Rumors and More

The day started off with the news that Brian Bixler and Andrew McCutchen were reassigned to the minor league camp. As I have said before, it is plainly obvious that McCutchen is ready to show what he can do in the big leagues. I guess the team just wants to wait a little while longer to prolong his arbitration clock and I have no problem with that. I only hope that he will be up in the big leagues before Memorial Day.

Bixler has seemingly turned some heads this spring as well. That is good news to hear, as I hope that we get a chance to see if he can improve on his rather poor performance in the big leagues last season. I want to say that the Bixler we saw last year is not what he can do on the major league level, he won't be a big time player, but I think he can be a more than serviceable major leaguer.

John Perrotto provided the juiciest nuggets of the day as he provided some rumors of possible future Buccos. He mentions Jeff Baker, a utility guy with youth and some upside from the Rockies as a player that the Pirates have been thinking about. He would definitely be a type of higher upside bench player, the kind of which we have not seen in some time in Pittsburgh.

Among the other names are defensive minded infielder Robert Andino, Morgan Ensberg (yet another guy I believe Littlefield wanted at some time), and Marcus Giles. While those names are not all that intriguing this one was; Jeff Niemann. You may remember his name as the tall righty was a first round pick out of Rice by the Rays a few years back, a Cam Bonifay pick if I am recalling it correctly.

Niemann has run out of options with the Rays and it looks as though he might get subjected to waivers. While injuries have held back the former top pick, Niemann is the prototype player the Pirates should be jumping at. He has a pedigree and obviously tremendous talent, he just needs some time and maybe a change of scenery. While he may not answer our current questions about the rotation, he could provide depth and the possibility of regaining the promise that made him a number one pick. I would absolutely love to add a guy like him and can only hope that the price is not all that high.

Interesting Stuff from Bradenton

Sunday's news online had all sorts of interesting little tidbits that has made this very long and boring spring training look to pick up as well enter the final week. First the Pirates get back Kyle Bloom, the upstart prospect taken by the Tigers in the Rule Five draft. Bloom had a rough spring with Detroit and he was offered back to the Bucs. It is great to have him back, as we will see if he continues to build on that good winter performance he had in Hawaii. It is well worth it having him around, as this organization needs to have as much pitching as possible.

The story that led the day in the morning was that Jack Wilson has approached the team about an extension and it appears he is willing to take a paycut. This story of Wilson and the Pirates has had so many turns one would think it was a soap opera plot. We do have an option on Wilson for next season, but it is at $8.4 million, way, way too much for what he brings. I am sure that we would gladly pay the buyout on that one.

Wilson approaching the club makes things at least interesting. The team may actually take a good long look or have discussions about whether it would be a good idea to bring him back. The other options in house are Brian Bixler and a bunch of other prospects slowly coming up through the system, starting with Brian Friday at AA. Bixler has seemingly turned heads this spring, but his performance last year in Wilson's absence is less than promising.

Bringing Wilson back would also have drawbacks, as he is getting older and decline in skills and risk of injury could start to wear on a guy that plays such a demanding position. I am not immediately advocating signing him, but if it is apparent the Bixler won't cut it or Friday can't make such big leap to the majors, then we may have little choice but to see what Wilson would want.

Perhaps the nugget that, to me, is most interesting is the response of Neal Huntington to questions from reporters about the performance of Andrew McCutchen. He went 5-5 on Saturday and has, by all accounts, impressed greatly. Listening to the game on Saturday, Steve Blass was stating that every team they play in the spring can't stop talking about McCutchen. One would then think that he is ready, but it is something that Huntington is not yet ready to firmly commit to.

I understand his tough spot. This looks to be a lost season for the Pirates, why waste a year of service time on a great player now. At the same time it is ridiculous to not have him on the roster, as he has proven himself, while Nyjer Morgan has not. The Pirates are best served with McCutchen in the outfield and if he does not start the season in St. Louis with the team, then he should be up in very short order, akin to the Rays and Evan Longoria last season. Enough with the "he needs to work on the little things" stuff, he is ready, just admit it is a financial decision if he does not start the year with the big league club.

Roster Getting Clearer

Today the Pirates announced that Ross Ohlendorf will be in the starting rotation. No big surprise there. It seemed for most of the spring, he was going to be given that chance to be in the rotation to start the season. The only spot left is the fifth man in that rotation and I'd say it heavily favors Jeff Karstens.

The other roster news was the Bucs reassigned to their minor league camp, Steve Pearce, Robinson Diaz, and Anderson Machado. The assignment of Machado is not earth shattering, he was mainly staying in camp this long perhaps for added depth. The other two are rather significant.

As for Pearce, he is going to Indianapolis to play first base, what that may mean for Garret Jones at Indy is anyone's guess right now. It seems the Bucs, at least publicly, are saying that Steve Pearce will be their first baseman next season. They want him to get work in and show that he is capable of handling the responsibilities once Adam LaRoche is gone. My guess is that Pearce is one of, hopefully, many plans being formulated for when Adam LaRoche leaves. We will see how things shake out on the that front as the minor league season progresses.

In the competition to backup Doumit, Robinson Diaz lost out to Jason Jaramillo. Really this competition could have gone either way. If they wanted offense they could have gone with Diaz. It they wanted defense, they go with Jaramillo, and that is what they decided to do for the at least the beginning of the season. I don't doubt that at some point, Jarmillo and Diaz will be swapping positions. Huntington, himself, alluded to just that type of scenario.

Finally a quick word on Jose Tabata. He is a very young man, not even old enough to legally buy alcohol, but what he has been through what men twice his age could not have handled better. I applaud him for facing the media himself, granted it was in Spanish, but nonetheless he wanted to make it known what was going on. Many can argue that perhaps he showed bad judgment in getting involved with his wife in the first place, but keep in mind he is a young man. Maybe immaturity played a role in his bad judgment or his youthful gullibility, but I think he showed a great deal and hopefully he will continue to mature from this experience and be able to put his personal issues behind him when he steps between the lines.

The World Baseball Classic

Usually, I tend to not stray too much from Pirate related matters, but I felt that with the ending of the World Baseball Classic, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the tournament. First off, as many of you could have guessed, I am a huge fan of the tournament. I think that many fans who are fans of a certain breed are going to like the tournament no matter what.

As I have read it seems that many just plain do not like the classic and I find the arguments to be rather lame. Before the tournament started, there were complaints that the USA team was not filled with enough stars. These writers must not have paid attention the last time around, when the egos of all those stars made the team an embarrassment. Take a look at Japan or Korea, two teams that have played extremely well in the two Classics, they are teams, not All-Star teams. I applauded USA baseball for realizing their mistake.

The argument about the lack of USA stars brings yet another point, it seems to me that too many of the critics of the event are too worried about Team USA. Granted everyone wants or rather expects Team USA to be good, we really should be, but it seems that lost in that thinking is that there are other good teams out there. Some criticism of the event are really almost too nativistic in tone. If that is indeed the case, then these people missed a really great game in the finals between Japan and Korea. Really one of the better baseball games I have watched in sometime.

I do believe, as great as I think the tournament is, there are problems with it. Of course there are going to be, as they are still trying to figure it all out. One of the problems that need to be addressed are definitely the timing of the event. Currently in spring training, most major leaguers are not ready to play a tournament like this. Plus being in March, it is too much for sports fans to take as we are all preoccupied with the NCAA tournament. Johan Santana has advocated playing in November and Jayson Stark would like the finals the week of the All-Star game, both seem to me better ideas than in the spring.

Another improvement would be the actual scheduling of the tournament. There seemed to be many off days in the tournament, perhaps leading to a lot of the injuries that plagued Team USA. If the off days were meant to be able to show the games on TV, that too seemed to backfire during the week, as they would try to play three games in one evening, that is almost too much even for the biggest baseball fan.

Finally, while I criticized the critics who seem to be too USA focused, I believe that for the event to catch hold in America, Team USA needs to be a little better managed and marketed. The actual management of the team the past two years was a joke, it was like an All-Star game. As much respect as I have for Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins should have played every game at shortstop. The juggling of the players, due to spring training work needing to get done, has no place when the emphasis should be on winning. When that type of player switching is going on, it signals to American fans, this game is not important. That needs to change. While the WBC seemed to do a better job of selling this Classic, they need to find a way to sell it to Americans. Why should they watch? It is the perhaps the key question to how it will become a bigger success here in the States.

While it is not perfect, the WBC does what the Olympics could never do, make international baseball really interesting. The best professionals from around the world participate in this event, something they could not do in the Olympics. It really makes for very interesting baseball match ups, it is just something is a little off with it. Hopefully the kinks will get worked out, as I cannot wait for the next one. I just hope that others will tune in and realize what they have been missing.

Pirates from the Past: Randy Tomlin

One of two former Liberty Flames to have played for the Bucs, the other Sid Bream, Randy Tomlin had a brief but solid career in the major leagues. While he only played five seasons, all with the Bucs, Tomlin was a stabilizing force on those Pirate pitching staffs of the early 1990's.

Drafted in 18th round of the 1988 draft Tomlin quickly went to work in the minor leagues. He got off to a quick start in the NYP League, going 7-5 and exhibiting excellent control on the mound. The next year he would start at high A ball and end up in AA before the end of the year, after going a comined 14-8. Tomlin was clearly on the radar for the ever improving Bucs.

He would get his first taste of the big leagues in 1990, starting 12 games for the bucs and going 4-4. He showed great control and a decent ability at striking out players. After his brief stint up in the bigs in '90, Tomlin would join the rotation in 1991. He only went 8-7 on the year, but sported 2.90 ERA in 175 innings. He would start Game 4 of the NLCS in Atlanta that year for the Bucs. He went 6 innings, giving up two runs early, as the Pirates came back to win that game 3-2 in the 10th.

The following season was Tomlin's best in the majors. He would start 33 games for the Bucs that season winning 14 of them. He would pitch over 208 innings, on his way to starting to establish a 'crafty lefty' type of game. In the 1992 NLCS, he would work in relief, pitching in Games 2 and 4, both losing affairs for the Pirates.

After the 1992 season the Pirates went downhill and so did Tomlin's major league career. He would spend two more seasons in Pittsburgh, appearing in a total of 28 games and going 4-11 in that span. The Pirates decided not to sign him after the 1994 season and he sat out a seson. In 1996 he signed with the Red Sox and went to pitch in Pawtuckett. After having a rough go in the Sox system, Tomlin called it a career.

The story does not end there for Tomlin as he returned to his alma mater, Liberty, to be an assitant coach workign with the pitchers. If memory serves me correct there was a short period of time he was trying a comeback, perhaps the same time John Smiley was, and the Pirates were somewhat interested. It never happened but perhaps for a reason, as Tomlin's coaching career was starting to take off. After spending 9 seasons as a coach at Liberty, Tomlin got the opportunity to join the Nationals system as pitching coach for Potomac. This season he will return to his old stomping grounds of Harrisburg as the Senators pitching coach.

Good teams always seem to have players like Randy Tomlin. They are not spectacular, but they get their job done and a little more. Sometimes it is all timing on when players and teams seem to match. For Tomlin he was the perfect match for the Pirates at the right time.

Major League Stats:

Year	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
1990-94	30	31	3.43	106	94	8	580.1	590	250	221	37	133	297	1.25

A Hint of the Future

In Sunday's Post Gazette, Chuck Finder profiled Neil Walker. I found the profile rather interesting as it seemed as though Walker was rather candid with Finder in the piece. He briefly touched on growing up a Pirate fan and wanting to wear the uniform to how fast he was seemingly caught on at third base. Then the article took a turn that I did not expect, Walker was talking about switching positions.

Apparently this is something that Walker has brought up with management, not the other way around. Walker seems to see what is going on around him. It does not take an idiot to realize that management seemingly wants Andy LaRoche to succeed. It also doesn't take much to see that Pedro Alvarez is so much closer to Pittsburgh than his assignment to Lynchburg indicates.

I applaud Walker for offering up the possibility of him moving, perhaps back behind teh plate or elsewhere. Granted he stated that he will do anything possible to help the team, but it is also a way for him to perhaps make it in the big leagues. He is taking a very proactive approach to helping not only himself, but perhaps the big league club down the line.

While the current third base situation is anything but solidified, a move right now for Walker would not make much sense. At the very least the front office feels that Walker can handle the position defensively, so until someone puts a stranglehold on the position, he'll remain there.

I have no doubt that at some point this season, Neil Walker will take the field at PNC and most likely at third base. Whether or not he stays there has a lot to do with what happens in Lynchburg and Altoona, as Alvarez advances, not what he does in Indianapolis. What Alvarez is able to do will be a strong indicator where Walker may play in 2010 and down the line.

Vince Lascheid

Some of my more fond memories of going to Three Rivers as a young fan in the early 1990's was the songs that Vince Lascheid would play as the players came up to bat. Back then he did the Pirates as well as the visitors. I can still remember hearing the theme from Dick Van Dyke for Andy Van Slyke and the Bonanza theme for Bobby Bonilla.

Unfortunately many young fans today, really only hear the organ intermittently throughout the game, sometimes only at the seventh inning stretch. That is a shame, because Pittsburgh had one of the better once in Vince Lascheid, who we lost this past week.

Thankfully last season, Lascheid recorded some of his music so that the Pirates could continue to use it. Despite the fact that he is gone, we will more than likely always hear his renditions of Drunken Sailor, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and the National Anthem on those occasions when a singer is not available. It is just too bad we could not have the other, funny songs that Lascheid would play for players as they came to the plate or into the game. Sadly those like Vince, are now gone, but at least not forgotten.

Post Gazette article on Lascheid
PiratesReport.com article on Lascheid

Rotation Competition?

With the cut of Gorzo earlier this week it seems to be almost certain that the starting rotation to start the season will be Paul Maholm, Ian Snell, Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens. Virgil Vasquez and Jason Davis are still around, but it would be rather shocking if either of them were in the rotation to start the year.

It got me thinking then, was there really any competition for the starting rotation? Think about it. Ask yourself this, if last October you were to just guess the rotation who would you name. Probably Maholm, Snell, Duke, Ohlendorf and Karstens. So that leads me to ask, was there really any competition in the camp for any of these spots? Or were these spots these guys' to lose?

It really looks like it was the latter. If Gorzelanny came in to camp in shape and with improved mechanics, he might have been considered. He still seems to be struggling a bit in those areas, as far as management is concerned, so how much of a competitor was he in camp? Jason Davis might have been considered for the rotation, but he seems to be more a bullpen guy anyway. Virgil Vasquez, was a later addition to the roster so he could have never been planned on being some sort of entrant in the Pirate rotation sweepstakes.

Last year, I really agreed with the front office that we needed more upper level starting pitchers. It was really obvious, as we were reaching anywhere to find some pitching. With the trades at the deadline we brought in depth, but it seems to be that is all that we brought in, depth. Not so much competition but depth.

Don't get me wrong, depth is great. I think we are better off with all of these new guys in AAA and in the majors, but it seems as though there never really was any competition. These guys seemed to be the ones. It does not seem to be much different from last spring, when we all knew the rotation. Maybe I am wrong, wouldn't be the first time, I just hope that these guys all deserved the spots, and went just handed them because we need to justify a trade we made.

Dropping like Flies

On Wednesday the Pirates made a flurry of 'cuts', moving multiple players over to the minor league camp. Some of them were quite surprising. Dave Davidson and Brian Slocum were not all that surprising, really who thought that either would be on the major league team to start the year.

Neil Walker was kind of surprising, if only because you would have thought that they would have wanted him to get more major league work. But then Huntington explained that Walker's contract had a line in it that would have put him on the big league roster if he got hurt, so instead of risking an option, he was sent out to the minor league camp.

Jose Tabata, another cut, was really a surprise to me. He has gotten a lot of looks so far in camp and the game on TV on Monday was a Jose Tabata infomercial. The guys just could not stop raving about his approach at the plate and how he does not look like the 'troubled youngster' we got from the Yankees. I really thought that they would perhaps continue to challenge him with better competition, as it seemed as though he was thriving, or at least, playing up to it. I will say that seeing him get sent out was a little bit of a head scratcher, if only because he was turning some heads, I thought maybe he'd get another week or so.

The real surprise, not only for this spring, but down the line, was Tom Gorzelanny. It really seems so long ago that Gorzo seemed to be on the cusp of doing something special. Then things just started to fall apart. One can only guess what happened. Was it Jim Tracy and Colby running him out there for all those pointless innings to try to save their jobs? Was it perhaps Gorzo not taking care of his body the way a professional should? A combination of the both? What ever it is I really have no clue. He was always a good pitcher coming up through the system and it looked like he'd have a breakthrough akin to Paul Maholm, instead he has taken steps backward.

No matter the reason, management seems to not like something that he is doing. Whether it is performance or his approach to the game, he seems to not be pleasing them. Hopefully Gorzo responds well to this setback and makes his way back. If he does not impress management or does things more to their liking, he will be on his way out. Just ask Jose Bautista or Ronny Paulino.

Pirates from the Past: Frank Thomas

Known around these parts as the Original, Thomas had a great run in the 1950's for the Pirates. The Pittsburgh native played all around the diamond while continuing to swing a power bat for the Buccos. His play in the 1950's helped to lessen the blow of the trade of Ralph Kiner, as Thomas became the power bat to stay and watch.

Thomas was a hot shot prospect for the Buccos in the early 1950's. He got cups of coffee in the 1951 and '52 seasons, but it was not until Branch Rickey traded away Ralph Kiner, that Thomas stayed in the big leagues. There was much hope for Thomas filling the shoes of Kiner, as he had hit .303 for New Orleans of the Southern Association in 1952 while also leading the circuit in runs scored (112), home runs (35), and runs batted in (131).

In his first full season in Pittsburgh, Thomas did not disappoint as he hit .255 with over 100 RBI and 30 HR. It was a very nice debut for the young slugger, despite the sub par showing for the team as a whole. 1954 would be the year that many would start to take notice of Thomas outside of Pittsburgh as he was named to the National League All-Star team. He would finish the year batting .298, with 96 RBI and 23 HR.

He was again an All-Star in 1955, despite his average dropping off to .245. In 1956 he was asked by manager Bobby Bragan to moved to third base. Thomas accepted the move, as he felt that if Bragan thought he could hack then so did he. Thomas responded well to the move as he hit .282/25/80 that season. The next year he would add a firstbaseman's mitt to his bag as he hit .290/23/89. His versatility and consistency was a welcome presence in the Pirate lineup.

In 1958, Thomas would have his best season as he finished second to Ernie Banks in home runs and RBI. Named an All-Star at third base, Thomas hit .281/35/109 that season for the Bucs. He finished fourth in the league in MVP voting that season. His home run total could have been more impressive if he had the benefits of the famed Kiner Korner or Greenberg Gardens in left field. The short porch left with Kiner and Thomas had to hit in the mass expanse of Forbes Field. One can only imagine what his total would have been as he hit only nine of his 35 home runs that season at home.

Despite finishing second in the division that season to the Milwaukee Braves, the Pirates decided to plan for the future and trade their star slugger along with Jim Pendleton and Johnny Powers to the Reds for Smoky Burgess, Harvey Haddix, and Don Hoak. That trade would be the start of a journeyman career for Thomas, but something special for the Buccos, as he would travel to numerous cities for the rest of his career.

He spent a year in Cincinnati then was dealt to the Cubs, where he'd spend a year and change, until he went to the Milwaukee Braves. After hitting 25 home runs for the Braves he was sent to the expansion New York Mets in 1962. Thomas played exceptionally well for one of the worst teams in baseball history, as he hit .226/34/94 for Stengel's Mets.

That 1962 season would be his last really great season, as age started to catch up to him. He was sent to the Phillies in 1964 but would not stay long in the City of Brotherly Love. He got into a fight with Dick Allen in 1965, prompting the Phils to put Thomas on waivers, where he was claimed by the Houston Astros. He was barely in Houston when the Astros sent him back to Milwaukee later in the season. He was then released by the Atlanta Braves before the 1966 season, despite never playing a game in Atlanta. He caught on with the Cubs in '66, his last in the big leagues.

Time never seemed to be on Thomas' side. He played on some pretty crappy Pirate teams, then he gets traded two years before the World Series. The Reds went to the Series two years, again, after he left the team. He played on the inaugural Mets team, probably one of the worst teams ever. If that were not enough, many hear his name and think of this guy.

While he may have been on some bad teams, Thomas was usually a lone bright spot in the lineup. He played hard and hit the ball hard. he was a great team player, always looking to help out the team. For many the Original will be remembered as a great player, who maybe does not get quite enough credit.

Career Stats:

Year	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1951-66	1766	6285	792	1671	262	31	286	962	484	894	.266

Sympathy for the Devil?

I have read reports and quotes from Pirates brass that they will not alter their approach to the draft no matter the demands of the client. They state time and time again that they will select the best player, no mater the cost. This is interesting as usually the better players are represented by one Scott Boras. The case this year is that he seems to have an inordinate amount of the top talent, making yet another Pirates v. Boras showdown a distinct possibility.

Up until now we have only heard the Pirates' side of things. They have stated that there are no hard feelings and that they will continue to pursue the best talent, but what of Scott Boras? I found this interview with Rolling Stone/Men's Journal writer Matt Taibbi that is a must read for any Pirate fan.

The article was to be a piece mainly profiling the most powerful man in baseball. Many know of him, but few have much information about him. Taibbi, always wanting to tell these kinds of stories, went to seek out Boras with the intent of talking about what it is like to be Scott Boras. Instead the superagent veered off and went on an offensive about the Pirates and their ownership.

Taibbi's recounting of the story makes it seem as though Boras was still steamed about the whole ABC Affair, and this interview was conducted in what seems to be mid December. I won't reprint all the quotes, as there are many, so read it for yourself. It to me really says that Boras will never forget and will be difficult to deal with.

After reading this article, I really got to thinking about how difficult Boras could make life for the Pirates. Then my thoughts turned to his views on the greedy owners, not just the Pirates, but all owners, and I actually started to feel that Boras' stance in negotiations might be right, which stands counter to everything I have read and thought before.

In the end, the article did not leave me with a great feeling of things being alright with the Scott Boras Corp and the Nuttings. While I'd like to think that the Pirates will try to pick the best player, what could they do if Boras was just too difficult to deal with? It could be a wasted pick if he proved too difficult. Hopefully things like that will never ever come to pass, but then again who would have predicted what happened with Alvarez's contract either.

Cuts are Coming

Chuck Finder, filling in for Dejan before the season starts, had some interesting tidbits about a closed door meeting Neal Huntington had with some of the Pirates' brass. The main thing seems to be that cuts are going to be coming soon as There are just a about two weeks or so left in spring training.

It should come as no surprise then that the cuts will be coming, hopefully in time for the game that is going to be televised tonight. It will give something more the broadcast to be able to hear about the news of the day.

What will be interesting is to see what outfielders get sent out to the minor league camp. The article seems to hint that Jeff Salazar, is bound for AAA so will he be one of the first? How much longer is Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata going to stay around as well? Eric Hinske's injuries may warrant keeping at least one of them around longer than perhaps expected, but perhaps the performance of Nyjer Morgan may also keep them around as well.

Of Morgan, Huntington said, "His ability to stay as a regular player is going to come down to his ability to get on base." I think most Pirate fans can already tell Neal whether or not Nyjer will be able to get on base; he never will at any reliable rate. Maybe leaving one of the minor leaguers around will perhaps breed competition for Nyjer, or maybe the competition may change plans.

It also now seems that it just maybe shocking if Craig Monroe does not make the opening day roster, which leads to the question of how will space be made for him?

Unfortunately these questions will not be answered at least for the next two weeks. It will give for interesting thoughts and discussion until then.

Littlefield a Visionary?

It seems that for the past three seasons Jack Wilson has been on the trading block. The ink was barely dry when he signed his current contract and we seemingly were looking to unload him. The rumors really started to heat up in the waning days of the Littlefield regime, when it at first looked as though our shortstop maybe headed to the Motor City.

If you remember correctly the player that seemingly held it all up, was not the up and coming Jair Jurrjens who was rumored to have been offered, no it was designated hitter/outfielder Craig Monroe. It seems that Dave Littlefield was heads over heels for this guy, so much so that the trade never happened, because he could not get his hands on Monroe.

I remember thinking at the time, what the absolute fascination was with Craig Monroe? He seemed like an alright player, but was not some must have player. I actually would have been really ticked if we had actually traded for him. Especially since later that season he could barely hack it with the Twins. But that was Dave Littlefield, who had a fascination with guys a few years too late. Mike Restovich anyone? Pokey Reese?

Anyway we now have Craig Monroe, on a minor league contract, which is a lot more palatable. Even better is the fact that he seems to be a contender for the bench in Pittsburgh. He has hit well in spring training, for what that is worth, but on a minor league deal it will not really hurt us in the long run. While Littlefield wanted him a centerpiece of an outfield, Monroe is a much more effective bench player, that gives some slight upside. Not a ton of upside, but he may have the potential to be a little more productive than many other guys who have sat on the bench in Pittsburgh in recent seasons.

While not spring related, I found this article from Paul Meyer about the state of the Pirates farm system on the Post Gazette website. It must have been written after the 2001 draft, shortly after the Bucs had selected John Van Benschoten and the firing of Cam Bonifay. Let me say that it is one interesting read. It seems to the reader from now, that perhaps the team had an inkling of what needed to be done, but instead let Littlefield talk a big game and not do anything about it. It is actually kind of sad that the problems of the franchise were pretty well known in 2001, but are almost the same right now.

The Shaping of a Rotation

It seems as the spring is moving along the rotation is slowly getting into form. Yesterday Paul Maholm, by all accounts had a rather strong performance on the mound. While it is a spring start, he seemed to most observers to be more than ready to go. Frankly that was expected, as we kind of all are really hoping that Paul does take that step forward this year and continues to grow as a major league pitcher.

The rest of the rotation was going to be a crap shoot, though many kinda figured that Ian Snell was as close to a bet as could be. While we haven't seen much of Snell in Bradenton, as he has been with Puerto Rico, the rest of teh rotation has gotten in work and we seem to have some answers.

John Perrotto took a look at the rotation in his blog post earlier and seems to feel that every spot but one is spoken for. He seems to put Maholm, Snell, Duke, Ohlendorf, and a mystery man in the rotation.

I cannot disagree with the first three, I am a little surprised that it may seem that Ohlendorf has secured a spot. Its not that I dislike him, but I just don't quite seem to understand the management's view of him. After what he 'accomplished' in Pittsburgh last year, I would want to really see something from him. Maybe he has shown something and I just have not read about it.

Perhaps the most interesting story is that of Virgil Vasquez, who no one thought would be in consideration for the rotation. He has seemingly come out of no where to be in a battle with Karstens, Gorzelanny, and McCutchen for that last spot. I am really surprised that he is in any type of contention, but the hit and miss nature of his competition elevates him to that status.

It probably won't be much longer until the rotation starts to really thin itself out, as McCutchen will probably be the first to go. After that it might start to get interesting.

Prospect Flashback: Jose Pett

With all the World Baseball Classic and the news of Tampa Bay establishing the first baseball academy in Brazil, it got me thinking about the Pirates first Brazilian player, Jose Pett. Grant you he wasn’t much of a prospect considering he spent two full seasons of his 3 year Pirates tenure on the disabled list but I still find it fascinating and worth talking about. If you remember about a year back, we briefly talked about him in Part 2 of the “Fire Sale” write up, now I feel is a good time to take a closer look at him.

When the Pirates first acquired Jose Pett in November of ‘96 he had just finished up his 4th season in the Blue Jays organization. At that time there was a great deal of hype surrounding Abraham Nunez, but Jose Silva and Jose Pett were two players who only years before where considered two of the top pitchers in the Jays organization. At 6’6, Pett had a very projectable size and considering that he was always one of the youngest players in his league, there was still a great deal of optimism surrounding him.

In the book Venezuelan Boom, Baseball Bust, about the exploits of Andres Reiner and his pioneering of the Venezuelan baseball market, there is a page about the frenzy surrounding Jose Pett back in 1992. In a nutshell, the Astros were outbid for his services by Toronto but they note that it seemed to be the first volley fired in the international bidding war for players. From that point on, the international scouting market for teams would take on a whole new life of its own thanks in part to this lanky Brazilian pitcher.

Originally signed by Toronto on July 2 1992 to a then record bonus for a non drafted free agent of $700,000, Pett made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast league as a 17 year old in 1993. His numbers there weren’t overly impressive but he more then held his own. Apparently the Jays liked what they saw because in 1994 at the age of 18 he was pitching for High A Dunedin in the Florida State League. In his 15 starts there, he was 4-8 and had a 3.77 ERA, not that bad for a 17 year old. The one thing of concern was his strikeouts, in 91 innings he only had 49, probably not what you want to see from a pitcher of his size and supposed stuff. There was enough optimism there for the Jays to continue to push him and once again he seemed to hold his own in Double A but it was a different story at Triple A where he got shelled. It’s understandable considering his age but much like his first year in full season ball, he wasn’t getting many strike outs and was giving up too many fly balls which is a great concern for any pitcher.

Once Pittsburgh acquired Pett, he found himself back down at Double A in the starting rotation for Carolina as a 21 year old. Once again though, he had some success going 4-4 there with a 3.51 ERA but like many other levels he had played at, he only had 39 K’s to go with 25 BB in 74 innings. Not the type of ratio you want to see. Still, despite that, the Pirates promoted him to Calgary, which was a hitters’ haven. In his 3 starts that year, he lost all 3 games and had a 9.64 ERA. After the ‘97 season ended, he never pitched again for the Pirates. He spent the next two seasons on the disabled list, which I believe was due to a shoulder injury, though I’ve never been able to find anything official confirming it. Following the ‘99 season he became a minor league free agent and was signed by Cleveland in January of 2000. He only managed to pitch 1 inning in the NY Penn League before getting released in July of that year thus ending his pro career in the US.

One now has to think back and wonder what went wrong. Was he rushed up through the system too quickly by Toronto and the Pirates? Was he just over-hyped all along and kept getting pushed through the system based on the fact that he was considered a stud prospect? I think a lot of it had to do with his mechanical issues and ultimately the injury seemed to put the final dagger in his career. Unfortunately this is something that can be debated about endlessly regarding him and countless other minor leaguers that have fallen short. The one thing I do know for sure is that he was the first hyped Latin amateur prospect in baseball and the first Brazilian to make it big in the game, even though he fell a little short, is it one thing he can always be remembered for.

Pirate from the Past: Howie Camnitz

While he did not spend a whole lot of time in the major leagues, there was perhaps no more valuable of a pitcher in Pittsburgh during his stay than Howie Camnitz. Having assorted nicknames, all having to do with his red hair, the right handed native of Kentucky was a central piece of the Pirates 1909 World Series team.

Camnitz broke into the big leagues in 1904 for a cup of coffee. He would return again in 1906 for yet another short stay in the big leagues. It was in 1907 that Camnitz earned his stay, after pitching extremely well for the Toledo team in the American Association.

At the age of 25, Camnitz would go 13-8 and throw five complete games. It was also in 1907 that Camnitz pitched a no hitter against the New York Giants, albeit in a shortened five inning affair. His next season, Camnitz took a step forward and 16-9, pitching in over 230 innings. Camnitz was using his great curve ball and his statistical analysis of the era to gain an edge. In an era where terms like VORP and OPS were not known, Camnitz took time to study the box scores of the upcoming opponents to get a statistical feel on them.

Surely his analysis helped a great deal in his magical 1909 season when he tied Christy Matthewson for the league winning percentage. He would go an amazing 25-6 that season helping to lead the Pirates to the World Series. Unfortunately he did not play a big part in the series itself. It is reported that he may have a throat irritation or went on a bender, but he was very ineffective in his series appearances. Starting Game Two, he was rocked for five runs in 2.1 innings. Camnitz's only other appearance came in Game Six, when he allowed one run in an inning of relief.

Things seemed to go downhill for Camnitz after the series. He had a horrible follow up season, going 12-13. He seemed to have put on weight and some where saying that he was just plain out of shape. Barney Dreyfuss believed in him, giving him hefty bonuses in hopes of getting him back to where he was. It seemed to work as he posted back to back 20 win seasons, but he was getting hit a lot. The life was just not there in his arm.

In 1913 after going 6-17 for the Pirates, which seems too hard to believe as the team was still pretty good, he was traded to the Phillies where he went 3-3. After the season, Camnitz jumped to the Federal League's Pittsburgh Rebels. The change of scenery did him no good. He went 14-19 in the sub par renegade league. He was also criticized by Honus Wagner and Pirate management for trying to recruit Pirate players to the Rebels.

Things turned worse for him as he had a squabble with management of the Rebels, who said he was out of shape and unfit to play. Camnitz threatened to sue as he felt he was due payment. After the 1915 season, Camnitz was out of professional baseball. He returned to Kentucky, where he would spend out his life working in auto sales. He passed away in 1960.

While he is not one of the greatest Pirate pitchers of all-time, for a short period of time Camnitz was a key part of the pitching staff. He helped the team get to the 1909 World Series, while having one of the best pitching seasons in Pirates history. It is unfortunate that one season seemed to be all that he had in his right arm.

Career Stats:

Years	W	L	G	GS	CG	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA
1904, '06-15	133	106	326	236	137	2085.3	1852	855	637	41	656	915	2.75

Injuries and Debuts

It seems as though the injury bug seems to be striking the Pirates as of recently. While thankfully none of it seems severe it is still not that great of news. Last week Jose Tabata's shoulder seemed to be bothering him and he is taking it slow and now Brandon Moss has a problem with his thumb. It seems to be a bruise, but the team is going through all the precautions in case it may be something more. Hopefully it is just a bruise and he'll be back quickly.

Unfortunately for prospect Jarek Cunningham he won't be coming back all that quickly. He tore his ACL and looks like he will miss all of the season. It seems as though if his recovery goes well, he should be back in time for the instructional league in Bradenton that happens in the fall.

John Perrotto notes that the injury while a set back in Cunnigham's development, will allow the organization to look at the depth at shortstop in the organization. While Cunningham is rehabbing the organization gets a good look at the other guys in the system like Mercer and D'Arnaud. This year will help a lot in trying to determine the status of some of these college and more advanced prospects. As for Cunnigham, he is still young and will have time to work back, but baseball is a game of skills and the less time he has to hone those skills the worse off he is. Hopefully he has a quick return.

The World Baseball Classic got into full swing this weekend and I got a chance to take a look at Gift Ngoepe, the South African signed this past winter by the Bucs. While he seemed to be over matched by the Cubans at the one time at the plate I saw him, he did seem to hold his own or at least not look too out of place. He is extremely raw, but he looks like he has tools that could develop. If anything it was just great know how to pronounce his last name, "Nah-gwahp-eh", it seems is the pronounciation.

Speaking of Gift, ESPN profiled him on their website. It talks about his story of growing up on the baseball complex and how he has dreamed of playing big league ball. He definitely has a good story and is a guy that many will want to root for.

Get to Know Your Affiliates: West Virginia

This past off season the Pirates shuffled their Sally league affiliate from the Hickory Crawdads to the West Virginia Power. In doing so the Pirates traded their longest tenured affiliate, for one that the team has a historical tie to from the early 1970's.

Charleston, WV, like many minor league cities has had a spotted history with minor league baseball. From 1910 to 1916 Charleston was home to various Class D minor league teams under the names of the Statesmen and Senators. The minor league club left after that 1916 season, despite the fact that local businessmen Charles A. Beers and Watt Powell built a new ballpark in 1917. Baseball returned in 1930, playing in the Kanawha Park that was built after the city lost professional baseball. The new club in town was again called the Senators and they would be affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. The team played up until 1943 in Charleston, before moving away yet again due to a fire at Kanawha Park.

In 1948 a brand new ballpark, named after Watt Powell opened and the Senators an A ball affiliated of the Reds again called the city home. For the foreseeable future Charleston was a city that experienced a lot of change with its ball club. A time line of events follows:

Affiliated with Reds (1948-52)
Affiliated with White Sox (52-55)
Affiliated with Tigers (56-59)
Affiliated with Senators (1960)

At the start of 1961 there was no team, until a team named the Marlins from Puerto Rico moved to Charleston after a hurricane destroyed their stadium. The team was renamed the Indians and played in the Eastern League as a St. Louis affiliate. The Indians would leave town after 1964, opening the door for Bob Levine to bring a AAA club in 1970.

That new AAA club would be called the Charlies and be affiliated with the Pirates, during some of the better years to be a part of the organization from 1971 to 1975. The affiliation with the Pirates would result in a International League championship in 1973. The Charlies would finish out the rest of the 1970's and early 1980's jumping from the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and the Cleveland Indians.

Baseball would again leave Charleston in the mid 1980's only to return as the Wheelers in a multi-team cooperative venture in the Sally League. In 1988 the Wheelers were a Cubs affiliate, the in 1990 the Reds came back again. New ownership came in 1993 and renamed the club the Alley Cats in 1995. They became a Royals team in 1999 then a Blue Jays club in 2001.

In 2005 the team became the West Virginia Power and moved into Appalachian Power Park as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They had a rather successful run with the Brewers. This past season teh Pirates returned to Charleston, sadly without the Charlies nickname or the cool logo.

Some of the players to have played in Charleston include Dave Parker, Richie Zisk, John Candelaria, Kent Tekulve, Von Hayes,Tony La Russa, Willie Randolph, Jason LaRue, Mark Corey, Pokey Reese, Robinson Diaz, Ryan Braun, Alcidies Escobar, Yovani Gallardo, Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta. One can also not forget the past Voice of the Pirates, Lanny Frattare was also once a Charlie, albeit in the booth.

Does Spring Mean Anything?

Every year you hear or read about how what goes on in spring training means nothing. I totally agree that most of what goes on down there does not mean anything. A perfect example that is often recited in Pirate circles is that of Mark Johnson impersonating Babe Ruth in Bradenton one spring. Yet there are many things that seem to mean something. It is not so much the stats and so forth, but more of the how does he look type of things that seem to matter.

Take for instance this story on Andy LaRoche. For one it was refreshing to read that he called his performance last season a 'fiasco'. I would say that is a pretty good term for what happened when he came over to the Pirates. I have read some other reports from Bradenton that have also had favorable things to say about his performance on the field. Does it really mean much of anything? Maybe not but at least it seems that he maybe on track to actually do something this season.

Another player that I keep seeing mentioned, is that of Andrew McCutchen. It seems that he seems to be getting a lot of playing time in the early going. I don't know if that is because the club wants him to see as much major league pitching as possible or does it mean that there is a possibility that he may open the season in Pittsburgh? I would think that he probably will still go to Indianapolis to start the season, but his play in the spring may accelerate his debut in Pittsburgh.

Finally two pitchers also seem to be getting a lot of attention. The one Donnie Veal should rightfully get attention as he is the Rule Five draft pick. The other is Chris Bootcheck, who is mainly known so far for having the weird name. Yet is seems as though the both of them have had good springs thus far. For Veal it is a welcome surprise for the club, as they may feel that they really got a good steal from the Cubs (that would be nice for a change). Bootcheck on the other hand may make the bullpen competition even closer than what was once thought.

While the numbers and results of games may not mean too much, some of the performances of these Pirates are starting to make things look a little more interesting. It will be interesting to see how things progress as we move forward this spring.

Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy

Connie Mack is known by many lovers of baseball history as the owner/manager of the Philadelphia Athletics. His time in Philadelphia is marked by the longest tenure ever by a manager, of course it helps that you are also an owner, but his first taste of managing came on the other side of the Keystone state.

Born to Irish immigrants in Massachusetts, Mack took a liking to baseball at an early age. He played all around the diamond, eventually settling in at catcher for a state championship team in Massachusetts. After his amateur days, Mack went around looking for offers to play minor league baseball. He eventually played with his brother in law in the Connecticut League, and later in the Eastern League.

At the end of the 1886 Eastern League season he was sold to the Washington Nationals of the National League, where he made his major league debut. He played in 10 games that season, hitting .361. He would spend three more seasons in Washington, playing all around the diamond. For the 1890 season Mack joined in with other players in the formation of the Player's League, where Mack bought into and played for the Buffalo team. The league was a failure and Mack lost his lifetime savings.

The following year he was assigned to Pittsburgh, where Mack would end his playing days. In his first season with the club he batted .214, a harbinger of the end of his playing days. Mack would spend the next two seasons solely as a player, appearing in only 134 games. By the end of the 1894 season Mack was the player manager, replacing Al Buckenberger, who has led the team from second to seventh place.

Mack, however would not fare much better than Buckenberger in his three years as player/manager of the Bucs. He finished 7th in 1894, mainly Buckenberger's team, and finish in the same spot in 1895. His final year in Pittsburgh, 1896 he managed to secure 6th place for the Pirates. After the season, management wanted to go in a different direction and hired Patsy Donovan to be the new manager.

Mack went off to Ban Johnson's Western League to manage and run the Milwaukee team in that league. It was there he learned a great deal about the business of baseball and made the connections that allowed him to sign on with the Philadelphia Athletics in Johnson's American League.

It was in Philadephia that Mack would become the legend of baseball, a man that defined much of the game prior to World War II. Many forget that he was first given a chance at managing in Pittsburgh, though not clearly as successful here as he was in Philadelphia, he is one of the many greats of the game to have graced a Pirate dugout.

Playing Career:

Years	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA
1886-96	723	2695	391	659	79	28	5	265	.245

Pirate Managing Career:

Years	G	W	L	WP
1894-6	289	149	134	.532

Spring Training Starts to Pick Up

It seemed like for a while spring training was just dragging along and nothing was really happening in the Pirates' camp. Then today there seemed to be a flurry of news and notes that seemed to pick things up a bit.

The first interesting note was in the pregame notes from Dejan in his blog earlier in the day. There was a small mention that he had run into Chuck Tanner and Tanner had come across with praise for Neil Walker and Chris Bootcheck. While it is indeed early in spring training that line hit me as last season, it was was Tanner that argued for Ryan Doumit to be the full time catcher. That observation seemed to work out nicely, I wonder if there may be some similar type of argument made by Tanner later this spring about either Walker or Bootcheck.

The second piece of news was that Jose Tabata has mild inflammation in his rotator cuff. Ever since Freddy Sanchez had his bouts of a an inflammation in his shoulder, I take pause anytime I hear of another Pirate with this type of ailment. While each case is different for each player, the timing is not all that great for Tabata. He was coming into his first spring with the club to make a big impression on the major league staff, and now will be down, hopefully, for a little while. It is a crucial year for Tabata, as many seem to think he could be finally be able to tap his talent now that he is out of the Yankee spotlight.

The final news of the day was some great news for Pirates fans, especially ones like me that plan on watching the World Baseball Classic. Pirate reliever John Grabow was named to the United States team to take the place of Brian Fuentes, for at least the first round. I am very happy for Grabow, as I am sure most fans are. He really is one of the better relievers in the game and is getting a great honor to show his talents to people outside of Pittsburgh. He has come quite a long way since coming to the big leagues.

Accountable Development

In yesterday's Post Gazette, Dejan wrote about the way that Kyle Stark is focusing on the development of the Pirates minor leaguers. It was a rather interesting piece that I felt had many points worth taking note of. The obvious, though slightly superfluous,is that the minor leaguers will all have to wear high socks. I personally really like that one, just because it looks like a baseball uniform that way, but I digress.

On note was that the Pirates seemingly escaped the year with no major pitching injuries, something that the team has seemingly been unable to do recently. While it may be attributable to the stringent pitch counts that the club has instituted, I am waiting to see exactly what happens this season. The past decade or so seemed to be more an incredible run of bad luck for the club more than anything. Maybe this year the baseball gods smiled down on the Pirates' minor leaguers.

I would think more so that the bio mechanical analysis done on the pitchers may have had more to due with helping to prevent injury, that is not to say that monitoring pitch counts did not help as well, but I am not one to point to the pitch counts as the reason for healthy prospects.

The other points brought up in the piece are more a reflection on how poorly things were most likely done before than now. The fact that the team did not have a rotation of scouts looking at their own players and spending time looking at them is almost unfathomable. To me that is a clear pronouncement that the previous management, not just Littlefield, did not take the development of their organization seriously.

Brian Graham, who at one time was considered to perhaps stay in Pittsburgh, does not seem to look good from this article. Graham was the player development guy and it seems as though he spent more time developing the minor leaguers not from Altoona or Hickory, but from Pittsburgh. That almost makes no sense.

It has only been one season though, so who knows if these guys really know what they are doing as well. I'd like to think that they do, but who am I to really tell. I'd like to see what a review like this one will look like next season, after these players spend another year in a new development program. I'd like to see how many more players play more, from fewer injuries, and how many take larger steps forward in development.