Game 128: Pirates at Brewers

Ohlendorf and Suppan at two.

Game 127: Pirates at Brewers

Hart and Gallardo at eight.

Game 126: Pirates at Brewers

Duke and Parra at eight.

The Pirates are 18-43 on the road this year. That's improbably bad.

There should be some hidden vigorish there. Jones and McCutchen can look for it.

Game 126: Phillies at Pirates

ROY candidate Happ and Morton at seven.

Jones and McCutchen have a chance to mess up his hair.

Game 125: Phillies at Pirates

Maholm and Hamels at seven.

For Milledge's next walk-off jack, I'd be entertained if Tony Beasley slipped a trampoline onto the third base line just in time for Lastings to bounce off that and do a flip into a crowd of victorious Bucs waiting to catch him at home.

Game 124: Phillies at Pirates

Not a whole lot of season left here.

Blanton and Ohlie Bumaye at seven.

Off day

Pirates chill and wait for the Phillies.

They are 51-71, in last place, and on pace for 67, maybe 68 wins.

Game 123: Reds at Pirates

Hart and Bailey at 1:35 for the basement.

Game 122: Reds at Pirates

Duke and Lehr at seven. Helpless people on a subway train scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them.

Game 121: Reds at Pirates

Morton and Owings at seven. Bucs are only 1.5 games back.

Game 120: Brewers at Pirates

Maholm and Gallardo at seven. Prepare to untuck.

Game 119: Brewers at Pirates

Tuck 'em back in. Parra and Ohlendorf at seven.

Game 118: Brewers at Pirates

Hart and Villanueva at seven. Upside deadline at midnight.

Game 117: Pirates at Cubs

Ohlendorf and Harden at 2:20. Ohlie, bumaye!

Game 116: Pirates at Cubs

Duke and Gorzelanny at one. If Duke and Karstens give up 20+ runs, there's no other guy I'd rather see get the win than Gorzo.

Game 115: Pirates at Cubs

Charlie Morton vs. Randy Wells at 2:20 PM.

Game 114: Pirates at Rockies

Maholm vs. Marquis at 3:10.

"That's the kind of baseball you play to hopefully get yourself to the point where you get a chance to do something very special," says Tracy, who wears a gray T-shirt with one word across the front to describe the team's play: "Sick."

Game 113: Pirates at Rockies

Hart vs. Jimenez and Jim "King Midas" Tracy at 8:40.

Game 112: Pirates at Rockies

Bunting practice starts at 8:40. Josh Fogg and Joe Beimel will be there.

Game 111: Cardinals at Pirates

Duke and Pineiro the Stingiest at 1:35.

Upside overflows in Dejan's new top 30 prospect list.

Game 110: Cardinals at Pirates

Wainwright vs. Morton at seven.

Don't miss Gary Smith's piece for SI on Gift. We're rooting for Gift. Even if he doesn't have the stick, we'd pay for Skyblast just to see him dance during Mr. Roboto.

Game 109: Cardinals at Pirates

Game is underway. It's 2-2 in the third. Carpenter and Maholm started.

Game 108: Diamondbacks at Pirates

Scherzer and new guy Hart at 7.

Pirates are 45-62 and still own last place in the NL Central. Only the Nats (36-72) and the Padres (44-65) have worse records.

Game 107: Diamondbacks at Pirates

Davis and Ohlendorf tonight.

The Pirates would know Davis from his Milwaukee days, if any these Pirates had been Pirates back when Davis was in his Milwaukee days.

Game 106: Diamondbacks at Pirates

Petit and Duke at seven.

Game 105: Nationals at Pirates

The Nats had the last laugh last night.

Tonight it's Mock and Morton.

Game 104: Nationals at Pirates

Game 3 of this epic 4-game series.

Balester clowns it for Washington. Maholm will try to be funny for Pittsburgh.

Game on at 1:30.

Game 103: Nationals at Pirates

The battle for laughingstock of the National League continues.

Stammen and Vasquez at 7.

Game 102: Nationals at Pirates

Lannan and Ohlendorf at seven.

First-row fans can welcome Lastings Milledge with a big high five.

New guys

Here's the list of people acquired by trade in the last year.

... 6pm updated to include the latest Grabow/Gorzelanny trade.

RHP Daniel McCutchen (Marte/Nady trade)
OF Jose Tabata (Marte/Nady trade)
RHP Jeff Karstens (Marte/Nady trade)
RHP Ross Ohlendorf (Marte/Nady trade)
RHP Bryan Morris (Bay trade)
3B Andy LaRoche (Bay trade)
RHP Craig Hansen (Bay trade)
OF Brandon Moss (Bay trade)
C Jason Jaramillo (Ballgame trade)
CF Gorkys Hernandez (McLouth trade)
RHP Charlie Morton (McLouth trade)
LHP Jeffrey Locke (McLouth trade)
OF Lastings Milledge (Morgan/Burnett trade)
RHP Joel Hanrahan (Morgan/Burnett trade)
SS Argenis Diaz (Deerhunter trade)
RHP Hunter Strickland (Deerhunter trade)
1B/C Jeff Clement (Wilson trade)
IF Ronny Cedeno (Wilson trade)
RHP Aaron Pribanic (Wilson trade)
RHP Brett Lorin (Wilson trade)
RHP Nathan Adcock (Wilson trade)
RHP Tim Alderson (Sanchez trade)
RHP Kevin Hart (Grabow/Gorzelanny trade)
RHP Jose Ascanio (Grabow/Gorzelanny trade)
3B Josh Harrison (Grabow/Gorzelanny trade)

Here are the Coonelly/Huntington draft classes.

The 2009 class might still be a work-in-progress. There are a number of unsigned draftees with college plans and large above-slot signing bonus demands.

C Tony Sanchez (2009 draft)
RHP Victor Black (2009 draft)
RHP Brooks Pounders (2009 draft)
CF Evan Chambers (2009 draft)
LHP Nate Baker (2009 draft)
RHP Trent Stevenson (2009 draft)
2B Brock Holt (2009 draft)
1B Aaron Baker (2009 draft)
SS Walker Gourley (2009 draft)
RHP Ryan Beckman (2009 draft)
RHP Phillip Irwin (2009 draft)
OF Jose Hernandez (2009 draft)
RHP Jason Erickson (2009 draft)
SS Ty Summerlin (2009 draft)
OF Pat Irvine (2009 draft)
LHP Zach Fuesser (2009 draft)
RHP Marc Baca (2009 draft)
RHP Teddy Fallon (2009 draft)

3B Pedro Alvarez (2008 draft)
SS Jordy Mercer (2008 draft)
SS Chase D’Arnaud (2008 draft)
LHP Justin Wilson (2008 draft)
CF Robert Grossman (2008 draft)
SS Benjamin Gonzalez (2008 draft)
3B Jeremy Farrell (2008 draft)
3B Matthew Hague (2008 draft)
CF David Rubinstein (2008 draft)
1B Calvin Anderson (2008 draft)
RHP Michael Colla (2008 draft)
LHP Christopher Aure (2008 draft)
CF Wesley Freeman (2008 draft)
SS Jarek Cunningham (2008 draft)
RHP Quinton Miller (2008 draft)
RHP Brent Klinger (2008 draft)
RHP Brian Leach (2008 draft)
CF Edwin Roman (2008 draft)
CF Kyle Saukko (2008 draft)
C Mark Carver (2008 draft)
3B Matthew Payne (2008 draft)
LHP Tyler Cox (2008 draft)
OF Kyle Morgan (2008 draft)
RHP Alan Knotts (2008 draft)
RHP Albert Fagan (2008 draft)
C Chris Simmons (2008 draft)
LHP Mike Williams (2008 draft)
RHP Allen Ponder (2008 draft)
RHP Owen Brolsma (2008 draft)
RHP Zachary Foster (2008 draft)
OF Craig Parry (2008 draft)

(Thanks to WTM for the draft information.)

Giants win baseball game

Game over. Freddy Sanchez trade watch back on.

Duke and Grabow polished up their trade value this afternoon. Capps, not so much.

Pirates do not play until 7pm on Friday, which is July 31.

... Kovacevic tweets Freddy told to stay at the ballpark.

... Tim Alderson for Freddy. Guy is really young and pitches.

... Curious that some Giants fans would be sick about this. The Giants are 9 games over .500, and a pitching prospect is a pitching prospect. Charlie's right to say the majority of these guys do not pan out. But the Pirates were trading Sanchez, did not want him for 2010, and they have to take what they can get for him. It's not exactly a free market out there with only a few teams interested in dealing for the players the team wants to trade.

Also, I like the idea of overloading the minors with talent. Let these young players compete with each other and learn from one another. The team cannot have too many pitching prospects and in a real way, the addition of every one increases the chances that the team develops useful starters out of the minor-league system.

Keep improving your odds, and you will come out ahead. So Young Alderson does not need to be a #3 starter for the Pirates for this strategy to pay off. And if he does not work out and others do, it's not fair to say the Pirates got nothing from the deal. Because they did get something: they get another chance to employ a strategy that is more likely to succeed the more times it is employed.

Game 101: Pirates at Giants

Duke and Cain at 3:45 eastern.

Pirates are 43-57 on the season. 17-38 on the road.

... Pirates trade Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to Seattle for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, Nathan Adcock.

... first impression: No Romulo! reunion for Snell at Scranton Wilkes-Barres. Jeff Clement is a catcher?? Ronny Cedeno is not like 37 years old? Obviously it's going to take some time to make sense of this.

Mahalo Snell, we were entertained.

Game 100: Pirates at Giants

West-coast trip continues with Morton and Zito at ten.

Game 99: Pirates at Giants

Way later tonight, Maholm and Lincecum.

Game 98: Pirates at Diamondbacks

Vasquez and Scherzer at four.

Some people could pay more attention. That essay starts OK, but ends with a silly question.

Game 97: Pirates at Diamondbacks

Ohlendorf and Davis at 8.

Game 96: Pirates at Diamondbacks

Just underway. Duke and Petit.

Game 95: Pirates at Diamondbacks

Morton and Haren at 9:30.

After the big series win, the Pirates are 42-52.

Game 94: Brewers at Pirates

Late night in the lean-to.

This game is underway. The Bucs are up 2-1 on a Doumit homer.

Suppan and Maholm were the starting pitchers, and they are still in the game.

... wtf ... Deerhunter traded? Sold him low. What did they get?

... WEEI reports they might get shortstop Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland.

... Dejan Kovacevic confirms the haul on his rarely-loading PBC blog. Pirates have gone up 5-2 after the umps go to replay. The Bucs are pasting Suppan.

... 5:15pm ... after some thought, my reaction to the deal is that it's pretty sad all around. When LaRoche came to the Pirates, the fans had such high expectations and hopes. He did not live up to that standard. The inconsistency of his hitting was maddening as a fan; take that last month, for example, in which he has been nothing but a middle-of-the-order out machine. The highs don't make up for those lows if the highs only come when the team is 12 games under .500. The Pirates did not get much in return, by all accounts, but LaRoche is hardly a blue-chip commodity, esp. with his contract, and waiting any longer to deal him would only sacrifice at-bats which can go to Jones (at his position), Milledge, and maybe Pearce. In the end, this is much more like the Hinske trade than the Bay trade. The stakes are too low to make much of a difference either way for either team.

Game 93: Brewers at Pirates

Kerwin Looper and Vasquez at 7.

Game 92: Brewers at Pirates

This again. Burns and Ohlendorf at 7.

Game 91: Giants at Pirates

Cain and Duke at 1:30.

Game 90: Giants at Pirates

Zito and Morton at seven.

Standings still suck, but it is fun to read these numbers.

Game 89: Giants at Pirates

All right, I think we are good to go here. Worked all through the off-season on the beer fort, and I was pretty sure it would provide enough protection for a full season of bunkering down and surviving. But, no. The first half more or less destroyed it completely.

Bones are I are not prepared to give up, so we spent the last few days building a gin lean-to. Any port in a storm, right.

Tonight it's game 89 of the 2009 season. The Pirates are 38-50 and (sigh) in last place.

Tim Lincecum will pitch for the Giants. Paul Maholm will start for the Pirates. Game on at seven.

All-Star Break

No game until Friday.

Game 88: Pirates at Phillies

Vasquez and Happ at 1:30.

Game 87: Pirates at Phillies

Ohlendorf and Hamels at 7.

Game 86: Pirates at Phillies

Duke and Blanton at seven.

38-47

No game today. The Pirates have a better win-loss record than Arizona, San Diego, and Washington.

Game 85: Pirates at Astros

Stuffy Morton and Wandy Rodriguez at 2.

Jonezilla batting clean-up, again.

Weather is good for beer-fort repair. Pretty hot in 77002, however. Not sure if they will open the roof on Five Alive Field.

Game 84: Pirates at Astros

Maholm and Moehler at 8.

Beer fort in smoldering ruins.

Game 83: Pirates at Astros

Vasquez and Hampton, who somehow owns the Bucs, at 8.

Game 82: Pirates at Fish

Ohlendorf and Nolasco at 1.

At the half-way point, the Pirates are on pace for 74 wins.

Game 81: Pirates at Fish

Duke and Miller at 6.

Game 80: Pirates at Fish

Morton and Volstad at six. (Six??)

Pirates are 36-43 and well in the cellar, but they still have a slightly plus run differential, which is curious.

Game 79: Mets at Pirates

Redding and Maholm at 12:30.

Game 78: Cubs at Pirates

Wells and Vasquez at 7.

Game 77: Cubs at Pirates

Lilly and Ohlendorf at 7.

...adding ... Pirates make two trades today. First Hinske to New York for some minor leaguers and then, as Dejan Kovacevic reports here: Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan.

There will be a cascade effect from this deal. Bottom line is no padded cage for Ryan Doumit. He will have to play the field as the Pirates trade away a key part of the two-outfielder defense we've been perfecting on paper.

Game 76: Cubs at Pirates

Pirates are 35-40, in last place, and host the Cubs, who are 35-37 and 3.5 games out of first.

Harden and Duke at seven.

Game 75: Royals at Pirates

Greinke and maybe some Morton at one.

At 35-39, the Pirates are still in the cellar.

Game 74: Royals at Pirates

Chen and Maholm at seven.

Bucs are 34-39 after a three-game win streak. Still in the cellar and somehow only five games out of first place.

I am entertained by the talk of Nyjer for Milledge.

Game 73: Royals at Pirates

Meche and Vasquez, in his debut, at seven.

Game 72: Indians at Pirates

Lee and Ohlendorf at seven.

Pirates are 32-39 after last night's win. In the NL, only Washington, San Diego, and Arizona have fewer wins.

Game 71: Indians at Pirates

Pavano and Duke at seven.

Game 70: Indians at Pirates

Huff and Snell at seven.

That draft

Finally got around to reading Wilbur Miller's analysis of the draft. I've been looking forward to it since draft day. And I look forward to checking back against his analysis as the picks are signed. (Links to his analysis are at bottom of this page.)

As I followed the early news of the draft, I remembered writing this post some time ago in the foggy past. Very rarely do I read in the Honest Wagner archives. It is always embarrassing to re-read portions of your baseball fan diary when you are a Pirates fan. Over the last 16 years at least. The Pirates really have to do something to fix that, btw. It takes some 90-minute courage, which I happen to have in abundance this afternoon.

I haven't seen any comparison of the Pirates' 2009 draft with what the Tigers were doing in 2007. Did I miss something?

Game 69: Pirates at Rockies

Maholm vs. De La Rosa and a man who I use the phrase "Jim Tracy" to describe at three.

Game 68: Pirates at Rockies

Charlie Morton vs. Jason Hammel at eight. Monroe has been designated for assignment, and Pearce called up.

Game 67: Pirates at Rockies

Ohlendorf vs. Marquis and Jim Tracy at nine. If you're not entertained by that, try Wilbur's 2009 draft notes.

Game 66: Pirates at Twins

Duke and Blackburn at one. Until then there's Cutch's first jack.

Game 65: Pirates at Twins

Ian Snell vs. the mound, his teammates, his coaches, Randy Marsh, and the entire world, which includes Francisco Liriano.

Game 64: Pirates at Twins

Maholm vs. Perkins at eight. The Twins are 32-33 and in second place. With the Brewers win yesterday, this is a must-win game for the Bucs.

Off day

Four games out, the Bucs have the day off to rest up for their inevitable World Series surge. Playoff odds at 10%.

Game 63: Tigers at Pirates

Ohlendorf vs. Dontrelle at 1:35. The Bucs are only five games back.

Game 62: Tigers at Pirates

Duke and Galarraga at seven. If the Bucs are inspired by the Pens to run the table with a WS victory, they need a win tonight.

City of Champions

Penguins are awesome.

Game 61: Detroit and Pittsburgh

Porcello and Snell at seven.

The other Detroit and Pittsburgh at eight.

Game 60: Pirates at Braves

Maholm and Vazquez at one.

Reviewing some deals

I just went back over the Pirates' transactions from the hiring of Huntington at the end of the 2007 season. Here are some highlights bitten from Baseball Reference, who borrows this information from Retrosheet.

July 26, 2008(Standings)

Traded Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady to the New York Yankees. Received Daniel McCutchen (minors), Jose Tabata (minors), Jeff Karstens and Ross Ohlendorf.

July 31, 2008 (Standings)

As part of a 3-team trade, traded Jason Bay to the Boston Red Sox. Received Bryan Morris (minors) and Andy LaRoche from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss from the Boston Red Sox. In addition, the Boston Red Sox sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

December 10, 2008

Traded Ronny Paulino to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Jason Jaramillo (minors).

If buy low, sell high is the idea, these moves make sense. Whatever you think of Nate McLouth, you can't deny that the Pirates did not sell him high. 5 season 1700 at-bats, 801 career OPS. (770 is average.) At his peak, Nate is a much better option than Rob Mackowiak. But he's not Jason Bay good. He could develop into a Jason Bay-like hitter some day, but his track record suggests that's not likely. Nate is already 27.

Nady has eight seasons, 2500 at-bats, and a 792 career OPS. He has delivered that OPS for the Yankees. He's on the DL right now. Late last year, the Yankees declined Marte's $6M option for 2009 and re-signed him to a three-year, $12 million contract with a club option for 2012. He is also on the DL, which is also tough luck. Still, with Ohlendorf pitching well as a regular starter, that trade looks good this morning.

Other borderline-controversial moves since NH took over involved Shawn Chacon (released), Jose Castillo (released), Salomon Torres (traded for Kevin Roberts and Marino Salas), Doug Mientkiewicz ('07 signed, '08 released), Tyler Yates (acquired for Todd Redmond, a soft-throwing AAA starter still in the Braves' system), Matt Morris (released), Jose Bautista (traded for Robinson Diaz), Franquelis Osoria (released), and Chris Duffy (released). Torres had a good season for the Brewers in 2008. And then he retired. The rest of those moves look good.

It's too early to judge the players acquired in the Nate McLouth trade: RHP Charlie Morton, LHP Jeff Locke and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez. But it looks like the Nady deal (which looks good for Pittsburgh) or the Bay deal (what do you think of Andy LaRoche?)

Putting the McLouth deal aside because it's such recent history, I'll say the only guy that has slipped through NH's fingers that I would want back this morning is Jason Bay. Bay is not a perfect player -- his "arm" was not a good match for left field in PNC Park -- but he's close to as good as it gets as a slugger. With the bad economy, he will get four-five years at $13M-$15M in this coming off season. Even though Bay is far and away the best player the Pirates have lost, the haul for Bay looks reasonable and guess what, Bay will be a free agent at the end of the year.

You know what that means. If the Pirates are serious about winning, they will re-sign Jason Bay. (laughter)

Seriously, I am inclined to give the Pirates the benefit of the doubt on the McLouth deal and the Sanchez pick. To me, the comparisons to the Dave Littlefield era are not compelling. And I don't see how the Pirates would be a big winner this year or next had NH not made all those moves.

Game 59: Pirates at Braves

Charlie Morton debuts against Jurrjens at seven.

Top 10 Reasons to Like Tony Sanchez

10. Can catch-and-throw and block wild throws without hockey stick.
9. Can save a few bucks by recycling Freddy and Duaner jerseys.
8. Slugged .425, .517, .614 as freshman, sophomore, junior.
7. Understands losing atmosphere from early BC years.
6. Hit .346/.443/.614 this season (unadjusted for Character).
5. Ready to learn pitch calling (entertaining Sanchez interview).
4. Puts overdrafts in later rounds in whole new context.
3. SANORAMA!
2. Give these guys a chance at least. They haven't failed yet.
1. World Series 2011: Gorkys in LCF, Cutch in RCF. 9th player is Glass Doumit, who safely rests inside a protective bubble in foul territory every time the Bucs take the field. Sanchez, tough as nails, catches. For 25 innings straight. Bucs win!

Game 58: Pirates at Braves

Atlanta just went up 4-3 in the seventh.

Tony Sanchez

Something about signability and financial flexibility.

18 HBP last season too. Leans into the plate.

Game 57: Pirates at Braves

Duke vs. Kawakami and the recently departed Nate McLouth at seven.

Game 56: Pirates at Astros

Snell and Felipe Ballgame at two.

Game 55: Pirates at Astros

Maholm and Oswalt at seven.

With Gorkys in LCF and Cutch in RCF, a broad swath of the PNC outfield seats could be removed and that area covered in ice. Push the fence back, and have player #9, Nyjer Morgan, speedily patrol the new warning track on skates.

Game 54: Pirates at Astros

McCutchen II at eight, featuring Mike Hampton and Jeff Karstens.

With a two-man outfield (Nyjer in LCF and Cutch in RCF), where does the ninth player play?

Game 53: McCutchen!

McCutchen vs. McCutchen at 12:35.

McLouth traded

For Gorkys Hernandez, Morton, and Locke. Looks like a pretty nice haul for Neal and the Bucs, bringing an official end to the Frodo and Sam (McLouth and Duffy) Era. We'll miss Nate and wish him the best.

Game 53: Pirates at Mets

This one is a rain out.

Game 52: Mets at Pirates

Santana and Duke at seven.

Game 51: Mets at Pirates

Hernandez and Snell at seven.

Pirates are 22-28 - six games under.

Game 50: Astros at Pirates

Cy Hampton and Paul Maholm this afternoon.

Don't let Hampton's 1.56 WHIP or his 7 HRs allowed in 48 IP fool you. Bunker down in the southwest corner, and prepare the vats of boiling nacho cheese.

Game 49: Astros at Pirates

Rodriguez and Karstens at seven.

Game 48: Astros at Pirates

Moehler and Ohlendorf at seven.

Thursday

No game today. Season is 29% complete. Pirates are 21-26.

As a team, the Pirates are 11th in the NL in OPS. They are hitting .264 / .332 / .401. Freddy Sanchez has 60 hits and a .326 / .362 / .505 line. Nate McLouth leads the team with 8 home runs. Andy LaRoche leads the team with a .370 OBP. Nyjer Morgan has a .362 OBP.

Adam LaRoche is hitting .228 / .321 / .449. Brandon Moss has played in 41 games. He has 133 at-bats and .263 / .310 / .376 performance. Hinske, Monroe, and D. Young have combined about equally for 150 at-bats of .730 OPS.

The rotation has been consistent. Duke and Ohlendorf have been pretty good. Maholm has been solid and Snell has been not so good. Snell strikes some people out (6.79 per 9) but he has also posted a 1.58 WHIP, 7 home runs allowed in 53 innings, and not surprisingly a 1-6 record. Jesse Chavez has been good from the bullpen (4 holds, 1.2 WHIP, 7.65 K/9). Sean Burnett has good numbers too. John Grabow has somehow survived a lot of high-pressure situations with good results.

Collectively, the team has a 1.38 WHIP and 5.67 K/9. This WHIP is league-average (8th of 16) and translates into a .750 OPS against (10th of 16). And this K/9 is dead last in the NL. Arr ... the Pirates bring the junk.

Game 47: Pirates at Cubs

Duke and Zambrano this afternoon.

Game 46: Pirates at Cubs

Snell and Marshall at 8.

Pirates will try to score another 10 runs.

Game 45: Pirates at Cubs

The Pirates parade into Wrigley to start a three-game series. Bring your own lawn chair.

Maholm and Dempster at 8. Bucs are 20-24; Cubs are 21-21 after losing 7 in a row.

Game 44: Pirates at White Sox

Karstens and Buehrle at two. One of these days, a scraggly, mangy RUN will come scratching at the Beer Fort's back door.