--LHP John Grabow, who was worried at this time last season that he might need surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow, says his arm has never felt stronger because of a workout regimen designed to strengthen the shoulder and take pressure off the elbow. Grabow was a bright spot for the Pirates last season, going 6-3 with four saves and a 2.84 ERA in 74 games.

--C Hector Gimenez, signed to a minor league contract earlier in the offseason, hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning to give Venezuela a 1-0 win over Mexico during pool play at the Caribbean World Series in Mexicali, Mexico. Gimenez, 26, hit .226 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 43 games with Tampa Bay's Class AAA Durham farm club last season, and he hit .194 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 38 games with high Class A Vero Beach.

--RHP T.J. Beam was claimed off waivers by Toronto after the Pirates designated him for assignment to clear a roster spot for the addition of free agent OF Eric Hinske. The Pirates were hoping to re-sign Beam, 28, to a minor league contract after he went 2-2 with one save and a 4.14 ERA in 32 relief appearances with Pittsburgh last season. He also went 2-1 with five saves and a 3.09 ERA in 30 games with Class AAA Indianapolis.

BY THE NUMBERS: 5.08 -- The Pirates' ERA last season, the highest by a National League team other than Colorado since Cincinnati had a 5.19 mark in 2004.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think we have a lot of starting pitchers ready to blossom, and the reason why is they are a lot like NFL quarterbacks. You'll find your exceptions, but for the most part it takes quarterbacks in the NFL three or four years to learn the system, to have all the variables thrown at them, and to understand how to react to all of those variables. Most of our starters are at that stage of their careers." -- New Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.