Tuesday's News & Notes; Pitcher Rankings through 11 days of workouts; ETA 2009 for Alvarez?

Brian Kelly from Bradenton reports the following

Infielder Luis Cruiz will miss 7-10 days with a hip injury. Tough break for Cruiz. Team seems high on him and he’s a sleeper in spring training to make the squad. From what I’ve seen from him, he is a better option than Brian Bixler whose time in the organization is hanging by a thread.

Middle infielder Ruben Gotay is seen as a good depth acquisition throughout the organization. The Pirates could still add a few more players in the next 4 weeks as the team has an offer on the table to reliever Will Ohman and remains interested in Pedro Martinez.

Eight pitchers threw practice today: Daniel McCutchen, Jeff Karstens, John Grabow, Paul Maholm, Jason Davis, Zach Duke and Denny Bautista. All pitchers threw live batting practice.

Daniel McCutchen, a sleeper in camp threw well today. He’s not a power pitcher but has good off-speed pitches and works the count well. Management seems to really like him.

Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. Chris Bootcheck, Matt Capps, Donald Veal, Romulo Sanchez, Ronald Uviedo, Juan Mateo, Craig Hansen, Evan Meek and Jesse Chavez will all throw one inning each.

Hansen needs to get off to a good start tomorrow. He has been very erratic in pitching sessions. Hansen and Andy Laroche, two key components in the Jason Bay trade, are looking like busts based on performance last season and thus far in spring training.

The starters will begin to pitch on Thursday with Ian Snell (two innings),and Ross Ohlendorf (two innings) headlining the group.

Ohlendorf has been the Pirates top pitcher in Spring Training thus far. We’ll see if he can continue his strong performance once the games begin.

Current management seems high on Duke despite being 5-14 last season. He has struggled in camp but is currently #3 on the depth chart.

Heading into the spring training games, Ohlendorf currently has a slight edge according to my source on Daniel McCutchen, Tom Gorzelanny and Jeff Karstens who are battling for the #4 & #5 spots in the rotation.

Starting Pitcher rankings based on performance (7 pitchers under consideration for rotation) through the first 11 days of workouts.

1. Ross Ohlendorf – Very good since workouts began. Has been successful with his fastball inside which Kerrigan has been preaching.