BRADENTON, Fla. -- So much attention on the Rich Hill signing this past winter focused on his role as a mentor for the younger pitchers on the Pirates' staff.
However, in Hill's second outing of Grapefruit League, including Thursday's 10-7 loss to the Tigers at LECOM Park, it's important to remember that he can do much more than be a player-coach.
"That’s the whole reason (for playing), really at the end of the day, to put up numbers," Hill said after his outing. "I think those are the three things that you enjoy: Doing this job or to play this game of baseball, you’re healthy and you’re also putting up numbers. It is a huge part of it. But, also to set a tone."
Hill set the tone early in Thursday's game, going right after hitters and had success in the process. Hill pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts. The one run allowed came on a play in which Hill made a move to pick off Ryan Kreidler and caught him taking off for second base. Covering second base, Tucupita Marcano saw Akil Baddoo take off from third base to try and score during the rundown and fired a throw home to nab him at the plate, but the throw was too high for Kevin Plawecki to catch and make the tag in time.
In addition to that stress, Hill worked around a leadoff single and stolen base by César Hernández in the first inning, stranding him at second base.
As much as the Pirates need a want a mentor for a crop of young pitchers that is critical to the success of this rebuild, having that guy is invaluable -- someone that can set the standard with a strong performance on the mound every time they take the ball. Situations like that were what made José Quintana so valuable a season ago.
Hill is no different. Results are ultimately what matter, and that can't be lost just because Hill helps keep the clubhouse loose. The guy can still pitch. A 4.27 ERA and 1.30 WHIP while playing in the loaded American League East last season isn't anything to ignore.
"The mentorship portion is secondary. It's important, but it's secondary," Shelton said. "The primary thing is performance on the mound. He's had two really solid outings (this spring). I think we've seen the full repertoire. He's been able to throw from the different angles, which is very encouraging. We've seen the curveball from down below. We've seen the fastball. He's gone up top. I think the thing that was impressive today was his ability to spin the ball, which is good to see early in camp."
Hill has been throwing different pitches out of different arm slots, which is interesting in and of itself and makes him a very intriguing arm in the rotation. But, no matter how it's done, the best example Hill can possibly set in 2023 will come from his work on the mound. If these young pitchers can learn anything from a guy who's been around for as long as Hill has, it'll be through a mentality that's deemed a bit old school.
"You see a guy that has figured out how he's gonna get outs," Shelton said. "He doesn't worry about where it's from or how it looks. He's worried about getting outs. That was encouraging. I mean, the game got sloppy there at the end, but Rich was good, to give us three strong innings. I think those are the things that we're dwelling on in spring training; the core group of guys that we know are going to Pittsburgh."
The Pirates' mantra from the mound is to attack the strike zone, and Hill is a great guy to lead by example. Of course, his presence in the clubhouse can't be ignored. Players have rave reviews for everything Hill's done since the team arrived in camp.
But, what Hill can do as a pitcher will always speak louder than words. That's really what everybody's taken from him, and why it's given the entire staff a much needed breath of fresh air.
"Bring that intensity. Bring that aggressiveness," Hill said. "It’s served a good purpose for me, having that mindset throughout my career. Especially the last eight years of how I’ve been pitching. I think that’s something, in conjunction with being able to give some advice and/or availability to the younger guys is also important."
MORE FROM LECOM PARK
• The most pressing issue from Thursday was on a player who didn't participate in the game.
After the game, Shelton said Ke'Bryan Hayes is dealing with some soreness in his left thumb. They kept him out of the lineup Thursday to not force anything. Hayes did hit in the cage, but this is definitely something to monitor.
• Shelton mentioned Thursday's game was sloppy, and boy, he wasn't exaggerating. The Pirates had three errors, walked six batters, hit another and allowed a passed ball.
Colin Selby had the hardest day of anyone in black and gold, getting pounded for three runs in one inning of work after taking over for what was supposed to be Angel Perdomo's second inning of work. Selby also inherited both of Perdomo's earned runs, and needed 29 pitches to get out of the seventh inning. Detroit broke a 4-4 tie with a five-spot in that inning, putting the game far out of reach.
"It was a 4-4 game. It was a good game," Shelton said. "We came back, Marcano had the big two-out hit to tie it, and then we started to scatter the ball in the zone. I think that's something for our younger players to continue to focus on. It's a teaching point, not only for us here, but for guys that are going to pitch in development too. It just got a little sloppy there at the end."
Marcano's two-out RBI double capped off a three-run inning for the Pirates, coming back from a 4-1 deficit. Jack Suwinski started the scoring with a sacrifice fly, then before Marcano's hit, Canaan Smith-Njigba hit a hard line drive that scored Drew Maggi.
• Down 10-4, Endy Rodriguez doubled and Carter Bins singled in the bottom of the ninth, then Maggi hit a two-out, three-run home run to cut the lead to 10-7. Just one inning earlier, Maggi dropped a pop up in foul territory. It was that kind of a day for much of the younger players, but Maggi stood out by continuing to fight against adversity.
"He's a baseball player," Shelton said. "He dropped the pop up, which is very uncharacteristic. He comes back and makes a nice play on a ball that hops up and almost hits him in the throat, and then he hits a three-run homer. He is a grinder. He's a baseball player. He's a guy that has been doing that for a long time, and he's been really productive in camp."
• Much of the pitching behind Hill didn't do so well. Every pitcher except for Osvaldo Bido, who pitched the ninth inning, gave up at least one run. Wil Crowe was the first to relieve Hill, and gave up a solo homer and an RBI triple in his inning of work. Yohan Ramirez allowed a run on a force out with two runners on base, although a throwing error from Ji Hwan Bae made it easy for the runner to score. Before the disastrous seventh inning, Perdomo was very solid in the sixth inning, only walking one batter and stranding him, but the rough start to the seventh is what lingered.
Either way, it's a day that most of the pitching staff will want to learn from.
• The Pirates re-assigned Quinn Priester to minor league camp after Thursday's game. Not too much of a shock there. The Pirates now have 58 players in big league camp. Only 32 more to go...
• After pitching a bullpen session today, Luis Ortiz is on his way to Miami to meet up with the rest of the Dominican team for the World Baseball Classic. Here's more on that.
• The almighty pitch clock can't keep every game under three hours, especially the ones that drag and are filled with miscues, errors, walks and multiple mid-inning pitching changes. Even so, Thursday's game -- one that really had an awful pace to it -- was only 3:04. With the pitch clock, this game could have easily flirted with four hours.
I'll say it every chance I get: Long live the pitch clock.
