Pirates' minor leaguers C Erik Kratz and INF Chase d'Arnaud are off to Puerto Rico with Team USA for the Pan American Games Tournament.� The tournament is run by COPABE (Confederacion Panamericana de Beisbol) and is a World Cup qualifying tournament.� Team USA will be practicing at Roberto Clemente Stadium (a good omen for Pirates' minor leaguers) in Carolina, PR today, then at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan tomorrow (Friday).� Their first tournament game will be on Oct 2nd (Sat.), as the Americans face Puerto Rico in Ponce.� Team USA is also scheduled to play Aruba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Panama in the first round of the tournament.

D'Arnaud was a recent addition to the Team USA roster, just this week, as Andrew Romine joined the Angels' active roster.� Kratz was also not on the original team, but joined last week when Brian Jeroloman (Blue Jays) was removed from the roster.

Former Pirate Brad Eldred, now in the Rockies' organization, is also a member of Team USA, as well as former Pirate farmhand Todd Redmond, now with the Braves.

Team Canada has been working out with Team USA in North Carolina, though the Canadians are in a different group for the first round of the tournament.� Pirate farmhand RHP Tom Boleska (Altoona) will be pitching for Canada.� Two former Pirates farmhands will join him -- LHP Dave Davidson and OF Jamie Romak.� Another familiar face will be in the third base coaching box:� former Altoona manager Tim Leiper.

Cory Giger reports that the Pittsburgh Pirates have let Altoona Curve manager Matt Walbeck go.  Walbeck was fresh off being named the Eastern League...

P.J. Walters limited the Pirates to three hits and no runs over seven innings. James McDonald deserved better but took the loss despite giving up just one run in six innings.

Catching up on the past week:

More than 90 of the Pirates' minor league players and newly acquired draft picks who have yet to play their first pro games are busy in Bradenton with the Instructional League.� There is rarely any news about the goings-on at Instrux, though.� There are about a dozen games played, beginning in the next week or so.� Players who have already been through most of the regular season will be at camp through the first week of October, and those who had less playing time (or none at all) will continue to work for another couple of weeks.

The Arizona Fall League begins play in just under two weeks (Oct 12th).� The Pirates are sending seven players to the AFL, and they will be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox:� pitchers Justin Wilson, Aaron Pribanic, and Brian Leach; catcher Tony Sanchez; infielders Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer; outfielder Andrew Lambo.

The Pirates announced their organizational (minor league) awards:

Alex Presley (photo) was named the Minor League Hitter of the Year.� He split the season between the AA Altoona Curve and the AAA Indianapolis Indians, who named him Rookie of the Year.� In 67 games with the Curve, Presley hit .350 with 86 hits, 13 doubles, 7 triples, 6 homers, and 47 RBI.� In 69 games for the Tribe, Presley hit "only" .294, with another 80 hits, 15 doubles, 6 triples, 6 moer homers, and 38 RBI.� His combined 166 hits and .320 batting average lead all Pirates' minor leaguers for the 2010 season, and he was second in runs scored with 86.� Presley had a 19-game hitting streak while with the Curve.� On May 24th, Presley nearly hit for the cycle, with a double, a triple, and two homers and 8 RBI for the Curve.� Then, in his third game with the Indians, Presley did hit for the cycle, going 5-for-6, and becoming the first Indian player to do so at Victory Field (which is now 15 years old).

LHP Rudy Owens was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year.� Owens spent the entire season with the Altoona Curve, as he won this award for the second season in a row.� He led the Eastern League with a 2.46 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, and earned a 12-6 record in the regular season.� In 150 innings, Owens allowed 124 hits and 41 earned runs, with 132 strikeouts and only 23 walks.� Opposing batters managed to hit only .226 against him.� Owens was named to the Eastern League's mid-season and post-season All-Star teams.� In the playoffs, Owens started the Curve's first game of the first round against the Harrisburg Senators, but got into trouble in the 2nd inning, and was charged with the loss.� He was the starter in the first game of the Curve's championship series against the Trenton Thunder, though he did not factor into the decision of that game, which the Thunder won in the 10th inning.

Both Presley and Owens (wearing his Curve jersey) were presented with their awards prior to last Sunday's game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

�

Brian Burres was effective in a fairly brief outing and Garrett Jones and John Bowker each drove in three runs as the Pirates got a rare win on the road. Also rare is a win over former Bucco and nemesis Jeff Suppan.

The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 tonight, which means that the Pittsburgh Pirates have clinched the number one pick in the 2011...

Baseball America released their top 20 prospects from the 2010 New York-Penn League today (scouting reports here for BA subscribers), and three Pittsburgh Pirates...

Chase d'Arnaud has been added to the Team USA roster, replacing shortstop Andrew Romine, according to Baseball America.  Romine, the older brother of New...

The Pirates road woes continued as St. Louis scored twice off the bullpen to win the opener of the series. Matt Holliday dingered and drove in three for the Birds.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates' loss tonight to the St. Louis Cardinals, and the win by the Seattle Mariners, the Pirates' "magic number" for the...

If you are a regular Pittsburgh Lumber Co. reader, you may have noticed two things over the past couple weeks. 1.) I haven't been writing much, and 2.) The site layout has changed dramatically. Well, those two things are connected. I have spent much of my free time tweaking colors and adding new features. There is still work to be done, but I thought I should update everyone on some of the changes here at PLC.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, there have been some changes to the off-season dates for free agency and arbitration decisions: -Players can file for free...