SB Nation - Denny Bautista

Pirates Release Yoslan Herrera, Jason Delaney, Others

Charlie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:49:03 -0000

Via Baseball America, the Pirates have released a number of failed prospects:

RHP Yoslan Herrera - The big prizewinner in Dave Littlefield's weird experiment with international talent. Most teams attempt to sign Latin American amateurs at a young age and move them through the farm system over a period of many years. But all that was way too slow-moving for a short-term thinker like Littlefield, who instead spent a couple million bucks on Herrera, a much older player, and got him to the big leagues within a couple years. Unfortunately, his limp 87-MPH fastball wasn't nearly good enough to complement his decent offspeed stuff, and now Herrera is gone after getting bombed in the bigs in 2008 and spending an uninspiring 2009 at Altoona and Indianapolis. By the way, check out this little anecdote about Herrera by WTM:

Surprised about Herrera, too, because he made some progress this year, although at his age there's no way he's going to be a major league pitcher. There might have been more going on with him. I was at a DH in Bowie this year and Herrera was up in the stands in the second game after pitching in the first game. He was rooting loudly for Bowie, so I wondered what was going on.

RHP Tyler Herron - The Pirates signed Herron, a former top draft pick of the Cardinals, after St. Louis surprisingly released him earlier in 2009. He didn't pitch particularly well for Altoona, and his stuff there apparently was terrible. But he still has that first-round pedigree, he hasn't been tried much as a reliever, and he's not old; it's a little bit weird that he's now been released by two organizations. It could be that there's some personal thing going on here.

1B Kent Sakamoto

3B Eddie Prasch - Prasch was Littlefield's third-round pick in his hideous 2004 draft. Prasch showed some on-base skills as he crawled through the minors, but his power never developed.

3B Bobby Spain

3B Brett Willemburg

OF Butch Biela - This is a weird one. Biela hit very well as an 18-year-old in 2007, then got by with a .342 OBP at State College in 2008. The Pirates thought enough of him to start him at West Virginia in 2009, but he wound up with back with the Spikes, not hitting at all.

OF Justin Byler

OF Jason Delaney - Delaney, the Bucs' 12th-round pick in '05, showed flashes of real hitting ability in the minors, but since he was almost 23 when he was drafted, he was always very old for his levels. He doesn't have much defensive value and he never developed much home run power, and now he's 27.

OF Jared Keel - Keel has always hit well in the minors, but like Delaney he has always been a bit old for his levels. Also, as a 31st-round pick, the Bucs have probably never viewed him as much more than an organizational player; if they liked him they probably would have sent him to Altoona last year, given that he hit 20 homers at Lynchburg in 2008.

The Pirates have also granted free agency to Denny Bautista.

Pirates Dump Denny Bautista, Craig Hansen, Chris Bootcheck

Charlie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:22:23 -0000

They're all off the 40-man.

Sorry there's no picture for this post; the only photos that come up in SB Nation's widget when you search for these players' names are shots of hitters homering off them.

Bautista and Bootcheck are no surprise. The big news here is the removal of Hansen, who was one of four players acquired in the Jason Bay deal. Hansen has a nerve disorder that could take years to heal, which is bad enough, but there's also the fact that he was hardly a reliably great pitcher even before that was diagnosed. Perhaps he'll wind up back in the Pirates' minor league system, but they were probably wise to take him off the roster.

These moves should allow the Pirates to move Jose Ascanio and Evan Meek from the 60-day DL back to the 40-man roster. (Hansen was already on the 60-day DL and was not occupying a roster spot; the same is true for Tyler Yates, though I can't imagine he'll be protected.)

Bucs' Bullpen Blows It

Charlie — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:25:20 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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8-4 Dodgers, thanks to some truly lousy pitching by Denny Bautista, Phil Dumatrait and Steven Jackson in an eighth inning that began with a 4-3 lead. I wasn't totally sure why Bautista came in to start the inning instead of Jackson (I'm guessing Jesse Chavez wasn't available after pitching two innings yesterday), but after Jackson came in later and walked in two batters, well, I guess it didn't matter much... can we have Joel Hanrahan back? Please?

Anyway, the Bucs wasted a brilliant throw by Lastings Milledge and a great diving catch by Andrew McCutchen, not to mention Andy LaRoche's tenth homer of the year. Oh, and McCutchen got a huge hit with the bases loaded, which is the sort of thing the Pirates have seemed to consistently fail to do over the past month or so.

Dodgers Punch Ticket For Postseason

Eric Stephen — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:17:30 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Welcome to the playoffs.

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The Dodgers' 8-4 victory over the Pirates tonight has clinched a playoff berth for the Dodgers, their second straight postseason trip and third in four seasons. Now that the Braves can no longer catch the Dodgers, the worst possible scenario for the Dodgers is winning the wild card.

Team	W-L	GB
Dodgers	93-62	---
Rockies	87-67	5½
Braves	84-70	8½

More importantly, this officially moves the Dodgers' magic number to clinch the National League West to ~~two~~ one, because the Dodgers hold the tiebreaker over the Rockies by virtue of winning the season series with the Rockies, winning 12 of 15 games so far this season. The Dodgers can clinch the division as soon as tomorrow.

This is the first time the Dodgers have made the postseason in three out of four seasons since the 1963-1965-1966 run, which of course were all World Series appearances. The Dodgers also made the World Series in four of five seasons in 1952-1953-1955-1956.

The Dodgers last made the playoffs in successive seasons in 1995 & 1996. The last time they won the division in two straight years was 1977 & 1978, when they won two straight National League pennants.

This is Joe Torre's 14th straight playoff appearance, tying him with Bobby Cox for the major league record.

The Dodgers currently have the best record in the National League, with a 3-game lead over the Cardinals, and a 3½-game lead over the Phillies.

2009 Dodgers Checklist
	Make The Playoffs
	Win National League West
	Best Record in the NL
	Win NLDS
	Win NL Pennant
	Win World Series

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As far as the game itself, the Dodgers opened the scoring early. Rafael Furcal singled to start the game, but was thrown at second base trying to stretch it into a double. Juan Pierre followed with a triple, which was followed by a Manny Ramirez ground-rule double for an early 1-0 lead. The Dodgers added a pair of runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a double by Mark Loretta, making only his second start since August 29.

A home run by Old Friend Andy LaRoche in the bottom of the fourth cut the Dodger lead to 4-1, a lead Randy Wolf took into the seventh inning. Three walks, two singles, and two pitchers later, the Pirates rallied for three runs to take the lead.

The Dodgers responded with a rally of their own in the top of the eighth, taking the lead on a pair of bases-loaded walks. Jim Thome followed with his biggest moment as a Dodger to date, with a two-run single to widen the lead to 7-4. Ronnie Belliard added his fifth home run as a Dodger in the ninth inning to provide the final margin.

George Sherrill picked up the win for the Dodgers, his first win since joining the team. That brings the total number of Dodgers to get a win this season to 22, a club record. In MLB history, only the Padres (23 in 2002, 24 in 2009) have had more pitchers get a win in one season.

Randy Wolf got yet another no-decision, his 16th of the season, tying Roy Oswalt for the MLB lead. Since moving to Los Angeles in 1958, the only other Dodger pitcher with more no-decisions than Wolf was Odalis Perez, with 18 in 2004.

Clayton Kershaw takes the hill tomorrow morning against Daniel McCutchen, as the Dodgers try to clinch their second straight National League West division title.

WP - George Sherrill (1-1): 0.1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk

LP - Denny Bautista (1-1): 0.1 IP, 1 hit, 2 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Box Score

Dodgers Look To Plunder Their Way To Postseason

Eric Stephen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:00:25 -0000

More photos » by Don Wright - AP

The Pirates' record run of futility has led to some light crowds at PNC Park.

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The Dodgers handed one opponent their 100th loss on the season by beating the Nationals last night, but they won't get the opportunity to do the same to Pittsburgh. The Pirates are 56-95 heading into the four-game series at PNC Park starting tonight. The Dodgers are close to clinching both a playoff spot and the division, and are facing a team in a complete tailspin in these Pittsburgh Pirates:

The Pirates have lost six straight games, and 23 out of their last 26, the Pirates' worst streak since 1890. No other team has had a 26-game run that bad this season.
The Pirates have also lost 42 of their last 55 games. No other team has had a 55-game run that bad this season.
They have also lost 55 of their last 75 games. No other team has had a 75-game run that bad this season.
Since the All-Star break, the Pirates have been outscored by 126 runs. That is two runs per game!
The Pirates are more respectable at home, with a 37-40 record on the season, but they are even struggling at PNC Park too, losing 21 of their last 30 home games
If Rodney Dangerfield played the Pirates, he would get respect.

The Dodgers have won 46 of their last 60 against the Pirates, included 26-6 in their last 32 games at PNC Park.

Jon Garland has pitched well as a Dodger so far (2.33 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 4.16 x-FIP in four starts), but take a look at the opponents he has faced:

Opponent	Frequency	OPS+ (NL Rank)
Arizona	twice	90 (13th of 16)
Pittsburgh	once	89 (14th of 16)
San Francisco	once	82 (15th of 16)

Its not Garland's fault that he has had such an easy schedule. After all, all you can do is play the teams on your schedule. The schedule is determined by Major League Baseball, not by Bill Snyder. However, a look at Garland's Dodger schedule makes it seem like he's the new guy at the office, the owner's son with the corner office and no real responsibility. To Garland's credit, he has pitched six innings or longer in 20 of his last 21 starts, with a 3.32 ERA and 4.23 FIP during that span.

If you are looking for strikeouts, tonight might not be your night. There are 139 pitchers that have thrown at least 90 innings this season. Here are how tonight's starting pitchers stack up in the strikeout department:

Pitcher	K/9	NL Rank
Jon Garland	4.58	125th (of 139)
Jeff Karstens	4.42	133rd (of 139)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer extraordinaire Dejan Kovacevic noted the Pirates are "hoping to get 4-5 innings out of Karstens. After that, [manager John Russell] will choose from Donnie Veal, Denny Bautista, Steven Jackson, Chris Bootcheck or Eric Hacker." Karstens hasn't started a game since June 5, but has a 5.83 ERA and 4.91 FIP in 26 relief appearances since then. Opposing batters are hitting .276/.351/.483 off Karstens this season, or in other words, the league is Hunter Pence against him.

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Today's scoreboard watching

4:05 pm
Braves (Javier Vazquez: 14-9, 2.77 FIP) at Nationals (John Lannan: 9-12, 4.83 FIP)

The Dodgers can clinch a playoff spot today with a win OR a loss by Atlanta

5:10 pm
Cardinals (Chris Carpenter: 16-4, 2.80 FIP) at Rockies (Aaron Cook: 10-6, 4.66 FIP)

The Dodgers' magic number to clinch the NL West is three. Aaron Cook returns from the disabled list to make his first start since August 21.

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Check out Xeifrank's simulation of today's game here.

Don't forget to RSVP for True Blue LA Day at Dodger Stadium, on the next-to-last day of the regular season, October 3 against the Rockies.

Get your guesses in for our today's "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out," here.

Game Time: 4:05pm

TV: Prime Ticket

Baseball Reference Preview

Bucs Promote Diaz, Bixler, Karstens, Hacker, Veal

Charlie — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:07:22 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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The Pirates will promote catcher Robinzon Diaz, infielder Brian Bixler, and pitchers Jeff Karstens, Eric Hacker and Donald Veal in time for the game tomorrow.

With rosters expanded and Indianapolis' season now over, the promotions of Diaz, Karstens and Veal were no-brainers. Diaz played fairly well in an extended stint with the Pirates earlier this season and only got sent down in a roster crunch. Karstens pitched very well in Indy and was just there to rehab a back injury anyway. And Veal hopefully won't pitch much with the Pirates, but he's a Rule 5 pick.

Bixler's just a disaster and I wouldn't be upset if he never played for the Pirates again, but here he is. Hacker isn't very good, but at least he can start and therefore has the requisite smidgen of upside that all mediocre starting pitching prospects have until they're tried in the bullpen. I'd bet on major league hitters tearing him apart, but with several batting practice pitchers in the bullpen already (Chris Bootcheck, Steven Jackson, Virgil Vasquez, Denny Bautista, Phil Dumatrait), I suppose it can't hurt to give Hacker a handful of innings.

News Roundup: Reds Sweep Doubleheader, Ruin Daniel McCutchen's Good Debut

Charlie — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:29:51 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

3 months ago: Cincinnati Reds' Darnell McDonald, left, slides across home plate with the winning run after a wild pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jesse Chavez, covering home at right, in the bottom of ninth inning of Game 1 of a baseball doubleheader, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, in Cincinnati. The Reds won 4-3. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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The Associated Press: Reds beat Pirates 4-3 before empty seats
There were less than 2,000 people in attendance for the day game today. Which is too bad, and it's also too bad about the way the Pirates lost it, because Dan McCutchen was actually pretty good, grabbing a quality start and five strikeouts while only walking two batters. Joel Hanrahan struck out four batters, too.

Except for a big homer by Andrew McCutchen, and some shut-down relief from Denny Bautista, the second game of the doubleheader today was downright forgettable, unless you're Jesse Chavez. (Who, uh, also won't be forgetting the first game.) So let's move on. But before we do, I want to good-naturedly suggest that we nickname Dan McCutchen "No Relation."

Moore will be extended through 2014 - Royals Review
This post from Royals Review about the ludicrous four-year extension Kansas City GM Dayton Moore just received reminds me of some of the unfortunate apologies for Dave Littlefield people stopped posting on the internet in, oh, about 2005.

Moore looked like a good GM in his first year or so when he was mostly just cleaning up the previous management's trash, but the decisions he's made at the big-league level since then have been terrible by the standards of today's GMs, who tend not to be idiots. When a GM sets money on fire the way Moore has with Jose Guillen, Yuniesky Betancourt, Mike Jacobs, Kyle Farnsworth, Willie Bloomquist and others the way Moore has, he deserves to be fired. When someone who spends as much on veteran players as Moore did this offseason and still finishes the season 30 games below .500, he deserves to be fired. And Royals fans who settle for 28th best or 30th best or whatever Moore is isn't aren't doing themselves or the team any favors.

It's true that Moore is doing a much better job than Littlefield at building through the farm system, but there's no reason to have any confidence Moore will be able to put together a good team even if he graduates a bunch of solid players from the minors.

I don't mean to pick on the blogger who posted this. It's hard to know how to respond to a tough situation. We've all been there. And the comment thread is hilarious.

Minor League Baseball: GCL Blue Jays 2, GCL Pirates 1
The Bradenton Pirates finished their season today. It was a decent season overall, I suppose. The hitters generally didn't fare that well, but most of them were very young, and outfielder Rogelios Noris and catcher Ramon Cabrera showed promise. Also, the GCL tends not to produce impressive-looking offensive performances. The Pirates' pitching, led by Trent Stevenson, Brooks Pounders, Jhonathan Ramos and Zac Fuesser, was very good, and I look forward to seeing some of these guys in full-season ball next year.

Also, 2009 bonus baby Zach Von Rosenberg made his pro debut today. He faced six batters, struck out two, got groundouts from three, and got one to pop up to the catcher. Not bad at all.

Daniel McCutchen: It's Time

Charlie — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:19:12 -0000

The Pirates' recent flurry of roster moves (Jose Ascanio has been sent to the DL, Jeff Salazar has been designated for assignment, and Brian Bixler and Denny Bautista have been recalled from Indianapolis) demonstrate that the Bucs badly need relief help right now. There's no indication that Bautista is a legitimate answer; he has a track record of repeated failure in the major leagues, and nothing he's done this year suggests that this time up will be any different. He struck out more than a batter an inning at Indianapolis, true, but he also has walked 34 batters in 48 innings to go along with a 4.88 ERA. He'll also be 29 next week. Even as a placeholder on a floundering team, he's an uninspired choice.

So why not give Dan McCutchen a spot in the 'pen? McCutchen has had an interesting season as a starter for Indianapolis, posting a 3.40 ERA to go with 99 strikeouts in 129.7 innings. More importantly, he's improved to the point of being nearly unhittable over the course of the season--he posted ERAs of 3.74, 4.82 and 4.50 in April, May and June, respectively, but he had a 2.10 ERA in July and now has a 1.35 ERA in August. He has also struck out 36 batters in July and August while walking only four.

There isn't really a rotation spot available for McCutchen right now, but the bullpen is a different story. McCutchen will be 27 in September, so there's no good reason to hold him back if he can be better than one or more of the Pirates' current relievers. That is, his upside as a starter isn't so great to worry about using him as a reliever, and he's not so young that the Pirates should be concerned about service time issues. And it isn't as if the Bucs should be thrilled about their current bullpen.

McCutchen still has flaws--his strikeout rate is still a bit low, and he still allows tons of fly balls. (Of course, Bautista allows tons of flies too.) But the bullpen is, ideally, where flawed pitchers should go, because short outings can mask flaws. If an opportunity presents itself later, the Pirates could still move McCutchen back to the rotation, or use him as a spot starter, but why not give him a shot as a reliever now, while there's opportunity?

Who ARE These Guys? - Cubs vs. Pirates Preview, Friday 8/14, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Write your own caption.

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A little over a year ago -- on July 24, 2008, just before last year's trading deadline -- the Pittsburgh Pirates began a trading spree that I think is nearly unprecedented in recent baseball history.

Today, August 14, 2009, as the Pirates come to Wrigley Field for a three-game series, know how many players are left from the 25-man roster on 7/24/2008?

Three. Ryan Doumit, Paul Maholm and Zach Duke. (Four, if you count Matt Capps, who was on the DL on 7/24/2008). All the rest are gone. Some of the players they have acquired or promoted are decent players; Andrew McCutchen is a real talent. Lastings Milledge has some talent, if he could ever actually put a full season together. Some of the pitchers have good arms. But basically, it's a Triple-A visiting team coming to Wrigley Field this weekend. The Cubs took two of three in two series earlier this year from the Pirates, one at Wrigley and one at PNC; this time, they both need to sweep, and should sweep. Aramis Ramirez returns today; that should help.

Courtesy of John Lewis' research on a SABR mailing list to which I subscribe, here's where the departed Pirates went:

LF Jason Bay              traded to Red Sox 2008
CF Nate McLouth           traded to Braves 2009
RF Xavier Nady            traded to Yankees 2008
OF Jason Michaels         free agency 2008
1B Adam LaRoche           traded to Red Sox 2009
2B Freddy Sanchez         traded to Giants 2009
3B Jose Bautista          traded to Blue Jays 2008
SS Jack Wilson            traded to Mariners 2009
1B-3B Doug Mientkiewicz   free agency 2008
2B-SS Luis Rivas          free agency 2008
INF Chris Gomez           free agency 2008
C  Raul Chavez            free agency 2008
P John Van Benschoten     free agency 2008
P Franquelis Osoria       free agency 2008
P Damaso Marte            traded to Yankees 2008
P John Grabow             traded to Cubs 2009
P Sean Burnett            traded to Nationals 2009
P Ian Snell               traded to Mariners 2009
P T.J. Beam               on waivers to Blue Jays 2009
P Denny Bautista          to AAA Indianapolis
P Yoslan Herrera          to AA Altoona
P Tyler Yates             on disabled list

Lewis also notes that:

The Pirates' record was 48-54 (.471) on July 24, 2008. Since then, it is 64-103 (.383).

Today's Starting Pitchers


Randy Wells Cubs	vs.	Charlie Morton Pirates

8-5	W-L	2-5
3.01	ERA	3.81
68	SO	33
25	BB	18
9	HR	4
vs. Pit	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Randy Wells	8-5	17	17	0	0	0	0	107.2	102	39	36	9	25	68	3.01	1.18

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Charlie Morton	2-5	10	10	0	0	0	0	49.2	53	21	21	4	18	33	3.81	1.43

Charlie Morton will be making his second career start against the Cubs. He started a game for the Braves against the Cubs a year and a day ago on August 13, 2008. He didn't make it out of the third inning. The big blow off him was a home run by Jim Edmonds -- remember him? Geovany Soto hit a two-run double off Morton.

Randy Wells started and defeated the Pirates on July 1 in Pittsburgh, but the Pirates have remade their team since then. Three of the starting eight that day aren't on the Pirates any more.

The Cubs are on WGN today -- that's the only TV; there is no Pirates telecast. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Evening Prowl: Doubleheaders, Headlines, Pockets, and Rehab

Ian Casselberry — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:45:14 -0000

Yes, we usually do these in the morning, but after finally winding down and falling asleep at 3 a.m., that just wasn't going to happen today. (And if you think this post was really written around 8 a.m. this morning... well, bless you, boyo.) Plus, I've been away from the computer (and basically, out of touch with humanity) most of the day, so this helps me catch up, as well. Okay, let's carry on.

The Tigers and White Sox will make up their April 14 rainout as part of a day-night doubleheader on Friday, July 24. The make-up game will be at 1:05 p.m., with the regularly scheduled game to be played at 7:05 p.m.

Why not a twi-night doubleheader? Brother (or sister), you are preaching to the choir. But I suppose it's a logistical nightmare to try and get all the fans for the first game out of the park before the second game's crowd can come in. Still, I'm with Blake: Teams should schedule at least one of these per season.

Kurt wins the Best Headline Award from last night, don't you think? Maybe the Freep should hire him, so they can avoid debacles like this one. (I say we blame Armando Galarraga's poor outing on that. He was probably traumatized if he read it.)

In his weekly post for Big League Stew, Curtis Granderson says that long road trips like the Tigers' current 10-game excursion aren't that big a deal. He sure looked comfortable last night, with two home runs. And make sure to click over for a great picture of Grandy and the gang in the dugout.

During last night's game, Samara noticed Andy Van Slyke helping Carlos Guillen avoid a penalty from MLB's uniform police. Well done, Eagle Eyes. (Me, I was trying to make sure I could type coherently by that hour.)

The Angels will call up Matt Palmer from Triple-A to pitch against the Tigers on Thursday. Darren Oliver made a spot start last week, but the team feels he helps them more in the bullpen than in the rotation.

If you want to see footage of Dontrelle Willis's rehab outing last night for Single-A Lakeland, Lee points us to the MotownSports forum, where links to YouTube clips are posted. For the evening, Willis threw 58 of his 75 pitches for strikes, was hitting the mid-90s in velocity, and walked no one. Read that again, because I put it in italics.

Also doing the rehab thing was Joel Zumaya, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning for the Toledo Mud Hens last night, striking out two of the batters he faced. (And if you click through to the boxscore, you'll notice that neither Fu-Te Ni nor Scott Williamson pitched very well. Also, Denny Bautista pitched for Indianapolis.)

Over at Trumbull and Michigan, Sean is taking a shine to Gerald Laird, who's been playing well on both sides of the ball. (His absence is even more noticeable with Matt Treanor in the lineup. I'm still pulling for the guy, but... let's pick it up, fella.)