Was it Tony Sanchez or was it because he was cheap??

I am glad that I waited a bit to post this one.

I was angry about the overdraft of Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez, but yet I wanted to see just who the Pirates were looking at on day two of the draft before I blasted their first-day efforts.

Some would call Neal Huntington and the Pirates cost-effective, others just plain cheap.

Either way, give the Bucco GM credit for one thing-he certainly could care less about what others think about his moves.

Neither the casual Pirate fan nor the hardcore fan that lives in the blogging universe seemed thrilled with the selection of Tony Sanchez, which was a change from the mixed reaction to the Nate McLouth trade.

No matter how much Huntington raved about the intangibles of Sanchez or the ridiculous comments of Sanchez's manager at Boston College that rated Sanchez above Matt Wieters and Buster Posey in their draft years- nothing was going to change the image that once again the Pirates had gone cheap.

Not even the sunshine and lollypop crowd at the MLB Network could put a positive spin on the pick as Sanchez was described as a "starter if he hits" and a backup "if he doesn't".
Wow, now that it is faint praise if I ever heard it.

Scouting reports on Sanchez varied from "quick hands with some power" to "slow bat and struggles to hit breaking balls".

I cannot say I have seen him play, although if I ever dreamed a month ago that the Pirates were interested, I would have tried to what I could find.
Take a look at his swing and see what you think.


The Pirates owned two picks in the second round using the first on hard-throwing Victor Black of Dallas Baptist University.
Black hits 95 and is likely to sign quickly and the Pirates need to do that as Black was selected with the compensation pick that was earned when Tanner Scheppers didn't sign last season.

USC commitment Brooks Pounders was the other second-rounder.
Pounders pitches and plays first and has good size at 6'5.
Pounders is reported to have control on four pitches and was drafted as a pitcher.
Day one finished with another surprise in round three with stocky outfielder Evan Chambers from the Florida JUCO ranks.
Chambers is 5'9 220 lbs and is reported to have some pop.
Kinda like a poor man's Michael Burgess.

Disappointed at the end of day one, the Pirates then did exactly what I hoped and what they said that they would do-pick players with high upside and large bonus demands and use the savings from Sanchez to land some of these players.

Four top-notch power arms that have college commitments were tabbed, if the Pirates grab two or maybe even three of these arms, then I might be won over by the strategy.
Zackry Dotson (4th Round, Baylor), Zachary Von Rosenberg (6th LSU), Trent Stevenson (7th Arizona), and Colton Cain (8th Texas) are all going to ask for far more than slot money and might be worth the cost.

Signing some of these players will go a LONG way toward an image rehabilitation for the Pirates and will help ease the pressure on Tony Sanchez as well.

Daniel Moskos has never recovered from the abuse that was erroneously heaped upon him after being selected over Matt Wieters and even though I believe Sanchez to be a questionable selection, the Pirates should hope to avoid a similar problem with the young catcher.

I also liked two other shots yesterday in the double-digit rounds.
11th-rounder Aaron Baker smacked 15 homers from his spot as the first baseman for the Oklahoma Sooners and power is desperately needed in this system and yet another prep arm with a college commitment was picked in the 17th round as Kentucky commitment Jordan Cooper could be a fall back on one of the earlier four pitchers not signing.....

So, I feel much better about the draft than I did after day one, but I am far from sold yet-IF the Pirates cannot use the money properly and take advantage of the plan that they are attempting then all the talented picks that they used will be all for naught and the future may not be as bright as it could be.

Photo Credits
Logo:Chris Creamer
Sanchez:ESPN.Com

Karstens leaves rotation-for one inning!!

The first of the three players that joined the Pirate organization arrived on Wednesday to make his Bucco debut against ironically-the Atlanta Braves.
Charlie Morton was summoned from Indianapolis after one start with the Indians to replace Jeff Karstens in the Pittsburgh rotation.
Karstens was moved to the bullpen in the long man position and Tom Gorzelanny was returned to Indianapolis to replace Morton in the AAA rotation.
Morton would toss a scoreless first and then left with a tight right hamstring and the call went to-you guessed it-Jeff Karstens.
Karstens wouldnt let the Pirates down,allowing just one run in four and two thirds and earned the 3-2 win to improve to 3-4 on the season and allowed the Pirates the chance to play for a series split in the 1;05 series finale today.
Matt Capps allowed a ninth inning run before holding onto the win and grabbing his 14th save.

Pirate Hooks

1) The play of the game went to oft-criticized Craig Monroe,who scored the game winning run with heads up play.
Kelly Johnson's diving stop of a shot up the middle forced Johnson to flip to Yunel Escobar for a force attempt.
Escobar never looked up as Monroe raced around third for a 3-1 lead.
The hustle play decided the game as Atlanta cut the lead to 3-2 in the 9th...

2) More of Adam LaRoche and his hunting pals RV parked outside of Turner Field for the second night in a row.
One gets the feeling that LaRoche would hunt full time for an eighth of what he makes playing baseball.

3) Tyler Yates tossed a simulated inning and was shut down as his right elbow continues to be troubled with an inflammation.
Wish I could say he was missed.

4) Neil Walker broke his right pinky and will miss 3 to 5 weeks for the I-Tribe.
Looking more and more like a lost year for the Pittsburgh native.

5) Bryan Morris made his season debut in Lynchburg after battling injuries all winter and spring.
The rust showed as Morris lost to Wilmington 4-1.
Morris pitched four and a third allowing all four Blue Rock runs on six hits.
Morris walked and struck out one batter.

Photo Credit
Monroe:John Amis-AP Photo

Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects 1-5

The series finishes here and look for quite a few posts as we look at the Pirates draft,Pirate news and the resignation of Brent Sutter as the New Jersey Devils coach,the list of replacement possibilities and our pick for who we hope it will be....

1) Pedro Alvarez 3B High A Lynchburg
Alvarez has gotten off to a disappointing start at Lynchburg considering the hype last season and despite being the top prospect was not selected to the Carolina League All Star game.
The news isn't all bad,Alvarez's power has been as advertised (10 longballs) and despite a .236 batting average leads the Hillcats in RBI.
But his 11 errors leads the team and he seems to be chunky and slow at third raising red flags.
The Pirates claim the low average is due to Carolina League pitchers not throwing his strikes and that the average will rise against higher caliber pitching.
Here is hoping that happens....

2) Andrew McCutchen OF Pittsburgh
McCutchen will not qualify for this list in the near future,but for now,we will include him.
The speedy outfielder will instantly improve the defense in center over the departed Nate McLouth and should hit for average.
The power portion of McCutchen's game has yet to mature and I don't look for it to change for a while in the big leagues.
McCutchen's upside could be a .300 hitter with 15 homers and he should be a solid part of the Pirates future.

3) Jose Tabata OF AA Altoona
Tabata has been reduced to spare part action with hamstring problems that caused him to miss the entire month of May and leave his return game after just two at bats with more issues.
Tabata had been thought to be the likely choice for Andrew McCutchen at AAA Indianapolis when McCutchen was inevitably called up,but the hamstring ruined those plans.
Tabata has been a centerfielder for his career,but his profile is of a corner outfielder in Pittsburgh as his arm will play in right and the hope is for his power to develop as he matures.
The tools are there,but two seasons in a row of injury issues have begun to take its toll on Tabata's prospect status....

4) Brad Lincoln RHP AA Altoona
Lincoln could be moved to AAA Indianapolis at any time as Lincoln has dominated the Eastern League in its first half with a 1.95 ERA that paints a more accurate picture than his 1-3 record does.
Lincoln still throws hard even after Tommy John surgery and his power curve could be his best pitch.
Lincoln could see Pittsburgh in September in a cameo appearance,but will more likely arrive in Bradenton for spring training ready to challenge for a spot in the Pirate rotation.

5) Gorkys Hernandez OF AA Altoona
The speedy Hernandez seems to be a bit superfluous when you consider the Pirate wealth of fast running,power lacking outfielders and then think about Hernandez being the key piece of the Nate McLouth trade makes them even more perplexing.
Hernandez hits for high average,but lacks power and seldom walks.
Hernandez is excellent defensively and shows a plus arm.
Could it be that Hernandez was obtained to move him later or are the Pirate really looking at an outfield of McCutchen,Hernandez and Tabata that could struggle to combine 20 homers together early in their career???

Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects 6-10

The series moves into phase two with the Pirates top prospects in the six through ten range.
Remember that the ratings have been revised three times since the original version.....

6) Jeff Locke LHP High A Lynchburg
Locke is one of the top prospects to come out of New England in years and Atlanta brought him along slowly since his workload in his prep years was not as high as players from warmer climates.
Locke throws in the mid 90's and has a solid curve and changeup as well,but for all the projection has been unable to back it up with performance as his numbers were average at low A Rome last season and not any better this season at Myrtle Beach.
Locke is the key to the Nate McLouth deal being a success as hard throwing lefties are a scarce commodity....

7) Bryan Morris RHP High A Lynchburg
Morris has not thrown a pitch all year and his most notable item thus far has been his appearance in the Lynchburg baseball card set without traveling with the team this season.
Morris has had arm/shoulder issues this season after a toe problem was dealt with under surgery in the off season.
Morris throws in the low to mid 90's and uses an effective changeup,but needs to work on the curve and continuing to miss time has not helped that process along.
Morris is currently in Florida and hope is that he will join the Hillcats for the second half of the Carolina League season.
Morris was an important yet unheralded part of the Jason Bay trade last season in Neal Huntington's attempt to change the Pirate pitching system's style to more of a hard throwing group on the farm.
Morris dropped two spots after the trade with the Braves mainly due to his injury issues.

8) Neil Walker 3B AAA Indianapolis
The former first round pick continues to slide down the prospect list as he has not developed as hoped at AAA Indianapolis,repeating the level after an less than desired 2008.
Walker showed decent power (16 HR's) and drove in 80 runs,but his average was just .242 last year and is in the same range currently.
Plate discipline has been an issue for Walker as he walked less than 30 times last season and is on pace to only marginally best that total this season.
Walker has worked hard to develop as a defensive third baseman after being moved from catcher,in what is appearing to be a questionable decision.
He looks to be behind both Andy LaRoche and Pedro Alvarez on the depth chart at third and that could mean that he could be eventually moved to another position or organization....

9) Robbie Grossman CF Low A West Virginia
Grossman was paid a million dollar bonus to sign and eschew a scholarship to Texas and thus far seems to be worth the price.
The Pirates decided to challenge Grossman early with an assignment to the South Atlantic League instead of the traditional extended spring training and subsequent trip to short season State College and Grossman has done well enough to spend the season there.
Grossman is hitting leadoff for the Power and has stolen 17 bases at this writing as well as hitting .269 which is solid enough considering his age.
Grossman is striking out a lot and that too is to be expected,but is playing strong enough defense in center,which was a worry by the Pirates,who thought that he might have to be moved to left.
Grossman has just one homer and his power hopes to develop more with age,but overall has performed quite well to the challenge of the ambitious assignment....

10) Brian Friday SS AA Altoona
Friday has moved up the charts with the type of performance at Altoona that was missing from his 2008 season at Lynchburg.
Friday missed most of the first month of the season,but has returned with a vengeance at Altoona hitting above .300 with better than expected power (4 HR's).
Friday is steady enough defensively and can steal a few bases as well.
If Friday has a June in the Eastern League that is similar to his May,the Pirates will have a key decision to make at shortstop in Indianapolis.
If Friday has a chance to replace Jack Wilson next year,he will need to be challenged by International League hurling this year.

McCutchen debuts in Pirate romp

The post-Nate McLouth term began today with the long awaited debut of Andrew McCutchen in a 11-6 win over the Mets that gave the Pirates a mini sweep of the series.
Why a mini sweep?Because yesterday's game was rained out and all of the scheduled games were not played.
Four first inning runs off Met starter Mike Pelfrey got things off to the right start and four more in the fourth put the game away.
Steven Jackson earned his decision as a Pirate (1-0) with two scoreless innings from the bullpen.
The Pirates travel to Houston tomorrow for a three game weekend set against the Astros...

Pirate Hooks

1) Andrew McCutchen made his debut a memorable one with two hits,three runs scored and an RBI.
McCutchen also stole a base in the victory.
McCutchen is not the savior of the franchise,but he will make what should be some coming misfortunes a little more fun to watch.

2) Ramon Vasquez smacked out four hits in a rare start for Jack Wilson.
Vasquez has struggled as a pinch hitter,but his value comes when he is able to occasionally spell the starter and not have a measurable loss of production....

3) Andy LaRoche knocked two runs,but left the game from a "knee contusion" after the sixth.
LaRoche was plunked by Mike Pelfrey in the fourth.
No word on the status of the hot corner player for the start of the series in Houston.

4) Big series for Jason Jaramillo.
Jaramillo followed up his first career homer on Tuesday with a four RBI afternoon against the Mets.
Between Jaramillo and Robinzon Diaz's solid performances filling in for Ryan Doumit,perhaps the Pirates have one more trade token to deal at the deadline....

5) The only downside of the game was Ross Ohlendorf.
Despite being spotted huge leads twice in the game,Ohlendorf was unable to finish the fifth and therefore handed Steven Jackson the W.


Pitching Matchup
Pittsburgh:Jeff Karstens (2-2 4.83 ERA) at Houston:Mike Hampton (3-4 5.07 ERA) 8:05
Bullpen Note

Hooray for NBC in axing Jerome Bettis from their Sunday night studio show.
Bettis seemed likable enough,but brought little to the broadcast as far as information goes.
Bettis will likely become a Steeler analyst for someone in the Pittsburgh media....

Photo Credits
All;John Heller-AP Photo

Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects 11-15

Finally,we begin this series and after only three revisions too!
The series is using the criteria used before the season and took into consideration prospect performance during the first two months of the season.

11) Shelby Ford 2b AAA Indianapolis
Ford was a top ten resident in the first draft of this before the season and before the trade with the Braves,but a injury combined with an awful 2009 thus far has sent Ford's stock spiralling downward and could drop further unless a strong finish is in the cards.
Ford has to get by with the bat as he is average with the leather and .174 and a homer isn't going to cut it.
Had Ford played anywhere close to average,he could have been the replacement if Freddy Sanchez gets traded,now that looks doubtful at best....

12) Chase D'Arnaud SS Low A West Virginia
The Pirates spent their third and fourth round picks on college shortstops in the 2008 draft and have been forced to keep them apart in order to give both time to develop.
D'Arnaud was the lower of the two picks out of Pepperdine,but after seeing him along with Jordy Mercer,I tend to like D'Arnaud slightly better.
With an OPS of over 800,Chase appears to be ready for a shot at Lynchburg,but with the great season by Brian Friday at Altoona blocking both D'Arnaud and Jordy Mercer,Chase could be at West Virginia most of the season.
A move to second base for one or both of the players may be in the cards considering Friday's season and the systems lack of second baseman behind the slumping Shelby Ford.

13) Jordy Mercer SS High A Lynchburg
Mercer has struggled with the bat in both of his pro seasons although his 30 RBI places him third on the Hillcats.Mercer has a gun at short but seems to struggle with his lateral movement in the field.
Yet another Pirate infielder that has to have his bat as his calling card and thus far has been unable to use it to shine.
Mercer needs a strong finish to keep prospect status after an less than impressive start to his career in the pros.

14) Jim Negrych 2b AA Altoona
The contact hitting Negrych leaped from the starting gate hitting .373 in April and giving hope that he could see AAA ball before the seasons end,but a below .200 May has dampened those hopes a bit.
Negrych is a brutal fielder no matter where he plays and was switched from third to the less demanding second going into the season.
Negrych needs to hit at every level because his upside is as a utility man that is a valuable pinch hitter as the glove will not allow him to play every day...

15) Quinton Miller-Extended Spring Training
The 20th rounder that signed for 900,000 last season has yet to throw a pro pitch and likely will be in Bradenton all summer starting with the Gulf Coast Pirates.The hard throwing Miller makes the list strictly on projection and talent alone.

Two players slid off the list with the arrivals of Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez and both were relievers from Altoona.
Daniel Moskos has more walks than strikeouts for the season,struggles with control nightly and hitters are batting 286 against him.
Moskos has improved in May,but still isn't striking anyone out...
Jeff Sues looked to possibly be in Pittsburgh by seasons end with some luck,but a bad May has inflated his ERA to over six.
Hitters are hitting just .236 against him though and he is averaging just under a strikeout an inning,so hope is still there....

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.