and Rick Ankiel in Bucco uniforms next year.

Both players would really improve our lineup-both offensively and defensively-over the current cast of characters like Delwyn Young and Lastings Milledge.

I’m not against Young, Milledge, and Brandon Moss getting their share of OF time, but Ankiel would be a nice addition, if he can stay healthy. Ankiel would also be able to get a dozen or so starts for Cutch in center over the long season.

And it goes without saying that we need a real 2B player for 2010.

Would there be anything precluding Milledge from moving to RF, and making Moss a regular 4th OF, other than it possibly meaning Tabata spends all of 2010 in AAA (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, IMHO)?

It would be an interesting gamble, but I’m having a tough time trying to figure out what his market value might be. Between what figures to be a depressed FA market due to economic concerns, and his dropoff in production this year, could he be had on the cheap, or will enough teams look at his 07-08 numbers that he’d still be pricey?

I also wonder about the length of any deal he might pursue. It’s possible he’ll want a short-term deal with the hopes of returning to form next year and increasing his value. If that’s the case, is it worth it for a club that won’t be in a position to contend for the next year or two to sign him?

…Freddy would be a nice sign, but does anyone know what his feelings were when he departed Pittsburgh? Seemed like there was a bit of anymosity to me. If not, I doubt more than a handful of teams are going to be banging his door down. He’s certainly a safer option of Delwyn, but that will block any possiblity of Andy moving to second.

Ankiel could be a great signing for LF. I would sign him to a 2 year deal. He’s making about 2.8 million I think I read in Dejan’s article today. Would it really be that big of a gamble to offer this guy 2 year contract worth 10 million, maybe add a club option for a third year on top of it. This is the type of signing that will prove to either be a complete waste of money or help completely turn an organization like the Pirates around. In my opinion, signing guys coming off “off years” or injuries are the only type of impact we will be able to make in free agency with the market we play in.

As far as Milledge, his defense has improved over his notorious reputation. With that said, he’s not the defender Ankiel is and would probably best be served in RF. Let Jones – Pearce – Clement battle it out in Spring Training for the 1B job and go with the best guy. Moss becomes the permanent 4th outfielder, which isn’t nearly what we hoped or expected when he came over for Bay, but can be useful going forward.

I think the article was a really positive sign for the team going into the future. Although misspending and signing the wrong guys is never the right path, it’s encouraging to see the Pirates not completely ignoring the FA market.

That would be a nice flier to take. It fits Huntington’s buy-low strategy. Again, I don’t know if he could be signed for that.

I don’t have the stats in front of me, but the last time I looked, IIRC, Pearce actually has a pretty respectable OPS against lefties, but is pathetic against righties. Jones, despite a few dramatic HRs against lefties, is the reverse: awesome against righties, below average against lefties. Both play a decent first base; both are adventures in right field.
   
Unless I’m missing something, it seems like it would the most natural thing in the world for them to platoon next year at first base, the only hold up being that they have to replace Jones in the outfield (sadly, I don’t think Moss is the answer). If they think Tabata is really ready, fine, but if not, and they could get him a not too exorbitant price, Ankiel filling in for a year in the OF w/ Cutch and Milledge seems like a viable idea.

BTW, I paid attention to him when he was a prospect because I’m a Mets fan by birth, and I never really got the hate. Part of it is that I’m inclined to give strangers the benefit of the doubt, part of it is that some of the stuff (“Know your place, Rook”) struck me as asshole veterans, and part of it was a really charming article about his dad, the retired cop (IIRC) who bought an RV so he could follow Lastings around the MiL circuit. That left me with a reserve of warmth towards the guy.

It seems pretty clear, from comments in today’s game piece among other things, that he got a swelled head at some point and didn’t think he had to work hard, but even so, I never really believed he was an asshole – just a guy who was maybe overrated as a prospect and probably read his own clippings. If he can continue this rebirth – and playing alongside Mr. Young Professional can’t but help – I’ll be happy to have him for 3+ more years.

I think that Diaz is on the no more options list. So what do the Pirates do with him? He strikes me as a guy who’s valuable to the organization, and who could never clear waivers, but who would never net you anything in trade. Doumit’s injury history suggests that JJ alone is inadequate as a backup, which adds another level.

Any thoughts?

As long as I’m using this thread to blather on:

It’s a shame that the PBC Blog went to shit. When it first went live, it was interesting enough, and coalesced quickly as a community. It was never as stat-centric as this place is, but it started out OK, with reasonably logical arguments. A big part of it going to hell was bad ol’ NH, but I also think that the signal-noise ration went lower and lower (as it usually does for well-trafficked blogs).

Anyway, no real point here. I was just over there checking on the pregame updates, and scanning the first couple comments (I follow the blog almost exclusively through RSS, so I never see comments at all) reminded me that it was a decent place for a couple months there.

Bringing back Sanchez, Wilson, signing Ankiel, seems very much to be a retread of this year. We all know where that leads.

Let’s stick to the plan, save the 10 plus million to watch a re-run. Let’s give Edge at least till next July. Same with Jones in right. Look at a Pearce/Clem platoon for a couple month’s. See if Young can hit again, if not…move LaRoche over, Maybe Pedro will be ready to move up at that point. Put the 10 mill in an account to make up for a lost year of control over Alverez.

just so that the Pirates could hope he has a hot first half and trade him for young talent. In most cases…that is not going to be a wise return on investment.