Jayson Stark: Paul Byrd?

by Charlie on Nov 13, 2008 9:58 PM EST Comment 22 comments

Jayson Stark guesses the Pirates might pursue a player like Paul Byrd this offseason, given Neal Huntington's and Byrd's background with the Cleveland Indians.

That's a pretty good guess; the Pirates want a veteran starter, and Byrd could be the right sort of starter for the front office's needs: not expensive, eats innings, but also not egregiously horrible. Unfortunately, Byrd's not very likely to succeed in Pittsburgh; he relies very strongly on his defense, and the Pirates don't have one. Byrd registered only 82 strikeouts last year, which won't get it done, especially since (unlike Zach Duke, who posted similar K:9 numbers) Byrd doesn't generate a ton of ground balls. Byrd will also be 38 in December.

He might, however, manage the interesting feat of allowing more homers than walks. Carlos Silva did it in 2005 and 2006 and Greg Maddux did it in 2004; those are the most recent examples I can find.

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God, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

FJM is shutting it down. There’s a goodbye notice posted.

One of the giants.

by bucdaddy on Nov 14, 2008 10:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wilson, Crosby

Stark also talks about Oakland’s desire to land a SS. I don’t think Jack Wilson would fit the bill — Beane wants some offense from the position — but players like Furcal or Renteria might end up with the A’s. That means that Bobby Crosby could be available, and there are rumors that Beane has run out of patience with him.

If Wilson is dealt this offseason, Crosby would be a good one-year stopgap for the Pirates. He will be 29 on opening day and has one year, $5.25 million left on his deal. We could potentially ask Oakland to cover a portion of that, but even if they don’t, Crosby would fill a need for us, could rebound offensively and, best case, be a trade chip in August or result in an extra draft pick if he leaves as a free agent. He’s the type of player we should consider. The issue would be how much Beane would ask in return — you have to be careful when you pull a deal with him.

by Alleghenys on Nov 14, 2008 12:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

At this point in his career...

why bother with a guy like Paul Byrd? He wasn’t much good with the Red Sox this season after they acquired him,how could he POSSIBLY help the Pirates?
If this organization can’t do any better than a most-likely washed-up soft-tosser like Byrd throwing up ballon-balls all season,then the Pirates are a lot worse off than we even think…I’d rather take my chances with a young guy that might at least have some upside and be able to make a contribution at some point…

by rissaldar on Nov 14, 2008 1:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Fanzak

Look what this guy said about the Pirates

http://www.fanzak.com/fzrants/Why_Does_No_One_Want_To_Get_On_A_Sinking_Pirates_Ship

by fanzak123 on Nov 14, 2008 3:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

“I give everyone in the PBC credit for having so much hope for the team but for the average fan, why should you continue to root for the Pirates and not a winning team like the Yankees or the Red Sox?”

Well that convinces me. Go Yankees!

I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.

by Chester J Lampwick on Nov 14, 2008 4:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why are we Pirates fans ?

It’s our team. It’s who we are. Our fathers watched Maz beat the Yankees in ‘60 and Clemente hit his 3,000th , their fathers listened to Kiner cracker homers in Forbes on the radio. We eat at Permantii’s and drink Iron City and bleed black and gold. You don’t give up on your team when their bad. You stick by them and wear their colors with pride. Yankee fans will never understand. It’s easy to like a team when they win. It takes a true fan to love a team when they lose.

by Ketcham Bruce on Nov 14, 2008 6:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't drink Iron City

I do drink East End every chance I get.

by bucdaddy on Nov 14, 2008 7:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

agreed

although i missed every single one of those moments mentioned and the pirates have never been to the world series in my lifetime, i’m from pittsburgh and this is my team. i think it’s a testament to the dedication of pirate fans (and maybe even the ownership, despite their efforts) that we still have a team here at all.

btw, if you’re ever at the east end brewery on a tuesday or saturday, i’m the one behind the counter in the grey sweatshirt.

by johnnycuff on Nov 15, 2008 7:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Unfortunately

My weird work schedule usually precludes my attendance at growler hours. I used to come up from time to time Saturday mornings when Scott put out a call for volunteer help, but I haven’t heard from him in awhile. It’s a long trip for me, so for a time gas prices weren’t making that feasible, but now …

by bucdaddy on Nov 15, 2008 7:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I drink Ahrn

It’s actually a really good cooking beer, too. Particularly with shrimp.

by Vlad on Nov 17, 2008 9:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

wait a minute......

I watched Clemente hit his 3000th and we aren’t even related.

by haven on Nov 14, 2008 7:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

"No soup for you, Paul Byrd!"

Given Byrd’s age and pitching style, I cannot imagine that NH would want to pursue him because he doesn’t fit the description of what NH has already acquired. I though we were looking for lots of young talent with high up-sides, not a 38-year old grey-beard who makes Zach Duke look like Bob Feller. I would be very upset if we acquired this guy and then wasted valuable starts on him that could be better used to allow our younger guys to obtain some valuable experience.

by Illinois Pirate Fan on Nov 14, 2008 6:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

IPF

I second that emotion!

by thegunner on Nov 14, 2008 7:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Huntington likes young power arms

But there aren’t many young power arms out there on the FA market, and the few that there are will naturally be very expensive in terms of $$ and draft picks. So I could see him adding a non-power arm if that’s the best thing in our price range.

by Vlad on Nov 17, 2008 9:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Economic crisis? WHAT economic crisis?

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Forget Dodger Blue. This is Dodger Green — as in $90 for a
spring training ticket.
That’s what the Dodgers will charge for 692 top seats at their new spring home
in Glendale, Ariz. Last year, their highest-priced exhibition ticket was $20 at
Vero Beach, Fla.
The team’s chief operating officer believes the perks of the new tickets …
including cool, scented towels — will make the cost worthwhile for hard-core fans
who can afford them.

by bucdaddy on Nov 14, 2008 7:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The fundamentals of the Dodgers’ economy are sound.

by WTM on Nov 14, 2008 9:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm sure they'll sell them all too

And when they do, once again I’ll think, maybe the Democrats are right. We DON’T pay enough taxes.

by bucdaddy on Nov 14, 2008 9:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Killing the goose ...

that laid the golden egg. Just give Selig and the owners a chance and it will happen

by thegunner on Nov 14, 2008 7:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Roster moves...

from the Pirates home pages…Gorzo and Dumatrait have been activated from the 60 day DL…the free agents are no longer on the 40 man roster. Currently…the 40 man roster sits at 35. We will see which minor leaguers get added to escape the Rule V draft. They must be added by next Thursday…the 20th.

by Thunder on Nov 14, 2008 9:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Playing devil's advocate.

Byrd’s been at or above league-average starter for the past seven years, and while he doesn’t have much upside, our hypothetical future rotation is based more on quality through quantity than anything else. If they broke camp tomorrow, I think that Maholm, Duke, and Snell probably have spots, and the other two are a tossup between Karstens, Gorz, Dumatrait, Ohlendorf, McCutchen, and Barthmaier. Now, there are probably at least two decent starters in that group… but it’s certainly not a given.

Now, to flip it back around again, Byrd was taking HGH under very questionable circumstances (some of his scrips were “”>written by a Florida dentist whose license was suspended in 2003 for fraud and incompetence"). There isn’t any demonstrated value to taking HGH (unlike many other banned PEDs), but I still don’t think it’s a character mark in his favor.

by Vlad on Nov 17, 2008 9:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs