Pirates at Blue Jays

Ian Snell will throw hard and not show weird stuff at one.

Reds, Pirates, Twins

Split-squad games around 1.

Pirates at Yankees

Billy Crystal will play today for the Yankees. Game at 1:15pm.

Pirates at Blue Jays

1 o'clock Grapefruit league game.

Thoughts on Snell and Pearce

No Grapefruit league game today, it looks to me, from the MLB.com scoreboard.

Dejan Kovacevic Paul Meyer reported some news for the Post-Gazette. The roster cuts are non-surprising.

The same synopsis mentions that Snell was renewed (made 408K last year, probably renewed at what, 450K?). It also notes that the Pirates have offered him a long-term deal. Why Snell would play for 400-450K now and decline a long term deal, which surely would run in the millions, is beyond me. Agents and players have much greater risk tolerance for this sort of thing than I would. The idea that Snell would make more money by living year to year strikes me as foolhardy. If you have a chance to get a big paycheck, take it. The odds that a player will stay healthy through his arbitration years for an even bigger contract are longer than most would think.

I also think it might be in the Pirates' best interest for Snell not to sign a long-term deal. Guys have a tendency to get fat once they are set for life. That's only an added risk and it surely outweighs the risks involved only with him not signing the deal, e.g., the risk that Snell would destroy himself by, say, hiding an injury in the hopes of finishing the season with a great many innings and a stronger arbitration case.

I can imagine there's all kinds of back-and-forth and poker playing and whatnot between the team and Ian Snell, but if I'm Snell I take their best long-term offer before the season starts. And then I get to work adjusting my life to such a higher salary. It won't be so easy to stay sharp mentally.

One more thing: I'd want to get paid in euros.

In other news, Pearce was told to learn the outfield. Adam LaRoche is a "fixture," as Kovacevic writes, and that makes a lot of sense. With Bay perpetually gimpy and non-healing the last year or two, and with Nady likely to command some value in trade, anyone who wants to see Pearce in the big leagues should be nodding their head about this decision. It also further guarantees that Pearce will not make the team out of spring training (barring injury). You can't learn a new position as a pinch-hitter starting twice a week.

Phillies at Pirates

Ian Snell will pitch at 1pm.

And there will be a lot of roster cuts today.