Videos: Pirates Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek Look Strong

The Pirates bullpen

put up some nice numbers early in the 2011 season. The work caught up with them as the season wore on, but it was apparent that the Bucs had assembled some nice arms for the future.

As we looked around in Pirate City, it was easy to see that there will be some difficult decisions to make for the Pirates brass.

The big question we had was will Evan Meek be able to return to form. He certainly looked solid in the live bullpen we watched. The breaking ball was there, the velocity was there, and Meek just looks comfortable on the mound.

Joel Hanrahan was such a great story in the 2011 season. He started very slowly in spring training which had some fans a bit concerned. But when the season started, Hanrahan was lights out.

Watching Hanrahan throw live batting practice, he looks loose and was popping the glove with vigor.

It’s good news for Bucco fans. If Hanrahan and Meek are healthy and ready to go when the Pirates embark on the toughest April schedule in baseball, the games might only be seven innings.
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Hanrahan throws to Alex Presley.

Andrew McCutchen was able to get a couple knocks off the Pirates closer.

Evan Meek looked loose as he pitched to Casey McGehee. The balls were hit to the right side of the field by McGehee.