Pirates Sign Third-Round Pick Evan Chambers
The Bucs have signed outfielder Evan Chambers, a third-round pick from Hillsborough Community College in Florida, and sent him to State College. Chambers, despite being a third-rounder, isn't one of the really high-upside picks in the draft, but of course it's nice to have him aboard.
Top picks hit mound for first time as Spikes stumble | Penn State News | Sports - Centre Daily Times
Second-round pick Victor Black, 11th-rounder Aaron Baker, and 21st-rounder Phillip Irwin all played well in their pro debuts for the State College Spikes yesterday. Black pitched one inning and struck out two batters, throwing all fastballs that came in as hard as 95 MPH. The Pirates will try having him pitch longer stretches as the season goes on. Of course, college draftees like these three should perform well all the way down at State College, but it's still nice to see them actually do it. It appears the residents of Central Pennsylvania will be spared another 18-56 debacle this year.
Pittsburgh Pirates players question timing of trades - ESPN
Really? Jack Wilson didn't like the Pirates' trades? Shocking. I don't think ESPN even had anything about the Morgan/Milledge deal in their sidebar yesterday hours after the trade happened, but apparently, uninvolved players' reactions to the trade were front page news. Jack Wilson's complete lack of perspective is pretty funny, though. Bad teams trade older players for younger ones to build for the future. It's really not that hard to understand. If he's seen this kind of thing for years and not like it, maybe he could've, you know, not signed an extension. UPDATE: Just saw that Jett has a fanpost about this.) UPDATE: Wilson apologizes for his remarks.
Buster Olney: The MLB trade market goes bear - ESPN
Olney, meanwhile, calls the Eric Hinske trade a salary dump. It's weird--I don't know how trading a little-used veteran player for a reasonable, if unspectacular, prospect return and giving the Yankees cash makes the Pirates thrifty, but then I don't have a roomful of colorful phones.