Looking at the Pirates Trade Options

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.

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.

Around the Diamond- Third base

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.

New and Notes From last night's loss

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

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.

New and Notes After Another Bad Loss

.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.

Frustrating Loss to Cardinals

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

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.

Bucs win a series in Miller Park

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

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

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.

Discussion- 2010 Lineup

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?

McCutchen wins Fifth Spot in Rotation

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- Third Base

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.

Pirates Out of Options

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.

Pick the 2010 Opening Day Third Baseman

It's kind of nice to have some options to talk about at different positions going into next season. I will let you decide this one. Who should be the opening day third baseman next season? Will it be this years starter Andy Laroche, local product Neil Walker or last seasons first round draft pick Pedro Alvarez. I will make a case for each and let you decide. I'm curious what everyone thinks.

First, Laroche. No doubt, he has made huge strides from a season ago at this time, when he looked truly awful. he has become a very good defensive third baseman and he has shown glimpses of having a good bat. Laroche's average is down to .248, after flirting in the .280 range for a large part of the season. The power really isn't there either. Only 7HR and 46RBI (leading the team by the way. very sad). He doesn't strike out much (65), but doesn't walk enough either (43). His on base percentage needs to get better (.326), which drawing more walks will help. His slugging percentage is a rather low .371. Too low for playing a position associated with run production. Overall, he handles the bat pretty well though. I'm sure the numbers will get to a consistent .285, 20/75 type of player.

Second, we will look at Walker. He is the popular choice, being the local boy. He is starting to tear the cover off the ball at AAA Indy and surely will get a call up in September sometime. I won't get too into the minor league numbers, but he has his average up to .270 and has 15 HR/69 RBI, despite missing a big portion of the season. The scouting report defensively is that he can handle playing third base at the major league level. I don't know how many at bats he will take from Laroche in September, but I would like to get a look at him and if he does well, he has to be included in the conversation.

Finally, the can't miss Pedro Alvarez. He is the big middle of the order bat this team desperately needs. I've heard he won't come up and hit right away, but I disagree. If he is that talented, he will perform fine. Ryan Braun and Evan Longoria didn't miss a beat when they got their call ups and I don't feel Alvarez will either. He is hitting .330 at Altoona, despite rarely getting pitches to hit. Combined between West Virginia and Altoona he has over 30Hr and 100RBI in his first season of pro ball. He has a little work to do defensively, but I hear he will be fine.

So who will it be? My choice is the unpopular one. I think Laroche starts out the season as the third baseman. Pirates management will stick with him for another season to justify the Bay trade. He has made strides and I think he continues to grow as a ball player. However, I feel the final result is that he will end up only slightly better than brother Adam. If the power comes, he could turn out to be a decent ball player. I think Walker may begin next season as a bench guy and gets a chance to stick around. With Alvarez, I think they won't rush him and will start him at AAA, but by mid-June 2010 he will be hitting cleanup in PNC Park

Zach Duke Shelled in Milwaukee

Well remember how much I praised the pitching during the last home stand. How much I said the pitching was responsible for 7 win out of the last 9 games. Forget it. Just the opposite held true in the first game of the road trip at Miller Park last night.

Zach Duke got pounded. Giving up 7 runs and 11 hits in only 3 innings of work. he gave up 7 hits and 5 runs in the first alone. By far, his shortest outing of the season. I have been waiting all season for the 07-08 version of Duke to re-emerge, and it did last night. The 07-08 Duke in which the league batted over .300 against him. What went wrong for Duke? Horrible location on all of his pitches. The Brewers are a good hitting team, especially in their ball park and Duke made it easy for them early.

Still though, the young Bucs kept fighting back, but just didn't have enough in the tank. The losing streak at Miller Park extends to 19. The Bucs looked good early though. Runners on second and third with no outs in the first and somehow don't score. Of course the rally was killed by No-Mitt, bouncing weakly into a double play. A Prince Fielder monster shot moments later had the Bucs down 3-0, instead of possibly up 3-0.

Hard to blame Tony Beasley for not sending McCutchen on Young's first inning double, with no outs. Ryan Braun played the ball well, but I still feel Cutch scores easy. Kudos to Ken Macha for managing the game to win, even early. Walking Andy Laroche intentionally to get to Doumit proved to be the big play in the game. If Doumit comes through, the Bucs probably win the game. Just goes to show how big moments in a game aren't saved for the 8th and 9th innings all the time.

Even though Duke gives up 5 in the first, if he limits the damage in the second and third innings, after the Bucs score the previous inning, it may have been a different game.

NOTES
- Doumit was pulled from the game. He isn't hurt and wasn't sick the Bucs say. One can only hope he was close to being dealt. However the likely scenario was that he was pulled because he flat out sucks.

-Great job by the Bucs bullpen. In particular, Bootcheck, Jackson, Hanrahan and Bautista. One hit allowed through 5 innings of work.

-Boy is Cutch something to watch or what. I'm starting to run out of things to say about him.

-Did you see Luis Cruz get hit in the head by a line drive in BP? Hard to believe he was in the lineup. He looked a step slow and had to have a headache. Would have been a good opportunity for JR to get Bixler a start. Bixler came through with a pinch hit double though.

-Thumbs down to FSN Pittsburgh. Why do they have to drop the Bucs game and show the meaningless Steelers preseason game? The Steelers game is already on KDKA. I see why the casual fan doesn't get interested in this team when the Steelers are shoved down peoples throats.

-September call ups will be coming soon. We know that Alvarez and Daniel McCutchen won't be coming. i expect Neil Walker, who is tearing the cover off the ball finally to get a look, but where? I don't want him taking many at bats away from Laroche. Clement will get a look as well. Erick Hacker will likely get a start or 2. Other than that, not too many youngsters will be up. I would like to see Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata get a quick look. Some other arms will get the quick promotion as well. Nothing to get excited about though. probably a Virgil Vasquez type pitcher or 2.

-Here is where I want this rebuild to go. Did you see the Scott Kazmir deal to the Angels last night? The Rays unloaded Kazmir, who's velocity has been down & his 23 mil left on his deal, for 2 quality prospects and possibly a third. What do they do? They replace Kazmir with Wade Davis and aren't likely to miss a beat. The Rays keep loading up their system and keep filtering young studs through the major league club. That's where I want the Bucs to get to. Being able to deal a struggling star for a good return and have plenty of options to step in a do the job. Tampa is becoming a well oiled machine. Too bad they are in the AL East

- Gallardo (who we never hit) vs Hart tonight. Should be a great game since it's not on TV. Let's go Bucs

Bucs close out Homestand in Grand Fashion

After beginning the 9 game home stand 5-1, the Bucs welcomed the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies into town. I for one was happy with the 5-1 start, but really wanted to see how the young Bucs would fare against a better team.

What I was treated to was 3 great games and 3 great finishes, 2 going our Bucco's way. What could possibly have been more exciting than Tuesday's finish. Matt Capps blows another. Andrew McCutchen's misplay in center. Three batters later it was all forgotten, after Cutch hit his first walk-off homer off Brad Lidge.

Wednesday, the Bucs bats were silenced by Cole Hamels through 8, but a Brandon Moss pinch hit 9th inning bomb sent the game to extras, only to see Ryan Howard launch one and spoil the Bucs comeback.

Finally, last night. Aside from Cutch's lead off homer, fellow rookie J.A. Happ silenced the Bucs bats once again. Only to see Ronny Cedeno go the other way with a pinch hit single, followed by Garrett Jones 2 out homer to center. Capps didn't blow this one and the crowd went crazy again. Three straight lively crowds. Many Phillies fans, but still, an exciting baseball environment. The Phillies and Pirates should be in the same division, but I will save that for a later post. No reason a cross state rival should come to town only once a season.

I really enjoy watching this bunch. They have an energy and enthusiasm about them that simply just hasn't been there in years. I love the emotion they have been showing. Part of the reason is they have been winning during this home stand, but another part is that they are realizing that it's now their team. They have started to realize that they are the Pirates of the future and are starting to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. It's been fun to watch and I hope it continues. A couple added pieces and they can start to be competitive. They still need a run producer in the middle of the order. Not only for now, but to pair with Pedro Alvarez in the near future.

Why have they been playing well lately? It's certainly not entirely due to the fact that they seem like a fun bunch out there. They still have to get it done between the lines as well. First let's look at the starting pitching the last 3 games. Ross Ohlendorf, 6.1 ip, 5 h 2er 6k 3 bb in a 6-4 win. Paul Maholm, 7ip, 5h, 1er, 4k, 2bb in a 4-1 loss and last night Charlie Morton 6ip, 5 h, 2er, 6k, 4bb in a 3-2 win.

The trend is that every guy has put the team in position to win each night. I'd like to see Ohlendorf and Morton pitch into the seventh, but all three were effective enough to get wins. Even when it looked like Morton was going to struggle last night, he kept pitching his way out of trouble. It's a sign of a young guy growing up in the big leagues.

The bullpen for the most part was effective as well. Take out the Capps ninth on Tuesday and the tenth on Wednesday and the Bucs young relievers got some big outs. That's what they need to do. Jessie Chavez striking out Jason Werth in a tough spot on Tuesday was huge, as was the performance by Denny Bautista last night. Even Joel Hanrahan impressed me getting out of a 0 out 2nd & 3rd jam on Wednesday. The thing I want to see from both the starters and the pen the rest of the season is simple- consistency.

The bats were quiet for the most part during the whole Phillies series, but they battled. That's what I have been wanting to see. The pitching kept them in the games and they were able to get some timely, late hits. I'd like to see the approach for the guys stay the same. Keep thinking opposite field.

Home stand is over, time to head to Milwaukee, where the Bucs have lost 18 in a row. Time to keep ridding the franchise of the losing culture an go up there and win. This young team must learn to win on the road and I can't think of a better place than Miller Park.

NOTES

- The defense impressed all home stand. Give Luis Cruz some credit filling in for Cedeno. The team didn't miss a beat in the field.

-Great job by the bench, Moss in particular. Moss, Cedeno and Bixler did good things off the bench. It's not just the fact that Moss had two pinch hits, including the homer. Give him credit for being a pro. It could be easy for this guy to be down on himself, losing a lot of playing time, but he went to the plate and did good things for the team.

-Andy Laroche has been a bit snake bitten of late. He's been hitting the ball hard, but no results. Keep the same approach Andy. They will start falling in.

-No-Mitt (doumit) is still driving me crazy behind the plate.

-Steve Pearce is becoming a nice first baseman defensively. The bat is coming around a bit, but I still don't see him playing everyday.

-One thought about Wednesday's loss. I would like to see JR play the numbers more, Pitch to Howard, who granted has been struggling against the Bucs. When it was happening, I was shocked he wasn't being walked to load the bases for Werth. Werth before the at bat was 1-11 in the series and a double play candidate. Just a thought.

- I also have not been disappointed in the play of Lastings Milledge. The homers will come, as we saw 2 this home stand. That has something to so with him batting 6th. I just always thought he was faster, but he has slowly gotten better in the outfield.

-Only disappointing part of the last series was the performance with runners in scoring position. A feeble 1-24, with the only hit being McCutchen's walk-off, Tuesday night.

-For all of you payroll guys out there. How about the Mets have more than twice the salary on the DL today (88 mil) than the Pirates total payroll (35mil ish).

-Zach Duke vs Manny Parra tonight. Let's Go Bucs.

Evaluating Prospects

Very interesting list on Baseball America. Top Prospects of All-Time. Check it out
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/top-100-prospects/all-time.html

Next Check out who ranks 1 & 2 on the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2009/268713.html

First of all, I am big on rankings and evaluations of young players, but they must be taken with a grain of salt. Not all guys ranked high have gone on to become solid Major League Players, but more often than not, they do. I always say the biggest transition is from AA or AAA to the MLB. Some guys can handle it and some guys simply can not.

I have heard in the past that I have defended Neil Huntington too much. I am not necessarily a fan of his, but he has a job to do and he has stuck to the plan so far, which I commend. He had to blow this franchise up.


Why have we been losing for 17 seasons? It's a direct correlation to developing young talent. I will go all the way back to the last winning seasons in Pittsburgh. If you clicked on the first link above, you saw the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list for every season dating back to 1990. That season, the Bucs had 3 of the top 100. They dealt 2 of those (Moises Alou and Willie Greene) to acquire Zane Smith, which helped them win two Division titles.

Taking Alou and Greene off the list, it amazed me how truly sad we have been at drafting and developing young talent. I didn't even think we were this bad. If you didn't read the list:

90 Keith Richardson #73 (never pitched for Pirates)
91 Kurt Miller #24 (never Pitched for Pirates
Carlos Garcia # 62 (average major league 2B
Mike Zimmerman #90 (never amounted to anything)
92 Steve Cooke #52 (below average mlb pitcher)
Kevin Young #100 (average mlb player)
93 None
94 Midre Cummings #33 (career was a joke)
95 "Steamin" Trey Beamon #43 (don't think he had a career)
96 Jason Kendall #26 (has had a productive career)
Chad Hermanson #54 (The savior)
97 Kris Benson #8 (arm injuries derailed a potentially good career)
Jose Guillen #24 (never really met expectations, but a serviceable career)
Aramis Rameriz #26 (the best one we had that got away)
Abraham Nunez #65 (career utility player)
Jimmy Anderson #88 (2 time opening day starter. Boy did he suck)
98 Jeff Wallace #91 (no career)
99 Warren Morris #84 (one good year in the bigs)
00 JJ Davis #97 (BUM)
01 Bobby Bradley #20 (Arm Injuries, never made it)
JR House #21 (Left to play football)
02 John Van Benschoten #88 ( Could be the worst pitcher & draft pick ever)
03 None
04 Sean Burnett #64 (under achiever)
Jason Bay #74 (very good mlb ball player)
Bryan Bullington #97 (Could have had B.J. Upton. #1 Pick that never got a win for the Pirates)
05 Zach Duke #34 (becoming a solid MLB pitcher)
Neil Walker #81 ( finally starting to hit in the minors 4 years later. Probably no future)
06 Andrew McCutchen #50 (STUD)
Tom Gorzelanny #95 (average mlb pitcher at best)
07 Brad Lincoln #69 (future staff ace?)
08 Steve Pearce #89 (has no mlb future, bench role at best)

Now for purpose of this post, I only included the players for the first season they cracked the top 100. Some players have made the list multiple seasons. Do all guys pan out? Of course not. Do things happen along the way, like injuries? Of course they do. Do the rankings flat out miss on guys? Yes they do.

For this illustration however, take a look at the complete list and they tend to get it right most of the time. My list is primarily just to illustrate the pure lack of homegrown young talent in the Pirates system for the last 17 years. Folks, it's plain and simple why we can't win. We had to make the moves we did. We had to get talent in this system somehow.

We gave away Aramis Rameriz, but in 17 seasons, only Rameriz, Kendall, Duke, Bay and most recently McCutchen have had legit major league talent. That's 5 guys in 17 seasons and it's not acceptable. The two highest rated prospect on this list that the Bucs have ever had were Kris Benson in 1998 and McCutchen at #13 In 2007.

There is a correlation to winning with these list. Every team that has had many of these prospects have been legit winning organizations. Even look at the Tampa rays of 08, who in the 2 season prior had 24 names on that list. No reason the Bucs should have had 1 guy here and another one there. That's not doing your homework on young players and that's not how you win.

So Huntington had to blow up the team and in the last calender year, look at the potential talent he has added. On the 2008 top 100, there were 10 current Buccos represented. Only 4 were in the organization prior to Huntington's arrival: McCutchen, Lincoln, Pearce and Walker. The new 6 on the list include: Laroche, Tabata, Clement, Alderson, Hernandez and Milledge.

Now that list doesn't include guys who will be on the 2009 list like Alvarez, Sanchez, Owens, etc. Nor does it include any members of the last two drafts, in which the franchise has gone out and spent money on their future. that list will include another 10-15 young, future Pirates So it's almost impossible for me to argue that Huntington hasn't been taking the right approach to this organization.

Next click on the second link and read Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet, ranking the Mid-Season Prospects. Numbers 1 & 2 on the list are Tony Sanchez and Pedro Alvarez. Again, will all of the youngster become solid major leaguers? No, but it gives hope. Even if a third of them do, it's far more talent than we have had in 17 seasons, so it's impossible again to knock the approach.

Want a little more proof that Neil Huntington is doing the right thing? Would you rather watch Ross Ohlendorff, Charlie Morton and Kevin Hart pitch or last years solid rotation including Yoslan Herrara, John Van Benschoten, Matt Morris, etc. The facts are we are slowly getting better.

The final thing I am sick and tired of people telling me is that as soon as these guys get good, then Huntington will trade them. That's absurd to begin with. All of the guys dealt this year were unlikely to be back anyways. Huntington acquired guys with right he can control through 2015 and 2016 in most cases. Again, it shows that the guy seems to have a baseball head about him.

So if it sounds like I'm being a mark for Neil Huntington, so be it. The facts are that there is more talent in this organization than at any point in the last 17 seasons. Will the plan work? Only time will tell, but it's a good time to get excited about Pirates baseball. This thing could finally turn around in a couple of seasons.

NOTEBOOK
- since I brought up Chad Hermansen, made me think of one of my favorite lines of all time. One scout said about Hermansen " Chad Hermansen can walk on water. He just can't hit."

- Steven Jackson been throwing well lately. Last 14 appearances, his era is under 2.00

-Matt Capps fastball had life to it on the home stand. Deal him now. While I'm at it, will anyone take Ryan Doumit

-Lastings Milledge is starting to play well once he got taken out of the 2 hole.

-I really like these group of guys, one challenge for Huntington is to find a power bat next season. I don't think Alvarez will be up and as much as I like Andy Laroche, I can't have him hitting cleanup next season. Although I think he has done fine there in his couple starts.

- Cedeno is nursing a hurt pinkie finger so I'd like to see Bixler play. He has no pressure on him now. Just see what he really is.

- Here is where young teams struggle. Consistent Offense production and winning on the road. We have seen both big time. We know about the struggles offensively, but look at the home and road splits. Home record is five games over .500 at 33-28. Road record is an atrocious 25 games under .500 at 18-43. Once they can learn to play near .500 away from PNC Park, they can start putting winning streaks together

Where is the O?

During this rain delay I had time to do a lot of writing and thinking about this team. It's not a real good time for casual Pirates fans, but the real baseball fans need to just stick with it. I will be the first to admit that the last six games had me frustrated as hell watching the now feeble offense. Getting shut down by Gorzelanny yesterday was just as bad as the 17-2 beat down the day before. Leaving me with the question of, Where is the offense?

The answer is easy, it is mostly all at West Virginia and Altoona, but in the meantime, it would be nice to see these guys go out and at least battle. What happened to the patience and the solid approaches they had been taking at the plate all season? It's now become a collection of light hitting guys that are swinging for the fences and that approach simply never works. Remember that they are the youngest team in baseball and bad swings like this will happen. Better to happen now while they have nothing to play for. However, to me, these are the times when these guys can gain valuable experience and become major league hitters.

Let's take a look at the last 5 games. Tuesday started with a 7-3 win at Colorado and they had a good approach as a team. They had 11 hits, while drawing 9 walks. Seven of the hits went for extra bases and they stole 6 bases. They still struck out seven times, but on six of them the batters worked a full count. After that, you see the results drastically change, as did the teams approach at the plate. Wednesday's 8-0 loss to the Rockies saw the Bucs get only 4 hits and 5 bb's. No extra base hits, while fanning 8 times. Thursday the Rocks hammered the Bucs 10-1. The Bucs garnered only 3H and 3BB's. One extra base hit and 9k's.

Onto Chicago they went Friday and a 17-2 beating occurred. Offensively, they had 7 H and only 3bb's. Again only 1 extra base hit while 7 k's. Yesterday's 3-1 defeat, they showed even less patience, swinging at everything. Only 5 hits and 3bb's. One extra base hit and a whopping 13k's. You can see a theme and a pattern going on here. The Pirates are awful when they are a free swinging team. Including their win this week, they are batting .178 as a team. In the 4 straight losses, the have had a total of 21 hits and only drew 14 bb. Only 3 extra base hits, while striking out 37 times. They haven't stole a base in the 4 losses, after stealing 6 in the win. You can't be aggressive on the bases when guys aren't getting on base frequently.

I will address the power problem first. I have heard all the time lately that the guys brought over in deals aren't hitting for power. Mostly people are talking about Moss, Milledge and Laroche. I'm not worried about the home runs. Any hitting coachin the majors will tell you that the power will come. Young hitters have alot to do when they get to the majors. They basically have to learn how to hit. The biggest jump is between AAA and MLB. They have a lot to worry about at the plate. Picking out pitches to hit, picking out pitches to lay off, recognizing what the pitcher is doing to them, learning to go the other way, situational hitting, etc. Basically, learning how to have quality MLB at bats every time to the plate. Major league pitching can't be duplicated in the minors. Only the real special players can make a flawless transition to the majors. I'm confident the homers will come, especially from Laroche and possibly Milledge.

My problem is none of those 3 guys, or anyone else in the lineup is having consistent quality at bats right now. No one on the team is driving the ball, using the gaps. Everyone in the lineup has become pull happy. That's not a good approach for young hitters to take, ever. That's not the approach for veteran hitters either. I don't know if hitting coach Don Long isn't getting the message through, which I doubt, because when things are going good, everyone shows what they can do at the plate. I feel the pressure of losing is getting to these guys.

I also feel changes are needed although i wouldn't panic to make them since this team isn't going anywhere. Steve Pearce is not any everyday big league player. Bring up Clement and get him some at bats. He has nothing more to offer a AAA team and from what I hear, his defense hasn't been that bad. Keep Pearce up though, there are worse bench players around. Another option that could be considered is to bring Pedro Alvarez up. Get him some at bats at the MLB level. He has put it together at AA. He is hitting .350 at Altoona, hitting with power and drawing walks. I'd leave Young and Cedeno where they are. They are beginning to look solid up the middle. I'm also still a fan of Laroche at third.

In the outfield, I pretty much leave it the same. Milledge will be fine, but has to learn how to play left field. On a side note, Why do the Pirates continue to play defensively on the road like they are at PNC Park. I hate having the left fielder play well in the left center field gap all the time. They get killed on balls down the line. Milledge doesn't cover as much ground as Nyjer Morgan did, you would think they would adjust the outfield alignment. especially with the amount of ground McCutchen can cover in center. Suddenly we can't catch a cold in the outfield.

I would drop Milledge down to sixth in the order though. Put him in a spot where he can succeed and possibly some RBI spots. Cedeno would be a much better 2 hole hitter. He just handles the bat better. Not everyone can hit in the second spot of the order. Drop Milledge down now.

Starting today it would be nice to see the Bucs battle everyday at the plate. Go down fighting at least. Being aggressive doesn't mean swinging at everything. They have a much better team than they have shown this month. it would be nice to be able to go out and play spoiler for teams like the Cubs and Brewers. No more tanking it, it's getting painful to watch.

Notes
-Not to many since we haven't done anything of note lately, but you have to feel a little bad for Duke. He could easily have 15 wins this season. Every year though there is a guy who doesn't get run support and this year it's Zach.

- Have you noticed that Ohlendorff velocity has been back his last couple of starts. Having Joe Kerrigan around has been valuable to some of these guys. Tweaking the wind up and Ross's fastball has been backup to the 94-96mph range. He still has to find a way to be able to pitch the 3rd time through the order. He needs a second out pitch.

- I'm about tired of watching Moss come out of his shoes swinging for the fence. He is one guy that needs to simplify his approach.

- Not much good can come out of a 17-2 loss, but give Steven Jackson some credit for taking one for the team. He tossed 4.1 innings of scoreless relief, saving the bullpen.

-Give Pirates management credit for applying the resources they have in the right places. They have signed all top 10 of their draft picks and their aggressive approach has been noticed around baseball. They have drawn several compliments around baseball. It's a very good sign for the franchise's future.