Operation Shutdown

Just Say No To Bob Walk and Andy Van Slyke

2010-10-10T19:33:00.001-04:00

After last weeks firing of former pirates manager John Russell, several names have emerged as potential candidates. Some, such as Phil Garner and Eric Wedge would be considered good hires.

There are others though, including names such as Andy Van Slyke and Bob Walk that would be awful hires.

Over the past week, both guys have been gaining some steam popularity wise and that's a bad sign. It would be just like the Pirates to offer one of these guys the job.

This is a major decision for a franchise that hasn't sniffed a winning season in close to two decades. There is more pure talent in the organization right now then there has been at any time during that span. This could be the Pirates only true chance to be competitive soon.

If they don't turn it around soon, then there is a chance they likely never will. You can't put that responsibility on a guy that has no managerial experience at all. Considering either guy simply because he has ties to the Pirates is insane.

Walk has no coaching experience what so ever. What makes you think he is capable of handling young players and handling a pitching staff that will likely struggle for 162 games?

The same goes for Van Slyke. Good players don't necessarily become good managers. In fact, there are very few cases in sports where it happens often. Van Slyke at least served under Jim Leyland's staff in Detroit for three seasons, but to think he's ready to be a big league manager is a bit of a stretch.

I would feel differently if either guy had worked his way through the minors as a manager the way the Cubs Ryne Sandberg has, or if either guy has spent significant time on successful big league staffs, but neither guy has.

Just because a guy has Pittsburgh ties doesn't mean he will be successful as a manager. Sure it could happen, but the Pirates shouldn't lay their future on a roll of the dice.

Hiring either guy won't mean a thing at the box office either. Thinking attendance will improve because they brought back a former Bucco to manage the team is also not smart. The only thing that will bring people to PNC park is wins. Plain and simple.

That's not saying having Pittsburgh ties is a bad thing. Garner and Ken Macha have them and both should be considered, although it looks like Macha won't be.

I've been wanting the Pirates to hire Garner for a couple of years now. They need a real baseball guy who has won before and at least shown the ability to handle a young team.

My top three candidates are still be Eric Wedge, Freddie Gonzalez, and Garner.

With the Pirates bad ownership and small payroll, it's also possible that these guys could fail as well, but with such a small window to hopefully succeed in, they have to give the job to a guy that's proven something as a big league manager.

The Pirates shouldn't even consider Walk or Van Slyke, no matter how much the casual fan want them to get the job. This is a bigger decision then most people realize. The Pirates haven't listened to the fans for over two decades. Let's hope they don't start now.

What Went Wrong?

2010-09-22T17:57:00.000-04:00

Disappointing is the word that I associate with the 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates. Others would prefer words like pathetic, awful or embarrassing.

If anyone expected this team to be good this season, well they don't know baseball very well. This was set up to be the worst season yet for the Pirates, but even I wasn't prepared for them to be this bad.

They weren't going to approach .500 this season, but 50 games under the .500 mark is a bit much even for this team.

It doesn't bother me though, as long as management sticks to the plan. They likely will be in a position to select Antony Rendon with the first overall pick. Keep drafting well.

The goal of competing may be pushed back a season though. Hitting .500 next season and competing the next is a bit unrealistic. A 50 game improvement is next to impossible.

Looking back at this season, what went wrong? Why the dramatic step backwards?

A simple answer would be everything, but I've narrowed it down a bit. This list doesn't include everything but just a quick overview. Feel free to leave your thoughts as well.

1. Starting Pitching:

It's not good when two or three of a teams starters lose double digit games in a season. It's down right awful when five starters have ten or more losses.

The sad part is that the Pirates viewed the rotation as a possible strength going into the season.

Coming off of a solid 2009 campaign, Ross Ohlendorf has exactly one win compared to 12 losses. Sure he's pitched better than than the record indicates, but in the end the numbers don't lie.

Paul Maholm and Zach Duke were counted on to have solid seasons and both took huge steps backwards. Duke was often so bad that he likely won't be tendered in the off-season.

Then there is Charlie Morton, who the Pirates had high expectations for. Instead he delivered a 1-11 record with an 8.81 era.

For the year, the Pirates have used 11 different starting pitchers, which have combined for a 29-80 record and an awful 5.50 era.

Brian Burres and James McDonald have provided bright spots the last few weeks, but it's not nearly enough to off-set the poor performance of the entire starting staff.

2. Free Agents Bust:

Pirates GM Neal Huntington thought he upgraded the roster in the off-season to the point where it could compete in the NL Central. Huntington knew he had future young studs in waiting, but the guys he added in the short term were supposed to help and add depth.

Instead, they were all awful.

Starting with Aki Iwamura, who was supposed to hold down the second base job. The Pirates didn't do the necessary homework on his knee and Iwamura turned out to be damaged goods. The former Tampa Rays second baseman was no where near the player he was in Tampa.

Iwamura had zero range in the field and only hit .182 before being shipped to the minors.

Ryan Church was signed to be a quality fourth outfielder, but hit under .200 and turned out to be an all-around lazy player.

The same for Bobby Crosby who provided zero production.

These guys were all just stop gaps and weren't going to be around anyways, but while they were here, they produced nothing and took at bats away from younger players that should have had them.

It's not all bad news though. Huntington did add some quality bullpen arms through free agency and turned Octavio Dotel and the rest of the bums I mentioned before into James McDonald, Andrew Lambo, Pedro Ciriaco, Chris Snyder and John Bowker.

Also, Iwamura's struggles opened up a spot for Neil Walker to shine.

3. Most of the Returning Players Also Sucked:

I've already detailed how bad the pitchers coming back were, but the everyday players were just as bad.

Ryan Doumit started the season batting in the middle of the line up and has practically played his way out of Pittsburgh. He's been awful both at the plate and in the field.

Andy Laroche was expected to improve, but regressed and is batting .206.

Guys that were on the opening day roster, including: Lastings Milledge, Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement, Delwyn Young and others showed no consistency.

Even Garrett Jones failed to meet expectations, although he didn't have a terrible season.

Overall, Andrew McCutchen was the only everyday player on the opening day roster that continues to get better.

4. Road games:

Remember, the goal is to be able to compete. However, for those of you that feel like finishing .500 would be something special; here's an idea. Maybe the Pirates could play every game next season at PNC Park.

At home, the Bucs are a respectable 36-39 on the season. On the road though, it's a much different story, where the Pirates are a miserable 15-59.

How did they ever win 15? It's a miracle.

The Pirates finished the season 5-4 on the road against the Cubs and 2-1 against the Rockies, which means they are 8-55 against the rest of baseball on the road. That's hard to do.

The road record is a huge cause of concern. There's no reason to be that bad on the road.

More often than not, the Pirates don't even compete away from home. All of the blowouts aren't good for the teams confidence.

You can't compete when you have very little chance in 81 games of a 162 game schedule.

5. No Power:

Not having power and run producers in the middle of the line up has been tough to deal with. Especially as bad as the pitching has been.

Pedro Alvarez has shown glimpses of what he will be able to do, but as it stands right now, Garrett Jones leads the club with 20 homers.

The top three Pirates leader in homers: Jones (20), McCutchen (16) and Snyder (14, not all came with the Pirates) are only one more combined then major league leader Jose Bautista(49).

When the Pirates fell behind in games, especially early; before Alvarez, Walker and Jose Tabata were called up, they simply didn't have the bats to compete in games.

6. Fundamentals:

The finger here has to be pointed directly at Pirates manager John Russell. Way too often this season, the Pirates played lazy baseball.

A team takes on the personality of it's manager, and that's the way this team played.

Have you even seen a team lack so many basic fundamentals.

Not knowing what base to throw do. Not being able to lay down bunts. Not being able to hit behind runners. Not being able to turn routine plays on defense and finally the countless base running mistakes all were factors in the countless Pirates losses this season.

Average teams execute most of the time. Good teams execute most of the time. Bad teams, well they play like the Pirates.

That's the most disturbing part. The talent is starting to emerge, but at times it looks like these guys have never played the game before.

Changes will and must be made before next season.

Not everything was bad this season. My next column will be a look at the positive things we saw this season.

Is Zach Duke the worst pitcher in baseball?

2010-09-10T16:13:00.000-04:00

Pop quiz: Who is the worst starting pitcher in Major League Baseball over the last four seasons?

If you said Zach Duke, then you nailed it.

The Pirates lefty has flat-out not been very good for a span that's lasted four seasons. In that time he has compiled a 26-51 record and a 4.99 ERA and more than once has led MLB in hits allowed.

He put together a decent first half of 2009, where he was rewarded with an All-Star selection, but if Duke has proved anything, it's that he can't get major league hitters out consistently.

If you say he hasn't been the worst over that span, give me a name, because I've run the numbers on pretty much every pitcher that has had a regular rotation spot.

In 2010, there is no doubt he is the worst pitcher taking a regular turn on an MLB staff. His losses are tied for fifth among pitchers with at least 120 IP. His 5.47 ERA is the second highest, and his .320 opponents batting average against is easily the worst. That's actually embarrassing.

Once or twice out of 10 starts, Duke can turn in a good outing, as he did against the Mets a little over a month ago, but the overall body of work has not been good.

In his latest outing, he couldn't get an out in the second inning. There is no longer an upside to Zach Duke. He can't be a part of the Pirates rotation going forward.

What do you do with Duke?

He's making $4.3 million this year and is third-time arbitration eligible after the season. On innings pitched alone, he's going to get a raise.

The Pirates can't allow that to happen.

The only move that makes sense is to non-tender him after the season. His career as a Pirate should last two or three more starts.

It's very unlikely Duke gets a major league offer from another team. He's looking at signing a minor league deal with an invitation to some team's camp.

The Pirates can't spend over $5 million on a guy that just can't get outs.

The production Duke offers can be found on the waiver wire for a lot less money. Take Brian Burres, for instance. His 3-3 record and 5.75 ERA can be found easily and a lot cheaper than $5 million.

It's almost fitting that the Pirates have the worst pitcher in the game, but to turn the corner, management has to start parting ways with guys that are incapable of getting the job done on a consistent basis.

There is nothing about Duke that warrants him being part of the 2011 Pirates team. It's such a shame after the way he came up as a rookie in 2005. Injuries set him back, and that 2005 Zach Duke was entirely a different pitcher than the guy wearing that jersey now.

Duke fans, enjoy him while you can, because he is more than likely spending his final few weeks in a Pirates uniform.

Pirates Enjoying the Role of Spoiler

2010-09-08T17:07:00.000-04:00

The Pittsburgh Pirates have waited all season long to get good outings from their starting rotation. Little did they know that they would have to wait until September against the first place Atlanta Braves. The Bucs received back-to-back solid outings from the likes of Brian Burres and James McDonald. While that’s great for the Pirates, it’s next to crippling for the Atlanta Braves.

While the Pirates are enjoying the the role of spoiler, the Braves offensive struggles have knocked them out of first-place for the time being. The Braves have no one to blame but themselves. Quite frankly there is no excuse for a team like the Braves to get shutdown on consecutive nights by a team that is 44 games under .500 and sports a major league worst 5.12 team era.

Quite frankly, a team that scores one run in 18 innings of play against the Pirates doesn’t really deserve to make the playoffs anyways.

The Braves can and likely will turn things around, but they have to get the bats going. The pitching is there.

One guy who will be heavily scrutinized is first baseman Derrick Lee. Lee has been a total bust since the Braves acquired him and has left a small village on the base paths for Atlanta hitting in the middle of their order.

To make it a successful final season for manager Bobby Cox, the Braves offense must heat up. If they finish the season a game or two out of first, the can look directly back at this series in Pittsburgh as the one that cost them.

For a two game stretch, the Pirates are showing a combination of good pitching, flawless defense and timely hitting. What happened the other 100 + games.

Does Brandon Moss Deserve another Look?

2010-09-05T15:31:00.000-04:00

With a couple more September call-ups likely to be recalled after the Indianapolis Indians complete their regular season, the Pirates face a difficult decision on right fielder Brandon Moss.

Moss lost his right field job in Pittsburgh in 2009 after not being able to provide consistent production. He's coming off a fantastic season at AAA where he was recently voted the clubs MVP.

Moss is hitting for power and driving in runs, something he was expected to do in a Pirates uniform. Moss is currently hitting a respectable .265 with 22 homers and 95 RBI. Granted it's AAA pitching , but for a team that has so little power at the corner outfield spots, has Moss done enough to warrant another look from the Pirates?

A couple things may stand in the way. First, Moss isn't on the 40-man roster at the moment. The Pirates would need to create a spot for him and that seems almost unlikely.

Secondly, if they were to call up Moss, would there be enough at bats to justify it? They aren't going to bring him up to have him ride the bench.

The right field spot is open for competition. If Lastings Milledge isn't the everyday right fielder next season, then the Pirates will need another option. That option isn't Ryan Doumit, who the club will likely explore trade options for during the off-season.

It would be nice to have some power from the right field position. It can't hurt to take another look at Moss, who still has that "P" work attached to his name- potential.

The word potential is thrown around as much as the term "great stuff," but the Pirates haven't been the only club to see something in Moss.

Moss becomes a minor league free agent after the season if he's not called up, so Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington is faced with a difficult decision regarding the 27-year old right fielder. There is little chance Moss would re-sign with the Pirates if that were the case. He would more than likely pursue an opportunity that could lead to a major league opportunity.

With the team going no where, it can't necessarily hurt to take another look at a guy like Moss.

Did the Pirates drop the ball on Aroldis Chapman?

2010-09-05T15:25:00.000-04:00

If you've been paying attention lately, the Cincinnati Reds called up left-handed phenom Aroldis Chapman and his 103 mph fastball this week.

That's right, I said 103 mph. He was actually clocked at 105 mph during a minor league game a week ago. Now, I have no problem with Chapman or the fact that he's wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform. What I have a big problem with is why he's not wearing a Pirates uniform instead.

The deal Chapman signed with the Reds was for six years and $30 million. The sixth year is an option year worth $5 million and the money is spread out pretty liberally. His signing bonus, which is worth around $15 million of the deal, is spread out between when he signed the contract and 2020. That seemed to be the best way for the Reds to fit the big contract into their small budget.

If the Reds could do that then why not the Pirates? What the Pirates do need is a phenom left-hander who can hit triple digits. The Pirates have done a fine job of rebuilding the organization, but this was a guy to go out and get.

There's no excuse. You can't use the usual built in excuse that, "the Yankees will out bid us."

It's one thing to get beaten out by the deep pockets of the Yankees or Red Sox, but being out bid by the Reds shouldn't have happened. That's no knock on the Reds at all. I like what they are doing and good for their organization and their fans.

The Pirates were involved and it's rumored that they fell under $1 million short of Chapman's asking price.

That's absurd.

That should have been exactly the situation where the Pirates swept in and trumped everyone with a bigger number. Give the kid $7-8 million. We keep hearing that money isn't an issue and the Pirates will spend.

Yet in less than a year, the Pirates have lost out on two potential phenoms. They lost shortstop Miguel Angel Sano to the Twins over a mere $500,000 and must now watch Chapman excel for the rival Reds, when maybe a couple more million may have had him wearing a Pirates uniform.

Very few opportunities come along where you can get a guy that can make an impact like Chapman will, and while it's likely Chapman wouldn't have signed with the Pirates, the reality is that they had a chance and once again flat out dropped the ball.

If the Reds can do it then the Pirates better be able to do it as well.

That's right though, money doesn't matter. Remember that when both of these kids become major league stars and the likely only thing that kept them out of Pittsburgh was a tight check book.

Is Jose Tabata the MVP of the Pirates?

2010-08-30T16:37:00.000-04:00

In the midst of another miserable season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it's often tough to find real bright spots to talk about, but the Pirates have one in outfielder Jose Tabata.

Neil Walker gets the press being the hometown kid and he's deserved it. Walker is having a tremendous rookie campaign and has cemented himself as part of the future core of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pedro Alvarez also gets a ton of attention paid to him. Coming up as "The Savior" of the Pirates hasn't been easy for Alvarez, but he's handled it well and has shown at times what type of major league player he has the potential to become in the upcoming seasons.

Having said all of that, is it possible that Jose Tabata is the best of the three future Pirates stars?

Since his June 9th call up, Tabata has been nothing short of outstanding for the last place Pirates. He's definitely been the most consistent.

Tabata has settled in very nicely in the 2-hole in the Pirates lineup. What seperates him from the others is his approach at the plate, which is the best on the team. Tabata is the one guy on the team that simply hits the ball where it's pitched. He's a very good situational hitter as well.

He's even shown some pop. The power will come. He's shown he has it. he's never going to be a 30+ homer type guy, but with time he has the ability to hit 15-20 a season.

Add to that outstanding speed and solid defense and Tabata could be a future all-star.

His 2010 numbers are very good. In 70 games, Tabata is hitting .312. His four homers and 21 RBI are modest numbers, but Tabata has shown he can hit well at the MLB level.

He's also stolen 14 bases. He's been caught seven times, but that percentage is likely to go up as he learns the pitchers around the league.

Other impressive numbers for Tabata,

. His .312 batting average ranks second among all rookies with at least 300 at bats, behind only the Giants Buster Posey.

. He reaches base consistently, reaching base safely in 58 of his 70 starts.

. He has 59 hits since the All-Star break, ranking him second to only the Cubs Starlin Castro.

. Tabata's 87 hits since his call up ranks him second in baseball behind only Albert Puljos (88). That's great company to be in.

That's quite the early resume for Tabata. He will only get better with experience. He deserves some votes for Rookie of the Year. While he has no chance to win the award, he should be recognized along with some of the other great young players in the game.

While he won't win the Rookie of the Year, Tabata should win another award and that's the team MVP. He's definitely the Pirates MVP at the moment. No one else has stood out to make a strong case this year

Maybe it could go to relievers Joel Hanrahan or Evan Meek who have both had outstanding seasons out of the Pirates bullpen. However, if you are giving the award to the guy that's had the best season, then Tabata has to be considered the Pirates Most Valuable Player.

Charlie Morton's Last Stand

2010-08-29T13:51:00.000-04:00

The Pittsburgh Pirates will do some tinkering to the starting rotation this week. Jeff Karstens is being shelved for the time being with a tired arm. Daniel McCutchen will assume Karstens spot in the rotation tonight against the Cardinals.

They will also need a starter for Sunday, as Ross Ohlendorf won't be taking his scheduled start. The guy to keep an eye on is Charlie Morton. Morton needs this opportunity. Pirates fans need it as well.

Morton deserves at least a five-start look at the end of the season. The Pirates have to find out which guy they have. Is it the Charlie Morton that showed towards the end of 2009 that he can be a capable major league pitcher? Or, do they have the Charlie Morton that simply couldn't get major league hitters out consistently in 2010?

The Pirates should believe in Morton still. He has all the tools. He has a great arm with a fastball that can top 95 mph and can back that up with above average breaking stuff.

I vowed to never use the term "great stuff," after hearing it over a thousand times this year during Pirates telecasts, but Morton has it.

Morton has to show better command this time around. He has to locate better or he will get crushed. He has to pitch off his fastball more. It's a weapon and he needs to use it to get people out.

He also has to be much tougher mentally as well. He's too talented to fold and start giving into hitters. The scouting reports on Morton, dating back to his days in the Atlanta system, have always questioned his head. With the "stuff" a guy like Morton has, he has to have a bulldog-like mentality.

Throwing to Chris Snyder instead of Ryan Doumit should help out as well. In his short time in Pittsburgh, Snyder has shown that he will call the game to the pitchers strengths instead of working to their weaknesses, which Doumit is very fond of doing.

Morton is a much better pitcher than his 1-9 record and 9.35 ERA indicate. If the opportunity is given to him, he must take advantage of it.

This could be a second chance served up to him on a silver platter. He must approach it with that attitude or risk not being part of a future Pittsburgh Pirates rotation. He needs to succeed. The Pirates need him to succeed. The fans need him to succeed.

This could be Charlie Morton's last stand as a Pittsburgh Pirate. He needs to come out fighting.

Ranking the Top 10 Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects

2010-08-23T21:27:00.000-04:00

For all of the doubters, take a look at where the Pirates overall organizational depth is right now, compared to where it was at this point three seasons ago.

While it doesn't currently show at the major league level, Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington and staff has done a tremendous job of loading up the organization with young talent.

For a change, the Pirates have "real" prospects in the organization and that's a positive sign that things will eventually turn around. Now that another successful draft is over for the Pirates, I thought I'd take a look at the Top 10 Prospects currently in the organization.

This list was harder to cut down to ten than I originally thought, so enjoy and feel free to comment with your top 10.

10. SS Chase D'Arnaud- D'Arnaud isn't having one of his best seasons, currently batting .246, 3 HR, 40 RBI at Altoona. He's still one of the best athletes in the system though.

He's a slick fielder who has shown the ability to hit at other stops. It should only be a matter of a year or two before D'Arnaud is starting in PNC Park.

9. LHP- Rudy Owens- Owens is a lefty who opened every one's eyes a season ago with a 10-1 season at West Virginia. He doesn't have over powering stuff, but throws strikes and has great command.

At Altoona, Owens currently is 10-6 with a 2.67 era and has an impressive 118 strikeouts to only 22 walks.

8. RHP Bryan Morris- Morris was acquired from the Dodgers in the Jason Bay trade and after dealing with injuries, has shown everyone what the big deal about him is all about.

He started the season in Bradenton and quickly was promoted to Altoona. He's hit a wall as of late and will likely be shut down to his innings count, but has an outside shot at a big league rotation spot next season.

Morris features a fastball in the low 90's and has good command of his pitches; including a very good curve ball.

7. LHP-Jeff Locke- Locke was acquired as the big piece of the Nate McLouth trade and has done a lot this season to open up some eyes. Locke started the season at Bradenton where he went 9-3 with a 3.54 era.

Locke has a solid four pitches and throws strikes. He since was promoted to Altoona where he's gone 2-1 with a 3.07 era. Combined at the two stops, Locke has struck out 123 batters in 127.1 innings pitched and only allowed 22 walks.

6. OF- Andrew Lambo- Lambo was acquired from the Dodgers along with James McDonald at this seasons trade deadline in exchange for Octavio Dotel. This will go down as the best trade Huntington has made yet as Pirates GM.

Lambo was the Dodgers number one prospect a season ago, but was suspended for 50 games for PED's and fell out of favor in Los Angeles.

Lambo is a five tool player that has potential stud written all over him. In 14 games since being acquired, Lambo is hitting .340 with 2 HR and 7 RBI. Scouts have raved about the young outfielders all around talent.

5. OF- Starling Marte- Marte is another five tool talent that is part of a future Pirates outfield. Marte was slowed this season by a broken bone in his hand, but after an early season promotion to Bradenton, the 22-year old is hitting .320 with 25 RBI and 17 steals.

Marte might be the most gifted all around talent in the entire organization.

4. RHP- Luis Heredia- The Pirates made waves by recently signing the 16-year old Mexican prodigy, which could wind up being one of the Pirates best international signings ever.

Heredia projects to be around 6"6, around 200 lbs. and already throws in the mid-90's. He won't be rushed, but on potential talent alone, he ranks very high on the list.

3. C- Tony Sanchez- Sanchez ranks a little higher on the list because he likely will reach the major's by 2012. The 2009 first round pick is said to be big league ready defensively and his bat has been a pleasant surprise, hitting .312 with modest power this far in his young career.

Sanchez took a pitch to the face which cost him some time, otherwise he likely would be in AA by now. Chances are he opens the season in Altoona next year and with a solid showing could force the Pirates hands on a quick call up.

2. RHP- Stetson Allie- An organization desperate for pitching, nabs the two best arms in the 2010 draft. I've seen all these guys pitch, including Allie and the kid has a lightning bolt for an arm.

The one thing the organization was lacking is starters with ace potential and Allie is now one of two that fit the bill. He has some things to learn, including some command issues, but you can teach command. You can't teach 100mph.

1. RHP Jameson Taillon- The Pirates made the pick they had to make in Jameson Taillon and they gave him a record $6.5 mil. Taillon is a guy that can get it up to 98 mph and has four out pitches and can throw them for strikes in any count.

Taillon has the tools to be Josh Beckett like, something the Pirates have been missing for far too long. If he and Allie become a solid 1-2 punch within 2-3 years, the Pirates will be well on their way to being competitive once again.

The Future of the Pirates Could Ride on the Signings of Taillon and Allie

2010-08-16T13:19:00.000-04:00

Decision time nears for Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington and the rest of the front office staff. First and second round picks, right handers Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie must be signed by tonight’s midnight deadline.

This becomes the toughest decision Huntington has ever had to make as General Manager of the Pirates. It’s even tougher then the Pedro Alvarez negotiations that nearly turned into an embarrassing mess for the Pirates.

The facts are that if the Pirates didn’t come to terms with Alvarez, there would have been some uproar, but in the end, the situation would have been viewed as “Same Old Pirates,” and been forgotten. In the end, the decision becomes easy for the Pirates. Just pay the kids.
This case is different. The Pirates absolutely have to sign both of these kids. What would happen if they don’t?
First of all, the Pirates would alienate the fan base they do have. They would lose trust and would have little chance of gaining new Pirates fans in the future, something they desperately need.
Owner Bob Nutting would be the one and only target of the backlash. We’ve heard time and time again the past year about how the Pirates are no longer in a position where money matters. He’s stated time and time again that the club will pay for talent. Now is the time to quit telling the fans and start showing them that you are serious.
If they don’t sign both, what exactly is the point of the rebuild? It makes little sense to start to rebuild the organization with young talent to just quit and give up on it half way through. If they fail to lock up both, the terms “rebuilding,” and “future of the Pirates,” can never be used again. Fans just won’t be able to take the front office seriously.
The final and most important reason that the Pirates need to sign these guys is the on-field performance of the pitching staff. The Pirates need quality arms in the system. One thing they are lacking is arms that have staff ace potential. These two kids fit the bill. You can teach kids whatever you want about pitching, but one thing you can’t teach them is how to throw 100mph.
After the deadline passes on Taillon and Allie, Huntington must turn his attention to signing highly touted 16-year old pitching prospect Luis Heredia out of Mexico. Heredia recently said he wanted to play for the Pirates. When is the last time you heard anyone say that?
Huntington has a busy couple weeks ahead of him. He can get off to a good start tonight by simply getting a couple signatures on a couple of contracts. The decision is an easy one. Give them whatever they want. Show them the money. Fans have watched this franchise count nickles and dimes for far too long. The decision is simple. Do what it takes to get the kids signed.

Say What You Want, but Pedro Alvarez is a Stud

2010-08-10T14:14:00.000-04:00

With all the prospects the Pittsburgh Pirates have attempted to accumulate over the years, none have had the pedigree of Pedro Alvarez. With the attempt made to focus on the draft the last three seasons, no pick has generated the buzz around Pittsburgh that Alvarez did. Alvarez tore through minor league pitching and in a little over a year after making his professional debut, got the call to the big leagues.

While many (me included), felt it was way to early to summon Alvarez to PNC Park, he got the call anyways. Despite Pirates General Manager Neil Huntington proclaiming just hours earlier that "Alvarez isn't ready," the Pirates front office caved in to fan backlash and called up Alvarez anyways.

What did they get in return? They got a kid that looked lost and over matched at the big league level. Pedro Cerrano had a better chance of hitting a breaking ball without the help of his trusted fried Jobu then Alvarez had a chance of making contact in any particular at bat. Pirates fans started to boo the young Alvarez and basically said "Here we go again."

Alvarez, or better know as "The Savior," got of to a whopping 9 for 57 start with 29 strikeouts. That's hitting at a .158 clip if your scoring at home. That includes riding a five-game hit streak into July 3rd as well or the numbers would be much worse.

Then on July 3rd, Alvarez connected with his first major league homer, a solo shot off of the Phillies Kyle Kendrick. Since that time, we've seen a different Alvarez. We've seen more of the player we expected to see all along and it's a great sign for the Pirates.

Take out Alvarez's horrible start and we see a different player. Since connecting with his first dinger, Pedro is hitting at a .282 clip with 6 doubles, 10 homers and 25 RBI's. That's a 30 game span and I will take those results. Project that out for an entire season and you are looking at a guy that will put up some serious numbers.

Has he looked like a rookie at times? Absolutely, and he will continue to do so. Has he looked like a stud at times as well? Absolutely, and he will have more days like this then he will bad days.

It was a special moment Saturday night when Alvarez hit his 3-run walkoff in the 10th inning against the Colorado Rockies. Pirates fans should get used to that feeling, as Alvarez will continue to put up big numbers in Pittsburgh for a long time.

Pirates Fire Two on Coaching Staff

2010-08-08T13:49:00.000-04:00

The Pirates relieved a couple members of their coaching staff of their duties this morning. Relax, unfortunately it wasn’t manager John Russell. Instead, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and bench coach Gary Varsho were informed their services would no longer be needed by the franchise.

While Russell and hitting coach Don Long also need to go, this is a start for the Pirates to hopefully get a quality coaching staff around their young talent for next season.

Kerrigan came to the Pirates two seasons ago and talked a great deal about what his pitchers would do, but we never saw it executed on the field. We’ve heard a ton about pitching inside and throwing first pitch strikes. Pirates pitchers have no clue what the inside of the plate looks like and more often than not begin the count behind 2-0 on every hitter.

The Pirates staff as a whole has an eye popping 5.07 era on the season, which just can’t happen. Not one starting pitcher has seen improvement on Kerrigan’s watch. In fact, most have regressed so bad, that you have to wonder if they ever will recover. That’s a long list of names that include: Charlie Morton, Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, Brad Lincoln and Paul Maholm.

Kerrigan will be replaced on an interim basis by Roy Searage, who served as the assistant pitching coach under Kerrigan.

Varsho will be replaced as bench coach by Minor League Field Coordinator Jeff Bannister, also on an interim basis. Varsho’s duties included setting a Pirates defense that plays in the exact same spot, every pitch to every batter. Maybe Bannister will take a look at a scouting report or two and adjust accordingly.

As the Pirates begin plans for 2011, two down and two to go when it comes to the Pirates coaching staff.

Who Should be the Closer Heading into Next Season?

2010-08-07T13:57:00.000-04:00

Not that it matters much for the rest of the season, but the last two months could go a long way to determine jobs for next season. One job being auditioned for is next year's closer, between Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek.

Both have had outstanding seasons in set-up roles. Meek made the All-Star team and Hanrahan leads the entire team in strikeouts, despite throwing only 48.1 innings on the season.

You can make a strong case for both, but I will make my case for Hanrahan.

Everyone knows that getting the final three outs is much more difficult than getting the prior 24 outs in the game. It takes a special mental make-up, something I feel both guys have.

Hanrahan offers a little more experience closing games, but that shouldn't have much of an impact in John Russell's decision.

However, the one real weapon that Hanrahan offers a little more than Meek is the strikeout. He has the ability to pitch himself out of trouble a little more often. His fastball can hit 98mph on the radar gun and if he is throwing his slider down in the zone, it's nearly unhittable. Both guys have shown that they can get outs late in games, but when the tying run is on third with only one out, I have more confidence in Hanrahan to get out of that jam.

Either guy would do a fine job in the role, but I feel Meek would be more suited for an 8th inning role for a season, before becoming the closer.

Let both guys get the opportunity for the rest of the season. It will be good for both of them to have the experience and gain the confidence. It's a good situation for the Pirates to have with two power arms at the back end of the bullpen. Hopefully both guys continue to pitch well and it won't matter who gets the ball at the end of the game.

McDonald Dazzles in Pirates Debut

2010-08-06T02:33:00.000-04:00

Before I write this. I will keep trying to write fresh stuff, but I've been posting most of my Pirates work on both Bleacher Report and Sports Haze, where I make money for writing. I will at least keep the blog going and if I can get some help, then Operation Shutdown can get back to being fresh and entertaining. I've also been posting at Clemente at the Bat so check that out as well.

Now for today's topic.

How many times have we seen it. The Pirates trade away a veteran and get a highly thought of prospect or a young player with “potential” in a deal; only to watch these guys fall flat on their face and struggle. When the Pirates shipped closer Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers for right handed starter James McDonald, who I’ve always been very high on, and top outfield prospect Andrew Lambo, I felt that it was a steal for Pirates General manager Neil Huntington.

My next thought became “How soon is McDonald going to develop arm problems in Pittsburgh.”

McDonald was thrown right into the Pirates rotation and for a change, a Pirates acquisition delivered immediate results in a Pirates uniform. The 26-year old right hander dazzled in his Pirates debut, throwing six shutout innings, allowing only four hits and striking out eight. More importantly is that he threw strikes, walking only one, earning the victory in a 5-1 Pirates win over the Colorado Rockies.

McDonald has a very good arm. His fastball will hit 96mph and has better than above average breaking stuff. I don’t want to make too much out of just one start, but he looked great. The results were far better than what Pirates fans are accustomed to.

If ever a team needed a young pitcher to step up and be effective it’s the Pirates. Hopefully McDonald can continue upward and become a guy that can take the ball every fifth day and turn in a quality outing. There sure isn’t anyone else on the staff currently capable of doing that.

Now the Pirates also have the worst luck with young pitchers developing arm problems, a problem I point the finger at the Pirates organization. Hopefully they’ve smartened up over the years and protect the guy.

One start or not, it’s a positive sign on a team with not too many positives lately.

Bucs aquire Snyder- What's Doumit's future?

2010-07-31T20:40:00.000-04:00

The Pirates had another busy trade deadline, but unlike years past, this year there were no salary dumps or accumulation of prospects. The Pirates made three trades today and all appear to be good baseball moves. The Pirates acquired catcher Chris Snyder and minor league shortstop Pedro Ciriaco from the Arizona Diamondbacks, in exchange for Ryan Church, Bobby Crosby and D.J. Carrasco.

They also sent closer Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right hander James McDonald and minor league outfielder Andrew Lambo and also sent Javier Lopez to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for right hander Joe Martinez and outfielder John Bowker. Give the Pirates some credit for being able to sign some veteran relievers in the off-season that they were able to turn into young arms.

The biggest move of the day though was acquiring Snyder. It also now leaves a big question on what to do with Ryan Doumit. Snyder has the reputation of being one of the games better defensive catchers, something the Pirates were desperately in need of. He should be able to help the pitching staff out as well, as Snyder is know for being able to handle a staff, something Doumit wasn't capable of. The Pirates did well with this move. While Snyder doesn't do much as an average hitter, his offensive numbers are comparable to Doumit's, who doesn't offer much of anything.

Snyder is hitting .231 on the year, while Doumit is only hitting .258. Snyder's hit ten homers and driven in 32 runs, while Doumit has hit eight homers and driven in 32. The improvement though is defensively. Snyder is known for being a glove man and has a good arm behind the dish, while Doumit is the worst catcher in the game today. Doumit won't be behind the plate very often (Thank God) anymore and the Pirates young pitchers will benefit from it.

What do you do now with Doumit though? It's a shame that his fragile self got hurt again right before the deadline or there is a good chance he would have got dealt. The immediate plan is to make him the everyday right fielder and that is just an awful idea. In six seasons as a pro, Doumit has done absolutely nothing to warrant regular playing time, yet the Pirates keep finding ways to get his "bat" into the lineup. What bat?

Doumit has had one decent year offensively as a pro, in 2008 when he hit .318. That same season, he also set career highs in homers (15) and RBI's (69). Still very below average numbers though. Yet, the Pirates continue to run him out there and bat him in the middle of the order often when his track record clearly shows he's not a talented offensive player. He's hit over .260 only one other time (.274 in 2007), reached double digits in homers only one other time (10 in 2009) and other than his 69 RBI season of 2008 has never driven in more than 40 runs in a season. Not to mention he is a huge liability no matter where you put him on the field defensively.

It's a shame the Pirates are thinking about putting him in right field. You have to feel bad for Lastings Milledge. First he has to platoon with Ryan Church, who was hitting .180 on the season and now he will lose at bats to Doumit. Once he started playing everyday again, all Milledge has done is hit. When guys are on base, Milledge drrives in runs, hitting over .380 with runners in scoring position, something Doumit would know nothing about.

It's a disgrace to keep giving Doumit at bats. Now that the Pirates have better talent, they should run their best eight guys out there on a nightly basis. There is nothing wrong with having Doumit as a bench player, getting a spot start every now and then, but he shouldn't be getting regular playing time.

Can We Finally Quit Complaining About the Nate McCouth Trade

2010-07-28T23:26:00.000-04:00

For those that haven't been paying much attention, your once favorite player Nate McLouth was sent down to the minors by the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. Can we please now quit complaining about the trade?

After being dealt away from Pittsburgh, McLouth just wasn't very good for Atlanta, especially this year where he was hitting .168 on the season. I've said it before and I will say it again. Being the best player on a bad team makes you nothing more than that. It doesn't mean you are great or a superstar. It doesn't make you anything special by any means, yet most casual fans are still upset over the deal. There are fifty Nate McLouth type players in the big leagues right now.

Granted, he was the best player on the 2008 Pirates team. He was an all-star and won a gold glove, but his numbers were nothing more than above average. He hit .276 that season with 26 homers and 94 RBI's. Solid numbers, but nothing that would make him untouchable.

As for the trade, in which the Pirates received Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernadez and Jeff Locke, I liked it then and feel it can still work out well for the Pirates. If Neil Huntington could go back and do it over, I'm sure he wouldn't pass on the deal. Not to mention that by dealing McLouth opened up a spot for Andrew McCutchen to be promoted.

Yes, Morton has been terrible this season, but he showed at the end of last season that he has the ability to pitch at this level. Hopefully he can figure things out in the minors and become a solid middle of the rotation guy for the Pirates for a few years.

Hernandez still has a ton of upside. While it likely won't be with the Pirates, he still has value and can be used a valuable trade chip.

Locke was the biggest return in the trade and it's still to be determined on how that will work out, but he's having an outstanding minor league season. Between stops in Bradenton and Altoona, the lefty starter is 10-3 with a 3.22 era this season.

The McLouth trade still has a chance to work out pretty well for the Pirates. Now if everyone can just let it go and realize that the Pirates really didn't give up much.

Will the Pirates Ever Win on the Road?

2010-07-25T22:54:00.000-04:00

Since this season became a wash a really long time ago, there are still several things worth keeping an eye on the rest of the season. How will the rookies perform the rest of the season? What will the Pirates do at the trading deadline? Will this season’s team lose 100 games?

All of these areas could draw the casual fans interest, but for me there is one area worth keeping an eye on that will go a long way to determining what type of season the Pirates will have in 2011. Can these guys learn to win on the road?

The Pirates are semi-respectable 23-26 at the friendly confines of PNC Park, but are a dismal 11-38 on the road; including winning only three of their last 28 road games.

Good teams tend to play at least .500 ball on the road and the Pirates haven’t come close to that of late. In the two-plus year tenure of John Russell as the Pirates manager, the Pirates are only 61-149 (as of Sunday) away from Pittsburgh- worst in baseball.

Currently there are twenty teams in the majors sitting with records above .500 and all but seven are playing above .500 ball on the road. Out of those seven, only the Mets, Rockies, Tigers and Cardinals sit more than five games under .500 away from their home ball parks.

Teams have won before without winning records on the road, but for this Pirates team to get to the point where everyone wants them to be, they have to start winning on the road, plain and simple. You can’t compete on a nightly basis when you have no chance of competing on the road.

What’s been the problem? Pretty much everything. Offensively, the Pirates are hitting only .235 as team on the road, compared to .250 at home. Neither number is very good, but they have to hit better on the road to win.

The difference is the pitching staff is more glaring. The Pirates staff has a 4.39 era at home, yet on the road there is over a runs difference where they have a 5.68 road era.

Pretty much every statistical category needs to improve on the road for them to consistently win. The biggest thing they are missing is confidence. It seems they expect to lose most of the time on the road and when one bad thing happens, it snowballs on them.

Leadership is also a problem. The Pirates need a go-to-guy in the clubhouse. Someone that can speak up and lead by example. That guy has to be Andrew McCutchen. Granted he's only in his second season, but this has to become his team. He needs to be the guy that changes whatever routine this team has on the road.

Everything they do must change and change for the good.

The Pirates can begin to change that culture the rest of the season. The team faces 32 more games on the road and it should be a focal point to go out and compete and win more than half of these games.

Half of losing is attitude. Let’s see the Pirates start to change that attitude by becoming successful away from home. If they wind up the season well, then maybe these guys will expect to win away from PNC park next season.

That challenge begins with the current six game road trip to Colorado and St. Louis. Hopefully they come back to Pittsburgh with at least four wins.

Who Woke the Bats Up?

2010-07-22T16:31:00.002-04:00

Who woke up the Pirates offense after the all-star break? Whoever it was, what took you so long? The Pirates entered the break with pretty much the worse offense in baseball. It looked like it would be another long and dreadful summer, but the Bucs have come out swinging the sticks to begin the second half of the season.

So far, in six games after the all-star break, the Pirates have scored 50 runs on 77 hits, going 4-2 in that span. That averages out to a major league best 8.3 runs per game and 12.8 hits per game. Looking just at the wins after the break, the Pirates are averaging 11.75 runs and 16.25 hits. While I'm not suggesting we are looking at the 1927 Yankees, it has been a nice change of pace from what we've been used to seeing from the Pirates bats of late.

What's the reason for the hot streak? I don't want to hear that they have been playing bad teams. They have, but those same two bad teams (Houston and Milwaukee) have owned the Pirates up to this point of the season. The main reason for the success is the approach. We haven't seen hitters chasing many balls out of the zone. They've been waiting for good pitches and when they have gotten them, they are putting good swings on the ball.

Another thing I like is that the Pirates have been more aggressive early in the count. They haven't been digging themselves into an 0-2 hole every at bat. They've been jumping on fastballs early, which is a good approach to have for a young team.

Even more impressive is the fact that the Pirates have been hitting well, without the services of Andrew McCutchen, who has missed the last three games nursing a shoulder injury.

Let's take a look at some numbers through the six games after the all-star break.

McCutchen- 4-12 (.333), 3 RBI's before he got hurt.
Jose Tabata- 10-27 (.370), 6 RBI's
Neil Walker- 14-26 (.538), 7 RBI's
Garrett Jones- 6-24 (.250), 1 HR, 5 RBI's.
Pedro Alvarez- 10-24 (.417), 4 HR's, 10 RBI's.
Lastings Milledge- 9-24 (.375), 4 RBI's.
Ronny Cedeno- 10-24 (.417), 2 RBI's.
Delwyn Young- 5-7 (.714), 1 HR, 6 RBI's.

As you can see, everyone other than the catcher platoon of Eric Kratz and Ryan Doumit (combined .192) are hitting well coming out of the break. Not only that, but they are driving in runs and hitting for power. The Bucs have combined for 29 extra base hits in the six games, something that has bee a huge problem all season.

I'm not suggesting that this torrid streak will continue, but it gives you a glimpse at what the Pirates could be capable of. Two things stick out at me. One is the fact that Lastings Milledge is playing everyday. Having a guy hitting a respectable .285 in the middle of the lineup is a major upgrade over Ryan Church (currently hitting .190).

The other thing is that the rookies are starting to become legit major league ball players. They've made the lineup deeper and more effective. It was just 14 games ago that Alvarez was hitting .065. He has quietly got the average up to .259 with 7 HR's and 20 RBI's in just 29 games.

Tabata looks like he is becoming a guy that will be a fixture in left field. He's hitting .266 and has a great approach and a knack for getting on base.

Walker's bat has been the biggest surprise for me, hitting .319. If the youngsters can keep getting on base and coming up with big hits, the rest of the lineup will prosper.

They still have a few holes, but at least for a few game stretch, we may have seen a glimpse of what could be a productive Pirates offense in the future. If they've done anything this last week, they saved John Russell's job for the near future.

What Exactly is the Pirates Plan?

2010-07-15T14:41:00.003-04:00

Before I get started, this isn't bashing Neil Huntington or Frank Coonelly, but just an overall analysis of the long term plan of the Pirates. I don't feel Huntington has done a terrible job and should be given at least another year on the job. Throughout the last 18 seasons, we've heard the word "plan" attached to the numerous Pirates re-builds. Weather it be numerous five year plans or a three year plan, they have all failed miserably. What exactly is Huntington's plan with this current group.

Let's take a look at where the Pirates currently sit at 30-58. They are on pace to lose roughly 105 games this season. That's fine. I didn't expect much this year anyways.

However, a majority of the public has been eyeing next season as the year the Pirates get to .500 and start to compete. That is just not a realistic goal. Hypothetically, let's say the Pirates improve by 15 games next season off of their projected 57-105 record. A fifteen game improvement is quite a stretch, but that still would only make the Pirates a 72-90 team. Then let's say in 2012 they improve on that and win 81 games, hitting .500. Where does that leave us?

It's quite realistic that those numbers could be pushed back by a year. It's realistic to say that without some real veteran talent; not your Ryan Church's or Bobby Crosby's, but some real talent, that the team could be just as bad next season. That would lead to an improvement in 2012 and not hitting .500 until 2013, which means competing is 2014 or later.

Depending on which theory you subscribe to, where does that leave the team. The core of youngsters that include: Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Brad Lincoln will be three, maybe four years into their first contracts. This is assuming they all become legit major league players, and it's not a guarantee that they all do. Will the Pirates front office make the attempt to keep them here long term to see this "plan" out? That doesn't even include Andrew McCutchen, who surely will be due for big money when his current deal expires.

Remember, the goal here is to win a pennant and compete year in and year out. It's not to just get to .500 and be happy. There is talent at Bradenton and Altoona, but they are still a couple years away. As for this years class that includes Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie? They still have to be signed. If they do, they would still be a few years away from PNC park as well.

Assuming Lincoln develops, the Pirates are still thin on pitching at the big league level for the next couple of seasons. All of the talent they are counting on, including : Bryan Morris, Jared Hughes, Jeff Locke, Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, Nathan Adcock, Tim Alderson, Hunter Strickland and Aaron Pribanic are at a minimum two years away. Morris could be fast tracked to the big leagues, but the rest won't be around anytime soon. That's not even considering the fact that once the young pitchers do arrive, they will likely struggle their first go around at the major league level.

Not everything is so great down on the farm though. Alderson has been demoted. High regarded prospects such as: Starling Marte, Tony Sanchez, Victor Black, Quienten Miller, Brock Holt and Colton Cain have all suffered long term injuries that will push back their development.

So exactly what is the Pirates plan? Do we wait around until at least 2014 to see if these guys are a good judge of young talent? More than likely, based on past results, they aren't. Was it worth calling up all of the young guys this season, starting their major league clocks? Do we have to cross our fingers and hope they team can lock up all of our young players? We may have to.

I've said it many times before. Once the Pirates get some of their young core in place, they have to start adding to it from the outside. They are simply not going to win a pennant operating at the current pace. Granted, there is more talent in the system now then at any time in the last two decades. The Pirates overall farm system has improved from dead last to the middle of the pack. That's quite the improvement in a little under three years.

Most of the talent though is viewed as borderline major league talent. There are very few game changers currently in the system. We've been hearing for years that this is the core they wanted to build around, so let's see them do it. I have no problem this season if they deal every veteran on the current team. Trade Ryan Doumit, Zach Duke, Octavio Dotel, Church and others. They can't quit adding talent to the system. Also, continue to draft well. The plan should be to have a continuous pipeline of talent to the majors.

As for the big club, the time is now to start to add to this group of young players. That needs to start this off season. You can't run a major league team on nickles and dimes. Now the pressure is solely on Bob Nutting. If you don't want to spend money or can't spend money, then this franchise will always be a loser. You have stated you have no problem spending the necessary money. The time is upcoming. Show us, quit telling us.

They don't need to go out and spend $200 mil on one superstar. That doesn't make sense at the moment. What they need to do if add some quality bats and arms to the current group. They will be out there next year. Then we will see exactly what the "plan" really is.

Pittsburgh Pirates second half Preview

2010-07-14T11:57:00.002-04:00

The Pirates first half record of 30-58 is another indication of an 18th straight losing season and another possible 100 loss season. The first half gave fans very few things to be happy about, but there were a few.

For one, the performance of the bullpen, which has been very good. The Evan Meek- Joel Hanrahan seventh and eighth inning combo has been very effective.

Another positive first half thing has been the promotion of youngsters: Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Brad Lincoln. That, coupled with many youngsters performing well throughout the minor leagues, give fans some real hope going forward.

The final positive thing of the first half has been Andrew McCutchen. He’s been around over a full calendar year now and keeps showing signs of being a legitimate stud.

So what should we look forward to in the second half of the season? While the record likely won’t get much better, there are several things that should keep fans intrested for the rest of the season.

For one, the youngsters should slowly start to get better. All four of the guys up right now should make the team worth keeping an eye on the rest of the way.

The trading deadline should also be worth keeping an eye on. While there won’t be a fire sale similar to years past; if the Pirates are smart, they will deal some of the current dead weight on the club. That includes: Ryan Doumit, Zach Duke and Ryan Church, among others.

They should also look into dealing some productive bullpen arms such as Brenden Donally, Octavio Dotel and DJ Carrasco. Stick to the plan and keep bringing in young players to the system.

With trades, you need new bodies to take their places, which means we could see even more young players promoted to the big club. Shortstop Argenis Diaz and left handed reliever Daniel Moskos are likely the first two on the radar.

As for the play on the field, it can’t get much worse fundamentally than the first half. The fundamentals have to start to improve all the way around, which could lead to a few more wins. Also, the starting pitching has to get better and the Pirates have to start to hit as a team.

One main area of focus has to be the play on the road, where the Bucs are a major league worst 11-38. They have to find ways to win on the road.

The plan to do this should be to continue to get younger at the big league level. The current mix of vets just flat out haven’t produced and their time should be up. Turn things over to a group of talented young players. While they will initially struggle at the major league level, let them grow together and learn to win together. It’s a risky plan, but it worked for the Rays. At this point, it’s worth trying to an extent, the current group won’t get much better until changes are made.

If anything, in the second half, the Pirates aren’t likely to improve their win total much, but are more likely to improve their chances at landing the number one overall pick, where they currently sit only one game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.

A look at the Pirates Mid-Season Awards

2010-07-10T21:37:00.000-04:00

Tonight's game has already made me angry and it's only the third inning, so I figured I'd get a column written.

Since we are approaching the all-star break, let's take a look at the Pirates mid-season awards.

MVP- Andrew McCutchen. Cutch is really the only choice here on a team filled with under achievers. McCutchen is hitting a solid .292 with with 8HR/26 RBI. He has also racked up 20 steals and played a solid center field for the Bucs. You also would think the numbers would be even better had John Russell not foolishly taken him out of the leadoff spot for most of the season.

LVP- Charlie Morton. I considered several players here, but Morton is actually an easy choice. The Pirates needed Morton to emerge into a potential top of the rotation guy and instead have received a 1-9 record and a 9.35 era. Also considered for the prestigious award were: Zach Duke, Ryan Doumit and John Russell.

Rookie of the Year- Neil Walker. Walker has surprised many after his call-up in late May. He looks like a natural at second base and his bat has been a big surprise, hitting .289, 3/12 at this point. Also considered were: Jose Tabata, Brad Lincoln and Pedro Alvarez. Walker has done the most to impress at this point.

Unsung Hero- Jeff Karstens. Karstens was designated for assignment in the off-season, but accepted his demotion to AAA and made his way back to the big club. Once he arrived again, Karstens has filled any role asked of him and has done so effectively. Quite simply, Karstens just takes the ball and does his job.

Best Moment- April 5, 2010- Opening Day. Just to see real excitement back at PNC Park was a special thing to witness. The crowd created the most energy on that day than it has for the past decade. The game helped also as Garrett Jones hit a pair of homers to help the Pirates to an 11-5 win over the Dodgers. That day alone still gave me hope that people can support this team. Hopefully we can witness that on a nightly basis in the near future.

Worst Moment- April 22, 2010- The 20-0 loss to the Brewers. In what seemed to be a long stretch of blowouts with the Pirates on the wrong end, this one was the worst as the Pirates suffered their worst loss in franchise history. What made the loss even worse was the carefree attitude of John Russell, explaining, "These kind of games happen from time to time." Really JR? The last time I checked, they have happened only like five times in MLB history.

Most Glaring Stat- Stolen bases against the Pirates. This has become embarrassing. Teams have attempted 94 stolen bases against the Pirates and have been successful 82 times. How did we ever throw out 12? It's a miracle. If your scoring at home, teams are stealing at an 88% clip on the Pirates. A change has to be made in both the catcher and the way the Pirates control the running game, from both the bench and the mound. Which leads me to.......

Player that has to be Dealt at the Deadline- Ryan Doumit. It's just wishful thinking, because the organization is in love with Doumit, but he brings nothing to the team. he is the worst defensive catcher in the game and his bat doesn't offer much. he's a natural rally killer and has a lazy way about him on the field. Sure he can get on a hot streak twice a year for about two weeks at a time, but the time is now to move him.

Doumit has had plenty of opportunities throughout his six seasons with the club and has failed to produce. He's not a middle of the order type hitter. He's not a run producer. He is a liability to a young pitching staff. He has very little value to this team. His time in Pittsburgh should be up. Move him now.

Biggest Surprise- Evan Meek. You could tell Meek was going to be good. His power right arm started to flourish at the end of last season in the Pirates bullpen, but no one could have expected the first half Meek delivered. After last night, his ERA finally rose above one, but Meek has been nothing short of outstanding. He is headed to the all-star game and it's well deserved. Meek should end up as the future closer of this team.

Also considered as a surprise could be the Pirates record at home this season, where they are a respectable 19-20, and the fact that John Russell still has a job is very surprising, but Meek is the easy winner of the award

Biggest Disapointment- Starting Staff as a Whole. Going into this season, it looked like the Pirates rotation would take a big step forward and help this team become competitive. Instead, the combination of: Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton, Brian Burres, Brad Lincoln, Daniel McCutchen, Dana Eveland, and Chris Jakubauskas have combined to post a 16-46 record to go with an awful 5.70 era.

Maholm leads the staff with five wins, with Duke the next closest with three. The Pirates also became the first team in MLB history to have three starting pitchers record their first wins of the season at the end of June, which they accomplished on three consecutive days.

What's worse about the starters is the general approach. Outside of Maholm, no Pirates starter will work the inner half of the plate. Too many hitters are hanging out over the plate against the Pirates because they aren't worried about them coming inside. The strike out to walk ratio is also very alarming. Pirates starters have only struck out 285 batters, yet have issued 181 free passes, not nearly even approaching a 2-1 ratio. Maholm leads the starters with 56 punch outs. Joel Hanrahan has 51 strike outs out of the pen in 60 fewer innings pitched, more than any other Pirates starter.

There have been plenty of other first half disappointments, including: Ryan Doumit, Andy Laroche, Ryan Church and the play of the team on the road, but nothing has been more disapointing than the way the starting staff has pitched.

Dumbest Quote- Frank Coonelly. This was a very tough category to award a winner in because Pirates management has fed us a long line of bad quotes, but four come to mind and Coonelly takes home the trophy. Coonelly said during the initial gathering of the team during spring training, "'Don't let people tell you that the Pirates have a great future, but it's not today.' Today is our future. 2010 is the beginning of the next dynasty of the Pirates."

Runner-ups- John Russell- "These guys don't realize how close they are to being a really great team."

Neil Huntington- "Dana Eveland is a 26-year-old left-hander who has shown the ability to be an effective major-league starting pitcher. He has an interesting four-pitch mix, and we feel this acquisition is a potential upgrade for our current rotation with the upside of years of control and improved production.”

Eveland lasted 9.2 innings as a Pirate, going 0-1 with an 8.38 era.

I love the enthusiasm of all the quotes, but please don't treat the fans like we are stupid.

Looking at the Pirates Trade Options

2010-07-08T19:38:00.001-04:00

With yesterday's minor acquisition of reliever Sean Gallagher from the San Diego Padres, I got asked many times today, "Why would the Pirates acquire a reliever when their bullpen is so good?"

Quite simply, the answer is that the bullpen won't be as good for long because potentially as many as three Pirates relievers could be on the move before the July 31st trading deadline. Gallagher then becomes a healthy arm that John Russell can use for the rest of the reason.

Here are the best candidates to be dealt by the deadline.

5. Ryan Church- Church signed a one-year, $1.5 mil deal in the off-season. While he has underachieved big time as a Pirate, some contender will look to acquire an extra left handed bat off of the bench.

4. Ryan Doumit- Doumit should be priority one to deal, but the Pirates love him way too much. He is in the second year of a three year, $11.5 mil deal that includes a club option for 2012. The Pirates must realize that this guy can't not handle a major league pitching staff and send him packing. He has done nothing in his six seasons as a Pirate that warrants him being a part of the future.

The time has likely passed to get a decent return on Doumit, but some American League team might be able to use him as a DH, so there is a chance he can be dealt.

3. Brendan Donnelly- He will likely be in demand. He signed a one year, $1.5 mil deal this past off-season, so money won't be an issue here. Several teams could use a reliable reliever that has pitched for contenders in the past. The bad part about dealing guys such as Donnelly is that they typically don't fetch much in return.

2. Octavio Dotel- Dotel has had a solid season, but with all-star Evan Meek sitting as the closer in waiting, Dotel is a good bet to get dealt. His contract isn't much of an issue. Dotel signed a one year, $3.25 mil deal with a club option for next season at $4.5 mil that certainly won't be picked up by any team. More than a handful of teams would love to acquire a power arm to use down the stretch run.

Other guys to keep an eye on include Zach Duke, Paul Maholm and Andy Laroche. One of the pitchers, hopefully Duke will be dealt, but the guy most likely to be traded is.............

1. DJ Carrasco- Carrasco has value to teams as he can eat innings and pitch in any role a contender will need. He signed a minor league deal in the off-season, so another team won't be assuming salary. However, while I feel Carrasco is a sure bet to go, it's another case where you shouldn't expect the Pirates to get much in return for him.

Evan Meek- A Deserving, Yet Improbable All-Star Selection

2010-07-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

With the National League All-Star team announced yesterday, the Pirates lone representative came as a bit of a surprise to many. It wasn't Andrew McCutchen. It wasn't even Garrett Jones. Instead, the honor went to reliever Evan Meek. To, me Meek was the most deserving Pirate, but also the most improbable to be selected.

Why is he deserving? The numbers don't lie. Meek currently has the lowest ERA in the majors at 0.96. He's made a staff high 37 appearances and has 42 strikeouts to only 11 walks and has a .178 opponents batting average against. Meek has become John Russell's go to guy in the middle innings.

Why is he such an improbable selection. Take a look back at Meek's Rule 5 season of 2008. Meek was quite awful. You could tell he had a power arm though. At that time he was really the only hard thrower in the organization. The problem was he was all over the place. He was so erratic, it was almost comical. If you would have told me then, that Meek would be an all-star a quick two seasons later, I would have laughed at you.

There another reason why Meek's selection is so improbable. Is there a more low-profile position in sports than pitching middle relief, much less middle relief for the last place Pirates? The Pirates haven't had a middle reliever selected to the Mid-Season Classic since 1938. Pitching well against the Phillies and Charlie Manuel this weekend probably strengthened Meek's case. Even doing so though, in most cases, middle inning guys usually give way to starters and closers when it comes down to all-star selections.

To me, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the young Meek. He has great stuff and has learned to pitch. He will be the future closer of the Pirates within a season or two.

Give two people credit for the success of Meek. First of all, Meek himself. After his struggles in 2008, he could have went in the tank, the way some young athletes do. He instead, worked extremely hard to get to this point in his young career.

Secondly, give Neil Huntington some credit as well. Meek was his first major league acquisition upon taking the job. After his immediate struggles, he could have returned the Rule 5 pick back to Tampa and nobody would have criticized him for doing so. He saw the potential in Meek and worked out a deal to keep him in the organization. For all that Huntington gets thrown under the bus, he deserves some credit here.

What Should the Pirates do With Charlie Morton and Daniel McCutchen?

2010-06-27T17:36:00.001-04:00

In what appears to be the year of the starting pitcher, the only team that seems to have missed out on the trend have been the Pittsburgh Pirates. Entering today with a major league worst 5.38 team era, the Pirates have to do something with their starting staff, which has a combined era of 5.91, also a major league worst.

The current guys obviously aren't getting the job done, so what should they do between now and the July 31st trading deadline? The two first steps are to deal both Zach Duke and Ryan Doumit. Their value was higher last season, but now it's to the point that Neil Huntington has to get what he can for these guys. They have had plenty of chances each, and simply haven't got the job done.

Step two is to acquire a veteran catcher. Someone that is capable of working with a young pitching staff. I want a good veteran defensive catcher who can handle a staff. I could care less about his bat right now, especially with the way the offense has performed to date. Having a good veteran catcher behind the plate could go a long way into developing some arms at this level. Believe me, Doumit isn't that guy. Take last night for example. How many times did we have to see Daniel McCutchen throw fastball after fastball on the outer half of the plate. You want to get crushed? Keep throwing 88-90mph fastballs to the middle and outer half. It's not just McCutchen though, that's how the game is called on a daily basis.

Pirates pitchers refuse to work the inner half of the plate. The mentality has to change to be effective. Since there is no way John Russell or Joe Kerrigan's job is in jeopardy, let's get a quality backstop and let them handle the young staff. I don't care if Huntington has to overpay for one, but these young arms need a real catcher.

The next two pressing questions are what to do with Daniel McCutchen, and more importantly Charlie Morton. First let's look at McCutchen. Nothing he does really jumps off the page at me, but I feel he should get a longer look. Your already 24 games under .500, so it won't hurt to let him pitch. You have to see what you have and don't have in McCutchen. The kid has the ability to throw strikes and I hate to keep nagging on the veteran catcher thing, but it could help big time with guys like McCutchen, Morton and Brad Lincoln.

How smart were the Washington Nationals when they signed Pudge Rodriguez? Don't overlook how that signing will help their young arms in the long run. They can send McCutchen back to AAA, but after the trading deadline, he should be a part of the rotation for the rest of the season.

Now for Morton. The Pirates just don't need Morton to rebound. He HAS to rebound. First, read the Braves scouting report in 2007 on Morton by clicking HERE. As you can see, they had the same questions about Morton that we currently have. Weather he has it mentally or not to pitch effectively in the majors is one thing, but there is no questioning his stuff. He can be nasty when he's effective, but he hasn't nearly been as effective as often as he should be as a Pirate.

If the Braves organization are left scratching their heads over Morton, then the Pirates won't have a clue. Though reading the scouting report, you have to hold out hope for the very last line to come true- "The sky's the limit for Morton." It's getting a little late to believe that, but Morton has to be a big part of what will be the future rotation. Again, a veteran catcher would help Morton a great deal.

Morton's rehab assignment ends July 3rd, so the Pirates have to make a decision soon. Morton's last start at Indy was his best as a pro, firing a 2-hit complete game shutout. Charlie Morton can pitch at the major league level. He showed what he could do at the end of last season. The smart thing to do is to insert him right back in the rotation and give him the ball every fifth day. Let's just forget about the start of the season for Morton and let's just start over. It's vital to the future that a guy like Morton figures it out. Let's just hope the trip to the minors was a wake up call.

The Top 10 Pirates Moves the Last 10 Years

2010-06-25T15:47:00.000-04:00

I didn't feel like re writing this so I'm just posting the link for it on Bleacher Report. Way to many pictures to fit on here.

Click Here to read it

Why is Ryan Church getting so many starts?

2010-06-24T14:31:00.000-04:00

What is John Russell's obsession with playing Ryan Church so much? Please, someone tell me. Church should be the fourth outfielder on this team and nothing more. He should be a left handed bat coming off the bench and nothing more. He is on this team to be dealt at the deadline. Somebody will look into acquiring an extra left handed bat off the bench. Why then is he taking so many at bats away from Lastings Milledge?

Don't say it's because of the DH either. Even Delwyn Young offers a better bat to use as the DH rather than Church.

When you are sitting at 25-46, play your best eight players please. Russell shouldn't be worried about keeping guys like Church fresh. He offers very little to this team. He doesn't hit, he's average defensively and overall he appears to be a lazy ballplayer.

The Pirates signed him, hoping he could produce similar to what he did in 2007, when he hit 15 homers and drove in 70 runs for the Washington Nationals. Instead they got the guy that has combined to hit only six homers and drive in 53 over the last two seasons. If you look over a three year span, he's only hit 18 bombs and driven in 102 combined. I didn't mind the signing, but it didn't work out. Can we please stop running him out there?

Church's numbers on the season aren't good. He's hitting .186 with two homers and 13 RBI's in 129 at bats. Yet, Russell continues to bat him in the middle of the order. He is a rally killer. Batting him, or Ryan Doumit fifth in the order is asking for quick innings when the top of the order is getting on base.

What does he do better than Milledge? Not much. Milledge may not be the best defensively, but he's going to bust his butt for you, which is more than I can say for Church. Milledge may make some stupid base running mistakes, but at least he's being aggressive all the time, which is more than I can say for Church. Keep running Milledge out there. He should be the everyday right fielder until the club finds someone better. That option doesn't exist on this current team.

Sure Milledge offers no power, but neither does Church. Milledge is at least hitting a respectable .270 and has driven in 22 runs. He offers the team a much better bat with men on base as well, hitting to a .392 clip with RISP, while Church is hitting a whopping .161 in similar situations. How does that go ignored?

Do I feel like Milledge is the answer to all of the problems? No, of course not, but he is the best option at the moment. Now, Russell doesn't have great talent at the moment, but his sole job is to put his guys in the best position to succeed. He is simply not doing that. When your 21 games under .500, stop picking the lineup out of a hat and run you best eight guys out there everyday. There is no reason to see Ryan Church getting three or four starts a week, while Milledge is losing playing time.

What to do with Ross Ohlendorf and the Other Pirates Starters

2010-06-23T14:51:00.000-04:00

Another Pirates game, another Pirates loss and another up and down outing from a Pirates starting pitcher. Last night it was a typical Pirates start. A few very good innings and then one thing goes wrong and the starter goes down hill both mentally and physically.

Ross Ohlendorf last night cruised through three innings. Yet, the second time through the order struggled big time once again. The problem always seems to be that the opposing hitters adjust the second time through, but the Pirates pitchers aren't capable of making adjustments as well. If you want to throw some of the blame at Ryan Doumit as well, I'm fine with that; but take Brad Lincoln out of the equation and these guys aren't rookies anymore. They need to be better as a group.

What should the Pirates do? Looking at all of the young guys they brought up. For argument's sake, let's just say that by next season things start coming together and they have an above average offense that can score at or above the league average. If that happens, well they still have no starting pitching. I don't care what league you are playing in, you have to have good starting pitching to compete.

Let's take a look at the current crop of arms.

1. Zach Duke (3-8, 5.49era)- The gutless wonder as I like to call him. Duke may be a fifth starter on an average team. It amazes me how he is aggressive in the zone until he gets two strikes on hitters. I felt they should have dealt Duke last season when his value was at it's highest. It will now never be higher. Duke simply doesn't have the ability to get consistent outs on a consistent basis. He may throw you a gem every two months, but that's what fifth starters do for you. Top of the rotation guys are supposed to take the ball every fifth day and give you a chance to win. Duke isn't in that class of pitcher. He will always be more than a hit an inning type of guy.

2. Paul Maholm (4-5, 3.77)- Maholm is hands down the team's best pitcher. He battles and gives the team an opportunity to win most night's out. That's all I can really ask for. He doesn't give into hitters the way Duke does. He doesn't have the greatest stuff, but will challenge hitters all game long. Maholm is a three or four starter but he is a keeper.

3. Ross Ohlendorf (0-6, 5.43)- Ohlendorf is similar to Charlie Morton, to the point I can't figure either out. Ohlendorf has had some bad luck, but like Morton, seems to suffer mentally when things start to break down. I'm concerned about his dip in velocity. He still may be having some back issues as well. I don't think Ohlendorf is as good as his numbers from a year ago, but I don't think he's as bad as his current numbers. In a perfect situation, Ohlendorf is a good back of the rotation guy.

4. Brad Lincoln (0-1, 6.50)- I'm not concerned with Lincoln at all. He's pitching like most rookies pitch-up and down. He has glimpses of looking dominant and at other times, well he looks like a rookie. Rookie pitchers in the majors aren't supposed to look like Stephen Strasburg, They tend to fare more like Lincoln. He's got great movement on his pitches. I would like to see him utilize his changeup more, especially to left hand hitters. Overall, Lincoln should be fine. It's three starts. I don't think he will eventually be a one or two type starter, but instead; will be a solid middle of the rotation guy.

5. Jeff Karstens (2-2, 4.72)- Say what you want about Karstens, but Karstens flat out does his job. He doesn't necessarily have major league stuff, but what Karstens does is compete. Karstens hangs around just long enough to give the team a chance to win most night's. He's not pretty and definitely not overpowering, but he is gutsy. Team's often need a guy like Karstens. I have no problem giving him the ball.

Overall, you look at the current crop of starters and basically, we have a pair of number three's (Lincoln and Maholm) and really three guys who wouldn't be in most rotations around baseball.

Facts are the Pirates need pitching as much as talented position players such as Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata. The next wave of arms to come through are all performing well at Altoona. That list includes Rudy Owens, Bryan Morris, Tim Alderson (although his drop in velocity concerns me as well), Jared Hughes and Justin Wilson. Also keep an eye on Nathan Adcock and Jeff Locke, currently performing well at Bradenton.

Add to that a draft class that includes power arms Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie (who the team MUST sign both), the future staff has some promise, but that's still probably two years away.

You can root for Alvarez and for the Pirates to promote Tony Sanchez all you want, but any success for the Pirates in the future depend solely on the arms in the organization. Hopefully, a few can get to the big club within the next season or so, because the current crop of arms just won't get the job done.

Pirates Extend Huntington and Russell- Pirates drop the ball twice in one week

2010-06-18T15:11:00.000-04:00

The Pirates announced yesterday that they have agreed to contract extensions with both General Manager Neil Huntington and Manager John Russell. The deals were actually agreed upon before the season began and only now announced, due to speculation on the job status of both men.

The Pirates dropped the ball on this the same way they dropped it on the Pedro Alvarez promotion. As I've noted here before, the Pirates should have taken advantage of Alvarez's arrival to fill the ballpark the last two days, but no, not the Pirates. They prefer to play to a half empty ballpark and then afterwards complain about the attendance. They should have taken note from the way the Nationals handled Stephen Strasburg's arrival and should have been able to generate extra revenue from it.

Now, onto today's issue. First, Huntington. I don't have a problem with this one bit. In my opinion, he's done an above average job of bringing in talent to the organization. he should be able to see this through for the next couple of seasons. It's not his fault that Dave Littlefield left the cupboard bare for him. Look at the entire organization now and before Huntington arrived. The Pirates as a whole are in much better shape now. Having said that, within the next calender year, the results are going to have to start coming.

As for Russell, here is where the Pirates dropped the ball. They should have announced his extension when it happened. Why hide it? Are they that much concerned with the public backlash by extending Russell? All of the deception actually makes me wonder if indeed he did receive an extension, but for now I will take it at face value.

Again, a case of the Pirates front office dropping the ball. They come out of this once again looking like an incompetent organization. Why extend him in the first place though? I buy into the thought of not wanting a lame duck manager, but that's why you announce it before the season.

Only the Pirates front office would extend Russell in the midst of an 11-game losing streak. The timing is even more peculiar than actually giving him the extension. Now that the rumors have heated up concerning Russell's job status, giving him an extension in the middle of the season definitely means he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

You don't want these young players playing for him. I still say make the move now and really go after a Phil garner or Willie Randolph. I'd even settle for Eric Wedge or Jose Oquendo who were rumored. Either way, the team will not improve and become competitive under Russell and the Pirates once again dropped the ball, looking foolish in the process.

Pedro-Palooza begins

2010-06-16T16:44:00.000-04:00

Let the fun begin. The best and most hyped Pirates prospect since none other than Barry Lamar Bonds finally got the call the the show last night. He advanced through the Pirates system in a little over a year. It's center stage for Pedro Alvarez as he should be in the lineup tonight, likely batting fourth or fifth, playing third base.

While I'm very excited to see Pedro up here, the Pirates dropped the ball on him big time. So a little over a week ago, Pedro was deemed not ready when Jose Tabata and Brad Lincoln were promoted. Neil Huntington said "We will bring Pedro up when we feel he is ready."

So what happened in a week? Two days ago, NH reiterated that Alvarez "wasn't ready" and suddenly he gets the call he should have gotten a while ago. He didn't just magically become "ready" in the span of a week.
I personally agreed with Huntington though. What's the rush? The Pirates aren't competing this season, so to promote the guy, they had to be sure. He has improved hitting lefties and will strike out a lot at the major league level, but I could care less about that. Power hitters are supposed to strike out. I want to see runs being driven in. He's obviously ready, so why all of the smoke screens?

If the Pirates were smart, they would have announced days in advance that Alvarez was coming up tonight. Look at how the Nationals handled Stephen Strasburg. They generated a buzz and filled the ballpark. All we hear about from the Nutting's is them whining about attendance. Well, they had the perfect opportunity to start to do something about it and quite frankly dropped the ball.

That's the difference between well run organizations and the way the Pirates are being run.

Alvarez will sell tickets, but the Pirates could do a better job as well. What should we expect? i would expect the Pirates to start scoring around the league average, which is about 4.5 runs per game for the rest of the season. they are currently well below that mark.

Haven't seen Alvarez swing the bat yet? Well this is what you should expect.

I think it's fantastic that we finally have a guy get to the big leagues so quickly. Trust me, many more are on the way. While Pedro will do fine on his own, if the Pirates got behind him right, maybe some people wouldn't lose interest as soon as Steelers training camp starts.

One final note, to make room for Alvarez on the roster, the Pirates DFA'd Aki Iwamura. that should make many of you happy.

I wish this were true

2010-06-16T12:10:00.004-04:00

Found this courtesy of mlbtraderumors.com

9:31pm: ESPN's Buster Olney hears from sources that "there is absolutely nothing to the speculation" about Russell being fired (via Twitter). Rosenthal also tweets that Pirates president Frank Coonelly has denied that discussions about Russell's future have taken place.

8:58pm: With Pedro Alvarez on the verge of making his debut in the black-and-gold, the young prospect might never get to play for current Pirates manager John Russell. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com report that the team is "holding internal discussions" about Russell's fate, though it isn't apparent if the manager might be fired soon or possibly until after the season.

Russell "has drawn criticism within the industry for his stiff, impassive demeanor," according to Rosenthal/Morosi. With the likes of Alvarez, Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata either on the major league roster or nearing it, Pittsburgh management might want a new face in the dugout to signify this fresh start for the organization.

Russell has a 152-234 record since being hired as the Pirates' manager before the 2008 season, though given Pittsburgh's roster, it's hard to attribute their lack of success to Russell's managerial skills. Rosenthal/Morosi say that the Bucs will look inside the organization for an interim manager to finish out the season, and note that former Indians manager Eric Wedge and Cardinals bench coach Jose Oquendo are long-term candidates to take over the job.

Around the Diamond- Part 8- Right Field

2010-06-15T15:51:00.000-04:00

Final position to analyze before the pitchers. My team would look like this.
C- Anybody but Doumit
1B- Garrett Jones
2B- Neil Walker
3B- Pedro Alvarez
SS- Ronny Cedeno
LF- Jose Tabata
CF- Andrew Mccutchen

Suddenly, the Pirates would start to have a decent lineup, assuming JR wouldn't switch the lineup everyday. With what the Pirates have right now, my everyday right fielder would be none other than Lastings Milledge.

This won't be popular among many, but I really have no problem with Milledge. As a matter of fact I love the way he goes about playing the game. He's committed himself to being a team guy and that wasn't the case the New York or Washington.

He hustles all of the time. I like his energy. Does he make mistakes? Far too many, but he's still the best option to play everyday. There are some very talented outfielders throughout the organization, but for the time being, the team should be committed to Milledge because he is committed to them.

His numbers aren't good. .255/0Hr/17RBi's. However, I suggest once all of these pieces are in place; batting him sixth or seventh on a regular basis. His numbers with runners in scoring position are outstanding. His .364 average with RISP shouldn't be ignored. As a matter of fact, he's pprobably the one guy on the team I would want up with the game on the line.

It's very odd how much his approach changes with nobody on. He simply tries to do too much. A good hitting coach should be able to work on this. First we need to get a good hitting coach. I'm not too concerned about the power not being there. He doesn't seem like that type of hitter, though I can see him as a 15 homer guy.

He may be the worst base runner in the big leagues, but again; good coaching can correct that. His mistakes aren't necessarily mental, but they are hustle mistakes. Stupid plays, yes. At least he is aggressive, which is more than I can say for most of the team.

Defensively, Milledge has come a long way. he still has work to do and can take a curious route to a ball every now and then, but Milledge gives you 100% for all nine innings. I think it would be a mistake to replace him so soon.

What are the options though? Ryan Church and his .186 batting average? He's driven in exactly 7 runs since opening day. maybe give Delwyn young a few more at bats, but in the end, it would be a mistake to take the job away from Milledge at this point.

This is Funny

2010-06-15T15:23:00.000-04:00

This is kind of intresting. looking back on the old stuff. Thanks to Bill Gorby for sending me this

Why the revolving Lineups?

2010-06-14T17:37:00.001-04:00

Before I get into this, I read a couple different draft experts ranking the draft. Two had the Pirates as the best draft, one had them ranked second and the other fourth. That's a real good sign that things are turning in the right direction, providing they sign their picks. One said, "How can you not like what the Pirates have done? They get the top two arms in the draft." I like to hear praise like that.

Now onto today's issue. Is anyone besides me tired of seeing a different lineup every game? Let the talent play. That's why they are starters. I'm all for giving a guy a day off every now and then, but how can John Russell expect his regulars to hit with any type of consistency when they aren't playing consistently? You don't need to keep your bench guys real fresh when they don't produce

It often appears that JR is picking his lineup out of a hat. Guys like Crosby and Aki don't need regular AB's. The other thing that drives me crazy is that every time someone seems to be going good for a couple days, he finds himself on the bench.

Clement started swinging the bat good, hitting the ball hard and suddenly he didn't play for four days. Delwyn Young goes 2-4 with a homer and double then doesn't play. This has happened all season. I'm surprised he has the sense to keep writing Cutch's name in there everyday. This is not the way to handle young players, especially when the team isn't going anywhere.

Suddenly, the conspiracy theorists are out. Now we hear that Neil Huntington is telling JR who to play everyday. I can't believe this is happening, or the Pirates are in much worse shape than even I thought. I don't think either guy looks at scouting reports or anything. I truly believe JR is just guessing everyday and hoping he gets lucky with the right eight guys.

Also I've heard Huntington is sabotaging the team. For what? To cost himself his job? While I've been very happy with the guys he's brought in via trade the guys he brought in via free agency haven't been so good. To his defense, he wasn't going after good free agents, he was going after cheap bodies to fill spots. he was hoping to get lucky with a guy or two the same way he did with Garrett Jones. Now isn't the time anyways to load up with free agents. It is the time though to see exactly what you have with some of these guys and you can't do that by not playing them.

It's a little to late to be tanking it. Don't give them that much credit. If they were that smart, we would have David Price, Steven Strasburg and Bryce Harper as well. The fact is that they are trying to win. It's taking some time, but I'm still liking what I see down on the farm.

Russell has tried everything from batting the pitcher 8th to moving Cutch all around the order. I really believe JR is out of options and just flipping the coin on guys.

To JR's defense (and that will be the only time those words will EVER come out of my mouth), his third baseman has 12 RBI's in the middle of June and his current right fielder having 17. His five bench guys have a total of 46 so it doesn't get much better.

Right now this lineup stinks after the first 4 hitters. However, he has to keep playing Laroche and Milledge. Sitting them down every other game doesn't help one bit.

While it's true JR doesn't have the talent right now and maybe he should get the chance to see this rebuild through, I'm still not convinced he's the man for the job. Pull the trigger on his job and bring in a more established manager like a Willie Randolph or a Phil Garner. This just is flat out not working.

Pirates should look into Jake Fox

2010-06-13T23:29:00.000-04:00

The Oakland A's today designated Jake Fox for assignment. The Pirates should make a movie at trying to acquire the 27-year old.

Fox is struggling with the bat in Oakland, but he showed last season with the Cubs that he can swing the stick. After tearing through the minor leagues last season, Fox got the call up from the Cubs and hit .260 but showed some power- hitting 11hr/44rbi in just 216 at bats.

Fox is versatile. He can play first, third and both corner outfield spots. What makes him valuable though is that this season, he proved he can catch as well.

The A's are hoping to sneak him through waivers, but the Pirates should put in a claim on Fox and work out a deal. he can offer some pop from the right side of the plate and they should work him in behind the plate. He can't perform any worse than Ryan Doumit has this season.

Around the Diamond- Part 7 -Center Field

2010-06-13T19:52:00.000-04:00

First, if you missed another disappointing loss, take a listen to my post-game recap by clicking HERE.

We are on to center field in my look around the diamond and truthfully, there isn't really much to discuss here. Andrew McCutchen is and will be the center fielder for the Pirates for years to come. I don't want to hear any of your uneducated "until he gets traded to the Yankees," comments. The Pirates will make a statement in the next year or so by locking up Cutch to a lengthy extension.

Cutch has now been in the big leagues for a full calender year with good numbers that will just go up. In his first go around in the bigs, Cutch has a .292avg, 19Hr/36Sb, with a majority of that run production coming from the lead off spot. Now that he is batting third, he should get even more opportunities to drive in runs. I want to see Cutch use all of his tools as much as possible. Use that speed as an advantage.

Offensively, the guy is a doubles and triples machine and the average should be around .310-.320. I don't need many homers out of him, but need that stolen base number to consistently exceed 50 and drive in around 80 runs if he's batting third all season. As Jose Tabata and Neil Walker continue to get on base, the RBI numbers should go up, providing Cutch has a bat protecting him in the clean up spot.

Defensively the guy can cover ground and make plays. He has a above average arm, but likes to show it off a bit too much for me. The throw doesn't have to come home every time. Other than that i have absolutely nothing to criticize this kid about.

Cutch is the face of the franchise and it's deserving, considering he is the most talented player this team has seen since Barry Bonds. He is a flat out stud.

Looking back at the Matt Capps Situation

2010-06-12T13:24:00.001-04:00

After the Washington Nationals just swept the Buccos with former Pirate Matt Capps getting saves in the first two games of the series; it's a perfect time to look back at the Matt Capps situation last off season.

Did Neil Huntington make the right move regarding Capps? As much as I usually have NH's back on his moves, he dropped the ball regarding Capps. Would this team be better with Capps as the closer? No. Should Capps be a member of this bullpen? Not at all. The bullpen has done a fine job. However, there is absolutely no way Capps should have been released. They could have gotten something for him last season or even during the off season. It's just a simple case of the Pirates over valuing their players as usual.

Let's take a look at both Capps and Octavio Dotel's season up to date. Capps is 0-3 with a 3.38 era and 20 saves while Dotel is 0-2 with a much higher 5.40 era and 12 saves. Naturally, Capps is doing a better job, Right? Not really.

Capps got off to a tremendous April, saving 12 games, sporting a 0.68 era. On the other hand, Dotel wasn't very good in the season's first month, notching only 3 saves with a 10.61era. Since that time though, Dotel has been much better. He has notched 9 saves with a 0.82 era in May and June, while Capps has been more Capps-like. The former Pirate has 8 saves in the last month and a half, but an era of 6.12.

Given the choice of the two. I'd still go with Dotel. Most of the reason his numbers look bad is due to having to pitch in a bunch of Pirates April blow outs where he didn't pitch well. On the other hand, much of Capps early success is due to being able to pitch in save situations on a regular basis. Closers can't be run out every fifth day like a starter would and pitch effectively. Good closers need to pitch three or four times a week. Obviously that won't be the case in Pittsburgh. Capps performance of late, along with the call up of rookie Drew Storen; already have Nats fans wondering how long the team will stick with Capps as it's closer.

NH should have been more aggressive when dealing with Capps. He had value and should have been moved at the deadline last season. This season, I expect only two or three deadline deals, with most of the Pirates young future already starting to arrive. With the emergence of Evan Meek along with Joel Hanrahan, they should be able to handle the ninth inning just fine.

Dotel should have value to contending teams at the deadline. Let's hope NH doesn't drop the ball with him as he did with Matt Capps.

Around the Diamond- Part 6 - Left Field

2010-06-11T16:12:00.000-04:00

Having to do both Pirates and Wild things games, I've fallen a bit behind on the Around the Diamond series, but will wrap it up this weekend.

So far I would like to see
C- Anyone other than Doumit
1B- Garrett Jones
2B- Neil Walker
3B- Pedro Alvarez
SS- Ronny Cedeno

The promotion of Walker helped some things fall into place and now the promotion of Jose Tabata has helped even more. My original post on this topic was to promote Tabata and move Lastings Milledge to right. Now that I don't have to write about that, let's look at what Tabata brings to the table.

Offensively, the top of the order should perform. One through three, Tabata, Walker and Andrew McCutchen should be on base a ton. Now they just need to find someone to drive them in. That could happen when Alvarez comes up. The lineup just gets deeper and tougher to pitch to if Jones is batting 5th, Milledge 6th and Doumit 6th. Until then, there are still holes in spots where guys need to drive in runs.

I'd like to see the rest of the way, how John Russell plays things. I would love to see him utilize the speed of Tabata, Walker and Cutch and be very aggressive on the bases. It will turn into more runs in the long haul. I'm not overly concerned about running out of an inning here and there. Knowing JR though, they will likely be even more passive then they have been in the past.

Tabata's presence should make the Pirates a better defensive team as well. We may actually see a Pirates left fielder get to a ball hit down the line. I'm sure bench coach Gary Varsho won't adjust to Tabata's speed so I'm sure he won't play too much of a traditional left field, so don't hold your breath.

Either way, as the youngsters start to emerge, the team is slowly getting better.

Tabata and Lincoln to Debut

2010-06-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

The Pirates have made strides to showing off the future of the franchise. It looks to be a third consecutive good draft, assuming the clubs signs top picks Jameson Taillon and Stetson Aliie.

Tonight is another step towards the future as the team unveils top prospects Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata to make their debuts tonight against the Nationals.

They won't be met with the national media flare that Stephen Strasburg did last night, but they are just as important to the teams future as Strasburg is to the Nats.

Lincoln will get the start and Tabata will likely play left and bat either first or second. It's been so many years since the team has had "REAL" prospects. So this is a time to get excited and see what these young guys, as well as the talented youngsters to follow can do.

Pirates Select Hard Throwing Taillon With Second Overall Pick

2010-06-07T20:19:00.000-04:00

Well the Pirates made their pick and have made me very happy, selecting the 6'7 flame throwing, Texas right hander Jameson Taillon. Taillon was viewed as one of three can't miss guys that also included Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

Naturally Harper went first overall to the Nats and after the Bucs selected Taillon, Machado went third to the Orioles. I would have been happy with either Taillon or Machado, but I was a little more excited to get Taillon.

As much as I liked Machado, ultimately he is viewed as a third baseman instead of a shortstop. Unless the Pirates were committed to moving Pedro Alvarez to first base, then the pick didn't make much sense.

With Taillon, we get a guy viewed as a top of the rotation guy with a great make up and excellent stuff. He has three plus pitches- fastball, curveball and slider. he is also throwing a change up some now and scouts have said that is coming along very well. It's the kid's make up though which have had scouts in awe. The guy is tough as nails and is the ultimate competitor.

Give the Pirates credit. For a team that was running JVB, Brian Bullington, and other stiffs out to the mound just three years ago, they know have some good pitching talent in the system. In 2-3 seasons, we could see a young rotation of Tailon, Brad Lincoln, Bryan Morris, Tim Alderson and Rudy Owens. Things are looking much better for the future of the Pirates.

Now all we gotta do is sign the kid.

Around the Diamond- Part 5- Shortstop

2010-06-06T19:33:00.001-04:00

We've been taking a tour around the diamond and today we are at short and Ronny Cedeno. Cedeno isn't ever going to be a big star, but I'm happy with him at the moment.

He's an upgrade over Jack Wilson, which really isn't saying much, but Cedeno does his job. Defensively, he is good and he offers a little bit with the bat. he is currently hitting only .240/4/14. I'm fine with that though.

He grinds out good at bats and is consistent in the field. He doesn't cost you anything by being the everyday shortstop. The reason I like him is that he is a good 2-3 year stop gap at the position.

Cedeno is a solid pro and should remain the everyday guy for the next year or so. By then, Chase D'Arnaud should be ready. D'Arnaud got off to a slow start this season at Altoona, but many consider him to be the best athlete in the organization. He has raise his average to .225 and his game is gap hitting and speed and he brings that everyday.

The future is D'Arnaud's, but he's about two years away. Unless the Pirates are smart and draft Manny Machado, then Machado could be the future ss of the Pirates. Either way, Cedeno is the guy for the next couple of seasons and there is nothing wrong with that. Shortstop has become the first position that I don't feel the Pirates need to change in the immediate future.

Looking Ahead to the Draft- What Will The Pirates do at #2

2010-06-06T19:14:00.001-04:00

By 7:15 tomorrow evening, we will know who will be the next big piece of the Pirates rebuild. With Bryce Harper surely to go to the Nats, the Pirates likely will choose between high school ss Manny Machado (featured yesterday) and high school right hander Jameson Tallion (pictured to the left).

Most scouts agree that after the top three prospects (Harper, Machado and Tallion) that there is no real difference from prospects number four to 44. Therefore, despite the cost and the presence of Scott Boras, it is vital the Pirates take one of the two and lock up a deal.

The Pirates have had the number two pick on two previous occasions- selecting OF Mark Merchant in 1987 and 3B Pedro Alvarez in 2008. Merchant was one of only two players picked second overall that never reached the majors. With so many of the Pirates youngsters on the verge of the majors in the next 2-3 seasons, it is vital they continue things and have another good draft. We can't have another Chad Hermansen, Bryan Bullington, Daniel Moskos, Bobby Bradley, Sean Burnett or JVB (I could go on with this list all day long). NH needs to go for impact. We need a stud with this pick.

I looked at Machado yesterday, so today let's take a look at Tallion. First the scouting report

Jameson Taillon
RHP
The Woodlands HS (Texas)

Ht/Wt: 6-7/230
B/T: R/R
Year: Senior
Age at Draft: 18y7m

Filed By: Nick James

Filed On: August 18, 2009

Last Updated: April 30, 2010
Scouted:

Aflac All-American Game, August 16, 2009 (film)

Under Armour All-America Game, August 8, 2009 (in attendance)

Perfect Game National Showcase, June 11-14, 2009 (film)

Perfect Game World Showcase, January 3-4, 2009 (film)
Frame:

Close to maxed-out, but already big league body. Sturdy, workhorse build. Good athleticism and well above-average body control. Moves well and shows excellent awareness of his actions.
Motion:

Taillon has a simple side step into his motion with little movement in his upper-body. He has an exaggerated closed leg kick (closed all the way to the LF side of the 3B bag), adding some deception and making it difficult for the hitter to pick-up the ball out of his low hand break. He moves to a drop-and-drive approach to the plate as he begins to rotate his body back towards home. Explosive in his stride, he has a sizeable step, giving his arm plenty of time to get into the cocked position as he plants. He gets good hip/shoulder separation, creating good rotation through his core and helping to generate his plus velocity. He drives directly towards home consistently, fully utilizing all the momentum he builds-up through his kick and stride. His arm comes from a 3/4 slot and is easy, coming across his body. His follow-through could be cleaned-up some, falling off towards first (though he's generally under control). Most impressive is his body control and the repeatability of his mechanics -- a rarity in a high schooler with such a big body. One other "knock" is that Taillon can get a little stiff (some would call it herky-jerky) in his actions, but he repeats well and there aren't big flags on the arm action outside of flashing the ball some (which can be cleaned-up).

Stuff:

Fastball - Generally sitting 93-95 mph with good life, touching 96 (reports have him as high as 98 mph this spring). Taillon can pound the zone with his fastball and it's good enough to simply throw by hitters at this point. He'll need to improve his command in the zone, but it's already a plus pitch that could be plus-plus down the line.
Curveball - Taillon's curve is an impressive power breaking ball with 2-plane action and plus late bite. Already excellent depth, the pitch could be a plus to plus-plus offering as he improves his feel and command. Potential strikeout pitch as both swing-and-miss and in the zone. Through the summer/fall, he sat 77-81 mph with the pitch, which is what I've seen from reports this spring, as well.

Slider - Taillon's wipeout slider has good tilt and comes out of the same slot as his fastball. Low- to mid-80s on the gun (82-84 mph) and could be another swing-and-miss offering at the pro level. Doesn't command pitch yet.
Change-up - Not needed much at this point, but shows feel for the pitch. Good arm speed. Could be yet another average to above-average offering depending on the work put in. Good velo separation from fastball (around 10 mph), but can throw too hard.

Nick's Notes:

Taillon has been nothing short of incredible each time I've seen him (on film and in person), and I do not pass that compliment out lightly. As mentioned above, his body control really stands out for such a big-body. There's an excellent combination here of well above-average pure stuff, an ideal Major League pitcher's body, athleticism and poise. In some ways, this past summer made things more difficult on Taillon, as he set the bar very high for the spring season and opened himself up to an extra level of criticism reserved for those picks under consideration for top 3 overall selection. At the same time, I never expected to enter the 2010 season with anyone but Bryce Harper atop my big board -- while Harper has retained his crown, Taillon has given everyone reason to examine that slot more closely. He has all the makings of a potential front-end starter, with price tag and his Rice commitment the only potential hurdles to top 5 overall selection.

Projected Position: Front-end Starter
Updates:

4/30/2010 - Taillon has enjoyed a successful spring, though he has been dinged some due to the extra scrutiny thrown his way after a wildly successful summer/fall. The most common complaints are a couple of outings in which he surrendered some hits and runs, and a stated "inconsistency" in his stuff from start to start. Some have also referred to his stuff as "hittable". Based on my few conversations with some baseball people in the Houston area, these reports are primarily examples of picking at nits, and there are no red flags with Taillon that should greatly alter his position as top arm in the draft class (and one of the better high school arms in recent years). One person in particular, who I spoke with at the Houston College Classic the night after Taillon's sole loss of the season (a 2-0 loss to CC Moody HS), stated several scouts in attendence were almost going out of their way to find something to point out as an "issue", but that "Jamo" was his same dominant self with easy plus stuff. Taillon has posted multiple double-digit strikeout performances, highlighted by a 19 SO no-hitter against Conroe HS. On the year he has totaled 96 SO in just 47 IP. Nothing unexpected has cropped-up to alter his stock, and he should be the first prep arm off the board based solely on talent and OFP (Overall Future Potential).

11/27/2009 - Taillon's summer/fall circuit did not conclude in Jupiter, as he opted to skip the event in favor of shutting down after a long summer of traveling and throwing. His last pre-season showcase came in the form of two starts for Team USA's 18U squad in the PanAm Games, posting an impressive line of 13.2 IP, 7 H, 28 SO, 3 BB and .149 BAA. His starts came against Panama and Cuba, with the gold medal Cuba start resulting in a single-game record of 16 strikeouts over 7.2 IP and his second win of the tournament.

8/18/2009 - Taillon continues to roll on, making a case to be the first high school player off the board next June, and perhaps the top overall. Taillon cruised through two innings at PetCo in the Aflac All-American Game, striking out four batters in the process. He's still sitting mid-90s with his fastball, even after a long summer circuit.

8/15/2009 - Taillon took home MVP honors for Team One at the Under Armour All-America Game. He was selected by PnR Scouting as the top performer at the event (article here; rankings here).

Other scouting reports have Tallion often clocked at 99 and compared to Roger Clemens at times. I went with the worst scouting report I saw. The kid looks on film like the real deal and he's already got a big body and live arm. Here is a look at Tallion.

I love the 6'7 big body and the live arm and the fact that he has four pitches he commands pretty well. He is also the only other player that scouts say should go number one, ahead of Harper. One area to be concerned with is that he is a high school arm. High school pitchers taken in the Top 3 generally don't pan out and that will likely be the Pirates excuse for passing on him.

Only seven prep pitchers have been taken in the top three in the last 20 years. Josh Beckett and Steve Avery had good careers while the other five never made it, including Brien Taylor. However, he is an arm from Texas and that actually means a great deal. Texas pitchers are power pitchers and have numbers on their side. Only 19 of 43 prep pitchers taken in the Top 10 the last ten seasons have made the majors and half of them are from Texas.

I'm torn on who to take, Machado or Tallion. I love both guys. You can never have too much pitching, but the Pirates seem to have some good arms throughout their system right now. For that reason, I may lean towards Machado a little more. However, I can't pass up on a big power arm like Tallion. So my pick at #2 is indeed Jameson Tallion.

Who will the Pirates pick? I'm guessing LHP Drew Pomeranz from the University of Mississippi. He's a very talented arm with almost an unhittable curve ball, but there is no way the Pirates should pass up on either Machado or Tallion. Though you know as well as I do, that they tend to not take the best player.

There are three players labeled "can't miss" in this draft. At 7:15 tomorrow night, one of the three better be property of the Pirates.

Looking Ahead at the Draft- What will the Pirates do at #2

2010-06-05T18:00:00.002-04:00

Let's take a look at Monday's upcoming amateur draft and lets take a look at what the Pirates will do with the second overall pick. With "The Chosen One" Bryce Harper going to Washington at number one, many names have surfaced about who the Bucs will select.

I've cut that list down to two, as there should only be two real candidates for that pick. It should either be Miami Brito High School shortstop Manny Machado (pictured to the left) or right hander Jameson Tallion out of The Woodlands High School in Texas.

Let's look at Machado today. Here is the scouting report on him.

Manny Machado - SS
Miami Brito HS, Sr.

Birthdate: 7/6/92

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 190lbs.

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Scout's report filed: 3/18/10

Scouting Report

Hitting ability: Machado is swinging the bat very well, with authority. He led Team USA in hitting last summer
Power: He has the chance to have good power.
Running speed: He's run well in the past, though he might slow down as he matures.
Base running: He's fine on the basepaths.
Arm strength: He's got plenty of arm for his position.
Fielding: He makes the plays he can get to.
Range: This is the question, whether he'll have enough range to stay at shortstop as he gets bigger and stronger.
Physical Description: A big, strong athletic high school shortstop in the Miami area, Machado obviously draws young Alex Rodriguez comparisons.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Big, strong, looks the part, plenty of tools, especially with the bat.
Weaknesses: Already pretty big, he may not be able to stay at shortstop in the long-term.

Summary: Machado entered the season as the top high school position player and has done nothing to diminish that evaluation. Big and athletic, he can do just about everything on the baseball field, with the ability to hit for plenty of average and some power as he matures. He's got more than enough arm to play shortstop and is fine there for now, though there is some concern he'll outgrow the position. Even if he does, he'd be just fine at third, both in terms of handling the position defensively and providing the kind of offense teams look for at the hot corner. Regardless of his position, Machado is primed to be one of the earliest names taken off the board in June.

You can also Check out video on Machado and other prospects

Here are clips of Machado playing in World Wood Bat Championships

He will be 17 at the time of the draft and it's hard for me to pass up on a guy with five tool talent like Machado. Anytime a player draws any type of comparison to A-Rod then you have to pay attention. At the end of May, Machado was hitting over .670 for his high school team. Now this is Miami, so the competition is legit. He has also hit 12 homers so far. That number likely won't go up much as Machado is being intentionally walked most of the time now.

I would be all for taking this guy because most scouting reports have the "Can't Miss" label attached to him. The Pirates are thin at short, but some see Machado being a third baseman in the big leagues. If that were the case, it would likely mean a move to first base for Pedro Alvarez in three or four seasons.

The Pirates will likely pass on Machado though. Reason one- well, they are the Pirates. Daniel Moskos, anyone? Secondly, you guessed it. Machado is represented by Scott Boras. Could be a long and interesting summer of negotiating.

I will give you the full report on Tallion tomorrow.

Around the Diamond- Third base

2010-06-04T15:14:00.001-04:00

It's been a few days, but I'm back to pick up where I left off, today looking at the third base position. As a refresher, I was hoping Ryan Doumit would be dealt, but can deal with him hitting lower in the order for the time being. I want Garrett Jones moved to first and Neil Walker as the full time second baseman. One of the three have since happened.

Today let's look at Andy Laroche. The numbers aren't great. Just a .250avg/3/11. The difference with Laroche is that I really like him, but the numbers aren't coming.

I love his approach at the plate. Granted he pulls the ball way too much, but when he is hitting to all fields, I feel he is a legit major league ball player. I wish he had the numbers to back up my argument.

Just like at first base, the Pirates have to have run production out of their third baseman as well. After all the trades, the younger Laroche was the first, of many more to come, real major leaguers the Pirates had acquired. He is versatile. He can, and has batted pretty much everywhere in the line up. He's made himself into an outstanding defensive third baseman as well.

For two months, I kept saying that Laroche has done nothing to lose his job. I don't feel that way right now. Pedro Alvarez is,and always was the teams third baseman of the future and now I believe Alvarez should be the third baseman of the present. Bring him up.

Start working Laroche out at second. He can share time with Walker and Walker can also play other positions when Andy is at second. Yes Walker is on fire right now, but I really want to see how he does after a month or so when the scouting report gets out on him. He's already seeing more and more off speed stuff, so hopefully he can adjust.

The team will see a drop off defensively with Alvarez at third, but the time is now. I'd rather see a power bat that can hit the ball out of the yard. In turn, it should make the whole line up deeper and better.

By no means should they give up on Andy, but he in turn he has to produce. I'm hoping the bad numbers have something to do with his back problems. They should make sure he gets about three starts a week, but in the meantime, turn the job over to Alvarez.

This is Real Funny

2010-06-02T00:00:00.002-04:00

Found This. This is a couple Years Old But It's funny as hell

What to do with Charlie Morton

2010-05-27T22:45:00.000-04:00

See above, if you missed Charlie Morton's latest start tonight. The guy truly is reminding me of Rick Vaughn, but the Rick Vaughn from Major League 2, not the original. If you missed the start, it went something like that.

Insert any line from Major League and it fits this year with Morton. I was personally looking for but couldn't find:
Vaughn- "Here it is, the old terminator. If you get a piece, you can rename it."
Parkman after homer- "I think I'd call it the masturbater."

I also was looking for
Doorman- "Mr. Morton, I thought you started tonight."
Morton- "I did.'
Doorman-"Oh sorry, I didn't turn it on until the second inning."

See Morton fills in very nicely for Vaughn.

All seriousness though, I put just as much of this on the Pirates as I do on Morton. Why the hell is he still trying to work out his problems at the major league level? he should have been sent down at the end of April. What are they doing to this guys confidence except destroying it, if there is any left.

Send him down and have him work it out. He is talented enough to figure it out and come back strong. my problem is what has all this done to his head. He doesn't seem like the toughest guy mentally. Once one bad thing happens out there, like the balk tonight, he completely loses his focus and can't regain it.

He needs to be a bulldog out there and right now he is pitching as if he was wearing a skirt. He is 1-9 currently with a 9.53era. Statistically, that probably makes him the worst player in the major leagues and he has way too much talent for that.

Send him down to AAA first thing in the morning and call Brad Lincoln up. if Morton makes another start, it's complete bullshit to the team and the fan base, because quite frankly he just doesn't give the team an opportunity to win.

New and Notes From last night's loss

2010-05-27T16:50:00.001-04:00

Time to take a break from looking at each position to bitch a little bit. Why are the Reds better than the Pirates? It's not because of talent. It could be because of coaching, but quite frankly, it's because the Reds do the little things necessary to win ball games while the Pirates continue to fail at them. It's called good fundamental baseball and the Pirates never seem to play it.

What have the Reds done that the Pirates haven't? They catch the ball, they throw strikes, they hit behind the runner when called for, they can lay down bunts, they control the running game, they throw to the right base- Should I continue?

Is Bronson Arroyo that good that the Pirates have scored one run off him in the last 14 2/3 innings? Of course not, but he pounds the strike zone and hits his spots. Pirates starters aren't getting ahead of batters on a consistent basis and miss location more times than not.

The Pirates defense has also cost them more than one game this season. The Pirates have also made mistakes both on the base paths and controlling the running game. These mistakes have also cost the team on more than one occasion. The outfielders always throw home, even when there is no play, allowing runners to advance; also costing the team more than once.

All of this and that isn't even what upsets me the most. Why do the others teams pitchers have so much success swinging the bat against us. I have added up all the numbers and the pitcher is hitting .250 against us. The Pirates have seven offensive players hitting under .250. They also have Andy Laroche at .256 and Lastings Milledge at .258. So nine of their 13 bats are hitting under .260 and the opposing pitchers are hitting .250 against us.

On the other side of that, Pirates pitchers a a combined 4 for 80 on the season. If your scoring at home, they are hitting .050 as a unit. Brian Burres has two of the four hits, so the rest of the staff has two freaking hits all season. That's a big problem. I'm not asking for them to win batting titles, but they have to be able to handle the bat.

Also, what Pirates pitcher can lay down a successful sacrifice bunt? Most of the time the other teams pitcher bunts, he either gets the job done or somehow winds up on base with a bunt hit. When a Pirates squares to bunt, it's likely a double play or they lead runner is thrown out. This is not acceptable.

Who's to blame? John Russell? Hitting coach Don Long? You would think Russell has these guys working on things, but maybe they don't. As far as long goes, his guys just don't hit. maybe it's time for an experienced hitting coach that can get through to these guys. When the opposing pitchers are hitting better than nine of your offensive guys, there is a huge problem.

Add all of the little things together. If the Pirates would just do the little things right on a consistent basis, they would likely be over the .500 mark at the moment. Good teams do the little things necessary to win ball games. i don't know why this message isn't hammered into these guys on a daily basis.

Around the Diamond- Part 3- Second Base

2010-05-26T13:18:00.001-04:00

Well Ryan Doumit had another big hit last night after I suggested they start batting him seventh. No pressure on him now. It's on to Part Three of my position by position analysis. Both catcher and first base need upgrades. Though if Doumit keeps hitting and Garrett Jones becomes the everyday first baseman, then those positions have immediately upgraded.

It's on to second base, which just happens to be the worst position, both offensively and defensively on the diamond. So far, we've seen Aki Iwamura, Bobby Crosby and Delwyn Young see time there.

Let's start with Aki. The nicest way to say it is that this guy sucks. What is it about that Pirates uniform that just brings out the worst in good ball players? I don't feel like looking up the exact numbers at the moment, but you know how bad he's been. What is he like 4 for his last 60 after his gift triple last night?

On the season, Aki is hitting a whopping .166/2hr/8rbi. YET, JR keeps throwing him out there and YET JR keeps batting him lead off. I can't explain this at all.

What's more disturbing, is what happened to his range defensively? If you watched him in Tampa, this guy was a talented ball player and a pretty good second baseman. Now, he can't catch the ball if it's not hit right at him. He also may be the worst in the league at turning the double play. There is no way, the Pirates did the proper homework on his knee injury last season. There has to be some effects from that.

Looking at the other two offensively, Crosby is hitting .236/1/6 in limited time, but he has shown he can't play second base as well. Young is hitting .246/1/9. We know from last season that he isn't really a second baseman, but what's funny is that he is better defensively than the other two.

What to do? First, get Aki out of the lineup. However, they won't do that, because then they would be admitting to a mistake. I'd say deal him, but he has little trade value now. Either put him on the bench or outright release him and eat the money.

Who should play second then? Right now, I'd say give the job to Young. He's no worse defensively than the others and at least he offers something offensively. They can mix in spot starts with Crosby and Aki, but give DY the majority of the time.

Option two is to give Neil Walker a long look here. I'd be more in favor of this, but Neil Huntington made it clear that Walker will only be a corner utility guy. Really? then what was the point of having him play a lot of middle infield this year at AAA? Why is he up here then if he is going to be mostly a bench player? The reasoning just doesn't make much sense.

Option three is probably the most popular and that means calling Pedro Alvarez up and moving Andy Laroche to second. I would be in favor of that, but the only problem is that we don't know if Andy can play second. I think he could but that doesn't always translate. Also, Laroche has done nothing to lose his job right now at third base.

I'd like to see Young or Walker get a ton of at bats here in the short term. Either way, they have to get Aki out of the lineup. Though you know as well as I do that JR will run him out there every day and bat him lead off.

There is no immediate help in the minors, but keep your eye on Josh Harrison, who was acquired in the Grabow/Gorzo deal, and Jim Negrych, the former Pitt star. Both are currently at Altoona and performing well. Harrison is hitting over .300 and has a very good glove. Negrych is back on the map as a prospect. The power hasn't returned but is also having a pretty solid season, driving in 22 runs while hitting .275 so far. Other than that, they really don't have another second base prospect in the system.

Around the Diamond- Part 2- First base

2010-05-25T17:54:00.001-04:00

Today it's time to take a look at the first basemen. If the production from the catchers didn't sound good, well then, the first basemen are even more disappointing.

So far we've seen four guys see time at first base this season: Jeff Clement, Steve Pearce, Garrett Jones and Bobby Crosby. Let's eliminate Crosby from this analysis, well because he stinks and he will only play first in an emergency.

I'm also taking Jones out for a moment and just going to look at Clement and Pearce. Both have performed well defensively, but first basemen have to hit for power and drive in runs and right now, the Pirates don't have that.

Clement is hitting .184/4hr/7rbi. in 103 at bats. His 29 k's average out to about a k every five at bats. Pearce has had only 29 at bats since his call up and is hitting .276 with 0hr/5rbi. He has shown some gap to gap power, but has since been put on the dl. Either way, neither guy can hit for enough power to remain there.

I'm still intrigued by Clement's power potential and don't want to see them give up on him after 100 at bats, but they need production there.

Jones on the other hand, while not hitting for much power, has driven in 30 runs and has raised the average above .250. He is having much better at bats than he did a season ago. Once they get a bat to protect Jones, he should get better pitches to hit and the power numbers should rise.

What to do at first? When Pearce returns, he should come back as a bench player. Clement should also be sent down to become more consistent. Jose Tabata should be called up to take his spot on the roster and take Jones' everyday spot in the outfield. Jones will then shift to first base permanently, even though he doesn't field the position well.

Jones can shift to right field on rare occasions to give people a day off and Pearce and newly called up Neil walker can make spot starts there. By doing this, the Pirates lineup becomes deeper and there isn't a hole at a position where you have to have run production.

Around the Diamond- Part 1- The Catchers

2010-05-24T14:31:00.003-04:00

Here is the first in my series of analysis of each position on the diamond for the Pirates. I want to not only look at how each is producing now, but what other options are available and I want to take a look through the organization at what lies ahead for each position.

Fresh off his first career walk off homer yesterday afternoon, let's start with Ryan Doumit and the catching position.

Everyone knows how anti-Doumit I am and with good reason, but good for him yesterday. He had a big day and his walk-off dinger was likely the biggest moment in the 29-year old's big league career.

Let's look at his season so far, (I'm not getting into career numbers, I just want to focus on where these guys are currently at), .286 avg, 4HR/18RBI in 39 games played. He had the big game yesterday and a torrid two week stretch, but other than that, he hasn't been very good.

The knock on Doumit has always been that he can't stay healthy. Well, he's been healthy this season. What's the excuse going to be now.

My main problem with Doumit isn't necessarily offensively. If the Pirates had a lineup where they could hide his bat in the seven hole well then maybe it work. They don't have that and having to bat Doumit fourth, fifth or sixth in the order has turned him into a complete rally killer most of the time.

My problem with Mr. No-Mitt is behind the plate. He is supposed to be a leader and instead he is lazy and lackadaisical behind the plate. How many times does he reach to back hand balls instead of getting down to block them. Also the lazy approach tracking those particular balls that he OLE's is frustrating to watch. He is just not a very good catcher and if he hasn't improved by now, well then he likely never will.

His arm is also well below average. Some bases are stolen on the pitcher, but eventually Doumit has to throw someone out. He is under 4% for the season and has a bigger windup throwing the ball to second than any Pirates pitcher does. He simply takes way too long to get the ball out of his hands. Again, if this hasn't improved in six seasons, it likely never will.

The catcher position is a big liability on this team. Jason Jaramillo handles the staff pretty well and he seems to take advantage of his spot starts with the bat as well. I would be much more comfortable with last season's platoon of JJ and Robinson Diaz then I am with Doumit at any time.

I'm still tired of the Pirates talking about Doumit's potential. That work shouldn't still be thrown around on a guy entering his sixth season in the majors.

I would grade the position at well below average. That being said, there isn't a significant drop off between Doumit and JJ.

Neil Huntington should explore options on unloading No-Mit. As a matter of a fact, he should have been dealt before he trotted around to touch home plate yesterday. Some teams will have some interest and he could also fill a DH role for an AL team.

Sign an old veteran to back up JJ for the remainder of the season. They could also explore the option of dealing for Colorado's Chris Ianetta. Ianetta was sent down to AAA after losing his job to Miguel Olivo. A change of scenery could help a guy like Ianetta and his strength is defensively and handling a pitching staff, which would go a long way in developing the young Pirates staff.

Ianetta would be a good one year stop gap. Tony Sanchez is well on his way to Pittsburgh. Right now he is hitting .300/3Hr/24RBI at Bradenton and should see Altoona sometime this season. Scouts say his defense is major league ready and his bat has been better than expected.

I'd expect Sanchez as a late season 2011 call-up and should be the opening day 2012 catcher. Until then, behind the plate will continue to be a very weak position for this team.

Feel free to comment on the catching position, tomorrow we look at the first base position

Ryan Doumit recounts his walk-off homer

2010-05-24T14:27:00.000-04:00

New and Notes After Another Bad Loss

2010-05-17T23:22:00.003-04:00

.Well another bad loss, that probably shouldn't have happened. First of all what the hell was with the shift in the third. Ok, i will buy that you shift for Ryan Howard, but with the bases loaded and two outs and two strikes. Naturally the Pirates made it worse by pitching him outside so he has a chance to go the other way.

Not only that, why isn't John Russell shifting Andy Laroche over instead of Ronny Cedeno? Cedeno offers more range on the infield in that situation. Naturally the ball was hit right to where Cedeno would have made an easy play and Laroche had no chance.

Next batter Jason Werth then hits a 3-run HR. Sorry JR, those five runs should have been charged to you. That's bad baseball.

Before I complain about JR some more, you can click HERE to listen to my post-game report for tonight's game.

-More JR bitching. Yesterday vs. the Cubs, down a run in the 9th, why is Delwyn Young pinch hitting against Carlos Marmol instead of Jeff Clement. You're playing for the long ball in that situation and Clement took marmol deep the day before. No guarantee he does it again, but why leave a bullet left in you gun? Again, more bad managing.

Also, if he was planning on lifting Ross Ohlendorf after one batter in the seventh, then why bother even letting him hit with two runners on? It's not like he was laboring, having only thrown 73 pitches. Makes you wonder is Russell has the ability to think ahead during a game. He hasn't shown it.

This team can lose games on it's own, they don't need the manager losing game for them.

-I am a big Charlie Morton fan, but it's time to send him down to the minors for some tweaking. He has all the tools but something isn't right. Maybe he's tipping pitches or maybe he's throwing to the worst catcher in baseball; though the Pirates would never figure that out. They will keep running him out there to fail. Something has to be done to get this kid back on track. He has shown that he can pitch at the major league level, it's time to get him to be consistent every time out.

-Staring tomorrow, I will start to break down where the Pirates are at the major league level position by position, but it's time to end the Aki Iwumara experiment and bring Neil Walker up and give him and Delwyn Young the majority of the time there. They can do better that 0 for his last 27 and 2 for his last 48. This guy has Freddy Sanchez range at second base which is the same as saying he has no range.

-Minor League Notes. Bryan Morris and his 0.60 era this season has been promoted to Altoona and rumors are he will see AAA before long. Those who bitch about the Bay trade keep forgetting that Morris was the big piece of it. If Morris pans out and Laroche keeps playing well then it was a good deal.

Other minor league note- One of the top prospects in the system, who I love to rave about- Starling Marte will have hand surgery tomorrow and miss 6-8 weeks. It's the same surgery Pedro Alvarez had while at Vandy and he made a full recovery, so there should be no worries.

-Tomorrow I will look at the catcher position, which you Ryan Doumit Hater's will love. By the way, what was with those throws? has there ever been a worse throwing catcher? I can't think of one of the top of my head.

Minor League Report

2010-05-16T16:02:00.003-04:00

Usually I write my weekly Pirates Minor League Report and seeing that as we are over a month into the season and I have yet to do one, now seems like a good time.

Searching through the organization, I have been very excited and have really kept tabs on what a lot of these guys are doing. It's not a joke, for the first time in decades, the Pirates have REAL prospects. Not only do they have real prospects, they have real good prospects with high ceilings.

I will try and make this a weekly thing again but I have been very busy of late. So let's take a look at the minor leagues.

Indianapolis Indians (AAA)- Neil Walker has been tremendous with both the bat and the glove and had played all over the diamond. Scouts are raving about his versatility and he is hitting. 325 with 6HR/25RBI. Jose Tabata has been very good as well, hitting .315 2/11 and also has 17 steals. Many feel we will see both guys very soon in Pittsburgh. Pedro Alvarez had some problems with the batting average early, but is all the way up to .265 with 9HR and 36 RBI's in 36 games. he's starting to hit for power off lefties as well, which is something the organization has wanted to see.

On the mound, Brad Lincoln is off to a 4-1 start with a 3.23 era. He is throwing three pitches consistently for strikes and once he gets a little more confidence in his change up, then PNC Park should be the next step. Donnie Veal and Daniel McCutchen have been decent down in AAA but keep your eye on Michael Crotta. Crotta who wasn't listed among the Pirates Top 50 prospects a year ago has quickly climbed through the ranks. After getting promoted from Altoona earlier in the season, Crotta has made three very good starts with the Indians, going 2-1 with a 2.86 era; including seven strong innings on Friday. Crotta is a sinker baller with above average stuff that just gets people out.

Altoona Curve- The prospects starting with Alttona and lower in the organization are really worth keeping an eye on. Looking at the position players at Altoona, outfielder Alex Pressley leads the team with a .361 average. Infielders Josh Harrison and Jim Negrych are both hitting over .300 as well. Harrison is highly thought of and this seems to be a bounce back year for Negrych, who is back on the map. There isn't really much power to pay attention for the Curve off the bat.

Two guys struggling to keep an eye on are shortstop of the future Chase D'Arnaud and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez. Both got off to very slow starts at the plate, but both are still highly thought of. Some have said D'Arnaud may be the best athlete in the minor leagues at the moment. D'arnaud has picked things up lately though his numbers don't look like it. He's hitting only .216 and hasn't shown any power. Scouts say not to expect numbers like that for long. Hernandez on the other hand has only two extra base hits all season and is only hitting .205. he may quickly be getting passed up by other young talented outfielders.

On the mound, right hander Jared Hughes and left hander Rudy Owens have been very good. Hughes is 7-1 with a 3.16 era and Owens sits at 3-2 with a 3.86 era. Owens should have a few more wins but his body of work has been great; especially his 40 strikeouts to only eight walks. Tim Alderson has a 2-1 record but an inflated 6.19 era. I'm not really worried about the era because that came as the result of one bad outing.

Keep your eye on Daniel Moskos. Moskos will be forever linked to Matt Wieters, but seems to have found a role as a left handed reliever. Moskos is 1-0 with a 1.15era in 15.1 innings of work.

I will have a report on Bradenton and West Virgina posted tomorrow

Good John Russell Thread

2010-05-10T14:52:00.002-04:00

Here is a Good John Russell thread for everyone to read. Apparantly I'm not the only one writing about our lousy excuse for a manager.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/21261053?tag=pageRow;pageContainer

Also I am starting to write for man cave sports lounge on the we. Very Cool site. check it out

Battle For Fifth Spot in Rotation

2010-05-09T20:17:00.000-04:00

Other than today's outing by Paul Maholm, the Pirates starting rotation has been starting to pitch well of late. With Ross Ohlendorf scheduled to get the ball tomorrow, spots 1-4 are secure for really the first time all season.

Manager John Russell had a tough decision to make on who will fill that number five spot for the time being. Both candidates- Brian Burres and Jeff Karstens have thrown well of late and coming off of their last performances, both deserve to get another chance at starting.

Let's look at the season numbers

Burres- 2-1, 4.09 era. 22ip, 21h, 10er 14bb, 13k
Karstens- 1-1, 4.08era. 17.2ip, 20h, 8er, 7bb, 11k

Both guys have had similar numbers and similar outings- 2 good starts and 1 bad one.

Russell announced that Burres will get the ball and Karstens will head to the pen. Did he make the right decision? In this case I'm going to say yes, but only for the short term.

Burres has allowed 10 runs, but six came in his first start and four came in a bullpen outing. In his last 12.1 innings of work, Burres has allowed only seven hits and hasn't allowed a run. How do you not give him the ball again.

Karstens has shown in the past that he was pretty valuable as a swing guy. Preforming well as a long guy and can spot start if necessary.

In the end though, does it really matter? That fifth spot will go to Brad Lincoln sometime this season anyways, so Burress is just keeping it warm for him. In the meantime though, it would be nice to see what this kid can do a couple more times through the rotation.

Looking at the Quality Start

2010-05-08T22:32:00.002-04:00

Another quality start for a Pirates pitcher tonight. This time it was Jeff Karstens pitching well in a 2-0 win over the Cardinals.

No team has played by the theory of good pitching beats good hitting more than these Buccos. I've been charting the outings all season and it breaks down like this. Through 30 games, the Pirates have gotten 15 quality starts and 15 very bad starts.

I'm not that big on the quality start numbers, I prefer to go by the eye test. I still look at the six inning pitched and three earned runs or less, but I prefer to go by "Did the starting pitcher give the team a chance to win today" theory. Yes, I know, I'm an innovator.

Let's take a look. When the Pirates receive a quality start, they are 13-2 as a team and their starters are sporting an impressive 2.55 era. Paul Maholm has led the team with five of my quality starts, followed by Zach Duke with four and Brian Burres and Jeff Karstens with two a piece.

When the Pirates don't get a quality start, it's ugly. They are 1-14 as a team and have an astronomical era of 12.24 Naturally, Charlie Morton leads the team with five non-quality starts, followed by Duke with three.

When this team gets good pitching, they are a fun team to watch. If they get quality starts and can score just enough runs to win; then the power arms in the bullpen can really be effective. I know it's a cliche, but all they need from their starters are six quality innings. They currently have a effective late innings bullpen with Evan Meek in the seventh, Joel Hanrahan in the eighth and Octavio Dotel in the ninth.

It's been 30 games, so teams begin to show trends. The trend of this Pirates team is the quality start. They can hang around the .500 mark for a while if and only if the starting pitching continues to perform well.

Check back tomorrow and I will break down John Russell's tough decision that lays in front of him. With Ross Ohlendorf coming back to the rotation on Monday, one of Karstens or Burres will be out of the rotation. Both guys have pitched well and coming off their last outings. deserve to get the ball again.

Check out our post-game report, following tonight's win, featuring Randy Gore. Click HERE

Until then. Let's Go Bucs

Frustrating Loss to Cardinals

2010-05-08T12:42:00.000-04:00

Last night's 4-3 loss to the Cardinals was one of the more frustrating we will probably see all season. With all of the blowouts and 20-0 beat downs we have witnessed so far this season, last night was probably the first time all season that the Bucs truly gave a game away.

Sure there were two errors, one each by Ronny Cedeno and Andy Laroche that led to three unearned runs against Zach Duke, who otherwise threw a pretty good ballgame.

Sure Chris Capenter threw a good ballgame for the Cardinals, but the Pirates had chances, but couldn't get that extra hit in an inning to cause any damage, leaving 11 runners on base in the process.

Sure Laroche made a huge base running blunder in the 8th that killed what should have been a big inning for the Pirates.

Despite all that, this game should have been won by the Pirates except for one big huge liability- John Freakin Russell. Good ol' Jr cost them this one.

Two big calls by JR practically ripped a victory away from the Pirates. First if all in the fifth, with 2 outs, Russell has Laroche in motion and he is thrown out easily trying to steal second. I didn't like this call at all. Not with Andrew McCutchen up at the plate and Garrett Jones following. Laroche scores anyway from first on a gap shot with 2 outs. I will buy the fact that he was trying to get Laroche in scoring position or that even if he was thrown out, Cutch would lead off the next inning, but why risk that there?

All your doing is assuring that your best hitter will be batting with no one on base. If you have Cutch batting third, let him swing the stick with a runner on base. Jones has been hot as well. Instead of a potential two-out rally, Jr ran them out of the inning. There are times to pick your spots and run that helps win ball games and Russell just hasn't figured that out in three years.

The big blow from Russell came in the 9th though. After Joe Mather stole second (great slide by Mather, but Aki Iwumara has to make that tag). With a runner on second and first base open, JR elects to pitch to Yadier Molina. Molina is a Pirates killer and had already reached base in his first four at bats. What the hell are they pitching to him there for? Even when the count got to be 2-0 and then 3-0, I thought for sure they would put him on. Of course not. Molina laced the game winning double to right center.

Why in the world is he pitching to him there? That's just bad baseball and even worse managing and it cost the Pirates a game they should have won.

Examining The Offense

2010-05-02T22:36:00.002-04:00

I have many topics I'd like to get into this week and I should get to at least three of them by weeks end.

I put everything else on hold to look at a major problem of this team and that's the offense. No one has been good, especially the four guys pictured to the left. (if your scoring at home, that's Aki, Jones, Church & Clement)

What have we seen throughout the first month? We've seen gimmick batting orders- batting the pitcher eighth and your best hitter second. We've seen many questionable manager decisions from John Russell- running themselves out of many innings, not bunting in bunting situations, the constantly rotating batting order, etc. However, the blame can't all really be placed on the manager here. Eventually, the guys on the field have got to start hitting the ball.

The approach is lousy. I don't know if hitting coach Don Long is the problem or if these guys just aren't getting it. How many guys not named Aki Iwamura can hit the ball the other way? Also, can anyone on this team hit a breaking ball? Everyone of them can be had on a breaking ball that ends up below the knees. I don't know how they ever see fastballs. Speaking of fastballs, that's the other problem. These guys are just flat-out missing hittable fastballs. Those are pitches that need to be driven.

More problems- there is no power. Also, every time we actually do get runners on, you can bet someone is going to try and pull a pitch that shouldn't be pulled and hit into a double play.

The main thing that this team is lacking right now is consistency. I'm talking about consistency from game to game, but I'm also, more importantly talking about consistency from at bat to at bat. Every single one of these guys have shown at times in the first month that they can do the job at the plate, but nobody can sustain anything positive.

Let's look at some numbers after one month:
-Andrew McCutchen- .288/4Hr/8RBI- Cutch is fine. Numbers would be better if JR didn't stick him in the 2-hole for much of the first month. Though I have a minor concern that he's pulling a lot of balls right now-especially with runners on base.

-Lastings Milledge- .233/0/6- I do like his line drive approach. I'm concerned that there is no power. He shouldn't be batting third. I don't totally mind him leading off but he's a 6 or 7 hitter. I'm very concerned about him swinging at every low breaking ball that he has no chance to hit. Needs to be more selective.

-Aki Iwamura- .213/2/8- I like the fact that he likes to go the other way. I don't like the fact that his approach totally changes with runners on. You get guys on base and this guy will swing at everything and suddenly becomes pull happy.

-Garrett Jones- .221/4/15- I've liked his patience with nobody on. I don't like that he tries to do to much with guys on base. That's natural though. he's just pressing too much. If he had a bat behind him to protect him then I think the numbers would be better. I have been concerned with him missing many hittable fastballs of late.

-Ronny Cedeno-.203/2/6- How bad would his number be if you take out the first 10 games? Golden rule- If you bounce it then Ronny will swing at it. He's in like a 4-48 slump with no end in sight. Maybe it's time to say batting the pitcher 8th was a real dumb idea with a guy like Cedeno batting 9th.

-Ryan Doumit-.308/3/12- He's been hot. You can tell when he's going good when he's hitting the ball to center and left fields (batting left handed). As much as I don't like him, him hitting well is essential for this team. If he can stay hot then the lineup become deeper. Take out a big two week slump and his numbers would be nice.

-Jeff Clement- .171/3/5- I like this guy but he's gotta start producing. he's been a victim of bad luck, often hitting the ball hard that results in outs. He also showed a good seven game stretch where he showed what type of bat he could have. The Pirates desperately need his power, which he has a ton, but he can't live on promise- he has to start hitting consistently. He can't hit a breaking ball right now and he's gearing up too much for fastballs and over swinging when he gets them.

-Andy Laroche- .323/2/6- He went on a tear when he came back from a stiff back, but how does this guy ever get a hit? I like Andy a lot and think he could be a decent major leaguer, but this guy pulls everything. If you have guys on base, he is a rally killer. He has to start using all fields. Every ball he hits is going to third or short. If other teams played a shift on him, he wouldn't ever get a hit.

-Ryan Church- .273/0/4- Take out the opening day bases loaded double and Church has driven in only one run in close to 50 at bats since. Russell has continued to bat him between third and fifth in the lineup and he hasn't produced a thing. He's a true pro which I like, but just like everyone else, he has to start hitting.

-Delwyn Young- .200/0/4- He wins the Mr. March award for great spring training player. If Young isn't going to hit then why is he here? It's certainly not because of his lousy glove. To his defense, pinch hitting isn't easy, but he's had some starts as well. his approach is awful. A guy could throw 10 straight balls out of the strike zone and you can bet that Young will come up and swing at the first three pitches.

-Bobby Crosby- .265/1/5- Not much to say here except he isn't very good, though he looks like Ty Cobb compared to Cedeno.

-Jason Jaramillo-. 200/1/4- not enough at bats to comment on, but he's a good backup catcher. Not too much to complain about.

The Pirates are hitting .234 as a team (last in the league). They have hit 22 homers which is tied for eight in the league. Can you believe the Astros have only hit 9 homers? The Bucs are next to last in the league with only 86 runs scored. They have a lousy .310 OBP, also next to last in the league and they are only slugging .363 as a team.

You can see all the offensive problems. Hopefully this team can get three or four people going at the same time and at the end of May I will have something positive to write.

Controlling the Running Game

2010-04-29T11:20:00.003-04:00

After a good twelve game start, followed by an awful seven game stretch, the Bucs managed to win their last two in Miler Park; sending them to LA on a good note.

Despite how bad things have gone at times, the Pirates sit only three games under .500 and only five games out of first place.

It would be nice to see them hang around for a few months; hopefully attracting a few more fans in the process.

One thing has to happen though for the Bucs to start to play better though and that is control the running game better. Although Ryan Doumit's bat has come around the last week, his defense gets worse year to year.

He doesn't call a great game behind the plate, often going away from pitcher's strengths. His calls on location also makes you wonder sometimes. The pitchers just always seem to fare better when they are throwing to the backup catcher. Dating back to when Ronny Paulino was the backup catcher, the ERA against was always much lower for the backup then for Doumit.

Everyone also saw the play Monday night in Miller Park when he failed to block the plate as well. That just can't happen, especially from a veteran catcher.

One area that's abysmal this season is Doumit throwing out base runners. So far, opposing base runners have attempted 22 stolen bases and Doumit has thrown out just one runner. That's about 4% if you are scoring at home. The league average is usually around 25%. The worse part is that none of the steals have even been close. Backup catcher Jason Jarimillo has yet to have a runner attempt a steal on him.

Much of the blame should be put on Doumit, but not all of it. The pitchers must do a better job of holding runners on. Paul Maholm is really the only pitcher that has any success controlling the running game. It also seems teams are stealing third way too much on the Pirates. Funny how they always seem to pick the perfect pitch to run on. That answer is simple- they are reading Doumit's signs. He has to do a better job of switching up the signs when a runner is on second.

Some blame has to be thrown at John Russell and the coaching staff as well. How many pitch outs and pick off attempts do we see? Not that many. That stuff is called from the dugout. They need to give Doumit a little more help there, but in the end Doumit has to start throwing some of these guys out. It's leading to way too many runs.

The Pirates need to improve in many areas to start competing and they can start here. It's nice for him to hit a few ninth inning homers to help his confidence; now he needs to help his confidence behind the plate by throwing out a few base runners.

Bucs win a series in Miller Park

2010-04-28T19:28:00.001-04:00

Wow. First time in four seasons a series win in Milwaukee. Back to back exciting games. I will write a bigger post tomorrow but my thoughts on today are:

-Maholm- struggled in the first but overall rebounded to give them a solid outing. If our starters can keep getting into the seventh the way Karstens and Maholm did, then this team has a chance to compete most nights. A big IF though.

-Good to see Andy show a little pop. He's swinging a real hot bat and should stay in the 2 hole all year.

-Cutch had a great game- 4 hits and 2 HR. We will see more of this the rest of the year.

-Good work by the bullpen the last 2 nights, even though Lopez (yesterday) gave up the Fielder bomb and Dotel blew the save today. Those things will happen.

-How does Aki not knock down the McGhee grounder in the 10th. He was positioned perfectly.

- Another lousy strike zone by a home plate umpire against the Bucs. it's getting to be a trend. If Dotel gets the strike 3 call on Mcghee then the game is over. Laroche got punched out on a much worse pitch. It's been happening all season. Pitchers haven't been getting calls and Pirates hitters are getting the same pitches called.

- Russell not bunting Crosby in the 14th? Don't agree with that but they won the game.

-Not to defend Doumit, but right when his bat is coming around, JR gives him a day off? I don't want to hear about a day game after a night game, because he always catches Doumit in those situations.

To hear our post game recap. Today featuring Randy Gore, click HERE

It's Bob Nutting's Turn

2010-04-28T12:27:00.002-04:00

Even after last night's great win, the Pirates still need to make changes. Most notably with manager John Russell. He has to go. Period.

Zach Duke has publicly criticized Russell and there have been rumblings that several players have also said they won't go out of the their way to please Russell.

Fact is, he doesn't have the respect of the players, if he ever had it.

Another fact is that John Russell has nothing to worry about. His job is not at all in jeopardy. Why, you ask? Two words- Bob Nutting.

If he would fire Mr. Mumbles, the penny pinching Nutting would have to pay him and a new manager. No way that would happen. Nutting refuses to add to payroll until the ballpark packs and the team gets better. He has no intention of doing so, because those are two things he knows will never happen.

I'm on record still of saying I have no problem with tearing the team apart and starting over. I also have no problem with having the lowest payroll in the league this season. This team wasn't going to win anyways. I have a huge problem with Nutting keep stating that he will add payroll when the team gets good and when the fans show up. Quit treating Pirates fans like fools Mr. Nutting. They can only take so much of your BS. If you want to continue to ruin this once proud franchise, could you at least do it without being seen or heard.

So, where are we with this team. Nutting is and always will be the owner. He has three yes men that work for him in Frank Coonely, Neil Huntington and John Russell. They, just like Nutting are going to be here for a while. Enjoy.

I always enjoy when people email me some of their opinions and here is some from Bill Gorby- a very longtime and knowledgeable Pirates fan. Feel free to email me your thoughts as well. My email is somewhere on this page,

Bill's thoughts on Bob Nutting:

Bob Nutting has stated that he'll increase payroll only when the Pirates become competitive. He has made no public statement to the media or Pirate fans that he'll increase payroll under any other circumstances. In fact, it remains a wide-open issue as to what criteria he'll use to determine if he will ever spend more than the minimum to field a team.
Given the nature of such an "interpretable" promise we can expect nothing from this man. Here's why.
1. It is entirely up to him to decide when and if he's going to increase payroll --- which leaves Pirate "success" completely in question.
2. If he doesn't spend the money to make the Pirate team competitive in the first place, then he doesn't ever need to increase payroll because (duh) they WILL NEVER BE COMPETITIVE.
3.. This "double-speak" means he never has to break his promise to increase payroll, and at the same time he can continue to suck on the teats of other teams salary cap and revenue sharing money and put those proceeds in his pocket.
Lord knows what he does with the money. He "says" he puts it into scouting and the minor league system, but nobody really knows because his books are sealed. Moreover, it is certainly in his best interest to use the MLB "community money" to pay down the debts that he inherited while at the same time increasing the resale value of the the franchise.
And who really knows, some money could be going into Seven Springs. We really have no checks and balances to view.
The man has MLB and the media completely fooled while at the same time he snickers in his office chair about the idiots who don't understand his true intentions.
P.S. MLB really needs to investigate this man's true intentions and force him to get out of the ownership group. That will never happen because of the incompetent leadership of one Bud Selig and MLB execs.

Bill's thoughts on John Russell's job:

To answer your post about firing JR I don't believe that will ever happen.
He won't be fired until after this pathetic embarrassing season is over. Why would el-cheapo Nuthing fire him and have to replace him while the season is still going on? That means he would still have to pay him and a new manager. He'll wait til September or October when he won't have to pay him anymore and then (possibly) fire him.
As far as Opie, he probably won't go at all. After all, he and Coondog head the best management team in all of professional sports---remember? Those words came right out of Nuthings mouth.

I will include more of Bill's or anyone else's thought in another post.

Streak Over

2010-04-28T00:18:00.000-04:00

Huge Win. That was a fun one to watch. Great outing by Karstens. I wouldn't have counted on that one. As much as I hate to say it. Big Blast by Doumit (He still Sucks though).

I will have more after tomorrows game. In the mean time, listen to our postgame report by clicking HERE

Time to go back to a Traditional Batting Order

2010-04-25T19:26:00.001-04:00

It was kind of fun bashing John Russell the other day so let's do it again. (For everyone that sent emails or text complementing me on the post- Thank You)

What is with the gimmack batting order? I'm tired of this already also. Let's look at the numbers first. After today's game, the Pirates have scored in exactly seven of their last 60 innings. NOT GOOD.
They have scored three runs or less in ten of their 18 games, and the best one is......... Wait for it.......... They have been outscored 130-62 so far in 18 games. That's a run differential of -68. Again, NOT GOOD.

Now, most of the run differential can be attributed to the pitching staff (I will get to them tomorrow), but alot of it is on the offense just as well.

Problem 1- Why is Andrew McCutchen batting second. I will tell you why, because John Russell wants to make things appear like he is managing this team. It makes no sense. By batting Cutch second, you take his aggressiveness away from him. He's never gonna see a fastball to hit batting second.

Why? Because by batting Cutch second, JR has taken the guessing game away from the other manager. With a guy on, are they ever going to bunt or hit and run with their best hitter? Of course they aren't and the other manager knows that. Therefore, he sees breaking ball after breaking ball with runners on until he gets to a three ball count. Batting Cutch leadoff, he is naturally going to see more fastballs to hit because the other pitcher doesn't want to walk him, allowing him to steal a base or two.

Cutch's numbers are a little down, but he has had to work hard for what he's gotten so far. Move him back to the leadoff spot and the numbers will begin to rise again. Aki Iwamura is a more than capable two-hole hitter. He can handle the bat. He is better suited to bat second anyways. They could take advantage of that ability to lay down bunts and hit and run with him. I have no idea what the thought process going into batting Aki leadoff and Cutch second.

I don't want to hear about that by batting the pitcher eighth and Ronny Cedeno ninth, Cutch will drive in more runs. Granted the math supports batting the pitcher eighth if you have an Albert Puljos, Ryan Braun or Ryan Howard. Last time I checked, the Pirates didn't.

The numbers suggest it isn't working. Through 18 games, the eighth spot (pitcher) in the order has stranded 32 base runners- nearly 2 a game. More often than not, lateley; they've come up with men on and two out. In contrast, the 9-1-2 combo that Russell figured would drive in so many more runs have driven in a total of 16 runs- or less than 1 per game and only have 3 RBI's combined in the last 12 games.

It worked for a short time early, with Ronny Cedeno benefiting the most batting in the ninth spot. Now that Cedeno has cooled off drastically, combined with Cutch not getting good pitches to hit; it's time to realize that the experiment is flat out not working.

I could also go on about having Ryan Doumit in an RBI spot that he's not capable of producing in, but there isn't many other options for Russell there so i won't go on a rant about that. This apparantly is JR's form of managing, putting people in situations that they are doomed to fail in.

Put Cutch back in the leadoff spot and Aki in the two hole. Bat the pitcher ninth. Andy Laroche will likely benefit from it as well. Just another reason that John Russell has to go and has to go soon. Again, Neil Huntington. Make a change and make it soon

Today's moves

2010-04-25T12:47:00.000-04:00

The Pirates needed to make some roster moves because their bullpen is taxed and who knows how long Charlie Morton will last. Chris Jakubauskas was placed on the 15 day DL and Brian Burres was called up from Indianapolis.

Brian Bass was called up and Danirl McCutchen was sent down to Indianapolis. Bass wasn't on the 40 man, so they DFA'd Brandon Jones to clear room for Bass.

Wonder if we will do anything offensively today? We've only scored in 4 of our last 49 innings.

I will have a column about the offense, or maybe the pitching up after the game likely. Depends on which pisses me off more today.

Bucs lose 4-3 in Opener of Road trip

2010-04-24T00:12:00.000-04:00

10 day road trip, could get ugly. We played better today. Paul Maholm deserved a much better fate. Poor Delwyn Young. The guy can't play third base, but I feel bad for him. He is thrown in on the fly and expected to do well.

Here's a thought. Instead of bringing up Diaz for a couple games, Why not as guy like Neil Walker for a week? That would make too much sense. We likely win today though if he's at third and not DY.

How in the hell could JR pitch to Carlos Lee? I'm still upset over that one.

Didn't catch the game, then you can listen to my postgame report by clicking HERE

Time to Show Good 'Ol JR The Door

2010-04-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

John Russell has to go. That's the nicest way I can say it. Now it's easy to blame the manager and I often don't take this route, but I have had it with this guy. Not only am I tired of looking at his lazy ass, with his arms crossed in the dugout -looking like he is about to fall asleep; but I'm tired of his actions (or lack there of) during the games.

Let's just look at the last three games. Wednesday night against Milwaukee. The Brewers are getting call after call off the plate, leading to13 Bucco strikeouts. Hitting coach Don Long began to chirp at the umpires while JR was dosing off in the corner. Why doesn't Russell raise his voice? I'm not asking for temper tantrums like Earl Weaver or Lou Pinella, I'm asking him to stick up for his players. God forbid he ever raise his voice, maybe teams won't get calls a foot off the plate. Why would he do that though? He's only the damn manager.

Then Thursday the Bucs get pasted 20-0. Did one Brewer get knocked down? No, of course not. Why send a message? We only play them 15 more times. You can bet Llyod McClendon wouldn't have let his team get run over without sending a message. What does that say to the ballclub? That their manager is a gutless, quitter.

Even better, Mr. Mumbles as I like to call him could have sent a message in his press conference, but did he raise his voice or call out his team? Of course not. Instead he let everyone know that 20-0 games happen sometimes. Really, JR? The last time I checked, they've only happened like five times in the last 115 years.

You can check out Mr. Mumbles feeble attempt at explaining a 20-0 loss by clicking HERE.

Then tonight, not as bad , but how does he not walk Carlos Lee with first base open? They guy has only killed the Pirates for the last three seasons. Granted he's struggling right now, but I about jumped out of my seat when they pitched to him. That likely ended up costing this team a win.

Pirates fans deserve better than this guy. Granted nobody wants the job with an owner that won't spend money, but the guy is a lousy manager. How many times in three years have his in-game decisions helped the team win a game? Likely, you can count them on one hand.

I have always believed a team takes on the personality of it's manager. There are some teams who's players will run through a wall for their manager. This team has taken on a lazy personna and it starts with Russell. You can bet they would be playing alot harder for a guy like McClendon. He wasn't a bad manager, he just had crap for players. Give him this group and I guarentee they would be much better.

I'm not saying fire Russell and hire McClendon back though. I have a guy in mind that would be a good fit here and that's Phil Garner. They need a guy to come in and say "This isn't the way we play here." They need a guy to light a fire under this team and challenge them until they succeed, Scrap Iron is that guy for me. He's gotten teams to the playoffs and took the Astros to the World Series. Even as a part time fix, a guy like Garner would have this team in much better shape than a guy like JR.

Neil Huntington, make a move and make it soon. I don't think I can take this guy any longer.

embarassing loss

2010-04-22T16:51:00.000-04:00

Today, as a matter of fact the last 3 games we very embarassing to be a Bucco fan. Outscored 36-1. Outhit 46-18. The Brewers had more extra base hits than we had hits. I will discuss the pitching sometime tonight or tomorrow but for anyone that didn't watch that game, click HERE to listen to my postgame report.

Two Different Teams-Two Different Approaches

2010-04-22T12:45:00.001-04:00

So far through 14 games, the Buccos have been two totally different ballclubs. For seven games, this young team has battled hard for nine innings, making every pitch and every at bat matter. They won all seven of those games.

For seven other games, they have been a ballclub who has fallen behind early and coasted threw at bats and didn't throw strikes and didn't do the little things necessary to win. Consequently they got the crap kicked out of them in all seven of those games.

In the Pirates seven wins, they've had to scratch and claw. They've outscored the opposition 41-25 in those seven games. All but two have been one or two run games. Their largest margin of victory was by six on opening day.

In the Bucs seven losses, they have been outscored 65-13. Their closest loss was by six runs on two different occassions. Now, I feel that there really is no difference between losing 10-2 and 1-0- a loss is a loss, but what's the reason these guys haven't been able to even compete in those seven losses?

Is it starting pitching? Absolutely. I feel bad for the position players that seem to know they only have a chance to win two out of every five days out. The starters not named Zach Duke and Paul Maholm have got to start giving this team quality innings and quality starts. The pitching is the obvious answer and that's not what has my attention.

Is it the manager? Sure blame JR. I'm getting tired of looking at him, but that's not the main problem either.

You can even blame Ryan Doumit for leaving a small village on the base paths through 14 games.

The problem is the two totally differnt approaches these young guys take at the plate. In seven wins, from the first inning on, 1-9 in the lineup, these guys work deep in the count. The approach at the plate has been to see alot off pitches, foul off close pitches and take advantage of pitchers mistakes. Hitting coach Don Long has made that point to this team. They are hitting over .300 with runners in scoring position in the seven wins, almost all the hits coming with two strikes.

One example is the ninth innings on Friday and Saturday in wins vs the Reds. Take Lastings Milledge for example. Both days he had the chance to be the hero. It would be understandable for a young guy to get anxious and chase bad pitches in both situations. Friday, Milledge fell behind 0-2 and managed to work the count full, fouling off four, two-strike pitches before delivering the game winning single. Saturday, he did it again, falling behind in the count and managed a long at-bat before working a walk to tie the game. We need to see at bats like this all the time from everyone on this team.

A bad trend in the wins have been to have success the first time through the order, struggle in innings 3-8 and then win it in the ninth. The Pirates have got to start having good at bats for all nine innings.

In the losses, the approach is very different. Maybe these guys are pressing too much. Instead of discipline and quality at bats, we instead see alot of contact early in the count- which isn't a bad thing if your swinging at good pitches and hitting the ball hard, which the Pirates aren't. In the losses we also see more guys chasing out of the zone. The strikeout rate is alarming early in the season.

When they get guys on base, they are unable to get hits with guys on base. Again, the approach is way different. Another problem is having to bat Doumit behind Garrett Jones. Jones is never going to see a good pitch to hit until they get someone capable to hit behind him. If they could get away with batting Doumit 10th then they should.

The Bucs have scored exactly one run since the fifth inning on Sunday. That's 22 innings of baseball with one run. No way they should be getting dominated by the likes of Dave Bush. The approach at the plate has to change and change for the better and on a more consistent basis.

Today could be the last day of the season the Bucs are at or above the .500 mark, so enjoy.

More walk off magic

2010-04-17T23:23:00.000-04:00

Not gonna write much until tomorrow but another big win and some great at bats in the ninth off a good closer. Gotta like Milledge first of all. Real easy for a young guy to chase with the bases loaded and the game on the line and the legend also working out of an 0-2 count to win it.

McCutchen didn't pitch bad and unlike last night the bullpen was outstanding. After the 5th inning run allowed by Carrasco, they retired 13 straight. Especially great job by Evan meek.

take a listen to my Lexycast Post game Report by clicking HERE

Exciting Walk-Off Win- Can The Bucs Build Off It?

2010-04-17T16:28:00.000-04:00

Big win for the Bucs last night. If you missed any of it, you can hear my Lexycast by clicking HERE.

Lastings Milledge came through with the walk-off single and he deserves a ton of credit, but a ton of credit also needs to go to Andrew McCutchen. After his two-out single to left, Cutch's steal of second turned out to be the big play of the game.

Now several people have stolen 50 or 60 bases, but it takes a special type of player to steal that bag, in that situation, when everyone in the ballpark and everyone in both dugouts know you are running. Not only that, he stole it easy.

After the steal, Milledge came through with a very good at bat. He's probably the only Bucco I would want up in that situation. He proceeded to spoil four, two-strike pitches, before working the count full and then delivering the walk-off single up the middle for the Bucco win.

Zach Duke gave the team another tremendous start, I have since backed off my criticism of him. He looks great and the ball just seems to be coming out of his hand much better. That's the big thing I noticed last night. His delivery and arm slot is real consistent right now.

If Duke keeps it up, he very well could become the ace the Pirates desperately need. His trade value is increasing by the start. Usually, this would excite me, but with a team lacking effective starting pitching and a team with the lowest payroll in the majors; could this be a time to lock Duke up long term?

The bullpen was horrific last night, unable to find the strike zone. Joel Hanrahan looked good, with his fastball in the 95-98 mph range, but even he walked a batter. Javy Lopez- 2 walks without throwing a strike and Brenden Donally also walked in a run. Although, Angel Hernandez didn't do these guys any favors. He's the worst ump in the league, with the most inconsistent strike zone.

Octavio Dotel blew his first save after giving up a leadoff triple on a fastball right down the middle, but give him some credit to get out with the game tied 3-3.

Now with the team at 5-5, coming off a big win at home; it's time they build off that and string together a few in a row.

NOTES
-Ross Ohlendoff was placed on the 15 day DL, retroactive to April 12th. He will come off on April 27th. Daniel McCutchen was called back up to take Ohlendorf's spot tonight. I think he will fare better than he did in his first start in Arizona.

-Andy Laroche is not in tonight's lineup as he left last nigh'ts game in the second inning with back spasms. He was replaced by Bobby Crosby last night. Delwyn Young gets the start at third tonight.

-Pedro Alvarez hit his fourth homer of the season last night for Indy (made two errors though). Jose Tabata has an eight-game hit streak and is hitting .351. For all you Ryan Doumit haters, Tony Sanchez is hitting over .370 at Bradenton. I will start doing my minor league reports again sometime this week.

-Pirates are ranked 17th in hitting with a .249 team avg. They have averaged 4.3 runs per game and their team OPS is .716

- They rank 30th in pitching with a team ERA of 6.93. Opponents are hitting .302 off them. That's a little misleading though. If you take the poor outings of Hyden Penn, Charlie Morton, Brian Burres and McCutchen away, they have a team ERA of 4.01. Not too bad of a job. Now the other guys have to start pitching better.

-Penn cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA Indy.

-I sit next to all the scouts at the games and lucky me, there was Dave Littlefield, scouting for the Cubs. For his sake I hope he's better at that job than his last.

- I should have something up for tomorrow as well. Until then, LET"S GO BUCS. You can listen to my Lexycast of tonight's game, which should be up 15-20 minutes after the last pitch.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of Week 1

2010-04-13T19:43:00.000-04:00

Well, it took seven games to get below .500, if you took the over, well then you likely are a winner. I haven't gotten around to writing much this week because I have been deathly ill (Doctor was unable to determine if the cause of the sickness was due the the Pirates pitching lately, but maybe I need a second opinion).

So after a week, I still have a decent buzz about this team. Like everyone else, its not nearly the buzz after a 2-0 start, but unlike everyone else, I didn't expect them to win the World Series afer two games. Good news is the Reds come to town so maybe they can win two out of three at home (a little cheap shot at my friend Michael Hammons Big Red machine)

Well let's get into discussing.

THE GOOD
- Zach Duke's two starts have been somewhat impressive. I know I'm hard on the guy, but this is the way he should be expected to pitch pretty much everytime out. Let's hope Duke has a third solid start on Friday. So far Duke is 2-0 with a 3.00 era in 12.0 ip. I will take that.

THE BAD
- All other starters have combined for a 12.31 era

THE UGLY
- Daniel Mccutchen's fourth inning in which the D'backs scored a whopping 13 runs. (not all were charged to McCutchen but 9 overall were)

THE GOOD
- Charlie Morton's first 2 innings on Friday in which the first 5 outs came by strike out

THE BAD
-Charlie Morton's third and fourth innings where he continued to fall behind in the count and looked likie a different pitcher.

THE UGLY
- Ryan Doumit calling a lousy game for Morton. If Adam Laroche said the D'Backs knew what was coming befor Doumit even called it, after the first time threw the order, that's not a good sign of a catcher being able to adjust when calling a game at the MLB level.

THE GOOD
-Octavio Dotel and most of the guys in the bullpen pounded the zone for the most part and showed they can get people out.

THE BAD
-Hayden Penn was lousy in three appearences. The Dodgers first six batters got hits off penn in his Bucco debut.

THE UGLY
- Have I mentioned Hayden Penn?

THE GOOD
- Garrett Jones three homers in his first five at bats.

THE BAD
- Jones has had only 1 hit the last five games

THE UGLY
- There is no one to protect Jones. Jones and Ryan Doumit are a combined 1 for their last 27

THE GOOD
- Not Ryan Doumit

THE BAD
-Ryan Doumit

THE UGLY
- Wait for it........ Wait for it....... Did you guess Ryan Doumit?

THE GOOD
-The Pirates have been agressive on the basepaths, going a perfect 8 for 8 swiping bags so far

THE BAD
-When your down 10 runs in half of your games, you can't utilize your speed and run much

THE UGLY
-Ryan Doumit....... I'm sorry, i couldn't resist

THE GOOD
- Aki Iwumura and Ronny Cedeno are off to surprising good starts

THE BAD
-Those are the only two off to good starts.

THE UGLY
-The next time someone gets a big hit with guys on base will be the first since Ryan Church's pinch hit opening day double. Someone's gotta pick it up.

THE GOOD
- I've been happy so far with both Jeff Clement and Lastings Milledge. The numbers will improve for both. It's also encoraging to see the way Milledge is hustling all the time. A sign of a guy taking things like it's his last opportunity.

THE BAD
- I like batting Milledge in the three hole, but he also must show some power. He has had some bad luck early. scorching some balls right at people. However, if you bat Milledge third, Somehow, somewhere you have to protect Jones in the lineup or he won't see another good pitch to hit all season.

THE UGLY
- I can't resist. Ryan Doumit. He just isn't capable of batting in a run producing spot. With the way Cedeno and Aki have gotten on base early, batting the pitcher #8 isn't that terrible, but Doumit shouldn't be hitting above seventh. He's lousy (Just watch, after I ripped him to death, he will have a huge game tonight)

FINALLY THE GOOD
- It's only been seven games. We've got a lot of Bucco baseball to look forward to. (Technically, depending on your perspective, that last statement could also qualify as THE BAD & THE UGLY for you as well)

Take care and I will have something tomoorow as well. If you haven't yet, go to http://www.lexy.com/ and follow our Pirates broadcat for the year.

Bucs drop Opener of Series

2010-04-13T01:40:00.002-04:00

I promise I will write something tomorrow. I have been deathly sick for like 3 days now. Ugly one tonight. If you didnt watch go ahead and listen to our postgame report. I will write a recap tomorrow

Click HERE to listen

listen to game recap

2010-04-10T23:44:00.000-04:00

I will post something tomorrow before the game, but in the meantime. Check out my post game broadcast at http://www.lexy.com/feed/episode?id=131621

Opening Series Thoughts

2010-04-09T17:28:00.000-04:00

I attended two of the three opening games, opening day and Thursday afternoon's beatdown and I left with a good feeling overall. In the first two games, the crowds were tremendous and the team competed hard, which is all we can really ask for at this point in the Neil Huntington rebuild.

I also left with a positive feeling about where things could be headed with this franchise; because in my mind, this 2010 team is really NH's team for the first time since he took the job. It's taken three seasons, but the look of this year's team is how he wanted to shape the roster. So now he can start to be held accountable as well.

As far as the games went, Bucco fans should be happy. The opener was tremendous and they battled and won an extra inning game on Wednesday. They would have lost that game last season without a doubt. I said all along while everyone was ripping the bullpen acquisitions that I liked the ne look bullpen and they pitched extremely well in the first series (Hayden Penn's outing on Wednesday excluded). With last years bullpen, the Bucs are likely 1-2 instead of 2-1. I think they will amount to a few more wins throughout the season.

As for yesterday, for those of you that jumped on the band wagon after two games, don't hop off after one bad loss. Remember that they are a young team and there are going to be days like yesterday afternoon. The defense was bad, the bats weren't there and then there was the Hayden Penn fiasco.

The thing about being young is there will be inconsistent play throughout the season. Get used to it. One big area I would like to see improvement in, and it can start tonight, is the play away from PNC Park. The Bucs finished with a league worst 22-58 road record in 2009. That can't be nearly as bad in 2010.

With a six game road trip beginning tonight in Arizona (3 at D'Backs, 3 at Giants), to keep whatever positive energy people have had about the team for the first couple days of the season, they need to win atleast three or four ballgames. They do have to face Dan Haren tomorrow, but luck out and miss Tim Lincecum in San Francisco. To improve at all, these guys must be able to win consistently on the road.

OTHER NOTES
- Brandon Moss cleared waivers and reported to AAA Indy.

-Ramon Vasquez was released. The Pirates will eat his $2mil salary.

- Pedro Alvarez homered in his first AAA game.

-Delwynn Young reached base all four times at bat in his first start of the season yesterday with two walks and two doubles. The only bright spot of the game.

-The Laroche Brothers meet as opponents tonight with Adam being the D'Backs first baseman. Here is a shocker, Adam is off to an 0-12 start for the D'Backs. Bucco fans know that all too well.

-Tonight it's Charlie Morton, who I expect big things from vs. Rodrigo Lopez, a winnable game.

You can listen to a recap of yesterday's game at http://www.lexy.com/ . Sign up to follow the Pirates and you will get our broadcasts sent to you all season. http://www.lexy.com/feed/episode?id=131133 Click On that link to hear yesterday's recap.

Opening Day Success

2010-04-06T23:45:00.000-04:00

Well I'm getting to this much later than I wanted to but what an opening day. The Buccos performence was great in an 11-5 victory over the Dodgers, but among the longballs and solid effort from Zach Duke and the backend of the bullpen the main thing I took away from this one was the crowd.

I attend 20-30 games a season, pretty much every season and at no time in the last 10-15 seasons, have I felt the energy at PNC Park that I did yesterday afternoon. It made you happy to be a Pirates fan for a change. I am often very critical of Pirates fans for their constant complaining and whining and general lack of baseball knowledge, but that wasn't the case yesterday afternoon.

It wasn't just due to it being opening day either. There was a general positive energy through out the fourth largest crowd in PNC Park history. The only sad part is that the energy and the size of the crowds will start to fade away, likely beginning with tomorrow night's game against the Dodgers.

As for the game, atleast for one day, we got a glimpse of what kind of potential talent this team could have if a ton of what if's come true. While they will still finish with an 18th consecutive losing record, you could see that just maybe this team could turn the corner one day.

Offensively, they did it all. Three bombs, including no doubters from Garrett Jones and Ryan Doumit. They utilized their speed, with Andrew McCutchen and Ronny Cedeno swiping bags. They got timely hitting for a change when Ryan Church hit a two out pinch hit double that cleared the bases. Lastings Milledge doubled and Jeff Clement reached base three times as well. Maybe as good as a game they may have offensively as a team all season.

They played solid defense as well. Clement played a solid game at first base in his first major league game there. Milledge made a nice running catch in left and overall, the team made all the plays they should make.

On the hill, Duke gave the team a decent start and the bullpen pitched well, especially the last 2 1/3 innings. Brenden Donally got out of a jam with a couple of strikeouts and Octavio Dotel threw the ball extremely well.

Even manager John Russell had an impact. Atleast for one day, he pushed all the right buttons. Lifting Duke after five innings with the bases loaded was probably the call of the game. He wanted to break the game open and he trusted his bullpen. Even batting the pitcher eighth paid off for a day. Would Ronny Cedeno have come through the way Ryan Church did? Probably not. I still don't like McCutchen hitting second, but it didn't have an impact yesterday. In fact, it seemed to work out the way JR envisioned it. Cedeno reached base a couple times and Cutch got at bats with men on base.

So be happy Bucco fans, your team looked great yesterday. Don't over react though and raise expectations. It is what it is- one win, that's it, but hey first place for a day, Right?

To hear Randy Gore and my new project covering the Pirates, go to http://www.lexy.com/ and sign up to follow the Pirates. You will recieve daily game updates, commentaries, news stories etc. from us. Here is a taste. http://www.lexy.com/#/feed?id=1507

Opening Day Roster is Set

2010-04-04T13:28:00.000-04:00

The final roster moves have been made before today's 2pm deadline to finalize the opening day roster. Hayden Penn and John Raynor get the final two roster spots, while Ramon Vasquez was DFA'd and Steve Pearce sent to AAA.

The Bucs have 10 days to either trade or release Vasquez, so it's almost certain they will release him and eat his salary of 2 million for this season.

Here is what the opening day roster will look like

Starters: Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm, Charlie Morton, Daniel McCutchen.
Relievers: Octavio Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, Evan Meek, Javier Lopez, D.J.Carrasco, Jack Taschner, Penn.
Catchers: Ryan Doumit, Jason Jaramillo.
Infielders: Jeff Clement, Aki Iwamura, Ronny Cedeno, Andy LaRoche, Bobby Crosby, Delwyn Young.
Outfielders: Lastings Milledge, Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Ryan Church, Raynor.

Carrasco and Taschner had to also be added to the 40-man roster. The release of Vasquez and Jose Ascaino to the 60-day DL, cleared spots for them.

Spring Notes: Bucs finished with an MLB worst 7-21 spring record.

Batting: McCutchen led the team hitting .351, followed by Milledge at .308.
Young led the team with 6Hr & 18 RBI's

Pitching: Carrasco led the team with a 2.25 ERA and a .184 opponents batting average against (my prediction is that he will lead all relievers in innings pitched for the second straight season. He will be forced to pitch alot.)
Other ERA's- Maholm 4.30 (best among starters), Duke 6.27 and Ohlendorf 9.61.

As you know, I place no stock in spring numbers, but I figured I'd throw that in for those who do.

The time for optimism is nearly over, opening day is tomorrow. The road to losing season #18 begins. I will be in attendence. I'm working on a new Bucco project for this season. I will give details later

Follow me on Twitter

2010-04-04T12:37:00.000-04:00

There have been times where I have wanted to post stuff and either haven't had the time or haven't been by the computer, so I'm trying out the twitter thing.

You can follow my blog on twitter as well @opershutdown

We will see if it goes anywhere

Bucs Claim Penn- Designate Moss

2010-03-29T22:55:00.000-04:00

Today the Bucs made a roster move by claiming right hander Hayden Penn off waivers from the Florida Marlins. Four years ago Penn was once a big time prospect in the Baltimore Orioles system, but has yet to live up to the early hype.

Penn made his mlb debut before his 21st birthday. He is 4-6 overall between stops with the O's and Marlins. He has a good arm and good stuff and throws three plus pitches for strikes.

Both Baseball America and Tim Dierkes say it's a good pickup by NH. Even if Penn never reaches his potental, it's worth taking a shot on him. It's the typical low risk-high reward type of signing that NH likes to make. Penn should most likely begin the season at AAA Indy.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Penn, the Bucs designated Brandon Moss for assignment (i can hear everyone celebrating). Moss hit only .236 last season and honestly, the at-bats just aren't their for him. He has been passed on the depth chart by Rule 5 guy John Raynor.

One intresting note is that NH said today that in hindsight that there was a better deal on the table for Jason Bay. Now that Moss and likely Craig Hansen won't pan out, the deal will be judged on by how Bryan Morris and Andy Laroche do as Pirates.

The team has ten days to release or trade Moss. He must clear waivers in order for the Bucs to send him to the minors.

Discussion- 2010 Lineup

2010-03-29T18:05:00.004-04:00

John Russell has shown his new look lineup the past couple spring games and says it's likely to be the lineup for most of this season. Biggest things about it is that Aki Iwumara will leadoff while Andrew McCutchen will bat second. Also the pitcher will bat eighth this season.

Looking at it top to bottom
1. Iwumara 2b
2. McCutchen cf
3. Jones rf
4. Doumit c
5. Milledge lf
6. Clement 1b
7. Laroche 3b
8. Pitcher
9. Cedeno ss

First, do you like Cutch batting in the 2 hole? If you buy into the theory that the leadoff guy is really only guarenteed to lead off an inning once then I guess it makes sense. Aki is capable of doing the job in the leadoff spot. The idea of batting Cedeno 9th is to have have two leadoff hitters batting back to back to get men on base for Cutch and Jones. If that's the case bat Cutch third.

You know Cutch won't be sacraficing like many two hole hitters or hitting behind the runner and why should he when he is your best player. My fear is that there goes any fundamental team baseball the Bucs would play.

Batting the pitcher 8th? Does it really matter? Overall I'm not really a huge fan of the constructed lineup, but I don't hate it either. I think they will be solid 1-3. If Doumit, Milledge and Clement can have decent years then the Bucs could surprise some people and score some runs.

Look, things weren't working the traditional way so it can't hurt to try something new. Your thoughts?

Around the Diamond- Staring Pitching

2010-03-28T21:14:00.001-04:00

I'm very undecided about this current roatation. Do all five guys have potential? Yes. On the other hand, can all five guys be awful? Absolutely.

Let's start at the top. Very few teams in the majors have their weakest link as the opening day starter as the Pirates do with Zach Duke. While Duke may be a nice guy and apparantly being nice is more important than producing in Pittsburgh (Exhibit A- Jack Wilson), he just flat out doesn't get the job done. Never has and likely never will.

Take a look at the numbers, and when looking at the case of Duke's performance, his numbers tell the whole story. Take out Duke's brief stint as a rookie and 2009 was his best season as a pro, yet it wasn't a good one. While he did win 11 games, out of his 32 starts, his team only won the 11 that Duke got the W. Hands down the lowest percentage of team wins per start in the majors. Duke flat out doesn't give his team a chance to win most nights out.

Other alarming numbers. Duke led the league in hits given up (231)- AGAIN, also an outrageous 9.8 Hits/9ip the worst among mlb starters, only a 2.16 k/bb ratio and a below average 4.06 era and 1.315 whip.

I have run into plenty of Duke supporters (ran into one last night as a matter of fact) and the first thing they say is well he doesn't have a good defense. Really? Wasn't it the Pirates who led the league in fielding percentage for most of the season? Defense isn't the problem as Duke gave up only 5 unearned runs in 2009. Also don't give me that he made the all-star team last season. He did have a decent first half, but did anyone watch him pitch in the second half?

My problem with Duke is that he doesn't compete and often pitches gutless baseball. He is a left handed Kip Wells. How many bad two strike pitches can one guy throw? A former Pirate who will remain nameless, once told me off the air on a radio show that I did that they really don't expect to win most of the time Duke starts and if they do it's a bonus.

Having ripped Duke apart, I still have a little faith in him. He is a very important piece in a rotation that needs to take the next step. Does he have the pure stuff of a Charlie Morton, Brad Lincoln or even a Kevin Hart (if Hart could throw strikes)? No, not even close. However, in those eleven wins last season, Duke showed that he could pitch effectively at the major league level.

He had some decent numbers as well in 2009. His control was very good, only walking 49 batters at a 2.4bb/9ip clip. He also gave the team some good innings, eclipsing 200 ip for the second time in his career. Now this isn't about bashing Duke, it's to show that a guy in his sixth mlb season needs to be much more consistent every fifth day. He is capable of doing it and if he needs to become the leader of a staff that desperately needs one. Duke is having a very good spring so far, so we will see if he can carry that into the season.

Looking at the two and three spots in the rotation- Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf, both are in similar situations. Maholm needs to take a big step forward as well. He pitched hurt most of last season and now healthy, hopefully he can put things together as well. Maholm nearly gave up as many hits (222) as Duke last season. When healthy though, he tends to keep the ball down a bit more, so I have a little more faith in him. Maholm or Duke could be pitching to see who stays in Pittsburgh for the long haul. Logic would tell you one of them has to be dealt to make room for Brad Lincoln. Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton and Daniel McCutchen aren't going anywhere. My bet is that Duke is dealt at the trading deadline or sometime before the 2011 season.

Ohlendorf was a surprise last season. Unlike Duke (and I will include Maholm here as well so I'm not just bashing Duke), Ohlendorf gave the Pirates a chance to win in a good percentage of his starts. With a record over .500 and an era under four, he was the Pirates best starter last season. One thing I'd need to see from Ohlendorf is to be able to pitch deeper into games this season. He was often a six inning guy last season, but he did his job when he was on the hill.

By far the guy with the most talent in the rotation is Morton. He really holds the key to this staff. His stuff is flat out nasty. He is a guy that management would like to see take a huge step. If Morton can learn what it take to be a successful big league starter then honestly the sky's the limit for him. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. One thing Morton needs to realize is that it's ok to get a guy out on one or two pitches. He needs to realize that pitching behind in the count will hurt him. Also he doesn't have to go to a full count on every single hitter.

The fifth spot was won by Daniel McCutchen. McCutchen has above average stuff and could surprise some people. I like his make up and he doesn't seem to be scared of big league hitters, as he showed in his September call-up in 2009. Unfortunately for him, the Bucs will only need to use a fifth starter once the first three and a half weeks of the season.

As you can see, many questions surrond the 2010 Pirates rotation. However, there is potential for many bright spots to occur as well. This needs to become Duke's staff and Morton needs to reach his potential for anything good to come of it. One bright spot should be sometime after June when Brad Lincoln should get the call.

Position grade Compared to the rest of the league- C - Could be a B if things go their way. They are going to have to perform well because I don't think they will score many runs for these guys.

Around the Diamond- Right Field

2010-03-25T12:26:00.000-04:00

Another solid position for the Bucs. If the outfield looks like Milledge-McCutchen and Garrett Jones in right, then the outfield could be a real strength. Jones needs to devel;ope into a better defensive outfielder, but right now I can live with him defensively.

I love the bat, but which Garrett Jones will we see. Will we see the guy that pounded out 21 homers in 82 games? Can he possibly have a repeat of that? Did the Pirates actually catch lightning in a bottle with Jones? I sure hope so because they will surely need his power bat in the middle of the order.

What the Pirates can't asfford is for Jones to be a flash in the pan. I think he will turn out to be for real though. He is swinging the bat well in spring training also. A 30/100 type of season would be tremendous.

One thing "The Legend" does need to improve though is his inability to hit with runners in scoring position. he was actually pretty lousy in those situations last season. he got pitched tougher and didn't adjust well. If he can become a legitimate threat with men on base, then the Bucs may have something here.

In the event that Jones has to be the everyday first baseman, then one of a group of Ryan Church, Brandon Moss and Delwyn Young should get at bats in right field. I would look for them to find ways to get Church into the lineup anyways. Moss and Young should be strictly bench guys for the time being.

The big question is, what do the Bucs do when Jose Tabata is deemed ready? There will be some dealing and lineup shuffling, but it's a good problem to have. Jeff Clement really could hold the key to Tabata's arrival. If he struggles for two months, the by June, the Bucs may be willing to move Jones to first and call up Tabata.

Position Grade Compared to the Rest of the League- B- - Would be higher, but as much as I like Jones, he is still a bit unproven at the MLB level

McCutchen wins Fifth Spot in Rotation

2010-03-23T19:42:00.001-04:00

Finally we have seen a job won and lost based on performance with the Buccos. Daniel McCutchen has been named the teams fifth starter, beating out Kevin Hart for the job. McCutchen has been impressive all spring, although not against major league hitters all of the time. The main thing that won him the job has been his ability to throw strikes consistently.

That's exactly what cost Hart the job. After struggling at the end of last season, going 1-8 as a Pirate, Hart couldn't figure out the strike zone this spring either, with an alarming walk rate. While many in the organization still consider Hart to have the better stuff of the two, his inabilty to throw strikes led to him being one of eight cuts.

Some have said McCutchen doesn't have great stuff, but I disagree. His fastball may only top out at around 92, but he has pretty decent command of his two-seamer and breaking stuff and generally keeps the ball down in the zone.

While winning the fifth starter competition is big for McCutchen, it's not that big of a deal for the Pirates right off the bat. Up until April 24th, the Bucs will only need to use their fifth starter once, on April 11th.

In addition to Hart, the Bucs also cut Chris Jakubauskas and Neil Walker- all three will be sent to AAA. Brian Myrow, Hector Giminez, Brian Burress, Wil Ledezma and Jean Machi were all assigned to minor league camp.

OTHER NOTES
-Zach Duke was named opening day starter. No surprise, but I didn't feel he was worthy off it. I feel Ross Ohlendorf or Paul Maholm would have been a better choice.

-Octavio Dotel has been throwing to batters and should be ready for opening day.

- Not that spring averages mean much, but several pencilled in regulars have not swung the bat well. All hitting under .200 for the spring are Aki Iwumara (.199), Jeff Clement (.194), Andy Laroche (.194) and Brandon Moss (a whopping .038)

-Former Bucco Nate McLouth is only 1 for 30 on the spring with 15 K's.

-Bucs got shelled by the Astros today 11-1.

Around the Diamond- Center Field

2010-03-23T19:19:00.001-04:00

Gonna keep this portion kind of short and sweet. Center field is the only non-debateable position on this team. Andrew McCutchen is a flat out stud and is only going to get better. Despite not joining the team until June, Cutch managed to hit .286/12/54, steal 22 bags, play an outstanding center field and win the team MVP as a rookie.

The numbers should only go up this season and pretty much every season after that. This is already his team and I'd like to see him take on the leadership role that comes with that.

His is the most gifted Bucco since a young Barry Bonds roamed left field at Three Rivers Stadium. The only debate is weather Cutch should bat first or third in the order. I feel for the time being he should still be the leadoff guy, but if the team ever gets a guy capable of leading off, then batting third could suit him just fine.

This season should be a big one for young McCutchen. I'd like to see him run a lot more, but it will be a treat to watch him for an entire season.

Position Grade Compared to the Rest of the League- A - Thats right, finally a good grade. The guy is a stud.

Around The Diamond- Left Field

2010-03-18T13:30:00.000-04:00

Ok, call me crazy, but left field is one position I'm very excited about looking at the 2010 season. I love the Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan trade. Give me Milledge anyday over Nyjer Morgan. The guy seems committed and is in great shape and is having a solid spring.

The attitude is no longer in question and the ability has never been questioned. If I have to pick one guy on the Pirates team to have a breakout season, the answer is easy- Lastings Milledge.

I feel he will have a solid season with the bat. I'm looking at a .290/25/90 type of season. I'm not worried about this guy at all. A good start out of the gate would be even better for him and Pirates fans would hopefully come around to the guy. He is a hit around all of his teammates. He has won the organization over in the locker room, now he has to win everyone else over by producing.

I really think he will. I liked this acquisition from the get go and I feel it will pan out well. One thing i need to see better out of Milledge is better base running. Not only does he need to steal some bags, he needs to eliminate some base running blunders he has made in spring games already.

Can he play left field? He's going to have to. It's a big left field to cover and he has to make the plays. Criticize the guy all you want, but in the end, he will be a productive player. I can see him batting fifth all season and producing.

In the event that Milledge blows his probable last shot, look for Brandon Moss (who's in a similar situation) and Ryan Church to see time in left field. If John Raynor makes the roster as a Rule 5 guy then he may see some rare time in left field.

Position Grade Compared to the Rest of the League- C - I wanted to go B or B+ here because I'm confident Milledge has a good season, but fact is up to this point he hasn't

Around the Diamond- Shortstop

2010-03-16T13:51:00.000-04:00

Here could be one of the true battles in camp for playing time. Ronny Cedeno is pencilled in as the starter, but don't be surprised to see free agent signee Bobby Crosby to steal some playing time. Cedeno is the much better defensive shortstop, but Crosby has been a hot topic of camp so far.

His bat has been very good. That's more likely a sign that he will be a candidate for Mr. March instead of a good season though. After winning the 2004 American League Rookie of the Year, the 30-year old Crosby hasn't come close to a productive season since. He has only hit above .240 once since then and after his 22 homer rookie season, he has yet to return to double digits. Much of that has been due to injury, but maybe he's healthy and can be productive for the Bucs.

Crosby is the type of low risk- high reward signing that Neil Huntington has made during his first three years on the job. There's nothing wrong with that approach. If he pans out then great, if not then no big loss to the organization.

I'd still like to see what Cedeno can do playing everyday, but having Crosby around could turn into a good thing. Argenis Diaz has been sent to AAA, but there is a small chance he could get a look this season. His glove is very smooth, but his bat is severly lacking (sounds like a shortstop that was around for the last decade).

Position Grade Compared to the rest of the League- D- -Very unproven and looks to be light hitting. One of these guys needs to step up and put a stranglehold on the job and hopefully have a good season. Not much offensive help in the minors either, but what I want most from whoever gets the job is to simply catch the ball.

If you are keeping track. Here are the grades so far. Not too promising on paper.
Catcher- C
First base- D-
Second Base- C+
Third Base- C+
Shortstop- D-

Around the Diamond- Third Base

2010-03-15T19:18:00.000-04:00

Let's switch our attention to the hot corner. The Pirates had too be somewhat happy with the progression Andy Laroche made throughout the 2009 season. The younger Laroche became one of the best defensive third baseman in the league, after struggling initially out of the gate.

At the plate, his bat shows some pop and he showed that he can handle the bat at times at the big league level. The first thing the Bucs need from him this season is consistency. He entertained some prolonged slumps last season, something a young hitter will experience. He needs to take the next step and put it all together.

He only wound up hitting .258 last season, but eliminate the slumps this season and we could see that number jump to around the .285 mark. As I said looking at the first basemen, the corner spots must produce runs. The power wasn't there for Andy last season, hitting only 12 dingers, but several of his team high 29 doubles hit the top of the wall, so they could easilly turn into homers this season. That's just wishful thinking on my part, but one would have to think Laroche has to turn in a .285/20/80 type season to remain the everyday man.

Yes Pedro Alvarez is looming and looks great this spring. He has no chance to come up before June 1, so it's imperitive for Laroche to get off to a sizzling start or the decision on Alvarez may become an easy one for Pirates management.

The job is Laroche's. Like all the other infield positions, Bobby Crosby could see a few starts. Ramon Vazquez (while he's still here) is also in the mix for a few spot starts throught the season. Neil Walker could also steal some playing time.

Position Grade Compared to the rest of the league- C+ - Laroche is serviceable and pretty much like every other position on the diamond, if he has a breakout season then it becomes a strength of the club. My guess is that he has an average type season and we see Pedro Alvarez sometime in late June- early July. If for anything, that the Pirates will desperately need his power bat. this would regulate Laroche to a utility man for the time being.

First Two Rounds of Roster Cuts

2010-03-15T16:40:00.000-04:00

The Pirates made their first two rounds of roster cuts the last two days, re-assigning a total of 13 players; including a few heralded prospects.

Optioned to AAA- Brad Lincoln (pictured), Donnie Veal, Argenis Diaz and Brandon Jones

Optioned to AA- Gorkys Hernandez, Ronald Uviedo and Ramon Aguero

Optioned to A- Bryan Morris,

Optioned to Minor League Camp- Tony Sanchez, Jeff Sues, Virgil Vasquez, Jeff Thomas and Brian Friday.

All of the youngsters have shown good things to management during camp and have been re-assigned to play everyday. This was going to happen anyways so there is nothing to read into it. Just the first of many roster cuts during the spring.

Around the Diamond- Second Base

2010-03-14T20:24:00.000-04:00

Looking at the second base job, which was a mess after the Freddy Sanchez trade (which will turn out to be a great trade), the Bucs sured up the position by acquiring Akinori Iwamura from the Tampa Rays, shortly after the World Series last season.

This improves the position significantly. While not an all-star, Iwamura is a solid glove man and he can handle the bat. As long as he is healthy, Iwamura should do well batting in the 2-hole behind Andrew McCutchen.

Iwamura is a career .281 hitter, with little power. Coming off knee surgery, I also don't look for him to do much in the running game. What he can do though is have professional at bats. He will be good at hitting behind the runner and moving guys up. He should be a surprise to most Pirates fans that aren't used to seeing good fundamental baseball being played.

Aki will get most of the time this season and could be spelled by the likes of Bobby Crosby and Delwyn Young. Ramon Vazquez, coming off a lousy 2009 is still in camp, but is a good bet to be dealt before the season begins. Neil Walker is still in camp as well and has started taking ground balls at second.

One thing to keep an eye on is Pedro Alvarez. When he gets the call this season, will Andy Laroche start to play some second base? Easier said than done. Look for Aki to stay there for the long haul this season. he also could always be moved at the deadline if the team feels Laroche can play a solid second base

Position Grade compared to the rest of the league- C+ - A little above average. Headed in the right direction, but no help from down on the farm. Overall, a very thin position in the organization

Around the Diamond- First Base

2010-03-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

Let's move from behind the dish to first base and look at what the Bucco's will offer this season. The job is unproven Jeff Clement's to lose. I have always been a fan of the power potential of the former #3 overall pick Clement. Now that he could be given a full-time opportunity, along with a short porch in right field, it could mean big things for Clement.

In 75 career games, Clemet has homered only seven times, but I expect a solid 25 dingers out of him if he holds onto the job. The Pirates desperatley need some power in the middle of the lineup.

Defensively, he looks good so far; so hopefully that won't be a problem. If Clement fails to win the job, Garrett Jones will shift from right field to first base, opening up a compettion for the starting job in right.

Throught the season, Bobby Crosby could also see some playing time at the position. Steve Pearce also has an outside shot of making the team. Management likes his versatility- he can also play right field (although not very well). Pearce still has an option left so let's hope he is destined for Indianapolis. He doesn't do anything for me. He had a long look and didn't impress.

Position Grade Compared to the rest of the league- D- - Well below average. You have to have run production from the corner infield spots and right now the Pirates just don't have it. As much as I like Clement getting the shot, he also has yet to prove he can be a legitimate run producer. If he does, the position could suddenly become a strength.

Around the Diamond- Catchers

2010-03-10T14:01:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks into spring training and we will begin to take a daily look around the diamond. Let's begin behind the dish, which has turned into one of the Bucs deepest positions in the organization.

Matt Wieters should be the starter, but wait... Dave Littlefield passed on him. Ryan Doumit will start and hopefully, the team can finally get 140 games out of him and truly see what type of player he is. I know we've been down this road before, but hopefully Doumit's poor 2009 was due to injury.

If John Russell intends to bat Doumit in the middle of the order, he has to start swinging the bat. I know I'm very hard on Doumit at times, but it's make or break time for him. I have a feeling he will answer the call and perform well. (That was painful for me to say).

What's more important is for Doumit to handle the young pitching staff and become a leader of this young team. He has it in his personality to do so. If he starts putting up numbers offensively and the pitchers throw well, this could become his team. I look for big things from the soon to be 29 year old backstop. he won't be a big long ball guy, but could become a decent run producer.

Other catchers in camp are last years backup Jason Jaramillio and non-roster invitees: Luke Carlin, Hector Gimenez, Erik Kratz and 2009 first round pick Tony Sanchez. Carlin and Kratz have impressed at times so far. As for Sanchez, he is having a great camp, but don't expect him to come north opening day. What he is doing is showing Doumit that he has to produce, or Sanchez's time will be sooner, rather than later.

As for the backup, look for it to be Jaramillio; although he does have an option left.

Position Grade Compared to the rest of the league- C - Average at best production and I'm probably being kind here.

Will the WBC Ever be Huge?

2010-03-04T14:15:00.001-05:00

After watching Olympic Hockey, and saying that it was the greatest team tournament among nations, it got me thinking about the WBC. Will the WBC even reach the heights of Olympic Hockey or the World Cup?

As sad as it is to say, the answer is no. Now I love the WBC and watch pratically every game. I think the concept is great, but it won't reach an Olympic like level for two main reasons.

The first is leadership. I give Bud Selig the credit for the idea, but anything with his fingers on it is bound to end in controversy. I just don't think Selig has the ability to capitalize on something big. He's actually more likely to ruin the entire thing than push for it to reach higher levels.

Selig aside, the main reason the WBC just won't work is timing. There just isn't a good time to do this thing. Take a look at the current format- at the beginning of spring training. The obvious is that the players just aren't in top baseball shape. Look deeper and what MLB GM in their right mind want their players competing in the WBC? One tight hamstring or one sore elbow and the guys that should be there are pulled out. Can't blame the GM's. I wouldn't want my guys there either. Spring training is valuable to teams. Look at the pitchers who threw in the last years WBC. Most had early arm problems

So when is the best time to play the WBC? Answer is that there isn't one. I heard an after the World Series recomendation. No way. While you could eliminate the weather problem by playing in warm cities, 95% of the MLB is shut down by the World Series. You can't ask players to get it back in gear after a season that last March-October. Players are looking forward to thier time off, they wouldn't want to compete.

I've heard shut down the MLB for 2-3 weeks like hockey does. Wouldn't work. Can't play the World Series at the end of November, and what organization would want to send their pitchers to get 3 more weeks of work at the time teams are heading down the stretch.

As much as I love the WBC concept, there just isn't a right time to hold the tournament. I do feel that it could be on par with Olympic Hockey or the World Cup, but you would need the games top talent every time out. I will enjoy it next season as I always do, but it could be so much better. I wouldn't sacrafice one bit of the MLB season for it though

Five Things That Need to Happen For the Pirates to Compete in 2010

2010-03-02T12:33:00.000-05:00

It's the spring training opener and it's the usual time to say "What If," becuase when the calender turns May, we know we will more than likely be saying "Here We Go Again," for the 18th consecutive season.

As I get ready to watch some live spring training baseball on MLB Network, anything can happen. Even the Pirates could (though not likely) catch lightning in a bottle. here are five things the Bucs will need to happen in order to compete in 2010.

5. Bullpen- The bullpen needs to be rock solid. The signing of Octavio Dotel, for a change a good Bucco signing, needs to work. Too many late leads blown the last couple of seasons. A team like the Bucs can't blow 15-20 games that should be in the win column.

They have the arms in the pen to be successfull. Dotel, Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek are all power right handed arms with tremendous stuff, they just have to do the job.

4. Break Out Season- One of the holdovers finally has to have a breakout season. I'm expecting Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones to get better, so who's it going to be? From a group of Andy Laroche, Brandon Moss, Lastings Milledge, Ryan Doumit and I will throw Jeff Clement's name in there for the hell of it- I'm looking at Milledge and/or Doumit.

Milledge has every tool and he's healthy and motivated. He's running out of time so he's going to be the guy. I like what he showed in his two month stint in Pittsburgh last season. As for Doumit, everyone know how strongly I am not a fan of his, but similar to Milledge, he's running out of chances.

Doumit needs to stay healthy and start swinging the bat. If one, or both have big seasons then suddenly the Bucs have a decent lineup throwing in Cutch and Jones.

3.Youth Be Served- Pedro Alvarez will likely get the call sometime between June and July and possibly be joine in Pittsburgh by the much anticipated debuts of Jose Tabata and Brad Lincoln. For the Bucs to have any shot at competing, Alvarez needs to come up and hit the cover off the ball from day one and hit with power.

It has been done. Look at how Evan Longoria and Ryan Braun came up and made an immediate impact for the Rays and Brewers respectively. Alvarez will be carrying a ton of pressure to be that big middle of the order bat that the Bucs so desperately need. If Tabata and Lincoln could produce similar results then the Bucs would really have the ball rolling.

2. Starting pitching- The Bucs have a young rotation and it's usually that third year around that young arms take the next step. Paul Maholm should be the staff ace. It's his time to get it done. Charlie Morton will take big steps to becoming a legitimate big league guy. Ross Ohlendorf just needs to do exactly what he did last season.

Zach Duke flat out needs to be better. Now I hear you saying that he was an all-star and the Bucs best pitcher last season. He had an ok season and nothing better. A starters job is to give his team a chance to win everytime out and Duke doesn't do that. The Bucs won only 11 times that Duke started last season, all 11 times Duke got the W. He is either really good or really bad. He needs to start performing like an ace.

Suddenly if the starters put things together then you have four guys, maybe five if Lincoln can come up after the all-star break, that can get deep into a ball game and give the team a chance to win.

If all four of these things happen and that's highly unlikely, but for this instance let's just say that they do. Then the big thing that would have to happen in order for the Bucs to compete in 2010 is.............

1. Ownership Opens the Checkbook to Improve the Club- Say the Bucs are hanging around .500 at the all-star break and are chasing a wild card spot. What will Bob Nutting do? Will he open the checkbook and go get the big power bat the team needs? Will he add another big arm to the rotation?

Now Neil Huntington has said often that they have the resources to do exactly that. I have been a big supporter of NH's in the past but when it comes down to this scenerio, I'm tired of the empty promises. It's time to Show Me and quit telling me about what is going to happen.

When it comes down to it as good as the players could possibly perform, we all know that Nutting will drop the ball at the end of the day. Cross your fingers Pirates fans.

Pirates Out of Options

2010-02-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

I got an email a few weeks ago froma reader who asked "Why can't the Pirates just send guys like Brandon Moss and Delwyn Young to the minors and recall them when the team needs them?"

The answer is simple, both guys are out of minor league options and would have to clear waivers before they could be outrighted to the minor leagues. Some team would surely claim them and while they haven't lit the world on fire as members of the Pirates, both have shown that they have talent and no team wants to give up on talented players too soon.

Here is a list of the other Buccos that are out of options: Moss, Young, Andy Laroche, Joel Hanrahan and Ronny Cedeno. All would have to clear waivers before being sent to the minors. A more likely option would be for the Bucs to deal one of them for a small return, in the event they have given up on them.