Morning practices are over, and the Pirates are about to play a game against the Phillies. Some notes from this afternoon:
–Yesterday I mentioned that Matt Curry and Eric Fryer were both getting time at third base. Curry was just there in a sandlot type setting, due to the intersquad game. Fryer, on the other hand, is getting time at third base to increase his versatility. He was back at third base today during a batting practice session, and was taking ground balls there this morning.
-Most of the guys were doing an interesting infield drill this morning. They would throw the ball around the infield, with the catcher also participating. There would usually be three throws in a row. If someone dropped a throw, or didn’t make the save on a bad throw, the entire team would run to the wall in center field, then run back. When I say the entire team, I mean the pitchers who were watching from foul territory, the outfielders who were watching from behind first base, and the catchers, who had to run from home plate to the wall, and back, all in full gear. On a related note, it’s 90 degrees here today.
-Jose Osuna was getting playing time at first base today during this drill. Osuna has gotten some attention this off-season, being named as one of the top five prospects in the GCL during the 2011 season. He’s a guy who doesn’t really have a good defensive position, although he didn’t look horrible at first, making a few good picks. Ultimately it will be his footwork an range that will be the question, although he was rotating with Alex Dickerson, who has some similar questions about his defense in his move to first base. In either case, their careers will be dictated by the bat.
