Salary Cap?

Two numbers should explain the need for a MLB salary cap:

New York Yankees: $435,500,000.00

29 Other MLB Teams Combined: $533,432,500.00

Those numbers are how much was spent on free agents so far. The Yankees are one signing away from exceeding the rest of the league combined.

Someday they may learn you can't buy a championship. Although they do own more championships than any team in MLB history by a wide margin.

Hall, A Tribute and Some Links

After a couple of difficult days at work Thursday and Friday, I needed a couple days to get my brain back to a semi-gelatinous form.  Thank God for Mondays....aack!  Nevertheless I am back at the keyboard to rant at BTW.

Hall:

To me there are certain criteria that make a Hall Of Famer.  Statistics do not always tell the tale.  There are those players that irregardless of their stats, you know they are destined to be inducted.

They are the players that simply stand out in a crowd.  They throw no hitters like no one else.  They are Nolan Ryan.

They are the player you don't want to face with runners on base.  They are Dave Winfield and Jim Rice, congratulations.

They are players you love to hate and would walk with the bases loaded in a 2 run game because you don't want them to beat you.  They are Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

They are guys with nicknames that symbolize their prominence.  They are Mr. October Reggie Jackson and Big Unit Randy Johnson.

They are players you never want on base.  They are Ricky Henderson, congratulations.

They are players who symbolize the city they represent.  They are Maz, Pops, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.

They are players who can carry a team with one arm.  They are Albert Pujols.

They are players you want on your team, but hate when they play for anyone else.  They are Pete Rose and Dave Parker.

They are players who throw complete games when your team needs it the most.  They are Bert Blyleven.

They are players who have the stats and a surgery named after them.  They are Tommy John.

They are players everyone should emulate and the world would be a better place.  They are Roberto Clemente.

Why can't the writers association simply sit back and see who deserves to be there without having to look at stats to justify why not to chose them?

 

A Tribute:

Normally I write about the Pittsburgh Pirates, but after the third quarter Sunday, I have to write something about the Steelers.  Here is my tribute to the 17 seconds San Diego had the ball in the third quarter Sunday.  I will type this entire paragraph in the time the Steelers allowed the Chargers to have the ball:

Wow, what a quarter of football.  You will never see something like that again.

(Sorry, I type slow, that took 18 seconds and I misspelled something and had to correct it.)

 

Links:

For anyone who missed this, I have to thank Dejan for the link and Tom Haudricourt for the laugh.

While I was out of action, a few bad days for the Pirates happened.  The potential ace of the staff had a setback and may be out of the mix, Pearce may be the power option for the Pirates, and the heart and soul of the team relocated.

Daniel McCutchen, the other McCutchen, will have a shot at making the rotation.  I have a feeling he will do all he can to get the nod and has the talent to live up to the spot he could earn.

And sympathies go out to another Family members family, teammates and friends.  Dave Roberts passed away Friday in West Virginia.     

Feeling 60?

Well, the much anticipated and overly hyped arrival of the Yankee$ is here.  Maybe I am just nuts (okay I am but play along), but I am actually looking forward to the Rays series more than the Yankee$.  For some odd reason I expect the Pirates to take 2 from the Yankee$ with the Yankee$ winning one tremendous blowout.  The Rays on the other hand are an exciting young team, a team the Pirates strive to be.

Don't take me wrong, I think it is great the Pirates FINALLY get to host the Yank$, 3 sure sell outs are better than none.  I'd just like someone to give me a good reason to get overly enthused over this series.  Will it be a playoff atmosphere?  Will the crowd be mostly from Brooklyn?  What is the major draw to the game?

One thing this series does do for me is remind me of a friend of mine back in Raleigh.  Carlos was a manager at IBM who was born and bred in New York.  He was a die hard Yankees fan, so I always had to mention Maz every time we were talking baseball whenever he implied how great the Yankees were.  Usually I would drop a line about George having the best team money could buy for good measure.

But Maz was his most hated player in the history of baseball.

He would always tell the story of him being 10 and listening to the game on the radio.  He remembered hearing the call of Maz's homer in the bottom of the 9th.  He vividly would paint a picture, with pain still visible on his face and present in his voice of how he had to look out the window so his mother would not see him cry.

Carlos would remember seeing kids across the street looking out at the same time.  All with a tear in their eye over the devastation they just experienced.

It seems a common theme among Yankees fans of the generation, a fond hatred of the Pirates team that stole a championship from them.  A championship that was rightly theirs, in their own minds. 

For those of us too young to remember 1960, remember how you felt when Sid Bream slid home under Spanky's tag in 92.  Multiply that by about 10 and you might feel the pain Carlos still feels to this day when Maz is mentioned.

God Bless You Maz.

A Few Things I Have Noticed

When Van Benschoten started changing speeds and throwing something other than a 90-92 MPH fastball, he started getting outs.  Unfortunately today it took him 17 pitches to throw something other than a fastball.  Once he started throwing the curve, he started looking like the pitcher we keep hearing about.  Last night in the 11th inning, he threw mostly fastballs and allowed the winning run.  JVB needs to learn to change speeds and mix his pitches better.  he has been throwing, not pitching.  Hopefully JVB will get word of this, or maybe Jeff Andrews needs to smack him with a fungo bat, hopefully it will sink in then.

 

Paulino and Bautista need to get a clue.  Neither one understands situational hitting.  In the 11 inning loss last night to the Mets, both players, back to back, swung at first pitches when the pitcher they were facing was having control issues and the bases were loaded.

 

Evan Meek SUCKS!!!  He has the pinpoint accuracy of Rick Ankiel*.  Beyond having such historic accuracy, his fabled "arm of lightning" has not thrown a fastball over 92 MPH in the action I have seen in the last week.  When you throw 30 pitches in an inning and only 10 are strikes, maybe the outfield is a better place for him.  The Meek may inherit the Earth, but this one must inherit a trip back to the Rays.

 

Adam LaRoche may catch fire soon.  No not from sitting on the bench after each strikeout.  He is starting to make some good contact and is driving the ball to all fields.  When he is on, he hits a ton of balls to the opposite field, which makes him hitting in PNC even more confusing.  When Littlefield made this trade, he must have missed the part about opposite field power.  Never mind, Littlefield never made sense anyway you put it.  But a left handed bat with power to left field in a stadium when fly balls to left are akin to death valley for fly balls...Littlefield was a moron.

Back to LaRoche, his batting average is starting to resurrect itself.  He is currently hitting .171 with a .115 average with runners in scoring position.  He has been just brutal when it comes to RISP, early last week he was hitting .033 with RISP until an RBI got him over a .100 average.  Not a good sign for a guy who is slated to bat 5th.  There was a reason he batted 7th or 8th in Atlanta, to hide his slow start, but also to allow him to see some better pitches.

 

LaRoches long swing lends to early burnout.  When your swing takes a month to get in sync, there isn't much time before the swing starts taking longer and longer to come around.  A long term deal for LaRoche is probably a bad idea.

 

With LaRoche not willing, or not interested, to sign a long term deal with the Pirates, the team should focus some energy on signing Nady to a deal.  Although he is not a left handed bat, he has proven over the last year and a half that he can handle both righties and lefties with great consistency.  He has shown very good defense in right and has played smart consistent ball.  The only reason to be leery is health issues, which in all honesty can strike anyone at any time.  The way he has played with the Pirates, he deserves a deal.

 

Further proof Littlefied and his managers were morons....Nate McLouth.  Every time this guy has had a chance to play regularly, he has played well.  Last year I did a post on McLouth versus Duffy, if I find the link I will add it, where it showed through the minors McLouth had similar numbers to Duffy all around and better in some area such as stolen base percentage.  The most glaring difference was McLouth walked more than Duffy but had a similar OBP.  The reason?  Duffy got his free pass by getting hit by pitches.  With the pitchers having better control in the higher levels and in the majors, Duffy's primary way of getting on base began to disappear.  There was no reason to have Duffy start ahead of McLouth.  For no other reason, this is proof enough that this management group at least has a clue on the talents of players.

 

Lastly, after the Pirates 13-1 victory over the Mets, the Pirates now are 11-10 against teams not called the Cubs.   Conversely the Cubs are 10-10 against teams not named the Pirates.  The Pirates do not match up well against the Cubbies.   Wonder why?  They have all right handed batters.  We have all left handed starting pitchers.  Hmm????

 

*  For those who do not remember, Ankiel is the pitcher who had such sudden trouble with his control he converted to the outfield and now is back on the Cardinals roster and starting in center.  Ankiel was a pitching stud until the mysterious loss of control happened.  Ankiel has also been mention in steroid allegations.  Not that they have anything to do with each other, I thought the balls shrank not the strike zone.

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Season So Far. Good, Bad and Ugly

The Good:

Nady has been impressive winning the Player of the Week honors for the opening week of the season.  For the first week, Nady and McLouth were the majority of the offense.

The Pitching for the most part has been good.  Defensive lapses have caused more issues than anything.  Duke looks to have regained a bit from his rookie season, he is still allowing to many hits, but he has kept those scattered hits from scoring.  Snell continues to be an ace.  Maholm has been quietly awesome.  Gorzelanny looked good in his most recent outing after some arm issues that carried over to his first starts.  Morris has taken a lump for the team when he was left in well to long against the Cubs to save some bullpen arms.

Bay seems to be back to the Bay prior to 2007.  Let's hope his knees hold up the entire season.

Nate has been Great on defense as well as with the bat.  He has a 12 game hitting streak to start the season.  Why was it he didn't get the starting centerfield job sooner?

One really can't complain about a 3-3 road trip nor a 3-3 home stand.  Starting the season 6-6 is more than anyone could have expected based on the results from essentially the same team in 2007.

For the most part, the bullpen has been exceptional considering the extreme workload they have had due to extra inning games and the occasional lame start.

Both Doumit and (surprisingly) Paulino have hit well early in the season.

 

The Bad:

Freddy Sanchez's shoulder and bat have been bad, but his glove and range are seemingly better than last year. 

Jack Wilson has been sidelined and placed on the DL, weakening the middle infield defense.

 

The Ugly:

Evan Meek started his major league career in abysmal fashion.  He has faired better recently, but his first couple outings were horrible.

Adam LaRoche has played well in the field, unfortunately he seems to be wearing his first-baseman's mitt while batting.  Yet another slow start for LaRoche, although his average is at least above .100 as compared to last season.

The defense up the middle has been horrible.  For all those wanting Jack Wilson gone, this is why he was kept on the team.  Bixler is not as bad as he has appeared, remember he is a rookie.  Most players, when they get their first cup of coffee in the bigs, have a tendency to struggle.  His glove and arm are better than the slew of errors he has committed.

 

BTW Take:

Something to watch for, and to be concerned over.  Duke has surpassed 100 pitches in each outing.  While I am growing to like the way Russell manages the team, I am questioning the pitch counts being used.  More than once, the starters seem to be left in a little too long.  Maholm would be having a stellar season if not for pitching one inning too long in his first outing.

Dusty Baker is overly hyped as  being a great manager.  The Reds are doing the same thing that killed the Cubs under Baker.  Bad defense, mental errors and bad management of their pitchers.

Johnny Cueto looks to be a good young arm, I hope for Reds fans Baker doesn't ruin him ala Mark Prior.

Rich Hill of the Cubs reminds me of Zach Duke, don't be surprised if he has a horrible season, similar to the issues Duke went through. 

Happy 1st Anniversary

December 27th was the one year anniversary of Bucs Trade Winds.  It also happened to be a day without Internet.

 

Another event from the 27th was the 25,000 unique visit to the site since I set up the counter.

 

I want to thank everyone who comes here regularly to check my little blog, it really floors me that hundreds of people a day are willing to listen to, actually read, the ramblings of little old me.  One of my new years resolutions is to get to know the people who read here a little better.  I am hoping to make this blog, and the whole BTW collection of sites, more interactive.

 

One thing I enjoy is seeing feedback from the readers.  People like Eric, Bill and Buzzman77 (the secret is safe), and many others who have emailed me or left comments, I really appreciate the input.  Shay, I am looking for that second post in the forum.

 

Thank you everyone.  Here is to wishing you and yours the safest in the upcoming New Year. 

 

Now if we could only see 82 wins.  Neal, get cracking on this pronto.

 

BTW, I am still looking for that billionaire to gift me a few million dollars so I could do this little hobby full time.  Any takers?  :)  Heck, I am easy, I might even make one nice post about the Nuttings if one the Nuttings were to send the gift.  Hey, I'm easy, not cheap.

 

Once again, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

 

Teaser:

I have a little contest that is coming up, I will announce the details New Years Day, let's just say it has to do with the forum, number of posts and whatever else I can come up with as criteria.   I am thinking about doing a little "BTW Forum Idol" or something by having the readers vote for the winners type of thing.   The winner will be announce April 1st.   Trust me there is no better day for this prize. 

 

At any rate, sign up for the forum now to get a head start on the competition.

Some Fun at The Mother Ships Expense

All apologies to Ms. Langosh on this, but I have to respond to the following questions quite differently that she did in the weekly Q&A at pirates.com.  I will post select questions she responded to, you can read her answers in the Q&A, I will post my answer here.

 

Why would the Pirates even consider trading Jason Bay? With four young pitchers ready to have a breakout year and as offensively challenged as this club is every year, why would we trade our biggest offensive threat?
-- Jeff M., St. Clairsville, Pa.

 

Any chance the Pirates go after some of the players who were recently non-tendered by their former teams? Seems to me like Dallas McPherson, if healthy, is exactly what the Pirates need in a left-handed-hitting slugger to play third base.
-- Noah K., Upper St. Clair, Pa.

 

Do you think there is any chance the Pirates will consider signing Kevin Mench? I think he would be a great addition to the outfield and has great clubhouse character. Watching him play for Texas and seeing/hearing interviews, I think he could easily be a fan favorite on and off the field.
-- Bobby S., Dallas, Texas

 

Do you think the Pirates might take a chance and sign Mark Prior?
-- Roman S., Knoxville, Tenn.

 

We have heard a lot of rumors about a lot of Pirates this offseason, but Freddy Sanchez's name has been out of the mix. What are the chances he will be dealt this offseason?
-- Mike L., Scranton, Pa.

 

There is a simple answer to all the question. 

Yes they should.

The Pirates need to bring in as much talent as possible to the franchise.  If that means trading Bay, Sanchez, Nady, LaRoche or any pitcher on the roster to get some legitimate talent in the franchise from GCL to MLB, they should do it.  Any move that improves the franchise, they should do it.  Any bargaining chip this team has, they should use them to improve the franchise by flipping current talent for future value.

Sanchez should be traded while his value is at it's highest.  The same could be said of Wilson and Nady.  I can not imagine any of these players worth being higher than it is right now.

Bay is at his lowest worth on the trade market, if he rebounds to All-Star Bay, his value will sky rocket.  Going into 2007, many publications had him as a top 5 outfielder.  Unless a deal knock Neal's socks off, he should hang on to Bay to see if his value can increase again. 

The important thing to remember is to get multiple player to help the team long term, none of the players should be moved for short term needs.  Get their actual worth, or above actual worth where possible, in any trade that is made with an eye towards the future.

Should the Pirates sign cheap free agents coming back from injury?  Yes, take a gamble.  If McPherson or Prior rebound, they could fetch a nice bounty at the trade deadline.  It would surely be worth the money, especially if prospects come back later in the year.

As for Mench, or any other free agent of any worth, the same questions should be asked.  Will they improve the franchise?  Can we flip them for value at the trade deadlines? If the answers are yes, break out the contract and pen.

Realistically, this team could start the season with a $60-$70M team salary and still end up in the $50M range for the year after salary dumps mid-season trades with a much improved minor league system.

The only way this team gets better is time, talent and proper scouting.  If the right deals are made for the right prospects combined with a few gambles on potential high-reward high-risk free agent signings that are rolled into additional moves for prospects.  The process will accelerate.  After 15 years of sitting on what few good players the franchise has had, it is time to start turning one player into multiple players.

This franchise could get stronger by trade and free agent gambles much faster than relying solely on the draft, rule 5 draft and a few shrewd waiver wire pickups to get prospects.

Another thing to remember, don't worry about blocking a player by having too many prospects at one position.  Having too many is a heck of lot better than having none.

It doesn't matter if the Pirates lose 100+ or 82 in 2008.  What matters is the franchise has a brighter future.

Pittsburgh can handle a few more years of losing, if the Pirates actually look like they are improving.  We haven't seen that since before Leyland left, back before Barry tried the clear and the cream.

More Mitchell Thoughts

After reading through some of the report, only falling asleep 409 times. That was on the first page alone. I started searching on names, surprisingly there is not one mention of Sammy Sosa.

Is it now unfair to include his name in the steroid conversation? He has never admitted to using, that I am aware of. His lone discretion was forgetting English during the steroid hearings.

I am sure there are some other "missing" names. Exactly how complete is this report? As I said yesterday, just because a player is not mentioned, don't assume he is clean.

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Random Madness

Neifi Perez

The news is out.  Neifi Perez failed another drug test and has been suspended for 80 game.  The Tigers and Pirates are almost certainly discussing terms as I write to complete the deal for Jack Wilson.  As close as the trade was rumored in the Post Gazette and the Detroit News, the talks will have to be revived now.  Wilson was looked at to supply some depth to the Tigers infield.  Now he may be required to fill a valuable spot, especially with Sheffield being injured, it would allow Detroit to move Guillen to 1B or DH to fill the void Sheffield is leaving in the lineup and strengthen their defense up the middle if they acquire Wilson.

 

Bonds Fails Again

I am so tired of seeing that headline on every site I read for baseball info.  Couldn't the editors be a little more accurate and creative?  Bonds has not failed at anything.  He has 754 homers in his career, hardly a failure since only one other player has ever hit that many or more.  I hope Bonds breaks the record soon, so we don't have to hear about it anymore.  I am tired of the chase, just hit two Barry and put it to rest.

 

My Opinion on Bonds and the Asterisk

I have never hated Bonds the player.  I have never been a big fan of the person, he has always come off as rude and pompous.  However, I can't find any issue with what he has accomplished over his career. 

The talk of keeping him from the Hall of Fame is ridiculous.

The talk of an asterisk next to the record is stupid.

There is a reason I have not posted a comment on the topic, I find it to be a moot point.  He was a Hall of Famer before the allegations arose.  He has been one of the best in the history of the game over his career, even before his melon started growing. 

Bonds, even if he used steroids, never broke a baseball rule, so why should he be punished by baseball?  Did he break a law?  Possibly, but that is for the courts and judicial system to determine not the Baseball Writers nor Major League Baseball. 

Tell me, have you ever broke a law?  Don't lie, I know you have.  I am not defending Bonds, nor anyone else who may have used a performance enhancing drug, I am simply stating fact. 

The argument is always given that he broke a law.  Murder is against the law too, but the baseball rules have no "rules" around killing another player or opposing team.  If MLB had such a rule Littlefield and the Nuttings would be long gone for killing the Pirates franchise.

All I am saying is Bonds has never been proved to have broken a baseball rule.  So honor the record and enjoy seeing history.  The judicial system can take care of the rest. 

 

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A Second Look at Morris Deal

After a hard night of binge drinking, obviously to celebrate purge my brain of the unimaginable trade to acquire Matt Morris.  Following a bit of worship at the porcelain alter, I was hoping the madness of the news that Matt Morris was traded to the Pirates would make sense.

 

While kneeling there saying one last prayer of "I'll never drink again" I was troubled by a moment of clarity which revealed why this deal actually makes sense.

 

As I awoke this morning to the sound of Lanny saying it was 7-0 Pirates in the 3rd, the stunning image of the WTF move of the trade deadline was still somewhat clear.  Since I was mostly sober I decided to get my thoughts together.

 

Why does this trade make sense?  Why haven't the Pirates been doing this more often?  Yes, I am asking why they don't do this more often.

 

This move accomplishes two things for the Pirates.  Luckily for you I will cover both.  Provided I don't pass out from alcohol poisoning.

 

First:  This move was not a move by Dave Littlefield alone.  No, I believe Bob Nutting wanted to shed the stigma of being a cheap franchise.  What better way to dispel the rumor of being a tight wad than to pay full price for a name pitcher acquired via trade?  Nutting wants to prove his ownership regime will be different that the one he silently controlled from behind the curtain of McClatchy.

 

Second:  This is a move designed around getting a named player on the franchise, a player other veterans will know and associate a MLB franchise with.  Morris isn't just a 5th starter, he is a high priced player on a "MLB" Franchise.

 

It is obvious the Pirates could not lure a player with the pedigree of Morris from the free agent market.  The only way this team can acquire a named player is through trade or seriously overpaying free agents similar to what the Tigers did with Pudge Rodriguez.  The thought is by acquiring a player like Morris, the Pirates may be able to lure some free agents to the team.  If it works, the Pirates should have done this years ago.

 

Now that the Pirates have Morris, the 20 game winning streak will begin to prove to the world DL knew this team was still in it. 

 

OK, maybe I am still drunk.  But the Pirates won the first of the twenty 15-1 over St. Louis.

 

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If my last name was Littlefield...

What moves to make?

Here are some moves I would look into if I were Dave Littlefield before the 4:00 PM deadline:

1.) Jack Wilson to Tigers - The Tigers are also looking for bullpen help.  A package of Wilson and one of the 3 relievers on the market would land more than Wilson alone.  I'd look for 2 minor leaguer position players in the deal, one legitimate prospect and the other depends on the reliever sent.

2.) Damaso Marte - At least 1 possibly 2 minor league position players.  Boston is a better fit than some of the other teams mentioned.  If only 1, the player would have to be a legit prospect.

3.) Shawn Chacon - A mid-level prospect with a good chance at making it to the Majors.  Once again I am looking at a position player, maybe a Delwyn Young from the Dodgers.  They are desperate with the pitching woes they have run into lately.

4.) Salomon Torres - Once again I am looking for a position prospect.  Since the Rockies are deep, they are a nice trade partner for Torres or Marte.  They have a few nice players being blocked, I would see if I could get one of them.

Now that I am done with the obvious...  Now for the creative moves.

5.) Freddy Sanchez - St. Louis, more like LaRussa, would love to have him.  A two time All-Star and defending batting champ would fill in nice in front of Albert.  Since Freddy is still under control of the team for a few more years, I would want 2 position prospects and a lower level minor leaguer.

6.) Jason Bay - With so few power hitters available in the market, Teixera already gone(?), Dye is the only true power threat available.  Bay could land a nice 2 or 3 prospects, at least 1 being a top level prospect, and a lower level minor leaguer.  Bay is cheap and under contract for a few more seasons.  Now is the time to move him, his power numbers and RBI's are still in line with his previous seasons.

 

Now what happens to the lineup if all these moves are made? 

At least 10 position players would make their way into the Pirates Farm System if all the deals are made.  This instantly improves a weak spot on the team, the minor league position talent. 

Bixler gets a call up. 

Castillo is back at 2nd. 

Izturis is at SS if Bixler struggles.

Nady moves to LF.

Doumit gets plenty of time in RF.

Grab 3 relievers, even Wasdin, from Indy and earn them some stripes.

 

What to do with what I receive?

The position players I receive, it would not matter what position they played.  I want to stock pile all the talent I can in the system.  The more $#!t you throw at the wall, the more that sticks.  Some of the prospects may be ready to join the team immediately and contribute, others might need more seasoning.  Come Hot Stove time, I have some chips to make moves with in order to add to the MLB roster. 

Overall, I want to improve the franchise top to bottom.  With the payroll saved, I can make a play on some Free Agents in the off-season.  Yes, I am forced to overpay, just like the Tiger with Ordonez and Rodriguez, but I am looking to field a winner while building the franchise.

Does this sound far fetched?  It is exactly what the Marlins did to get their team to two World Series by building their farm system through trades.

I am submitting my resume now.

 

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Poor Yankee Fans

It must be tough being a Yankee fan, your team starting off 8-10 and all. Yankee fans are not accustomed to such lofty heights attained by so few.

A highly recommended read for teh struggling Yankee fan is a book written by Robert Nutting and Dave Littlefield called "Making Money Ball". Please do not mistake this with the book written by Billy Beane, this will only confuse matters even more. Brian Cashman needs to check this out of the library as well. Do they have libraries in New York?

We all understand that Forbes reports the lowly Yankees lost $25M last season, this must change if you are to fit into the elite group of teams that include such high achievers as the Pirates, Royals and Devil Rays. Remember, this is a business, not a game.

First thing that must happen to truly appreciate your team is to make an ownership change. Your current owner, George Steinbrenner (in case you did not know), needs to either reevaluate his position or sell the team to someone with business sense. I understand a Pittsburgher who makes money hand over fist would be interest. From speaking to Mark Cuban, I am sure Kevin McClatchy would love to own your franchise.

What kind of owner is Steinbrenner? When looking for a new stadium to be built, he doesn't threaten a move to Portland? How pitiful. Portland is a beautiful place during the summer, or so I hear.

This whole idea of a "Commitment to Winning" needs to be replaced with a "Commitment to Excrement". It is easier to embrace than you think.

You can not spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a lineup that does not produce with the one exception being A-Rod with his A-bombs. Beyond this, you can not count on injuries to decimate a pitching staff.

Yes it is a good plan to bring in older pitchers, past their primes, who are due for long stints on the DL. The problem with that plan is occasionally they will stay healthy and help the team. This can not happen.

Take some notes from past Pirates signings for the types of players that should be signed. You need players the likes of Jeremy Burnitz, Raul Mondesi and Derek Bell that are brought in and overpaid after they are well past their primes, if they ever had a prime.

Pitchers should be acquired from the scrap heap to fill the minors and major league rosters to provide that veteran leadership required in every rotation.

Back to Mr. Steinbrenner, he needs to refute any allegations that he is making money off the franchise. Come on, how can anyone make money when a team is worth only $1 billion?

The Yankees really need to learn a better way to lose. They are doing it all wrong. To truly achieve greatness, the team must find better ways to fall. A good example is having the bases loaded with no outs and strike out three times.

Even better, bottom of the ninth with the opponent having the bases loaded and one out. A short pop up near the foul line with the outfielder ready to catch it. This ball must be allowed to drop in fair territory so the winning runs score. None of this Jeter sliding in to make the catch stuff.

Another great example is allowing back to back to back to back jacks. Oops, you already did that one.

It is so much easier being a Pirates, Devil Rays or Royals fan. We have more to celebrate more often than these lowly Yankee fans. Yankee Fans have to hold off on celebrations until October, maybe the occasional win against the Red Sox deserves throwing back a victory brew. But really, you have to lose to appreciate winning.

Pirates fans get to celebrate roughly 72 times every season. This is a much better way to go about things. You learn to savor the victories more when they happen so rarely.

All Pirates fans need to send a big thank you to our ownership group and the GM's that have gotten us to this situation. No longer can we feel destroyed when Sid Bream slides into home to steal a trip to the World Series from the Pirates grip. Now we get to celebrate 72 more times than the Yankees fans ever do.

I am glad that Mr. Nutting refutes making any money from the franchise (dialing the IRS as I type), it is obvious he can not make any money in such a small market when teams in large markets like New York can't post a profit.

Thank You Mr. Nutting for giving me so many reasons to celebrate. You lying whore.

All Time Gold Glove

Looking at the ballot, available at http://www.rawlingsgoldglove.com, there are two Pirates on the ballot. Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski are no surprises to any fan of baseball. But I am shocked at some players who made the final ballot and some left off:

• J.T. Snow, 1B - He was good defensively, but an all time great?
• Eric Chavez, 3B - Once again a good player, but being named with Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt is a bit premature.
• Short Stop, SS - How can they have Jeter listed but no A-Rod? Ozzie is the man here, but still...
• Outfield, OF - Devon White is listed and no Cobra?

These are my first impressions of the list. Rawlings has almost turned this into a sham of a promotion. If Jeter wins over Ozzie, I call foul!

Leave your thoughts in the comments section, I am interested in seeing what other oversights are glaring.

Looking into Eldred's Future

Looking for a 5 burning question list? Five prospects to watch? Look no further, the Tribune-Review hears your need and responds with Pirates five burning questions.

Eldred is listed in the five prospects.

Pat recalls how much fun it was to watch him in 2005.

Eldred hit his second homer of the spring today versus the Yankees.

All the above got me thinking. Exactly how much of a long shot is it for Eldred to ever play first for the Pirates? Remember the Pirates are owned by skinflints. What is stopping ownership from forcing Littlefield to make a deal at the trade deadline that sends LaRoche to a contender to save a few dollars? After all Eldred would be a controlled salary at league minimum for three years while Laroche is already one year into his arbitration years.

WOAH! This is something no one has broached, at least that I have seen. It sounds like a classic "Pirate Organizational Move" with "Flexibility" in mind. One difference in this circumstance, the player they trade is a valuable commodity.

Wait! They had a valuable commodity once before that they traded at the deadline. A young stud of a 3B by the name of Ramirez. What did they get for him again? Oh, yeah, a Hill of beans and Captain K-man.

Until this team proves otherwise, I can't get too giddy with one good deal. I fear what follow up deals might come with the history of this management group.

I pray they are close enough to be considered in the wild card race at the All-Star break. If not, that bad deal sending LaRoche to (insert contending team here) for a group of low A middle relievers is sure to come.

Making Sense of Walker

One thing the announcement of Walker moving to third clarifies is the signing of Einar Diaz to a minor league deal. That move, coupled with resigning Maldanado, would have blocked Walker from advancing to AAA this season. Both Diaz and Maldanado are decent options in the event of an injury to one of the MLB trio.

We already have three catchers at the MLB level that are in their 20's and the two catchers in AAA with major league experience (Maldanado and Diaz). With so many catchers above him, Walker would have started the year sixth on the catching depth chart.

Third base is not as filled through the minors and majors as catcher is. Since Edwards or DeCaster are the likely AAA third basemen, Walker moving to AAA is not blocked. Both Edwards and DeCaster are really utility players filling a hole at third in Indy.

At the MLB level we have Sanchez, who can move to 2B easily, this is actually a better fit for him. Bautista is another option at 3B for the Pirates, but he is just as adequate in the outfield as he is at 3B.

Moving Walker almost solidifies Bautista being relegated to utility duty or a move to the outfield. My bet is he is the future right fielder in 2008 or 2009, likely when McCutchen arrives. Makes you wonder about Duffy now, doesn't it?

As we all know it is a make or break season for Duffy.

Back to Walker and what this means...

Some are asking why the Pirates would move a top prospect to a new position when they have a singles hitting catcher manning the MLB position now. I will attempt to prove Paulino being a single hitter a misconception. Paulino is far from a singles hitter, at least based on Minor League stats.

Paulino averaged one home run per every 34.197 at bats in the minors. Paulinos' career minor league home run numbers are better than Doumit (37.568 AB's) and Walker (49.810) to date.

Using Walkers numbers are not truly a fair comparison due to Walkers' age and Minor League level. I have attempted to level the playing field by getting as close to Walkers 1046 Minor League at bats for the players he will be compared to. The hardest comparison will be with Bautista, since he was a Rule 5 casualty, so I limited the at bats to under age 22, Bautista was 24 by the time he amassed 1000 MiLB at bats.

Bautista obviously has show more power potential than Walker, Doumit or Paulino by averaging a home run every 35.250 minor league at bats through age 22. Paulino (47.120) was the second most potent deep ball threat in the low minors.

The question that will likely arise is why move Bautista then? Outside McCutchen and Walker, there is no power in the minors even close to the majors at any position. Bautista has shown the ability to play a good defense in the outfield and has handled the bat fairly well in limited MLB time. Since he can play the outfield, he is perfect to move to right field, with McCutchen taking center away from Duffy when he arrives.

Fans are hopeful for Doumit to be a power hitter the Pirates still need. His minor league comparisons to Walker, Paulino and Bautista show why he is slated for the Craig Wilson role on the Pirates. He will be a power bat, just look for it to be from the bench.

Hopefully all of these numbers thrown around actually show why Walker moving to 3B is best for the team and the player. I look for late season call ups of Walker and McCutchen to show what we have to look forward to as fans in the immediate future of this team.

Al Oliver

On the way home from work today, I heard a familiar name and voice coming from my XM radio. Some great stories and memories were being shared by Al Oliver on MLB Home Plate.

Al was on the ballot for Hall of Fame honors in 1991, unfortunately he did not receive the minimum number of votes required to stay on the ballot. This was a travesty and yet another example of why the vote should be revamped.

Al Oliver, affectionately called "Scoops", had 2,743 hits. Those 2,743 hits rank third, behind Pete Rose and Rod Carew, for that 18 year time period that encompassed his career.

Al's career was cut short in 1986 due to the widely publicized collusion issues in MLB. His career was cut short before he reached 3,000 hits, even though he was still very productive. As proof there was plenty of gas left in the tank, in 1984 he batted .303 before he was forced to platoon in 1985.

He was a career .303 hitter, one of six players between 1950 and 1991 to bat over .300 with more than 9,000 plate appearances. Four of the other five are in the Hall of Fame, the other should be: Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente, George Brett, Hank Aaron, and Pete Rose.

Al is now eligible to be elected by the veterans committee. Even though he should never have had to wait for the veterans committee, it is now time for the veterans to correct a major oversight by the baseball writers.

For more information on Al Oliver, some great quotes and ways to help Al get enshrined, a long overdue honor, please visit Al Olivers Official Home Page.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday and Pirates Links Too!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday

The holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday is upon us. The one day out of the year even non-football fans tune in to watch the game, or advertisements as the case may be.

This got me wondering what baseball could do to create a similar frenzy around the world and build a similar media circus.

The Plan

My grand idea will be hated by baseball purists around the world, so it probably is a good idea.

The first thing I would do to create a media frenzy is shorten the length of time the World Series takes. No I am not saying shorten the series, shorten the number of days.

Shorten The Series

How do I shorten the duration? Lets bring an old staple of baseball into the World Series...Day-Night Double Headers. My plan would have one game played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday the Day-Night Double-Headers are played.

By playing three games before the weekend, a buildup to the last game is happening. It puts more emphasis on the first 3 games and increased emphasis on the remaining games by having double-headers for the last four games.

Saturday would become the most anticipated day, a champion could be crowned. People would watch anticipating the champion with the possibility of that anticipation lasting through to Sunday. A weekend long party could take place, especially IF the team down going into the Saturday double-header wins the first game.

Double-headers bring management and the five-man rotation back into the series. The best overall team has the advantage, not the team with the best three starters.

Logistics

Now comes the logistics problem. How can you play 7 games in 5 days and travel? Easy, neutral site. This allows the host city to plan and build events around the World Series. It allows fans to plan months in advance to attend the festivities and get tickets.

• The media has a field day with the week leading to the series.
• Advertisers jump at the chance to push their products on another world stage.
• The fans can plan on watching or attending the games on the weekend.
• The host cities will line up for a chance to host the event.

Super Bowl Sunday could have company in the national sports holiday schedule. World Series Weekend might just be the next big Sports Holiday.

I know it will never happen, Selig does not have the vision nor creativity to make baseball nor the World Series the events they were in years gone by.

Links

CBS Sportsline breaks out the hate by featuring Jack and Jose.

The Post Gazette has a Hot Stove report that covers Altoona and the bumper crop of prospects that will be there this season. The list includes McCutchen, Walker and Lincoln. I found it odd, with all the prospects named, Bixler was not included? Maybe it was an oversight by everyone involved in the article?

The Hot Stove report also touches base on Jose Castillo in the Caribbean World Series, LaRoches interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Torres as closer and 24 players on the 40-man roster signed their first professional contract with the Pirates (most in the majors).

The Tribune Review gets around to reporting on Sanchez and Kolb. The most satisfying part of the article is the proclamation by Littlefield that Torres is the closer. Isn't that Tracy's job to make that decision?

Looking at Leadoff

Is Duffy the best option on the Pirates for lead off and center field? By looking at the numbers, he may not be the best option for neither lead off nor center field.

How important is defense? An honest answer to an honest question was answered at Honest Wagner. According to Rowdy, in a week a center fielder with a considerably better zone rating got to one more ball a week than the lesser zone rating.

Defensive numbers are very subjective, and I do not put much weight into the numbers. For the sake of argument, I will submit these numbers as nothing more than a starting point for what is really an offensive discussion.

Based on the 2006 season alone, Nate McLouth is very comparable to Chris Duffy in the few usable defensive statistics. The numbers below are based on 2006 center field defensive stats.

2006	G	TC	FPC	RF
McLouth	42	86	988	222
Duffy	77	173	983	228

This is not the meat of my argument. I only show these numbers to illustrate the fact McLouth is not as inferior as many believe he is to Duffy defensively in center.

Offensively is where my best case can be made. We all know how potent Duffy has been in the last months of the last 2 seasons. He has shown how much of a catalyst he can be when productive. For Duffy to be productive, he must get on base any way possible. His speed should be a major asset, if he only used it.

Duffy’s speed has not translated into stolen bases. His career minor league high for stolen bases was in 2003 at AA. How many bases did he swipe? 34.

Now, let’s take a look at Nate McLouth. His minor league high in stolen bases was 40. He has been able to translate his speed into stolen bases more efficiently. What do I mean? His success rate is much higher than Duffy’s.

Majors	G	SB	CS
McLouth	147	12	1
Duffy	123	28	3

Minor league stolen base stats confirm Mclouth is better stealing bases. Not that he is faster, just a better base runner.

Minors	G	SB	CS
McLouth	570	146	31
Duffy	550	146	44

In the minors, Mclouth was able to steal the same number of bases as Duffy, but was caught 13 fewer times.

In the majors, McLouth has appeared in more games, but mostly as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement. His at bats have come scattered through the lineup often times coming off the bench. Duffy has more at bats in fewer games.

Majors	AB	AVG	OBP	IsoD
McLouth	379	240	296	56
Duffy	440	280	336	56

While Duffy has a clear advantage in batting average this can be attributed to the ways McLouth has received his at bats, their isolated discipline numbers are identical. The major league numbers tell a story, a story of Duffy having more of an opportunity as a starter in the majors.

In the minors, both Duffy and McLouth have had similar number of games and at bat totals. Taking a look at the numbers, I found some interesting stats.

Minors	AB	AVG	OBP	IsoD
McLouth	2096	292	367	75
Duffy	2121	301	372	71

Their isolated discipline numbers are still very similar. Their batting average and on base percentages are remarkably similar.

The real story comes in how they got on base. By looking at IsoD only, one would assume they have similar walk rates. Surprisingly, that would be a bad assumption.

Minors	BB	HBP
McLouth	226	37
Duffy	169	78

Duffy relied on getting beaned to get on base. McLouth clearly has a better eye for the strike zone. Taking a pitch translates better to the majors than taking one off the shoulder. Pitchers have better control in the majors.

Majors	BB	HBP
McLouth	21	10
Duffy	26	12

Based on the minor league numbers, McLouth can translate to a better option in the leadoff position. McLouth clearly has the ability to work the count and have a respectable OBP without having to wear body armor.

His ability to steal bases is a huge asset, considering he runs his team out of fewer inning than Duffy has shown to. It is just as important, if not more so, to not get caught as it is to steal a base. Killing an inning is more of a detriment to the team than stealing one is a boost.

Overall, if give a chance, McLouth could be a better lead off hitter than Duffy and as good as if not better base stealer. Defense is where Duffy is better, although it can not be seen via 2006 stats.

If a deal is presented that lands a significant piece to the Pirates puzzle requires Duffy to be moved, McLouth is still a usable option. Either player is nothing more than a place holder until McCutchen arrives. IF he arrives.

Neither player should be counted on as a key cog in the teams future, but they both are nice assets as 4th outfielders. McLouth is a little more valuable there due to his better power numbers.

Interesting Notes:

• McLouth’s only caught stealing in the Majors was a pickoff on May 13, 2006, by Scott Olson of Fla.
• In May 2006, after Duffy's demotion, McLouth had the chance to take the CF job and leadoff spot. During the month he batted 262, OBP of 362 with 5 sb's and 1 cs. He was rewarded by splitting time with Bautista.
• May 2006, was the only month McLouth started more that 60% of his games played in a month.
• In a similar number of AB's in the minors, McLouth struck out 69 fewer times than Duffy did. Duffy had 25 fewer at bats.

This post is dedicated to JR.

Five Keys to Success

I decided to post my views on the Five Keys to Success for the Pirates in 2007.

1) The rotation must improve across the board from last seasons performance. This team is built around a concept of a solid rotation. The starters have to find a way to go six inning every outing. In 2006 the Pirates were 46-44 when the starters went at least 6 innings.
2) Chris Duffy must prove himself capable of handling the rigors of a complete MLB season. He must grow into a solid MLB leadoff hitter while maintaining his defensive prowess.
3) Jack "Flab" must get back to "Flash". The defense up the middle needs to be strong. The rotation is not a strikeout group, they need a strong defense behind them.
4) Right field needs to become a strong point, whether through a platoon or Nady just owning the position. The position must be defensively stable and a offensive force. IF Gerut is healthy, a platoon of he and Nady could go a long way to making this happen. Nady must also be healthy. Doumit could be part of this mix as well. Castillo? Regardless it must work out.
5) Paulino, Doumit, Duffy, Bautista or Castillo. Two of the mentioned must have breakout years. Paulino needs to show some offensive power while maintaining his approach with the pitching staff. The rest must establish themselves as major leaguers.

BONUS Key:
The team must stay healthy. There is very little depth in the organization outside middle reliever and catcher.

If all the above "Keys" happen. This team could finally break out of its streak of futility and finish at or above .500.

Ohka and Matos

The biggest news today are the signings of Tomo Ohka for $1.5m to Toronto. Ohka has the possibility of earning $3m with incentives.

The Pirates signed Luis Matos to a minor league deal.

Both stories are so ground breaking the Post-Gazette and Tribune tie both signings up in one article.

BTW Take:
Matos is insurance if:

• Duffy fails
• MCLouth can't handle taking Duffy's position
  
• Bautista beats Castillo out making him unavailable for CF
• Gerut is not healthy
• Rajah Davis can't make the jump

The only way Matos should make the 25 man is if ALL the above happen.