Busy Day For The Pirates

Keeping Up With The Jones’

The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed Brandon Jones off waivers from the Atlanta Braves.  Brandon Jones was DFA’ed when the Braves signed Eric Hinske.  A scouting report on Brandon Jones can be found here, and stats can be found here.

BTW Take:

Jones was dropped repeatedly by the Braves in the depth chart regardless of his readiness due to experienced players being brought into the organization.  He is an athletic and highly touted player much in the mold of many of the outfielders Huntington has acquired in his tenure.  His defense is above average and he is said to have an above average arm in the outfield.  His bat is said to be MLB ready.

While there was speculation a trade was imminent another roster move was made…

 

Steven Jackson DFA’ed

In a less than expected move, but not quite shocking, Steven Jackson was DFA’ed to make room for Jones on the 40 man roster.

BTW Take:

With the number of relievers, quality relievers at that, still available via free agency, moving Jackson off the 40 man roster should not be a surprise.  While Jackson will likely garner some attention, he has a good chance of clearing waivers when similar pitchers are still available and willing to agree to a minor league contract that does not tie up a 40 man roster slot.

When pitchers like Brian Bass and D.J. Carrasco sign minor league deals, the odds another team would take Jackson on a waiver claim seems much slimmer to me.

It is a gamble, but I would call it a calculated risk that Huntington is taking.

 

No Arbitration Hearing For Duke

The Pirates and Zach Duke avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1 year contract valued at $4.3 M.

BTW Take:

No surprise on a 1 year deal as is customary when dealing with arbitration.  Duke was in his 2nd year of arbitration with one more remaining after this coming season. 

 

What Does This All Mean?  And Thanks For All The Fish.

I believe Jeff Clement will not be on the Opening Day roster with Pittsburgh.  It seems the recent moves point towards the Pirates wanting Clement to get a little more time playing first base in AAA before he takes the field for the Pirates at the MLB level.

With the number of outfielders on the roster, Garrett Jones can resume play at his natural position of first base.  The athleticism in the outfield with the additions of Ryan Church, Brandon Jones and rule 5 pick John Raynor.  Add those names with Young and Moss, and there isn’t much room on the 25 man roster for Clement, Garrett Jones and Steve Pearce.

It has been an interesting offseason so far, but I feel there is yet more to come after the Dotel signing is finalized.

Would the Pirates be daring enough, bold enough, even crazy enough to make a free agent signing that could spur them into the discussion for one of the most improved teams of the offseason?  Would the Pirates be willing to sign an ace?  Yes I am talking about Ben Sheets. 

Why would he sign with the Pirates and why would they try to sign him?

For Sheets:

First, the Pirates can guarantee Sheets has the chance to be on a contending team by years end.  If/when the Pirates are out of it come the trade deadline, they can move him to a contender.

Second, Sheets would have the opportunity to prove he is still ace quality and earn a large payday after the season while pitching in a less stressful environment for most of the season.  Think of it as a minor league rehab assignment while collecting a MLB paycheck and pitching against MLB hitters.

Third, if he led a staff that ended the longest losing season streak in pro sports history, he would automatically be enshrined in the Pirates Hall of Fame and become a legend in the city of Pittsburgh.

Forth, the opportunity to work with the legendary Dave Kerwin and stick it to the Brewers.

For the Pirates:

First, Sheets would provide a true ace on the staff and set up a very nice rotation of Sheets, Maholm, Ohlendorf and Duke. 

Second, it would add a player who could be traded at the deadline for a bounty of prospects or be kept and land a first round pick as a type A free agent.

Third, a signing of Sheets would raise the Pirates payroll and keep the dogs of the union and the commissioners office off the trail of not spending revenue sharing.  The Pirates do have a sizeable amount of cash still available under their self imposed salary cap they could use to lure Sheets to Pittsburgh.

Forth, it would give the fans a sense the Pirates want to win.

Will it happen, no.  Should it happen?  I believe yes.  It is a gamble considering his history of injury problems, but Huntington seems to be a gambling man based on his history of acquisitions.

 

Update: I forgot one Item

KDKA-FM as reported by the Post-Gazette.

BTW News, Pirates 2009, New Young Buc

Ahhh!

Yesterday, my youngest son had surgery to remove adenoids and to have tubes put in his ears.  Everything went well and he is doing very well.  As a parent you have a tendency to be distracted when your child is about to have an operation, no matter how minor.  Just the thought of your child going under is a scary proposition, no matter how many times you have been through it.  Needless to say, holding him in the recovery room made a huge weight be lifted from my mind.

 

Pirates 2009:

While sitting in recovery holding Nicky as he slept, my mind started wandering back to baseball and the Pirates.  The 4-3 start to the 2009 season is a good thing, like that is breaking news. 

My biggest interest going forward is what will happen first.

You see, I have a belief that it is easier to stay above .500 than it is to get back to .500.  When trying to recover lost ground, teams always seem to press because of a tangible goal of .500.  When a team gets close, then fails, the pressure keeps building.

Failing to reach .500 for a young team, such as the Pirates, seems to always have a snowball affect, more like an avalanche.  When they get close but come a win or two away from the mark, as we have seen a few times in the last 16 years, the team seems to always have that losing streak right then.

A team that is over .500 can endure a losing streak and still not worry of a tangible goal they are failing to achieve, as long as they stay above .500.

So what I am looking for is what happens first.  Do the Pirates have a long winning streak or long losing streak?  If they can attain a long winning streak first, that will go a long way towards breaking the 16 year spiral we as fans have endured.

As for players so far, here are a few things I have noticed:

• Brandon Moss seems to be a little faster than last year, I have been impressed with the speed he has shown so far.  While not blazing speed, he has been impressive none the less.
• Staying with Moss, he has yet to earn a RBI.  A somewhat distressing fact.
• Was I wrong on Nyjer Morgan?  He has been a catalyst for this team with the bat and with his speed and toughness.  He is doing a lot of little things right that have plagued him in the past.  A couple example are breaking up a double play to keep the inning going just prior to Doumit's grand slam.  Another example was taking out the catcher on an excellent hip check from his youth.  While he didn't need to make contact, the play was closer than it appeared as the ball was on it's way home.
• Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson both look like they want to stay in Pittsburgh.  Each has been fantastic, maybe no more so than the fantastic double play they turned against the Reds.
• Zach Duke looks as if he has turned back the clock, or at least hit the same point that Maholm did a year and a half ago.  He seems to be trusting his pitches again and is pitching to all parts of the plate.
• With Maholm, Duke and Ohlendorf all pitching well, getting Snell to stay in a groove rather than grooving too many pitches will be a big hurdle for Russell and Kerrigan to clear.  If Snell finds himself again, the bullpen may not be an issue as they will not be used often.

I fear the warm and fuzzy sensation I have been having about the Pirates, too many times in has turned into a stomach virus the last 16 years.

 

New Young Buc:

The Pirates have acquired Delwyn Young from the Dodgers for two PTBNL.  Look for Luis Cruz to be demoted after Young arrives in Pittsburgh.  Young will likely be used as a utility player who can play outfield and most infield positions save 1B.

BTW Take:

Cruz was on the roster due to Bixler becoming a prospect again in spring training.   This move allows the Pirates to have a bat on the bench, rather than just a glove.  It doesn't make perfect sense, since Young has not played 2B in two years.