Random Spring Madness

Beating the rush to March Madness, I am going to run with some Random Madness...

Starting Rotation:

Right now, the starting rotation looks to have 4 members in Maholm, Snell, Ohlendorf and Duke.  The 5th starter is a pretty ugly battle, but one that Dan McCutchen may be winning.  He has been far from dominant, but he has limited the hits and performed at an adequate rate for a 5th starter.  While his 5.40 ERA is nothing to be proud of, he is showing more than Karstens or Gorzelanny.  Barthmaier has all but sealed a trip to Indianapolis.

The telltale of the whole 5th starter battle should clear up in the coming weeks, whoever gets the bulk of the innings among McCutchen, Gorzelanny and Karstens in the coming weeks will be the winner of the battle. 

Regardless of the winner, when Dumatrait is deemed healthy and his arm strength is back, look for him to step into the rotation immediately unless one of the three start to show something near adequate value.  I'd expect at least one game in the next two weeks to showcase all three pitching.

Then there is always Pedro, Martinez not Alvarez.

Houston, We Have A Problem:

Houston is 1-11 in spring ball.  The question here is simple.  How bad will they be in 2009?  From all reports across the land, they are looking to shed salary and have a farm system that would make Dave Littlefield proud.

If they simply do salary dumps, they could be headed towards breaking the Pirate soon to be record for losing seasons.  There is not much help on the way either.  If they can rebuild the farm with trades of their current talent, the Pirates record will be safe.  I am interested in seeing if they pull a Aramis Ramirez style trade for Lee, or if they hold out for talent in return.

It should make for an interesting start to the season if the Astros dump players.

BTW March Madness:

The time is coming for March Madness.  As in past years, I will be running a March Madness Pool.  If there is a prize, it is yet to be determined, I will have the info up when the link is posted.  I will have the link up in a couple days, or sooner if I find time tonight.  Plan on joining other BTW readers, The Buccos Forum regulars and random bloggers from around the interweb in an intense battle for March Madness Supremacy!!!

 

Here is the Link:

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=59773&P=pirates

 

IF it requests a password: pirates

 

More info coming.

Trade, Sanchez, LaRoche, Pitching and Game 106

Vitals:

COLORADO ROCKIES (48-58)	RHP Valerio De Los Santos (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 2008 Debut
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (48-57)	RHP IAN SNELL (3-8, 6.10 ERA)
Game Time	7:05 EDT
XM	XM 185
TV	FSN

Trade Comment:

While I have said I like the trade of Marte and Nady and what the return is, I have not gone into why I liked the trade.  Finally I will attempt to put it into words.

What was the one thing that has plagued the Pirates this season?  Anyone would answer that as poor pitching.  More directly, the lack of options in the minors.  This trade brought in two pitchers with some major league experience.  The third pitcher, McCutchen, is one that has all the pitches to be successful and has climbed through the minors in 3 seasons.  McCutchen was drafted at age 23.  Don't take too much out of his first start for the Indians, he drove overnight to get to the game only to find out he would be starting that night.

Add in the fact an outfielder, Tabata, with nearly unlimited potential was in the deal.  The return helps the team now and in the future.

What did we give up in the deal?  An outfielder in  Nady that is in the midst of a career season unlikely to be replicated.  I like Nady, but in all honesty he is a .280 hitter with 15-20 HR power who could play 140 games for the team (knowing his luck with injuries).  He is a useful player on a contending team but he is not a star.  The Pirates will likely see similar numbers from Pearce with better power numbers and hopefully better health. 

Marte has been tabbed as a lefty specialist, although he has performed well against righties this year.  He is a quality reliever, but the Pirates need more quality arms in the system in general, something they did receive in this trade.

In all likelihood this trade has actually helped the team move forward this year and in the future by getting some young talent to Pittsburgh in Pearce and has added depth to a starting rotation that had no options in the Minors to speak of.

What is not to like?  The Yankees acquired a platoon player (for the Yankees) in Nady and a lefty specialist (for the Yankees) in Marte for one of their top position prospects and 3 useful arms.

Overall, I would say the deal is a good one for the Pirates in the long term and helps the Yankees this year and maybe next.

Sanchez and LaRoche Injured:

Doug Mientkiwicz and Chris Gomez will be starting at 1B and 2B tonight against Colorado after both Sanchez and LaRoche injured their backs in the finale against the Padres Sunday.

Maholm:

Paul Maholm matched up well against one of the better pitchers in the National League.  Maholm may not be an ace, but for now he is pitching like one.  Jeff Andrews deserves a lot of credit for his turn around this year, considering the flack he is taking for the performance of the other pitchers.  The flack he is receiving, I feel is unjust. 

Gorzy has hit a sophmore slump.  Both he and Snell were overused last season by Tracy.  This could have been a fun year for Pirates fans, if Tracy and crew knew how to handle a young staff last season.

Davis and Karstens:

Jason Davis has been added to the 25 man roster while JVB has been demoted to Indianapolis and has been placed in their Bullpen.

Jeff Karstens will be taking JVB's spot in the rotation and will start either Friday or Sunday in Chicago.

Links:

Dejan has an article worth reading on the remaining Pirates top 10 Draft picks.  It looks like well over 30 players from this draft could be signed by the August 15th deadline.

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Nady and Marte Traded Part Duex, Pearce Recalled, Game 104

Vitals:

SAN DIEGO PADRES (39-65)	RHP JOSH BANKS (2-4, 3.51 ERA)
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (48-55)	RHP JOHN VAN BENSCHOTEN (1-2, 8.27 ERA)
Game Time	7:05 EDT
XM	XM 185
TV	FSN

Nady And Marte to Yankees:

Well, the trade has been finalized, and it looks much better today than yesterday.  Names change and so does the outlook of the future. 

The new players involved are:

Jeff Karstens 25, R/R, RHP

Daniel McCutchen 25, R/R, RHP

Ross Ohlendorf 25, R/R, RHP

Jose Tabata 19, R/R OF

Thanks to Eric for this link to the NY Post article.

No wonder I was receiving so many conflicting reports yesterday, apparently the deal was not done until early today according to Dejan at the PG.

Scout.com has an article up outlining the new players in the Pirates system.

BTW Take:

This deal looks much better, I'll have some scouting reports up later.  McCutchen was considered untouchable over the offseason when teams discussed trades with the Yankees.  Where I was happy with the deal yesterday, I am even more so now.  There are now some power starting pitchers in the Pirates future.

Pearce:

Steve Pearce was recalled today to fill the roster spot left open by Nady.  No official word on who will fill Marte's slot, likely Ohlendorf.

 

 

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