Winding up with the third basemen in the Pirates' organization.  

Josh Harrison --  R/R,  5' 8",  175 lb
Harrison was chosen by the Cubs in the 6th round of the 2008 draft, and he came to the Pirates at the trading deadline in 2009.  He hit a solid .270 in 34 games at A+ Lynchburg to finish up that season, and went to the Carolina League Championship with his new teammates.  He moved up to AA Altoona for 2010, where he played about 60% of his games at third base and the rest at second base.  He's also played outfield a few times.  Harrison's bat took a step forward with the Curve.  He's not a big power hitter, but he did hit 33 doubles while he hit an even .300.  Harrison drew 32 walks (5.5%), which was an improvement over previous seasons.  He swings at a lot of pitches, but can hit the bad ones, so his strikeout rate (10%) dropped in 2010.  He also has some speed -- stole 19 bases for the Curve.  Harrison was named to the Eastern League All-Star team, and had a nice All-Star Game:  a 2-RBI triple and a single.  In the Curve's playoff run, Harrison hit .297 with 7 RBI.  After the regular season, Harrison was invited to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .330 for the Mesa Solar Sox.  He contributed 10 doubles, 2 triples, one homer, and 8 RBI, while walking 10 times and striking out 12 times.  Harrison should be ready for a move to Indianapolis, but he might be competing with players who don't make the major league team.

Nothing unexpected here, though maybe a few days earlier than they had earlier suggested....

Catchers Tony Sanchez and Eric Fryer and pitchers Donnie Veal and Cesar Valdez were all reassigned to minor league camp this morning.  Sanchez and Fryer are both likely to begin the season at AA Altoona.  Both had their 2010 seasons at A+ Bradenton shortened by taking pitches to the head.  Veal is still in the process of rehabbing from elbow surgery, and is not likely to be ready to pitch competitively until June or July.  Valdez, who came to the Pirates' from the Diamondbacks (Zach Duke trade), has spent the last two seasons at the AAA level, but was a very very long shot to make the major league club to begin the 2011 season.

Minor league spring training games will begin in about 10 - 12 days. 

Phillies  7,   Pirates  4

A  3-run rally in the 7th inning was enough to push the Phillies over the Pirates at McKechnie Field this afternoon.  
Starter Kevin Correia had a shaky top of the 1st inning.  The first four batters he faced all singled, bringing in 2 runs.  Then with runners on the corners, Correia buckled down, getting a foul pop out then two strikeouts to end the inning.  The Pirates got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning.  With one out, SS Pedro Ciriaco doubled into left field, and 2B Neil Walker moved him to third base with a line drive single into right.  1B Lyle Overbay also lined into right field, to drive in Ciriaco, though Walker was out when he tried to get from first to third.  DH Matt Diaz also singled, but he and Overbay were left on base at the end of the inning.  
Correia worked around a single in the 2nd inning, then retired the side in order in the 3rd inning.  The Pirates also went down in order in both the 2nd and 3rd.  Diaz tied the score in the 4th, with a walk and a stolen base, then a single by 3B Andy Marte.   
Brian Burres pitched the 4th and 5th innings, allowing only a double.   Fernando Nieve took the mound next.  The first batter he faced was Ryan Howard, who blasted a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead.  Nieve gave up a walk and a single after the homer, but left them on base.  The bottom of the inning began with a walk by Walker.  Pinch-hitter Tony Sanchez bounced a ground-rule double over the left field wall, moving Walker to third.  RF Garrett Jones ground out to first, which let Walker score to tie it up again.  Marte hit the next ground rule double, driving in Sanchez with the go-ahead run.  
Nieve came back out for the top of the 7th, and that's when he got into even more trouble.  Two singles (one to former Pirate Brandon Moss) and a double tied the score again, at 4-4.  Nieve was relieved by Mike Dubee (whose dad is Phillies' pitching coach Rich Dubee).  Dubee gave up a ground out to second, which allowed Moss to score from third base.  A single brought in the third run of the inning, then Dubee got a strikeout to end the inning.  Bryan Morris pitched the 8th inning, and gave up the final Phillies' run with a double, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly.  Daniel Moskos pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 9th to wrap things up.
The Pirates threatened in the bottom of the 7th.  Singles by CF Alex Presley and LF John Bowker and a walk by 2B Corey Wimberly loaded the bases with one out.   All three were left standing there when both 1B Josh Fields and Tony Sanchez struck out.  

C Wyatt Toregas also singled for the Pirates.  SS Chase d'Arnaud, RF Andrew Lambo, and CF Gorkys Hernandez all got into the game as well.   

Moving along with the third basemen in the Pirates' minor league organization.  Two new faces today, plus a familiar friend:

Jeremy Farrell  --  R/R,  6' 3",  200 lb
The Pirates selected Farrell in the 8th round of the 2008 draft.  His playing time has been limited by a series of injuries, so that he's only played in 73 games and 79 games in his two full years of pro ball.  In 2010, it was knee problems.  He began the season on fire in A+ Bradenton, hitting .315 in April and .327 in May, with a combined 7 homers and 33 RBI.  In June, the knee got bad, had to be drained, then got infected.  Farrell was out of the lineup until August, but when he returned, he went right back to hitting, though without the modest power he'd had earlier in the season --  .333 in August, but with no homers and just 6 RBI.  He did strike out less in August.  Farrell played some first base in State College in 2008, but has been exclusively at third in the two seasons since.  He's made 25 and 20 errors at third over those two season (respectively), and that's going to have to improve.  Farrell will likely be moved up to AA Altoona for 2011, where his two main jobs will be to cut back those errors and to stay healthy.

Pirates  4,  Blue Jays  1
Pitchers were the story for the Pirates this afternoon in Dunedin, Florida.  Five Pirates' pitchers combined to hold the Blue Jays to 4 hits this afternoon in Dunedin, Florida.  Charlie Morton made his second strong start in the Grapefruit League.  He gave up one run in the top of the 1st, courtesy of two former Pirates:  CF Rajai Davis led off with a double, legged out when LF Matt Diaz was a little slow in picking up (the Pirates should have anticipated Davis' speed).   3B Jose Bautista drove the run in with a single slipped through into left field.   Morton ended the inning by inducing a double play, then he retired the side in both the 2nd and 3rd innings.  That included a nice barehanded snatch of a bunt attempt, and a whirl to throw the batter out at first.  Brad Lincoln buzzed through the next three innings, retiring all 9 batters he faced.  Morton and Lincoln each struck out one batter, and neither gave up a walk.  Tyler Yates and Jeff Locke each took an inning, and neither gave up a hit, though Yates walked one.  Cesar Valdez gave up the other two Jays' hits in the 9th inning.  After a strikeout, he surrendered two singles, and with a wild pitch, that gave him runners on the corners.  But he picked the runner off first, then ended the game with a strikeout.

The Pirates' hitters were having some trouble with Blue Jays' starter Brett Cecil.  Cecil struck out 5 of the first 6 Pirates' batters, and allowed only one hit, a double by C Jason Jaramillo, in the 3rd inning.  Jaramillo doubled again to lead off the 6th inning.  CF Andrew McCutchen followed with a walk, then a ground out put both runners into scoring position.  3B Pedro Alvarez drove in both with a standing triple into the right field corner, to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.  They added a run in the 7th, when 2B Brian Friday doubled into left field with two outs, then scored on C Dusty Brown's single.  Another two-out rally provided the Pirates' fourth run in the top of the 9th.  SS Pedro Ciriaco lined a singled into right field, then stole second base.  3B Josh Rodriguez slipped a single into left field, and Ciriaco came around to score.  Rodriguez also stole second base, and Brown was hit by a pitch, but the rally ended when CF Corey Wimberly popped out.  
 
Also getting into the game:  Jeremy Farrell pinch-hit (ground out) in the 8th inning;  his father, John Farrell, is the new manager of the Blue Jays.  1B Josh Fields, LF Alex Presley, RF Gorkys Hernandez, and 3B Andy Marte also played.