Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, 19 August 2007

by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 19, 2007 4:40 AM EDT in News

1:35, FSNP, WPGB

Kyle Lohse vs. Ian Snell.

Today's notes:

-P- Lots of interesting stuff in the Post-Gazette's Inside the Pirates feature today, including specific confirmation that the Pirates were indeed offered Ryan Howard for Kris Benson. Oops!!! Also, the article mentions the "designated for assignment" story that has been discussed here a couple times.

There's also a mention of second-round pick Duke Welker, who's having a better year than Daniel Moskos. Unfortunately, the real story here isn't Welker - 21-year-olds picked in the second round should beat up on the NY-Penn League - but Moskos, who not only isn't pitching well, he's in the NY-Penn League, which is just one step above the lowest rookie level. One of the rationalizations for picking Moskos is that he would move quickly and be in the majors soon. If that's the case, what is he doing pitching for State College in the first place? If that's the real reason for taking him fourth overall, he should be at High-A, at the very least.

-P- The White Sox signed Jermaine Dye to a two-year, $22 million extension that includes a mutual option for 2010. Normally I wouldn't approve of deals like this - Dye has a long injury history, is well into his 30s, and is not having a good year (he has 24 homers but a .306 OBP). But the White Sox know more about this situation than I do, and Dye hit 44 homers in 2006 and is known to keep himself in good shape. If he bounces back, he'll be a bargain.

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i can

only assume the white sox signed both dye and buehrle to below-market deals in order to make them more tradeable in the not-too-distant future. it isn't like they have ANY talent on the way that will suddenly make them more competitive. they need to be blowing it up, not keeping all the most expensive pieces.

by Geeves28 on Aug 19, 2007 9:11 AM EDT reply actions

If

the Pirates had made that trade, Howard would be hitting .215 at Indy. I just know it.

by bucdaddy on Aug 19, 2007 11:29 AM EDT reply actions

hey

don't forget, the "pirates" had a great day yesterday....tike redman, jr house, and daryle ward, that is.

by Geeves28 on Aug 19, 2007 1:20 PM EDT reply actions

and

Rajai's hitting .364/.462/.582 this month.

by bolton on Aug 19, 2007 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Interesting ...

For what it's worth, I watched the Tigers' Cameron Maybin pretty closely on Saturday. The Tigers selected him with the draft pick just ahead of McCutcheon. Sheesh ... he is VERY impressive. The home run he hit off Roger Clemens was to just about straightaway center field -- and more or less off the end of the bat. He jumped on the pitch. A lot of power there.

by bern1 on Aug 20, 2007 11:30 AM EDT reply actions

Heh

Be interesting to see what happens if Maybin ever comes up against Clemens again. He'd better wear a suit of armor.

by bucdaddy on Aug 20, 2007 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Maybin's next at bat?

Clemens drilled Maybin his next at-bat. High and inside. Clipped him on the left forearm.

by bern1 on Aug 20, 2007 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, that's right ...

I saw that. It was about a foot lower than where I thought Rocket would throw it, though, so I'm not entirely sure that wasn't just a slip. He may still owe Maybin one.

Rocket ought to just drill rookies in their first at-bat and get it over with. "Welcome to the majors, kid."

by bucdaddy on Aug 20, 2007 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Word at the time...

...is that we were going to take Maybin if he was still there at our pick.

by Vlad on Aug 20, 2007 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Maybin

BA had him rated as the #3 talent in the draft, but he fell for a variety of reasons. I think there was some concern about his signability and a bunch of teams wanted college guys. Tampa and Toronto made boneheaded picks, going for college pitchers with dubious ceilings, and the Brewers and Nats wanted help fast and went for college hitters, which worked out very well for them both. That draft was just loaded and the teams that made out were the ones that went for hitters.

by WTM on Aug 20, 2007 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Tampa's pick...

...is the one that I really didn't get. Townsend had held out after going in the first the year before, and he was coming from Rice, a school that chews pitchers up and spits them out.

Full disclosure: At the time of the draft, I liked Cutch more than Maybin, in part because Cutch seemed a lot more polished and I don't trust our instructional staff to properly develop a raw talent.

by Vlad on Aug 20, 2007 12:50 PM EDT reply actions

Tampa

My understanding from BA's reporting was that Tampa's scouts wanted to take McCutchen (they may have figured Maybin would be gone) but Lou Pinella pressed upper management successfully to take a college pitcher because he wanted quick pitching help.

I can think of three instances where owners stepped in and required their scouting staff to take college pitchers over HS hitters with the idea of getting help quickly--the Rays with Townsend, the Orioles also with Townsend the year before, and the Pirates with Bullington. It was a disaster every time. I'd be willing to bet that DL did basically the same thing this year. The guy is utterly incapable of learning anything.

by WTM on Aug 20, 2007 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions