Some notes to catch up from over the weekend…
-The Pirates placed Charlie Morton on the 15-day disabled list on Friday with shoulder fatigue. Neal Huntington had this quote, via the PBC Blog:
“Charlie has been battling mild shoulder discomfort and fatigue off and on for the majority of the season. Charlie has not wanted to use it as an excuse and has worked to pitch through it. Until now, we felt we could work through the issue without risking additional damage. We now feel that the best way to get Charlie back on track is to give his shoulder appropriate rest and recovery time to allow him to get back to 100 percent.”
I can’t see how shoulder discomfort and fatigue would be something that could improve by working through it. Hopefully this fixes the problem with Morton.
-Steven Jackson had his contract purchased from AAA to take Morton’s spot. Jackson has two options remaining. There was an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no one had to be removed.
-Jack Taschner started his rehab work in AA. Taschner will be eligible to return next week, and it would probably mean a return to AAA for Jackson.
-Diego Moreno was placed on the minor league disabled list with a right rotator cuff strain. Moreno has been a great surprise in the back of the bullpen in high-A, and in his brief time in AA. Hopefully the injury isn’t serious.
-Brad Lincoln had another strong outing on Friday night, going five innings, allowing no runs on one hit, with one walk and seven strikeouts before the game was suspended. Lincoln has pitched 34 innings in the month of May, with a 2.38 ERA, and a 31:4 K/BB ratio. On a somewhat related note, the Pirates don’t have a starter for Tuesday, with Morton on the disabled list. That probably won’t be Lincoln, since he would be pitching on three days rest. According to Rocco DeMaro, Neal Huntington said that Lincoln is “a ways away” from the majors. You’d think he would be up next week with his AAA success, and the Super Two date passing.
-Huntington also said that Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez aren’t imminent, also from Rocco DeMaro. My theory on this is that they’re avoiding the Super Two issue. Huntington can’t really indicate that the players are ready, otherwise it would be obvious that they’re being held down. San Francisco Giants’ General Manager Brian Sabean said just last Monday that Buster Posey wouldn’t be called up anytime soon. Four days later, Posey was in the majors. I won’t be surprised if the big three prospects arrive in Pittsburgh next week, or at least Alvarez and Lincoln.
