The Pirates aren't ready to call up Brad Lincoln just yet:
Before the game, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington spoke on his radio show how fans shouldn't expect Brad Lincoln to be recalled anytime soon.
"Brad has had a quality May, and we're still working through the process with him. Sometimes, Triple-A stats don't always convert to major-league performance, but Brad's certainly getting closer." The changeup and breaking ball are more effective of late. "But four or five outings doesn't mean he's mastered it."
Neal Huntington proves yet again how stubborn he and Kyle Stark can be. That sounds bad, but actually I don't intend it to be. I like that they have the courage to look a completely obvious solution to a glaring problem (the Bucs' rotation) right in the face and not take it, because they really believe in what they're doing. Maybe they're right. Judging from the stat lines, the reports and the video I've seen recently, Lincoln looks like he's ready to help. But he probably could work on his changeup more. (His curveball is terrific; I'm not really sure why Huntington mentioned it here.) As nice as Lincoln's stat line this year looks, he still does struggle a bit against lefties, who see his curveball longer. A good changeup would help him keep them off balance. It's not totally clear to me, though, why he can't continue to work on that in the big leagues.