Hey, the 'Stros can't throw Mike Hampton against the Pirates every night. Roy Oswalt took the hill, and the Bucs rode two big innings to a 6-4 victory.
Houston drew first blood when Hunter Pence bombed a two-run, first inning shot off of Paul Maholm. Pittsburgh came back with a pair of three-run innings in the second and third to take a 6-2 lead.
They made the most of their eleven hits, bunching eight of them in those two innings and scoring four times with two outs.
The Astros chipped away, but Maholm hung in for seven frames and turned over a 6-4 lead to the bullpen in the eighth. John Grabow escaped that inning, stranding a pair after walking the first batter.
The Bucs blew a gift run in the ninth when lead-off hitter Nyjer Morgan reached on an error and stole second. But he gave it right back when he tried to steal third - with nobody out! - and was picked off by LaTroy Hawkins. Of course, Freddy Sanchez followed with a single.
But no matter. Matt Capps came in and threw gas, touching 97 MPH, and kept the ball down. He got three routine outs, with a two-out excuse-me single the only blemish. It was Capp's 13th save in 15 opportunities and Maholm's fourth win, his first since late April.
And hey, all's well that ends well.
-- Jack Wilson hurt his right arm reaching back for a ball at second in the eighth inning. He stayed in the game and seemed to be throwing OK, but he was pretty uncomfortable, constantly tugging at and stretching his wing. We'll see if it costs the increasingly fragile Jack Splat any time.
-- Andrew McCutchen has all the tools to be an outstanding center fielder, but he's shown a serious case of the nonchalants on a couple of plays so far. Hopefully JR and Gary Varsho will get his act in gear. McCutch needs to develop the focus of Nyjer Morgan and the late Great Nate to blossom into a force in the field.
It's only human nature that a first-rounder with all the physical tools coasts from time to time, unlike afterthoughts Morgan and McLouth, who had to earn every inning they've ever played. But he's in the show now, and the thin line between good and great is drawn on doing the little things well and at 100%.
-- Adam LaRoche stole his first base of the year. He's up to quota now; LaRoche has had one stolen sack every year as a Bucco. The next one will be gravy. And hey, he and bro Andy had a pretty good night. They banged out back-to-hits in the second and third innings, igniting the Pirate attack against Oswalt.
-- Astro RHP Chris Sampson has as much of a hex on Pittsburgh as Mike Hampton. He's gone 14 outings covering 22 innings against the Bucs without yielding a run. Only Nolan Ryan and Octavio Dotel have strung together longer scoreless streaks for the Astros against Pittsburgh.
-- Neal Huntington released a letter to the fans explaining the McLouth trade. Why explain? Well, as the man writes: "We knew this move was not going to be popular in the clubhouse with our players or among our fan base who have suffered through a long stretch of losing seasons." Amen to that.
-- The draft is Tuesday, and there are two schools of thought regarding the Buccos pick. One school believes they'll go cheap in the first round, signing a position player, and then be able to spend more money on pitching in the later rounds.
The other school thinks that with clearing Nate McLouth's salary for the rest of the year, they could go for a big-bucks guy like Aaron Crow, who sat out a year rather than take $3M last go-around. The Pirate selection process should be interesting; there aren't any real favorites this time around, and both plans have their strengths in a draft that's not top-heavy but pretty deep.
-- The Pirates have to learn to play ball against their division if they want to go anywhere. Right now, they're 26-29, 6-1/2 games behind the Brew Crew. In Central play, Pittsburgh is 10-20, and has a losing record against every team in the division.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Pre-Game Potpourri
-- Here's one to ponder: Buster Olney of ESPN in his blog (subscriber only) says, according to MLB Trade Rumors, that he heard that the Pirates were concerned about Nate McLouth's defensive abilities, so they moved him now before his trade value diminished.
We know the Braves plan to shift him to a corner once primo prospect Jordan Schafer is ready for the show, just as the Pirates would have done when Andrew McCutchen came up, but still... Have the stat freaks taken over the game that much? He'll never be known as a rifleman, but he did cover some ground and was certainly a more than adequate glove in center.
GW would hate to think the suits are floating little balloons out to the media in a CYA effort after the fan beating they took over the deal.
-- In his Ump Bump blog, Nick Kapur picks one player every team should cut. His Bucco choice:
He was 1-3 with six saves and a 1.14 ERA in 21 relief appearances with AAA Lehigh Valley this season. He pitched in the show for seven seasons with Arizona (2001-06) and Cleveland (2007), going 15-7 with two saves and a 3.82 ERA in 222 games.
Why doesn't it surprise us that his his last MLB stop was with the Indians?
-- Listen, the Nate McLouth trade was a stunner. But consider what GM Frank Wren did on Wednesday to change the face of the Braves: He cut Tom Glavine, promoted Tommy Hanson and traded for McLouth. Now that's shake-up. And he's supposed to be looking at Brad Penny. All that from a contender, yet.
-- The MLB is trying to build a little buzz around draft day, ala the NFL. According to the Biz of Baseball, the changes include:
We know the Braves plan to shift him to a corner once primo prospect Jordan Schafer is ready for the show, just as the Pirates would have done when Andrew McCutchen came up, but still... Have the stat freaks taken over the game that much? He'll never be known as a rifleman, but he did cover some ground and was certainly a more than adequate glove in center.
GW would hate to think the suits are floating little balloons out to the media in a CYA effort after the fan beating they took over the deal.
-- In his Ump Bump blog, Nick Kapur picks one player every team should cut. His Bucco choice:
OF Brandon Moss: Lots of people have mentioned how one good side of trading away Nate McLouth was that it has “cleared playing time for blocked prospect Andrew McCutchen.” But hardly anyone mentions that one of the players who was allegedly “blocking” McCutchen is Brandon Moss, a corner outfielder who has been playing every day this season despite posting a .310 OBP and only a single home run.-- RHP Mike Koplove, 32, was signed by the Pirates as a free agent from the Phil's organization and sent to AAA Indianapolis.
He was 1-3 with six saves and a 1.14 ERA in 21 relief appearances with AAA Lehigh Valley this season. He pitched in the show for seven seasons with Arizona (2001-06) and Cleveland (2007), going 15-7 with two saves and a 3.82 ERA in 222 games.
Why doesn't it surprise us that his his last MLB stop was with the Indians?
-- Listen, the Nate McLouth trade was a stunner. But consider what GM Frank Wren did on Wednesday to change the face of the Braves: He cut Tom Glavine, promoted Tommy Hanson and traded for McLouth. Now that's shake-up. And he's supposed to be looking at Brad Penny. All that from a contender, yet.
-- The MLB is trying to build a little buzz around draft day, ala the NFL. According to the Biz of Baseball, the changes include:
The 2009 First-Year Player Draft will expand from two days to three days, with the final two days being conducted via conference call from MLB headquarters in New York City.
The first day will consist of the first 111 picks, including Round One, Compensation Round A, Round Two, Round Three and Compensation Round B. There will be four minutes between first round picks and one minute between all other selections. On Wednesday, June 10th, the Draft will resume in the fourth round at 12:00 p.m. (EDT) and will be tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The Draft will conclude on Thursday, June 11th, which is set to cover the 31st-50th rounds, beginning at 11:30 a.m. (EDT).
MLB Network will broadcast the selections made in the first round live.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Hampton, Houston, Hammer Bucs
Hey, against the rest of the league, Mike Hampton is a batting practice pitcher. But show up with a "P" over your heart, and he turns into Sandy friggin' Koufax.
Hampton went seven innings, and gave up a run on five singles with five punch-outs as the 'Stros rolled over the Bucs 9-1 at Minute Maid park tonight.
He has four wins and an ERA of 4.65, with three coming against Pittsburgh. The Pirates have scored two runs in twenty innings against the veteran lefty. Even by Bucco standards, that's domination.
Not that he needed much help. Jeff Karstens had a tough third inning, and then lost it in the sixth. In 5-2/3 frames, he surrendered six runs on nine hits with four walks.
Evan Meek made sure the stake was driven through the Buc's heart when he came on and gave up a couple of walks followed by a Carlos Lee grand salami before he got the third out.
Ah well, good one to get out the system, we hope. Paul Maholm tries to right the ship tomorrow against Roy Oswalt.
-- We're wondering if the Bucs would be better served by using Craig Monroe when there's a lefty on the mound.
He's averaging .263 against port-siders, while Nyjer Morgan was hitting .156 against southpaws. Freddy Sanchez could slide back into the two hole, where he's batting .337; he's hitting .172 in the third spot so far this season.
JR says he's committed to Andrew McCutchen and Morgan at the top and Sanchez in the RBI spot; we'll see how that works out.
It may just be a statistical blip so far this year because of a small sample size (29 at-bats) for Freddy. In his career, Sanchez has batted third more than any other position in the order and has a .309 lifetime average there.
Still, if Morgan can't get it on against lefties...
-- It's gonna take a while for the outfield to get back in order. McCutchen has to learn to take charge and the guys have to learn to mesh again; we saw some hesitation on a couple of balls that may have been catchable. Spring training over again...
McCutch had an 0-for tonight, but he hit the ball on the nose three times in four appearances.
-- Nate McLouth sounds about ready to turn the page. He told Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that
-- In a post by NBC's Matthew Pouliot of "Circling the Bases" that rates possible NL Rookie of the Year candidates ranked by VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), guess who's fifth? Jason Jaramillo.
-- Not such a great mention: Baseball America's latest "Prospect Hot Sheet" has newly acquired LHP Jeff Locke on it - under the "Not So Hot" section! Great welcome to a new organization, hey?
-- If you're still wondering why Jay Bay was dealt, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports has the answer in a nutshell: "Bay's numbers would put him in the neighborhood of fellow Boston corner outfielder J.D. Drew, who agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal..."
-- Why is taking a pitcher such a roll of dice in the draft? Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has one reason in his article "Overuse of College Pitchers A Concern."
Hampton went seven innings, and gave up a run on five singles with five punch-outs as the 'Stros rolled over the Bucs 9-1 at Minute Maid park tonight.
He has four wins and an ERA of 4.65, with three coming against Pittsburgh. The Pirates have scored two runs in twenty innings against the veteran lefty. Even by Bucco standards, that's domination.
Not that he needed much help. Jeff Karstens had a tough third inning, and then lost it in the sixth. In 5-2/3 frames, he surrendered six runs on nine hits with four walks.
Evan Meek made sure the stake was driven through the Buc's heart when he came on and gave up a couple of walks followed by a Carlos Lee grand salami before he got the third out.
Ah well, good one to get out the system, we hope. Paul Maholm tries to right the ship tomorrow against Roy Oswalt.
-- We're wondering if the Bucs would be better served by using Craig Monroe when there's a lefty on the mound.
He's averaging .263 against port-siders, while Nyjer Morgan was hitting .156 against southpaws. Freddy Sanchez could slide back into the two hole, where he's batting .337; he's hitting .172 in the third spot so far this season.
JR says he's committed to Andrew McCutchen and Morgan at the top and Sanchez in the RBI spot; we'll see how that works out.
It may just be a statistical blip so far this year because of a small sample size (29 at-bats) for Freddy. In his career, Sanchez has batted third more than any other position in the order and has a .309 lifetime average there.
Still, if Morgan can't get it on against lefties...
-- It's gonna take a while for the outfield to get back in order. McCutchen has to learn to take charge and the guys have to learn to mesh again; we saw some hesitation on a couple of balls that may have been catchable. Spring training over again...
McCutch had an 0-for tonight, but he hit the ball on the nose three times in four appearances.
-- Nate McLouth sounds about ready to turn the page. He told Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that
"You want to win when you’re an athlete, not a lot of that went on there when I was over there,” McLouth said. “It’s unfortunate because there are a lot of people over there who work hard and deserve it. But to come into a situation like this where winning is expected, winning happens, it’s a breath of fresh air.”-- And the story goes on. Howard Megdal of MLB Trade Rumors has a short piece "Who Goes In A Pirate Firesale." *sigh* Who's safe?
-- In a post by NBC's Matthew Pouliot of "Circling the Bases" that rates possible NL Rookie of the Year candidates ranked by VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), guess who's fifth? Jason Jaramillo.
-- Not such a great mention: Baseball America's latest "Prospect Hot Sheet" has newly acquired LHP Jeff Locke on it - under the "Not So Hot" section! Great welcome to a new organization, hey?
-- If you're still wondering why Jay Bay was dealt, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports has the answer in a nutshell: "Bay's numbers would put him in the neighborhood of fellow Boston corner outfielder J.D. Drew, who agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal..."
-- Why is taking a pitcher such a roll of dice in the draft? Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has one reason in his article "Overuse of College Pitchers A Concern."
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Life Goes On, Bro
OK, we're not quite so down on the McLouth deal as everyone else, like GW's erstwhile commentator Will Pellas, seem to be.
Now we're not exactly enraptured by the return the Bucs got. CF Gorkys Hernandez, 21, is a speedster with a great glove and popgun bat; he could end up being a lead-off hitter or the sitting in the eight hole. He sounds suspiciously to us like Andrew McCutchen lite.
RHP Charlie Morton, 25, could be a late bloomer; he was wracked in Atlanta last year, but was pitching with an achy back. He could end up as a back-of-the-rotation guy, a set-up man, or John Van Benschoten's second coming.
The management hopes that he performs well enough to at least become a burr under the saddles of Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, and yes, Ian Snell, unlike anyone currently at Indy. And they need a couple of sticks to wave at them about now.
Young LHP Jeff Locke, 21, is the biggest gamble. The report on him is that if he can improve his changeup, he has the ability to become a #2-3 starter; his fastball and curve are already plus pitches.
Like Bryan Morris, he's got a high ceiling, but time will tell. He should probably be up to the AA level at his age, but they're starting him at Lynchburg.
Now we'd like to have seen a top gun or ace in the deal. But the Pirate suits must have liked what they saw. By all accounts, they weren't pushing McLouth or dumping salary.
They thought the Braves offered them a nice baseball deal. Hey, it's like every other move for prospects. Get three, hope one or two sticks as a contributor down the road.
They also did what they had to eventually do, which is clear a spot for McCutchen; you can't tell a kid that's ready to play that he has to tread water endlessly until he bunts better.
And face it - McLouth is 27, and McCutch is 22. McCutch runs as well, fields better, and will probably have a better OBP. But he won't have the pop. And that's the downside of the deal. Take away Pedro Alvarez and maybe Jose Tabata, and there are no big boppers in the organization. They need to find a couple.
One thing we wouldn't be too concerned about is grumbling from the locker room. The older guys can read; they already know they're on the MLB version of Craig's List.
The younger guys are trying to make a name for themselves in the show and at the same time, claim ownership of the team. Both cadres are pros, and the season has a long way to play out yet.
No, what really bugs us about the trade is the way it breaks trust with the faithful. The Pirate Armada thought that inking McLouth, Ryan Doumit, and Paul Maholm was securing the core of the team. But now it looks like more of the same ol', same ol'.
It's not the suits fault that Dave Littlefield and Kevin McClatchy left them a Lazerus to raise. But it is their fault that they aren't honest about their goals. Don't tell the ticket-buyers that the aim is to win now when the truth is that you're rebuilding a system that's dysfunctional. They've yet to receive replacement value in a trade.
Ya know what the fans are talking about now? How down the road, they're gonna dump McCutch to clear a spot for Hernandez. Why not? They've done it with every other good ballplayer that's come through Pittsburgh in the last fifteen years.
That's the attitude the suits have to overcome, and they don't seem to realize it. Fans are many things, but they're not fools. They know BS from plain speakin' by now.
Ah, well. Maybe McCutch will become the Rookie-of-the-Year and the Bucs will win 83 games. That will quiet the crowd.
Now we're not exactly enraptured by the return the Bucs got. CF Gorkys Hernandez, 21, is a speedster with a great glove and popgun bat; he could end up being a lead-off hitter or the sitting in the eight hole. He sounds suspiciously to us like Andrew McCutchen lite.
RHP Charlie Morton, 25, could be a late bloomer; he was wracked in Atlanta last year, but was pitching with an achy back. He could end up as a back-of-the-rotation guy, a set-up man, or John Van Benschoten's second coming.
The management hopes that he performs well enough to at least become a burr under the saddles of Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, and yes, Ian Snell, unlike anyone currently at Indy. And they need a couple of sticks to wave at them about now.
Young LHP Jeff Locke, 21, is the biggest gamble. The report on him is that if he can improve his changeup, he has the ability to become a #2-3 starter; his fastball and curve are already plus pitches.
Like Bryan Morris, he's got a high ceiling, but time will tell. He should probably be up to the AA level at his age, but they're starting him at Lynchburg.
Now we'd like to have seen a top gun or ace in the deal. But the Pirate suits must have liked what they saw. By all accounts, they weren't pushing McLouth or dumping salary.
They thought the Braves offered them a nice baseball deal. Hey, it's like every other move for prospects. Get three, hope one or two sticks as a contributor down the road.
They also did what they had to eventually do, which is clear a spot for McCutchen; you can't tell a kid that's ready to play that he has to tread water endlessly until he bunts better.
And face it - McLouth is 27, and McCutch is 22. McCutch runs as well, fields better, and will probably have a better OBP. But he won't have the pop. And that's the downside of the deal. Take away Pedro Alvarez and maybe Jose Tabata, and there are no big boppers in the organization. They need to find a couple.
One thing we wouldn't be too concerned about is grumbling from the locker room. The older guys can read; they already know they're on the MLB version of Craig's List.
The younger guys are trying to make a name for themselves in the show and at the same time, claim ownership of the team. Both cadres are pros, and the season has a long way to play out yet.
No, what really bugs us about the trade is the way it breaks trust with the faithful. The Pirate Armada thought that inking McLouth, Ryan Doumit, and Paul Maholm was securing the core of the team. But now it looks like more of the same ol', same ol'.
It's not the suits fault that Dave Littlefield and Kevin McClatchy left them a Lazerus to raise. But it is their fault that they aren't honest about their goals. Don't tell the ticket-buyers that the aim is to win now when the truth is that you're rebuilding a system that's dysfunctional. They've yet to receive replacement value in a trade.
Ya know what the fans are talking about now? How down the road, they're gonna dump McCutch to clear a spot for Hernandez. Why not? They've done it with every other good ballplayer that's come through Pittsburgh in the last fifteen years.
That's the attitude the suits have to overcome, and they don't seem to realize it. Fans are many things, but they're not fools. They know BS from plain speakin' by now.
Ah, well. Maybe McCutch will become the Rookie-of-the-Year and the Bucs will win 83 games. That will quiet the crowd.
Leading Off And Playing Center Field...
Well, it sure can't be said that the Bucs came out flat today against the Mets. Pittsburgh banged out 13 hits and made them count (even though eleven were singles) in pasting the New York nine for the third straight day 11-6.
Andrew McCutchen made his Bucco debut memorable in front of nearly 21,000 fans - a huge crowd by get-away game standards - by going 2-for-4 with a walk, scoring three runs, driving in a RBI, and swiping a base. Nice hello to the local crowd, hey?
McCutch batted lead-off and played center, just like the good ol' days at Indy when he and Nyjer Morgan were the dynamic duo. Morgan seemed to like it; he added two hits including a triple, scored twice, and drove in a run himself.
We think he's gonna like having that hole at second everytime his lil' buddy gets aboard; it makes good baseball sense to bat a lefty second behind a right-handed hitter, everything else being fairly equal.
But another rookie wreaked the most damage. Catcher Jason Jaramillo drove home 4 runs with two-run singles in the first and fourth innings, when the Pirates batted around.
The Big O was swatted around for the second time in a row, demonstrating why the Pirate suits are on the constant lookout for arms. But the Buc bullpen was equal to the task. Another fuzz-faced rook, Steven Jackson, went two scoreless innings to get his first win. It was a big day for the pups.
One somber note. Andy LaRoche took a pitch on the knee, and is day-to-day; it's supposed to be a contusion, so he shouldn't miss much time.
The Pirates move on to Houston for a three game set starting tomorrow night. The pitching match-ups from MLB.com. And then it's off to Atlanta and Nate McLouth's Braves. That'll be a little eerie.
Andrew McCutchen made his Bucco debut memorable in front of nearly 21,000 fans - a huge crowd by get-away game standards - by going 2-for-4 with a walk, scoring three runs, driving in a RBI, and swiping a base. Nice hello to the local crowd, hey?
McCutch batted lead-off and played center, just like the good ol' days at Indy when he and Nyjer Morgan were the dynamic duo. Morgan seemed to like it; he added two hits including a triple, scored twice, and drove in a run himself.
We think he's gonna like having that hole at second everytime his lil' buddy gets aboard; it makes good baseball sense to bat a lefty second behind a right-handed hitter, everything else being fairly equal.
But another rookie wreaked the most damage. Catcher Jason Jaramillo drove home 4 runs with two-run singles in the first and fourth innings, when the Pirates batted around.
The Big O was swatted around for the second time in a row, demonstrating why the Pirate suits are on the constant lookout for arms. But the Buc bullpen was equal to the task. Another fuzz-faced rook, Steven Jackson, went two scoreless innings to get his first win. It was a big day for the pups.
One somber note. Andy LaRoche took a pitch on the knee, and is day-to-day; it's supposed to be a contusion, so he shouldn't miss much time.
The Pirates move on to Houston for a three game set starting tomorrow night. The pitching match-ups from MLB.com. And then it's off to Atlanta and Nate McLouth's Braves. That'll be a little eerie.
Pellas On The Pirates: Thumbs Down To The Nate McLouth Trade
If Braves uberprospect Tommy Hanson had been in this trade, I would've been ambivalent about it. Meaning, ya hate to see Nate leave town, but Hanson becomes your staff ace, so I can see why they did it. Without Hanson---or a similarly lights out prospect---I am absolutely sick about it.
Nate McLouth has just been disrespected in Pittsburgh for the last time. When push came to shove, in the end, whether it was McClatchey and Littlefield or Nutting and Huntingdon, the front office never really believed in him---despite McLouth's undeniable production every single time he's gotten on the field for any length of time. The ONLY way you make this trade is if 1) you have VERY good reason to believe that McLouth WAYYY overachieved last season and will never again approach those numbers so sell high while you can, and 2) you're getting an offer you simply can't refuse.
In my considered opinion, this trade meets NEITHER of those two criteria. While McLouth has definitely been struggling of late---no question there---he is still on pace for another 20-20 season. Even with a .250-ish batting average, his OPS is still over .800, which is still All-Star range for a center fielder, at least in this era where there aren't many CF types that can really hit.
And even in a worst case scenario with McLouth, at minimum he is STILL a better than average, all around, complete ballplayer in the prime of his career at age 27 who was under team control for VERY reasonable dollars. WHY ON EARTH would you sign him to such a team-friendly contract, call him a building block for the near term, and then panic-deal him at the first signs of a slump? Don't forget, either, that Nate had the ribcage injury earlier in the season. I predict he will soon put that behind him and return to his previous form or something very close to it.
Now, we all know that Andrew McCutchen is ready to play in the bigs. No argument there, and I'm sure he will likewise be at least a better than average all around major league CF---just not right away, and it may be two years or longer before he is roughly equivalent to McLouth, if then. I guarantee he will NEVER hit for the kind of power that McLouth has. There are plenty of questions about McCutchen, and I for one think we are a stronger team with both of them here than with McCutchen only. Further, an outfield of Morgan-McCutchen-McLouth would have been far and away the best defensive outfield in all of baseball. Which it would have had to be to make up for mediocre offensive numbers---except from Nate, who of course is now in Atlanta.
A Pirates outfield of Morgan-McCutchen-(Moss/Young/Hinske etc) is not only defensively inferior but also takes a huge hit with the stick and---don't forget---on the basepaths. With Morgan and McLouth, we had just enough team speed to have some options in how we play the game. Without McLouth, we have only Morgan, and he is no McLouth (or even Juan Pierre) with a bat in his hands. Nor, apparently, is this kid we got from the Braves. Where is HE going to play? Oh, that's right: he goes to double-A Altoona, after being traded twice in less than two seasons. Does that generally happen to elite prospects? Anybody remember Andy Marte? Look him up if you don't know who he is, er, was.
And no, McCutchen doesn't count in the basestealing department because despite his great speed, he is NOT a high percentage basestealer. If he couldn't get it done in the minors, what, all of a sudden he's McLouth or better now that he's in the majors? I don't think so. Nor do we have enough leadfooted sluggers that it doesn't matter that we have next to nobody who can steal or even take an extra base to put some pressure on the opposition. Somebody should remind Neil Huntington that this is Pittsburgh, not Cleveland or Boston.
No, too, on the pitchers we got from Atlanta. I'll go out on a limb and say I'm more than a little skeptical that either one of them will ever be anything close to two other hurlers who came from the Braves to the Pirates, guys named Jason Schmidt and Zane Smith.
Nope, no, nyet, negative, forget it, I'm not buying it. Not this time. Bay and Nady, yes. They were going to be much too expensive free agents. McLouth, NO WAY.
TWO HUGE THUMBS DOWN TO THIS TRADE.
(Hey, the Bucs finally roused Will Pellas to step up to the batters box!)
Nate McLouth has just been disrespected in Pittsburgh for the last time. When push came to shove, in the end, whether it was McClatchey and Littlefield or Nutting and Huntingdon, the front office never really believed in him---despite McLouth's undeniable production every single time he's gotten on the field for any length of time. The ONLY way you make this trade is if 1) you have VERY good reason to believe that McLouth WAYYY overachieved last season and will never again approach those numbers so sell high while you can, and 2) you're getting an offer you simply can't refuse.
In my considered opinion, this trade meets NEITHER of those two criteria. While McLouth has definitely been struggling of late---no question there---he is still on pace for another 20-20 season. Even with a .250-ish batting average, his OPS is still over .800, which is still All-Star range for a center fielder, at least in this era where there aren't many CF types that can really hit.
And even in a worst case scenario with McLouth, at minimum he is STILL a better than average, all around, complete ballplayer in the prime of his career at age 27 who was under team control for VERY reasonable dollars. WHY ON EARTH would you sign him to such a team-friendly contract, call him a building block for the near term, and then panic-deal him at the first signs of a slump? Don't forget, either, that Nate had the ribcage injury earlier in the season. I predict he will soon put that behind him and return to his previous form or something very close to it.
Now, we all know that Andrew McCutchen is ready to play in the bigs. No argument there, and I'm sure he will likewise be at least a better than average all around major league CF---just not right away, and it may be two years or longer before he is roughly equivalent to McLouth, if then. I guarantee he will NEVER hit for the kind of power that McLouth has. There are plenty of questions about McCutchen, and I for one think we are a stronger team with both of them here than with McCutchen only. Further, an outfield of Morgan-McCutchen-McLouth would have been far and away the best defensive outfield in all of baseball. Which it would have had to be to make up for mediocre offensive numbers---except from Nate, who of course is now in Atlanta.
A Pirates outfield of Morgan-McCutchen-(Moss/Young/Hinske etc) is not only defensively inferior but also takes a huge hit with the stick and---don't forget---on the basepaths. With Morgan and McLouth, we had just enough team speed to have some options in how we play the game. Without McLouth, we have only Morgan, and he is no McLouth (or even Juan Pierre) with a bat in his hands. Nor, apparently, is this kid we got from the Braves. Where is HE going to play? Oh, that's right: he goes to double-A Altoona, after being traded twice in less than two seasons. Does that generally happen to elite prospects? Anybody remember Andy Marte? Look him up if you don't know who he is, er, was.
And no, McCutchen doesn't count in the basestealing department because despite his great speed, he is NOT a high percentage basestealer. If he couldn't get it done in the minors, what, all of a sudden he's McLouth or better now that he's in the majors? I don't think so. Nor do we have enough leadfooted sluggers that it doesn't matter that we have next to nobody who can steal or even take an extra base to put some pressure on the opposition. Somebody should remind Neil Huntington that this is Pittsburgh, not Cleveland or Boston.
No, too, on the pitchers we got from Atlanta. I'll go out on a limb and say I'm more than a little skeptical that either one of them will ever be anything close to two other hurlers who came from the Braves to the Pirates, guys named Jason Schmidt and Zane Smith.
Nope, no, nyet, negative, forget it, I'm not buying it. Not this time. Bay and Nady, yes. They were going to be much too expensive free agents. McLouth, NO WAY.
TWO HUGE THUMBS DOWN TO THIS TRADE.
(Hey, the Bucs finally roused Will Pellas to step up to the batters box!)
Bolt From The Blue
So the Braves solved their outfield conundrum by prying Nate McLouth from the Bucs. We have to admit we didn't see this coming; not because McLouth was an untouchable - he was bandied about some last year - but because there was so little smoke before this fire hit four alarms. So we assume the deal fell together very quickly.
Gorkys Hernandez, 21, was the key. He was batting .316 for AA Mississippi. Hernandez is not a middle-of-the-order guy, but comes out of the Andrew McCutchen mold; in fact, we guess the Pirates envision him and McCutch as the 1-2 men of the future. He'll join Jose Tabata at Altoona for now.
They also picked up pitchers Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton, neither of whom is a lock to ever show up on a PNC mound. The suits see more to them than meets the eye, although Morton is having a breakout year at AAA Gwinnett.
Morton, 25, is a big right-handed power pitcher, with a 7-2 record, 2.51 ERA, and 55 strikeouts in ten starts covering 64-2/3 innings, and a starter. But he has a history of control issues, and was 4-8 in Atlanta last year, with a 6.15 ERA and 41 walks surrendered in 74-2/3 frames, to go with 48 Ks.
Locke, 21, is a lefty starter with potential but not much in the way of production so far in his young career. He was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA for A Myrtle Beach, with 43 strikeouts and 26 walks.
Well, with this swap, the Pirate braintrust has assured us that the future is not just around the corner, but still a good distance down the road. And let's hope, though its probably fruitless, that the remaining Pirates don't go into the deep dark funk that marked the aftermath of the Jay Bay trade.
If you think this deal hits the team hard, the fans have to be completely adrift. The Pirates are being very Darwinian in their moves, and risk losing whatever fan support they have. We can already hear the cries of "salary dump" around the water coolers. Who's going to be the face of the team to the paying public now - Sauerkraut Saul?
And now the Andrew McCutchen era starts. They'll plug him in with Nyjer Morgan in the OF right away, though whether in center or left is yet to be seen; this afternoon's lineup will tell us that.
All we know is that the broom continues in Pittsburgh, and there's no telling where it will stop.
Gorkys Hernandez, 21, was the key. He was batting .316 for AA Mississippi. Hernandez is not a middle-of-the-order guy, but comes out of the Andrew McCutchen mold; in fact, we guess the Pirates envision him and McCutch as the 1-2 men of the future. He'll join Jose Tabata at Altoona for now.
They also picked up pitchers Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton, neither of whom is a lock to ever show up on a PNC mound. The suits see more to them than meets the eye, although Morton is having a breakout year at AAA Gwinnett.
Morton, 25, is a big right-handed power pitcher, with a 7-2 record, 2.51 ERA, and 55 strikeouts in ten starts covering 64-2/3 innings, and a starter. But he has a history of control issues, and was 4-8 in Atlanta last year, with a 6.15 ERA and 41 walks surrendered in 74-2/3 frames, to go with 48 Ks.
Locke, 21, is a lefty starter with potential but not much in the way of production so far in his young career. He was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA for A Myrtle Beach, with 43 strikeouts and 26 walks.
Well, with this swap, the Pirate braintrust has assured us that the future is not just around the corner, but still a good distance down the road. And let's hope, though its probably fruitless, that the remaining Pirates don't go into the deep dark funk that marked the aftermath of the Jay Bay trade.
If you think this deal hits the team hard, the fans have to be completely adrift. The Pirates are being very Darwinian in their moves, and risk losing whatever fan support they have. We can already hear the cries of "salary dump" around the water coolers. Who's going to be the face of the team to the paying public now - Sauerkraut Saul?
And now the Andrew McCutchen era starts. They'll plug him in with Nyjer Morgan in the OF right away, though whether in center or left is yet to be seen; this afternoon's lineup will tell us that.
All we know is that the broom continues in Pittsburgh, and there's no telling where it will stop.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A Little Light Reading On A Rainy Wednesday
Hey, so the rain did something the Mets couldn't; it stopped the Pirates tonight. The game was called about 5:30, and they'll go at it Thursday afternoon, if the heavens shut it down long enough. The scheduled starters for today, Mike Pelfrey (4-1, 3.88) and Ross Ohlendorf (5-5, 4.45), will hook up tomorrow instead.
-- Tyler Yates is expected to start throwing off a mound tomorrow; still no word on when his rehab will begin. Donnie Veal is penciled in to go to Indy next week; he's allowed 30 days of rehab before he has to rejoin the roster.
-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com has the lowdown on Nyjer Morgan and how he managed to turn in the skates for some spikes.
She's been a busy little beat writer; she also has an article on Brad Lincoln, the Bucs #1 pick in 2006 who has overcome TJ surgery to shine bright as a prospect again.
-- In his web chat, Frank Coonelly says he expects Andrew McCutchen to hit PNC this year; he sounds kinda blah on the odds of Neil Walker (who dislocated his pinky, but should only miss a week) or Brad Lincoln joining him in the bigs this year.
He also likes the progress that 2008 picks Pedro Alvarez, Robbie Grossman, Chase D'Arnaud, Jeremy Farrell, Matt Hague, and Calvin Anderson are making in the bushes.
-- BTW, even with the Pens flyin' high, the Pirates are holding their own on the FSN ratings, as posted by Biz of Baseball. Their rating is 3.4, which is nearly an 11% increase over last season and 15th in MLB. 39,000 TVs are tuned in to an average game, which is 25th.
-- Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette has a piece on Pitt All-America second-baseman Chris Sedon, who is expected to go anywhere from the tenth round of the draft on. He's got a bona-fide stick; Sedon broke some of Jim Negrych's Panther records.
-- BTW, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe notes that of Jay Bay's 16 home runs, 13 have come with a runner on the base, the best mark in the majors.
-- Old Pirate coach Jeff Cox, now with the White Sox, just put in his tenth year in MLB according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. He's pension-eligible now, no mean feat for a guy that spent 26 years in the minors. Cox called his old bosses to thank them, including Jim Tracy.
-- Tyler Yates is expected to start throwing off a mound tomorrow; still no word on when his rehab will begin. Donnie Veal is penciled in to go to Indy next week; he's allowed 30 days of rehab before he has to rejoin the roster.
-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com has the lowdown on Nyjer Morgan and how he managed to turn in the skates for some spikes.
She's been a busy little beat writer; she also has an article on Brad Lincoln, the Bucs #1 pick in 2006 who has overcome TJ surgery to shine bright as a prospect again.
-- In his web chat, Frank Coonelly says he expects Andrew McCutchen to hit PNC this year; he sounds kinda blah on the odds of Neil Walker (who dislocated his pinky, but should only miss a week) or Brad Lincoln joining him in the bigs this year.
He also likes the progress that 2008 picks Pedro Alvarez, Robbie Grossman, Chase D'Arnaud, Jeremy Farrell, Matt Hague, and Calvin Anderson are making in the bushes.
-- BTW, even with the Pens flyin' high, the Pirates are holding their own on the FSN ratings, as posted by Biz of Baseball. Their rating is 3.4, which is nearly an 11% increase over last season and 15th in MLB. 39,000 TVs are tuned in to an average game, which is 25th.
-- Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette has a piece on Pitt All-America second-baseman Chris Sedon, who is expected to go anywhere from the tenth round of the draft on. He's got a bona-fide stick; Sedon broke some of Jim Negrych's Panther records.
-- BTW, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe notes that of Jay Bay's 16 home runs, 13 have come with a runner on the base, the best mark in the majors.
-- Old Pirate coach Jeff Cox, now with the White Sox, just put in his tenth year in MLB according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. He's pension-eligible now, no mean feat for a guy that spent 26 years in the minors. Cox called his old bosses to thank them, including Jim Tracy.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Duke Wins Duel
Hey, maybe Zach Duke is channeling his breakout 2005 rookie season. He went seven frames against the Mets and outdueled da man, Johan Santana, to come away with a 3-1 win.
Everyone knew it would be low scoring, at least for the Bucs. No difference if it was Johan or Carlos Santana on the hill, the Pirates don't score for Duke. But a solo home run by Jason Jaramillo - does anyone miss Ronny Paulino yet? - and RBI doubles by Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche gave the Zachster all the support he'd need.
He scattered eight singles, pitching out of first and seventh inning jams, and amped his record up to 6-4 with a 2.62 ERA, seventh best in the NL.
He had help. The Mets again fielded their B team lineup due to injuries and illness, making the job a little easier. The defense behind him caught everything hit their way (and they had to; three Pittsburgh pitchers combined for zero strikeouts). McLouth threw out a guy at the plate after misfiring on an earlier chance.
John Grabow and Matt Capps tucked the Mets away in the eighth and ninth on fifteen pitches without an ounce of drama. Good stuff and a well-earned team win.
-- The usually sweet-natured Nyjer Morgan was ejected in the fifth inning when he bounced his helmet and took a loony on first base ump Tim McClelland. He was sent packing on a bang-bang DP and apparently wasn't very pleased with the call. McClelland rang up a couple of Bucs that looked like they beat they play. Win some, lose some.
-- Geez, everyone loves jack. Jack Wilson, that is. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports writes:
Everyone knew it would be low scoring, at least for the Bucs. No difference if it was Johan or Carlos Santana on the hill, the Pirates don't score for Duke. But a solo home run by Jason Jaramillo - does anyone miss Ronny Paulino yet? - and RBI doubles by Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche gave the Zachster all the support he'd need.
He scattered eight singles, pitching out of first and seventh inning jams, and amped his record up to 6-4 with a 2.62 ERA, seventh best in the NL.
He had help. The Mets again fielded their B team lineup due to injuries and illness, making the job a little easier. The defense behind him caught everything hit their way (and they had to; three Pittsburgh pitchers combined for zero strikeouts). McLouth threw out a guy at the plate after misfiring on an earlier chance.
John Grabow and Matt Capps tucked the Mets away in the eighth and ninth on fifteen pitches without an ounce of drama. Good stuff and a well-earned team win.
-- The usually sweet-natured Nyjer Morgan was ejected in the fifth inning when he bounced his helmet and took a loony on first base ump Tim McClelland. He was sent packing on a bang-bang DP and apparently wasn't very pleased with the call. McClelland rang up a couple of Bucs that looked like they beat they play. Win some, lose some.
-- Geez, everyone loves jack. Jack Wilson, that is. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports writes:
The Royals are kicking around the idea of adding a shortstop, but what are their options? The Astros' Miguel Tejada is no longer adequate defensively. The A's Orlando Cabrera and Bobby Crosby have been terrible offensively. The Mariners' Yuniesky Betancourt is hardly an upgrade. Best fit: The Pirates' Jack Wilson, but only if the Red Sox don't grab Wilson first . . .
Monday, June 1, 2009
Mets Bumble, Bucs Rumble
Hey, the Bucs caught the Mets at the right time, or so it seemed. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Ryan Church were all out for one reason or another, and Livian Hernandez of the 4.28 ERA was on the mound.
Well, it didn't seem that way for long. After three frames, it was 5-0 Metropolitans, and Ian Snell appeared intent on claiming Gorzo's spot in the Indy rotation.
But the enigmatic Snell strung together three shutout innings, the Bucs put up a three spot after catching up to Hernandez the second time around, and the score was 5-3 in the Pirate half of the eighth. Now it was all in the hands of the Mets' pen, the best in the NL, just where Jerry Manuel wanted it.
Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and men... Those ground ball outs of yesterday turned into singles up the middle, the Mets made at least three poor defensive plays, and when the smoked cleared, it was 8-5 Buccos.
Matt Capps made it hold up, after giving up a lead-off, broken bat dink to start the ninth. Nyjer Morgan made a great diving catch on Luis Castillo's soft liner, and the next two outs were routine.
Maybe the trick is to get to the top ERA guys in the game. The Pirates barraged Wandy Rodriguez and jumped all over the Mets pen, which had a 22-1 record when given a lead after seven innings and 2.85 ERA overall.
That should put tomorrow's game in the bag for Pittsburgh, when it faces lefty ace Johan Santana, 7-2, with a 1.77 ERA, right?
-- Four Bucs had multi-hit games, led by Adam LaRoche and Jack Splat with three bops apiece. LaRoche's average may not show it, but for the past ten days or so, he's been consistently centering on the ball. Baby bro Andy had three RBI tonight, as he and Morgan added a pair of knocks.
-- And hey, GW will plead mea culpa on Morgan. We were certain he was just a placeholder at the start of the year, but his defense and OBP have become integral to whatever success the Bucs have enjoyed so far this season. The staff coached him up, and he did the work. A great story.
He's the reason Andrew McCutchen is still cooling his heels in Indy. It doesn't have anything to do with McCutch's performance; it's just that there's no real reason to bring him up and start the clock as long as Morgan is playing ball so solidly.
-- In fact, the entire Pirate defense has been light years ahead of last season's play. There's a reason the pitching's been so good; it's because the team is catching the ball behind them and allowing the staff the confidence to pitch to contact.
Morgan in left, Brandon Moss in right, and Andy LaRoche at third are all upgrades from 2008. Wilson's healthy again, and Freddy Sanchez has dipped himself in the PNC fountain of youth. Moneyball may not value defense, but pitching staffs sure do.
-- Don't look now, but Nate McLouth is down to .250. He struck out three times tonight and looked bad doing it; he only hit one ball on the nose. It makes perfect sense; once Adam LaRoche starts stroking the ball, McLouth loses his eye. It's the Pirate way.
And make no mistake, he's critical to the Pirate attack. His 33 RBI still comfortably lead the team, and with Doumit out maybe six more weeks, his bat will have to provide a major boost to the offense.
BTW, the top slugging percentage on the team belongs to muscleman Freddy Sanchez, at .495. And ya wonder why the Bucs have so much trouble scoring with any consistency? The team slugging % is just .394, 14th in the NL.
-- JR is beginning to show his true colors in working a bullpen. He likes the matchups. He replaced Sean Burnett with two outs to get a righty pairing with Steven Jackson, and yanked Jackson for Gorzo to get a lefty a mano duel. He's shown that tendency at times during the season; now that Donnie Veal is out of the mix, we'll surely see it more often.
-- Bob Walk of FSN called Tom Gorzelanny "The Vulture" after he notched his third win of the year - in six total innings! It took him 105+ frames to get six wins last year.
Well, it didn't seem that way for long. After three frames, it was 5-0 Metropolitans, and Ian Snell appeared intent on claiming Gorzo's spot in the Indy rotation.
But the enigmatic Snell strung together three shutout innings, the Bucs put up a three spot after catching up to Hernandez the second time around, and the score was 5-3 in the Pirate half of the eighth. Now it was all in the hands of the Mets' pen, the best in the NL, just where Jerry Manuel wanted it.
Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and men... Those ground ball outs of yesterday turned into singles up the middle, the Mets made at least three poor defensive plays, and when the smoked cleared, it was 8-5 Buccos.
Matt Capps made it hold up, after giving up a lead-off, broken bat dink to start the ninth. Nyjer Morgan made a great diving catch on Luis Castillo's soft liner, and the next two outs were routine.
Maybe the trick is to get to the top ERA guys in the game. The Pirates barraged Wandy Rodriguez and jumped all over the Mets pen, which had a 22-1 record when given a lead after seven innings and 2.85 ERA overall.
That should put tomorrow's game in the bag for Pittsburgh, when it faces lefty ace Johan Santana, 7-2, with a 1.77 ERA, right?
-- Four Bucs had multi-hit games, led by Adam LaRoche and Jack Splat with three bops apiece. LaRoche's average may not show it, but for the past ten days or so, he's been consistently centering on the ball. Baby bro Andy had three RBI tonight, as he and Morgan added a pair of knocks.
-- And hey, GW will plead mea culpa on Morgan. We were certain he was just a placeholder at the start of the year, but his defense and OBP have become integral to whatever success the Bucs have enjoyed so far this season. The staff coached him up, and he did the work. A great story.
He's the reason Andrew McCutchen is still cooling his heels in Indy. It doesn't have anything to do with McCutch's performance; it's just that there's no real reason to bring him up and start the clock as long as Morgan is playing ball so solidly.
-- In fact, the entire Pirate defense has been light years ahead of last season's play. There's a reason the pitching's been so good; it's because the team is catching the ball behind them and allowing the staff the confidence to pitch to contact.
Morgan in left, Brandon Moss in right, and Andy LaRoche at third are all upgrades from 2008. Wilson's healthy again, and Freddy Sanchez has dipped himself in the PNC fountain of youth. Moneyball may not value defense, but pitching staffs sure do.
-- Don't look now, but Nate McLouth is down to .250. He struck out three times tonight and looked bad doing it; he only hit one ball on the nose. It makes perfect sense; once Adam LaRoche starts stroking the ball, McLouth loses his eye. It's the Pirate way.
And make no mistake, he's critical to the Pirate attack. His 33 RBI still comfortably lead the team, and with Doumit out maybe six more weeks, his bat will have to provide a major boost to the offense.
BTW, the top slugging percentage on the team belongs to muscleman Freddy Sanchez, at .495. And ya wonder why the Bucs have so much trouble scoring with any consistency? The team slugging % is just .394, 14th in the NL.
-- JR is beginning to show his true colors in working a bullpen. He likes the matchups. He replaced Sean Burnett with two outs to get a righty pairing with Steven Jackson, and yanked Jackson for Gorzo to get a lefty a mano duel. He's shown that tendency at times during the season; now that Donnie Veal is out of the mix, we'll surely see it more often.
-- Bob Walk of FSN called Tom Gorzelanny "The Vulture" after he notched his third win of the year - in six total innings! It took him 105+ frames to get six wins last year.
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