NEW YORK -- The Pirates shuffled pitchers with their Class AAA affiliate in Indianapolis yesterday, recalling Mike Gonzalez after a rehabilitation stint and demoting Ian Snell.

The latter likely will not mean much, as Snell was optioned out to get two or three starts in advance of an almost certain September recall.

	MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT Monday's results INDIANAPOLIS (69-55) beat Durham, 11-4. RHP Paul Stewart (2-0, 0.87) allowed one run in 52/3 innings. He struck out six and walked none. 3B Ty Wigginton (.276) went 3 for 3 with his 12th home run, a double, two walks and four runs. ALTOONA (63-57) was off. LYNCHBURG (68-54) lost to Myrtle Beach, 7-6. LHP Josh Shortslef (7-5, 5.27) allowed six runs, four earned, in five innings. 2B Taber Lee (.247) hit his third home run, a two-run shot. HICKORY (48-67) lost at Hagerstown, 4-3. RHP Yoann Torrealba (3.10) allowed three runs in seven innings. SS Brian Bixler (.283) went 3 for 4 with a double. RF Antonio Sucre (.262) hit his ninth home run. WILLIAMSPORT (32-22) beat Brooklyn, 2-1, in 10 innings. RHP Todd Redmond (1.27) allowed one run in five innings. RF Brad Corley (.241) hit an RBI double in the 10th to win it. BRADENTON (25-20) beat the Reds, 14-5. RHP Jason Herman (3-2, 1.31) allowed two runs in five innings. LF Albert Laboy (.200) hit his first home run, a three-run shot. CF Andrew McCutchen (.279) walked twice and stole his 10th and 11th bases. 2B Greg Picart (.309) went 3 for 5.

But the former meant quite a bit, to the team and the player.

Gonzalez had missed almost two months to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and all concerned expressed delight at having him rejoin the roster three days ahead of schedule.

"It's great to have him back," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "It's been very difficult not having him."

"The guys were great down there, and I had a good time," Gonzalez said of his time with Indianapolis. "But I needed to get back up here. I was very anxious, kind of over-excited."

That eagerness came across in Gonzalez's performance with Indianapolis. In two appearances, he allowed no runs and no hits and struck out five. He was supposed to make two more appearances, then join the Pirates Friday in Philadelphia, but management deemed that unnecessary.

This was supposed to be the year Gonzalez, 27, would try to improve upon an exceptional rookie season in which he posted a 1.25 earned run average in 47 appearances. It also was the year the Pirates had planned to groom him to succeed Jose Mesa as closer.

Instead, it has been a year of limping and waiting.

He began feeling knee pain in late May and, by no coincidence, that is when his control slipped and his numbers dipped. He had an 0-3 record and 3.21 ERA when the team placed him on the disabled list June 23. Surgery was not deemed necessary, but Gonzalez was ordered to rest and regain strength in the knee.

He is wearing a brace and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. He said neither he nor the team is considering offseason surgery, but he will follow a prescribed training regimen aimed at further strengthening the knee.

Gonzalez acknowledged some frustration at being unable to progress this season, but he apparently has no plan to pout.

"I don't think about last year. I just think about what I'm going to do right now. I know that when I'm healthy that I'm going to be one of the best pitchers, not just on the team but anywhere. That's how I feel."

McClendon said he is uncertain if he still will be able to give Gonzalez a crack or two at closing this season, as had been his intent. He will pitch mostly in the seventh and eighth innings as he did previously.

Snell, 23, was 0-2 with a 6.84 ERA in two starts and 10 relief appearances for the Pirates. He was 9-2 with a 4.06 ERA in 15 starts with Indianapolis earlier this season.

Asked if Snell will return when rosters expand next month, McClendon replied: "I would imagine he will be."

North Side notches
McClendon decided against altering his rotation. He had considered moving Zach Duke back a day from tomorrow to Friday and moving up Kip Wells, but he said yesterday he will not change. He did not divulge why.

Although Duke was not given an extra day of rest, McClendon reiterated that the team plans to be cautious with him the rest of the way, given that he is on the verge of eclipsing his high for innings in a season. He had 160¹/₃ last year in the minors and has 158²/₃ this year between the minors and Pirates. McClendon said the team has "a number in mind" for how many innings it will allow Duke to pitch, but he added it was not fixed. "We could skip a start, limit his innings, whatever we have to do to make sure this young man is fine," McClendon said.

Starter Oliver Perez, recovering from a broken big toe, is scheduled to pitch a three-inning simulated game this afternoon. If all goes well, he could be sent to Indianapolis to begin a rehabilitation stint.