The Mad Capper

by Sage18 on Dec 19, 2009 2:23 AM EST

From what I have been reading on the hot stove, the primary suitor for Matt Capps in the Nationals... My only problem with the Nyjer Morgan Trade (besides losing a gentleman such as Tony Plush), was trading away a solid lefty in Burnett. Now seeing that the Nats are so interested in Capps I wish Neal would have pushed for him rather than Burnett to be traded. I guess I just found this to be ironic

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Of course NH had no way of knowing it would turn out like this. It just makes me wonder if Capps was brought up at all at the time

by Sage18 on Dec 19, 2009 2:24 AM EST reply actions

The Nationals....

They’re going to get to the promised land by buying up all the below average to average players the PIrates don’t want anymore. I don’t see a problem with this strategy. Spending money, no matter how foolishly equals success in Bob Smizik’s book and he’s never wrong about anything!

by IAPiratesFan on Dec 19, 2009 5:16 AM EST reply actions

(sarcasm alert)

by BadAndy on Dec 19, 2009 9:34 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

Any chance we can trade Bob Smizik to the Washington Expos too ?

"Baseball is better than football. Think about it, eighty degrees, a cold beer and a short-sleeve shirt is better than 30 degrees, a hip flask and six layers of clothes under a lap blanket. Take your pick: suntan or frostbite. " - Thomas Boswell

by Ketcham Bruce on Dec 19, 2009 7:18 AM EST reply actions

Only if we can send Ron Cook too.

by IAPiratesFan on Dec 20, 2009 11:09 AM EST up reply actions

If we managed to get

a typewriter and an intern to be named later out of that deal, it’d be the biggest heist in baseball history!

The glare of the spotlight is harsh, and the pressure that success breeds immense. We revere our heroes, but expect much. And criticism can come as easily as praise.

by glass0941 on Dec 20, 2009 11:33 PM EST up reply actions

For fair market value of course

How about the janitors assistant at the Washington Times? I think the Post would balk at this trade but the Times might go for it.

by MDBuc on Dec 19, 2009 8:21 AM EST reply actions

Hindsight is 20/20

There’s no way the FO could have known that Capps would suck so bad the whole season and not be able to pull himself together. There was every reason to believe that Capps was more valuable than Burnett at the time of the trade.

As far as your problem with losing a solid lefty in Burnett, certainly you can see that Hanrahan is the more valuable between the two. This was seen by both GM’s at the time of the trade even. The Nats asked for Nyjer straight up for Milledge, and Huntington said he would do it if Burnett was swapped for Hanrahan.

That’s like saying, “I like that we got Albert Pujols, but my only problem with it is that we had to trade Andy LaRoche to get him.”

by MarkInDallas on Dec 19, 2009 6:01 PM EST reply actions

Burnett had an opponent batting average of .157 and whip around 1 after the trade. Comparing the gap between him and Hanrahan to Pujols and Andy is a tad ridiculous. If he ever cuts down his walks, he would be something. It’s a good thing Hanrahan and his 7.7 ERA rebounded.

by Mr. E on Dec 20, 2009 7:04 PM EST up reply actions

In hindsight

I would have rather traded Grabow anyways. Then I would have dealt Capps and Gorzo for something better than Kevin Hart.

by Mr. E on Dec 20, 2009 7:07 PM EST up reply actions

We also got Ascanio, although he got hurt shortly after.

by MarkInDallas on Dec 20, 2009 11:12 PM EST up reply actions

It’s called hyperbole.

by MarkInDallas on Dec 20, 2009 11:22 PM EST up reply actions

If Burnett ever cut down on his walks...

…he’d get murdered, because his stuff isn’t good enough for him to pitch in the zone. He needs to make guys chase.

by Vlad on Dec 21, 2009 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

I think Hart would be better served as a bullpen guy then a starter, and i really like the Ascanio kid they got in the deal too….if only he wasn’t out until mid-season next year.

by phil79 on Dec 20, 2009 7:42 PM EST reply actions

I just hope Ascanio comes back OK. This was labrum surgery.

by WTM on Dec 20, 2009 7:43 PM EST up reply actions

Labrum

very scary. How many have come back strong from that surgery?

by God Loves on Dec 20, 2009 8:27 PM EST up reply actions

Not sure of the exact numbers

but I know its ugly. Speaking from personal experience, after tearing a labrum last year around this time, even have physical therapy and a year of strengthening exercises, I still can barely through. Extremely difficult to recover from as a baseball player, especially a pitcher

The glare of the spotlight is harsh, and the pressure that success breeds immense. We revere our heroes, but expect much. And criticism can come as easily as praise.

by glass0941 on Dec 20, 2009 11:35 PM EST up reply actions

Uh,

throw, not through.

The glare of the spotlight is harsh, and the pressure that success breeds immense. We revere our heroes, but expect much. And criticism can come as easily as praise.

by glass0941 on Dec 21, 2009 12:10 AM EST up reply actions

There are some.

The Pirate with the most successful return from labrum surgery is probably Dave Williams, who had it in the minors and came back to become a solid back-of-the-rotation starter.

Not all labrum tears are created equal, of course – the type and extent greatly influence the pitcher’s recovery. To one extent or another, ALL pitchers have some tearing of the labrum, just because pitching is an unnatural and stressful motion to the body. The question is when it moves past the point where normal function can continue. A tear bad enough to require surgery is a very different animal than normal wear and tear. And of course, you can’t always accurately gague the extent of a shoulder problem until you open it up and have a look.

Five years ago, a significant labrum tear was a death sentence for a guy’s career 95% of the time. It’s not quite as bad now, but it’s still about the worst thing that can happen to a pitcher’s arm, short of an amputation.

by Vlad on Dec 21, 2009 10:45 AM EST up reply actions

This.

And of course, you can’t always accurately gague the extent of a shoulder problem until you open it up and have a look.

Exactly what happened to my when I had my rotator cuff done. They thought there might be a labrum tear in there, too. Even having an MRI, they couldn’t be sure until they got inside.

Free your ass and your mind will follow.

by cocktailsfor2 on Dec 21, 2009 10:57 AM EST up reply actions