Nate McLouth headed South!

No,the headline was not a bad rhyme-Nate McLouth was indeed shipped to the Atlanta Braves for three prospects,two of which I have seen play.

The trade appears to have mixed reactions from the Pirates fan base and surprisingly the Braves as well.
Some fans of Chief Noc-a-homa appear to think the cost of the three prospects was too high for McLouth,who is coming off his career season.
To them,I say this-Nonsense.
Nate McLouth with his hustle will be a huge fan favorite at Turner Field and the price was reasonable for the Atlanta fan.
Outfielder Gorkys Hernandez is a nice prospect,but the Braves have a prospect with a similar toolset already in Jordan Schafer,so Hernandez will not be a huge loss to the Braves.
Jeff Locke is highly thought of,but the Braves always have plenty of promising arms and AAA righthander Charlie Morton struggled in his starts with the 08 Braves.

However,from our point of view was the return fair for the humble Pirates?
Well,the Pirates did land two of the Braves top seven prospects (Hernandez at 4 and Locke 7th) and a intriguing power arm in Morton,who has been downright dominant at AAA Gwinnett,so using that as your base argument,perhaps.
However,Hernandez has shown a distinct lack of power with just 5 homers at High A Myrtle Beach last year and zero at AA Missisippi this season and plays the same position as both Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata making center field the clear strength of the Pirate system.
Locke has plenty of tools when you scout him,but his raw numbers at Low A Rome in 2008 and this year with the Pelicans are not numbers to be dazzled by.
Morton's AAA numbers are terrific over the last two seasons,but his over 6 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts) in Atlanta shows the chance of Morton being the dreaded 4A player.

One could immediately look at the deal and wonder why no Tommy Hanson or Jason Heyward?
It wouldn't take long to figure out why as Atlanta refused to entertain the idea of dealing either.
Of course,one rarely mentioned part of the much maligned pick over Daniel Moskos over Matt Wieters is that the Pirates could have selected Heyward with the pick,if Captain Dave Littlefield indeed had so many questions about Wieters throwing arm,which isn't related to throwing up which is what I feel like doing every time I think about that day.
My main issue is why Hernandez when the one strength in the system is speedy centerfield types?
I would think that Myrtle Beach first baseman Freddie Freeman would have been a better fit for the Pirates needs than Hernandez just by system depth alone and I don't think Atlanta would have turned a Freeman,Locke and Morton offer down.

The one immediate positive to the swap was the callup of Andrew McCutchen,who was brought up from Indianapolis and given the center field job that was vacated by McLouth.
The fans have begged for the move and the Pirates have finally given in,this might be the only bright spot left this season.
Why?
Well,I think the Pirates could move any or all of these players over the next six weeks and if it is all of them-look out for both losses and record low attendance-Adam LaRoche,Freddy Sanchez,Jack Wilson,John Grabow and even Nyjer Morgan could be gone by the trade deadline as Neal Huntington continues to attempt to bulk up a flagging farm crop.

All and all,the deal is a resounding maybe as only Morton will be in Pittsburgh this season (sooner than you think,if Ian Snell continues to struggle).
This could be the beginning of the deals that the Neal Huntington regime will either build the rebirth of the Pirates on or be the trades that are looked at as the beginning of the end.
But that might be 2011 or 2012 before we can look back with hindsight with the final evaluation of today's trade.....

And for those of you that think being a Pirates fan is like standing under a black cloud,here is a live performance from Morrissey-Black Cloud.


Photo Credits
McLouth:Jeff Roberson-USA Today
Chief Noc-a-homa:Wikipedia
Hernandez:bravesandstuff.wordpress.com
Locke:Tom Priddy/MiLB.com.