Still on the board

For MLB.com, Jim Molony reviews the more than 150 free agents who are still unsigned. He also notes the Bucs are interested in Reggie Sanders, who will command a multi-year deal.

Four free agent hitters drawing plenty of attention are Johnny Damon (with the Red Sox, Dodgers and Yankees believed to be the frontrunners), Nomar Garciaparra (Dodgers, Astros, Yankees, Indians), Jacque Jones (Rangers, Royals) and Reggie Sanders (Mariners, Pirates, Royals).

The list of outfielders who are still looking for homes includes Jeromy Burnitz, Jeff Conine, Juan Encarnacion, Juan Gonzalez, Preston Wilson, Rondell White, Sammy Sosa, Todd Hollandsworth, Terrence Long, Kenny Lofton, Marquis Grissom, Michael Tucker and Richard Hidalgo.

As for catchers, Bengie Molina is still available, as are Mike Piazza, Eddie Perez and Einar Diaz, to name a few.

Garciaparra certainly isn't the only veteran infielder still looking for work.

Frank Thomas, J.T. Snow, Rafael Palmeiro, Travis Lee, Tino Martinez, Bret Boone, Tony Graffanino, Jose Vizcaino, Dustan Mohr, Mark Bellhorn, Miguel Cairo, Alex Gonzalez, Royce Clayton, Chris Gomez, Wes Helms and Joe Randa are still on the board.

Pick your poison.

For 3B, Tony Graffanino, Joe Randa, and Mark Bellhorn look like the obvious picks, but all three are no better than Rob Mackowiak. Graffanino hits righties the best, but he's the worst third baseman of the group. Randa hits lefties OK, so acquiring him negates any usefulness Freddy Sanchez might have. He's not a good fit. Bellhorn doesn't hit much at all. Why sign a veteran for the Noonie role? The Bucs would do better to promote a younger player and see if he develops.

The outfielders are pretty non-exciting. Burnitz and Wilson, low-OBP sluggers, will not help much since we already have a cast of low-OBP players. Juan Encarnacion is just mediocre. Juan Gonzalez is a career 900 OPS hitter, so his upside is appealing. We're already betting on one high-upside-when-healthy player, though. He made 600K for one at-bat last year. I'm not sure what shape he's in now, but if he's good to go in March, I would take a chance on him. Rondell White is Matt Lawton with less OBP and more power. He looks good on paper only until you see him play the field. Sosa has been a useless gimp. Richard Hidalgo, only 30, reminds me of Craig Wilson. He had some kind of terrible wrist injury in 2005.

Off that last, I'd take a longer look at Gonzalez and Hidalgo, but I would not jump to sign either guy. The Pirates will have to look for a more sure thing through trade.

Bulimic Bucs

Derek Jacques works an extended lady-vomit metaphor in this notebook entry.

...my first impression of this piece was, "OK." Upon further review, however, instant replay clearly shows that the following paragraph is lazy or stupid:

But excitement is somewhat beside the point here. Littlefield apparently believes that his ballclub is at the stage where it needs to be supplemented with some veteran talent to rise to the next level. Based on recent research by Nate Silver, we’d have to disagree with that assessment, since the benefits of going from a 67 win team to a 77 win team aren’t likely to make a big difference to Pittsburgh’s bottom line.

First, excitement is never beside the point. All hail excitement!

Second, Littlefield has not made a lot of noise about veteran talent beyond the typical stuff. For example, on Roberto Hernandez:

"We like [closer] Mike Gonzalez a lot, but it doesn't hurt to have another option. Roberto is a veteran guy with a proven track record in late-inning situations."

And have you heard anything about veteran talent taking us to the next level? Littlefield, from the same article:

"We've made some improvements but when you're coming off a 67-95 season you've got a long way to go," he said.

So Jacques has his platitudes mixed up. Littlefield has not been indicating that the acquisiton of veterans like Hernandez will take the team to the next level. Rather, he's been repeating the humble fact that the Bucs still probably suck even with the addition of veteran insurance policies like Hernandez.

Finally, why promote Silver's analysis of the 77-win vs. 67-win team and the bottom line? It just does not follow. To get to 87 wins, the team has to get to 77 wins first.

Maybe Littlefield is worried, first and foremost, about the bottom line. But it makes no sense to criticize the Bucs for trying to get better. A 77-team may be mediocre, but it beats a 67-win team. Perhaps Jacques meant to write that BP disagrees with his assessment that some veterans will help make the team more mediocre. As it stands, though, he argues that the Pirates should not even bother trying to improve marginally, since marginal improvements are not likely to improve the bottom line. And that's just dumb.

I've long been a proponent of the theory that only winning sells tickets. Search the archives; I've said that again and again and again since we started this blog in 2003 1903. The team has to get to mediocre before they can get to good.

Craig Wilson and 2006

So what do you think of him? Azibuck had a good rant in previous comments.

He's a .268 / .363 / .488 hitter in five seasons and 1750 PAs. He's 29 in 2006. Hits lefties much better than righties. Good OBP, but it's somewhat scary: he has a 162 walks in his career and 81 HBPs.

No doubt, right now, he's a big part of any chance the Pirates have in 2006. No doubt he'll play, probably a lot, for us. But are you comfortable depending on him for full-time duty in 2006? For 600 PAs?

I'm not. I don't know how you expect a player who leans into so many pitches to finish the season healthy. He managed 600 PAs in 2004, so maybe it can happen.

The main reason I'm not, however, is his freaky streakiness. For the first two months of 2004, he was all the best of Jim Thome. Then he followed that up with a 587 OPS in June. A bad Thome month - and he has had them - is like a 780 OPS. Craiggers' post-ASB numbers were .235 / .322 / .453. That's not bad, but that won't carry a team.

The killer for me was Wilson's performance last April. He hit .234 / .388 / .250 in what was one of the most disappointing months of Pirate baseball in the last so many disappointing years. He looked like the Tommy Maddox of clean-up hitters. More or less given command of the (weak) lineup, he wilted. He's not on Jason Bay's level.

When we sit around and talk about how the Pirates need another middle-of-the-order bat to compete next year, we're not forgetting about Craig Wilson. We'd be deluding ourselves, I think, if we regarded him as the overlooked answer to the clean-up spot.

And all the talk about Pirate fans not regarding Craiggers as a full-time player is so 2003. Even if we pencil him in as an everyday player, it would not be wise to regard him as a 650 PA everyday regular. He's not a good bet to play all 162 games; I don't think he has the track record to make that prediction sound.

He's a part of the middle of the lineup. Because of his platoon split, the likelihood of beanball injury, and the way he wore down in 2004, I say he's probably best regarded as a 400-450 PA part.

He's a valuable player, but his value is not so high that this team can afford to build everything around him. If the Bucs were stronger up the middle of the field, and if the Bucs had just acquired a 1000 OPS first baseman, then there wouldn't be so much urgency to find a 900 OPS, 650 PA player for 3B or RF. It's not Craig Wilson's fault, but his inadequacies are magnified by the general inadequacy of his teammates. He'd be more valuable on any team that could better afford to ride out his slumps and replace his convalescent time.

Wilson plays 1B and RF, two positions where it's more likely that the Pirates could find a better hitter. So all the talk about trading Craig Wilson to help fetch and make room for an upgrade makes sense to me.

Will we find that upgrade? Yes. As soon as the Red Sox trade Manny to us for Zach Duke.

Third base

Dejan Kovacevic runs down some options.

Sheehan and Eldred

There's no pleasing Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus. The guy hates the Bucs for some reason. I subscribe to the site and generally enjoy it, but they are weak on the Bucs. They've been infatuated with Craig Wilson, for example, for much too long. Can they say, Jack Cust? Erubiel Durazo? They have lousy taste in slugging prospects, and they can't get over it. I'm all about Craiggers slotted into a 450-PA time-share, but I'm not about to give him the keys to the clean-up spot.

And then there's Eldred. In his November 11 "AFL Report," Sheehan wrote:

Brad Eldred: He can't play. He's huge and he hits the balls he hits a long way, but he can't play. If the Pirates give Eldred at-bats ahead of Craig Wilson, they're making a mistake. Eldred's bat is just too slow, and he doesn't recognize pitches well enough to get away with a long swing.

Now today he writes, about the Sean Casey deal:

Dan O’Brien’s good decision is David Littlefield’s bad one, as the Pirate GM blocks a prospect, spends money and doesn’t improve his team by acquiring Sean Casey from the Reds.

Which is it? Can Eldred play? Is he a prospect? Or can he not play? Is he a non-prospect?

The rest of Sheehan's paragraph is cribbed from Bob Smizik.

My point is not so much that Sheehan's wrong or that Sheehan's a lousy writer or that Sheehan's curmudgeon act with the Bucs is stale, predictable, and unoriginal. My point is there's little consistency to the BP Pirates coverage. Why call Eldred a prospect this month after calling him a non-player last month? The only explanation is there is no explanation. It's knee-jerk and unprincipled.

Steeler running backs

Ed Bouchette reports that Staley will not dress again, most likely.

Of the guys they got, I like Parker the least. He reminds me of Amos Zereoue. Shifty Steeler third-down backs have a way of making a big splash and doing little with full-time work. I think he'd be more effective as a third-down back.

Jerome Bettis is great as a pinch-runner. He can't start -- well, not if you want to use him again a week later.

Staley's the one I'd like to see healthy and getting twenty touches a game. But he won't dress.

The question I have: why not Verron Haynes? He's never had a chance to be the feature back, and I think he'd come up big if they ever gave him most of the carries. Until Staley is ready, I'd like to see him as the primary ball-carrier, Parker as the third-down back, and Bettis as the pinch-runner.

Mueller chooses Dodgers

Good news for the Bucs. This clears up some money to sign Manny. Provided we don't flush it instead on David Bell.

Milton Bradley to Oakland

Another Rotoworld update (via FOXSports): Milton Bradley has been traded to Oakland with Antonio Perez for "top prospect" Andre Ethier. Not many bats left out there. Will Tracy play Craig in RF?

David Bell

Rotoworld via the Philly Daily Inquirer reports that David Bell's name has come up in trade talks with the Bucs. Heh. For 4.7 million, Bell hit .248/.310/.361 in 557 ABs last year.

Either DL has gotten into the funny water again, or this is a brilliant publicity stunt to raise fan support for signing Bill Mueller.

Bettis loves the bunt

RB Jerome Bettis broke off a 39-yard run Sunday, his longest in three years, and he appeared to need oxygen afterward. "Well, I never had much gas," He said, after bullying his way to 101 yards, 100 in the second half. "My job is to get all the yards I can get and live to fight another day. ... There's a big difference between me and Willie Parker. He's the home-run guy. I'm the bunt guy -- get on base, manufacture a score."

From Joe Bendel's Tribune notebook.

In other news, the Steelers signed Ty Wigginton to the practice squad. They apparently like the plays Bones drew up for him.

Bill Mueller news

John Perrotto reports:

"It looks like something is going to happen soon," a source close to the negotiations said. "I'd say it will happen this week and it's looking pretty good for the Pirates."

I hope we get him. Sign, Bill, sign.

One for the drinking room

Great picture of Jerome hauling that ball down the field.

Flaco

Ed Eagle interviews Oliver Perez.

Lloyd McClendon, Ph.D.

Valpo accepted his dissertation, "Lineup Optimization for Low-Hitting Ballclubs."

Congratulations, Mac!

19% of the Hall of Fame

Just heard that on the radio, that the Bears and the Steelers together make up 19% of the players in the NFL Hall of Fame.

New beer of choice

I like this stuff. Black beers are the shit for me these days, and this Avery New World Porter is pretty good stuff. With Iron City bankrupt, you'd think some microbrew would go for the Steelers market with a special "Joey Porter."

Pirate fans already have Big League Brew, which can come with a nice Honus Wagner four-bottle carrier. It looks good on my bookshelf. I use such things as spacers since I'm always taking down and putting up the various books.

Bears at Steelers

Still no Marvel Smith. Forecast: pain.

Ollie looks good

According to John Perrotto's paper.

Tracyball 101

Dejan Kovacevic explains.

Bill Mueller

I just looked at this guys stats for a few minutes, and I want him. Look here.

First, he's a free agent. He won't cost us another pitcher. He may cost a lot of dough, but I'll set that question aside. The market is doing its thing.

One thing to like: .373 career OBP. Like Casey, he has Mark Grace-looking career numbers. Another thing to like: he hits righties. .302 / .378 / .451 last year. .315 / .394 / .490 2002 to 2004.

Thing is, we have this other guy who plays third who hits lefties pretty well.

Mueller, like Casey, is probably not going to manage 650 PAs in 2006. We need at least 650 PAs at each of the positions, maybe 700 at first base. Casey has averaged about 625 per year recently. Eldred or Wilson could easily make up the rest. If we sign Mueller, who has been more of a 450-550 PA guy, we know some of those lost at-bats could be thrown profitably to Freddy Sanchez. If he's a little gimpy and we are facing Eric Milton, he sits and Sanchez plays.

The thing I really want is a Manny Christmas. Like that will happen. The big knock on Mueller, for me, is not the low slugging percentage. It's not good but the high OBP makes up for much of what it lacks. The knock on Mueller is the possibility - looks strong considering his career numbers - that he manages only 450 PA while hobbling around with some kind of nagging injury. But we have Sanchez and we could mandate rest for a guy with such a gimpy track record. Tracy could keep him fresh and find time for Sanchez.

The more I think on it, the more I want him.

And unlike Bones, I like the Hernandez signing. Glad to have another Token Geezer on the staff. My first choice was Julio Franco, but Roberto will do.

$2,750,000

For 41-year-old Roberto Hernandez's one year deal, DK reports. Apparently he's not been promised the closer's role but could step in should Gonzo falter. We outbid the Yanks' 2.5 million offer. Hernandez' career and last year's stats are better than I would've guessed, but this is an atrocious move at a brainsick price.

DK also reports that the Bucs have upped their offer to three years now to anemic but slick-fielding 3B Bill Mueller, who has not been traded to the Dodgers, contrary to the rumors a few days ago. Plus DL is actively pursuing the volatile but gifted Milton Bradley. After the Roberto signing and the J.T. Snow/Bill Mueller interest, I'd be thrilled if we signed Milton. Sure, he throws beer bottles back into the stands and fights the power, but he's young and can hit.

Now warming up in the bullpen

Ryan Vogelsong and Roberto Hernandez.

No more Wiggy

In other news from yesterday, the Bucs added Victor Santos in the Rule 5 draft. No Bucs were selected, so Boeve stays. To make room for Santos, we released Wiggy. I have mixed feelings about this, as I had a plan for Wiggy.

Chad Blackwell and Clayton Hamilton were named the PTBNL in the Redman and Bobby Hill trades respectively.

Turns out the Reds will only pay 1 million of Casey's contract.

Mesa signed with the Rockies for 2 million. With Joe, Tike, and Wiggy gone, who will be our new whipping boy?

Damaso Marte

DL's offers/interest this week in J.T. Snow, Bill Mueller, and especially Roberto Hernandez disturb me. That said, I love the Mack-o-wack for Marte deal. Rob can play six positions, but his .726 OPS had no business batting clean-up for the '05 Pirates. And we've got other versatile IFs.

In the last four years, LHP Marte has 259 IP, only 195 hits, a scary 119 BB, and an impressive 281 Ks. That makes for a 1.21 WHIP, and a K/IP of 1.1. Filthy. I'd gladly give Damaso the ball in the 9th or any other inning, or trade him or any of our other lefty relievers for a hitter.

Mackowiak haiku

Granny for Garrett.
Freed by Chulo. You hit fourth?
So long, Mack-o-wack.

Thanks for the memories, Rob, and best of luck.

Chicago man goes home

Hopefully not one year too late. Story here.

...FWIW, Marte reminds me of Ricardo Rincon. He will probably be easier to trade than a utilityman. He makes the other left-handed relievers ... yeah, every one of them ... more expendable.

Mackowiak was a good story. Was he something of a McClendon loyalist? Not that there is any reason to think this would put him on the outs with the new manager; it's just that of all the players, I'd guess he was one of the ones who McClendon was most proud of. That was the impression I got. I'm curious to hear what the rest of you think.

His departure and the addition of yet another left-hander makes me think there will be more deals and signings soon.

The power of Sean Casey

Let's open the book of stats on this guy and get some facts about him. Because he's slow, I think I'd hit him behind Jason Bay, in the clean-up spot, unless Craig Wilson is all green, angry, and muscle-bound, ripping the ball like a healthy Hulk Man Jim Thome. Which he was, once upon a time, for half a season. My uneducated guess, the night of the trade, was that a healthy Casey will be something like a .300 / .370 / .480 hitter for the Pirates. Do the numbers support that expectation? In this post, I will take myself to school and look through his numbers. Jump to the end if you just want the conclusion.

A quick look at his 2005 splits sent me to his game log. Why? His righty/lefty splits are somewhat lopsided: he got about 200 PA vs. lefties and 350 PA vs. righties. That's a LOT of lefties for a left-hander to face. Usually the number is closer to one at-bat against a lefty for every three against a righty.

I went down this road awhile, but it's a dead end. Casey has no platoon split. He hits lefties and righties equally well, so there's no reason to think his 2005 numbers are skewed by that unusual parade of left-handed pitching before his eyes. Moving along ...

Staring the 2002-2004 averages in the eye, I see that .480 looks unrealistic as a starting point. The average of his 2005 numbers and his 2002-2004 numbers, .444, is probably a better starting point.

There two factors I would consider first when translating this .444 into black and gold. First, the effect of his home park. And second, the relationship between his health and his power. Since his health is bound up with his age, the two things have to be considered together. It's not at all clear to me if we should expect better or worse from Casey, going forward, because of recovery from health problems and aging. That will have to be another post.

Let's start with that ballpark in southern Ohio. It's new so the stats are slim. And it has a reputation for being a hitter's park. I've always chalked that up to the lousy Reds' pitching staff--something that would not benefit Sean Casey's home power numbers.

ESPN now provides this Park Factor page. It shows that the park was top-10 for homers, average for hits, average for doubles, and insanely below average for triples (he's not slow! no one triples in that park!). The 2004 numbers were the same. In '04 and '05, PNC Park played below average for homers, above average for hits and doubles, and average for triples. The 2004 Bill James handbook measured Great American as below average for left-handed batting average and above average for left-handed home-run hitting. The same authority measured PNC Park, in 2002-2004, as above average for left-handed batting average and below average for left-handed home-run hitting. In 2004 alone, it played above average for left-handed hitters in batting average and home-run hitting. As we all know, PNC plays more or less like a neutral park with two exceptions--right-handers lose home runs to Jason Bay in left-center, and some (but not all) left-handers have an easy time homering to right field.

That look into park factors suggests that Casey, a career .305 hitter, will hit for an even better average at PNC Park. He was fifth in the NL in batting average in 2005. He should, again, compete for a batting title in PNC in 2006. Despite the short porch in right, he may not hit more home runs. Great American was already padding his home runs numbers to about the same degree we might expect from PNC.

Average plays a role in slugging percentage. If Casey gets more hits, his OBP and SLG stand to gain from that. How much? Let's say not much, but let's remember to add a few points to his OPS at the end.

Now that I've looked at the park effect in a general way, it makes sense to look at it in a specific way. In other words, how much did Sean Casey like hitting in Great American Ballpark? He surely spent many days wishing he was hitting off his own team's pitchers, but given the park's reputation as a launching pad, we'd guess he liked it, right?

Well, that would be wrong. In 2005, the Mayor hit .293 / .352 / .395 at home. And he hit .330 / .389 / .451 on the road. That's 750 OPS at home, 840 on the road. How was this guy a fan favorite?

His 2002-2004 splits are even more Cincinnati-hating. I like him more and more to learn that. He hit for a 900 OPS on the road and a 750 OPS at home. That's amazing. But, it stands to reason. If you lived in Cincinnati, wouldn't you hate it? That is one ugly lice- and interstate-infested city.

Sean Casey hit .341 / .397 / .504 outside of Cincinnati between 2002 and 2004. He hit .278 / .337 / .408 in Cincinnati. One of us! One of us! One of us!

The 900 OPS, preferably with 380+ OBP, is the threshold for me between good hitter and Damn Good Hitter. I especially get drooling when I see a high OPS that's 45% OBP. That's good stuff people.

Unfortunately, since the Reds are in our division, Sean Casey will play a lot of games in his 750 OPS shoes. Sixteen, I think. The good news is that we can expect to see more of Casey's road numbers.

We all expect to get something like the best of him here in Pittsburgh. After all, we all know he has murdered Pirate pitching. It's Pirate pitching, some will say, so his .378 / .459 / .581 numbers in PNC Park for 2002-2004 don't mean much. I say they're wrong. Our pitching has long been average; it's our hitting that has flat-out sucked the last five years.

Instead of playing 81 games in the GAB, Casey will play what, 16 games there. If we average his three-year to 2004 and 2005 numbers, we get 750 OPS at the GAB, 870 elsewhere. If we weight them as a Pirate, we get ((750*16)+(870*(162-16)))/162 or 858.

So I'm now expecting he'll manage an 860 OPS (I'll add a conservative two points for the good effect PNC will have on his batting average and the non-effect it will probably have on his home-run hitting [see above]).

If it's a typical Sean Casey OPS distribution - his career numbers are .305 / .371 / .462 - we're looking at something like .325 / .380 / .460 as a Pirate. I will take that and I will like that.

And that's without weighting PNC heavier than all the other road stadiums Casey visited as a Red. Let's not overstate his love of PNC; he's only played about sixty games here over the last four years and maybe they fell in unusually healthy places.

... Vlad uncovers this great Primer link for more park factors.

... And all hail Tom Veil making some of these same arguments in previous comment threads. If I had thicker skin, I'd read all them comment threads more carefully.

... And note our Official non-patented Honest Wagner KHALIFA projections consider age and health history, so this current projection is merely a working one.

Morning trade dope

John Perrotto for the Beaver County Times reports:

[On the Redman trade} "This gives us a chance to use the money in different areas, maybe pursue players on a different level now," Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said.

The Pirates have made a two-year offer to free-agent third baseman Bill Mueller worth a reported $7 million and could possibly increase it. They might also step up their pursuit of free agent Nomar Garciaparra to play third.

The Pirates' chances of trading for Washington first baseman/outfielder Brad Wilkerson and Texas outfielder Kevin Mench appeared to end Wednesday, though, as they were rebuffed in trade proposals.

The Pirates also have interest in Toronto outfielder Alex Rios, though they refuse to part with rookie lefty Paul Maholm. Rios, 24, hit .262 with 10 homers, 59 RBIs and 14 steals in 146 games last season.

I'd be stepping up those trade offers before I'm beefing up those offers to these free agents.

Dejan Kovacevic for the Post-Gazette reports:

Strong indications on the third day of Major League Baseball's winter meetings were that it would be on a reliever with experience in late innings, an area Littlefield reiterated was his top priority after first base.

Argh - my head hurts! That is sooooooo wrong.

Two relievers in whom the Pirates have shown a strong interest are Braden Looper and Roberto Hernandez, agent Randy Hendricks confirmed last night.

Looper, 31, had 28 saves in 36 opportunities last season as the New York Mets' closer and a 3.94 earned run average. He made $5.3 million and is seeking a two-year deal on a similar pay scale.

Hernandez, 41, was Looper's setup man and made 67 appearances while posting a 2.58 ERA. Because of his age, he surely would have to settle for one year.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Get your relievers as NRIs when you're last in the league scoring runs. Now is not the time to cool your pursuit of a middle-of-the-lineup hitter.

DK also has the Bucs looking at Craig Monroe and Trot Nixon. Both those guys sound like logical targets.

Mark Redman to Royals for Jonah Bayliss

All hail Jonah Bayliss! Whoever that is.

Trade details here.

Seeing that the Pirates acted so quickly to shed that extra Sean Casey payroll, it looks to me like they are hoarding the additional $15M or so budgeted for 2006. Perhaps for some top-secret purpose? I can think of one thing only: Manny Christmas!

Pure conjecture, of course, but I'll get out to the store for more beer right about now.

More Sean Casey thoughts

Not so giddy this morning, but I still like the trade. Looking through his career numbers, I see he does not have the power we need, this is true. He's no wimp, though. The 44 doubles in 2004 jump out at me - Casey is not a burner on the bases.

He looks due for some rebound in 2006. He's hit real well at PNC Park. I like the guy. The 1999 season obviously made a strong impression on me. The intervening years were not as productive as I would have guessed.

The Bucs need a top-level talent in the middle of the lineup. Casey is not, or has not been, a top-level talent recently. Of the second-tier guys, though, he's one of the better choices.

I am not high on Brad Eldred's ability to do more than hit seventh. Maybe now we go after Russell the Muscle, wedge him into a time-share at third, and trade one or more of our no-power utility players. I'm not sure where we go from here. We're still looking at a team that needs more power.

The Bucs will spend about an additional $5M for Casey in 2006. That's not a lot of money for a veteran player of Casey's stature. I'd rather see the team put all the extra payroll into bringing us a Manny Christmas, but that's not going to happen. I am not moved by the harping that the Pirates could have done better or more for the money this off-season. And I seriously doubt we could have done more or better with Dave Williams as trade bait.

I still call it a good, even a great, deal. It looks better with lots of beer but so does everything.

Sean Casey a Pirate

Pending physicals, looks like the deal is done. The Cincinnati papers talked to him tonight.

All hail Sean Casey! I raise this Samuel Adams Black and Gold Lager to him. Nyar! If you don't have a beer in your hand, go get one. Root beer will do if you are under 21.

I'm a little giddy. Maybe it's the contrast to J.T. Snow rumors; maybe it's the Black Lager. Either way, I love the trade.

Pittsburgh has a new Mayor. You'll hear that a lot tomorrow. Welcome home, Sean Casey. This is a great move by David Littlefield. I will dedicate the next Black Lager to Dave. Good work, DL.

Casey is a great guy, as this kind of bio argues. They have loved this guy everywhere he has played. Not so much because he's a great guy who shakes hands and what not, but because he's a great player. He's been long capable of 900-1000 OPS seasons. There was a point at which he looked like a Hall of Famer. Had he stayed healthy his entire career, he'd be paid today like Bobby Abreu or Manny Ramirez. And yeah, this will be his walk year.

His power has come and gone with injuries, but even when injured, he's still been a useful high-OBP player. He hits left-handed, he wants to play in Pittsburgh, he plays first base: he's a good fit. I forget the exact details of his injuries. I've followed him, however, for fantasy sports reasons, and I don't remember his groin separating from the bone or his ankle protruding from his flesh. I'm pretty sure he'll be good to go for 2005. I'll look into all that stuff later in the week. I think he had a thumb problem one year and some shoulder surgery that he survived in good form.

I like the price. And that's a surprise: I'm ready to trade everbody so us keeping Ollie and Duke and Maholm, that's good news to me. Tomorrow we can trade them, with Kip Wells and Mark Redman and Josh Fogg, for Manny Ramirez.

One last thing. All hail Dave Williams. He'll be good for the Reds I'm sure. I'd far rather have him in my rotation than Eric Milton or Ramon Ortiz. Wouldn't you? Depending on your opinion of Aaron Harang, you might even regard Dave Williams as the new ace of their staff.

But no doubt our cup of left-handed soft-tossers runneth over. He'll help them more than he would help us. If I'm a Reds fan, I like the trade I think.

Sean Casey for Dave Williams

Rotoworld is reporting (via Foxsports.com) that the Pirates are close to acquiring the Mayor for Dave Williams. I hope so.

Cards after Mueller

STLToday reports Jocketty wants Mueller to replace Grudz.

Trot Nixon

From the Hartford Courant:

The Red Sox are also talking to the Pirates about a trade involving Trot Nixon for either Kip Wells or Mark Redman.

D'oh! Learned this from Rotoworld.

Another rumor

Jason Michaels for Mark Redman.

Swing your sword

A reader sent me a copy of this Michael Lewis article on Coach Leach of Texas Tech. Lewis is the Moneyball author; Leach looks like this, if we are to believe Lewis's portrait.

Lewis strikes me as the kind of writer who is so good, he's bad. But I won't be a dick and belittle the piece. There are, however, great passages about pirates and Steeler football, so I think you'll enjoy it too. Here's a taste:

His 45-second pregame speech set a certain tempo, but he had one final thing to say:

"Your body is your sword. Swing your sword."

Each off-season, Leach picks something he is curious about and learns as much as he can about it: Geronimo, Daniel Boone, whales, chimpanzees, grizzly bears, Jackson Pollock. The list goes on, and if you can find the common thread, you are a step ahead of his football players. One year, he studied pirates. When he learned that a pirate ship was a functional democracy; that pirates disciplined themselves; that, loathed by others, they nevertheless found ways to work together, the pirate ship became a metaphor for his football team. Last year, after a loss to Texas A.&M. in overtime, Leach hauled the team into the conference room on Sunday morning and delivered a three-hour lecture on the history of pirates. Leach read from his favorite pirate history, "Under the Black Flag," by David Cordingly (the passages about homosexuality on pirate ships had been crossed out). The analogy to football held up for a few minutes, but after a bit, it was clear that Coach Leach was just . . . talking about pirates. The quarterback Cody Hodges says of his coach: "You learn not to ask questions. If you ask questions, it just goes on longer."

Winter meeting rumors

The Bucs have extended an offer to free-agent 3B Bill Mueller, who has narrowed his choice between the Bucs and Dodgers. Go west, old Bill, go west. Mueller's a fine player, but doesn't possess the middle-of-the-lineup power the Bucs need.

DK's got the story on Milton Bradley and Olmedo Saenz. Ouch (x2). No thanks. DK also mentions Overbay and Casey as two other players the Bucs have expressed interest in.

Ed Eagle serves it up. He discusses Lyle Overbay as a possible 1B acquisition. I like Lyle. My winter meeting dream sequence features the Bucs adding Troy Glaus, Wily Mo Pena, and Lyle Overbay.

Another Winter meetings preview

Dejan Kovacevic.

Third base is not the problem. The problem is the need for a cleanup hitter who homers and doubles any time, every where, day in and day out.

Hits left-handed, plays outfield

Rob Rossi with the extended interview of Littlefield.

One of many interesting things in there is what I see as DL clarifying the whole not-in-the-A-market comment. Looks to me like he's saying the best players won't come to Pittsburgh, like the issue with acquiring a Manny is not money so much as Manny not wanting to play here on this team.

Steeler D looks ordinary again today. Sad.

Bengals-Steelers

It's a beautiful day for Steeler football.

Thank you John Perrotto

Trade dope on the eve of the Winter Meetings.

Neil Walker's wrist

Neil had wrist surgery, DK reports. Apparently, he tore a wrist ligament Nov. 9 swinging in the AFL, but is expected to be fully healed and ready by mid-February, in time for spring training.

Colts cheat

Well, this explains everything.

No free drinks

The news gets worse.

"If the Pittsburgh Pirates were to offer free drinks to prospective season ticket holders, we would blast them for thinking their product could not be marketed to the sober," he said.

Story here.

Nomar Garciaparra

Rob Rossi of the Tribune-Review says the mystery man is Nomar.

The Pirates probably wouldn't have to commit to a long-term deal to sign Garciaparra.

His willingness to switch positions could be taken as a sign he's seeking a short-term contract with a club to prove his worth over a couple of seasons before once again testing the free-agent market.

Hmmm. This is a guy with a big name and some serious & seriously recent injuries. He's no solution; he's just another longshot. We tried a gang of longshots in 2004 and 2005, and we saw what happened when some (Bay, Ollie, Duke) come through big-time.

"Right now, we're not in the A-grade market (for free agents)," Littlefield said. "One thing we always try hard to do is find some undervalued players. It's a risky way of doing business. It's not really the way you want to do business, but you always have to supplement."

D'oh! I understand what he's saying there, but the roster is overcrowded with "undervalued" players.

I'd still be looking for a sure thing who could step in and hit cleanup for the next two or three years. You have to score more runs than the other team if you want to win in this league. Signing Garciaparra won't take a lot of money or cost us any prospects. It merely clogs a roster spot that could have been used for a lesser-known longshot.

No Manny

I'm used to Rowdy's tongue-in-cheek hyperbole, so I didn't think he seriously thought we could pursue Manny. But I don't agree with the general sentiment that we should mortgage the future for a slugger to help us approach .500 for the next two years. Rowdy might be right that players should never be expected to produce more than 2 years in advance. And yes, we have an excess of young pitching talent and should trade some of this for hitters. But given that the minors are largely devoid of position player talent, where will signing a Manny-type for the next couple years really get us?

Maybe it'd generate more money by having a mediocre rather than a league-worst team, and that money could be poured back into the payroll. I doubt that would happen under the current ownership. Maybe instead we should try to get cheaper younger guys like Ryan Church, Lastings Milledge, Wily Mo Pena, Austin Kearns, or Adam Dunn.

Manny Ramirez

How do we trade for Manny Ramirez? Manny could be Manny in Pittsburgh. He was better in Cleveland than Boston.

He is owed $57M for the next three seasons. How much can we increase payroll for this year? I'd be reluctant to trade for someone with a long-term contract, but three years is not overlong by today's standards. Free agents like Manny can easily get three or many more. So this may be the only chance - through trade, mid-contract - to get a non-homegrown hitter of Manny's caliber in Pittsburgh. And note Jason Bay will probably be out of Pittsburgh before we grow our own Manny Ramirez. He is that good.

If the Pirates increase payroll by say $15M over the next three years, that's $45M. We take on that part of the contract and slide Boston whatever prospects they want for the remainder.

If the last four years of Jason Bay's pre-arb and arb-eligible years are worth $18M, five years of Zach Duke should more than compensate for the missing $12M. Maybe we give them Duke for Manny at $14M per year. My people can talk to your people and they can work out the little details.

Manny Ramirez would lay waste the NL Central pitching staffs.

some eBay items

Nice stuff on eBay this morning.

1909 Real Photo card.

1908 Card.

1935 the "other" Pirates.

1960 Yearbook.

Of course, I'm not the seller of any of that stuff. And I can't afford that stuff either. I just like to "enjoy it in the store," as a friend's mother used to say.

Noonie signs

Two years, $3.35 million.

Guess the Phils won't be looking for Freddy Sanchez in trade.

Q & A time

Dejan is back.

The most interesting nugget I can share with you from the handful of conversations I have had in the past couple days is that the club has, at the very least, initiated contact with parties you would think would be way, way out of their standard price range, including free agents.

Bobby Abreu would look so sweet in the black and gold.

Roa, Roach, and Whiteside

Three more scurvy RHPs signed to minor league contracts. 34, 29, and 38 years old, respectively. I guess you can never have too many age-inappropriate wily veterans in the minors. Anyway, welcome aboard, guys. Now grab a mop and swab the deck. Nyarrrrgh.

Another piece of us

Huge game on Sunday. Despite last night, Stillers right now are 3.5 point favorites. Not too surprising, though, given our earlier 27-13 win in Cincy. My favorite quotes from that game:

"It was like they wanted a piece of us, and we came out to show them, hey, that's not necessarily a good thing to wish for." - Troy Polamalu

"You have to understand that we're the champions until proven otherwise.'' - Joey Porter

Onside kick

Cowher's sticking to the onside kick call. "The design of it was not to be feast or famine, which it was," Cowher said. "We didn't execute it. Unfortunately, they got the ball and went in and scored."

The success of an on-side kick depends upon the unpredictable vagaries of how a football will bounce (in this case on the turf). How can you execute something you really can't control? I didn't like this call (or the QB draw on 4th-and-4) but agree with Coach that the O-Line crumbled. Although I don't favor this explanation, I'll admit it's possible we just lost to a better team.

the Jason Bay signing

My experience following baseball lately has taught me that it is folly to bank long-term player contracts as evidence a team will still have the same great player three or four years from now. Short-term player decisions involve today, tomorrow, next week, the rest of a current season. Long-term player decisions should focus on no more than the next calendar two years. Pitchers are notoriously inconsistent, mainly because of the near-inevitability of injury. Most hitters are not much different.

The draft is an obvious exception. Strong, healthy franchises will do a lot of long-term planning in areas such as the draft, minor-league affiliation, marketing, etc. When dealing with major-league players, however, I don't see the logic with expecting much from anyone in the time frame that begins two calendar years from today or tomorrow.

I imagine that teams understand this, to some degree, and that they regard long-term contracts, as I do, as a way of deferring payment for the next two seasons. In other words, I see a five-year, $45 million dollar contract not as $45M for five years but as $22.5M for two years, to be paid out over five years. Anything the team gets beyond year two is gravy.

A team could wisely invest in a select class of players, and perhaps they could expect that one of every three long-term signings will maintain that high level for the duration of the contract. But who knows how to choose one recently-high-achieving player over another recently-high-achieving player?

I bring this up because a lot of the reporting on the Jason Bay signing confuses me. He played for the minimum. For two years, he excelled; he was a top player. The Pirates reward that by buying out his arbitration years at a rate that is close (if not under) what he would receive through the arbitration process should he continue to perform at this level. I don't think the odds are great that Jason Bay will continue to duplicate 2004 and 2005 year after year after year. That's really rare.

So I think the Bucs made him a rich man, and I think the signing was generous. Well, if not generous, certainly not skinflint. They probably would have saved money had they continued to renew him one year at a time.

But then they have to take their best player to arbitration year after year, which no one enjoys. There are other good reasons to give him a lot of money. The payroll has to go somewhere. The likelihood of salary inflation means that it could be a good investment to defer payment into years three and beyond. Also, if we regard Bay's deal as $18M for two (and not four) years, we have the Bucs paying him $9M per year for two years -- about what he would command, I think, were he a free agent. Better to spend the money on Bay than to spend it on a two-year deal for an older free agent. Plus, Bay brings the chance - looks good now, but who knows - of duplicating 2005 not only in '06 and '07, but also in '08 and '09.

It was a good move, for sure, but not for the reasons I most often read. The Bucs were in no danger of losing Bay. He was going to be their player for the next four years, contract or no contract. He's not a part of some long-term plan that's likely to work; he's more like Bobby Abreu for the next two years, with gravy years and deferred salary to boot.

All hail Jason Bay. I'm glad he's a Pirate. If we had two more hitters like him, we'd be a force in the NL Central.

Steelers lose

That sucked. We'll see them again in the playoffs. Maybe.

Cincinnati next week.

Steelers at Colts

Make predictions. Here's mine: Steelers win, 27-10. They get up for MNF games and regular-season games like no other team in the NFL.

Tike employed

We report that Rotoworld reports that WFAN reports that the Mets signed Tike Redman.

No Mike Lowell

This is interesting. John Perrotto reports the Pirates had interest in Josh Beckett, but would not take Mike Lowell in the deal.

Call me encouraged.

New shirts

Designated for assignment.

Hand of the Lord. This image looks good on a shirt, I think. I have no other explanation for it.

Trade fallout

Flurry of trades this week. What does it mean for the Pirates?

Marvel, Max, and James

Smith, Starks, and Farrior all should be back for Monday night's donnybrook. And finally a healthy backfield of Willie, Jerome, Duce, and Verron will be backing up Big Ben. Look for the Steelers to shockingly dominate and pistol-whip Peyton in a 34-20 laugher.

Jeff Manto

New, effervescent third-base coach.

Big Ben

Back. Peyton is impressed (and scared):

"It's extremely impressive what he's been able to do as far as his record when he's been in there. You can tell the team has a ton of confidence when he's in there. His ability to make plays puts defenses in tough situations. For a young player to come in and win games like he has, certainly's been impressive."

All hail Big Ben!

We have prospects

John Perrotto explains the prospect supply for BA.

HW Readers Poll: Who's to Blame?

Who do you think is to blame for 13 consecutive losing seasons of Pirates baseball?

Rank in order:
1. ownership (McClatchy, Nutting Sr. and Jr., etc.)
2. Cam Bonifay
3. Dave Littlefield
4. the players

Rowdy often suggests the players are the most to blame, which I call "crazy talk".

I'll start the voting with 1-2-3-4. The McNutting's miserly ways effectively guarantee failure year in and year out. DL is not good, but Cam was much worse. The players are usually collectively overmatched, and thus, despite their noble efforts, bear relatively minimal blame for the team's final record.

Strickland before the mast

Welcome Scott Strickland.

Littlefield to Red Sox

Just kiddding. But Gordon Edes, Boston Globe, says it makes a lot of sense:

Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield, who worked under John W. Henry in Florida, didn't know last night whether the Sox had asked for permission to talk to him, and is pleased to have the job he has in Pittsburgh, but it makes too much sense for the Sox not to investigate whether the Maine native and UMass grad is available.

I wouldn't let him go. But I always hate to see turnover at the general manager position. So what do I know.

Hill to Padres

Good luck, Bobby.

Two more bats

This article is a few days old, but I just read it, and I see that McClatchy "challenged" Littlefield to acquire two more bats.

Steelers at Raisins

Got the red beans. Gonna fry some chicken too. What are you cooking up for this afternoon's game?

...that was just pathetic, start to finish. The Steelers should be heavy dogs at Indy for the week 12 MNF.

Blalock

From Rotoworld I see the Marlins are looking to acquire Hank Blalock to put him in a trade to a third team. Too bad our GM has no ties with Florida, or I'd think maybe the Pirates were involved in that talk of a three-way deal.

Adams, Reames and Alfaro signed

Bucs signed RHPs Terry Adams, 32, and Britt Reames, 32, and SS Jason Alfaro, 27 to minor league contracts. Welcome aboard, guys. Now grab a mop and swab the deck, ye scurvy dogs!

Designated for assignment

Tike, Hill, Restovich, and Jeff Miller. This makes room for Rule 5 draft protection for Sharpless, Stansberry, Javier Guzman and De Caster.

Getting serious now?

Bay on signing: "I think, first and foremost, it kind of lays a foundation. It's going to show other people that we're going toward something. It's like 'Hey, the Pirates are getting serious now. They're out there trying to win this'... I'm not saying that by signing me we're going to win, but I think that it's a sign that we're taking a step in the right direction."

Rule 5 buffet

So, who might we leave off the roster for this year's Rule 5 grabbery?

And who might we grab? Any early analysis?

Bay signs through 2009

A rare good day for Pirates fans. Bay signs for $18.25 million through 2009. Our best player gets "a $1 million signing bonus and salaries of $750,000 next year, $3.25 million in 2007, $5.75 million in 2008 and $7.5 million in 2009. His salary in the final year could also escalate by up to $750,000."

"I've had a tough time sleeping the last two nights and now that this day's actually here, it's a very emotional day for me and I'm extremely, extremely happy," a choked-up Bay said. All hail Jason Bay! All hail extreme, extreme happiness!

And on top of all that, the press conference made no mention of Benito Santiago or Julio Franco contracts. I can not tell if this is true or dream.

Maddox to start

"It's the hand we're dealt," Cowher said.

Some picks

St. Louis, Carolina, Indy, Oakland, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Green Bay.

I can't get that Steelers-Browns video erased from my mind. The horror! Visions of dog-on-stuffed-dog sodomy will haunt us in hell.

...also Philly and Jacksonville. Don't give a damn about McNabb or TO, this is a good play I think esp. with the big line.

Steeler defense has weakness

Michael David Smith broke down the film of the Sunday night game and writes, "A close analysis of every play of the Pittsburgh victory revealed a defense that disguises its fronts to confuse the offense, relentlessly pressures the opposing quarterback, and has the deepest front seven in the NFL. It also, however, showed one serious weakness that its opponents can be expected to exploit for the rest of the season." More here.

Pujols wins, Bay robbed

Finally, Pujols gets his. Jones had a nice year, but how could this even be close? To add to the confusion, our beloved Jason Bay got hosed with 12th place. Consider the following OPS (BA/OBP/SLG):

Pujols..1.039 (.330/.430/.609)
Lee.....1.080 (.335/.418/.662)
Delgado...981 (.301/.399/.582)
Bay.......961 (.306/.402/.559)
Cabrera...946 (.323/.385/.561)
Ensberg...945 (.283/.388/.557)
Jones.....922 (.263/.347/.575)
Giles.....906 (.301/.423/.483)
Burrell...893 (.281/.389/.504)
Abreu.....879 (.286/.405/.474)
Rollins...769 (.290/.338/.431)

All of these other guys finished ahead of Bay. Delgado missed 21 games to Bay's 0, and can't run or field like Bay. Rollins plays SS and finished on fire (1.1 OPS in Sept) but was nothing special (.714 OPS) in the first half. Bay played everyday while Carpenter and Dontrelle didn't, so I'd have voted Bay third behind Pujols and Lee. Why is Andruw a close second to Pujols and ten places in front of Bay? Because he's a Brave or because of the flashy Gold Glove? Sure wasn't clutch hitting:

RISP:
Lee......1.133(.331/.480/.653)
Pujols...1.092(.329/.500/.593)
Bay......1.074(.346/.460/.614)
Delgado..1.066(.327/.447/.619)
Jones......721(.207/.335/.386)

Scott Eyre and Jose Reyes get votes for 10th? Huh?

Steelers-Browns home video

You have to see this to believe this recap and commentary.

Thanks to Tim for sending the link.

Bones: Don't open this in front of your boss, easily offendable people, children, or canines. Does anyone have a tiny-stuffed-dog-sized Ravens jersey to send these wonderful creatures?

Will test for amphetamines

A lot of players will sleep better next summer if this testing actually deters their use.

Steelers 34, Browns 21

Tied for first. Charlie Batch looked sharp and broke his hand. Fourth-string QB Randle El now has a QB rating of 158.3. Next week the Steelers go to Baltimore while Cincy hosts Indy.

Catch # 538

Hines Ward passed Stallworth tonight, moving into first place for Steeler career receptions. With Hines' 8 catches tonight, he's at 543. All hail Hines!

Cuban aces Smizik quiz

Smizik's five questions to Cuban:

Q: "If you bought the Pirates would you give up day-to-day operation of the Mavericks?"
A: "No."

Q: "Are you really interested in buying the Pirates or are you just a long-time frustrated fan who's disappointed with the way the team is being run?"
A: "Both."

Q: "You told the Associated Press the Pirates said the team wasn't for sale. Were you just inquiring or did you make a firm offer?"
A: "Inquiring."

Q: "If the team goes on the market after the 2006 season, would you still be interested?"
A: "Yes."

Q: "You are a hands-on owner. If you bought the Pirates, would you move to Pittsburgh?"
A: "No, but I would spend more time there. I have several close friends who want to be part of the group. We all grew up together. They have been very successful in business and still live in Pittsburgh. So there would be plenty of attention."

Bob likes Cuban:

Cuban's success with the Mavericks has been truly impressive. Consider:

In the four full seasons before he bought the team, the Mavericks were 84-212. When he took over in January of 2000, the team was 9-23. It finished that season by going 31-10. Over the next five seasons, the Mavericks were 280-130.

The Cuban way is more than spending money. He's a marketing wizard who treats his fans like they are valued customers. He energized the entire franchise and much of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area with the force of his gung-ho personality.

Sunday night

Come early, bring food, and get frisked!

Ben is still on the bike, so Batch will start again. In other news, Farrior will rest his MCL for another week. Clint "Buddy Lee" Kriewaldt will play the buck in his place. Duce will likely play instead of questionable Bettis and Parker. Porter is probable. Tuman is questionable. If I were a gambling man, I wouldn't bet much against that 8 point spread, but look for the Stillers to enforce their will and win handily.

...Rowdy: Steelers cut Willie Williams to have a second tight end today. This is great news. Williams is a class act, but lately when I've seen him on the roster I've wondered how much longer it would be before the Steelers would have a young secondary good enough to not include him. Now we have Deshea Townsend, Ike Taylor, Ricardo Colclough, and Bryant McFadden all playing well.

...they should broadcast the Steelers in Navajo. I would buy that for my iPod.

...speaking of iPods, time for the Pirates to set up an mp3 podcast of Pirates' games. If they will stream it over the internet, they will surely put it on their iPod. I know that if I had the 2005 season, in mp3 format, I might be listening to a game right now instead of listening to this Miles Davis "All of You."

If I could automatically download an mp3 of a game while syncing my iPod in the morning, I would listen to last night's baseball at work on days without day baseball. The league and owners should think about that.

I could easily wake up and avoid the final score long enough to listen to the start of a west-coast night game. With a huge mug of coffee. I would so do that.

I'll put that on my to-do list for the offseason, right below 1. Arrange for sale of Pirates to Mark Cuban.

2. Arrange for podcasting of all Pirates games.

How to Make Red Beans

This is on the stove today to enjoy tonight and tomorrow night. This is the official Honest Wagner Steelers Beat Browns Reds Beans and Rice recipe.

A friend of mine taught this to me. He was from New Orleans, a Katrina evacuee who lived with us for a few weeks in September. I have made it six or seven times already, and I can't stop making it. It is the perfect football-weather fall dish.

What you need: some oil (olive or canola), an onion, fresh garlic, a package or two of andouille sausage (say it with me: ahn-DEWEY), a hunk or slice of ham, a tablespoon or two of cajun seasoning, a teaspoon or two of cayenne pepper, and two pounds of dried red kidney beans. (Canned beans will not work so well.) I use either two packs of chicken andouille sausage (four fat hot-dog length sausages per pack) or one pack and a big slice of ham.

How to make it: rinse the beans, get out any rocks you might find in there. Soak them for a bunch of hours -- maybe three or four or more -- until they swell up and split a bit.

Do your prep work first. Dice the onion, peel three or four toes of garlic, slice the sausage, dice the ham.

In an eight-quart stock pot (something that is more tall than wide), heat a small puddle of oil on high heat. Add the onion. Stand there and stir it while it browns. Keep the heat on high -- that's why you did your prep ahead of time. When the onion is browning up, press the garlic in there. Stir. When that's getting good, add the sliced and diced meat. Then add the seasoning: about one tablespoon cajun seasoning and one teaspoon cayenne pepper.

When all that stuff is good and browned, which should be pretty quick since you are working on high heat, add the beans (which you drained with a colander). Then cover everything with enough water to submerge everything by an inch or so.

Keep the heat on high or medium high. Boil that baby for hours, stir every now and again, and watch the beans cream up.

Make some rice, ladle the red beans on the rice, and cover with your favorite hot sauce. I like Busha Browne's Pukka Hot Pepper Sauce. Melinda's, Tobasco, Crystal, or whatever you like will work just great as well.

This will make enough red beans to serve maybe eight people. It reheats real well. Well you are done eating out of the pot, cover it and put it in the fridge. Then when you want it again, get it out, add water, and get it boilin' hot again.

The first day, it is a great stand-alone meal. You can eat a lot of it. The next day, it is better. And you cook something else as a main dish, and eat a lot of red beans as a side.

If you want more the next day, fried chicken will do you right. Chicken parts or chunks of breast (to make nuggets), breaded with flour, eggs & milk, and Dixie Fry, you fry them in three or four quarts of canola oil in maybe another tall stock pot if you have one.

For vegetables, anything green and cooked with salt and pepper will work good. Bake some plantains if you know how to do that.

Bones' counterpoint on Cuban rumors

Yesterday, Rowdy served up his take on the Cuban rumors. While I agree with his beginning and ending, I'm not feeling his middle part. (Start dream sequence) If I got to edit Rowdy's posts, my version would look like this:

I think McClatchy et al have done a piss-poor job with the team. For sure, they have made mistakes, and mistakes so egregious and extending over a multi-year period are unacceptable by any reasonable standards.

I'd also add that I don't know Nutting - in pictures he looks to me like Mr. Burns - and I wouldn't recognize him if I sat next to him in a bar. Likewise with Littlefield, who to me resembles a weasel (no offense Dave). I have no ties to any of these guys, and I doubt I ever will.

My advice to fans rooting for an ownership change has two parts. First, don't ever abandon your dreams and succumb to complacency and learned helplessness. Second, give the man the business. I bet public pressure could promote the sale of the team. If anything, I suspect it would only encourage the sale because it would, pretty obviously I think, increase the motivation of potential sellers. And this would increase the chance the ownership group will get the price they want for the team. It's possible, though unlikely, that public outrage will force them to sell low -- the owners are not elected officials but proven losers, cowards, and misers.

I'm sure we'll continue to hear and read about imminent sale rumors for some time. I'll be reading them on the edge of my seat. I'll believe it when I see it, and I'll speculate about what to expect from the ownership change when (and if) an ownership change ever takes place. Please, Mark, buy our team. (/dream sequence)

Steve Courson

Rest in peace.

Get me Bobby Abreu

Jim Salisbury reports for the Inky that the Phils will unload some one of Abreu, Burrell, or Thome:

It's clearly not out of the question that the Phils could keep Thome. Gillick said he is not shopping any of his players, and one rival GM said: "They sound like they might keep him." There is a school of thought that says the Phils could deal Abreu or Pat Burrell, and buy time on the Thome-Howard situation by using Howard in the outfield next year.

You can keep your Bad Back Thome. We need a sure thing if we can get it.

The Pirates are talking about raising their payroll to $50M. Abreu has only two years left on his contract. If he were on the market today, he'd sign a multi-year deal, four or five years I think, despite his age. This is what the Pirates need: a hitter like Abreu (there are not many of them) for what it takes, money-wise, for only a year or two.

I'd trade almost everything to get Abreu on an affordable two-year deal.

Mark Cuban on Piracy

Yeah, he's thinking about Pirates.

If I understand his proposal there, he owes me a penny for linking to his blog.

AFL over

Some of the results, from Paul Meyer's article:

The Arizona Fall League finished its regular season yesterday. First baseman Brad Eldred entered the final day with a .277 batting average, five home runs, 25 RBIs (fifth in the league) and 22 strikeouts in 94 at-bats. Catcher Neil Walker had a .265 average, two home runs and five RBIs in 49 at-bats. He also had six passed balls in his 17 games.

If only Eldred could hit .270 in the big leagues, he'd draw enough intentional and intentionally unintentional walks to post a .380 on-base percentage. And he'd be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Sports Illustrated

This week they atone for the wretched "National Geographic" cover of 2004 with this great picture for your drinking room.

Some week 10 picks

Buffalo, New England, Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, St. Louis, Pittsburgh. 3-3 last week, and well below .500 on the year.

alien1011 still leads. All hail.

Cuban rumors

These rumors will probably not go away any time soon.

I have no doubt that the Pirates are for sale -- at the right price. And I have no doubt Mark Cuban, like any other man with the resources to consider such a purchase, has his own price that he wants to pay. If the team has been valued by neutral outsiders at, say, x millions of dollars, I'm sure the team could be had for 2x or 1.5x million dollars. Likewise, I'm sure potential buyers want to bid and pay .5x or .75x millions of dollars.

Kevin McClatchy et al can do what they please with the team. They own it. Despite the stadium-taxpayer swindles and what not, the team is not a public utility that exists to pipe pleasure into area homes. Fan outrage cannot bring some kind of healing political pressure to this situation. It's wasted enthusiasm, I think. With all due respect, those energies would be more profitably invested in reforming the public school system or some other civic project.

So long as they do not sell the team Robert Irsay-style, which appears unlikely, I don't see how new ownership will do much to get more wins from the current roster. Maybe a new owner, say Cuban, will invest millions of dollars into payroll and bring in a new cast of characters that wins more games than St. Louis. Or maybe not. There's no point rooting for an ownership change, in my view, because no promises or guarantees come with new ownership.

I think McClatchy et al have done OK with the team. For sure, they have made mistakes, but mistakes are par for the course.

I'd also add that I don't know McClatchy - in pictures he looks to me not like an individual, but like a type - and I wouldn't recognize him if I sat next to him in a bar. Likewise with Littlefield. I have no ties to any of these guys, and I doubt I ever will.

My advice to fans rooting for an ownership change has two parts. First, give the man some space. I doubt public pressure can do anything to promote the sale of the team. If anything, I suspect it would only discourage the sale because it would, pretty obviously I think, increase the leverage of potential buyers. And this would decrease the chance the ownership group will get the price they want for the team. There's no way public outrage will force them to sell low -- the owners are not elected officials but private businessmen.

Second, don't think that an ownership change is a magic bullet that will solve all the Pirates' problems. An ownership change would certainly disrupt business as usual, and that may or may not be a good thing.

The Pirates head into 2006 with a roster that's loaded with youth and value. They sure could use a hitter like Brian Giles or Manny Ramirez, there's no doubt of that. But I'm not sure that simply raising the payroll from $50m to say $70m guarantees that new ownership would spend the extra money wisely. Plenty of teams with $70m payrolls have significant chunks of this money sunk into bad, Darren Dreifort-type contracts.

So be careful what you wish for. I'm sure we'll continue to hear and read about imminent sale rumors for some time. I'll be ignoring them. I'll believe it when I see it, and I'll speculate about what to expect from the ownership change when (and if) an ownership change ever takes place.

Ali Boom ba yay

Ali, Boom ba yay

Everybody loves Kevin Mench

Lots of press attention to that big-headed Blue Hen, Kevin Mench.

The free agent market looks like a player's market. I can't see (and hope not to see) the Bucs overpaying or over-committing (i mean, in terms of years) to some of those guys. We need one or two years of someone. The guys that fit that need look likely to get many more. And, in all likelihood, many more dollars than they are worth the Pirates.

To sum up my opinion of the situation: of the various names bandied about, I like Blalock and Wily Mo the most. But I also expect Littlefield to get creative and go after plenty of names that are not being bandied about.

The Bucs need a new second-best hitter.

Could Kevin Mench be that guy? I kinda doubt it, but Mench in 2006 is probably a better gamble than Jermaine Dye going into 2005.

ESPN stats

So what's up with ESPN's stats? I noticed they no longer permit access to splits for seasons before 2005. If they think we'll pay for them ...

Around $50 mil

Ed Eagle reports the team salary will go up to that neighborhood.

Pirates not for sale

Yawn.