Brewers Retake First Place, Bucs Still Buried

by Charlie Wilmoth on Sep 9, 2007 7:22 PM EDT in News

The Brewers have retaken first place, and they've got the Pirates to thank - the Bucs took two of three from the Cubs this weekend, and were swept by Milwaukee last weekend. The Bucs play three more against each of the top three teams in the N.L. Central, including a home series against the Brewers starting tomorrow, so they'll have plenty more chances to affect the race.

Whether or not that's interesting to you, as a Pirates fan, is really a matter of taste. Despite a recent run of relatively good play, the Bucs are still buried in fifth place, and even that is thanks in large part to a five-game losing streak by the Astros. But, now that we have the possibility of having a GM who can identify good opportunities and act on them, there are plenty of other reasons to watch the rest of the year:

-P- Jack Wilson's OPS is now .765, which, for a good defensive shortstop, is really very good. This may seem shocking, given that he didn't hit at all before August, but his season has been nearly as terrific as his 2004 All-Star year. That Dave Littlefield didn't end up trading him may turn out to be a blessing, since a competent GM might be able to land quite a lot for Wilson if he keeps hitting.

-P- Steve Pearce is hitting .286/.310/.429 so far, and with Jason Bay and Xavier Nady dinged up (UPDATE: And Ryan Doumit again, too - ugh), Pearce should get plenty of opportunities to show he deserves a starting job next year. If he does, a good GM will probably find a spot for him.

-P- Freddy Sanchez is probably too far out of the race for the batting title to win it - he's only at .314, and there are 11 players in front of him - but Sanchez hit .374 in August and is hitting .367 in September. It would be unwise to count him out completely.

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Comments

Tale off the yellow and black glasses

I am so sick of the positivity at this blog.

by azibuck on Sep 9, 2007 8:15 PM EDT reply actions

Ha!

It would be nice to be seriously accused of that, for once.

I really hope Nutting gets these decisions right. It will be a whole new era for Bucs Dugout if he does.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Sep 9, 2007 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Will the Pirates

trade Jack Wilson now?

by patthatt on Sep 10, 2007 1:43 AM EDT reply actions

That's a good question

No doubt Wilson's been playing great lately, but just who is the real Jack Wilson?

The smart trader always sells high. We have no way of knowing if Wilson has turned some magical corner and will consistently be this good for several more years.

Odds are, he won't... so I'd much rather deal him with his value as high as it will ever be than do nothing and find out the truth, whatever it may be.

Unlike most, I can live with Izturis at SS as long as he's batting 8th and nowhere else. Ideally Izturis is a nice guy to have on the bench -- good speed, makes good contact, and has a plus glove at several positions. But he shouldn't be starting for a good team. And since we're not a good team, I can live with him at SS and hitting 8th, particularly if we can get a good haul of young talent for Wilson.

I'm still holding out hope we can snag Jair Jurrgens and another good prospect (Eulogio De La Cruz?) from Detroit in the offseason. They're stacked with good young lively arms.

by OmarMoreno18 on Sep 10, 2007 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Sort of.

Izturis is a nice guy to have on the bench... for the minimum salary, or close to it. He's not a starting-caliber shortstop, not even for a bad team, and giving him $5M+ for what he brings to the table is a terrible idea. We'd do better to use a AAAA-type shortstop and devote the money to something better.

by Vlad on Sep 10, 2007 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions

In a perfect world...

That might be true. But no manager ever wants to go with inexperience at SS. They resist it at every turn unless the incoming SS is a stud prospect.

Whether the manager is Jim Tracy or someone else next year, if Izturis is on the roster (and Wilson is not), then he WILL be the starting SS. That's the assumption I was making.

Though I will contend that Izturis' glove IS good enough to start for many teams. There are more good hitting shortstops in the game today than there have ever been, but there certainly aren't enough to go around. And there are very few whose glove is on par with Izturis. It's easy to let his weak bat overshadow just how good a defender he is, and has been, throughout his career.

I'd say that a Gold Glove is worth more than the minimum. Is it worth 5 mil? That's a valid debate, but I think it's safe to say it's worth quite a bit more than minimum wage.

by OmarMoreno18 on Sep 10, 2007 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Trouble is . . .

--Izturis really isn't that good defensively any more, if he ever was. BP has him as about average. By zone rating and range factor he ranks behind Jack, which fits with my impression.

--He isn't just bad with the bat, he's awful. A team with no impact hitters can't afford black holes in its lineup. There's a reason the Pirates are still scoring runs with Nady and Doumit out and Bay either out or not doing much--the black holes are gone because Jack, Paulino and McLouth are all hitting.

--I don't think the Pirates can afford to spend money on a guy just because he won an award a few years ago. They need to spend money based on the production a guy brings the team. Relative to the Pirates' budget, the difference in value between Izturis and the standard AAA, good-field no-hit SS is nowhere near $5M.

by WTM on Sep 10, 2007 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions