Perrotto on the scene: ‘We wrestled with it’

Vance Worley struck out 11 and walked one in 17 Grapefruit League innings. — GETTY

BY JOHN PERROTTO

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

• The dullest of spring trainings for the Pirates got livelier today, and it had nothing to do with an 18-4 rout of the Phillies: Clint Hurdle announced following the final out that Jeff Locke would begin the season as the fifth starter and Vance Worley would pitch in relief.

No one saw this decision coming.

Not the scouts from other teams who have watched the Pirates throughout the spring. Not the media members who are with the team every day. Not even the other members of the pitching staff.

Neither has been lights out from a statistical standpoint, as Worley has a 5.29 ERA to Locke’s 6.59. However, while Worley has allowed 10 runs and 17 hits in 17 innings, he has shown much better command with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Locke has nine strikeouts and five walks in 13 2/3 innings while surrendering 10 runs and 19 hits.

The eye test is more important than the numbers when evaluating spring training performances. Worley won that decisively in the opinion of many — except those whose thinking ultimately counts the most. And the Pirates believe having a second left-hander to go with Francisco Liriano gives them an advantage in the National League Central, a division where many lineups tilt to the left.

Hurdle said it was the second-toughest decisions he has made since he started managing the Pirates in 2011. Starting Gerrit Cole rather than of A.J. Burnett in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series to the St. Louis 2013 was the only one he described as more agonizing.

“We wrestled with it all over the place, even down to their ages, and they’re both 27,” Hurdle said. “They both work so hard. They both want to be the guy.”

Locke will be that guy to start the season, but Hurdle said the Pirates would not hesitate putting Worley back into the rotation if need be. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if that happened because, in this golden era of pitching injuries, teams never use the same five starters for an entire season. Or even a whole month.

• For a fleeting moment, it was if McKechnie Field had been transported back to the 1970s as the Pirates and Phillies, once the archest of archenemies, had a dust-up after the fourth inning.

After striking out in an at-bat in which a pitch had earlier sailed behind his back, Sean Rodriguez yelled at Phillies right-hander Kevin Slowey and challenged him to a fight. Both benches emptied, and nothing happened other than the third base coaches, Rick Sofield of the Pirates and Juan Samuel of the Phillies, getting ejected for aggressive behavior.

The situation, if nothing else, enabled Slowey, an Upper St. Clair graduate, to become the clubhouse leader in the Quote of the Year competition.

“It surprised me to be that upset,” Slowey said. “And challenging somebody to a physical altercation hardly seems like the best way to resolve your frustrations. I was kind of taken by surprise at his animosity after his at-bat. I know the kind of guy that he purports to be. That surprised me that that would be his choice of words and reaction. I guess I understand the frustration of a singular failure. It’s a game of failures. But to react that way to me was very surprising.”

• Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, in Florida for pro days at various colleges in advance of next month’s NFL Draft, addressed the Pirates before the game. Tomlin said he would take Andrew McCutchen on his team.

“I’ll bet you he can settle under a punt,” Tomlin said.

McCutchen quit playing football when he suffered a knee injury while returning a kick during his sophomore year at Fort Meade High School in central Florida. Despite the long absence from the gridiron, it would be fun to see McCutchen suit up at wide receiver or cornerback during training camp and find out what he could do with his great athletic ability.

• Infielder Pedro Florimon kept alive his hopes of winning the final bench spot or getting another team interested enough to trade for him by going 2 for 2 with a home run and double after entering the game in the sixth inning to play third base. While the Pirates already have two utility infielders in Jung-Ho Kang and Rodriguez, they feel Florimon is athletic enough to play in the outfield and are also intrigued by his speed on the bases.

• Outfielder Jaff Decker reported that his strained left calf, suffered a day earlier, was improving. However, there are just five exhibitions remaining, and Decker can’t afford to lose any ground to Andrew Lambo or Florimon if he wants to claim the 25th man role.

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