Back after a few days that left me with less time than expected.
The Pirates lost two of three to the Cubs and dropped the final game to the Royals since I was last here.
I wont bother with recaps,but will try to cover a broad scope in Pirate Hooks in another post.y
The Pirates moved some players up from Indianapolis and a few out the door to other big league destinations since last writing.
Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett are in Washington with the Nationals as they were shipped to the Capital City for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan.
Eric Hinske became a Yankee as the Pirates added minor league catcher Eric Fryer and pitcher Casey Erickson.
Fryer was assigned to Lynchburg with Erickson joining the West Virginia Power.
After that flurry of action,the Pirates were left with two open roster spots as Hanrahan replaced Burnett,but the slots for Hinske and Morgan were open.
Milledge is still recovering from a finger injury,but is expected to start at Indianapolis soon.
The Pirates brought up former Twin Garrett Jones and former Diamondback Jeff Salazar to take take the roster openings.
Many in the Pirate fandom are upset about the trading of Nyjer Morgan,at least those that know little about the game are anyway.
Too many fans confuse exciting with good and in the case of Morgan some have definitely done just that.
Morgan is an good to excellent defensive outfielder,but his bat has likely overachieved this season and he is already 29 years old.
Add that to the one offensive skill set that he has in base running and look at the amount of times that he has been picked off first or his penchant for oversliding bases and tell me this is a "cornerstone of our organization" as Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was quoted as.
Lastings Milledge has had his issues,but they don't seem to be real "bad guy" issues,just things that are more immaturity problems.
Milledge's 2008 season far outstrips anything that Morgan had done or is likely to do and he has the potential to be a standout.
Joel Hanrahan has struggled this season,but he has an arguable excuse,his .449 batting average against on balls put into play.
That tells me that Hanrahan has been hit with a vicious combination of bad luck and poor defense.
Hanrahan also has the power arm that Neal Huntington has a fetish for,similar to the tall soft tossing righthanders that Dave Littlefield preferred.
Burnett has pitched well this season,but is likely to be exactly what he is-a long man or at best,a situational lefty from the bullpen and has little projected value.
Is this trade a risk?
Sure,if Milledge does not turn out,but lets assume that he does not,what did the Pirates give away?
A 29 year old slap hitter with poor baserunning skills.
No different than Tike Redman,Rajai Davis,Chris Duffy,Emil Brown,Need I go on?
I agree that this is a risk,but not because Nyjer Morgan is a huge loss.
This is only risky if Milledge becomes a distraction to the program and all of his past indicates that none of his issues are along those lines...
I like the deal.
Eric Hinske?
Well,John Russell wasn't playing him much anyway and he was on a one year deal contract,so I like this too.
Are Fryer and Erickson great prospects?
No,but if they were,would you get them for Eric Hinske?
This is exactly what you do with a decent veteran,get a few shots in the dark and see what happens.
Hinske's skills are going to be far more important to a contender like New York than a cellar dweller like the Pirates anyway,why not get something for them?
Hopefully back later with Pirate Hooks or a look back at the first day for NHL Free agency.
I may wait until tomorrow for Hooks and combine them with a recap of today's Pirates-Mets game.
Photo Credits-AP Photo
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