May 11, 2013 By John Perrotto for The 3 min read

James McDonald’s barking shoulder might be the best thing to happen for both the right-hander and the Pirates.

McDonald was a late scratch from his scheduled start this past Tuesday against Seattle because of shoulder inflammation. The Pirates immediately placed him on the 15-day disabled without a timetable for his return.

McDonald has frustrated the Pirates to no end this season in going 2-2 with a 5.76 ERA in six starts.

He was brilliant in two starts, giving up a combined two runs and four hits in 13 innings against the Chicago Cubs on April 4 and Atlanta on April 20. In his other four outings, McDonald was ripped for 22 runs and 25 hits in 16 2/3 innings.

This, of course, comes on the heels of his 2012 season in which he was 9-4 with a 2.37 ERA in 17 starts before the All-Star break and 3-5 with a 7.52 ERA in 13 games in the second half.

McDonald’s middle name is Zell. It should be Inconsistency.

The Pirates would have loved to send McDonald to the minor leagues earlier this season, both for a bit of shock therapy and to work out his problems in a less stressful environment.

However, McDonald is out of minor-league options and there is no way the Pirates could slip him through waivers if they tried to send him to the minors. Some team would claim a pitcher with that much raw talent, despite his inconsistencies.

Pitchers can be sent on minor-league rehabilitation assignment for up to 30 days while they are on the disabled list. Once McDonald is healthy enough to start pitching again, the Pirates could give him up to six starts in the minors.

That should be enough time to finally find out if McDonald is fixable or just a terminal underachiever.

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One of the nicer stories of the past week was the recall of right-handed reliever Duke Welker from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Welker deserved the call as he had not allowed a run in 10 games and 16 innings this season. It is also represents a long climb the 27-year-old, who was the Pirates second-round draft pick in 2007 from the University of Arkansas.

Welker was considered a major bust when he went a combined 4-24 as a starting pitcher in two seasons at the low Class A level from 2008-09. He was converted to a reliever in 2010 and gradually regained his prospect status.

A ton of credit goes to Welker for not giving up and also to the Pirates for sticking with a talented prospect until he turned his career around. It is a lesson that patience truly is a virtue when it comes to player development.

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It’s long obvious that profit margin is more important than winning percentage for Bob “B-Nutt” Nutting’s Pirates. Yet even the Pirates can take being cheap to a whole new level.

Take for example the popular between-innings ‘Bucco” game at PNC Park, which is patterned after Plinko of The Price Is Right.

The grand prize used to be $500. This year, it is to $250.

Embarrassing.