By Jeff
The story of Pittsburgh Pirates ownership profiting from a losing baseball team is not going away any time soon. Fans and critics of the team have been making these claims for years, and now there are actual reports that can be used to support them.
Here is an interesting article from SI.com, that blames MLB as a whole for letting the Pirates ownership get away with making money at the expense of putting together a winning baseball team.
One issue I have with the column, though, is the author makes a statement as if it were fact, yet he does support it with statistics. Joe Sheehan writes in the first paragraph, While positioning themselves as the victim of 'the system' and trading away an entire starting lineup, the Pirates have been one of the most profitable teams in MLB, pocketing $29.3 million in 2007 and '08 combined, years in which they cashed revenue-sharing checks for a whopping $69.3 million."
Deadspin.com released financial information from just a handful of teams including the Pirates. How can he say that the Pirates are one of the most profitable teams in MLB when he doesn't provide any numbers from other teams to compare the Pirates' profits to? It could be true that the Pirates were near the top in profits, but no proof was provided in the article.
The Pirates are the punch line of many baseball jokes, and they deserve to be so. The problem I have is when members of the national media make statements like this and act like they know more than they do. It reminds me of a "ESPN First Take" anchor making fun of the Buccos last summer when they were trading away all their veterans. The anchor recited a list of names that included Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche, and finished it by saying "That's a great team". Obviously he never watched a Pirates game in his life or he would have realized the team had all those guys on one roster and they were still well below .500 baseball.
We're all guilty of making such statements. I recall telling a friend I thought the Nationals gave Ryan Zimmerman way too much money considering he was injury prone. For some reason, I thought I heard or read that he got injured a lot. In reality, Zimmerman has played in at least 157 games in every season he's been a regular except for 2008 when he only played 106. But that doesn't excuse individuals, myself included, for making these uneducated proclamations. Sometimes we are so wrapped up in thinking we know everything about sports, we get carried away, rather than admitting we are not familiar with every player and organization in sports.
Sorry, I kinda digressed.
The Police - Walking on the Moon
Showing posts with label Pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pirates. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Pirates sign 16-year-old pitcher
By Jeff
In another un-Pirates like move, the Buccos signed 16-year-old pitcher Luis Heredia from Mexico. The deal is worth $2.6 million, but Heredia will only see about $520,000 of that. The rest goes to the Mexican team that owns his rights.
The full story can be read here.
The signing is encouraging. Combined with recent drafts, it appears as though this management team is moving in the right direction for the first time in more than a decade. Pirates general managers of the past would not have signed this kid, who is already hitting around 93 on the radar gun, because of the money involved.
The work is nowhere near finished, though. Last offseason the Cincinnati Reds guaranteed more than $16 million for the services of Aroldis Chapman, and teams like the Boston Red Sox spend millions every year on international players. The Pirates are behind in the game. They must continue this recent trend and keep spending in the draft and overseas/across the border.
Once a solid core is developed, they then have to spend the money on good and established players if they hope to build a playoff team. That is the only way to bring winning baseball back Pittsburgh and Pirates fans to PNC Park every night.
AC/DC - Money Talks
In another un-Pirates like move, the Buccos signed 16-year-old pitcher Luis Heredia from Mexico. The deal is worth $2.6 million, but Heredia will only see about $520,000 of that. The rest goes to the Mexican team that owns his rights.
 |
| Will he make it to PNC Park? |
The full story can be read here.
The signing is encouraging. Combined with recent drafts, it appears as though this management team is moving in the right direction for the first time in more than a decade. Pirates general managers of the past would not have signed this kid, who is already hitting around 93 on the radar gun, because of the money involved.
The work is nowhere near finished, though. Last offseason the Cincinnati Reds guaranteed more than $16 million for the services of Aroldis Chapman, and teams like the Boston Red Sox spend millions every year on international players. The Pirates are behind in the game. They must continue this recent trend and keep spending in the draft and overseas/across the border.
Once a solid core is developed, they then have to spend the money on good and established players if they hope to build a playoff team. That is the only way to bring winning baseball back Pittsburgh and Pirates fans to PNC Park every night.
AC/DC - Money Talks
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Taillon and Allie signings are step in right direction
By Jeff
Continuing with their recent trend of spending money during the draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates proved doubters wrong when they signed their first- and second-round draft picks Monday.
Both players, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, are high school players who will skip college to enter the Pirates organization. They both will also be very rich individuals. Taillon, the first-round pick, received $6.5 million and Allie received $2.25 million. The two deals brought the tab for the Pirates' 2010 draft to more than $12 million and more than $30 million over the past three seasons.
Spending money in the draft is new to the Pirates. For years fans regretted the high draft selections the team received because management always seemed to select the guys who wouldn't demand much money. The team was basically telling its supporters that they cared more about saving money than getting the best player available. Not what you want from your hometown team.
By signing Taillon and Allie, the Pirates ownership is making progress in in showing fans that they actually care about the product on the field. Three years of spending during the draft doesn't make up for the previous seasons of penny-pinching, though. It also is just a step in the right direction. Now the Pirates need to sign free agents that can actually help the team move forward, not just to fill the roster.
Of course, signing these players means little if they turn into busts. Multiple posts on this blog have pointed out the Pirates have failed in developing top of the rotation starting pitchers. Fortunately, these young men were highly regarded by many Major League Baseball organizations. The Pirates scouts saw what everyone else did, and were not reaching as they have been known to do.
The only problem with this year's draft, on paper at least, is that fans won't know if this was truly a success for at least two years, probably three. What will keep fans interested for the next two to three seasons? The young lineup has promise, but the rotation is crap and has little to be excited for in the near future. Can fans remain patient as Taillon and Allie make their way through the minors?
I hope the answer to that second question is yes. After 18 years of disappointment and embarrassment, what's two more?
Guided by Voices - Hold on Hope
Continuing with their recent trend of spending money during the draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates proved doubters wrong when they signed their first- and second-round draft picks Monday.
 |
| Apparently Taillon pitches for Mexico |
Both players, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, are high school players who will skip college to enter the Pirates organization. They both will also be very rich individuals. Taillon, the first-round pick, received $6.5 million and Allie received $2.25 million. The two deals brought the tab for the Pirates' 2010 draft to more than $12 million and more than $30 million over the past three seasons.
Spending money in the draft is new to the Pirates. For years fans regretted the high draft selections the team received because management always seemed to select the guys who wouldn't demand much money. The team was basically telling its supporters that they cared more about saving money than getting the best player available. Not what you want from your hometown team.
By signing Taillon and Allie, the Pirates ownership is making progress in in showing fans that they actually care about the product on the field. Three years of spending during the draft doesn't make up for the previous seasons of penny-pinching, though. It also is just a step in the right direction. Now the Pirates need to sign free agents that can actually help the team move forward, not just to fill the roster.
 |
| When did not bending your hat become the cool look? |
The only problem with this year's draft, on paper at least, is that fans won't know if this was truly a success for at least two years, probably three. What will keep fans interested for the next two to three seasons? The young lineup has promise, but the rotation is crap and has little to be excited for in the near future. Can fans remain patient as Taillon and Allie make their way through the minors?
I hope the answer to that second question is yes. After 18 years of disappointment and embarrassment, what's two more?
Guided by Voices - Hold on Hope
Monday, August 16, 2010
Where Are They Now? A Tribute to the Lloyd McClendon Era (Part IV)
2004 Pittsburgh Pirates
By Marks and Lil Marks
The Pirates didn’t exactly get gems in the Aramis Ramirez trade (strikeout king Jose Hernandez, some guy named Matt Brubeck that doesn’t have a Wikipedia page, and Bobby “I’m a switch hitter but that’s all I bring to the table” Hill), but they made out like bandits in the Brian Giles trade. They asked for Xavier Nady, but the Padres insisted on shipping the Buccos some Canuck named Jason Bay and a struggling pitcher named Oliver Perez. The Aramis Ramirez debacle wasn’t exactly forgotten, but at least the Pirates fans finally had an ace. Oliver Perez was absolutely dominating batters in 2004. He finished the season with 239 strikeouts, a 2.98 ERA, and a league leading 11 SO/9. You have to understand that Pittsburgh fans had NEVER seen this type of pitching from their team in its entire history. It brought people to the ballpark that wanted to see this wily Mexican get in his “praying mantis stance” before he made another batter his victim.
Not only was Ollie torching batters, but Jason Bay was making Pirates fans say, "Brian Giles who?" Bay finished the season with a .282 AVG, 26 HR, 82 RBI, and the Rookie of the Year Award (first ever by a Pittsburgh Pirate). It looked like the Pirates finally had a few pieces to build on. How many times have I thought that in the last 18 years?
Jose Mesa: How could you not love Joe Table? The main story of Mesa’s career after he left the Pirates was his feud with Omar Vizquel, who claimed that Mesa was to blame for the Indians not winning the World Series in 1997. Mesa claimed that he would bean Vizquel every chance that he had, "Even my little boy told me to get him. If I face him 10 more times, I'll hit him 10 times. I want to kill him." Mesa stuck to his promise and plunked Vizquel twice after these comments were made.
Ian Snell: His Pirates career has been the definition of inconsistent. In AAA he threw a no hitter in May 2005 and he earned his first win as a major leaguer against Roger Clemens pitching 8 innings and allowing only 3 singles. Snell pitched pretty well for the Pirates in 2006 and 2007, but in 2008 and 2009 he really struggled and actually requested to be sent down to AAA in June 2009, where he struck out 17 of the 21 batters he faced in his first start after being “demoted.” The front office didn’t want to keep dealing with this AAA First Ballot Hall of Famer/Major League failure anymore and started shopping him around. A month later the Pirates traded Snell and Jack Wilson to Seattle for Jeff Clement and Ronny Cedeno. Every Pirates fan will miss Jack to some extent, but they did us a favor by taking Snell off of our hands. He finished the 2009 season fairly well, but the Mariners designated him for assignment on June 15, 2010 after going 0-5 with a career high 6.41 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, and 1.94 HR/9 in 2010.
John Van Benschoten: First round pick? Yep. Arm surgeries? You better believe it. This is a player that many look to when citing examples of how bad the Pirates’ management really is. Van Benschoten led all of Division I with 31 homers his junior year at Kent State, so naturally the Pirates chose to convert him to a pitcher. Van Bullshtein, as he is often referred to by Pittsburghers that are too lazy to learn his name, suffered three shoulder surgeries within two years (2004 – 2006). In 2008 Van Benschoten pitched his final game with the Pittsburgh Pirates and he currently has the MLB record for highest career ERA with a minimum of 75 innings pitched (9.20). At least he’ll go down in the record books for something. Van Benschoten pitched for the White Sox AAA squad in 2009, where he continued to suck. The Yankees signed JVB to a minor league contract for the 2010 season. He started out in AA and after three days was promoted to AAA. Van Benschoten seemed to be cruising along and eying up a World Series ring as Mariano’s setup man when all of a sudden he limped off the field during an outing in early May. He missed two months with the injury and joined the Yankees’ rookie level team for nine days before being promoted to their high A team, where he has been pitching for a month.
Sean Burnett: Drafted by the Buccos in 2000, Burnett was a highly touted prospect. Known for an above average change-up and great control, Burnett was named the Pirates minor league pitcher of the year in 2001 and 2002. He was also named Baseball America’s #1 prospect in the Carolina League during this time. In 2003 Burnett had a 14-6 record with AA Altoona, then made his way to AAA Nashville in 2004, and shortly made his major league debut in May 2004. Burnett finished 2004 with a 5-5 record with a 5.02 ERA. He missed the entire 2005 season due to Tommy John’s surgery, then remained in the minor leagues with AAA Indianapolis in 2006 and 2007. In May 2008 Burnett made his first MLB start since August 2004 against the San Francisco Giants. His outing was unimpressive, two earned runs over 2/3 of an inning. The rest of his time spent with the Pirates was in the bullpen until he was traded to Washington along with Nyjer “I’ve led the league in caught stealing two years in a row but I’m still considered a good base stealer” Morgan for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan. Burnett is currently pitching out of the bullpen with a career best 2.88 ERA.
Mike Johnston: Fun fact: Mike is only the second player in the history of baseball to play with Tourette syndrome. That’s all I got.
José Castillo: Following the 2003 season, Castillo made the rare jump from AA to the major leagues. This was mainly attributed to his defensive capabilities. Being a former shortstop, he had better range and arm strength than most second baseman. During Castillo’s four years as a Bucco he never put together a solid season. His inability to be patient at the plate combined with his habit of swinging for the fences prevented him from ever hitting for a high average. Castillo was released by the Pirates after the 2007 season, in which he was primarily used as a pinch hitter after losing his starting job at second base to Freddy Sanchez. José signed with the Florida Marlins before the 2008 season but was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants before the season started. Castillo began the season as the Giants starting third baseman, but was designated for assignment in August. The Houston Astros picked up Castillo a week later and he played 15 games for them. Castillo signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals before the 2009 season, but he did not make the team. With his major league career behind him just as he turned 28 years old, José headed to Taiwan to play for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions. Really? Is there a Slurpee machine in the dugout? At some time during the season, Castillo headed to Venezuela to play for the Caracas Lions, a team he often played for during the winter early in his career. Castillo had an interesting encounter with armed men on motorcycles in Venezuela. Surprisingly Mondesi’s house was the ONLY website IN THE WORLD that cared about this. Castillo is currently moving his world tour of mediocrity to Japan, where he plays for the Yokohama BayStars.
Chris Stynes: The Buccos were somehow able to snatch Chris Stynes from the free agent pool in 2004. I don’t know what the other General Managers were thinking. His stat line that year: 74 G, 162 AB, 16 R, 35 H, 1 HR, 16 RBI, .216 BA, .266 OBP, .296 SLG. Now THAT’S the kind of production I want out of my third baseman. Needless to say, he retired after the 2004 season.
José Bautista: His career started in a very interesting manner when the Pirates left him off their 40 man roster and the Orioles nabbed him in the Rule V Draft. Thank God we signed Chris Stynes instead of giving Joey Bats a chance at third base…vomit. In his rookie year, Bautista became the first player ever to play for five teams in a season, so basically the only thing he learned that year was his way around various airports. He was picked up off waivers by Tampa Bay on June 3, traded to Kansas City on June 28, traded to the New York Mets on July 30, and without playing a game in New York he was traded back to the Pirates. Bautista played for the Pirates from 2004 – 2008 and consistently hit between .230 - .260 with 15 home runs per year. He had a great glove at third, but no one shed a tear when he left. Fast forward to 2010 and he is absolutely raking the ball, leading MLB in home runs with 36 (on pace for 51) and third in RBI with 88 (on pace for 125). Am I pissed that the Pirates gave up on Bautista? Of course I am. But Bautista is a free agent after next year, so it wouldn’t have done anything except give us two more prospects to mess up.
Rubén Mateo: Mateo only played 19 games with the Pirates so it’s easy to forget about him. He was shipped off to Kansas City in July 2004, which marked the end of his major league career. In 2007 Mateo played for Milwaukee’s AA team for 24 games, then joined an Independent League team later in the season called the Newark Bears. He started the 2008 season with a Mexican League AAA team named Vaqueros Laguna and returned to the Newark Bears later that season to join forces with Randall Simon and Bobby Hill. Seeing those three together in an Independent League must have been a real treat. Mateo was last seen playing on a Mexican League team called the Broncos de Reynosa, where he played eight games. I assume they told him to leave the country because his OBP was .236.
Freddy Sanchez: Freddy’s breakthrough year came in 2006 where he received 850,000 write-in votes to make his All-Star debut at PNC Park and won the NL batting title beating out Miguel Cabrera on the last day of the season. In 2007 he made his second All-Star appearance and finished the year batting .300 and a career high 11 home runs. The Pirates signed Sanchez to a two year deal in 2008 with an option for 2010. That year Sanchez batted .271 with 9 home runs. Freddy was selected to his third All-Star Game in 2009 and a few weeks after the mid-summer classic, the Pirates sent Sanchez close to his home in Hollywood to play for the San Francisco Giants for minor league prospect Tim Alderson. Freddy is currently having a subpar season for the Giants hitting .255 to which San Francisco responded by acquiring Mike Fontenot from the Cubs to fill in at second base when needed.
Daryle Ward: The only player to hit a homerun on the fly into the Allegheny at PNC Park got his start in Pittsburgh by being called up to replace Raul Mondesi in 2004. Ward started off strong by hitting for the cycle (the last Pirate and only father-son pair to do so). Ward signed with the Washington Nationals in 2006 and was traded to the Braves in August. He signed one year deals in 2007 and 2008 with the Cubs to occasionally fill in for Derek Lee and pinch hit. Since 2009 Ward has been playing for various minor league teams and is now batting .295 with 14 HRs and 71 RBIs for the Newark Bears. Do yourself a favor and look at the 2009 Newark Bears roster. For those of you that are not familiar with the Independent League, it is primarily made up of guys that played at Division III schools and never played a day in the minors. There were about 15 former major league players on the 2009 Newark Bears roster!
Ty Wigginton: Wiggy was dealt to the Pirates as a part of the Kris Benson trade. Ty was bad offensively and even worse defensively. In 2005 Wiggy made a case for the Pirates to hang on to him, batting .365 in his final 22 games, but it wasn’t enough and he was released. Ty signed a one year deal with Tampa Bay in 2006 and then signed a three year deal with them after the season. Half way through the 2007 season Wigginton was traded to Houston for Dan Wheeler. Houston allowed Ty to become a free agent after the 2008 season by failing to tender his contract, a move that did not sit well with Astros fans similar to the Pirates decision to non-tender Matt Capps before the 2010 season. At this point Wiggy had three straight 20+ home run seasons and was hitting for average as well. In 2009 Ty signed a two year deal with Baltimore where he has discovered the only perk of playing for a last place team…an easy trip to the All Star Game. He is currently batting .260 with 18 HRs and 60 RBIs.
Fun fact: Wigginton delivered his own son in 2006 when his wife unexpectedly went into labor.
Get Wiggy wit it!
Raúl Mondesí: Known for his 6 years in Los Angeles where he was a fan favorite displaying speed, ‘belly buster’ dives, and a cannon for an arm, Mondesi won ROY in 1994 and two Gold Gloves (1995 and 1997). In 2003 he hit .272 with 24 HR and 71 RBIs with the Yankees and Diamondbacks. Now here’s where the comedy starts and there was even a Pittsburgh sports blog dedicated to the player that escaped the McClatchy/Nutting reign. From Mondesi’s House: Just 26 games after signing with the Pirates, Mondesi told the front office that he was the victim of an extortion plot by former hitting instructor Mario Guerrero and that his family in the Dominican Republic was in danger, claiming that he would have to leave and may never play baseball again. The Pirates allowed Mondesi to return home during the season but quickly grew tired/skeptical of his story and ultimately released him a week later. With his life fully in order, Mondesi signed a contract a mere 10 days later with Anaheim, a deal that was quickly investigated by Major League Baseball due to the questionable circumstances. Shortly after he signed with the Angels, he tore his quad (karma?) and was placed on the DL. He was released by the Angels in July of '04 for not showing up for his rehab therapy.
Mondesi tried to make a comeback with Atlanta in 2005, but hit .211 with 4 HR in 41 games and retired. In Raul’s post-baseball life he has kept pretty busy by stealing power and running for office in the Dominican Republic. His political career (from Wikipedia): In May 2006, running on the ballot of the Dominican Liberation Party, he was elected to a seat in the Dominican Republic's Chamber of Deputies, representing his home province San Cristóbal. In November 2007, he switched sides aligning himself with the Dominican Revolutionary Party after discrepancies with the government over humanitarian aid to be given to his province after Tropical Storm Noel. Newly elected mayor for his hometown with the Dominican Revolutionary Party on May 16, 2010 for 6 years.
Hope you guys are all still enjoying the series. The last installment will be Part V.
Beck – Loser
By Marks and Lil Marks
The Pirates didn’t exactly get gems in the Aramis Ramirez trade (strikeout king Jose Hernandez, some guy named Matt Brubeck that doesn’t have a Wikipedia page, and Bobby “I’m a switch hitter but that’s all I bring to the table” Hill), but they made out like bandits in the Brian Giles trade. They asked for Xavier Nady, but the Padres insisted on shipping the Buccos some Canuck named Jason Bay and a struggling pitcher named Oliver Perez. The Aramis Ramirez debacle wasn’t exactly forgotten, but at least the Pirates fans finally had an ace. Oliver Perez was absolutely dominating batters in 2004. He finished the season with 239 strikeouts, a 2.98 ERA, and a league leading 11 SO/9. You have to understand that Pittsburgh fans had NEVER seen this type of pitching from their team in its entire history. It brought people to the ballpark that wanted to see this wily Mexican get in his “praying mantis stance” before he made another batter his victim.
"Oops, I burnt them again!"
Not only was Ollie torching batters, but Jason Bay was making Pirates fans say, "Brian Giles who?" Bay finished the season with a .282 AVG, 26 HR, 82 RBI, and the Rookie of the Year Award (first ever by a Pittsburgh Pirate). It looked like the Pirates finally had a few pieces to build on. How many times have I thought that in the last 18 years?
Jose Mesa: How could you not love Joe Table? The main story of Mesa’s career after he left the Pirates was his feud with Omar Vizquel, who claimed that Mesa was to blame for the Indians not winning the World Series in 1997. Mesa claimed that he would bean Vizquel every chance that he had, "Even my little boy told me to get him. If I face him 10 more times, I'll hit him 10 times. I want to kill him." Mesa stuck to his promise and plunked Vizquel twice after these comments were made.
Which one of these pictures features a SDEE blogger and which one is on Joe Table’s Wikipedia page? Notice the many similarities in these pictures: same team, ballpark, sunglasses, and the left arm wrapped around the shoulder.
Ian Snell: His Pirates career has been the definition of inconsistent. In AAA he threw a no hitter in May 2005 and he earned his first win as a major leaguer against Roger Clemens pitching 8 innings and allowing only 3 singles. Snell pitched pretty well for the Pirates in 2006 and 2007, but in 2008 and 2009 he really struggled and actually requested to be sent down to AAA in June 2009, where he struck out 17 of the 21 batters he faced in his first start after being “demoted.” The front office didn’t want to keep dealing with this AAA First Ballot Hall of Famer/Major League failure anymore and started shopping him around. A month later the Pirates traded Snell and Jack Wilson to Seattle for Jeff Clement and Ronny Cedeno. Every Pirates fan will miss Jack to some extent, but they did us a favor by taking Snell off of our hands. He finished the 2009 season fairly well, but the Mariners designated him for assignment on June 15, 2010 after going 0-5 with a career high 6.41 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, and 1.94 HR/9 in 2010.
John Van Benschoten: First round pick? Yep. Arm surgeries? You better believe it. This is a player that many look to when citing examples of how bad the Pirates’ management really is. Van Benschoten led all of Division I with 31 homers his junior year at Kent State, so naturally the Pirates chose to convert him to a pitcher. Van Bullshtein, as he is often referred to by Pittsburghers that are too lazy to learn his name, suffered three shoulder surgeries within two years (2004 – 2006). In 2008 Van Benschoten pitched his final game with the Pittsburgh Pirates and he currently has the MLB record for highest career ERA with a minimum of 75 innings pitched (9.20). At least he’ll go down in the record books for something. Van Benschoten pitched for the White Sox AAA squad in 2009, where he continued to suck. The Yankees signed JVB to a minor league contract for the 2010 season. He started out in AA and after three days was promoted to AAA. Van Benschoten seemed to be cruising along and eying up a World Series ring as Mariano’s setup man when all of a sudden he limped off the field during an outing in early May. He missed two months with the injury and joined the Yankees’ rookie level team for nine days before being promoted to their high A team, where he has been pitching for a month.
Sean Burnett: Drafted by the Buccos in 2000, Burnett was a highly touted prospect. Known for an above average change-up and great control, Burnett was named the Pirates minor league pitcher of the year in 2001 and 2002. He was also named Baseball America’s #1 prospect in the Carolina League during this time. In 2003 Burnett had a 14-6 record with AA Altoona, then made his way to AAA Nashville in 2004, and shortly made his major league debut in May 2004. Burnett finished 2004 with a 5-5 record with a 5.02 ERA. He missed the entire 2005 season due to Tommy John’s surgery, then remained in the minor leagues with AAA Indianapolis in 2006 and 2007. In May 2008 Burnett made his first MLB start since August 2004 against the San Francisco Giants. His outing was unimpressive, two earned runs over 2/3 of an inning. The rest of his time spent with the Pirates was in the bullpen until he was traded to Washington along with Nyjer “I’ve led the league in caught stealing two years in a row but I’m still considered a good base stealer” Morgan for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan. Burnett is currently pitching out of the bullpen with a career best 2.88 ERA.
Maybe if you turned your hat straight you could find the strike zone.
Mike Johnston: Fun fact: Mike is only the second player in the history of baseball to play with Tourette syndrome. That’s all I got.
José Castillo: Following the 2003 season, Castillo made the rare jump from AA to the major leagues. This was mainly attributed to his defensive capabilities. Being a former shortstop, he had better range and arm strength than most second baseman. During Castillo’s four years as a Bucco he never put together a solid season. His inability to be patient at the plate combined with his habit of swinging for the fences prevented him from ever hitting for a high average. Castillo was released by the Pirates after the 2007 season, in which he was primarily used as a pinch hitter after losing his starting job at second base to Freddy Sanchez. José signed with the Florida Marlins before the 2008 season but was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants before the season started. Castillo began the season as the Giants starting third baseman, but was designated for assignment in August. The Houston Astros picked up Castillo a week later and he played 15 games for them. Castillo signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals before the 2009 season, but he did not make the team. With his major league career behind him just as he turned 28 years old, José headed to Taiwan to play for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions. Really? Is there a Slurpee machine in the dugout? At some time during the season, Castillo headed to Venezuela to play for the Caracas Lions, a team he often played for during the winter early in his career. Castillo had an interesting encounter with armed men on motorcycles in Venezuela. Surprisingly Mondesi’s house was the ONLY website IN THE WORLD that cared about this. Castillo is currently moving his world tour of mediocrity to Japan, where he plays for the Yokohama BayStars.
Slowpoke Rodriguez as Jose Castillo in Pittsburgh Pirates, The Movie.
Chris Stynes: The Buccos were somehow able to snatch Chris Stynes from the free agent pool in 2004. I don’t know what the other General Managers were thinking. His stat line that year: 74 G, 162 AB, 16 R, 35 H, 1 HR, 16 RBI, .216 BA, .266 OBP, .296 SLG. Now THAT’S the kind of production I want out of my third baseman. Needless to say, he retired after the 2004 season.
José Bautista: His career started in a very interesting manner when the Pirates left him off their 40 man roster and the Orioles nabbed him in the Rule V Draft. Thank God we signed Chris Stynes instead of giving Joey Bats a chance at third base…vomit. In his rookie year, Bautista became the first player ever to play for five teams in a season, so basically the only thing he learned that year was his way around various airports. He was picked up off waivers by Tampa Bay on June 3, traded to Kansas City on June 28, traded to the New York Mets on July 30, and without playing a game in New York he was traded back to the Pirates. Bautista played for the Pirates from 2004 – 2008 and consistently hit between .230 - .260 with 15 home runs per year. He had a great glove at third, but no one shed a tear when he left. Fast forward to 2010 and he is absolutely raking the ball, leading MLB in home runs with 36 (on pace for 51) and third in RBI with 88 (on pace for 125). Am I pissed that the Pirates gave up on Bautista? Of course I am. But Bautista is a free agent after next year, so it wouldn’t have done anything except give us two more prospects to mess up.
Rubén Mateo: Mateo only played 19 games with the Pirates so it’s easy to forget about him. He was shipped off to Kansas City in July 2004, which marked the end of his major league career. In 2007 Mateo played for Milwaukee’s AA team for 24 games, then joined an Independent League team later in the season called the Newark Bears. He started the 2008 season with a Mexican League AAA team named Vaqueros Laguna and returned to the Newark Bears later that season to join forces with Randall Simon and Bobby Hill. Seeing those three together in an Independent League must have been a real treat. Mateo was last seen playing on a Mexican League team called the Broncos de Reynosa, where he played eight games. I assume they told him to leave the country because his OBP was .236.
Freddy Sanchez: Freddy’s breakthrough year came in 2006 where he received 850,000 write-in votes to make his All-Star debut at PNC Park and won the NL batting title beating out Miguel Cabrera on the last day of the season. In 2007 he made his second All-Star appearance and finished the year batting .300 and a career high 11 home runs. The Pirates signed Sanchez to a two year deal in 2008 with an option for 2010. That year Sanchez batted .271 with 9 home runs. Freddy was selected to his third All-Star Game in 2009 and a few weeks after the mid-summer classic, the Pirates sent Sanchez close to his home in Hollywood to play for the San Francisco Giants for minor league prospect Tim Alderson. Freddy is currently having a subpar season for the Giants hitting .255 to which San Francisco responded by acquiring Mike Fontenot from the Cubs to fill in at second base when needed.
Do you have any more gum?
Daryle Ward: The only player to hit a homerun on the fly into the Allegheny at PNC Park got his start in Pittsburgh by being called up to replace Raul Mondesi in 2004. Ward started off strong by hitting for the cycle (the last Pirate and only father-son pair to do so). Ward signed with the Washington Nationals in 2006 and was traded to the Braves in August. He signed one year deals in 2007 and 2008 with the Cubs to occasionally fill in for Derek Lee and pinch hit. Since 2009 Ward has been playing for various minor league teams and is now batting .295 with 14 HRs and 71 RBIs for the Newark Bears. Do yourself a favor and look at the 2009 Newark Bears roster. For those of you that are not familiar with the Independent League, it is primarily made up of guys that played at Division III schools and never played a day in the minors. There were about 15 former major league players on the 2009 Newark Bears roster!
Ty Wigginton: Wiggy was dealt to the Pirates as a part of the Kris Benson trade. Ty was bad offensively and even worse defensively. In 2005 Wiggy made a case for the Pirates to hang on to him, batting .365 in his final 22 games, but it wasn’t enough and he was released. Ty signed a one year deal with Tampa Bay in 2006 and then signed a three year deal with them after the season. Half way through the 2007 season Wigginton was traded to Houston for Dan Wheeler. Houston allowed Ty to become a free agent after the 2008 season by failing to tender his contract, a move that did not sit well with Astros fans similar to the Pirates decision to non-tender Matt Capps before the 2010 season. At this point Wiggy had three straight 20+ home run seasons and was hitting for average as well. In 2009 Ty signed a two year deal with Baltimore where he has discovered the only perk of playing for a last place team…an easy trip to the All Star Game. He is currently batting .260 with 18 HRs and 60 RBIs.
Fun fact: Wigginton delivered his own son in 2006 when his wife unexpectedly went into labor.
Get Wiggy wit it!Raúl Mondesí: Known for his 6 years in Los Angeles where he was a fan favorite displaying speed, ‘belly buster’ dives, and a cannon for an arm, Mondesi won ROY in 1994 and two Gold Gloves (1995 and 1997). In 2003 he hit .272 with 24 HR and 71 RBIs with the Yankees and Diamondbacks. Now here’s where the comedy starts and there was even a Pittsburgh sports blog dedicated to the player that escaped the McClatchy/Nutting reign. From Mondesi’s House: Just 26 games after signing with the Pirates, Mondesi told the front office that he was the victim of an extortion plot by former hitting instructor Mario Guerrero and that his family in the Dominican Republic was in danger, claiming that he would have to leave and may never play baseball again. The Pirates allowed Mondesi to return home during the season but quickly grew tired/skeptical of his story and ultimately released him a week later. With his life fully in order, Mondesi signed a contract a mere 10 days later with Anaheim, a deal that was quickly investigated by Major League Baseball due to the questionable circumstances. Shortly after he signed with the Angels, he tore his quad (karma?) and was placed on the DL. He was released by the Angels in July of '04 for not showing up for his rehab therapy.
Mondesi tried to make a comeback with Atlanta in 2005, but hit .211 with 4 HR in 41 games and retired. In Raul’s post-baseball life he has kept pretty busy by stealing power and running for office in the Dominican Republic. His political career (from Wikipedia): In May 2006, running on the ballot of the Dominican Liberation Party, he was elected to a seat in the Dominican Republic's Chamber of Deputies, representing his home province San Cristóbal. In November 2007, he switched sides aligning himself with the Dominican Revolutionary Party after discrepancies with the government over humanitarian aid to be given to his province after Tropical Storm Noel. Newly elected mayor for his hometown with the Dominican Revolutionary Party on May 16, 2010 for 6 years.
"Hit and run, eh? Looks like I'm taking this pitch."
Hope you guys are all still enjoying the series. The last installment will be Part V.
Beck – Loser
Friday, July 9, 2010
Where Are They Now? A Tribute to the Lloyd McClendon Era (Part III)
By Marks and Lil Marks
The Pirates traded prospect Adrian Burnside and a PTBNL to the Detroit Tigers for first baseman Randall Simon before the 2003 season. Little did the Pirates front office know what kind of reaction Simon would have by moving from the sausage-less American League to a world where he could lash out at any inning break given the opportunity. Sausagegate was about to take center stage. As we were looking back on this scandal that happened just seven years ago, we found on espn.com that it was also surrounded with conspiracy. Simon was a known vegetarian and not only did he have it out for the Italian sausage, but ESPN suggests he was acting on behalf of PETA. Earlier that year PETA asked that the Brewers add a vegetarian option to their race by introducing Veggie Dog, the “Soysage.” This request was shot down by the Brewers, leaving a bitter taste in PETA’s mouth. Considering PETA’s history of violent protests, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of their involvement. 2003 Pittsburgh Pirates
Oliver Perez: After Ollie’s inconsistent 2008 season where he led the league in walks and posted a 10-7 record with a 4.22 ERA, the Mets signed him to a 3 year deal worth $36 million. He had a 3-4 record with a 6.82 ERA last year, appearing in only 14 games. This season he is following that up with a stellar 0-3 record and 6.28 ERA. Ollie is currently on 15 day DL with an ongoing injury, patellar tendinitis in his right leg.
“Now just count to ten and refrain from kicking the laundry cart.”
Mike Gonzalez: After converting 24 out of 24 saves in 2006, Mike had his season cut short with an elbow injury. Gonzalez was traded to the Braves before the 2007 season in exchange for the big left handed bat Pirates fans had been waiting for, Adam LaRoche. I think I could write an entire blog post about how much I hate Adam LaRoche, but I will move on. Gonzalez missed most of the 2007 and 2008 seasons recovering from Tommy John’s surgery, but performed well with the Braves in 2009, appearing in a career high 80 games. He then signed with the Baltimore Orioles for 2 years, $12 million. After pitching three games Gonzalez went to the DL and has not returned since then.
John Grabow: Grabow proved himself to be a reliable reliever that could be used effectively in many different situations, so obviously his days in Pittsburgh were numbered. Grabow was traded to the Cubs in 2009 along with Tom Gorzelanny for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, and Josh Harrison. Grabow quickly became a fan favorite in Chicago. If you attend Wrigley Field in the near future you will hear a theme song that is played after every win called “Go Cubs Go.” Listen closely next time as some fans change these boring lyrics to “Go Cubs Go, John Grabow…” After the 2009 season, Grabow signed a two year, $7.5 million contract with Chicago.
Fun Fact: Grabow was recognized with the Barney Pelty Award as the Jewish pitcher of the year in 2008 and 2009.
Nelson Figueroa: After being bounced around between AAA and the big leagues from 2000-2004, Figueroa began his international career in 2007. After finishing a season in the Mexican League, he went to Taiwan in 2007 as a late season acquisition and helped the Uni-President Lions make the playoffs with four wins in his four regular season starts. Figueroa started game one of the first round of the playoffs and put together another good performance, which sparked his team to sweep the favored Cobras and advance to the Taiwan Championship Series. His brilliant pitching continued as Figueroa achieved the unthinkable by winning games one, four, and seven. Figueroa was named Taiwan Championship Series MVP and is the only pitcher in Taiwan history to win three games in the Championship Series. Nelson returned to MLB in 2008 with the New York Mets. He pitched well, but again bounced between AAA and the big leagues throughout the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Figueroa signed with the Phillies in 2010 and was called up on June 24 when Chad Durbin was placed on the DL.
Julián Tavárez: After Tavarez’s bullpen work with the Pirates, he signed with St. Louis. In 2004 he took a page out of Eddie Harris’ book in the movie Major League and was suspended 8 games for having a “foreign substance” on his hat. Tavarez suffered a break in his left ring finger and fifth metacarpal when he punched the bullpen phone after being taken out of a post season game in 2004 with St. Louis. The incident occurred after he gave up a solo homerun to Carlos Beltran, walked two men, and then hit a batter. Wikipedia also notes that Tavarez was hit with a hot dog in Philadelphia in 2005; we couldn’t find any more information on this by searching Google, but since it happened in Philly, it’s probably true. Tavarez went on to win a World Series ring with Boston in 2006 after losing to the Red Sox in 2004 as a member of the Cardinals. After being released from the Red Sox in 2008, Tavarez signed with the Brewers but then opted to be released when he was designated for assignment. Tavarez signed with the Braves a few weeks later. In 2009 Tavarez resorted to accepting a spring training invite from the Washington Nationals, which led to this beautiful quote:
"Why did I sign with the Nationals?" Tavárez said on Sunday. "When you go to a club at 4 in the morning, and you're just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J-Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me."
In July 2009, Tavarez was designated for assignment, released, and then retired.
"DOWN GOES LISTON GATHRIGHT!!!"
Dennys Reyes: You might not remember this beast of a man that once dawned a Pirate uniform because he let up more runs for the Bucs (13) than games he had played for them (12). This hefty lefty currently stands in at 6’3” and 250 pounds, which has earned him the nickname “The Big Sweat.” Reyes has pitched for ten teams in the majors since he started his career in 1997 with the Dodgers. After two seasons with the Dodgers and three seasons with the Reds, Reyes was about to enter the journey man stage of his career where he would play for six teams in four years (Colorado, Texas, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Kansas City, San Diego, and Minnesota). Dennys Reyes signed with Minnesota in 2006 after playing for eight teams by the time he was 27 years old. It was with the Twins that Reyes finally put together a solid season, after failing to finish with an ERA below four for the previous six seasons. Reyes started the 2006 season in AAA, but proved to be effective when he reached the majors in April of that year. The stats from that season speak for themselves. After the All-Star break, Reyes made 41 appearances, racked up four wins with 29 innings pitched and one earned run for a microscopic ERA of 0.31, finishing the season with a 0.89 ERA with 50.2 innings pitched. Reyes remained with the Twins through 2008 then signed a two year deal with his current club, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jeff Suppan: After Suppan’s tremendous post season performance with St. Louis in 2006, when he was awarded with the NLCS MVP, Milwaukee signed him to a 4 year deal worth $42 million. Suppan slowly declined during his years with the Brewers and was released on June 7, 2010. He was picked up by the Cardinals four days later. Although Suppan is 0-4 this season with a 6.44 ERA, his four starts with the Cardinals have all been pretty decent.
Fun Fact: Jeff Suppan is a devout Christian and was featured in the youth-inspiring DVD “Champions of Faith” in 2008. Seriously, look at that cast…unreal.
Bobby Hill: Ahh, the centerpiece of the Aramis Ramirez trade…so depressing. Hill was traded to the San Diego Padres before the 2006 season. He spent the entire year with their AAA squad and put together a pretty solid year. Hill was out of baseball in 2007, but returned in 2008 to play for the Newark Bears in an Independent League. He currently plays for the Chico Outlaws in a different independent league. How great is it that one of Hill’s teammates this year is an 18 year old female knuckleballer?
Randall Simon: After Simon was traded to the Cubs in 2003, he returned to the Pirates in 2004. He was then released in August 2004 and spent about a month with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Simon split time between the Japanese Pacific League and Mexican League in 2005. His 2006 season was very eventful, splitting time between the Mexican League, Arizona League (rookie level), Pacific Coast League (AAA), and finally was acquired by the Phillies in a trade with the Rangers. Simon returned to the Mexican League in 2007, and then spent 2008 with the Newark Bears. Bobby Hill and Randall Simon were reunited?!?! That’s gotta be the best right half of the infield in Independent League history. Simon spent 2009 with another Independent League team, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. He is currently playing for his third Independent League team, the Rockford RiverHawks. If you’re reading this Randall, please come to the Federation League next year. You would be a great addition to the Washington Wild Things.
Tike Redman: When I hear those frightning words, “Pirates prospect,” a few names come to mind. Tike Redman is right near the top of that list along with Chad Hermansen and Bobby Bradley (I’m still waiting for Bradley to pan out even though he’s been out of the organization for five years). Redman was traded to the New York Mets for cash in 2006, but did not play a game in their system. He split that year between Houston’s AA squad and Detroit’s AAA squad. In 2007 Redman went from one of the lowest tiers in baseball to the highest tier when he jumped from an Independent League to Baltimore’s AAA team, then returned to the majors with the Orioles. Tike would bat .318 in 40 games as Baltimore’s everyday center fielder for the end of the season. It is the last time he has played in the Majors. Redman would stay in Baltimore’s organization in 2008, but spent the entire year at the AAA level. Tike went back to Independent League baseball to start the 2009 season until he was signed by the Brewers in late August. When Milwaukee assigned Tike to Triple-A Nashville, he was reunited with a team that he had spent a lot of time with because it was formerly the Pirates AAA affiliate. Redman added to his Nashville Sounds legacy by setting the franchise record for most career triples with 32. Now this is the beauty of Where are they now?...Tike Redman is STILL playing baseball?!?! Yes he is. Redman is currently tearing up the Mexican league (MLB AAA level) with the Olmecas de Tabasco.
Fun Fact: Tike’s real name – Julian Jawonn Redman. Pretty clever because I doubt Julian Redman would have been as appealing of a draft choice.
Another Fun Fact: Redman has a brother named Prentice that is in the Seattle Mariners organization.
Kenny Lofton: Is Lofton the best journey man ever? I can’t think of anyone better that has spent time with nine teams in a six year period. He wasn’t an All Star or a Gold Glove winner during this time, but he put together six solid years (his lowest OBP from 2002-2007 was .346). Lofton returned to Cleveland to retire as an Indian and will be inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in August.
Reggie Sanders: After playing for the Pirates in 2003, Reggie signed a two year deal with St. Louis and continued his consistency with two more 20 home run seasons. Reggie became only the fifth member of the 300-300 club in 2006 when he hit his 300th home run with the Royals (he had stolen his 300th base a month earlier). Reggie missed most of the 2007 season with the Royals with a hamstring injury and retired from baseball when he could not reach a deal for the 2008 season.
Fun Fact: Reggie is the only player in MLB history to hit 20 or more home runs in one season for six different teams.
Jason Bay: In Boston, Bay was Bay to say the least. In his debut, he scored both runs including the game winner after a bottom of the 12th triple. The next night Bay his first homerun in a Red Sox uniform and ended the season batting .293 with 9 HR and 37 RBI in 49 games. The 2008 ALDS was the first of Bay’s career and he hit a homerun in each of the first two games and batted .412 with 2 doubles, 2 homeruns, and 5 RBIs in the series against LA. In the ALCS, his offense continued against Tampa, but the Sox lost 4 games to 3.In 2009 Bay had an All-Star selection and continued to have a career year hitting 36 homeruns and 119 RBIs. The next season Bay was a free agent and signed with the NY Mets for 66 million over four years. So far in 2010 Bay has not been very Bay-like for the Mets batting .271 with 6 HR and 44 RBI.
"Baywatch, Pittsburgh style"
Matt Stairs: Stairs joined several major league ball clubs after he left the Pirates in 2003. Stairs had stints with KC, TEX, DET, and TOR before landing in Philadelphia in 2008 where he won his first WS ring. Stairs played for the Phillies again in 2009, but signed with the Padres in 2010 hoping to make the 25 man roster and is now platooning in SD as a left hitting outfielder.
J.R. House: After leaving the Buccos to be a third-string QB at WVU, House bounced around the Houston and Baltimore minor league system and making a few brief major league appearances from 2006-2009. In 2010, House signed with the Mets and is currently catching for their AAA affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons.
"Such focus."
Peter, Paul, and Mary – Leaving on a Jet Plane
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Where Are They Now? A Tribute to the Lloyd McClendon Era (Part II)
By: Marks and Lil Marks
Note: We are going to be breaking this up into five segments (one for each year of McClendon’s tenure) because there is more content then we expected. Part III will be available next week (we promise).
This season had many memorable moments, all for the wrong reasons. The 2002 season began with Operation Shutdown. Apparently Derek Bell felt the Pirates were mistaken to be concerned that he hit .173 and missed 116 games due to injury in 2001. Mark Madden perfectly summed up this disastrous signing, “Derek Bell becomes the ultimate Pirate: Lives on a boat and steals money.” If that incident wasn’t bad enough, ticket prices were raised after the Pirates lost 100 games in their inaugural season at PNC Park. Needless to say, there has not been another increase in ticket prices for Pittsburgh in the last eight years.
As if these incidents were not enough, one of the most embarrassing moments in Pirates history came in the MLB draft of 2002. Now we realize that you can’t just look at the All-Stars who were drafted in the first round and wish they were chosen by the Pirates. But this No. 1 overall draft selection was an embarrassment because Bryan Bullington, like many other Pirates’ draft picks, was selected based on his signability and many scouting directors projected him to be a “third or fourth starter” at best. Drafting Moskos received more negative attention in the Pittsburgh media (how many last place teams really need a closer when they can’t get the lead to begin with), but we still think the Bryan Bullington selection was worse.
The season ended with Lloyd McClendon handing out champagne that the players popped to celebrate not losing 90 games (an interesting achievement since they played 161 games that year). Lloyd intended to celebrate an improvement towards a winning tradition, but in the end his teams just didn’t have the talent to get to the next level.
2002 Pittsburgh Pirates
"HOE-HOE-HOE"
After missing the entire 2001 season due to Tommy John’s surgery, Kris was never the same. Benson was traded to the Mets in 2004 and later signed with the Orioles in 2006. His injury troubles continued when he tore his rotator cuff and was forced to miss the entire 2007 season. Benson struggled through brief stints with Philadelphia’s AAA team in 2008, the Rangers in 2009, and the Diamondbacks in 2010. Kris is currently on a rehab assignment with Arizona’s AAA squad where he has a 15.88 ERA since coming off the DL.
Brian Boehringer: After leaving the Pirates he moved around the minor leagues from 2005 – 2007, never reaching the majors again. Some jokester on Wikipedia (our only resource for this project) recalled Boehringer’s argument with Jack Wilson, “He currently serves as a personal infielding instructor for former Pirates shortstop and current Seattle Mariner Jack Wilson, with whom he has been good friends since a spat they had in May 2002.” After a quick Google search, we found that the culprit was a member of onlybucs.net under the name, “Sanchez12.” We are currently looking into prosecuting this person for libel and Wikipedia vandalism.
Josh Fogg: While playing for the Colorado Rockies he was given the nickname “Dragon Slayer” after he defeated aces from other teams such as Brandon Webb, Curt Schilling and Roy Oswalt. After two decent seasons for the Rockies in 2006 and 2007, Fogg signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds in 2008 then returned to the Rockies to pitch in the bullpen in 2009. Fogg signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets in 2010, but was unable to make the team. A week later the Phillies signed Fogg to a minor league deal which currently has him pitching for their AA team where he has a 13.50 ERA after two starts (lasting a total of 5 1/3 innings).
Salomon Torres: He was signed by the Pirates from the Dominican Leagues after rough seasons with the Giants, Mariners and Expos. Torres split time between starting and relief work eventually being moved to the bullpen full time. In 2003 Torres hit Sammy Sosa in the head with a fastball that shattered his helmet, which is one of his most memorable achievements. After Gonzo was traded, Torres was the number one candidate for the closer role, but it went to Matt Capps after Torres blew four save opportunities in a row. He was then traded to the Brewers and retired in 2008 in the middle of a solid season (80 IN, 51 K, 3.41 ERA). Wikipedia notes that Torres is a devout Jehovah’s Witness, which came up during a grievance with the Pirates over them not renting out his hitting facility in the Dominican Republic as per his contract. Torres later withdrew the grievance stating “It is up to God to handle the situation, and I will let Him do that for me. After a long talk with myself, I've decided this is the right path to take."
Mike Benjamin: This is how you separate the diehard Pirates fan from the person that thankfully had a more interesting team to watch. We can’t find a good picture because Mike Benjamin is so unimportant that his name barely shows up on Google, but he had some wicked sideburns. All we could dig up on Sideburns is that he led his son’s team to the Little League World Series in 2003. There might be a coaching position open in Pittsburgh next year…just sayin.
Duaner Sánchez: Sanchez was traded to the Pirates in June of 2002 for pitcher Mike Fetters. He spent most of his time in AAA making 15 appearances with one win and a 12.75 ERA, later being claimed by LAD off of waivers. In 2004, he found some success pitching 80 innings of relief with a 3.38 ERA. Later in his career he was a temporary closer for LA and a set up man in New York for Billy Wagner in 2006. In July 2006, Sanchez was injured in a taxicab accident in Miami, Florida on Interstate 95; the accident was caused by a drunk driver. Sanchez suffered a separated shoulder, and was flown to New York City to undergo season-ending surgery. Sanchez has continued to have health problems since the accident and was released by the Mets, signed by the Padres to a minor league deal, then released two months later. He is now playing for the Sussex Skyhawks of the Can-Am League.
Pokey Reese: Reese left the Pirates in 2004, signing a contract with Boston for less money.That year he helped the Sox defensively as the rest of the infield struggled. Pokey signed with Seattle in 2005, but was on the DL the entire time and never played a game. In 2006, Reese signed a one year deal with Florida, but the contact was terminated on March 5th when he left the club March 1st and had no direct contact with the team for over 72 hours. What was Pokey Reese doing for those four days? The world may never know… or care. In 2008 Reese signed a minor league contact with Washington and played for Triple-A Columbus where in two games he strained both hamstrings and was placed on the DL for several weeks. After four months of rehab, Pokey returned to Washington’s minor league system and retired at the end of the season.
Kip Wells: He is probably remembered best for three things in Pittsburgh…his goofy answers to the Q&A sessions that appear on the video board, his monstrous 550 foot home run to dead center field at PNC Park and his league leading 18 losses in 2005. Wells started the 2006 season with surgery to remove a blood clot that forced him to miss two and a half months. He was dealt at the deadline to the Texas Rangers for Jesse Chavez, who was traded after the 2009 season for Aki Iwamura. So what impact will the Kip Wells trade have next for the Pirates? Oh yeah, the Pirates are the only organization that wants a second baseman with a knee brace. Wells joined the Cardinals in 2007, hoping to enjoy success under pitching coach Dave Duncan. Unfortunately, not even this magician could help Wells, who finished with a 7-17 record and an ERA of 5.70. His blood clot issues continued in 2008 where he started out with Colorado before being cut and picked up by Kansas City. Wells signed with the Washington Nationals in 2009 as a reliever and was again ineffective and suffered yet another arm injury, which caused the Nationals to release him. After recovering from his injury, Wells was signed by the Cincinnati Reds where he was used in long relief situations and as a fill-in starter. Wells was signed to a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 but did not make the team out of spring training.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Onion gets on board with ripping the Pirates
It was only a matter of time before The Onion started making fun of the Pittsburgh Pirates. All the real media were doing, why wouldn't the jokesters.
You can read the article here.
Fans of real teams might get mad about the mockery, but Pittsburgh fans might actually take it for a fact. Seriously, after some of the players they have signed or traded for in the past few seasons (Aki Iwamura, Matt Morris, Brandon Moss), would it really surprised you if a guy running across the street impressed them?
Pirates fans are so screwed.
Steve Miller Band - Dance, Dance, Dance
You can read the article here.
Fans of real teams might get mad about the mockery, but Pittsburgh fans might actually take it for a fact. Seriously, after some of the players they have signed or traded for in the past few seasons (Aki Iwamura, Matt Morris, Brandon Moss), would it really surprised you if a guy running across the street impressed them?
Pirates fans are so screwed.
Steve Miller Band - Dance, Dance, Dance
Friday, June 25, 2010
10 most intriguing Pirates pitching prospects
By Mike
After watching the abomination that is the Pirates pitching staff for the first half of the season, it’s obvious they are in dire need for some help. With nobody in the rotation now that has a ceiling above a #4 in Paul Maholm, and the only pitcher with any sort of potential got absolutely shelled this year in Charlie Morton, there is no help in AAA to speak of. However, from AA Altoona and below, there are plenty of intriguing prospects with potential high ceilings and/or are just pitching lights out. My goal here is not to give you the top 10 prospects per se, but 10 guys I’m most excited about. Since I haven’t seen more than 2 or 3 of these guys pitch, and that mostly came from YouTube videos, it’s tough for me to put a firm ranking on them. I can put together a top 10 list if there’s enough interest after this post, but that wouldn’t be until after the signing period ends for this year’s draft, (Spoiler alert!) as I would have the top 2 picks this year, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, heads and heels above anybody else in the system.
1) Bryan Morris, 23, RHP – Fastball (92-95), Curveball, Changeup – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
4-2 39.2 3.72 3.62 1.29 8.17 (AA)
3-0 46.1 0.60 2.24 0.95 7.77 (A+)
Morris was acquired in the Dodgers-Red Sox-Pirates trade involving Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez. He was a former first round pick by LA in 2006, had Tommy John surgery in 2007 that had him miss the whole season, and didn’t really have great results in the minors after that. This year, all he’s done so far is dominate, save for one start recently in Altoona. At the time of his call up from high A, he had the lowest ERA in any level of professional baseball. K/9 and FIP (fielding independent pitching) are usually pretty reliable for projecting performance at higher levels. The high K/9 and low FIP project great for Morris, and there’s a great chance he could contribute to the Pirates some time during next season. He’s probably the Pirates top pitching prospect in the system.
2) Rudy Owens, 22, LHP – Changeup, Fastball (88-93), Curveball – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
6-3 86.1 2.80 3.47 0.94 6.57
Here’s probably the biggest surprise out of not only the Pirates pitchers, but also one of the biggest surprises in the minors the last 2 years. After only being a 28th round pick in 2006, he was 10-1 with an ERA under 1 in A ball last year. This year, he’s been fantastic as well. He’s supposedly improved his already plus changeup and the curveball is becoming a useful pitch for him. The fastball sits closer to the high 80s though, and he just isn’t striking enough batters out to be a projectable high-end starting pitcher, but he doesn’t put anybody on base. He’s still young enough at his level that the low strikeout numbers isn’t a red flag yet, and could have an outside chance of pitching in Pittsburgh as a September call up next year
3) Jeff Locke, 22, LHP – Fastball (90-94), Curveball, working on Changeup – A+ Bradenton
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
6-3 72.1 3.58 3.16 1.08 8.46
Locke came over in the Nate McLouth trade and he’s another pitcher that screams upside, not unlike Morris. He didn’t have outstanding numbers through 2009, but some huge K/9 of over 10 in A ball made him promising, and it looks like he’s putting the pieces together now. He’s really keeping hitters off-balance now, thanks to his serviceable changeup he added over the off season. He’s only walked 11 batters through 14 games; I’m looking to see how far he’ll jump up the Pirates top prospects list after the season. He isn’t all that far behind Morris in terms of talent and ceiling.
4) Nathan Adcock, 22, RHP – Curveball, Fastball (88-92), Changeup – A+ Bradenton
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
7-2 77.2 2.90 3.46 1.11 8.12
Here’s another Huntington trade pickup, this time coming over in the Jack Wilson/Ian Snell trade with Seattle. Adcock is another pitcher simply mowing down high A batters. He was forced by the organization to learn how to throw his fastball for strikes when he came over, which kept his stats rather ordinary in 2009. However, he’s using the fastball well this year to better set up his curveball, his strikeout pitch. It’ll be interesting to see how he does in Altoona where he will meet more disciplined and better curveball/breaking ball hitters.
5) Zack von Rosenberg, 19, RHP – Fastball (88-91), Curveball, Changeup – A- State College
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
0-2 8 6.75 4.93 1.75 3.24
Here’s a very intriguing player to watch. He was drafted in the 6th round in 2009, but there are many people who feel he isn’t far behind 1st round pick Tony Sanchez. A signing bonus of $1.2 million (1st round money) kept him from keeping his LSU commitment. He’s 6-4, 200 lbs, and the Pirates feel that he will fill out, and add a few MPH to his fastball. He’s one I’ll be watching closely.
6) Colton Cain, 19, LHP – Fastball (90-93), Curveball – Gulf Coast League Pirates (Rookie Ball)
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
0-0 4 0.00 2.43 0.25 4.50
Cain’s situation was very similar to von Rosenberg. Cain was drafted in the 8th round last year, but dropped because he had committed to pitch at Texas. A signing bonus for over $1 million helped change his mind. He’s already a big kid, listed at 6-3, 225 but he’s highly projectable as well coming straight from high school. He just made his first start this week after off-season back surgery and this is certainly the type of stuff the Pirates are expecting out of him.
7) Tim Alderson, 21, RHP – Curveball, Changeup, Fastball (83-87) – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
6-3 79.2 4.50 4.37 1.41 5.20
Alderson came over in the Freddy Sanchez to San Francisco deal last year. There are a ton of red flags here because his velocity has dropped 5-7 MPH over the past year. The Pirates are confident that his velocity will come back as he matures and re-works his delivery. He is starting to pitch well in the past month, with a FIP of 3.27. At 21, he’s still young for AA, so there is still time for him work through these problems.
8) Quinton Miller, 20 RHP – Fastball (90-93), Slider, Changeup – A West Virginia
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
1-0 6 1.50 3.19 1.00 4.50
Miller is another pitcher in the von Rosenberg/Cain mold. He was drafted a year before them in the 2008 draft, but in the 20th round because he made a strong commitment to pitch at UNC. He ended up signing for $900,000 (which ended up pissing of a ton of people in MLB for paying way out of slot, so late in the draft) He’s just starting as well, but he is intriguing because of the late draft money committed.
9) Justin Wilson, 22, LHP – Fastball (88-93), Curveball, Slider – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
5-4 72 2.99 3.12 1.18 8.00
The knock on Wilson since his time at Fresno State has been the inability to control his fastball because of some hard late movement. The fact that he’s striking out a ton of people and keeping his WHIP low indicates he might be overcoming this problem. With more disciplined hitters in AA, I feared that he’d get rocked, but that hasn't been the case so far. He may still have a ceiling of a 3rd starter, but this season has me feeling much more optimistic than the beginning of the season.
10) Jared Hughes, 24, RHP – Fastball (89-92), Slider – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
10-3 82.1 3.83 3.29 1.29 6.37
Hughes picked a good time to finally live up to expectations, as this may have been his last year before he got pushed out by other prospects. He was a 4th round pick in 2006 out of Long Beach State. College pitchers from major programs are expected to fly through minor league systems, but Hughes didn’t do anything until this year. He’s a tad old for AA, but it’s tough to ignore these numbers, although the low K/9 worries me. If it weren’t for the great season he’s having, I would’ve put a Trent Stevenson or a Hunter Strickland here, who are similar to Cain and von Rosenberg.
(Note – I don’t consider this next guy a great prospect, but he is an interesting case to look at, so think of him as an honorable mention)
10B) Daniel Moskos, 24, LHP – Slider, Fastball (88-93), Curveball, Changeup – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
2-1 32.2 1.45 2.40 0.97 8.54
Here’s a bonus pitcher because he was promoted to AAA Indy last night. Relievers don’t excite me nearly as much as a starter, but he has performed well in Altoona and earned this promotion. He supposedly has a wipeout slider that is just devastating, but I’ve read a few articles contradicting this. The lack of a good slider was a big reason why he was a reliever with Clemson. He could become a nice bullpen piece, and could even be a September call up this year.
I hope this gives you an idea of what’s in the system, and that there hasn’t been this much talent on the farm in years, even if there are no aces in this bunch. If you have a question on any of the guys mentioned of any of the other guys you can think of, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it.
Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang
After watching the abomination that is the Pirates pitching staff for the first half of the season, it’s obvious they are in dire need for some help. With nobody in the rotation now that has a ceiling above a #4 in Paul Maholm, and the only pitcher with any sort of potential got absolutely shelled this year in Charlie Morton, there is no help in AAA to speak of. However, from AA Altoona and below, there are plenty of intriguing prospects with potential high ceilings and/or are just pitching lights out. My goal here is not to give you the top 10 prospects per se, but 10 guys I’m most excited about. Since I haven’t seen more than 2 or 3 of these guys pitch, and that mostly came from YouTube videos, it’s tough for me to put a firm ranking on them. I can put together a top 10 list if there’s enough interest after this post, but that wouldn’t be until after the signing period ends for this year’s draft, (Spoiler alert!) as I would have the top 2 picks this year, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, heads and heels above anybody else in the system.
1) Bryan Morris, 23, RHP – Fastball (92-95), Curveball, Changeup – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
4-2 39.2 3.72 3.62 1.29 8.17 (AA)
3-0 46.1 0.60 2.24 0.95 7.77 (A+)
Morris was acquired in the Dodgers-Red Sox-Pirates trade involving Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez. He was a former first round pick by LA in 2006, had Tommy John surgery in 2007 that had him miss the whole season, and didn’t really have great results in the minors after that. This year, all he’s done so far is dominate, save for one start recently in Altoona. At the time of his call up from high A, he had the lowest ERA in any level of professional baseball. K/9 and FIP (fielding independent pitching) are usually pretty reliable for projecting performance at higher levels. The high K/9 and low FIP project great for Morris, and there’s a great chance he could contribute to the Pirates some time during next season. He’s probably the Pirates top pitching prospect in the system.
2) Rudy Owens, 22, LHP – Changeup, Fastball (88-93), Curveball – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
6-3 86.1 2.80 3.47 0.94 6.57
Here’s probably the biggest surprise out of not only the Pirates pitchers, but also one of the biggest surprises in the minors the last 2 years. After only being a 28th round pick in 2006, he was 10-1 with an ERA under 1 in A ball last year. This year, he’s been fantastic as well. He’s supposedly improved his already plus changeup and the curveball is becoming a useful pitch for him. The fastball sits closer to the high 80s though, and he just isn’t striking enough batters out to be a projectable high-end starting pitcher, but he doesn’t put anybody on base. He’s still young enough at his level that the low strikeout numbers isn’t a red flag yet, and could have an outside chance of pitching in Pittsburgh as a September call up next year
3) Jeff Locke, 22, LHP – Fastball (90-94), Curveball, working on Changeup – A+ Bradenton
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
6-3 72.1 3.58 3.16 1.08 8.46
Locke came over in the Nate McLouth trade and he’s another pitcher that screams upside, not unlike Morris. He didn’t have outstanding numbers through 2009, but some huge K/9 of over 10 in A ball made him promising, and it looks like he’s putting the pieces together now. He’s really keeping hitters off-balance now, thanks to his serviceable changeup he added over the off season. He’s only walked 11 batters through 14 games; I’m looking to see how far he’ll jump up the Pirates top prospects list after the season. He isn’t all that far behind Morris in terms of talent and ceiling.
4) Nathan Adcock, 22, RHP – Curveball, Fastball (88-92), Changeup – A+ Bradenton
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
7-2 77.2 2.90 3.46 1.11 8.12
Here’s another Huntington trade pickup, this time coming over in the Jack Wilson/Ian Snell trade with Seattle. Adcock is another pitcher simply mowing down high A batters. He was forced by the organization to learn how to throw his fastball for strikes when he came over, which kept his stats rather ordinary in 2009. However, he’s using the fastball well this year to better set up his curveball, his strikeout pitch. It’ll be interesting to see how he does in Altoona where he will meet more disciplined and better curveball/breaking ball hitters.
5) Zack von Rosenberg, 19, RHP – Fastball (88-91), Curveball, Changeup – A- State College
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
0-2 8 6.75 4.93 1.75 3.24
Here’s a very intriguing player to watch. He was drafted in the 6th round in 2009, but there are many people who feel he isn’t far behind 1st round pick Tony Sanchez. A signing bonus of $1.2 million (1st round money) kept him from keeping his LSU commitment. He’s 6-4, 200 lbs, and the Pirates feel that he will fill out, and add a few MPH to his fastball. He’s one I’ll be watching closely.
6) Colton Cain, 19, LHP – Fastball (90-93), Curveball – Gulf Coast League Pirates (Rookie Ball)
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
0-0 4 0.00 2.43 0.25 4.50
Cain’s situation was very similar to von Rosenberg. Cain was drafted in the 8th round last year, but dropped because he had committed to pitch at Texas. A signing bonus for over $1 million helped change his mind. He’s already a big kid, listed at 6-3, 225 but he’s highly projectable as well coming straight from high school. He just made his first start this week after off-season back surgery and this is certainly the type of stuff the Pirates are expecting out of him.
7) Tim Alderson, 21, RHP – Curveball, Changeup, Fastball (83-87) – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
6-3 79.2 4.50 4.37 1.41 5.20
Alderson came over in the Freddy Sanchez to San Francisco deal last year. There are a ton of red flags here because his velocity has dropped 5-7 MPH over the past year. The Pirates are confident that his velocity will come back as he matures and re-works his delivery. He is starting to pitch well in the past month, with a FIP of 3.27. At 21, he’s still young for AA, so there is still time for him work through these problems.
8) Quinton Miller, 20 RHP – Fastball (90-93), Slider, Changeup – A West Virginia
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
1-0 6 1.50 3.19 1.00 4.50
Miller is another pitcher in the von Rosenberg/Cain mold. He was drafted a year before them in the 2008 draft, but in the 20th round because he made a strong commitment to pitch at UNC. He ended up signing for $900,000 (which ended up pissing of a ton of people in MLB for paying way out of slot, so late in the draft) He’s just starting as well, but he is intriguing because of the late draft money committed.
9) Justin Wilson, 22, LHP – Fastball (88-93), Curveball, Slider – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
5-4 72 2.99 3.12 1.18 8.00
The knock on Wilson since his time at Fresno State has been the inability to control his fastball because of some hard late movement. The fact that he’s striking out a ton of people and keeping his WHIP low indicates he might be overcoming this problem. With more disciplined hitters in AA, I feared that he’d get rocked, but that hasn't been the case so far. He may still have a ceiling of a 3rd starter, but this season has me feeling much more optimistic than the beginning of the season.
10) Jared Hughes, 24, RHP – Fastball (89-92), Slider – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
10-3 82.1 3.83 3.29 1.29 6.37
Hughes picked a good time to finally live up to expectations, as this may have been his last year before he got pushed out by other prospects. He was a 4th round pick in 2006 out of Long Beach State. College pitchers from major programs are expected to fly through minor league systems, but Hughes didn’t do anything until this year. He’s a tad old for AA, but it’s tough to ignore these numbers, although the low K/9 worries me. If it weren’t for the great season he’s having, I would’ve put a Trent Stevenson or a Hunter Strickland here, who are similar to Cain and von Rosenberg.
(Note – I don’t consider this next guy a great prospect, but he is an interesting case to look at, so think of him as an honorable mention)
10B) Daniel Moskos, 24, LHP – Slider, Fastball (88-93), Curveball, Changeup – AA Altoona
W-L IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9
2-1 32.2 1.45 2.40 0.97 8.54
Here’s a bonus pitcher because he was promoted to AAA Indy last night. Relievers don’t excite me nearly as much as a starter, but he has performed well in Altoona and earned this promotion. He supposedly has a wipeout slider that is just devastating, but I’ve read a few articles contradicting this. The lack of a good slider was a big reason why he was a reliever with Clemson. He could become a nice bullpen piece, and could even be a September call up this year.
I hope this gives you an idea of what’s in the system, and that there hasn’t been this much talent on the farm in years, even if there are no aces in this bunch. If you have a question on any of the guys mentioned of any of the other guys you can think of, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it.
Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Lovin' Cedeno's mustache
The Pittsburgh Pirates don't give their fans much to cheer about. They've had 17, soon to be 18, consecutive losing seasons, they have a history of poor trades, their pitching is terrible and they have the worst offense in the National League.
All of these things should not overshadow the one great thing they are doing right now. The mustache challenge.
Utilityman Bobby Crosby came up with the idea, and most of the Pirates are now showing off some of the best (Or worst) facial hair arrangements seen in the majors since Rollie Fingers. But one Pirate is far and away better than the rest of the team, and his mustache isn't even real.
That's right, shortstop Ronny Cedeno was as smooth as a baby's bottom on Sunday, but when Monday came around, he had a wonderful arrangement going on. It was made from eyeblack, so it probably shouldn't be considerer facial hair, but that makes it even better. The fact he had the stones to pull this off made me respect Cedeno a great deal. Who cares if he can't hit worth a lick? At least he's funny to look at.
On a more serious note, the mustache challenge is a good thing for the Pirates. Really. The team is not going anywhere this year. The fans knew it, the media knew, and most importantly, the Pirates organization as a whole knew it coming into this year. The 2010 season, and probably the 2011 season, are bridges to get the team's top prospects closer or to the big leagues. All these players have are themselves right now. The media and fans rip them on a daily basis. I don't care how mentally tough you are, it has to be draining and crushing to face such criticism every day.
Don't take that the wrong way. The team stinks, a lot of the criticism is deserved and I'm not going to go to the ballpark to see mustaches. What I'm saying is this team needs to find ways to have fun, or they are doing to sulk and they will ultimately lose more games. Lots more games. That's why this mustache contest is a good thing. It's a way for the team to come together and enjoy the time they spend on the field.
Of course, winning would be a lot more fun too, but let's be real. Only two players on this roster would have a chance to start on most teams in the league. And that's generous because I included Ryan Doumit in the two (Andrew McCutchen is the other).
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
All of these things should not overshadow the one great thing they are doing right now. The mustache challenge.Utilityman Bobby Crosby came up with the idea, and most of the Pirates are now showing off some of the best (Or worst) facial hair arrangements seen in the majors since Rollie Fingers. But one Pirate is far and away better than the rest of the team, and his mustache isn't even real.
That's right, shortstop Ronny Cedeno was as smooth as a baby's bottom on Sunday, but when Monday came around, he had a wonderful arrangement going on. It was made from eyeblack, so it probably shouldn't be considerer facial hair, but that makes it even better. The fact he had the stones to pull this off made me respect Cedeno a great deal. Who cares if he can't hit worth a lick? At least he's funny to look at.
On a more serious note, the mustache challenge is a good thing for the Pirates. Really. The team is not going anywhere this year. The fans knew it, the media knew, and most importantly, the Pirates organization as a whole knew it coming into this year. The 2010 season, and probably the 2011 season, are bridges to get the team's top prospects closer or to the big leagues. All these players have are themselves right now. The media and fans rip them on a daily basis. I don't care how mentally tough you are, it has to be draining and crushing to face such criticism every day.Don't take that the wrong way. The team stinks, a lot of the criticism is deserved and I'm not going to go to the ballpark to see mustaches. What I'm saying is this team needs to find ways to have fun, or they are doing to sulk and they will ultimately lose more games. Lots more games. That's why this mustache contest is a good thing. It's a way for the team to come together and enjoy the time they spend on the field.
Of course, winning would be a lot more fun too, but let's be real. Only two players on this roster would have a chance to start on most teams in the league. And that's generous because I included Ryan Doumit in the two (Andrew McCutchen is the other).
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Neil Walker: WPA machine
by Mike
Quick, fun post this time. In the Pirates-Cubs game last night, Neil Walker hit a huge 2-run home run in the 8th inning, which became the game winner. It was obviously big, but how big was it? By looking at this WPA graph, we can visualize and quantify exactly how important his hit was. WPA stands for win probability added, which indicates how each player's performance contributes to the outcome of the game, positive or negative. The number is presented in decimal form. Follow this link if you want to see the fangraphs breakdown of each individual WPA for this game.
Referring to the graph, the closer to the bottom of the graph the line gets, the more likely the Cubs win, and closer to the top would be the Pirates will win. The Cubs controlled the game from the 3rd to 8th inning. After Walker's eventual game-winning HR, the swing went from the Cubs having a 75 percent chance of winning, to the Pirates having close to an 85 percent chance of winning. Sick.
Neil Walker's performance himself contributed .449 WPA, meaning he was about 45 percent of the reason the Pirates won last night. Since his call-up, he's had 10 hits in his first 33 at-bats, which is a real nice start, but it is a sample size that is entirely too small to start analyzing yet. He's a career .250 hitter in the minors through 2009, but this year in Indianapolis he hit .319, had an OPS of .955 and had a solid 21.1 percent line drive rate. Even though rest of his minor league sample suggests otherwise, his 2010 stats suggest that he may finally be putting things together. In any rate, it's cool to see the hometown kid hit a game winner for his hometown team.
Barenaked Ladies - The Big Bang Theory (theme song)
Quick, fun post this time. In the Pirates-Cubs game last night, Neil Walker hit a huge 2-run home run in the 8th inning, which became the game winner. It was obviously big, but how big was it? By looking at this WPA graph, we can visualize and quantify exactly how important his hit was. WPA stands for win probability added, which indicates how each player's performance contributes to the outcome of the game, positive or negative. The number is presented in decimal form. Follow this link if you want to see the fangraphs breakdown of each individual WPA for this game.
Referring to the graph, the closer to the bottom of the graph the line gets, the more likely the Cubs win, and closer to the top would be the Pirates will win. The Cubs controlled the game from the 3rd to 8th inning. After Walker's eventual game-winning HR, the swing went from the Cubs having a 75 percent chance of winning, to the Pirates having close to an 85 percent chance of winning. Sick.
Neil Walker's performance himself contributed .449 WPA, meaning he was about 45 percent of the reason the Pirates won last night. Since his call-up, he's had 10 hits in his first 33 at-bats, which is a real nice start, but it is a sample size that is entirely too small to start analyzing yet. He's a career .250 hitter in the minors through 2009, but this year in Indianapolis he hit .319, had an OPS of .955 and had a solid 21.1 percent line drive rate. Even though rest of his minor league sample suggests otherwise, his 2010 stats suggest that he may finally be putting things together. In any rate, it's cool to see the hometown kid hit a game winner for his hometown team.
Barenaked Ladies - The Big Bang Theory (theme song)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Where Are They Now?: A Tribute to the Lloyd McClendon Era
By Marks and Lil Marks
Joe Beimel: This left hander currently pitches for the Colorado Rockies. If you have never seen “The Legend of Joe Beimel,” do yourself a favor and listen to how he gained a cult following in Los Angeles.
Mike Lincoln: After missing nearly four years with two different ulnar collateral ligament surgeries, Lincoln returned to the Majors in 2008 with the Cincinnati Reds. Lincoln recently played a role in the Reds meltdown, where the team blew a 9-1 lead against the Braves on May 20th. Although this Wikipedia entry was immediately taken down from the website we have to believe it has some validity, “a fan in Coldwater, OH was arrested that afternoon for hanging an effigy of Lincoln in his front-yard tree. Matt Loughridge's neighborhood will never be the same.” We could not find an article that would either confirm or deny these allegations.
Josias Manzanillo: Manzanillo suffered a gruesome injury in 1997 while pitching for the Seattle Mariners. He took a Manny Ramirez line drive to the groin without a cup on, which led to an operation to remove one of his testicles. Manzanillo claimed that he never pitched the same again after Manny exploded his nut sack. He honorably retired in 2005 after not making the cut for the Boston Red Sox. On December 13, 2007, Manzanillo was one of many athletes mentioned in the Mitchell Report. Kirk Radomski, who dealt steroids and HGH to many major league baseball players, claimed that Manzanillo was the only player he ever witnessed taking steroids. Fun fact: Manzanillo is the 17th of 18 children.
Kevin Young: He now lives in Arizona, where he helps the Scottsdale Cal Ripken Baseball league and is the Director of Baseball for Protégé Sports. At the time of his retirement in 2003, he was the last player to leave the Pittsburgh Pirates who had played on a winning team with the club (he was a rookie in 1992). Not only was he named as an HGH user in the Mitchell Report, but some suspect that his bat was juicing as well.
On July 30, 2007, Brown shot Kansas City reporter Karen Kornacki in the eye with a BB gun. From the video, you can see that the reporter was talking to his teammate, Tony Peña Jr. The Royals called it "an accident."
The year is 2001. Fans around Pittsburgh are optimistic about a fresh start as the Pirates move into a new stadium called PNC Park. People convinced themselves that things would be better. Surely a new stadium will bring in enough revenue to start fielding a contender. Enter former Bucco sensation, Lloyd McClendon. We have compiled a list of what Lloyd’s former players are up to these days. Enjoy.
2001 Pittsburgh Pirates
Jimmy Anderson: Works with Bobby McKinney in a batting and pitching clinic in Virginia. As shown in this picture, he is best described by his nickname from an article on Deadspin, “Jabba the Jimmy Anderson.”
Mike Fetters: Now that he is no longer intimidating hitters with his neck jerk pitching ritual, he is a sports agent in Beverly Hills. Interestingly, we discovered that the reason for his huffing and puffing, also known as controlled hyperventilation, is to help him relax and overcome asthma problems that have caused him to hyperventilate between innings in the past.
Josias Manzanillo: Manzanillo suffered a gruesome injury in 1997 while pitching for the Seattle Mariners. He took a Manny Ramirez line drive to the groin without a cup on, which led to an operation to remove one of his testicles. Manzanillo claimed that he never pitched the same again after Manny exploded his nut sack. He honorably retired in 2005 after not making the cut for the Boston Red Sox. On December 13, 2007, Manzanillo was one of many athletes mentioned in the Mitchell Report. Kirk Radomski, who dealt steroids and HGH to many major league baseball players, claimed that Manzanillo was the only player he ever witnessed taking steroids. Fun fact: Manzanillo is the 17th of 18 children.
Terry Mulholland: He is currently part owner of a biker bar in Scottsdale, AZ called “Dirty Dogg Saloon.” That title leaves a lot to the imagination, so I’ll let anyone that is curious have a look at the Dirty Dogg Crew.
Todd Ritchie: Todd has children named Karley (15), Kyndall (10), Kamdyn (8), Kallyn (6), Kannon (3) and Krayton (3). It is speculated by some that the 7th child will be named Krayon.
Scott Sauerbeck: On May 30, 2006, Scott Sauerbeck and Lily Miller were arrested by police after his 1966 Lincoln Continental convertible, driven by Miller, was observed weaving at 3:45 a.m. Police allege that Miller and Sauerbeck attempted to avoid arrest by parking the car and hiding in some bushes in a residential backyard. Sauerbeck claims that he was looking for the command of his curveball.
Ryan Vogelsong: Some might remember that WHYGAVS referred to Vogelsong as “The White Flag” since when he entered the game it was like throwing the white flag. Well the White Flag has just finished with his third stellar season in Japan, where his career record overseas was 11-14. He played for the Orix Buffaloes in 2009 after completing two seasons with the Hanshin Tigers in 2007 and 2008. Vogelsong is currently playing for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. So far in the 2010 season, he has a 1-1 record with a 4.08 ERA. Vogelsong was relegated to the bullpen two weeks ago after his first seven starts resulted in an ERA of 4.81 and only one outing where he lasted six innings.
Dave Williams: After struggling in 2006 and 2007, Williams chose to sign a contract with the Yokohama BayStars in 2008. He was released after seven starts and was last pitching in Washington’s farm system in 2009.
Humberto Cota: He tested positive for PED on May 28, 2008, but that hasn’t stopped him from trying to get back into the big leagues. Since leaving the Pirates, Cota has signed minor league contracts with the Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, and Cincinnati Reds. Surprisingly he has not made a major league squad since leaving the Pirates in 2007. He is currently a desirable free agent for any team that needs an average defensive catcher with a .233 career batting average with no power.
Keith Osik: Owns and operates "Keith Osik's Major League Instruction (MLI)," a private indoor baseball teaching facility. Osik is also currently the head baseball coach at Farmingdale State College, (Division III).
Abraham Núñez: On March 5, 2010, Nunez signed a contract to play for the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Canadian-American League. This league has six teams and only plays 92-96 games per year. This level of play is comparable to AA.
Emil Brown: After not playing in the majors from 2002-2004, Brown enjoyed a career year in 2005 with the Royals. Despite leading the team in RBIs for three consecutive years (Carlos Beltran is the only other Royal to ever achieve this feat), the Royals did not make Brown an offer for the 2008 season. Since then he has played briefly with the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets.
Emil Brown: After not playing in the majors from 2002-2004, Brown enjoyed a career year in 2005 with the Royals. Despite leading the team in RBIs for three consecutive years (Carlos Beltran is the only other Royal to ever achieve this feat), the Royals did not make Brown an offer for the 2008 season. Since then he has played briefly with the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets.
On July 30, 2007, Brown shot Kansas City reporter Karen Kornacki in the eye with a BB gun. From the video, you can see that the reporter was talking to his teammate, Tony Peña Jr. The Royals called it "an accident."Derek Bell: On April 20, 2006, Derek Bell was charged with felony cocaine possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, after police found a warm crack pipe in the back seat of his car during a traffic stop. He was arrested again on December 2, 2008, facing three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of failure to appear in court on another charge of possession of drug paraphernalia from earlier in the year.
Go Figure…Pittsburgh Pirates facts from the 2001-2005 seasons
120
Total players that have been on the 25 man roster
7
Players that have remained on the team for all five years
5
Total All-Stars (league minimum)
.430
Lloyd McClendon's career managerial win-loss percentage
Join us next week as we continue our three part series, Where Are They Now? A Tribute to the Lloyd McClendon Era.
The Presidents of the United States of America – We Are Not Going to Make It
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