Aug 31, 2007

Pittsburgh, PA - With September rolling in the Pittsburgh Pirates have made it clear that they are now looking toward the future. Even though they are 4½ games behind the division leading Cardinals with one month remaining, it is very unlikely that the Pirates will be able to make any noise and make the playoffs. The wildcard is out of reach and the NL Central may be difficult to win as they now have the hot Astros to compete with. So with September here and the playoffs looking to far away for the Pirates to reach, the club has decided to take advantage of the roster size increasing in September and will call up some AAAer's who may have a future on the team. One of the most notable callups in 24 year old first baseman Frank York. York has been on a tear in AAA with 28 homeruns and 85 RBI's. He is currently in 2nd in AAA

in both of those categories. He is hoping to be the Pirate's everyday first baseman for 2008. Bill Lawrence is another that the Bucks are hoping can come in and contribute next season. He signed a minor league contract with Pittsburgh before the 2005 season after winning 12 games with Minnesota's A team. This season in AAA Lawrence has gone 10-5 with a 3.91 ERA.
Other notable callups are Ed Chapman, who is only 23 but spent the whole season in the big leagues in 2006, infielder Tommy Damon, catcher Gene Haynes, shortstop Ralph Morris.
Pittsburgh management failed to say if they were going to call up anymore players from AAA at a later date but they have made it clear that any players who are still a few years away from the majors won't be making the trip to Pittsburgh this September.