Honus the Alpaca was sold this year to Ozark Mountain Alpacas, who know him and boast that he's ready and willing, for a $2500 stud fee. The camelid offers "the complete package," his new owners remind us. He demonstrates "what everyone is looking for in a breeding male . . . density, fineness, consistency in crimp, good bone density and strength, and the presence that calls attention to him." And there's more. He's also won another prize since our last update.
Way to go, Honus!
There has not been much new reading material featuring a fresh angle on the longstanding problem that's been the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's been this way for a while, actually. The question of whether or not the new management can accomplish much under the same-old ownership group is going to take a year or more to sift.
It does look, however, like they are once again making the choice to not spend money this off-season. Given the available talent, it may or may not be a wise decision. I find it hard to get excited about the possible return of Shawn Chacon. I suppose it would be good for one set of running jokes. But like a lot of Pirate fans, I could use some new running jokes. The old ones, born of frustration and humiliation, are losing the bright, shiny, amusing luster they once had.
Both Bob Smizik's chat and Dejan Kovacevic's Q & A repeat what appears to be the developing consensus: the change in management means little as ownership continues to take what must be substantial profits. And it may be 2009 before we have enough data to firmly believe these.
In other news, Jose Castillo is a worthless bum. Good riddance I say. Whether or not he ever plays well for another team reflects only on Jose Castillo. The Pirates gave him plenty of opportunity and, from what I could gather, sufficiently sound advice for self-improvement.
And no, the Steelers should not be resting people or going into the game with a half-assed plan that compromises the desire to win with some desire to curl into a fetal position and not get hurt. If players are too hurt to play, they obviously should not play. But the healthy players should all be in there. The Steelers have looked pretty mediocre in the second half, and they need to practice winning games before the playoffs begin.
Joe Capozzi reports for some Florida paper.
This obviously leaves a big, powerful-looking big hole in the Pirates' JV infield.
Kip Wells will make $3.1M with up to $1.5M in bonus money to pitch for the Rockies.
It seems to me like this is a lot of money for his services.
At the Dandy House this morning, everyone was a-buzz with the news that the Pirates re-signed Masumi Kuwata.
The same article claims that the Pirates still need arms for the bullpen.
Dejan Kovacevic explains the Pirates will bid on Johnny Estrada.
There's a lot of talk in that article about his hitting, but I want to know if he can catch the ball. For example, if someone throws the ball from the outfield to Johnny Estrada, while guys are running around the bases, will Estrada catch the ball? Also, there are other times when the catcher needs to catch the ball. If Estrada won't catch the ball, I don't see how he could be an upgrade over Ronny Ballgame.
I also wonder if Estrada is adept at reading signs communicated from the dugout. Because while I'd prefer to see him start (if he will catch the ball), there's no sense abandoning the advantage of Ronny's Paul Lo Duca-like feel for things that instantaneously pop up during an at-bat and his definitive understanding of how to carry out an at-bat. So if Estrada is good with Paulino calling the game from the dugout, things could work out--so long, of course, as Ronny could keep that feel for the at-bat while not behind the plate trying to catch the ball.
On one hand, I could see how it would be hard to focus and get a feel for things popping up if you are in the dugout. On the other hand, I could see how it might free the mind from distractions if you are not trying to catch the ball. So it would be an experiment.
Happy performance-enhancing drugs day.
Here's a thread to talk about the needles in the ass.
Here's a thread to keep the conversation going about the Pirates' most glaring need (must score more runs). Here we can also share whatever we got in terms of trade-type, FA-type, or waiver-wire-type brainstorms and gossip.
Dejan Kovacevic reports not a lot of worry about the 2008 bullpen.
I'm of the opinion that you line up five or seven guys who could start right away. Put four on the big-league club. The rest go to Indy, take turns, and wait. Then you get six to eight guys who may not have the repertoire or health to start. You put a few of these guys on the club as long relievers, and you put a few guys on the club as set-up men or late-inning people. The one-to-three out specialists become your closers. The manager more or less rides the hot hand until some performance-determined hierarchy emerges. Some schmucks have all the luck; some studs have all the pain. There's no predicting that the Pirates cannot get good late-inning performance from some one to three of Burnett, JVB, Bullington, Osoria, Bayliss, Romulo!, Perez, Taubenheim, Barthmaier, and Dumatrait.
So if I ran the circus, I'd trade Grabow and Marte for position-player prospects. The young starters might whine about there being "no one" to preserve their Ws. To that kind of whining, I would scowl. I would remind them that they could get more outs from their 110 pitches. They have to become more efficient if they want to get better anyway.
The distinguished closer and set-up ranks are full of one-pitch bulldogs and failed or fragile starters. The current roster of no-name pitchers may not inspire confident bullpen construction, but if you give these guys the opportunity, I would trust that a few of them will turn in solid work.
The Steelers should take Brady out back and really jump him. That's what it's about. This guy needs to know what it is to play the game wrong and how important it is to get sacked a lot. It's not going to be a slack deal. It won't be tolerated. But it will be handled in a way to try to get the best possible results out of Najeh because he's a good player. (post inspired by John Russell via Dejan).
Sully might rather retire than move his family to Milwaukee, reports Dejan Kovacevic.
Sully traded to the Brewers for right-handed relievers Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts, Dejan reports. No word yet on whether Salas and Roberts hit the weight room every day, or every other day.
Dejan Kovacevic has a bunch of them.
It sounds like the Indians came to question Ronny Ballgame's health, which I find incredible. I wonder if the Pirates sufficiently emphasized his ability to call games.
My favorite part of today's Kovacevic is the correction issued by Salomon Torres. It's buried, scroll to the bottom to find it.
Dejan Kovacevic reports this morning that late last night, the Indians and the Pirates resumed talks, perhaps in response to the Cabrera trade, centering on Ronny Ballgame.
The Indians want him, it appears, and for outfielder Franklin Gutierrez, catcher Kelly Shoppach, and perhaps Cliff Lee, the Indians will get Ronny Paulino. The deal also hinges on the Pirates including Jason Bay.
Nate McLouth may or may not be the "it" boy of the offseason trade conversations.
I wouldn't want Jason Bay if I was the Cleveland Indians. His knees are all crickety and he has that nasty Canadian attitude. No, I'd leave him in the Burgh. Nothing to see here ...
