SB Nation User Blog: psk984

Bucs Hire Neal Huntington

psk984 — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:11:02 -0000

Well, for all the denials and rumors and whatnot, the Bucs just announced that Neal Huntington will be their general manager.

I'm happy for this one. Yes, I would have preferred DePo or one of his Dodger wunderkinder, but a team like the Bucs can do a lot worse than hire a fresh person from a respectable organization. What Huntington intends to do with the bloated contracts and weak farm system during his first year is beyond speculation, but I'm starting to get the feeling that the Bucs very well may find themselves emulating the Marlins Model - build from the ground up, use your best developments to trade for more prospects as the cycle peaks, aim to compete every year. I can live with that.

As for Brian Graham, I think he'll still be around. Whether the failures of the system are his responsibility or come from lousy drafting in the first place will quickly become apparent - the team can't draft any worse.

Jim Tracy becomes another interesting quandary. He's not a completely worthless manager [No? - ed.], but he's not going to lead a plucky team of overachievers to the promised land, either. I hope he's fired simply to clean out the atmosphere. Replacing him will reveal the real intentions of Coonelly/Huntington - do they go with an established Valentine-esque hire, do they try to bring in a talented-but-so-far-neglected talent like Girardi, or do they go looking for a relative unknown, a position coach or minor league manager with a good track record?

It's really all speculation, especially from this guy, who relies more on what others say than on what he finds/knows himself. But I will say that I'm genuinely excited about the Bucs for the first time since I could drive. Even if this new regime flames out, at least it's something new.

Settling Third

psk984 — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:06:09 -0000

I think Jim Tracy just made the best decision of his tenure - Jose Bautista will start at third for the Bucs.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07082/772010-100.stm

Now we just have to hope the kid starts hitting like he should. I'd take .270/.300/.450 at this point. That should make Sanchez at second one of the team's few plus positions.

Ladies and Gents, Your 2007 Pittsburgh Pirates

psk984 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:22:19 -0000

As previewed by...NFL guy Peter King. Unless there's another Peter King hanging around SI (which I doubt).

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/specials/spring_training/2007/previews/pirates.html

Well, Peter, you've proven to be one of the more insipid national writers when you're covering your specialty. Thank the gods an editor thought you'd do a fine job covering baseball, especially a team you don't know much about. The rest of the rotation (after Duke) is a mess? Let me introduce you to a sparkplug named Ian Snell.

SI Postcard

psk984 — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:25:36 -0000

Slide show:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0703/gallery.mlb.postcards.camp.pirates/co ntent.1.html

Well gee whiz, Charlie, since I have to fill 300 characters, let me just say that, unless all that interests a person is photos, there's really not much to this here postcard. Comments: not particularly interesting.

I want to buy a Kuwata jersey. Make it so, sir.

At Least We'll Always Have Anna

psk984 — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:47:33 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2763185

Our old pal Kris Benson is out for the year with a torn rotator cuff. It's probably still to early to completely write him off, but it's safe to say he's done, no?

Goodbye, Vogie

psk984 — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 22:40:04 -0000

Well, White Flag's tyranny has come to an end, and not two years too soon, if you ask me.

Switching places with him - Pittsburgh and Indy - is Jonah Bayliss. That should be worth at least two wins this week, I think (and monkeys might fly out of my butt). Here's to you, Mr. Littlefield, for being so proactive!

Report From Chavez Ravine

psk984 — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 06:56:53 -0000

Got to experience #11 live and in-person. Given that our seats, despite being excellent, were in direct sunlight on this 90-ish degree day, I had my first sober game since high school. Ergo, some observations:

The Dodgers didn't hit Kip hard, but they don't hit anybody hard. Not to toot the ol' horn too much, but after telling the little woman that the wheels would fall off eventually and the fourth's first single, I proposed we take a walk in the shade. "Why?" Because they're gonna single him to death. Four runs later, I hated being right.

It looked, at times, that a decent Legion team could have hit Kip. Unless something was off with the radar gun (possible - Gonzo kept showing up around 89), he was topping out at 88 or so and was relying on a fastball-changeup combitation that, obviously, wasn't striking anyone out. Does he even have an out pitch? Considering that he was pitching with a bloodless arm last year, I feel a little bad for calling him "gutless," among other things, but I really have doubts about his overall ability.

Jack Wilson would have caught that liner. I love Freddy, but there's difference between the two defensively, I think. I also think Jack would've started the missed double play with a sharper throw.

Burnitz looks terrible in person. I think Kip took better swings.

Dodgers fans are a weird group. Other times I'd been to the Ravine were pretty positive, and maybe it was the heat and whatnot today, but this had to be the most annoying crowd I've ever been around. The flying beach balls were by far the main attraction, they paid no attention whatsoever when the Bucs were batting, and there was some downright boorish behavior from weird sources: kids. There were maybe ten other Pirates fans in our general area, and when some pre-pubescent twerp started a personal "Pirates suck" chant, he was joined by other kids and at least two adults. I don't mind a good heckling normally, but, seriously, "adults," you're encouraging that? We're in the midst of a historic losing streak, it's a miserable day, and we're helping your bajillionaire owner pay for the future of the team by buying tickets - a little class, please? Weird day.

Dodger Dogs, though, are wonderful.

Someone needs to be fired over the way this team approaches its at-bats. Joe Friggin' Beimel comes into the game and his first two pitches are outs? Well done, scouting department. Or, hell, Joe Beimel's former teammates.

What happened that allowed Penny to leave after tossing a pitch to a batter? I thought that, unless injured, a pitcher has to finish the at-bat? Or do I need to watch more baseball with a 0.00 BAL?

I'm fairly certain they've given up on Tracy, or on the season at least. Lousy body language after Nomar's homer basically put it out of reach. But I don't think they've given up on each other. I enjoyed seeing Gonzo and Kip legitimately greet each other pre-game; Cota and Burnitz fooling around between innings; McLouth chatting at the latter and Jason Bay at the end of the first, taking out their gear. What the players said about making changes in today's P-G? I think they're pointing at management, not at each other. They just can't say it.

It's been fun, Sully. Good luck in Atlanta. See you in New York, Damaso. Are you next, Gonzo?

Let's Talk About Today's "Game"

psk984 — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 21:46:24 -0000

Firstly, it was total travesty. No one could at least make contact? Reall?

Secondly, it was a total travesty. I expect Tracy to continue to blame everyone but himself. Not that today's worthlessness is necessarily his fault, but he's a buck-dodger. Please, Mr. Tracy, please throw DL under the bus next. I'm begging you.

All-Stars

psk984 — Wed, 31 May 2006 19:49:48 -0000

Saw a flash of the ASG voting so far. It's not surprising that Albert Pujols is far in the overall lead, and he deserves it. Bad news, though, things won't work out as they really should. Fan voting, bad!

I can't think of a good reason why Jason Bay won't be a starting outfielder other than "he plays for the Pirates." He's hitting .303/.425/.596 (a gaudy 1.021 OPS) with 16 homers and 45 RBI. His average is well above other noted vote-getters Andruw Jones, Bobby Abreu and Carlos Beltran, so it's no surprise he leads them all in TB as well. Only Abreu's OPS is higher. He leads them all in home runs, hits, runs, games played, and is second in walks. They're all out-playing Ken Griffey, Jr., a voting leader, for what that's worth.

For comparison: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/league_leaders.jsp?c_id=mlb&section1=null&statSet1=null& amp;sortByStat=RBI&statType=1&timeFrame=1&timeSubFrame=2006&baseballScope=NL&pre vPage1=1&readBoxes=true&box2=XXXX116662atlO&box4=XXXX424726pitO&box8=XXXX110029phiO& amp;box12=XXXX136860nynO&box49=XXXX115135cinO&compare.x=37&compare.y=7

I realize Bay's hot streak came after voting had already started, but that won't matter in the end in the same way Jack Wilson was jobbed out of at least one Gold Glove so far. It also fails to explain Griffey, who's playing just barely better than Jeromy Burnitz overall (in roughly half the games).

I feel bad for Jack, having a good year just when other National League shortstops are having better ones.

Wasted Money?

psk984 — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:35:40 -0000

I know it's early, but I just want to express my deep gratitude to the FO for bringing in Joe Randa, Jeromy Burnitz and Sean Casey to play over worthless stiffs like Freddy Sanchez and Craig Wilson. And keeping Nate McLouth on the bench has absolutely been the right decision. And Jim Coburn's already worth every penny.

Way to go, Littlebrain. Way to go.