The Newest New Day...

How ironic that on the afternoon that our Battlins' off load the man that was supposed to restore power to the lineup, the team clocks 5 dingers without him, while beating the Brew Crew in dramatic fashion?

Wrap up your Adam Laroche bobbleheads and make room for your Garrett Jones bobbleheads, as LaRoche and his perpetual .250 BA are shipped off to Beantown in exchange for a young pitcher and shortstop. The impact here is more on the never ending Jack Wilson/Fred Sanchez saga, as the team finally obtains a young middle infielder capable of playing in the bigs.

QUICK HITTERS:

• PittsburghFan policy prevents us from speculating on the recent Big Ben sex scandal, however sources close to us say that the plaintiff is "hot and crazy".
• With LaRoche's overdue departure, Jones is now the team leader in homers, with 9 in just 68 at bats.
• 9 extra base hits today...not bad.

Report Card Time

Welcome back! Sorry about my hiatus, I took a little time off to visit Sin City, re-charging the batteries and dropping some coin on strippers in the process. I'd like to get back into full stride by giving my fair, and unbiased, evaluation of the Pirates' first half performance of the 2009 season.

Given your already growing frustrations of the Battlins', I do find it somewhat fitting for our unlovable team to end the first half getting trounced by the Phils and then having the pleasure of watching both of our All Star selections sit on the bench last night, forgotten and unused.

With a not so stellar record of 38-50, and 9.5 games out of first place, it would be easy to just write off the first half as an F. I'm certain that is what most of you will score our last place club. Being an optimist, I'm quietly watching the new management team, and although I may be sipping the Cool Aid, I do find some logic in the moves and non-moves that the front office is making. The one chilling reality that we all must embrace is that this management team cares very little about the breaking of the string of consecutive losing seasons in 2009. Should Freddy Sanchez and/or Jack Wilson be traded in the upcoming weeks, it will only strengthen this position. Whether we agree or disagree with the current philosophy of rebuilding the organization's young talent, we should believe that any short term solutions could potentially spin this club into a string of bad seasons well into the next decade. This organization, as a whole, was completely broken when the new guys came to town, and as my personal trainer often says, "you didn't get fat overnight, and you won't get skinny overnight."

Despite all the bad press and ill feelings we read and harbor, we should note that in the last several months, the Bucs have acquired some young guys who can play. The difference these days is that the returns have been guys with talent and upside, not just more medium grade ballplayers who hit .270 with mediocre power. The additions of Charlie Morton and Garrett Jones, along with the long awaited promotion of the highly skilled Andrew McCutchen have already infused the team with some guys with the tools to help win games. Should salvage project Lastings Milledge realize anything near his potential, the loss of light hitting Nyjer Morgan will be quickly forgiven and forgotten. Of course, these steps forward are met with typical Pirate underachievement, and thus we have a team 12 games under .500. With all this said, here is my breakdown for the first half.

THE GOOD:

• Sir Frederick. Is anyone looking for a scrawny middle infielder with awkward mechanics and an over aggressive swing? Despite Sanchez' obvious physical limitations, he consistently keeps the BA on the north side of .300 while turning in gold glove caliber second base work. Granted, Sanchez will never be a Chase Utley type guy, capable of carrying a lineup, but Freddy has flat out been the best Pirate since he earned the starting nod in 2006. It will be a shame if he's traded before the true rebound finally occurs, but if his trade brings more quality young guys, then I can understand.

• The New Look Outfield. How does an outfield of McCutchen, Jones, and Milledge look? Well, that's what you may be seeing within a month. Jones could be the truly remarkable story here, as a two time castoff who spend parts of 11 seasons in the minors, now getting the chance to play. With some amazing left handed power, could he finally be that guy that sinks balls into the Allegheny on a regular basis?? Brandon Moss is the one disappointment to note, as I had him earmarked as a rising star in April. Although he possesses the tools, he had better start translating potential into production, or he will lose his job soon, most likely to Milledge.

• The Rotation. Probably the most improved part of the team. The starters have reduced their combined ERA by over a run a game since last year, and should surpass the 2008 quality start total by mid August. Zach Duke has been the success story, and his All Star selection was truly based on merit. The downer note is the rapid decline of opening day starter, Paul Maholm, who's ERA is well over 5.00 since June 1. Should Maholm and the coaching staff correct his issues soon, the second half will look very good for the starters.

THE BAD:

• Ian Snell. Possibly the most tragic case of lost or misjudged potential on the North Shore in years...and there have been many. Snell's dramatic dropoff, coupled with a similar stock loss with Tom Gorzellany, over the last year and a half has really stymied the Bucs potential of building and maintaining a solid rotation. Hopefully Snell will be able to regain that form, but I feel that when he does, it will be when he's pitching to the Pirates and not for them.

• Matt Capps. There was a time, not so long ago, that I considered Capps to be the best Pirate pitcher. The one time reliable, and at times, dominant, closer has fallen onto some funky times these days. The complete meltdown against the Phils on Saturday was enough for even me to call for his head.

• Karma. Is it just me, or does it seem that no matter what strides the Bucs make, somehow, someway, Lady Luck manages to thrust her pretty little fingers into their faces and just fuck stuff up? Perhaps it's the sports gods leveling things off for the continual success of virtually every other athletic program in town. This year's bad mojo belongs to opening day cleanup hitter, Ryan Doumit. Losing Doumit, the team's best all around hitter, for 70 games severely crippled an already underpowered lineup. I'll peg the cost at 5 wins minimum...and 5 more wins would have the Battlins' at just under .500. The recent struggles of Maholm also have many folks thinking ailment, which, once again, gets chalked up to nothing more than sadly timed misfortune.

OVERALL: Before we score this first half, we need to remember that 2009 is like the baseball version of The Empire Strikes Back, meaning, it's a transitional year. I truly feel that this was the year off pulling off bandaids and attempting to find cures for the cancer, and not just another year of jettisoning vets for prospects. The potential is here that within a year we could see a lineup boasting McCutchen, Sanchez, Jones, Doumit, Pedro Alvarez, Milledge, and whatever combination of LaRoches you wish to sprinkle in. You are hearing it here first, the Bucs will win 85 games in 2010 and compete for the division in 2011. Should these tremendous events not occur, then I will also agree that this first half should get an F. Until then, I will grade it out as "incomplete". Now, please excuse me, I need to refill my Cool Aid.

Bucs to Ink Veteran Hurler

With just three weeks until the MLB All Star Game, our beloved Battlin' Buccos could pull off an intriguing free agent signing, as they are rumored to be in ongoing negotiations with the agent of veteran closer, Kenny Powers. Powers, recently released from Seattle, at one time possessed a fastball clocked at 101 MPH, although scouts say he's only capping out in the high 80's these days. The one time phenom has been a fading star over the last several years, just the type of bargain the thrifty Bucs are always on the lookout for.

With all things considered, Powers' physical stature is still quite intriguing. The fires of competition appear to still be burning inside the guy, and he diligently maintains an at-home conditioning program while he awaits that big phone call. Check out the training video that Post-Gazette tracked down this morning. Imagine this stud in Black and Gold.

A Look at the Rook

In the midst of cranking out one of my rare evening posts, I thought I'd get everyone up to speed on how rookie phenom Drew McCutchen is looking through his first three weeks in the Bigs. I must say, so not bad. Check out his baseballreference.com link and you will see some interesting numbers. Despite a very meager strikeout/walk ratio and some relatively low power numbers, the rest of the picture is pretty darn good. 5 triples in 19 starts?! Really? That translates to, oh, about, 40 three baggers over a full season! Amazingly, Mac already leads the NL in that category, thus either saying something about his fleet feet or the disappearance of triples in modern baseball.

More interesting are his production numbers. With 15 RBI's in 19 starts, he once again is projecting out to around 120 ribbies over a full season. In the National League, 70 RBI's in a season is more than acceptable for a leadoff guy, and anything over 85 or so is pretty good. Again, I realize that we have only seen Drew Mac for three weeks, but the fact that he's knocking in runs at this regularity is refreshing.




lets hope Mac hits better than he shaves

What's even more refreshing is this faint scent of hope lingering above the PNC Park bleacher section these days. Dare I dream, but at this point next season, the Buccos order could start like this: McCutchen, Sanchez, Doumit, and Alvarez. Beyond that depends on the long term situation of the Bros LaRoche and whether the Bucs' front office is going to pull the plug on projects Steve Pearce and Neil Walker. Who knows, at least it will be a younger and harder hitting team to not go see.

Oh, Those LaRoche Boys

Remember the good ole' days when you only had to worry about one LaRoche in the lineup? Doubling that equation is almost too much to handle. All Things LaRoche is the story probably best suited for reality TV, or even a prime time soap. If it isn't the cold streaks followed by torrid nights, it's the gold glove efforts followed up by evenings of zany fielding gaffes.

At this point in my blogging career, I really have no way to summarize the existence of the LaRoche Brothers. Certainly they are not the Waners, the Dimaggios, or even the Giambis. If Adam was a thoroughbred, he'd be what the race folks refer to as a 'front runner'. In other words, the horse that performs mightily when he's out front and is under no pressure. If Andy were a race horse, well, he'd probably have been put down by now, but hey, the world always needs more glue.

Last night's installment of the LaRoche Chronicles was really no oddity, regardless of how bizarre the box score reads. A slugfest by big brother followed by fielding woes by baby brother. Please pass the Tumms. One can only wonder if 2010 will bring us a third LaRoche.

QUICK HITTERS:

• How about that Zach Duke? The left arm of God has once again logged another quality start. Can you believe that Duke has 25% of the Bucs total wins and is on pace for an 18 win season?


• Andrew McCutchen should already be working on his acceptance speech for the NL Rookie of the Month for June. Next stop, ROY???

Mistake By The River

The greatly ballyhooed and well over hyped turnpike series between the Cleveland Indians and our lovable losers, aka, the Bucs, commenced last evening with a whimper, then a bang, and then another whimper. Sadly, the bang and the second whimper both belonged to MLB's poorest excuse for a cleanup hitter, Mr. Adam LaRoche. Much ado about nothing.

That LaRoche leaves the bases jammed during a rally in the bottom of the ninth is as equally typical as it is inexcusable. We can all banter back and forth regarding organizational philosophies, and what the definitions of words like "now" and "near future" are, but the bottom line here is that situations like last night are games that can be won, and just aren't. Last night's loss has nothing to do with the trade of Nate McLouth, the trade rumors of Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, or whether the Bucs are serious about latin American superstud, Miguel Sano. It's all about execution. Something that is expected from stars and role players. Ask the guy across town who, like LaRoche, also wears #25 and some facial hair. The similarities end there. You'll probably find him sipping something frothy out of a rather large silver trophy right now. He'll tell you all about execution.

A guy like LaRoche can put up 25 homers and 85 RBI's year after year, but until he starts getting that base hit when the game is on the line, he's just another mope trying to fill up a stat sheet...holding down the cleanup spot on a 70 win team in the process.

Quick Hitters:

• Remember a young, flashy, top of the rotation guy named Ian Snell? Naw, me either. Sadly, the mercurial Snell is probably another bad start or two away from complete obscurity.
• How about Pedro Alvarez getting bumped up to AA Altoona after less than a half season of pro ball? Alvarez will most likely be a September call up when the rosters expand to 40, and he very well may be in a Bucco uni on opening day 2010. Oh crap, and I just bought my Andy LaRoche jersey...

Maxed Out

It's a red letter day for all you Max Starks fans...all 10 of you. The Steelers just announced that Starks will be signed to a long term deal, holding (no pun on the use of that word) him in town through the 2012 season. With Starks being an adequate, at best, offensive tackle, the real victory for the North Shore boys is the cap room the deal will free up for 2009. Since the team was already on the hook for Starks' franchise player tag and the nearly $8 mill in salary that comes along with it, the savings towards this year, under the new deal, may be as much as $4 million. Hopefully, that extra cash may be used in re-upping tight end, Heath Miller.

now that God has sent him the contract, maybe he could send him some skills