Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Pirate Notebook

Lots of stuff today...

  • George King III of the NY Post reported that "Before claiming lefty reliever David Huff on Saturday off waivers from the Indians, the Yankees asked the Pirates about Mike Zagurski."  The Bucs already had plans for the lefty, calling him up yesterday to nullify his June 1st opt-out date if still in the minors.
  • Jared Stonesifer of Yahoo Sports wonders where and if J-Mac fits in down the road with the Pirates.
  • Carson Cistulli of Fangraphs posted a podcast of a chat with Buc lefty Jeff Locke.
  • Topping Grantland's Jonah Keri's All-Bargain team for 2013 - C Russell Martin.
  • Remember when the top of the order was a huge question mark? Pittsburgh’s leadoff hitters currently rank first in the league in batting average (.305), second in hits (64), third in OBP (.366) and fourth in slugging percentage (.467) and runs scored (38)
  • Bradon Inge played just nine games for Detroit last year, but before yesterday's match Tiger GM Dave Dombroski visited the Buc locker room and presented him with a 2012 ACLS ring. Pretty classy.
  • Charlie Morton went five not-so-strong innings at Indy yesterday, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks with three K while tossing 88 pitches.
  • At Altoona, James McDonald surrendered three runs in a Curve loss. J-Mac lasted two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits and four walks before being taken out of the game after 33 pitches. One of his two outs was on a pick-off. He ended up with a blood blister during the outing, which may have affected his performance.
  • Indy 1B Matt Hague was named the International League's Batter of the Week. Over a six-game stretch, Hague produced three multi-hit games, hit .360 (9-for-25) and led all IL batters with three home runs, eight extra-base hits and a .920 slugging percentage.  
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America has rundowns on Stetson Allie and Tyler Glasnow, Pirate prospects with a bullet, in his "Ask BA" column. 
  • Keith Law of ESPN has three Pirates - Gerritt Cole, Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco - among his Top 25 prospects. Tim Williams has a brief post regarding the picks at Pirates Prospects as Law's article is behind a subscriber wall.

4 comments:

WilliamJPellas said...

The Pirates' utilitymen could use an upgrade, methinks. Inge looked like he was going to fill the bill but has really struggled in recent weeks---and what happened to his power? He's not doing anything in that dept, and if he's not popping the occasional longball, his low batting average is a lot harder to take, even with his defensive versatility. Earlier I speculated that McDonald might be cut in favor of Mercer, but the way things are going now, maybe it will be Inge who is sent packing. Then again, that would leave us with Josh Harrison, a distinctly underwhelming alternative.


I know most teams don't go looking for utilitymen at the trade deadline, but I'm thinking the Pirates might be looking to bring in a veteran INF for that role this season.

Ron Ieraci said...

Hey, Will, whassup, bud?

I don't have problems with Inge; my ire was stirred with both he and Old McDonald in tandem. I can live with Jordy and Brandon, especially if Mercer continues to get two or three starts a week instead of being on splinter patrol.

With JT out, I'm mystified why Presley or Pie didn't get the call. I know that they're LH, but they both would provide more off the pine than Harrison, imho.

And don't start me on Jose Contreras and "asset allocation!" Morris wasn't setting the world afire, but he can go multiple innings and needs MLB looks; this is his last option year.

WilliamJPellas said...

Agreed entirely. Presley, in particular, can help this team. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he could start for a number of teams in center field, right now. I think he is more properly a fourth OF in the Chris Denorfia mold, but again, you need guys like that. Professional soldier types. I think "The King" can have a long and productive, if not overwhelming, career, but he'll probably have to get out of Pittsburgh to do it. Unless the front ofc gets tired of Tabata's routine, in which case maybe Alex still has a future here.

Ron Ieraci said...

Yah, Will, I did a quick check and Alex Presley, much like JT and Travis Snider, doesn't have much of a career lefty/righty split (they're all around 20 points different), if his LH is what held him back. He'd seem to be a no brainer, especially as Inge and Mercer have the infield covered.