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Jen Langosch reports that only standing room and single-seat tickets are available for the Pirates' opener on April 5th.

With just 4 weeks until the minor league season opens.... looking at two pitchers acquired in trades last season. Nate Adcock is a 22-year old right-hander who came to the Pirates from the Mariners, in the trade that sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to Seattle. �He was the Mariners' 5th round pick in the 2006 draft, and had moved up as far as A+ High Desert (a pitcher's nightmare) to begin the 2009 season. �The Kentucky native made 19 starts and 2 relief appearances at High Desert, piling up 102 innings and a 5-7 record with a 5.29 ERA. �He allowed 103 hits and 60 earned runs, including 10 homers, while striking out 71 batters and walking 54. �After the trade, Adcock was assigned to A+ Lynchburg. �He maintained essentially the same ERA for the Hillcats -- 5.25-- and earned a 3-2 record in 7 games, including 4 starts. �Adcock had already thrown 102 innings by the end of July, which was about a third again as many as he'd thrown in 2008, and a lot of innings for anyone anyway. �It meant that the Pirates limited his innings in Lynchburg. �In 24 innings for the Hillcats, Adcock allowed 29 hits and 14 earned runs, with 5 homers, 7 walks, and 15 strikeouts. �In 3 of his starts, Adcock did well, allowing 3 earned runs over 15 innings (1.80 ERA). �He had one tough start on August 30th, when he allowed 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in just one inning. �In 8 relief innings, Adcock allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks. �The Kentucky native has a fastball around 88-92 mph) plus a curve and a changeup. �His walk rate dropped when he came over to the Pirates' organization, though he didn't have a big sample size. �Depending on how he looks in Spring Training, Adcock could return to the A+ level with the Bradenton Marauders, or he could move up to AA Altoona. Jeff Locke is also 22 years old, but he is a left-hander. �Locke joined the Pirates from the Braves, as part of the trade that involved Nate McLouth, along with Charlie Morton and Gorkys Hernandez. �Locke was the Braves' 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft and he had been moving steadily up in the Braves' organization, and like Adcock, was pitching at the A+ level (Myrtle Beach) at the beginning of the 2009 season. �He had made 10 starts for Myrtle Beach, with a 1-4 record and a 5.52 ERA. �In 45.2 innings there, he had allowed 47 hits and 28 earned runs, with 26 walks and 43 strikeouts. �After the move to A+ Lynchburg, Locke made 5 starts in June, and continued to give up a lot of hits-- 34 hits, 18 runs (12 earned) in 24 innings, for a 1-2 record and a 4.50 ERA. �He made another 5 starts in July, with 20 hits and 13 earned runs in 18.1 innings, for a6.38 ERA. �That was boosted by one particular start, though, as he allowed 3 runs on 3 hits without even getting out of the first inning on July 25th. �His very next start, on July 29th, was much better -- one run on one hit with 7 strikeouts in 6 innings. �That outing turned things around for Locke. �He gave up just one run in each of his next two starts (combined 10.1 innings). �Then came another tough start, with 5 earned runs on 12 hits in 5.2 innings. �Two more solid starts followed -- one run in each, with 11 innings. �Locke had another tough start on September 1st, when he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 5.2 innings, but then he finished up the season with 6.2 scoreless innings, 4 hits, and 6 starts in his last start. �That gave Locke a 2.76 ERA and a 3-0 record for August/September. �Overall with the Hillcats, he posted a 4-4 record with a 4.08 ERA. �In 81.2 innings, he allowed 37 earned runs, 98 hits, 18 walks, and 56 strikeouts. �The New Hampshire native should be able to begin the 2010 season in Altoona. �He'll need to work on his command, and reduce the number of hits he's allowing.

Rays 16, �Pirates 15 �(box) Despite 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Pirates still fell one run short in a 30-hit, 31-run slugfest in Bradenton. �2B Delwyn Young, LF Lastings Milledge, and 3B Neil Walker had two hits each. �Young contributed 4 RBI and 3B Andy LaRoche brought in 3 runs. �The Pirates jumped out to an early lead with 5 runs in the bottom of the 1st, sparked by a bases-clearing double by LaRoche (his 3 RBI) followed by a 2-run homer by Cedeno. �The Rays tied it up with 5 runs of their own in the 2nd inning. �The Pirates picked up single runs in the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th. �1B Jeff Clement's RBI ground out brought in a hustling Milledge after an infield single, a wild pitch, and a passed ball in the 3rd. �Milledge returned the favor by batting in CF Jose Tabata, who had tripled in the 5th. �RF�John Raynor had the triple in the 6th, and he scored on Young's fielder's choice. �Walker's 2-run homer came in the 7th, and Young's homer added another run in the 8th. �In the 9th, C Luke Carlin's sacrifice fly brought in the first run. �Young collected 2 more RBI with a single up the middle, and CF Gorkys Hernandez's single added another run. �That left the bases loaded, but a strikeout and a pop up ended the game. Also in the game: �LF Jon Van Every (single in the 9th), PH/DH Brandon Jones (single in the 6th), SS Doug Bernier (walked and scored), and C Hector Gimenez (walked twice). Of course, if it�was a good day for all the hitters, that means it wasn't such a good day for the pitchers. �Starter Kevin Hart mowed 'em down in the top of the 1st, but allowed 5 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in the 2nd. �Jean Machi had an uncharacteristically tough 5th inning, giving up 3 runs on back-to-back homers, plus a double and a single. �Jeff Karstens had a miserable start to the 7th inning. �In two-thirds of an inning, he gave up 5 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. �Ramon Aguero came on in relief, but gave up a 2-run homer. �Virgil Vasquez gave up another run on 2 hits in the 9th. �Jack Taschner, Evan Meek, Jeremy Powell, and Donnie Veal each pitched a scoreless inning. �Taschner gave up a hit and a walk, and Meek struck out 2 batters. The Pirates are going to be making the first round of cuts within the next day or two... stay tuned.

Neal Huntington was handed a group of major leaguers that were in their prime years, but were no better than average for the most part. In addition to that, they were approaching free agency, and there were few prospects available to replace them. So Huntington waved his magic wand and made that group of players five years younger, setting up the Pirates for potential success several years sooner than expected.

Utility infielder Ramon Vazquez told Dejan Kovacevic that he does not expect to head north with the Pirates at the end of spring training.

There are numerous player projection systems available to the public these days. I figured I would throw my hat into the ring. These are mostly just for fun, but I hope you enjoy.

Orioles 3, �Pirates 2 � (box) The Pirates and the Orioles got busy in the first two innings of this evening's game at McKechnie Field, but pitching took over after that. �Pirates' hurlers held the O's to 5 hits, and four of those came in the first inning. The Pirates scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning. �LF Brandon Moss got the rally started with a walk, then 3B Pedro Alvarez smashed a double to the right-center field wall to drive in Moss. �1B Steve Pearce added a line drive into left field. �Alvarez did some nice base-running, with a pause to make sure Pearce's liner was going to drop in. �With runners on the corners, 2B Ramon Vasquez lifted a single over the outstretched glove of the Orioles' third baseman, bringing in Alvarez. �Pearce tried for third but the throw in from left field beat him to the bag. Alvarez made a nice play at third, starting a 5-4-3 double play in the 7th. He was charged with an error too, when he made a charging scoop of a short infield ball, then threw off-balance to first base. �The throw bounced in front and to the second base side of Pearce. �Pearce had to stretch, but his gloved swipe missed the ball. Also getting into the game: �CF Gorkys Hernandez, SS Argenis Diaz, C Erik Kratz, RF Jose Tabata, LF Brandon Jones, 3B Neil Walker, 1B Hector Gimenez, PH/DH Jon Van Every, and 2B Brian Friday. Tabata beat out an infield hit with two outs in the 9th inning, and it wasn't close. �Then he stole second base, but was left there when the inning and the game ended with Brandon Jones' ground out. Starter Zack Duke had a 50-pitch limit, and unfortunately he used up quite a lot of those in the first inning. �After striking out the first two batters, a hit, two walks, and three more hits gave the O's 3 runs. �Duke settled down in the 2nd inning and into the 3rd, but reached his pitch limit with 2 outs in the 3rd inning. �Steven Jackson finished the inning with a strikeout. �Daniel McCutchen breezed through 2 innings, needing only 18 pitches to set down six Orioles. �Brendan Donnelly retired the next three Orioles in the 6th, and Chris Jakubauskas did the same in the 8th, and Vinnie Chulk also did it in the 9th, including 2 strikeouts. �Javier Lopez gave up a single and a walk in the 7th, but that double play got him out of that little jam. Former Pirate/Indy Indian RF Jeff Salazar was playing for the Orioles, as well as former Pirate DH Ty Wigginton.

Looking at a couple of the Pirates' prospects, now that minor league camp is in full swing: Matt Hague is a native of Washington State. �He was drafted by the Pirates in the 9th round in 2008, after playing outfield, third base, and first base in college. �After signing in 2008, Hague reported to State College, where he appeared in just 7 games. �He went 9-for-27 with 3 doubles there. � When Chase d'Arnaud and Jordy Mercer arrived, both of whom could play short and third, the �Pirates moved Hague up to A level Hickory, to give everyone enough playing time. �At Hickory, Hague played mostly third base, plus 8 games at first base. �Hague's bat got off to a tremendous start for the Crawdads -- a 7 game hitting streak including 3 home runs. �He added a 13-game hitting streak at the end of July and into August. �Hague finished the season with a .321 average over 57 games, with 14 doubles, 6 homers, and 29 RBI. �Hague was advanced to Lynchburg to begin 2009, but Pedro Alvarez was also there to play third base, so Hague was shifted over to first base. �In fact, Hague appeared in just one game at third for the Hillcats, even after Alvarez departed for Altoona. �He did well at first, making only 6 errors over the season. �At the plate, Hague did not show a lot of power, but had a solid average: �.293 for the season, with 30 doubles, 8 homers, and 50 RBI. �The right-handed hitter had a 4-for-5 night in the second game of the season, but settled into a slow month of April, batting .250 with 9 RBI. �He turned it up in May though, including a 7-game hitting streak, for a .313 average for the month, plus 2 homers and 13 RBI. �He pushed that up to .340 in June, though only 7 RBI. �He went hitless in only 3 of his 16 games that month. �His RBI increased to 10 in July, offsetting a drop in hitting to .269, despite an 8-game hitting streak. �Hague recovered with a strong finish to the season, hitting .304 over August/September with 11 RBI. �Hague had reasonable plate discipline, with 40 walks and 67 strikeouts over the year. �The 24-year-old should open 2010 in Altoona, where he will probably see most of his playing time at first base. �Now isn't a great time to be a third baseman in the upper levels of the Pirates' system anyway. �The Pirates would like to see more power from Hague this season. Kyle Morgan has also been moved around the field in his brief career. �The 23-year-old was an outfielder in college before being drafted by the Pirates in the 36th round of the 2008 draft. �He got off to a slow start in the GCL and then in State College in the 2008 season, but found his bat by August, when a 10-game hitting streak boosted his monthly average to .327. �He played exclusively in the outfield for all of the 2008 season. �Morgan did some time at first base during spring training of 2009, and when he �returned to State College when the short season began in June, Morgan played 7 games at first and 3 in the outfield. �He was with the Spikes for only 20 games total (and did some DH'ing), hitting only .224 (15-for-67) but with 4 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, and 17 RBI. �Morgan was moved up to West Virginia in the second half of July, and started hitting. �He hit .297 with another 3 homers and 11 RBI in his first 9 games to finish the month of July. �Then he hit .301 in August, and .382 over the last 10 days of the season. �He had 10 doubles, 6 homers, and 21 RBI over August/September and finished the season with a .296 average for his time with the Power. �Morgan hit southpaws much better than right-handers: �.324 against left-handed pitchers and .288 against righties. �His plate discipline was reasonable too, with 20 walks and 38 strikeouts. �Morgan played exclusively at first base when on the field at West Virginia (and also did some DH-ing) with 3 errors. �He's still working on learning the first base position and getting comfortable there. �The California native is likely to begin 2010 at A+ Bradenton, where he will continue at first base. �He'll probably share both first base and DH duties with Calvin Anderson again. Other notes: Former Pirate farmhand pitcher�Pat Bresnehan has signed a minor league contract with the Mariners. �Bresnehan was the Pirates' 5th round draft pick in 2006, but was released by the organization at the end of spring training last year. The Pirates have released pitcher Chris Aure. The lefty from North Pole, Alaska was the Pirates' 15th round pick in the 2008 draft. �He pitched in 11 GCL games in the 2008 season, with a 3-2 record, 2 saves, and a 3.90 ERA in 27.2 innings. �He pitched only 5.1 innings in 2009, for a 1.69 ERA. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that three of the Pirates' prospects are battling injuries that will keep them off the mound for several more months: Lefty�Colton Cain, last year's 9th round draft pick, had back surgery. Lefty�Zach Fuesser, last year's 34th round pick, broke his finger. Righty Brett Lorin, brought over from the Mariners last year, had hip surgery.

Pirates pitching prospects Colton Cain, Zach Fuesser and Brett Lorin will miss the first half of the season with injuries. None are arm injuries, and all three are expected to return in June or July.

A pair of relief pitchers for your inspection today: Ronald Uviedo is a Venezuelan native who came to the Pirates in the Venezuelan Summer League after the Mariners released him from their VSL team. �He had a successful 2006 season with the Pirates' VSL team, then came to the US in 2007 and pitched at three different levels. �He made 33 relief appearances for A level Hickory in 2008, earning a 3-1 record and a 3.01 ERA, with 76 strikeouts in 71.2 innings. �Uviedo also pitched in 7 games for Lynchburg that season, with a 2.25 ERA over 16 innings. �After that season, Uviedo was placed on the Pirates' 40-man roster because they feared they would lose him in the Rule 5 Draft. �Uviedo continued his 2008 season in winter ball in his native Venezuela, and continued to strikeout out batters. �He returned to Lynchburg in 2009, where he was put into the starting line-up, presumably to get him more innings. �His first three starts were outstanding, allowing only 2 earned runs over 15 innings. �He had a tougher start on April 27th, when he allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits -- but also struck out 7 batters over 5 innings. �Uviedo had a couple of difficult starts in May, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits over 6 innings in one, and 4 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings in another. �That boosted his ERA from 2.70 in April to 4.50 in May. �He had another 7-strikeout start on May 19th, and struck out 26 in the entire month of May (17 in April). �He continued with 15 strikeouts over 3 starts in June, and allowed only 2 earned runs in that time, for a 1.13 ERA and 3 wins. �Unfortunately at that point, Uviedo went onto the Disabled List with shoulder tendonitis. �After some rest and 3 starts for the GCL Pirates (3 earned runs on 8 hits in 8 innings and 10 strikeouts), Uviedo returned to Lynchburg, where he made 5 more starts and 5 relief appearances, probably to limit his innings. �He pitched another 33.2 innings for the Hillcats, with a 0-2 record, 3 saves, and a 3.74 ERA (his ERA had been 3.18 overall when he went onto the DL in June). �That gave him a 3.36 ERA and a 5-5 record for the season, with a total of 101.2 innings. �He gave up 38 earned runs on 98 hits and 28 walks, with 79 strikeouts. �Uviedo had a generally good post-season run, appearing in 5 playoff games for the Hillcats. �His one bad game came in the semi-final series, when he took over in the bottom of the 12th with the score tied at 0-0, and gave up a walk and a walk-off homer for the loss. �He won a game in the final series, as he was the pitcher of record when the Hillcats' Jose De Los Santos hit his walk-off homer. �Uviedo also contributed 3 saves, with 3 shutout innings of work. �After the US season ended, Uviedo again returned to play winter ball in his native Venezuela, pitching for Los Leones del Caracas. �He made 21 relief appearances for Caracas, and earned a 3-0 record and a 2.63 ERA. �In 24 total innings, he allowed 7 runs on 17 hits, walked only 6 batters, and struck out 24. �As a member of the 40-man roster, Uviedo has been with the major league team for spring training. �He has appeared in three official Grapefruit League games plus the exhibition game against the Manatees, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing 3 hits but no runs. �The Pirates have indicated that they prefer Uviedo as a reliever, and he seems to be in agreement with that plan. �The 23-year old should begin the season with Altoona, working out of their bullpen. Harrison Bishop came to the Pirates as their 17th round pick in the 2007 draft. �He'd had Tommy John surgery while still in college, but seemed to be fully recovered when he signed right away with the Pirates. �He was solid in the rest of the 2007 season for State College, with 19 relief appearances and a 3.03 ERA. �At A level Hickory in 2008, Bishop was again solid, with a 3.23 ERA and a 5-2 record plus a save in 29 relief appearances. �He'd missed part of that season (in July and August) due to injury, but he did pitch in the Hawaiian Winter League that year, where he got in some extra innings. �Bishop reported to A+ Lynchburg for 2009, where he pitched a career-high 80.2 innings in 35 games, all in relief. �His ERA popped up to 5.02 for the season, and it was elevated for most of the season. �Overall, he gave up more hits (8.3 hits/9 innings) than in previous seasons (6.5 H/9I in Hickory and 7.3 H/9I in State College), though his walk rate had dropped to 2.7 BB/9 innings (3.2 BB/9I in Hickory and 3.9 BB/9I in State College). �He spread it all out over most of the season, beginning with an ERA of 5.79 in April, down to 4.67 in May, and up to 9.00 in June. �July was his best month, when he had a run of 4 scoreless outings of at least 2 innings each, then had two 3-inning outings in which he allowed one run each. �But he was back up to an ERA of 5.25 for August/September. �Bishop walked 8 batters over 14 innings in April and 5 in 17.1 innings in May, but no more than 3 batters per month for the rest of the season. �His strikeout rate dropped from previous seasons -- 8.1 K/9 innings in 2009, down from 9.7 K/9I in 2008 and 10.0 K/9I in 2007. �Bishop also made two�appearances in the Hillcats' playoff run. �In the opening game, he allowed 3 runs in his only inning of work, but in the final series, he pitched a scoreless inning to earn a Hold. �Though it was a disappointing season compared to previous ones, it was still not awful. �Bishop might start 2010 at the A+ level, or with a strong spring, he could open at Altoona.

Pirates �12, �Yankees 7 � �(box) The Pirates found their bats again today, with two 4-run innings, to beat the Yankees in Tampa. �RF Garrett Jones led the charge with a double and a 3-run home run. �SS Ronny Cedeno, RF John Raynor, and DH Bobby Crosby all had two hits each, including two doubles for Crosby and one for Cedeno. �The Pirates opened the game with a single by CF Andrew McCutchen, Cedeno's double, and an RBI single by LF Lastings Milledge. Jones' homer followed for a 4-run 1st inning. �A single and a stolen base by SS Argenis Diaz, a walk to LF Brandon Jones, and singles by Raynor and 3B Pedro Alvarez brought in two runs in the 9th. �1B Steve Pearce added another with a sacrifice fly, and C Hector Gimenez plated the fourth run of the inning with another RBI single. �CF Jose Tabata, PH Neil Walker, and 2B Doug Bernier also got into the game, and Bernier contributed an RBI. Donnie Veal earned the win for the Pirates, pitching 2 scoreless innings (7th and 8th). �Charlie Morton had the start, and he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits -- though all the runs came on two homers. �Brian Burres started the 4th inning, but allowed 4 runs on 3 walks followed by a double and a single, to give the Yankees a 7-6 lead. �Ronald Uviedo relieved Burres and got Alex Rodriguez to ground out to first to end the inning. �DJ Carrasco pitched 2 scoreless innings and struck out 4 batters; Anthony Claggett pitched a scoreless 9th to finish the game.

The Pirates performed at a historically poor level after the trade deadline in 2009. Fans have criticized the front office for making few changes to that roster heading into the upcoming season. But GM Neal Huntington targeted the true weaknesses, and upgraded virtually all of them.