2012 Pirates Season Thread

[Buczilla]

4 game sweep of the Astros completed!! First 4 game sweep of the Astros in Pittsburgh since July of '79! Jeff Karstens is back! 8 innings, 8K's, and only 4 hits given up. And to boot he also singled and scored in the 3rd to help himself out. Now the Bucs are 10 over 500, bring on the Giants this weekend!!

It's coming together real well. I hope Karstens moves into the 3 spot after the break. Owens and Locke are killing it in Indy. We are not gonna see Cole until next summer. Taillon has stumbled a bit the past couple months, he is still a couple seasons away from the bigs. I wouldn't lose any sleep over one of the two Indy boys replacing Correia or Bedard. You just know that Bedard's arm is gonna fall off any day now....and Correia is our poster child for regression as the season goes on.

It would be nice to take this series against the Giants going into the break. Bedard pulls Zito, JMac gets Vogelsong and AJ lands The Freak. I like our chances at home.

[Buczilla]

Speaking of Correia and Bedard, that's $7.5 million that won't be here next season.

[Buczilla]

Bedard has given up four or more runs in seven of his past ten games pitched. JMac(1), AJ(2) and Correia(4) have combined to put up four or more runs seven times in 46 starts. His line over that span reads 51.1 IP, 56 H, 37 R, 36 ER, 8 HR, 41 SO, 25 BB, 6.32 ERA, 1.58 WHIP.

[Buczilla]

Cutch will be taking Stanton's spot in the HR Derby.

I am not a big fan of The Fort, but boy does he have that homer touch. His 14.7 AB/HR has passed Pedro by a full point. If he qualified, that rate would be top 3 in the NL. Pedro is 4th in the NL in that category by the way.

Solid win tonight, guaranteed first place spot heading into the break. Life is good.

[Buczilla]

74 AB, 17 R, 29 H, 4 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 7 BB, 14 SO, 3 SB, 2 CS, .392 AVG, .444 OBP, .716 SLG, 1.160 OPS

That is Starling Marte's line for the last 17 games in AAA. He has a 13 game hit streak going. He has gone hitless twice, multi hit eleven times and reached base in 16 of those games in that span.

[Buczilla]

Second-half schedules for NL contenders

Buster Olney's Blog
July, 8, 2012

Yesterday, we ranked the second-half schedules for the American League contenders. Here's how our second-half schedule ranking stacks up for the National League contenders, ranked from the easiest schedule to the toughest.

1. Cincinnati Reds

Home/away: 42 of their final 77 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 24.

Schedule notes: The Reds' first 10 games out of the All-Star break will be at home, and only three of Cincinnati's first 19 games after the break are against teams with records over .500.

The Big Finish: The Reds will have a season-ending challenge with a three-game series in Pittsburgh and three games in St. Louis.


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2. Pittsburgh Pirates

Home/away: 38 of their final 77 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 26.

Schedule notes: Remember how the Pirates had by far the hardest April schedule? Well, here's the payoff: Pittsburgh's first 19 games in the second half are against teams with records under .500, including a whole bunch with the Cubs and Astros.

The Big Finish: It won't be easy down the stretch -- the Pirates will likely face contenders in their final 10 games, with series against the Mets, Reds and Braves.


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3. San Francisco Giants

Home/away: 39 of their last 76 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 27.

Schedule notes: Depending on how Arizona plays in the second half, the Giants could have an incredibly easy September. After having series with the Astros and Cubs at the end of August, the Giants have 13 games in September against the Padres and Rockies. San Francisco has three separate series with the Diamondbacks, who are currently under .500.

The Big Finish: The Giants' final six games are on the road -- at San Diego and at Los Angeles.


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4. Los Angeles Dodgers

Home/away: 38 of their last 75 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 36.

Schedule notes: As the trade deadline nears, the Dodgers have a challenging 10-game road trip that will take them through New York, St. Louis and San Francisco.

The Big Finish: The Dodgers will close out their regular season with six home games -- three against Colorado and three against the Giants.


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5. Washington Nationals

Home/away: 41 of Washington's last 79 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 35.

Schedule notes: The Nationals have a chance to distance themselves from the other contenders in the division right after the All-Star Game, because their schedule is filled with games against NL East teams -- 21 of their first 25 coming out of the break.

The Big Finish: Six of the Nationals' last nine games are against the Phillies, and the other three are against the Cardinals.


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6. Atlanta Braves

Home/away: 39 of their final 77 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 35.

Schedule notes: Atlanta's season could turn on how it plays against the Marlins, whom the Braves will face 13 times in the second half.

The Big Finish: Interestingly, the Braves close out their year in Pittsburgh with a three-game series.


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7. St. Louis Cardinals

Home/away: 38 of their final 76 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 37.

Schedule notes: The Cardinals have nine games left against the Reds, with two of the series in Cincinnati. St. Louis has a ton of games remaining against the best teams in the NL West and NL East, including the Nationals (seven), Dodgers (eight) and Giants (four).

The Big Finish: St. Louis finishes the year with six home games against good teams -- the Nationals and Reds.


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8. Arizona Diamondbacks

Home/away: 37 of their last 77 are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 39.

Schedule notes: If the Diamondbacks can fight their way back to the top of the division, their late-season slate is something you can only dream of, with 13 of their final 16 games against the Rockies, Cubs and Padres.

The Big Finish: The D-backs end their season with six home games versus the Cubs and Rockies, at a time when the Giants and Dodgers are going head-to-head.


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9. Milwaukee Brewers

Home/away: 37 of their last 77 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 44.

Schedule notes: The Brewers intend to wait a little longer to decide whether to be sellers, and they'll get a strong indication about whether they can climb back into the race right after the All-Star break. Their first nine games are against NL Central leaders -- the Pirates, Cardinals and Reds. About a third of Milwaukee's remaining games are against teams from Pennsylvania -- Phillies (seven) and Pirates (12) -- and the Reds (seven).

The Big Finish: If the Brewers can hang in the NL Central race, they have a nice soft landing at season's end -- six home games in the last week against the Astros and Padres.


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10. New York Mets

Home/away: Only 35 of the Mets' final 76 games are at home, fewest among the contenders.

Games left against teams over .500: 41.

Schedule notes: The crossroads in the Mets' season could come right after the All-Star break, when New York's first four series will be at Atlanta, at Washington, and at home against the Dodgers and Nationals, a 12-game litmus test. The Mets still have 12 games remaining against the Nationals, which could be either really good or really bad.

The Big Finish: The Mets close out the year with six road games in the South, with three at Atlanta and three at Miami.


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11. Philadelphia Phillies

Home/away: 37 of the Phillies' final 75 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 46.

Schedule notes: The Phillies will have a chance to do head-to-head damage against the first-place Nationals (the two teams play each other 12 times in the second half). As the Phillies try to assess whether they are buyers or sellers, 10 of their 16 games leading up to the trade deadline are on the road.

The Big Finish: The Phillies close out with six road games, at Miami and at Washington.


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12. Miami Marlins

Home/away: 37 of their final 77 games are at home.

Games left against teams over .500: 50.

Schedule notes: The Marlins must try to survive in late July and early August without Giancarlo Stanton, and in that time, they are saturated with games against their NL East rivals. Miami has 18 games against the Nationals, Braves and Mets between now and Aug. 9.

The Big Finish: The Marlins close out their second half with six home games against the Phillies and Mets.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/olney_buster

[Buczilla]

Most Valuable Player: Andrew McCutchen

Most Valuable Pitcher: James McDonald

Most Valuable Pen Guy: Jason Grilli

Most Valuable Pirate: AJ Burnett

What a beat down the Pirates handed out today. It looked like the Giants were already on their All Star break. Neil Walker was awesome. He was a triple short of the cycle by time he came up in the 6th inning. Cutch was amazing again. He picked up his 30th multi hit game of the season and his 13th game of 3 or more hit ball(8 three hit, 5 four hit).

One player who doesn't get alot of press, but has been kicking -(PG)- and taking names since Pedro got booted from the 4 spot is Casey McGehee. Here is his line in the past 33 games...

104 AB, 17 R, 33 H, 8 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR 23 RBI, 9 BB, 21 SO, .317 AVG, .379 OBP, .567 SLG, .946 OPS

Before that he was non existent... .186/.276/.245/.521... The impact of his bat has been huge over the course of the past month and some change.

Starling Marte has upped his streak to 14 games with another hit tonight.

Tabata has a hit(7 of them) in all 5 of the games he has played at Indy.

Up, Down, Up, Down, Up.... That is Matt Hague. If I was Jeff Clement I would ask to be released. Not only has he been out performing Matt Hague every time he has been called up(3 times), but he has also been the most consistent hitter in Indy this season....month after month. Neal was called out about this on his radio show awhile ago and the reason he gave was he can spell Pedro at 3rd. After 28 games, he has never stepped foot once on 3b.

[Buczilla]

Back to Neil Walker.... He has a 12 game hit streak going and a reached base streak of 16.

Garrett Jones might not be able to hit lefties(rarely provided the chance), nor does he remember how to draw a walk, but since May 27th(35 games)....

115 AB, 26 R, 36 H, 7 2b, 1 3b, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 5 BB, 24 SO, .313 AVG, .336 OBP, .530 SLG, .866 OPS

It's been 21 games now since K-Dro reverted back to El Toro. So how has he looked?

70 AB, 16 R, 24 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 11 BB, 20 SO, .343 AVG, .439 OBP, .643 SLG, 1.082 OPS

Big hit after big hit. He has really turned it around of late.

Cutch! Cutch! We want Cutch....

223 AB, 46 R, 86 H, 11 2B, 5 3B, 18 HR, 53 RBI, 23 BB, 47 SO, 9 SB, 2 CS, .386 AVG, .438 OBP, .722 SLG, 1.160 OPS

That was since May 1st(59 games). Yeah, what more can be said?

[BeatEmBucs]

Can't argue with those selections, Tony Watson has also had a strong season, and as the lone pen Lefty, has been very valuable.

It sure doesn't seem that it was just 2 years ago the Bucs had 57 wins for the season. It sure makes 48 wins at the All Star Break all the more sweeter. Clint often talked about "finishing" during Spring Training. Now's the time to "finish", and I think the Bucs will this year. LETS GO BUCS!!

[Blue387]

Could A.J. Burnett become a knuckleball pitcher?

[Buczilla]

Could A.J. Burnett become a knuckleball pitcher?

Why would he need to go and do that?

Since you brought him up, it's been awhile since I touched on AJ. In forums around the internet they speak as if he was still shooting with blanks for the Yankees, that couldn't be further from the truth. Taking AJ's stats at face value does him no justice, nor does it tell you anything.

It would be to easy to write off AJ's 10-2 season, with a 3.68 ERA and am ERA+ of 103 just by going off his 4.9 run support number or just looking at either of those ERA figures, or even that 1.301 WHIP. Here is what those numbers don't tell you.... In the 15 games AJ has pitched he has given up 3 or less runs in all but 2 of them. He has given up 0 ER four times, 2 runs seven times and 3 runs twice. That is 20 runs he has given up in 13 games. Again, that is all but two of his starts.

In those remaining two games he was smacked for 18 runs in 7.2 innings of work. Screw all the yip yap.... He has an ERA of 2.11 with a WHIP of 1.102 outside of those two games.

What else the boxscore or a basic glance of the stat sheet doesn't show you is that the Pirates have won 13 out of 15 Burnett starts....12 of them in a row for that matter. The Pirates haven't lost a single game at home when he has pitched(9 games).

This is why you will find another group of posters on other sites(this one included) who are aligned with other teams proclaiming that AJ should have been an All Star and AJ is one of the best pitchers in the league. He and this is a perfect example of why you can't just take stats at face value.

AJ is having a great season. Not only has this investment paid off on the mound, but the impact of his presence has paid off 10 fold off the mound. This might be Cutch's team and it is easy to label ones best player the leader, but Cutch is a lead by example type of guy and he has stated as such numerous times. AJ has been the true leader of the Pirates since the first day he stepped in the clubhouse. Having him around is like having a second manager.

The knuck, really?

[Buczilla]

Can't argue with those selections, Tony Watson has also had a strong season, and as the lone pen Lefty, has been very valuable.

It sure doesn't seem that it was just 2 years ago the Bucs had 57 wins for the season. It sure makes 48 wins at the All Star Break all the more sweeter. Clint often talked about "finishing" during Spring Training. Now's the time to "finish", and I think the Bucs will this year. LETS GO BUCS!!

Our whole pen in general has been excellent(best in the majors). Grilli's K/9 of 14.4 did it for me.

Hurdle has the team believing they can win every game and he has me sold as well.

Cmon boys, lets get the coach some hardware too. Finish....

[KG Erwin]

The only thing that worries me about the Bucs having a strong season is how they're going to be able to afford keeping the aces of their pitching staff. 4 of the 5 starters have 1 year contracts, and so does Hanrahan.

Honestly, if the Pirates really want to build a winning team, they're going to have to loosen the purse strings. Look at McDonald, who's having an excellent season so far. He's making $502,000 this season. What's it going to cost to keep him until the young Bucs in the minors are ready?

[Buczilla]

The only thing that worries me about the Bucs having a strong season is how they're going to be able to afford keeping the aces of their pitching staff. 4 of the 5 starters have 1 year contracts, and so does Hanrahan.

Honestly, if the Pirates really want to build a winning team, they're going to have to loosen the purse strings. Look at McDonald, who's having an excellent season so far. He's making $502,000 this season. What's it going to cost to keep him until the young Bucs in the minors are ready?

The Buccos have AJ for another year, he is not in our long term plans. Bedard and Correia can't get off the books fast enough. Karstens and McDonald are still arbitration eligible. We have 4 pitchers who will be up here at some point from now until next summer....Rudy Owens, Jeff Locke and Justin Wilson(Garrett Cole by next summer). Behind them we have works in progress who are a few years away still.

The Hammer can be replaced, but he has a year of arbitration left. Closers are overrated in my opinion, unless ones name is Mariano Rivera. In the whole history of the game when a team takes a lead into the 9th inning, they win 90+ percent of the time. The Buccos are 41-0 when they take a lead into the 8th inning. Grilli has been boss, but peep his track record. He has finally put it all together just before turning 36. Lincoln can hold it down, plus we have reinforcements coming this way as well. With two sure spots left open in the starting rotation, two listed above will be seeing plenty of pen time.

The Bucs will have plenty of money to throw at their arbitration eligible pitchers. Don't think they will take care of McDonald, Karstens and whoever else is worth holding on to? See Paul Maholm, see the money thrown at Bedard and Correia to begin with.

[Buczilla]

44 strikeouts in 3 games, what a way to come full circle.

[chicagowhitesox1173]

Pirates are a team that could land Ryan Dempster. If the Whitesox dont get him I hope the Pirates do. I guess Theo Epsten has a good relationship with the Pirates GM.

[Buczilla]

14 days till the trade deadline. This is the deadline that is truly gonna define our front office. There are no more excuses to be had.

[Buczilla]

With the trade deadline looming and Buczilla not digging the Presley-Harrison 1-2 punch, nor the placing of Sutton at the top of the lineup previously. Walker batting second should be as much of a given as Cutch batting 3rd. I got to wondering what the Buccos were getting out of their lineup and position players compared to the rest of the league.

Here is what it looks like.... MLB averages are first, NL second and Pirates third.

1st
.261/.324/.390/.714
.257/.318/.382/.701
.225/.270/.357/.626
2nd
.262/.323/.392/.714
.273/.332/.396/.728
.268/.314/.436/.750
3rd
.277/.356/.469/.824
.286/.360/.475/.835
.360/.411/.620/1.031
4th
.269/.344/.458/.802
.269/.343/.458/.801
.238/.287/.385/.672
5th
.261/.322/.438/.760
.259/.323/.431/.754
.262/.339/.383/.722
6th
.253/.321/.414/.735
.254/.322/.408/.731
.236/.300/.459/.759
7th
.253/.312/.409/.721
.248/.306/.402/.708
.244/.292/.396/.688
8th
.243/.305/.368/.674
.243/.306/.369/.675
.220/.269/.388/.657
9th
.203/.259/.298/.557
.177/.231/.255/.486
.136/.196 /.176/.372

C
.248/.316/.400/.716
.252/.321/.405/.726
.222/.296 /.416/.712
1B
.257/.333/.436/.769
.262/.335/.436/.771
.244/.299/.404/.703
2B
.257/.319/.383/.702
.262/.322 /.391/.713
.288/.357/.412/.770
3B
.259/.321/.416/.737
.259/.324/.417/.742
.243/.312/.514/.827
SS
.256/.309/.375/.684
.257/.310 /.382/.692
.205/.237 /.281/.518
LF
.265/.333/.438/.770
.272/.334/.437/.772
.202/.246/.333/.579
CF
.268/.333/.418/.750
.263/.330 /.402/.732
.368/.417/.632/1.049
RF
.264/.331/.444/.775
.264/.334/.447/.781
.259/.296 /.430/.727
P
.129/.167/.160/.327
.130/.169/.163/.333
.112/.146/.112 /.257
PH
.229/.308/.371/.679
.238/.316/.383/.699
.198/.283/.255/.538

[BeatEmBucs]

Another home sweep! Bucs take care of business with a 3-0 win.Karstens strong after a shaky start, Cutch with 2 more hits, and Pedro with another homer in the sunlight! 21st overall, 14th in the daytime which leads the Majors! Provided much needed insurance. 54-40 now! Bring on the Cubs! LETS GO BUCS!!

[Buczilla]

With all the winning they have been doing this year, it is hard to believe this is the first time they pulled 5 W's off in a row. Glad to see Jordy getting some PT this time around.

[Buczilla]

In honor of Neal's 50th trade, here is a flashback.

Traded Salomon Torres to the Milwaukee Brewers. Received Kevin Roberts (minors) and Marino Salas.

Traded Todd Redmond (minors) to the Atlanta Braves. Received Tyler Yates.

Traded Kyle Pearson (minors) to the Detroit Tigers. Received Denny Bautista.

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

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.

Traded Jose Bautista to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received a player to be named later. The Toronto Blue Jays sent Robinzon Diaz (August 25, 2008) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.

Traded Ronny Paulino to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Jason Jaramillo.

Traded players to be named later to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Delwyn Young. The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Eric Krebs (minors) (May 22, 2009) and Harvey Garcia (August 1, 2009) to the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete the trade.

Traded Andy Phillips to the Chicago White Sox. Received Michael Dubee (minors).

Traded Romulo Sanchez to the New York Yankees. Received Eric Hacker.

Traded Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves. Received Gorkys Hernandez (minors), Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton.

Traded Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan to the Washington Nationals. Received Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge.

Traded Eric Hinske and cash to the New York Yankees. Received Casey Erickson (minors) and Eric Fryer.

Traded Adam LaRoche to the Boston Red Sox. Received Hunter Strickland (minors) and Argenis Diaz.

Traded Ian Snell and Jack Wilson to the Seattle Mariners. Received Aaron Pribanic (minors), Brett Lorin (minors), Nathan Adcock, Ronny Cedeno and Jeff Clement.

Traded Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants. Received Tim Alderson (minors).

Traded Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow to the Chicago Cubs. Received Jose Ascanio, Josh Harrison and Kevin Hart.

Traded Mike Koplove to the Seattle Mariners. Received Deybis Benitez (minors).

Traded Jesse Chavez to the Tampa Bay Rays. Received Akinori Iwamura.

Traded Brian Bixler to the Cleveland Indians. Received Jesus Brito (minors).

Traded Virgil Vasquez to the Tampa Bay Rays. Received player to be named.

Traded Jonathan Van Every to the Boston Red Sox. Received player to be named.

Traded Josue Peley (minors) to the Boston Red Sox. Received Jonathan Van Every.

Traded Ronald Uviedo (minors) to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received Dana Eveland.

Traded player to be named to the Cleveland Indians. Received Brian Bixler.

Traded D.J. Carrasco, Ryan Church and Bobby Crosby to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Pedro Ciriaco, Chris Snyder and cash.

Traded Octavio Dotel and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Andrew Lambo (minors) and James McDonald.

Traded Javier Lopez to the San Francisco Giants. Received John Bowker and Joe Martinez.

Traded Brandon Jones to the Detroit Tigers. Received player to be named .

Traded Luke Carlin to the Cleveland Indians. Received player to be named .

Traded Travis Chick to the Texas Rangers. Received future considerations.

Traded Zach Duke to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received a player to be named later. The Arizona Diamondbacks sent Cesar Valdez (December 9, 2010) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.

Traded Joe Martinez to the Cleveland Indians. Received player to be named or cash.

Traded Josh Fields to the Colorado Rockies. Received player to be named or cash.

Traded player to be named or cash to the Boston Red Sox. Received Michael McKenry.

Traded player to be named to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Steven Jackson.

Traded player to be named or cash to the Washington Nationals. Received Miguel Perez.

Traded Cesar Valdez to the Florida Marlins. Received player to be named or cash.

Traded Aaron Baker (minors) to the Baltimore Orioles. Received Derrek Lee.

Traded player to be named or cash to the San Diego Padres. Received Ryan Ludwick.

Traded Miguel Perez to the Washington Nationals. Received future considerations.

Traded Tim Wood to the Texas Rangers. Received player to be named or cash.

Traded John Bowker to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received player to be named or cash.

Traded Matt Diaz to the Atlanta Braves. Received a player to be named later. The Atlanta Braves sent Eliecer Cardenas (minors) (September 20, 2011) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.

Traded Brooks Pounders (minors) and Diego Goris (minors) to the Kansas City Royals. Received Yamaico Navarro.

Traded Jose Veras to the Milwaukee Brewers. Received Casey McGehee.

Traded Diego Moreno (minors) and Exicardo Cayones (minors) to the New York Yankees. Received A.J. Burnett and cash.

Traded Ryota Igarashi to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received player to be named or cash.

Traded Brian Tallet to the San Diego Padres. Received player to be named or cash.

[Ben Grimm]

Starling Marte being called up. Should be official tomorrow.

[Buczilla]

Starling Marte being called up. Should be official tomorrow.

You know I do not understand why they will not promote Clement. McGahee sucks at PNC and he can't hit righties this season for whatever reason. I don't understand why the Bucs continue to stick with the worst every day hitting SS in all of baseball or why Mercer can't be given a fair shot at taking the job away from him. Jordy starts hitting and we bench him. WTH?

Unless Marte goes bonkers out the door the fans are gonna turn on him and his hacking ways faster than you can say Anbesol. Starling doesn't know what patience is. I still would like to see them make a play for an OFer with pop.

[Ben Grimm]

You know I do not understand why they will not promote Clement. McGahee sucks at PNC and he can't hit righties this season for whatever reason. I don't understand why the Bucs continue to stick with the worst every day hitting SS in all of baseball or why Mercer can't be given a fair shot at taking the job away from him. Jordy starts hitting and we bench him. WTH?

Unless Marte goes bonkers out the door the fans are gonna turn on him and his hacking ways faster than you can say Anbesol. Starling doesn't know what patience is. I still would like to see them make a play for an OFer with pop.

Jeff Clement... now there's a name I haven't heard in years. I didn't even realize he was still in the Pirates' system. I agree though. Barajas is a stiff and has been getting outplayed by McKenry. I didn't like the Barmes signing when it happened. I just refuse to see signing a utility player to a multi-year deal - and at $5M per, it's just not smart spending of limited funds. Mercer at least gives the Bucs a player with some upside.

Just imagine if the Pirates saved the $12M they spent on Barajas, Barmes and McLouth and used it to sign Willingham, Cuddyer or Kubel instead and found cheaper (or in-house) options at C & SS.

Unfortunately, the Pirates aren't spenders. What often happens in the offseason is that they're left to choose from the scraps and even then they need to overpay in order to lure a player their way. It happened here in Philly thru the 90s and early 00s. Being that, the team then tends to give too much playing time to these marginal players simply to justify the sunk cost.

I used to love the Bucs/Phils rivalry when I was a kid. I used to love to hate Ed Ott and Bruce Kison. But I've always respected their once great history. I'd really like to see them get back to that and really become relevant once more.

BTW, I heard thru some local beat writer twitter feeds that the Pirates may have talked to the Phillies about Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino.

[Ben Grimm]

Kind of an intriguing article here... InsidePittsburghSports.com Perrotto

Personally, I'd rather work something a bit different. I'd rather see a third team get involved where Pence moves to the Bucs, Marte moves to San Diego and Chase Headley goes to Philly. Philly and/or Pitt would maybe have to swing another 1-2 lesser parts to SD. But I think that's the kind of deal that works for all three sides.

I've been a fan of Headley since the day he was drafted and the Philly's took a 3B stiff instead. I'd like to see him here. Pence gives the Bucs that extra power bat in the lineup and would fit nicely at #5 behind McCutchen & Alvarez.