Pirates Steal Justin Morneau

Justin Morneau is a Pirate



The Pittsburgh Pirates just made me very very happy.  Happy days are here again after acquiring Justin Morneau for a slim jim aka Alex Presley.  Words cannot describe how happy I am about this trade.  There were months of speculation about this deal and it finally happened.  I'm just surprised by how little we gave up for him.

Morneau is a former AL MVP and a former AL HR Derby winner.  He is no where near that caliber any longer but he is still good with the bat.  This season he is hitting .259/.315/.426 OPS .741.  He has also clobbered 17 homers and 74 RBIs on the year with no protection.  He also has hit 9 of the homers in the month of August.  So he's hot.  The best part about Morneau is that he hits the righties very well and will actually hold up his end of the platoon, which Garrett Jones has not.  He has protection now too.  All he had was Joe Mauer in Minny.  Now he has Cutch, Pedro, and Byrd hitting in front of him.  He's gonna see better pitches so he's going to hit better you would think.  He also has a shorter porch in right field.  And of course, he's moving to the NL.  Everything points to him having a better time in Pittsburgh.

The best part about this trade is that we gave up basically nothing for him.  Presley was going to be DFA'd next season anyways and we have tons of depth in the outfield.  Giving him up does nothing to our future and will not come back to bite us.

This trade is a trade the Pirates didn't have to make but really bolstered the lineup.  For all you people out there yelling about Nutting being cheap look dumb.  He's going to pay Morneau, an unnecessary upgrade, $2.5 million the rest of the month.  This lineup has now surpassed the Reds in my opinion and is right up there with the Cardinals.  There is no one place where you can say the lineup is weak and there is an easy out.  Teams with those lineups win in the playoffs.  If the pitching holds up, this Morneau trade could be the difference between an early playoff exit and a world series appearance.  Bravo Neal Huntington.

Pirates trade for Marlon Byrd and John Buck

Byrd is having a breakout year

Well, remember when we all wanted the Pirates to make a trade and I wrote my treatise on why it was not dumb to overpay? That was apparently a waste of time as today the Pirates paid a steep price for Marlon Byrd and John Buck.  It was reported earlier today that Byrd was claimed on waivers and it was speculated that it was either the Pirates or Reds that claimed him.  The Reds were stupid enough not to block him from us and we in turn claimed him.  John Buck is just a throw in to give the Mets salary relief but he will serve as a nice backup and bench bat for Russell Martin.  This is a trade that should've happened before July 31 but I'm happy it got done now.

 

 

Byrd is having a career year and hasn't skipped a step (that was my concern in July).  He's dominating baseball with a slash of .285/.330/.518 OPS .848 with 21 bombs.  How you like that for a #5 hitter?  He was a guy that I was really hoping the Pirates would get and now they have a huge upgrade in RF and on the bench.  Buck started off like a monster for the Mets but is now just hitting .215/.285/.367 OPS .652 with 15 HRs.  Most of those homers were in April though so it's misleading.  They are both upgrades for us so it's a good trade.  Buck and Tony Sanchez are probably even but Tony will be back in four days.  Felix Pie will be DFA'd.  Pie and Kelly Shoppach are the only ones hurt by this trade.

 

The one thing that makes me take pause is the price it took to get them.  Dilson Herrera is going to the Mets and he is a strong prospect.  He was only in West Virginia but played in the Futures Game.  He has a lot going for him but he's extremely raw.  He's a big "if" type of player but if everything does click for Dilson, NH is going to be haunted by this trade.

 

Overall I think both sides are happy.  The Mets got a good prospect for Byrd and Buck and the Pirates got a much needed offensive boost in right field.  That was the one hole they needed to fill.  Now with Jones starting to hit again and with Walker and Cutch coming on, this could be the missing link in a division winning Pittsburgh Pirates team with playoff success.  I and most of Pittsburgh are happy.

Will the Dark Knight Rise beyond 2013?

 

Recently, I've seen a lot of talk about AJ Burnett and if he could be back next season and beyond and I thought I'd throw my own thoughts into the mix

 

AJ Burnett is arguably the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He is the seasoned veteran and he takes no shit from anyone.  He's single handedly changed the persona of the Pirates and it is a change I have loved witnessing.  Unfortunately, I think this could be his final season wearing the P on his chest.

 

Now it's not like I want Burnett to leave.  His production is unbelievable.  Combining this season with last year, he has thrown 331 innings going 21-17 with a 3.21 ERA.  The strikeout and walk totals are fantastic too.  His K/9 is 8.7 and his BB/9 is 3.0.  That's the stuff of an ace.  So with all of that production and the unquestioned top dog status that he has, why don't I think he's coming back?  Well I have two reasons for you.

 

First reason I don't think AJ Burnett will be back is because we already have too many pitchers for next year.  Look at the rotation already under contract.  I am assuming that Wandy Rodriguez (remember him?) will accept his player option because no one is going to give him a big deal after his injury and missed time.  Liriano's option will also vest and he'll be back.  So here it is:

 

Francisco Liriano

Wandy Rodriguez

Jeff Locke

Gerrit Cole

Justin Wilson (natural starter)

 

That is the rotation I have penciled in right now and that doesn't include Charlie Morton, Jeanmar Gomez, Kyle McPherson, Jeff Karstens, and James McDonald (remember them??) who could all be tendered offers to compete with Kyle McPherson for that last spot.  Plus looking ahead to 2014, Jameson Taillon will be coming up in June with Nick Kingham not far behind.  Zoinks Scooby!  We have depth again without AJ.  What happens if AJ is placed in the rotation and Wilson stays in the pen?  Who do you take out for Taillon let alone Kingham?  You can always have injuries but you'll have guys like Gomez and Morton ready to go if they lose guys.  So the Pirates' pitching surplus is really working against Burnett.

 

Second thing that I think hurts AJ's chances of coming back next season is money.  Yes the cheap Pirates won't be able to pay him.  I'm just joking but it would take a lot to bring in Burnett.  Don't forget, the Yankees are paying most of Burnett's salary.  Would you pay him say $10 million a year for two more years of service?  I can hear a bunch of you saying he's 37 and not worth that much but consider Ryan Dempster is making $13 million a year the next two years for Boston and he'll be 37 next season.  So really, I think that would be AJ's discount.  It'd be hard to replace that leadership but I think the Pirates could sign a cheaper option if they wished for two months to warm Taillon's spot.

 

Now I have neglected a lot of things here.  Wandy could decline his player option (in which case I'm all for paying AJ to return), Morton and the rest of the gang could be non tendered to save money and room, and AJ could take a bigger discount because he loves Pittsburgh and made a ton of money in his career.  I just know how the Pirates like to operate.  I don't think they would pay that much money to an aging Burnett when they could go after cheaper options with big guns on the way.  That leadership would be really damn hard to replace though.  Here's my solution in a perfect world.  AJ honors his promise that he made before the year that he either retires or signs with Pittsburgh, retires, and becomes an assistant pitching coach next to Ray Searage.  It would be perfect.  He could continue helping the young guys like Locke, Cole, and eventually Taillon and maintain the locker room presence without taking up a roster spot from a young guy.  Would that happen?  I don't think the likelihood is very high, but it is possible.  I'm not advocating to dump Burnett by any means.  I'd love to see him back in a Pirates uniform.  I also hope they win it all this year for him and he could go out on top if he decides to go down that path.  But unfortunately, just like Bruce Wayne, I don't think there's anything left in Gotham, I mean Pittsburgh, for AJ Burnett. 

The Pirates Send a Bad Message

Well, the trade deadline came and passed today and the Pirates did......nothing.  All of the hours of speculation by me and others completely wasted (just like every year).  This has me much more upset than almost every Pirates fan I know.  Maybe I'm naïve or whatever but I think the Pirates missed a golden opportunity a few minutes ago.  They needed to add some offense and they failed.  I've heard so many excuses of why this was a good decision by the Pirates to do nothing including the price is too high, no one else did anything, they're the best team in baseball, there were no impact players, and the famous "you can't mortgage the future for one year".  I'll explain why all of these excuses are dumb right now.

The price was too high.  Yes it was an extreme seller's market this year but there were still names to be had.  Just because it is a seller's market it doesn't mean that the Cubs were asking Jameson Taillon for David Dejesus.  No they were probably asking for someone like Alex Dickerson and the Pirates thought that was too much.  Those possible deals are the ones that frustrate me because you're bargaining over prospects who are in all likelihood not going to make a big impact in the majors or any impact for that matter.  Just pull the trigger and bite the bullet to help a really good team this year.  So price is a little blown out of proportion for me.

No one else did anything.  As far as I'm concerned, that means even more that the Pirates should have done something.  When no one else improves their team and you do, guess who just got better and increased their chances of winning?  That's right, you did!  The people saying this is why the Pirates were smart to stand pat have it twisted so I'm not going to give this reason any more time.

They're the best team in baseball.  Do you know why the Pirates are the best team in baseball?  Pitching.  You can only out pitch teams for so long before you need to score runs.  If you can't score, you can't win.  It's great that you can hold someone to one run for seven innings.  It's not great if you can't score one yourself.  So how long will you be the best team in baseball if you can't score?  How much longer can you win games if you can't score?  Even worse, what happens when your starters regress and they start giving up four or five a game like Locke and Morton should?  Just because you're the best team in baseball now, it doesn't mean you will be in a month from now.

There were no impact players available.  No there weren't.  Good thing the Pirates didn't need an impact player.  They only needed an upgrade.  A platoon guy maybe.  Anyone would be an upgrade.  The Pirates are LAST in the league in average from RF.  LAST in the league in OBP from RF.  LAST in the league in SLG from RF.  LAST in the league in OPS from RF.  So you're telling me that there is no one out there who could've came in and helped that?  Please.  Justin Maxwell was traded to the Royals for a non prospect RHP.  Even he from the lowly Astros could've helped the team and made an impact.  And you're telling me we couldn't give up a RHP, the strength of the system, for a platoon guy.  I don't know what asking prices were but that is hard to imagine.

You can't mortgage the future for one year.  I hate this saying so much.  The Pirates have a top three farm system in the league.  Trading away a top ten prospect is not going to cripple you.  Hell, I would've traded a top ten guy for Schierholtz and/or Dejesus.  Now I know that people I think have no idea what they're talking about have said this for the past two years, but I think it is true now.  The Pirates may never be in this position again.  I understand that we have gobs of talent coming up.  Gregory Polanco will be here next year and so will Jameson Taillon.  But people expect them to come up and be the next Clemente and Drabek right when they arrive.  That won't happen.  Look how Starling Marte and Gerrit Cole are still trying to figure it out in the majors.  It takes about two years in my opinion for you to begin to reach your potential in the majors.  So, in two years, start of 2016, when these guys are going to dominate and lead the Pirates to the promise lands guess who isn't under contract and likely not coming back.  AJ Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, Russell Martin, Francisco Liriano, Garrett Jones, Gaby Sanchez, Jason Grilli, and Neil Walker.  Pedro Alvarez will also be in the final year of team control.  So basically when those young studs are ready to really help the major league club, the parts that were there for them to reinforce will be gone and you'll be stuck in the same situation as this year with holes.  This has always been a sticking point with me for Neal Huntington and I think it is something that he needs to change.  Give up a prospect to improve the team and possibly get a championship ring.

Look, I know I don't know what went on in the last month and I know Neal Huntington is better at his job than I am.  It doesn't mean that there wasn't a move he could have made without parting with our top five prospects and balked at the chance.  The team needed an upgrade to become a true championship contender and he just did not make the move.  Huntington himself and all of you who are going to disagree with me cannot convince me that there wasn't a trade available where Huntington could have parted with Nick Kingham or someone like that for an upgrade in right field.  It was time to do something.  It was the year.  And we didn't do anything.  Some players will be happy with that and it sends them a message that management believes in them as they sit.  The message he sent to me, the fans, and some of the players I'm sure, is that we are going to coast, end the losing streak, make the playoffs, get eliminated early, and be satisfied.  That is what disgusts me.  Fans will be happy with that.  Why?  This is a good team that can no doubt win the World Series.  I know the Pirates have been losing so long that any winning will make us happy.  But when you have a team as good as this, why should expectations be any lower than a World Series.  Will I be happy if the Pirates make the playoffs?  Yes.  Will I be happy if they break .500?  Yes.  Will I still be disappointed?  Yes.  When you have a winning team, you expect nothing less than championships.  What are your expectations with the Steelers and Penguins?  Championships.  Why should it be any different with the Pirates?  It shouldn't.  Those should be Huntington's expectations too.  And by not overpaying a little bit for an upgrade, it tells me that those are not his expectations.  He can stick to his plan all he wants but if it provides winning teams like this with no titles, well he'll be looking for a new job.  Now would any one of those trades help the Pirates' World Series odds?  Of course not but it can't hurt.  Now there is always the waiver trade deadline to do something and I expect the Pirates to be active there but I'm not holding my breath.  What happened today just really disappoints me and makes me question what the Pirates want to accomplish on the field this year.  Once again, I don't know what prices were, who was available, and who any prospect might become, but I'm sure the Pirates could have done something, anything, minor to appease us.  I just don't like the message that Huntington and the Pirates sent.

A Farewell to Brandon Inge

Well folks the day has finally arrived. Brandon Inge is no longer a Pirate. I think it's safe to say that the Pirates haven't had a player more hated in the modern history of the team, at least for me. Yessir, Inge ranks right up there with the Andy LaRoche, Brian Bixler, and Rod Barajas' of the world.
That's elite company. By the way, the only reason I hate Inge more than Barajas is because we had no better option than Barajas, we have for Inge since day one. Anyways, even though we all hate Inge, especially myself, I felt it was appropriate to give him a nice farewell now that the Inge Era is over in Pittsburgh because there are some things I am going to miss about him.

The first thing I'll miss about good ole Brandon Inge is his clubhouse leadership. I mean who else could put on rollerblades and do this in the clubhouse? He really lightened the mood.

 

And who else could entertain such a tough group of ball players like Inge? Just look at these hi-jinks! He's hilarious!
 

The second thing I will miss about Brandon Inge is his ability to make teammates look so good. Who would go through such awful plate appearances to make his teammates look like superstars at the plate? Brandon Inge, that's who.



The third thing I'm really going to miss about Inge is his mastering of the famous Zoltan Z. Look at that form, he is the master. This should be the way all new players are taught!


The fourth thing I'll miss about Brandon is his emotion. No one loved being a Pirate than Brandon. Look at the enthusiasm on his face! You can't disagree!





The fifth and final thing I'll miss about Brandon Inge is his image. Now, I've been joking for most of this article but I'm serious on this one. Inge's image with the Pirates was that of an awful player just wasting space on the roster. This is one thing I actually thank Brandon for enduring because he did take a lot of attention away from the seriousness of having a winning baseball team in this town. For that reason alone, he should be given a ring next year during the Pirates World Series ring ceremony.

 


Brandon Inge was really a god awful player in Pittsburgh but he will still be missed. Who else on the team are we going to heckle now that the man with the .181 average and .442 OPS is gone? I guess The Fort isn't close behind. He's the only one mad about Inge being gone because now his awful year will be under the spotlight. Back to the point, Inge made us angry and was possibly the worst player to ever appear in a Pirates uniform but he will be missed and you can't deny that. He made you laugh at least once and wasn't a complete waste of space in the clubhouse. He even told management to release him if they needed to. That takes balls and I respect him for realizing that but still he was awful. And even though he looks like he has downs syndrome, he still deserves this farewell. I will end this article with a poem I wrote just for this occasion.

Goodbye Brandon Inge,

Your at-bats made me cringe,

Your defense is crap,

I can't wait to say "See ya ole chap!"

You couldn't produce on a tee-ball team,

Just hearing your name makes me want to scream,

Still, even though you are terrible in a baseball game,

You didn't put the locker room to shame,

Thank you for giving us a reason to complain,

I hope you find a cheap ticket to your plane,

Brandon, I hope you're not too pissed,

Because you will still be missed.

Thank You

 

Farewell Brandon Inge

Trade Target: Hunter Pence

Hunter Pence? Again? I'm sure a lot of you are saying this right now and frankly, so was I when I saw Jon Heyman tweet that the Pirates are interested in him....for the third straight trade deadline. I really contemplated even writing a trade target piece for him because I don't know why the Giants would even consider trading him. Well that and my Wi-Fi was pretty messed up. Anyways, the Giants are only 5.5 games back in the NL West right now even though they are well below .500 record wise. So, I guess they could trade Pence because he's in the last year of his deal and I decided to do a quick little target page for Pence.

Pence is putting up lower numbers than usual this year but he's batting for more power.  He has 14 HRs, 49 RBIs, and a slash of .263/.308/.451 OPS .759. That's not stellar but it isn't bad either. I would expect some regression back to his career averages of 25 HRs, 92 RBIs, and slash of .283/.336/.472 OPS .808. That would be a nice kick for the offense. Pence can also defend in right field although he usually looks like the most awkward human being alive. I know most bloggers don't like to look at this stat but I still do because it has merit for the Pirates, but he are Pence's numbers with RISP, .224/.286/.411 OPS .697 this year and on his career it is .283/.342/.475 OPS .817. So I would also expect him to jump back to the mean on this too. Are there any issues with bringing in Pence?

The first thing I thought of when I saw Pence's numbers is Alex Rios. He is just like Rios but just has slightly more power. But Rios also has more control. Pence would be a rental but that could be better because Gregory Polanco should be ready by next June. Rios though would seem to come much cheaper. That leads me to my second issue. The price it's going to take to bring him in. Heyman noted in his article that the Giants would have to be "overwhelmed" to trade Pence. I hate that term. I don't know why they would need to be overwhelmed since Pence is in the final year of his deal and the Dodgers are red hot and will most likely run away with the division. Nonetheless, it's hard to explain trading away a big piece of your team when you just won the World Series last season. So, I would not give up a ton for Pence when I could get a similar guy like Rios for much less.

Just like the past two seasons, I don't think Pence is in the cards for the Pirates. He's a gifted player for sure, that is unquestioned, but it's just going to take too much to get him. The Giants have no real good reason to sell and they are still contending. Although Pence is in the last year of his deal, I think the Giants want to re=sign him or at least make that attempt. I think it would be much safer to just go after someone like Rios, who I'm still not fond of, and not overpay like the Rangers did today for Matt Garza. It would be nice to have Pence's pop in the middle of the order, but I just don't see him being traded for the third year in a row.

UPDATE: Matt Garza was traded to the Cubs today for Mike Olt, CJ Edwards, and Justin Grimm. To put that into perspective, that's like the Pirates trading Gregory Polanco, Tyler Glasnow, and Kyle McPherson for Garza. If that was the asking price, I'm glad the Pirates didn't bite and I'm glad the Rangers did. Good thing is that it limits the Rangers from making other deals, like for Rios, but the bad thing is it sets a bad precedent for big prices for other starters that are available. Also, if you have been out of it Jason Grilli left tonight's save opportunity with "right forearm discomfort". That's the same description that was used to describe Wandy's injury and Jeanmar Gomez's injury earlier this year. So, depending on the severity the Pirates could be back in the relief pitching market looking for a set up man.

Trade Target: Alexei Ramirez

Well that was a long hiatus! I'm back one night after I said Paul Konerko would be my final post. Well, unfortunately Jon Heyman decided to report a few minutes ago that the Pirates are in talks with the White Sox about Alex Rios and people close to the Pirates think those talks will expand to Alexei Ramirez. So I'm here to do an article on Alexei.

Alexei is a shortstop. I know, I know Jordy Mercer. But honestly, I'd love Jordy off of the bench as a utility man. So could Alexei be an upgrade? Well, this season, Alexei has 1 HRs, 21 RBIs, and a slash of .286/.311/.358 OPS .669. That's not stellar, but on his career he averages 15 HRs, 72 RBIs, and a slash of .277/.315/.403 OPS .718. That's not bad for a top of the order guy. His numbers with RISP are .254/.306/.333 OPS .639 currently but on his career it's .297/.339/.440 OPS .779. And I wasn't expecting that much from a lead off guy because he's the table setter, not the producer. Just like with Alex Rios though, I have tons of issues with Ramirez.

First thing is that his defense is not good. It's not awful but it's not good either. It's worse than Jordy Mercer but he could still play everyday. That's not a huge issue. Second problem is that his power is disappearing. He averages 15 dingers a year but only hit 9 last year and has the measly one this year. He's now 31 so his production could be declining. The final issue with him is again a huge contract. He's owed around $22 million through 2015 and has a hefty buyout for 2016. That's a ginormous price tag for a guy who's production looks to be dropping. Pair that with Rios' contract and that is a ton of dough the Pirates don't fork out.

After reading Jon Heyman's report, I don't get why the Pirates would do this. I think Jordy can cut it at short for now so Alexei wouldn't be necessarily needed. I also don't know why they'd take that much salary on. They'd have to get Chicago to pay Rios and Ramirez's deals. And at least half of the money owed. That means you're talking big prospects. I'd imagine Alen Hanson would be expendable since Alexei is here through 2015 at least. That leaves a lot of room. I'd think you'd have to give them Kingham too. Maybe even more. And that's just to start. Either that or you trade Gregory Polanco and I think he should be an untouchable along with Taillon. I mean, it's a nice idea and all but I just don't see a fit happening for a deal like this. If NH can prove me wrong, well power to him. We'll have to wait and see.