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Indy Indians 1, �Las Vegas 51's 1 �(tie)

The Indians and the 51's (Blue Jays) played to a 1-1 tie this afternoon in Dunedan, Florida. �The Indians' pitchers were the stars of the show, allowing the 51's only 6 hits in the game. �Starter Brad Lincoln pitched 3 shutout innings, and gave up 2 hits, while striking out 5 batters. �Reliever Ronald Uviedo pitched a perfect inning of relief, with 2 strikeouts. �Las Vegas's only run came in the 8th inning, on a single, a stolen base, a throwing error, and an RBI single.

The Tribe scored in the 4th inning. �DH Brandon Jones blasted a triple, then scored on SS Brian Friday's sacrifice fly.

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In big league camp:

Pirates 9, �Red Sox 7 �(box)

Neil Walker made his debut as an outfielder in this afternoon's Grapefruit League game, as the Pirates clubbed 3 homers to beat the Red Sox. �Walker was a late-inning defensive replacement for RF Delwyn Young. Walker had a single in two plate appearances, and is 5-for-11 at the plate in spring training.

Today marked the first time that I attended a Pirates spring training game, as I watched the Pirates host the Red Sox at McKechnie Field. Here are a few observations from the game.

I arrived in Tampa yesterday, and I am currently making the drive down to Bradenton to watch the Pirates host the visiting Boston Red Sox at McKechnie Field. This is my first spring training experience, and the young fan inside me is bubbling upward in an exciting fashion.

Dejan Kovacevic reports that the Pirates trimmed the roster to 49 this morning. Top prospects Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata were sent to minor league camp, along with Doug Bernier and Jonathan Van Every. UPDATE (9:45...

Twins 5, �Pirates 4 �(box)

Three Pirates homered this afternoon, but it wasn't enough to beat the Twins at Fort Myers, Florida. �C Jason Jaramillo got the Pirates started with a solo blast over the right field wall in the 3rd inning. �2B Delwyn Young had the next shot, which came with SS Ronny Cedeno on base in the 6th inning to add 2 runs. �Moments later, 1B Jeff Clement contributed his own solo homer, for the Pirates' 4th run. �Young's homer was his fourth in five games. �Unfortunately, those four hits (three homers plus Cedeno's double) were the only hits the Pirates had in the game. � 1b Steve Pearce was the only Pirate to reach base on a walk.

The Twins scored their runs one at a time, on 9 hits. �Pirates' starter Ross Ohlendorf gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in 4 innings of work. �The first run came in the 2nd inning, on an RBI ground out with runners on second and third bases. �After Jaramillo tied the score in the top of the 3rd, DH Jim Thome un-tied it with a home run off Ohlendorf in the 4th. �The Bucs' 3-run top of the 6th game them a 4-2 lead. �Chris Jakubauskas and Javier Lopez each pitched a scoreless inning, with Lopez picking up two strikeouts. �Jack Taschner took the mound in the 7th, and gave up a homer to 3B Brendan Harris, to cut the Pirates' lead to one run. �Brian Bass pitched the 8th inning and was charged with a Blown Save when he gave up a run on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4. �Then in the bottom of the 9th, a hit and a walk-off RBI double by 3B Luke Hughes gave the Twins the win.

Also in the game: �SS Jordy Mercer was the lucky minor leaguer who got to join the big club for the day. �2B Doug Bernier, RF Jose Tabata, 1B Steve Pearce, LF Jon Van Every, PH/DH Brian Myrow, 3B Pedro Alvarez, 3B�Neil Walker, and C Erik Kratz all got to play too.

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In minor league camp, Octavio Dotel threw 24 pitches in a minor league game, but it was not a AAA game. �The Indy Indians did not have a game today.

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The Minor League portion of the Grapefruit League began today, and the Indianapolis Indians kicked off their spring training games with a win. �Visiting in Clearwater, Florida, the Indians beat the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Philadelphia) by a score of 3-0.

CF Gorkys Hernandez opened the game with a triple, and SS Brian Friday followed with a 2-run home run to give the Indians a 2-0 lead before the Iron Pigs could even catch their breaths. �The Tribe scored again in the 4th inning, when C Tony Sanchez led off with a double, and 1B Matt Hague brought him in with an RBI single.

On the mound, five Indians' pitchers combined to shut out the Iron Pigs and hold them to 3 hits. �Starter Virgil Vasquez pitched 4 innings and allowed 2 hits, while striking out 4 batters. �Vasquez earned the win, and reliever Jeff Sues earned the save with a scoreless inning, allowing 2 walks.

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Meanwhile, back in Bradenton, the Pirates lost to the Tigers, 6 - 3. � (box)

The Pirates scored in the second inning, when 1B Bobby Crosby led off with a walk, then scored on RF Ryan Church's double. �3B Andy LaRoche lined out, but it was deep enough to let Church move up to third base. �He scored when Tigers' starter Nate Robertson committed a balk. �In the 7th, with one out, 3B Pedro Alvarez doubled into center field. �LF Jose Tabata singled, and CF John Raynor plated Alvarez with a single off the glove of the Tigers' shortstop.

Starter Kevin Hart did not help himself in his bid to join the Pirates' starting rotation. �He pitched to 12 batters over 1.2 innings, walked 6 of them, hit one of them, and gave up a hit. �He was lucky to escape allowing only one run. �Jeff Karstens got a ground out to finish the 2nd inning, then pitched a 1-2-3 third inning. �DJ Carrasco and Brendan Donnelly each gave up 2 runs in one inning of work, and Vinnie Chulk gave up another run in his inning. �Steven Jackson allowed 2 hits but no runs; Evan Meek and Anthony Claggett both retired the side in order in one inning of work.

Also getting into the game: �2B Gift Ngoepe came in to play second base and did fine; he had a foul pop out in his only trip to the plate. �PH/DH Neil Walker had a line-drive single to lead off the 8th inning, but did not score. �C Erik Kratz went 0-for-1 with a walk. �1B Steve Pearce, RF Jon Van Every, and SS Doug Bernier also got into the game.

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Welcome to the new Sandlot Swashbucklers, new here on the Bloguin Network!

We focus on the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor league system and the players in their organization. �Join us as we watch these players advance on their way up to the major leagues.

Please join us as we get ready for the upcoming 2010 minor league season, which begins on April 8th.

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The Pirates' minor league affiliates are:

AAA: �Indianapolis Indians of the International League

AA: Altoona Curve of the Eastern League

A+: �Bradenton Marauders of the Florida State League

A: West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League

Short Season A: �State College of the New York - Penn League

Rookie: �Bradenton Pirates of the Gulf Coast League

The Pirates also have affiliates in the Dominican Summer League and the Venezuelan Summer League.

The Pirates had a day off on Tuesday �-- no workouts, no games. �Minor league games begin on Wednesday. Until then.... a couple more relief pitchers to look at. Derek Hankins was the Pirates' 10th round pick in the 2004 draft. �The righty has moved slowly up through the Pirates' organization, but spent all of 2008 with AA Altoona. �He made 23 starts and one relief appearance for the Curve that season, piling up 119 innings while earning a 2-11 record and a 4.54 ERA. �He gave up a lot of hits (135), 60 earned runs, and 26 walks, and struck out 89 batters. �Hankins was sent to the Arizona Fall League after the 2008 season, where he made 12 relief appearances for the Scottsdale Scorpions. � He struggled in Arizona --in 13 innings there, Hankins gave up 12 earned runs and 17 hits, though with 10 strikeouts. �The Illinois native returned to Altoona for the 2009 season, but the season got off to a rocky start. �After making a brief relief appearance on Opening Day and giving up a 2-RBI triple, Hankins was placed on the Disabled List with what was listed as a "stomach ailment". �He did not return to the Altoona active roster until early June. �Upon his return, Hankins made 4 relief appearances, allowing 6 earned runs on 11 hits and 3 walks. �Then he returned to the starting rotation for the end of June and into July (plus one relief inning in July). �In 6 starts, he pitched 30 innings, half for 4 innings and half for 6 innings. �He earned a 4-2 record with a 3.90 ERA in that time, and struck out 22. �Hankins made 3 starts and 4 relief appearances in August/September, throwing 21.2 innings. �He gave up 33 hits, 16 earned runs, 9 walks. �He also struck out 32 batters, which was an improvement. �The 26-year-old finished his shortened season with a 3-4 record and a 4.42 ERA over 71.1 innings, and 66 strikeouts -- his highest strikeout rate (8.3 K/9 innings) of his career. �Hankins seemed to do better in a relief role, and he is likely to be back in the Altoona bullpen in 2010. Moises Robles is a Dominican native, who came to the Pirates from the Mets' organization in the December 2006 Rule 5 draft. �He had previously pitched only in the Dominican Summer League, but made his US debut with the Pirates in 2007 at State College, where he made 13 starts. �In 2008, Robles was moved to the bullpen, and made 19 relief appearances for A level Hickory, 18 for A+ Lynchburg, and 13 for AA Altoona, though his ERA and his hits allowed rose as he moved up in the organization. �The Pirates sent Robles to the Hawaiian Winter League in the fall of 2008. �He appeared in just 4 games for West Oahu, going 3.2 innings, and allowing 4 hits and 2 runs, without walking or striking out any batters. �Robles began the 2009 season on the Disabled List, but returned to Lynchburg once he was ready to go. �He pitched 10 innings for the Hillcats in May, and earned a 3.60 ERA. �Robles was promoted to Altoona at the end of May. �He stayed with the Curve for two weeks, only pitching 3.2 innings, with a 9.81 ERA. �Back in Lynchburg, Robles pitched 14.1 scoreless innings in July, but allowed 13 runs in 14 innings in August. �Overall, he had a 0-2 record and a 4.43 ERA for the Hillcats, in a total of 42.2 innings, with 21 runs on 48 hits, 7 walks, and 26 strikeouts. �Robles was back to Altoona again for 4.2 innings during the first week of September. �He finished up with a 1-0 record and a 6.48 ERA for the Curve, but again allowed more hits than innings (12 hits in 8.1 innings), with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. �Robles will be 26 years old in April. �He will probably return to Altoona, but he'll need to work on giving up fewer hits, and more strikeouts would also be a help.

When we compared the Pirates’ 2009 offense with the team’s 2010 projections, we found that the Bucs should expect to see a five-win improvement strictly through their performance at the plate. That is all well and good, but it is only one aspect of the team. Today we look at the defense, which does not look quite as optimistic.