SB Nation User Blog: jonoz13

The Pirates in the Dominican

jonoz13 — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:28:58 -0000

Dejan is back and he wrote a great article about a Pirates tryout in the Dominican Republic. It is a nice feel good story. I like the article for two reasons; (1) it gives insight into what the Bucs are doing on the island, and internationally; (2) I have taken several classes on Latin American history and geography, and the article gives a nice snapshot about life and baseball in the D.R.

The Bucs have a long way to go before they will be a competitive major league franchise, and I think the 2009 season is going to be a long one for us, but this story and the recent international signings are giving more me hope that Pirates are on the right track. Lastly I just wanted to say how glad I am that Dejan is back, he is a tremendous writer.

Rockies Hire Tracy

jonoz13 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:41:15 -0000

The Colorado Rockies have tabbed Jim Tracy as their bench coach. Will Tracy advise Rockies manager Clint Hurdle on how to try and recreate the 2004 LA Dodgers in Colorado? Jim Tracy was pretty bad in the Burgh, but bad managers always seem to resurface as malor league coaches. Tracy was bench coach under Felipe Alou in Montreal and with Davey Johnson in LA from 1999-2001. After watching the Bucs fall apart in late 2007 under his leadership, its hard to envision him getting another chance to manage in the majors.

Pirates Sign Two Pitchers From India

jonoz13 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:24:24 -0000

The Pirates signed Indian pitchers Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh to minor league deals. They were finalists in something called "the Million Dollar Arm" contest in India. Like the signing of Mpho Ngoepe, the South African shortstop, these guys may never pan out, but its good to finally see the Bucs going after international talent. The Bucs need to be looking for talent where ever they can find it; signing these guys can only help.

UPDATE by Charlie: Check out this USA Today article for the background here. This story is incredibly strange.

Singh and Patel threw the javelin in India, and Singh played some cricket. When they came to the USA in May, Singh and Patel had no idea how to play catch, let alone use a water fountain. The first time they played catch, they threw the ball, and when it came back, they dropped their gloves and caught barehanded.

The first time they saw a baseball game, watching USC play Washington State, Patel was confused.

"What did the shortstop do wrong?" he asked.

House: "Why do you say that?"

Patel: "He's the only one in the infield without a base."

These guys sound like they're more raw than tomatoes that haven't come out of the ground yet. Singh can throw 87 without a problem and, of the two, has the best control; Patel throws harder, but apparently doesn't throw strikes. Expect some serious mental errors if and when they play minor league ball for the Pirates. One scout quoted in the article gives both of them a good chance of making the majors, but I don't think that will happen. Singh, who's supposed to be the strike-thrower of the pair, hit five batters in an inning as recently as July. Really, this is about establishing a presence in a region where talent might emerge later.

September Call Ups

jonoz13 — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:38:45 -0000

According to the Post Gazette the Bucs have called up pitchers Ross Ohlendorf (who will start tomorrow), String Beam, (the water cooler abusing) Craig Hansen, Romulo! and Marino Salas; infielders Brian Bixler and Luis Cruz; outfielder Steve Pearce; and catchers Ronny Paulino and (the recently traded for) Robinzon Diaz. All are from AAA Indy.

I am disapointed not to see Andrew McClutchen on this list, but glad to see Ohledorf, Beam, Pearce and Diaz coming up. I am indifferent to everyone else, though Hansen, Romulo! and Salas fit in with fire making bullpen.

Weekend Observations

jonoz13 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:59:39 -0000

I went to all four of the Bucs-Mets games over the weekend, here are some observations.

Zach Duke's change up fools NOBODY. I have wasted hundreds of dollars in the last two seasons watching Matt Morris (2 starts) JVB (2 starts) and Duke (1 start). I am close to putting Duke in the Morris/ JVB category.

It was really frustrating to see the Bucs leave so many runners in scoring position. By Monday I was embarrasing my wife with my antics.

I thought we let the Mets fans get away with too much. We should have drowned out their stinkin "Jose" chants every time. I guess 16 years of losing breeds ambivelance.

I have to admit the fireworks were the best I have ever watched.

Nate is great with balls hit in front of him or to his sides. He seems to struggle on balls hit over his head.

On Fridasy Beasley sent LaRoche home with one out and he was gunned down. Doesn't every little league third base coach know a runner should not be thrown out at home with less then two outs?

My wife and I got our pictures up on the screne twice, that was cool.

Andy LaRoche played third base like Roger Dorn.

The Mets bullpen is a joke, I think it will cost them their division.

Position Player Grades

jonoz13 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:58:52 -0000

Here are my first half grades for the Buccos. These grades are based on pre-season expectations and in season performance.

Catchers

Ryan Doumit A-

Has been outstanding offensively, and his defense is improving. He would be an all-star candidate if not for injury. Speaking of injuries, hopefully he will stay healthy.

Raul Chavez C+

Has played well defensively, and he hit his first homerun in three years. A little more O would be nice.

Ronny Paulino F

Bad D, bad with the stick, and he appears to have lost the confidence of the pitching staff. He's now playing in Indy.

Infield

Adam LaRoche D

Paul Maholm has a better on base percentage .303 to .299. Only has 7 homeruns.

Freddy Sanchez D+

He is not the same player he was the last two seasons. Is the shoulder to blame? At .233 maybe he should batting 8th and not 2nd.

Jack Wilson B+

How much did we miss him when he was injured? Has played nice D, hopefully we will see a little more pop from him in the second half (0 homeruns).

Jose Bautista B-

Started off slow, but has been hitting the ball hard of late. Defense has been spotty .958 fielding percentage.

Doug Mientkiewicz B

He has been a solid bench player, and contributed some key hits off the bench. His presence has been good for the club.

Luis Rivas C

Luis played some dreadful defense during Jack's absence, and he started off slow offensively. He has played better of late, had a two homerun game.

Chris Gomez B

He's hitting .318, what else can you ask of a utility infielder? Well, you probably could ask him to field better then .959.

Outfield

Xavier Nady A-

He's on pace for 20 homeruns and almost 100 RBI's, but he has cooled off some after his hot start. Spent time on the DL again.

Nate McClouth A

Excellent first half, though he has slumped a bit lately. Easily can be called the MVP of the first half. He has contributed timely offense and superior defense.

Jason Bay A-

He has answered the questions surrounding him coming into the season. Bay has stayed healthy, and productive. He's getting better as the season progresses.

Jason Michaels B

Jason has had some big hits, and his aquisition has helped solidify the bench. Having him will probably make it easier it trade Bay and/or Nady.

Nyjer Morgan F

His .143 batting average landed him in Indy. It's hard to believe he had a chance to start in Spring Training.