PIRATES Several Bucs report in tiptop shape

Shortstop Jack Wilson has added 18 pounds after working with a personal trainer.
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates used to make pitchers run a mile once each spring training as a test of their conditioning. But that practice will stop this year.
Small wonder, given how fit some of their most notable players are in already.
Shortstop Jack Wilson weighed in at 205 pounds on his 6-foot frame, well above his previous playing weight of 187 --and there is no fat involved. He spent the better part of four months working with a personal trainer at his California home to bulk up.
He's not alone.
Pitcher Oliver Perez added 8 pounds, all firm. Pitcher Kip Wells also appears leaner. Center fielder Chris Duffy spent two months in the offseason at the team's Florida training facility and said he's in the best shape of his life. Catchers Ryan Doumit and Ronny Paulino also have caught the eye of management for their conditioning levels.
New manager Jim Tracy is impressed.
"Accountability is a concept we're going to stand by, and part of that is being in the best shape possible," Tracy said after a three-hour workout Saturday. "It's very important how you show up here."
Dramatic change
Wilson's transformation is the most dramatic of those who already have reported to camp. When he reported last spring, he was only nine weeks removed from an appendectomy that caused his weight to fall to 172 pounds. He never recovered, batting .200 at the end of May and winding up at .257 -- well below his All-Star performance the previous year, when he batted .308 with 201 hits.
"I just want to make sure I'm getting the most out of myself and not letting my performance slip," Wilson said. "Last year, I didn't have a chance to use my offseason to get in shape. This year, that's not the case. I'm ready to go."
Duffy, who will bat ahead of Wilson atop the Pirates' order, has been working with the Pirates' trainers since Jan. 8. He had to rehabilitate a torn hamstring that cost him the final month of his rookie season, but the program went further in strengthening his upper legs to prevent a recurrence.
"They found I was leaning a certain way, and I didn't have the muscle buildup necessary to support that style of running," Duffy said. "That was how the hamstring was hurt. It was carrying too much of the stress."