Very few know that Mark Twain was a baseball fan, but it was the great 1905 fiasco – which foreshadowed Dave Littlefield’s tenure – in which the Pirates traded Ed Phelps to his beloved Cincinnati Red Stockings for Heinie Peitz (sometimes misidentified as Heinie Beiytz) that prompted Twain’s famous oath, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and Sabremetrics!"

Older Bucs Dugout members may remember me, attentive ones may have noted that I’m posting less, and most probably don’t, and shouldn’t, give a damn one way or t’uther. But I decided to post less after seeing, months ago, an exchange similar to this one:

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This is just a crap shoot. If you don't want to be depressed for a few weeks, don't think about a) our starting rotation at the beginning of 2012 or b) the gap before the recently-drafted talent shows up (no jinx).   

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I swear, I'll stop with the "Death by Powerpoint" some day, but ...one last series of chart to compare and contrast our farm system under Dave Littlefield and Neal Huntington.  As before, I'm not looking at the Cam Bonifay years because I'm not the team historian; I think these have value in helping us evaluate whether the current regime deserves our support.  First, though, here's our recent ownership/GM/Scouting Director history. 

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The peasants are revolting - to hear some tell it, the promise of Neal Huntington's hiring as GM at the end of the 2007 season is turning into a Littlefield re-run.  Charlie's recent post on our minor league system made me wonder - has Neal Huntington drafted better than Dave Littlefield?

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Do pitchers and catchers report yet?  Here is the initial 2011-2012 off-season chart for the casual fans, if any, at Bucs Dugout.  For the new folks, this is my attempt to show the Pirates’ current starters, the in-house options to replace them, and the in-house options to replace the replacements.  Data (age, options left, etc.) is reasonably accurate and the Service Time is updated as of the end of the 2011 season.  I believe that all the columns are now either self-explanatory or explained.  For now, I’m still noting where players can get Super-2 status, although that may change with the next CBA.

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Twenty-two Major League Baseball Clubs have completed the 2011 championship season; only eight remain in the post-season.  Here are key dates for the off-season arranged so even a Trogluddite like me can understand it.  In fact, I’m gonna’ go out on a limb and say if it’s not on this list, it’s not a key date.

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A reliable source recently disclosed this conversation, in September 2007, between Dave Littlefield (as he was packing up his belongings) and Neal Huntington.  

Neal: So, before you go, show me the Pirates’ farm system.

Littlefield: You want to see the farm system?!  I don’t have to show you the farm system!  I don’t have no stinkin’ farm system!!  I don’t neeeed no stinkin’ farm system!!!

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Let’s face it – it has been a horrendous losing streak. Losing three to the Phillies was not unexpected.  But dropping four at home to the Schlubs and facing a sweep by the lowly Padres calls for desperate measures. Bucs Dugout fans must look at what we can do to help the Pirates turn things around.  If we don’t support the team, why should the Johnny-come-lately, bandwagon-jumpin’ fan?  We shall cheer the Bucs in the sports bars, we shall cheer them at the water cooler, we shall cheer them in the bleachers and the luxury boxes, we shall cheer on sports radio, we shall never surrender, and if this team continues to starve for a win, then our farm system will carry on the struggle, until, in the baseball gods' good time, the new Pirates, with all their power and might, step forth to rescue the fans. Here are some concrete things you can do to help ...

-P-  How would early baseball history played out if Babe Ruth was on the Boston Red Sox his entire career? We’ll never know. The team owner, facing a mountain of debt for, I believe, a failed play, sold the “Bambino” to the New York Yankees.  That transaction haunted the Red Sox until 2004.  Is it possible that the recent DFA of Lyle Overbay caused the current losing streak?  Let’s not risk another 18 years or a single game of futility – bombard the front office with e-mails demanding that they bring back Lyle!!

-P- Who is our Bartman?  Some Bucs Dugout poster must have done something that is the blogging equivalent of Bartman’s infamous grab. That person must be run out of Dodge (or Pittsburgh), never to interfere with good Pirate karma again. 

-P- The Pirates haven’t been cursed by any animals, but just to be safe, hunt down every black cat and billy goat within 50 miles of the stadium. Then we club all the baby seals – my theory is that their sacharine cuteness is sending the batters into a diabetic coma, rendering them harmless at the plate.  If all else fails, we must purchase a whaling ship and sail off in a never-ending quest to harpoon the great white whale that utterly destroyed the team’s fortunes – he’s clearly the reincarnation of Sid Bream. 

-P- Everyone can make a voodoo doll of one Padres player or coach before today’s game. If used properly, the Pirates will be on the winning end of a 13-2 or 15-5 game to break the streak. Just search the internet for instructions. In addition to helping the Pirates win the game, using voodoo against the Padres sets up the ultimate theological smackdown match. 

-P- We all know that baseball players live and die by routines and from reading the game threads, we at Bucs Dugout are routinely drinking. So the key is finding where someone went wrong and changed their game routine. Did C42 drink a vodka tonic instead of a gin and tonic? Did someone drink one of the banned beers? Did someone NOT drink? The only solution appears to be for everyone to figure out what you were drinking during the last game against the Braves and drink like fishes!!! 

-P- The last possibility is so dark, so horrible to contemplate, that it could only be true if we resided in a Lovecraftian world of utter chaos and horror.  Could this innocent-looking face actually hide a demon?   Anyone know a good exorcist in Pittsburgh?

Son, this world is full of dangerous pitchers who don't want the Pirates to score runs.  Someone has to stand at home plate and drive in runs with a bat? Who's gonna' do it? You?  You, Dejan?  Pirates players hold certain terms dear - hits, RBIs, wins/losses - you sabremetricians talk of these things as if their just statistics - a joke!!!  Well if you're not gonna pick up a bat and drive in runs, I prefer that you just say "Thank you!" and be on your way.

Clint Hurdle (and a few more words to get to the new word count limit for a bloody fanpost which is apparently a lot longer than it use to be where I could just type in "Let's go Buc!" and be done with it.  Holy Heck, how many dang words do I need for this bloody fanpost?  Not 145? How bout a few...

      Not sure if its too early or too late to have another open thread or if anyone gives a darn whether we do or don't.  But it seems that the tast of sweet victory creates a temptation to throw out the long-range re-building plan in order to grab low-hanging fruit RIGHT NOW.  I'm hoping the FO is more disciplined than that.

     I modified "the charts" into one chart to show our current line-up and starting rotation and how it could project in the out years.  Even by doing nothing, the real window for the Pirates to compete arrives in 2013 when the team's talented pitching catches up to the talented hitting that has been maturing at the ML-level.  Barring disaster (no jinx, no jinx, no jinx) we have the making of a great team from 2013 through 2016 with key players under control.  I'm hoping that we don't wreck that dreamship on the shoals of a short-term rental (cough*Carlos Beltran*cough).

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News broke today that the Los Angeles Dodgers have filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – what does that mean for baseball, the Dodgers, and fans?  I have no idea, but here is a little additional information to (hopefully) clarify future news reports for Bucs Dugout readers.

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Sure, he's out for 4-6 weeks, but NH has to be thinking, "That Overpaid guy isn't working out so hot and the blog mob is still on my case because I didn't trade for Lars F^^^ing Anderson. Where can I get a 1B to end the season on an upward trend?"  And it could make sense because...

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Here are the pitchers.  As always, I take a broad-brush approach – the 1 and 2 slots are for pitchers we think (hope) will dominate opposing teams, the 3rd and 4th starters are slightly above-average to break-even guys, and we hope the 5th starter is competent.  Notice that there are a lot of names making waves in the minors right now who don’t even make the chart.  The Pirates appear to have a minor league system that can now be justifiably confident in its depth.  Once again, if these pitchers pan out (no jinx!), the team might have the wonderful problem of choosing between Rudy Owens or Bryan Morris or Tim Alderson as our 4th or 5th starter.

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 The post-draft charts are here! Unlike last year, I don’t think our 2nd round choice will be anyone who the team can immediately count on to make an impact.  Not many changes, but with 1/3rd of the season under our belts, injuries, and the draft, it seemed like a good time to throw in an update.  I would note that – for future arguments and discussions – these charts are very accurate as to contract status and options, as I use http://www.piratesprospects.com and http://www.baseball-reference.com to vet the info.  (I did not re-calculate service time from the start of the season – sorry to upset any purists.)  So the next time there’s a question about which players the Pirates have to replace someone, or what our lineup will look like when the pitching arrives, or where we have depth to trade with, may I humbly suggest that someone link to these d**** things?  Or pimp the various Pirates blogs to find them a home. And now some additional notes on the batters....

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So, Trogs, Jr., and I went to the game last night and had very good seats. Garrett122 was also there, but alas, we missed each other. There were a surprisingly large number of Pirates fans - I thought most of the diaspora had gone south and north, didn't realize that some had migrated from one northeastern state to another. Here are some random, arbitrary, and capricious thoughts on Citi Field as it compares to PNC, which I was last at several years ago ...

* Cost - It's New York. Ticket prices are obscene, even on a night when they're honoring rain-day tickets from a miserable game earlier this spring. Having said that, the Pirates are a "Value Plan" team for now, meaning that the prices were the lowest obscene prices for any series.  It is truly worth checking out the cost of comparable seats at PNC and other venues some time.  Parking was also expensive ($20). Food and drinks were expensive (made doubly offensive by the small size), but that's likely similar everywhere. 

* Getting the tickets - a pain in the neck. Ordering on-line, I could get similar great seats, but only on the first-base side. I wanted to be near the Bucs Dugout. So I had to call them and had some questions and was told to call back - the rep would talk to a supervisor and answers to my questions would be available "no matter who answered." I did and they weren't. Also, I got tickets that supposedly gave me a discount on food - one didn't, so I ended up paying out-of-pocket. There were a lot of empty seats, so if you're ever in town for a "regular" game, you should be able to walk up and get seats w/out a problem.

* Access and neighborhood - Getting there by car was easy and surprisingly fast (I'm well upstate). G122, any comments on getting to the stadium by subway? We actually zipped right into (and out of) the parking lots and would have been home quickly but for a vehicle fire blocking all lanes on the Tappenzee bridge. All in all, about the same as getting to PNC. I didn't see much of the neighborhood, but there didn't seem to be a lot around but parking lots and LaGuardia, so I'll venture that's a plus for PNC. I am no longer a party Trogluddite, so I have no real terms of reference.

* Sightlines and ballpark feel - Or vice versa. Its strange that a lot of the historical references are to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I know, I know - they were the Brooklyn Bums, but that was a long time ago and they've been the Mets for half a century. The rotunda you enter through is beautiful, but a shrine to the Dodgers. The interior of the ballpark is beautiful and the field is nice, but there's not the same "homey" feeling as PNC. (It's hard to describe.) One surprise is that I could only identify three "wells" or spots for the TV cameras (hence my failure to get an interview with Lacee). Wherever those cameras are, they are well-hidden for both teams, and as much room as possible is given over to seats for the paying customers. The crowd was polite inside and out, unlike my last trip to Shea (or the old Yankee Stadium, or, embarraslingly enough, like the Steelers fans at the Steelers-Ravens playoff game a few years back). I was actually sitting next to some in-laws of one of the new Pirates coaches/front office staff, but there wasn't a lot of chit-chat. 

* The only other aspect, which I can't really comment on because of where our seats were, is the cavernous nature of Citi Field's right field. It drops back to 415 feet, which I believe is deeper than the deepest parts of most other stadiums (the Tigers' field is deeper and maybe, the hump in Houston). There was a Pirates' hit last night that looked and felt like a home run, unfortunately, it died well short of the wall. 

All in all, an enjoyable experience but for the mysterious disappearance of the Pirates' hitters every half-inning after the second.  1.5 thumbs up - if you're ever in New York, its probably worth the money to be able to say you saw a game here.

After 29 games, the Pirates are 14 and 15, a mere game under .500.  Don't check any references before taking the poll!!

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Listening to yesterday's game, one of the "fillers" was the fact that several Pirates would go SEAL watching in San Diego in the morning before the game. 

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     I did not try to mince out whether someone will be a Number 3, 4, or 5 starter even though I know that there are statistical criteria that show the averages of each slot.  Since I’m not being paid to advise the Pirates on how to slot their pitching rotation, I’ll plead the “generalist” approach. 

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Welcome to the “Start of the Season” charts!  If you haven’t seen these before, they are a cheat sheet for the casual fan.  The charts present a snapshot of the Pirates’ starters, next starters, and starters-after-next using only assets we have on hand.  It tries to show areas of strength (pitching) and weakness (1B and corner outfield).  It also reflects contract status and team control.  I expect to update them again around the trade deadline

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Warning - this post is only for people who have joined (or who are interested in joining) the afore-mentioned Fantasy Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Baseball Fantasy League. So if you don't want to be bored by this and you don't want to see a beautiful harbinger of spring, don't keep reading....

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The good thing about charts, I don't need to write alot. I reference Vlad's summary of the 2011 Rule 5 draft in the chart, here's the link. 

http://www.bucsdugout.com/2010/12/9/1866222/rule-5-roundup-pirates-pick-rodriguez-lose-adcock 

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