Raise the Jolly Roger - loaf31's Dynasty

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loaf31's Dynasty Blog

Raise the Jolly Roger

Posted on April 8, 2010 at 03:27 PM.

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Spring Training Update #1

As the Buccos converge on Pirate City in Bradenton, a few position battles have sprung up.

Here are the individual battles:

5th Starter is between

Daniel McCutchen
Kevin Hart (inside track at beginning of camp)
Newcomer Hayden Penn

Shortstop

Ronny Cedeno (It is his job to lose)
Bobby Crosby (FA signee who is battling)
Argenis Diaz (youngster who wants to surprise everyone)

Third Base

Andy LaRoche (Pretty much locked in)
Pedro Alvarez (Prospect who will probably start in AAA)

As I sat down with Manager John Russell, he commented on all of the above battles...

On the 5th Starter....."We are really excited to see who comes out on top. Last year Kevin Hart showed some promise after we acquired him from the Cubbies, but he can have some control issues at times. We are very interested to see what Danny can bring to the table. He has great stuff,but we are a little worried about his composure. Finally, we just claimed Hayden off of waivers from Florida, so we are very eager to see how he can help the ball club out."
On the SS battle.... "Ronny provided great defense after he came over from Seattle, but we wouldlike to see more out of his bat. Bobby Crosby is a former Rookie of the Year and we are estatic that he signed with us in the winter. He will definitely get a chance to compete, we really like his bat and his glove not far behind. Finally Diaz is an intriging prospect. We know that he hits on the light side, but he is by far the best defensivemiddle infielder in our farmsystem. For him to win this job, he will need to play lights out from day one. More than likely its between Ronny and Bobby."
Lastly on the 3B battle....."Andy is pretty well locked in, but we want to give Pedro every chance to win the job. Andy is a great defensive third baseman, and his bat came around the last month of the season. Pedro is our best power hitting prospect in years.... If he does not win the 3B jobin the spring, he will not be far off."

I would like to thank Pirates Manager John Russell for sitting down and discussing the battles today. Please check back for the next update to see how the battles will end up, and to see the 25 man roster and starting Line-ups.