Say What You Want, but Pedro Alvarez is a Stud

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.

McDonald Dazzles in Pirates Debut

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.

Can We Finally Quit Complaining About the Nate McCouth Trade

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.

What Exactly is the Pirates Plan?

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.

A look at the Pirates Mid-Season Awards

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Why the revolving Lineups?

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.

It's Bob Nutting's Turn

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.

Time to go back to a Traditional Batting Order

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

Time to Show Good 'Ol JR The Door

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.

Opening Series Thoughts

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.

Bucs Claim Penn- Designate Moss

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.

Around the Diamond- Shortstop

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-

Five Things That Need to Happen For the Pirates to Compete in 2010

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.                     

Figuring out the Opening Day Roster

So, spring training is right around the corner and not too many jobs are available.  Today I'm gonna look at the position players and with your help, we will decide wo makes the 2010 squad.

First off, I'm going to assume JR will carry 12 pitchers. Next, I'm going to assume Jeff Clement wins the first base job, something the Bucs are hoping as well.  In your scenerios though, assume whatever you want.

Here are the guys that should have the team made

Catchers- Doumit and Jaramillo
First Base- Clement
Second base- Iwamura
Third base- Laroche
Shortstop- Cedeno
Outfielders- Jones, McCutchen, Milledge, Church
Backup Infielders- Vazquez and Crosby

Assuming they keep 12 pitchers, they have a difficult decision ahead of them.  The final outfield spot.  It will come down to Brandon Moss, Delwyn Young and Rule 5 guy John Raynor.  Longshot candidates include Brandon Jones, Neil Walker and Steve Pearce.

So who gets the final job?  They could go with 11 pitchers but for a young team that will likely use the pen a good bit, that would likely be a bad idea, so we are still assuming only one roster spot is open, barring injury.

I say NH will work out a deal with the Malins to keep Raynor in the system, otherwise they either give him back, or Moss and Young are in trouble.  They love Raynors speed and ability to get on base, so I can't see them offering him back to the Marlins. NH did similar with the Rays in order to keep Evan Meek in the system.

I also would hate to see them give up on Moss so soon, but when there is talent behind you, the pressure is on to perform and Brandon Moss simply hasn't.  I would expect them to wait until closer to opening day, to make sure they are healthy and then deal Moss.

If all that happens, then my last roster spot goes to Delwyn Young.  I was happy with what Young showed last season. I also feel he was more effective as a pinch hitter and a spot starter than playing second base everyday.  Young is a valuable guy to have and he is can play a couple different positions and is a switch hitter, although he is much better from the left side.

Young earns the job in my mind and adds depth to the ballclub.  That's just my opinion though, let me know who makes your opening day roster.

The Neil Huntington Era- Part IV

Now it's time for the final installment in my NH series. This should be fun, because it's all about everyone's favorite topic to criticize- the trades.

This is the part of the discussion that in the past, I have often been in favor of the job that NH & company have done.  Fact is, the system was in shambles.  Another fact is that the group including:  Bay, Wilson, Sanchez, Nady, etc. had several chances and they just weren't going to win together.

That led to NH saying "It's not like we were breaking up the '27 Yankees," and I totally agree.  This team needed an influx of young talent throughout the system and I think he has done a good job of trying to do exactly that.  When the average person doesn't see top studs coming over in the trades, well he didn't exactly have top end talent to deal. To see how little talent was in the system before NH got here and where it's at now, check out a piece I wrote in August about the prospects. You can click here to read that.

I was going to make a spreadsheet of all the trades, but I found one on MLBtraderumors today so click here to look at all the deals or you can go directly to mlbtraderumors.com.  For the sake of this discussion, I will look at the major deals and let you discuss them.  Now it's way to early to say who won or lost certain deals, but you can take a shot at it if you want.

2007
-NH made only one deal that calander year, trading away closer/setup man Soloman Torres to the Brewers for prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts.  Evaluation: Torres closed for the Brewers for a year before hanging up the spikes.  Salas struggled in a brief big league appearance.  Neither guy the Pirates recieved is currently on their radar.

2008
- Before the trading deadline, NH managed to add pieces to that season's team in many small deals.  He added bench strength and bullpen help by acquiring: Denny Bautista, Jason Michaels and Tyler Yates.  One real small deal not talked about is NH  re-acquiring Evan Meek from Tampa for cash, allowing them to send the Rule 5 pick Meek to the minors.  Meek looks like he should be a bullpen fixture for years to come.

Now the big deals
 - Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Yankees for Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Tabata, Daniel McCutchen and Jeff Karstens.   Evaluation- How people keep complaining about this deal is mind boggling.  Definite win for the Bucs.  Ohlendorf is a solid middle of the rotation guy, Karstens is a valuable long guy, McCutchen was impressive in his September audition and Tabata is a star waiting to happen.

- Jay Bay for Andy Laroche, Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen and Bryan Morris.  Evaluation- I initally liked this deal, but after watching Bay as a Red Sox and seeing the big deal he signed, it would have been nice to get more in return.  I like Laroche. He has turned himself into a nice third baseman.  I also feel his bat will be fine. I hope he can play second though, because I don't like him enough to keep Pedro Alvarez in the minors for a long time.

As far as Moss and Hansen go, they have both been disapointing to say the least.  I was happy about getting Moss and when he gets hot, he goes on a tear for weeks, but it doesn't outweigh the prolonged slumps.  Hansen will likely never figure out his control and health issues.  Morris was the big part of the deal, but has struggled in the minors and was even suspended once for conduct.

While it doesn't look like a slam dunk for the Bucs, I don't hate this deal and haven't given up on it just yet. They added some pieces and if Morris figures it out, it will look better.  Fact is, Bay would have walked anyways. They did get 4 highly rated guys in the deal, sometimes it doesn't always pan out the way it looks on paper.  However, they did turn down a confirmed deal involving Cliff Lee, Kelly Shoppach and Franklyn Gutierrez.  Where would the rebuild be right now if they pulled the trigger on that one?

2009
- Eric Krebbs and cash to the Dodgers for Delwyn Young.  Evaluation- While NH maybe hasn't made the huge improvement to the club through many deals, he has had some luck with some smaller ones.  Young has proven to be a good young addition.  Maybe not an everyday guy, but valuable off the bench.  NH all along has taken alot of stock in low risk/high reward type of players.  Young fit that bill and if he makes the team in 2010, should be a valuable extra piece. NH also made a small deal to acquire Jason Jaramillo for Ronny Paulino that worked out pretty well. JJ is a competant #2 catcher.

-Nate Mclouth for Gorkys Hernandez, Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke.  Evaluation- I still love this trade.  Great time to deal Nate, while his value was at his highest.  I see alot in Morton and Hernandez I'm very high on.  He will be in PNC Park sometime soon, if their is room in a crowded outfield.  If not, someone like Milledge could be moved to strengthen other areas of the club.  Locke has struggled somewhat, but scouts still like him.  I still say this was a steal for the Bucs.

-Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan for Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge.  Evaluation- This one people still complain about but I like it.  NH was purely trading for upside.  I think Milledge takes advantage of the opportunity and has a big season.  I was always high on Hanrahan even with his struggles with the Nats.  He did very well in his brief end of the season stint in the Burgh. He has electric stuff and by the end of the season should wind up being the closer.  I just dont see the big deal for a losing team to deal guys like Nyjer and Burnett. Sure Nyjer was a fan favorite, but I'd much rather take a shot on a guy like Milledge.

-Adam Laroche for Hunter Strickland and Argenis Diaz.  Evaluation- The Bucs love Diaz's glove and are hoping he can hit a little bit (sounds familiar doesn't it).  Strickland showed some godd stuff, including a no-hitter after the trade.  This is a wait a couple years and evaluate the deal scenerio.  Although getting anything for Laroche could amount to a win for NH.

-Ian Snell and Jack Wilson for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, Nathan Adcock, Brett Lorin and Aaron Pribanic.  Again i like it.  Snell had to go and Wilson was becoming a locker room problem. NH picked up some of the money owed to the two to get better prospects.  Great move.  Clement is the key.  He has to win the first base job and has to hit for power, something the Bucs desperately need.  Not a huge drop off between Wilson and Cedeno defensively at short.  Getting three young power arms also is big.  If one or two of them, plus Clement developes then it's a great deal.  Remember, these deals were made to better the team in the future, not immediately.  Patience. (I know we have been patient for 17 years, but let's see this through)

-Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson. Love it.  I never drank the Sanchez Kool-Aid, like most.  Good ball player, but not a superstar.  Definitely not an $8mil per year type of guy. I'd rather have the good young arm in Alderson.  Brian Sabien was ripped to death in the SF media for dealing Alderson and only getting Sanchez in return.  This one should work out good in a couple of seasons.

-John Grabow and Tom Gorzelany for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascaino and Josh Harrison.  This deal I'm still 50-50 on.  Fact is Grabow wouldn't have resigned and Gorzo just was flat out not in the plans.  Hart has great stuff, but struggled with the Bucs.  He, like most of our young pitchers just has to realize that he has the ability to get people out without having to go full count on every hitter.  A full season with Kerrigan may be good for him.  We didn't get to see much of Ascaino, but he has a great arm.  I've heard good things about Harrison also, so this deal isn't a total loss for me just yet.

-Jessie Chavez for Akinori Iwamura.  At first I wasn't thrilled, especially since Chavez got flipped for an arm like Raafeal Soriano, but with all the power arms the Bucs had in the pen and the emergence of Evan Meek, somebody was expendable.  Aki isn't a bad player.  He will catch the ball and can handle the bat.  He should be fine batting in the 2 hole all season, if his left knee stays healthy all season.  This is really the only of NH's deals that didn't stick to the plan of bringing in good young players and good power arms.  After seeing the Delwynn Young experiment at second base not work out that well, they atleast should be pretty solid up the middle this season.

I still like what NH has done for the most part with most of the deals.  They had to be done.  The farm system was a joke and these guys had their shot together and they couldn't win.  NH said it best when he said "It's not like we broke up the '27 Yankees."  He didn't guarentee that the Bucs would win or even be competitive in the future- far from it.  He did; however, give us some hope for the future.  Now it's up to these guys to get to the big leagues and perform.

That wraps up my four part series on the Neil Huntington era so far.  I hope you enjoyed it.  It took alot of research to make sure I had every move.

The Neil Huntington Era- Part III

The holidays are over and now it's time to continue my Neil Huntington analysis.  Today, we look at all of the signings that NH has made, since his arrival on the job in 2007. Now here is the section of the analysis, wit absolutely nothing to report; because just like his predecessor, NH has not made a big splash by signing anyone of value.  Most of this blame can be put squarley on the owner, but as the product on the field gets worse by the day, NH eventually has to step up and get the job done.

While he has made the farm system much better through trades and the draft, the big league product has suffered drastically and don't expect it to get any better in 2010. Now let's take a look at the studs that NH has inked to contracts.

2007- Kevin Thompson (waivers A's), Phil Dumatrait (waivers Reds), Josh Wilson (waivers Rays), Ty Taubenheim (waivers Blue Jays), Evan Meek (rule 5), and the ever popular Chris Gomez (1yr/$1mil)

2008- Raul Chavez (minor league), TJ Beam (minor league), Luis Rivas (ml), Doug Mienkiewicz(ml), Freddy Sanchez (2yr/$11mil extension), Donnie Veal (rule 5), Ramon Vazquez (2yr/$4mil), Ryan Doumit (3yr/$11.5mil extension), Garrett Jones (ml)

2009- Craig Monroe (ml), Virgil Vazquez (waivers SD), Eric Hinske (1yr/$1.5mil), Paul Maholm (3yr/$14.5mil extension), Nate Mclouth (3yr/$15.75mil extension), John Meloan (waivers Rays), Steven Jackson (waivers Yankees), Anthony Claggett (waivers Yankees), Justin Thomas (waivers Mariners), Chris Jakubauskas (waivers Mariners), Wil Ledezma (ml), Vinnie Chulk (ml), John Raynor (rule 5), Bobby Crosby (1yr/$1mil), Jack Taschner(ml), Javier Lopez (1yr/800k)

2010- Tyler Yates (ml), Brian Burress(ml), Neal Cotts (ml)

I think I got everyone

As you can see, the trend has been to work the waiver wire and the Rule 5 draft.  Every once in a while, you hit pay dirt with a guy like Jones.  Meek has turned out to be a decent arm, but other than that, the reality is the new regime has failed to land one major league caliber player to help the big league product.

Journeymen just don't help teams that are filled with holes.  Now I do realize that it could have been pointless to sign better players until your young talent is ready, but eventually, it is going to have to get done.  The question has always been- What quality player would want to play in Pittsburgh?  Well that's NH's job to get them to want to play here and so far nothing has been done to change things.

Analyzing the Neil Huntington Era- Part II

Well, it's time to look at Part II of my brakdown of the Neil Huntington era so far.  Today what we are going to look at is the draft. NH has been around for the last two MLB Drafts.  Before that, you know they story. The JVB's, Bryan Bullington and Chad Hermansen of the world was about all the organization had coming out of the draft.

NH has made a commitment to building through the draft.  In the two seasons, the Pirates have signed more draft picks and have spent almost as much money than any team in the game.  They realized the organization needed talent and that is the route NH & Cooneley have taken.

Now, there is more minor league talent then at any other time I can recall.  I especially have liked the approach they have taken to signing some of these guys.  Drafting the best players and buying college away from them has proven to be a success for the time being.  It's a much different approach from the Littlefield regime, which made a habit of drafting only signable players, no matter how bad they lacked talent.  Daniel Moskos instead of Matt Wieters, pretty much put the pressure on NH not to miss with his early picks.

Let's take a look back at NH's first draft, in 2008. Click Here to take a look at the complete draft.  Looking at his first overall selection as the GM of the Pirates, NH didn't shy away from Scott Boras client Pedro Alvarez, like had been done many times before. The negotiations with Alvarez literally lasted until the final second, but eventually Alvarez was signed and is on a fast track to PNC Park.

Look at the entire draft, but I will highlight just a couple of the top picks. Alvarez, naturally speaks for himself. He immediately became the teams top prospect. SS's Jordy Mercer and Chase D'Arnaud were taken in the 3rd and 4th rounds and both have upgraded the position. D'Arnaud is likely the SS of the future for the Bucs. Pitcher Justin Wilson was a 5th rd choice and OF Robbie Grossman was a sixth rd choice.  Grossman was set to go to college and NH added him to the system. If the threat of college wasn't there, he likely would have been a first round selection.  Another name, Calvin Anderson was selected in the 12th round. He has legit power and could be a big piece of the future.

One that got away in 08 was second round selection Tanner Scheppers, who wasn't signed and went back into the draft the following season.

Here is a breakdown of the 2009 draft.Click Here to take a look at all the selections.  One thing, is that the strategy was the same. Draft talented players and sign as many as possible.  Catcher Tony Sanchez was selected in the first round, 4th overall.  The pick was criticized throughout the nation, but juding from the fact that Sanchez signed quickly and got off to a fantastic start to his pro career, it looks like NH may have struck gold in the first round on back to back seasons.

One thing to note is that NH signed the teams top 14 picks, which is very impressive. Out of the top 14 signed, eight were pitchers.  Looking back, it looks as if NH is truly committed to his plan of building through the draft and re-shapping the organization. Drafts are so hard to judge for atleast three seasons, but so far, it looks as if NH is doing a much better job than his predecessor