The Pirates recalled Pedro Alvarez, Clint Hurdle says, because they needed a bat after Alex Presley got hurt. Hurdle has some nice things to say about Alvarez's play in Indianapolis, but it's pretty clear that the Bucs didn't call Alvarez up because they really think he's straightened out. They called him up because even a something-less-than-completely-straightened-out Pedro Alvarez is a potential improvement on the Pirates' other options. Here's Neal Huntington:

"In a perfect world, Pedro probably would spend a little more time in the minors," general manager Neal Huntington said, announcing the move. "But this isn't a perfect world. We think it's the right opportunity to bring (Alvarez) back."

The whole point of keeping Alvarez in the minors was to wait until he was really ready, but I guess the offense was in such bad shape the Pirates didn't feel they had the luxury of doing that anymore.