Some Pirate pitchers already showing up at camp
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates’ camp officially opens Feb. 17. Don’t tell that to the more than one dozen Pirates pitchers already gathered in Florida for what essentially is a spring training before spring training. Rather than having his pitchers scattered across the country, with many searching for high school gyms or fitness clubs to throw in, pitching coach Spin Williams urges them to go to Florida early and work out at the Pirates’ camp.
The daily sessions are voluntary and informal, without the rigid structure of spring training, and no pitcher is pressured to attend. Most are eager to get to warmer weather so they can throw outside, since all are throwing on their own at this time of the year.
Some pitchers, including left-hander Dave Williams and former Pirates starter Todd Ritchie, live in the Bradenton, Fla., area and take advantage of having the camp located close by.
“By (this) week, we should have 20 – a lot of are guys coming down,” Williams said. “We usually have five or eight the last week of January or so, but we had 11, so the number’s a little higher than usual.”
Williams normally heads to Bradenton after the holidays to prepare for the team’s annual mid-January minicamp for pitchers. He stays down after that to oversee the pitchers who want to get a jump on spring training.
“It’s good to have guys come down, to see where they’re at, so in spring training they can concentrate on making the club or working on the stuff they need to work on, instead of having to be taught,” Williams said.
Baseball’s labor agreement doesn’t allow clubs to force players to show up for camp early, and the players union frowns on any attempt to nudge players into camp before the official reporting date. But with most pitchers throwing regularly most of the winter, it’s not hard to get them to Florida early.
“It’s comforting for me to know that guy’s arms are in shape,” Williams said. “It’s one thing when a guy says, “I’ve been throwing,’ but it’s another thing to see them throw.”
Williams is closely monitoring right-hander Kip Wells, last season’s opening day starter. He pitched little during the second half of the season because of elbow and finger problems, and needed carpal tunnel surgery during the offseason.
Wells only recently resumed throwing and will be behind the other pitchers when camp starts two weeks from Thursday.
The Pirates already know they will be without two former first-round draft choices, likely for the season: left-hander Sean Burnett (2000) and right-hander John Van Benschoten (2001).
Van Benschoten had shoulder surgery last week and will likely need at least a year to recover, while Burnett had reconstructive elbow surgery last fall. Burnett was off to a promising start last season before he tore an elbow ligament, winning five consecutive starts shortly after his midseason callup.
Another first-rounder, Paul Maholm (2003) missed much of last season after being struck in the face by a line drive while pitching for Class A Lynchburg and is also behind some of the other pitchers.
One pitcher Williams will watch closely is the organization’s 2004 pitcher of the year, left-hander Zach Duke. He was a combined 15-6 with a 1.46 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 148 1-3 innings at Lynchburg and Double-A Altoona, allowing more than two earned runs in only one of 26 starts.
Duke will compete for the No. 5 starter’s job but, at age 21 and with no Triple-A experience, Williams doesn’t want to set back his progress by rushing him to the majors.
“The best thing for the organization would be for him to go down to Triple-A and do well,” Williams said.