steady freddie is backkkkk...

Freddie takes a bow from Pirates.com
(photo by John Heller, AP)

Hey, for a change it wasn't the X-Man, Nate the Great or Ryan Doumit riding to the rescue - it was bantomweight Freddie Sanchez collecting two more hits at the top of the order and driving in all three Bucco runs who was tonight's hero.

What else would you call the guy that finished the game with a two out, game winning single in the ninth? And the other two RBI's came on a bases loaded double - with 2 outs. Pretty clutch hitting for the Buc's second sacker, no?

Oh, and he started one double play in the sixth and turned another in the ninth. Both were timely team-ups with Brian Bixler, and snuffed out potential game breaking innings by Atlanta. Sanchez played about as well this evening at PNC as his Penguin compadre Geno Malkin did in the Mellon Arena.

And if you're keeping score, that's nine hits in four games since he was moved to the lead off spot (9-17, .529).

Let's also give lotsa love to Ian Snell, who despite six walks hung around for seven innings and didn't allow Tom Glavine's strong outing to bury the Bucs in an early grave. The Braves only had two hits off him, and he K'd five. Snell kept Pittsburgh in the game and when he left, Pittsburgh was up 2-1.

Snell is doing a nice job of learning how to manage a game with runners aboard. His opponent batting average of .143 with RISP is the best in the NL from 2007 to today.

The only bummer was the work of set-up men Damaso Marte and Tyler Yates, who together gave up four hits, a walk, and a run while only getting three outs. Tonight John Grabow came in and got the win with a punchout and DP ball to keep the Braves off the board in the ninth inning.

The innings may be beginning to take a toll on their arms. It's tough when you have to roll out the same three or four guys every night. Of course, winning four in a row is a pretty nice trade off.

The Braves had a six game winning streak snapped tonight. It looks like this series will be much more interesting and certainly better played than the first one of the year. We'll see tomorrow.

On the Pirate front: Damaso Marte had his streak of 22 consecutive outs broken by Mark Teixiera, who singled off him in the eighth.

Tyler Yates got the first blown save credited to a Pirate in 2008 when he couldn't hold the Buc's one run lead in the eighth inning.

New Bucco Jason Michaels struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh while pinch hitting for Snell, but Sanchez picked him up by coming through with a double at the next at-bat.

For those of you worried about Xavier Nady's wheels, don't be too alarmed. He says he's been playing since the spring with a minor groin tweak (not his troublesome hammy) and it's no big thing. Though he was taken out Thursday, his hustling double to start of the seventh inning tonight should put any concerns to rest.

Houston's Lance Berkman reclaimed the NL RBI lead with a two-run homer off LA's Derrick Lowe. He's ahead of Nady 35-34 as of today in the RBI race. Berkman is in the midst of an unreal hitting streak, batting 16-20 in his past 5 games with five walks.

Going into Friday, Pirates Jason Bay, Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady had combined to lead the majors in homers (20), batting average (.311), slugging percentage (.541) and on-base percentage (.400) as an outfield trio.

freddie sanchez inks his deal

Freddy Sanchez from MLB (photo by Dave Arrigo)

It's about time the Pirates did something worthwhile this offseason. I'm glad that Huntington hung on to his core players if the price wasn't right after suffering through the fire sales of Littlefield. And I'm more glad the middle of our infield is together. I don't believe in dealing away players without having someone ready to step into their spikes.

Jack Wilson is signed until 2009 with a team option for 2010, and now Freddy's inked the same way for the same span. And that's good news, because all we have on the farm is Brian Bixler, who by all published reports isn't ready for prime time yet. He didn't even get a September call up, which mystified me.

But a lot of what McClatchy and Littlefield did was beyond my comprehension. My reading of the tea leaves is that Huntington won't let a player go without a replacement somewhere on the horizon. Instead of blowing the team up, he's looking to strengthen it a piece at a time. At least my guess is that they don't intend to fill one hole by creating another. We'll find out soon enough.

Freddie's deal is this: $4 million in base pay this season, plus a $300,000 signing bonus. He'll make $6.1 million in 2009. In 2010, the Pirates can exercise a club option of $8 million and up to $500,000 in bonuses, or send him on his merry way with a $600,000 buyout to stick in his pocket on the way to free agency.

That option will be vested if Sanchez makes 635 plate appearances in 2009, or he has 600 plate appearances and lands a spot on the All Star team. And based on past experience, if he stays healthy in 2009, he'll meet the trigger. Freddy had 587 plate appearances in 2005 when he was glued to the bench before the Joker, Joe Randa, went down. He collected 625 appearances in 2006 and 645 last year. Sanchez has also been an All-Star the past two seasons. If Russell continues to use him in the two-three hole, he should be able to reach the targets.

$18.9M over three years seems to be a reasonable wage. These new front office guys seem to have a finger on a player's value. The baseball rags I read thought he was worth $15-20M over three years, with most somewhere in the $18M range. It seems both sides are getting a fair shake on the contract.

Freddy earned $2.75M last year, and with his new contract, he's guaranteed another $10.4M for the next two seasons, so that's $13M+ over three arbitration years. Not A-Rod money, but not too bad.

I was one that was squeamish about his move to second last year, and the first few weeks at the position only deepened my suspicions after he missed spring camp with a bum knee and looked out of place there early on. But he came around and finished the year as Steady Freddy at second, not showing great range but snagging everything he could reach.

Freddy's shaky pivot work improved during the course of the season, and hopefully a 100% knee and shoulder will improve it more. His fielding range stat was a tick above the league average, and that's OK. A couple of bouncers will elude him, and a couple more will drop into short right. But all the other balls are outs, and that's a big advantage over the up and down Castillo. Sanchez only booted nine balls last season.

And while he's not a slugger, he's hit .294, .344, and .304 in the past three years (.310 career) and won a batting crown while averaging 83 RBI over the past two seasons. That's a sweet bat for a second baseman.

Second base has been a swinging gate for us this decade. We had Warren Morris in 2000, Pat Meares and Abraham Nunez in 2001, Pokey Reese in 2002, Jeff Reboulet and Nunez in 2003, and then the Castillo years. It'll be good to have some stability up the middle, especially with question marks in center and behind the plate and a starting pitching staff that gives up a ton of ground balls when they're on their game.

I'm happy to see a good guy and a good ballplayer be rewarded for staying the course, especially one that seems genuinely pleased to be in Pittsburgh. Do you remember the raucous ovation Freddy got during the All-Star game introductions at PNC Park in 2006? I think Pittsburgh fans are genuinely pleased to have him here, too.