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Andrew Lambo trots off the field at PNC Park during a game last September. -- GETTY[/caption]
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Weekly roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams ...
• The reason the Pirates traded Travis Snider to the Orioles two nights ago wasn't money -- only $1.5 million was saved -- but rather that Neal Huntington has been and remains eager to see what Andrew Lambo can bring with 250-300 plate appearances in the majors.
And Lambo, to hear him, is both appreciative and apprehensive about that.
"I'm excited. I'm beyond excited for the opportunity," he was telling me Thursday from his California home. "At the same time, I liked Travis. Everyone liked Travis. I know he was a big part of the team, a big part of the clubhouse and ... well, I just have to be myself. I have to be the player, the person I am and show up every day to help the Pirates win. I'm grateful to be getting that chance."
It really shouldn't be a surprise. Huntington stood behind Lambo, a 2010 trade acquisition, in a rare anointing of a young starter last spring, and he stuck by Lambo even through the catastrophic 4-for-42 Grapefruit League that followed. But Lambo recovered from that and from a subsequent thumb injury to bat .328 with 11 home runs in 238 Class AAA at-bats and was back in Pittsburgh by late August, then went 10 for 39 in 21 games.
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