News Roundup: Pirates Sign Player From Lithuania

by Charlie on Jul 11, 2009 11:16 PM EDT Comment 37 comments

-P- The Pirates have signed two more international players: 18-year-old catcher Dylan Child, from Australia, and 16-year-old pitcher Dovydas Neverauskas, from Lithuania. I have never, ever before heard of a major league team signing a player out of Lithuania.

-P- I missed the game today--I was actually watching the Cubs and Cardinals at Wrigley--but I gather Matt Capps didn't pitch too well. I suppose it's nice to see all those homers. Anyway, Capps now has a 6.21 ERA on the year, and has allowed six homers in 29 innings.

-P- Tony Sanchez hit his first pro homer yesterday.

-P- The Post-Gazette reports that the Mariners and Twins are interested in Freddy Sanchez. I'd be surprised if the Twins ended up with him; they don't make a lot of trades, and they tend to be pretty protective of their prospects.

-P- From the FanPosts, I thought this NSFW video about the Morgan/Milledge trade was pretty funny.

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Trades just everything really.....

I understand managements sell high, so do you think we trade doumit, if he continues his production after the all star break, I mean we have two catchers that prove they can hit big league pitching, and JR is a terrible manager, sure he kept grabow in the game, but to have him bat in the 7th inning i think it was, cmon now that could have been a run who knows! Im not feeding into this we will not contend this year and if they keep Tony Sanchez and Rudy Owens in low ball for the whole season, theyre ready to move on bring them up the rays have a ton of young talent up these guys should have a shot, heck could it make us any worse of a team? Last note trade capps bring up D Cutch or wait we wont he’ll be down there for the whole season…..Huntington and Connely are no better than the rest of the goofs weve had before dont let them try to brainwash the fans and lie to us.

by baseballssp3 on Jul 11, 2009 11:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

that is completely incohert

i won’t finish reading what you’re writing if you don’t write it in some sort of coherent manner because apparently the ability to write in english is no longer taught in schools so instead we get rambling statements that come without paragraphs or punctuation except for the occasional elipses placed somewhere that it makes no sense… which makes whatever you’re trying to say come out as a garbled mess that contains no actual intelligent baseball thought and i mean sure writing in stream of consciousness is cool if you’re jack kerouac but sir you are no jack kerouac.

by johnnycuff on Jul 12, 2009 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Were you trying to be ironic

with that, because its rather hard to read as well.

by DialedtoGiles on Jul 12, 2009 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

by CptnAwesome on Jul 12, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t take it personally Dialed, just having some fun. Amazingly enough, some people on forums will call someone else out for spelling/grammar and write just as hideously.

by CptnAwesome on Jul 12, 2009 1:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

fair enough

i dont really mind, but i dont see what i did to deserve a facepalm.

by DialedtoGiles on Jul 12, 2009 1:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The joke kinda soared over your head

but it’s just a lite jab to the face, you’ll recover.

by ryebr3ad on Jul 12, 2009 2:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

haha

by scully0505 on Jul 12, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Did you ever hear of the term, “run on sentence”?

If not, look it up, and then edit your post.

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, word to the wise, Slap nuts.

by tom p on Jul 12, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He was making....

a joke. Which was pointed out twice above.

by dtoddwin on Jul 12, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

...or maybe he knew it was pointed out, and was just faking ignorance?

I’m onto you, tom p

by ryebr3ad on Jul 12, 2009 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No puncuation. A bunch of run-ons. I have no idea what you are trying to say. All I got out of all that chicken scratch is that NH and FC are the next coming of Littlefield/McClatchy, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

by mspirate on Jul 12, 2009 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wheres the outrage?

Lithuania? Seriously? That’s as crazy as signing people from… I don’t know… India. Fire the FO. Nutting is cheap! etc etc

by EndlessMike on Jul 12, 2009 9:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Outrage

FIrst off lets not be concerned about the grammar were talking baseball and in my defense I wrote it last night after that loss which had me very much outraged. I wanted to just blurt out anything on my mind about this team. What I would like to say is don’t worry ill keep it to one topic and not jibberish, is the management and JR. When will we contend if ever if we don’t have a solid everyday lineup that can depend on one another to pick up each other.

by baseballssp3 on Jul 12, 2009 10:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That's your conclusion.....

after the closer blows a 4 run lead in the bottom of the ninth? So many positives in last night’s game. Yet the take away from many is “the season’s over!” “we suck!”……pretty funny. We weren’t about to clinch the wild card. Even the conversation about JR, who I agree isn’t particularly good, is off-base in my opinion.

Batting Grabow in the 8th was perfectly fine. ASB coming up today, the guy pitched two scoreless innings and when he batted we had a four run lead. The Book says you don’t pull your closer and JR didn’t. We can disagree with The Book, but if he brings someone else in and we lose he gets KILLED a lot worse than he will for Capps blowing it.

One game. Should have won. Didn’t. Move along.

by dtoddwin on Jul 12, 2009 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey

We came by here to read the strident calls for JR’s and Capp’s head after last night, not calm mature analysis of a tough loss.

by WestCoastBuc on Jul 12, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Going by The Book

The Book should say, “Win the $*%&$)#@ game.” If it doesn’t, Russell needs to get a new one. and quit worrying about fan and media criticism. (His general manager doesn’t worry about it, why should he?)
I don’t think defending Russell’s managing in that situation is “calm mature analysis.” Capps allowed eight baserunners and got one guy out. Russell has several relievers having better years and pitching better at the moment. That was just sheer stupidity.

by Zadoras on Jul 12, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Okay, .....

what would you have done and who are the “several relievers having better years?”

by dtoddwin on Jul 12, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

the guys available were....

Meek, Hanrahan, Karstens and Veal.

by dtoddwin on Jul 12, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What would i have done?. I would have sucked it up, and bring Veal in to pitch to Howard, sink or swim .

The outcomes would have been, Veal either gets him out, walks him or gives up the same 3 run bomb that Capps did.

   The way Matt was pitching, you could just tell he didn’t have his best, or even good stuff.
      As long as Howard stays in the park, he is only the tying run, in the worst case scenario.
      Fact is,most lefty power hitters, especially free swingers like Howard, are at a greater disadvantage when facing lefty pitching.
   Yes, it could have been the same outcome, but you knew doom was just around the corner, the way Capps was serving that ball up last night.

by tom p on Jul 12, 2009 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Okay.....

that’s a fair statement I guess. Although I have no idea what sucking it up has to do with anything. I think it is results-based analysis. Capps didn’t work so here is what I would have done instead.

Veal going into last night had made a total of FIVE major league appearances. He had faced 35 batters total in that time. He had walked TEN of them. Only once had he come into a game with men on base and in that case he walked the first batter he faced. I think I can comfortably say not one manager in the game would prefer Veal, even though lefthanded, over Capps in that situation. Doesn’t make your analysis wrong, it just isn’t one that many would agree with until Howard hits the three run homer off of Capps.

by dtoddwin on Jul 12, 2009 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, jeebus

I thought it was clear after the bomb that Victorino flew out on that Capps had nothing and even more obvious after Utley rapped a sharp base hit, but I certainly wouldn’t have run Veal out there to face Howard. I wouldn’t have had an issue bringing in the righty Hanrahan out there against Howard (I would have probably brought him in for Utley), which I’m sure would have made Tony La Russa’s head spin.

I think you’re playing the “results-based analysis” card a little too strongly here. It was obvious that Capps had no idea where his breaking stuff was going, and he couldn’t even spot his straight-as-an-arrow fastball that well, either. All Philly had to do was sit on it, and sit on it they did.

by matskralc on Jul 12, 2009 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yea, he sucked.....

Chavez didn’t get Paul Bako out in the sixth and that cost us a run. Capps didn’t get him out at the end of the game. Guy is a lifetime .230 hitter in over 2,000 career at bats. I think those two at bats meant as much as any.

I’m not arguing that Capps was good last night. He clearly wasn’t. I’m also not arguing that JR shouldn’t have pulled Capps (although I don’t think there was a better option), I’m saying that no manager pulls his closer there. You, me, we may not like it, but it wasn’t going to happen. Whether he should have I’m happy to debate at length.

And for the record I think JR is a poor manager.

by dtoddwin on Jul 12, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Didn't mean to duck your comment ...

I went out for a few hours after I posted it. I would have brought in Meek. I think they’re all having better years than Capps except for Hanrahan.
But the real question should have been, who’s more capable of getting an out right now? The answer to me is, anybody but Capps.

by Zadoras on Jul 12, 2009 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Zach Duke: All-Star!

DK just posted that Duke has been selected for the All-Star team as an injury replacement! No details yet, but he definitely deserved it. I imagine Charlie Manuel liked what he saw when they played him on Friday night…

When is the last time the Pirates had 2 players on the team?

I'm droppin' flava, my behavior is hereditary--but my technique is very necessary.

by phillybucco on Jul 12, 2009 11:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

when we hosted it in 2006

jason bay and freddy sanchez i believe.

by johnnycuff on Jul 12, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ah yeah

that’s right… still, I’m happy for Duker

I'm droppin' flava, my behavior is hereditary--but my technique is very necessary.

by phillybucco on Jul 12, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

definitely

hats off to zach duke.

by johnnycuff on Jul 12, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

God, I’ve said this since the first time I saw Capps and everyone was all in love: the man’s fastballs look like they were shot from a gun. Fast, but straight as a laser beam. It was only a matter of time before actual legit major leaguers started jumping all over them, no matter how “pinpoint” his control may be.

I suspect that his complete loss of control this year has more to do with his realization that if he pitches in good locations, he’ll get bombed.

Pittsburgh Black And Gold -- So new, it still smells like paint!

by JustinM on Jul 12, 2009 11:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

even with last night’s debacle his bb/9 is around 4, which isn’t good, but is better than burnett, grabow and meek. burnett and meek aren’t exactly control specialists but grabow’s bb/9 is a full point above his career mark, which surprised me quite a lot.

still, isn’t “complete loss of control” a bit dramatic? the guy hadn’t blown a save in eight weeks and had shown much improved control in june and july, with 2 walks in 12 innings against 8 strikeouts – which is right in line with his career k/bb rate.

by johnnycuff on Jul 12, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Duke

He has been consistent all year I couldn’t have been happier to see this also. Kerrigan finally helped him regain his confidence at 8-8 and a 3.29 ERA he could easily have a few more wins if we gave him some run support but congrats to duke, atleast sanchez will have some company!

by baseballssp3 on Jul 12, 2009 12:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs