Pirate Hooks

A few thoughts on Pirate happenings that I have missed since taking time to enjoy my downtime

1) I have no problems with swapping John Grabow to the Cubs and like the talent that the Pirates received in return,but I wish that Tom Gorzelanny had not been included.
I know that I am in the minority of Pirate bloggers,but IMO Gorzo was just starting to return to his 2007 form and could turn out to be quite the steal for Chicago.

2) Kevin Hart steps from the Cubs rotation to the Pirates,Jose Ascanio and Josh Harrison report to Indianpolis and Lynchburg respectively.
Ascanio appeared with the Cubs at times this season as a reliever,but the Pirates plunked him into the Indianapolis rotation.
Harrison has become the starter at second base for the Hillcats.
Ascanio was placed on the 40 man roster for the Pirates...

3) Hart is expected to replace Virgil "The nibbler" Vasquez in the rotation.
The Nibbler is exactly the stereotype for a bad 5th starter-fringy stuff,nibbles at the corners until he has to come in with a strike and then BAM!

4) One thing that I did miss worth mentioning was Andrew McCutchen's three homer night against Washington.
McCutchen has always been projected as a 10-15 homer player,if he can get that total up to the 20 homer level,that could be the difference between being good and great.

5) I attempted to find a youtube of McCutchen's blasts,but came up empty.
This ,however,came from a few weeks ago on the Braves network with McCutchen running on the split screen with old video from a Deion Sanders triple.
Looks pretty close to me...


6) Bryan Morris and his disappointing season in Lynchburg came to an end after being suspended for "Inappropriate Behavior" towards what seemed to be the umpires,but the Pirates included his teammates and coaching staff.
Morris struggled since beginning an abbreviated season after recovering from a toe injury.
I hope Bryan puts things together as I was quite impressed with his attitude talking to him in Frederick.
From what I have heard,Morris gave up three hits to start the 4th inning and the rain was then stopped for rain and that set the righthander off....

7) John Perroto has a new and revised top ten prospects list up at PirateReport that includes the new arrivals to the organization.
We will do the same after the deadline for waiver trades on August 31st in case the Pirates add anyone else to the system..

8) We did see one West Virginia game in their visit to Hagerstown.
Two rainout and a Teddy trip to the vet cost me looking at more than that.

9) One player that I was super impressed with was outfielder Starling Marte.
The 20 year old has speed to burn(16 steals in 30 games),is hitting over .340 and has moved Robbie Grossman to left from center.
I talked to Starling briefly on one of the rainout days and seems like such a humble guy.
Watch for Starling Marte on the prospect radar!

10) Quinton Miller won his first game as a pro in the start with six shutout innings.
Miller looked sharp but was aided by two strong throws that gunned runners down.
Robbie Grossman tossed Nick Arata out at the plate from left (no relay) to end an inning and Starling Marte tossed Derek Norris out at second by a mile as Norris attempted to stretch a single into a double..

Bonus Rounds

Miller gives up a lot of flyballs and perhaps should have spent this season in State College,but watching him shows the type of arm that the Pirates valued at being worth 900k on the bonus scale.
Miller should start next year at West Virginia,but a good first month or two should get him a trip to Lynchburg...

Baseball America has a look at the Pirate system,they include unsigned draftee Zach Von Rosenberg in their top ten.
If that means he'll sign,no problem here..

People are so excited about Tim Alderson that the Post-Gazette sent reporters to Altoona for his first start.
Alderson was the winner for the Curve on that evening...

If I have time,will return later with more catchup stuff and maybe a new forgotten superstar is on the way soon....

Photo Credits
Marte:Charleston Daily Mail