- 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.
6 comments:
Speaking of "Kevin-Correia-type" pitchers, C. J. Wilson would make a lot of sense for the Pirates. He's definitely benefited from a strong team and lineup behind him in Texas and he's no Hall of Famer, but he is in his prime and he would be a far better bet to be able to take the ball every fifth day than Paul Maholm would be. Like I've said before, "reliably average" is better than "intermittently good". At least you know what you're getting with the "reliably average" pitchers and can build around them with a better idea of what you have to do to win, as opposed to hoping you'll catch lightning in a bottle with a given guy if he can ever stay healthy for a few weeks.
C.J. Wilson is the top FA pitcher if you don't include the Sabathia opt-out or Darvish from Japan. He's probably going to get a Jon Lackey type deal from someone. He won't be coming to the Pirates.
As long as it's not Doug Davis!
If Wilson is "the top free agent pitcher" then this is an exceptionally thin year. Nothing wrong with him, but there's no way I'd pony up Lackey money for him, I don't care how bad things could get for the Pirates. And they could get really, REALLY bad, folks. Morton is no sure thing even without his worse-than-you-might-think surgery, and if Maholm departs as expected (and he should, unless he takes a big pay cut), we're down to McDonald, Karstens, and B-rad. After that, it's Faith, Hope, and Charity!
Seriously, rather than overpay for a merely better than average guy like Wilson, it would be much better to do a kids-for-veteran-arm deal. I bed Wandy Rodriguez could still be had from the Astros, and who cares about trading within the division because if rumors are true, they'll be moving to the AL in 2013anyway.
Well, we'd also have Correia, but he was hurt late in the year and I don't know how healthy he'll be in 2012. He'll have every motivation to keep taking the ball, though, given that it's his walk year.
We'll see who fits what they're looking for, Will. Heck, maybe they'll take a flyer on Chris Young and see if they can get 150 innings out of him. His woes are supposed to be mechanics-related, so maybe our tweak doctors can straighten him out.
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