Afternoon notes

Wednesday, 13 February 2013 15:27

Written by Bill Brink

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Clint Hurdle said today that with the exceptions of Francisco Liriano and Charlie Morton, everyone who has reported so far is healthy and ready to go.

***When asked about the set-up role, Hurdle mentioned Mark Melancon, Tony Watson and Jared Hughes.

"These are guys that are growing up right in front of our eyes and have pitched meaningful innings for us last year in meaningful situations," he said of Watson and Hughes.

Hurdle also said he was pleased with the assortment of left-handed pitchers in camp and implied that he'd like to bring two of them north. That likely means Justin Wilson, though it could mean Jeff Locke, Kris Johnson, Jonathan Sanchez or Mike Zagurski in addition to Watson.

***Mike LaValliere is in camp working with the catchers. "He's got an itch to get back into the game and we're going to honor his skill set," Hurdle said.

***Hurdle said the pitches would pitch side sessions "with runners on," meaning from the stretch, with varied release times and pickoff moves. The purpose of this is to improve holding runners on, an area in which the Pirates struggled last season.

"It has been brought to their attention," Hurdle said. "It will continue to be addressed throughout spring training."