Time To Trade? When The Market's Right...

OK, the Bucs have three guys hitting .250+, and just a pair with an OPS over .631. They're not just at the bottom of the pack batting for this season; they're approaching historic futility levels, going all the way back to the dead ball era in some categories. The fans are rightfully in a snit, as the pitching has been been more than competent and they can sniff a competitive squad, if only the bats would cooperate.

So why no movement on adding a stick or two?

Well, first there's history, often cited by the FO. And there is a reason the trigger isn't pulled this early in the season. It's because most teams are still in an evaluation period and trying to determine who is really dead weight versus who is just off to an Adam LaRoche type spring.

In Pittsburgh, the evaluation part is pretty easy now that they're almost two months into the season. Cutch, Neil Walker (tho off to a slow start, especially in power numbers) and super utility guy Josh Harrison are the only Pirates who seem to have any idea of a Louisville's purpose. Still, that doesn't mean that the FO is looking to make wholesale changes, for various reasons.

Jose Tabata will get a chance to build on his .221 BA. His peripheral line of grounders, flies and liners matches with his career numbers. The only major discrepancy is his batted balls in play (BABIP) average, which at .256 is 50 points under his lifetime norm of .307, so hope exists that he'll find a little more grass in the coming months.

Ditto with Pedro. His slugging and ISO (isolated power) are a little above his career norms and he's hitting more fly balls than ever, but discipline has been really lacking. His strikeout rate is at a career high and his walk rate at a career low. That mirrors personal highs in swings at pitches outside the zone (35%), which he misses 54% of the time. But on a team woefully lacking in power, he'll be given every opportunity to become a fixture in the middle of the order.

Clint Barmes is on a long leash, having signed the richest Pirate free agent contract ever and with next season guaranteed. In addition, the Pirates may feel that with Harrison and Jordy Mercer that they have internal candidates who should perform around league average. Throw in a weak marketplace, and SS looks like a spot they'll have to survive for awhile.

The catchers, Rod Barajas and Mike McKenry, are actually kinda doing as much as the FO could have reasonably projected - low average, lower OBP, but with occasional home run power and good D with room to progress to their norms. Tony Sanchez isn't exactly fast tracking it at Altoona and may never develop into more than a defense-first catcher. Everyone in the league is looking for depth behind the plate, so this is another area that is what it is.

That leaves the two likeliest spots they'll look to beef up. One is the third (and fourth) outfielder. With Alex Presley and Nate McLouth fizzling while Starling Marte is trying to tighten up his game at Indy, the need is pretty obvious. Gorkys Hernandez is on the roster now, but as a glove-first guy, making him better suited for a bench rather than everyday role. Internally, no one is ready to step into a starting role today.

The other spot is the first base tandem of Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee. On paper, they looked like a good team. In real life, not so much.

Jones, who finally is being used as a true platoon player, is still hitting just .221 with a mere 3 walks to go with 28 K in 95 at-bats. McGehee has been a most pleasant surprise defensively at first, but is batting .189 with 18 hits to go with a dozen walks and no homers. An everyday first baseman should be high on the list for the FO. Matt Hague or maybe Jeff Clements are internal candidates. Hague is projected as a James Loney or Casey Kotchman type player, while Clement may be, like Jones, a late blooming stopgap.

The second reason teams don't deal early is because they have long-term internal fixes, who for service time reasons are held back until mid-June. That's not the case for the Pirates. Marte was the only really fast tracked guy in the minors, and he's hitting .260 with a raft of Ks in AAA, although a hot month could land him in Pittsburgh sooner rather than later. First base doesn't have an elite thumper in line, either.

Another key reason teams don't deal early is because of leverage. The deeper into the season, the more teams that are buying will overpay to get who they want.  And with the wild card, theoretically there should be more buyers than sellers this year. How this dynamic will work out for the Bucs is iffy, given their current straits. Whether there's more value to be gotten from a deal by holding on until the dog days or by dealing quickly so the trade partners can maximize a player's use is a case-by-case scenario dependent on the perceived urgency of each team's needs.

The Bucco strength is pitching, and it's widely assumed Joel Hanrahan's contract and the rental status of Erik Bedard will put them in play as key trade pieces. The Pirate bullpen is deep, too, and they could probably deal one of those arms.

We'll assume for the sake of debate that AJ Burnett and James McDonald, along with Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon and Luis Heredia are off the table, along with Cutch, Walker and Alvarez, though it could well be, as the FO is fond of saying, that they'll listen to an offer for anyone. We picked those guys because they are the core group of the 2014 roster (except for Burnett, who we think has more current value as a Pirate), which coincides with the seventh year of rebuilding, the MLB benchmark for a top-to-bottom organizational redo.

So the Pirates are in a position to deal some pitching, whether now or in July, as the market dictates, and can offer some youngsters as sweeteners - remember, you can't hoard players forever; sooner or later the 40-man roster comes into play. That's a good thing; pitching is always a commodity that's highly sought.

That segues into the final reason deals aren't cut early - desperation, the trailer trash relative of leverage. Pittsburgh may have begun to investigate the market; as Clint Hurdle told the media after this afternoon's game: "For all you know, we’ve been looking for two weeks." It doesn't take a genius of a GM to figure out the Bucs are over a barrel as far as hitting talent is concerned, and are trying to pull a Jesse James act on Neal Huntington.

That sword cuts both ways; injuries can catapult a club into this category, giving Pittsburgh an edge in some cases. No matter what the cause, the Pirates have to be careful to keep their focus down the road, not on instant gratification.

Whatever move the Pirates make shouldn't be in the Derrick Lee mold, at least now. Competing deep into the 2012 season is viable for a couple of reasons (weak division, wildcard, strong pitching), but it can't be at the cost of lowering the Pirate window of opportunity that should pop open in a couple of seasons.

As noted, the positions likeliest to be addressed are first and corner outfield. Nobody is breaking down the doors in Pittsburgh's minors to claim those spots, so the Pirates should stick to their guns and hold out for guys that can keep the job instead of a baby sitter. Ideally, they should be searching for someone who is blocked or redundant for another team, can provide at least a couple of year's worth of value and whose best days aren't in the rear view mirror.

We'd assume that's what Huntington is looking for, and that's why putting a deadline on a deal is such a tricky proposition. Several things have to fall in place for an early season deal - and they can; teams are already shopping guys - but in this situation, we'd hope that the FO weighs both the short and long range implications before pulling the trigger. There are way too many holes in this team to fill en masse, but they can fill in the first six spots in the lineup.

Hey, there's no doubt this club needs shaken up at this point, and we would prefer that it happens sooner rather than later to keep the season interesting. We just want to see the pieces fit into the big puzzle.

Same Ol - Bucs Go Down 3-1

The first couple of innings were rough against Buc righty Charlie Morton, but he survived pretty well. Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled with one away in the opening frame, went to second on a wild pitch and scored with two outs on a Lucas Duda ground single to right. The Bucs went quietly in their half against Jon Niese.

In the second, Ike Davis and Ronnie Cedeno began things with back-to-back singles. Rob Johnson banged one to short and the Pirates got a force out when The Kid had a hitch in his turn. Niese bunted Johnson to second, but Mike Baxter left the ducks on the pond. Casey McGehee walked with one out and Yamaico Navarro legged out a roller an out later, but nothing further developed.

Nieuwenhuis led off the third with a bunt single, but was erased on a 6-4-3 DP. The Pirates, as is becoming mind-numbingly common, went down 1-2-3. In the fourth, both teams were retied in order. The fifth saw the Mets pad their lead.

Johnson singled into right and Niese advanced him with a bunt. Baxter singled him to third, where a Nieuwenhuis sac fly plated Johnson. David Wright ripped a two-out two-bagger to right to push Baxter home, and it was 3-0 NY. For Pittsburgh, Barmes singled with two out, but Clint Hurdle sent Morton to the dish, where he bounced out to short.

Morton put down NY in order in the sixth, and Josh Harrison opened the Bucco half with a double. After an out, Cutch singled into left and Pittsburgh was on the board. Good thing, too, as Walker banged into a DP to end the frame. The Mets went 1-2-3 in the seventh, as did Pittsburgh. At least Barajas and Navarro banged a couple of deep flies to center; even noisy outs are noteworthy anymore.

Morton went seven, and gave up three runs on eight hits with a K. Jason Grilli took the ball in the eighth. Welcome back; he K'ed the side. Barmes singled to start the Bucs; two outs later, Gorkys Hernandez drew a 3-2 walk. That was it for Niese; Bobby Parnell climbed the hill to duel Cutch. Parnell had Gorkys dead to rights as he led off first, but Met 1B Davis forgot to catch the pick-off toss and both runners moved up 90'. No prob for Parnell; he busted a 98 MPH heater under the hands of Cutch to get him on a check swing.

Brad Lincoln got the call for the ninth, and put the Mets down where they stood. Frank Francisco came on for NY, looking to close out the Bucs for the second straight time. Walker was caught looking at a curve. Garrett Jones took the bat from McGehee, and flew out to center. Barajas followed with a swinging whiff and the Bucs went down to the Mets again today by a 3-1 tally.

Pretty much the same ol'. Can't hit, and there's not much more tale to be told.

The team is off tomorrow, then AJ Burnett will host the Cubs' Ryan Dempster.

• Jason Grilli has fanned at least one batter in each of his 18 appearances, with 30 K in 17 IP.
• Josh Harrison extended his hitting streak to nine games; Rod Barajas' ended at eight.

Getaway Lineup, Notes

The Mets send LHP Jonathon Niese (2-2, 4.85) against RHP Charlie Morton (2-4, 4.35). Neither guy has been very consistent this season (Morton has has lost three of his last four starts), so it'll be interesting to see just what the pair of offensive-challenged teams will come up with at the dish this afternoon. The get-away game is scheduled for 12:35 and will be radio only.

The lineup: Josh Harrison RF, Gorkys Hernandez LF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Neil Walker 2B, Casey McGehee 1B, Rod Barajas C, Yamiaco Navarro 3B, Clint Barmes SS, Charlie Morton P.

Some odd combos today. Hernadez gets his first MLB start while Harrison gets his second career OF gig and will man the corners, while Navarro goes to third. Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez and some random outfielder (who the heck is the Pirates regular left fielder?) are on the pine.

• RHP Jason Grilli has returned from the Bereavement List and LHP Jeff Locke has been optioned back to Indy.
• Dan Wade of Fangraphs has a post featuring James McDonald and wonders "...is his level of production, or something close to it, sustainable?"
• SS Chase d’Arnaud left the game at Indy yesterday with a strained left hip flexor, and LHP Jo-Jo Reyes suffered a right hammy injury.

Bucs, Mets Play Hot Potato In NY 3-2 Victory

Well, guess J-Mick is feelin' it early. Three Mets up, three Mets down, all swinging. The Pirates got a one-out double from Josh Harrison, but the knuckleballin' RA Dickey induced grounders from Cutch and Pedro to escape.

Daniel Murphy drew a one-away walk on five pitches, as McDonald stayed away from the lefty and couldn't nick the black. Ronny Cedeno also kept the bat on his shoulders following another K and drew a four pitch walk as J-Mick lost the battle with the ump on a couple of calls. On a 1-2 pitch, Mike Nickeas, who was in an 0-for-17 slump, dropped a slider that caught too much plate up the left field line. A run scored while Nickeas was tossed on a strong throw by JT out trying to stretch his hit into a double.

Walker, who opted to bat righty against the RHP Dickey, nubbed an infield single to open the second, but died on the bases. Both sides went down in order in the third and ditto in the fourth. Dickey has five strikeouts, J-Mick has seven.

Cedeno battled during an eight pitch at-bat to open the fifth, finally lining a heater into center and running J-Mick's pitch count up to 70. Nickeas hit into a force and Dickey moved him to second. Mike Baxter got ahead 2-1 and roped a fastball, but Barmes made the grab to finish the frame. With one down in the Bucco half, Rod Barajas lined a two-bagger to left, but was left there after breaking Dickey's streak of ten consecutive outs.

The Mets went down 1-2-3 in the sixth. Harrison had no problem with the knuckler; with one away, he tripled thanks to Nieuwenhuis' misplay in center. Cutch knocked a dancer into fairly deep right, and the sac fly tied the game. Pedro followed with a single the opposite way. Walker ended the frame as Dickey's ninth strikeout victim of the night.

Cedeno again proved a pest, fouling off three pitches and then legging out an infield knock to the left side with two away before McDonald could tuck NY away. The seventh would be J-Mick's curtain call. He went seven, giving up a run on four hits with two walks and eight K after 104 offerings. Dickey kept on, striking out a pair - he's got 11 now, which is his career high, and this is his 10th year in the show - and getting a pop to the catcher.

Juan Cruz took the bump for Pittsburgh. With one out, Baxter blasted a double to straightaway center on a liner that froze Cutch and then clanked off his mitt. For the second time this inning, Cruz got ahead 0-2 only to run the count full. he K'ed Torres the first time, but walked Nieuwenhuis this time around. That brought up David Wright, who went down swinging.

Cruz fell behind Lucas Duda 2-0, and he singled hard to right off Garrett Jone's glove to give the Mets the lead. That was it for Cruz; Resop came on to face the lefty Daniel Murphy. McLouth came in to man left, Tabata went to right, Harrison to short and Barmes to the pine. Murphy took a pitch the opposite way; El Toro booted it, and it was 3-1 Mets before Resop cleaned up the inning. Giving a team five outs is usually a bad thing, and it sure was this inning.

Jon Rauch climbed the hill for the Mets with the Bucs needing a bloop and a blast. They fell short by a blast. JT fell behind, fouled off a couple to stay alive, and then dropped a double to right with one away. Harrison tapped out on a curve. Cutch made amends when his playable pop into right glanced off second baseman Murphy's mitt to bring home Tabata. Tim Byrdak came in to face Pedro, lefty-on-lefty. McCutch stole second, but Pedro went down swinging.

Resop put the Mets down in order in the ninth. Frank Francisco took the hill to close for NY. Walker grounded out to second. Jones fouled off five straight pitches before K'ing on a ball in the dirt. Barajas hit a can of corn to center to ice the Mets a 3-2 victory.

It's a broken record. 13 K's and an inning in the field where they treated the ball like a ticking WMD (as did the Mets, handing Pittsburgh both its runs). It was pretty much a mirror image of the series-closer they lost in Detroit on Sunday.

Well, they'll strap 'em on again tomorrow afternoon, when Charlie Morton takes on Jon Niese in the get away game.

• Alvarez's error ended the team's flawless fielding streak at 72 innings, the Bucs' longest since a 72-inning stretch from July 17-25, 2009. 
• Rod Barajas and Josh Harrison both extended their hitting streaks to eight games.
• Jason Grilli is expected back for tomorrow's game, so Jeff Locke looks to be headed back to Indy.

Lineup, Notes

RHP R.A. Dickey (5-1, 3.75 ERA) of the Mets squares off against RHP James McDonald (3-2, 2.68) tonight. Knuckleballer Dickey has been steady for NY, while J-Mick is having a breakout season to this point. The game begins at 7:05 and will be broadcast by Root Sports.

The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Josh Harrison RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil  Walker 2B, Garrett Jones 1B, Rod Barajas C, Clint Barmes SS, James McDonald P.

Looks like a case of meet your new right fielder, Josh Harrison.

• Rod Barajas enters tonight’s action with a seven-game hitting streak with two doubles, three homers and five RBI. So does Josh Harrison, who has three doubles, a homer and four RBI during his streak.
• With his next home run hit in Pittsburgh, Garrett Jones will tie Adam LaRoche for sixth place
  on the all-time list for homers hit at PNC Park at 35.
• Adam Rubin of ESPN tweeted per the Elias Sports Bureau that before last night's rally, the Pirates had lost the last 160 games when they fell behind by 4+ runs, second-longest streak in MLB history. Thx to James Santelli of Neon Sports and Pittsburgh Sports Report, who also noted that the last Pirate four run comeback was also against the Mets at PNC in June of 2009.  
• Today in Bucco history: At Wrigley Field in Chicago, Bucco Hall-of-Fame slugger Willie Stargell
  hits three home runs and just missed a fourth in a 13-6 victory over the Cubs. ‘Pops’ also smacked a single and a double that bounced off the railing of the left field fence and back onto the playing field. 
• Kent Tekulve and Mike LaValliere will be the Pirate reps/mouthpieces at this years' draft.
• In case you were wondering where Jason Bay was last night, he's on the DL with a broken rib and rehabbing in Florida.

Bucs Rally From 4-0 Hole To Win 5-4

Erik Bedard and Johan Santana met in the battle of lefties, both pitching well and neither getting much offensive help from their club. Bedard got the Bucs off on the right foot, with his only opening inning blemish a walk to David Wright. The Bucs were treated much the same by Santana, with Cutch lining a two-out single to center, his first career knock off the southpaw.

Vinnie Rottino singled with an out in the second. Ronnie Cedeno got his first at-bat against his old mates and smacked a 3-2 fastball down the middle off the wall in right center for a run producing two bagger. Josh Harrison, making the start in right, may have had a shot at it but took a crooked route to the ball. Mike Nickeas, hitting .188, drew a five pitch walk when Bedard didn't get a couple of calls on hooks that crossed his knee, and Santana bunted the pair up.

The wild streak continued as Torres drew a four pitch free pass. It cost, as Justin Turner blooped a first pitch curve into left over Clint Barmes, plating a pair and sending Torres to third when no one covered the bag. Wright got ahead 2-0, and a couple of pitches later dropped a soft liner into center to make it 4-0. before the frame ended, Bedard was already up to 51 pitches. The Pirates went down in order, with the soft tossing Santana picking up a pair of whiffs.

Cedeno dropped a pop in front of Harrison on a two out, 3-2 pitch for the only Met damage in the third. With one away, Bedard bounced one into left. Two pitches later, JT tapped back to the mound to trigger a 1-6-3 DP. The Mets went down cleanly in the fourth.

Harrison led off the Pirate half with a double to dead center. Cutch followed with a first pitch two bagger to left, and the Bucs were on the board. Pedro got ahead 2-1, was served a hanging slider, and ripped it into right for Pittsburgh's third straight double, making it 4-2.

We have no idea why, but Neil Walker made the first out when he popped up a bunt try. Casey McGehee got aboard on a throwing error by Wright, with Alvarez holding. Barmes walked on five pitches, his second free pass of the season, to juice the sacks. Control your enthusiasm; McKenry bounced into a 6-4-3 DP to end the frame.

Bedard retired the first two Mets before Lucas Duda dinked a cutter 6" outside along the left side for an infield knock. He left him there, but is done after 97 pitches. He went five, giving up four runs on six hits with three walks and four whiffs. And hey, Gorkys Hernandez stepped up to bat for him, making his first MLB at-bat. He fit right in, swinging at and missing balls four and five to K. Two bouncers followed to end the frame. After five, it was 4-2 Mets.

Chris Resop climbed the hill for Pittsburgh in the sixth. He K'ed the pesky Cedeno looking on three pitches with a heater that was up but got the call to open a 1-2-3 inning. With two away for Pittsburgh, The Kid doubled into left off Wright's glove, but McGehee whiffed to end the inning. Resop's walked Justin Turner with one out in the seventh, followed by a Wright knock to left. That brought in Tony Watson to face the lefty Ike Davis. He K'ed him and polished off the frame.

Barmes opened the Bucco half with a knock, and McKenry followed with a blast into the left center field seats over the 383 mark, his third of the season, to knot the score. Yamiaco Navarro whiffed, but JT drew a four pitch walk, and that ended Santana's night as he gave way to Bobby Parnell. Harrison reached on an error by Wright. Parnell got a huge out, getting Cutch to chase high heat for the strikeout. Lefty Tim Byrdak took the ball from him to match up with El Toro. He fed him a diet of sliders and got him swinging, too.

Jared Hughes climbed the mound for Pittsburgh. Kirk Nieuwenhuis greeted him with a single to left on a two strike mistake pitch served over the heart of the plate. Cedeno missed on a pair of bunt tries and grounded out sharply to Alvarez, who made a nice diving stab to keep the ball from going into the corner. A wild pitch moved him to third. Hughes struck out Nickeas. Lefty Mike Baxter grabbed a stick and was intentionally walked. Working Torres down and away, Hughes got a grounder to second to end the frame still tied.

Jon Rauch was called out for the bottom half. Nieuwenhuis dropped Walker's routine fly into left center after playing "who's got it" with LF Baxter, and The Kid made it to third on the miscue. McGehee got a high fastball, but grounded it to third to freeze the runner. No prob; Barmes took the first pitch to medium right, and The Kid slid home to beat the rap with the lead run.

It was Hanny time. McLouth took over in left, with JT sliding to right. As it ended up, Hanny didn't need any OFs; two grounders and a K put the Mets away. Hanny notched save #10, closing out Jared Hughes' MLB first win.

Hey, it's nice to see a team give the Bucs a game for a change. And all the Buc runs prior to Walker's were the result of extra base hits, so that's encouraging too. Never underestimate the pen, either. They put together another four innings of zeroes.

RA Dickey takes on James McDonald tomorrow night.

• The Pirates have gone seven consecutive games without making an error, the longest active streak in MLB. It's probably a good thing that mental errors aren't kept in the book. 
• Jeff Karstens worked three shutout innings of rehab work at Altoona, giving up two hits with a K while tossing 37 pitches. He threw a short side afterwards to reach his goal of 45 pitches.

Lineup, Notes

The Mets' LHP Johan Santana (1-2, 2.89) faces LHP Erik Bedard (2-5, 3.07) at PNC Park tonight. Santana has been murder on Pittsburgh during his career with an ERA under 2. Bedard has been dependable for the Pirates, so it should be a good opener to a nine-game home stand. The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports.

The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Josh Harrison RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Casey McGehee 1B, Clint Barmes SS, Mike McKenry C, Eric Bedard P.

Josh Harrison is in right field tonight and The Fort is catching.That keeps the ratio at about 2:1 between him and Rod Barajas, which was the plan going into the season. El Toro continues to play against all comers, even a tough lefty like Santana. 

• Drew Sutton, the infielder the Pirates purchased, has already been traded again; the Pirates sent him to Tampa Bay for cash/PTBNL. Very strange, especially as he's headed to the Rays' big team, not AAA..
• Erik Bedard hasn't pitched against the Mets since 2006. 3B David Wright is the only player still with the team who played in that game. 
• Jeff Karstens will go three innings or 45 pitches at Altoona tonight in his first rehab start since coming back from a shoulder injury. Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror has JK's story.
• David Manel of High And Outside compared the Pirate individual offensive projections for 2012 against the actual numbers...it's not pretty.

Mix Pitching-Heavy Drafts With Poor Market Choices, And...

One big reason the Pirates are having such dire offensive problems right now has its roots in the past: since 2008, the FO has drafted for pitching, not hitting. Checking out the top ten choices by year, 25 of the team's top 40 picks in the Neal Huntington era were used on pitchers, and of those 15 hitters, seven were selected in 2008. Only 8 of the last thirty top ten picks have been spent on field players.

And just one of their positional draftees, Pedro Alvarez, is on the current 25-man roster.

Three are on the Indy roster: SS Jordy Mercer, SS Chase d'Arnaud and 1B Matt Hague. (OF Alex Presley was drafted in 2006, 2B Brian Friday in 2007 and OF Starling Marte was signed as an international free agent in 2007, all during the Dave Littlefield era).

There are several at Altoona, with IF Brock Holt, CF Robbie Grossman, 3B Jeremy Farrell and C Tony Sanchez being top ten selections and 1B Matt Curry being added in the 16th round. 

It didn't start that way as their first draft was hitter-heavy. In 2008, they drafted Alvarez, Mercer and d'Arnaud 1-2-3 on their board, and Hague was the ninth selection. They were all college players and are at their appropriate level now. Other top ten picks were Farrell, Grossman and SS Benji Gonzalez from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. High school 2B Jarek Cunningham was taken in the 18th round, too.

C Tony Sanchez, OF Evan Chambers and 2B Brock Holt were brought aboard in 2009. OF Mel Rojas was the only 2010 top ten pick that played the field, though prospect 1B Matt Curry was selected in the 16th round. They addressed this imbalance somewhat last year, adding OF Josh Bell and 1B Alex Dickerson in the second and third rounds with 3B Dan Gamache & OF Taylor Lewis also top ten picks.

The point is not that the Pirates have a particularly bad eye for drafting hitters, but that they just don't take enough of them to fill the system. Six of the seven players they took in 2008 are scattered between Pittsburgh, Indy and Altoona. Two of the three they chose in 2009 are in AA. That's not unusually slow progress; it's just that there aren't enough bat-first bodies to go around.

We understand that the Pirate philosophy is that a team never has enough pitching, and that's true. It's also true that seven of their twelve top three picks during the four year span were hitters, including two of the team's four #1 picks. And there is a wildcard in that several Latino players are making some noise in the system, like Marte, SS Alen Hanson, C Ramon Cabrera and OF Adalberto Santos. Losing Miguel Sano, though, sprung an Exxon-sized leak in that pipeline.

What really aggravates the situation are the trade/free agent results. Jose Tabata is the only guy that's holding down a regular position, along with Rod Barajas and Clint Barmes, barely, from other systems, along with the Garrett Jone/Casey McGehee hybrid.

But Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss, Aki Iwomura, Lastings Milledge (OK, he's a stretch), Ronny Cedeno, Nate McLouth, Eric Hinske and company were guys that were supposed to help fill in the pieces while the Pirates developed players.

Those outside markets worked to carry the the pitching through the developmental stage, with a light at the end of that tunnel, but came up far short in the spots around the mound.

The bottom line is that if you draft for pitching, you end up with pitching. It's a simple numbers game. Tearing down and rebuilding a minor league system is a time consuming task, and the Pirates went about it by stocking up on arms.

They say it takes seven years to fill an organization from top to bottom. Pittsburgh needs to draft a couple of more bats, on a regular basis, to fill theirs. Judging from last season, they recognize that imbalance. We'll see.

Bucs Loading Up At Indy - Is A Move Imminent?

The Pirates obtained AAA middle infielder Drew Sutton from Atlanta today for cash. The 28 year old RH has spent parts of 2009-10 in the show, putting up a .258/.322/.403 slash line and striking out a lot. Sutton is a lifetime .280 hitter in the minors and joins corners guy Jeff Larish as a recent addition to the Indy crew.

This could be a move that addresses Indy's recent offensive woes; they've been mirroring the parent club the past few days. They are carrying guys like Anderson Hernandez, Miles Durham and Brian Friday who are all hitting under the Mendoza line. The trio are organization troopers and can be dropped a level or released to add a little punch to the attack. And it would be cheap injury insurance, as both Sutton and Larish have some experience, though not recently, in the majors.

Then again, it may be that the Pirate lineup may be about ready to undergo a change or two itself, as they're not exactly setting the world on its ear with their lumber. There are a handful of guys at Indy that are worth a look at the big league level. After all, there are a whole lot of players drawing major league paychecks in Pittsburgh that are under performing big time.

In that scenario, the Pirates adding a shortstop and corner fielder to Indy's lineup would suggest that Jordy Mercer (Chase d'Arnaud is barley hitting his weight) and Matt Hague/Jake Fox (who isn't on the 40-man roster) would be in line for a call. But a call is only half the battle; Clint Hurdle is nothing if not loyal to his players.

Gorkys Hernandez, who logically would have started Saturday against a lefty, has rode the pine since his arrival in Pittsburgh. Mercer would have to play through Clint Barmes and Josh Harrison, and Casey McGehee would present a battle at first base. So the dynamics of a roster shake up are far from predictable in regards to playing time.

At any rate, it's an interesting acquisition with possible implications at a couple of levels. We'll find out pretty quickly if the trigger was pulled to shake up the Tribe - or the Pirates.

(Edit - so much for try to add 2+2 where the FO is concerned. Less than 24 hours after acquiring Drew Sutton, the Bucs swapped him to Tampa Bay for a PTBNL. Oh, and he went to the Rays' active roster, not AAA. Go figure. We'd guess after the Pirates loaded up the Indy roster, Tampa made a call to Neal Huntington this morning inquiring about who was available, and apparently Sutton was.)

Bucs Go Down 4-3; K 17 Times

OK, we thought it would be a hitter's day with KC and Max Scherzer on the hill. We were wrong. Correia went strong into the seventh, and Scherzer whiffed a career-high 15 Pirates in Detroit's 4-3 win (and maybe that is a lot of runs for the two clubs). Heck, Max even whiffed Cutch three times, each time swinging at an offspeed offering. In fact, every one of his strikeouts was recorded swinging, so Cutch was well in tune with his teammates today.

The Bucs' drew first blood in the fifth when Rod Barajas knocked the first pitch he saw yard. It also broke up a string of five consecutive punchouts by Scherzer. Jhonny Peralta tied it in the Motown half with a homer of his own, only the second hit that KC had surrendered. Neil Walker got the lead back just as quickly when he pounded one out of Comerica in the sixth.

Then came the seventh. It started when Prince Fielder hit a pop into left. Nate McLouth couldn't quite get to it, and then Clint Barmes gave the ball a good kick to turn the bloop into a double.  Maybe Gorkys might have run it down, but that's kinda tough to tell from the bench. Delmon Young singled him home to tie it. KC headed for the showers and Tony Watson came on.

A soft roll out followed by a walk set the stage. Barajas allowed a passed ball, moving the runners up 90'. That also brought the infield in from DP depth. Alex Avila rolled a ground-ball through the middle of the infield ; Watson waved it going by, Barmes dove and it went under him, and a pair of runs scored. It would have been no worse than a force and maybe a DP without the passed ball and the infield back.

So the Pirates kept their errorless streak intact at 40+ frames, but couldn't make a play or two when they needed one to fall behind 4-2. Brad Lincoln and Jared Hughes kept the Tigers at bay the remainder of the game, retiring all five Detroit hitters they faced.

In the eighth, the Bucs had two on and two out against Octavio Dotel to set up Pedro, but he went down swinging on four hooks from lefty Phil Coke. Pittsburgh added a run in the ninth off Joaquin Benoit on a Josh Harrison double, short wild pitch and Barajas sac fly. The Pirates lost the game and the series to Motown.

Kinda sad to keep seeing the Bucs on the top of the headline board, first for being one-hit Friday and today for going down 17 times. It doesn't appear to bother the FO too much, though.

The Pirates come home to face the Mets tomorrow night, with Johan Santana going against Erik Bedard.

• Cutch, Pedro Alvarez and Nate McLouth went down on strikes three times apiece while Garrett Jones, Neil Walker and Josh Harrison fanned twice. JT was the only Pirate not to K.
• Rod Barajas now has a seven game hitting streak.
• Max Scherzer's 15K were the most rung up against the Bucs in one start since the Giant's Tim Lincecum did it on July 27th, 2009. In all, 17 whiffs were recorded against Pittsburgh, equaling the season high set against the Reds a couple of weeks ago.
• Today was Pittsburgh's first loss this season in 14 games when leading after six innings. 
• Mike Sanserino of the Post Gazette tweeted that "The Pirates have faced either the opposing team's opening day starter or the starter with the lowest ERA in every series this season."
• Daniel Cabrera & Jo-Jo Reyes are MLB vets putting up nice numbers at Indy. If there's no room  for them in Pittsburgh, GM Neal Huntington told Tom Singer of MLB.com that "The trade value there is limited; those guys typically don't bring you a lot in return. You don't want to hold somebody hostage, so the right thing to do is try to place them elsewhere." In other words, they are more likely to be released to seek opportunity elsewhere than get dealt.