Game 132, 8 To Go, Duke's New Slot, Bautista Trade, We're Number 10, Thursday Replay, Round Table

Vitals:

CHICAGO CUBS (81-50)	RHP CARLOS ZAMBRANO (13-5, 3.29 ERA)
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (57-74)	RHP IAN SNELL (5-10, 5.60 ERA)
Game Time	7:05 EDT
XM	XM 184
TV	FSN

 

8 to Go:

Only 8 more losses until the sweet 16th losing season...

 

Duke's New Slot:

The PG had this to say about Duke:

felt encouraged by his performance Friday night, when he used a glove-over-his-head windup designed to loosen his delivery for the first time in a game.

BTW Take:

I am wondering if this change in his delivery is more to disguise the pitch and hide it longer from the batter.  Considering Duke is by no means a power pitcher, being able to distract the hitters or hide the ball longer could only help him.  Hey, a Hooters restaurant in the batters eye could help the pitchers too.  Just need to close the door while the home team is batting, they are distracted enough as is.

 

Bautista Trade:

The Pirates received Robinson Diaz as the PTBNL in the Bautista deal. 

I haven't had an opportunity to comment on the trade yet, so here I go...

BTW Take:

Toronto inherited the best power numbers on their active roster.  Yes, Bautista's 12 HR's led the Blue Jays active roster as of the day of the trade.  The Piartes land a catcher who has 7 years of service in the minors.  He can make good contact (.300+ career minor league average) who rarely strikes out or walks with minimal power.  John Sickels ranks him as a C grade, so he should show up in a few top 20 lists.

I like the trade, utility infielder for backup catcher.  Catcher is a week spot in the Pirates system, considering their best catching prospect (Walker) was moved to third by Littlefield and crew.

Huntington got more in return than I was expecting for Bautista, especially after they demoted him.

 

We're number 10:

On the Forbes The Worst Cities To Be A Sports Fan the Pirates were able to bring Pittsburgh the distinction of landing in the 10 spot despite the best efforts of the Pens and Steelers.  Let's Go Bucs!

BTW Take:

It is kind of a hokey ranking system.  But the Pirates are noted for their rebuilding...

 

Thursday Replay?:

MLB.com has a press release from MLB stating Replay will begin Thursday August 28th in limited release.  Friday will begin the full slate of games. 

Instant replay will apply only to home run calls -- whether they are fair or foul, whether they have left the playing field, or whether they have been subject to fan interference. The decision to use instant replay will be made by the umpire crew chief, who also will make the determination as to whether or not a call should be reversed.

BTW Take:

MLB, welcome to the 20th Century.

 

Thursday Replay?:

MLB.com has a press release from MLB stating Replay will begin Thursday August 28th in limited release.  Friday will begin the full slate of games. 

Instant replay will apply only to home run calls -- whether they are fair or foul, whether they have left the playing field, or whether they have been subject to fan interference. The decision to use instant replay will be made by the umpire crew chief, who also will make the determination as to whether or not a call should be reversed.

BTW Take:

Get the joke?

 

Pittsburgh Pirates Round Table:

New Pirates Roundtable is up.

 

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Jose Bautista Demoted

Jose Can You See?:
Jose Bautista has been optioned to Indianapolis to clear room for Adam LaRoche to return to the lineup Thursday.

BTW Take:
Bautista likely makes the most sense to be sent down. Doug M. has filled in well at 3B as a sub behind Andy LaRoche. There is an over abundance of outfielders and better options at 2B and SS. Overall, Bautista did not have a place in the field. Depending on who may be retained, Bautista may not receive an arbitration tender in the offseason either.

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New Forum, Bautista, Mets Wish List and Game 99

Vitals:

Pittsburgh Pirates (44-54)	RHP John Van Benschoten (1-2, 9.77)
Houston Astros (46-52)	RHP Runelvys Herndandez (0-3, 10.29)
Game Time	8:05 EDT
XM	XM 188
TV	FSN

Bautista:

So many people have ragged on the Pirates third base situation and the play of Jose Bautista, not totally undeserved, however it may be better than many think.

I ran a few numbers together to see where Bautista ranks amongst other third basemen in the league with a minimum of 150 AB's this season.  I wasn't looking at normal stats along the lines of OBP or OPS, no I wanted to see what kind of run support he gave.  Roughly, I wanted to see how many at bats it took for an RBI or a Run scored.  Surprisingly, Bautista faired pretty well.

Of the 34 players who qualified, Jose ranked 15th in number of at bats per RBI with a 6.83.  This number was better than Bill Hall, Pedro Feliz, Ryan Zimmerman, Adrian Beltre, Mike Lamb, Alex Gordon Edwin Encarnacion, Ty Wiggington and Scott Rolen.

Looking at at bats to runs scored, Bautista did not fair as well, possibly batting in front of the pitcher could explain his standing here.  Jose ranked 22 of the 34 third basemen eligible with a 8.00 AB/R ratio.  Better than Bill Hall, Ryan Zimmerman, Ty Wiggington and Scott Rolen among others.  Bautista was not far off of the numbers of Joe Crede, Brandon Inge Adrian Beltre Alex Gordon nor Troy Glaus.

I also noticed he ranked 17th in AB/HR ratio with a 25.45. 

Bottom line is Jose has produced in limited playtime, maybe not at an elite level, but he has been an average offensive third baseman this year.  That puts him in the same league as Melvin Mora, Brandon Inge, Mike Lowell and Bill Hall who are the 4 players immediately ahead of Bautista.

While Bautista has not played at an elite level, he has been a league average third baseman offensively when it comes to the all important run. 

The Mets Wish List:

AM New York has a list of players the Mets are allegedly looking at due to injuries in the outfield and bullpen.  Both Marte and Nady are listed.  The Mets are not good trade partners for the Pirates, their farm is pretty much devoid of talent thanks to the Santana deal with Minnesota.  Don't get your hopes up Met fans.

New Forum:

I am playing with a new forum software, let me know what you think of the potential new forum, the link is here and a direct link to the Pirates portion is here.

http://bucstradewinds.lefora.com/forum/category/news/page1/

http://bucstradewinds.lefora.com/forum/

Links:

Dejan runs down a list of trade rumors in the Pirates Notebook on the PG today.  Headlining is interest in Jack Wilson.

 

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