Worth noting

• Hurdle has just about wrapped his "entrance interviews" with pitchers and will soon move onto position players. One of the first to get an audience will be Andrew Lambo, just in case he feels overwhelmed by trying to master a relatively new position, first base.

"We'll remind him to control what he can, to separate the glove from the bat, and to keep the game simple," Hurdle said. "The guy had success last year [33 homers, all but one in the Minors] because he got a lot of clutter out of his mind."

• Steve Shenbaum, the one-time comic actor turned motivational speaker, delivered his speech to Pirates players and coaches Friday morning.

"Steve is a very talented man and the presentation has substance and meaning," Hurdle said. "There's fun tied to it. It's a team-bonding, team-building exercise. Always very well received."

• The pitchers have been chosen for Tuesday's Black & Gold squad game at McKechnie Field, but Hurdle held off listing them, preferring to announce them along with the starting lineups, perhaps as early as Saturday.