Pirates Pre-Game: Coonelly a driving force behind Pedro’s extended stay in minors

Pirates officials have continued to insist that “statistics” are not going to dictate when the team decides to bring up Pedro Alvarez from Triple-A Indianapolis.

The Pirates have scored 9 runs in their last 5 games and the team is staying true to form as Alvarez remains in the minors today, despite hitting .350 with 3 home runs and 13 RBI’s in 17 games for Indy.

Alvarez homered for the 3rd time in seven games yesterday, but the Pirates continue to feel that he’s “not there” yet.

“Pedro’s showing good improvement, manager Clint Hurdle said on Saturday. Sometimes there is no quick fix. It takes some courage to have patience in these cases, ” Hurdle said, indicating that the Pirates are making the best decision for the organization.

“I think we’ve managed it very professionally. We take all things into consideration and make the best decision for the ballclub, ” Hurdle said.

While GM Neal Huntington is taking a lot of heat from fans for Alvarez remaining in the minors, multiple sources indicate Pirates President Frank Coonelly who micromanages the entire organization, is the prominent driving force behind Alvarez’s extended stay in the minors.

Coonelly, according to one source close to the situation, remains miffed at Alvarez’s

in-season conditioning, which Coonelly continues to have issues with and possibly making it a bigger deal than it really is

The St. Louis Cardinals have taken the Pirates to school through the first two games of the series, highlighted by Saturday night’s 9-1 victory.

It’s way too early to panic but how can anyone expect the minor league lineup the Pirates put out there Saturday night to compete with the likes of Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman.

The Pirates argubably had four players in their starting lineup who belong in the minors. At the corners the Pirates had Brandon Wood at first base and Chase d’Arnaud at third base. Enough said.

For the Pirates to stay in contention for the long haul, the Pirates rotation as a whole has to continue their magical season. They can’t have one or two starters hit a wall. Things are starting to head into that direction for Kevin Correia.

Correia is 0-2 with a 9.42 ERA in his last three starts and has posted a 5.96 ERA in his last 9 starts.

At home this season, Correia is 2-6 with a 6.61 ERA.

Two disappointing losses to open the series hasn’t rattled the Pirates just yet, as they look to avoid a sweep this afternoon.

“There’s a lot of hype about this series, but to us, it’s baseball,” third baseman Brandon Wood said. “I think that the first three or four series of the season are as important as this one right now. We just happened to be in the race right now and our record and the Cardinals’ record are pretty close. What it is, July 23? There’s a lot of baseball left.”

STL Kyle Lohse (8-7, 3.45 ERA) vs PIT Charlie Morton (8-5, 3.62 ERA)

— Charlie Morton has a 6.43 ERA in his career versus St. Louis | 3-4 with a 4.24 ERA at home |

— Player to watch: Lance Berkman is 5 for 7 with three doubles and two homers against Morton.

— Lohse is 1-5 with a 5.70 ERA in his last eight games | 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA in his last three starts vs Pittsburgh | 6-3 with a 3.12 ERA on the road |

— Alex Presley will miss his second straight game due to a sore thumb.

1. Chase d’Arnaud, 3B

2. Matt Diaz, LF

3. Neil Walker, 2B

4. Andrew McCutchen, CF

5. Lyle Overbay, 1B

6. Garrett Jones, RF

7. Ronny Cedeno, SS

8. Eric Fyer, C

9 Charlie Morton, P