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.

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.