Pirates Look to End Slide Against AL Teams on the Road

So far this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have shocked the baseball world with their quick turnaround from last season and the last 18 years.  They have a winning record in late June, something that has eluded them for the past 12 years, and 20 road wins which is already more than the 17 from all of last season.  The Pirates have also won series against some of baseball's best in the Phillies, Red Sox and Diamondbacks.  With their last interleague series in Toronto the Pirates can check another box off their list for success.


Win.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have not won a game in an American League park since 2009 against the Minnesota Twins.  Since then, they've lost 13 straight including getting swept by the Cleveland Indians on Father's Day weekend.  Starting off the series for the Pirates will be Kevin Correia who is 7-2 with a 2.34 ERA on the road.  The Blue Jays will counter with Jo-Jo Reyes who is 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA at home, this season.  Correia will be responsible for shutting down two potent hitters, Adam Lind and former Pirate Jose Bautista who leads the league with 23 home runs.
  
If Neil Walker could break out of his slump, it would certainly help the 24th ranked offense.  Walker is batting just .221/.310/.326 with 2 home runs and a surprising 17 RBI's.  After his batting average rose to .273 on June 2nd, Walker has seen it drop to .252.  While McCutchen has been the most consistent hitter for the Pirates, the lineup still has the ability to hit better than they have.  Nevertheless, help may be on the way.  Alex Presley was pulled from the lineup on Sunday in Indianapolis after Jose Tabata went down with a quad strain.  He'll most likely start on Tuesday as a designated hitter.

Meanwhile, Matt Hague appears to be gaining popularity as a prospect who deserves a major league call up.  The 6'3 225lbs first baseman is currently hitting .317 with 8 home runs for AAA Indianapolis while Lyle Overbay continues to struggle in Pittsburgh.  Overbay did hit a crucial 3 run homer against the Red Sox on Saturday which may have bought him a little more time to show his $5 million contract wasn't a waste of money.  However, if Hague continues to rake in AAA while Overbay continues to fail, you would have to think management would give Hague a chance to prove himself at the major league level. 

Lyle Overbay will have a chance to face his former club in this upcoming series.  The left handed slugger hit .268 with 83 home runs in 5 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to joining the Pirates in the off-season. 

Like the Pirates, the Toronto Blue Jays are 6-6 in interleague play this season.   

Pens Select Defenseman in First Round

Despite having a tremendous lack of talented wingers in the organization, Ray Shero selected a defenseman in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft, Friday.  Joseph Morrow capped off his fourth year with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL by registering 49 points in 60 games.  He battled through an injury filled year and had 20 points (6 g 14a) in the playoffs.  At 6'0 198 lbs, the Alberta native is an offensive-defenseman in every sense of the word.  NHL Draft guru, Jesse Marshall, had this to say on faceoff-factor.com:

"Morrow is a mobile defenseman with good size and speed.  He's not hesitant to start the rush himself and skate the puck out of danger.  He's got excellent vision and a great heads-up style of skating.  He surveys the ice as he carries the puck and makes crisp passes to his forwards."

For Pens GM Ray Shero to select Joseph Morrow, he must have really seen something special.  Consider this, Shero took Morrow over prolific scoring forwards Matt Puempel (24th), Phillip Danault (26th), Zack Phillips (28th) and Nicklas Jensen (29th).  The Penguins also passed on Gibsonia native, Brandon Saad, a top ten prospect to start the season before struggling in the OHL with the Saginaw Spirit.  Morrow is far from NHL ready, but with the current crop of blue liners at the NHL level, he'll have plenty of time to develop his talents.  Another possibility is that Morrow could be used in a trade to acquire some much needed help at wing for the Penguins.  Although that move would be down the road, it is always fun to speculate, especially when the team takes the most talented player instead of the player most needed.

Simon Despres, the Pens' 2009 first round pick, won the Emile Bouchard Trophy for best defenseman in the QMJHL.  Despres tallied 41 points (13g, 28 a) in the 2011 regular season and 12 points (4g, 8a) in the playoffs as the St. John Sea Dogs won the Memorial Cup for junior hockey supremacy.  
The Penguins' 2010 first round pick, Beau Bennett, completed his first season with the University of Denver and struggled to adapt to the next level.  In 37 games, Bennett registered just 27 points.  However, he was a freshman and will be given more years to develop.  He is far from joining the Penguins, at this point in his career.
    

Bud Selig Out to Ruin Small Market Baseball Again

Does the title seem harsh for this post?  Sorry, Mr. Selig but I cannot possibly hide frustration in the fact that you are seriously considering placing a hard-slot system in signing the amateur draft picks.

For those who don't know, the Pittsburgh Pirates have spent more money in the draft than any other team in the last three years.  It has been the Pirates' model for building a successful franchise to draft the most talented players and sign them away from their college commitments/high contract demands in order to build up the system.  These signings have yet to show any reward at the major league level as it is still far too early.  However, given the small market in Pittsburgh, the draft is the only way the club can hope to improve their chances at becoming competitive. 

Other franchises have already seen success by investing heavily in the draft.  The Tampa Bay Rays went to the 2007 World Series with a team almost entirely comprised of prospects.  The Milwaukee Brewers have built up their payroll through raised attendance, stemmed from becoming a competitive team after signing talented draft picks in the early 2000s.  The Cincinnati Reds, a once proud franchise like the Pirates, were stuck at the bottom of the NL Central basement for most of the 2000s until they started investing in the draft to select players such as Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Travis Wood and Mike Leake.  Last year, the Reds won the Central and now are currently in the hunt to repeat.

If Major League Baseball places a hard-slot system on the amateur draft, you can say goodbye to the hopes of small market teams, including Selig's own Milwaukee Brewers.  That's right, the commissioner's favorite team is a small market team and a cap on draft spending will further damage their chances of competing.  Why is it so important to place a cap on the draft? No idea. Maybe it is unfair to pay amateur players a ton of money when those players were passed up by other teams due to high contract demands.  Never mind the fact that the Yankees have a payroll that exceeds $202 million while the Red Sox have a payroll of $161 million.  The Phillies are usually in the bottom of the ranks in draft spending.  Why? Because they have the second highest payroll in baseball at $172 million.  The Brewers?  Their payroll is around $85 million while the Pirates are at $45 million.  Like the Brewers, the Pirates will increase their payroll once their prospects are up for a contract extension. 

When this cap is instituted, next year, the small market team will start to deteriorate, thus creating the six team league we were accustomed to seeing before 2007.  While the Pirates may have loaded up on talent at the right time, the ability to continue that influx of talent will drastically take a hit.  They'll still take the most talented players on the board, but the days of signing mid-round high school kids away from college are over.  Teenagers will turn down 100k if it means going to college, getting redrafted, and signing for $1 million.


This decision is void of all logical reasoning to keep 30 markets interested in "America's Past time".  Then again, Mr. Selig has never tried to draw the interest of 30 markets; it's always been about Yankees vs. Red Sox, under his tenure.  If we're going to cap draft spending and, consequently kick down the small market teams, why not cap free agent spending and payroll to level the playing field? 

Tell me, Mr. Selig, why should I or any other small market fan, care about your league?  A league which you nearly destroyed with a strike in 1994, embarrassed with a steroid scandal in the early 2000s and possibly caused total disinterest now, with the silencing of small market baseball.   

Pittsburgh Penguins' Focus Turns to Offseason Moves

 By Chris Dazen

Poor Dupuis, he has no hands

Part I: What went Wrong  With the Pens

For the sake of this post I will try to focus on the Pittsburgh Penguins' problems from last year. I will then touch on the the upcoming free agents and what should happen to each player eligible to leave. Also I will venture a little into fantasy land and try to throw around a few upcoming free agents who may look good in a Pens jersey next year. This may include the idea of a once-beloved peanut butter cover boy turned villain who has the same first and last name initial. Hint: Peter Pan may seem like a logical choice here considering the hard fall he endured after his 2007 salmonella outbreak, but I assure you it’s not him.

Despite losing their two best players to season-ending injuries, the Penguins finished with their highest point total since 1992-1993. That didn’t happen on accident. Six of the forwards who were on 2009 Cup team and are/were set for free agency this year, helped bring the Penguins to such a staggering point total. Of those six: Three were key factors in those playoffs, two were healthy scratches, one for obvious reasons and other played the role of a “black ace”; a player who has a future with the club but is not quite ready for the NHL style of play and wants him to be exposed to such an important atmosphere (call it a very tactical work ethic push for them). As for the final free agent to be, he was a non factor in that cup run. That’s not to say he didn’t contribute, but statically speaking, 0’s across the score board for those playoffs. Can you guess who each one is? (Answers coming up soon).

So how did the Penguins achieve such success in the point column last year? Easy, try Sidney Crosby destroying his way through anything that resembled a defense before his concussion, a nice 12 game winning streak, and finally stellar play from Tyler Kennedy and Marc Andre Fleury in the stretch run. Somewhere within that list lies the problem as to why the Pens just couldn’t get it together in the playoffs this year and why some of these players need to go.

And the answer was? Sid, that’s what. Hear me out first before throwing the book at me. First, we have Rick DiPietro to blame for the end of one of the most incredible point streaks ever seen in the NHL, 25 straight games. During his streak, Crosby led the Penguins to a 19-5-1 record and it’s easy to see why they had that success. Crosby scored at least one goal 18 times, had 16 multiple-point games and netted back-to-back hat tricks while recording an incredible 50 points over those 25 games – 26 goals and 24 assists.

What does this say, aside from the obvious about Sid, regarding the Penguins and their scoring needs?  I’ll tell you, and you may have heard it before, that the Pens just don’t have the right mix of players who can contribute on a regular basis. I’m not saying Crosby is the sole downfall to any of these players. We know Sid can make a scoring machine out of just about anyone (Andy Hilbert comes to mind) but there within lies the problem. Sid needs that winger we have heard so much about for years and we finally have that in what we hope is James Neal. But Neal and Sid have yet to happen together so let’s wait before calling Neal a bust after a sub-par point production when he came over. Sid has for far too long played with guys who are all molded in the same role and that become exposed after he and Malkin went down for the year.

Remember those six previous unnamed players I listed up above? Well here comes you answer to each in their respective order; Tyler Kennedy, Max Talbot, and Craig Adams were the three major contributors during that run. Eric Godard was the useless fighter, Dustin Jeffery the black ace and finally Pascal Dupuis the 0 point cup hero. I know that last one seems somewhat shocking. However, each had some contributing role in the regular season this year but the problem was, their contributions didn’t quite come in timely situations. And there is your problem, bottom line role players do exactly that, just kind of blend in.

Now of these six, you would like to see anywhere from 4-5 of those back, and if you tell me otherwise I guarantee you are lying to some degree. Well rest easy, Adams has been resigned for 2 years and came on the cheap, 2 years at $675k per. To me he was offseason priority number one and here is why. The guy is a shot blocking machine and plays smart hockey. Not always going to show up on the score sheet (just 26 regular season points to his three year career here) but that’s not what we expect from him. He is a character guy who leads by example from going out and playing hard every shift. On the PK, he is just as valuable as Jordan Staal. He remains sound defensively and is smart with the puck in his own zone. Ask his body how it feels after laying down to block 3-5 shots a night sometimes. Or how he feels after fighting other known tough guys, just to stand up for another player. You get the point, he does all the little things right, and that is how champions come together, by doing the little things.

Now it is time for your reality checkup, and Ray Shero is going to be administering the diagnosis for you. The salary cap will be around 64 million next season according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie and the Penguins are committed to $55.5 million against the cap for 17 players on guaranteed NHL contracts -- eight forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies. If that cap limit is true, and let’s hope it is, the Pens would have about $7 million left to sign some forwards. As I wrote once before, Tyler Kennedy (RFA), Dustin Jeffrey (RFA), Pascal Dupuis, Arron Asham,  Maxime Talbot, Chris Conner, and Michael Rupp, (It's already been announced that Mike Comrie, Alexei Kovalev and Eric Godard won't be back) are all looking for contracts. Let us see who might get one.

Part II: Chika Chika No.

Question for you, who has been the fan favorite, heart and soul guy for the Pens the last 3 years not named Crosby, Malkin or Staal? Now the answer to this is going vary individual to individual, but if you are thinking like me, the obvious answer is Max Talbot. Talbot made $1.05 million last year, not a significant amount. However, when you are as cap conscious as Shero has to be, that is a lot for a guy who is living off of success from the 2009 Cup run. We all know how the story of Talbot goes from his big time playoff goals to his likeable personality, car commercial success and great locker room presence. Doesn’t he sound a little too much like Colby Armstrong however? Colby is making $3 million a year. I am not going to elaborate on that. A good locker room presence is valuable, but it's not something the Penguins can afford to overpay for.Not suggesting Talbot will or even is capable of getting Colby money, just saying it can happen, especially in a weak free agent group like this years. But on to the bigger question, will Max be back. Unless he decides to take a nice hometown discount in the range of 700k, no.  With Adams back, that almost leaves Talbot on the outside looking in. He has had a statistically down year for him these last 2 seasons, one of which he was injured. With guys such Eric Tangradi, Joe Vitale and Nick Johnson on the cusp of NHL playing time, Max just seems like he doesn’t fit here anymore, and that sucks.

Part III: Rupp Me the Right Way

Once again that Craig Adams signing has an effect on another guy, Mike Rupp. Rupp is another guy who fans have shown a liking to, myself included. Rupp is a big body who can create net front presence and has shown some nice hands here and there for a guy his size. So what is the problem with him? Actual contributions, meaningful contributions, and I am talking about on the ice, not off. Rupp is a great charity guy and has already stated he has moved his family here permanently because that is how well he likes it in Pittsburgh. Good for him, hopefully that means he will take pretty much the same contract he took when he first signed here around $800k. If he looks for any kind of serious raise, say in the range of 1.5 million, he might be gone. But Rupp is older at 31 (that is old on this team), and he might be looking for long term security in a 3 year deal type situation, and that is something Shero just doesn’t hand out. My guess Rupp will be back, but that can change very quickly based on some the criteria stated.

I’ll keep this one short, Aaron Asham, no one knew what to expect from him when he was signed here last year. And that still kind of remains the same idea here. He was hurt to start the season, and really wasn’t able to develop much chemistry with his line mates. He chipped in 5 goals, 6 assist in 44 games last year. But in the playoffs, he came out hot. Asham scored three goals in four games and finished the seven-game series with four points, a +2 and a disciplined two penalty minutes. His season can be considered a wash. I’m all for keeping Asham as a cheap third or fourth line option, that is provided the price is right. As he showed in the playoffs, he can post some goals if needed and he can fulfill fighting duties when he has to. But if he walks, I’m not going to miss him.

Part IV: I’m glad I’m Not Ray Shero

We are down to three free agents, two restricted, and one unrestricted.  Let me discuss Dustin Jeffery, one of restricted players. Jeffery will be retained, no problems what so ever. Before going down with a knee injury, he didn't get a great deal of ice time, but still had seven goals in 25 games after getting called up. He’s not super flashy but has nice hands, and earns his goals by going hard to the net. That is someone Pittsburgh needs full time next year and I think he has shown enough that he should have a good chance to stick full-time next season. He won’t break the bank, either. Jeffery made a little over $500k and unless another team offers him a nice million (yea it will not happen), he should get a raise somewhere between $550-600k.

Who was the highest paid winger on the team last year? That claim belongs to Pascal Dupuis (Kovalev does not count). How do you describe Dupuis and his role on this team? First line, second line, and third line , left wing, right wing, shorthanded, etc.. All of those apply to Dupuis, and that is what makes him such a unique commodity. I guess you could say his main role here was a winger to Sidney Crosby, but over his four year tenure his highest point output was 38 in 2009-2010. His production with Sid remains nearly identical as to when he didn’t play alongside him. The reason he was on Sid’s line in the first place was because of one thing, his speed. As mentioned before, he is versatile and a good forechecker with excellent positional knowledge, but he lacks skill with the puck. Whether it is his passing or getting accurate shots to net consistently, Dupuis just doesn’t deliver enough.  But there is still is a need for guys like Dupuis in the NHL, and he will draw interest on the open market. Given Dupuis age of 32 this is probably the last chance he will get to sign a multi-year deal with some financial backing to it. The same traits that fit him with Pittsburgh will also draw numerous suitors in free agency. What is the breaking point in terms of dollar figure for Dupuis? To be honest I am not sure where to go with that one. He made $1.4 million last year. My guess is close to $1.8 - 2 million a year he will want. Retaining both Dupuis and Talbot is not going to happen. Which would you rather have? Talbot makes more sense, he is essentially the same player as Dupuis in terms of intangibles and will be cheaper. I’m glad I am not making the call on this one; it’s closer than you think. My guess, Dupuis is gone.

July 1st, 2011, Tyler Kennedy will earn his right to a pay raise, one in which the Pens may not be willing to pay. He remains the Pens most intriguing and important offensive player they have available. Kennedy put up career highs last year in goals (21), assists (24), and points (45) and was the highest scoring forward on the team aside from Crosby and Kunitz. Oh, and he earned just $725,000 last season. Honestly, I could write quite a bit about this situation, so I need to try and skim the fat here and give the details to what could happen with him this offseason.

If Shero decides to sign Kennedy, look for him to get close to around $2-3 million per, a triple in his previous salary. Realistic numbers to me suggest $2.5 million. He has arbitration rights, which means his representatives could/should argue his case for why he deserves a hefty raise. The Pens can plead their side as well, and more importantly, they can also choose to walk away from the arbiter's salary decision. That would make TK an unrestricted free agent and give Pittsburgh zero compensation should he then sign with another team.  Shero wants Kennedy, back, but he is not afraid to let guys leave. The same thing happened with Hall Gill and Rob Scuderi.

Shero could also trade Kennedy, something he once did with Ryan Malone, who was in a similar situation TK is in now. This would at least ensure you get something from your return and don’t walk away empty handed. It does not mean that team will sign him either. With the NHL Draft nearing, this is definitely a real possibility. But what is a guy like him worth? It depends on what team you are asking. The most I can see him fetching is a nice fourth rounder if we are lucky, but hey who knows, Brian Burke is out there somewhere. By the way how do you think Phill Kessel feels right now playing in Toronto and not Boston?

So what do I think? Let me pose this question to you, where was Tyler Kennedy when Sid and Malkin (maybe not this year) where owing the score sheet on some nights? Think about it. It took a significant amount of injuries to other guys for Tyler to finally show his scoring head, and man did he come up big at the end of the year. Seriously, where would we be without TK at the end of the year, guy was clutch. He has had some nice seasons before this one, but this was his “career one”. While it took awhile for him to find that “career” part, let us not forget, he was playing some pretty unmemorable hockey at the start of the year. So the question is, has the inner scoring beast awoken for good and will we see this next year from him?

Kennedy has been a homegrown winger here for quite a few seasons, and I am sure he wants to return. He is on one of the most productive and hard working lines with Staal and Matt Cooke. I can see his production defiantly going up, but to how high remains another question. What line will he even be on and who are his line mates? These are things that need considering before saying he can do this at a consistent level. Tyler is good player, and is the kind of guy the Penguins need to succeed. But he is not a top six forward in this league, I am sorry. I just hope that statement can be proven wrong. In reality, he needs to be on this team, but it is about keeping a player at a price that makes sense for the team.

Last thing on Tyler Kennedy; Remember when I said I was going to fantasize about players in a Pens jersey? Yea I am doing that right now with a former Pen, and if you haven’t heard by now, his name is Jaromir Jagr. A post will come later on Jagr,but can you imagine him back on the Pens flanking either Sid or Malkin? That is a pure nostalgia trip for me. Jagr may want a cheap deal, say 2-3 million, and for that money for a guy of his talent, I’ll have him over TK who isn’t even close to the skill set Jagr has.

June Swoon? Not this time: Pirates Heating Up

Whether Pirates' management wants to admit it or not, the 2011 season has potential to be the special season that could break the Pirates' 18 year losing streak.  Obviously, reaching their goal of a Central Division title seems to be a reach, (although they are only 3 games back heading into today's game) but the fans would be happy to see a winning record; 82-80, 83-79, something! Yes, it is still early and the Pirates have plenty of time to put this year into a tailspin.  However, there is something different about this team that gives way to cast reasonable doubt that another embarrassing season is inevitable.  

According to baseballreference.com, the Pirates have had winning records for the month of June in just 2 of the last 18 seasons.  There were also two seasons where they had a .500 record in June.  Lately, June has been a pretty good litmus test on how the season will conclude.  In 2005, the Pirates were 30-30 after destroying the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 18-2.  From there, the Pirates went 4-13 for the rest of the month and effectively ended their bid for a winning record.  Last year was another fine example: 6-20.  The Pirates totaled double digit wins for the months of April and May and did not see a monthly total in double digits wins until September.

As it stands, the Pirates are currently 10-5 in the month of June.  As I wrote in a previous post, the Pirates would have an uphill battle to stay around .500 after this month due to the amount of quality teams they had to play.  In front of a mixed crowd of Phillies and Pirates fans, they took 2 out of 3 from Philadelphia before winning another series against the 1st place Arizona Diamondbacks.  While the Mets continued to give the Pirates a tough time, they were still able to get a series split before sweeping the Astros on the road.  Now, they head into Cleveland, tied with the second most road wins in the NL, to face an Indians' team which has been free falling over the past month.  After that, they host the Baltimore Orioles and the red hot Boston Red Sox before heading to Toronto.  If the Pirates win 4 of the next 12 games, which seems very possible, they will have a winning record in June, with only the pathetic Astros, Nationals and Cubs standing between them and the All-Star Break. 

Pitching Continues to Lead the Way

 
The mark of a good coach is his ability to maximize the potential talent of the players on his team.  Two and one half months in, Ray Searage has gone beyond that point.  As it stands, the Pirates are still the only team to have three starting pitchers ranked in the top 20 in National League ERA.  Jeff Karstens, ranked fifth, has a 2.66 ERA and has been Greg Maddux good, at times.  In a league dominated by power pitchers, blistering 95-100 mph fastballs at will, Karstens works his 89 mph fastball on the corners while serving up 66 mph curveballs which corkscrew batters into the ground.  In his last three starts combined, Karstens as pitched 20 2/3 innings surrendering 1 run and allowing only 11 hits; hardly the type of numbers from a long reliever filling in for an injured starter.  Kevin Correia, Paul Maholm, Charlie Morton haven't been as dazzling, but they've still been quite effective.  Currently, the Pirates are ranked fifth in team ERA and eighth in fielding percentage.  As Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Garret Jones start to heat up, the Pirates are looking more and more legitimate.  The offense still needs to produce more for a starting rotation that has, at times, carried the team to its 35-33 record.  If Pedro Alvarez comes back from his injury and starts hitting like he did last year, the team could make some serious noise in the Central Division.

Trapped in AAA; Alex Presley is Major League Ready

He may be listed at 5'9 190, but Alex Presley could pass for 15 years old.  With his small stature and baby face, the numbers in AAA will make you scratch your head.  Presley is currently leading the Indianapolis Indians in average (.340), slugging (.523), on-base percentage (.391), home runs (8), RBIs (33) and has only registered one error in the outfield.  Those numbers have people scratching their head in another way, as well.  The biggest question seems to be, "why isn't this kid playing at PNC Park?"  While he does tend to strikeout a little too much (47 this year) the Pirates aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard every night.  A call up for Alex Presley could spark the Pirates offense on a similar scale to Josh Harrison. When you look at all of his tools, he has the potential to be a solid player.  Not an All Star by any means, but a solid outfielder who could help hold things down until Starling Marte is ready in 2012.  For all of his talent, there is still one problem that is keep Presley from making the trip to Pittsburgh.

He's left handed.

The Pirates have two left handed hitters on the bench who can play outfield and can either hit for more power, or play better defense than Presley.  Although Garret Jones has hit only 6 home runs this year, he is starting to heat up a little bit from his slow start.  Meanwhile, Xavier Paul is playing just good enough to not get cut.  And then there is Matt Diaz.  A player who is playing good enough to get cut.  The only problem is, the Pirates would have to eat his two year, 4 million dollar contract and they would still be in need of a right-handed stick to come off the bench.  Still, Presley could help fill one hole in the Pirates' team: hitting.  As of June 13th, the Pirates are ranked 25th in batting average among all major league teams.  While Tabata, McCutchen and Walker have all been hitting, this season, the bottom half of the lineup has been putrid.  Lyle Overbay showed some flashes of being the hitter the Pirates were hoping to see when they signed him to a $5 million contract this winter.  However, he's highly underachieved this season batting .236 with just 5 home runs.  With the injuries at catching, Ronny Cedeno cooling off and Brandon Wood starting at third, there is little to no confidence in the lineup after the four hitter.

 As it stands, Alex Presley should be the guy.  He should at least get a chance at the major league level.  The only issue is the road block of left handed hitters keeping him from ascending to baseball's most competitive stage.  With a road series against the Cleveland Indians, Presley could get the call to DH while the Pirates try to duct tape the rest of their injured team together to form somewhat of a lineup.  If he takes advantage of his call up by hitting, he may be able to stay for a little while longer.  At this point, the Pirates have to take all they can get, offensively.  While the pitching has continued to be spectacular this year at some point in the game you have to score at least one run to win.   


Social media is also crying out for the Pirates to make a move for Presley.  There's a popular "hashtag" on Twitter called #freealexpresley, where fans collectively show their outward cry for the young outfielder to be promoted.  The expression probably doesn't faze Pirates' management at this time, but it does become louder and louder as the team struggles to put runs together.  One month through the season, people looked at the pitching as overachieving while the hitting was viewed as underachieving.  Since then, the situation has not yielded a change.  While the starting rotation has prevented AAA pitchers, like Brad Lincoln, from getting a call up, there's been a plethora of opportunities, with injuries, for the AAA hitters to get a shot at the bigs. Presley may not contend for the triple crown in the majors, but what do the Pirates have to lose in bringing him up?  Even "burning" an option would seem irrelevant if he proves he can't compete in the majors. 

Take a chance, Pirates.  At worst, Alex Presley will have the same production as hitters who have already shown they cannot contribute on a major scale.  This offense needs a spark and the biggest risk you would be taking with Presley, is that he may be just as putrid as the bottom of the lineup.

 

   

Phase 2 Signing the Talent; Why Josh Bell Could Be an Easier Sign Than Expected

 Since Bob Nutting became the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007, the franchise has tried to shake the stigma that they're one of the stingiest teams in Major League Baseball.  In the 2008 draft they selected Pedro Alvarez to be their franchise third baseman.  With Scott Boras as his agent, Alvarez signed a major league contract worth $6.335 million.

Heads began to turn.   Finally, the team was selecting the most talented player and not just a player with a cheap price tag

In the 2009 draft the Pirates took Tony Sanchez in the first round which was viewed as a "signability" pick in what was a relatively shallow pool of elite talent.  In that same draft, however, they went over-slot on multiple pitching prospects including Zach Von Rosenberg, Colton Cain, Zack Dodson, and Jeffery Inman.  For those who don't know, the term "over-slot" means the Pirates sign draft prospects for more money than the amount projected by round.  While it is still way too early to tell if these signings will contribute at the major league level, the Pirates have at least showed they are serious about flooding the organization with talent.

After drafting and signing Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie from last year's draft, the Pirates have compiled a notable amount of prospects with MLB potential.  They also compiled the most money in the league to sign those picks over the last three years combined.  While credible media outlets, such as Baseball America and MLB Network, have labeled the Pirates as "a team heading in the right direction", Neal Huntington saw an opportunity in the 2011 MLB Draft to add more pieces to the puzzle.  The question the Pirates now face is, will they be able to sign these players? 

Gerrit Cole will be signed by the Pirates.  Yes, he is advised under Scott Boras.  Yes, he is the first overall pick.  But the Pirates will get a deal done to add a fourth potential "ace" to the future rotation; the other three being Luis Heredia, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie.  At the very least, Cole gives the Pirates a better chance to add an elite arm to the major league roster should the other three pitchers not pan out.  However since Cole is advised by Scott Boras, this will go down to the last minute of the signing date in August.  

Josh Bell is, far and beyond, the biggest question mark when it comes to signability.  Before the draft, Bell wrote a letter to all 30 teams, advising them not to draft him.  Obviously, the Pirates did not listen to the young Texas high school outfielder when they selected him in the second round.  There is credible doubt that the Pirates will not be able to sign him away from his scholarship to play at Texas.  However, there are reasons for optimism that the Pirates will be able to sign him.

1. If Josh Bell truly had zero interest in turning pro out of high school, why did he select Scott Boras as his agent?  Why not select his parents? Or, better yet, no one? 
2. The Pirates, who always go over-slot on players in the draft, will have more cash to spend because they are not pursuing elite talent in the international market.  The Pirates spent $2.6 million on 16 year old Luis Heredia, last year but appear to have no serious interest in potential elite players this year. With the later picks projecting to be relatively easy signs, including third round pick Alex Dickerson, the Pirates can focus most of their coin on the first two rounds.
3. Since this looks to be the last year teams will be allowed to sign over the slot, it is entirely possible Josh Bell will lose money by going to college.  For example, if the Pirates offer Bell $4 million and he decides to go to school and become a redraft in 2014, he would most likely need to be a top 5 pick to earn the same signing bonus.  If the Pirates offer more, it would be foolish to turn them down.  Since college is extremely important to Bell and his family, why can't he go to college after his career ends?  Why not go back to school when you have millions of dollars already secured instead of risking injury to fall off the draft board completely? 

Whether the Pirates sign Bell or not, you cannot fault the front office for selecting him in the second round of the draft.  He was listed as the top corner outfielder in the draft by Baseball America as well as the second best high school hitter.  A switch hitter since the age of five, the kid simply adds depth to an otherwise shallow position pool.  However, if the Pirates do not sign Bell, they'll get the same exact pick in the 2012 draft which contains a loaded high school class.



Then again, if the league does go towards a strict signing system in 2012, the Pirates can be more aggressive in pursuing Bell's talent.  You can say what you want about GM Neal Huntington's trade history, but you cannot fault his ability to get a deal done.  He's had to be aggressive in the past and Josh Bell could be his toughest potential client.  Yet, as he stated in an email to MLB.com, "the upside is worth the risk [of Bell not signing]".  If you want to know the potential difference of Bell signing from an organizational talent standpoint, think about this: without Bell the Pirates probably move from 19 in the talent rankings by Baseball America, to 11 or 12 (because of Gerrit Cole).  If the Pirates do sign Bell the Pirates are easily in the top 10.  The Pirates recognized that potential when they drafted him and the front office will do everything in their power to sign him.  If they do, the price tag will likely be so high that the franchise's moniker of being "cheap" will almost seem laughable.

Pirates Select Gerrit Cole; Strengthens Potential Rotation

In their 129 year history, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been known for their hitting more than their pitching.  The biggest names in the franchise are encased in the Hall of Fame for their efforts at the plate and in the field; position players.  Look at the names: Wagner, Kiner, Clemente, Stargell, Parker, Bonds, Bonilla; immortals of Pittsburgh's past.  In the 70's they were nicknamed the Pittsburgh Lumber Company, backed by their strong lineup and an above average pitching staff.  That hasn't changed over the years.

Until today.

The Pirates selected Gerrit Cole, a 6'4 220 lbs right-handed pitcher from UCLA.  Cole is a power pitcher in ever sense of the term.  Armed with a fastball that has reached triple digits (as high as 102) with the endurance and strength to maintain velocity throughout the game.  Cole also possesses a sharp slider and a plus-change up.  He's projected as a front-line starter who should easily handle a 200+ inning workload per season. 

However, these tools come with some concern.  With a 6-8 record 3.31 ERA, Cole did not exactly dominate in his final year at UCLA due to lack of control.  Yes, the walks were low (24), but Cole's fastball was catching too much of the plate due to a few mechanical flaws and he was getting hit.  The high workload is also a concern as Cole threw 114 innings this season, averaging 15 pitches per inning.  Also, given Cole's high velocity, the risk of injury is always going to prevalent.  Stephen Strasburg, the first overall pick in 2009, required Tommy John Surgery last year despite having no previous history of arm issues.  His velocity was in the same range as Cole's.  For once, the Pirates need to get lucky with a first round pick.   

One thing is certain, the Pirates are serious about building up their rotation.  They took 7 prep pitchers in the first 10 rounds last year, including first round pick, Jameson Taillon.  Taillon was labeled the future ace of the Pirates' rotation and now he has competition with Gerrit Cole.  Although hitting on all of these prospects seems unrealistic, it's hard as a Pirates' fan, to not picture a future rotation of Cole/Taillon/Heredia at the top with Stetson Allie closing.  With some of the aforementioned draft picks starting off quickly (Cumpton, Waldron, Mcpherson), the Pirates are certainly building their staff into one of baseball's best, down the road.  With Starling Marte and Tony Sanchez approaching their major league debuts, the Pirates are quickly building a competitive team.  With these last two drafts, Huntington has shown he's looking for something bigger.

If defense wins championships in football, pitching wins championships in baseball.  The San Fransisco Giants won the World Series last year with one of the best rotations in the league.  Their rotation was constructed with 4 former first round draft picks (Cain, Lincecum, Zito, Bumgarner).  The Philadelphia Phillies have loaded up on their pitching staff, acquiring Cliff Lee to accompany Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.  As the steroid era dies down, pitching becomes as important as it ever was.  The Pirates are constructing their team to the strength of the era: power pitching with Jameson Taillon, Luis Heredia, Stetson Allie and Gerrit Cole all projecting to have plus fastballs (cruising 94-97).  While they may have missed Anthony Rendon, the best bat in the draft, they have built up their staff to a point where they will be allowed to make a trade for a big bat, if needed.  At this point it is impossible to project how this team will look two years from now, however, for the first time in a long time Pirates fans have a reason to be excited.  The days of the Pittsburgh Lumber Company are gone, replaced by a potential pitching rotation that could be among the best in baseball.  Since nothing is guaranteed, please hold off on the nicknames. 

Offseason Pens Report: The End Of The Superstar Era?

 By: Chris Dazen

Ray Shero has a lot on his plate this offseason

If you haven’t heard or noticed, General Manger Ray Shero has a lot on his plate this offseason in terms of players with contract needs. He has nine unrestricted, two restricted, and the need for another star center with the soon to be retirement of Sidney Crosby. Wait, what was the last one? Oh sorry, Mario Tremblay -  former NHL player and Canadians head coach who now works for RDS, a Canadian TV network - may have influenced that last statement when he recently stated Crosby MAY have suffered two severe concussions when he was in juniors. Simply put, “Career Compromised” as the RDS headline read.  That is four concussions in roughly six years according to all of these media reports. For those of you worried up to this sentence (and I hope you all are), Sid’s career is not in jeopardy. Crosby’s agent Pat Brisson shot back at these claims by Tremblay.

"It is very disturbing and disappointing to me when someone from the media, and especially an ex-player, brings such baseless comments toward the medical status of a player…Unless a report comes from the medical staff and or an official voice for the player, it's of no merit whatsoever.” a Brisson statement recently read.  Brisson is spot on with his assessment of the situation.

My final thought on all of this Sid talk; the media will try anything to sell a paper or get a few clicks to draw attention to their website, especially during this time of the year on the hockey calendar. Canadians love this kind of gossip, try reading the Toronto Sun sometime, it’s full of it. Sid was recently medically cleared for his summer workouts and will soon begin on-ice workouts in August pending no further setbacks.

Now, the real problem at hand for the Penguins is who they deem most valuable to the future of this team, whether that is in the short or long term. With 18 rostered players currently under contract for next season, two of those goalies, Shero must do his best to mix and match skill with grit. Shero has locked up potential UFA Nick Johnson, his first off-season transaction, to a two-way, one-year deal worth $550k. Not an earth shattering signing, but this one of those quite deals Shero is famous for. He’s a nice guy to have sitting in Wilkes-Barre because he projects into a bottom line role and has few NHL games under his breezers.

Let us review this list by who we can count off as gone before going into a more in depth look at each player as well as what role he would serve on the team and the impact he could have on the Salary Cap (which is expected to rise about three million dollars next year). Some of these will be obvious, and some will be hard to swallow as fans, but it is nothing we cannot get over. Colby Armstrong helped prove that.

Unrestricted Free Agents

• Alex Kovalev – Gone
• Pascal Dupuis – Will be given a contract offer
• Max Talbot – Depends on the contract of Adams /Rupp/Kennedy/Jeffrey.
• Mike Rupp - Will be given a contract offer
• Eric Goddard – Gone
• Aaron Asham – Linked to Rupp/Talbot’s possible contract situation
• Craig Adams - Will be given a contract offer
• Chris Conner – Gone
• Mike Comrie – Gone

Restricted Free Agents

• Tyler Kennedy – At the right price, he is back
• Dustin Jeffrey – Will be retained

I will have a more in-depth look at each of these players situations soon, but as you can tell, Shero has some tough decisions ahead of him. We may have even seen the last of Max “Superstar” Talbot.

It is really no secret that some of these guys are going to be gone. Shero has already publicly stated Kovalev and Comrie will not be back with Comrie considering retirement. Kovalev was a nice nostalgia pick up that just didn’t pan out. We know what he could have brought to the team, but just didn’t deliver. All he cost was a 7th round pick, no worries.

As for Comrie, well, at least he still has Hillary Duff (seriously I am so happy those joke/references will end) In all seriousness, Comrie was you stereotypical low risk, high reward signing that looked great in preseason but let a bum hip sideline his Pens career once the regular season started up. Once healthy by season’s end, he had been replaced by the likes of WBS call ups and was never given a fair chance to prove himself.  No need to further elaborate on those guys; let us remember them for their pedigrees of past success, not recent failures.  On to the future we go.

Hanging Around: Pirates' Three Games Under After Two Months

McCutchen batted .275 with 4 home runs in May

How does one grade the Pittsburgh Pirates in their performance over 26 games in the month of May?  The team went 13-13; 4-5 at home and 9-8 on the road.  The starting rotation went 12 consecutive games of allowing 2 runs or less while the offense remained inconsistent.  In April, the Pirates batted .230/.303/.340 while striking out 226 times and drawing a putrid 91 walks while the the pitching staff combined for a 3.64 ERA.  After the first month, the Pirates were 12-15 as most figured the hitting would improve while the pitching would tail off.

That never happened.

Instead, the pitching continued to get better, posting a 3.26 ERA in May while the hitting improved on a minuscule level.  The team batting average rose a mere 6 points from .230 to .236 and the strike out totals lowered from 226 to 203.  The batting average is based on a couple of blowout games.  Two weeks ago, the Pirates crushed the Tigers 10-1, belting out 10 hits, and last Saturday they blew out the Cubs 10-0 with 10 more hits. Other than that, the Pirates have been pretty bad at the plate.   

Nevertheless, the Pirates were .500 in the month of May with a chance to start June on a good note against a Mets' team that is in shambles. Pittsburgh's media and fans have expressed great concern of two things: 1) The pitching staff cannot continue to be this effective 2) Are the Pirates ever going to hit as well as they should?  Call me an optimist, but why can't the Pirates pitch as effectively as they have all season while the bats start to heat up?  Because they're the Pirates?  That may be true but this team has already shown it is a much improved team from last year, maybe the last few years.  A slight regression in the rotation is predictable as the Pirates are the only team to have 3 starters ranked in the top 20 in ERA in the National League (Morton, Maholm, Correia).  But a minor drop off in the rotation would be welcomed if it meant the Pirates could start hitting consistently. 

June could be the major turning point in this season.  By win %, the Pirates play 4 of the top 6 teams in Major League Baseball (Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, Diamondbacks) and they'll have to do it without a hot-hitting Ryan Doumit who batted .283/.365/.500 in May.  With Doumit out 4-6 weeks, the Pirates could turn things around if Pedro Alvarez comes off the DL hitting.  But that really seems to be reaching, based on this season so far for Pedro.  Regardless, this team, as it will all season, falls on the pitching staff.  With a healthy Evan Meek, combined with a highly effective Jose Veras and dominant Joel Hanrahan, the Pirates have shortened the game considerably.  It will be the starters' job to eat up 6+ innings each start. 

The good news is that the remaining teams on the schedule in June are extremely beatable.  The Pirates play 4 games against the Mets and 3 games a piece against the Astros, Orioles and Blue Jays.  If the Pirates can survive against the good teams, as they have all year, while winning series against the beatable teams, they can look forward to an interesting July, where the team may have to own up to their promise of being buyers instead of sellers at the trade deadline. Still, the team needs to play well in June, something they failed to do in recent years.