Notes And News

 A little news to keep the baseball fires lit:

• Tom Singer of MLB.com wrote that Domincan rookie Starling Marte cited Vladimir Guerrero as the ballplayer he most looks up to.
• Steve Stevenson of the Steel City Sports Report wrote "The Nationals Show The Pirates How Not To Handle Gerrit Cole."
• It's a week old bit of speculation, but Jeff Moore of Rant Sports suggests that Nick Swisher might be a fit for the Bucs.
• Tristan Cockroft of ESPN listed the early fantasy line on top 75 starting pitchers for 2013 and included AJ Burnett (48), James McDonald (60) and Wandy Rodriguez (73) among them.
• Matt Eddy of Baseball America picked the Top Ten minor league free agent signings of the past season, and three have Pirate connections: Brandon Moss of the As, who thrived in a platoon setting at first base, along with infielders Pedro Ciriaco of the Red Sox and Luis Cruz of the Dodgers, both of whom look like solid bets to claim at least bench, if not starting, spots in 2013.
• Kristina Kahrl of The Sweet Spot posted "Leyland Uses Every Bullet," showing how he used his NL managerial toolkit to steer the Tigers through the season and to the World Series.
• Some old Bucs that were waived or are free agents: OF Ryan Ludwick (who is seeking a longer-term deal with the Reds), OF Nate McLouth, RHP Ross Ohlendorf, C Ronnie Paulino, SS Brian Bixler, RHP Kip Wells, RHP Ryota Igarashi, LHP Justin Thomas, LHP Garrett Olson, LHP Dana Eveland, C Carlos Maldonado, C Luke Carlin and C Steve Lerud. Pirate farmhands RHP Evan Meek, LHP Doug Slaten and UT Drew Sutton declared for minor league free agency after the season ended.
• Hard to believe, but Neal Huntington is the second-longest tenured GM in the NL Central, behind only the Brewers' Doug Melvin, who was hired in 2002.
• Upcoming signing dates: 12 days after the World Series is the deadline for arbitration; November 30th to tender contracts; the 40-man roster has to be set by December 3rd, and the Rule 5 draft is on December 6th.

Trades Rumored, Trades Made

Ryan Dempster and Anibal Sanchez were both traded today. What they have in common are that they're rental players and got a top prospect in return for nine weeks of service, which doesn't bode well for Pittsburgh's chances of landing a big name. The FO has made it plain that it isn't going to play a mortgage-the-future game. They seem to have moved on from the Upton chase, so we'll see in the next week if they have a different blockbuster in the works, add some serviceable pieces (perhaps from Indy), or something in between.

• Tom Singer of MLB.com wrote that the "Pirates may look in again on Houston's Wandy Rodriguez, who's been on market since winter. Prefer to add a lefty." He added "The Pirates are so into a lefty, beyond Wandy Rodriguez, they're also talking Francisco Liriano and, as we heard long ago, Paul Maholm."
• Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review posted that there is a "decent pool of pitchers on the trade market and Pirates might wade in. They have mild interest in Joe Blanton; Phils have scouted AA Altoona."
• Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Bucs have "mild interest" in IF Mario Scutaro.
• Well, the old trade market is beginning to fall into place. Ryan Dempster is supposed to go to the Braves for Top 50 prospect RHP Randall Delgado, 22, who is having a bumpy ride (4-9, 4.42) in his rookie season.
  
• The Tigers just traded for RHP Anibal Sanchez and former Tiger 2B Omar Infante of the Fish (told ya the Bucs drove Miami into seller mode) for 21 year old RHP Jacob Turner, Motown's #1 pick in 2009 and top ranked prospect going into 2012, along with minor leaguers C Rob Brantly, 23, their #7 prospect, and 22 year old, 6'8" AA-LHP Brian Flynn. They also exchanged competitive lottery pick positions. Wonder if the Bucs are kicking Josh Johnson's tires yet?
  
• Jack Curry of YES (Yankees Entertainment and Sports) tweeted that "The Yankees have acquired (Seattle's) Ichiro Suzuki for RHPs DJ Mitchell and Danny Fahrquhar." Icharo ain't what he used to be (.261 BA), and the return ain't much, either - Farhquhar isn't even on the 40 man roster and was DFA'ed by Oakland in June. The Yankees also got cash in the deal, like they need it. Nice, low risk deal for the Bronx Bombers; the new Yankee Stadium could get Icharo's bat cracking again after a lifetime at Safeco.

Wednesday Lineup & Notes

The Nats' LHP Ross Detwiler (3-1, 1.59) goes against LHP Erik Bedard (2-4, 2.65). Detwiler bumped John Lannan out of the DC rotation during camp, and has been lights out since. Bedard has been on a strikeout tear for Pittsburgh, with 20 K in his past 10 IP. The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired on Root Sports.

The lineup:  Jose Tabata RF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Casey McGehee 1B, Yamaico Navarro LF, Rod Barajas C, Josh Harrison SS, Erik Bedard P.

Presley and Jones sit against the lefty, and Harrison gets a turn at SS. Pedro is the only LH in the lineup.

• Jeff Snedden at Rumbunter looks at the potential partners and options for a Joel Hanrahan trade. In an associated article, Gil Gerard of Rant Sports rates a Hanny deal at the top of his list of 15 players on the trade block.
• Tim Williams at Pirates Prospects examines who's ready to step in from Indy. Not much in the way of bats, but plenty of arms worth a look. 
• James Krug of issportwebs takes a look at his top ten list of Pirate prospects and how they're faring.
• OK, you web fans: The Pirates announced their first Social Media Night of 2012 will be held on Friday, May 25th, when they host the Cubs. Folk who follow the team’s official Twitter feed (@Pirates) or like the official Facebook page can get $10 off an outfield box seat (regularly $24) and an invite to a pregame reception. The Pirates will throw in a free tee and game giveaways.
• The Nationals inked old Bucco LHP Mike Gonzalez to a minor league contract yesterday. Gonzo was the Buc closer in 2006 and was traded during that off-season to Atlanta as part of the Adam LaRoche deal. He's working his way back after off-season knee surgery.
• Another blast from the blast: After being released by the White Sox, 35 year old RHP Kip Wells signed a minor league deal with the Padres.
• Ex-Bucco prospect Big Country Brad Eldred spent a week in the show with Detroit before being DFA'ed back to AAA.
• Texas OF Josh Hamilton became the 16th MLB player to hit 4 home runs in a game, adding 8 RBI and an AL-record 18 total bases against the O's last night.
• Dave Cameron of Fangraphs comes down hard on bunts: " It (the bunt) is not always the wrong move, but it is used far too often and in too many situations where swinging away is more likely to produce a positive result. We don’t live in 1953 anymore...at some point in our lifetime, teams are going to start hiring managers who understand that giving away an out should be a rare occurrence."

Movin' Along...

• 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.

Last Minute Xmas Shopping

• 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.

Saturday Sidebars

• 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

• 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.

New CBA, New World

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.