Some early spring notes

Today we have two columns in the PG regarding some very early Bucco details out of Bradenton. There's the "Jack Wilson has made himself huge" story, which isn't entirely surprising after what happened last year with the appendectomy. Despite all of his failings, Jack seems to be possessed with being a good baseball player (I remember hearing about him taking batting practice until his hands bled during his awful early season slump last year), so I really hope his extra weight helps him out during the season.

There's also some disconcerting news coming out of camp, namely news involving John Van Benschoten and the word "setback." For the uninitiated, if the word "setback" is being used to describe a Pirate pitcher's arm another s-word probably isn't far behind, namely "surgery" or in this case "more surgery." I think if one player could summarize the entire Dave Littlefield in and of himself, it's probably John Van Benschoten. Here's a guy who was an absolute masher in college, leading the NCAA in homers his junior year at Kent State as a first baseman/outfielder (winning the award for his bat). Dave Littlefield drafts him as a pitcher (shocking just about everyone). He gets off to a great start in the low minors, only to watch his arm not so surprisingly disintegrate. Still, despite being faced with overwhelming evidence that the guy simply is not going to make it as a starter (for the love of Pete, he's 26, it's just not going to happen) he's not being moved to the bullpen or back to the field (like Rick Ankiel, who wasn't nearly the hitter Johnny VB was prior to his professional career). It's stubborn, it's stupid, and it requires an incredible lack of ability to see what's happening on a baseball field. It's Dave Littlefield in a nutshell.