In 49 games for the Curve, Negrych is hitting .267 with a .367 OBP and only 1 HR. He has been pretty good with runners on base, with 22 RBI already (he had 30 all of last year). 11 of 36 hits have been for extra bases, but only 1 of them was a home run. He has struck out 28 times; he is well on his way to shatter his career high in that category.
You can't say he was promoted because he has been playing great defense either, because 26 of his starts have been at DH. He has started in left field once and at second base 8 times. My guess is that this move is just to even out the number of plays at each level. He has been in AA since the beginning 2008, so maybe a change of scenery will do him some good.
In other news, the Pirates kick off interleague play tonight and the lineup they are sending out against Justin Verlander is lacking at best. I'm not understanding this one at all, you'd think Russell would try to bolster the lineup as much as possible with an ace like Verlander on the hill, especially when the Pirates on are on a 5-game losing streak.
The Bucs are falling fast, they are now 14 games under .500 and 12 games behind the Reds for first place in the division (not that games behind the leader has meant anything to Pirate fans for 17 years). Some more wins should be coming with Pedro Alvarez, who has a very good chance at getting called up for the next Pirates homestand. Once he gets there, I believe the Pirates have a pretty competitive lineup and could definitely compete in the division if the pitching is good at all, but it might be a little too late by then. Oh well, at least it'll be fun to watch for the rest of the summer... hopefully.
Let's Go Bucs.