Personal struggle leads Snell back to Indianapolis

But Triple-A hasn’t been much of a challenge for Snell. But why is he playing at this level? Snell says he’s doing it to save his life. A month ago, he says he contemplated suicide.

“Sometimes people do stupid stuff and I had to fight it, not to do something stupid and take my life for myself and from my family and my parents,” he said.

He says, emotionally, he hit rock bottom and has been battling depression. When he had bad games with the Pirates, negative comments from the media or on the Internet bothered him, so he wanted to leave Pittsburgh.

“I just want to say sorry to all the bloggers and media people for saying they don’t know anything. But I didn’t mean anything by it,” Snell said. “I was just upset at the time.”

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Collier: Pirates outfield lacking offensively

No matter which way Pirates management cranks its curious kaleidoscope, there is still only one element clearly evident at the center of every conceivable picture of this star-crossed franchise.

Andrew McCutchen was in center field last night, leading off in manager John Russell’s so-called lineup, just as he has for every game since arriving in Pittsburgh June 4, ending nearly four years of snowballing promise if not persistently tantalizing empirical evidence.

From the moment Bob Nutting took over the chairman’s seat from Kevin McClatchy in January 2007, to the moment he hired Frank Coonelly as team president that September, to the moment Coonelly brought in Neal Huntington as its general manager 12 days later, to the moment of the next inexplicable spasm of Management Vision, McCutchen is the center fielder and the leadoff hitter of the Pirates of the future.

Should that ever get here.

plus, Bob Smizik says the Pirates’ New look not such a good look

Fangraphs - Cameron : Morgan = Dunn

When the Nationals signed Adam Dunn over the winter to a 2 year, $20 million contract, the reaction from the sabermetric community was almost unanimously positive towards the move for Washington. For a fraction of his original asking price, they got the guy who had become something of a poster boy for the kind of player that statistical analysts have been claiming is undervalued for years. The walks and power skillset produces a lot of runs, and Dunn has a master’s degree in the walks and power skillset.

When the Nationals acquired Nyjer Morgan yesterday, the reaction from the sabermetric community was almost unanimously negative towards the move for Washington. He was routinely called a no-power fourth outfielder, easily replaceable, and a 29-year-old with no upside. The Nationals were destroyed for giving up on a “talent” like Lastings Milledge to acquire Morgan. Analysts I have quite a bit of respect for, like Keith Law, Dan Szymborski, and our own R.J. Anderson, hailed this as an easy win for the Pirates, as none of them see much value in Morgan.

Here’s the problem. Nyjer Morgan and Adam Dunn are nearly equals in value, and the polar reactions from the sabermetric crowd puts the blindspots that have been developed over the last 10-15 years on full display.

NBC Sports: Baseball rookies from India near pro debuts

The Pittsburgh Pirates may soon find out if an investment of $20,000 can produce a couple of million-dollar arms.

Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, their two India-born pitchers who had never seen a baseball game before being the top two finishers in a TV reality show designed to find potential major league arms, are nearly ready to make their professional debuts.

Neither had picked up a baseball, much less thrown one, until little more than a year ago. Aspiring cricket players, they had no idea that American athletes could make so much money playing a sport they knew nothing about.

Now, after a busy year crowded with TV show appearances, basic baseball instruction, fitness workouts, constant throwing and adjusting to a pro athlete’s life in a new country, they are about to take the mound for the Bradenton Pirates of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

“It’s going to be fun,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: (Jack) Wilson says he is ‘beyond tired’ of such trades

The pattern has become familiar: The Pirates make a trade, a popular player leaves, and the remaining players complain. And, of the latter group, shortstop Jack Wilson invariably stands at the forefront.

So it was again yesterday, for the most part, after the two trades in which outfielder Nyjer Morgan and reliever Sean Burnett went to the Washington Nationals, utilityman Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees.

This time, Wilson, the Pirates’ most tenured player, described himself as “beyond, beyond tired” of such moves.

“We know that they’re looking to the future, which doesn’t say much about 2009,” he said. “That’s probably what’s so shocking. We’re five games out, and we lost two or three of our everyday players.”

That was a reference to the June 3 trade of center fielder Nate McLouth.

“That’s what hits us the most,” Wilson continued. “You can understand if it’s the end of July.”

plus, the Washington Times take on this last-day-of June blockbuster

Harlan: Nats, Bucs Closing In On Deal

The Nationals are close to finalizing a deal that would send Lastings Milledge to Pittsburgh in exchange for Nyjer Morgan, a team source said. I’m still trying to uncover the final wrinkle in this trade, though. It probably includes one other player that the Nats will send to Pittsburgh.

Morgan, who turns 29 on Thursday, represents that sort of player that Washington previously overlooked. He excels defensively, steals bases, and hits for adequate average but minimal power. Here’s his baseball reference page. He has played mostly in LF for the Pirates this year, but also has the tools of a natural center fielder.

Post-Gazette: Forbes Field relics score rare memories

It’s a restrained but rare collection of memorabilia that celebrates the 100th anniversary of Forbes Field now on display at the Senator John Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.

From the well-preserved uniform of a Homestead Grays player to the diaries of Barney Dreyfuss, the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and builder of the ballpark, “Forbes Field: A Century of Memories” is a microcosmic portrait of what once was Western Pennsylvania’s sports mecca.

Anne Madarasz, director of the center’s Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, said several items, including Dreyfuss’ diary, opened to June 30, 1909, the day the park opened, have never been displayed before.

“The rarest is the Grays’ uniform,” she said. “We think it’s only one of two still in existence.” (The other is elsewhere in the museum.)

...Other first-time artifacts:

• A 1909 caricature of Barney Dreyfuss as a swashbuckler holding a Detroit Tiger by the tail. Pittsburgh defeated the Tigers in the World Series that year.

From the Bochmann Collection (my neighbor)...Forbes Field - 1945.

Snell fans 17 for Indianapolis

Ian Snell found one good way to escape the “negativity:” Strike ‘em all out.

In a superb return to Class AAA Indianapolis yesterday, he fanned 17 batters over seven innings, including his first 13 outs of a 2-1 victory against visiting Toledo.

Couldn’t ask for anything more from the guy.  Replenishes some of his MLB value as a starter?

Bucs Dugout: We Don’t Need Lastings Milledge

When he came up in 2006, a Mets fan – or a paid hack i LM’s entourage – produced the website http://milledgefacts.blogspot.com which included, among others facts about LM ....

1. Lastings Milledge isn’t a 5 tool player. Lastings Milledge has more than 100 tools, many of which are unknown to most baseball scouts.

4. Lastings Milledge doesn’t hit 8th. Those seven other guys are just warming up the pitcher for the first real at bat of the game.

27. Lastings Milledge beat Jose Reyes in a race running backwards.

96. Lastings Milledge is his own species. His biological name is “Homerun Rakings.”

Milledge proceeded to hit .241 (with a .689 OPS) with only 4 home runs. He apparently so annoyed his teammates that a “Know your place, rook” message was left on his locker. He was late for a game in Philly.  He improved slightly in 2007, but was still traded, even though the Mets need some youth and speed in their outfield to go along with the youth, speed, and power they have with David Wright and Jose Reyes.

Fanhouse: Andrew McCutchen Has Pittsburgh a Little Too Excited

It’s unfair because McCutchen has played in exactly 23 major league games through Sunday. That’s a little more than an eighth of a season. In those eight games, McCutchen has hit five triples, which already has him tied with teammate Nyjer Morgan for the National League lead. He’s stolen four bases without being caught, hit a walk-off single earlier this week, and has a .297/.362/.465 line even after going hitless in his last 10 at-bats. He’s the best prospect the Pirates have had in years, but he’s still only played in 23 games and comparing someone who’s played in 23 games to a Hall of Famer with 3,000 hits, an MVP trophy, and a hit in all 14 World Series games that he played in (both of which the Pirates won) is more than a little unfair.

It’s ridiculous because, plain and simple, there will never be another Roberto Clemente. Some players have the ability to capture the imagination of fans that transcends mere baseball; Clemente was one of those players. If you were at PNC Park today, there’s a good chance that you’d see more shirts with Clemente’s No. 21 on the back than shirts with all of the current Pirates combined. He was beloved both in Pittsburgh and his native Puerto Rico for his skills both with the bat and in the field, with an arm that’s still the go-to comparison for any strong-armed youngster in right field. Beyond baseball, he spent his offseasons doing charity work and died flying relief to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake.

Nationals pursuing Nyjer Morgan in trade

Washington is pursuing a trade for Pirates outfielder Nyjer Morgan, according to two sources late last night, including one source inside the Nationals’ baseball operations.

The teams began discussing this eight days ago, and a Washington proposal in which the Pirates would get younger outfielder Lastings Milledge crumbled when the Pirates came back seeking Milledge and starter Craig Stammen.

One of the sources said the teams plan to continue to talk, mostly because the Nationals are eager to have Morgan as a leadoff man.

Thanks to Montone.

SF Chronicle/Shea: Barry who? Rockies’ Tracy finds success

Does a manager make that much of a difference?

Seems to be the case with the Rockies, who last month replaced Clint Hurdle with bench coach Jim Tracy and then began winning like it’s 2007. Tracy, remembered in the Bay Area as the guy who ran the Dodgers early in the 2000s, finally has a managing gig in which he’s not haunted by Barry Bonds.

...

Tracy’s previous two stops were Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, and excuse him if he wondered what it would be like to have his mind clear of Bonds.

Tracy’s first four years managing the Dodgers, Bonds won MVP awards. Tracy’s fear of the Giants’ left fielder seemed to grow annually - as did Bonds’ numbers against the Dodgers - peaking in 2004, when Tracy hardly pitched to the man.

Barry was just a hunka hunka burnin’ love…

Snell asks for, and receives, demotion

He sought a more positive environment: “Too much negativity. I want to be a positive person if I’m going to be here. I felt like I was going to be negative if I was going to be here, and I didn’t want to ruin this team.” He was asked to explain who actually made the call that he would go down: “I wasn’t going to allow them to say what they want. I told them I wanted to go down. It’s best for the team.” I asked why he would do this, when three of his past four starts were quality starts. “There’s a lot. I don’t want to point fingers and make excuses. I just made a better decision for myself, my career and my life.”

There’s a lot more speculation behind the move, along with the required personnel moves and confirmations.  Also a link to an interesting sound bite of an interview with Snell (hoping he wanted to say “I’m not your pal, buddy!").

Didn’t Huntington claim yesterday afternoon that Snell’s spot in both the rotation and MLB were safe “for now”?  I’ve never heard of a player asking to be demoted before.  I’ve never heard Snell really speak up in the media before.

Alvarez, Lincoln to represent Pirates in Futures Game

The Pirates’ top hitting and pitching prospects, third baseman Pedro Alvarez and starter Brad Lincoln, were selected today for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Futures Game, July 12 in St. Louis

Post-Gazette - Pirates Notebook: Snell’s status is tenuous

Ian Snell will remain in the Pirates’ rotation ... for now.

That was the initial message from general manager Neal Huntington yesterday afternoon, in the aftermath of Snell’s 2 2/3-inning loss Tuesday, one that dropped him to 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA.

“He shows you flashes of what he can be, but it’s a matter of how we draw that out consistently, can we draw that out consistently?” Huntington said. “At some point in time, the ‘can we’ becomes the question that becomes unanswerable. Not that we ever give up on a player, but maybe there’s a different role, a different way we reach him. We may get to a point in time where it’s, ‘Do we put him in the bullpen? Do we option him to Triple-A?’”

Huntington expressed special exasperation at Snell’s laborious pitch counts.

“The efficiency just isn’t there. To get deep into games, we need more first-pitch contact, more pitching ahead and burying guys instead of nibbling and picking. It’s not the inability to throw strikes because he shows the ability repeatedly to do it in the bullpen. What he gives you that’s a positive is the effort in the bullpen, the intensity. Things are better there, so you don’t want to pull the plug too quickly. But you do want to see results.”

Post-Gazette: Ten reasons to get excited for Pirates-Indians

This meeting between the Pirates and Cleveland Indians, with the first of three games tonight at PNC Park, would appear to lack a whole lot of luster: Each team is in last place, tickets are selling slowly and, really, how much novelty is left in beating up on Cleveland?

Even the Steelers seem to yawn at the concept anymore.

And yet, come on, it is Cleveland.

Here, for fun, are 10 reasons, in descending order, why this series still matters…

...

9. The Cleveland model.

It might be hard for Pittsburghers to swallow the idea of using Cleveland as a model, but the Pirates openly acknowledge that the Indians, under general manager Mark Shapiro, have built an overall system that is worthy of emulating. In that way and others, the franchises almost behave like separated twins.

...

5. An interleague underdog.

Maybe there is something rarer than the above: The Pirates will face an interleague opponent that has a worse record, this season and in recent interleague play.

Cleveland is 26-42 against the National League in the past five years, even as the American League as a whole has dominated play.

Pirates to promote Alvarez to Altoona

The Pirates will promote Alvarez, their top prospect, from Class A Lynchburg to Class AA Altoona in time for the Curve’s game tomorrow night in Erie.

Alvarez, 22, batted .247 for the Hillcats, whose first half ended yesterday. He also had 14 home runs and 55 RBIs, as well as 70 strikeouts in 243 at-bats.

I like Jerry Uht Park.

Post-Gazette/Pirates Notebook: McCutchen reaching ‘another level’

For all that went awry for the Pirates on this 1-5 road trip, the performance of their gifted young center fielder clearly was not among them.

In these six games, Andrew McCutchen:

• Went 10 for 29 out of the leadoff spot, with a home run, three triples, two doubles and six RBIs.

• Extended his current hitting streak to 10 games.

• Made six fine running catches, including an exceptional back-to-the-fence running stab of a laser from the Colorado Rockies’ Todd Helton Saturday night.

His totals through 17 games: .333 with the home run, five triples, three doubles, 13 runs scored, 13 RBIs and two steals.

...

Huntington said that first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce’s promotion should not be taken as a sign that first baseman Adam LaRoche is about to be traded.

“If we were close on something with Adam, we’d leave Pearce in the minors to play every day and develop to prepare for Adam being gone, but that’s not the case,” Huntington said.

Post-Gazette: Tracy on Pirates’ long woes: ‘You need talent’

Jim Tracy is a manager once again, just as he was in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.

He is winning once again, too, just as he did ... well, in Los Angeles.

And yet, even as he took to Coors Field yesterday for batting practice under golden skies and an even sunnier 15-5 record since taking over the Colorado Rockies May 29, smiling wide and exchanging hugs and handshakes with those he knew from the Pirates, he could not help but express regret at how his two-year tenure in Pittsburgh ended with his firing in October 2007.

“There is disappointment for me in not being able to go further with the situation than we did,” he said in an interview with the Post-Gazette. “But you know, there have been good people there, lots of them, and it hasn’t happened.”

He was asked why that is.

“I really believe it boils down to this: You need talent. You need talented players with an unselfish nature to get to where you want to go.”

There were some of those during Tracy’s time, as he acknowledged. But he also bemoaned the lack of depth at the time, in Pittsburgh and in the Pirates’ system.

“There were some good players for me, and there still are some good players over there. But you also need somewhere to turn when you have players get bumps or bruises. Where could we go? That’s a question that’s been asked there for a number of years, and there never was an answer. It was very difficult just to keep the seas calm until you get people healthy. That’s the biggest drawback there, and it has been for years.”

SoSG: Vin Scully, on My Way

Vin Scully on last night’s telecast, after Russell Martin beat out a soft grounder to short:

It reminded me of one of the great hitters the game has ever seen, who was a marvelous player for the Pittsburgh Pirates a long time ago, Paul Waner.

And Paul Waner was very close to his three-thousandth hit. And it was the second game of a doubleheader, late in the second game.

The bunt will be picked up by whom? Suzuki, to get him.

Anyway, Paul Waner hit a slow ground ball to short, similar to that play. And they gave him a base hit and Waner stood at first base and kept waving up to the official scorer.

“No, no, no, I don’t want that hit!”

So, they said, “Well, if you don’t want it, you don’t get it.”

So they took the hit away. That was the end of the doubleheader.

The next day was an off-day, then his first time up the next game: Bam! Base hit. Three thousand base hits.

And he said, “That’s the way I want it.”

So if anybody ever talks about a hitter screaming and hollering, “I don’t want the hit,” remember Paul Waner.

Iowa prep pitcher K’s 18 in 6-inning perfect game

A perfect game is one thing. But Norwalk High pitchers Matt Dermody and Kole Klocko nearly pulled off a perfect doubleheader.

Dermody, a senior, struck out all 18 batters he faced in a six-inning perfect game Monday night. Klocko, a junior, closed the doubleheader against South Tama High with a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 10 while issuing just one walk.

Dermody and Klocko, who are best friends, faced a combined 33 batters and struck out 28 of them. If that wasn’t enough, Dermody hit home runs in each game and Klocko hit a pair of doubles.
[...]
Iowa High School Athletic Association spokesman Bud Legg said Dermody’s effort is the first recorded instance of an Iowa pitcher striking out every batter he faced. Legg said the state’s record books go back to 1929.

Not a bad day’s work.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Kovacevic: Parallels with Mauer, Sanchez?

John Russell was manager for Minnesota’s Class AAA affiliate in 2001, the year the Twins drew voluminous criticism for drafting a hometown catcher with the No. 1 overall pick in the first-year-player draft.

Kid named Joe Mauer.

Same kid batting .429 after an eye-popping 4-for-4 display against the Pirates last night, raising a .326 career mark that trails only Rod Carew’s .344 in Minnesota’s franchise history among players with 2,000 plate appearances. Kirby Puckett’s .318 is third.

“Not a bad pick, huh?” Russell said with a laugh.

Sure seemed that way to many at the time. Pitcher Mark Prior was the consensus top talent, but he and agent Scott Boras had set a new bar for his bonus—he wound up with a record $10.5 million—and the Twins signed Mauer for $5.15 million, less than half.

Post-Gazette: Pirates’ executives answer: ‘When is now?’

Management’s view of its current talent level, in Pittsburgh and below, is that it is insufficient at pretty much every position other than third base and center field. The major league team is 30-33 and still on track for a 17th consecutive losing season and, even with recent infusions, the minor league system remains in baseball’s lower half.

Neither facet will change soon, given the time it will take for players from this management’s two drafts to develop, as well as the mounting industry-wide difficulty in acquiring young talent through other means.

“We don’t have a definitive answer but, at the same time, we’re not saying it’s 2015,” Huntington said. “With this trade and other moves before that, we feel the talent level is significantly improved over where it was a year ago and, certainly, two years ago. We’re closer than we’ve ever been.”

So, what qualifies as contention?

Owner Bob Nutting was adamant that call will be made by team president Frank Coonelly and Huntington.

“What you need to be looking at is how you improve the team in Pittsburgh and the organization overall,” Nutting said. “And those are the balances, honestly, that Frank and Neal—Neal, particularly—have to be charged with. Those aren’t decisions I’m ever going to step in and try to make. I know that would be a mistake.”

Even so, he added this: “We’re never going to have a static lineup that we lock in. I don’t think you ever get to the point where you say, ‘That’s it. We’re anchored. We’re done.’ If you do that, the organization, I believe would start to immediately fall back.”

Coonelly’s stance: Once he and Huntington see real contention, the Pirates could flip from the norm and trade prospects for veterans.

Kovacevic: Dude singing on that video

Even Carsickness just threw up.

Dejan,

It took me a while, but I just noticed that you included my Nate McLouth video in your blog. That’s amazing! I’m a big fan of yours, and it feels pretty wild to have done a thing that found its way into your reporting. Thanks so much!

I’ll note in passing that the irony of the video is that I actually thought (and still think) that the McLouth trade was a smart move. It was really just the fact that Nate’s teammates were upset about it, not to mention Nate himself, that made me feel justified in writing a sappy melodramatic song (and also, of course, Nate being one of my favorite Pirates).

Do you have any idea of whether Nate himself knows this video is out there?

Anyway, thanks again for linking, hope your back is doing better, and huge props to you, Chuck, and the rest of the PG team for your consistently awesome reporting.

Jesse

Burnett and Chavez Are Burning Mad at ESPN

One of the most primary strategies is pfucking. One must know who to pfuck and in what suit to pfuck.

Buried in a Trib story by Rob Biertempfel….

• Relievers Sean Burnett and Jesse Chavez are fuming over how they’ve been portrayed by ESPN and other media for supposedly setting up a candle and “shrine” to Nate McLouth.

“It’s ridiculous. Blown way out of proportion,” Burnett said. “I’m waiting for an apology.”

Chavez said the candle was set up two weeks before McLouth was traded as a running joke about the players’ daily card game of Pluck. As long as Chavez and Burnett kept winning, the candle stayed lit at their lockers.

“It had nothing to do with the trade,” Chavez said. “It’s a friendly thing we had going on, an inside joke.”

Neither player was disciplined by the team and the candle and Pluck scoreboard remain at their lockers.

Isn’t it hilarious how so many people in this town portrayed the Pirates clubhouse after the Nate McClouth trade?  I trust Burnett and Chavez get an apology, but I seriously doubt it will happen.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Wilson trade discussed with Boston

The Pirates and Boston have had trade talks regarding shortstop Jack Wilson, but no move in that direction seems imminent or even likely based on how talks have gone to this point.

The Red Sox, without a shortstop while Jed Lowrie recovers from a wrist injury, have taken the step of asking some of their players—including former Pirates outfielder Jason Bay—for their views on Wilson in an attempt to gauge his value. But their talks to date have not come close to the baseball return the Pirates would seek in a trade for their most popular player.

...

Including the Pirates’ 1909 World Series, the Steelers’ victory in Super Bowl XL and now the Penguins’ victory, Pittsburgh teams have won more championships in the city of Detroit than in Pittsburgh.

The only ones won in Pittsburgh were the Pirates’ titles in 1925 and 1960. The other 12 were elsewhere, including the Pirates winning twice in Baltimore.

Post-Gazette: Pirates Notebook: Nutting says money no draft issue

Vlad will be happy to hear the news…

The Pirates had developed a plan, owner Bob Nutting said yesterday at Sanchez’s PNC Park news conference, to sign either of the two players they rated higher than Sanchez—San Diego State University pitcher Stephen Strasburg and University of North Carolina outfielder Dustin Ackley—had they fallen to No. 4 overall. Alas, Washington took Strasburg, and Seattle selected Ackley.

“I asked if we were prepared to take Strasburg or Ackley, as they were the top two on our board, and there’s no question we would have signed them,” Nutting said. “We had that discussion, and we were prepared to do it, prepared to adjust as needed. Now, given our level of preparation, we had a sense that was not likely to happen. But we were ready if it had.”

Strasburg, the wunderkind with the 103-mph fastball, is expected to seek $40 million or more from the Nationals, so such a commitment by the Pirates—or anything close to it—would have been unprecedented. Strasburg is represented by Scott Boras, the same agent who dueled with the Pirates for two months last summer over Pedro Alvarez.

Would all that have been weighed?

“Well, I think it would have been an interesting negotiation,” Nutting said.

Pirates reach to draft Boston College catcher

Huntington acknowledges signability factor in taking Sanchez
...
Sanchez appears ready to promptly sign a deal worth around $2.5 million, per his draft slot.
...
Instead of blowing two-thirds of their draft budget on a first-round selection—though they still agree Alvarez last June at No. 2 was a power-hitting pedigree well worth it—they prefer to be more cost effective. They prefer to try to invest more wisely, more widely, if they are to spend roughly equal to 2008’s $9.8 million on a 2009 draft carrying more even distribution than top-heaviness.

No real mention of sources listing him far away from the 4th-best available talent in this draft makes for a misleading title.

I actually love this pick:  Doumit’s a solid-hitting catcher, but he’s only played 211 games the past 2 1/3 seasons with some doubts on whether he can stay behind the plate.  Jaramillo and Diaz have played well in Doumit’s absence with matching OPS+’s of 101.

But you can never have enough catching prospects, right?  Plus:  this frees up the funds for Sano, right?  And I like him more than anyone who was available at #4.

MLB: Morton to start Wednesday for Bucs

High-quality Morton pellets...coming soon!

Though Pirates manager John Russell reiterated earlier on Tuesday that Jeff Karstens will make his scheduled start on Wednesday, the Pirates have now decided to hand the ball to recently acquired right-hander Charlie Morton.

According to two sources, Morton will be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday to take Karstens’ spot in the rotation. The fact that Karstens was needed in relief during Monday’s 15-inning affair could be playing a role in this decision. But it’s no secret that the Pirates were already looking for a way to get Morton into the big league mix.

Pittsburgh is expected to send left-hander Tom Gorzelanny back to Indianapolis, where he can re-enter the Indians’ rotation. Karstens would then provide the Pirates with a long-inning option out of the bullpen.

Morton was one of three prospects the Pirates received in last week’s trade with Atlanta. With the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, Morton went 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 starts to begin the year.

Kovacevic: Shapiro calls Huntington’s deal with Atlanta ‘good, tough decision’

And learn how intellectual baseball bloggers don’t have to pay for tickets!

Some, Shapiro added, will delve into such trades more deeply than others.

“What you’ll find is that the people on the intellectual baseball blogs will applaud you for it. But your market, the people who pay for the tickets, they might not. Those prospects you get don’t mean anything to them. That’s why I always say that your driving motivation has got to be to be right in the end.”

The latter is advice Shapiro said he has offered to Huntington.

“This way, when the Pirates’ fans look back in three or four years and Charlie Morton’s a legitimate No. 2 or 3 starter, blended right in with Paul Maholm, Zach Duke and Ross Ohlendorf, you guys are saying, ‘Wow, can you imagine that McLouth would be a free agent right now? We’ve got this guy, Hernandez is on the bubble, and Andrew McCutchen’s blossomed into an All-Star because we gave him a few months to get his feet wet.’ ”