The Green Weenie

Will Neil Walker Be Extended?

2012-01-29T11:55:00.001-05:00

The secondary sidebar to the off season was the backburner story of Neil Walker's extension. Walker has accumulated one year and 166 days of service time during his young career. That means he has one more season at minimum wage and then he seems all but certain of Super Two status and four years of arbitration eligibility.

Walker has been a great local story ever since being the Pirates top pick in 2004. A multi-sport star out of Gibsonia's Pine-Richland High School and the son of a former MLB pitcher (Tom), the Pittsburgh Kid was called up as a utility infielder in 2010 and became the starting second baseman shortly thereafter, replacing Aki Iwomura. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

How unlikely was that? Drafted as a catcher, he was moved to third base in 2007, only to see Pittsburgh trade for Andy LaRoche and draft Pedro Alvarez the following year. The Pirates had written him off as a role player, and used him at first, second, third and the outfield at Indy in 2010 before beckoning him to the show.

His bat was OK but not overwhelming in the minors, usually in the .275 BA, 12-15 homers and 75 RBI range. Walker has kept to that line in 286 games as a Bucco, hitting .280/24/149, with an OPS of 108. A switch hitter, his splits are pretty even, with a little more power as a lefty, as is often the case.

A lot has been made of his clutch hitting, but his RISP is .286, just a shade over his regular BA. He's a doubles hitter (66 in the past two years) and the recipient of having the wheels of McCutch, Jose Tabata and Alex Presley ahead of him in the order. And that's not bad, considering that he has very little protection behind him in the lineup. As a Bucco, he's batted in every spot but leadoff.

His glove was fairly brutal at the start, with an UZR/150 of -17.1 in 2010. Then again, he had all of 21 pro games at the position before the Aki implosion, and he was thrown head first into the fire. Walker worked hard in the off season, spent the spring at Maz's knee, and to his credit, he turned himself into a much more competent fielder last season with a rating of -2.5.

Walker improved his BIZ (balls in zone) conversion rate to 80% (75% in 2010) and made 53 plays out of his zone, up from just 11 two seasons ago. And he does a great job of running down flares and going upstairs for liners.

Still, The Kid's range isn't great, balls get tangled up at his feet, and the DP turn is still a work in progress. The guy may be athletic, but at 6'3" and 215 pounds...well, not many high school football heroes end up in the middle infield. If you hear a Pirate broadcaster describe a ball being "tackled" by a Bucco fielder, you can bet the ranch that he's watching Walker.

There's been talk about returning him to third, where his bat should play because of his glove. He's much stronger playing at a reactive rather than rangy position and was an All-D player at the hot corner in AAA. But any corner infield moves in Pittsburgh ultimately depend on Pedro and where he ends up, either at first, third, or out of town.

With that background, there's no sense of urgency to lock up Walker like there is for McCutch. The Kid is a couple years older (26), no cinch to stay at second, and under team control for five more seasons. But we think the smart move is to lock up his arb seasons and then backload his free agent years with team options just to provide some cost certainty down the road by eliminating the arb guessing game.

We're speculating along the lines of a Jose Tabata type deal. Walker would get a $1M signing bonus, a 2012 salary of $750K, and $2M - $3M - $4M - $5M during his arb years with a team option or two. That's $15.75M guaranteed over 5 years, and would keep the Pittsburgh Kid in Pittsburgh through the 2016 season, when he'll be 31.

But...yep. there's always a but. There's no question that Walker is a home-town boy who is a fan favorite and seems comfortable here. But is he willing to discount himself to stay local? Four years of arbitration is a pretty powerful financial lever for an established, everyday player.

For the Pirate FO, it's a matter of leveling out the cost and protecting themselves against being bushwhacked by arbitration. For Walker, it's a choice between a security blanket and potentially much larger paychecks. If he's not signed to an extension this year, we'd expect the Bucs to push hard for a deal before arbitration begins in 2013 rather than risk going year-to-year.

It's hard to read the FO; they haven't even come to terms with Garrett Jones or Casey McGehee yet. So it's possible they want to wait a year to see if Walker is indeed a long-term piece, or prefer to deal with him on an annual basis. That's skating on thin ice. Another consistent season of play could start Walker off at $2.5-3M when he goes to arbitration, and the ante gets higher every year.

But if they're hot to land Walker now, they have a funny way of showing it. The Kid told Bill Brink of the Post-Gazette last month that "We haven’t had any discussions this off season. We have had conversations but we haven’t been able to come to common ground."

And there it sits; we're not even sure whose court the ball is in.

Sunday Notes

2012-01-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Bucs added a bit to their pitching depth, bringing in RHP Daniel Cabrera. They've shown some interest in him in past seasons; he's another of the reclamation projects the FO so loves to take on. The starter has six seasons in the show with a 48-65 record and 5.10 ERA, averaging 7 Ks and 5Ws per/9 innings. He last pitched in the majors in 2009 for Washington and Arizona. Cabrera, now 31 years old, sat out the entire 2011 season following Tommy John surgery. It's likely he'll end up in the Indy pen.
Can't quite figure out why the FO hasn't reached deals with Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee yet. Neither arb-eligible player had a big gap between asking price and the Pirates offer; pay the midpoint and save the mini-drama of a hearing.
Looks like the Pirates are gonna stay with what they've got on the hill. Roy Oswalt is considering signing with the Cards, Jeff Francis signed a minor league deal with the Reds, and Edwin Jackson is talking to the Bosox. It is a moot point; there have been no indications that the Bucs were in on any of them other than some due diligence tire-kicking.
The Zachster, Zach Duke, is back in the division after signing a minor league deal with the Astros. The lefty was 3-4 with a 4.93 ERA in Arizona in 2011.
The Mets are about to have the biggest one-year payroll drop in MLB history, lopping $52M off their roster. Even though they're losing more payroll than the Pirates carry, they'll still be doling out $90M for 2012.

McCutch: Will He Stay Or Will He Go?

2012-01-28T11:39:00.000-05:00

One of the hot sidebars at the end of the season was whether the Bucs and Andrew McCutchen could work out a deal that would keep McCutch a Pirate past his arbitration years. He missed out on Super Two status this season, so 2012 is his last year of minimum wage before arb kicks in.

After 420 games in a Pittsburgh uniform, the 24 year old has put up a line of .276/51/199 with 78 stolen bases, 255 runs scored, an OPS of +123 and a WAR of 12.4. The WAR is a little on the low side, as the Pirates' oddball outfield alignment under JR and Gary Varsho netted him a -0.7 defensive score during his first two go-arounds, improving to +0.7 in 2011 under Clint Hurdle's more conventional set-up.

The parameters for a contract, if a deal is made in the coming weeks, would be for six years (2012-2017) if it were to hold any value for the Pirates. There's not much team incentive to strike an agreement if a couple of years of free agency aren't included except for some cost certainty.

Imperfect but useful comparables for a contract are out there. Justin Upton and Jay Bruce both signed deals that bought out their first two free-agency years with an approximately $51M price tag. They went about it slightly different ways. Upton's deal is backloaded so that he gets $14M+ during his walk years, while Bruce spread his money out more evenly over the six seasons and included a team option. But the overall pot of money remained about the same in both cases.

The Pirate FO has been fairly mum about the whole affair, as has the McCutchen posse. No terms, either for length or salary, have become public except for the posing, so we're left to sort through the deals like Upton's and Bruce's as the gold standard. What are the sides looking for?

For the Pirates, a long-term contract with McCutch would allow them to plan on a core that should begin to come together in 2014-15, with the big if - if Jameson Taillon and Gerritt Cole end up being all that. Losing McCutch, who would be in his prime production years, would take some of the shine off that apple. PR-wise, it would just reinforce the fan feeling that All-Star performance in Pittsburgh leads to a plane ticket and another batch of prospects.

Then again, that may be just the road that management intends to walk down. In the Tampa model, once players hit their high-payroll seasons, they're moved to accumulate more talent for their system. If that's the Pittsburgh plan, they have no bigger stocking-stuffer than McCutch.

And, of course, without the threat of arbitration, the FO may be content to sit on another year of McCutch's services on the cheap. We feel that's a short-sighted view, even if it does keep Bob Nutting's CPAs happy.

On McCutchen's end, it's just a matter of weighing security against uncertainty. Six years is a long time to commit to one organization, especially one with a track record like the Pirates. And when he hits the free market in 2016, he's sure to be looking at $15M and probably more given his durability, tools and performance to date. It could be that's when he'll look for the security blanket of a long term contract.

But what he has to consider is that he is under team control for four of those six seasons. Will he and his adviser (he's represented by Steve Hammond, whose other big-time client is Adam Wainwright) opt to cede those two FA years at a discount for long-term protection against slumps, injuries, and the vagaries of arbitration or go for the brass ring? It's hard to tell; Hammond doesn't have enough work with elite clients to hazard a guess.

It comes down to this: a template is in place for both sides to use as a starting point. Whether either side wants to accept that blueprint as common ground is the question. Heck, we don't even know that they're talking to each other. This much is certain - the longer the Pirates wait to lock down McCutch, the more difficult and expensive reaching an acceptable deal becomes, and the closer the center fielder gets to his walk/trade season.

Minors Movin' On Up

2012-01-25T20:40:00.000-05:00

Yah, we've been slacking, but those dang Bucco FO guys are keeping a low market profile. We fear that they're about done playing with the roster, and we're not as sure as they are that it's been upgraded. We'll discuss that issue a little later; today we'll focus on the captive market, Pittsburgh's prospects.

John Sickels of Minor League Ball ranked the farm systems, and the Bucs came in at 12th, in the upper-middle of the pack. We have no beef with that. The system boasts of a couple of high-end guys but mostly consists of players whose future level has yet to be determined.

That's because the Pirates have burned their energy on implementing the long term plan of picking high school talent. The kids all have oodles of upside but precious little time in the crucible and no history of top flight competition as a basis for future projections. But as Sickels noted "Heavy draft investments (are) slowly-but-steadily raising the talent level in this system."

Based on our own thoughts and the individual prospect ratings of Sickels, Tim Williams of Pirate Prospects, John Perrotto of Baseball America, Thomas Belmont of Baseball Instincts and the MLB.com rankings, here is the state of minors for the Pirates:

Everybody agrees that RHPs Gerritt Cole and Jameson Taillon are potential aces, with emphasis on potential. Both should start out at High A with the hope that Cole can make the jump to Altoona before too terribly long and then Indy the following season. He could, with his college pedigree, be in Pittsburgh by late 2013 if all goes according to plan, with Taillon maybe a year behind.

If they live up to their hype and escape any big time injuries, by 2015 the Bucs could at long last have a top of the rotation that's under team control for most of the remaining decade.

A couple of outfielders fill in the next spots, Josh Bell and Starling Marte. Bell is a puppy yet, but fills the bill as a switch hitter with power although years away from the show. Marte has every tool in the kit except for raw power, but still could be a 25/25 guy in the show. Questions linger regarding his poor plate discipline and Rube Goldberg routes in the outfield. The 23 year old will be at Indy this year, and improving his mental approach is key.

Other position players who bear watching are C Tony Sanchez, a first-rounder who has been hurt and not making the progress anticipated by the FO. His defensive ability behind the plate remains unquestioned, but his bat needs some heavy duty work.

1B Alex Dickerson is off to a promising start, and as a college player could be on a fast track (he's a top ten prospect per MLB.com). He looks like he's ready to pass Matt Curry as the Bucs' top 1B prospect. OF Robby Grossman made strides to get on the radar; now he needs to repeat his success, although thought of as a tweener.

SS Jordy Mercer is 25, and he may be ready to make a move. He better, with Brock Holt breathing down his neck. OF Gorkys Hernandez has the glove and wheels to play, but the Bucs aren't sold on his stick. 2B Jarek Cunningham has shown some flash, too, but isn't in the immediate plans.

That leaves us with a whole kettle of pitchers that may or may not pan out. Luis Heredia and Stetson Allie top that list of guys who could break through as elite arms. Only time will tell if their youthful potential will ever be harnessed into major league production.

Names like Kyle McPherson, Jeff Locke, Nick Kingham, Bryan Morris, Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, Zach Von Rosenberg, Zack Dodson, Colton Cain, Clay Holmes and Duke Welker all pop out as as possible MLB arms to differing degrees. Some will learn their craft; others will fall by the wayside. Baseball Darwinism is the reason the Pirates have committed so many of its resources to hoarding pitching.

There's also a crew of Latin players currently bumping along in the lower levels, like 3B Elevys Gonzalez, 1B Jose Osuna, OFs Adalberto Santos & Exicardo Cayonez, and C Ramon Cabrera. We'll see how an unleashed Rene Gayos and the new Dominican camp work out in farming that fertile field of dreams.

The Pirate farm system has made marked improvement in the Coonelly/Huntington era, especially considering that Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez and Alex Presley have all moved through it to the show in recent seasons, along with contributors like Brad Lincoln, Tony Watson and Danny Moskos. Chase d'Arnaud and Josh Harrison have shown they can be capable role players.

The farm has advanced from the bottom of the pack to solidly in the middle and knocking on top ten's door. But their future plans will have to adapt in the new world of capped draft budgets, which makes their over slot signings a thing of the past.

For now the Pirates have stocked the lower minors with talent, and that should work its way up in the next couple of seasons. How they'll approach future drafts - possibly the new paradigm (no, I don't know what it means, but I always wanted to use it in a post) will focus more on proven college players mixed in with Latin signings - should tell the tale of Pittsburgh's goal of competing in the long run.

Movin' Along...

2012-01-21T08:40:00.000-05:00

You can go home again. Houston native Chris Snyder signed a one year deal with the Astros with a mutual option for 2013 (no salary info released yet). He went to the University of Houston, and his wife Carla is also from Space City. The Pirates declined his $6.75M option after he sat out virtually all of 2011 with back problems.
Ryan Ludwick signed with the Cincy Reds for a year, pending his physical.
With those two signings, five ex-Buccos stayed in the division - Paul Maholm and Jason Jaramillo are now with the Cubs and Jose Veras went to the Brewers, along with Snyder and Ludwick.
Don't look for a Derrek Lee comeback. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets that Lee may opt for retirement if he doesn't find a deal he likes, and it's pretty apparent that playing in Pittsburgh again isn't on his bucket list.
Aaron Cook signed with the Red Sox, so you can scratch another name from the Bucco rumors list.
Big Country Brad Eldred, 31, has inked a minor league deal with the Tigers after spending last year with the Giants AAA Fresno club. He didn't receive an invite to camp. Too bad; we've always wanted to see what the slugger could do if given an extended shot in the show. His big league K rate is staggering (37%) and his BA & OBP (.204/.259) are sad, but he does have an intriguing 15 HR in 260 MLB at-bats.
If you're a draft nut, Tom Smith of Rumbunter speculates on a pair of shortstops the Bucs may looking at next season, a high school phenom (Carlos Correa) and a more polished college pick (Deven Marrero).
George Guido of the Valley News Dispatch has a tale of Leechburg's Mickey Morandini, who just landed a minor-league coaching gig with the Phils.
The big recent Bucco news is the post-game concert bill: June 9th - Boyz II Men; July 7th - Daughtry; August 11th - Styx; and September 29th, Lifehouse.

Two To Go & Invites

2012-01-18T08:59:00.001-05:00

The arb housekeeping is just about done, with Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones the only pair remaining unsigned. And the two sides are pretty close, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Trib.

The exchanged figures between the Bucs and the duo are $2.5/$2.25M for Jones and $2.75/$2.35M for McGehee. Jones is just about right on his estimated value, while McGehee is actually a little under. So it doesn't appear that there will be any problem inking the pair.

The current 40-man payroll for the Bucs will end up in the $44-45M range after the pair sign, with an extra $2M in dead money, a slight increase from last season. There are still some guys on the market that could interest the Pirates, so the good news is that they should have enough in the budget to take on another player if they so desire.

In other news, the Pirates invited prospects RHP Gerrit Cole, C Tony Sanchez, OF Robbie Grossman; RHP Mike Crotta, C Eric Fryer and C Ramon Cabrera to camp. Pittsburgh has now invited 18 players to spring training who aren't on the 40-man roster.

The others are OF Brandon Boggs, 1B Jeff Clement, 1B Nick Evans, UT Jake Fox, IF Anderson Hernandez, RHP Ryota Igarashi, RHP Logan Kensing, RHP Shairon Martis, C Jose Morales, LHP Jo-Jo Reyes, LHP Doug Slaten and RHP Tim Wood.

Karstens, Meek Ink Deals

2012-01-17T20:47:00.000-05:00

Well, the FO is TCB on the arb front so far. Two more guys, Jeff Karstens and Evan Meek, have agreed to contracts.

Karstens, who had a breakout season in 2011, came out better than expected, inking a one year, $3.1M deal, a cool $2M more than last season, per Bill Brink of the Post-Gazette. The 29 year old righty went 9-9 with a 3.38 ERA after being a stop gap insertion into the rotation.

He started 26 games and went 162-1/3 frames. Clint Hurdle kept him on a short pitch-count leash early on, but by the dog days, JK was getting his six innings and 100 pitches in. The caveat is that in the last two months of the season, his ERA was around 6.5. It could be a natural reaction to his first full season as a starter since the cows came home or as stat guys warn, his regression toward the mean. We'll see if he can repeat in 2012.

Evan Meek, an All-Star in 2010, had shoulder woes and worked just 20-2/3 innings last season. The Bucs brought him back on a one-year, $875K deal with $25K in possible bonuses, according to Jen Langosh of MLB.com. He'll be in the mix with Chris Resop and Jason Grilli to be Hanny's eighth inning caddy, and the favorite if he regains his 2010 mojo.

That brings the Pirate arb signings to six players and nearly $12.5M, with Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee to go. Jones is expected to be worth $2.5 or so, and McGehee $3M plus, but the FO has been a bit on the generous side so far, so we'll see.

Morton Signs, Taillon, Cole Honored

2012-01-16T16:23:00.001-05:00

Well, when we said Hanny's deal might start the log rolling, we really didn't expect it to happen quite this quickly. Bill Brink of the Post Gazette reports that Charlie Morton has signed a one-year deal worth $2.445M.

Morton, 28, who earned $441K last year, had a promising 2011, reinventing his delivery by dropping his arm slot. He went 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA and worked 171-2/3 innings during 29 starts, even with some mid-season down time. His ceiling will depend mightily on how well he learns to handle lefties, who hit .364 off him last season. Righties could only come up with an anemic .220 BA against Morton.

He's hopeful that he can be ready to go by the opening bell; he had fall hip surgery. The Bucs have a fairly forgiving early schedule, so if he can be back full strength by May, there won't be much shuffling of the Pirate rotation.

Morton joined the Pirates in 2009 with Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez in the Nate McLouth deal with the Braves. And hey, unlike some other higher profile trades, not only are all the pieces still in Pittsburgh, but Nate the Great is back, too.

Now only four to go...

In more good news, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote that the Bucs have two of the top six RHP prospects in baseball with Jameson Taillon, 20, and Gerrit Cole, 21, ranked #3 and #6. Both are expected to start the year at High A Bradenton.

Bucs Reach $4.1M Deal With Hanny

2012-01-16T11:09:00.000-05:00

According to Jen Langosch of MLB.com, the Pirates have agreed to terms with arb-eligible reliever Joel Hanrahan for a one-year contract. Keith Law of ESPN.com says the deal is worth $4.1M, just about at his estimated value. Rob Biertempfel of the Trib adds that it includes just $50K in performance bonuses, so it looks like Hanny structured his deal to be securely front-loaded.

That number flips his 2011 salary of $1.4M. The 30 year old righty, acquired from the Nats in 2009 as part of the Nyjer Morgan/Sean Burnett trade along with Lastings Milledge, appeared in 70 games for the Pirates last year with a 1-4-40 record, 1.83 ERA, and earned an All-Star spot.

The Bucs have five arb guys to ink yet (Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Casey McGehee, Evan Meek, Charlie Morton) and all but Meek should fall between the $2-3M payscale. But Hanny was the main man of the group, so his signing should help get the other deals moving.

Resop Signed During the Doldrums

2012-01-15T09:39:00.003-05:00

The Bucs have been taking their time in dealing with their arb-eligible players. First, they thinned the herd by releasing Ross Ohlendorf, Steve Pearce and Brandon Wood, with Pearce inking a deal with the Twins and Wood with the Rockies. Then they shipped Jose Veras to the Brewers for Casey McGehee, a wash as both were in their arbitration years.

They signed Jason Grilli to a one year, $1.1M deal early on and just this week doubled Chris Resop's salary by giving him a one year, $850K contract. Both deserved a deal. Grilli, 35, went 2-1 in 28 outings with a 2.48 ERA and a save. Resop, 29, put together a 5-4 record with a 4.38 ERA and pitched better than his line, which was marred by a brutal July. Both averaged 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, a clutch bullet to have in a reliever's arsenal.

That leaves Joel Hanrahan, Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Casey McGehee, Evan Meek and Charlie Morton remaining to get under contract. Except for Meek, who missed most of last season with shoulder tendinitis, the cost should be between $2-4M for the remaining guys.

The group posted individual 2011 WARs in the 1-2 range (1 WAR = $4.5M market value) except for McGehee, but he has 2.0 and 3.3 WAR years in 2009-10 to buttress his value against his 2011 downer. While inexact, the rule of thumb is that a first year player is worth 40% of his WAR, a second year player 60%, and a third year player 80%.

Four of the players are in their first year of eligibility, while Hanrahan and Karstens are in their second. WAR, of course, isn't the end-all; past performance, comparable players statistically and prior contracts all factor into the equation.

Historically, the Bucs have taken care of business without an arbitration hearing. The current FO has gone the limit just once, losing to Ohlie last season, and before that the last case to go before arbitrators was in 2004, when Jack Splat Wilson beat Dave Littlefield and company. No wonder they try to sign players; they don't seem to do so well in front of a panel.

It will be an interesting Tuesday, when the team and players trade their salary offers (they filed for arb on Friday). That gives both parties a jumping-off point, and we'd expect the pace to pick up soon after. There's enough time to get the deals done, as the hearings run from February 1st-21st.

The FO is taking it a little slowly, as the arb agreements could add $16M or so to the 2012 payroll, a big hunk of change by Bucco standards. The 40-man salary hit this year looks to be in the $45M range, with another couple of million blown on buy-outs, a bit of an increase from the $42M spent last year, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, and near 2008-09 levels.

This is a "tip of the iceberg" season. Hanny and JK will be entering their third years of arb in 2013, while the rest of the gang will be in their second. McCutch, J-Mac and the Pittsburgh Kid will all join their ranks next season, too. The Bucco youth movement will start hitting Bob Nutting's wallet in earnest then.

Rob Biertempfel of the Trib reported that Charlie Morton, recovering from hip surgery, is cautiously optimistic that he'll be ready to go on Opening Day.
Paul Maholm's next appearance at PNC Park will be in a Cubby uniform. The lefty signed a one year, $4.75M deal with Chicago that included an option for 2013. Sure a far cry from the $9.75M option the Pirates declined, hey?
The Bucs signed another lefty reliever to a minor league deal when they inked Chris Slaten, 31, who worked for the Nats last season, losing half the season to an elbow injury. Slaten is a LOOGY.
We're hopeful that the Pirates haven't given up on pitching yet. There are still quite a few guys on the market who could upgrade the rotation, and as the weeks until camp tick away, maybe the price will be right for the Bucs to add an arm, ala Eric Bedard. The question is whether the FO is willing to cross the $50M payroll line this year - and that hasn't happened since 2003.
Derrek Lee, along with Casey Kotchman and Carlos Pena, remain unsigned; the drawn-out Prince Fielder dance has them all on hold. Chris Snyder may have overestimated his market value, too.

Sunday Notes

2012-01-08T00:06:00.000-05:00

John Dreker of Pirate Prospects reports that "according to a Nicaraguan newspaper (link is in Spanish) Vicente Padilla will be scouted by Rene Gayo and the Pittsburgh Pirates next week." He lost much of last season to injuries, but is throwing 94 in winter league play and putting up some nice numbers. The righty is 34, and has a 104-90/4.31 line in 13 big league seasons, mostly as a starter.
Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News announced that "The Mets added a veteran backup shortstop Friday, agreeing to a one-year deal with Ronny Cedeno. Cedeno is slated to earn about $1.2 million plus incentives next season as insurance for Jose Reyes’ replacement, Ruben Tejada." The SS's option, refused by the Bucs, was for $3M. The Mets are team number #4 for RC; maybe they can find the right button. It was no secret that his inconsistency drove Clint Hurdle nuts last season.
Of the Buccos who chose free agency, only Ryan Doumit and Cedeno have inked deals so far. Jen Langosh of MLB.com wrote that "The club has expressed interest in going after Derrek Lee, though the first baseman doesn’t seem to have reciprocated that interest. The Pirates might consider re-signing Maholm, though I don’t envision them offering significant guaranteed money." Lee is waiting for Prince Fielder to sign while Maholm is looking for a multi-year deal, and the Pirates appear ready to move on without them.

Thursday Bits & Pieces

2012-01-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh has five of the Top 100 prospects according to Frankie Piliere of Scout.com. Gerritt Cole and Jameson Taillon are in the top twenty, and Starling Marte, Luis Heredia and Josh Bell are on the back end of the list.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America posted that the Bucs have released RHP Mitchell Fienemann, RHP Joe Parsons, RHP Jarryd Sullivan and LHP Diomedes Mateo. Fienemann and Sullivan were part of the Australian signings the Pirates made in the past couple of years, but neither advanced past State College.
Eddy also noted that they resigned RHP Mike Loree and SS Greg Picart. Loree, 25, made a good if brief showing at Altoona after the Giants released him and he pitched well in indy ball. Picart, 26, in an organizational infielder who's been with the Pirates since 2004.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweets that the FO is still looking for a utility infielder. Anderson Hernandez, Yamaico Navarro, Gustavo Nunez, Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer and Chase d'Arnaud aren't enough? Look for another pitcher, would ya please?
Wonder whassup with Derrek Lee and Carlos Pena?

Name Droppin'

2012-01-04T20:05:00.001-05:00

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the Pirates had some interest in RHP AJ Burnett of the Yankees. The 35 year old is an inning eater, but his $16.5M contract seems way out of the Pirates' depth unless the Bronx Bombers are willing to foot most of his bill, especially as Fangraphs lists his 2011 value at 1.5 WAR/$6.5M.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Trib reports that the Bucs had a chat with LHP Paul Maholm, but doesn't expect much to come of the conversation.
The Pirates showed some interest in RHP Dan Wheeler, according to MLB Trade Rumor's Ben Nicholson-Smith. From the same site, Mark Polishuk presumes the Pirates are looking at Taiwanese LHP Chen Wei-yin, 26, a report that's made the web rounds before.
Rob Beirtempfel of the Trib notes that Pittsburgh is in on Cuban OFs Yoennis Cespedes and Jorge Soler, although both seem to be in line for for some monster money.
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signings of LHP Jo-Jo Reyes and RHP Logan Kensing to minor league deals with invites to spring training. Reyes, 27, is a starter who is 12-26 with a 6.05 ERA in five seasons with the Braves, Blue Jays and Orioles. Kensing, 29, is 8-9 with a 5.81 ERA in 132 MLB appearances with Florida and the Nats, missing 2010 while recovering from elbow surgery. The reliever throws in the mid-to-upper 90s.
Jim Callis of Baseball America compares Pirates outfieldprospects Starling Marte and Robbie Grossman. He also puts Jamison Taillon/Gerritt Cole among the top four minor league pitching duos.
SS Pedro Ciriaco proved you can go home again when he signed with his old club, the Red Sox. C Jason Jaramillo stayed in the division, inking a deal with the Cubs, where he stands a decent chance of becoming the #2 catcher.
Indy's IF/OF Corey Wimberly signed with the Mets, and corner player Josh Fields went to the Dodgers.

The Arb Clock Is On...

2012-01-03T18:00:00.000-05:00

The next housekeeping chore for the Bucs will be coming to terms with their arb-eligible players. They are, with their estimated arbitration values as provided by MLB Trade Rumors:

Joel Hanrahan, RHP: $4M
Casey McGehee: $3.1M
Jeff Karstens, RHP: $2.8M
Garrett Jones, RF/1B: $2.4M
Charlie Morton, RHP: $2.1M
Chris Resop, RHP: $1.1M
Evan Meek, RHP: $900K
Jason Grilli, RHP: $800K (signed to a 1 year/$1.1M contract)

Other arb candidates were IF Brandon Wood, 1B Steve Pearce, and RHP Ross Ohlendorf, who were non-tendered, and RHP Jose Veras, who was traded to the Brew Crew for 3B Casey McGehee.

If the MLB Trade Rumor figures are close to accurate, the eight will cost Mr. Nutting $17.5M.

The Pirates traditionally begin contract talks after the first of the year. The players can file for hearings from January 5th through the 13th, and so far Grilli is the only player the Pirates have struck a deal with. That's not a drop-dead date; figures are exchanged on the seventeenth, and the actual hearings before an arbitrator don't begin until February 1st, running through the 21st. A deal can be struck anytime before the judge rules.

So the FO has a month or more to ink the players to a contract instead of going through a hearing. And we guess they will come to terms. Last year was the first time they took a player to arbitration, and Ross Ohlendorf gobsmacked them for $2M. Our guess is that they'll avoid the process if at all possible.

They'll all be one-year contracts. The only guy who is really worth tying up is Hanny, and the Pirates are loathe to sigh relievers long-term. And he'll do just fine with a "show-me" deal.

Next year will be a little more problematic. Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and James McDonald all become arb-eligible. Look for those back-burner contract deals that are barely on simmer now to heat up next off-season when some real money begins to get tossed around.

2012...Lookin' For Pitching

2012-01-02T19:43:00.000-05:00

OK, the Bucs top prospect list is loaded with young starters - Gerritt Cole, Jaimison Taillon, Luis Heredia, and Stetson Allie are at the head of the class. Other youngsters like Zach Von Rosenberg, Nick Kingham, Clay Holmes and Phil Irwin are learning their craft. AAA will have Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson returning, with Jeff Locke and Kyle McPherson ready to join them. And that's good; like money, you can never have too much pitching.

But none of them will impact this coming season. The only young guy who can provide some immediate help is Brad Lincoln, and he looks closer to being plugged into the bottom rather than top end of the rotation. On top of that, Charlie Morton is recovering from hip surgery, and while his rehab is by all reports going well, it would be foolhardy to expect him to be ready for camp and an April role on the team.

That leaves newcomer Eric Bedard, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia and Lincoln as the opening day staff. The top half looks pretty solid, but that's it. There's no depth and no one behind them right now. And all have some kind of question mark attached to them.

Can Bedard stay healthy? Can J-Mac get past five innings? Can Karstens repeat a break-out season? Can Correia recover from his second-half meltdown? Can Lincoln find his mojo in the bigs? Can Morton recover quickly and figure out how to get a lefty to sit down?

As with all questions, some will have a positive answer and some won't. And the Pirates are ill-prepared right now to deal with someone stumbling out of the blocks. So while the FO, like Green Weenie, took a healthy break during the holidays, it's time to roll up the sleeves and add another starter, someone with enough chops to at least work from the middle of the pack, not the bottom.

Wei-Yin Chen, Bartolo Colon, Jeff Francis, Jon Garland, Rich Harden, Hisashi Iwakuma, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda, Roy Oswalt, Brad Penny, Joel Pineiro, and Joe Saunders are still available (as is Paul Maholm), according to MLB Trade Rumors.

We can eliminate Jackson, a name that's been tossed around in local chat rooms, from the conversation. He's looking for a fair-sized, multi-year contract, and that's not happening in Pittsburgh. Chen, Francis, Maholm and Saunders are also looking for more than a year.

That doesn't leave a lot. Penny has been fairly strong in the NL although a dud in the AL and Oswalt would require a major contract, as would Iwakuma and Kuroda. The rest represent an upgrade, even of modest proportions, to the existing staff and could probably be landed with a one-year deal if structured with plenty of bonuses. We also like Chris Young, if he could be lured by a minor league deal and camp invite.

So we're hoping that the Pirate inactivity during the holidays was spent in spadework to add another pitcher to the rotation. Remember, they went through ten starters in 2011, and that exposed a depth problem that still exists today. If they don't plug that hole, 2012 could be another long year.

Last Minute Xmas Shopping

2011-12-20T12:24:00.001-05:00

The Pirates resigned 1B Jeff Clement, 28, to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. He missed most of last season after knee surgery. LHP Ryoto Igarashi's previously announced deal was finalized today, too.
The Nationals signed Xavier Paul to a minor-league deal. The X-Man has a chance to get some at-bats in DC, as they have an unsettled center field.
LHP Brian Burres, the Buccos Indy insurance policy, has moved on to the SF Giants. He inked a minor-league deal with the G-Men with an invitation to camp.
The Braves are looking to ink a backup shortstop on a one-year deal, and Ronny Cedeno is a candidate. An earlier report said the Mets were kicking his tires, too.
The Dodgers picked up ol' Pirate reliever LHP John Grabow, who had a tough couple of seasons in Chi-Town.
The Astros reassigned IF Brian Bixler to AAA Oklahoma City.
MLB news of the day: The Rangers won the rights to negotiate with Japanese RHP Yu Darvish. It only cost them $51.7M, the highest posting bid ever made. In Arizona, the D-Backs announced that they signed OF Jason Kubel for 2 years/$15M plus mutual option year.

Home Grown Buccos

2011-12-19T19:19:00.000-05:00

Trent Rosencrans of CBS Sports has put together a series where he examines the lineups of teams if they would have kept their home-grown players together. His Pirate lineup is below, and this link takes you to the complete roster.

1. Andrew McCutchen, CF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Jose Bautista, RF
4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B
5. Ryan Doumit, 1B
6. Jeff Keppinger, SS
7. Ronny Paulino, C
8. Nyjer Morgan, LF

We're not real sure that he ever saw Dewey play first, but hey...either him or Brad "Big Country" Eldred, right? And Nyjmo?

Saturday Sidebars

2011-12-17T19:21:00.000-05:00

Dejan Kovacevic of the Trib tweets that the Bucs are talking to LHP Jo Jo Reyes about a minor league deal as they continue to stockpile lefty insurance policies.
Restating the obvious: During the PirateFest Q&A, Neal Huntington told the media & fans that they're still interested in Derrek Lee. Maybe he should take David Todd's advice and look at of the Padres Anthony Rizzo or Jesus Guzman now that they have Yonder Alonso (see below). Clint Hurdle kept it rolling when he let it be known that Garrett Jones/Casey McGehee/Nick Evans/Matt Hague are all "in play" for first base next season.
In more pertinent news, the FO said the likely minor league assignments for some Pirate primo prospects are: Gerritt Cole & Jameson Taillon, High A Bradenton; Luis Heredia, Rookie League; Tony Sanchez, AA Altoona, and Josh Bell at Low A West Virginia.
Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago says that the Cubbies are in talks to bring Paul Maholm to the Windy City.
Two big stories in MLB today: The Reds acquired Mat Latos from the Padres this afternoon for Yonder Alonso, Edison Volquez, Yasmani Grandal and Brad Boxberger. The other is that Jimmy Rollins inked a three year deal with the Phils with an option.

Pirate Prospects, Player Movement

2011-12-16T15:21:00.003-05:00

Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus has the Bucs' Top Twenty prospects. He lists Josh Bell, Gerritt Cole, Luis Heredia, and Jamison Taillon as Pirate five-star farmhands. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has his Top Ten from the start of 2011 and again at the end of the year. The update shows how shallow the system still is. There were no new names to add to Mayo's list, just a reshuffling of the original ten.
The Bucs signed LHP Kris Johnson. Johnson was a first round sandwich pick of the Red Sox in 2006, but never lived up to his hype in the minors. The Bosox scouting report says that he "...throws three pitches well: a 90-94 mph fastball, a mid-70s hard curveball, and a very good 83-84 mph changeup. Uses his fastball and his change as out pitches...Underwent Tommy John surgery in 2005...curve lacks the same bite." He's worth a minor league flyer; maybe a change of scenery will do him some good.
Patrick Newman of NPR Tracker tweeted that LHP Ryota Igarashi, 32, has signed a split contract with Pittsburgh. The reliever was 4-1/4.66 for the Mets in 2011, averaging 10 Ks and 7 BBs per nine innings.
The Twins signed former Pirates 1B Steve Pearce and LHP Aaron Thompson to minor league deals.
The Mets non-tendered C Ronny Paulino, making him a free agent. And they're staying in contact with IFs Jack Wilson and Ronnie Cedeno. They must scout Pittsburgh pretty well; they also claimed RHP Jeremy Hefner and signed LHP Garrett Olson to a minor-league deal.
The Tigers signed RHP Octavio Dotel. It's a record-setting 13th club for the bullpen specialist.
Arizona gave $1M to Lyle Overbay to return in 2012.
Jay Michaels, who left the Bucs for a 3-year run with the Astros, has signed a minor league deal with Washington.
The Phillies added C Steve Lerud to their system.
Toronto sent RHP Jesse Chavez to Triple A Las Vegas.

Pirate Roster As Of Today

2011-12-14T22:17:00.001-05:00

OK, time to look at the upcoming 25-man roster now that most of the shouting has died down. It's still possible that the team picks up another starter for depth purposes - think Brian Burres - or somehow Derrik Lee falls into their laps, although it looks like they have first base covered now.

Our guess would be that the other pick-ups will be minor-league deals, especially as the market for closers doesn't appear to be so tight that the FO will get what they want for Hanny. So here goes:

Rotation: Eric Bedard, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia and Brad Lincoln will be the five when camp breaks, as Charlie Morton is likely to start the year on the DL. Lincoln has an option left, but he'll see plenty of action in Pittsburgh given the health history of the staff. Chris Leroux could fill the old Karstens role of spot starter; he has the desire and stretched out in winter ball as a starter.

Jeff Locke got his feet wet last year, and Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson have to rebound from disappointing debuts at Indy. Pittsburgh still isn't very deep here for all the pitching they've collected and lack an ace-quality arm.

Bullpen: Hanny will close, but the set-up job will be contentious. Evan Meek has a foot up, but if he falters, Chris Resop and perhaps Jason Grilli could step in. Chris Leroux is out of options and should stick while Anthony Watson will represent the lefties. That's six guys, and we think the last spot will come down to Daniel McCutchen or lefty Daniel Moskos. D-Mac is out of options while Moskos has a pair in hand, and that could be the determining factor.

Bryan Morris, Duke Welker, Tim Wood and Aaron Poseda will be on hand. It's deep and a nice pen on paper, depending on how Meek pitches after missing most of 2011 to injuries. Jose Veras was the local whipping boy in 2011, but he was the set-up guy and his 79 appearances will leave a large hole to fill.

Outfield: Alex Presley, Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata will start with Nate McLouth as the cavalry should one of the corner guys go down or have performance issues. Our guess is that they'll stick with those four and count on Garrett Jones as the fifth OF'er.

The FO hasn't shown much love for Gorkys Hernandez, and Starling Marte is still a step away. There's an outside chance that Jake Fox, a super utility guy, could be a bench corner outfielder, and Andrew Lambo is still on the radar.

Corner Infield: Pedro Alvarez will get the nod at third; Jones and an accomplice to be named later, probably Casey McGehee, will platoon at first. Jones hits righties well, but McGehee had big trouble with lefties last year, batting at just a .169 clip against them. That's why we think Nick Evans will stick with the club; he's a proven lefty basher and a good glove man, a perfect insurance policy for the position.

Matt Hague, Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison will be the upper-level reserves, and the last two are versatile enough to handle third, short and second. Hague is a first baseman working out at third to improve his versatility. Fox is a corner reserve.

Middle Infield: Neil Walker and Clint Barmes will hold the fort, and we're hoping they're ironmen, as Yamaico Navarro is their likely back-up.

Gustavo Nunez for Pedro Ciriaco was a mind-blowing depth swap, and our guess is Rule V pick Gus goes back to Detroit sooner rather than later. Chase d'Arnaud and Brock Holt will open the season in the minors; Mercer is also a candidate here.

Catcher: Looks like Rod Barajas and Mike McKenry are the dynamic duo; we're still not sure why Jason Jaramillo was released.

This spot is considerably weaker than last year's was, at least prior to the injury epidemic. Tony Sanchez, Eric Fryer and Ramon Cabrera still need polished up quite a bit. Jose Morales and perhaps Fox are third catcher candidates.

GW's 25 Man Roster:

Pitchers (12): Eric Bedard, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia, Jason Grilli, Joel Hanrahan, Chris Leroux, Brad Lincoln, Daniel McCutchen, James McDonald, Evan Meek, Chris Resop and Anthony Watson. (Charlie Morton - 15 day DL)

Outfield (4): Andrew McCutchen, Nate McLouth, Alex Presley and Jose Tabata.

Catchers (2): Rod Barajas and Mike McKenry.

Infield (7): Pedro Alvarez, Clint Barmes, Brian Evans, Garrett Jones, Casey McGehee, Yamiaco Navarro and Neil Walker.

Roster Takes Shape

2011-12-13T08:39:00.000-05:00

As the bewitching hour approached, the FO tendered all its arb-eligible dudes: Joel Hanrahan, Charlie Morton, Chris Resop, Jeff Karstens, Evan Meek, Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones. Jason Grilli was signed to a new contract earlier in the evening, so the Bucs kept the roster in one piece for the time being.

It's good news that the Pirates tendered those guys; all bring something to the table. And we are pleasantly surprised that management kept the gang together, overcoming their innate "grass is greener" syndrome.

First, they let C Jason Jaramillo go, leaving Mike McKenry as the backup to Rod Barajas, although Scooby Doo showed no particular talent with a bat or plays at the plate. They released IF Pedro Ciriaco and picked up Gustavo Nunez, whose next visit to the AAA level will be his first, and Yamaico Navarro of the good bat and iffy glove.

They swapped out OF Xavier Paul for Nate McLouth as the fourth outfielder, which is the closest move to a bench upgrade they've made. 3B Casey McGehee is a roll of the dice. If 2011 was an anomaly and not the norm, he nicely fills a corner role for the Bucs that had no obvious internal answer. And given the market, he's worth the risk.

Barajas and SS Clint Barmes filled self-created holes, but don't figure to add much to the Pittsburgh portfolio. Both are dependable in the field, but look to be the seven-eight hitters in a lineup begging for some help. LHP Erik Bedard is a welcome upgrade to the rotation, especially if Clint Hurdle can nurse 20-25 starts out him, and is easily the top FA signing of the off-season.

Of course, the blueprint to success is based on the improvement of the young guys. If the pups like J-Mac, Charlie Morton, McCutch, the Pittsburgh Kid and Jose Tabata can build on 2011 and Pedro Alvarez returns to his late-season 2010 form, the Bucs have enough pieces to build around. And that is the key to the team moving down the road, not the market.

Bucs Deal Veras For McGehee; Grilli Signs

2011-12-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

Well, well. The Pirates finally got someone for a player they were probably planning on non-tendering, sending RHP Jose Veras to the Brewers for 3B Casey McGehee.

Veras, 31, actually had a nice year for the Pirates, with the occasional breakdowns that come with a team-leading 79 appearances. The righty threw 71 innings and complied a 2-4-1/3.80 line with 79 Ks, running into problems when his control was off.

But he was one of five relievers up for arbitration and in line for a big bump up from his $1M 2011 contract. With several other young guys looking for big league work, he was expendable.

McGehee, 29, hit .223 with a .280 on-base percentage for the Brewers with 13 home runs in 546 at-bats, having a pretty miserable year. But the FO is looking at his 2010 season, when he had 23 home runs, 104 RBIs and hit .285 with a .337 OBP. McG had a nice 2009 rookie line of .301/16/66 as a part-timer, too.

He can play both corners (though he only has a handful of games at first) and provides some pop and a little insurance if Pedro fizzles. If both he and Alvarez have bounce back years, El Toro could get find himself across the diamond. McGehee was also a potential non-tender candidate, especially as the Brew Crew just inked A-Ram. As a first-time arb-eligible player, the Pirates have him under control through the 2014 season.

Per MLB Trade Rumors, Veras projected to earn $2.5M in 2011, while McGehee projected to earn $3.1M through arbitration.

Our guess is that Veras will help Milwaukee more than McGehee will Pittsburgh, but we can't complain about getting a return on a player rather than just cutting him loose ala Matt Capps.

Rob Biertempfel of the Trib tweeted that RHP Jason Grilli signed a one-year deal for $1.1M and appearance bonuses, assuring a veteran presence in the pen, at least until the deadline.

It's still going to be a busy night. Pittsburgh has a hour or so to offer arb to Joel Hanrahan, Charlie Morton, Jeff Karstens, Casey McGehee, Evan Meek, Chris Resop and Garrett Jones. And rest assured they'll be eying the non-tendered list, too. We may need a scorecard this year.

Rule V Draft - ???

2011-12-08T10:36:00.001-05:00

Well, the Bucs dove into the draft pool headfirst. We're not exactly sure why, but that's why we're bloggers and not front office dudes. Maybe it's just a habit that management just can't shake.

The Pirates took SS Gustavo Nunez, 23, from the Tigers. He's a good glove, no hit guy that spent last season split between Hi A and AA. Nunez has a .266 lifetime minor-league BA, and only 133 at-bats were taken above Class A. How he's an improvement over Pedro Ciriaco is a mystery to us, much less how he will last the season in Pittsburgh without a single AAA at-bat on his resume. We guess the grass is always greener...

The organization lost RHP Brett Lorin, 25, to Arizona. He was 7-6 with a 2.84 ERA at Hi A Bradenton last season. He's not an overwhelming arm and is injury prone, so it's hard to tell if the Bucs just didn't see much future for him or thought that his background would allow him to sneak through the draft. Either way, he didn't seem to figure mightily with the team going forward except possibly around the edges.

The minor league portion added a couple of more interesting players. Pittsburgh took former top prospect LHP Aaron Poreda, 25, from San Diego. Poreda can fire the ball, and lefties with smoke are always a welcome commodity, even if the strike zone is a foreign concept to them. In 438 minor-league frames, he's K'ed 400 and walked 252 batters. But he hits the mid-nineties, and certainly is worth a look.

Then came the unsurprising continued run on catchers. Francisco Diaz, 21, was claimed from the Phillies. He's a good field, no hit backstop that spent 2011 in Class A. That was followed by the selection of another catcher, Charles Cutler, 25, from the Cards. His career farm line is .305/.385/.412, but he was behind Wil Rosario and Audry Perez in St. Louis. Cutler is a little long in the tooth for a AA player, but at least can hit.

And as Pat Lackey of WHYGAVS noted, "C Brian Jeroloman was just DFA'ed. You know Huntington won't be able to help himself..."

Unrelated to the draft, but still worth a line: Albert Pujols signed with the Angels for 10 years/$250M and was given a no trade clause. Aye carumba! That leaves a couple of guys available on the trade market, like Mark Trumbo and the Mets' Ike Davis.

Burning The Midnight Oil

2011-12-08T08:17:00.001-05:00

The Bucco FO stayed up longer than ol' GW last night; they were still shakin' and bakin' up to the midnight hour.

First, the Pirates traded RHP Brooks Pounders and IF Diego Goris to the Royals for infielder Yamaico Navarro in what the KC media described as "a clock-beating move that cleared a roster space before this morning’s Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings."

Navarro, 24, offers some offensive potential, particularly for a utility infielder, but his iffy glovework made him expendable. He's played at second, third, short and the outfield. Navarro began in Boston's farm system, where he was purely a shortstop. The righty hit .272 with two homers and nine RBIs in 25 games at AAA Omaha last year, close to his .279 career farm BA.

Pounders, 21, was 5-5 with a 3.68 ERA in 66 innings over 36 games last season at Class A West Virginia in 2011. He was a second round pick in the 2009 draft, but had fallen behind several of the lower level arms the Pirates have collected during their recent drafts.

Goris, 21, batted .350 with 29 extra-base hits, 53 runs and 46 RBIs in 68 games for the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League club. He was a DSL All-Star the past two seasons.

The Bucs must have an eye at someone in the Rule V draft Friday; they released Ross Ohlendorf to create a spot on the 40-man roster. In fact, the Trib's Rob Beirtempfel tweeted that they've made another yet unannounced move (to make space for Navarro) and will dive into the draft pool.

Also, as expected, Derrik Lee refused arbitration, waiting on Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder to find landing spots, and will join the FA market. The Bucs intend to stay in touch, but lotsa luck there. The bright side of the street is that the Pirates will get a compensation pick in the 2012 draft if Lee, a Type B free agent, signs with another team.

Bucs Get Their Pitcher...And More

2011-12-07T18:03:00.001-05:00

The door swung open for LHP Erik Bedard, OF Nate McLouth and C Jose Morales and shut on SS Pedro Ciriaco and C Jason Jarmillo as the FO earned their money today.

Bedard is the most interesting pick-up. The veteran lefty has eight years in the league, all in the junior circuit, and adds a southpaw that can miss bats to the Pirate rotation. He's 56-50 with a 3.70 career ERA and notched 8.8 Ks per nine innings over that span, so at least he and J-Mac have strikeout stuff.

The Pirates signed him to a plain vanilla one-year contract for $4.5M; no option, no buy-out. In him, they have a guy who can realistically provide 25 starts and 150 innings with an ERA south of four. His caveat emptor - too much time in the tub. He hasn’t pitched more than 150 innings since 2007, and missed the 2010 season due to injuries. But he's been effective when he can take the hill, and if healthy, he'll be the Bucs default number one pitcher. A nice, out-of-the-blue signing.

Nate McLouth officially rejoined the team, not that he'd know anyone who's left in Pittsburgh since his trade. Nate the Great signed for a year at $1.75M, and will be an insurance policy for the pup Alex Presley and the oft-injured Jose Tabata in the corners. He also comes with health concerns and a terrible stretch in Atlanta, so we'll see what he has left in the tank. Clint Hurdle was asked if going "home" to the Pirates will help. His response, as reported by Rob Biertempfel of the Trib: "It worked for Dorothy."

Jose Morales is a good stick but with no power and good throw-'em-out catcher but not otherwise thought of as a strong defensive guy. Morales is athletic enough that he's played some infield, but his primary position is behind the dish. He's a switch-hitter who was inked to a minor league deal with an invite to camp, so apparently he's gonna get a shot at being the reserve catcher.

His odds improved dramatically when Jason Jaramillo was DFA'ed, along with Pedro Ciriaco. The moves caught us a bit off guard for two reasons: one, we thought both had a shot at bench jobs come spring, and two, we expected guys who the Pirates were planning to non-tender would get the ax first. So it may be that there's still some internal debate about the arb-eligible players getting offers, either through a hearing or contract, or the FO plans on making a couple of other moves.

A couple of media sources have said the Bucs are out of the IF Wilson Betemit auction. Rumors still have them linked to Mark DeRosa and Ian Stewart. They're also thought to have some interest in LHP Jeff Francis, who the FO tried to bring to Pittsburgh last year.

Hey, not a bad hot stove season so far. The Pirate attack hasn't been improved enough to notice, but they did at least bring in a pitcher with better upside than anchoring the bottom of the rotation. And hey, maybe they have another out-of-the-box deal in the works...we hope.

Tuesday Meeting Notes

2011-12-06T12:40:00.001-05:00

Rob Biertempfel of the Trib said that the Bucs are closing in on deals for OF Nate McLouth and either IF Wilson Betemit or Mark DeRosa. Michael Sanserino of the P-G wrote that the McLouth deal is in the serious stages. Nate is a bit of a surprise. If he's being brought in as an insurance policy on Alex Presley, the numbers show that McLouth hits lefties worse than Presley does. Still, a veteran presence can't hurt and he may be over his Atlanta injury bugs.
Pitchers that the Pirates are said to be interested in are LHP Jeff Francis and RHP Aaron Cook. Oddly, one name that hasn't come up at all has been that of Paul Maholm. We're wondering if that late season injury was a little more serious than reported.
Pittsburgh will find out if Derrik Lee accepts arb tomorrow, although it seems to be a foregone conclusion that he'll move on. And if they're going to play in the Friday draft, they'll have to take someone off the 40-man Wednesday, too.
As Will Pellas noted in his comment on the last post, the Bucs are frustrating because they refuse to address holes that won't be filled in the short term through the system. We'll see if they deal for any players in the longer run. Will mentioned the FA pitching; they could get creative and give guys like Chris Leroux or Chris Resop a shot. We're interested to see if they have a package in mind if Gaby Sanchez frees up (Albert Pujols is given a even chance of landing in Florida.) Take away the outfield and second base, and every other position could be upgraded. It would be a pity to see the first wave of talent crest before the next wave hits shore.
The Pirates announced their upcoming PirateFest schedule and the players who will participate.

Monday Meeting Memo

2011-12-05T20:29:00.001-05:00

Do things looks like they're falling in place for the Bucs? Well, the jigsaw is taking shape, but the FO appears satisfied to add along the edges now that Rod Barajas and Clint Barmes are in the fold, filling their most critical holes.

Derrik Lee, by all reports, will suit up again next year somewhere, but not until Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder sign and open the market for him and Carlos Pena. The odds of either falling to Pittsburgh are slim, so it looks like a platoon between Garrett Jones and Nick Evans/Matt Hague/Jake Fox is in the cards.

The Pedro Alvarez saga continues to twist and turn. The FO told the media that they're in touch with his trainer, and that El Toro won't play any winter ball. We're sorta surprised that they're not taking a more active role in his winter PT program, especially after cleaning out the training staff in the post-season.

They've admitted that the biggest impact improvement they could make would be for Pedro to live up to his clippings, but it does seem like they're putting Alvarez on a shorter leash in 2012. Mark DeRosa & Ian Stewart are still on their radar, and internally, Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison could get a look in the spring. The management is at least considering Plan B. But make no mistake, the job is still Alvarez's to lose. That will be the storyline in Florida and the early part of the season.

The Ryan Kadish/Nate McLouth rumors mean two things: One, that they're still not convinced Alex Presley is an everyday player - he did have rough splits last season - so they're looking for insurance, and they're likewise leery of bringing up Gorkys Hernandez, who now has to feel Starling Marte hot on his tail. We're not exactly sure why every other club's prospects look so good to the FO while their home-grown guys have to sit and simmer, but that's consistently been the MO during the Coonelly/Huntington era.

The pitching rotation still needs upgraded, but the talk so far is to add another back-end, inning-eating veteran hurler. It would seem to make sense to look for a number two type arm to hold the fort for a couple of years until guys like Gerritt Cole, Jamison Taillon and Luis Hernadez make their Pittsburgh debuts, but doesn't seem to be the direction they're headed.

It's likely that they'd have to overpay, ala the Nats and Jayson Werth, to attract that kind of talent and so they're understandably gun shy. One big albatross contract can hold back a low-revenue team like Pittsburgh for a couple of seasons or more. Even the deep pocket Cubs have big problems digging out from under bad commitments.

Watch to see if they add to the bullpen; five guys are up for arb from the relief corps, and they all may not be tendered; Jose Veras at least is on the bubble. But that's a tough read. The FO has been content to wait out the market to add those pieces.

The Rule V draft concludes the meetings, and the FO has remained non-committal as to whether they plan to dive into that pool again. The 40-man roster is full, so someone has to go if they do opt to participate. They could lose a pitcher like Nathan Baker, one of a couple of relievers, or outfielder Andrew Lambo, who is raking in winter ball, to the draft.

There is one possibility of a big move, and that's through a trade. No smoke yet, but they will listen to offers for Hanny and have a small crowd of outfielders and lower level arms for less splashy deals or as add-ins.

One positive thing did happen today. Pirates Director of Media Relations Jim Trdinich was named the winner of the MLB's 2011 Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence. He's been tub thumping for the Pirates for 23 years, and that's one long, thankless stretch.

Into The Winter Meetings...

2011-12-05T10:10:00.001-05:00

Will he or won't he? Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweeted that the Pirates are talking to Derrik Lee, but he has other suitors. His answer, which should come by Wednesday, will tell us a lot about how the first base FA market is shaping up.
Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports says the Bucs are in the market for spare outfielders. One they're looking at is Nate McLouth, who would in essence become the 2012 Xavier Paul. He also tweets that Pittsburgh has inquired about Ian Stewart, the Rockies 26 year old infielder.
For those who thought Pittsburgh tended to send players back into battle before they were ready, Rob Biertempfel of the Trib wrote that the GM agreed, at least in one case: “We learned a valuable lesson with James McDonald,” Neal Huntington admitted. “We’ve got to make sure we give our guys spring training. We put James in a tough spot.”
BTW, the Buc roster has been entirely remade. None of the 25 MLB players inherited by Frank Coonelly/Neal Huntington play in Pittsburgh any longer, and Evan Meek is currently the longest-tenured Pirate.

Sunday Stuff

2011-12-03T15:02:00.001-05:00

The winter meetings, the official start of the hot stove league, kick off tomorrow. The Pirates will search for another starter and maybe a first baseman, depending on what Derrik Lee decides. He has until Wednesday to accept or nix their arbitration offer. Our guess is he'll opt for the market and start entertaining offers after Sir Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder ink deals. The Pirate FO has also mentioned that they're exploring trades. Hanny, the outfield, and a glut of young, lower level arms are the likeliest bait.
A couple other upcoming dates of interest: the winter meetings close on Thursday, December 8th with the Rule V draft and arb-eligible players have to be tendered by Monday, December 12th. The Bucs have nine players in that category this year.
Mark Simon blogged in ESPN that the Bucs may have had an ulterior motive in signing 1B Nick Evans from the Mets. Not only does he hit pretty well against lefties, but in limited action last season, he tied for the league lead in runs saved at the position with 7. The Sabermetric driven FO continues in its efforts to shore up the Bucco D, as last year's Pirate firstbasemen surrendered 11 more runs than average with their glovework.
For our female readers, bad news: Neil Walker was married Saturday. Congratulations and we wish a long happy life for the couple. And it is still possible; GW has logged 33 years with his bride and never been thrown out the house even once (through no fault of his own, lol).

Hot Stove

2011-12-02T21:37:00.001-05:00

IF Mark DeRosa, who has missed the past couple of seasons because of a pair of wrist surgeries, is looking to come back according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. He adds that the Pirates are one of a handful of teams doing at least due diligence on him.
Per John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports, the Pirates will listen for any possible Hanny deals at the winter meetings. A source told him that "...you never know how badly a team wants somebody." There's been a lot of smoke regarding Hanny so far this off-season, though no solid rumors have taken shape - yet.
One unconfirmed rumor that's made it's way into a thread or two is that Pittsburgh is looking at Red Sox prospect OF Ryan Kalish, 23, who was Boston's #3 farmhand in 2010 before labrum surgery derailed him last season. He's a larger, RH version of Alex Presley.
LHP Chris Capuano signed with the Dodgers for 2 years/$10M. Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports said the Bucs were in on him, too.
The Bucco stockpile of catchers is scattering into the wind. Dusty Brown signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and Matt Pagnozzi did the same with the Indians. They join Ryan Doumit, Chris Snyder, and Brian Jeroloman in the backstop exodus from Pittsburgh. That does still leave them with Rod Barajas, Jason Jaramillo, Mike McKenry and minor leaguers Tony Sanchez, Eric Fryer and Ramon Cabrera. They also have Wyatt Toregas back, although he may be destined to coach rather than play.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America notes that OF Brandon Moss has left the Phillies organization and signed with the Oakland As.

Bunts And Bleeders

2011-12-02T10:03:00.001-05:00

Not a huge surprise, we guess, but Keith Law of ESPN rates Pirate CF Andrew McCutchen #2 in his ranking of baseball's top players who are 25 or younger.
Rob Biertempfel of the Trib tweeted that the Bucs have been looking at LHPs Wei-Yin Chen, 26, from Taiwan, and Tsuyoshi Wada, a 30 year-old Japanese hurler. Chen throws heat, hitting the radar in the low-to-mid 90s, and Wada is more a finesse/control guy. He adds that the Pirates are in on the edges for Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes, but won't get involved in an auction with the big buck boys - and his contract could top $50M.
Bill Blank of the Post Gazette said that if RHP Charlie Morton isn't ready to go at the start of the season, the FO isn't about to panic. Because of the early off days, the team could use a four-man rotation in the opening month and only need two spot starts. That's a pretty telling statement regarding their depth.
The Pirate draft pool pot for 2012 has been calculated at $9,270,800 by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. The spent $8,750,000 in bonus money in 2010 for Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, and $13 M for Gerritt Cole and Josh Bell last year. It looks like the second-round gravy train is about to derail. (PS - sharp eyed reader Ryan says that's not for the upcoming draft, but the past one. So the Bucco budget is yet to be determined)
The Pirates announced that they'll keep minor-league managers Dean Treanor (Indy), P.J. Forbes (Altoona), Carlos Garcia (Bradenton) and Tom Prince (Gulf Coast League). Rick Sofield, who most recently coached at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, will step in to manage in West Virginia. Dave Turgeon will be leaving there to manage short-season State College. Turgeon was West Virginia's pitching coach last season.
Why Joel Hanrahan is such a gaudy trade trinket, part three: the Marlins just signed closer Heath Bell to a $27M/3 year deal.

Pirate Patter

2011-11-30T18:23:00.001-05:00

The Pirates announced that they signed Met's 1B/OF Nick Evans to a minor league deal with an invite to camp. Evans' career work product is a .256 batting avg, 28 doubles, eight home runs and 46 RBI in 386 at-bats over parts of four seasons. His addition gives the Bucs a security blanket if Derrik Lee bolts town and they have to platoon; he's basically Matt Hague with a MLB track record. And he's hit .295 with 6 dingers against lefties in 176 ABs.
The Bucs have so far invited five minor league free agents to camp: Evans, RHP Tim Wood, C/OF Jake Fox, RHP Shairon Martis and OF Brandon Boggs.
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus tweeted that the Bucs had some interest in free agent OF David DeJesus, who signed with the Cubs. Our question would be why.
Jen Langosch of MLB.com has an article on the Pirate game plan heading into the winter meetings.
Charlie Wilmoth of Bucs Dugout analyzed Clint Hurdle's platooning and bullpen tendencies. It's pretty interesting stuff and the results may be a little different than you thought.
Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com has broken down the best of the baby Buccos by position. Her All-Prospect team has C Ramon Cabrera, 1B Matt Hague, 2B Jarek Cunningham, SS Jordy Mercer, 3b Elevys Gonzalez, UT Wes Freeman, OFs Starling Marte, Robbie Grossman and John Bowker (who is now in the Philly organization), RHP Kyle McPherson, LHP Nate Baker and reliever Tim Wood.
The Bradenton Marauders have just introduced a new logo. It's a grinning skull with a Pirate patch backed with crossed bats. Holy shiver me timbers!
Christina Kahrl posted an article on ESPN's Sweet Spot suggesting three fixes for each NL Central team. For Pittsburgh, it's take stock, get some corner OF offense, and jump-start Pedro.

Bucco Bits

2011-11-28T18:27:00.001-05:00

Keith Law of ESPN reported that the Pirates would at least listen to offers for Andrew McCutchen. The story is behind the ESPN Insider's subscriber wall.
Bill Brink of the Post Gazette wrote that the FO is kicking the tires of veteran righty Aaron Cook. The question is will Cook be the BP pitcher of 2010-11 or the solid three-four guy of 2005-09? He's another of Clint Hurdle's old charges, which we're sure is helping to get his foot in the door.
OF Xavier Paul wasn't claimed after being DFA'ed, so he's now a free agent. The Pirates paid lip service to signing him again, but that's unlikely. Because of when he was DFA'ed, he can't ink a deal with the Pirates until mid-May.
The Bucs have two weeks to decide who to offer arbitration to. There are nine players eligible: Jason Grilli, Joel Hanrahan, Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Evan Meek, Ross Ohlendorf, Chris Resop and Jose Veras. Five are RHP from the pen, so it wouldn't be a surprise if one or two of them were non-tendered. The FO also has the option to offer a contract instead of arb, so we'll see how it ends up.
Primo Pirate prospect OF Starling Marte missed a month of winter ball in the Domincan League with a tight groin, but the good news is he returned to action today. He plays for Leones del Escogido.
Bradenton OF Robbie Grossman had a breakout year for Bradenton (.294/13/56 with a .418 OBP and 24 stolen bases). He was interviewed by MiLB.com's Ashley Martin in this Q&A article.
And on the CBA front: Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote that MLB has shut the door on building up draft pool value by not signing a couple of top ten picks. The league says that if you don't sign someone, that round's slot figure will be subtracted from the pot. He also has a couple more clarifications/factoids to add to the draft process.

Turkey Week Leftovers

2011-11-28T13:55:00.001-05:00

Hey, gang, hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. Didn't mean to take such a long holiday break, but with nothin' happening for the Buccos and the nice Turkey week weather, well...

The Pirates offered free agent 1B Derrik Lee arbitration. If he accepts, he'll be a Buc in 2012, and probably draw somewhere in the neighborhood of $8M. If he signs elsewhere, the Pirates get a sandwich pick in the upcoming draft. Pittsburgh already has one extra selection thanks to Ryan Doumit joining the Twins. The FO did allow Chris Snyder and Ryan Ludwick to enter the market. Those were the four Pittsburgh free agent "B" Players. That means that they ranked statistically in the top 21-40 percentile of FAs at their position, and are worth a bonus pick if they refuse to accept arbitration with their old team.
C Eric Fryer cleared the waiver wires and was sent to Indy. However, new C Brian Jeroloman lasted but a weekend as a Pirate. He was DFA'ed and subsequently reclaimed by his former club, Toronto.
The Bucs inked minor leaguers RHP Kyle Cofield, 24, formerly of the White Sox system, and 1B Stefan Welch, 23, from the Mets organization. Cofield spent all but two innings at AA Birmingham, where he was 1-2/2.89 and was used solely as a reliever. Welch, from Down Under, put up a line of .271/16/53 at High A St. Lucie.
LHP Justin Thomas, who was 8-2/3.89 at Indy, was signed to a minor league deal by the Boston Red Sox. He joins LHP Donnie Veal, who went to the White Sox, and 3B Brandon Wood, who signed with Colorado, as free agents looking for greener pastures.
Ramon Cabrera, 5'-7" fireplug C for the Bradenton Marauders, was named to the Topps A All-Star team. RC led the Florida State league in hitting with a .343 BA and was one of just ten players named to the team.
The next batch of baseball stories will pop up soon when the Baseball Meetings begin in Dallas on Sunday, December 4th. The event will be capped on December 8th with the Rule V Draft. The Pirates will be looking for a pitcher and a first baseman. Movement has been slow all around the league so far, but with the new CBA in the bag, it should be fast approaching wheelin' and dealin' time.

New CBA, New World

2011-11-22T14:07:00.001-05:00

The rule hardest for the Bucs to swallow will be the draft cash limit; you can bet that no small revenue team is willing to pay a tax on the draft. There will be start-up problems - how will teams deal with Scott Boras when he asks for the whole ten-round ball of wax for one player? - but all in all, it will just create a new set of rules to work through, and the FOs around the league will.

The changes:

* A raise in the minimum salary from $414,000 this year to $480,000 in 2012, and eventually $500,000+. It's the MLBPA version of a COLA.
* Blood testing for human growth hormone as early as next spring, with a 50-game suspension for a first failed test. So now HGH is considered a no-no along with PEDs.
* It changes the draft-pick compensation for the signing of free agents. Type A and Type B ratings are eliminated, and teams can only get draft pick compensation if they offer the player a guaranteed one-year contract with a salary equal to the average salary of the 125 highest-paid players from the prior season.
* Active rosters can increase to 26 players for double-headers to allow for the call-up of a minor-league starter.
* Internationally, teams will be given caps for the amount that they can spend on prospects outside the draft, with the teams having the worst records getting the biggest budget.
* Here's the Bucco killer: A luxury tax on teams that spend above an agreed-upon figure for players signed in the amateur draft.Bud Selig hated teams like the Pirates ignoring his slot system, and the MLBPA didn't like the money being spent on prospects instead of players. So if teams go over slot (not by pick, but by total spent in the first ten rounds), MLB will place a tax worth 75-100 % of the overrun, with the potential loss of first and second-round selections.
* Other draft rules: players can only be signed to minor league contracts, and teams can trade their unspent draft or international budget to another team if they expect to come in under the MLB cap.
* New draft lottery rules: teams with the lowest revenues and worst records will participate in a lottery of forfeited picks (how ironic that the Pirates might be in a lottery for their own pick!); there's also a lottery of extra picks for small revenue and market teams.

Bud Selig wanted the draft to go purely in order of perceived talent instead of an auction, and he won with the help of the MLBPA, who not surprisingly fell on the side of their membership.Baseball will lose the high school kids to college and prep multi-athletes other sports, and prospects will enter the draft much closer to MLB ready. Colleges will truly become the minor leagues.

So Pittsburgh will have to wait and see if their internal budget and the MLB's international cap are copacetic. More importantly, they'll have to adjust to the new draft era and reallocate monies from the amateur pool to the MLB roster. It's a change in direction, not a death sentence.

As all of us who have ever built a project know, the blueprint is nice to have, but the secret to a finished project is the inevitable work-around.

Bucs Make Minor Moves

2011-11-22T13:10:00.001-05:00

Baseball America's Matt Eddy tweeted that the Bucs are beginning to stock the farm. He says they signed C/1B Jake Fox, 29, late of the Orioles, and RHP Shairon Martis, 24, from the Nats to minor league deals.

Fox, a RH batter who was released after the season, was one of names tossed around when the Bucs were searching for catchers after Dewey, Chris Snyder and Jason Jaramillo went down last year. He's been a monster in the minors, averaging a homer every 19.5 at-bats with a line of .275/ .351/.491. It hasn't quite translated in the show, where he's hit .237/.288/.425 over four seasons and 489 at-bats.

Martis has 20 MLB outings under his belt, 19 of them starts. He spent 2011 at AA Harrisburg, where he was 8-6/3.05 ERA and 2010 at AAA Syracuse, where he put up a 8-7/4.09 ERA line. The righty, a sinker-slider pitcher, averaged about 7 Ks and 3 BBs per 9 innings in his minor league career.

OF Brandon Boggs, 28, from the Brewers and RHP Jose Diaz, 29, of the Orioles, also inked farm deals, according to Baseball America.

The right-handed hitting Boggs joined the Brew Crew from Texas. The LF put together a .209/.315/.380 MLB line in 326 at-bats, with 10 HR and 43 RBI. He's had a solid but unspectacular minor league run.

Diaz is a moose. The righty is just a Hi-Ho away from 300 pounds, although he can deliver a heater in the mid-to-upper nineties. A closer, his minor league career line is 13-16-71/2.87 with 309 K in 307 IP. He started in the LA organization, and has never pitched in the show thanks in large part to four surgeries on his arm.

So the Bucs are restocking their upper levels with some veteran depth players who can serve as insurance in a pinch.

The Pirates have also set loose a small army of free agents, consisting of veteran minor-leaguers and guys lopped off the 40-man roster, so far losing Donnie Veal to the White Sox and Brandon Wood to the Rox.

Barmes Signed, FA Arb, Top Ten Prospects, 2015 Lineup

2011-11-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

The Bucs announced that they got their man for short, Clint Barmes. They inked him for two years and $10.5M ($5M - 2012, $5.5M - 2013), an overpay but one that protected them from a complete meltdown at short if they risked going deep into the free agent season. Chris Cwik of Fangraphs has Barme's story and agrees that he was at the top of the second level of free agents, with a caveat or two.

So it appears Chase d'Arnaud will return to finishing school at Indy, which leaves the back-up infield competition right now between Pedro Ciriaco and Jordy Mercer, unless Josh Harrison can figure out shortstop in a hurry. And poor C Brian Jeroloman, who the Bucs just claimed, has been DFA'ed. We never could figure out why they took him, anyway.

With Rod Barajas in the fold, the Bucs have opted for a little dependability. Cedeno's inconsistencies were legendary, and Dewey couldn't snag nor frame a pitch the few times he was healthy enough to get behind the plate.

Both Barajas and Barmes are older players who hover about .300 with OBP, so the bottom of the order will be pretty problematic next season. But they keep the team at an even keel and can potentially provide some leadership to a team that's still peach-fuzzy and give the baby Bucs a little time to learn their craft.

We're hoping after the recent Aki Iwomura, Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz episodes that the FO did some due diligence on B & B. The baseball gods couldn't be that ornery again...could they?

Anyway, the hunt continues for at least some added pitching and maybe for first base and a RH bench outfielder. Sooner or later, they're going to have to look for offense. It's hard to see where it will come from internally, at least in the near future, even if Pedro does a 180.

A bit of upcoming housecleaning news: the Bucs have until midnight Wednesday to offer their rated free agents arbitration (which is different from the young players arb). The ranked FAs are 1B Derrek Lee, C Ryan Doumit, C Chris Snyder and OF Ryan Ludwick, all Type B players.

If the team offers arbitration and is turned down, in effect guaranteeing that they will lose the player to another club, the Pirates would get a sandwich pick in the draft. Because Doumit has already signed with another team, Pittsburgh gets a pick for him. The odds are they'll offer Lee arbitration, as they'd like him back. Probably less so for the other two, who would put the Bucs in a bind if they accepted since they're no longer part of the plan. And lastly...

Baseball America has the Top Ten Pirate prospects per John Perrotto, and there's nary a one within sniffing distance of Pittsburgh yet. The article does pick the players with the best tools, and has an interesting sidebar on the 2015 lineup. Neil Walker, McCutch and J-Mac are the only current regulars to survive the next three seasons according to BA's projections; even Hanny is gone.

Bucs On Barmes?

2011-11-19T15:09:00.001-05:00

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Bucs are the frontrunner in the Clint Barmes sweepstakes. Barmes, who played for the Rockies under Clint Hurdle and then moved on to the Astros, is considered a strong & steady infielder with a little pop in his stick. He's looking for a starting gig with a two year deal in the $8-10M range, although SI's Jon Heyman hears it will be 2 years/$11M.

Barmes is a lifetime .252 hitter and can knock a dozen or so balls out of the yard every season. His UZR/150 for 2011 was an excellent 10.8, and it's at 7.2 for his career. He had a career high 3.1 WAR in 2011, and it looks like it's about to pay off for him.

If the FO lands him, it's been a nice job for them in the early days of the hot stove season. Zeroing in on Rod Barajas and Barmes, both toward the top of second-tier free agents at their position this year, should help the team defensively and give them a couple of guys that are at least a threat to go long.

Having said that, the Pirates haven't improved noticeably. Barajas is basically a Chris Snyder clone and Barmes is a less frustrating model of Cedeno.

Both are placeholders until the Bucco farm produces an everyday player, currently hoped to be Chase d'Arnaud and Tony Sanchez. But in a year when the free agent market is thin, they did well to tread water and not lose ground, even if they overpaid (maybe to keep the Player's Association at bay, maybe just to overcome the Pirate stigma, or maybe knowing what it would take to land their man against the competition).

They are still trawling the pitching waters, and crossing their fingers that a first baseman falls into their lap without breaking the bank. But until they bring in a top-of-the-rotation pitcher and a couple of mid order bats, they're not building but just buying time.

Bucs Set Roster

2011-11-19T09:38:00.001-05:00

The Pirates set their 40-man roster last night with only a mild surprise or two during the proceedings.

They added LHPs Rudy Owens, 23, and Justin Wilson, 23, RHPs Duke Welker, 25, and Jeremy Hefner, 25, OF Starling Marte, 23, IF Jordy Mercer, 25, 1B Matt Hague, 26, and C Brian Jeroloman, 26. Hefner and Jeroloman were plucked from the waiver wires.

To clear space, the Pirates moved Cs Matt Pagnozzi and Eric Fryer along with OF Xavier Paul off the roster. If they clear the wires, Pagnozzi and Paul will be offered a minor-league deals and Fryer will be assigned to Indy. Paul lost his spot to Alex Presley, and Pagnozzi was a late-year waiver claim. Both are good bets to leave the organization if they clear, as they will become free agents.

Fryer was the only surprise cut, apparently the victim of upper-level catcher overload in the Pirate system and judged by the FO the likeliest catcher to sneak through waivers. The Bucs are taking a calculated risk with him. We don't really see the why of bringing in Jeroloman if it means risking Fryer, who looks like he still has some upside behind the plate.

As for the remaining players, Welker was most borderline of the additions. The Pirates have a boatload of back end starters and potential relievers stuck in the middle of the organization, and Welker was the only arm they chose to protect of the group. He's a power pitcher, but with a history of being a wild child.

Hefner is a big arm snatched from the Padres, and Jeroloman is a glove-first catcher without much power and a pretty hefty K rate. The other five players were no-brainers. Marte is the Pirates top minor-league position player, Hague had a breakout All-Star season at Indy, Jordan has the best pop of the top level Bucco farm infielders, Owens was the organization's pitcher-of-the-year in 2009-10, and Wilson is a lefty that can bring some heat.

Their 2011 numbers:

Matt Hague: .309/12/75 - Indy (AAA)
Jeremy Hefner: 9-7/4.98 - Tucson (AAA)
Brian Jeroloman: .240/2/26 - Las Vegas (AAA)
Starlin Marte: .332/12/50 - Altoona (AA)
Jordy Mercer: .255/19/69 - Altoona-Indy (AA-AAA)
Rudy Owens: 9-7/5.05 - Indy (AAA)
Duke Welker: 4-5-6/2.76 - Bradenton-Altoona (A+-AA)
Justin Wilson: 10-8-3/4.13 - Indy (AAA)

The roster is full at 40 players, so as it stands now the Bucs aren't likely to be diving into the draft pool this year. The unprotected players at greatest risk of being selected in the draft are RHPs Michael Colla, Diego Moreno and Aaron Pribanic.

And it won't be the final roster. Pittsburgh is still looking for more pitching, a shortstop and maybe a first baseman to add to the squad.

Because he was a Type B free agent, Ryan Doumit's signing with the Twins will net the Bucs a sandwich pick in the 2012 draft.
The Colorado Rockies signed Brandon Wood to a minor league contract. The Rox hope he can provide some depth and possibly compete with Ian Stewart at the hot corner.

Friday Nuggets

2011-11-18T17:38:00.001-05:00

The Pirates claimed minor league RHP Jeremy Hefner from the Padres and C Brian Jeroloman of the Blue Jays off waivers today and outrighted C Matt Pagnozzi to Indy. Hefner has some potential (he hits 94 and has three pitches) while Jeroloman appears to be another good glove, no-hit guy added to the collection, although he at least walks a lot. His career OBP is .378; his slugging % is .347. The 40-man roster now has 36 players on it; midnight is when it has to be set for the Rule 5 draft, so some more shakin' and bakin' is sure to occur, and soon.
Dewey signed with the Twins for $3M and one-year. He's a nice fit in the AL, where he can DH and spot start behind the dish and in the corner OF. The length of the contract, we understand, was his decision as he tries to rebuild some value for himself.
The Cubbies hired Dale Sveum to lead the Chicago nine. Dale has a lot of Pittsburgh mojo in his background, first as a player (1996-97, '99) and then as the manager of Altoona from2001-03, compiling a 213-211 (.502) record. He led the Curve to its first back-to-back winning seasons in 2002 (72-69) and 2003 (78-63), including the club's first appearance in theEastern League playoffs in 2003, and was named 2003's Top Managerial Prospect in the Eastern League byBaseball America.
More NL Central news: The Astros will go to the AL West, probably in 2013, leaving two 15-team divisions. Other contract tidbits: Interleague play is likely to stay at 18 games (although the number 30 has been floated around) and will last from April through September. Also, one extra wildcard team will make the playoffs. The two wildcards will play a one game winner take all series as things now stand. Expect some sort of cap & tax on the draft to become part of the CBA.
The Bucs will start five games at 4:05 PM in 2012. The two on Saturday should be OK, but the three on Thursday seem like odd fits.
The 2012 promotional schedule was released: There will be two Sky Blasts, two Jam Fests, a Hanny bobblehead, continued free shirt Fridays and a bundle of lesser give-aways.
Chris Jaffe from The Hardball Times has a couple of Pirate related items today: this is the anniversary of Pittsburgh joining the National League in 1886 and of the Brian Giles - Ricardo Rincon trade of 1998. Worked out well for the Bucs, too, as Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, Ohlie and D-Mac are all Buccos descendants of that deal. It would have been even nicer if any of the Jay Bay pieces would have hung around.

And The Beat Goes On...

2011-11-16T09:22:00.001-05:00

Pittsburgh, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors, may discuss a new deal with SS Ronny Cedeno, recently cut adrift after the FO rejected his $3M option for 2012. Boy, that must be one thin shortstop market. Think the braintrust isn't booting itself in the butt for not making a serious run at JJ Hardy last season?
Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review reports that talks between Neil Walker and the Bucs are on the back burner. Could be a lot of reasons in play; we think the hold up is over his value as a possible "Super Two" player, which would give him four years of arbitration and add to his asking price.
Jen Langosch of MLB.com says that the Bucs are kicking the tires of 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff and OF Josh Willingham as bench depth. Both are looking for starting gigs probably not available in Pittsburgh, so we'd guess it's another due diligence deal by the FO.
This is very weird. Jen Langosch also has an article about OF'er Xavier Paul and some winter ball scamming. It seems a minor league wanna-be somehow signed him up to play Australian baseball during the off season as part of a package deal, completely without Paul's knowledge. He didn't have a clue until the Down-Under team called to find out where the heck he was!
The Bucs wasted no time signing C Rod Barajas, and that's probably a good thing. Bill Shaikin of the LA Times tweeted that the Angels contacted him, but after he had already agreed to his Pittsburgh deal. He who hesitates...
Vlad of Bucs Dugout has a piece saying that the Pirates offered 15 year old Mexican LHP Julio César Urías a $200K deal - and he turned it down.
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com has the dope on the CBA talks; he thinks they may be concluded before Thanksgiving. There will be some changes, and not particularly to the Pirates advantage...

News And Notes

2011-11-14T11:53:00.001-05:00

Friday is 40-man roster day, when the pups have to protected from the Rule 5 draft. The Bucs have a couple of dozen first-timers eligible for the draft, plus another small mob of previously eligible players from past seasons. We'd expect Starling Marte, Rudy Owen, Justin Wilson, Matt Hague and Jordy Mercer to be the ones to fill the five remaining roster spots. But other guys like Altoona's Mike Colla and Andrew Lambo or Bradenton pitchers like Brett Lorin or one of the relievers may be in the mix, too. And they'll still need room for a shortstop, pitcher, and firstbaseman before opening day. Should be interesting.
We think Joel Hanrahan's ears will be burning whenever Neal Huntington has a conversation on the phone. He's Pittsburgh's most attractive - and valuable - trade lure on the roster outside of Andrew McCutchen.
The Los Angeles Times Steve Dilbert reported that Ryan Doumit turned down a just-under $3M offer from the Big Blue. His agent has let the word out that several teams have checked in on Dewey, from both leagues, and that he may be signed before the December 5th baseball meetings. Doumit earned $5.2M in 2011. And congrats; he got married last weekend.
The national media have noticed a couple of guys with local connections sniffing around the Dodgers, Pen's owner Ron Burkle and the Mavs' main man, Mt. Lebanon's Mark Cuban. The guesstimate cost for the team and some affiliated property is between $900M & $1B according to ESPN. Geez, just think what the franchise would be worth if Frank McCourt hadn't run it into the ground.
Old catcher Mike Matheny was picked to replace Tony LaRussa at St. Louis. Up until last week, when Matheny's candidacy started to gather steam, the frontrunner was New Brighton's Terry Francona, formerly of the BoSox.
Dale Sveum is still alive in the Cub and Red Sox manager derbies, and has earned a second interview with Boston's suits. He managed at Altoona and played in Pittsburgh under Jimmy Leyland and Gene LaMont, who is also being interviewed for the job.
The news regarding the new CBA is good and bad. It's good news that it's expected to be wrapped up by Thanksgiving, but bad news because all the scenarios we've heard involve hard draft slotting of one form or another, which will take away the small revenue clubs likeliest road to success.

Pirate Movement, Players, Rumors

2011-11-12T09:02:00.001-05:00

Some Bucco personnel notes:

Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports writes that the Pirates are kicking the tires of Detroit utility infielder Ramon Santiago as Ronny Cedeno's replacement. The 31 year old has been in the show for a decade, compiling a career .249 BA. He's considered a sure glove and a good head in the locker room. Santiago has averaged about 70 starts per year over the past three seasons, split between short and second.
Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors says the Bucs were one of the teams at Cuban CF Yoenis Cespedes workout. The defector is expected to draw up to a $30M deal, so we'd think the FO was just showing due diligence before the big money boys duke it out for his services.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that Pittsburgh is one of the teams that SS Clint Barmes could be a fit for, but as a matter of sheer speculation.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports notes that "...a low-revenue club such as the Pirates could afford RHP Gavin Floyd’s salaries in 2012 and ’13, and fit him nicely into the middle of their rotation." We do have to stress that's just out-loud thinking on Rosenthal's part. There's no smoke from that fire...yet.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post said the Pirates were talking with the Yankees about dealing for a young catcher before they signed Rod Barajas.
Just a thought: If the Marlins sign Albert Pujols, Gaby Sanchez suddenly becomes redundant. And there is that dark hole in Pittsburgh at first base...
And if you're wondering why Hanny's name pops up during trade talks, it's because his value is high now and clubs traditionally overpay for closers, as shown by Jonathon Papelbon's 4 year, $50M deal with the Phils. Add in that's he's under team control through 2013 and that the FO believes that a bullpen is easy to build, and the stars seem to be aligning if the swag is right.
Pittsburgh has nine guys on the 40-man roster that are out of options, notes Jen Langosch of MLB.com. They are pitchers Joel Hanrahan, Jason Grilli, Chris Leroux, Chris Resop and Jose Veras, along with position players Jason Jaramillo, Pedro Ciriaco, Xavier Paul and Garrett Jones. That means if they don't make the opening day roster, they have to clear waivers to be reassigned to Indy. Some will be tough calls for the FO; a lot of the players are depth guys, making their status day-to-day under the best of circumstances.
Pirate OF prospect Robbie Grossman fractured his hamate bone this week and will have surgery on it next week. His recovery time is estimated at six weeks, ending his breakout season in the Arizona Fall League. He led the league in walks (20), was tied for fifth in average (.375), sixth in runs (20), tied for second in hits (39), second in home runs (7), fourth in OBP (.472) and fifth in OPS (1.097). He'll be healthy in plenty of time for next season, although hamate surgery often robs a player of his power the following season until full strength returns.
Tim Williams of Pirate Prospects notes that the off-season waiver period has begun. The Pirates have selected a guy during this time for the past four years, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them add a player or two via the waiver wire again this year.
LHP Donnie Veal, the FO's first Rule 5 pickup, has signed with the Chicago White Sox organization.
RHP Chris Jakubauskas, who you may recall took a vicious Lance Berkman liner in the puss as a Bucco in 2010, signed with Arizona.
Remember OF/1BJamie Romak, part of the Adam LaRoche deal back in 2007? The 26 year old re-signed with KC, where he hit 23 homers for their AA club last season.

Bucs Get Barajas, Arbitration Decisions

2011-11-10T12:53:00.001-05:00

The Bucs patched one hole quickly today when they announced the signing of C Rod Barajas. Barajas, 36, was with the Dodgers last season and put up a line of .230/16/ 47, pretty much within his career parameters. He's played 13 MLB seasons for six different teams and never collected more than 429 at-bats, so he's perfectly used to catching four or five times a week.

The right handed hitter's scouting report is short and sweet - strong defensively with good power. So Barajas is Chris Snyder, except a lot easier on the pocketbook.

Tim Brown of Yahoo!Sports tweeted that the Bucs inked Barajas for one year at $4M with a club option for $3.5M in 2013, thought that was not confirmed by Pittsburgh. That's a bit of an overpay - he made $3.25M last year, and LA thought that was too much - but it allowed the club to plug a gaping hole from the git-go and move on to patching some others.

That leaves Jason Jaramillo, Mike McKenry and Matt Pagnozzi in the running for the reserve spot. JJ is out of options and has more experience, and being a switch hitter should give him a leg up on the competition. McKenry is out of options, too, and the Bucs liked his work defensively last season. Pagnozzi, at this point, looks like a veteran insurance policy. The Pirates even re-signed Wyatt Toregas for depth.

Eric Fryer and Tony Sanchez aren't ready to be thrown into the major league mix yet, although the Pirates are crossing their fingers for a 2014 ETA in the show.

So the Bucs got their starting catcher, and hope to get 110-20 games out of him this season. He did start 110 games for the Blue Jays in 2009, but only 172 in the past two years. And his bat will work, too - he's hit 50 long balls in the past three years, a nice number for a guy who looks to bat toward the bottom of the order.

A plus is that Barajas is a Type B free agent, meaning the Dodgers get a compensatory pick for him, but from the league, not the Pirates.

All in all, it seems like a good play by the FO to keep the spot warm for a year or two if Barajas can escape the Pittsburgh curse on catchers' health. Now for that pitching (shortstop)(first base)opening...

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Jen Langosch of MLB.com reports that the Bucs may not be done paring their arbitration list yet after outrighting Steve Pearce and Brandon Wood. She writes that GM Neal Huntington says "We're going to non-tender some players that people don't want us to non-tender. We're going to tender some players that probably surprise some people. But those are the business decisions that we have to make."

There are nine Pirates remaining who are arb-eligible: Garrett Jones, Joel Hanrahan, Charlie Morton, Evan Meek, Jeff Karstens, Chris Resop, Jose Veras, Ross Ohlendorf and Jason Grilli.

Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors says "Relievers Meek, Resop, Veras, Grilli, and Hanrahan figure to be tendered contracts. Each should fall between $800K and $1.5MM, with the exception of Hanrahan, whose saves should propel him to $3.9MM. Starters Morton ($2.2MM) and Karstens ($2.8MM) will remain affordable as well."

"If Meek, Jones, Morton, Resop, Hanrahan, Karstens, Veras, and Grilli are retained," he speculates, "the total could be around $16M." He was assuming Steve Pearce, Brandon Wood and Ohlie weren't getting tendered, and so far he's right for two out of three. We'd guess Veras and Resop are on the bubble, and others have added Jones to that category.

We'd think non-tendering Jones without shoring up first base would be a mistake by the FO. And even if they do fill the position, for the money he'd earn, Jones would be worth keeping if nothing more than a multi-positional lefty bench bat and shiny trade lure.

November 18th - 40 Man Roster Due

2011-11-08T15:54:00.001-05:00

In ten days, the Bucs will have to formalize their 40-man roster to protect their prospects from the Rule 5 draft raiders. Right now, it consists of 34 players:

Pitchers (19): Kevin Correia, Jason Grilli, Joel Hanrahan, Jared Hughes, Jeff Karstens, Chris Leroux, Brad Lincoln, Jeff Locke, Daniel McCutchen, Jame McDonald, Kyle McPherson, Evan Meek, Bryan Morris, Charlie Morton, Daniel Moskos, Ross Ohlendorf, Chris Resop, Jose Veras, Tony Watson.

Gone: Brian Burres, Kevin Hart, Paul Maholm, Aaron Thompson.

Catchers (4): Eric Fryer, Jason Jaramillo, Mike McKenry, Matt Pagnozzi.

Gone Ryan Doumit, Chris Snyder.

Infield (5): Pedro Alvarez, Pedro Ciriaco, Chase d'Arnaud, Josh Harrison, Neil Walker.

Gone: Ronnie Cedeno, Derrek Lee, Steve Pearce, Brandon Wood.

Outfield (6): Gorkys Hernandez, Garrett Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Xavier Paul, Alex Presley, Jose Tabata.

Gone: Ryan Ludwick

The Pirates have already jettisoned 11 players from last year's 40-man roster (15 if you count declared minor league free agents RHP Jose Ascanio, LHP Garrett Olsen and Cs Dusty Brown & Wyatt Toregas), and we'd expect a couple more players to go. OF Starling Marte along with LHPs Rudy Owen and Justin Miller will certainly be added this season, and the Pirates have to give serious consideration to including SS Jordy Mercer and 1B Matt Hague among the fortunate forty.

The Bucs also have an assortment of farm club pitchers in the Nate Adcock mold who project to be middle-inning relievers/spot starters. That's a position of strength in the organization, and they may risk losing an arm or two if they don't protect them. But it's not, nor should be, a high priority. Their top end pitching is still too young to be draft-eligible, and that's where the action is.

Beside protecting their home grown products, the Pirates have to clear some room for players brought in via off season trade or the free-agent market. With holes in the rotation, first base, shortstop and catching to patch, we'd be surprised if the FO didn't make a push to bring in a handful of vets before trying to fill the positions internally.

They may also have an eye out for a Rule 5 prospect during the December 8th draft. Though it's less likely this season than in year's past, it remains a possibility.

So the paring probably isn't quite done yet; another player or two may be looking for a new clubhouse before the 18th.

Bucco Bits

2011-11-04T16:04:00.000-04:00

Four Pirate free agents - 1B Derrek Lee, OF Ryan Ludwick, C Chris Snyder and C Ryan Doumit - have been designated as "B" level, meaning that the team that signs them has to send a second round draft pick to Pittsburgh if the Bucs offer the player arbitration and he rejects it. Look for the FO to offer Lee arbitration, for two reasons: one, they really need a first baseman, and two, they really want him. We'd expect him to turn it down. The remaining trio aren't likely to get an offer because they might accept it, and for health/financial reason, the Bucs want rid of them, at least at their current price (they may try to resign Dewey if his salary drops). The Pirates have until November 23rd to make an offer; the players have until December 7th to accept it.

OF'er Matty Alou, who spent 1966-70 with the Bucs, died today at the age of 72. He played with his brothers Felipe and Jesus in SF, forming the first all-brother outfield. He won a batting title with Pittsburgh, although he will be forever associated with the Gunner's call after Alou dropped a "can of corn." Jane McCauley of the Associated Press wrote Alou's bio, and Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times has a list of his career highlights.

The Pirates, along with several other clubs, did their due diligence by watching Grandfather Time, 49 year old free agent lefty Jamie Moyer, go through some pitching drills, reported Fox Sports Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal. He missed last season after 2010 TJ surgery.

Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors has posted his expected arbitration value for the eligible players around the league. The Pirates have nine guys in line for arb. Our guess is that Ross Ohlendorf won't be offered arb, Jose Veras may or may not, and Garrett Jones, along with Chris Resop, are likely to reach a deal. The other five - Joel Hanrahan, Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton, Evan Meek & Jason Grilli - should be sure things. Two other arb eligible players, Steve Pearce and Brandon Wood, have already been outrighted to Indy and are expected to become free agents. Hanny is expected to get the highest deal at $4M.

RHP Gerritt Cole was selected to start Saturday's Arizona Fall League All-Star game. OF Robbie Grossman is also on the team.

SS Pedro Ciriaco is off to the Dominican to play winter ball for the second half of the season.

Bucs Housekeeping Continues

2011-11-01T15:27:00.003-04:00

The Pirates continued their post-season housecleaning today by outrighting Brandon Wood, Steve Pearce, Brian Burres, Aaron Thompson and Kevin Hart from the 40-man roster to Indy. All five can become free agents because of the move, and it would be a surprise if they didn't.

Wood put together a line of .220/7/31, and the Bucs have plenty of young infielders that can match those numbers. Pearce was coming off a terrible year that saw him hit .202/1/10 while visiting the DL twice more. A change of scenery for Pearce, who did show flashes of ability, is probably best for him and the team.

Burres was an insurance policy who did his job. He was 5-5 with a 4.84 ERA over the past two seasons and picked up 15 starts. Thompson was purely a depth guy. Hart never got untracked in Pittsburgh, undergoing a pair of surgeries after coming over from the Cubs as part of the deal for John Grabow & Tom Gorzelanny.

The moves also figures to open up a couple of upper level starting positions in the organization, which is facing a jam of young pitchers who need to advance.

With the four declined options of yesterday, the Pirate 40-man roster sits at 35 (four of the players moved were on the 60-day DL, and so were technically on the roster but didn't count against it). By Friday, it should sit at 34, when Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick will be gone as free agents and Kevin Correia will be added from the DL.

That's cutting it awfully close. We think that the FO will want to protect at least Starling Marte, Rudy Owen and Justin Miller, while Matt Hague and Jordy Mercer should be on at least the short list. And the FO plans to bring in some fresh blood, so the 40 man still needs some room to stretch. And there are only a couple of weeks until it needs finalized; it has to be set on November 18th for the Rule 5 draft.

Neil Walker and Ronny Cedeno were announced as Gold Glove finalists.
RHP Chris Leroux may be making the FO rethink his chances of starting. He's 1-0 for Toros del Estes in the Dominican League after 3 starts with a 0.60 ERA. He's stretched it out an inning at a time, going 4, 5, and 6 frames in his starts. He has 13 strikeouts in 15 innings.
Gerritt Cole was selected as one of the Arizona Fall League's "Rising Stars." He'll get to play in a fall minor-league All-Star game Saturday.
RHP Tim Wood, who was sold to California late last season, has rejoined the Bucs, signing a minor league deal with an invite to camp.

Bucs Pass On Cedeno, Maholm, Dewey & Snyder

2011-10-31T13:01:00.000-04:00

The Bucs had four contract options going into the off season, for Paul Maholm, Chris Snyder, Ryan Doumit and Ronnie Cedeno, and passed on them all. Cedeno's was a surprise, not so much based on performance as affordability, a dearth of MLB ready SS's in the system and a weak class of FAs. The others were long expected.

Maholm had an option year worth $9.75M, with a buyout of $750K. Snyder's option was for $6.75M, also with a $750K buyout. Dewey had a double option; if the Pirates picked it up, they would be on the hook for $7.25M in 2012 and $8.25M for 2013. His buyout is $500K. The Pirates may try to cut a deal with Maholm and/or Dewey for a more team-friendly contract, but now they're competing against an open market and that is likely to drive their price beyond the FO's comfort level.

With RC, it looks like a matter of just running out of patience and finally severing ties. His option year was an affordable $3M with a $200K buyout. While his fielding has been above par during his Pittsburgh stay (he came to town in 2009 as part of the Jack Wilson deal with Seattle), Cedeno never showed the day-in and day-out consistency the team sought, just frustrating flashes of his talent when he was on his game. The fact that he spent half of the past season in Clint Hurdle's doghouse had to have an impact, too.

The FO says it will keep the lines of communication open with the four during free agency, meaning that if their price drops significantly, they'll deal. But the catchers are competing in a weak market, as is Cedeno, and a LHP that can take the mound every fifth day has value to contending clubs. So we wouldn't expect them to return, even if the Bucs haven't slammed the door and nailed it shut.

It cost the Bucs $2.2M to release the four, not a very hefty parting gift, and cleared $18.65M in 2011 salary (and $26.75M in 2012 payroll) from the books. But now they have two very big holes to fill behind the plate and at short and need an inning-eater to join the staff.

The internal candidates at short are Chase d'Arnaud, Pedro Ciriaco, and Jordy Mercer. None appear ready to step in everyday, but the Pirates may have decided that this was time to end the Cedeno bottleneck and audition their young infielders. Brock Holt is also in the mix, but at least a year away.

Assuming the Bucs will pass on Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins, the free market SS's the Pirates may look at are John McDonald, Clint Barmes, Cesar Izurtis, Yuniesky Betancourt, Nick Punto and Jamey Carroll plus a couple of veteran heads. Rafael Furcal may hit the market, too, but is probably out of the Pirates price range.

The Pirates got through a few weeks without Dewey and Snyder, but Mike McKenry and Matt Pagnozzi haven't shown that they can become a regular tandem behind the plate. Eric Fryer has some promise, but his game needs polished. The wild card is Jason Jaramillo, who is out of options this year but is the most experienced and accomplished catcher remaining in the organization.

The market has a pair of guys that can catch 120 games in Ramon Hernandez and Rod Barajas. The rest are career back-ups or players on the downside of their careers.

The pitching will be a poser, especially with Charlie Morton recovering from surgery. Brad Lincoln may have enough to hold down the bottom of the rotation, but Rudy Owens and Justin Miller hit a wall at Indy while Jeff Locke's audition failed to impress. The FO will kick the tires of Edwin Jackson, Jeff Francis, and Chris Young along with a long list of available back-enders.

During the end of last season and into the fall, the FO has made noise about pulling the trigger on a trade or two to fill in the holes. We'll see where that chatter leads. There haven't been any signs of smoke along that front yet, but the rumors won't really heat up until the winter meetings begin on December 5th.

The first log has been thrown in the hot stove.

The Braves tweeted that they picked up Eric Hinske's $1.55M option and declined Nate McLouth's, which was $10.65M.
A-Ram declined his $16M mutual option with the Cubs and will try his luck on the market.
Javier Lopez agreed to a two-year, $8.5M deal with the Giants.
Still no word on Octavio Dotel or Zach Duke's options; the betting line is that the Cards will pick up Dotel ($3.5M) and the D-Backs pass on the Zachster ($5.5M).
Tony LaRussa retired while on top at St. Louis, and there should be a long line forming in St. Louis for the skipper job. He's exactly the kind of guy that opponents hated and the home crowd loved.

Decision Time Approaching

2011-10-30T11:14:00.002-04:00

Congrats to the St. Louis Cards. They proved that playing to the last strike is sometimes rewarded by the baseball gods. That's a lesson that the young Buccos should take to heart - grind it out through the dog days, even if it looks like pride is the only thing left to play for.

Of course, it helps when the players who are digging deep are named Pujols, Holliday and Carpenter, with role players like David Freese and the bullpen contributing mightily, and filling in that kind of roster is a job for the FO. And decision time for 2012's roster is just around the corner.

The Pirates have quite a few personnel decisions to make in the coming weeks. The winter meeting starts December 5th, and that's the traditional starting gun for wheeling and dealing.

There's been no smoke concerning free agents Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick, so we're assuming that Lee is going to dive into the FA market, as will Ludwick. They can declare for free agency this week, on November 3rd.

The club also holds options on Paul Maholm, Chris Snyder, Ryan Doumit and Ronny Cedeno. No mystery involved there. The FO has announced that they're not going to tender offers to Maholm or the catchers, and there's been no indication that they're working on signing the three to more team-friendly contracts.

Our guess is that they'll keep RC and allow the rest to dip their toes in the marketplace before talking turkey, especially in the case of the catchers. They have no depth there, and if one of the pair drops into the $3-4M range, the Pirates may have some interest in bringing one of the two back. If they don't fall back to earth, then the Bucs will dust off Plan B, either going the FA route or filling in internally.

The team does have a boatload of players up for arb: Jason Grilli, Joel Hanrahan, Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Evan Meek, Charlie Morton, Ross Ohlendorf, Steve Pearce, Chris Resop, Jose Veras and Brandon Wood.

Pearce and Ohlie are almost certain to be non-tendered, with Veras and Wood on the bubble. We'd be surprised if the others aren't brought back via contract. That deadline is December 12th, a week after the meetings.

But it's the under-the-radar moves that will be telling during the off season. The Pirates, whether they planned to or not, built fan expectations with their first half run. The only way to continue the buzz among the base is to stay competitive - not contending, just competitive - until the young guns like Coles, Taillon, Marte, Bell and company arrive a couple of years down the road.

They can only do that now through free agency; the major league ready guys in the system are already in Pittsburgh. The FO knows it has holes in the pitching, catching, first base and shortstop positions, and have to patch them, in that order.

Even more telling will be the composition of their 40 man roster. November 18th is the deadline to set the rosters for the 2011 Rule 5 draft. The roster already is full, and Kevin Correia has to be added to it from the DL. Maholm, Snyder, Pearce and Kevin Hart are also on the DL, but we assume that they won't be added.

There are, of course, guys likely to be removed without much soul searching - Lee, Ludwick, Aaron Thompson, Brian Burres, Ohlie, Dewey, and possibly Pedro Ciriaco, Daniel McCutchen, Jose Veras, and Xavier Paul.

The balancing act requires that a spot be open for a replacement player - the Pirates are almost assuredly going to bring in a pitcher or two, a catcher and maybe a first baseman - and leave room to protect first-time draft eligible players like Starling Marte, Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson and Matt Hague, along with a handful of others who are on the bubble.

The Cards put a dramatic ending to the 2011 MLB season, and the foundation for 2012 is already being poured in Pittsburgh and around the league.

Third Base

2011-10-26T15:18:00.000-04:00

The FO inherited Jose Bautista at third base, and dumped him unceremoniously in 2008, sending him to Toronto for long-gone C Robinzon Diaz and clearing a spot for Andy LaRoche. They also drafted Pedro Alvarez that same season, so the hot corner looked to be in good shape for years down the road.

Well, funny thing about that. La Roche is working on a .226 career BA and looking for work after a gig in Oakland while Pedro is coming off a season that he and the Pirate Nation would like to forget. There was great anticipation for his coming-out party after a hot September in 2010 when he put up a .306/6/27 batting line, but reality set in this year when the April pitchers reclaimed the hill.

The big third basemen hit .191 with 4 homers and 80 K's in 235 at-bats. He tore the cover off the ball at Indy, but there are a long list of folk who crush AAA pitching but can't hit a major league slider. In early May, he was showing some small signs of coming out of his slump before injuring his quad. By the time he came back in late July, he was lost at the dish.

It's said that the FO wanted El Toro to play winter ball, but he declined. Let's hope he spends the off season in the gym. The Pirates retooled their training staff, and we suspect Pedro - and the teamwide sprain and strain epidemic - had a lot to do with that. Maybe a more specific PT regimen will benefit him and the whole squad. And the team could really use what he brings to the table.

The truth is that right now, Pedro is the lone egg in the Bucs' third base basket. Brandon Wood can field the position, but his .220 average won't help the attack untrack though he does have some pop. Josh Harrison can hit the ball (.272) but has no power to speak of and a questionable mitt. Chase d'Arnaud saw time at the hot corner too, but profiles strictly as a middle infielder.

In the minors, Altoona's Jeremy Farrell, 24, has hit the ball OK, with a career .271 BA, but has neither corner power nor very much leather. A better chance at playing the hot corner belongs to Indy's Jordy Mercer, a shortstop who's played 75 games at third in the minors, although not in 2011. Mercer has some pop in his bat and probably profiles the best at third base among the Bucco minor league prospects now.

The third base FA class is really weak. There's no one who has Pedro's upside, except for A-Ram, on the market. Some hot stove talk involves switching The Pittsburgh Kid to third. While technically viable (Neil Walker was a dandy glove at the hot corner), after two seasons in the show, it looks like his bat profiles well for a middle infielder but it's not very special for an everyday corner infielder. Second base looks like Walker's home.

We once thought sending Pedro to first ASAP was a no brainer, and it may be someday if he regains his stroke. But now the cupboard is bare, and his fielding, while pedestrian, isn't blood curdling, and so there's no compelling reason to add to his challenges by moving him across the diamond.

The Pirates are between a rock and a hard place right now, playing the waiting game. There's no point in looking for a third baseman until Pedro takes himself out of the running, and a bad sophomore season hardly does that. There is no guarantee that Pedro will even start the year in Pittsburgh, but there is no doubt that the position is his to lose, at least in 2012. The hot corner may require a little baby-sitting while Alvarez looks for his missing mojo, but the two go together now.

First Base

2011-10-23T11:29:00.001-04:00

The Bucs were set going into 2011. Veteran Lyle Overbay would man first base and Garrett Jones would platoon with Matt Diaz in right, adding some pop to the Pittsburgh lineup. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...and FOs.

Overbay crapped out after a line of .227/8/37 in 103 games and Diaz delivered not one long ball. Alex Presley bumped Garrett Jones to first, and he got bumped in turn by the late season acquisition of Derrek Lee. Steve Pearce was injured again while Matt Hague raked at Indy. It all adds up to one highly unsettled position going into 2012.

The Pirates would like Lee to baby-sit the position, but that seems improbable. The 36 year old Lee is a free agent, and his 2011 stat line - .267/19/59 - will probably net him a nice deal on the market. And he was in the City during the Pirate nosedive, with no first-hand experience of Pittsburgh's boisterous crowds or winning baseball, so there's not much to recommend the Buccos to him except for a juicy overpay.

Internally, the Pirates could go with Jones, 30, ideally in a platoon situation. His lifetime BA against righties is .275 compared to .199 vs southpaws, with equally disparate production numbers. So getting 350-400 at-bats against righties wouldn't be a bad thing, even if his glove is at best average.

Finding a righty to compliment Jones might be a problem. Steve Pearce is out of options and the FO is probably out of patience with him, even with the occasional flash.

Matt Hague, 26, is unproven, but has hit at all levels in the minors (.302 career BA), is a good defender at first, and has some experience and the arm to play third. He also has noticeable splits, so a platoon, if he's ready for the show, should be the answer.

Hague doesn't provide much home run power, but he's had 30 doubles or more over the past three seasons. But he'll have to shine to come out of camp with the team. Like Presley, the FO wants a follow-up year before moving him up.

And after Hague, there's not a lot more in the cupboard. Third round pick Alex Dickerson, 21, is in the process of being converted to first base, and after a strong start at State College, expected for a major-college player (he played for Indiana), he should be fast-tracked to High A Bradenton in 2012.

The other guys all have holes and need to pick it up to make the radar. Matt Curry, 23, is the highest rated of the remaining players, though he hit a bump at Altoona last year, batting just .242 with a 26% K rate. But he was moved aggressively and skipped a level, so his second go-round with the Curve should give us a better idea of his potential.

There are a couple of FAs floating around that could fill the bill in Pittsburgh. Casey Kotchman (29) could be a longer term fit, although he doesn't bring much pop to the lineup. Carlos Pena was a player the Bucs were supposed to have interest in, and he's on the market this off season. The rest of the pack, minus Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, are quite pedestrian; that's why Lee may take his chances in the market this year.

Like much of the infield, first base is a position with a variety of routes available, and the off season will tell which road they choose.

Catching

2011-10-22T12:19:00.003-04:00

Well, ya can't say the Bucs didn't give everyone a look - Chris Snyder, Jason Jaramillo, Ryan Doumit, Dusty Brown, Wyatt Toregas, Eric Fryer, Mike McKenry, Matt Pagnozzi...heck, everyone caught except for the anointed one, Tony Sanchez. Go figure.

Anyway, you're all aware of the travails of the Pittsburgh catching corps. You're also probably aware that both Dewey and Snyder are in costly option years - $7.25/$8.25 in the next two years for Doumit and $6.75M for Snyder in 2012. Both will be bought out, and it's possible if unlikely that the FO will try to sign one or the other to a more team-friendly contract.

The Pirates template is for a defense-first receiver who can call a game. Neither of those attributes are generally associated with Dewey. While his stick is welcome (.271/67/266 in 611 games), he can't seem to stay in one piece very long. In fact, he's started behind the plate 100 times in a season just once, and had over 300 at-bats twice.

Chris Snyder, while a well respected glove man, came to the Pirates with a rep for a bad back and sure enough, a herniated disc in early June ended his 2011 season after just 34 games and 119 at-bats. He started the year on the 15-day DL because of a lower back injury. It's too bad he's so fragile, because he was the perfect candidate for the spot.

Of the other guys, Brown and Toregas have left the team, Fryer will start in the higher minors, and Jaramillo, McKenry and Pagnozzi are returning. There are a few catchers out on the free market, but they are the usual second-line suspects. To hold the fort a couple of seasons until the next wave hits Pittsburgh, the Bucs could go for 36 year olds Ramon Hernandez or Rod Barajas.

It's an interesting position that Jaramillo, McKenry & Pagnozzi are in. If the Bucs don't make a move, two of the three will be catching quite a bit in Pittsburgh. And that's not real good news.

Jaramillo, 29, is probably the best two-way guy of the trio, even with a lifetime BA of .235. The switchhitter is a good glove, and has started 90 games the past three seasons for the Bucs. But when the two big league catchers went down, JJ was out with what became a lengthy elbow injury caused when he was caught flush by a foul ball and it opened the door for the catcher derby.

That gave Scooby Doo McKenry, 26, a chance, after Brown and Toregas auditions in the show fizzled. He was a good receiver and game-caller, but not so hot at throwing out runners, making plays at the plate or hitting a baseball.

Eric Fryer, 26, got a shot, too, and looked OK if very green. Jaramillo came back eventually, but Pagnozzi, 29, a late-season waiver claim taken from Colorado is widely seen as a challenger to JJ as a Pirate insurance policy. Pagnozzi is reputedly another good glove, bad hit backstop.

The trio can't hit a lick - Jaramillo's lifetime BA is .235, Scooby-Doo's is .213, and Pagnozzi's has a .276 MLB average, but in just 76 at-bats; his minor league BA is .220 in 625 games, a little better indicator, we think, of his stick. To make it a little more interesting, JJ is out of the options, while the other pair each have one remaining.

And it looks like that's the trio that will remain in the 2012 mix from the last season's catcher posse, with Fryer still in the organization but learning his craft. It's possible that two of the three will split catching duties, although the main scenario involves a three-way fight for the back-up role.

It's more likely the Pirates will bring someone aboard to catch in the 110-game range like Barajas or Hernandez. We know Chris Iannetta is available, and the Bucs were asking about Geovany Soto.

The Pirate future is invested in Tony Sanchez and Eric Fryer. Sanchez looked like he had it all going at Bradenton in 2010 before a broken jaw limited his season to just 59 games. The lack of reps showed at Altoona, when he hit just .241 although his defensive skills looked sharp. The reports we've seen say he needs to shorten his swing. The more he goes for the fence, the less solid contact he makes, a familiar conundrum for young hitters.

But now it looks like he'll start 2012 with the Curve, and that means he's at least a year behind the schedule the Pirates had him on as the number one pick in 2009.

Fryer came to Pittsburgh as part of the 2009 Yankee deal for Eric Hinske. He began 2011 with Altoona, where he hit .345/5/16 in 37 games. In 38 Indy games, he put up a line of .269/2/11. He needs time behind the dish; he's only caught 225 games in the minors. That's partially due to being fairly athletic, as he's spent considerable time playing the outfield, and also because he's been Sanchez's caddy, backing him up rather than starting.

While he's no sure thing, he does have some potential, and we'll see if the Pirates give him some time to develop his skills. Fryer is penciled in to start out at Indy, but whether he'll be the man or continue as a jack-of-all-trades player will tell us a lot about how he's considered by the FO.

There are some intriguing prospects at the A level like Ramon Cabrera who won the Florida State batting crown with a .343 average, but all are works in progress and don't appear to be fast-track candidates.

Catching is a position in flux, and the Pirates have several routes they can take in 2012 to fill the spot, going internal, signing a FA, or swinging a trade. Add it to your checklist of hot stove items that need addressed.

Notes

2011-10-19T20:22:00.002-04:00

- Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors has his offseason outlook for the Bucs. Among his points:

Expect the team to pass on Ryan Doumit & Chris Snyder, and look at guys like Ramon Hernandez and Rod Barajas for the short term.
Check out Paul Maholm's perceived value before reaching a final decision on letting him go.
Sign all the arb-eligible relievers.
Pluck another Kevin-Correia-type pitcher from the FA class.
Pass on the top FA's because the team isn't close enough to winning for it to make financial sense.
Try to lock up McCutch and Neil Walker.

- Rob Biertempfel of the Trib reports in his notes that at least one group is pleased with the Bucs 2011 performance. Root Sports Pittsburgh saw its ratings for Pirates games jump by 49 percent over last year.

- John Manuel and Jim Callis of Baseball America rate the Buc's 2011 draft as the third best in baseball. They think highly of Gerritt Cole and Josh Bell, and have both rated highly in their "Closest to the Majors" category, which is good news indeed for the ever-patient Pirate Nation.

- RHP James McDonald is 27 today.

- It's early in the fall season, but Pirate OF prospect Robbie Grossman is hitting .375 with 4 homers and 10 RBI after 13 games for Mesa in the AFL.

Second Base

2011-10-18T15:52:00.000-04:00

At the turn of the decade, second base was a one-and-out position for the Pirates. Warren Morris, Pat Meares, Pokey Reese, Jeff Reboulet and Abraham Nunez all manned the spot.

Then in the middle of the decade, Jose Castillo claimed second from 2004-06 before Freddy Sanchez took the position. He lasted three years before being shipped to the Giants for Tim Alderson, and Delwyn Young and Aki Iwomura took their shots there.

That leads us to Neil Walker, who came up in 2010 as a utility infielder and ended up the regular second baseman a heartbeat later in one of JR's more inspired moves. The good news is that The Pittsburgh Kid is young (26), profiles nicely for a middle infield bat (.280/24/189 in 286 games), and made great strides in fielding the position. He still has room to grow, considering he had all of 21 games of minor-league experience at second before being thrown in the fire.

More good news is not only is Walker young, but he's an ironman. A throwback player, he needs to be dragged off the field for a day off, and he only had three in 2011.

The bad news is that his backup on the depth chart was Ronny Cedeno, the shortstop, when the 2011 season started (Chase d'Arnaud & Josh Harrison are the current reserves). And that about tells us where the Bucs are at the position.

When Sanchez left, Delwyn Young was tossed in the position in hopes that he could hold the fort until Shelby Ford or Brian Friday were ready. Well, Young is playing AAA for the Phils (as an outfielder), Friday is considered an organizational player now, and Ford is a minor-league free agent. How's that for depth? So they brought in a hobbled Aki Iwomura to start with Bobby Crosby and then Josh Rodriguez as security blankets until Walker showed up.

The Pirates actually have quite a few guys that can play the spot as their middle infielders have been multi-tasking in the minors. It's just that the second base list is just about the same as the shortstop list.

SS candidates d'Arnaud, Jordy Mercer and Brock Holt have all been given substantial time at second. d'Arnaud has played 290 games at SS and 64 at second, Mercer 278/83 (with 75 games at third) and Brock 126/116, almost an even split.

Last year's big league backup, 24 year old Harrison, played 152 games at second in the minors to 161 games at the hot corner. He started five games in Pittsburgh at second, and looked OK in the field while hitting a quiet .272, quiet because he has little power and less discipline. But at least we know that he's not overmatched at the plate, can put a ball in play and fits into Clint Hurdle's go-go attack with his wheels.

d'Arnaud, 24, despite his game changing speed, had his problems with the stick. He struck out 36 times in 143 at-bats and drew just four walks while hitting .217. Many project him as a better second baseman than shortstop, but he only saw three innings at second base in 2011.

Mercer, 25, has been a 30 double - 15 homer guy so far in the minors, and is a good fielder with a strong arm that can play both middle infield positions and third. But he had a rough start at Indy when he was promoted during the year, and only a strong September allowed him to finish with a .239 BA. He'll need to be added to the 40-man roster this year.

Holt, 23, played his first full professional season this year after being injured in 2010, and hit .289 with a .356 OBP at Altoona. He's a contact hitter who will draw a few walks and steal the occasional base, although he's not a burner. Holt projects to be a second baseman because of his range and arm.

Brian Friday won't be 26 until December, but he's already been bypassed by the above group. He's a steady defender, puts the ball in play and has a decent eye, but was the utility guy for the Tribe and won't be on the 40-man roster.

Our take is that no one in the above group is ready to chase The Pittsburgh Kid. We think the likeliest to be kept on the major league roster is Josh Harrison because of the questions surrounding Pedro Alvarez. Who knows if El Toro will even start the year in Pittsburgh?

But another from that group could step in, depending on the status of Brandon Wood. We're not as sure as some of the other Pirate followers that he'll be let loose in the off season, not so much due to his performance as much as the need to fill the hot corner with a guy with a little muscle should Pedro falter again. But he didn't see much playing time in September, so we'll see how the Pirates craft their infield or 2012.

It Was 40 Years Ago Today...

2011-10-17T13:04:00.004-04:00

...that Steve Blass threw his gem against the Baltimore O's to take the seventh game of the 1971 World Series 2-1, capped by his iconic leap into Bob Robertson's arms. His four hitter was backed by a Roberto Clemente homer and Pops Stargell RBI single, just enough to send Mike Cuellar to his second defeat of the October Classic, both times outdueled by Blass.

The series started with the Bucs losing the first two games at Baltimore, getting thumped 5-3 after blowing a 3-0 lead and then 11-3. But they came back to win the next three at Pittsburgh in the friendly confines of TRS. Pitching fueled that home-sweet-home run. Blass started with a complete game, three hit 5-1 win, followed by Bruce Kison's 6+ inning scoreless relief stint in the next contest, which was the first night game in Series history. The cherry on top was Nellie Briles' complete game, two hit shutout in the fifth match.

With a chance to take it in six, the Bucs faltered 3-2 in ten innings. Bob Moose started and Dave Guisti tossed three shutout innings from the pen, but Bob Miller was tagged with the loss. Hey, it only put off the inevitable by a game, and we know that the Bucs do like to take their series to seven. Drama is everything, no?

Arriba and Manny Sanguillen carried the Buc attack, hitting .414 and .379 respectively, but the O's staff held the Pirates to a .235 team average. The Big Bad Bird's fared worse; they had a collective .205 BA. Blass led the Pittsburgh staff with two complete game wins and a 1.00 ERA; Dave McNally was 2-1 for the Orioles with a 1.98 ERA, starting twice and coming out of the pen twice.

Danny Murtaugh retired after the win, although he would return in 1974. The Great One would have one more season in the sun, reaching 3,000 hits in 1972 before being called home. And the Bucs would be back at the end of the decade to face the same foes, with the same results.

The 1971 Pirate championship team, celebrated at PNC Park this summer.

Pellas on the Pirates: The Case for Trading (Gulp!) Andrew McCutchen

2011-10-14T07:50:00.000-04:00

No, wait! Hear me out! Put the pitchforks and torches down....that's it.....deep breaths, everybody. I'm here tonight, with Pirates Nation in front of me and PNC Park in the background, to discuss a course of action that might---might---possibly make sense for the Pirates at this point in time. That course of action is: trading Andrew McCutchen.

Before you have me keelhauled, consider these points: first and most importantly, it appears that he doesn’t want to be here long term. Not really. Why’s that, you ask? Well, according to at least one voice in the blogosphere, the much-maligned (often rightly, but not in this case) Pirates front office actually tried to emulate the Rays’ early career, pre-emptive, big-but-not-obscene-money signing of Evan Longoria when the team suits offered Andrew a long term deal of his own---and this not once, but twice.

Both times, Andrew said no. Before you respond by saying, “What’s so unusual about that? Players and their agents do that sort of thing all the time”, consider theexamples of two other current major leaguers: the Angels’ Jared Weaver and our own Jose Tabata.

Weaver, one of the best starting pitchers in the American League, ignored the, ahem, “advice” of his agent, Scot Beelze-Boras, and signed a 6 year contract extension for about $85 million. His reasons? One, he was happy in Anaheim and wanted to put the distraction of contract negotiations behind him so he could get back to playing ball. Two, as he himself put it, “If I can’t live the rest of my life on $85 million, I’m pretty stupid”.

In other words, how much does any one man need….really? Once you factor in taxes and living expenses, both of which are going to be considerably higher in the large markets Andrew is presumably eying once his time in Pittsburgh is done, is a few million more or even $10 or $20 million more in another city really going to make that much difference to a player’s bottom line?

I don’t think so, yet Andrew has said no. Twice.

And now Tabata. While no one disputes the fact that Jose is not the elite or near-elite talent that Andrew is, nevertheless he’s pretty good. Tabata, like Weaver, told his agent(s) to jump in the lake and signed an early career contract extension that made him a multimillionaire while also giving him the opportunity to play right field in Pittsburgh ---like his longtime role model, Roberto Clemente

Certainly Tabata is no Clemente. But there is no doubt---zero---that he can really hit (just not with a lot of home runs) and really play defense and even steal some bases. With him, it’s all a question of whether he can stay healthy. If he’s on the field, he’s hitting and he’s catching everything in the vicinity, it’s that simple.

But the most important factor with him is this: he wants to be here. Obviously. So he got a deal done, and done quickly. Not so McCutchen. Why not?

Of course, it’s entirely possible that Andrew is waiting to see what will happen with the current rebuilding plan before he commits to staying in town past the maximum six years the Pirates can retain him before he hits the open market as a free agent. You only live once, Andrew is a big market talent, and maybe he wants the experience of being in the national spotlight to look back upon as he bounces his grandchildren on his knees. Okay. I get that.

But it only returns us to the first point: he doesn’t, or at least apparently doesn’t, want to be here, in Pittsburgh , long term. At minimum, he’s given no indication that that is what he wants to do.

Well, okay. Let’s assume for the sake of this discussion that Andrew wants to bolt for the brighter lights and bigger stage once his six year stay in Pittsburgh is over. Or even sooner than that, if the right scenario were to present itself. If…IF…that’s true, it makes sense to deal him now or in the next off season at the latest. That’s because he’ll be all the more valuable in a down economy as a trading chip who combines elite or near-elite talent with a salary that is not yet in the stratospheric locale that it will reach soon enough.

In other words, right now, and for the next year or two, he will be just about the most bang for the buck any team could possibly have in its starting outfield.There might be a handful of better ballplayers around the majors, but few if any play as well as Andrew does for the money he makes. Therefore, his potential value in trade is never going to be as high as it is now and for the next year or two. After that, his salary will zoom climb, even over his last couple of Pirates seasons if he spends the full six years in black and gold.

In other words, there’s more than one way to maximize the asset that is Andrew McCutchen. Hanging onto him for six years as the reluctant centerpiece of the current rebuilding project, all the while making long term, multimillion dollar offer after fruitless offer, is not the only road down which the team can travel.

Trading him alone or with other major and/or minor league Pirates in a blockbuster deal that would net 2 or 3 or 4 players in return, in some combination of productive, current major leaguers and top prospects, should definitely not be out of the question for the Pirates. Of course, trusting Neal Huntington to be the man who would pull the trigger on such a trade is….well, it would be interesting, let’s put it that way.

The GM who has proven more than capable of making very astute junkheap pickups like Garrett Jones is the same one who evidently either can’t be bothered with the most basic medical due diligence (Iwamura, Hart, Ascanio, Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen, Matt Diaz) or else is knowingly gambling on players who are already hurt before they ever get here.

We’re talking about the guy who gave former National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez to the Giants in exchange for a fading A-ball pitcher with diminished velocity. We’re talking about the guy who is hoping against hope that Bryan Morris will prove to be some modicum of return for Jason Bay, because everyone else the Pirates got in exchange for Bay long ago washed out of Pittsburgh and down the Ohio River.

On the other hand, this is also the guy who made excellent trades with the Yankees and the Dodgers and turned the likes of Octavio Dotel, Xavier Nady, and Damaso Marte into Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, James McDonald, and others.

Andrew McCutchen, without question, is a very good major league baseball player. But he is not great. Definitely not. Want proof? In terms of his raw athletic tools, he is no worse than a righthanded batting version of Carl Crawford. Another player from the recent past who was quite similar to Andrew was Marquis Grissom.

But despite being in the same class as those two and other fleet-footed types in terms of pure foot speed, McCutchen is not a good base stealer. In fact, he’s barely average. And he is a significantly lesser player in terms of his base thievery than a guy with his speed ought to be. Even in an era of baseball dominated by sabermetric thinking - which postulates that it is better to steal smaller numbers of bases at an 80% or better success rate than to force the action in higher risk situations - even with all that, any player with McCutchen’s blazing speed should be logging 40 or more swipes every season.

Andrew’s career high of 33, set last season, is a respectable total but nowhere close to what he is capable of doing. And those 33 steals came with 10 caught stealing. This year his total regressed to 23, with another 10 caught stealing. His success rate over the past two seasons combined is a middling 74%, though it is higher for his career thanks to his 22 for 27 effort as a rookie. But the rather surprising downward trend in his steals leads us to our final point.

When I watch Andrew McCutchen, I see a player who, while definitely, indisputably, and consistently pretty good since the very start of his career, is also a guy who’s just not getting much better as he approaches what should be his peak seasons. This is very odd, especially for a guy with his talent, but it is not without precedent in major league history.

Fred Lynn, the old Boston Red Sox standby, rarely approached and never exceeded his incredible rookie season despite a long and productive career. Andrew’s rookie season, which did not begin until June of that year, did not approach the heights that Lynn reached, but he still posted a .286 average average with 12 home runs and 22 steals. This year his average sank to .259, though this was offset to some extent by his career-high 23 home runs.

As mentioned above, his steals also fell off this year from 33 to 23, and he had the worst success rate of his career, just under 70%. Now, maybe he’s still a young guy who’s “adjusting to the adjustments” and he’ll put it all together next year or the year after. But maybe not. Maybe he’s as good as he’ll ever be, right now, in which case it would be better to get another team to overpay for his potential, especially if by overpaying they strengthen our lineup at 2 or 3 or 4 positions.

I can already see some of you picking up your pitchforks again, and I can already hear the hue and cry that will certainly be the result of this piece. And if McCutchen had already said and done the things that would indicate he really, truly wants to be in Pittsburgh for the long haul, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. But he hasn’t. And if trading him would actually make this team stronger, overall, from top to bottom, it’s something the “best management team in sports” should strongly consider.

Head To Forbes Field...

2011-10-13T07:41:00.000-04:00

Well, the little bit of brick wall that's left of it, anyway. It's October 13th, time for the 51st anniversary of the shot heard 'round the City, celebrating the day that Billy Maz became a Pittsburgh legend. The festivities start at noon, highlighted by the NBC broadcast that will be replayed by the wall on Roberto Clemente Drive beside Mazeroski Field. Don't let the gray skies deter ya; there's a tent up in Schenley Plaza if it rains on the Pirate parade. Beside, you never know what old Bucco may stop by to say "hi."

The home run:

And some home video of Maz being honored last year at PNC:

Buc News: The Fan In, Maholm Out

2011-10-12T15:52:00.000-04:00

The Bucs have selected KDKA's incarnation, The Fan, Sportsradio 93.7 as its flag station for the next four years. It shouldn't be a lot different, we're guessing. The announcers are the same, the Pirate radio network is the same, so... It is a return to the Pirates old KD roots, and an all-sports channel probably is a good fit.
Oddly enough, Frank Coonelly was on the air with The Fan's David Todd. He pretty much kissed Paul Maholm goodbye, saying that it's "unlikely" PM will return, the Bucs aren't in the position to offer a multi-year deal (to Maholm, presumably), and they'll stay in touch while he's feeling out the market. (The prez confirmed that the Bucs won't pick up his option to Rob Beirtempfel of the Tribune Review) We're not sure who they have in mind to take his spot, but good luck replacing him.
IF Jordy Mercer is 8-for-19 (.421) with the US team, with 5 runs, 5 RBI, 3 2Bs and a homer.
Baseball America listed all the top prospects, team-by-team. The Bucs had nine, most in the A or rookie level.
The NL Central is sure getting interesting. Buster Olney of ESPN reports that the Cubs have signed Theo Epstein of the Redsox as GM. Peter Gammons of the MLB Network tweets that the Astros will be sold and then jump leagues.

Morton Has Labrum Surgery

2011-10-11T17:59:00.000-04:00

Well, it ends up that Kevin Correia, Paul Maholm and Jeff Karstens weren't the only pitchers dinged up in the dog days. Charlie Morton was too, and had hip surgery yesterday, according to the beat gang.

He tore the labrum in his left hip "late" during the season; the club said that there was no one event to pinpoint when the injury occurred. The surgery went well, and the usual recovery time is six months, so he should be ready to return sometime in mid April if that holds true.

His agent, Andrew Lowenthal, told Mike Sanserino of the Post Gazette that "We have every indication he'll be ready for the season," and he was hopeful that Morton could participate in some baseball activity in four months, which would lead him into spring training.

For a right handed pitcher, the left is the landing side, so it takes a beating. And it's tough to catch up if you miss the off-season and camp. Look at how long it took James McDonald to get back into a groove; he really didn't regain his swing-and-miss stuff until the second half of the season after being hurt in early March.

Morton pitched a career-high 171-2/3 innings, ending 2011 with a 10-10 slate and 3.83 ERA in 29 starts with a shutout and two complete games. He was a staff workhorse, and his injury timeline makes us wonder how that will affect the way the Bucs approach Paul Maholm.

They haven't spoken to him yet about coming back to the fold. The FO will almost certainly refuse his $9.75M club option, but Maholm has said he's amenable to working out a new deal. If he hits the market, the Pirates will likely have trouble matching the bids he'll get. A lefty that eats innings, even as the fourth man on the staff, is a valued commodity around MLB.

Sanserino asked that question, and tweeted the reply: "GM Neal Huntington says Morton's surgery will not affect team's decision on Paul Maholm." Hmmmm. Throw another log or two into the hot stove.

Pellas On the Pirates: Shortstop

2011-10-10T17:42:00.000-04:00

Will Pellas' thoughts on the shortstop position:

I'll say it again: if you have to go with a shortstop who is a one or two dimensional guy---a flawed player, a less than ideal solution---surely he ought to be the one with the best glove unless he is totally incompetent with the bat. To me, that spells "C-I-R-I-A-C-O".

That said, given the weakness of the position all around the majors at the moment, as well as the weakeness of this offseason's free agent class, maybe Cedeno isn't such a bad idea after all, assuming his considerable defensive improvement in 2011 is real and sustainable.

I'd personally be inclined to re-sign him and make Ciriaco the backup, while giving Ciriaco enough starts to get a better idea if his bat---such as it is---and running game would provide enough offense to consider getting rid of Cedeno, either during the season or, surely, by the winter of 2012.

D'Arnaud, I think, probably has the inside track among the guys who are left, but if he doesn't hit a lot better next year, the door is wide open for Mercer. Mercer has power, D'Arnaud has speed; if I had to choose one or the other I'd take speed, at least when we're talking about shortstop, but as the saying goes: you can't steal first base.

Then again this team has a lot worse holes than shortstop, and a lot more of them. So, maybe this is a tempest in a teapot discussion.

Shortstop

2011-10-09T20:31:00.001-04:00

We knew coming into the season that Ronny Cedeno was going to man the middle. Cedeno was on a short leash because of his legendary good SS/bad SS resume, but nobody stepped up to challenge him.

Well, looks like the same situation is about to repeat in 2012. The Bucs lost out on last year's SS market, which pretty much consisted of JJ Hardy, and Chase d'Arnaud showed he wasn't ready for prime time. This year's free market is headlined by Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins, and the Pirate grab bag consists of guys like Jamey Carroll, Cesar Izturis, Clint Barmes and maybe Rafael Furcal. So it's likely that the FO will exercise RC's $3M option and bring him back.

Cedeno, 28, hit .249, about what you'd expect from an eight-hole hitter, although his .297 OBP was disappointing. But his Ultimate Zone Rating/150 of +6.8 was excellent, he had his best professional season of fielding balls in his zone, and had a career high 66 plays outside of his zone. He was the ninth ranked SS in MLB, and third in the NL, with his glove. All in all, he finished the year with a 1.4 WAR, OK for a glove-first position.

Funny how the Bucs seemed to be loaded back in the day with Brent Lillibridge, who went to Atlanta, and Brian Bixler, now of the Nats. Neither lived up to their billing, and the hope is that Chase d'Arnaud doesn't join them.

d'Arnaud is an exciting player, and was taken in the fourth round of the 2008 draft. He flies around the sacks and is an accomplished base stealer. It's just getting him on base that's proved troublesome. In his tiny 2011 MLB sampling of 151 PAs, he hit .217 and only had a .248 OBP. His main problem was discipline, proving a sucker for pitches off the dish. Cedeno, by contrast, hit .249/.297, not very strong numbers but considerably stronger than d'Arnaud's line.

For all his quickness, d'Arnaud was just league average in range and committed 6 errors in 206 innings, not the SS numbers you want behind a pitch-to-contact staff. Again, Cedeno trumped him with above-average range and 13 errors in 1,050 frames.

He'll probably start 2012 at Indy, getting some at-bats; d'Arnaud has only played 70-some games at the AAA level. The 24 year old is considered to be the shortstop of the future, and is toolsy enough to eventually claim the spot.

There's also a chance, since he's also played third and second, that Pittsburgh keeps him on the big team instead of Brandon Wood or Pedro Ciriaco. d'Arnaud is a sparkplug off the bench, but exposed when he's out there every day.

Right behind him is Jordy Mercer, who was actually taken a round earlier than d'Arnaud in the 2008 draft. Mercer is a better fielder with a strong arm - he was a closer in college - and has some pop with the bat. He's had 30 doubles three years running, and knocked 19 balls out of the yard in 2011, split between Altoona and Indy.

But Mercer has discipline problems at the plate, and his OBP for the Tribe was just .304. He is a streak hitter, too - he had to finish strong to end up with a .239 BA at Indy after a terrible August run. Mercer isn't on the 40-man roster, and has to be protected this year from the Rule V draft.

So the Bucs have two minor league guys behind Cedeno, and both have holes. There are also holdovers Pedro Ciriaco and Brandon Wood.

Ciriaco, 25, is a terrific SS with the leather and can run well, but he joins the crowd with a so-so BA (.270) and terrible OBP (.297) in the minors, although he was competent with the stick in his few outings in Pittsburgh. But judging by the way Clint Hurdle buried him, we don't see much organizational love for Ciriaco.

Wood, 26, a waiver wire pick up, also filled in at short, his original position, though he handled third base well. He put together a line of .220/7/31 in 236 ABs. His major drawback is that the other three can also play second - heck, so can RC - and that lack of versatility could haunt him. At least, it makes him a better bench corner candidate than middle infield soldier. Wood can play first, and if the FO can't sign Derrek Lee and returns to platooning with Garrett Jones there, he's a better fit there.

Altoona's Brock Holt, 23, may eventually work his way into the mix, too. He has a good bat and an eye at the plate, but profiles more in the field as a second baseman than shortstop. We may get to see him at Indy in 2012, but if Mercer and d'Arnaud both start there, he could also tread water with the Curve a bit longer.

So the Bucs have four young shortstops - d'Arnaud is 24, Mercer and Ciriaco are 25, and Wood is 26 - but none who is a complete package. Two can field, two can run, and two have some pop, but none have all three tools. So it will be interesting to see how the FO handles the jam, especially if the team feels that d'Arnaud and Mercer both still need work at Indy.

That would leave their choice for back-up SS between Wood, who held the spot most of the season, and Ciriaco, who probably needed a few doses of Dramamine to counter his rapid trips between Indy and Pittsburgh in 2011. Or they could bring in a free agent, which has not exactly been the FO's forte (do Ramon Vazquez, Bobby Crosby and Josh Rodriguez ring a bell?)

If the Bucs hope to find a good field, good hit shortstop, they'll likely have to go outside the system. If one out of two works, they're set.

Central The NL's Best In 2011

2011-10-08T08:34:00.000-04:00

Hey, guess what division is the best in baseball as of this moment and has a guaranteed spot in the World Series? Nope, not that one in the junior circuit with the Yankees, Rays and Bosox. It would be the home base of the Buccos, the NL Central.

Milwaukee and St. Louis eliminated Arizona and the Phils in thrillers last night. Their upcoming NLCS series will determine which of the pair will represent the NL in the 2011 October Classic.

The Brew Crew fell behind on Justin Upton's third inning homer off a 3-2 heater from Yovanni Gallardo, who was especially honked because he thought he had caught him looking at a slider the pitch before. The Brewers tied it on a Jerry Hairston sac fly in the fourth, and a two-out Yuniesky Belancourt single in the sixth off Ian Kennedy put them up 2-1.

It could have been a bigger frame, but Chris Young made a no-look web gem grab of a Hairston shot to center to limit the damage. The drama continued in the ninth, when a Willie Bloomquist squeeze tied the game, snapping John Axford's 44-game save streak.

That set the table for Nyjer Morgan, who rolled a single up the middle just past JJ Putz's leg in the tenth inning to plate Carlos Gomez, who had stolen second, with the series-clinching run.

St. Louis came out on top of an old fashioned pitching duel. Raphael Furcal and Skip Schumaker opened the game with extra base knocks off Roy Halladay to take a 1-0 lead before an out was recorded. It was the game's only score. Chris Carpenter tossed a three-hit, complete game gem and the Phillies were left on the outside looking in yet again. As Paul McCartney noted, money can't buy you love.

It should make for a great series. Yesterday's winners, team aces Carpenter and Gallardo, are set up to square off in Games 3 and 7. The clubs finished the regular season series 9-9, and have a thing for one another, with trash talkin' yap and bench clearing hubbubs regular features of their contests.

For the Bucs, it validates the blueprint of building a team that is championship caliber rather than just competitive. For all the hue and cry of a weak division, the Central proved itself in the playoffs. This year is a high point, of course, but it does show how far the Bucs have to go yet.

The Brewers and Cards both have a murderous one-two punch in the middle of their lineups (although Prince Fielder is likely to become a free agent, and who knows whassup with Sir Albert?) and can throw some top-of-the-rotation arms at you.

The result? Pittsburgh won seven games against the Cards and three against Milwaukee for a combined 10-21 slate against the big boys of the division. Make no mistake; that's a fair barometer against teams that have some elite talent playing against a club that by and large doesn't. And those games are the only meaningful measuring stick, because you can't go anywhere until you step out of the division.

Bucs Keep Coaches; Rox Looking At Pedro?

2011-10-05T13:34:00.001-04:00

The beat gang reports that all the Pirate coaches will be back next season. Half of the eight were Clint Hurdle guys while the other four were holdovers. The only question mark was hitting coach Gregg Ritchie, but it looks like Hurdle and the FO are pointing the finger for the Bucs' batting woes at the players rather than the way they're coached up. Just straightening out Pedro would go a long way toward straightening out the offense. And speaking of Pedro...
Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes "The Rockies will cast a wide net (for a third baseman), from the tough-to-get (Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox) to the intriguing (San Diego's Chase Headley and Pittsburgh's Pedro Alvarez). When looking to trade Stewart this past summer, the Rockies inquired about Headley and Alvarez. Neither team was interested in making a deal, but it would be no surprise if Colorado restarts talks this winter."
Free agent rumor-mongering: Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors said that "If the Astros fail to sign (Clint) Barmes, he could be a more affordable alternative for the Twins, Braves, Phillies, Brewers, Pirates, Cardinals, or Giants."
IF Jordy Mercer went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a homer & three RBI yesterday in Team USA's 15-1 win vs. Chinese Taipei in World Cup.
Two Bucco farmhands made the Top Twenty Eastern League prospects per Baseball America: OF Starling Marte and RHP Kyle McPherson.

The Outfield

2011-10-04T16:27:00.000-04:00

In the last post, we looked at the FO; today we'll look at the OF.The Pirate plan going into 2011 was to use PNC's right field to stash a basher while McCutch & JT covered the top of the order and expanses of left and center, so they brought in Matt Diaz to platoon with Garrett Jones. Both had some bop in their background, something that Delwyn Young and Lastings Milledge lacked last season.

But it sure didn't work out they way they drew it up. Oh, Jones did his part, with a line of .262/14/50 and .356 OBP against righties, even if he was at sea against southpaws. Diaz did hit .295 against lefties, but had just seven extra-base hits in 132 ABs, absolutely dismal numbers for a man the FO planned to plop somewhere in the middle of the order and earning him a ticket to Atlanta.

Then Jose Tabata got hurt. Twice. First, he pulled his quad in June. Then he came back in August and broke his hand. In the 91 games he got into, he ran up a .266/4/21 line with 53 runs scored and 16 stolen bases, which was OK but could hardly be called a breakthrough year. And the injuries are troublesome; he's been haunted by them since the Pirates traded for him in 2008. But he did do two things to help solidify the future:

First, he signed with the Bucs through 2016, with three following club option years, so he's one player that the team has locked up. Secondly, his injuries provided Alex Presley with an opening, and he ran with it. Presley had a lukewarm September showing in 2010, and started the 2011 season at Indy. He was smoking the ball there, but the Bucs kept him on the farm until JT went down in late June.

Tabata's aches and pains gave The King 52 games to show his stuff, sandwiched around his own trip to the DL with a bruised hand. He hit .298 and fit in well at the top of the order, and when JT returned, it was to right field. Presley had taken over left.

He has his own caveat: Presley had a .327 BA/.373 OBP against righties, but just .231/.261 against lefties, and his slugging percentage dropped over 175 points, too, in an admittedly small sampling. So that will bear watching as his career moves forward. (JT & McCutch's splits are much more manageable. Tabata sports a 40 point career spread and McCutchen's is 20).

Of course, the linchpin is McCutch. And as he goes, so goes the club. He played in 70 of Pittsburgh's 72 wins with a line of .337/16/58. He was on the field for 87 of the team's 90 losses, and put up a line of .198/7/31 in the defeats.

His consistency was questioned at the end of the year, and he did have a terrible closing month and BA splits that seemed to show that the grind got to him, hitting .280 in the season's opening three months and .247 in the last three. But he was consistent in his production splits - RBI (41-48), runs scored (47-40), homers (11-12) and doubles (17-17) were about as evenly distributed as could be.

McCutch played 158 games, starting 155. We wouldn't make much of his September swoon. If the season wore on him, we'd guess it was more mentally than physically exhausting, a fairly predictable result after riding the wave into mid-July before crashing.

At any rate, the one thing the season has produced is the three guys that will be penciled in to start in the outfield at set the table in 2012, hitting 1-2-3: Presley, Tabata, McCutch. We'd probably flip Presley and Tabata, just to add a little more power to the two hole, open up the right side and break up the righty-lefty scheme, but that's just nitpicking.

The important part of equation is that Andrew McCutchen is finally in his rightful position, batting third, after being jerked all around the order. He's averaged 20 homers, 90 runs scored and 70+ RBI over the last two years and has grown into the prototypical three hole guy.

That will give the Pirates an outfield that's speedy, pretty fair defensively, and tailor-made to fill the top of the Bucco order. The next question is who will join McCutch, JT and The King?

Xavier Paul and Ryan Ludwick are the spare OF'ers. Paul (.259/2/20 & 16 SBs in 251 PAs) has some use being lefty, fast, and a good defensive player, but his lack of plate discipline was exposed when he had to play regularly. Ludwick is likewise a decent fielder, although without Paul's speed, and didn't do much at the plate (.232/2/11 in 133 PAs) as a Bucco.

Paul's future may be tied to Garrett Jones. If Jones returns to first base, Paul could be part of the Pirates bench mix. He's out of options but cheap, as he doesn't reach arbitration until 2013. Ludwick earned $6.775M in 2011 and will be a free agent. He'll almost certainly be allowed to walk in the off season.

Pittsburgh has a couple of guys in the minors that are close. Gorkys Hernandez might be the best defensive OF'er in the Pirate system. He just turned 24, and had a poor season at Altoona in 2009 after the Bucs got him from the Braves as part of the Nate McLouth deal. But he's put together back-to-back solid years at the dish the last two seasons for the Curve and Indy. He's averaged .275 and stolen 38 bases in 50 tries.

The Bucs' prospect with a bullet is Starling Marte, Altoona's OF'er who was named the Eastern league's 2011 Rookie of the Year. His 2011 line was .332/12/50 with 90 runs and 24 stolen bases, along with a rep as a tremendous outfielder tools-wise. He could be a year away after the Indy coaches work on honing his defensive routes and improving his plate discipline. And Marte won't turn 23 until next week.

If Presley can repeat and Tabata remains healthy enough to play 135 games, the OF is set. They have depth in Hernandez and Marte, along with guys on the move like Robbie Grossman, 22, at Bradenton, who was named the Pirates minor-league player of the year, and Andrew Lambo, 23, at Altoona. They also have high hopes for Josh Bell, 19, their second round prep selection in the 2011 draft. Marte and Lambo have to be added to the 40 man roster in the off season to be protected.

If the FO decides to deal to fill an infield or pitching hole, this outfield is easily the deepest position in the system to draw a trade candidate from. So when the hot stove fires up, the OF'ers should provide plenty of fuel.

The FO

2011-10-02T14:52:00.001-04:00

Yesterday's post beat the drum for managers being basically as good as their talent. So hand-in-hand with Clint Hurdle's review is the performance of the FO in setting the table for 2011.

The first big move was bringing Hurdle aboard. So far, so good. He's energized the team, generally professionalized the day-to-day managing, seems to have meaningful input with the FO and presents a smiling face for the fans, all day-and-night differences from the JR era.

After that, the FO's job was to provide him with the talent to win a few more games. They again had trouble convincing difference-making free agents to sign with Pittsburgh. Kevin Correia proved to be as advertised, a workhorse back-ender, and Jose Veras led the pen in appearances as a solid if erratic bridge man.

The other bally-hooed FAs, Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz, fizzled. As an everyday player, Overbay never found his stroke; he's working out better for the D-Backs as a platoon guy. Diaz had a strong resume, but his bat speed and power disappeared in Pittsburgh. Both players were counted upon to provide a little pop in the lineup and were a big reason the middle of the order was so feeble this year.

The braintrust had better success later in the season with their deadline deals. Derrek Lee gave the Bucs a presence at first, but he looks like a hard sell to keep around. Jason Grilli was a steal and gave the weary pen a huge boost. Ryan Ludwick, well, played like Ryan Ludwick.

Other additions meant to solidify the squad fell through. Joe Beimel ended up a BP pitcher out of the pen. None of the players they invited to camp for a look stuck: Garrett Atkins, Andy Marte, Josh Fields, Corey Wimberly, Scott Olsen, Aaron Thompson and Wil Ledezma.

In fairness, they all were depth players, not challengers to claim a spot on the 25-man roster (although with the way first base ended up, Fields perhaps should have been a keeper). Josh Rodriguez, the Rule 5 claim, yo-yoed between Pittsburgh, Cleveland and the minors.

The FO saved those bench roster spots for the waiver wires. Brandon Wood and Xavier Paul joined the team after being deep-sixed, and both provided a little bench depth. Paul especially has some intriguing tools while Wood has some muscle.

The wave of injuries showed how thin the upper levels of the organization were. First, we'll give the FO props for bringing in Mike McKenry to plug the leak at catcher. Not many teams can lose their top three backstops without costly consequences, but Scooby Doo held the fort competently until Dewey came back. And Eric Fryer showed there is more depth at the spot than just the often injured Tony Sanchez.

The Pirates had no answer when Pedro looked lost at the plate and then got hurt, though Josh Harrison proved that he's a capable reserve. He doesn't have the mitt, muscle or plate discipline to play every day, but as a plug-in player he can play a couple of spots, makes contact and runs well.

Alex Presley thrust himself into contention to start every day next year, and in fact we'd be surprised if he isn't already penciled in for left field for 2012. He's the Neil Walker success story of this season.

Outfield is the exception in the organization; it's deep. With Gorkys Hernandez maturing and Starling Marte rising with a bullet, the Bucs are adequately stocked there. Not so for the other positions.

The young arms were more adept at coming out of the pen than stepping into the rotation, and that's a problem. Brad Lincoln was the only starter that will compete next year, and that's due more to a thin MLB staff than his big league performance, which was lukewarm. Indeed, there's been chatter about turning Tony Watson back into a starter, but that would go against the MO of the development people.

There's no one to push Ronny Cedeno at short; Chase d'Arnaud isn't ready, and Jordy Mercer and Brock Holt are behind him. The farm hasn't groomed a first baseman either. If Lee walks, it looks like a platoon between Garrett Jones and probably the unproven Matt Hague, as Steve Pearce has one foot out the door after back-to-back injury plagued seasons.

As we mentioned, third base isn't stocked past Pedro, and second base is backed up by Harrison if iron man Walker ever gets dinged.

But while the upper levels are short of position players, the draft has been a bright spot. Gerritt Cole, Jameson Taillon and Luis Heredia are all beginning their careers, and a boatload of guys are toiling at the A level. Jeff Locke of Altoona got his feet wet this year in Pittsburgh, and may be a season removed from joining the staff.

There are a couple of reasons why the draft looks so promising, but the upper levels are so barren. One is the FO's preference to sign pitching, which is a good thing in the long run. They target high school arms, and that has its own set of dynamics - the talent is harder to evaluate than college guys, although the upside is greater, they're less polished, and the Pirate development template is step-by-step, making it difficult to fast track a pitcher. So from draft day to opening day is a process for a Pirate farmhand, and not a quick one.

With the emphasis on pitching, the position players selected have been few and far between. It didn't start that way. In the first draft by the current FO, seven players - 3B Pedro Alvarez, SS Jordy Mercer, SS Chase d'Arnaud, OF Rob Grossman, SS Benji Gonzalez, 3B Jeremy Farrell and 1B Matt Hague - were taken in the top ten rounds.

But in the next two drafts, only a total of four position players were taken in the top ten, and they added four more this year. And that's why there's a talent gap. 2008's players are mainly in the upper levels, but there just haven't been many highly rated warm bodies added to the organization since then.

The Latino signings won't kick in for awhile, either. Rene Gaydos has only had the green light for four years, and his stock in trade is inking kids that are 16-18 years old. They have a long road to Pittsburgh, although some of his ninos are making noise at the A level.

The FO hasn't been sitting on their hands, though. In their four years, they have added Jose Tabata, Ronny Cedeno, Garrett Jones, James McDonald, Charlie Morton, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia, Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek, Jason Grilli, Chris Leroux and Chris Resop to the 25-man roster, with the possibilities of Derrek Lee, Josh Harrison, Xavier Paul, Jason Jaramillo, Pedro Ciriaco, D-Mac, Ohlie, Bryan Morris or Jose Veras breaking camp with the team in 2012.

So at least half of the opening day roster and likely more will be guys that came from other organizations, by hook or crook. They have been trying to upgrade. But the record for FAs making an impact in Pittsburgh is bleak; Kevin Correia is the only one that's pretty much a lock to be on Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster.

Now that the final wave of Dave Littlefield's picks have crested, it looks like the Neal Huntington era selections won't be arriving until 2013 and beyond.

So our grade for the FO's efforts in the 2011 season is a D. Their inability to stock Indy and bring in a solid FA was magnified when the injury bug bit, and the competition for infield spots is non-existent right now. They still haven't found a pitcher to handle the 1-2 spot in the rotation.

But their overall grade is an incomplete. They have always claimed to be building a system that should one day be able to replenish itself, and it's said to take 5-7 years to retool an organization from top-to-bottom. Next year is the fifth. The time of reckoning is fast approaching.

Pirate Potpourri

2011-10-01T12:41:00.001-04:00

Stuff happening lately:

OF Alex Presley suffered a stiff back caused by a slide during the last series against Milwaukee, but doesn't think it will stop him from going to the Instructional League in another week.
C Ryan Doumit discusses his Bucco future with MLB.com's Jen Langosch. He told her "I know the probability of me being back is probably slim, but I've just been trying to enjoy the last couple of days and soak it all in."
SS Ronny Cedeno told Langosh that he hopes his $3M option is picked up (as it likely will be). "I feel good here...If they want to keep me here, I would love to be here"
RHP Jason Grilli, who is in an arbitration year, tweets that "I have a good feeling that I will be back."
The Bucs named their minor league players of the year: OF Robbie Grossman (.294/13/56 with 127 runs scored in 134 games with Bradenton) and RHP Kyle McPherson (12-6, 2.96 with 142 K's in 161 IP with Bradenton & Altoona).
Charlie Wilmoth of Bucs Dugout says not to expect much off season activity this year and gives a rundown of the current FO's winter pick-ups over the past few seasons.
Raise The Jolly Roger's Brian McElhinny follows up on reports that the Bucs canned their entire MLB training and strength staff, including Head Athletic Trainer Brad Henderson, Head Conditioning Coordinator Frank Velasquez, and Assistant Athletic Trainer Mike Sandoval. Guess those July & August injuries took a toll on more than the lineup.
On the other hand, the FO promoted a boatload of development/scout folk like Greg Smith and Kyle Stark. Our guess is that they'll turn their attention to the coaching staff next. From what we hear, none are in trouble with the FO. We should find out for sure soon.
Mike Axisa of MLB Trade Rumors went over the AAA transaction wires and found 22 players filed for free agency, including Dusty Brown, Wyatt Toregas, Andy LaRoche, Lastings Milledge and Wil Ledezma.
New Brighton's Terry "Tito" Francona was canned as the Bosox manager after their monumental September collapse. Here's the story from Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe.

Clint Hurdle's Opening Bow

2011-10-01T11:17:00.000-04:00

OK, we've had time to knock down a couple of Brooklyn Brewing's best and contemplate the 2011 Pirate season. We were shaken out of our IPA reverie when we recalled that on this day in 1903, the first World Series opened in Boston. It was between the Boston Pilgrims and our Pittsburgh Pirates (The Bucs lost in eight games; it was best-of-nine), and we began wondering when the club would get into its next October Classic.

Rightly or wrongly, a team's performance is hung on the shoulders of its skipper. GW's theory has always been the players win or lose games whether it be due to or in spite of the field boss' brainstorming. The manager's job is simply to set up situations that allow the players to do their thing to the best of their abilities.

And Clint Hurdle danced through the good, bad and ugly this year.

Tactically, he relies on the bunt a little more (OK, a lot more) than we prefer and likes to use his pen by the numbers, which worked fine for four months and then caused some problems later in the year when the staff went south on him. Hanny got 40 saves, but many times was a spectator when there were high leverage innings begging for his presence while he cooled his heels waiting for a save situation that never came.

On the positive side, Hurdle showed some imagination putting together a lineup, and did a pretty good job of getting everyone involved (well, except Pedro Ciriaco) while depending on a swinging gate roster of AAA players. And Clint utilized the two-for-one and defensive switches as well as any skipper in the league. Our guess is that he'd be happier with an everyday order, even if it involved a platoon spot or two, but given the realities of 2011, he scuffled pretty well with the cards dealt to him.

And on the sunny side of the bullpen, he didn't blatantly overwork anybody with the possible exceptions of D-Mac and Jose Veras. Hurdle stuck to his three days in a row or 25-30 pitch outing limits for relievers fairly religiously, and he wasn't afraid to throw a young guy into a late-inning fire. That may not have done much for the record this season, but should prove invaluable for the growth of his staff and down-the-road evaluations. He toed the highwire of a longer-range plan without sacrificing day-to-day results as well as possible.

His work with the rotation was solid too, as he alternately stretched and protected his arms as the innings piled up. The perfect example was Jeff Karstens, who was weaned from a long-man's pitch count early in the season to a reliable inning eater within weeks, and then rested again when signs of fatigue showed late in the year. In hindsight, he could have used a sixth starter earlier in the year, but who could have predicted that his two proven workhorses, Paul Maholm and Kevin Correia, would pull up lame?

His pedal to the metal running attack had its up and downs. It worked great when McCutch, Alex Presley, Chase d'Arnaud and others with their speed were on, but led to some head-banging when the more lead footed Buccos tried to stretch the bases with Lastings Milledge-like results. The team did steal 21 more sacks than last year (although with a lower success rate), made great strides in taking the extra base, and did a much better job of situational running even with the occasional fax paus.

The team seemed to adapt to the running game better in the second half of the season, both because the younger guys that got the call up had wheels and the coaches got a better read on what the players were capable of actually doing.

As far as coaching up the players, his staff did wonders with the pitching, dropping the ERA by nearly a run from last year, and he deserves credit for keeping Ray Searage aboard. But his rep as a batting guru took a hit when the attack tread water in 2011. That leads to another chicken-or-egg debate; were the results due to coaching or the performances of Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton and Hanny on the hill, and Pedro Alvarez, Lyle Overbay and the injury bug at the dish?

The staff did a good job at bringing the fielding up to par. It began to break down some in the final weeks, but that probably had more to do with the shuffling of players because of injuries and performance, leading to a shaky make-shift infield, than lack of preparation. That also shows the flip; the staff had the advantage of a fairly set lineup to work with for the first four months when they were catching everything. The positioning was by-the-book, a welcome change from the JR/Gary Varsho days.

But managers don't get rated for their coaching by WAR for good reason; the lowest-percentage calls look great if the players come through and the no-brainer decisions fall flat when your guy bombs. (We're stretching, but the team's Pythagorean calculation was for 70 wins, so we'd assume Sabermetric dudes would consider Hurdle as a +2.0 WAR this year). The key to being a good manger isn't so much on-the-field generalship as much as the role of ringmaster in the clubhouse.

And Hurdle deserves good marks in that department. He let the team know who was boss quickly when he sat down Ronny Cedeno for not hustling out of the box, and doubled down when he did the same to McCutch. He was consistent in the way he handled players and assignments, even if that meant Lyle Overbay got nearly 400 at-bats, and that fostered easier dugout relations because the players knew where the boss was coming from.

His locker room is looser and more player-friendly now than in the taciturn JR days. Hurdle is a booming and gregarious presence, and communication, important to a young team, is a two-way street now. The players have a much better understanding of where they stand and what they need to improve.

Just as importantly, he put a human face to the franchise. He's approachable, quotable and sometimes downright comical in his dealings with the media, and almost singlehandedly transformed the team's PR image, previously fronted by the dour and secretive FO, into a positive.

Will Clint Hurdle become a long term fixture behind the Pirate bench? Well, as the old chestnut goes, "managers are hired to be fired." We think he's a good fit for the team now. How long he'll remain a fit will hang on the abilities of the players he gets to manage down the road.

Bucs Finish With 72 Wins

2011-09-29T13:29:00.002-04:00

Hey, the tale of two seasons has come to an end. The Bucs did improve a fairly impressive 15 games over last season's 57-102 debacle, so that's a plus. They did it mainly by pitching, as the staff improved its ERA from 5.00 to 4.05, and that's a heck of an improvement.

The hitting, though, stagnated. This year's lumber company scored 610 runs while hitting .244; last year's crew did just a tad worse at 587 runs and .242 BA. That's a surprise, considering the rep of Clint Hurdle as a hitting guru, and begs the question of "is it the talent or the coaching?" All we know is that coaches don't bat, if that gives you a clue as to what side of the fence we're on.

Too bad the Pirates floundered during the second half, when the innings caught up to the arms and the injuries/grind caught up to the position players. We anticipated a young team would steadily improve throughout the year, not start off like gangbusters and then fade like Milli Vanilli.

They did answer a couple of questions. McCutch and The Pittsburgh Kid were solid and look as if they'll be consistent, real-deal performers. Jose Tabata and Alex Presley solidified the outfield. Charlie Morton and James McDonald appear to be competent mid-level starters, and both should get better. Hanny was lights-out.

After that, well...lotsa things to sort out, and that's what we'll be discussing now that the year's done. The coaching, the drafting, free agents coming and going, the 40 man roster, position-by-position critiques, help down on the farm and all the other topics so dear to the hot stove league.

Oh, the game? Pittsburgh got its usual bums rush outta Milwaukee, losing 7-3. The Brew Crew chased Jeff Locke after four innings, scoring five runs thanks to three homers and clinching home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

And it was a big night for baseball fans in general. Not only did the Brewers finish a nose ahead of the D-Backs, but the Cards slipped into the wild-card over the Braves; so much for the "Central is so weak" cliche. Tampa Bay took the last spot over the Red Sox. There's no surer sign of a competitive season than to have people watching the scoreboard for the results of the final game.

We'd like to see Pittsburgh get in on that scoreboard watching stuff, too, and for a little longer than mid-July.

Prince Pounds Pirates

2011-09-28T09:08:00.000-04:00

Hey, last night's storyline was pretty simple. Walk the guy in front of Prince Fielder and watch him hit a home run. Fielder went deep three times, twice with Ryan Braun on base via a free pass, to lead the Brew Crew to a 6-4 victory over the Bucs. Ricky Weeks added the other run when he crushed a solo shot after Fielder in the second.

Ohlie went five innings and gave up four runs on five hits, three of which went yard, along with three walks, a bopped batter and three Ks. Jared Hughes took the loss when he walked Braun and gave up Fielder's 38th dinger on an 0-2 pitch in the seventh. Up until that point, the Bucs kept battling back.

Pittsburgh took an early 1-0 lead in the second when The Pittsburgh Kid doubled and scored on a Matt Pagnozzi blooper. They added on in the fifth when Ronny Cedeno doubled and came in on Ohlie's slug bunt; he showed bunt, pulled back and chopped a single up the middle. He would later come in on Josh Harrison's one-out knock.

Walker scored the Bucs final tally when he came across on Alex Presley's bases-loaded walk in the sixth. LaTroy Hawkins, Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford kept the Pirate bats quiet at the end, giving up one hit over the last three frames.

Zack Greinke goes against Jeff Locke in the regular season finale. The game starts at 8:10 and will shown on Root Sports. Greinke will go as long as he can, as the Brewers are only one game up on the D-Backs for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The last player to smack three homers against the Bucs in a single game was Albert Pujols in 2006. It was the first 3-homer game of Fielder's career. Even more notable is that Prince will play in all 162 Brew Crew games when he jogs out to first tonight. He played in every 2009 contest, and would have last season except for a September bug.
The Bucs picked off two Brewers - Jason Jaramillo's snap throw got Corey Hart at first, and Tony Watson caught Carlos Gomez napping at second.
Clint Hurdle told the beat gang that he plans to winter in Pittsburgh, and that he'll be involved in the instructional league after the season, though mostly as an observer, to get a feel for the young guys.
Ronny Cedeno said he was going to play winter ball in Venezuela.
Alex Presley and Josh Harrison will spend a few days in the Instructional League after the season; Mike McKenry may join them.
The Pirates will finish fourth in the NL Central this season, their highest position since 2003.

Bucs Outlast Brewers 9-8

2011-09-27T10:54:00.000-04:00

Alex Presley was responsible for the first and the last run of the game, and in between it was a wild west shootout as the Bucs outscored the Brewers by a final score of 9-8.

Presley opened the game with a homer on the second pitch, his first MLB lead off blast. It would be the first of twenty-five hits and seventeen runs tallied between the two clubs.

The Brew Crew shrugged that run off and positioned themselves for a big opening frame. Charlie Morton was greeted by pair of singles and a double to quickly tie the game, and a walk to Prince Fielder jammed the sacks with no outs. He reached back, K'ing Ricky Weeks and getting Jerry Hairston to bang into an around the horn DP to escape without any further damage.

Pittsburgh got rolling in the second. Garrett Jones walked and Jason Jaramillo rolled a seeing eye single into right. A broken bat bloop by Pedro drove home a run, and a Chase d'Arnaud slow roller to second brought in another. A Morton bunt and Presley knock made it 4-1.

The game rolled along quietly until the bottom of the fourth when the Brew Crew smacked three doubles to make it a 4-3 game. The Bucs answered in their next at-bat.

Xavier Paul led off the fifth with a triple, and a pair of one-out walks loaded the bases. Pedro doubled home two runners and a wild pitch brought in another as the Bucs went up 7-3 on Shaun Marcum.

Morton couldn't stand success; his own wildness let Milwaukee back in the game when a hit batter and walk plated on a two out double by Yuniesky Betancourt. That was Morton's last call. He went five, giving up five runs on eight hits with three walks and K's, not a particularly memorable finish to the season.

The Bucs scored once again in the sixth. Pedro Ciriaco drew a lead off walk as pinch hitter, stole second, and touched the dish after Neil Walker's two out single. Two walks juiced the sacks, but JJ was called out on strikes to end the threat with the Pirates up 8-5.

The Brewers weren't fazed; they worked their way through the Bucco bullpen in the sixth to knot the score. The bases were empty with two outs before the wheels dropped off the Buc's buggy. Jared Hughes gave up a walk and a single, Tony Watson a knock, and Chris Leroux surrendered a double and two walks, the last with the bases loaded to force in a run. D-Mac got the final out, a screamer hit at d'Arnaud, who made a leaping grab of the bullet to keep the score tied.

The Bucs retook the lead off of Takashi Saito in their next dibs. Mike McKenry drew a two out walk and crossed the plate on Presley's double. That would be the game winner, but not without a couple of tense moments.

D-Mac threw a clean seventh, and Jason Grilli took the ball. A walk and two beaned batters - hey, it is Milwaukee, right? - juiced the sacks with one away. He coaxed a couple of pop outs to escape the jam and set up Hanny time.

He gave up a lead off single, and two wild pitches later the Brewers had a runner on third with no outs. Hanrahan came up with a big K followed by an even bigger bounce out to The Pittsburgh Kid. With the infield in, he went home and cut down the tying run to preserve the Bucs 9-8 win and finally put an end to the four hour plus marathon.

Presley and Pedro led the way with three RBI apiece. The Bucs struck out ten more times. Not only are they adding to a franchise record for K's in a season, but should surpass 1,300 K's by Wednesday.

RHP Ross Ohlendorf (1-3, 8.29) faces LHP Randy Wolf (13-10, 3.61) at 8:10 PM tonight. The game will be aired on Root Sports.

Andrew McCutchen was off yesterday after being hit by a BP liner before the game. He should be good to go tonight.
Dewey has been off, too. He took a foul off the mask last game out, and the Bucs have been cautious about putting him back behind the dish with his concussion history, especially at this late point in the season.

Bucs Drop Home Finale 5-4

2011-09-26T14:23:00.002-04:00

The Bucs tried to claim a win for Fan Appreciation day, the traditional curtain-closer for the home season, and almost pulled it off in the ninth. But they couldn't find one more hit and fell to the Reds 5-4 yesterday afternoon.

James McDonald struggled at the outset. In the first, a lead-off, four pitch walk to Brandon Phillips turned into a run after a pair of back-to-back, one out singles. In the second, J-Mac was almost on the way to the showers.

A lead-off double in the second, followed by a Josh Harrison, boot put runners on the corners. A sac fly brought in one tally, and another scored on a two-out single. That was followed by a walk, and that brought Clint Hurdle to the top step, but McDonald K'ed Joey Votto to end the frame.

The Bucs came back to tie it in their half. Derrek Lee led off with a knock, and an out later, Ryan Ludwick walked. Chase d'Arnaud sent them both home on a triple to left, and Scooby Doo hit a sac fly to knot the score.

J-Mac and Dontrelle Willis had things under control by then. McDonald was replaced in the sixth by Danny Moskos. After getting the first out, he gave up a single and double to the 7-8 hitters. Then Willis, no slouch at the dish, caught a hanging slider and drilled it into right to put the Reds up 5-3.

The game moved along into the ninth, when the Bucs tried to figure it out against Francisco Cordero. McCutch opened with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, and came home after The Pittsburgh Kid's one-out double. But with the tying run in scoring position, a pair of pinch hitters went down - Garrett Jones K'ed and Pedro flew out to left - and that wrapped up the last home stand of the year.

The Bucs only had four hits to go along with eleven strikeouts. Those kind of numbers have been a season-long drag; a team batting average of .244 with eight whiffs per game don't project to many runs. Whether the answer lies within the organization, through team churning or has to come from the outside in a trade or free agency, the Bucs need to put the ball in play a lot more often next year.

RHP Charlie Morton (10-10, 3.67) takes on RHP Shaun Marcum (13-7, 3.31) at Miller Park tonight.The game starts at 8:10 PM and will broadcast by Root Sports. Not that you need reminded, but the Pirates have lost 36 of their last 39 games at Miller Park dating back to 2007, including all six in Milwaukee this season.

The Pirates drew 28,758 for a season total of 1,940,429, the fourth largest attendance year in franchise history.
Dontrelle Willis had an 0-6 record entering the game and hadn't beaten the Bucs since 2005. Guess the hidden vigorish was finally on his side, hey?
Baseball America picked its New York-Penn League All-Stars. State College had a pair: RHP Nick Kingham (9), and 1B Alex Dickerson (11).

Bucs Look For Sweep After 4-2 Win

2011-09-25T10:24:00.002-04:00

Hey, the only thing sweeter than taking the opener is to take the next game, too. And the Bucs did that against the Reds in front of a rollicking sellout crowd of 37,388, equally pumped for the Pirates and Pittsburgh fav Steve Miller.

It didn't start off the Buccos' way; a pair of first inning doubles made it 1-0 against Bad Brad Lincoln in a heartbeat. But the Pirates nibbled back.

In the second, Ryan Ludwick walked, went to third on a Jason Jaramillo two-bagger and touched home on a Ronny Cedeno sac fly. In the third, they took control.

Josh Harrison started it off with a triple (he would end the night a homer short of the cycle) and a McCutch sac fly plated him. Derrek Lee singled and Neil Walker doubled, setting up the Bucs third straight sac fly, this one from Ludwick. Walker scored when JJ came through with a two-out knock to make it 4-1.

It stayed that way until the fifth, when Lincoln's control deserted him. He gave up walks to two of the first three hitters, and one scored on Joey Votto's double. Lincoln worked out of harm's way by getting Punxsutawney's Dave Mesoraco (who had a noisy cheering section of hometowners) to fly to center with the bases juiced.

Lincoln lasted one more batter, when a leadoff double chased him to the showers in the sixth. He gave up two runs in five innings on six hits and four walks (one intentional) with four K's. After that, it turned into a battle of the bullpens, neither one allowing another run. Jason Grilli got the save, as Hanny had the night off after a 31-pitch outing yesterday, his third in the MLB and first since 2009.

Tonight was a game that could have provided plenty more fireworks. The two teams combined to strand 20 runners and go 5-for-28 with RISP. The Pirates had eleven hits, and nine were collected among three players: Harrison (4), Walker (3), and Jaramillo (2).

And the go-go Bucs were back in stride with four steals, highlighted by Neil Walker stealing second and third in the fifth frame.

Dontrelle Willis faces James McDonald in the Bucs final home game this afternoon. The finale's lineup will be: Alex Presley LF, Josh Harrison 3B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Ryan Ludwick RF, Chase d'Arnaud SS, Mike McKenry C, James McDonald P.

Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review has a piece on what a McCutch contract might cost the Bucs. We lean toward the 6 year, $50M or so range with an option as a fair deal. But just in case, he also looks at center field options.

Jose Veras made his 80th appearance, second in MLB to Atlanta's Johnny Venters. He only worked 48 outings last year, so potential pitching burnout isn't just limited to the rotation. It's the first time Clint Hurdle has ever called on a reliever that often.

Neil Walker may not have great range, but when he gets to a ball, he catches it. He ran his errorless streak to 52 games last night, and his .992 fielding percentage is the NL's best.

The Pirates are 9-9 at home when they play in front of a sellout crowd.

Pittsburgh is 38-38 against Central Division opponents, with today's game against the Reds and three more at Milwaukee to go. They haven't had a winning record in the division since 1992.

Friday Game Recap: Bucs Take Opener From Reds

2011-09-25T09:32:00.000-04:00

GW was out of action this weekend, but the Bucs weren't. They recaptured their June mojo by taking the first two games of their final home set against the Cincy Reds by 4-3 and 4-2 tallies, doing just enough to come up on the winning side both nights.

Friday's game was started by Jeff Locke. The young lefty fell an out short of going five, but kept the Bucs in the game. He allowed one run, six hits, and two walks but surpassed his 75-80 pitch count limit after a Joey Votto double. Danny Moskos came in to K Jay Bruce and leave runners at second and third, preserving a 3-1 lead. Locke was in trouble almost all night, but managed to wriggle off the hook through most of the contest.

The early lead was built on a Garrett Jones two-run blast that traveled over 450' in the second and some third inning two-out thunder started by McCutch, who doubled. After a Derrek Lee walk, McCutchen was chased home by a Dewey knock.

The Reds drew within a run against Chris Leroux in the sixth, turning a leadoff single, ground out and infield knock into a run. But the score held up until Hanny time. But this time it wasn't automatic.

Pinch-hitter Chris Heisey led off with a broken bat infield single followed by Brandon Phillips roller through the left side. Drew Stubbs bunted; the Bucs nailed the lead runner. Hanrahan struck out Joey Votto, and it looked like the crisis was averted.

After a double steal on a 3-0 count, Hanny intentionally walked Jay Bruce to load the bases. On a 3-2 count, he hit Todd Frazier on the back of left hand with a fastball to force home the tying run.

But the Bucs had enough left in the tank to take it in their half. Pinch hitter Jason Jaramillo dropped a double the opposite way with an out and was replaced at second by Chase d'Arnaud. Ryan Ludwick fell behind 0-2, fouled off a pitch and then drilled a low heater off the bottom of the center field wall for the walk-off win.

The Reds were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 men on base. The Bucs were an efficient 2-for-4 with RISP and left only five runners aboard.

Ohlie KO'ed, Bucs Dropped 8-5

2011-09-22T09:02:00.000-04:00

Ohlie took a step forward in his last outing, but boy, did he ever backtrack yesterday afternoon. He got six D-Backs out, giving up seven runs on seven hits with a pair of walks and a hit batter.

It started in the first, when Arizona scored three times. Not only did the D-Backs rattle four opening frame hits, but caught Ohlendorf napping on the mound and ran a pair of successful double steals.

The Bucs cut into the lead thanks to a solo homer by Ryan Ludwick in the second. But in the third, the wheels came off for good.

Jared Hughes didn't help the cause a whole lot in the third after Ohlendorf gave up three knocks and a free pass. He inherited a bases-jammed, no out pickle, and two hits and a walk later, it was 8-1 Snakes.

Danny Moskos, D-Mac, Evan Meek and Chris Resop threw two-hit ball over the final five innings to give the attack a chance to chip away.

Derrek Lee drove in a pair with a single and 450' homer as he continues to build his free-agent value. Jason Jaramillo doubled in a run, and a wild pitch plated another. The Pirates actually had a chance to make a game of it with two away in the eighth, but Dewey bounced out with runners on second and third. Pittsburgh made the final score respectable but in the end fell short for the tenth time in the last 13 games, 8-5.

As for Ohlie, he looks like a lock to be a non-tender candidate during the offseason. The FO can't be faulted for bypassing arbitration as he's guaranteed a minimum of $1.6M through the process in 2012, and so we're guessing he'll join Lee looking for a 2012 deal on the market.

The Bucs are off today and take on the Reds Friday. Jeff Locke matches up against Edison Volquez in Pittsburgh as the season winds down to its last week.

The 2011 attendance will finish as fourth highest in franchise history. Pittsburgh has drawn 1,850,651 fans so far, and the current fourth-place mark for season attendance is 1,866,713 with a three-game set coming up Friday against Cincy.
The Pirates have six games left and 69 wins. We took a trip on the web way-back machine to check out the pre-season picks, and most pundits pegged this season's club as a 70-75 win group. Of course, most thought they'd improve as the season progressed, not back track. Ah, hindsight...

Notes

2011-09-21T15:46:00.001-04:00

RHP Ross Ohlendorf (1-2, 6.82) goes against LHP Wade Miley (3-2, 4.24) in this afternoon's rubber match at Arizona. The first pitch is at 3:40 PM and will be shown on Fox Sports.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Pedro Ciriaco SS, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Ryan Ludwick RF, Brandon Wood 3B, Matt Pagnozzi C, Ross Ohlendorf P.

You can tell it's get away day - Pedro Ciriaco, Brandon Wood and Matt Pagnazzi are all in today's lineup.

The Pirates confirmed that they are moving Fanfest to Saturday, December 17th and Sunday, December 18th, with Friday, December 16th, open to Season Ticket Holders only. It'll include the usual goodies - Q&A session, autograph booths, handouts, kids' games...

Bucs Win 5-3

2011-09-21T10:13:00.001-04:00

Hey, the Bucs actually scored last night. Didn't take long either, as Alex Presley and Neil Walker banged doubles to start the game and put the Pirates up 1-0. An inning later, Pedro went yard for the fourth time and it was 2-0. Dewey doubled home McCutch in the fifth, and it was 3-0 Pittsburgh. That would be Daniel Hudson's last frame for Arizona..

Charlie Morton sometimes struggled with his control, but was tough enough. He went six shutout frames, taking 106 pitches to get there, giving up three hits, three walks (one intentional) and bopping a batter along the way to go with five K's.

Chris Leroux yielded a run in the seventh when he gave up back-to-back singles, causing Clint Hurdle to quickly bring on Jason Grilli. Grilli gave up another knock, and then punched out the D-Backs.

Derrek Lee countered with a two-run blow in the eighth, plating Presley ahead of him. And Pittsburgh needed it. Jose Veras gave up three consecutive one-out knocks before Tony Watson took the ball. He gave up a bunt single RBI, but finished off the frame with the Bucs still up 5-3.

And that's all Hanny needed, striking out a pair to earn his 39th save while closing out Morton's tenth win.

The game had a lot of ebb and flow. The Pirates stranded a dozen and the D-Backs eleven, so the score could have easily turned into slugfest proportions. It was especially so for Pittsburgh, which banged out 14 hits, half of which were for extra bases, but allowed several scoring opportunities to slip by.

They did help themselves in the field last night, with Presley and Garrett Jones making back-to-back nice grabs to open the game, Pedro laying out for a couple of plays and Lee making a couple of sweet picks. It was a good way to rally against a championship caliber team that's playing for something, and one of the few building blocks to be taken away this September.

As expected, RHP Gerritt Cole will fill the final spot on the Pirates Arizona League roster.
Pedro Alvarez will not play winter ball, but start anew in 2012. He held out the possibility that he may join a winter league club for the second half of the season, although that would seem rather pointless.
Chris Snyder said told the beat gang that he's willing to come back to Pittsburgh, but would prefer the FO to pick up his $6.75M option rather than negotiate a new deal.
Pittsburgh got RHP Eliecier Cardenas from the Braves for Matt Diaz. The 23 year old Cardenas is a closer in Hi A ball with a good hook but no control. He was a minor league Rule 5 pick of Atlanta from Minnesota in 2010.

Notes

2011-09-20T19:13:00.002-04:00

RHP Charlie Morton (9-10, 3.81) take the hill against RHP Daniel Hudson (16-10, 3.39). the game starts at 9:40 PM and will be shown on Root Sports.

The Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ronny Cedeno SS, Charlie Morton P.

Whatever happened to Xavier Paul and Brandon Wood?

For the fans of the Piratefest and Pirate caravan, get ready for an earlier start. They'll go off in mid-December this year, both to give the participating players more of an off-season break and to try to tap into some pre-Xmas sales. Makes sense on both fronts.
Ben Badler of Baseball America listed the top rookie prospects in the Gulf Coast League. The Pirates had two of the top five picks and three of the top fifteen, with RHP Luis Heredia ranked #3, 1B/OF Jose Osuna #5, and IF Alen Hansen #14. It's good to see Rene Gayo's amigos doing well.
Congrats to Mariano Rivera who set the all-time saves record yesterday with close-out #602. He also has 42 post-season saves, with 11 during the World Series and four in All-Star games. Since taking over the fireman job in 1997, he's had an 89% save rate. And there are only two teams he doesn't have a save against - the Yankees, of course, and the Pirates.

Karstens Effort Wasted, Bucs Fall 1-0

2011-09-20T00:57:00.000-04:00

Ya know, the Pirate pitching has been so terrible lately that we tend to overlook how bad the Pirate hitting has been. Well, it came to the forefront tonight.

Jeff Karstens, Jared Hughes and Jose Veras held the D-Backs to one run and five hits - and the single tally came on a broken bat homer, with half the stick ending up by third base - by Justin Upton that had to withstand review. Upton's homer, his 31st, dropped into the first row of the left center field stands. A fan caught it and the review was to see if it cleared the wall. It did, and that was enough to propel Arizona to a 1-0 win.

The Pirates mustered two hits; the only knock before the ninth was a Karstens' single. Alex Presley tripled with one out in the final frame, and had The Pittsburgh Kid and McCutch behind him. But Walker bounced out to first, freezing Presley, and McCutchen K'ed for the third time on the night. He wasn't alone alone. It was the thirteenth whiff of a Bucco. They've scored four runs on 22 hits in the past four games with 44 K's.

Charlie Morton takes on Daniel Hudson tomorrow.

This was Jeff Karstens last start of the season. The Bucs are skipping his last appearance, as he's worked 162-1/3 innings in 2011, 40 more frames than his previous high set last year. JK finished the year at 9-9 with a 3.38 ERA, a tremendous showing especially considering he started 2011 as a long man in the pen before Ohlie went down in early April.
The Pirates set a team record for K's in a season Sunday against LA. They're now up to 1,243 strikeouts with eight games to go, an average of 8 whiffs per game. They're among the bottom feeders in that stat in the NL with Washington and San Diego. More than pitching, this should be addressed as shortcoming #1 going into 2012. The compound problem is that the Pirates have used the second highest number of players in the NL during the season, have the youngest senior circuit squad, and consequently don't seem to have much of a plan during their at-bats, all of which were brutally exposed in the second half of the season.
The Pirates have three guys with 100+ K's - McCutch, Walker and Garrett Jones - and three more that will finish the year with 75+. The Pirates have just five more hits (1,248) than whiffs, and six current position players have more K's than knocks: Jones, McKenry, Alvarez, Wood, d'Arnaud, and Ludwick. Steve Pearce, Josh Rodriguez, Dusty Brown and Wyatt Toregas, when they were playing, also had more strikeouts than hits.

Notes, AFL Roster

2011-09-19T18:11:00.000-04:00

RHP Jeff Karstens (9-8, 3.45) faces RHP Ian Kennedy (19-4, 2.99) as the Bucs continue their left coast road trip against the first place D-Backs.The game will start at 9:40 PM and be televised on Root Sports.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Ludwick RF, Jason Jaramillo C, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ronny Cedeno SS, Jeff Karstens P.

The Pirates sent Altoona RHP Mike Colla (5-11, 3.70), IF Brock Holt (.288/1/40) and RHP Phil Irwin (13-4, 3.14 between the Curve & Bradenton) along with Bradenton LHP Nathan Baker (10-8, 3.34), 2B Jarek Cunningham (.258/15/51) and OF Robbie Grossman (.294/13/56) to Mesa of the Arizona Fall League. They still have one pitching slot open; the grapevine says that it's reserved for RHP Gerritt Cole, although that decision is still being debated.
Arizona's magic number in the NL West to put away the Giants is five. They have nine games remaining, all at home, against Pittsburgh, then San Fran and closing out with LA. So they'll be motivated to play hardball this series; it won't be a run-of-the-mill September set.
1B Lyle Overbay has a line of .265/1/8 in 38 at-bats for the Snakes. His OPS is .754, over a hundred points higher than his Bucco number.

Bucs Run Out Of LA 15-1

2011-09-18T22:31:00.000-04:00

Did ya catch the whuppin' the Steelers laid on the Seahawks this afternoon? Well, the Bucs had the same kind of day - as Seattle. It was 3-0 after an inning, 9-0 after two frames and 11-0 when the third concluded as the Dodgers steamrolled the Pirates 15-1 this afternoon.

Bad Brad Lincoln gave up a three spot in the first, and the second got worse. He had two outs and a runner on first, but a pair of singles loaded the sacks and Clint Hurdle went to the pen. Aaron Thompson came on, and after a homer, double, and pair of walks, it was 9-0.

The usually dependable Chris Leroux followed in the third, and he gave up three hits and walk, yielding another pair of runs before Chris Resop poked his finger in the dam. He threw a clean fourth, and the Pittsburgh nine got on the board when Xavier Paul doubled home Chase d'Arnaud with two away in the fifth.

Evan Meek faced six hitters, striking out two, walking three and giving up a knock and a run on a bases juiced free pass before D-Mac closed out the frame. But McCutchen's luck ran out in the sixth. His post-Atlanta meltdown continued as he surrendered three runs on six hits. Tony Watson and Jason Grilli put up zeroes to finish up the game.

The Pirate attack was AWOL again. They left nine aboard as seven of their ten runners reached base after two outs and they struck out nine more times. Then again, they could have scored everybody and still would have been blown out. Geez, July seems like such a long time ago.

Charlie Morton faces Ian Kennedy at Arizona tomorrow night. Kennedy is taking his second crack at 20 wins; he's 19-4 on the season.

The eight hurlers Pittsburgh trotted out today ties the franchise record for most pitchers used in a nine inning game.
Pirate pitchers haven't thrown a clean inning since the eighth frame Friday night. That's seventeen straight innings that the Dodgers have had at least a runner aboard.
Matt Kemp was a triple away from hitting for the cycle - after the third inning. No, he didn't get it. LA pulled him after five innings.

LA Blues: Bucs Fall 6-1

2011-09-18T09:24:00.000-04:00

They say you can never go home again. In J-Mac's case, that held absolutely true last night as his old Dodger teammates rattled his cage early and often as LA won 6-1.

McDonald lasted just three innings, giving up five runs on seven hits while throwing 76 pitches, his second straight short outing. He had some command issues, often falling behind hitters, but the long ball eventually did him in. James Loney smacked a three run shot off him and Juan Rivera added a two run homer. It looks like the dead-arm period has gotten to all the Bucs original rotation members, with the possible exception of Charlie Morton, and he's been up-and-down.

The Pirates had a couple of scoring chances, but left the bases juiced with one out in the eighth and second and third with one away in the second to come up empty. The Bucco run came in the second when Josh Harrison doubled home Derrek Lee.

Big Blue's Ted Lilly joined Mark Buerhle and CC Sabbathia as the only active pitchers to notch 10 wins for nine straight seasons. Brad Lincoln faces off against Chad Billingsley in today's match, looking to salvage a series split this afternoon.

Newly claimed C Matt Pagnozzi singled as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. He also became the 52nd Pirate to play this season, breaking 2010's team record. At least Clint Hurdle and the FO got a chance to look at everyone this year.
Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review reports that the Pirates will probably keep prospect Bryan Morris in the bullpen, but are still evaluating Justin Wilson's future role.
Indy SS Jordy Mercer was named to the 2011 USA World Cup/Pan Am roster. He'll play in both the World Cup in Panama City and the Pan American Games in Guadalajara.
Johnstown's Pete Vuckovich, who worked for the Pirates as a coach and FO executive since 1992, was hired by the Seattle Mariners as a special assistant to GM Jack Zduriencik, the same position he held in Pittsburgh.

Bucs Lose 7-2; Send J-Mac Out Tonight

2011-09-17T18:49:00.001-04:00

The Bucs lost to LA last night 7-2; Jeff Locke failed to impress in his second start, leaving too many pitches up and lasting but three innings, giving up three runs on five hits with two walks. He got the hook after a 33-pitch third inning.

The bullpen was even less impressive. D-Mac gave up three straight singles, one an iffy infield hit. Chris Resop came on and gave up a three run blast to James Loney.The Pirates scored on a misplayed DP ball and Alex Presley's third homer of the year. Pittsburgh K'ed 12 times and was 0-for-8 with RISP. 'Nuff said about that.

J-Mac takes the hill against Ted Lilly and his former teammates tonight. The Buc lineup will be Alex Presley LF, Chase d'Arnaud SS, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Ludwick RF, Brandon Wood 3B, Josh Harrison 2B, Mike McKenry C, James McDonald P.

McCutch got the day off yesterday, and Neil Walker will get one today.

The Bucs are shutting down Jose Tabata for the rest of the season. He'll stay with the team while rehabbing.
Ex-Buccos C Eric Kratz and OF Brandon Moss were called up from AAA Lehigh Valley to the Phils yesterday.
Congrats to Jimmy Leyland. His Tigers clinched the AL Central division title last night.

Bucs Win, Bucs Lose

2011-09-16T12:37:00.000-04:00

OK, we're gonna wrap up two days in one post: Bucs win, Bucs lose, Bucs claim yet another catcher.

Ross Ohlendorf tried to throw his hat back in the ring for 2012's pitching parade by leading Pittsburgh to a 6-2 win over LA. Ohlie went seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out six for his first win since July of last season. He drove in half the runs, too, by belting a three-run homer over the right center wall. Before getting too carried away, though, remember that it's September - the Dodgers had five rookies in the lineup.

The other Buc RBI were from Brandon Wood, Dewey and Ryan Ludwick. So not only did the Bucs win, but they avoided a second straight loss to castoff Dana Eveland.

The day before, the Bucs and Charlie Morton lost to the Redbirds 3-2. It was a game that could have gone either way; both sides had beaucoup opportunity to score but squandered chances galore. Morton's downfall was a walk and hit batter to set up Yadier Molina's two-run double in the fourth.

Today, Pittsburgh continues its left coast trip, sending Jeff Locke against Hiroki Kuroda.

The Pirates claimed Matt Pagnozzi, 28, off waivers yesterday from the Rockies. He's considered a strong defensive C, but is seen as a back-up rather than potential starter. Pags is a poor hitter - .220 lifetime in the minors - but does have an option remaining, which none of the other reserve catchers do, making him a potential insurance policy.
We're also thinking that Pittsburgh might approach Dewey to work out a deal outside the current option agreement for the next season or two. The blush is off Mike McKenry's bloom, and the Bucs just added Pagnozzi to challenge Jason Jaramillo and Scooby Doo for a role next year, though none are thought of as everyday players. Eric Fryer and Tony Sanchez are both considered at least a year away. So it might make more sense to keep an in-house starter like Doumit than to go fishing in a not very strong FA market.
Ohlie's dinger was the first home run hit by a Pittsburgh pitcher since Paul Maholm homered in New York on May 9th, 2009.
Bradenton RHP Brett Lorin has been named a Jewish minor league all-star by the Jewish Baseball News. He was named as the runner-up for best starting pitcher. Lorin finished the year 7-6 with a 2.84 ERA, 99 strikeouts, and 19 walks.

Notes

2011-09-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

RHP Edwin Jackson (4-2, 3.44) takes on RHP Charlie Morton (9-9, 3.81). This afternoon's contest is the get-away game and rubber match to boot. Game time is 12:35, and it will be shown on Root Sports.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Ludwick RF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ronnie Cedeno SS, Mike McKenry C, Charlie Morton P.

Jeff Karstens is the Pirate nominee for the MLB Clemente Award for the player that gives back the most to the community.
The Bucs announced their 2012 schedule today. They open against the Phils and play KC, Minnesota and Detroit at home as interleague matchups.

Bucs Stumble To 6-4 Loss

2011-09-13T23:57:00.000-04:00

Hey, the park has a nice red moon shining down on it. And as any Pirate knows, "red sky at night, sailors delight..." But as the evening's events played out, you can forget that old wife's tale.

The Cards drew first blood in the second inning. Lance Berkman singled with one out and Jeff Karstens walked Skip Schumaker on four pitches. Yadier Molina one-hopped a ball over the wall in left-center field for a ground rule double to plate a run.

JK intentionally walked Daniel Descalso, loading the bases to face opposing pitcher Chris Carpenter. Good idea, bad execution. CC singled into center to bring home a pair of runs and put the Redbirds up 3-0.

The Bucs came right back. Derrek Lee, Garrett Jones and Ryan Ludwick hit station-to-station singles to juice the sacks. Josh Harrison hit a grounder to first base that Pujols bobbled, scoring a run and keeping the bases jammed. But Karstens and Pedro Ciriaco struck out, and the Cardinals dodged a bullet to hold on to a 3-1 edge.

In the third, the Bucs got a two-out dinger from Derrek Lee, his 17th and fifth as a Pirate, into right center. Dewey followed with a triple, but was stranded when Jones lined out to right.

Rafael Furcal singled to lead off the fifth and Jon Jay doubled to right to score him as the lead grew to 4-2. Pujols reached on an infield single to the SS hole. Karstens K'ed Matt Holliday, then handed the ball to Danny Moskos. Good move; Lance Berkman bounced the first pitch to short to start an inning killing 6-4-3 DP.

Karstens threw tonight after missing two starts and didn't look like the rest did him much good. JK went 4-1/3 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with a pair of walks and whiffs. He needs sharp command to get through a lineup, and didn't have it tonight. It'd be nice if a starter could go seven and give the bullpen a break, although it is well stocked now with September arms.

The Pirates looked like they were ready to answer. Ciriaco and Neil Walker led off with singles and moved up a base on a McCutch roller. Lee lifted a fly to right, and El Nino came in. But Carpenter appealed, and ump Sam Holbrook rang up PC for leaving early.

Clint Hurdle came out to argue, and was told by the man in blue that Ciriaco was off to the races a step too quickly. Replay showed differently; it looked like a clean bang-bang tag. Maybe Hurdle saw it on a monitor when he went to the bench. He came storming back out to gripe a little more and got the heave-ho.

Our guess is Holbrook was looking across the field, saw the catch and turned to see the runner a couple of steps down the line (his back was turned during the actual tag), and thought he was Pedro Alvarez instead of Ciriaco and too slow to get that good a jump. Whatever, there is no appeal for the appeal, and out he remained. Ciriaco made the perfect tag just to prove that no good deed goes unpunished.

The Pirates continued their Lastings Milledge tribute in the sixth. Dewey walked and Jones got on thanks to another error by Pujols, putting Pirates at first and third with no outs. Ludwick struck out (do you notice a pattern?) and Harrison hit a fly to shallow right.

Doumit never so much as faked a run down the line, allowing Pujols to cut off Berkman's throw. At the same time, Jones was on his way to second and became easy pickings for Sir Albert, ending the inning.

McCutch wasn't deterred by the base running antics. He made it elementary when he crushed a two-run, two out homer, his 23rd, to center field to tie the game at fours in the seventh.

The eighth went quietly, and it was Hanny time in the ninth inning as he faced the bottom of the Cardinals' lineup. He was coming off a rocky 25-pitch outing yesterday, and it got rockier tonight.

Descalso singled with one out and Tyler Greene ran for him. Nick Punto doubled to left-center field and brought him home on a perfectly executed a hit-and-run to regain the lead. Rafael Furcal reached on a Ciriaco error and Jay singled off his glove; the SS needed another inch or two of hops to haul the ball in.,

With the bases loaded, Pujols flied out to right field, and Punto scored without drawing a throw from Jones, who looked like he had a chance on the play, even if it was slim. Chris Leroux took the ball from Hanrahan and finished the frame.

Pittsburgh had one last hurrah left. Harrison led off with a bloop single and El Toro rolled a single up the middle. But Ciriaco blew a two-strike bunt, forcing the lead runner on a closely contested call, and The Pittsburgh Kid bounced into a 6-4-3 DP to end the sad affair.

The good news is the bullpen appears to have regained its mojo with the reinforcements giving them a blow. Jose Veras, Jared Hughes, Daniel Moskos and Chris Leroux tossed goose eggs, even if Hanny couldn't.

But the Bucs at the dish need some help. Going 2-for-12 with RISP and hitting into two fly ball DPs while generally looking dazed on the base paths usually isn't a recipe for success, and it sure wasn't tonight. Bad at-bats and bad base running cost them tonight's tilt.

Edwin Jackson takes on Charlie Morton tomorrow in the get-away rubber match game.

The Bucs lost their 81st game tonight. The next one will mark the 19th season of losing ball in the Steel City.
The attendance was 16,544 for this evening's match.

Notes

2011-09-13T15:07:00.005-04:00

RHP Chris Carpenter (9-9, 3.75) goes against RHP Jeff Karstens (9-8, 3.32) at 7:05 PM tonight. The game will be shown on Root Sports. JK returns after skipping two starts with shoulder fatigue; his last outing was in late August when the Cards chased him early.

Lineup: Pedro Ciriaco SS, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ryan Ludwick LF, Josh Harrison 3B, Jeff Karstens P.

Hey, Ciricaco is getting a reward for his heroics last night. And Dewey's in the lineup; after all these years, could they possibly still be evaluating him?

Dave Schoenfield of the ESPN "Sweet Spot" blog thinks that maybe Tony LaRussa overmanages a bit.
Mike White of the Post Gazette reported that Joe Colella, long time Hopewell High and American Legion coach, passed away Sunday at the age of 80. Joe was a member of the WPIAL and beaver County Halls of Fame, and his presence will be missed on our local diamonds. Kevin Gorman of the Tribune Review also has a story on the ol' skipper.

Ciriaco Clutch; Bucs Win 6-5

2011-09-12T22:36:00.000-04:00

Bad Brad and Kyle Lohse get it on tonight as Lincoln tries to earn a spot on the 2012 rotation. And Dewey is back behind the plate. His chest bruise, suffered last night, apparently responded well to a good night's sleep.

It was a rough start. Back-to-back singles put runners on the corners, but Dewey relived some of the pressure by throwing out Jon Jay trying to steal second. Sir Albert followed with a sac fly, and it was 1-0.

But not for long. Alex Presley singled to open the frame and Neil Walker followed with a double off of Pujol's mitt. With runners on second and third, McCutch lifted a fly to right to score the King and move The Pittsburgh Kid up a sack to third. Derrek Lee followed with another fly, and the Bucs were up 2-1.

The second went quietly, but the Redbirds were back at it in the third. Three straight singles brought in a run, and a groundout and intentional walk loaded them for Matt Holliday, who obliged by banging into a DP. The game moved along until the bottom of the fifth, when a Presley single and Walker double off the Clemente Wall on a hit-and-run put the Bucs back on top 3-2.

In the sixth, the edge returned to St. Louis when Pujols ripped his 35th homer into right center with Jay aboard to give the Cards a 4-3 lead. Brad Lincoln went 5-1/3 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits with two walks and a K, and Chris Leroux took over to close the frame.

Leroux ran into a jam in the seventh, putting runners on second and third with two away. Tony Watson came on and got the third out. Jason Grilli pitched a clean eighth, shutting down the heart of the Redbird order and giving the Pirates a chance to pull it out.

And pull it out they did. With an out, Lee walked and was replaced at first by Chase d'Arnaud. Octavio Dotel left and Mark Rezpczyniski took the ball. Dewey turned around and caught a sinker that dropped right down the middle, drilling it into right for a double to tie the game. Xavier Paul came in to run for him; don't you love September and its endless roster?

After an intentional walk to pinch hitter Ryan Ludwick, Josh Harrison came to the plate for Pedro. He went down swinging without seeing a strike. Jason Jaramillo pinch hit for Grilli and walked to load the sacks. That brought Fernando Salas to the hill to face Pedro Ciriaco. El Nino fell behind 0-2, took a waste pitch, and then slapped a hung slider inside the right field chalk to double home a pair. After eight, it was 6-4 Bucs and Hanny time.

Two singles around a ground out brought in a run for St. Louis. A walk and another ground out put runners at second and third with two away. Hanrahan ran the count to 2-2 on pinch hitter Corey Patterson and put him away swinging at a slider in the dirt to preserve a 6-5 Bucco win.

Hey, they can win when the pitching's not there. They played a little D - Dewey threw out two runners and d"Arnaud made a sweet stop in the ninth - while Walker had three hits and Dewey, Jones and Presley added a pair apiece. It's only September baseball in Pittsburgh, but still a nice victory against a team that's trying hard to stay in the hunt.

Chris Carpenter goes against Jeff Karstens tomorrow.

The book on Pedro Ciriaco is that he can't hit, and he does have only a tiny sample of at-bats in the show. But we hope he gets a look this month; his glove is unquestioned and he's hitting .316 in a handful of at-bats. Chase d'Arnaud has a .200 average so far, and Pedro has 6 RBI to his 3 with 100 less chances at the dish.
Tonight's attendance was 13,278.
Jen Langosch of MLB.com reports that the Bucs are bailing out of the Venezuelan league and transferring their players to the Dominican league. The Domincan is home to the newish Pirate academy and is reputed to play a higher caliber of ball, so it makes sense.

Fish Sweep Bucs 4-1

2011-09-11T21:17:00.002-04:00

Meh, pretty much a repeat of last night. The Bucs big opportunity knocked early, but it was set up for the pitcher with two outs. The Marlins had one frame where they could do no wrong, and that was enough to down Pittsburgh 4-1 to complete the sweep.

After a quiet start, the Pirates loaded the sacks in the second. Dewey walked with an out and Ryan Ludwick singled him to second. After a Josh Harrison force and steal of second, Ronnie Cedeno walked on a 3-2 pitch. J-Mac struck out swinging after four pitches, and that ended that.

The Fish threatened in the fourth on the strength of a walk, hit batter and passed ball, but McDonald worked out of it. But he didn't have an answer in the fifth.

After a lead off walk, the next pair of Marlins were retired. But the third out would remain elusive. A double, single, walk and double, all with two outs, would make it 4-0, and that was the game. J-Mac went 4-2/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits with four walks, a hit batter and three Ks.

In the seventh, Harrison singled with an out, went to second on a grounder and came in on Jason Jaramillo's knock up the middle. That ended the day's excitement.

The Bucs collected six hits; that gives them seven in the last two games as Javier Vazquez shut them down today. The starting pitching hasn't been great, but with the ways the bats are going, anything short of a goose egg is asking for trouble.

The Cards come to town tomorrow. Kyle Lohse faces Brad Lincoln.

Dewey left the game in the fourth inning. He set up outside, the pitch came inside, and he whiffed on it, catching it off the chest protector and watching it bounce halfway to the hill. J-Mac said he missed the sign; Doumit was expecting a curve away and got a heater in. The result was a chest contusion.
Today was the seventh time this season that James McDonald has been unable to finish five innings. The third time around the lineup seems to be Achille's Heel. Whether that's a conditioning (mental and physical) or strategic problem, it's holding J-Mac back from becoming a pitcher a team can rely on. Maybe that's why LA had him in the pen.
The Pirates, in a widely expected move, extended the contract of GM Neal Huntington through 2014 with a club option for 2015. Love 'em or hate 'em, he'll be around for awhile. And at least this time they announced it; maybe the FO is growing up a little.

Notes

2011-09-11T11:42:00.005-04:00

RHP Javier Vazquez (9-11, 4.29) matches up against RHP James McDonald (9-7, 3.98). The game is scheduled for 1:35 PM and will be shown on Root Sports.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Doumit C, Ryan Ludwick RF, Josh Harrison 3B, Ronnie Cedeno SS, James McDonald P.

We'll see how much Clint Hurdle alternates Cedeno with Pedro Ciriaco and Chase d'Arnaud. And we know the skipper doesn't have a lot of options, but we hate seeing Walker bat second; we much prefer fifth.

And hey, try to catch and appreciate the pre-game ceremony. God protect our military and public safety men and women who selflessly head toward the gunfire. Freedom is never free, and the folk being honored are often the ones who pay the dearest cost.

The Pirates look like they'll go with a six-man rotation the rest of the season, consisting of Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Locke, James McDonald, Brad Lincoln, Jeff Karstens and Charlie Morton.
Chase d'Arnaud will play winter ball after the season; his destination is yet to be determined.
Richard Peterson recalls the "Angels In the Outfield" flick (and could the team use some heavenly intervention now!) in the Post Gazette and then moves on to an older era of the 1925 World Series champ Pirates and the Bucs greatest third baseman, Pie Traynor. He asks when his statue is going up; after all, Traynor became the first third baseman elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. In 1969, the year of baseball's centennial, he was selected as the greatest third baseman in baseball history.

Sanchez One Hits Bucs, Wins 3-0

2011-09-10T22:18:00.000-04:00

Sorry for missing the recap and notes today, fans. Sometimes even a blogger has to step back and take a breath. After a nine-run outburst by the Marlins last night that featured seeing eye balls, a homer that bounced off the heel of Alex Presley's glove and a barrage of ropes that eventually morphed into a 13-4 pasting, we needed a Pirate-free quiet time.

After jogging through the park, mowing the lawn and playing with the kid's pit bull, GW was ready to face another game. It has a nice September feel to it; Jeff Locke is getting his first MLB start while Pedro and Chase are starting.

Locke showed some nerves in the first, throwing twenty pitches while bopping a batter and walking another. But he kept them from touching the plate, so it's a great start. In the second, he gave up his first hit and collected his first K. Locke also got his first at-bat, unfortunately a two-out whiff with the bases juiced.

The third, last night's Armegeddon, didn't start off very well for Locke, An infield single and a pair of walks surrounding a bunt put him quickly behind the eight ball. A two-run single by John Buck put him behind, period, 2-0. He got out of the inning when Don Murphy hit a sac fly/DP, something you don't see very often.

The fly to center scored a run, but Murphy got caught between the bases and tagged out at second after Derrek Lee cut McCutch's throw. Still, 3-0 Fish. Despite loading the bases last inning, the Bucs aren't faring very well off Anibal Sanchez. He's given up a hit and K'ed six in three frames; the Pirates can't lay off his slider or change, and Sanchez is living up to his rep as a swing-and-miss hurler.

The fourth didn't get off to a great beginning, either, with back-to-back soft singles. But the Fish bunted into the wheel play to force the lead runner, and a 6-4-3 got Locke out of the jam. The game went quietly through five, and Locke was pulled for a pinch hitter.

He went five innings, giving up three runs on five hits along with four walks, a hit batter, and a whiff, throwing 82 pitches. Locke wasn't terribly impressive, but it's possible his control problems had more to do with butterflies than wildness; he walked 3 guys per nine in the minors this year. Locke is a pitch-to-contact hurler (after the first inning, seven of the nine outs he recorded were grounders with a K) and unafraid to work inside. Chris Leroux took the hill for the Pirates.

He shut down the Marlins, the team that drafted and released him, as Sanchez continued dealing. After seven, it was still 3-0 Florida, and the Bucs still had one hit. And that's all they would get. Sanchez pitched a complete game shutout with 11 K's to lead the Marlins to a 3-0 win. He threw 119 pitches and 86 were strikes, even with three walks.

Javier Vazquez goes against James McDonald tomorrow. The Pirates will honor the heroes of 9/11 and the region's first responders before the game.

Happy birthday, Neil Walker. The Pittsburgh Kid turned 26 today.
Chris Leroux had his streak of 21 consecutive batters put down ended by an Emilio Bonifacio single in the seventh.
The Bucs drew 34,063 fans for the last Fireworks night of the season.
Pittsburgh was eliminated from winning the NL Central last night and from the wildcard race tonight.
The Pirates asked for a league review of Friday's scoring call that gave Florida's Omar Infante a homer on a ball that bounced off OF'er Alex Presley's glove and over the wall in the third inning.

Notes

2011-09-09T16:11:00.000-04:00

The Marlins come to town tonight. RHP Ricky Nolasco (9-10, 4.39) will tangle with Ross the Boss Ohlendorf (0-1, 6.35) at 7:05 PM. Root Sports will televise the game.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Doumit C, Ryan Ludwick RF, Josh Harrison 3B, Pedro Ciriaco SS, Ross Ohlendorf P.

Ciriaco gets the start at short and Harrison at third.

When the Pirates trot out Jeff Locke to pitch tomorrow, he'll become the 51st player Pittsburgh has used this season, tying the record for most players set last year.
Jeff Karstens will rejoin the rotation Tuesday.
OK, Evan Meek has been back since Tuesday, Clint. Use him already!
Matt Hague, Gorkys Hernandez, Bryan Morris,Kyle McPherson and Justin Wilson are all in Pittsburgh. They're not being added to the roster, but here to be coached up a little and experience the Pirate routine.
Bradenton lost the rubber match of their Class A playoff semifinal 4-3 in ten innings to St. Lucie last nite. Two walks and a two-out single did them in.

Off Day News

2011-09-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

A couple of tidbits to help pass a gray off day...

The beat gang reports that the Pirates may finish out the season with a six man rotation so that LHP Jeff Locke gets some work this month.
Bradenton clocked St. Lucie 10-0 last night to even their semi-final series for the High Class A Florida State League crown at a game apiece. RHP Brett Lorin gave up two hits over six innings, and three relievers threw perfect ball over the final three frames to finish out the win. Calvin Anderson drove in three runs while Adalberto Santos and Ramon Cabrera had three knocks to lead the attack.
Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors looked at starting pitchers with options next year. He doesn't see the Pirates exercising their option on Paul Maholm, although he did site some "mutual interest" and thinks the D-Backs will pass on his old running mate, Zach Duke, who ended up in the pen.
Ex-Bucco and current Brewer OF'er Nyjer Morgan isn't winning many fans in St. Louis after emptying the benches yesterday according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Dennis Bair, who pitched at Allderdice, Pitt and in the Cubs organization before three surgeries ended his career, now coaches and heads the BairFind Foundation. His foundation uses ballparks as staging grounds to locate missing children. And it works; Joe Koch of the Post-Gazette reports that his efforts have led to six children being returned to their families.

McCutch, Bullpen Rally Bucs Past 'Stros 5-4

2011-09-07T22:48:00.000-04:00

The Bucs send Brian Burres out to try to take the rubber match in the series against Houston and JA Happ. It was not a grand start.

BB got the first pair of 'Stros to bounce out before JD Martinez smacked a single. That was followed by a Carlos Lee homer, which was ten feet fair up the left field line and dropped into the second row, just over the mitt of a leaping Alex Presley. Matt Downs then drilled a liner off the foul pole, and it was 3-0 Houston.

Pittsburgh got a run back when McCutch clobbered his 21st long ball of the year, a bomb to right center. The next two innings went quietly, with the Astros blowing a golden opportunity in the second. The first two hitters singled, but a bad bunt wasted an out and Burres wriggled out of the jam.

In the fourth, Clint Barmes banged his tenth long ball of the year, dropping it three rows deep in the left field corner, to make it 4-1. A missed third strike by McKenry, ruled a wild pitch, and a two-out single brought on Jared Hughes. He got a comebacker on the first MLB pitch he threw to finish the frame. BB went 3-2/3 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with two Ks.

The Bucs tried to answer when Derrek Lee led off with a knock, but the next trio of Pirates went down on strikes. JA Happ has six Ks in four innings. After Hughes put up another goose egg, the Bucs came back. Brandon Wood drew a one out walk, and with two away, Presley singled. McCutch took a first pitch heater and played the Astro game, pulling a ball inside the left field pole that ended up in the seats a few rows deep to make it a tie game.

Lee followed with a single and Neil Walker drew a base on balls after a hard fought nine pitch at-bat; Happ was up to 118 pitches, but stayed on the get Ryan Ludwick on a pop. It's home run or no count so far, and 4-4 after five frames.

D-Mac came on for the Pirates and worked a quiet sixth. David Carpenter took the ball for Houston and returned the favor. Chris Leroux climbed the hill for the seventh and pitched a clean frame. Fernando Rodriguez emerged from the pen for Houston. Presley singled, was bunted to second, and McCutch walked after being in an 0-2 hole. F-Rod got Lee swinging and Walker on a 3-2 grounder, and it remained knotted.

Leroux put away the first two hitters in the eighth - that's seventeen straight batters that he's retired - before he got the hook when Brian Bogusevic came on to pinch hit. Clint Hurdle responded by bringing on Tony Watson to get a lefty-on-lefty matchup. It took Watson one pitch to get a grounder to short and move on to the bottom of the inning.

It was Wil Lopez's turn to toss 'em for the Astros. With one out, Hurdle sent up a pinch hit parade. First was Garrett Jones, who rolled a single up the middle and was replaced on the bases by Chase d'Arnaud. That was followed by a Dewey single to right to put runners at first and second. Jason Jaramillo grabbed a bat, and Sergio Escalona came in for Houston.

JJ turned around to the right side and kept the PH mojo going with an RBI single that ended up an inning-ending DP. Jaramillo got caught in a rundown heading for second when the throw went home, and Dewey was thrown out handily at the plate after JJ was tagged out. Nothin' like have two catchers on the base paths at once, hey? At any rate, the Bucs were up 5-4 with Hanny on the hill.

After two ground outs, Hanrahan caught a call on a 3-2 heater that was away to whiff Jordan Schafer looking, and the Bucs took the series. For Hanny, it was save #36, and Tony Watson got his second big league win.

Play a clean game in the field, have your bullpen toss 5-1/3 scoreless frames and get a three run homer...that'll work most of the time.

The Pirates are off tomorrow before Florida comes to town.

Baseball's a funny game - Tony Watson threw one pitch and got the win tonight. That was one heck of a fastball, even though it was only clocked at 90.
Clint Hurdle won his 600th MLB game with the Bucco victory over Houston. His overall record is 600-702.
The Bucs have homered in five consecutive games, the longest streak of power they've put together this season.
Jose Veras (73) and Chris Resop (69) are second and fifth in NL appearances, while D-Mac is third in relief innings with 76. That work load may have something to do with their recent problems on the hill.
Tonight's game drew 12,330.
The Pirates are 22-1-1 in series when they win the first game of the set (they're 2-17-4 when they lose the opener). The problem isn't winning series, but sweeping them. Pittsburgh has swept just two series all year while being swept a dozen times.
The Pirates are also 58-1 when leading going into the ninth, a tribute to Hanny, who finished off 36 of those wins.
Attendance is picking up all over. In their second year, the Bradenton Marauders drew a total regular season attendance of 103,978 fans for 2011. The number doubles the inaugural season attendance of 51,856.

Pitching For 2012

2011-09-07T18:33:00.000-04:00

Time has caught up to the Buc rotation.

Kevin Correia and Paul Maholm are both on the 60-day DL, ending their seasons. Jeff Karstens missed two starts and is due back on the 19th; Brian Burres picked up a pair of starts in his stead. The latest to get a day off because of fatigue is Charlie Morton, who will skip Saturday and be replaced by Jeff Locke. James McDonald is the only pitcher from the original rotation left standing in September.

Maholm and Correia were surprises as both had been workhorses throughout their career. But you could see it coming; Maholm was hit hard in July, though he managed games pretty well. But in August, his ERA jumped to 6.75. Correia's July ERA was 6.08 , and August's was worse at 8.41.

Karstens had a 7.46 ERA in August. After a horrible May, Morton looked as if he had found himself. But in his last three starts, he only lasted 14 innings with a 7.23 ERA. Both were over 150 IP, career highs, and both also had career highs in wins with nine. This year should serve as a springboard for them.

J-Mac has emerged as the Buccos future go-to guy. After being pushed around in April, missing most of spring camp with an injury to his left side, he became the Pirates most consistent arm. In the following months, he never had an ERA higher than 3.93 and was clocked in at 2.86 in May. When he learns to manage his pitch count, McDonald should become a solid middle-of-the-rotation arm that can miss bats.

In the long view, the rotation losing guys is something to be expected. To lose them all at once was brutal, and the August collapse as fatigue took its toll on the team saw the Pirates free-fall out of contention and even a chance to finish at .500.

For the immediate future, the rotation is Brian Burres, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Locke, James McDonald, and Brad Lincoln.

And that's not all bad. Paul Maholm is likely to not return. J-Mac, Morton, Karstens, Correia and Lincoln will form next year's nucleus for now, with Locke knocking on the door and Ohlie likely to get a look from the pen.

Altoona's Aaron Thompson and Kyle McPherson should be starting at Indy next season while Justin Wilson and Rudy Owens will try to get back on track. And don't forget about Jose Ascanio, who was thrown into the fire after a long layoff. After a rough start at Indy, he's recovered to K 50 batters in 44 innings while walking just 15 and was stretched out as a starter if the Pirates do choose to bring him back.

The prediction of the Pirate arms falling off in the dog days unfortunately came true. But the silver lining is that next year, there should be a deeper staff, albeit without an ace, and one with some experience. Some freshly scrubbed faces are finally reaching AAA. And in a couple of years, hopefully one of those young guns the FO has horded will fill in the top of the rotation.

It may be a couple of seasons from fruition, but at least the Pirate pitching is beginning to build.

Notes

2011-09-07T15:07:00.000-04:00

JA Happ (5-15, 5.71) will face Brian Burres (1-0, 1.69) in a battle of lefties tonight. The rubber match of the series will start at 7:05 PM and be shown on Root Sports.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Josh Harrison 3B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Ryan Ludwick RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, Mikie McKenry C, Brian Burres P.

We were curious; Ludwick will move to right and Presley will stay in left.

The next Pirate loss or Brewer victory eliminates Pittsburgh from winning the Central Division championship. Boy, that race went by the boards quick!
The honors keep rollin' in for Starling Marte. He was named the Eastern League Player of the Month for August. He hit .393 with 9 doubles, 5 HR, 28 runs, 15 RBI and a .650 slugging %.
Mac Prine, the Pirates president in the mid eighties, died yesterday. Jim Leyland joined the team during his watch.

Myers, Quintero Stop Bucs Cold 4-1

2011-09-06T22:17:00.001-04:00

It's rainy night in Pittsburgh as the Bucs have at it with Houston again in front of a handful of die hard fans, announced at 9,840 but probably closer to 3-4,000. Forget two million in attendance, with the last long homestand coming during monsoon season.

Brad Lincoln had one rough inning, the second. Carlos Lee led off with a soft single and stole second; the Pirates are giving up stolen bases like they're bobbleheads lately. Brian Bogusevic rolled one into right to put runners on the corners. Lee scored on a weak grounder to second. The Bucs couldn't turn the DP, and it would haunt them when Humberto Quintero doubled with two away (and the pitcher on deck).

The Bucs scored in their half on a Dewey homer, his eighth. Unfortunately Neil Walker, who had singled ahead of him, was caught stealing before the blast.

And it stayed that way through six with neither team getting a runner past second. Bad Brad departed after the sixth frame, giving up two runs on five hits with six K's on 97 pitches.

Chris Resop was in a bit of hot water in the seventh, but helped save his own bacon. The first two guys singled, and the Pirates again couldn't turn a DP on a grounder to second. The pitcher, Brett Myers, laid down a bunt on a suicide squeeze, and Resop got to the ball, went home, and Dewey blocked the plate and dropped the tag in one smooth motion to save the run.

The Bucs couldn't solve Myers, who came into the game on a seven game losing streak and 6+ ERA. He eventually put himself in the shower in the eighth when he threw away a two out grounder by Josh Harrison, who busted it up the line and ended up on second. After a walk, Garrett Jones flew out to short right to end the frame. Myers left with a four-hitter through 7-2/3 innings.

The Astros iced it in the ninth. Jose Veras walked Bogusevic after a hard fought nine pitch at-bat, followed by a Jimmy Paredes shot to left center that McCutch overran by a half step. It was ruled a double, and would prove big when both runners scored an out later on a Quintero single, giving him 3 RBI on the night. Danny Moskos finished off the frame without any further damage.

Mark Melanchon was dinged for a Lee single in the ninth, but otherwise had no problem collecting his 17th save.

Not much to this game. The Pirates cranked out just five hits, and couldn't make enough plays in the field to support the pitching.

JA Happ and Brian Burres get the nod tomorrow.

A couple of questions: Has Jose Veras worked his way out of Pittsburgh's 2012 plans? Has Dewey worked his way back into them? Has Paul Maholm pitched his last game as a Bucco? And whassup with McCutch, who is now hitting just .267?
Ends up that JT's sore wrist was caused by a small fracture. He'll get ten days of treatment and rest before being reevaluated. Guess it's a good thing Ryan Ludwick is coming back tomorrow.

Notes

2011-09-06T15:32:00.002-04:00

RHP Brad Lincoln (1-1, 3.64) takes on RHP Brett Myers (3-13, 4.81) at 7:05 tonight, weather permitting. The game will be shown on Root Sports.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Garrett Jones RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Ryan Doumit C, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Chase d'Arnaud SS, Brad Lincoln P.

Looks like a kinda random lineup to us; guess that's how September will go. We're still a little befuddled how Matt Hague and Gorkys Hernandez can tear it up and not get a call while Pedro gets his job handed back to him. We keep getting confused by that "accountability" thing.

Paul Maholm and Kevin Correia are done for 2011; both were transferred from the 15-day to 60-day DL. Evan Meek was removed from the DL and is back in Pittsburgh.
The September call-ups are RHP Jared Hughes, LHPs Aaron Thompson, Jeff Locke & Dan Moskos, and 3B Pedro Alvarez.
Yesterday was only the second time RHP James McDonald worked more than seven innings (he went 7-1/3 frames) in his short career. He went eight innings last September against the Mets..
Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors has a post about players with options at the end of the year. The Bucs have three - Ryan Doumit, Chris Snyder, and Ronny Cedeno - and he expects the Pirates to pass on all three.
West Virginia Power RHP Zack Von Rosenberg was named the Class A South Atlantic League pitcher of the week for throwing 6 perfect innings with 6 strikeouts in his last start.

J-Mac Sharp, Bucs Win 3-1

2011-09-05T19:02:00.000-04:00

The Bucs were determined to get today's game in, as the Astros were here for their last visit to Pittsburgh and the wet weather was supposed to keep on comin'. They did, too, although the announced crowd of 13,336 may have been half that in reality.

It required an hour delay to get the field back in shape and the game was played in a drizzle, but it was worth the effort as the Pirates played a much cleaner game today than yesterday and came home with a 3-1 win.

As with most victories, it started with the pitching. J-Mac had one of his better outings of the year, going 7-1/3 innings and giving up a run on three hits with three walks and six K's. The only tally he surrendered was partially on him and partially on JT. McDonald's mistake was walking pitcher Henry Sosa on four pitches; JT's was misplaying a two-out fly ball into a triple to let him score in the third.

The inning before, the Bucs missed their first opportunity against Sosa thanks to a slow field. Neil Walker drew a one-out walk and Dewey doubled him to third. Doumit's ball had a chance to get to the wall, but was cut off after taking a couple of soft bounces in the soggy OF.

With the infield in, Josh Harrison hit a grounder that was slicing away from third; Walker hesitated and started home. He was easy pickings at the dish when the ball hit the turf and took a couple of small hops into the glove of third baseman Jimmy Paredes. Gotta watch that ball go through, Neil.

The Pirates rallied in the fourth. The soft field helped when McCutch led off with an infield single that was double clutched by Paredes followed by Derrek Lee getting plunked on the back. Doumit drilled a one-out double to plate one run and a Harrison knock up the middle scored another. Ronny Cedeno walked to load the bases, but J-Mac rolled back to the hill to start an inning ending 1-2-3 DP.

Lee gave the Bucs a big insurance run in the eighth when he popped his 16th homer the opposite way off Wil Lopez to make it 3-1.

The Astros had a couple of chances, but couldn't deliver the clutch knock. Jordan Schaefer was thrown out at home in the sixth trying to score on a grounder to Walker. In the eighth, they chased J-Mac with a pair of walks, but Jason Grilli put out the fire. And Hanny gave up two hits and a walk in the ninth, but Paredes was thrown out by Walker trying to score on a bloop, and Hanrahan left runners on second and third to notch his 35th save.

Pittsburgh didn't exactly blast the cover off the ball today, but they were sharp in the field except for Tabata's misadventure (and that's just part of the learning process; the balls sent to right generally have opposite reads of those hit to left). When you get good pitching, that's often enough.

Brett Myers squares off against Brad Lincoln tomorrow.

Dewey had three hits, including two doubles, to up his BA to .291.
JT left the game in the fourth when his wrist acted up on him. We expect to see him with plenty of down time this month, especially with Ryan Ludwick due back Wednesday.
Brian Burres will take Jeff Karstens' start Wednesday.
Chris Snyder is officially done for the year.
Clint Hurdle told the beat gang that Matt Hague and Gorkys Hernandez won't get called to Pittsburgh after Indy's season. With Derrek Lee getting the nod at first and four OF'ers to rotate, he said there just aren't enough at-bats available to get them any meaningful playing time.
Starling Marte won the 2011 Eastern League batting title today. He hit .332 for Altoona, and his 178 hits set a Curve record.

Bucs Go Down 6-3

2011-09-04T19:06:00.001-04:00

Could the Bucs actually sweep somebody? Well, hey, let's not get crazy.

The score may have been 6-3 Cubs, but the Bucs played another game where they couldn't do any of the little, professional things right. A thrown away DP ball; fours steals against (two didn't even draw a throw, and the two that did weren't close enough to merit a tag), nine walks, no one covering first on a bunt, a runner scoring from second on an infield single, a starting pitcher that couldn't get through the fifth, loading the bases with no outs and not scoring, eight more strikeouts...*sigh* It's enough to drive a Sunday School teacher to drink.

The Bucs scored in the first when Alex Presley singled, stole second, and scored on Derrek Lee's two-out knock. Then they were goosed egged until the eighth, when Neil Walker drilled his twelfth homer with Lee aboard. The Cubs scored by plating runs in five different innings against three pitchers. They didn't have any extra base hits; the walks and miscues were plenty enough to prime the pump. Chicago still stranded 13 runners, keeping the score respectable.

The Pirates are home tomorrow for Labor Day against the Astros. Henry Sosa takes on James McDonald.

Altoona announced their 2011 team awards: MVP - Starling Marte, Pitcher of Year - Kyle McPherson, Fireman of Year - Bryan Morris, Unsung Hero - Mike Colla, Iron Man & Teammate of the Year - Brock Holt. Even nicer, Marte was also named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year, the first Curve player ever to win that honor.

Notes

2011-09-04T11:55:00.000-04:00

RHP Charlie Morton (9-8, 3.74) takes on RHP Randy Wells (6-4, 5.06) at 2:20 PM. The game will be shown on Root Sports.

Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Josh Harrison 3B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, Mike McKenry C, Charlie Morton P.

McKenry remains Morton's caddy, and Brandon Wood remains the forgotten man as Harrison gets a long look. The middle of the order looks a lot more potent with Lee in the middle, doesn't it? JT gets the day off, we're assuming to rest his wrist. It'll be a heck of a juggling act for Clint Hurdle to work McCutch, Tabata, Presley, Ludwick and possibly Jones into an outfield rotation this month.

Derrek Lee's grand slam yesterday shouldn't have been that big a surprise (except for the superb timing); he now has seven at Wrigley Field, one behind the all-time leader Ernie Banks.
Indy was officially eliminated from playoff consideration yesterday, and Pedro Ciriaco got the September call-up, his sixth promotion to the big club this season. The tribe season ends Monday afternoon, so that's when the remaining call-ups should come. Ciriaco got an early nod probably as both a reward for his travel miles and because the Bucs don't have a legitimate backup glove for the middle infield.