Bucs Dugout: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
New Blog: Backing the Pack for NC State Fans!


User Tools

Welcome to the SB Nation blog about Pittsburgh Pirates.
Start posting about the Pirates »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Sections

More great SBN Blogs

Baseball

Football

Basketball

College

Hockey

Soccer

General

Players

FIRMLY ENTRENCHED
C Ryan Doumit WTM ESPN BBREF
1B Adam LaRoche ESPN BBREF
2B Freddy Sanchez WTM BBREF
SS Jack Wilson WTM ESPN BBREF
3B Andy LaRoche WTM MILB
UT Ramon Vazquez WTM ESPN BBREF
UT Eric Hinske WTM BBREF
OF Brandon Moss WTM ESPN
SP Zach Duke WTM ESPN BBREF
SP Ian Snell WTM ESPN BBREF
SP Paul Maholm WTM ESPN BBREF
RP Matt Capps WTM ESPN BBREF
RP John Grabow WTM ESPN BBREF
RP Tyler Yates WTM BBREF
RP Craig Hansen WTM ESPN

ON THE FRINGES
C Jason Jaramillo WTM MILB
C Robinzon Diaz MILB
1B/OF Steven Pearce WTM MILB
SS Brian Bixler WTM MILB
UT Delwyn Young WTM BBREF
OF Nyjer Morgan WTM MILB BBREF
SP Charlie Morton MILB
SP Tom Gorzelanny WTM ESPN BBREF 
SP Jeff Karstens WTM MILB
P Phil Dumatrait WTM MILB
P Ross Ohlendorf WTM MILB
P Donald Veal WTM MILB
P Eric Hacker MILB WTM
RP Jesse Chavez WTM MILB
RP Sean Burnett WTM MILB
RP Evan Meek WTM MILB
RP Steven Jackson BBREF WTM

PROSPECTS
1B Calvin Anderson MILB WTM
2B/3B Jim Negrych WTM MILB
2B Shelby Ford WTM MILB
SS Brian Friday WTM MILB 
SS Chase D'Arnaud WTM MILB
3B Neil Walker WTM MILB
3B Pedro Alvarez WTM
OF Andrew McCutchen WTM MILB
OF Jose Tabata WTM MILB
OF Robbie Grossman WTM MILB
OF Gorkys Hernandez MILB
SP Brad Lincoln WTM MILB
SP Bryan Morris WTM MILB
SP Rudy Owens MILB WTM
SP Ronald Uviedo MILB WTM
SP Jeff Locke MILB
SP Daniel McCutchen WTM MILB
SP Anthony Watson WTM MILB
SP Quinton Miller WTM
P Daniel Moskos WTM MILB
RP Jeff Sues WTM MILB
RP Michael Dubee MILB WTM

SPONSORS


bottom of the 5th 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 2 1 0 0         4
Florida Marlins 0 0 0 0         0

Join the Game Thread

Pirates at Marlins, 3 July 2009



175 comments | 0 recs

On Garrett Jones: Let's Not Get Carried Away Here

As nice as it is to see a guy be rewarded for persistence, Garrett Jones should not be mistaken for a good player, and the last thing I'd want to see is a Tike-Redman-2003 situation where Jones gets off to a hot start, then gets way more playing time than he should for a year or so after that. 

John Russell today:

"I'm getting excited about our lineup, to be honest with you, and that has a lot to do with Garrett," Russell said. "Once we get Doumit back, and he's on his way, I think it's going to be interesting." Of Jones specifically, Russell added, "He could be one of those guys who just hasn't been given the opportunity. We think he looks really good, and we're looking forward to seeing more."

No. No no no. Nuh uh. For anyone familiar with Class AAA baseball (and you'd think that Russell, a former AAA manager, might be one of those people), Jones is so familiar he's practically a caricature--the big, defensively challenged slugger who isn't quite good enough as a hitter to make an impact in the bigs but who puts up some superficially impressive numbers at AAA just by virtue of being there for so many years. Every year the Pirates have a couple of these guys at various levels of the system. Jones is just Graham Koonce with fewer walks. He's Brad Eldred with less power and fewer strikeouts. He's Randy Ruiz playing at a higher level. He's Adam Boeve. Ryan Mulhern. Chris Richard. Andy Abad. John Barnes. I'm sure Jones is a nice guy, but as a player, he's a cliche. 

Of the twenty players listed as comparables on Jones' PECOTA card (subscription only), the only one who made any sort of impact in the big leagues was Luke Scott. The reason is simple: players like Jones put up decent hitting numbers in AAA, but they're only decent, and they're doing it in the prime of their careers, not at young ages when you might reasonably hope they'll get better. They also don't bring anything to the table defensively, so if they aren't very good big league hitters, there's no reason to keep them around. Jones' yearly OPS in the International League is about .800; I don't have the equivalencies in front of me, but that would come out to be about a .700 OPS in the majors, which won't cut it for a player of his type.

Jones had a great game yesterday. I get that. If this is the sort of excitement Russell needs to get him through the day, fine. If he wants to take it into account for a while as he sorts through a bunch of uninspiring corner outfield options, I guess that's also fine for now. But let's not go too far here. I suppose anything's possible, but there's really nothing in Jones' minor league record that says he's going to be helpful as anything more than a bench outfielder.

8 comments | 0 recs | Share on Facebook Digg!

News Roundup: Huntington: We Acquired Milledge Because We Could

MLB - New York Mets/Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score Thursday July 2, 2009 - Yahoo! Sports
Garrett Jones came within a single of the cycle today.

Huntington answers fans' questions | pirates.com: News
An unusually blunt answer from Neal Huntington:

Why trade an outfielder for an outfielder when we need middle infielders? -- Josh J., Bethel Park, Pa.

Huntington: Because Milledge was available. He was a premier prospect in baseball (the No. 1 prospect with Mets in 2005-06) with five tools. He has a very high ceiling. At 24 (Morgan is 29), Milledge is still young and can develop into an above-average Major League player.

It'll be interesting to see how Huntington's behavior will change when (or if) the Pirates acquire enough talent to shape into a good team. The Rays' transition from merely acquiring talent to aiming to contend happened extremely quickly--their 2007 team was a collection of mismatched parts, but with one big trade (the Delmon Young / Matt Garza deal) and a couple of positional changes, they suddenly became one of the best teams in baseball. The Pirates are still very much in the mismatched-parts stage, which is as it should be for now and probably for the next two years or so.

Taiwan Baseball: Pirates on a Roll....Sheng-Chin Hung Signed
In addition to Ping-Hung Chi, whose signing hit the news a few days ago, the Pirates have also signed pitcher Sheng-Chin Hung and first baseman Chi-Wei Hsu from Taiwan. Of the three, Hung may have the most upside. He can hit 91 MPH with his fastball and also throws a curve and change.

Kiley McDaniel Liveblog
Baseball Prospectus reports that the Pirates are one of two teams (along with the Royals) in on Dominican prospect GianCarlos Santana, brother of the Angels' Ervin Santana. The younger Santana recently threw as hard as 91 MPH. Also, the Cardinals signed outfielder Wagner Mateo, one of the big prizes of this year's Dominican class.

Lynchburg 9, Winston-Salem 5
Eric Fryer, recently acquired in the Eric Hinske deal, went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored in his Lynchburg debut. Also, Jamie Romak just realized he knows how to hit Class A+ pitching.

Donald Veal: Stats
Donald Veal now has twelve walks in 12.7 innings at Class AAA Indianapolis. He'll probably still be with the Pirates at the end of the year thanks to these "rehab" shenanigans, but it's becoming increasingly clear to me that he's not really a prospect.

Is this thing on?: A must see Snell video and my All-Star ballot
Indianapolis announcer Scott McCauley picks his International League All-Star team.

The Canadian Press: Canadian left-fielder Jason Bay becomes American citizen
Jason Bay became a naturalized U.S. citizen today.

28 comments | 0 recs | Share on Facebook Digg!

Pittsburgh Anthrocon's Furries 'Freak Out' Mets Reporter

Via Twitter, Mets reporter Kevin Burkhardt said, "Our hotel in Pitt is overrun by people dressed up as animals. Anthrocon? And they act as animals. I have seen it all and I am freaked out. I just took a picture with a person who was dressed like Ralph Wigam as a Beaver."

comment 1 day ago Nyjer_tiny Androgen Jar Jimmy comment 7 comments 0 recs

Pirates believed to make offer for Sano

Hopefully, it's better received than my offer to Scarlett Johansson.

comment 1 day ago Nyjer_tiny Androgen Jar Jimmy comment 17 comments 0 recs

Game Thread


Perhaps we can make this the game thread, since Charlie's apparently otherwise occupied, or perhaps the timed thread did not go up?

 It's forcing me to get 75 words up to make this a fan post, so we can use it as a game thread. What shall we talk about? The weather? My upcoming shoulder surgery? How are you? Are you watching or listening to the game? The rain delay is over, so here we go...

[Ugh--my fault. Thanks for taking care of this, cocktails. -Charlie]

344 comments | 0 recs

Ian Snell Describes Personal Struggles

Link to interview with video HERE. Snell says his battle with depression caused him to request a demotion. He also says he has contemplated suicide.

I know most of us, if not all of us, spent some time criticizing Ian Snell this season (and last), but true depression is something that should be taken very seriously.

Perhaps going back to a "familiar place," - Indianapolis - will be therapeutic for him. I hope to see him turn it around.

[Yikes. I wish all the best to Ian, obviously, and hope he can get his thoughts together. Some of his actions and comments the past couple weeks make a little more sense now. -Charlie]

35 comments | 0 recs | Share on Facebook Digg!

Bucs Sign Two More Draft Picks

The Pirates announced three draft pick signings today--in addition to third-rounder Evan Chambers (noted a couple posts below this one), they also signed 13th-rounder John Gourley and 18th-rounder Ryan Beckman. I don't know much about Beckman, who's a reliever out of community college in Texas, but Gourley could be pretty interesting--he was a fairly highly regarded infield prospect in North Carolina who the Pirates signed away from a commitment to East Carolina. He probably won't stick at shortstop, but he should be able to play elsewhere in the infield.

3 comments | 0 recs | Share on Facebook Digg!

More Posts from Bucs Dugout

Explore Full Archive Next Page


FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Nyjer_small
Brian Giles Got Traded! SCREW THE PIRATES!

Recent FanPosts

3dacrssi_small
If We Trade with the Twins...
Explorepahistory-a0a0g4-a_349_small
Pirates in trade talks with Twins
Dscf0211_small
Is Pedro Alvarez on the Move?
Small
Rudy Owens.
Small
Willie Stargell Mustache Night
Small
Ross Ohlendorf Interview
Bloody_mary_small
Game Thread
Bloody_mary_small
Ian Snell Describes Personal Struggles
Small
Some Roster Observations
Gtotem_hippopotamus_small
Pittsburgh Tea Party for Real Fans

Post_icon New FanPost All FanPosts Carrot-mini

Links

NEW HERE?
Welcome To Bucs Dugout!

PIRATES LINKS
WTM's Pirate Player Profiles
P-G PBC Blog
Honest Wagner
Where's Van Slyke?
Only Bucs
Pittsburgh Lumber Co.
Steeltown Sports
Rizzo Sports
Mondesi's House
Bucs at AOL Fanhouse
Thoughts of RS
Blue Collar Baseball
Raise the Jolly Roger
Hyzdu HQ
North Side Notch
This is Getting Old
The Buccos Forum
Burgh Blues
The Jolly Roger
Viva Derek Bell
Building the Bucs
Sports Monitor

PIRATES NEWS
Post-Gazette
Tribune-Review
Beaver County Times
Official Site

BASEBALL SITES
Baseball Primer
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball America
Baseball Musings
Cardboard Gods
The Baseball Cube
Baseball Reference
Free Agents
MLB Contracts
Tangotiger
Baseball Analysts
Futility Infielder
Hardball Times
Minor League Splits
Mop-Up Duty
Frank's Field of Dreams
C.J. Nitkowski's Website (Japanese baseball)
Rob Neyer

TEAM PAGES
View From The Bleachers (Cubs)
Red Hot Mama (Reds)
MetsBlog
Mets Today
Phillies Flow
Ducksnorts (Padres)
It Might Be Dangerous (Paul DePodesta of the Padres)
Dodger Thoughts
Replacement Level Yankees
Pinstriped Bible
Aaron's Baseball Blog (Twins)
Detroit Tigers Weblog
U.S.S. Mariner

RUNGS OF THE LADDER
Indianapolis Indians (AAA)
Altoona Curve (AA)
Lynchburg Hillcats (A+)
West Virginia Power (A)
State College Spikes (A - short season)
Bradenton Pirates (Rookie)

BEST OF BUCS DUGOUT / VORB
Worst GM Poll (Series)
It Takes Time (Series)
Making Plans for Nyjer
An Interview with C.J. Nitkowski
My Thoughts on the Protest
Craig Wilson: A Tribute
An Interview* With Dave Littlefield
My 20 Least Favorite Pirates Of This Decade
Tracy With The Dodgers (With Andrew of Dodger Math)
Two Bad Teams (Part Two): Royals and Pirates
Two Bad Teams (Part One): Royals and Pirates
The Pirates and Moneyball
On the Oakland A's

OTHER THINGS I WROTE
A Roundtable with WHYGAVS (Baseball Digest Daily)
2008 Pirates Preview (Hardball Times)
Pittsburgh Pirates "Face of the Franchise" (ESPN.com)
2007 Pirates Preview (Hardball Times)
Dave Littlefield Blunder Derby (at IrateFans)
2006 Pirates Preview (Hardball Times)
2006 Pirates Year in Review (Beyond the Box Score)
Value Over Replacement Blog (my old blog)

CONTACT
Email
Personal Website

FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recent FanShots

There's no comment needed, just read the card. Personally, I'm impressed.
Pittsburgh Anthrocon's Furries 'Freak Out' Mets Reporter
Pirates believed to make offer for Sano
Indian pitchers to make pro debuts
Hinske traded to Yankees
Pirates Want Everyone In Pittsburgh To Stop Staring At Them
Lincoln Promoted to Indy
Tanner Scheppers -- Partially Torn Labrum
Sanchez signs
Pirates draft 34 pitchers!

Post_icon New FanShot All FanShots Carrot-mini

Most Commented

Charlie_small
Cubs vs. Pirates, 30 June 2009
Bloody_mary_small
Game Thread
Charlie_small
Cubs vs. Pirates, 29 June 2009
Charlie_small
Cubs vs. Pirates, 1 July 2009
Charlie_small
Pirates Trade Eric Hinske to Yankees, Morgan and Burnett to Nats

Managers

Charlie_small Charlie

Official Partner of Yahoo! Sports