SB Nation User Blog: Illinois Pirate Fan

Young, Jones, Pearce, Diaz, & Vazquez

Illinois Pirate Fan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:10:48 -0000

"Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss."--Lou Mannheim: "Wallstreet"

Please remember this speech given to Bud Foxx as he was being hauled away to jail by federal authorities because it's the only thing that going to help while management continues to run out the aforementioned guys and others just like them. There is no speed, power, or good defense in these guys and it readily explains why we cannot score. Even if management replaces them it will simply be with others of similar skills and so the scoring drought will continue and the team will languish in last place extending their record losing streak. As long as we keep trading our starters for Class AAA talent with "potential" we will have trouble scoring and forget about winning.

There are several ways in which to rebuild a ballclub and trading veterans for guys with "potential" can work but it requires the most time of all of methods. Why not try mixing potential with a few established starters and give the fan base something to hang onto? Tonight's lineup was equivalent to AAA level talent and it won't be the last time we'll see a group of players like this all starting on the same night.

Losing Pirate Triumverate?

Illinois Pirate Fan — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:12:54 -0000

All indications seem to point to Jack, Adam, and Freddie all being traded to avoid having to re-sign them at salaries that in total could approach almost one-half of the allotted dollars for the entire payroll. If that's true then I suppose we have to let them go but then what would that leave us? My hard drive isn't big enough to list all of the unproven young talent and the many permutations of roster required to give each of them a chance to play. Given that scenario, wouldn't it make more sense for NH to try to deal them for someone who actually has some experience and whose talent is somewhat predictable? Do we really want a roster of 40 players none of whom is the least predictable as far as production from which to choose? If that isn't possible I would want at the very least a promise from management that they will use all of the salary saved to be given to extremely high prospects to sign...and that has to be on top of what management was already budgeted to spend. I don't want the partners to pocket the salary savings and pass it along to the shareholders in the form of a tax-free distribution of earnings.

Is Pedro Alvarez on the Move?

Illinois Pirate Fan — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:27:20 -0000

Kevin Goldstein reported in Baseball Prospectus today that the general consensus on Pedro is that his power is coming around very well (16 Hrs in 268 A/B) but that he's hitting just .235 with 80 Ks while committing 17 errors. Nobody seemed overly concerned when talking with several scouts about his performance except to say that they overwhelming believe Pedro's future will NOT be at 3B which may not come as a surprise to many fans. However, the scout went on to say that he was concerned about Pedro's size and "...he could see him just getting bigger and bigger in a Mo Vaughn kind way".

The Word Is Out...

Illinois Pirate Fan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:34:14 -0000

On McCutchen and the entire league now knows that he will swing at almost anything in the dirt, low and away. I am concerned that the league has adjusted to him and that he was not made the necessary modification to his swing to avoid becoming an easy out. Lily has made him look bad tonight as have others this past week and they are all on pitches almost in the dirt and completely out of the strike zone outside of the plate. I realize that both batters and pitchers continue to make adjustments to their game and that it is the successful player who can continue to modify his arsenal as others adjust theirs. I sure hope somebody hips McCutchen on his problem and soon.

The Trouble With Ian Snell:

Illinois Pirate Fan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:02:16 -0000

I've been saying this for almost two years and finally got confirmation on it from the announcers on the Pirate/Tiger game last night. In the game one of them stated that he had been having trouble in most of Snell's games differentiating between his fast ball and curve ball. He stated that Snell's two pitches were so similar in appearance that they couldn't be told apart. The problem can't be with his fast ball because he has consistently been clocked at 93-94 mph and so the problem has to be that there is very little break to his curve ball. If the announcer can't see the difference between the two pitches then I'm certain the batter cannot either and that would go a long way to explain what Snell has not been very productive.

Tony Sanchez

Illinois Pirate Fan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:24:34 -0000

David Laurilla has a very nice interview with Tony Sanchez in "Prospectus Q&A" in Baseball Prospectus in which he tells about his work ethic and how he believes he has matured physically since his sophomore season when he was characterized as a singles-hitter with little power. He also talks about learning his craft, becoming a better defensive catcher, and his new-found interest in weight training.. He seems pretty knowledgeable.
http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8980

What the "Snell" is Wrong With Him?

Illinois Pirate Fan — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:38:46 -0000

I have dilligently watched all of Snell's last 3 starts and it seems to me that he has very little movement on his slider and even less on his fastball making all of his pitches easy to see and even easier to hit. I don't remember him having this problem several years ago when he first broke in but then I wasn't looking for this. I can't help but compare his pitches to others with similar style and believe that this has to be his problem.

It further seems like all of his pitches are between 87-93 mph with very little change in velocity. As a result, when you combine pitches with similar speed with those with very little movement it becomes apparent as to why batters have such great success against him. Has anybody else noticed this?

Our natural rival is...

Illinois Pirate Fan — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:19:12 -0000

Nobody. And that is because we bring nothing to the table except the ability to allow our opponents to pad their statistics by playing us. You can't blame the Phillies, Mets, or Indians for not wanting to be tagged as our rival. It's like the short, fat, ugly girl wanting to be part of the "IN-CROWD". You simply have to have something to offer or nobody cares. One need only look at the NFL to see that the Detroit Lions only play on national television on Thanksgiving and even that wouldn't happen if they hadn't invented the idea. Just take note that the NFL continues to rotate the teams that are allowed to beat the Lions because nobody wants to be permanently associated with the Lions. Well, the same scenario is true for MLB and will continue to be true until such time as the Pirates bring something to the table. Let's face it. We are the Short, Fat, Ugly girl in MLB and nobody cares!

You're a good man, Charlie (Brown)

Illinois Pirate Fan — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:31:27 -0000

But if your assessment of our prospects is accurate then our future is even more bleak than I thought. I was so depressed after reading your ratings that I had to go watch my 1960 World Series dvd to pull myself out of my depression.

After reading your note I am even more certain that several major deals must be made on our part so as to avoid another decade of losing. There simply isn't much to hang our caps upon in the minor leagues and so free agency and multiple trades are needed quickly. I still think management made a large mistake in not trying to sign Adam Dunne who's left-handed bat would have fit perfectly in PNC and since he signed with Washington I must believe that he would not have been opposed to playing in Pittsburgh.

In summary, we have very little talent in the minor leagues and we have even less at the MLB level as management has chosen to keep the same collection of stiffs that it used to win only 67 games last year. After seeing what KC has done so far this year I think it is obvious we have the worst organization in all of MLB. Unless some of you guys from the Pittsburgh area can convince Mark Cuban not to buy the Cubs but rather buy the Pirates then I think we're in for another decade of losing.

Not Ready for Prime Time Players

Illinois Pirate Fan — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:18:31 -0000

Moss and Hinske: who do they have to kill before Russell stops playing them? Together they are hitting .201 with 0 homeruns and only 7 RBIs in 129 AB. I keep hearing people say that McCutchen, Pearce, and Tabata are not ready for MLB but they can't do worse than these two players. Does management really believe fans will continue coming to PNC to see this group of players? It seems as if Maholm is now a better hitter than he is a pitcher and so we can't count on him to stop the losing streak and Snell has lost 5 mph off his fastball since Russell entered him in the Boston Marathon. Lets face it, other than LaRoche (the elder), McLouth, and Sanchez, there are no bona fide MLB starters on this entire roster. Will somebody who has NH's ear please ask him to either do something quickly or simply contract this team? We are actually worse than we were last year.