Lastings Milledge, Andy LaRoche Make New Teams

by Charlie Wilmoth on Mar 31, 2011 1:44 AM EDT

PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 03: Andy LaRoche #21 of the Oakland Athletics hits a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning of the spring training game at Maryvale Baseball Park on March 3, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A couple notes on former Pirates:

Lastings Milledge has made the White Sox, along with former Pirates prospect Brent Lillibridge. (Which makes me think there has to be the potential for a stupid poem, or a tongue-twister, in there somewhere. "Milledge throws to Lillibridge, but it's off by a smidge ..." Ok, I'll stop now.) Milledge hit .305/.425/.525 this spring. He'll be a backup.

Also, Andy LaRoche has won a job as utility infielder for the A's, which means he'll be playing some shortstop for them. Like Milledge, LaRoche destroyed the ball this spring, hitting. 333/.388/.583.

Of the two, it's much more surprising that LaRoche is still in the majors. Milledge did at least play like a major-leaguer last season - he was disappointing and often hard to watch on the field and on the basepaths, but he hit well enough. LaRoche just seemed destined for Class AAA oblivion. Good for him for avoiding that fate, at least for now.

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I hate to root against them....

but I selfishly hope they don’t accomplish much. After all the squawking and hand-wringing and moaning over Bautista, I don’t think I could take any more.

With that said, I thought it might have been a little soon to give up on Milledge, and I even suppose I’d rather have seen LaRoche in camp than a guy like Garrett Atkins. But still.

Redeemed.

by escroll on Mar 31, 2011 2:06 AM EDT reply actions

for me, it was the other way

I’d rather have seen Laroche get a shot, but it was pretty hard to argue with cutting him given the kinds of reports we heard.

by BurgherKing on Mar 31, 2011 2:51 AM EDT up reply actions

I guess LaRoche was at least a solid player 1/3 years, while milledge was a fringe player all of the last 3 seasons.

by Adam Reynolds on Mar 31, 2011 1:07 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Best of luck to Andy. He’s kinda like Bowker/Pearce but he wore out his welcome. Ah well.

by Mr. E on Mar 31, 2011 3:05 AM EDT reply actions

LaRoche & Milledge

I kinda cringe when I think about that Bay trade now.
Bryan Morris is the only hope, but he sure is crawling at a snails pace.
It’s gonna look mighty bad if LaRoche & Milledge have anything close to a solid season.

by HonzaBednarik on Mar 31, 2011 4:39 AM EDT reply actions

To be fair...

Milledge wasn’t a part of the Bay trade, he came over in the Nyjer Morgan trade, which I think just about everyone was ok with. And definitely should be ok with at this point. The Bay trade is definitely a flop, at this point, but it’s tough to know what other options were really given to us that we could have gone with instead. I know everyone was pushing hard to get Reid Brignac from Tampa, and he’s not looking like he’ll amount to much either at this point. Hindsight is always 20/20.

by Tuckshop25 on Mar 31, 2011 8:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Correction

Greetings Tuck,
Maybe I put it the wrong way, but I’m a close enough follower to know that Milledge wasn’t part of that Bay trade.
Tough to know the options?
C’mon man.
Then don’t make the trade till your options make sense.
Hindsight is 20/20 but there’s a time when you have to do better.
Perhaps we should come down a little on these people.
I’m not convinced they’re doing a very good job.

by HonzaBednarik on Mar 31, 2011 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions

In a way though,

the Bay trade opened up a spot for Nyjer, who established some market value and we cashed in those tickets for Milledge and the hammer.

by Mr. E on Mar 31, 2011 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Clarification

I meant that there’s no way for the general public to know what the Pirates’ trade options with Bay were. Obviously the Pirates themselves knew. At the time of the trade we were acquiring a highly-regarded 3B prospect, a high-ceiling SP prospect, a potentially useful reliever, and a guy with a shot at turning into a reasonable RF. Not an amazing haul, but this was Jason Bay who was half a season away from playing like a one-legged geriatric, not Albert Pujols we were trading. It wasn’t overwhelming at the time and obviously looks bad now, but if that’s what they felt was the best offer I understand that.

by Tuckshop25 on Mar 31, 2011 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions

I never liked the trade, but it’s history now and we just have to move on.
It’s funny how it happened at the last minute of the trading deadline.
The results of it seem to coincide with that part of it.

by HonzaBednarik on Apr 1, 2011 3:25 AM EDT up reply actions

... "is the only hope"???

do we live and die with the results of the Bay trade? cmon, guys.

by white angus on Mar 31, 2011 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

If either of them has any serious success whatsoever, it will be a kick in the crotch.

by Suffering Buc on Mar 31, 2011 7:09 AM EDT reply actions

If either has moderate success..

I don’t think we’ll hear a peep, mostly because Yinzer-nation and its President Smizik don’t pay all that much attention.

However, if Andy or Lastings go all Jose Bautista on us, we’ll never hear the end of it. If that does become the case though, you might find me on their bandwagon, at least for a day or two.

I think I’m in the minority here, but I’ve been much less interested in this 2011 team’s camp than I had been in last year’s. It will be a tough pill to swallow for a team that’s clearly void of serious talent at more than one position.

by jlk9697 on Mar 31, 2011 8:34 AM EDT reply actions

BTW how is Joey Bats Doing?

This year for Toronto in ST?

by lfhlaw on Mar 31, 2011 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Very well.

12 XBH in only 60 AB.

by Vlad on Mar 31, 2011 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions

I dunno

Ty Wiggington had a good 2 weeks last year and I seem to remember reading an awful lot about him. There was also the guy I can’t remember, I think he played for Detroit and hit like 3 HRs opening week and we had to hear about how stupid we were to lose him in the rule 5 years ago and then he fell off a cliff.

by Mr. E on Mar 31, 2011 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Chris Shelton

by bucdaddy on Apr 1, 2011 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions

He didn't actually fall off a cliff.

He put up a .870 OPS in 431 PA his first year, and a .836 in 412 PA his second year (with above-average defense in both), lost his job due to a slump, and never got an extended shot at ML PT again, even though he generally hit very well in the minors.

It’s kind of a sad story, actually.

by Vlad on Apr 1, 2011 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions

didnt he almost make the allstar game with Detroit or something?

by white angus on Apr 1, 2011 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions

mainly because Detroit was awful back then, natch

by white angus on Apr 1, 2011 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Ok, I'll take the challenge.

Milledge throws the ball to Lillibridge
Its off by more then a little smidge
The runners advance
Ozzie soils his pants
And is thrown out for creative verbage

by Wizard of Woz on Mar 31, 2011 8:55 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

your a poet who didnt know it

by white angus on Mar 31, 2011 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions

More? OK

There once was a brother named Andy
And the scouting on him was dandy
Though a really nice bloke
In the big leagues he choked
And was know for that modus-oprandi

by Wizard of Woz on Mar 31, 2011 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

No, no,

although I recc’d for the effort…

There once was a rapper named Milledge
Who had not a lily-white image
A wild batting practice pitch by Brent
led this young player to vent,
“What are you trying to hit? A bridge?!”

Oh well, there’s always the man from Nantucket

"Who is John Galt?"

by Trogluddite on Mar 31, 2011 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Ouch! Now Rochester, cut that out!

Bad rap, bad rhymes. Yuns are gonna make me puke my scrapple!

by dougalmac on Apr 1, 2011 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Good for them, wish them the best of luck

by BigB2323 on Mar 31, 2011 11:00 AM EDT reply actions

I'm calling it:

They’ll both hit 54 homers.

by bucdaddy on Mar 31, 2011 11:22 AM EDT reply actions

bucdaddy boldness

54 each, right? Not combined…

Free your ass and your mind will follow.

by cocktailsfor2 on Mar 31, 2011 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

bucdaughter needs to hide her daddy's "medecine"

by white angus on Mar 31, 2011 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions

um ..

Each, yes.

by bucdaddy on Apr 1, 2011 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Attababy!

…big brass ones, you got there.

Burning with optimism’s flame!

Free your ass and your mind will follow.

by cocktailsfor2 on Apr 1, 2011 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

in other former Pirates news, neither Delwyn Young nor Eric Kratz made the Phillies' roster

both got reassigned to the minor leagues… not sure if they’ll accept or not.

by gonfalon on Mar 31, 2011 11:36 AM EDT reply actions

Romulo! didn't make the Yankees, either.

Word is that they might sell his contract to a Japanese club. That’d be interesting to watch…

by Vlad on Mar 31, 2011 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

It was my understanding that was a done deal.

by Thunder on Mar 31, 2011 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions

I always knew we gave up on LaGIDP to quickly

SALE THE TEAM

Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Jack Butler, Greg Llyod, Andy Russel, Cris Carter, Kevin Greene, Curtis Martin, Willie Roaf, Andre Reed and Jerry Kramer
"Any statement beginning with the words 'In truth' is almost always a lie." Mordred Deschain
Canal Street Chronicles resident Steelers Fan

by WVPiratesfan on Mar 31, 2011 4:17 PM EDT reply actions

by ElDuce on Mar 31, 2011 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Factor in that he was in Arizona this spring instead of Florida (the ball tends to fly better at 1000 feet than it does at sea level)…and his numbers aren’t far off his 2009 numbers.

by Thunder on Mar 31, 2011 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions