Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Pirates manager Jim Tracy instructs first baseman Adam LaRoche in the rundown drills yesterday at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.

By Dejan Kovacevic
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette BRADENTON, Fla. -- The results of the examination taken yesterday on outfielder Xavier Nady's inflamed intestine will not be revealed until today, but Nady seemed plenty upbeat in reporting to Pirate City -- in full uniform -- just hours later.

He was laughing and joking, and he even strolled onto one of the fields with a glove before an athletic trainer gently escorted him off.

"Everything's going to be fine," Nady said of his health as he left the complex.

He declined to confirm whether or not the examination -- a scan of the upper gastrointestinal tract called a barium swallow -- might have ruled out a chronic condition such as Crohn's disease.

General manager Dave Littlefield said yesterday afternoon that the testing was complete but still being evaluated. He expects to have results by this morning or afternoon.

We will ... promote players

As part of the half-hour session between owner Bob Nutting and the players yesterday morning, video was shown of some of the commercials the team will televise this year.

The anchor slogan will remain "We Will," and the focus will remain on the players, including specialized spots for Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche, Salomon Torres, Ian Snell and a handful of others.

The Snell ad drew the best early reviews. It was described as having "attitude" by chief marketing and sales officer Tim Schuldt, and it came with the raucous, fast-paced musical background of Linkin Park's "Faint."

Nutting expressed pride in the campaign.

"It's all about baseball," he said. "That's something we weren't doing a couple years ago that we should have been doing all along."

Let the games begin

The first game action of the spring begins at 11:30 a.m. today with an intrasquad scrimmage at Pirate City.

The players used today and tomorrow against Manatee Community College will be youngsters or newcomers the Pirates want to see, manager Jim Tracy said. No regulars will be involved.

One possible highlight: Tracy said Neil Walker will make his debut at third base in one of the two games.

It is another strong sign of the organization's confidence in his ability there, given that he has been taking ground balls for only a week.

"To some degree, it is," Littlefield said. "But this is a guy who's a good athlete, and we've seen him take ground balls since he was an amateur. It's not a shot in the dark."

Twelve pitchers will participate today. Yoslan Herrera will start for the Pirates against Manatee.

Buried treasure

Reliever Jonah Bayliss remains out of drills because of a strained left quadriceps but said yesterday he could return "soon."

Eight pitchers took the mound, including a dazzling display of control and movement by starter Masumi Kuwata. Tracy called it "like an artist at work. I don't know that you can do it much better than that." Kuwata is expected to start out with Class AAA Indianapolis.

Tracy praised Ryan Doumit, too, for working at three positions this spring training, including lengthy bullpen sessions as a catcher: "Doumit's work ethic out here this spring thus far has been ... it can't help but grab your attention."