Perrotto on the scene: Don’t sweat Morton ²⁵

Charlie Morton allowed three runs and six hits in six innings Saturday against Toronto. — GETTY

BY JOHN PERROTTO

BRADENTON, Fla. — Sights, sounds and the scene at McKechnie Field …

• Though speculation continues to persist to the contrary, Charlie Morton is healthy and will begin the season in a Pirates’ rotation.

Morton pitched today in the 8-3 win over the Blue Jays in an exhibition game at McKechnie Field and reported no physical problems. Clint Hurdle reiterated there is nothing wrong with Morton.

“I keep getting these questions about Charlie’s health,” Hurdle said. “I don’t understand why. I haven’t heard anything from anybody. I don’t think Charlie is telling anyone he is not healthy. He’s done all the work that he’s been asked to do. These questions must be being generated from outside.”

The questions are being generated by those who have not seen Morton pitch and are looking only at the stat sheet. The numbers aren’t very good. as he has allowed 11 runs and 15 hits in 19 1/3 innings with five walks and just three strikeouts.

Perhaps no factor skews spring training statistics more than the weather, though. That was the case Saturday as there was a continuous 15-20-mph gust blowing out.

Under the circumstances, Morton did well to allow three runs and six hits in six innings. The two home runs he gave up, to Daric Barton and Danny Valencia, were both wind-aided and would have been routine fly balls on a calm day.

How windy was it? Neil Walker hit a routine fly ball and wound up with a three-run triple because the ball landed behind right fielder Caleb Gindl.

So, on a day like this, the eyes provide a better synopsis than the box score. Morton and the Pirates’ coaching staff were happy with what they saw.

“I liked his overall consistency and I liked how he was able to throw really good sinkers down in the strike zone,” Hurdle said.

Scouts who watched the game from home plate agreed with Hurdle’s assessment.

The sinker is Morton’s best pitch. When it is working well, there isn’t much reason to worry.

• Neal Huntington says infielder Pedro Florimon is also in the mix for the final spot on the bench with first baseman/outfielder Andrew Lambo and outfielder Jaff Decker. However, it seems Huntington is trying to increase Florimon’s trade value by talking up his chances because the Pirates already have two backup infielders in Korean rookie Jung-Ho Kang and Sean Rodriguez and don’t’ need a third.

The Royals are one of the teams interested in Florimon. If the Pirates do trade him, though, they are unlikely to get anything more than a third-tier prospect, though that would be better than outright releasing him and getting nothing.

• Many scouts believe infielder Justin Sellers is a better bench option than Florimon. However, Sellers’ trade value is virtually nil because he is sidelined by a strained Achilles that will likely force him to begin the season on the disabled list.

“He’s a good little player who can do a lot of things off the bench to help you,” a scout from an American League club said of Sellers.

• Right-hander Stolmy Pimentel will get what will likely be his last chance to make a case to be on the opening-day roster when he starts Sunday against the Braves in Orlando. Righty Radhames Liz, another long-relief candidate, will follow Pimentel. It seems highly unlikely both will make the team, so it will be, in some regards, a pitch-off.

• The Pirates set a single-season spring training attendance record Saturday during a week in which Forbes valued the franchise at $900 million. A little less than 20 years ago, Kevin McClatchy acquired the team in return basically for paying its $95 million debt. 

Times have changed a tad.

John Perrotto, veteran of four decades of Major League Baseball coverage, is a freelance writer for DKonPittsburghSports.com.