Ten to twelve pitchers

From last night's AP tale:

McClendon insisted Rick Reed, Ryan Vogelsong and Sean Burnett, all pitching during the final two days of camp, aren't involved in a competition for the final spot in the rotation. . . .

"We're past the evaluation stage," he said.

The left-handed Burnett pitched Friday in a minor league game. He saw relatively little action with the Pirates (1.04 ERA in four games) and seems all but certain to start the season at Triple-A Nashville. He will likely be the first pitcher summoned should the Pirates' rotation hit a bump once the season starts.

"We know we're probably going to need 10-12 starters (by the end of the season)," Littlefield said.

Hey, we agree. Whatever decision is made with the start-of-the-seasoan rotation, it won't change the fact that Burnett is going to start for us at some point this year.