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.

A Wild Thought Looking to 2012

All the anticipation of a Mark Teixeira signing has me thinking.

While listening to an interview on MLB Live (XM 175) during the winter meetings, a key quote came from one of the GM's who were being interviewed.  He made a comment that you aren't building a team for just this coming year, but also building with an eye five years down the road. 

This had my mind wandering with thoughts of what the Pirates moves might mean five years down the road.  None of the recent signings fall under that scenario.  However the rumored discussions going on with McLouth, Doumit and Maholm would at least be looking three or four years in the future.

That lineup in 2012 could have a nucleus of McLouth, McCutchen, Tabata, Alvarez and Doumit.  A few other names could be Sanchez, Andy LaRoche and Walker.  All in all, that seems like a pretty nice lineup to manage.

The rotation in 2012 could consist of Maholm, Gorzelanny, Snell and Bryan Morris and about 10 others to chose from for the remaining spot.

Now the question is, should the Pirates be looking at adding to that lineup now?

Adam LaRoche likely will not be a Pirate beyond 2009. 

In 2012 Alvarez will be manning one of the corner infield positions.  Walker or Andy LaRoche might be manning the other.

Why not make a move to have the veteran centerpiece to the lineup added now?

Teixeira is a rare talent.  Offering a contract to him with an eye to the future could make a nice lineup be formidable.  Obviously there would have to be some sort of out for Teixeira in the event season 20 of losing is looming.  The Pirates would probably like an out too.

Offer Teixeira a $200M 10 year contract with opt outs after year 3 (2012), year 5 (2014) and year 8 (2017).  The Pirates also should receive an opt out after year 5 also.

This would destroy payroll, and could never happen with the somewhere in the range of $50M payroll.  Or could it?

Adam LaRoche will be getting somewhere in the $7-8M range after arbitration.  If that contract was traded, the Pirates still have $12M to pick up.  Ironically there have been many references to the Pirates have $12-15M to spend if the fit is right.

A trade of Jack Wilson would free up some additional room under the estimated payroll.

It seems most of the rotation is already in place.  Why not add the key piece if he would be interested in playing on the east coast, close to where he calls home.  If Teixeira is honestly considering Baltimore or Washington, why not Pittsburgh?  He could be mentioned with Stargell, Clemente, Maz and many other in Pirate lore and be a local hero in a town that follows baseball until Steeler camp opens.  That could change with a player like Teixera on the roster.

A signing like this would sell some tickets in a tough economic time for the Pirates.  Teixeira would be a named face of the team for years to come. 

If LaRoche is not moved?

Teixeira can play third.

Why would Teixeira want to play in Pittsburgh besides being a Pittsburgh hero? 

Take another look at the talent that will be around him in the next couple years.  If $20M isn't enough, the talent that will be coming in the next couple of years could make the decision easier.  He won't be coming into a rebuilding project.  He will be reaping the benefits of coming in at the end of a 16 year rebuilding project.

If Baltimore and Washington are actually part of the discussion, the Pirates have a better future looming based on prospects than Washington.  Baltimore has Weiters and a few other nice prospects similar to the situation the Pirates are in.  My personal biased opinion is the Pirates have better closer than Baltimore.

Another reason, in three years he has an opt out that would likely be a much better market for free agents. 

Why would the Pirates make such a 10 year gamble?

In order for Huntington to build the franchise through trades, there needs to be pieces to trade.  The Pirates could always trade him for a bounty of young talent before year three and further rebuild their minor league system.  Teixeira could be that huge piece, even if he is not in the 2012 lineup.  If he is still here in 2012 and beyond, the Pirates have their new star to hang their hat on.  Not just a nice player hyped by the team as an elite player.

This scenario will never happen, but it is fun to dream isn't it?

Putrid Pitching

After another shotty outing, Hererra was sent back to Altoona. I'd look for Davis to take the spot in the rotation. Another option would be calling up Gorzelanny, the issue there is management saying they would not rush him back.
Gorzelanny had a very nice outing for Indianapolis last night, however I am pretty sure Huntington wants to see a few more good outings first.
In other pitching news. Snell has an option left, if his next start is as bad as his last, he may get to trade places with Gorzelanny when Gorzelanny does get his callup.

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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