirates cut three players this morning, optioning infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce and (surprisingly) catcher Robinzon Diaz to Class AAA an also assigning infielder Anderson Machado to minor-league camp.

Also, Ross Ohlendorf was named to the starting rotation and Paul Maholm was named the opening-day starter (not surprisingly).

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Pearce is going to Indianapolis to work at first base. Diaz, who is batting .423 this spring, is being sent down because Jason Jamarillo, who will be the backup catcher to begin the season, is better defensively according to Huntington. Jamarillo is batting .143 this spring.

Ohlendorf has been outstanding, with a 0.59 ERA in four appearanaces and 15 1/3 innings. He, Maholm, Ian Snell and Zach Duke are penciled in for the rotation. Jeff Karstens and Virgil Vasquez are fighting for the final spot.

The spring roster is now at 37 players, with 12 more cuts to be made.

JOSE TABATA STATEMENT

Here is the satement from Pirates minor-league outfielder Jose Tabata regarding the arrest of his wife. Wow. This poor guy was duped more than one time. No one should have to go through this.

“I was completely surprised when I was told that my wife had been arrested this Tuesday because she had never shown any malicious behavior. I had no idea what to think because this news was one of the hardest blows I have had in my life and I don’t have many words that can effectively communicate all of my feelings at this time.

“What I do know is that I am a Pittsburgh Pirate and my life-long idol is Roberto Clemente. And because of that, when presented with this difficult situation, I asked myself “what would Clemente do in this situation?” I know Clemente was a man known for his decency, responsibility, doing what he says, and always doing the correct thing. And I believe the only correct thing in this moment is to tell the truth.

“The truth is that my wife told me many lies that, until this whole situation began, I did not know. One that hurt me a lot was her history as a criminal- that she had spent years in prison, that she had robbed and committed fraud. But the worst lie was that she completely falsified her pregnancy and the eventual birth of a baby girl, which would have made me a father for the first time. Imagine how that made me feel.

“As you and Pirates fans get to know me, you’ll understand that, when this is all over, I will never be able to forgive her for her cruel actions. You will also understand that I will do everything possible, with the support of God and my family here with the Pirates, to overcome this craziness. The truth is that I would never wish this situation on anybody, but I know that life has its good and its bad, and I know that the good times are not too far off in the future.

“With respect to my wife’s case, I, like you, have questions that remain unanswered. However, the Sheriff’s deputies have told me not to speak about the details of her criminal case, including the details of our history together and the lies she led me to believe about her. Therefore, I will not be able to comment further or answer any of your questions until the investigation is complete. I do give thanks to God that no harm was made to that baby girl and that she is in safe hands with her parents. My thoughts will always be with them.

“Finally, I am thankful for the strong support of my teammates, coaches and everyone within the Pirates organization during this difficult time. I appreciate everyone’s concern for me and I ask that you respect my privacy both now and in the future.”

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa

Due to some personal and family obligations, there hasn't been much of a view over the last week and for any of you loyal readers I do apologize.

Basically, at least from the Pirates side, only two major things happened:

1. Outfielder Brandon Moss injured his thumb. There doesn't appear to be any ligament damage and he might be ready in time for the opener.

Unless the swelling goes down and his strength improves dramatically, I see Moss beginning the season on the 15-day DL. It's a touchy injury and one that could be aggravated easily. I don't see the cautious Pirates taking any chances with a starting outfielder.

2. Relief pitcher Romulo Sanchez was one of the first cuts and sent to Class AAA on Monday.

Sanchez was thought to be in the running for a relief spot at the beginning of camp but management has to be very displeased with Sanchez, either from a fitness standpoint, a work ethic standpoint, or a combination of both. It's a move similar to what happened to Josh Sharpless last year and Sharpless ended up out of the organization.

That's about it. All of the other crap about this guy through one scoreless inning or this guys walked two etc. means a lot in the long term but not in the short term.There's still 3 1/2 weeks for the roster to take shape and a lot will happen between now and then.

Pirates sign 26

The Pirates have agreed to terms with 26 players for the 2009 season. Most of these players will receive around the league minimum salary though there are a few exceptions.

The players are: pitchers Jimmy Barthmaier, Sean Burnett, Jesse Chavez, Dave Davidson, Phil Dumatrait, Tom Gorzelanny, Craig Hansen, Jeff Karstens, Evan Meek, Ross Ohlendorf, Romulo Sanchez, Jeff Sues, Ronald Uviedo, Virgil Vazquez, Donnie Veal.

Infielders: Brian Bizler, Luiz Cruz, Andy LaRoche, Steve Pearce and Neil Walker.

Outfielders: Nyjer Morgan, Brandon Moss and Jose Tabata.

Catchers: Robinzon Diaz, Jason Jamarillo, Steve Lerud.

Tabata OK, Grabow to WBC

Pirates outfielder Jose Tabata had a MRI done on his sore right shoulder Monday but appears to be ok, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

"He does have some mild rotator cuff inflammation, but is able to return to activities as (the pain is) tolerated,' Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told the Tribune-Review.

Tabata, acquired from the Yankees in the Xavier Nady-Damaso Marte deal, is 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and three walks in three games this spring.

Also, Pirates reliever John Grabow has been named to replace Angels reliever Brian Fuentes on Team USA's roster for at least the first round of the World Baseball Classic.

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.