Spring impressions

At this time of year, I feel like all I can do is read articles and get gut reactions from them. There's two pieces in the PG today that I had immediate reactions to, so here are the excerpts I reacted to along with the resulting gut checks:

From the Dougie Bombs article:

"It's time," Mientkiewicz recalled in a lengthy, often emotional interview at his Pirate City stall. "I told Freddy it's time for you to start taking a little bit of a role here. There are too many good players, too many good guys in here. But it's easy to fall into the rut of losing. It's time to be a big-leaguer, and winning is what big-leaguers are all about."

Sanchez's reaction?

"I was, like, 'Wow,' this guy's awesome.' It was unreal," he said. "The things Doug had to say, with all the knowledge he has about things on and off the field ... it was only about 45 minutes or so that we talked, but it was incredible. That attitude he can bring is something we really need."

Ohhh, so that's why he's here. I mean there couldn't be any ulterior motive at all. He's just here to motivate and be a leader and contribute veteran-osity

Mentkiewicz's other reason for choosing the Pirates, one he seems eager to downplay, is his longtime connection with manager John Russell. Russell was his manager in two of his first three seasons in Minnesota's system, including his rookie-ball debut in 1996.
[...]
"I don't want people to think I'm here mainly because of Russell, but there are two main people in my life: One is my father, and the other is John. I know how hard he's worked to be here, and I'd love to be part of it."

Oh. That makes more sense. He's going to be fun to have in camp, though. I suppose that counts for something.

And from the Josh Shortslef injury article:

The roster was reduced by one when the Pirates shut down Josh Shortslef, a left-handed starting pitching prospect, and assigned him to their minor-league camp because of what general manager Neal Huntington described as "weakness" in his left shoulder. He will undergo a period of rest and rehabilitation before being checked again, but there are no immediate signs that surgery is necessary.

Damn, another pitcher's injured. Oh, wait. It's Josh Shortslef. He wasn't going to make the team anyways. Carry on.