Saturday, July 31, 2010

Adding Another Catcher

The Bucs pulled off a trade today to acquire catcher Chris Snyder and a minor league infielder, for DJ Carassco, Ryan Church, and Bobby Crosby. The D-Backs will be sending along $3 million to the Bucs to help in balancing the contract.

This trade makes a good deal of sense for the Bucs as they get rid of a few players that were not doing anything, Church and Crosby, in making a deal for a player that will help them with a problem position in catcher. Snyder is not going to light the world on fire with his bat, but is passable. It is more important the work he does behind the plate, something that Doumit has always struggled with.

The part of the trade that has got me thinking though is all the domino effects from the deal. Coming up to replace Church and Crosby are Jeff Clement and Argenis Diaz. I would not expect either to play all that much, which is not surprising with Diaz, but this could signal a change in thinking of what Clement is. He may now be seen as a bench player and no longer a part of the lineup. Another question is would Clement have even gotten the call if Steve Pearce were available?

Also confusing is the news that Doumit is going to mainly play outfield. We all saw earlier this year the disaster that was the first base experiment, so there is not a ton of hope with the this news. Making matters perhaps even worse is that Doumit will more than likely play RF at PNC, where Lastings Milledge resides. Even with the adventures that Lastings provides in the outfield, they would probably pale to what Doumit would do. In addition, who should be playing more daily, Doumit or Milledge?

Perhaps the final piece of the puzzle, is that next season the Bucs will be committed to almost $11 million between Doumit and Snyder. I don't think that the team will want to head into the season next year with that type of money being spent on those two. My guess is that the club would ideally only want one of them here next season, how that will happen remains to be seen.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

This Week on The Farm

Team of the Week: Indianapolis
Hitter of the Week: Brandon Moss, Indianapolis
Pitcher of the Week: Philip Irwin, West Virginia

Indianapolis: 6-1 For the week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Clement 2 7 2 0 0 5 1 3
Moss 6 9 3 0 3 15 2 5 Continues to be red hot, in AAA
Friday 9 8 4 1 0 1 5 5
Carlin 4 7 0 0 1 4 3 8
Negrych 4 8 1 2 0 5 5 3
Presley 12 11 1 0 1 6 3 3 Led in hits and runs


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Jackson, S 2.1 2 2 2 0 0 1


Powell 14 13 4 4 4 13 1

Piling up K's
Crotta 13 17 9 8 2 11 1

Lots of K's
Morton 6.2 7 4 4 2 5 1

A win, but not great
Burres 7 6 3 3 3 5 1


Moskos 2.2 4 2 2 4 5

1 First AAA save

Altoona: 3-4 For the week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
d'Arnaud, C 3 6 2 0 0 1 2 4 Consistent
Mercer 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 4 Would like to see more
Harrison 2 3 0 0 0 1 3 5
Hague 4 7 2 0 1 3 0 3
Watts 2 6 1 0 0 0 2 2


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Hughes 5 3 0 0 2 2 1

No runs
Aguero 5 5 2 2 2 4 1


Watson, T 3 6 4 4 0 2



Owens 13 10 3 2 1 15
2
Hard luck, 15K's to 1 BB
Wilson, J 8.1 9 6 4 8 5 1 1

Morris, B 5 2 0 0 0 8


Nice rebound
Locke 6 5 2 2 0 9


Looks comfortable
Colla 2 2 0 0 0 3



Boleska 5 2 1 1 2 5

1


Bradenton: 3-3 For the Week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
De Los Santos, J 3 7 3 0 0 0 0 1
Grossman 4 5 2 0 1 5 4 4 HR showing some signs
McClune 3 6 0 0 0 0 2 1
Latimore 5 5 2 0 0 1 1 9 Lot of K's
Anderson, C 4 6 2 0 1 3 2 5
Chourio 5 6 1 0 0 3 5 6
Davis, A 3 5 1 0 0 2 3 5
Newton 3 7 0 0 1 7 0 3 Led team in RBI
Ford 4 5 1 1 1 6 1 7 What a fall

Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Adcock 6 2 0 0 0 2 1

Solid start
Moreno 2.1 1 1 0 1 5 1 1

Pribanic 7 5 1 1 1 5



Erickson 4.2 2 0 0 0 3 1


Baker 5.1 5 1 0 2 5


Adjusting to Hi-A
Welker  1 1 0 0 1 1



Alderson 4 3 7 6 4 3
1
Not doing well
Hansen 0.1 1 2 2 3 1


Long road back

West Virginia: 3-4 For the week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Baker 4 9 2 0 2 4 3 8 2 more HR
Cunningham 7 7 0 0 2 6 0 7 2 HR and 7 hits
Noris 3 8 1 0 1 5 1 10 Not great plate discipline
Rubinstein 4 7 3 0 0 4 1 2
Hernandez, Jo 6 7 2 0 1 5 0 9
Gonzalez, El 3 8 1 1 0 2 1 3
Marquez 2 6 2 0 0 3 0 2

Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Irwin, P 12.1 2 2 1 4 17 1

Lots of K's
Kelly, R 4 2 1 1 2 3 1


Williams, M 4.1 4 2 2 0 1



Navarro 3 6 4 4 2 3 1 1

Lorin 4 2 2 2 2 4



Ennis 2.2 5 3 3 3 5
1

Miller, Q 0.2 6 7 7 1 1
1
Rough


State College: 3-3 For the week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Irvine 1 6 1 1 0 1 2 1
Ngoepe 4 6 3 1 0 1 5 5 Still going strong
Santos, A 3 5 0 1 0 4 1 6
White 3 8 1 1 0 6 0 3 Not missing a beat
Curry 6 8 1 0 2 4 5 4
Rojas 2 3 1 0 0 4 4 6

Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Von Rosenberg 4 3 0 0 1 3


Getting acclimated
Dodson 2.2 0 1 0 4 1 1

Picks up a win
Fienemann 5 1 1 0 1 3
1

Pounders 3 2 0 0 0 1 1


Fuesser 8 5 5 4 5 8
1

Decker 4.1 4 4 4 1 1
1

Waldron 6 5 0 0 0 0 1

Great line
Stevenson 5.2 4 4 2 3 2



Townsend 2 2 1 1 1 3

1
Sadler 3 4 0 0 0 1



Cain 3 2 1 1 1 3




Bradenton: 1-5 For the week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Freeman, W 1 5 1 0 0 2 2 11 Lot of K's
Mort 1 5 0 0 0 2 0 1
Diaz, El 3 3 1 0 1 3 1 5
Polanco, G 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 7
Cayonez 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 4
Bishop, J 2 5 1 0 1 2 0 4
Marte 2 4 2 0 1 2 1 2 Home run in comeback

Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Rodriguez, Jo 6.2 5 1 0 1 2
1

Pacheco, Y 1 1 0 0 1 1



Sanchez, Ye 4.1 4 3 3 3 3



Hong 1 1 1 1 0 1



Neverauskas 1 1 0 0 0 1


Scoreless inning
Phillips 3 1 0 0 0 3 1


Singh 1 1 0 0 0 2



Payne 4 2 1 1 1 4
1
Led in K's
Patel 0.2 0 0 0 1 0



Archibald 4.2 4 2 2 1 1
1

Kleis 3.2 5 3 0 1 0


No earned runs
Pevny 2 3 2 2 0 1



Trepagnier 2 1 0 0 0 2



Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Trade Deadline Preview

With the trading deadline fast approaching, the Pirates find themselves in a position that they have not been in for some time. They do not have a bunch of veterans that they can just trade away at the deadline. That does not mean that there are not trade candidates though. Lets take a look at the candidates and see who may or may not be leaving the Burgh.

1. Octavio Dotel - Many seem to think that this is a forgone conclusion. I don't think it is as cut and dry. There are some good things to be had if we hold on to him, namely insurance should Hanrahan or Meek not be able to be the closer next season; but then again would Hanrahan not be insurance on Meek and vice versa? I would not be shocked if he was dealt. He is perhaps the only guy of value that might get dealt by the club.

2. Paul Maholm - Teams have inquired on him and it would not be the end of the world if Maholm was dealt. If he were to be traded, it would leave a pretty sizable hole in our rotation. Around the league, Maholm might be an average to above average starter, but in Pittsburgh, due to the lack of pitching, he is worth much more. That inequity of pitching talent in the upper levels may prohibit a trade.

3. Zach Duke - What could be said of Maholm, could almost be said about Duke. Sure he is average, but losing him would put a hole in our rotation and hurt our upper level pitching depth. Trading one of the two veteran lefties might mean the return of Charlie Morton.

4. Ryan Doumit - If it had not been for his concussion like symptoms, we might have seen Doumit get dealt. He epitomizes what some Pirates are. He is good offensively for his position, but not that good. He could not hit enough to play any where else on the diamond, which is too bad as his defense is horrible at his current position.

5. The grab bag of veterans - this group includes the following:

Brendan Donnelly - if anyone wants him after the DFA.
Ryan Church
Bobby Crosby
Aki Iwamura
Andy LaRoche

I would think that if any team inquired about these guys, Huntington would surely listen and probably move them.

I don't think that we will see a big trade made by the Pirates this trading deadline. I would think that if anything we may see something this off season, as they try to add players to the core that is in place now. I could be wrong, but we probably will just see out bench get traded away for mid-level prospects at best.

Monday, July 26, 2010

2010 Draft Review: Part 5


Dan Grovatt 6’1 195 Outfield
Drafted: 11th Round (#327)
College: Virginia

Over the past few years the University of Virginia has become one of the predominant college powers in baseball. Each year they seem to end up as one of the top teams in the game and mange to do it mainly with Virginia area talent. In recent years, Virginia has become one of the better states in terms of developing baseball talent thanks in part to star players like the Upton brothers, Ryan Zimmerman and David Wright it doesn’t look like it should drop off anytime soon. Though Dan Grovatt is a player from New Jersey he’s played a large role in the success of this Cavalier baseball program.

Strengths: He is considered to be patient at the plate and has a line drive stroke that offers some gap power which is something that Pirates management seems to be favoring in position players over the last few years.

Area for Improvement: Some people are saying that he has an “unconventional” swing. It has been described as one where he swings more with his upper body then with his arms.

Overview: Despite some struggles at the plate this season, he’s a solid all around bat who offers some versatility to the Pirates should he sign. After the draft I had a pretty good feeling that they might be able to sign him based on the fact that they drafted so few position players but at this point I’m cautiously hoping a deal might get done. If he signs then he has a chance to be a major contributor but my best guess is with so many high profile players ahead of him in the pecking order he might not be a high priority for the team.

Chance of Signing: I’ll go with 25%


Jared Lakind 6’2 195 1st Cypress Woods HS, TX
Drafted: 23rd Round (#687)
Commitment: Arkansas

When the draft concluded and I started to do my player research, Lakind was one of the players that I came away most impressed with. Not only being a top level Texas high product he’s also a talented 2 way player. Now we can say that most high school kids are 2 way players but not all have a high level upside at multiple positions that Lakind offers. From the information that I was able to gather, it seems that a good many teams liked him more on the mound but the Pirates drafted him as a 1st baseman and from what I’ve read I can clearly see why.

Strengths: At present time he’s considered to have above average bat speed and a solid line drive left handed stroke which in my opinion has always suited PNC Park well. His power isn’t anywhere near where it will be but as he fills out he should have well above average power and be able to play a solid 1st base or in the case of PNC a decent RF.

Area for Improvement: He’s a little slow on the base paths and will probably clog things up a bit, but he can’t clog them up anymore than the LaRoche brothers seem to do. Some question his defensive abilities, but to me I feel that one is grasping at straws if you’re looking at that as a major reason why one should or should not play a position.

Overview: Like I mentioned earlier, it seems like a great deal of teams were looking at him on the mound more than at first so the Pirates might feel like they have something special here, or they may figure there is really no chance of signing him so would it matter what position they draft him at? Realistically though he’s a top talent who should have gone very early in the second day of the draft, most likely in the first 10 rounds so a slide to this spot probably means that most teams didn’t feel that he would sign. I would have to think that with all of the high level options that the Pirates drafted early he would have to be a plan B player for them if they have money left over or they strike out a good deal of their other players.

Chance of Signing: I would say 10%.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Shuffling Arms Around

After the Pirates were swept by the Padres the team made some moves with their pitching staff to change things up a bit. The team designated Brendan Donnelly for assignment and optioned Brad Lincoln back to AAA. Neither move should be seen as a surprise, as both pitchers had struggled and something needed to be done.

Lincoln seemed to take it in stride, as he said after the game:

"Just clear my head," Lincoln said. "For me, it's probably the best move."

Lincoln had lost some velocity on his pitches and Neal Huntington seems to believe that it is do to changed mechanics more than anything. So he'll head out to AAA to work it out.

As for Donnelly, he took it a different way saying this to the PG upon his release:

"This one I didn't see coming at all. ... They're moving forward and that's fine. I don't know what their definition of 'moving forward' is, but we'll see."

I like the cheap shot at the team and 'moving forward'. Well Brendan, I don't know what made you think that you would be a part of any future with the Pirates to begin with. It is not as though you signed a multi-year deal or you are 24 or something.

As for it being a surprise, apparently he is the only one who has not notice his ERA being over 5.00 for the better part of the season.

If it is a 'money' move as the quotes from Donnelly make it seem to be then I am grateful. He was being paid too much to do what he was 'doing' anyway recently. For the price to go up on that 'performance' it would have been a horrible money deal.

As for who will replace them, well I would not be shocked to Wil Ledezma get a shot from AAA. He has pitched well all season and deserves a shot with the parent club.

The starter is more murky, as the options are not that great, but if I had to bet, I'd go with Daniel McCutchen.

We won't know until Tuesday in Denver who it is, but for the time being these are two moves that probably needed to happen. Donnelly was not getting things done and clearly something was lost when Lincoln boarded the plane in Indianapolis bound for Washington.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: West Virginia
Hitter of the Week: Michaelangel Trinidad, Bradenton Pirates
Pitcher of the Week: Jeff Locke, Altoona

Indianapolis: 2-5 For the Week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Bixler 1 3 0 1 0 1 1 8 Welcome Back
Clement 5 9 2 0 2 7 0 12 Great BB to K ratio
Moss 6 11 2 0 3 8 3 5 Loves AAA pitching
Melillo 3 12 2 0 0 3 4 2
Negrych 2 5 2 0 0 2 4 8
Presley 7 13 1 2 0 5 2 5 On a tear
Iwamura 5 6 1 0 1 2 8 3


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Jackson, S 4 2 0 0 1 2 1

Solid work
Ledezma, W 3.1 3 0 0 0 5

1
Powell 3.2 3 2 2 0 2



Thomas, J 4 6 5 5 2 4


Lots of runs
McCutchen, D 5 4 3 3 1 5
1

Crotta 5 8 3 3 1 3



Morton 11.1 18 8 7 5 6 1 1
Not good
Burres 10.1 11 9 8 5 7
1
Bad
Moskos 2 5 5 5 3 0
1

Eveland 3.1 6 3 3 1 2


Lost cause?


Altoona: 2-5 For the Week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Gimenez, H 3 7 2 0 1 3 2 5
Hernandez, G 3 8 1 0 0 3 2 7 Hitting better as season goes
Durham 6 7 1 0 1 4 4 9
d'Arnaud, C 6 8 2 1 0 1 4 8 Better numbers
Mercer 4 7 2 0 0 4 1 3
Harrison 3 10 2 0 0 5 0 1 Continues to hit
Hague 6 6 0 0 2 5 3 5


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Watson 7.1 2 0 0 1 6


Excellent line
Hughes 3.2 9 10 6 0 4
1
Ton of runs
Hankins 6.2 6 4 3 3 3
1 1
Dubee 5.3 8 6 5 3 3



Aguero 1.1 2 2 2 3 0 1 1

Owens 5 9 3 3 0 3
1

Wilson, J 6 5 3 3 3 5
1

Morris, B 4.2 5 6 6 4 3


Future Game hangover?
Locke 11 9 2 1 2 8 1

Having no problem in AA
Colla 1.2 6 5 4 1 2






Bradenton: 4-5 For the Week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Grossman 8 10 3 0 1 5 5 10 Lot of hits, needs to cut K's
McClune 1 6 0 0 0 3 2 3
Latimore 6 9 3 0 2 6 1 7 2 HRs
Anderson, C 0 2 0 0 0 2 3 9 Did very little
Davis, A 2 6 2 0 0 1 1 5
Newton 3 7 1 0 0 1 1 10
Friday 4 5 1 0 0 1 3 9 On rehab


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
McSwain 7.1 9 3 3 1 4


Steady
Colla 2 3 1 1 1 1


Last before promotion
Boleska 5.2 2 2 0 2 7



Adcock 10 16 8 8 3 7
1
Hit hard
Leach 4.1 8 5 5 1 2
1

Krol 4 5 3 3 5 0 1
1
Pribanic 11 10 4 3 2 5
1
Lots of hits
Cox 3 1 0 0 2 2 1


Erickson 5 6 2 2 1 6



Baker 11 8 5 4 5 9 1 1
Time to adjust
Alderson 1.2 6 7 7 3 0
1
Struggling

West Virginia: 3-3 *Does not include Thursday Extra Inning game

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Baker 4 4 2 0 1 2 1 1 Another HR
Chambers 1 3 0 1 1 6 4 6
Cunningham 6 6 0 2 1 3 3 8 Continues solid play
Gonzalez, B 2 6 1 0 0 3 2 5
Rubinstein 4 6 2 0 0 1 2 4
Morgan 4 5 1 0 1 6 1 5 Led team in RBI
Hernandez, Jo 3 8 0 0 1 3 4 2
Cabrera, R 2 5 0 0 0 2 3 0


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Kelly, R 4.2 4 4 2 2 6
1 1
Laureano 5 6 3 2 2 4



Erickson 5 4 0 0 0 6


Solid
McPherson 2 3 1 1 1 2



Williams, M 6.2 4 1 1 1 6 1
1
Navarro 4 3 0 0 1 3



Lorin 3.1 0 1 1 0 4 1

Coming back
Irwin,P 7 6 2 2 1 9






State College: 3-4 For the Week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Gourley 3 7 1 0 1 5 0 9 Still not drawing BB
Ngoepe 4 8 3 1 0 5 2 9 Continues to do well
Lyles 5 6 0 0 1 4 5 6
Rodriguez, G 1 4 2 0 0 3 2 3
Mendez, M 3 5 0 0 0 2 2 5
Santos, A 5 8 2 2 0 7 3 3
Curry 5 8 0 0 0 3 3 6 Nice week
Rojas 7 9 3 0 0 2 1 6 Nice debut for 5th rounder


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Ramos 6 3 2 2 0 6
1

Von Rosenberg 5 8 4 4 1 2
1
Still learning
Beckman, R 5 5 2 2 3 4

1
Ennis 2 2 1 1 0 1

1
Dodson 2 5 3 3 0 2



Fienemann 4 4 0 0 0 3


Good work
Pounders 2 2 0 0 0 3



Fuesser 3.2 4 2 2 4 2



Waldron 5 2 0 0 0 5 1

Pitching well
Stevenson 3.1 5 4 2 1 2
1

Sadler 4 5 1 1 1 4 1


Miller, Q 10 7 3 1 0 3
1
Looking better and better
Cain 5 3 2 2 1 4





Bradenton: 3-3 For the Week

Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Note
Mort 3 9 1 0 0 2 2 4
Avila, Er 11 12 4 1 0 3 3 3 Led team in hits
Trinidad, M 5 10 2 1 3 8 1 2 3 HR's
Diaz, El 1 5 1 1 0 3 0 3
Polanco, G 4 9 1 0 1 6 0 2 Keeps on hitting
Cayonez 2 5 1 0 0 2 1 5
Chi 3 5 0 0 0 0 3 4 Starting to hit
Bishop, J 4 8 2 1 0 7 0 2


Player IP H R ER BB SO W L S Note
Sullivan 6 6 3 1 0 1 1

Strong start for Aussie
Rodriguez, Jo 5 6 1 1 0 5 1

Led team in K's
Montero 5 6 5 4 3 4
1

Phillips 4 2 0 0 3 3

1
Singh 2 1 0 0 0 4


Good line
Payne 4 3 1 1 0 2



Taveras, Y 3.1 6 5 3 0 3
1

Kleis 3 1 0 0 0 2



Pevny 2.2 1 1 1 3 2