Pirates 9, Brewers 5, Bucs Homer Three Times, Hold Lead

That’s the only thing I saw. Hopefully it’s true, though.

Don’t really know why someone would make that up

The Jays, not Rangers. But yeah, that caused a flurry of activity on Twitter for a second there. Confused me, too.

Happens every time. I gave up trying to follow the draft on BA a couple years ago.

This is a good thing. There’s really no way to argue Harper should get more, and there’s no way he’ll sign for much less. So if the Pirates “win” the lottery, they’ll know exactly what they’re getting into.

The first round pick will have to be an off-budget item, like the Iraq war.

could be a possibility? brownie mentioned during last night’s game that long was talking about how cedeno does have some marginal HR pop in his bat but has to turn into a severe pull hitter in order to accomplish it (which is probably enticing for ronny given that the LF corner is about 5 feet away), and that they’re trying to drill into his skull to stay back and go with the pitch in order to be a good hitter and not just a guy who occasionally runs into one.

that concept isnt exactly new, so maybe this is less about teaching and more about breaking bad habits.

My impression is that Long has had more success than previous Bucs batting coaches with instilling some patience. Wasn’t DK publishing stats in May showing the Pirates taking an extra pitch (or nearly) per AB? He certainly should get some credit for NyjMo’s maturation as a hitter.

That said, he’s clearly not in the Kerrigan/Hill Miracle Worker category.

As for change in venue, considering how badly Ronny was tanking in Seattle, he may have been ready for a complete reboot. Hearing tha NH had wanted him for some time must have been a valuable confidence-builder as well.

Bottom line: if he can hit like Jack with a bit more pop (and ideally a bit more patience) and show the glove he has so far, he’s be a great mid-term solution. He appears to be entering his first arbitration year; I’d be happy to see him start for another 3 years (under the above conditions, obvs.). Ideally, he’d get a pretty small arbitration bump this year, in reflection of his abysmal start, then have a solid year next year, and sign a 3 year deal at a decent rate. He’d be nice insurance to have through 2013, and if it’s a good contract, he’d be a decent trade piece if we ever get a stud SS from our system.