Let the Good Times Roll

When Neal Huntington gets going he sure does get at it doesn't he? I don't think that there is any team in baseball that has made as many transactions as he has in the past year. He has taken what was a bad team, and tried his best to totally rebuild it. You have to at least admire his willingness to make all of these moves, I can't remember the last time there has been a team with this much turnover in trades. (Maybe the dismantling of the '97 Marlins?)

Anyway, I was surprised to see Grabow and Gorzo both go, as they were both two of the more advanced lefties we have. Right now all we really have to throw out of the pen is Donnie Veal, who by the way I am surprised was not included in this deal with the Cubs.

As far as a gut reaction to the trade, it does not really bother me what we got per se, I just thought we'd like to keep a lefty around or at least maybe acquire some more, as we are very deficient in that area now.

The moves that have been made, at least on a whole, could have been seen by anyone paying attention. Most knew that the major leaguers that got traded probably would get traded, but it is still shocking/exciting that it actually did happen.

For fans like myself, the rest of the season will be plenty of fun to watch, even if the results aren't fun. It will be great to see who gets called up, Milledge is on his way now, and who gets playing time. The entire slate seems to be a clean and it is ripe for competition.

For years your prototypical fan cried and cried that they would just want to see a bunch of young guys playing their hearts out. Well know those fans have what they have wanted for years, though they are probably too distraught over losing the seemingly irreplaceable Jack Wilson.

They wanted young guys that hustled and fought. Well here you go. We have actually gone and done it. The roster is now filled with young potential and I cannot wait to see how it all works out. It is a fun time to be a fan, and I really, really mean that.

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: West Virginia
Batter of the Week: Starling Marte, West Virginia
Pitcher of the Week: Hunter Strickland and Diego Moreno, West Virginia

Indianapolis: 4-3 For the Week

Tagg Bozied led the way for the Tribe in hits with 10 for the week. converted centerfielder Brian Bixler had 9 hits and had a bit of a power surge as he had 2 triples, 2 home runs, and 6 RBI. Bryan Myrow had 8 hits and Robinson Diaz had 8 hits, two of them home runs. Lastings Milledge, destined for the Burgh, had 7 hits and 3 RBI. Shelby Ford had 5 hits and Neil Walker 4.

Brad Lincoln picked up his second AAA win going 7 innings allowing only 2. Daniel McCutchen picked up a win and a loss this week. In two starts this week, he had 13 innings pitched and allowed only 1 run. Chris Bootcheck picked up 2 saves, giving him 17 on the season.

Altoona: 4-3 For the Week

Jose Tabata continues his hot hitting as he led the team with 11 htis on the week, including 2 doubles and a triple. Miles Durham had 9 hits and Brian Friday 8 with 6 RBI. Pedro Alvarez had 5 RBI to go with his 6 hits and 5 walks. Gorkys Hernandez had 5 RBI. Jim Negrych only had 2 hits and will miss the rest of the season after colliding with another teammate in the field.

Yoslan Herrera picked up his 7th win of the season, and he has yet to lose. More impressive is that Danny Moskos picked up his 8th win, though he does have 8 losses, though that is attributed more to the shoddy defense the Curve had to start the season. In two starts Moskos went 11 innings, allowin only 2. Jeff Sues went 2 scoreless and Mike Dubee went 4.2 scoreless. Kyle Bloom picked up his 4th win, while striking out 8 in 10 over two starts.

Lynchburg: 2-4 For the Week

Erik Huber had 10 hits and 5 RBI in leading the Hillcats. Jordy Mercer, Alex Presley and Kris Watts all had 5 hits apiece. Eddie Prasch drove in 5 runs.

After having a poor start where he did not get out of the first, Jeff Locke had perhaps his best start with the organization as he went 6 innings, allowing only 1 and striking out 7 in a no decision. Mike Colla picked up his 5th win on the week. Ron Uviedo went five and allowed five in a loss, his fourth and Bryan Morris went 6, allowing 3 in a no decision. Justin Wilson threw 4 scoreless in a no decision and RJ Rodriguez got his 19th save.

West Virginia: 6-1 On the Week

Leading the Power's offensive attack was Starling Marte. His line for the week was 7 runs, 11 hits, 2 doubles, 1 HR, and 8 RBI. Close behind was Quincy Latimore with 10 hits, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR and 7 RBI. Adenson Chourio had 7 hits and Tony Sanchez had 6 hits, a home run, and 5 RBI. Robbie Grossman had 6 hits, as did Kyle Morgan, who also had 2 HR and 7 RBI.

The pitching performance of the week went to Hunter Strickland and Diego Moreno, who combined on a no hitter. Strickland went 6 and struck out 5, while Moreno went 3. On the Week Moreno threw 5 no hit innings. Rudy Owens is on a pitch count and only took 3 innings, allowing no hits and runs, while striking out 4. Quinton Miller got his first win by going 6 scoreless and striking out 3.

State College: 5-2 For the Week

Brock Holt was the leading hitter for the Spikes for the week as he had 7 runs, 11 hits, a home run and 6 RBI. David Rubinstein had 8 hits, a home run, a triple, and 5 RBI. Aaron Baker had 5 hits and 6 RBI. Justin Byler had 6 hits and 5 RBI.

None of the pitching performances seemed to stand out, but they did rack up 5 wins. Maurice Bankston picked up his 2nd win, while striking out 8 through two starts. Zach Foster picked up a win and Teddy Fallon got a win and a save in relief. Brandon Holden threw 2 scoreless innings and Nelson Pereira threw 4 scoreless innings, allowing only 1 hit. Victor Black went 2.2 an allowed only 1 run.

Bradenton: 2-3 For the Week

Benji Gonzalez led the team with 6 hits, Rogelios Noris had a home run. Wes Freeman and Henry Henry each had 4 hits, while Edwin Roman had 5. Gemmy Gonzalez drove in 3 runs.

Gerardo Esparza went 3.1 innings, allowing only 1 to get his 1st win. Jonathan Ramos went 5 scoreless to pick up his 4th win. Brooks Pounders went two innings, allowing only 1 run. Dinesh Patel went 1.2 innings and allowed only 1 hit. The Aussie Mitchell Fienemann, went 4 scoreless, striking out 4.

The Freewheelin' Neal Huntington

Today was one heck of a busy day for the Bucs as a whirlwind of activity came and went in what was a matter of hours, and this is without the game that happened as well.

The long await trade of Jack Wilson finally happened, and when it did, I almost did not believe that it actually happened. I really never though that he would ever get traded, let alone be included in the same deal as Ian Snell. If that was not enough excitement, shortly after the Pirates extra inning loss, they announced the trade of Freddy Sanchez to San Francisco.

First the Seattle deal. I cannot believe that we got a great quantity and a decent amount of quality for both Wilson and Snell. It was no secret that we were not going to bring Jack Wilson back, so any team knows that he is not valued all that much and is going to essentially be a rental player. Ian Snell as well is known by many around the game, that the prospect of him ever wearing black and gold again were extremely remote. We then traded away these two devalued quantities and got a pretty good return.

Jeff Clement is the short term key, as he will go to AAA to work at firstbase, and will more than likely be the future at first base. He brings something that is sorely lacking in Pittsburgh, some pop from the left side. Pitcher Brett Lorin may be the most exciting as he is a young live arm that has a good deal of potential. The other pitchers in the deal, Nathan Adcock and Aaron Pribanic also bring a great deal of potential with them as live arms in the lower minors.

Immediately we will see Ronny Cedeno, who may be familiar to many as he was a Cub for a few years. Cedeno will fill in for Jack Wilson, at least for the rest of the season, but may if he plays well, stick around. As a stop gap we could do a lot worse than Cedeno.

The Sanchez trade came quick and brought top pitching prospect Tim Alderson. Rated number 4 by Baseball America in the Giants system, Alderson will go to Altoona, a short trip from Pittsburgh. He is a big, tall, young righty with plenty of upside and is perhaps the gem of the trades on the day.

On top of all of these new acquisitions, Dejan is reporting that there are strong indications that Lastings Milledge will get called up for Friday and will man left field with Garrett Jones taking over in right. Delwyn Young will move to second base.

With these trades anyone not paying attention will now surely know that the Pirates are rebuilding and doing so quickly. Huntington has essentially replaced the entire starting nine from when he took over. Ryan Doumit is the only hold over, though he was splitting time with Ronny Paulino at the time.

Only time will tell if these trades are going to end up making the Pirates better, though at first blush, I must say that they look good to me. We took three players that were decided to not be a part of our future and made them into two that will likely help now or soon, and 4 that will help down the line. All of them have some sort of pedigree and I feel pretty happy about all of the new Pirates.

I also want to say that in trading Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, we lose two players that played the game the correct way. Regardless of how you thought they performed they played it the right way and were model players off the field. Hopefully the current Pirates and the new guys can take that lesson from them.

I am sure I'll have more once I get time to get caught up, but right now it is overwhelming.

Not So Prospect Flashback

Luis Torres    RHP    5’10    175
B:R    T:R    Born: 6/6/80
Signed: Out of Dominican Republic by Pirates 2/20/98

Despite his small build, Torres was long considered to be the hardest thrower in the system (key word being thrower).  His fastball could reach 97-98 MPH but was more in the consistent range of 93-95.  Like most pitchers with his size there was always the question of durability but through the early parts of his career with the Pirates (98-00) they managed to keep him in the rotation.  Following the 2000 season, Baseball America tagged him as the best fastball in the organization.  After that though, everything seemed to go downhill for him.  He spent most of the 2001 season on the IR and when healthy was very ineffective then completely missed the 2002 season with injuries.  Following the 2002 season, he and the Pirates parted ways and he never was again pitched in the minors.  Torres was never really able to harness this power and suffered from major control issues but ultimately his career was ruined by injuries. 

Chris Corn    RHP    6’3    170
B:R    T:R    Born: 10/4/71
Acquired: From the New York Yankees in exchange for 3rd baseman Charlie Hayes 8/30/96.

When the Pirates acquired Corn from the Yankees for Charlie Hayes during the 96 fire sale, he was in the process of having the best season of his minor league career.  The 96 season was Corn’s first season as a starter in pro ball and he put up a surprising 12-4 record that year at High A Tampa albeit as a 24 year old.  His best pitch was considered his curve ball which helped to make his average fastball just a bit better.  There was some thought at the time that he was damaged goods when the Pirates received him but nothing more came of it.  My hope back then was that the Pirates would try and challenge him due to his age and send him to Double A Carolina for the 97 season but he ended up at High A Lynchburg (after starting the season on the DL) where he mostly pitched out of the pen.  He still managed to put up respectable numbers that year but the writing was on the wall that the Pirates valued him more as an organizational arm.  He didn’t see Double A until the 98 season and by then he was already 26.  The 98 season was his last with the Pirates and in pro ball, he never surfaced again with any other teams.

Akili Smith    OF    6’3    210
B: R    T:R    Born: 8/21/75
Drafted: 7th Round of 1993 Draft

Before he was a star player on the gridiron at Oregon and before he was a flop in the NFL, Akili Smith was a talented, toolsy outfielder in the Pirates system.  Part of an impressive 93 Draft that also landed the Pirates another 2 sport star in Charles Peterson, Smith was thought of as a project and more of an athlete then an actual ballplayer.  Unfortunately for the Pirates, they where never able to tap into the pure talent that was in Smith thus only getting 3 forgettable seasons from him before he opted for football and the possible riches of the NFL that was to come.  In some ways it’s very similar to the path of current Steelers QB Dennis Dixon.  Despite his football talent and the fact that he hadn’t played baseball in 3 years the Braves still drafted him in the 5th Round of 2007 draft mainly because of his speed and arm strength.  Unlike the Pirates who at least got the 3 bad years from Smith, the Braves only got 1 before Dixon walked away to concentrate on football.

Mark Farris    3rd    6’3    190
B:L    T:R    Born: 2/9/75
Drafted: 1st Round (11th overall) of 1994 Draft

As the Pirates 1st round pick in 94, Farris turned out to be one of their biggest busts of the 90’s (to put that in perspective, Nomar Garciaparra went one pick after him to Boston).  Following getting drafted in 94, he missed the entire 95 season due to knee surgery.  It would seem that he was never the same player after that, only hitting above .250 once and that was 1998, his final season with the team. His so called calling card was his hitting ability so it was thought at one time that he and Chad Hermansen would be the future left side of the Bucs infield.  But that never came to be and he left the organization after the 98 season to pursue his football career where he had a few decent years as starting quarterback at Texas A&M before eventually losing his job to a younger, more athletic Reggie McNeal.

A Pefect Storm

The Pirates had not scored in two straight games and up comes Tim Lincecum from the Giants. Not exactly the prescription for the Pirates to break out offensively. You would not need to be Edgar Cayce to guess what would transpire in this one.

For most of the game, Lincecum made the Pirates look like a minor league club. He racked up strikeouts, while the Bucs kept on swinging at any thing. It was not just the offense that hurt them, the defense had a major lapse in the second inning. Garrett Jones proved to all that he is not an outfielder in that inning, though he did give an unofficial assist on an unofficial flyout to Delwyn Young. Young's barehanded dive was probably one of the best plays of the year.

In fact throughout the game Young looked more than comfortable at second base. We have heard for months that the Pirates wanted to try him at second base, that he just needed work, yet he seemingly only played in the outfield. With Sanchez down with nagging injuries, Young as acquitted himself rather nicely in his very limited action in the field.

The Bucs staged a comeback of sorts in the 6th but it was more than prolonging the inevitable tonight. I would not put the blame on the loss on the offense, one can understand that with Lincecum on the mound that many runs would not be scored, but the way the defense played was what doomed them tonight.

Power Combined No Hitter

I was logging onto MiLB.com and saw that newly acquired Hunter Strickland, who came over in the Adam LaRoche trade, went 6 scoreless innings and reliever Diego Moreno went 3 scoreless for a combined no hitter in front of the hometown fans. Here is the box score. Strickland struck out 5 and improved to 6-4 on the year.

History Repeats Itself

There has been plenty of talk around Pittsburgh and by Pirate fans about the team, perhaps, dumping salary. I find that it is more dumping older players, who in turn, happen to make salary but I digress. Nonetheless, money has and will continue to be an area that those who have disagreements with the team will continue to harp on, never mind if we were to trade for a great prospect for an aging player who makes more money, it wil always be about money for many.

In my searcing for information on my take on Branch Rickey and his 'we can finish last with out you," quote, I found this little nugget from Andrew O'Toole's book on Rickey in Pittsburgh. I present to you a quote from the Mahatma as he was talking to reporters who were questioning the way money was being spent by Rickey and the Pirates of the 1950's, saying that they were trading high paid players to save money.

"Now isn't that downright ridiculous? I wonder what they would say if they knew that in an eleven month period up to late last year, the Pirates paid out $496,000 in bonuses to sign young ballplayers. And that only recently we gave an eighteen year old boy $35,000 to sign a contract. That $496,000 was for bonuses alone, and did not include expenses of scouts or other costs. Now if we spend that much money just to sign players who may produce for us at some future date, does it make sense that we would want to get rid of established players who are worthy of good play? Mark this and mark it well; when you're in baseball your highest salaried player is your cheapest player. He gets the big pay because he draws at the gate and gets it back for you."

If you were to just change the dollar figures you could almost imagine Frank Coonelly or Neal Huntington saying those same exact words.

Some things perhaps have never changed in Pittsburgh amongst the ball club and the reporters. What I will say is that the seeds that Branch Rickey sowed with those crappy Rickey Dinks or Operation Peach Fuzz rosters, was to give a good base for Joe L. Brown to make a few more moves to create the run of the 1960 team. While I am not saying that the scenarios are identical, there is a historical reference to be made. And from that reference, one should hold judgment on transactions immediately and instead try to see the forest from the trees.

Fantasy Baseball Link

Fantasy Baseball Hotstove had me again put in my two cents on some various Pirate related issues. I forgot to link this earlier so if you want to check it out, it is here.

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: Indianapolis Indians
Hitter of the Week: Gerlis Rodriguez, Bradenton
Pitcher of the Week: Tom Gorzelanny, Indianapolis

Indianapolis: 5-2 For the week

Lastings Milledge made the headlines this week at the plate for the Tribe. He was named player of the week and had 8 hits and 4 RBI. Flanking Lastings in the outfield was Brian Bixler who had 7 hits, including a home run, and 2 RBI, playing in center. Newly promoted Steve Pearce had 6 hits and a home run, before coming to Pittsburgh. Bryan Myrow also had 6 hits. Argenis Diaz went 0-2 in his first game.

Chris Bootcheck was busy this week as he got two wins and a save, while throwing 3 scoreless innings. Tom Gorzelanny picked up a win in one of his two starts. Combined he threw 12 innings, allowing one earned and struck out 15. Mike Koplove threw 5 scoreless to get a win and Daniel Mccutchen allowed only one through 6 to a win as well. Brad Lincoln went 11 innings on the week and allowed 7 earned runs.

Altoona: 4-3 For the Week

Jose Tabata had 10 hits to go with 6 RBI and Pedro Alvarez had 10 hits to go with 5 RBI. Neither player hit a home run this week. Jonel Pacheco had 9 hits, 2 of which were home runs. Gorkys Hernandez had nine hits as well to got with 4 RBI. Jim Negrych had 8 hits and Brian Friday and Steve Lerud each had 6 hits.

Danny Moskos picked upa win his 7th, with 6 scoreless innings. Derek Hankins picked up a win in one of his two starts. Kyle Bloom and Jean Machi got the other two Curve wins.

Lynchburg: 2-4 For the Week

Alex Presely had 10 hits to led the 'Cats on the week. Jose De Los Santos had 9 hits and Matt Hague had 8. Erik Huber led the team with 6 RBI this week.

Justin Wilson got his 4th win of the season, as he allowed one through 6. Harrison Bishop picked up the other win. Ron Uviedo came back from Bradenton and went 4 and a third, allowing 2. Bryan Morris went 6.2 allowing 4 runs and Jeff Locke went only 3 innings, allowing 2 runs. RJ Rodriguez picked up his 18th save.

West Virginia: 1-5 For the Week

Quincy Latimore had 10 hits to led the Power. Robbie Grossman scored 7 times and got 5 hits. Starling Marte had only 4 hits. Calvin Anderson hit yet another triple and Austin McClune had 5 hits.

Noah Krol picked up the lone win in relief this week, combine he threw 5 scoreless. Rudy Owens went 6, allowed only 1 and struck out 5 for a no decision. Quinton Miller went 4 innings and allowed 7 runs.

State College: 1-5 For the Week

Andy Vasquez led the Spikes with just 5 hits, so you know what kind of week it was. Pat Irvine and Craig Parry each had 2 RBI, to lead the team.

Nelson Pereira picked up his second win, the only one of the week for the Spikes. He went 4 scoreless. Marc Baca picked up a save. Brandon Holden went 2 scoreless and Victor Black went 1.2 innings, allowing 3.

Bradenton: 5-1 For the Week

Gerlis Rodriguez had 9 hits, 2 home runs and 11 RBI on the week. Ramon Cabrera had 5 hits and Gift Ngoepe scored 7 times, thanks to his 7 walks.  Gemmy Gonzalez had 5 hits, one a home run.

The pitching has continued to be excelent for the Baby Bucs. Mitchell Fienemann got his 1st win, as he went 3 scoreless. Octavio Septimo got a win for 4 scoreless, Jonathan Ramos went 5 scoreless to get his 3rd win. Brooks Pounders went 4 scoreless to get his 2nd win, and Diomedes Garcia got his 1st win.

Hunting for a Firstbaseman

Now that the Pirates have gone and severed the ties with Adam LaRoche we are now looking at a hole at first base. Who to play there? It seems as though the first person to be given a chance will be Steve Pearce, who got the call up after the game and will meet the team in Arizona.

One has to think that this maybe Pearce's last shot with the club. Granted some may argue that he has never really gotten much of a chance and that the team has moved him around a ton, hurting his development. I would say that while that may be true, in the few times that he has played he has just looked lost at the plate. Lost in a way that would make you question why he was in Pittsburgh in the first place.

I am sure that they are going to give him a few games to see what he can do. Who knows he may not even play first base, as they really have not said so as of yet. One thing I can say is that Pearce is probably good as gone this offseason, if he cannot put something together in the remaining bit of this season.

What was initially strange was the fact that Lastings Milledge did not get a callup as well. Jeff Salazar has rarely played and Milledge continues to rake at AAA. It was confusing to me as well, but I have a theory as to why we won't see Lastings for awhile. At the end of July and the beginning of August the Washington Nationals come to town, as the Pirates open a homestand. Now this may be a little out there, but I would guess that they would not want Lastings to make his Pittsburgh debut against his old team. It could hurt what they have been working at these past few weeks.

A sidebar theory there as well, is that they may want to see what Pearce and or Garrett Jones can continue to do at the major league level, so as they can try to get more time tot evaluate them and see if they can contribute. It is plainly obvious that Milledge can, but it is best to make sure he is right and it probably wouldn't hurt if he did not see the Nationals.

For the rest of the summer though we will probably be treated to a Steve Pearce/Garrett Jones platoon of sorts at first as we try to find one of them who can be a stop gap player at that spot. My money would be on Jones, as I think management is tiring of Pearce. Just wait though to see what else happens as we may have many other position battles to watch in the infield coming soon.

LaRoche is Traded

At the game last night, I made the passing comment that I thought that Adam LaRoche could possibly get traded to the Red Sox. Of course I have no way of proving it to you all, but take my word for it. I was then stunned today to get the news today, oh boy, that Adam LaRoche had got traded to the Sox.

You know no matter what the two minor leaguers end up doing, I think it is a good trade. We are giving up an under performing, even for him, Adam LaRoche and are getting two guys that could be some kind of contributors. Granted neither are stars but they are also not slouches.

Agenis Diaz is a strong glove guy that will probably be a stop gap if/when Wilson leaves. I would be very uncomfortable if he was more than that, as he is really, really bad offensively. I would think he could be a solid bench contributor with his glove.

Hunter Strickland is very interesting. He is no top prospect, but he is a guy that the Red Sox liked enough to pay over slot for in the draft. He is a big guy, but is more a command pitcher, that does not get many strikeouts. He seems to be working on his secondary pitches and with some more work on them could turn into a decent guy to keep an eye. His one big strength is that he has youth on his side.

LaRoche was brought here as some sort of savior by Dave Littlefield and never lived up to expectations. His streaks drove everyone crazy and never seemd to endear himself to fans because of that. We have turned the page on him now and won't have to worry about that big loopy swing of his anymore.

Something Brewin'

Of course, as I had mentioned I show up at the ballpark and am treated to watching a game with absolutely no offense from the Pirates. It was almost beyond pathetic watching the futility at the plate. Braden Looper, yes Braden Looper, was made to look like Cy Young by the ever impressive offensive juggernaut that is the Pirates.

What I was unaware of was the fact that the Brewers were planning on doing something prior to the game in regards to the slight that Delwyn Young gave Ryan Braun after the game last night. Young had called Braun a coward and the Brewers caught wind of that and were none too pleased.

Part of me really enjoys this little feud, as it provides something extremely interesting in what is a very uninteresting season. Part of me is tired of it, as it seems to me that the Brewers are the ones blowing it out of proportion. I don't know where Ryan Braun is coming from walking around like he is some walking legend beyond reproach. I think that is lost in all of this, Braun was the one who took the whole thing to different level.

I also am curious as to why some of his comments earlier in the season, telling Bud Selig to pay attention as something may happen, did not bring him a fine of any kind. Could it be a coincidence that Braun plays for Selig's old team?

Beyond that sideshow, it would be nice if the Bucs could win a few more against the Brewers as it would knock them down a bit. A more competitive series between the two would make it more of a baseball rivalry than sideshow.

The final game of the series is during the day tomorrow, so if any fireworks do happen we will have to wait to see any footage of them. I can only hope the only fireworks are offensive from the Pirates bats.

The Streak Ends

George Harrison once said that, "all good things must pass," and well the good thing that the Brewers had going against the Pirates has now passed. After what has seemed like an eternity, the Pirates finally beat the Brewers as Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens provided great pitching and the offense, in rare form, provided offense.

Ohlendorf had a good start, going five and allowing 2 runs. Not bad against the Brewers lineup. Karstens came in and took over going three shutout innings, until a brouhaha ensued after he was plunked in the 8th. It was retaliation for what happened way back in April, it was so long ago I had forgotten all about it. Then Jesse Chavez came in for the ninth and made everyone feel very uneasy. But it was good pitching that was complemented for once with offense.

McCutchen was key at the top of the order getting three hits on the night. Delwyn Young's home run got the Bucs off to a good start and Garrett Jones provided some more offense with a shot down in left. Jone's home run was pretty impressive in that it flew so far going the other way, yet was not a moon shot, but more a line drive.

Making an offensive cameo was Adam LaRoche who had 2 hits and 1 RBI. I guess he shook off the bad habits, like grounding into a double play on a 3-0 count, for one day. Hopefully, hopefully this is the start of a bit of a run for him so that we can trade him, because he has been playing like he does not want to leave Pittsburgh anytime soon.

The real story though was that they finally beat the Brewers and now that they have, they will probably start another losing streak as I am going to the game on Tuesday.

We Can Lose Without You

From time to time I am sure that I have cited the famous Branch Rickey quote that he was remarked as saying to Ralph Kiner, ""We finished last with you, we can finish last without you." I got to thinking of the Mahatma on Sunday, when Dejan wrote about it in the On The Pirates feature concerning the possible trades of Wilson and Sanchez.

Dejan brought forth the quote, apparently thinking that this idea does not seem to make much sense. That losing teams should not always trade away players, simply because they can do the exact same without them. His argument is that may be misguided and that the quote is "hollow". I think in understanding the quote, one needs to look back at history and in fact it does make a lot of sense and it rings true today.

For one Rickey for some reason or another never seemed to like Kiner. This much is known as he did not like how Kiner had a good relationship with John Galbreath, the owner of the club. Kiner signed a two year deal with Galbreath, a rarity then, in 1951. Going into 1953 he thought he'd get even more money or at least a slight raise. Rickey did not like that idea and wanted to pay him the same or less. It was Kiner's reaction to this that elicited the "we can finish last without you."

Rickey, who also once said, "It is better to trade a guy a year early than late," dealt Kiner for a bunch of spare parts in 1953. Kiner would hit 35 home runs that year in Pittsburgh and Chicago, but then took a decline and was out of baseball after 1955 due to back problems, problems that were known about in Pittsburgh.

If anything, I would say that the scenario sounds a alot like today, except we have two players that are getting up there and we are looking to trade two, instead of one. Then and now we have fan favorites, and then as now the players were being asked to take less money. Also then as now the teams were looking to rebuild with younger players. The Rickey Dinks rough go laid the foundation for the 1960's, and hopefully the rebuild that is going on now will do the same.

The point is there are many similarities between the two and it makes what Rickey was saying then almost as like it was being said today, just not as bluntly by Neal Huntington. Hopefully Huntington has taken another lesson from Rickey in that if he does trade away his two fan favorites, he gets more than a bunch of spare parts for them.

Jack and Freddy

The news that the Pirates were looking to extend Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez caught me and surely many others off guard. It made little or no sense, as they have been trying to trade these two for some time, in Wilson's case a long, long time. So why attempt to extend them?

One theory is that the team has realized that there are no good options in house to replace these two, and that if they can be signed at lower than expected salaries, based on their contract options for next season, then it would be a good thing. Another thought is that no one wants these guys in a trade and/or the prospective return for them is not very appealing at all.

A prevailing theory that took root was that the attempted low ball offers were a way of doing a sort of PR, in anticipation of the mass mob of knee jerk Pirate fans that would be appalled that they traded away these two guys. To me that makes little to no sense.

For one take a look around, these type of fans are not going to care come a few more weeks as Steeler season will start, so they will never notice. Two the simple fact that the specter of these guys having the opportunity of re-signing with the club is enough for some to think that they will sign. If that thought permeates the Ether, then outrage will ensue once trades are made. Additionally, these 'fans' will react negatively to any trade no matter who it is, so it does not matter what they think. Finally, Huntington did not seem to flinch after the McLouth and Morgan trades, so why do it now, especially when the team was not the source of this leak.

I highly doubt that this is PR related, as this story only makes the Pirates look even worse as they are offering contracts of lower value, further solidifying their cheap label. I want to say that the move to offer these contracts, is in theory a baseball move that is trying to predict the offseason free agent market.

One it is obvious that there are little to no in house options for these guys, especially Jack Wilson. It would make sense to want to keep them around, the problem is that we can keep them, it will just cost more than the team would like to pay. In Wilson's case that is not Huntington's fault, but he needs to be put to the fire for any problems he has with Sanchez's contract.

So in guessing what the free agency market might look like for these two, if they both became free agents, Huntington has provided numbers that may be realistic in that scenario. Last offseason was bad for free agents, especially middle infielders, and with the economy hurting the game more this season it could be worse. Basically, Huntington is trying to paint a bleak picture for these guys of what may happen and hope that they will just take the offer in hopes of certainty.

My question though is, granted we are weak in the middle infield area, but why on earth extend these aging players to a point where they may not be productive at all? I am fairly confident that neither will age well, though Sanchez could surprise, and will not be all that useful after say two or three more seasons. The team has committed to rebuilding, so why hold on to these two?

My only guess is that one we will get approximately the same production for less money in the coming years and it will make them more desirable on the trade market. He is making a bet on the cost and quality of the upcoming free agent market and hopefully he is right on that. I also hope that he is right in how long he wants them around, as contract negotiations have not been his strong suit.

Huntington was staring at a almost worst case scenario next season. Brian Bixler or some free agent hack we attracted here playing short and a slightly overpaid Freddy Sanchez in his last season in Pittsburgh. By making these offers, he took his one recourse aside from a trade to try to rectify that horrible future. I hope it works out, as the options for next year don't look all that great.

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: Bradenton
Hitter of the Week: Steve Pearce, Indianapolis
Pitcher of the Week: Brooks Pounders, Bradenton

Indianapolis: 2-3 For the Week

Steve Pearce was on a tear this week as he had 8 hits, 1 home run, and 8 RBI. Bryan Myrow had 5 hits and a home run. Brian Bixler, who appeared in center this week, had 6 hits. Lastings Milledge had 6 hits, Shelby Ford had a home run, as did Tagg Bozied.

Ian Snell had two startes this week and got a win in one. He went 12.2 innings, allowed only 1 earned and stuck out 11, while walking 6. Daniel McCutchen got his 8th win in a 6 inning start. Mike Koplove and Denny Bautista each went two scoreless in relief.

Altoona: 2-3 For the Week

After a brief week, the Curve had only 5 games this week. Jose Tabata led the offensive charge as he had 7 hits. Steve Lerud had 6 hits, one a home run, as did Ray Chang. Gorkys Hernandez, Jim Negrych, and Miles Durham all had 5 hits. Pedro Alvarez had 4 hits on the week, 2 of them home runs.

Yoslan Herrera pitched 7 shutout innings to pick up his 6th win of the season. The Cuban right hander has yet to lose a game this season. Danny Moskos picked up the other win as he gutted through 5 innings to get his 6th win. Mike Crotta threw 7 innings, allowing 1 unearned, and Mike Dubee three 3 scoreless in relief.

Lynchburg: 3-4 for the Week

Jose De Los Santos had 9 hits and 7 runs to lead the offense for the 'Cats. Matt Hague had 8 hits, a home run and 5 RBI. Jordy Mercer 7 hits, a home run, and 5 RBI. Catcher Kris Watts had 8 hits, Eric Fryer 6 hits, and Chase D'Arnaud had 2 home runs. Lastings Milledge in rehab starts had 2 home runs.

Things were ugly on the mound for the 'Cats, who are lucky the offense was able to bail them out for 3 wins. Matt McSwain, in two starts, went 11 innings, allowing 10 runs, though he got a win. Chi-Hung Cheng went 10 innings in two starts, allowing 9, and getting a win. Closer RJ Rodriguez got a win in relief and picked up his 17th save. Bryan Morris, Jeff Locke, and Justin Wilson all managed to go 3 innings, 4 innings, and 5 respectively in no decisions.

West Virginia: 1-4 For the Week

Danny Bomback and Jeremy Farrell each had 6 hits to lead the Power. Calvin Anderson hit a home run this week, as did Robbie Grossman, each player also had 4 hits. Starling Marte had 5 hits and 3 RBI and Tony Sanchez had 5 hits, a home run, and 5 RBI.

The lone win went to Gabe Alvarado this week, as he went 5 allowing only 1 earned. Rudy Owens got a no decision as he went 6, allowed only 1, and struck out 4. Casey Erickson went 2 scoreless and Quinton Miller went 5.1, and allowed 2 earned to take a loss.

State College: 2-4 For the Week

Brock Holt led the Spikes with 7 hits and a home run this week. Kyle Morgan had 8 RBI to go with 2 home runs. David Rubinstein had 6 hits. Pat Irvine had 6 hits and Aaron Baker had 4.

Jason Erickson picked up a win as he went 4, giving him his first on the season. Kyle McPherson went 7 innings to get the other win of the week. Brandon Holden pitched a scoreless inning, Ricardo Paulino pitched 4 scoreless, and Nelson Pereira struck out 9 in 6.2 innings.

Bradenton: 6-2 For the Week

The younger players in Bradenton are starting to come around. Rogelios Noris had 6 hits and 6 RBI. Gerlis Rodriguez had 8 hits and 4 RBI. Gift Ngoepe had 6 hits. Wes Freeman had 5 hits and 3 RBI.

There was plenty of good work on the pitching staff this week. Elecier Navarro went 5 allowing 1 to get a win. Jhonathan Ramos went 3 scoreless for a win. Melkin Laureano pick up a win with 2 scoreless. Brooks Pounders in two starts went 7 scoreless, stuck out 6 and got a win. Rinku Singh got his first win, as he went a combined 1 inning in two appearances. Ryan Beckman got a win as he went 8 innings. Diego Garcia got three saves this week, by going 5 scoreless and Mitchell Fienemann went 6.2 innings, allowing 1 unearned and striking out 5.

Things to Watch For

As we now head on for the unofficial second half of the season there are going to be a few things to watch for as we progress in our march to October.

1. The trading of veterans. This will be the key story with the makeup of the major league club, as well as what club we will see next year. Freddy Sanchez is on the block and will more than likely get dealt, but then again I have said that before about Jack Wilson. Wilson, along with Adam LaRoche, are prime candidates to move and I can only hope that someone, anyone will take Adam LaRoche off our hands.

2. The filling of holes. If another larger group of players gets dealt later this season, who will step in to replace them. Who will fill in the middle infield? Or at first base? Or even in the bullpen? There are plenty of options in guys like a Garrett Jones that can move positions, but the openings in the middle of the diamond may be the most gaping of them all.

3. Who else will debut this year. We have already witnessed the Andrew McCutchen coming out party, who will be next. There are plenty of candidates currently on the 40 man, most notably Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata. Will we see Brad Lincoln up as well? Could a Gorkys Hernandez get added to the roster and be in Pittsburgh? Another interesting, at least Pittsburgh debut, will be Lastings Milledge as well. Who knows, but it will be interesting to see how the guys not on the 40 man are handled as the year goes on.

4. The draft deadline. Last year and it went down and perhaps past the wire to get Pedro Alvarez signed. This year our first round pick is already signed and playing. We may have a bunch of deadline watching anyway as the team expects to go long on negotiations with many players drafted in later rounds. Guys like Zach Von Rosenberg, Zackry Dodson, Colton Cain, and Trent Stevenson. It will provide plenty to watch for as we move into August.

5. The streak. It has been staring us down all season and the inevitable looks to be coming. Not that it really matters all that much, as many saw it as a forgone conclusion.

What do I think will happen? For one I think we will sign 3 of the 4 prep pitchers named, with Von Rosenberg being the holdout. We will trade Adam LaRoche during August for basically nothing. Freddy Sanchez will get traded days before the deadline, and Jack Wilson will stay for the rest of the season.

After Garrett Jones plays first base for about two weeks, Pedro Alvarez makes a September debut at first base and Jose Tabata takes over in right field, as our outfield rebuild is complete. Joel Hanrahan may get some shots at closing later this summer, as the team looks to flirt with finishing over .500, making the knee jerk fanbase go up in arms when they fall short of 82 wins.

The Right Question

The recent rash of trades during this season and the impending trades of Jack Wilson, Adam LaRoche and Freddy Sanchez have brought forth a wave of criticism on the front office.

It has been our stance that the trades and the overall philosophy of stockpiling talent, focusing on the draft, international market, and player development is the way a franchise like Pittsburgh needs to operate.

In order to stockpile talent, the team needed to move pieces of the big league roster to acquire talent. Because of this the team needed to move Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and others last year to accomplish that goal. This season the moves continued as the team moved Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan and looks to continue to move guys.

The charge that is being leveled at the team, especially in the case of Freddy Sanchez, is that the team is now being cheap and moves are being made about money. I find that a tough pill to swallow.

Jack Wilson will be about money, as he does not do enough to justify a salary that he will get. Adam LaRoche, like most players, seems intent on seeing what he can get on the free agent market. I wouldn't mind having Jack Wilson around, if he was paid what he is worth, Adam LaRoche I would not want anywhere near this roster.

Freddy Sanchez is a different case than those two. He is essentially the last remaining veteran player of value that could fetch more than one prospect. Age is working against Freddy as he is 31 now and by the time the Pirates are ready to move forward as a team he will be past his prime. Now is a time to try to move him, it is reality of facts, not so much on the issue of money.

I would welcome arguements baseball arguements about the subject of trading Sanchez, such as our lack of immediate replacement. Instead many just jump to the money issue and the arguements end there.

What we as fans should be asking about the team is whether Neal Huntington is able to pick and choose the right players to lock up? Look at his track record thus far. He has signed Ian Snell, Matt Capps, Nate McLouth, Freddy Sanchez, Paul Maholm, Ryan Doumit to longer term deals. McLouth, Maholm, and Capps' deals essentially only bought out all or part of arbitration, but Snell, Sanchez and Doumit have deals that can go into free agency.

Huntington has admitted Snell's was a mistake, will he admit that Sanchez's was as well? Or what of the fragile Ryan Doumit, could that become a huge mistake as well?

Granted a GM in Pittsburgh needs to take some gambles and bets, but so far Neal has not done so well in deciding who to keep. So if you think it is about money, then why not stop for a second and ask the important question, why sign them in the first place?

Colombia- The New Baseball Hotbed?

Recent years have seen a rise in potential prospects making their way into minor league organizations from Colombia. So saying that they are a new hotbed probably isn't an accurate statement but it's definitelya growing baseball country. The roots and origins of the game in Colombia are stepped in mystery so it's not really known how baseball arrived in Colombia. One of the theories has it being brought to the country by the Zuinga brothers in the early 1900's after studying in the United States and learning about the game. Another theory of origin has it being brought to the nation from Panama whom at the time was part of Colombia. Students at that time looking for good schools made the journey to Cartagena and possibly brought the game with them in the 1890's. A third theory has the it being brought over by Cubans who came to work in Colombia on sugarcane plantations. No matter what story is the truth, if any, baseball has taken root in Colombia and has become a major sport especially in the regions along the Caribbean coast.

Colombia actually has twice in their baseball history had their own professional baseball league. The first one started in 1948 and ran until 1958. Such legends as Brooks Robinson and Willie McCovey honed their skills there. Then in 1979 the league started up again and ran until 1985 where luminaries of the 80's such as Bill Doran and Glenn Davis made a name for themselves. Since that time Colombia had fallen by the wayside as more of an after thought thanks in part to the political situation of the country. Suddenly Colombia showed back up on the international baseball map in 1997 thanks in part to the game winning hit in the World Series by Edgar Renteria and they've seemed to be moving full speed ahead ever since.

Quietly the Pirates have been very active in Colombia the past decade and a half bringing in players such as Yamid Haad and the legendary Henry Henry. Unfortunately for them , Henry though an exciting speed player doesn't project to be anything more then a bench player at the rookie ball level and Haad well his career speaks for itself. Fortunately their presence there might have finally payed off last season when they signed Jonathan Barrios who potentially could be an impact player for them. I believe that the Pirates want to be a major player in the Colombian baseball market, with that being said they currently have one full time scout there (Orlando Covo) and one part time one (Daniel Garcia). Now with the International signing period in full swing, it should be exciting to see if the Pirates make any major moves in this potentially rich baseball nation.

This Week On The Farm

Team of the Week: State College
Hitter of the Week: Quincy Latimore, West Virginia
Pitcher of the Week: Rudy Owens, West Virginia

Indianapolis: 3-4 for the week

While looking over the Indians stats this week the number that jumped out was 3, as in Brian Bixler had 3 home runs this week. Bixler also drove in 7 and had 9 hits overall. Chris Barnwell had 4 RBI this week and Hector Gimenez and Jonel Pacheco each had 3. Former top prospects, Chris Snelling and Tagg Bozied each had a hit.

On the mound, Tom Gorzelanny allowed only 2 runs, 1 earned, in 13.2 innings pitched, yet he took two losses this week. Ian Snell pitched 7 shutout innings for a win. Daniel McCutchen picked up the third win of the week as he went 5 innings. Brad Lincoln went five, allowing 4 in a loss.

Altoona: 4-3 For the Week

The Curve spread around their offense this week as five players, Brian Friday, Jim Negrych, Pedro Alvarez, Gorkys Hernandez, and Miles Durham each had a home run. Jason Delaney had 10 hits to lead the Cure and Jose Tabata was right behind with 9.  Friday had 4 RBI and Durham had 7 for the week.

Yoslan Herrera came off the DL and got his fifth win of the season this week. Danny Moskos went 5 innings, striking out 3 and walking 4, for his 5th win. Derek Hankins threw 6 scoreless for a win, and Kyle Bloom won one of his starts this week. Bloom combined went 11 innings, allowing only 3 runs, while striking out 9. Tyler Herron took a loss as he lasted only 2.2 innings in his start.

Lynchburg: 2-3 For the Week

Jamie Romak had 7 hits to lead the Hillcats. Alex Presley (5 RBI), Kris Watts, Jose De Los Santos, and Chase D'Arnaud all had 6 hits. Jordy Mercer had only 3 hits and Eric Fryer went hitless in 18 at bats.

Bryan Morris went 3 innings, allowing 6 runs to take yet another loss, his third on the season. Jeff Locke went 5.2 innings, allowing only 2 in a no decision. Justin Wilson also allowed 2 through 5 in a loss. RJ Rodriguez had the best week, as he went 2 scoreless innings to get a win and a save.

West Virginia: 5-2 For the Week

Quincy Latimore had a huge week as he had 11 hits, a home run, and 7 RBI. First rounder Tony Sanchez had 8 hits and 6 RBI. Calvin Anderson had 7 hits and five RBI, one of those hits being a triple. Starling Marte had 8 hits, a home run, and 3 RBI. Danny Bomback had 9 hits and Bobby Spain had 8. Robbie Grossman had only 1 hit and 2 RBI.

Rudy Owens picked up his 10th win of the season as he went 5 scoreless innings. Casey Erickson picked up 2 wins as he went 9 innings allowing only 1 earned run. Brian Leach got two wins as well. as he went 12 innings, not allowing an earned run. Duke Welker went 3 scoreless and picked up his first save.

State College: 5-2 For the Week

Things looked up for the Spikes this week, posting a winning record. Ty Summerlein had 11 hits to pace the Spikes and Pat Irvine had 7 RBI to lead the team. Brock Holt had 8 hits, a home run, and 3 RBI. Evan Chambers had 7 hits, a home run, and 4 RBI. Aaron Baker had 5 hits, as did Kyle Morgan.

Tyler Cox went over 10 innings in his two starts to pick up a win this week. Maurice Bankston went 12 innings over two starts to get a win. Victor Black went 5, allowing 2, and striking out 6 for a win. Marc Baca went 2 scoreless to get 2 saves.

Bradenton: 1-6 For the Week

Wes Freeman had 7 hits, a home run, and 3 RBI. Benji Gonzalez had 7 hits and 4 RBI. Gerlis Rodriguez had 6 hits and Gift Ngoepe had 5. Lastings Milledge on rehab had 3 hits. Newly signed Walker Gourley had 1 hit in 6 at bats.

Things did not go well on the mound as Gerado Esparza, Mitchell Fienemann, Brent Klinger, Eliecer Navarro, Rafael Quintero, and Brooks Pounders all took losses this week. Jonathan Ramos got the lone win, as he threw 7 scoreless. Rinku Singh went 2 innings, allowed 1 run and struck out 1. Dinesh Patel went 2.1 innings, all scoreless.

Moving On Out

Is it just me or does it seem as though the Pirates seem to raise the white flag, instead of the Jolly Roger when they are about to leave town? I have no real evidence for this just my observations seem to lead me to this conclusion. It is almost as though they cannot wait to move on to the next place.

Besides the team moving on in the schedule, the Bucs made some moves to their roster that leaves a bit of intrigue. One we all knew that Donnie Veal, regardless of what he has done in the majors this season, was going to be coming back. The odd man out of the pitching staff was none other than Steven Jackson. Typically one might not mourn the demotion of a guy like Jackson, who has pitched well at time this season, but you really almost cry as it means the Bucs are now using one less bullpen and roster spot with the addition of Veal.

It will be interesting to see if the Bucs can keep up the charade with Veal as the summer wears on the pitchers. This team is going to need their pitching to keep them at any kind of respectable level and being a man down will not help that at all.

The other move made was the demotion of Steve Pearce and the recall of a player to be named. Pearce barely sniffed the field when he was up here as the team does not seem to know what they want to do with him. He seems stuck in a way that we don't quite know of his position and don't know if he can hit at the major level, as he has not had much in terms of opportunity. What is obvious though is that he does not seem to fall into any plans for the future.

Who will be that mystery man coming up? I would say that it is one of two options. One is Ryan Doumit and the other is Lastings Milledge. I would put more money on it being Doumit, as it does not seem to make much sense to have it be Milledge just yet, as he has not gone to Indy at all. If it is Doumit, then it looks as though for the time being we will be carrying 3 catchers, a bit of a rarity this day and age. How that works out as well will be interesting to watch, as it would seem to limit the versatility and flexibility on the bench.

Thinking of Garrett Jones

A lot has been written recently about Garrett Jones. He has gotten off to a pretty quick start with the Bucs and has gotten a lot of ink because of it. It also does not hurt when John Russell says that he is 'excited' about having him in the lineup.

Many have derided that anyone should get excited about Jones, as up until this point in his career has looked like a career minor leaguer. I think we should just not outright dismiss Jones out of hand, as he may be more useful than one may think.

For one he was blocked in Minnesota, at least at first base, by Justin Morneau. Why he was not called up to play at designated hitter or have a try in the outfield with the Twins, I have no idea. They must have thought guys like Craig Monroe were better options, heck we did for a time. At least one can say the in his natural position he really did not have much of a shot in Minnesota.

Even though he is older at 28, it does not preclude him from being useful. Granted he is perhaps too old to be a star, but he has a window of being useful as a potential stop gap or a bench player. Exhibit A of these older guys that can turn into useful players is the recent departed Nyjer Morgan. Morgan is a guy that doesn't bring all the skills that Jones has and he was useful for a time.

What will be interesting to what with Jones, is to see how he adjusts at the major league level. There is a ton of stuff on him from the minors, but people may not know much about him in the majors. We should see if he can adjust once teams start to see him a bit more, so his success may diminish, but it is worth it to see if he can maintain a level of success. What else do we have to lose this season anyway?

Jones is not going to be a savior to the team nor a large part of the future, but he does have enough skills to be a part of the present and short term future. Right now he is playing in the outfield, but I would guess he would be the prime candidate to take over at first base once we trade master hunter, Adam LaRoche. It will either be him or Ryan Doumit if the team realizes his value is more at the plate than behind it.

Jones can then be the stop gap until we find someone able to take over at first base, say when Pedro Alvarez inevitably moves to first base. We probably wouldn't rely too much on Jones, but would need him for just a short time, a time that I think he can be a good fit for us.

Hampton Does it Again

After looking like the team wanted nothing to do with the heat in South Florida on Sunday, the Bucs rolled into the air conditioning of Houston, only to be met by Mike Hampton, Pirate Killer. Granted a lot of pitchers look like Pirate killers, but perhaps none has been more of a thorn than Hampton has been, if only because of his struggles against other teams this season.

What is very interesting is the almost perfect symmetry of this Pirate team. Take for instance the following, going into last night's game. The Pirates pitchers have allowed 357 runs, 7th best in the NL, and have a .264 BAA, 11th best in the league. The Bucco offense has scored 356 runs, 8th best in the league, and they have a batting average of .265, a remarkable 3rd best in the Senior Circuit.

That is kinda scary how even they both are. The real headscratcher is the Pirates batting average, though the rest of their statistics make them about league average. The pitching staff is slightly better than average on other metrics, including being 3rd in the league in quality starts with 46.

The question is why is this team not better record wise? To be honest I really don't know. It could be dumb luck. Think of how many game this year the Bucs went out and blew open a game, more than a few. It would be a reasonable guess to say that when the team is hitting, they hit. And when they don't, well they can't hit water falling out of a boat.

Or it can be that they are just not quite ready to compete with the teams ahead of them. The Cubs, Cards, and Brewers for one reason or another seem to have their number. Add in the difficulties with the Astros and Reds and one can see where a few extra losses might come from.

The expected wins and losses for this team is currently at .500, what you would expect with a break even in runs scored and allowed, yet they are few off of that pace. What will be interesting is how the team holds up as the season wears on. They have improved from last season and a way to make that clearly visible is to hold up down the stretch.

Alvarez at Altoona

This past weekend we took a trip up 22 to visit the Altoona Curve and to get a glimpse of Pedro Alvarez play. We went to the game on the 4th against the Bowie Baysox. We got to see Gorkys Hernandez, Jim Negrych, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, and Steve Lerud of Curve players of note. We also got to see, but not pitch, Alvarez's fellow 2008 first round pick, Brian Matusz, who looks really scrawny.

The Curve ended up wining the game 1-0, as it turned into a pitchers duel. The most interesting fireworks was when Bowie's manager was ejected from the game. My guess is that he was arguing where the umpire was setting up, as the took off his cleats, yes took the off, and placed them where the umpire should be standing.

I really enjoyed watching this Curve team, as it has perhaps the most talent since Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy were up there.

Gorkys Hernandez looks like the gangly guy you would think he is. He is extremely fast though, perhaps the fastest I have seen up there. I kinda wonder what kind of baserunner he is though as he put a shot into the gap and settled for a double, though he probably could have had a triple. Hernandez also took one off his hand during a bunt attempt, so it might be something to watch for. In the field, there were not many balls that he had to run for so I did not get a feel for his range, though I will say he was playing pretty shallow.

I always seemed to miss Negrych last season and saw him this time. He is pretty quick on the bases, as he almost beat a few out to first. You can see that he is a hitter as he really will work the pitcher. I can't recall much of anything getting hit to him, so I could not talk of his defense.

Jose Tabata is very impressive. As I mentioned last year he looks the part of a big leaguer, the way he handles himself. I can also spot at times the way he looks like he is losing interest in the field, that I have read about when scouts review him. I believe he got a base hit, but when he did make contact it was pretty solid.

The prospect I came to watch though was Alvarez. The guy is completely zoned in at the plate. He never fully leaves the batter's box and will work the pitcher to death. The game takes on a different feel when he is at the plate as the opposition clearly is pitching him differently, anyone at the game can tell that. Mostly they threw him a bunch of off speed and junk pitches. One pitcher tried coming at him and it was a 7 or 8 pitch at bat until Alvarez smoked it into center.

In the field he had a bunch of really easy opportunities. He does have a good arm, but just looking at him you really have to wonder how long he can stay there. It is not the fact that he is fat, but he is just naturally a big man. He moves well, but I can see why you would say he is going to have to move across the diamond.

The only other player that stood out was Dustin Molleken. He came in and pitched really well. He also threw pretty hard. I don't know how accurate the stadium gun is but, he was bringing it about 92 or 93 each time. He looked pretty good.

Here are some of the many pictures we had Steve's wife take for us along the third base line.

Gorkys Hernandez taking off on a grounder.

 

Gorkys sliding into second. 

Jose Tabata at the plate

 

Jose Tabata taking a swing. 

 

Steve Lerud taking a swing.

 

Alvarez at the hot corner with Angel Gonzalez at short.

 

Alvarez at the plate.

 

Alvarez driving one to the outfield. 

If You Build It...

The recent rash of trades that Neal Huntington has embarked on has really got me thinking. What exactly is the phase that we are in? Are we in an all out rebuilding mode or not? Or is this a much quicker rehabilitation? I got to thinking about it as I started to look at the major league roster. Of the 25 men on the active roster, 14 of them have come in the past year. Huntington has added 15, as Evan Meek came a little over a year ago.That is a heck of a lot players to add in one year.

At the same, in these trades and in the draft, he has brought in nice blend of almost big league ready, not so much big league ready, and it will take some time type prospects. He and his team have spread or at least set themselves a a nice broad swath of talent in the farm system.

Just take a look at what he has done. He added major league arms in Ohlendorf, Karstens, McCutchen, Hansen and Hanrahan, and major league bats in Andy LaRoche, Moss, and Milledge. He has added more advanced prospects in Tabata, Hernandez, and Alvarez. Then a second tier of more advanced/quicker movers in Bryan Morris, Jeff Locke, Matt Hague, Chase D'Arnaud, and Jordy Mercer. Then there are countless lower level high upside guys like Robbie Grossman, Quinton Miller, and the cast of pitchers that they are pursuing from this year's draft.

If you look at it this plan whether is a rebuild or rehabilitation, has tried to address all levels of the organization. It has been a quick and drastic change to the organization. At every level there is something that looks promising, which was extremely hard to say a few years ago. Heck just a few months ago.

While right now it seems as though nothing is making much sense, if you take a step back it looks as though the whole organization is undergoing radical change, not just the major league roster in Pittsburgh, which many do not seem to understand.

Many still remember the "Five Year Plan" of Cam Bonifay and whatever it was the Dave Littlefield was doing, but this is something different. This looks more like an accelerated plan for an organization. It looks like Huntington was taking notes from Mark Shapiro when he went to work with Cleveland. The lone exception is that Neal is not saying it will be a few years, they are just looking to do it quicker. And frankly it looks like it might come quicker than many may think.

This Week On the Farm

Team of the Week: West Virginia Power
Hitter of the Week: Matt Hague, Lynchburg
Pitcher of the Week: Rudy Owens, West Virginia

Indianapolis: 3-4 For the Week

Things probably are not going to look too pretty at Indy as the Bucs have taken their two most productive hitters at the moment in Garrett Jones and Jeff Salazar, who had 10 hits this week. Larry Broadway had 2 home runs and 6 RBI and Luis Cruz had 7 hits. Shelby Ford has continued to struggle all season as he only had 3 hits this week. Hector Gimenez had 6 hits and 4 RBI, while Bryan Myrow had 5 hits.

Tom Gorzelanny picked up a win his week as he went 5 innings, giving up 2 unearned, and striking out 12. Daniel McCutchen went five and picked up a win and Chris Bootcheck notched 2 more saves. Brad Lincoln went 3.2 innings this week, giving up 6 runs, 3 earned in a no decision. The stat line of the week went to Ian Snell as he went 7 innings, striking out 17, though he did get a no decision.

Altoona: 2-6 For the Week

Jim Negrych came alive this week as he pounded out 11 hits, including a rare home run. Jonel Pacheco had 2 home runs and Jose Tabata had 7 hits, 1 HR, and 3 RBI. Gorkys Hernandez had 7 hits as well, including a home run. Brian Friday had 6 hits, including a home run as well. Pedro Alvarez had no hits as he was battling a nagging knee injury from running into Steve Lerud.

Danny Moskos pitched 12.1 innings over two starts, giving up 10 runs, only 5 being earned while striking out 9. He got a loss this week. Michael Dubee picked up a win in relief, and for the week threw 5.1 innings, allowing 3 runs, but none were earned. Jeff Sues got a win in relief as he struck out 10 in 7.2 innings over multiple appearances. Tyler Herron is in the Curve rotation now, as he went 9.2 innings over two starts. Herron gave up 6 runs, striking out 8 in taking a loss this week.

Lynchburg:  2-5 For the Week

Matt Hague is swinging the hot bat as he had 13 hits, 1 HR, and 7 RBI. Right behind him was Jordy Mercer with 10 hits, 1 HR, and 6 RBI. Second baseman Chase D'Arnaud had 9 hits and 5 RBI. Newly acquired Eric Fryer in one game had a hit and two walks. Jamie Romak, back in the outfield, had 3 home runs this week to go with 7 RBI.

Things did not go so great on the mound though for Hillcats. Bryan Morris went 8.1 innings over two starts. He gave up 11 runs, but only 4 were earned. Jeff Locke went 3 innings, allowing 8 runs, 5 earned in his one start. Justin Wilson went 8 innings over two starts, allowing 7 runs. Matt McSwain got a win this week, allowing only 1 over 5, and Christian Castorri got a win in relief.

West Virginia: 4-2 For the Week

The star for the Power was Starling Marte, not being slowed down at all, as he collected 10 hits and drove in 4 runs. Quincy Latimore had 9 hits and 2 home runs to with 6 RBI. Adenson Chourio had 7 hits, and Robbie Grossman had 5 hits, including a home run. Austin McClune had 5 hits as well. First rounder Tony Sanchez had 2 hits and an RBI.

Rudy Owens continued his great pitching as he picked up his 9th win, by throwing 6 shutout innings. Quinton Miller went 4 innings, allowing 4 in a no decision. Gabe Alvarado picked up a win, as did Ryan Kelly. Duke Welker, moved to the bullpen, blew a save getting his 9th loss.

State College: 4-3 For the Week

David Rubinstein had 10 hits to lead the Spikes and he drove in 5 runs. Justin Byler also drove in 5 for the week. Aaron Baker had 4 hits, Evan Chambers had one, but walked three times in one game. Brock Holt had 4 hits and 7 walks and Andrew Biela had 5 hits.

Tyler Cox went a little over 5 to get another win this week, he allowed only one run. Jason Erickson went 4 scoreless and got no decisions. Nelson Pereira went 4.2 over two games, winning one and losing another. He allowed only 2 earned and struck out 7. Brandon Holden threw 3 scoreless and Zach Foster threw 4.1 scoreless. picked up a win, b struck out 13 in 11 innings, and supplemental pick Victor Black went 1 inning, striking out 2.

Bradenton: 0-4 for the Week

Good thing rain shortened the week, as it was looking ugly for the Baby Bucs. Andury Acevedo, Ramon Cabrera, Melvin De La Cruz and Gift Ngoepe all had 3 hits. Wes Freeman, Elevys Gonzalez, and Gemmy Gonzalez each had two, with Gemmy driving in 3 runs. Roglios Noris had 1 hit and 3 walks.

Brent Klinger and Jonathan Ramos each struck out 5 this week. Gerardo Esparza went 3 scoreless. Mitchell Fienemann went 4 innings, allowing 2, and striking out 2. Chris Aure went 1 inning, allowing 1, and Rafael Quintero went 3 allowing only 1. When it finally stops raining, we will see the debut of Rinku and Dinesh.

Taiwan Press Conference?

Dejan had this linked on his blog and I had to share. This is cool but also kinda funny when you think about it at the same time. The video is more than likely Sheng-Chin Hung and Ping-Hung Chi, as they are high school teammates. Also there are pictures of Chi-Wei Hsu at his presser as well.

Drinking the Kool Aid

Is it just me or is there a disconnect going on in regards to the Pirates and the moves they have been making? I say this because I hear from some that the Pirates are giving up on the season. I hear that, "Hey they are just five games out. This team could win the division." I am thinking to myself, gee I really would like to know what they are drinking?

In order for a team to give up on a season or raise the white flag, the team would first need to have a realistic shot at winning. Granted the Pirates are 6 games back, but they are still in last place, still a losing team, and have 5 other teams in front of them. It would be different if the Bucs were at .500 or slightly above, in second place, and a handful of games back, but they are not. It is really too much to ask for this team, let alone the one that started this season to win the divison. That is the important point to make, the team that started this season, you know the one with McLouth, Morgan, Hinske and Burnett would have never won the division. We will never know of course, but I would bet the house on it.

Another criticism I hear lobbed at the Bucs, is that they broke up 'the best offensive outfield in the majors' and now have broken it up even more. Nothing gets at me more than hearing that phrase. Sure they were statistically, at the time, perhaps the best or most productive outfield, but would they be today? Jason Bay has continued to be productive and perhaps more so simply because he plays in Boston with a better lineup. I have little doubt if he were still here, we would continue to perform like the Pirates' Jason Bay. Xavier Nady on the other hand would have likely fallen off the cliff that he has with New York. After the trade, he did little for the Yankees and then got hurt. He is hurt again and looks to have Tommy John. To me it was perhaps only a matter of time for him to get hurt and I am happy it is not with us.

That ever brief period of time when the Pirates sported this offensive juggernaut, and I use that loosely, was more than likely an aberration of sorts. You had a healthy Jason Bay, Nate McLouth in the midst of a huge season, and Xavier Nady finally healthy for at least 4 months. You put that all together and it going to look good. Again though look back, even with that outfield we weren't exactly winning. Why? For one we needed more players. We have dealt those guys for more players quality players.

People seem to underestimate exactly how bare the cupboard was in this whole organization. It seems as though the plan was to try to piece together a team to compete this year or next and that would be it, start over. That is no way to run things. It is called an organization for a reason, and Pirates were once run as confederation of players, but now are more unified in their approach. This approach is necessary to try to build things for the longer term, not just one season.

I understand why many may get upset, the losing is starting to wear like never before. The dawn is darkest before the light and we need to make tough decisions like this. Huntington has staked his job on this rebuild of the past year or so. The moves made here really have not changed what was perhaps inevitable anyway these past two seasons, but it definitely has changed what may happen in the next two plus seasons. That is when all of this frustration will pay off.

Hopefully we will be able to watch in enjoyment as Andrew McCutchen gets on base with a double, playing with the opponent that he will take third, while the pitcher is more worried about facing the heart of the order of Milledge, Alvarez, and Tabata. The opposing manager is wondering how his team is even going to go anything offensively as Brad Lincoln has been setting them down with ease and he faces the three headed right handed dragon of Meek, Hanrahan, and Capps to end the game.

That is when it will be all worth it. Until then I guess I'll have to put up with the people who can't see the forest from the trees. I only hope those people remember what they were thinking and saying at this time. They probably won't remember, just like they won't remember the vaunted Bay, McLouth, and what was that other guys's name...who cares this Kool Aid tastes great.

Busy Busy

Rather quickly, the Pirates have been rather busy signing draft picks and international talent these past few days. From the draft they have signed Evan Chambers, their 3rd round pick, Walker Gourley, their 13th, and Ryan Beckman, their 18th.

Chambers is a former Florida Gator, who brings a lot of tools to the table. His signing means they have signed the top 4 picks from their draft so far. Gourley is a high school player, whom I thought might be a little difficult to sign. His high school coach has ties to ECU and Gourley had committed there. Beckman is a JUCO pitcher with some good size. He almost strikes me as a right handed Rudy Owens type of guy.

Internationally, as we await any word on Sano, the Bucs have been busy in Taiwan of all places. First they signed a short, but speedy outfielder in Chi Ping-Hong ( though I have seen his name rearranged in other places it could be Ping-Hung Chi). Ping-Hong can run to first in under 4 seconds and signed for $30,000.

The Bucs made one more signing Hsu Chi-Wei, a pitcher/first baseman. He doesn't throw all that hard, but has some pop from the plate. He throws in the low 80's and has a slider. Both Taiwanese players, I am assuming, are going to Australia to play at the academy there. You may remember Dutchman Daan Corneliseen is going to play there as well.

None of these international moves are particularly earth moving like Sano would be, but they do show that the team is committed to trying different things, especially internationally.

Know When to Hold Them, When to Fold Them

Today was just a whirlwind as far as the Pirates were concerned. Two trades and a big win in the same day, it was almost exhausting just to watch.

The day started with Eric Hinske getting dealt to New York for minor leaguers Eric Fryer and Casey Erickson. this move was somewhat of a surprise in that they traded Hinske now. I guess I am accustomed to the Dave Littlefield strategy of hanging on to guys like Hinske for dear life. Fryer and Erickson are perhaps fringe prospects, who maybe have little chance of making it to the big leagues, but Hinske was wasting roster space.

Brought in this offseason to be a big bat off the bench, Hinske was anything but a big bat. He has batted .255 with only 1 home run and 11 RBI. It was really, really not what we were looking for and to get two players, no matter what their futures may be, I think is a win for the club. I'd rather have Fryer and Erickson then see Hinske collect his contract and leave after the season.

As if that was not enough, word came that there was going to be another trade coming later in the day. My thoughts jumped to a) Ian Snell, b) Nyjer Morgan or c) Adam LaRoche. The correct answer was B, as the pirates continued their talks with the Nationals on the Lastings Milledge trade from this past weekend.

The Bucs then traded Morgan, along with Sean Burnett, for Milledge and Joel Hanrahan. When I read that I could not have been more excited, as this was a classic sell high and buy low. Right now Morgan's value could not be any higher. If there is anyone who realistically thought he would be anywhere near as useful as he has been this year, please raise your hand Kreskin. At his age, we definitely traded high on him. Same could be said of Sean Burnett, who has pitched well this season, but has benefited from pitching in front of an improved defense, as he sports a BABIP of .218.

In Hanrahan and Milledge the Bucs get two guys that the Nationals probably would have never thought would have been traded this season. Hanrahan was their closer and struggled this season, though he fits the profile of reliever that Huntington likes, a power pitcher that throws strikes. Guys who throw upwards of 97 mph don't just grow on trees, so picking up Hanrahan is a great improvement over Burnett.

The real key, that may make us someday look at this trade and think that it was a grand larceny, is Lastings Milledge. If you follow baseball at all, the name should be familiar. Once the top prospect of the Mets, attitude problems and the wrong situations have made him a bit of an enigma. The kid has a world of talent, five tool type talent, something the Pirates sorely need. The bet is that the Pirates and the culture in Pittsburgh maybe makes him tap that potential and become the player many thought he would be.

While I'll admit Nyjer has surprised and has been fun to watch this season, Lastings Milledge is the type of player, skill wise, that the Pirates desperately need to have. He is a dynamic player that can do a lot of things on the diamond and could be a big time player.

In addition to the trades, Jeff Salazar and Garrett Jones will both be coming to Pittsburgh. In the case of Jones, he has deserved the opportunity, as he has learned a new position and flat out raked. Salazar as well was deserving and has a chance to show he may belong on the club as a bench/role player here.

On top of all this Ross Ohlendorf pitched one heck of a game, but that is a post script to this day. The real story is that Huntington is doing his best to try to bring more talent, as he sees it, into the organization. He has shown that he is willing to do the unpopular and the slightly different to get it done. Today it looks like he made two good moves. One, the Hinske deal, was no earth mover but still a useful trade, and the other has the potential to be a game changer. I applaud the management team for being proactive and trying to shake things up. I can only hope that we are not yet doen.