North Shore Notes
View From The Crow's Nest
By Jim Lachimia

o   Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit hit .318 with 15 homers last season and he's very proud of the former, but we could easily see higher home run totals from him as he continues to mature. The switch-hitter (who is a natural right-handed hitter) has plenty of power from either side of the plate and has said he may turn the bat loose more often as he becomes increasingly confident in his swing. Doumit, who's streaky as a home run hitter but capable of 25-plus, said he doesn't worry about how many he has or when his last one left the yard, but teammates will ride him about it. "Those guys would know better than I would," he said. "And they're not afraid to tell you, 'Geez, it's been like 30 games since you hit a home run. Are you even trying? C'mon, Man.'"

o   There was cause to wonder about the character of Pedro Alvarez after the yes-he-signed, no-he-didn't episode last summer, but early in training camp this year the Pirates' first-round pick out of Vanderbilt was polite, approachable, genuine, and respectful of his surroundings. He sought advice from instructors on what he needs to do to get to the majors the fastest and even asked a local beat writer what the fans in Pittsburgh think of him. And no one created more of a buzz during batting practice than Alvarez did. He definitely has a power hitter's body and a swing to match. Manny Sanguillen even blurted out a Willie Stargell reference after watching Alvarez-whose long-term future is likely at first base not third base-take a turn in the cage.

o   Pirates outfielder Nyjer Morgan said the reason he's had a habit of sliding past the bag-and getting tagged out-when attempting to steal bases is that the infield dirt in the big leagues is so pristine. He insists the not-so-perfect versions in the minors have a way of naturally stopping him as he reaches the bag with his patented head-first slide. Morgan, who swiped 44 bases in just 82 games with Indianapolis (AAA) last year, is working on an adjustment. If that doesn't work, maybe the Steve Blass plan will be tried next. "We need to tie a parachute to his backside," the funny man of the Pirates' broadcast crew said one night last season.

o   Doug Mientkiewicz is such a good interview and oozes so much cool, it was easy for members of the media to gravitate toward him, but man crushes aside, the Pirates' decision not to re-sign him makes sense. Even though he played some at third base and in right field here last year, Mientkiewicz is really just a first baseman. There's a difference between being willing to play other positions and being truly capable or adept at those positions. Coming off the bench, he provided little power and was a liability on the base paths. And even though nothing he said was out of line or untrue, not everyone in the clubhouse enjoyed how frank he was.

o   Brian Bixler has spent most of the past two seasons at Triple-A and we still don't know if he's capable of replacing Jack Wilson as the Pirates' shortstop. That probably means he isn't. Bixler hit .157 in 50 games with Pittsburgh in 2008, but you could forgive him for struggling in his first go-around against major league pitching. The really disappointing part of his game was that he couldn't be counted on him to make the plays defensively and seemed to lack poise. His big league future appears to be more as a back-up than a starter.