Countdown

There is perhaps nothing like getting swept in a doubleheader at Cincinnati against a hapless team like the Reds that makes one want to hang their head. It is even worse when one thinks back to last week when we were all feeling great about this team, having played great baseball, then now to lose 5 in a row.

As I have said before we can expect to see this. This is a young team that will make many, many mistakes here as we wind down the season. Hopefully they will use this a learning experience instead of taking it the wrong way and not learning anything from it.

What is more important is that with all of these losses in a row, the club is now staring the loss record right in the face. It will only take five more losses to clinch, if that is the correct term, their 17th straight losing season. I can only hope for them that it happens on the day the Steelers open the season, as some may not notice it happen. That can be their only hope now.

On a lighter note, Daniel McCutchen pitched pretty well for his debut. Of course many of the Reds looked very familiar to him, as they were Louisville Bats just yesterday. Granted he did give up the home run early, but after that he settled down and acquitted himself nicely in his debut. I hope that he gets a fair amount of starts as the season winds down, as I'd like to see what he can do.

The Grind Continues

Once again the Bucs leave the city of Milwaukee without having win. This streak goes back two years now and a total of 21games. That is unbelievable. One would think that the Bucs would win up there on accident. Baseball is one sport where one would not expect to have a streak such as this ever happen.

Then again when one looks at the Bucs inability to hit with runners in scoring position against the Brew Crew, one can easily understand where the team would lose that many in a row.

With the calendar changing that the team moving on to play a few doubleheaders, the Bucs are going to get to see more new teammates. The first new one, will be Daniel McCutchen. When the news was that the Bucs were going to send McCutchen to the World Cup in Europe, I could not believe it. After the season McCutchen had he deserved a shot at the big leagues, not more seasoning against top international talent. With him coming up we will see if there is yet another arm that will compete for the rotation next year. Things have worked out well for another McCutchen thus far, maybe Daniel will have success as well.

Replacing McCutchen on Team USA will be Brad Lincoln, which makes a great deal of sense. Lincoln has worked hard this season and made great strides. He is not on the 40 man roster and fits the mold of the type of player you would want the Bucs to send to Europe. He won't be facing lineups as tough as he did in the IL, but will be challenged in different ways and should be a good experience for him, as well as Pedro Alvarez.

The real debate coming up will be whether or not Neil Walker makes his debut in Pittsburgh. Jose Tabata most surely will not, as he is headed for the AFL. Walker has come on strong in the second half, after fighting lingering injuries, so calling him up may be very interesting. I am not sure how much time he would see, as the team will probably want to run out Andy LaRoche everyday, but he could be interesting.

And to conclude this rambling sort of post, Steve and I made up another top 30 list to take in account the new trades and draft picks. We put it up over at the Allegheny Armada. Just click on Top Prospects at the top. When we made it up, we were surprised at how much things had changed in the top 30. A majority of the players have come in this calendar year alone. Take a look at it, I am sure many will argue but it is our opinion.

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: Altoona Curve
Hitter of the Week: Bryan Myrow, Indianapolis
Pitcher of the Week: Diego Moreno, West Virginia

Indianapolis: 4-3 For the Week

The hit leader for the Tribe this week was Bryan Myrow. Myrow had 15 hits, 2 HR, and 9 RBI. Neil Walker had 8 hits and 4 RBI. Tagg Bozied and Erik Kratz each chipped in 2 HR. Jose Tabata had 5 hits and 1 home run on the week.

Brad Lincoln has gotten back on track at AAA, as he went 5 innings and allowed no runs on 2 hits, striking out 5 6o his 5th win. Daniel McCutchen went 6 allowing 4 in a no decision. Ty Taubenheim, Juan Mateo, and Jean Machi each got wins this week.

Altoona: 6-1 For the Week

Offense was a plenty for the Curve this week. Gorkys Hernandez had 10 hits and 5 runs scored. Jonel Pacheco and Jason Delaney each had 9 hits. Jeff Corsaletti had 8 hits. Pedro Alvarez, ending the year strong, had 7 hits, 7 runs scored, 2 HR, and 6 RBI. He had 8 walks to 3 K's.

Yoslan Herrera got two wins this week, as he was the starter after Donnie Veal threw a few innings. Veal went 6 innings, allowed only 1 and struck out 7. Tim Alderson went 7 to get his 9th win. Danny Moskos went 6, allowing only 2 in a no decision. Mike Crotta went 5, allowing 2 in a loss. Jared Hughes got two saves, and the reliever trio of Nestor, Molleken, and Dubee each got a win. Ramon Aguero went 6 scoreless striking out 6 to get 3 saves.

Lynchburg: 2-6 For the Week

Matt Hague had a big week with 12 hits and 2 home runs. Chase D'Arnaud had 7 runs and 9 hits. b had 8 hits with 6 RBI. Josh Harrison had 6 hits and 6 RBI.

Matt McSwain went 7 scoreless, striking out 6 to get his 10th win. Jeff Locke went 11 innings over two starts, allowing only 2 runs, walking none and striking out 2 to get a win this week. Justin Wilson gave up 5 in 10 innings, getting a loss, and Ron Uviedo went 5 allowing 2 in a no decision. Bryan Morris gave up 6 through 5 in a loss, Nate Adcock went 4 giving up 2 in a loss, and Rudy Owens went 4, allowing 2 in a no decision.

West Virginia: 4-3 For the Week

Starling Marte had 5 runs, 8 hits, and three RBI to help spear head the Power offense. Bobby Spain had 8 hits and 6 RBI. Calvin Anderson had 7 hits, a home run and 5 RBI. Robbie Grossman had 4 hits. Tony Sanchez had 4 hits, one a home run and 4 RBI.

In two appearances, Brian Leach went 10 innings, striking out 10 to get a win and a loss. Diego Moreno struck out 11 in 6 innings, allowing no runs. Bret Lorin got a win, by going 5 scoreless. Aaron Pribanic got a win as well, by allowing only 1 through 6. Casey Erickson picked up 2 saves.

State College: 4-3 for the Week

Ty Summerlin had 8 hits, as did Evan Chambers for the week. Chambers also scored 7 times. Aaron Baker had 4 runs and 7 hits. Pat Irvine had a home run and 9 RBI on the week. Justin Byler had 7 RBI and Elevys Gonzalez made his debut at State College getting two hits.

Tyler Cox went 6 allowing on one run to get his 8th win. Ricardo Paulino went 6 scoreless in a win and Nelson Pereira went 4 innings of scoreless ball,striking out 5 to get a win. Kyle McPherson went 6 scoreless, striking out 7 in a win. Nate Baker got a no decision in 4 scoreless and Victor Black struck out 4 in three innings. Zach Foster went 5.2 scoreless in relief.

Bradenton: 4-2 For the Week

Gift Ngoepe had only 3 hits on the week, but drove in 5 runs. Benji Gonzalez had 5 hits, as did Melvin De La Cruz. Walker Gourley had 2 hits in his first game in weeks. Joey Schoenfeld went hit less in 8 at bats, only striking out 2 times. Wes Freeman had 4 hits and 2 RBI.

Ryan Beckman went 5, striking out 4, and allowing 1 run to get a win. Rafael Quintero went 2 innings and got a win. Zac Fuesser went 7 innings allowing 1 run and striking out 4. Trent Stevenson had 4 scoreless innings, while Brooks Pounders went 4, striking out 5 in a loss. Brad Clapp went 4 scoreless to get a win.

Back to Reality

It is kinda funny how a ball blasting off into a Pittsburgh night sky can level you. That is what happened when Ryan Howard took the first pitch he saw from Phil Dumatrait and placed it high up in the seats. I am sure many could see this one coming. It was probably not a good feeling when Steven Jackson allowed two men to get on. It might have been when Jimmy Rollins held up from tagging on a Chase Utley flyball. There is no doubt most would have felt weird when Howard stepped to the plate.

Despite the loss in extras, the Pirates once again had a chance to put this game away well before the ninth inning, when this night they needed a Brandon Moss home run to force extras.

There were stranded runners in scoring position. Misplayed balls in the outfield. Ineffective later inning bullpen pitching. Base running mistakes. All cost the team a chance at winning the game earlier, much as was the case the night before.

To be honest though we are going to have that with a younger team. It would be a problem if this was a team of older players doing these same mistakes, instead we have one of the youngest teams in the majors, simply learning how to play big league baseball.

If there is any good to come from defeats like this one, it is that they were competitive. Forcing extras against he defending world champs was pretty impressive, especially coming back on them. Then the champs showed why they are champs with their devastating lineup.

As has been said before, the rest of this season has nothing to do with wins or losses, though it would be nice to win. It is instead more growing pains of things to come and hopefully really great things to come.

Andrew, The Redeemer

The story line for the game tonight could have been like countless Pirate games from the past decade plus from this team come this time of the year. We have grown accustomed to the team blowing games or just flat out not competing in games. That is not the case this season.

This Pirate team is much, much more different than teams from the past. This team is exciting to watch at times. They have fun and they will compete. Granted there are times when their talent just doesn't do it, but there are other times when you have nights like we had tonight.

No one could have really faulted this team if they gave up on the season. The front office put them through the ringer. A lot of important pieces of this team were traded away, but instead of getting down this team has rolled with the punches. Watching the younger guys play and the position battles take place have made this team really fun to watch for the fans like myself.

Even though times are indeed tough and the immediate future does not look all that bright, I think now is a good time to be a Pirates fan. We are seeing the beginnings of something happen right before our eyes. Perhaps in two years or so we will look back to nights like tonight and think that was when he had glimpses of better things to come.

Pirates Greats: Manny Sanguillen

Perhaps known to fans today as the sociable former Pirate with the BBQ in the outfield, Sanguillen is perhaps overlooked by many. One of a handful of greats to come from the central American country of Panama, Sangy was one heck of a catcher during his time.

Signed in 1964 by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Panama, Sanguillen would make his debut stateside in Batavia in the NY-P league the following season. By 1967 he was in Columbus and eventually got the call to Pittsburgh that same season. Sangy would bat .271 in 30 games that season for the Bucs. 1968 saw him return to Columbus, but he would return and stay in Pittsburgh in 1969.

Sangy came up as an excellent defensive catcher. He had a strong arm and moved well behind the plate. In his youth he had pretty good speed for a catcher as well. The young catcher definitely stood out as he had a very effusive outgoing personality and was also known to talk with everyone, including hitters at the plate.

A free swinger if there ever was one, Sangy was known to use a much larger bat than perhaps was necessary, so as he could better reach the balls that he swung at. Despite his free swinging ways, hitting came to him naturally and he put up good batting averages.

In his first full professional season, Manny hit .303 and drove in 57 runs for the Bucs. He would follow that up by batting .325 and driving in 61 runs. In 1971, Manny would have a true break out season. He would get named to the National League All-Star game and would garner some MVP attention. Manny would hit .319 and drive in 81 runs in helping to led the Pirates to the World Series. In that Series, Sangy would hit .379.

He would miss out in hitting over .300 in 1972 by only .002, hitting .298. The end of 1972 would be a tough go for Sangy as well as the rest of the Pirate family, as they mourned the loss of Roberto Clemente. Sanguillen took the loss very tough, as he missed the funeral service, instead he was in the ocean still looking for Clemente.

As if the trauma were not quite enough for him, Sanguillen was chosen to replace the great one in right field. The experiment only lasted until July, when it was obvious that the move was affecting him too much. He would return behind the plate for the rest of the season.

1975 saw Manny bounce back in a big way, as he posted his best season average, hitting .328. He was again named to the All-Star team, his third selection. Sangy was back and was loved by the fans. His great play and his status as a fan favorite made the trade of him after the 1976 season somewhat shocking. Manny was sent to Oakland with cash for Chuck Tanner, which in hindsight was not that bad of a deal for the Bucs.

Manny would only spend one year in Oakland, batting .275 for the year. After the season he was sent back to Pittsburgh in another trade, though this time Manny would not be the everyday player he had been. He would split time at catcher and first base for the Bucs for the next three seasons.

In the 1979 World Series, Manny came up big in Game Two, with a pinch hit, two out single to help the Bucs win the game.

After the 1980 season, Manny was traded to Cleveland along with Bert Blyleven for a package of four prospects that did not amount to much. Manny would never play in Cleveland as he was released by the Tribe before ever playing. Manny would then hang them up at the age of 36.

Manny has stayed active in baseball though as he has held various roles, both official and unofficial with the Pirates over the years. He has helped in scouting in Latin America, particularly in his native Panama, as well as work as an instructor in spring training. Manny is perhaps best known as an ambassador of Pirate baseball, a role that fits him well.

Sanguillen had the unfortunate task of playing in the National League the same time as Johnny Bench. He was overshadowed a great deal by Bench and perhaps never got his due when he played. While known as a free swinger, his walk to strikeout numbers don't really show a lack of plate discipline, which surprised me. Manny was an excellent defender and a great hitter, easily mentioned as possibly the greatest Pirate catcher of all-time.

Career Stats

Year	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1967, 69-80	1448	5380	5062	566	1500	205	57	65	585	35	38	223	331	0.296	0.326	0.398	0.724

Pittsburgh Vampires

Perhaps the Pirates have been watching Innocent Blood late at night when on the road and have taken to playing like Vampires in Pittsburgh during the day. Baseball is a game of many quirks that no matter how hard you try you cannot understand the problem. One of many problems with the Pirates this season is that they are really struggling during the day. As of the loss to the Reds on Sunday, the Bucs are now 12-28 during day games, worst record in the majors. One can only imagine what would happen if they still played a lot of games during the day.

So what could the problem be? I mean it is not as though that much is different during the day than at night, at least it shouldn't be. Instead of evening shadows you have the high sun. Instead of a chill, there is the hot sun, which is the biggest difference I can think of.

One possibility and one that I have noticed is that the younger players on the team are not focused. A vast majority of these day time games are on the 'getaway' day, meaning that the team is going to be traveling somewhere after the game. One could speculate that the players are thinking about what they are going to do after the game and not during it.

A tried and true tradition of day games, especially Sunday games, of which the Bucs have lost their past 9, is that the manager typically plays their bench or "Sunday Lineup". As John Russell looks down his bench there are not a ton of very appealing options. A lineup made of the Pirates' bench would definitely not be all that great. So it would stand to reason that this could be a definite possibility.

Another thought is that Russell in making his lineups for day games, wanting to give players rest or playing bench players, is not all that great at making a lineup when he is not using his regulars. This could be a possibility but it would probably be the effect of having a bad bench more than a bad manager. Though of course not necessarily, but I would give Russell credit and say that he does not have much to work with.

What could be the explanation? Well, like the reason people hit the brakes at the Squirrel Hill tunnel, this may have to be filed under unexplained. Though there could be an easy explanation. They are the Pirates and things like this just seem to happen to them. Want proof? In one run ball games, they are 8-18, again worst in the majors. Go figure.

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: West Virginia
Hitter of the Week: Pedro Lopez, Indianapolis
Pitcher of the Week: Danny Moskos, Altoona

Indianapolis: 4-3 for the Week

The offense was powered by Erik Kratz who had 3 HR and 8 RBI. Robinson Diaz had 2 HR, 4 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Pedro Lopez managed to collect a whopping 15 hits on the week, scoring 6 times. Tagg Bozied was right behind with 12 hits and 7 runs scored. Jeff Clement had a home run and 7 RBI and Jose Tabata hit a home run, one of 7 hits to go with 5 runs scored.

On the hill, Brad Lincoln picked up two wins this week as he went 10 innings, allowing 6 runs and stiking out 9 to get his 3rd and 4th wins. Daniel McCutchen kept on rolling as he got two wins as well, going 13 innings, allowing only 2 runs and striking out 13. He now has 13 wins.

Altoona: 3-3 For the Week

Pedro Alvarez added two more home runs to his total this week as well as getting 7 hits overall. Gorkys Hernandez added a home run and 4 RBI to go with 5 hits. Brian Friday had 6 hits as did Jason Delaney. Pitcher Tim Alderson also had a home run this past week.

Danny Moskos had a great week, notching two wins, giving him 10 on the season. He went a total of 15 innings and allowing only 3 runs, while striking out 12. Tim Alderson allowed 6 in 6 for a no decision and Kyle Bloom picked up win, his 5th. Donnie Veal threw two scoreless innings and Yoslan Herrera got his first loss, though he only gave up one run.

Lynchburg: 3-3 For the Week

Jordy Mercer led the club with 9 hits for the week. Kris Watts led the club with 5 RBI. Chase D'Arnaud and Matt Hague each had 5 hits and Josh Harrison had 4 to go with 6 runs scored.

Justin Wilson went 7 shutout innings, stiking out 11 to get his 6th win. Bryan Morris went 6, not allowing and earned run to get his 4th win, and Nate Adcock went 5 to get his 3rd. Ron Uviedo went 4 innings in a split start, allowing 1 unearned to get a save. b allowed 4 in 5 innings to get a loss, and Jeff Locke went 5.2 giving up 6 in a loss. RJ Rodriguez got his 26th save.

West Virginia: 5-1 On the Week

Bobby Spain had 8 hits to lead the Power this week. Calvin Anderson and Robbie Grossman each chipped in a home run. Tony Sanchez cooled off a bit, getting only 3 hits. Starling Marte continues to do it all, by collect 7 hits, 4 RBI, and 6 runs scored.

Brian Leach (6 Ip, 3 R, 5 K), Gabe Alvarado (4 IP, 2 R, 3 K), Wilson Ortiz (4.2 IP, 3 R, 2 K), Hunter Strickland (11 IP, 7 R, 4 K), and Brett Lorin (4.1 IP, 5 R, 3 K) all got wins this week. Strickland's numbers seem off as he did take a loss as well. Casey Erickson picked up 2 saves on the week.

State College: 1-4 For the Week

Pat Irvine had 7 hits and a home run to lead the Spikes. Justin Byler had 6 and a home run, and both David Rubinstein and Brock Holt had 5 hits. Evan Chambers added a home run.

Tyler Cox got the lone win on the week in ugly fashion. Jason Erickson went 3.2 taking a loss without giving up an earned run. Marc Baca threw a scoreless inning. Victor Black threw 3 scoreless innings, striking out 4 in a no decision and Nate Baker went 4 scoreless in a no decision.

Bradenton: 2-5 On the Week

Benji Gonzalez led the team with 10 hits. Jairo Marquez had 7 hits and 7 RBI to go with a home run. Ramon Cabrera had 6 hits. Wes Freeman, Henry Henry, Andrew Walker, and Elevys Gonzalez all had a home run.

Elecier Navarro went 2 scoreless to get a win and Jhonathan Ramos got the other for the Baby Bucs. Mitchell Fienemann went 8 innings, allowing only 4 earned to get two losses this week. Brooks Pounders went 2 innings, allowing 4, 3 of them unearned. Rinku Singh threw 3.1 scoreless innings. Ryan Beckman went 8.1 innings allowing 5 and striking out 5. Zac Fuesser went 2.1 innings allowing 1 earned and Trent Stevenson went 3 scoreless. There were a ton of unearned runs that hurt the whole staff.

Forever Young

Easily the best trade of the season made by Neal Huntington was one that made many seem to scratch their heads as to why we made the trade. Early in the season, Huntington traded for the recently designated for assignment utility player, Delwyn Young. What did we send to the Dodgers for his services, minor league reliever Erik Krebs and $1.00. I must say it has been a steal.

The trade looked good when Young was just a bench player. Here we had a legitimate bench player, that was younger on the roster. Then with the struggles of Brandon Moss and then the trade of Freddy Sanchez, Young has become a regular. The results have been pretty impressive.

Young has been able to hit for a .300 average and has shown some pop in his bat, not much, but just enough to make him dangerous. While he does not have the greatest athletic ability, as evidenced by his adventures in running the bases, he seems to be athletic enough. The question is, can he stick at second base?

I would almost say that there is no doubt that he will be able to be adequate enough offensively to stick there, which was a question many had as he had inflated PCL numbers and little in L.A. to show for it. The real question is defense. That is where the valuable offseason acquisition of Perry Hill comes into play. If he can work his magic to make Young average, we may have our second baseman for the next few seasons.

In a season where only the diehards, and if you are still watching games and/or reading this, my guess is you are one, stories like Young's are pretty cool to have watched the whole season. My only hope is that he can continue to hit and to grow defensively. His story will be one to watch as the season continues it march on to October.

Remember When...

Remember it was not all that long ago that the Pirates looked to be hapless when they played the Brewers. Losing as many as they did in a row will do that for you as a team. Now it seems as though the Pirates have exercised the demon that was the Milwaukee Brewers. Perhaps it was only a matter of time, as the odds were in the Bucs favor eventually, or maybe it has something to do with the collapse of the Brew Crew.

Either way it is nice to not have to watch the Brewers untuck their shirts all the time when we play them. Watching the Brewers come back down to earth, even in non-Pirate games, has been very fun to watch.

Enough about the Brewers, the Bucs looked good tonight with another great start from Ross Ohlendorf. He has really come on for the Bucs this season and, as he leads the team in wins, has been a bit of a surprise. His secret to success is not really all that much of a secret, it is that he throws strikes. He was able to consistently get out in front of the batters tonight and threw strikes later in the count. Add that to the fact that there are signs of his velocity again and we may have the success story of the season with Ross.

The other good story of the night was that of Lastings Milledge. He was finally able to show fans in Pittsburgh that he can hit home runs as he hit a laser into the left field bleachers. Some have not been pleased with Lastings since he came to Pittsburgh, but I am willing to ride it out and see what he can do. It has been a tough season for him as he has not preformed as expected, been hurt, and changed teams. I am willing to give him some leeway and reserve judgment until after the season.

All in all a great performance from the pitching of Ohlendorf and Chavez to most of the lineup. Heck, Andy LaRoche reached base multiple times out of the clean up spot. Already he is as productive as he brother ever seemed to be in that spot in the order.

It was a good night for the Buccos and it couldn't have happened against a better team.

Mission Accomplished?

The Pirates management team coming into the draft had a plan in place. They took a look around at the talent on the board and formulated their plan of taking a quick signable player in the first round and then use the rest of the money on talent throughout the draft. This plan had two key parts, one of course as with every draft is to pick the right players, the other was to spend the money necessary to get higher upside guys later in the draft, the spreading the money around.

Greg Smith and Neal Huntington, at least so far, executed their plan greatly. Their first pick was of Tony Sanchez, derided as a real reach, at the time I was uncertain of the choice, but Sanchez has been one of the best hitters in the minors since he signed, quickly. Later in the draft the team took a great deal of high upside players who had signability issues, the key here would be for the Pirates to spend money.

Last season may have been an aberration as the Pirates spent a record amount on the draft, but this season Bob Nutting has again stepped up to the plate and wrote the big checks. Nutting takes a great deal of heat from the fans for his perceived penny pinching on the big league club, while I don't feel that is all that fair or even unfair to say about him, his spending in the draft is remarkable. The spending he has authorized has enabled the Pirates to have, at least on paper, one of the more successful drafts this team has had in years. It could not have happened with out the money Nutting set aside.

I don't want to come off as a full out supporter of Bob Nutting, that I am not. But my point is that if it were not for his dedication to the draft and giving his team the money they need, we would have nothing to talk about come draft time. It would again look like drafts of Pirates' past.

As I see some of the early reports of the bonuses awarded to the top players in the draft, the Pirates may have easily gone the best route for them, as a player like Dustin Ackley got $9.5 million. That is a ton of money for a guy that has a good bit of questions about what type of hitter he may be. The bonuses almost seem out of control this time around, I can only imagine what Pedro Alvarez could have demanded in this draft.

It looks as though the Pirates may not be THE top spender, but will more than likely be one of the top spenders for a second year in a row, and they did it this year by acquiring a multitude of talent, something we can all agree the team needs, for about the same amount the Mariners got one player for. With the draft being such a crap shoot to begin with, I like my chances with multiple upside guys.

While I am sure many will offer their praise and criticisms of the Pirates drafts, they took a plan and executed it. Ownership supported them fully with money to do it. As far as on paper right now, there are some guys to be excited about in this draft class. While things will most definitely change, hopefully for the better, right now I'd say they did a pretty good job with this draft.

What to Look Forward To

The abbreviated series in Chicago exemplified the painful feelings we as fans will more than likely feel as this season marches on and on. It almost never seems to end, yet we know what the ending is going to be, but cannot fast forward. The games against the Cubs seemed to have highlighted to me at least, that if this team wins or loses, it does not matter at all. Instead we are to be looking for the position battles and the improvements in individual performances.

There is for once in sometime now, legitimate talent knocking on the door at multiple positions. Some of that talent may get a September call up some will have to wait. But this talent waiting in the wings will assure us that many of the players that we see on the lineup cards in the coming weeks, may not be the guys that will be filled out on that card come next April.

There are perhaps only a few that you will be able to mark down for next year. One being Andrew McCutchen, who is probably the safest bet to go ahead put in permanent marker for next year. Lastings Milledge and Ryan Doumit, probably wrap up the position players. As for pitchers, it would probably be Maholm, Duke, Morton, and Capps. So that is probably 7 of the 25 man that will be here in 2010, as for the rest is up to the players.

While it will not be fun baseball to watch, it will for the most part be very interesting to watch. It will be interesting to see how players respond to the grind of the season, who takes a job and makes it their own, and who in the minors makes noise to be included in any discussions of the future.

It is going to be painful to watch, that much is certain, but it will be some interesting viewing.

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: West Virginia
Hitter of the Week: Tony Sanchez, West Virginia
Pitcher of the Week: Rudy Owens, Lynchburg and Daniel McCutchen, Indianapolis

Indianapolis: 4-3 for the Week

Brian Bixler continues his hot streak of hitting as he had 11 hits for the Tribe this week, including 4 RBI. He is lacking in strike zone discipline as he struck out 9 times to no walks. Neil Walker had 7 hits, including 2 home runs, to go with 6 RBI. The Diazes, Argenis and Robinson, both had 6 hits. Tagg Bozied had 8 hits. Jeff Clement had 7 hits, 2 HR, and 6 RBI, and Jose Tabata had 7 hits, a HR, and 3 RBI.

Virgil Vasquez got two wins this week as he struck out 11 over 13 innings. Eric Hacker in two starts as well, stuck out 11 in 11.1 innings, getting a win and a loss in a Jekyll and Hyde performance. Brad Lincoln continues to struggle as he went only 3 innings, allowing 9 hits and 7 runs. Daniel McCutchen went 7.2 innings in one start, allowing seven hits, no runs, striking out 7 to get his 11th win. Jean Machi got 2 saves on the week.

Altoona: 4-2 On the Week

Pedro Alvarez had 13 hits for the week and amazing none of them home runs. He scored 5 times and drove in 4. Gorkys Hernandez had 9 hits and scored 8 times. Shelby Ford must really like Altoona, as he had 7 hits, 2 HR and 11 RBI. Brian Friday had 9 hits, including a walk off on Thursday. Eddie Prasch got promoted to Altoona and he went 1-3.


In the Who Cares Department, Yoslan Herrera got his 9th win this week. Danny Moskos is wearing down as we enter the final days of the season as he only lasted 2.2 innings, allowing 5 runs and walking 4. Mike Crotta picked up his 6th win after 5.2 innings of not allowing an earned run. Tim Alderson over two starts went 9 innings, allowing 5 runs, though all five came in a three inning start. He did pick up his 8th win.

Lynchburg: 4-2 On the Week

Chase D'Arnaud has been on fire since coming back from an injury. He had 5 runs, 10 hits, 1 HR and 6 RBI. Josh Harrison has been hitting well since coming over in a trade, as he had 10 hits and 1 HR. Jose De Los Santos had 9 hits and Matt Hague and Eric Fryer each had 6.

On the mound, Jeff Locke looks better each time out, as he went 5.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 run and striking out 5 in a win. Rudy Owens has adjusted to higher level of play, as he went 5 innings, allowing only 3 hits, no runs or walks, and striking out 6 in a win. Bryan Morris, returning from suspension, went 6.2 innings, allowing 2 earned and striking out 4 for a win. Nate Adcock got a win in relief and RJ Rodriguez, why he is not in Altoona is beyond me, got his 23, 24, and 25th saves.

West Virginia: 6-1 On the Week

Greg Picart led the team in hits this week with 14 and he also scored 8 runs. Tony Sanchez scored 8 times, got 11 hits, 3 HR and 12 RBI. Kyle Morgan got 9 runs, 11 hits, 2 HR and 5 RBI. Quincy Latimore had 6 hits and 5 RBI, while Austin McClune had 6 hits as well. Jeremy Farrell had 9 hits and Robbie Grossman and Starling Marte each had 4 hits.

On the mound, Diego Moreno struck out 9 in only 6 innings of relief. Casey Erickson went 7 innings, allowing only 1 run, striking out 7 for his 7th win. Aaron Pribanic went 5 allowing only 1 for a win. Noah Krol got two wins in relief, as well as a save. Hunter Strickland, 6 innings, 1 run allowed, got his 7th win and Quinton Miller, 5 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, got his 2nd win.

State college: 4-2 On the Week

Pat Irvine had 8 hits and five RBI for the Spikes, who have improved immensely from last season. Brock Holt, a NYP All Star, got 7 hits, a home run, and 4 RBI. Justin Byler, David Rubinstein, and Aaron Baker all had 5 hits.

In 9 innings, over two starts, Jason Erickson went 9 innings, allowing only 1 run, striking out 10 to get his 2nd win. Mike Williams got his 2nd win as well. Ricardo Paulino picked up his first win in relief. Victor Black went 2 scoreless iniings, getting a save, his first. Nate Baker went 4 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 earned runs and striking out 4.

Bradenton: 6-2 For the Week

The Baby Bucs were finally able to play this week, as the rains seemed to leave them alone this past week. Rogelios Noris had a big week with 10 hits, 4 HR, and 5 RBI. Gerlis Rodriguez had 11 hits and 4 RBI and Ramon Cabrera had 10 hits, a home run, and 4 RBI. Andrew Walker had 8 hits, Wes Freeman had 6 and a home run, and Edwin Roman had 7 hits.

Melkin Laureano went 7 innings over 2 starts and got a win. In his seven innings he struck out 7 batters and gave up only 1 run. Brent Klinger went 7 scoreless and struck out 7 as well. Rinku Singh went 1 scoreless and Dinesh Patel got his first win. The best story is that of 2009 draft picks Zac Fuesser and Trent Stevenson. Both pitchers had identical lines on the week, as they both went 3 innings, allowing 1 hit, and striking out 2. Each threw all three scoreless innings.

Who is Next on the List

I was going to pose the question to all of who would be next on your wish list for the Pirates to sign from this past draft? For certain that wish list would have included Joey Schoenfield, the high school catcher, who had committed to San Diego State. He was seen as a tough sign as he is a very raw natural talent, but the Pirates went hard at him and got him to sign on the dotted line.

I guess then who would be next, Matt Den Dekker? Jeff Inman? It almost seems like they can just pick and choose who they would like to sign.

As the Bucs continue to sign these guys, it really makes the front office look pretty good. It is definitely redemption for those that have questioned or outright criticized their decisions. Baseball America has been tough on Huntington and Smith for 'going slot' with Tony Sanchez. Their argument being that the team could have signed a guy like Grant Greene, who probably would not have turned down whatever the Pirates gave to him, as he would be a huge risk if he went back to school.

While you may argue that they could have saved more money on Sanchez, I don't buy the argument that they could have drafted Aaron Crow or Grant Greene and be able to go forward with this draft strategy. In my opinion, looking at what they have done, it was just as important to get that first round pick signed quickly, as it was the dollar figure. The fact that Sanchez signed for slot and did so quickly, perhaps enabled the team to spend more time on the higher upside high school talents. I just think that gets forgotten when talking about their strategy.

I really don't know what I am going to do after all the draft stuff calms down, perhaps hope that Miguel Sano signs soon, as the big league club is not all that interesting to watch, at least right now. Things might get more interesting when the September call ups come up. While I am not certain Jose Tabata will get a callup, Jeff Clement certainly will. The pace of his home run hitting at AAA is incredible and I would love to see what, if anything, he can do at the big league level. If anything he will be more fun to watch than Steve Pearce.

I guess will have to wait, but hopefully there will be some more interesting things to pay attention to as the team continues to march on.

The Elephant in the Room

Some criticized Neil Walker when this piece from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette ran in Monday's paper. In it Walker comes off as complaining that he is being held back due to the fact that he is one of Littlefield's guys. Granted Neil Walker has many other places to place the blame to as to why he is not in Pittsburgh currently. Mainly his ability to one stay healthy and two is ability to be able to reach base at a good clip.

Until Walker shows that he can reach base and his for a good enough slugging percentage, he will continue to reside in AAA. But never the less, his accusation of him being a Littlefield guy is not un-warranted. As is mentioned in the piece, there is a natural tendency, once a new manager/group takes over, to pick favorites and of course their favorites will be their guys. Of course when looking at Huntington/Coonelly's guys, Walker does not seem to fit in that discussion.

I have had a few emails from players and people close to players in the current system that have stressed that they feel shortchanged due to the fact that they are "Litttleifeld Guys". Because of this, I feel that Walker is clearly not alone in the same feeling.

In the PG article, he mentions Brian Bixler as another player feeling the Littlefield pinch. While I would tend to disagree, as Bixler and Walker are on opposite sides of the prospect spectrum, I can see their point of view. Just look around, the majority of the major league roster is players that Huntington approves of, so it is only a matter of time, so to speak, that the entire roster is his guys.

I for one cannot blame Walker and or Bixler feeling this way. I am sure that if in the same position, I might feel the same. But when looking over the entire system that are are examples of players being promoted that are "Littlefield Guys". Take for instance Rudy Owens or even on a lesser extent Miles Durham.

While deep down I think there might be a bias, I would recommend that they take of their own business and things should work out alright in Pittsburgh. For the time being, teyh to get things right in Indaianpaolis.

The Downward Spiral

As if the stuff that happened this week was not bad enough, the rest of the month does not look to be all that promising for this Pirates team. Today gave them a short reprieve, but when they start play again they will play a stretch that will not give them any quarter. The Rockies, Cubs, Phillies, Brewers, and Reds appear multiple times on the Pirates' schedule for the month of August, a month that will assuredly sink the team to a record season.

We will learn quite a lot about this Pirate team as the season drags on to its eventual conclusion. Will they be able to execute simple baseball tasks, such as laying down bunts, running the bases, and throwing. It is sometimes amazing the level of ineffectiveness that this team shows. It always seems to surprise me with every Pirates team in recent memory, though it really should not.

While we will perhaps get answers to the questions of who can perform these tasks, we will also get a glimpse at what the team may look like for next season. Will Steve Pearce be back? Will Kevin Hart stick in the rotation? What cast of characters will make up the Pirates bullpen? And later in the season, what September call ups will be a part of the 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates?

Perhaps the most intriguing story to watch will be that of Andrew McCutchen and his chase for the National League Rookie of the Year. Will he be able to put up the numbers to make him look just as favorable as the other candidates, like Rasmus and Fowler? For as long as the team has been around, we have only witnessed one Pirate to be Rookie of the Year and that was Jason Bay, will we bear witness to another this season? If so it will be the one bright story in yet another bleak season.

Rolling On

This weekend the Pirates did everything in their ability to be able to let the Cardinals sweep them. By all rights, many could argue that the Pirates should have swept or at least taken 2 of 3 against the Red Birds. Stupid mistakes were a plenty, both from John Russell and the players, as well as an imploding bullpen let the Cards take all three games.

I don't want to dwell on the sweep that the Cards put on the Pirates, as there were many, many things that just made the entire weekend very frustrating to watch.

While the play on the field was not all that great to watch for the Pirates, there were plenty of good things that went on off the field. namely the great things that happened were the signings of 3 of the top draft picks for the Buccos. On Friday we had Colton Cain and Zack Dodson officially sign and then late Saturday night, Zachary Von Rosenberg was inked to a deal.

One can almost not put into words how great it is to see all of these top pitchers sign with the club. Take those three and add in Trent Stevenson, and the Pirates have the makings of a young pitching staff that hopefully will rise together to Pittsburgh. Hopefully they will live up to the promise and be a Pirate version of Generation K, except fulfilling their promise.

With the team signing all of these players it should be interesting to see how people look at the overall draft strategy of the Pirates. Granted it will be years until we can see if the draft was a success, but at the very least we can in a few days, see if the strategy seemed to work. So far it seems to have fallen into place the way Huntington and Smith had probably drawn it up.

The impact potential of a guy like Von Rosenberg it is extremely great and is something that this system has lacked for many years now. Adding him gives the system a huge boost, but there is hope that there may be more on the way. The team still has a million or so to play around with and I'd expect them to be going after about a half dozen players to get around 25 signed picks.

I would guess that the team may look to few of their JUCO players, maybe Peter Bako, and some of the higher profile collegiate players like Matt den Dekker and Jeff Inman. One would also think that prep players, Joe Schoenfield and Aaron Lafountaine may be targets as well. There is not a ton of money left in the budget, but a lot of the heavily lifting has been done already. It is now a matter of getting a few more guys to put icing on the cake.

While the major league team had struggled, fans at least, if they were paying attention, had something to look forward to this weekend, aside from fireworks.

Minor League Pictures

First for those that have not seen, the Pirates signed officially Zack Dodson and Colton Cain prior to what some may call a major league baseball game on Friday.

I wanted to share pictures of the Indianapolis Indians that were taken by friends of Steve's, Patty and Melissa while they were on vacation. This was the game against Norfolk, the one that Jeff Clement had the big game in. Thanks Patty and Melissa for taking time to send these along.

Jeff Clement

 

  

Brian Bixler

 

Denny Bautista with Neil Walker

 

Argenis Diaz

 

  

  

Robinson Diaz

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: Lynchburg Hillcats
Hitter of the Week: Jeff Clement, Indianapolis
Pitcher of the Week: Nelson Pereira, State College

Indianapolis: 3-3 For the Week

Newly acquired Jeff Clement made a big splash as he came to the Indy Indians. The new first baseman, had 9 hits on the week, 4 of them home runs. He also had 8 runs scored and 5 RBI. Brian Bixler had 9 hits, 2 of them home runs, and Chris Barnwell and Bryan Myrow also had 2 home runs. Neil Walker, back from rehab, had 10 hits and 9 RBI. Recently promoted Jose Tabata, had 8 hits on the week.

Eric Hacker got his fouth win this week, as he went 6 innings allowing only 2 runs and striking out 7. Juan Mateo and Ty Taubenheim got wins in relief. Jose Ascanio in his Pirate debut, went 6.2 innings, allowed only 2, and struck out 9 in a loss. Daniel McCutchen struck out 7 in a no decision and Brad Lincoln went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs. Chris Bootcheck went 3 scoreless to get his 18, 19 and 20th saves.

Altoona: 3-3 On the Week

Pedro Alvarez was the offensive force for the Curve, as he had 9 hits, 2 home runs, and 3 RBI. He also walked 7 times to 5 strike outs. Jason Delaney also had 9 hits and Miles Durham had 8 with a home run. Brian Friday had 5 hits and Gorkys Hernandez had 4.

Tim Alderson had his debut this week, going 5.2 innings, striking out 4 for his 7th win. Mike Crotta went 5 strong innings, striking out 7 for his 5th win. Yoslan Herrera got another to run his record to 9-0.

Lynchburg: 4-3 For the Week

Josh Harrison made a splash at Lynchburg as he led the 'Cats in hits with 8 on the week. Kris Watts, Jordy Mercer and Jose De Los Santos each had 6 and Matt Hague, Alex Presley, Jared Keel, and Chase D'Arnaud all had 5 hits.

Rudy Owens went 4.1 innings, striking out four in a no decision. Nate Adcock got a in as he went 3 innings, allowing only 1. In two starts, Justin Wilson went 11 innings and allowed only 1 run to get a win, his fifth. Ron Uviedo went 3 scoreless in a no decision and Jeff Locke continues to put good starts together, as he went 5 and allowed only 1. RJ Rodriguez got his 20, 21 and 22 saves.

West Virginia: 1-3 For the Week

Robbie Grossman led the way with 6 hits and Starling Marte, Adenson Chourio and Greg Picart had 5 hits. Calvin Anderson and Quincy Latimore each had a home run.

Diego Moreno got the lone win for the team this week, by going 3 scoreless. Aaron Pribanic got a loss in allowing only 2 over 4 innings. Brett Lorin went 6 and allowed only 1 in a no decision and Hunter Strickland went 5 allowing 5 runs, only 2 were earned. Quinton Miller went only 3 innings in his start, allowing 5 runs, all earned.

State College: 4-3 For the Week

Justin Byler is showing off his power stroke as he had 2 home runs and 5 RBI. Brock Holt had 8 hits, a home run and 4 RBI. Aaron Baker had 5 hits, 1 a triple and another a home run, to go with 6 RBI. Evan Chambers had 8 hits, 9 runs, a home run and 6 RBI.

In two starts, Nelson Pereira went 7 innings, allowing only 1 run and striking out 11 hitters to get a win, his 3rd. Zack Foster went 3 scoreless to a get a win and Kyle McPherson went 6, allowing 1 run, to get his 2nd win. Victor Black went 2 scoreless.

Bradenton: 2-2 for the Week

Elevys Gonzalez had 6 hits and Gerlis Rodriguez had 4 RBI. Rogelios Noris had a home run and Gift Ngoepe had 4 hits. Wes Freeman had only 2.

Elicier Navarro went 3 scoreless to get a win and Zac Fuesser went 2 scoreless, striking out 4 to get a win. Brooks Pounders struck out 4 in 4 innings for a no decision and Mitchell Fienemann took another loss.

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

I and others have chronicled before that offense will not be this Pirates team strong suit. There just is not enough or they are still growing for the offense to be considered a viable way to win ball game. Instead the burden on most nights will fall to the pitching, mainly the starting pitchers.

With that in mind, Ross Ohlendorf, tonight's starter, did one heck of a job in keeping the Diamondbacks in order. He was able to make the modest offensive output, a two run Andy LaRoche home run, stand up for 6 innings.

John Russell then summoned the bullpen and turned to Jesse Chavez. Chavez performed admirably, getting out of the 7th by getting three strikeouts then getting one out in the 8th, only to have Joel Hanrahan come in. The reasoning seemed to be that Hanrahan is better against lefties, as the Snakes were sending up Miguel Montero. That turned out to not be the case, as Hanrahan failed in his duties and the flood gates opened up. Evan Meek let the game get tied and eventually give away the lead.

The questions then that arise from this little exercise is what is John Russell to do with practically all right handers in the bullpen? He is going to have to make decisions like this as there are no more obvious choices to make. It appears in this one he went wrong and probably should have ridden out Chavez, but then again Hanrahan did have the numbers on his side.

I guess my point is that this bullpen is not easy to figure out. Just when you think you have a guy pegged, he does something totally different. It has really been that case all year from Matt Capps on down the line. Nothing seems like a sure thing with any of them, and it probably really did not matter what choice Russell made when he did. One could just as easily have seen Chavez blow the game or Capps struggle trying to close it.

Huntington raided the bullpen somewhat this season for trades, as he took away all of the lefties. That has hurt and limited Russell somewhat. It looks as though the rotation is on good footing and has some depth, I can only hope that this offseason the bullpen gets a bit of a make over as well.

International Scene: Nicaragua - Who?

Yes, they are the forgotten Central American country of baseball, more like the red headed step child to Panama. When one thinks of baseball in Central America, the first thoughts one has usually comes to Panama the homeland of Rod Carew, Carlos Lee and the immortal Bruce Chen. Nicaragua has a long and storied history involving baseball and to a certain extent mirrors that of Panama but sometimes it is over looked and forgotten about in the scouting circles.

It is thought that baseball was brought to Nicaragua by American Marines who occupied the country in the early part of the 20th century. In 1904 the American Consul formed the first professional team with a continuous history. On an interesting note, the first team was known as the “Boer” because it was a custom to name teams after warring factions. At that time, the Boer War in South Africa was a major news event thus the name. To this very day, the Boer still exists and is one of the most popular teams in the country. In the early years most of the players seemed to come from the west coast and that’s where baseball really began to catch on. Professional baseball in the country seemed to be in its hay day from 1956-1967 when the country won two international championships and the Pan-American series in 1958. Unfortunately the professional league folded and the game fell into disarray. During the 1970’s, the country seemed to have a revival thanks to the play of Dennis Martinez, the legendary and most famous player in the country’s history. Due to the political unrest of the 1980’s many people fled the country and baseball took a step back. The one major accomplished from Nicaragua on the international stage at that time was the silver medal they won in 1983 at the Pan-American games and the upset they pulled over a US team led by Mark McGwire, Will Clark and Barry Larkin. Since the 80’s Nicaragua has slowly built its way back up.

The 2008 International signing period only saw one player signed from Nicaragua, RHP Francisco Valdivia (also seen him go by Jose Valdivia) who was signed by the always internationally active Seattle Mariners (bonus of $726,000). At the age of 16, he is 6’3, 180 pounds, and can hit 92 MPH on the guns, a huge high risk/high reward prospect. Along with Valdivia the Mariners also have another talented young Nicaraguan in their system, RHP Juan Ramirez whom they signed in 2005 and is considered one of their top pitching prospects thanks to a four-seam fast ball that ranges between 91-95 and regularly touches 95. The other very active team in Nicaragua is the Giants who have two talented brothers in their system, RHP’s Wilbur and Jorge Bucardo who are also considered two of the top pitchers in their system.

Nicaragua has made huge strides in rebuilding their baseball organization after years of war and conflict. It still has a ways to go but there is no reason that in the long run it can’t be a baseball producing nation on par with that of Panama. At the present time, I don’t see any Nicaraguans on the Pirates minor league roster but from what I have found they do have 2 part time scouts there, Wilfredo Blanco and Luis Cuthbert (as of the spring of 2009). Hopefully Rene Gayo and the Pirates will continue to keep their eye on this baseball rich nation in the hopes that it will one day be a larger importer of talent.

Extend McCutchen

The recent trades of Freddy Sanchez, Ian Snell, and Nate McLouth have made me wonder if Neal Huntington can select the right players to extend contract offers to. McLouth perhaps was one where he just got blown away and made the trade, but Sanchez and Snell both were seemingly admitted to as mistakes. So it is with some slight trepidation that I suggest that he offer and extension to someone, but in this case I think we can all agree. I think they need to look to extend Andrew McCutchen.

He only has a few weeks in the majors you say? Well that may be true, but he is clearly a very, very special player, even prior to this past weekend's power surge. I would think it would behoove the Pirates brass to strongly consider offering a contract that will pay slightly more than he would expect at his first three seasons and to buy out his arbitration years. Any options offered would be icing on the cake.

This is not without precedent. When Huntington was with Cleveland, GM Mark Shapiro did this with Grady Sizemore. Milwaukee did it with Ryan Braun with even less time in the majors than McCutchen. You would want to do it with guys like Sizemore and Braun and I think that McCutchen fits the bill as well.

It would make excellent baseball sense to do so, maybe not now during the season, but in the offseason this should be looked at. It would have the added benefit of showing that the team is indeed committed to spending money, when it makes baseball sense. To me I cannot think of a better investment.

While there is of course some inherent risk in signing a player so soon, I would be more than willing in betting in McCutchen's future. I also would like to place a value on it now, rather than when the future is now. It makes plenty of sense all around and it is something that should be looked at, because if he continues to grow, we may end up regretting not doing it down the line.

More Links and Lists

I wanted to share this article by Jerry Crasnick at ESPN.com. He takes a look at the moves that the Pirates have made the past two seasons and says that it is something that needed to be done. While I shake my head at his bewilderment at the team firing Jim Tracy, it is a decent look again from an outsider's perspective. The stuff from Neal Huntington is probably the best, as he further explains what he meant by 'breaking up the 1927 Yankees."

Also Baseball America's Jim Callis takes a look at his Top 10 Pirate Prospect list in the Baseball American Q&A. His is slightly different from Perrotto and he muses on the Bucs list if they added Sano.

News and Notes

For those who may have not seen it, we took a trip to Altoona to get a look at newly acquired prospect Tim Alderson. We have pictures and more. You can scroll below or click here.

This weekend we got our first look at the new look and younger Buccos. Since we are playing the Nationals, we really cannot tell how they look or will play down the stretch. What we do know is that for one Andrew McCutchen is good. I expect to see a real push for him for Rookie of the Year as the season goes on.

We also know that Ronny Cedeno is a pretty good fielder, Delwyn Young will need some work at second, and so far Lastings Milledge looks to be a changed player. We will see how it all clicks for the team as they move along, but if anything it will be exciting.

Speaking of Andrew McCutchen, Keith Olbermann, who writes a pretty neat baseball blog even if he is a Yankees fan, looks back on his take on the Nate McLouth trade and still thinks the Bucs did pretty good, especially in light of how McCutchen has performed. It is an interesting take from someone outside of Pittsburgh on the trade. I also highly recommend his blog as he did great work from Cooperstown last week and puts up a bunch of neat historical items.

As if things could not go much worse for Bryan Morris this season they have, as he got suspended indefinitely. It seems as though the season has taken its toll on him and he said some things he probably shouldn't have said. I would say that this may put him back a bit as he tries to regain the prospect status he once had. It defintely is not going to help him win many fans, who already have not liked what they have since from him performance wise.

Finally speaking of prospects, John Perrotto was on FSN prior to Sunday's game and brought up his top 10 prospects for the Bucs, now that the trade deadline has come and gone. Of course this could be a bit premature, as the Bucs still have time to sign many of their draft picks, but one can never get enough of prospect lists can they? So here is his top 10:

1. Pedro Alvarez, Altoona
2. Tim Alderson, Altoona
3. Jose Tabata, Indianapolis
4. Brad Lincoln, Indianapolis
5. Gorkys Hernandez, Altoona
6. Starling Marte, West Virginia
7. Tony Sanchez, West Virginia
8. Bryan Morris, Lynchburg
9. Robbie Grossman, West Virginia
10. Rudy Owens, Lynchburg

Nice list. Almost all of them, except Lincoln, Marte and Owens, were brought in to the organization in the last 13 months. Amazing the change that has happened in the minor leagues. What also is interesting is the nice balance throughout the system that we have there. It used to be that there seemed to be a group at one place, but now it is all through the system. I look forward to seeing some of these guys in Pittsburgh soon.

Checking in on the Curve

When it was known that Tim Alderson would be making his debut in the Pirates' system this weekend, we decided to take the quick jaunt up there to see him in action. I must say we came away impressed. Alderson works pretty quickly and does not waste any time. He seemed to have good movement on his balls and according to the stadium gun, was throwing in the upper 80's consistently, occasionally hitting the low 90's.

He did great work keeping the ball down, as we don't think a ball was really hit out of the infield during his time on the mound. He struck out 4 and only walked one batter. Overall he was pretty impressive. The only thing that seemed to stick out though was that he needs to work on keeping runners honest, meaning he takes a while to get to the plate. He kept his high leg kick and the one batter to reach base was able to easily steal. That could be expected for a tall pitcher.

Overall though he looked good and seems to be a pitch to contact type of guy, but probably one of the better pitching performances I have seen up at Altoona. It is up there with a Zach Duke start that I had seen before up there. I came away very impressed.

As for the rest of the team, we got to see Brian Friday and all the reports of his defense are indeed accurate. He can cover a lot of ground. Gorkys Hernandez did not do much that caught our eye as he did not have many opportunities in the field and did not have many opportunities to steal a base either.

Most impressive was Pedro Alvarez. I can clearly see a difference in his play in just a month at Altoona. He walked four times, once intentionally. The Thunder seemed to be pitching around him and or just throwing him junk to have him make a mistake, to his credit he did not bite. The one at bat he did do something, he hit an opposite field home run. It was an outside pitch, that when looking at the replay, he seemed to just flick out of the ballpark. It was amazing he hit a pitch so far outside, so far going half way up the bleachers in left field.

In one inning, Pedro bobbled a routine grounder, losing it on the transfer from glove to hand. Later in the same inning, from deep in the hole, falling down, he threw a one bounce strike to nail a runner. It was a pretty impressive throw.

Here of course are some pictures from the game:

Alderson with Miguel Perez

Alderson on the Mound and Pitching

 

  

  

Gorkys Hernandez

 

Jonel Pacheco

 

Brian Friday

 

Pedro Alvarez

 

Mike Dubee Warming Up in the Pen