Pirates not happy with their management

Check out this article from ESPN.com in which >Pittsburgh Pirates players blast their management for the constant trading away of their best players:

Shortstop Jack Wilson -- himself the subject of trade rumors -- said he was "beyond, beyond tired" of the Pirates' deals the past few seasons, the newspaper reported. "We know that they're looking to the future, which doesn't say much about 2009," Wilson said, according to the report. "That's probably what's so shocking. We're five games out, and we lost two or three of our everyday players" in the trades that sent McLouth and Morgan out of town.

"They're businessmen. They're trying to achieve winning baseball in Pittsburgh. The biggest question is: When is that going to be? When do things start turning around?" Wilson said, according to the report. "It's just hard for guys who have been here and seen these exact same trades happen and seen it absolutely do nothing. I've been here nine years. I've seen two or three of these trades every year and still haven't had a winning season."

Now I know Pirates fans are not among this blog's readers (usually), but those are some very strong words.


For all of Brian Cashman's faults, and there, one might presume, are many, one needs to only see something like this to remember that the situation can be a lot worse.

There's building for the future, but at some point a team can't just be building--they have to be doing as well. The Pirates are only five games out this season in a rather weak NL Central--so such moves as moving Morgan and McClouth so soon after each other have to upset Pittsburgh fans.


At least they've got the Steelers and the Penguins, I guess.

An Act of Piracy?

Was it pure piracy?

We won't know for sure for a couple of years, when Jose Tàbata should be major league ready, but for now, it sure looks it.

Who the Yankees got:

Xavier Nady: Corner outfielder with pop in his bat.
Dàmaso Marte: Left-handed relief pitcher who was more or less the most sought-after relief pitcher this season.

Who the Yankees gave up:

Ross Ohlendorf: You've seen him before. Hard throwing pitcher who could turn into a starter or a reliever.
Jose Tàbata: Last year, he hit .305 with a broken bone in his wrist. This year, the youngest player at the AA level, he has had some red flags go up with his attittude when dealing with a tougher level of competition.
Phil Coke: AA pitcher who has looked stronger recently, but is already 26 years old.
George Kontos: Potential servicable #5 starter.


EDIT:

Coke and Kontos have been replaced in the deal with Jeff Karstens and Dan McCutcheon.

Jeff Karstens: Marginal starter.
Dan McCutcheon: Could turn into a very reliable bullpen arm.


So, what does this do for the Yankees?

Well, going into the trade deadline, the Yankees had three needs, viz:

1) A right handed bat, preferably one that could play the outfield corners--left field this year, while Damon's shoulder is still not 100%, and potentially right field next year, if the Yankees decline to bring back Bobby Abreu.

2) A starting pitcher to spell Darrell Rasner or Sidney Ponson.

3) A left-handed reliever.

They have now, pending physicals, filled numbers one and three on their list, and done so without giving up anyone on their twenty-five man roster, without giving up Austin Jackson, Jesus Montero or Mark Melancon, and done so while the combined cost of Nady and Marte is under $11 million.


It's hard to know exactly how everything will play out, but right now, the Yankees could be heading into the latter part of the year with a starting line up of:

Johnny Damon DH
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Robinson Canò 2B
Xavier Nady LF
Melky Cabrera CF
Jose Molina C

Sound a bit longer than the line up currently in place? Thought so.

Now think about what the bullpen might look like:

Mariano Rivera
Kyle Farnsworth
Jose Veras
Edwar Ramirez
David Robertson
Dàmaso Marte
Dan Giese (okay, so Hawkins will probably still be here, but that's not the point).

That is a formiddable bullpen.

For all of the talk of this being a rebuilding year, Brian Cashman and company have made a move that will do that much more to help this team well now.

Pirate Booty (Postgame Notes 25 June 2008)

What a difference a day makes.

Twenty four hours after the Yankees had what was arguably their worst loss of the season, they came out and played like a top-tier team beating up on one that hasn't had a winning season in sixteen years.

Every Yankee starter, with the exception of Joba Chamberlain, had at least one hit, and even Joba had a walk and a well placed sacrifice bunt.

While the game was an offensive display for the Yankees, the true player of the game was easily Joba Chamberlain, who pitched brilliantly and got his first win as a starter. He allowed six hits through six and 2/3ds innings, with seven strike outs and only one walk.

Joba continues to get better with every start he makes. It's no longer a question of whether he should start, but if, in Wang's absence, he can mount the role of 'Yankees' ace', and thus take some of the load of of Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina.

While his pitch count was a little high for the innings pitched, he made the important pitches when he needed to, and did not at all look uncomfortable.

He won't pitch this well every start, but on a night where the Yankees really needed a good start, they got it.

The offense, of course, helped.

Robbie Canò had his first home run since May 8th (!), Bobby Abreu had a three run home run, his second home run in as many nights, and Derek Jeter had two doubles.

They scored in six different innings, including the first and the ninth, with both the regulars and the bench, and they did so without the services of Johnny Damon (who is expected to be okay) and Hideki Matusi (whose knees must be a source of real concern).

Justin Christian, who was just called up yesterday, has hit to the tune of .375 over the two games, proving a viable solution while Damon and Matsui are out.

****

If you didn't catch it, Fresno State won their first ever NCAA championship at the College World Series. They are the lowest seeded NCAA team to ever win a championship.

If you get a chance, watch the highlights and their celebration. The joy on the kids' faces?

That's why you play the game.

A Preview a Day Keeps the Winter Away, #20

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up today: The Pittsburgh Pirates

Go on and name me five players on the Pirates. Can you do it?

I don't know if there's no better hallmark of a team that hasn't had a winning season in fifteen years than being, generally, irrelevant. In the NL Central, probably the weakest division in the Majors, it can easily be argued that only the Pirates can't realistically entertain hopes of winning the division.

The Pirates aren't the worst team in the majors; they're not even the worst team in the National League, but they aren't a good team, at least, not yet. Perhaps starters Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell can significantly distance themselves from the pack, and Damaso Marte might be the most sought-after bullpen lefty specialist, but there's no one on team that immediately grabs your eye, with the possible exception of Xavier Nady who just has a really, really cool name.

Don't get me wrong, the Pirates have some solid athletes--like Freddie Sanchez--but there's still something missing. They'll be better than San Francisco, and possibly the Marlins and the Nats, but it's a long way to go before they're truly ready to compete at the top level.

Threat to the Yankees: Green, Proceed Normally.

Well, we did sweep them last year, and we get the luxury of trying it again this June, though hopefully this time we won't be distracted by Roger Clemens un-retiring for the fourth, fifth or sixth time.