Notes: Pirates' Duke in tinker mode

03/07/2006
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Zach Duke didn't have the kind of banner performance Tuesday against the Braves that Pirates fans grew accustomed to last summer.
In three innings against an Atlanta lineup that looked more like the Richmond Braves than the big league club, Duke allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk. And his command was uncharacteristically shaky. Of the 54 pitches Duke threw, 20 went for balls.
"I just felt a little bit inconsistent today. My mechanics were a little all over the place," said Duke.
"I gave up seven hits. But I wasn't necessarily pitching like I would during the season," he added. "I'm OK with that happened today."
There's a reason that Duke wasn't all that concerned about his pitching line. Unlike last spring, when he was fighting for a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation, Duke now has the luxury of knowing he'll break camp with the Bucs. He can work on getting himself ready for April rather than worry about trying to dominate in every start.
Tuesday, as was the case in his first spring start, Duke was focused almost entirely on getting his two-seam fastball over for strikes.
"That's my bread and butter," he explained. "If I can't throw it for strikes my game falls off the table. So I have to get this pitch down in Spring Training to be ready for the regular season."
Duke was able to cobble some positives out of his outing. Despite having at least two runners on base in each inning, he was able to limit the Braves to just two runs.
"I think I made some good pitches. Whenever I got into a little jam I got myself out a couple of times," said Duke.
"I need to get my rhythm [pitching] out of the stretch. This is the perfect time to do it."
Wilson practices: Jack Wilson returned to the field Tuesday for the first time since having a wisdom tooth removed five days earlier. He fielded some ground balls at shortstop before taking his hacks in batting practice.
"It was the first time I've had a ball thrown at me in a week and the first round of BP was pretty ugly," he said. "But I squared some balls up. The third round was decent.
"The fielding was kind of iffy. It will get better. You just keep working."
Wilson is not on the Pirates travel roster for either of the team's road games on Wednesday. He doesn't expect to see his first Grapefruit League action until Thursday or Friday.
"It makes sense," Wilson said. "I'll get a couple more rounds of BP and some more ground balls. I'll run on the treadmill to slowly but surely get up to a certain speed just to get some juice back."
Hernandez throws: Another Pirates veteran who has not yet participated in game action is right-hander Roberto Hernandez. The Bucs reliever has been slowed by tightness and soreness in his throwing shoulder.
Hernandez, 41, threw a bullpen session Tuesday as pitching coach Jim Colborn looked on. He expects to throw batting practice on Friday.
"Everything is going a lot better than expected," said Hernandez. "I'm just trying to get my arm back in shape. I probably overdid it earlier [in camp]. Right now, we're controlling it and everything is all systems go."
The Pirates have not yet determined when Hernandez will pitch in a game.
"The Mayor" returns: Pirates first baseman Sean Casey, who was one of Cincinnati's most popular players during his eight seasons with the Reds, will face his former team Wednesday for the first time since being traded to Pittsburgh last December.
"I've got to play the Reds at some point, they're in our division," said Casey.
"It will be a little strange. But hopefully I'll just go over there and enjoy it. It's still baseball. It will be good to see all of the guys I played with the last few years."
Ward to skipper Bradenton: Former Pirates outfielder Turner Ward was named Tuesday as the manager for Bradenton of the Gulf Coast League. It will be Ward's first managerial post.
Ward replaced former Bucs bench coach and interim manager Pete Mackanin, who accepted a position earlier this spring as an advance scout with the Reds.
On deck: The Pirates will play a pair of road games Wednesday. Southpaw Tom Gorzelanny will start the 1:05 p.m. ET afternoon tilt in Sarasota against Cincinnati Reds lefty Michael Gosling. Left-hander Paul Maholm will start the Bucs' first night (7:15 p.m. start) game of the spring against New York Yankees right-hander Jaret Wright in Tampa. Sean Burnett is also slated to pitch in the nightcap at Legends Field.

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/