-P- The Pirates are still considering turning Josh Sharpless into a starter. Dave Littlefield:
Ordinarily, I'd applaud this sort of reasoning - the Pirates need to look for upside wherever they can get it, and a successful starter is a lot more valuable than a successful reliever. But Sharpless, as I've written before, is a 25-year-old, two-pitch reliever who has yet to really master the high minors. In spite of that, he could be a contributor in the bullpen soon. If the Bucs turn him into a starter, they risk wasting his prime years in the minors, waiting for upside that will never materialize. I think they should go with the bird in the hand - or bird near the hand - here. Still, this is a situation where the Pirates could have access to information that I don't have.
-P- Indianapolis starter Tom Gorzelanny struck out eight Pawtucket batters in four innings last night. I'm not sure why he only pitched four innings, but neither the Trib nor Indianapolis' website reports that there were any problems. Ray Sadler accounted for all the Indians' run scoring, hitting two solo homers.
-P- In Class AA, Sharpless struck out four in two innings for Altoona, while Mike Connolly struck out seven while allowing one run in five innings against Trenton.