SBNation.com User Blog: sidbreamslegs

2 or 3 potential all stars in there.

sidbreamslegs — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:38:04 -0000

I think it is that time of the year where we can start speculating on who has done enough to be deserving and who has done enough to get hot and be deserving.

Lets start with the ins.

1. Jason Grilli. No brainer. He doesn't even need to be perfect through the rest of the first half, as long as he keeps his k's up and the save opportunities keep coming, I think he can have a few hiccups and still be a lock.

2. Mark Melacon. He needs to remain elite in order to make it. Setup men very rarely make it, but if he is sitting with a half a run era come all star break I think he has a good shot.

3. Starling Marte. He has done it all so far. His defense is a huge part of what him makes valuable to the team, but his offensive numbers are that good that even the casual fan would be impressed by his power and speed.

Could be in.

1. Russel Martin. Molina probably gets the nod as the starter. Behind him I don't see much better than Martin. Sure Buck has had a lot a pop so far and if he keeps that up he will make it. Rosario has also looked good but in Colorado. Lets no forget that Martin has been not just good but great behind the plate.

2. Andrew McCutchen. Down year so far, but only a couple of National's series away from being in the top tier again. He also has drummed up a lot of excitement so it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him voted in.

If it he existed.

Gaby Jones. They have done a great job combined, but since it is two men, neither have a shot.

I think it is that time of the year where we can start speculating on who has done enough to be deserving and who has done enough to get hot and be deserving.

Lets start with the ins.

2. Mark Melacon. He needs to remain elite in order to make it. Setup men very rarely make it, but if he is sitting with a half a run era come all star break I think he has a good shot.

Could be in.

If it he existed.

Gaby Jones. They have done a great job combined, but since it is two men, neither have a shot.

Autograph advice

sidbreamslegs — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:02:22 -0000

So my son was born 6 months ago and I came up with the bright idea of every year having the two MVP's sign the same ball. So in 10 years he has a ball with all the MVP's signature for the last 10 years. The good news is that Cabrera and Posey both are coming to PNC this year(as well as other ball parks near me). So I have a good shot at getting to them. So my question is, does anyone have any sure fire ways to make sure I can get to those guys and have them sign the ball? Any strategies about where and when to go in order to see the visiting squad out and able to sign. I figure if I have my son in my arms I have a pretty big chip to get them to come over and sign. Any advice would be appreciated.

Altoona fun to watch.

sidbreamslegs — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:10:42 -0000

After going to the last two Curve games, I have to disagree with the preview to the season saying Altoona is the least interesting.

The main reason I wanted to go was obviously to see Tallion pitch. He pitched well, however would have liked to see a little more movement from his fastball. He struckout 10 in 6 innings mostly because his curveball was nastier than the Senators have seen before. When he mixed up the fastball and kept them off balance they were simply guessing up there. The problem was when they guessed right on the fastball they teed off pretty well. Basically anything hit in play was hit square, including a bleacher clearing homerun.

Paulino called a decent game behind the plate, and I sure hope his bat comes around because he has an absolute cannon behind the plate. The first night the Senators ran all over Charlie Culter. Against Paulino, they were scared to get off the base(he gunned down a man at second who didn't even have a big lead).

Another guy with a plus arm the surprised me a little was Mel Rojas Jr. I know he has been touted as 5 tools, but that is overly used these days. He is very strong defensively, and has great speed. He does however have trouble keeping his weight back at the plate. He has pretty much been lost in the discussion of OF, in part because more than one OF prospect has blown right by him. He does however still have all the tools and only a bit of tweaking could turn this guy back into a major prospect.

Cunningham has surprising power to all fields. He seems to get good wood on the ball more often than not and goes with the pitch well.

Curry looks like he can just roll out of bed and smack the ball into the gap. He reminds me a lot of a Jim Thome in the making. If he can develop a little more power, he could finally be the 1B of the future that the Pirates are looking for. I would put him ahead of Dickerson at this point. Should be fun watching them push each other this year.

Lambo seems like a mixed bag. He shows flashes where you want to get behind the guy and think he can turn that talent into something. Then the next day he comes out to his (say my name) theme music and waves at strike three. Granted I might be a little harsh based on his theme music. My wife and I decided he must have lost a bet.

The most exciting player to watch was Gift. He is just fun to watch on the defensive side. He is quick and smooth and it just comes easily to him. He reminds me a little bit of Ozzie which is pretty spectacular praise. I am not saying he will ever sniff the same success, but he is pretty fun to watch at this point. He also provides a little pop at the plate. He also has great speed. Still looks quite raw at the plate, but wouldn't be surprised to see him become a decent hitter. His defense will be what carries him to the major leagues, and I fully expect him to make it for someone at some point.

After going to the last two Curve games, I have to disagree with the preview to the season saying Altoona is the least interesting.

Cunningham has surprising power to all fields. He seems to get good wood on the ball more often than not and goes with the pitch well.

Keep saying it doesn't matter.... some of it does

sidbreamslegs — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 04:05:43 -0000

Sure it's spring ball and it doesn't matter who wins or loses. It is all about getting the guys ready for the majors. You can't get overly excited at a guy like Marte last year ripping the ball. You also can't get wrapped up in wins or loses or a number of other things. If Andrew McCutchen fails to get another hit this spring it wouldn't matter much. If Burnett continues to struggle... you look at it as though he is working on things and will hunker down once the season starts. That being said, I think there are a lot of things you can look at in spring that do matter. For the Pirates more so than many other clubs.

We have a ton of players between RF and 1B. It would be nice to have a few of them step up and take a job this spring. It would also be nice to try and figure out the best way to fill our bench. It looks as though Gaby Sanchez is seeing the ball well, gives me hope of a nice platoon. I would also like to see Snider and Tabata continue to have a nice spring. Pie is a wild card for me and for him I think this spring matters. Once a highly touted prospect, he has had marginal success in the majors. I think this spring he can play himself onto or off of the team. For him Spring Training matters. Jerry Sands and Brad Hawpe also could make a splash with a good spring, but I don't see that happening. For them spring training matters. To a lesser extent Clint Robinson as well. Alex Presley is on the outside looking in right now. He needs a strong Spring. Also a lot is yet to be determined up the middle. Barmes and Walker are two people I could care less about this spring. But Mercer, Harrison and D'Arnaud are playing for a backup role. It would be nice if Mercer could put together a great spring and cement himself as the Utility guy who can play 2nd SS and 3rd. This would really free up a lot for our bench.

While there are things that do matter offensively, for the most part positions are locked up and staying healthy is most important(McCutchen, Jones, Marte, Walker, Barmes, Martin, Alvarez). Sure it would be nice if they had a good spring, but all of us would take a awful spring as long as we start the year healthy.

Pitching is another story. I don't care what AJ does, I don't care what Wandy does, I don't care what Grilli does or too much what Watson does. Hughes is another guy I wont get overly excited about one way or another. Other than that...... .there are a lot of questions and a lot of worries. James Macdonald is the biggest worry I have. Sure shake off the fact that he tossed batting practice for the other team. This is a guy who was a legit ace for the first half of the season last year and had a mental break. He couldn't throw a strike to save his life toward the end of the season and when he did he left it out over the plate. For him I am very worried and while his ERA doesn't matter, his control does. I don't want to see too many walks or too many pitches missing out over the plate. He had a horrible spring last year and then turned it on for the regular season. I just have a lot of questions and worry with him. The rest of the rotation is up in the air. With injuries hanging around, how can spring not matter for guys like Locke, and Mcfear. With bullpen slots open, Morris, Wilson, and a handful of others can seperate or sink themselves. You can't tell me that for a guy like Bryan Morris that you don't wish for him to go out and be a shutdown reliever this spring, and that if he has a horrible spring, most everyone is going to be wishing him out of the Pen.

So while the casual fan can look at Pedro this spring and go "here we go again". This doesn't raise many eyebrows on here. However I do get worried when I see Sanchez missing the plate, or Oliver stink up the joint. These are guys who have an outside chance (and some of us are wishful for them to seize the opportunity) to win a rotation spot. Assuredly at some point they will get some starts this season. Lets hope for a little more promise out of these guys this spring.

25 under 25

sidbreamslegs — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:12:39 -0000

ESPN just released an article listing the top 25 seasons by a player under the age of 25. (http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/32231/all-time-top-25-players-under-25).

I bring it here because, well there isn't much else to talk about and there is a lot of arguments to be made for players higher or lower. I think Bryce Harper was just kind of thrown on there because of the name. I would argue that McCutchen had a better year in 2011 when he was 24 than Harper did last year, but I would be willing to be we could find quite a few players under 25 who had better years than both.

If you want to give players a boost because of position, I get that, but at some point we really have to draw the line. I am going to make an argument against everything I believe.

I value defense most than some. I never got too far down on Barmes last year, because what he brought to the table was extremely valuable. In 1996 Arod had a very good defensive year at short stop to go along with his good year at the plate. However.........

.406 batting average, .553 OBP Only Tony Gwynn and George Brett sniffed .400 in 73 years.

He won the triple crown just for good measure. The guy was unbelievable. I don't care if he was the DH or a liability in the OF, the offensive year he had was one of the greatest if not the greatest of all time. Did I mention he hit .406? Sorry Arod, I don't even think it is close, no matter where David Schoenfeld ranks you.

ESPN just released an article listing the top 25 seasons by a player under the age of 25. (http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/32231/all-time-top-25-players-under-25).

If you want to give players a boost because of position, I get that, but at some point we really have to draw the line. I am going to make an argument against everything I believe.

.406 batting average, .553 OBP Only Tony Gwynn and George Brett sniffed .400 in 73 years.

How to fix player development

sidbreamslegs — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:00:13 -0000

Today I heard them talking about big Mac and what a great hitting coach he is. One thing caught my attention. Something I have always known but never paid much attention to. Jose Reyes made the comment that he was better with the younger players. Once a player has a routine, they pretty much stick to it and the hitting coach is basically there for support. Sure every now and again you have a hitting coach who tweaks something and it turns to gold(not sure who should get credit for Bautista). Or you have a pitching coach change a motion and the pitcher all of a sudden looks like the next Nolan Ryan. For the most part though, these guys are there for maintenance.

So then I take a look at the Pirates and what they have done over the past couple of years. Spending all that money on the big young arms. Lets call a spade a spade. If things worked out how we all hoped and how NH thought it would, we would have the best farm system in the minors by far. We would have a couple of pitchers knocking down the door of the big league club and a couple of studs at every level. We would be able to trade for Stanton and Upton and still have pitchers left to be excited about. But some players(in the Pirates pitching prospects, most players) just don't develop how everyone would like.

So why is it that we are inking Hitting coaches and Pitching coaches for major league squads for way more than we are paying minor league coaches. What good does it do to have a great major league hitting coach if the major league team doesn't have good hitters to coach. What if you put the best of the best in the minor leagues, pay them more and see what happens. What if the Pirates paid big mac a million dollars and sent him to Bradenton for the year. What if the Pirates spent a couple of million and got Dave Duncan to ride the bench out in West Virginia for the year. These are extreme cases to push forward my point. We spend millions upon millions to get this so called talent in the system. Then we have guys making 30-100 thousand a year developing them for their must important, impressionable seasons. Then we have coaches making the big bucks in the Majors just in case the talent ever gets there. I would go so far as to say it would benefit players to have a well paid "mentor". The Pirates loaded up hitting talent at WV last year. What if you hired a guy like Big Mac to be "their hitting coach" throughout their minor league career. He coaches signs a 4 year 6 million dollar contract and works with those guys in WV, Bradenton, Altoona and Indy. Maybe I am just putting way too much thought into this, but in my opinion, a single A hitting coach is more valuable than a major league hitting coach.

steroids/hypocrisy/narcissistic writers and the Hall of Fame

sidbreamslegs — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:38:14 -0000

I have said a few things in the past about steroids, but for the most part I stay mum on the subject. Much of what is said and argued bothers me, but there is nothing for me to do so why throw my hat into the mix. It has come to a point with the hall of fame that I would like to discuss a few points and possibly vent a little if I can.

Let me start off with a little background. I used to play college baseball at a small school in central PA. I was 175 and could bench 450 with a 4.5 40. I am not stating this to brag, but simply to make a point. I never touched a steroid in my life. My diet included chocolate milk shakes and pretzels. I was simply a very gifted German boy who lived in the gym. The point is, not one person that ever saw me play didn't assume I was on steroids. There was no reference point for them to come to that conclusion, but when you have a kid with that much muscle.... it is obvious they are on steroids. It sounds pretty stupid that people would come to such a conclusion based on seeing someone one time. Almost as stupid as...."He has back hair", "He worked out with such and such and he obviously takes." Now I could have cared less about what people thought, I actually took it as a compliment that people were convinced I couldn't do it naturally. The difference is I had nothing to prove to anyone. None of my accolades were up for speculation. I can imagine though, if my school would have a hall of fame voted on by outside sources, and I didn't get in based on what people thought..... I would be pretty upset.

So does that mean they are making a mountain out of an ant hill? No, I have done papers in college on steroids and how plentiful they are. I did an interview with the cousin of a certain pair of brothers(not the Cansecos) who told me all about the change she saw in them. How it was hard to decipher whether the change was coming from the steroids, or the buttloads of money they were rolling in now. I saw steroids in high school, in college and know of many minor league players who were using. There was no surprise to me when Canseco came out with his book and said how many players were using. Of course the majors, minors and everywhere on down was looking to get an edge.

So and so just inked a major contract for hitting 5 more homeruns last year than I did... how can I hit those extra 5 and make the big time bucks.

Last year I broke down with about 20 games left to go... how can I make sure I don't do that this season.. I am up for a contract.(You can't tell me that if James Macdonald could take something to make his stuff look just as nasty at the end of the season and keep his concentration longer into season that he wouldn't take it in a heart beat). And I am not throwing Jmac under the bus saying I think he is the type of person who would cheat. He is just a good example of a player who broke down toward the end of the season. You can see how many pitchers would be quick to alleviate that aspect to their season.

So and so just got called up... last year I was hitting better than him and on the fast track. I know he started using and now he is getting the call up.

Believe me, 10 years ago there were more reasons to take steroids than not to. One of those major reasons was in fact the writers. Writers glorified the "power era" 100mph fast balls vs big thunderous bats. It is what fans wanted to see, it is what writers wanted to write about and it is what players wanted to achieve. So many writers knew what was going on, you couldn't not know. Sure you can buy the ignorance is bliss case if you want to, but writers knew what was going on. They wrote about it anyway. As long as no one got caught, this is what brought the big ratings in. What did they have to lose? They weren't going to be held accountable as anything more than enablers(and how would you prove that) and even more so, it would give them more to write about after the ceiling caved in. It was perfect. The money was good all the way around, so boost these players up and then when things get dicey, throw them under the bus and have even more to write about.

Now we fast forward to today when these same enabling writers play judge and jury to how we view these players. Not only do they decide to completely throw the steroid users under the bus and run over them, they also decide that it is too wide spread so we are just going to drive over the whole damn lot of players. Players like Biggio who few would suspect of steroids gets lumped in for playing at a certain time. We don't take a step back and say hey maybe what he did was really special. The pitchers volume was up a tick in this era, the CF was just a little faster to the gap, the catcher was just a little faster to second base.... and this guy still did all of the things he did. You can speculate all you want... Maybe Jeff Bagwell took, maybe Frank Thomas took, maybe Greg Maddox shot up the last month of the season just so he didn't wear his arm out, maybe Biggio took the last couple of seasons he played, but speaking as a person who played clean and who everyone thought was using, when judgement day comes.... it just isn't right to throw out a blanket of speculation.

I would hope the writers get taken to task(who the hell voted for no one other than aaron sele) and they change the way the Hall of Fame is decided. Jim Bowden said it best. It is a museum to appreciate the great things of baseball. When I take my kids and grandkids, I hope the greatest things in baseball are still in there.

So and so just inked a major contract for hitting 5 more homeruns last year than I did... how can I hit those extra 5 and make the big time bucks.

Last year I broke down with about 20 games left to go... how can I make sure I don't do that this season.. I am up for a contract.(You can't tell me that if James Macdonald could take something to make his stuff look just as nasty at the end of the season and keep his concentration longer into season that he wouldn't take it in a heart beat). And I am not throwing Jmac under the bus saying I think he is the type of person who would cheat. He is just a good example of a player who broke down toward the end of the season. You can see how many pitchers would be quick to alleviate that aspect to their season.

So and so just got called up... last year I was hitting better than him and on the fast track. I know he started using and now he is getting the call up.

Believe me, 10 years ago there were more reasons to take steroids than not to. One of those major reasons was in fact the writers. Writers glorified the "power era" 100mph fast balls vs big thunderous bats. It is what fans wanted to see, it is what writers wanted to write about and it is what players wanted to achieve. So many writers knew what was going on, you couldn't not know. Sure you can buy the ignorance is bliss case if you want to, but writers knew what was going on. They wrote about it anyway. As long as no one got caught, this is what brought the big ratings in. What did they have to lose? They weren't going to be held accountable as anything more than enablers(and how would you prove that) and even more so, it would give them more to write about after the ceiling caved in. It was perfect. The money was good all the way around, so boost these players up and then when things get dicey, throw them under the bus and have even more to write about.

Now we fast forward to today when these same enabling writers play judge and jury to how we view these players. Not only do they decide to completely throw the steroid users under the bus and run over them, they also decide that it is too wide spread so we are just going to drive over the whole damn lot of players. Players like Biggio who few would suspect of steroids gets lumped in for playing at a certain time. We don't take a step back and say hey maybe what he did was really special. The pitchers volume was up a tick in this era, the CF was just a little faster to the gap, the catcher was just a little faster to second base.... and this guy still did all of the things he did. You can speculate all you want... Maybe Jeff Bagwell took, maybe Frank Thomas took, maybe Greg Maddox shot up the last month of the season just so he didn't wear his arm out, maybe Biggio took the last couple of seasons he played, but speaking as a person who played clean and who everyone thought was using, when judgement day comes.... it just isn't right to throw out a blanket of speculation.

I would hope the writers get taken to task(who the hell voted for no one other than aaron sele) and they change the way the Hall of Fame is decided. Jim Bowden said it best. It is a museum to appreciate the great things of baseball. When I take my kids and grandkids, I hope the greatest things in baseball are still in there.

Where do the prospects go?

sidbreamslegs — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:57:36 -0000

Maybe that isn't the best title, but I was just curious as to whether anyone thought there would be any surprises to where our prized prospects start the season. I don't foresee any big shockers coming, but I admit I haven't seen much of the lower level guys to know if they are ready to move up or not.

Cole: I think its pretty locked in that he starts at Indy and comes up when he is ready.

Tallion: A few starts in Altoona, but I don't see him spending too much time there

Hanson: I guess it depends on how you view defensive development. I guess a case could be made to start him in Altoona because his bat is ready, but I just don't see it. He starts in Bradenton and works on his approach and the glove.

Heredia: Does he spend the whole year in low A?

Polanco: He is young, no need to rush him, hopefully he put on some muscle over the offseason and he can dominate High A for a short time and move to Altoona.

Bell: I would actually like to see him start in Bradenton just because of the weather and coming off the injury. Does anyone have an update on Bell and what we might be able to expect next year?

Wilson: would like to see him start in the Majors.

Mcphereson: starts in indy and is ready to go when we need him.

Barnes: Is there a case to be made to skip him to Altoona?

Dickerson: Altoona bound.

Oliver:see Mcpherson

Morris: I would also like to see him make the squad out of camp

Kingham:low A

Mathisen: Haven't read any reports on how he is doing behind the plate, but I get the idea that he is going to be brought along very slowly.

Sanchez:Indy

Black: Indy

Pimental: Start him back at AA and hope he shows some promise

Garcia: Back to Low A. A lot of potential but a lot to work on.

Holmes:Low A

Lambo: Throw him to Indy and hope it works

Irwin: Indy.

Curry: Indy would really like to see him add some more pop this year.

Thoughts?

Cole: I think its pretty locked in that he starts at Indy and comes up when he is ready.

Tallion: A few starts in Altoona, but I don't see him spending too much time there

Heredia: Does he spend the whole year in low A?

Polanco: He is young, no need to rush him, hopefully he put on some muscle over the offseason and he can dominate High A for a short time and move to Altoona.

Bell: I would actually like to see him start in Bradenton just because of the weather and coming off the injury. Does anyone have an update on Bell and what we might be able to expect next year?

Wilson: would like to see him start in the Majors.

Mcphereson: starts in indy and is ready to go when we need him.

Barnes: Is there a case to be made to skip him to Altoona?

Dickerson: Altoona bound.

Oliver:see Mcpherson

Morris: I would also like to see him make the squad out of camp

Kingham:low A

Mathisen: Haven't read any reports on how he is doing behind the plate, but I get the idea that he is going to be brought along very slowly.

Sanchez:Indy

Black: Indy

Pimental: Start him back at AA and hope he shows some promise

Garcia: Back to Low A. A lot of potential but a lot to work on.

Holmes:Low A

Lambo: Throw him to Indy and hope it works

Irwin: Indy.

Curry: Indy would really like to see him add some more pop this year.

Thoughts?

MLB Network talks Justin Upton to Pirates trade.

sidbreamslegs — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:24:01 -0000

Before you get excited about the prospect of having Upton, the trade was pretty crazy and not well thought out. One of the hosts said Upton should go to the Rangers for Cruz and Mike Olt. The other argued that he should go to the Pirates for Tallion, Alvarez and perhaps another minor league pitcher to get the deal done. A couple of minutes later he said Allie should be the guy thrown in to complete the deal. Not that Upton wouldn't be great to have in our outfield, but this really makes little to no sense for the Pirates to do this. 3B has become a position that many teams need. The Pirates are riding the Alvarez roller coaster, but if he went via trade, what would they do to fill that position? Then you take one of your future front end starters and ship him as well in order to get a great player, although it is at a position where the Pirates have talent lined up in the minors. It just doesn't make a lick of sense to make that trade, I hope he just thought it up himself and didn't have an inside source feeding him.

Baseball economics for those who just don't understand.

sidbreamslegs — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 05:34:53 -0000

There have been more than a few posts lately that have had people arguing once again about how the Pirates need to spend money and trade prospects. The recent Royals trade has spurred all reactions from "dumbest trade in history" to "this is the reason the Pirates don't win, because they wont trade their prospects." In short, the Royals overpaid majorly for what they got and they are seemingly throwing all of their eggs in a couple of year basket, hoping to force the issue of winning. Here is the thing... what happens if Shields goes down with an arm injury? There are too many what ifs in baseball to go all in.

How is it that teams are supposed to become winners if you don't go all in every now and again? Two different approaches can bring you winning teams, aside from the all in and maybe it will work out(Sort of the Florida Marlins approach). You can charge ungodly amounts to bring in revenue. The Yankees avg. ticket price is almost $90. The Rangers and Cardinals are around $75. The Mets, White Sox and Red Sox are all above $60. For a reference point, the Pirates avg. ticket price hovers around $25.( A humorous note: The Royals are 9th in the league at almost $60, god it sucks to be a Royals fan). Along with the higher ticket prices, you can assume everything in the ballpark is more expensive as well. Further more, big city teams sign TV contracts for ungodly amounts which allow them to turn around and spend spend spend. The first approach to winning, is living in a major market (NY, LA, Chi, Boston), having a ton of money and spending what Boras wants in order to get the best proven players out there. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. This is baseball, anything can happen, spending money and bringing in the "best players" is just giving you better odds to win.

Since we all know the Pirates are not a large market city, they wont have the money from big tv contracts. Also, since many people on here and elsewhere already complain about "spending their hard earned money on a crappy product", raising prices doesn't seem to be a popular solution either. So then how is it possible for the Pirates to become a winning ball team?

The blueprint has been placed out there by a couple of teams already. If you look at the A's, the Rays, the Rangers and to a lesser extent the Marlins and the Braves, you can come up with a way to constantly put a team out on the field that can win. No I am not talking about the glorified A's that put together a group of guys with high .OBP. (Stop me if Im wrong, but didn't the A's have 3 pretty darn good pitchers that year which weren't really talked about in the movie...but I digress.) The simple solution is to scout well, draft well, sign international players with high upside, develop well, and trade players at their peak trade value for other players who you can develop. Sure you can throw in signing a few smart free agent signings and knowing the value of position players vs. sp vs rp vs bench blah blah blah..... but those are all branching out further than I would like to. This is actually something the Pirates have done well over the past couple of years, with rebuilding their bullpen, getting AJ and finding players like GIJones who came cheap with high upside.

So we now know the Pirates aren't going to spend their way to a winning team. We also know the blueprint is laid out there, so what is it the Pirates need to do in order to constantly put a winning team on the field? Do they have it figured out and we just need to be patient? Partly.... The problems seem to be in two main areas. When the new Mang. came in, they had no problem unloading every player they had in order to get maximum return and rebuild. There was no emotional attachment to the team. That has since changed, and NH seems to overvalue all of his own players and prospects based on an emotional attachment. These are his players, these are his prospects.... if you want them you are going to have to pay for them. This is why some deals may be out there that the Pirates have not cashed in on. I was a strong advocate for them trading McCutchen when it seemed like contract negotiations were dragging on. The fact of the matter is, he was and is one of the best chips in baseball. He can't win a World Series by himself. If at some point in the future the Pirates are not winning and it looks as though Cutch might have more good seasons behind him than in front of him, the Bucs will need to make the unpopular choice to maximize his value and get what they can for the future. This is why they need to trade the Hammer now. This is why they need to trade Jones now. The game of baseball is changing, and NH needs to see players much like stocks. You sell high and buy low and try to develop enough to constantly be good. Which leads me to my final point on why the Pirates have not won. Recently they have drafted well, they have signed international players well, they unload a bunch of players and are still in the process of developing before they need to trade players away again. They have done a horrible job of developing talent. Whether it is rushing players, moving them around to too many positions, not focusing on the right approaches or anything in between, the fact of the matter is the Pirates system is not developing players like they should. The A's seem to turn good players into great ones and mediocre ones into serviceable major leaguers. Atlanta seems to be a pitching factory for a minor league system. I don't know if the Rays and Rangers also have great systems, or if they have just been lucky over the past few years with can't miss prospects that would flourish in any system. The Pirates have been spending more money on developing than in the past, so maybe they are onto something.

The future seems much brighter now than in the past. The Pirates need to stay the course and focus more and more on developing and scouting. Soon the time will come when the Pirates need to trade away popular big name guys for prospects. The key will be to do so while the Bucs have leverage. Face it, Pedro Alvarez is going to leave when his contract is up. He is going to sign somewhere for more money. Management needs to evaluate between now and then when the best time to trade him will be to get a maximum return. Let's just hope they can make the right decisions so that we can do what we do best and cheer on the buccos!

with all the call ups and all the buzz, a quick look at next year.

sidbreamslegs — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:29:13 -0000

I am excited for this year and lets hope the buccos can crack their way into the playoffs. Since I am not a player and I can actually look ahead for next year, I figure Id do so and see what everyone's thoughts are on who stays, who goes and what we need to add.

I think Snider has the job in RF. I think McCutchen has the job in CF. Then you have Marte, Presley and Tabata. Do we start one of them in left? Do we use them as trade bait? Do we go after another bat? Does Jones get some starts in the OF?

Which will lead me into 1B. Jones has had a great season. I think our front office is still very high on Sanchez and his ability to turn into a monster 1B. Do we go to a platoon and give Jones some starts in the OF? Is it Jones job and Sanchez has to earn playing time?

2B. Holt is creating a lot of buzz and deservedly so. He is an exciting guy who has a great approach and hits anywhere he goes. Do we get rid of Harrison and put Holt in that postion next year? Do we see what the trade value is for Walker and turn 2B over to Holt? Do we see what Holts trade value is?

SS. I do not think Holt is the answer here. He is not strong enough defensively to hold the position. I wish he was, but I just don't see it. Do we ride out Barmes and hope he has a better season next year? As unpopular as this is going to be, I do think Barmes still holds a decent value and good be in line for a pretty good year next year. He has shown some pretty good defense at times and seems to be getting a little bit of his bat back. I don't think he will ever hit like he did in Houston, but enough to not be the weak link in our lineup. Do we go out and try to get a guy like Andrus? I have real concerns about trading for players in a hitter friendly park. Their value is inflated and you end up giving up way too much. Not saying he wouldn't be an upgrade, just have to be real careful what you give up for him.

3B Looks as though we are going to ride the hot cold streaks of Pedro.

C. Barajas is going to be gone. I worry that they think Sanchez is still too far off, they didn't even call him up in Sept. Can McKenry be the guy? Do we look to free agency or a trade? Looks to be a strong free agent market for us.

SP AJ Burnett looks to be good for at least one more year.

James MacDonald can hopefully put together a full season next year

Wandy Rodriguez looks to be a solid number 3 for next year

Jeff Karstens( Im not sure what to do with him)

Correia looks to be gone

Jeff Locke could win a starting job

Just like with the catching position, their look to be many arms out their in free agency worth bringing in.

Can Grilli take over the closer role? I don't think we can let him walk, nor do I think he wants to go anywhere else. Wilson looks to be a solid bet in the pen. Karstens could take over the long reliever role if we bring in another starter. I think we have enough talent in the minors that we really wont have trouble flipping over our bullpen and still being pretty solid late in games.

It looks like a lot of questions, but I don't see this team changing too much next year. Another step forward from a couple of guys and this team quickly looks like a contender once again.

3B Looks as though we are going to ride the hot cold streaks of Pedro.

SP AJ Burnett looks to be good for at least one more year.

James MacDonald can hopefully put together a full season next year

Wandy Rodriguez looks to be a solid number 3 for next year

Jeff Karstens( Im not sure what to do with him)

Correia looks to be gone

Jeff Locke could win a starting job

Just like with the catching position, their look to be many arms out their in free agency worth bringing in.

It looks like a lot of questions, but I don't see this team changing too much next year. Another step forward from a couple of guys and this team quickly looks like a contender once again.

Then and Now with prospects in the NH era.

sidbreamslegs — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:53:25 -0000

Obviously you look at the major league squad and immediately notice a difference. One being they are all but a shoe in for a winning season. The talent level is better, the atmosphere is better and it is exciting. But while we are excited about the major league team now, just look at the difference in future excitement that NH has brought to the organization.

When he took over

Top 10 Prospects

1.Andrew McCutchen(not much to say about this, he is a superstar)

2. Neil Walker(after being tossed around numerous positions, he found a solid home at 2nd)

3. Brad Lincoln(reduced to a reliever role. Might be successful, but as the number 3 prospect wouldn't you expect more).

5. Josh Sharpless

8. Brad Corley

10. Mike Felix

So 1 superstar, 2 respectable major league players, a couple of bench guys. ( This was the hope of our system?)

Now

1. Gerrit Cole(potential Ace)

2. Jameson Tallion(potential Ace)

3. Starling Marte(Decent to very good starting OF)

4.Josh Bell(Superstar potential)

5.Alen Hanson(serviceable SS with pop to superstar potential)

6. Luis Heredia(Potential Ace to 2nd-3rd guy in rotation)

7. Gregory Polanco((decent to very good starting OF)

8. Alex Dickerson(Projects as a solid 1b)

9.Clay Holmes(skys the limit)

10. Jeff Locke(Decent guy in the rotation)

Then you have a handful of other guys who have the potential to be anywhere from a bench guy to a solid major leaguer. Tony Sanchez, Justin Wilson, Bryan Morris, Kyle Mcpherson, Zack Von Rosenberg, Willy Garcia, Brock Holt, Victor Black, Matt Curry, Ramon Cabrera, Adalberto Santos, Gift Ngoepe, Mel Rojas Jr., Dan Gamache, Jose Osuna, DJ Crumlich, Barret Barnes, Wyatt Mathisen... and so on and so on.

Obviously we can argue order all day long but that really isn't the point. We could get rid of players 3-10 and still have a stronger farm system than we did in 2007. The most exciting part of the whole thing is that we aren't attaching all of our hope to a couple of players as "the future." We have the top tier "superstar potential guys" and then we also have a system flooded with high upside. Keep in mind that Alen Hansen went from no name, to sleeper to top prospect in basically 1.5 years.

It is an exciting time to be a Pirate fan, even if the buccos fall short of the playoffs this year, the future is bright.

When he took over

Top 10 Prospects

1.Andrew McCutchen(not much to say about this, he is a superstar)

2. Neil Walker(after being tossed around numerous positions, he found a solid home at 2nd)

3. Brad Lincoln(reduced to a reliever role. Might be successful, but as the number 3 prospect wouldn't you expect more).

5. Josh Sharpless

8. Brad Corley

10. Mike Felix

So 1 superstar, 2 respectable major league players, a couple of bench guys. ( This was the hope of our system?)

Now

1. Gerrit Cole(potential Ace)

2. Jameson Tallion(potential Ace)

3. Starling Marte(Decent to very good starting OF)

4.Josh Bell(Superstar potential)

5.Alen Hanson(serviceable SS with pop to superstar potential)

6. Luis Heredia(Potential Ace to 2nd-3rd guy in rotation)

7. Gregory Polanco((decent to very good starting OF)

8. Alex Dickerson(Projects as a solid 1b)

9.Clay Holmes(skys the limit)

10. Jeff Locke(Decent guy in the rotation)

It is an exciting time to be a Pirate fan, even if the buccos fall short of the playoffs this year, the future is bright.

Top 10 prospects for next year

sidbreamslegs — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 03:36:21 -0000

Since we have the day off, and the trade deadline has passed, what a great time to talk about prospects.

Marte has graduated to the big leagues. Grossman is off to Houston. That along with some budding stars, and this is what I think our top 10 next year might be. (A * if they have a shot to be in the top 100)

1. Gerrit Cole*

2. Jameson Tallion*

3.Alen Hanson*

4.Josh Bell*

5. Luis Heredia*

6.Gregory Polanco*

7.Alex Dickerson

8. Nick Kingham

9.Clay Holmes

10. Barrett Barnes

This is taking a bunch of assumptions into consideration. Locke, Wilson and Morris are no longer our prospects(either traded or on the major league squad). Bell comes back healthy and can get back on track. Barnes takes a step forward. A player like Willy Garcia doesn't get incredibly hot and find his way on the top 10. I am sure people can argue and change people around, but regardless of what everyone can come up with.... I think that is a pretty solid group going forward.

Since we have the day off, and the trade deadline has passed, what a great time to talk about prospects.

1. Gerrit Cole*

2. Jameson Tallion*

3.Alen Hanson*

4.Josh Bell*

5. Luis Heredia*

6.Gregory Polanco*

7.Alex Dickerson

8. Nick Kingham

9.Clay Holmes

10. Barrett Barnes

What is McCutchen worth in terms of prospects

sidbreamslegs — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 18:40:38 -0000

Early in the season(when I said we should do whatever it takes to get Trumbo.) Everyone was talking about McCutchen's trade value as being in the top 5 in baseball. His skill set, age and contract put him right up there. I would now argue after the first half of the season that he is having and the media jumping behind him, that there is no other player in baseball who would be able to get the return Cutch could. Obviously I will throw out these blanket statements before anyone decides to derail me. McCutchen holds greater value as the face of the Pirates and we should not get rid of him. He is worth what another GM would pay for him. That being said, and looking at teams needs and their farm systems, what do we realistically think Cutch could bring back in a "major overpay."

Texas seems like a good place to start. The deal would have to be centered around Profor. Is it possible that Olt would also be netted? There have been rumblings that the rangers dont want to part with either for Upton, but could we get them both and then some for Cutch? Maybe a deal like Profor, Leoyns Martin, and Cody Buckel?

Baltimore would have quite an outfield with Cutch and Jones. Machado and Bundy??? Might be a little steep. But I would trade Tallion and Cole for Cutch so maybe this isn't completely out of line. Jon Schoop to complete the deal?

Kansas City looking to make a splash.. Wil Myer, Bubba Starling and Mike Montgemery?

Washington, Oakland, Seattle and San Diego are the only other teams that I can see having enough prospects to come close to Cutch, but not sure what deal would look right. Oakland has 6 pitchers in the top 100, 4 of them added to Tallion and Cole would net us a pretty awesome rotation in a couple of years.

Kansas City looking to make a splash.. Wil Myer, Bubba Starling and Mike Montgemery?

Do we start looking pitcher?

sidbreamslegs — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 04:40:01 -0000

With the emergence of a few bats, and the lack of possible suitors for our needs, is it time we start to flip our focus to another arm. Mcgehee and Jones are starting to play at a level that for the moment anyway makes you want to stop and say hold on before we make any decisions. Alex Presley seems to be doing enough since coming back up warrant playing time. Obviously you want Cutch out there every day. Pedro is going to get his time at 3rd. Neil Walker has done a decent job at 2nd. And Mckenry has picked up the slack behind the plate while hot rod is hurt. Unless we find the right deal for a 1B or corner OF with power, why make a deal? Bringing Marte up and sending Tabata down might be just as good a move as going out and overpaying for any bat out there. Keep in mind there is not a good market for us to go out and make a good deal. The one real blockbuster change to the lineup would come via a SS. Considering the Cubs are not going to trade us Castro, I find it hard to believe we are going to make a huge upgrade there either.

That brings us to our pitching staff. Morton is gone and I don't want to see Lincoln in the rotation. Are we going to ride KC through the second half? Or do we go out and put together a package that will net us another top of the rotation guy. Is owens, Holt, Wilson and Grossman enough for a Hamel rental? If the Phils are going to lose him anyway, maybe they look at it and get the deal done.

Offense turning the corner?

sidbreamslegs — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 06:38:25 -0000

Everyone knows that Cutch is turning in an amazing first half to the season. But it seems as though he isn't doing it on his own anymore. Still seems as though Pedro is the best hitter in baseball for 4 days and then the worst for the next 12. He is slowly showing a little more consistency and hopefully can be depended on more going forward. Neil Walker has been a solid hitting second baseman so far this year. He hasn't turned many heads, but has been one of the few solid hitters we can count on. More recently though, the team shows a solid increase across the board. Casey McGehee has an OPS just south of .900 for the month of June and is starting to show power. I said last week that I would rather hold on to him, and that I thought he might be more productive than Youks for the rest of the season. With each game, I am starting to have more and more confidence in McGehee. I think by the end of the season we will be looking back and saying what a great trade it was. With the emergence of the Fort, it seems as though our catcher position is strengthening. Solid behind the plate, and a little bit of pop. Garrett Jones is also having his best month in June. Granted most of these guys just played so poorly prior that it would be hard not to have their best month currently. I wouldn't mind seeing an upgrade like Willingham, and Jones be our fourth OF plus a platoon with McGehee. Tabata and Presley are both playing better. Would like to see each of them continue to improve, but they are hitting enough to keep their + defensive skills in our outfield. Once again I wouldn't be opposed to Willingham coming in, but unless it is a substantial upgrade, I wouldn't want to downgrade our defense. Marte is also playing pretty well and might be looking to improve our outfield from within. The one glaring weakness that still stands out is SS. Other than Barmes, the bats seem to be coming around and this offense is threatening to be mediocre. Hopefully a couple more steps forward and maybe a replacement or two and we might just be able to compete.

About a month and a half until the trade deadline.

sidbreamslegs — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 21:31:50 -0000

When you add in the All Star break, you have about a month and a half until the July 31 trade deadline. The bucs are 5 games above .500, half game out of first and a very easy schedule leading up to that date. With plenty of games against the Cubs, Astros, Twins, and Brewers. If things keep going the way they are(knock on wood) it looks as though we are going to be buying. So the questions are, who might be selling and who could we get?

1. Cubs are definitely going to be selling. Despite reports, I think Castro is pretty much off limits. Lahair is having a nice season, but do you want to pick up a perennial minor leaguer in his first big league season for a playoff push? Soriano is interesting, but I am assuming the money we would have to take on wouldn't be worth it.

2. Astros are young. Wandy Rodriguez might be an interesting pick up to slot in over Correia for the right pieces. Also Carlos Lee might be a good pick up. He has hit well and not struck out much, however he does only have 4 homers in a hitter friendly park.

3. Padres are young as well. Quentin has been out of his mind so far. Wonder what the Padres would want for him once he comes back down to earth. Headley is having a so so season. Don't know much about his range in the outfield, if we are going to put a liability in the outfield I want a guy who is going to mash.

4. Rockies.... We aren't getting Cargo or Tulo. I don't want anyone else.

5. Twins. A lot of people are going to want Willingham, and he might be the best guy we can get. I think there will be a lot of other teams going after him as well. Don't know if Morneau would become available, but I wouldn't mind going after him.

6. A's... Reddick is young and I see the A's asking too much for him. Does anyone know if Manny's contract has a no trade? If the A's are out, it might be interesting to think about. It also might be the single dumbest idea there is...

7.Boston... Salty??? I like a platoon with he and Rod better than Rod and Fort. Also would be a nice bat to have off the bench. Don't know that the Redsox would become sellers no matter how far they fall out.

8. KC..... Butler would take a lot. Gordon could be had for less and he has pretty good plate discipline. The question becomes, where are we and how much do we want to give up? If we are 10 games above .500, and we sign Appel... do we go all in? If so, I think Tallion could net us better than Butler, but who would be available? I wish we had a pitcher slotting in the top 50 to 100 that could be a centerpiece for Butler.

Do we start thinking outside the box? Could a Tallion, Marte, Owens actually net us Cargo? Maybe throw in Brad Lincoln to sweeten the deal and bring up Morris to fill his spot in the pen.

Maybe I am just being an over zealous sob.

4. Rockies.... We aren't getting Cargo or Tulo. I don't want anyone else.

Do we start thinking outside the box? Could a Tallion, Marte, Owens actually net us Cargo? Maybe throw in Brad Lincoln to sweeten the deal and bring up Morris to fill his spot in the pen.

Maybe I am just being an over zealous sob.

A cheerful look at our offseason additions

sidbreamslegs — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:04:48 -0000

I figure with all the gloom lately over our putrid offense, that I would try to put a positive spin on things for once. Looking at things, I will say we actually had a very good offseason. Sure we didn't fill the big bat hole that has alluded us for........anyway way I said I'd make this positive.

So far this season

AJ Burnett. I readjusted his statics based on his one awful game. I figure you can't completely take it out of there because he did pitch it, but a normal coach would have pulled him before the 3rd inning. Taking out that 2/3 of an inning, he has the following stats.

3-2 3.20 era 1.26 whip 8.3k/9 2.4BB/9 Early season rating of the acquisition 8/10

So far this season

3-2 3.20 era 1.26 whip 8.3k/9 2.4BB/9 Early season rating of the acquisition 8/10

Eric Bedard. Once again the big question with him going forward will be if he can stay healthy. We have really leaned on our outstanding bullpen to date. Going forward, Bedard needs to be one of the guys to go deep into some games and give the bullpen some relief of it own.

2-5 3.52 era 1.39 whip 9.39k/9 3.5 BB/9 Early season rating of the acquisition 8/10

Juan Cruz. In general, I don't see how it is possible for our bullpen to pitch as outstanding as they have so far this season. Cruz has been an integral part of one of if not the best bullpens in baseball. He has jumped in to save games when needed and recently has slotted in nicely as the 7th inning stopper.

1-1 3svs 8hlds 1.02 era 1.52 whip 8.15 k/9 Early season rating of the acquisition 10/10

Rod Barajas. Turning things up of late, Hot Rod is showing that there is a good chance he will be worth exactly what we wanted from him. He is going to hit .230-.250, be just shy of .300 OBP and hit somewhere around 15 HR. This is exactly what we thought we were getting when we signed him. Defensively he hasn't done a good job throwing out runners, but you can't argue with his Cera. He has been a huge part of why this teams Pitching staff is as good as it is. Not to mention he is a good club house guy(for some this means a great deal for some this means nothing).

.223BA .662OPS 4HR 3.20 Cera Early season rating of the acquisition 6.5/10

Casey McGehee. He sure hasn't reverted back to his 2010 form. But there are some positives to take from this. Varas hasn't set the world on fire for the BrewCrew and really we don't have much room in our bullpen for him anyway. Almost a case of addition by subtraction. Also CM has been able to take a few walks, hasn't struckout at a very high rate and if he would quit swinging at the first pitch, he might just be able to turn into a serviceable hitter.

.184 BA .278 OBP Early season rating of the acquisition 2/10

Clint Barmes. He has hit as many homeruns as he has taken walks. He has almost as many SO as he does total bases(so does Pedro) He has been just ok in the field and an absolute disaster at the plate. I won't even bother putting down the stats. Early season rating of the acquisition 1/10

Nate McLouth. He is gone, no need to rate him anymore.

As bad as some of these players have been, it still looks like we have just as many gems as we do busts. The good thing about that, it is easier to get rid of busts than it is to find a gem.

Breaking down this horrible offense.

sidbreamslegs — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:21:11 -0000

It is easy to complain about the offense. We need to get rid of so and so and we need to add this. Well I am going to try and break down a little bit of who should and who should not go. What is broken with the offense and what possible fixes we can make with what we already have.

Step 1. Fire Ritchie and bring in a new hitting coach. If for no other reason than a change of environment. The biggest flaw with this team is that they are not putting runners on base. They were built on speed and not power. The problem is that speed doesn't do you any good from the dugout. They are hitting .305 when swinging at the first pitch. The problem is when you take McCutchen out of that, they are only hitting .284. You are giving the pitcher a gift when you swing at the first pitch and do not get a hit. This team has an incredible knack for lengthening the start of opposing pitchers. You look at a team like Atlanta who is hitting .383 with an 0-0 count. This is where you should be when being aggressive at the plate. I can't tell you how many times I have seen guys swinging at the first pitch and driving it into the ground. If you are going to go up there and just try to give three defensive swings hoping to put the ball in play, then find another profession. The bigger problem is the swings and misses that put us in pitchers counts over and over again. Barmes is 1-13 when hitting the first pitch. Casey McGehee is 2-14. If the hitting coach can't recognize this and have these vets work the count then he needs to redo his resume. Do your research and realize what the pitcher might bring you for the first pitch. If he throws you that pitch, in the location you are looking, then hit the snot out of it. Anything else just let it go by. You will have a pitch later in the count that you can drive into the ground at second base. No reason you need to do it on the first pitch.

Step 2. Recognize the players who need to stay and who need to go. Casey Mcgehee while only hitting 2-14 when swinging at the first pitch has attributes still. He is fourth on the team with OBP. He also is striking out at a lesser rate than many other players on the team. This leads me to believe that McGehee, just like Barajas are going to even things out over the season and be adequate players.

Nate Mclouth on the other hand is striking out 32% of the time and has very little value to the team. Barmes is striking out 29% of the time which is worrisome. He is being over aggressive early in the count, still isn't hitting the ball well and getting into horrible counts extremely often. I don't know how to fix him. First thing would be to have him be more patient at the plate, if you are going to be an out, at least be a hard out. Garret Jones is also striking out at a 29% clip and isn't getting on base at all. Worst, as everyone could expect is Pedro Alvarez who is striking out 39.8% of the time. He showed glimpses of being a good hitter, but he just can't shake the strikeouts.

A. Keep McGehee, I think he will have value down the road for us.

B. Get rid of McLouth. he provides nothing for us and is part of the reason our PH is so awful.

C. Look for a replacement to Barmes. I hate to eat the contract, but he was brought in for his defense and even that is not looking so great. I wish we would have made a deal for Iglesias now, if we aren't going to have offense, I'd at least like a sured up defense.

D. Jones value isn't very high. Dealing him doesn't make much sense right now so I think you have to play him until his value goes up.

E. Obviously Pedro is going to continue to get regular at bats. Why not move him back in the lineup, or even up to 2nd to try to help him out. Don't you think he would see a few more hittable pitches with Cutch hitting behind him?

F. Navarro needs to be sent down as well. Our bench is horrid right now and we can't afford to have him getting regular at bats and hoping it comes together. I would have much rather kept Hague up and given him the at bats.

Summary. Immediately out: Mclouth and Navarro.

Cut back playing time and look for replacement : Barmes

Hoping they get better: Jones, McGehee

Keep tinkering with: Alvarez

Bring in: Clement, Mercer

Hopefully our pitching will keep us in the race until we are able to flip some B- pitching prospects for some guys who might be able to get on base.

A. Keep McGehee, I think he will have value down the road for us.

B. Get rid of McLouth. he provides nothing for us and is part of the reason our PH is so awful.

D. Jones value isn't very high. Dealing him doesn't make much sense right now so I think you have to play him until his value goes up.

Summary. Immediately out: Mclouth and Navarro.

Cut back playing time and look for replacement : Barmes

Hoping they get better: Jones, McGehee

Keep tinkering with: Alvarez

Bring in: Clement, Mercer

Hopefully our pitching will keep us in the race until we are able to flip some B- pitching prospects for some guys who might be able to get on base.

Take a page out of Maddens book.

sidbreamslegs — Wed, 23 May 2012 05:49:08 -0000

Madden batted Carlos Pena 1st in the batting order because he was walking so much. He isn't hitting the ball or driving in runs. Why not put him leadoff since he is walking so much and let other guys knock him in. I don't really like the move, but I love how he is thinking outside the box and trying to reinvent the lineup to produce runs. We have by far the worst offense in the league, why shouldn't Hurdle do somethings to try and jump start this lineup. I would be interested to see the following lineup tomorrow.

1. Tabata RF

2. McGahee 3B

3. McCutchen CF

4. Harrison SS

5. Walker 2nd

6. Jones 1B

7 Hernandez LF

8 Barajas C

Let Mcgahee get some fastballs in the two hole. If Tabata gets on, they won't want to take a chance at walking Mcgahee and putting two guys on for Cutch. They will go right after him and hopefully get him some fastballs to drive. Harrison batting fourth sounds crazy, but he has the 2nd best OPS on the team and is pretty even with Pedro and Jones for Slugging. He also leads the team for BA with runners in scoring position. Hold the small sample size argument. Once again we need to look at it from the standpoint of we can't get any worse. I also would like to see Barajas in the 8 hole swinging for the fences. I am tired of seeing runners on base with 1 out and Barmes coming to the plate and either grounding into two or striking out so the pitcher is left to not drive in the runs. Also I hate seeing Barajas on the base path with a guy in the 8 hole who can't hit for power and then the pitcher to follow. It makes no sense. Say there are two out and Barajas hits a single or takes a walk. Barmes is batting 8th and the pitcher 9th. Unless Barmes hits a homerun we aren't scoring that inning. Even if he puts it in the corner, Barajas is lucky to get to third. However if you have Gorky hitting 7th and taking a walk. You have a shot for Barajas to either go deep or put one in gap and let Gorky run for awhile.

Hey we can't do much worse.

1. Tabata RF

2. McGahee 3B

3. McCutchen CF

4. Harrison SS

5. Walker 2nd

6. Jones 1B

7 Hernandez LF

8 Barajas C

Hey we can't do much worse.

Buying and selling wishlist

sidbreamslegs — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:08:22 -0000

I actually don't see much movement either way from the Pirates this year. No big splash will be made especially if we are right around .500 but have no trade partners.

If we are buyers, the following are the players I would like to take a stab at.

1. Paul Konerko. If we are in and the White Sox are out, I give a huge haul to get him. (Bell, Locke, Kingham) pretty much anyone other than Tallion or Cole I would entertain the right deal.

2. Billy Butler. I wouldn't give up nearly as much to get him as Konerko and considering his lack of defense, his value might play in our favor if we are willing to deal with the poor defense.

3. Justin Morneau. If healthy, I don't see him as part of their future anymore and I don't think it would take too much to get him away if we are willing to take on some money.

4. Jason Kubel. If the Dbacks continue to play below where they are, they might be interested in someone a little younger. Would you consider a Marte for Kubel swap? Kubel probably has 3 or 4 years left of good ball in him so it wouldn't be like giving up Marte for a rental. And by the time Kubel hits the end of his career, Grossman, Bell or Rojas Jr. might be ready to step up.

There isn't much out there after these guys that I would go crazy about if we got. Maybe a guy like Dunn, but I think he would cost too much. It really might be slim pickens this year for a bat.

If we are sellers. I know this is going to sound crazy, and you might be right that there is zero chance of this happening. But I am going to try and make an argument(wishful thinking) anyway. If the Orioles continue to play well and have a shot to make the playoffs, they know that in their division they have small windows to do so. JJ Hardy is 29 and could still be their SS for a few more years. While their bullpen is solid, they could use another bat this season and another starter. If they would want Hammer then this would be easier, but I don't think that will be the case. I would prefer Bedard, but I don't see the Orioles going crazy over him. Burnett wouldn't work back in the AL East. Perhaps if Jmac keeps pitching the way he is, throw in a GIJones for power, would it be possible to pluck Machado?

I actually don't see much movement either way from the Pirates this year. No big splash will be made especially if we are right around .500 but have no trade partners.

If we are buyers, the following are the players I would like to take a stab at.

1. Paul Konerko. If we are in and the White Sox are out, I give a huge haul to get him. (Bell, Locke, Kingham) pretty much anyone other than Tallion or Cole I would entertain the right deal.

2. Billy Butler. I wouldn't give up nearly as much to get him as Konerko and considering his lack of defense, his value might play in our favor if we are willing to deal with the poor defense.

3. Justin Morneau. If healthy, I don't see him as part of their future anymore and I don't think it would take too much to get him away if we are willing to take on some money.

There isn't much out there after these guys that I would go crazy about if we got. Maybe a guy like Dunn, but I think he would cost too much. It really might be slim pickens this year for a bat.

Are they a prospect.

sidbreamslegs — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:01:49 -0000

Figured this could be a fun little game. Obviously Tallion, Cole and Marte are prospects, but there are a number of other players who have either dropped off or have overachieved. I will list the players and you tell the following.

1. If the player is a prospect

2. Rating from 1-10 on how certain you are he will make the Bigs.

3. What type of big leaguer he will be(Filler, Specialist, Every day, All Star, Superstar)

1. Jordy Mercer

2. Chase D'Arnaud

3. Rudy Owens

4. Jeff Locke

10. Matt Curry

11. Ramon Cabrera

12. Brock Holt

13. Victor Black

14. Nathan Baker

15. Jonathan Ramos

16. Mel Rojas jr.

17. Tyler Waldron

18. Elicier Navarro

19. Colton Cain

20. Josh Poytress

21. Alen Hanson

22. Junior Sosa

23. Gregory Palanco

24. Willy Garcia

25. Dan Gamache

26. Zack Dodson

27. Matt Benedict

28. Nicholas Kingman

29. Zachery Fuesser

30. Stetson Allie

1. If the player is a prospect

2. Rating from 1-10 on how certain you are he will make the Bigs.

3. What type of big leaguer he will be(Filler, Specialist, Every day, All Star, Superstar)

1. Jordy Mercer

2. Chase D'Arnaud

3. Rudy Owens

4. Jeff Locke

10. Matt Curry

11. Ramon Cabrera

12. Brock Holt

13. Victor Black

14. Nathan Baker

15. Jonathan Ramos

16. Mel Rojas jr.

17. Tyler Waldron

18. Elicier Navarro

19. Colton Cain

20. Josh Poytress

21. Alen Hanson

22. Junior Sosa

23. Gregory Palanco

24. Willy Garcia

25. Dan Gamache

26. Zack Dodson

27. Matt Benedict

28. Nicholas Kingman

29. Zachery Fuesser

30. Stetson Allie

5 tool players

sidbreamslegs — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:55:27 -0000

Today on MLB radio they were talking about 5 tool players. They started by saying that the term was overused, and that even really great players were usually missing at least one tool. Then they start rattling off some names, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds. Over and over again they kept naming Bonds. I am in the minority of thinking that Bonds was maybe 4 and a half tools instead of five. There is a reason the Pirates never made it to the world series. There is a reason Sid Bream scored. Obviously Bonds thought he had all the tools, but I never considered him to have a plus arm. Clemente is the type of person I think of when I think 5 tools. They went on to list the players in todays game who they considered to be 5 tools... Matt Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen and one other player I am leaving out. What about Beltran, Jennings, Upton, Braun, and Heyward. I can agree with the arguement that the term is too loosely used, but if that is the case, I don´t think Bonds is the guy you should be linking to the term. It was an interesting topic, and something relavent to the Pirates as they seem to strive to get the toolsy guys as opposed to a big bopper or a straight speedster.

Just for fun

sidbreamslegs — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:03:54 -0000

I know speculation wont get us anywhere, but with Bedard pitching the way he is pitching and with Hanson playing the way he is, I thought it might be a little fun to look at our possible system next year.

Let me start by saying I don't think they should hold Marte down if he is ready and I don't want to just sell off Bedard... once again this is just for fun.

Harper, Trout, Darvish, Moore, Montero, Mesoraco all will come off of the Prospect list next year.

There is the possibility of having Cole and Tallion both in the top 5.

If Marte stays down and put up good numbers until a september call up, he could jump into the top 50

Bell comes back and puts up good numbers... even though he is hurt he still is a top 100 guy

Allie needs a miracle comeback to stay in the top 100, but Heredia could take his place with a great season. As young as he is, the scouts are just waiting for him to prove himself a little with as much talent as he has.

Alen Hanson continues to play out of his gourd and jumps up to a top 50 guy... he is only 17

Sanchez finishes with a batting avg over .300 and has a solid year behind the plate. He could become a fringe top 100, probably closer to 150

We get lucky in the draft and the guy we get at number 8 slots in the top 100

We trade Hanny for a top 100

We trade Bedard for a top 100

How great would it be to look up next year and have 10 top 100 prospects. Our system would be completely stocked... our major league team would still be incredibly young and all of a sudden it's not depressing to be a Pirates fan anymore.

I think Bedard is a little old to net a guy like Yelich on his own, but the Marlins pitching prospects aren't that great. Maybe a Bedard, Owens, Locke for Yelich?

Hanny for Lavarnway?

This might be completely unrealistic, but really not too far off of what we could be looking at next year. I think the worst case scenario we still have 6 guys in the top 100 and possibly the best farm system in the majors.