especially when dealing Jack. I think of all of our trade chips, Jack will fetch the smallest return. If we get something for Jack that blows us away, we should take it. Otherwise, his defense is absolutely invaluable to our young pitching staff already in the ’burgh and on its way.

I do think that we try and push Freddy and trade him no matter what though (at least from a pure baseball driven decision) because his defense isn’t anything special. I think it doing so we can do many things apart from just getting prospects.

1. I have heard arguments upon arguments against this idea… but I see no harm in trying to see if Andy will stick at 2nd. Even if he is a below average 2B defensively, if his bat develops how we hope (.280-.300 15-25 HR’s etc.) then he suddenly becomes arguably a top 5 offensive 2B (in the mold of Utley and Kinsler, but with less speed). Then we can try and make Alvarez stick at 3B making his bat more valuable and then find a guy who can mash and play 1B.

Call me crazy but I don’t think it will be that hard to trade for a studish 1B prospect in the next few years.
Examples

Justin Smoak – Probably untouchable, but the Rangers aren’t desperate for 1B (Hank Blalock and Chris Wilson) and if they are in a pennant race next year and we have a few chips that they need… well crazier things have happened.

Next year they could be looking for pitchers

Eric Homser – A longshot, but maybe the Royals ride their pitching and other young bats to a terrific first half next year and look to make some deals at the deadline, including dealing Homser who is semi-blocked by Billy Butler. They also have Kila Ka’aihue as a top 1B prospect (who we could also target).

Next year at the deadline they could be looking for a SP, OF, and to a lesser extent a C.

Yonder Alonso – Personally, I think our best shot to acquire one of these guys. He is blocked with a capital B by Joey Votto (who is only 3 years older than him). In a weak central division they will almost assuredly be in a playoff race next year (barring injury) and could use an extra outfielder, pitching, a catcher, and maybe even a SS.

I would love to see us trade something like Garret Jones or B. Moss (whichever one has more value next season) Doumit, and Duke for a package of Alonso and Chris Valaika (+ throw ins) or Alonso and Drew Stubbs (+ throw ins)

Lars Anderson – Blocked by Big Papi and Youk for now. The Red Sox are always looking to add extra players at the deadline for another race at a World Series.

Now back to the other benefits of trading Freddy (aside from the player return)

We can also throw DY at 2B and see if he can play marginal defense so we can showcase him as tradebait (with his bat) for next year.

Certainly not the most articulate piece, but I get so tired of these guys not doing any analysis and just writing hyperbole I couldn’t fire it off fast enough:
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Gene you should start by getting some of your facts straight. From your article:

“Sanchez will, by all the telltale feel of existing tensions, be traded in the next 10 days or encouraged to leave town this winter.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09202/985269-150.stm#ixzz0LtUfGWPE

The Pirates have 70 games left. Freddy needs 239 plate appearances to have his option vest. That’s is 3.4 appearances/game. If he plays 60 of the 70 games he will most certainly have it vest. Thus far this season Freddy has played 81 of a possible 92 games while missing 5 or 6 with an injury before the all-star game. If the Pirates are trying to make sure his option doesn’t vest batting him second and playing him all but one game every two weeks doesn’t seem like a very good way to go about it.

Also, what does “encouraged to leave town this winter” even mean? If his option vests he is under contract. There is nothing the Pirates can do to “encourage him to leave town this winter.” If it doesn’t vest he is a free agent and is free to negotiate with any team he pleases. Jack is in the same boat. He is a free agent and able to negotiate with any team he pleases. The players pushed hard for free agency, now it is a bad thing? I don’t know what you are saying. And I hate to tell you, it is about July 2009. That’s exactly what it is about. You want them to make decisions today based on the Aramis Ramirez trade of six years ago? That’s good and forward-thinking management?

I also love how you use the terms “souless dismantling”, “stunning deportment” and “intensely, almost insanely analytical” (hmmm, didn’t know actually doing hard, detailed analysis could be insane) to stir up the fan base.

Don’t mention the seven shutout innings that Morton pitched a few days ago. Don’t mention that Lastings Milledge is killing it in Indianapolis and was just named player of the week yesterday. Don’t mention that Jason Bay has turned down the Red Sox offer of $12/year for multiple years. Don’t mention that Nady and Marte have provided absolutely nothing to the Yankees while the Pirates received Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Jose Tabata and Daniel McCutchen, two of whom are currently on the staff, one pitching in AAA and Tabata being a very highly regarded outfield prospect. Or that McLouth has been disappointingly unproductive with the Braves with a .257 batting average and .446 slugging percentage which is right in line with one of the Pirates “unproductive” corner infielders. How about the acquisition of Hernandez, Locke and Morris to try to replenish a barren farm system?

Listen I don’t have any problem with you criticizing the front office. But, it might be interesting if you actually tried to do some insane analytical work yourself instead of just showering the masses with hyperbole. And one last time, comparing the current management team to the past and lumping 17 years together as one is just lazy and inaccurate.
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I wrote again asking him who on the staff was “overachieving” with Snell and Gorzo in AAA, Capps, VV not pitching particularly well, Maholm and Ohlendorf pitching close to their preseason projections and Morton having pitched 28 innings with the Pirates after dominating AAA? (I conceded that Duke, and possibly Ohlendorf, had pitched better than expected.) He responded that, and I quote, “pirate pitching has been better than it has a right to be.”

Huh? I don’t even know what that means. How do these guys keep their gigs?

"The Wilson and Sanchez positions in all of this might not make perfect sense (even if they do to me), but management’s position is logically bankrupt. You could argue without straining a quad that if the Pirates even have two good players, they are Wilson and Sanchez. What they have around them are two unproductive corner infielders, two undistinguished corner outfielders, a still unproven center fielder, and injury-prone catcher, and an overachieving pitching staff without a stopper or a top-shelf bullpen hammer. And priority one is, somehow, get rid of the small authentically major league portion of your major league roster, the part that just happens to have no conceivable replacement inventory anywhere in the system.

If Wilson and Sanchez are traded before the end of next week, the outcry from the stunningly robust number of people who still care will make everything that came before it seem like a whimper.

The Pirates need to give Sanchez his $8 million for 2010 and $5 million for 2011, give Wilson $9 million for both, boost the major league payroll to at least $80 million, and, instead of watching the Milwaukee Brewers beat you 17 times in row from a similar-sized market, instead of watching the Brewers add CC Sabathia for a pennant race one year and scout Roy Halladay the next, try something along those things yourselves."

Holy.
Crap.