Monday, September 29, 2008

Old Buccos in the ALDS

And hey, there are some old Bucs that took their game to the big boy's league and caught on with some championship AL teams. Watch the tube for:

Jason Bay, LF, Boston - Bay took his booming bat to Boston at the deadline as part of the Manny menange a trois. The Bosox sent Pittsburgh Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen, while the Dodgers chipped in Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris. Please come home, Jay.

Bay's Boston line is .293-9-37 in 49 games; overall, it's .286-31-101.

Pittsburgh landed him in 2003, along with Ollie Perez, for Brian Giles. Bay hit .281-139-452 as a Bucco.

Sean Casey, 1B, Boston - Casey signed as a free agent this year with the Bosox. As a back-up to Kevin Youkilis, his line was .322-0-17.

"The Mayor" is an Upper St. Clair grad, and played for the home town team in 2006, with a .296-3-29 line until traded to Detroit for Brian Rogers.

David Ross, C, Boston - He was released by the Reds late in the year, and picked up by Beantown to a minor-league deal. He joined the roster in September, and isn't eligible for the playoffs.

The slick-fielding backstop hit .125 in 8 at bats for the Red Sox.

The Bucs purchased him from the Dodgers in 2005, and he hit .222-3-15 for them, until he was sent to San Diego in July for JJ Furmaniak.

Tim Wakefield, RHP, Boston - The knuckleballer was inked by the Pirates as an 8th round draftee in 1988, and spent his first two MLB seasons, 1992-1993, with Pittsburgh. The Pirates released him and he signed with Boston, where he found a home to this day.

The 16-year hurler was 10-11 with a 4.13 ERA this season.

Wakefield was 14-12 as a Pirate, and had a 4.17 ERA.

And though Bosox skipper Terry Francona never suited up for the Pirates, he's a New Brighton guy, the son of Aliquippa's Tito Francona. Terry played in the MLB for a decade; his dad for sixteen years. How'd they miss a home town stop?

Boston is practically the Beantown BucSox!

Gary Matthews, Jr., CF, Los Angeles Angels - Matthews joined the Halos in 2006 as a free agent. His 2008 line for LA is .242-8-46.

The Pirates plucked him off of waivers from the Cubs in 2001. His Buc line was .245-5-14 in 46 games before he was sold in August to the NY Mets.

As far as a quick scan of the rosters tell us, the Tampa Bay Devils, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox are Pirate-free clubs.

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