We Fearsee

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls fear foresee fearsee what may be the outcome of the Pirates-Yankees trade a few years out.

In New York, Damaso Marte and Mariano Rivera combine to give the Yankees a dynamic one-two punch at the back end of the bullpen. After the season, the Yanks exercise Marte's option for 2009 and subsequently negotiate a long-term extension whereby he steps into the closer's role eventually opened by the legendary Rivera's retirement.

Xavier Nady becomes the next Paul O'Neill. Like Marte, he signs an extension with New York and steps into the right-field slot opened when the Yanks let Bobby Abreu depart via free agency after the current season. (Abreu's salary this year is $13 million; Nady is a relative bargain at $3.35 million and will be arbitration-eligible in 2009.) While with the Yankees, Nady grows into a leadership role as a reasonably productive player (25-30 HRs a year; .300, .460, .580), embraced and beloved by Yankees fans as a stabilizing force in the clubhouse. The next Paul O'Neill.

On the Pirates' side, the three pitchers scuffle along with plus-five ERAs, plus-two WHIPs (walks + hits per innings pitched). They shuttle back and forth between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, alternating turns on the disabled list.

• One of them, perhaps Daniel McCutchen, finds middling success as a back-of-the-rotation starter, but gives up too many home runs and clutch hits to be deemed dependable.
• Ross Ohlendorf displays occasionally good stuff, but like some other Pirates pitchers (Van Benschoten), shows an all-too-frequent tendency to flatten his strikes without sufficient movement and get bombed. The Pirates move him back and forth between the rotation and bullpen, without much success either way.
  
• Jeff Karstens struggles early in his Pirates career and gets put on the Indianapolis-Pittsburgh shuttle for a couple years before the Pirates give up on him.

• In one of the first interviews Jose Tabata gives as a member of the Pirates organization, he blames the Yankees for how they mishandled him. He blames his 2008 lack of production on injuries and too much pressure applied by the Yankees' coaches and front office. In March 2009, at Bradenton, Tabata continues to have hamstring problems and enters the season on the DL. He eventually returns and struggles with AAA pitching. Despite putting up disappointing numbers, he is a September call-up but doesn't do much.
• Scouts and observers call Tabata "enigmatic" and question his toughness and mental make-up.
• In 2010, more of the same. Eventually, in 2011, he finds some moderate success and is called up to the parent club but struggles mightily. The Pirates keep him on the roster as a backup outfielder. In 2012, more of the same. Having never made an impact as a major league outfielder, but having found some moderate success as a backup at all three outfield positions, the Pirates include him as apart of a package deal at the trade deadline in 2012, with the acquiring team hoping he can become the next Jody Gerut.

In 2013, the Pirates begin another rebuilding plan with hopes of averting a landmark 20^th consecutive losing season.

* * * * * *

ADDENDUM Wednesday, July 30 Update (from the Post-Gazette)

INDIANAPOLIS (51-60) lost at Toledo, 5-3. RHP Ross Ohlendorf (1-2, 4.45) allowed four runs and seven hits -- two home runs -- in six innings. He struck out five, walked two and threw 56 of 85 pitches for strikes.

What does it mean?

As noted today in Dejan Kovacevic's Notebook in the Post-Gazette …

Kyle Stark, director of player development, said (left-hand pitcher and 2007 first-round draft pick, selected by Dave Littlefield over Matt Wieters -- JPPBs editorial note, ahem) Danny Moskos will start again someday but that management wants to lessen the workload in his first full professional season.

"This is not a future role change," Stark said. "We want him to work on being athletic, being aggressive and attacking the zone with this best stuff."

What does that mean? JPPBs never heard a front office type, scout, coach or manager say of a pitcher, "We want him to work on being athletic."

To the contrary, many, many pitchers today and throughout baseball history have been downright unathletic, even fat (David Wells, Mickey Lolich) , yet were able to pitch effectively.

When Kyle Stark says, "We want him to work on being athletic," does that mean they want him to begin training for Olympics gymnastics? Cirque de Soleil? Steelers training camp? Spring training?

Are they saying Moskos is out of shape?

What does it mean?

Fleeced!

Perception is reality. For Pirates’ fans, unfortunately, reality is reality. And that presents a double-whammy. First, the perception part: And then the reality.

The howls of derision upon the initial confusing announcement that the Pirates had traded Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady for four Yankees’ prospects sealed the perception that rookie Bucs general manager Neil Huntington had gotten fleeced by savvy veteran general manager Brian Cashman.

The announcement was confusing in part because two of the Yankees prospects announced initially were not the actual players who ended up being dealt to Pittsburgh. That’s one part of it, and just the start, but not necessarily the most important part.

Joey Porter’s Pit Bulls just happened to be watching the Bucs-Padres game Friday night as all this unfolded. As soon as play-by-play announcer Lanny Frattarre uttered the words, “The Pirates have a deal with the Yankees,” JPPBs muttered "Oh, no.”

For one thing, all that is New York baseball (Yankees, Mets, media, fans) have a history and tendency to over-value their players and prospects. Another factor is that Nady and Marte were dealt as a package, which rang alarm bells because there was almost no way we were going to get comparable value in return. Then, when the (first, inaccurate) names of the prospects were announced, JPPBs' reaction was “Oh, NO!”

The problem was they didn’t get the BEST prospects, whether those prospects were to come from the Yankees (Philip Hughes), Mets (Fernando Martinez), Rays (Wade Davis), Brewers (AA outfielder), Cardinals (Colby Rasmus), Dodgers, Red Sox or another team. Or at least one of the BEST prospects for this particular package deal.

The reality is theYankees fleeced them, a perception that was reinforced LOUD and CLEAR immediately after the game on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight when Buster Olney immediately and vociferously said he’d been getting text messages and calls all night long from incredulous front office types throughout baseball, saying, “Are you kidding me? That’s all the Yankees had to give up??! To get Marte and Nady? There were, certainly, better offers out there for the Pirates.”

Then, of course, the New York tabloids gleefully crowed about how the Yanks had seized “Pirate Booty” and loot and treasure without having had to give up anything meaningful at all. Further, more in-depth analysis from more thoughtful baseball analysts concluded the Yankees had shipped inconsequential quantity instead of meaningful quality to the Pirates.

Now, a closer look at the reality. First, we have to acknowledge the actual players the Pirates received (Karstens, McCutcheon, Ohlendorf, Tabata). The three pitchers are all thought to have low upside, either as middle-to-back-of-rotation starters or mid-level relievers. Tabata, whom Baseball America rated as the Yanks’ No. 3 prospect after the 2007 season is the wild card in this deal. He is, after all, only 19 years old. He may (should) have some upside. Or he may flame out. And if the 2008 season is any indication, the Yanks concluded the latter was more a possibility than the former. He sustained an ankle injury, then went on the disabled list with lingering hamstring problems, which may be chronic. Perhaps more worrisome, the outfielder dubbed “Mini-Manny” or “Manny Ramirez Light” appears to flash not only some of the batting prowess of the Red Sox slugger, but also some of Ramirez’s head-case and prima dona traits. Reportedly, he walked out on his team at one point this season and also apparently has complained about having to handle pressure and meet expectations. Not what you want to hear from a top prospect you hope will become a future team leader. Granted, he’s only 19, but still …a bit of a concern.

Of course, all worries may diminish if he blossoms away from the glare of the New York spotlight, matures, finds his stride, gets healthy, avoids hamstring problems, cuts down his strikeouts, improves his defense, sharpens his plate discipline, and grows into a mini-Manny type of slugger (a lot of ifs) ... If he becomes, in other words, a player approaching the accomplishments, maturity and leadership of Xavier Nady. Who, it bears mentioning, actually wanted to stay with the Pirates, who controlled his rights through next season and had every option to negotiate a contract extension with him -– and, as has been noted here previously, could have moved him to first base (scuttling Adam LaRoche) to open space in the outfield for Andrew McCutchen (eventually) or the type of uber-prospect they might have (should have) obtained in a trade.

As for Marte, he is one of the very best – perhaps the best left-handed reliever in baseball, making him a very precious commodity indeed. One that is worth, oh, probably, $6.5 million a year in today’s market … which happens to be the same amount as the option the Pirates could have exercised to retain his services next year. Keep him through 2009, then, and let him go to free agency – and then collect the two premium compensatory picks that would come their way.

But all that would require patience. And the new Pirates management regime, by dealing Nady and Marte for questionable value a full week before the trading deadline have shown already they don’t have it (patience).

Worse, by doing this deal, they have now set perception across the marketplace. Now, the perception across the league, is that Huntington, the rookie general manager, can be fleeced. Now, the pressure will be on other general managers to make deals with the Pirates, and only deals, that they, and their fans and media, can gleefully crow about how they fleeced the Pirates.

That’s the reality. And the perception, no matter how this deal works out.

Footnote: JPPBs hate, absolutely hate, the perception that the Pirates willingly served themselves up as the Yankees beeyotch. Of all teams to help. The Evil Empire was absolutely the wrong team to do this particular deal, at this particular time.

Now let's start Steelers training camp.

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Monday Addendum

Various Observations and Comments From Media Reports, Analysts and Blogs:

(Note: Editorial emphasis [italics] added to comments below are courtesy of JPPBs)

* * * * *

"It was hard to give up the players we did. I like those players," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in the New York dugout before Saturday's game. "The players we got back — Marte and Nady — both will hopefully contribute to the 2008 season and we have them for '09."

"It helps out the team, not only now but also in the long run," Johnny Damon said of acquiring Nady. "He's one of the most underrated players around. I think he's one of the best outfielders in the game."

Reader Comment on WHYGAVS (Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke):

"What bothers me most about the trade, if the reports are true, is that NH called around Thursday night and basically said he was dropping his asking price. I just don't think guys like Billy Beane do that … It sounds like he talked big and then caved. That's a bad precedent to set … And I definitely don't think he "got what he wanted." The PG says teams gave him lists with tons of prospects' names crossed off as untouchable. I'm sure many of them are who he wanted. He just ended up taking the best deal he could get."

Chris | Nice Pick Cowher | 07.27.08 - 12:32 pm | #

Reader Comment on WHYGAVS:

"I xxxx-ing hate it. Clear enough? Not because of the guys we lost, not at all. I just hate Ohly and Karstens, and I guess I don't see what others see in McCutchen. I'm also a little wary of how Tabata's performance (regardless that he's young) isn't really matching the hype, *at all*. I reserve the right to change my mind based on what Tabata does in five years, or if Pat tells me to change my mind."

azibuck | 07.27.08 - 5:26 pm | #

Reader Comment on WHYGAVS:

The New York Post rips apart our "uber-prospect" Tabata:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/ 0727...jose_121746.htm

And yes, I know the NY spin machine isn't going to admit they just gave away the next A-Rod but the fact he went from "untouchable" to "Here Pirates, take him..." should make you a little worried when you read some of this stuff.

Chris | Homepage | 07.27.08 - 11:21 pm | #

* * * * *

Wilbur Miller (OnlyBucs.org):

"Personally, I don’t think GM Neal Huntington got enough—I think one of the pitchers needed to have a higher ceiling than the three he obtained … Jose Tabata is an extremely high-risk player with a lot of upside and numerous red flags. Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens look to me like middle relievers, but they’ll get their shots at the rotation. Daniel McCutchen looks like he has a little more chance of being a successful major league starter, but he may have to wait until next year to get his shot."

* * * * *

Bucco Blog (Jake's Take):

"What should you expect from Karstens? He’s been an extreme flyball pitcher at times and that doesn’t bode well considering he’s making his Pirates debut at Wrigley in an afternoon game …One source of mine suggested he thought Karstens might have been hiding a shoulder injury since mid-2007, so let’s watch and see if he doesn’t become yet another Pittsburgh DL candidate."

"Neil Huntington's prayer is that Tabata becomes something. He'd better, because that’s all we got for Nady and Marte - a huge risk. That’s not smart baseball in my book."

* * * * *

Joel Sherman, NY Post:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07272008/sports/yankees/go_way__jose_121746.htm?page=0

OF SIXTEEN scouts and executives polled, 12 thought the Yankees won their trade with Pittsburgh anywhere from mildly to a slam dunk, two viewed the deal as having equal value for both sides, and just two favored the Pirates' side of the transaction.

Those who liked the Yankees' acquisition of Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte essentially expressed the view that the Yankees addressed two areas of extreme need -- a righty-hitting corner outfield bat and a top lefty reliever -- without surrendering a substantial package. An NL scout who covers the Yankees went as far as to say, "I don't think the Yankees gave up anything."

For Pittsburgh, this deal does seem to hinge mainly on just how good Tabata is. As one farm director said, "If you saw him at the Futures Game two years ago at 17, you were sure you were watching a budding superstar. If you saw him this year, you were sure you were watching a bum."

An AL executive said, "A year and a half ago, he was untouchable. Now you have questions about if his age is accurate (his listed birthdate has him turning 20 next month) and a lot about his makeup."

The reports this year on Tabata have been universally horrendous. The comparisons to Manny Ramirez are long gone.

"He may have had tools when he signed, but if you were watching him this year, he was chunky and stiff," one scout said. "He doesn't run well. He made zero adjustments at the plate. He couldn't hit my inside fastball. He is immature, has a lot of holes in his swing and is bad in the outfield."

An AL personnel head said, "Tabata is the wild card in this trade. He has a big offensive upside, but his body type is not great, the reports are not good on him this year and the makeup is not good at all. And my biggest worry of all is that the Yankees know him best of all and traded him. That willingness says something to me."

What it should say is that the Yanks felt Double-A outfield mate Austin Jackson had gone way beyond Tabata, which our panel concurred on, though several were not nearly as high on Jackson as the Yankees are. It also said Tabata has exhibited a lot of immature behavior, which included leaving the stadium in frustration during a game. Still, there remained Yankees executives who continued to think of Tabata as both a good person and a player who will hit. Tabata fractured his hamate bone in his hand last year, and there are many who believe he is just now fully regaining his strength.

And the Pirates also love Ohlendorf, insisting throughout trade discussions with the Yanks that he must be part of a deal. Executives from other clubs say Huntington, as a scout last year for the Indians, saw Ohlendorf pitch well and that has stuck with him. Internally, the Yanks wondered why Ohlendorf had not pitched up to his superb stuff, which is an outside view as well.

"Ohlendorf is a horse with stuff who doesn't get guys out," a scout said. "I think he might not be built for New York, but that the New York experience helps him in Pittsburgh."

A more dubious scout said, "He is not young, he is getting hit around and his slider, which I thought would develop, hasn't."

McCutchen has been a favorite of Yankees officials because, as one said, "He's very competitive, has great makeup, is a workout freak and is durable." The Yanks imagine him as nothing less than a competent bullpen guy with a chance to be a fourth or fifth starter. Karstens was essentially a version of Darrell Rasner, which made him expendable.

* * * * *

NJ.com (Star-Ledger):

The Yankees appear to have found their outfield bat and their left-handed reliever in the same trade. Yankees players were pleased with the news.

"They really answered the bell, getting those two players," Jason Giambi said. "You couldn't ask for anything more from a front office, owner, general manager. As a player, it makes you feel good."

"Marte's a strong left-handed reliever," closer Mariano Rivera said. "He's been in tough situations. He will help a lot. Obviously, you need a lefty reliever."

Giambi said that for a left-handed hitter, Marte "is as tough an at-bat as anybody in the league."

Nady, 29, has a career .281 batting average with the Padres, Mets and Pirates. His .330 average this year ranked fifth in the National League. He also has 13 home runs and 57 RBI in 88 games this season. The Mets traded Nady to the Pirates in July 2006 for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez. He is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season.

"I like the fact he's played in New York," Alex Rodriguez said.

Giambi called Nady "a great right-handed bat. He takes good at-bats, plays good defense. With this team being so left-handed-dominant, it's definitely going to pick us up."

* * * * *

Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski says Pirates were robbed by Yankees in recent trade

by Filip Bondy, NY Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/columnists/madden/index.html

Did the Yankees just get revenge for 1960?

As word of the Yankees' trade for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates filtered through the annual party thrown by Hall of Fame chairman Jane Clark on Friday night, no one was more stunned than Pirates Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski, whose homer against the Yankees won the 1960 World Series.

"I can't believe it!" Mazeroski said. "We just traded two of our best players for four guys I never heard of. How could we do this?"

Reader Comments:

Ray1950 Jul 28, 2008 6:21:21 AM:

"The Pirates weren't robbed. They all but opened the doors to the vault for New York. Thats exactly why they are the Pittsburgh Pirates. All of the Cashman bashers should cease and desist. I am a Red Sox fan and I'd trade Cashman for Theo Epstein any day of the week."

SwitchBack Jul 28, 2008 7:52:19 AM:

"I wonder if the Yankee's visit to Pittsburgh in late June had anything to do with this? The Yanks brought a lot of fanfare and revenue to the usual empty ballpark. Plus the Pirates wouldn't grant the Yankees an afternoon game on that Thursday, instead made them stay in town longer for a more $lucrative$ night game. Looks like they paid the Yankees back 10 fold."

* * * * *

MLB Fleece Factor:

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/07/26/yankees-score-victory-in-fleece-of-pittsburgh/

* * * * *

Baseball America (John Manuel):

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/trade-central/2008/266579.html

"Karstens, 25, is a California product who was drafted as a college senior out of Texas Tech. A 19th-round pick in 2003, he reached the major leagues in 2006 and had success in 40-plus innings with his usual assortment of sinkers, sliders and changeups. None of his pitches grades as above-average, and he has to be fine to succeed as a back-of-the-rotation starter."

"Tabata, who turns 20 next month, has ranked as one of the Yankees' top prospects the last three seasons but has had a rough 2008. He was suspended for three games after leaving a game early, and he was removed from a game in early June for disciplinary reasons as well. Tabata has struggled to drive the ball this season, batting just 248/.320/.310 in 294 at-bats for Double-A Trenton. He's young for the league but had just 12 extra-base hits. His best tool is his bat, though, and scouts still like his short, low-maintenance swing. Tabata had surgery to remove his hamate bone in his right wrist in August 2007, and his power has suffered. He also missed time this year with a hamstring injury."
"Ohlendorf, who turns 26 next month, finished last season in New York, making the playoff roster, and he made the Opening Day roster this season as well in the bullpen. His 6.53 ERA, mostly a function of seven home runs and 19 walks allowed in 40 innings, prompted a return to the minors, and a return to the rotation at Triple-A. The former Diamondbacks farmhand (2004 draft, 4th round, Princeton), acquired prior to the 2007 season in the Randy Johnson trade, thew a fastball in the 92-97 range as a reliever but had no consistent weapon other than his fastball to combat lefthanded hitters. He was working on adding a split-finger fastball in his five starts with Scranton and was expected to join the Pirates' rotation. He projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter or middle reliever."
"McCutchen, 25, was born two days after Karstens and also is at Triple-A. However, he has better stuff by a full grade with his fastball and hard, power curveball, and ranks as the better prospect. His fastball usually sits in the 88-91 mph range as a starter but has reached 94-95 mph in relief outings in his career. His curveball usually earns plaudits from scouts as his best pitch. McCutchen's toughness has long been evident to scouts and he was drafted four times, including by the Yankees out of high school, and finally signed in 2006 as a 13th-round pick. In between he led Oklahoma to a 2006 super-regional (it lost at Rice), and he advanced to Triple-A in just his second pro season. McCutchen lacks ideal size and at times his fastball flattens out, making him homer-prone. The Yankees viewed him as a championship-caliber middle reliever and back-of-the-rotation starter, and most scouts outside the organization agreed. McCutchen was 8-9, 3.19 in 20 combined starts for Trenton and Scranton, with 110 strikeouts, 29 walks and 14 home runs in 123 innings."

* * * * *

Baseball America's Quick Take:

The Pirates' farm system was left with little depth after the disastrous reign of former owner Kevin McClatchy and general manager Dave Littlefield. Current GM Neal Huntington ... sold high and picked up a high-end prospect in Tabata, albeit one with significant question marks concerning his injuries and makeup. Ohlendorf gives them an instant big league return, McCutchen becomes one of the Pirates' better minor league starters, and Karstens will have more of a chance to stick in the big leagues than ever.

The Yankees, meanwhile, didn't have to give up pitchers such as Dellin Betances, George Kontos or Alan Horne. Marte, meanwhile, is a significant upgrade considering the Yankees had no lefthanded reliever and is the best option New York has had in that role since Mike Stanton in his late-90s heyday.

* * * * *

Smizik:

The Pirates weakened their offense and just about crippled their bullpen in a trade last night with the New York Yankees that showed just how desperate general manager Neal Huntington was to improve the team's pitching depth …

The pitchers the Yankees sent did not include Ian Kennedy, who was thought to be available and was more highly regarded than the ones the Pirates received.

The outfielder Huntington probably had his eye on was Austin Jackson, 21, the Yankees No. 2 prospect, who hits with more power than Tabata and is better defensively. Austin was batting .298 with nine homers and 57 RBIs, which was eighth best in the Eastern League.

The deal correctly will be viewed as a big win for the Yankees. They received two players who will be of immediate help as they try to overtake Tampa Bay and Boston in the American League East.

Considering the age of Tabata, it might be years before the Pirates learn how much this deal will help them. For the moment, though, with this trade they are a considerably weaker team and the Yankees are a considerably stronger team.

* * * * *

Ken Rosenthal (Fox Sports):

The reviews of the Pirates' four-player return for outfielder Xavier Nady and lefty Damaso Marte ranged from critical to scathing, but righty Daniel McCutchen was a favorite of the Yankees' brass. McCutchen projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter or setup man, but the Yankees say his makeup is so strong, he could exceed those expectations . . .

* * * * *

Peter Pascarelli, ESPN:

Rarely does a team venture into the trade market and obtain exactly what it wants. Love them or loathe them, the Yankees achieved a trading daily double by obtaining a much-needed everyday bat (outfielder Xavier Nady) and a proven left-handed reliever (Damaso Marte) in the same trade with Pittsburgh.

"We were concerned right up until the deal was eventually finalized that Pittsburgh would end up trying to split Nady and Marte into separate deals," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "Getting them both in the same trade is something that, at the beginning, we viewed as probably a little wishful thinking. We ended up paying a pretty steep price in terms of four useful players.

"But the deal makes a lot of sense for us on several levels."

The move was met with wide appreciation in the New York clubhouse, which is understandably brimming with confidence right now.

"This could end up being one of the best moves we've made in a while," Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. "We really needed a solid bat because of losing both Matsui and Posada, and we couldn't have done much better than getting Nady. He's having a great year. He knows what it takes to play in New York and he loved playing in the city when he was with the Mets. He can't be a free agent until after next season, so we'll have him in '09. And as for Marte, I bet every team in baseball would make room on their staff for him. We've all been psyched up ever since first hearing that this deal might happen."

Let's make a deal.

In the NFL, trades are rare. Not so in baseball. Players are to some degree fungible commodities, however outrageously overpaid they may be.

As we enter the last couple weeks of July and approach the MLB trade deadline, part of what makes baseball so much fun is speculating which players may or may not get traded. Naturally, in the blogosphere and on radio talk shows, there's been much lively debate over just what sorts of deals the Pirates should or should not make.

As bankrupt as the Pirates' farm is, the team needs viable prospects at just about every position. The major league team and entire minor league system has a glaring need for pitching. General Manager Neil Huntington probably should take some chances. He probably should make some unpopular moves. What to do?

Obviously, the Pirates are looking to add depth, which means near-ready AAA and AA prospects. Lots and lots of rumors are out there, some scarier than others. One rumor in the New York media today has the Yankees and Pirates about a deal involving AAA pitcher Ross Ohlendorf coming to the Pirates for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady. I'm sorry, but either Marte or Nady merit far moe in return than a reliever who was recently demoted by the parent club and turned into a starting pitcher just last week. Other rumors have the Red Sox also interested in Marte and Nady, as well as Jack Wilson, and the Red Sox actually do have a deep farm system with plenty of viable pitching prospects. That doesn't mean we can or even should do a deal with them, though.

Personally, I'd like to see the Bucs retain Nady, Wilson and Jason Bay, although I could see the sense in trading any or all of them – depending on the return. Preferably, though, if somehow they could find a taker for Adam LaRoche, by all means send him packing and move Nady to first base.

Over at the excellent Squawking Baseball blog, which applies a "Wall Street analysis of Major League Baseball's player market," the writer opines the following:

"Not to pick on the Pirates, given that it’s tough to gauge the trade market from the outside looking in, but they should have been shopping Freddy Sanchez this past winter. He was coming off of back-to-back All-Star seasons, one in which he won the National League batting title. His value had peaked, and yet they held on to him, possibly because he is extremely popular in the area."

That may well be true, but hindsight is, as the cliché says, 20-20. What really would be useful between now and the July 31 trade deadline is some foresight. Keep your fingers crossed.

Back to Earth With a Thud

Last night:

Yankees 10 - Pirates 0

Tonight:

Pittsburgh's Paul Maholm

(5-5 record in 2008, 26 career wins; 2008 salary: $424,500)

vs.

New York's Mike Mussina

(10-5 record in 2008; 260 career wins; 2008 salary: $11 million [$11,071,029.00])

Letting Our Freak Flag Fly

Watching last night's Pirates-Yankees game was fun -- unless you were a Yankees' fan, and there were plenty of New York supporters at PNC Park. That's okay. Welcome, New Yorkers. They have their 27 World Series championships, $218 million payroll, continuing robust revenue stream, unparalleled tradition and one massive, rabid, well-informed fan base.

Here in flyover land, in this backwater capitol of Appalachia, we'll be content with last night's win; with just this one sweet night when the stars aligned and just about everything clicked for the home team, a franchise nearly as old as the game itself.

As Doug Street, of the Washington Observer-Reporter, put it,

"For one night anyway, Pittsburgh was a relevant baseball town again.

"The Pirates played to a sellout crowd. They played the Yankees for the first time in Pittsburgh since the 1960 World Series. And they played inspired baseball, with outstanding hitting, strong defense and enough good pitching to win.

"It was strange to see everything work out perfectly for the Pirates, but on this night it did. The weather was perfect. The atmosphere was playoff-like. Pittsburgh pounded out a season-high 19 hits - including two home runs - and held the vaunted Yankees' offense in check as the Pirates defeated New York 12-5 in the first game of their three-game series in front of 38,867 at PNC Park, the Pirates' third-largest crowd in the park's eight-year history."

And, of course, as noted in yesterday's post, we will always have1960, and the greatest World Series game ever played … and that's not just us saying it. On Monday, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Don McKee wrote:

"Tomorrow, the Yankees will make their first trip to Pittsburgh since they walked off the field after the greatest game ever played. That, of course, was the seventh game of the 1960 World Series, which ended memorably on Bill Mazeroski's home run."

And The Detroit Free Press:

"You couldn’t top baseball in 1960 when the Pirates beat the Yankees in the most memorable World Series finish of them all. And you couldn’t top baseball Tuesday night when the Yankees played in Pittsburgh for the first time since that ’60 World Series."

Yes, last night was sweet. We know the Pirates are only moderately competent, but we'll take what little pleasures we can get.

And while the Yankees have perhaps the proudest tradition of any sports franchise, we Pirates fans have our own history, and our own reasons to be proud. We'll cherish and savor that history, and our team, and hope for better days ahead, and more evenings like last night. After all, the Rickey-dink Pirates of the 1950s were even worse than this crew, and look what happened in 1960. Better days ahead. We can only hope.

In Case There Was Any Doubt …

There was never really any doubt, but to put things in perspective … to gauge briefly how irrelevant the Pirates have become in the pantheon of baseball's mega-market demi-gods … to understand the 30,000-foot view view of our pathetic, ant-like existence here in fly-over land … well, all you have to do is check out the following headline and sub-head from today's edition of the New York Post:

FIRST A PITT STOP, THEN RACE BEGINS

PIRATES LAST PATSY BEFORE BOMBERS FACE BIG BOYS

by GEORGE A. KING III, New York Post

June 24, 2008 -- They have done what was required against the dregs of Bud Selig's world, taking seven of nine from the awful Astros, putrid Padres and rancid Reds.

And while the pitiful Pirates are on the docket for the next three games beginning tonight in Pittsburgh, there is a stretch of games lurking behind the Pirates that will tell us much more about the Yankees than the Astros, Padres, Reds and Pirates can.

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Well, okay, so we're not the Yankees, and we never will be. But, like Casablanca's Humphrey Bogart (Rick) and Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa Lund) will always have Paris, we will always have 1960.

Sigh. Talk about living in the past. Sheesh.

Still, if you're going to have one landmark, highlight-of-highlights moment, Maz's homer is a great one to have; arguably the greatest, most dramatic World Series moment ever.

More Links:

Recent History Over-rides Old

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette

"There are all kinds of reasons for the Pirates to be freaked out in facing the New York Yankees tonight at PNC Park, and they go well beyond the historic implications of this first meeting on Pittsburgh soil since Bill Mazeroski was waving his cap in 1960.

"To start, there is recent history: The Pirates lost all six interleague meetings in Yankee Stadium, three in 2005 and three more last year, and one of those was sick enough to turn an umpire's stomach."

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A Painful Memory for the Yanks

by Mike Vaccarro, New York Post

"In the first six games (of the 1960 World Series), the Yankees won three games by a total score of 38-3; but the Pirates also won three, those by a maddening score of 14-8.

"Then, of course, came the one word that continues to haunt just about every Yankee fan over the age of 55 or so: Mazeroski.

"Actually, Bill Mazeroski's ninth-inning blast capped what may well have been the greatest World Series game of all time, a 10-9 epic in which the Yankees trailed 4-0 after two innings, led 7-4 after seven innings, trailed 9-7 heading into the ninth and ultimately tied, 9-9, after a Yogi Berra RBI groundout that nearly trapped Mickey Mantle off first for the series-ending out.

"In a talk-radio world, they might still be talking about that one, because of all the twists and turns, all the iffy managerial decisions (in addition to everything else, it was Casey Stengel's last game as Yankees manager, and his performance in this game helped push that decision along). In 1960, it was enough to know that the game made Mickey Mantle, hero to millions, cry.

"I don't ever remember crying after any other game I ever played," Mickey Mantle said in a 1985 interview published in The Post, the 25th anniversary of that epic, awful Series, "but I cried my eyes out in Pittsburgh. Thinking about it today, I still want to cry."

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In 1960, a Series to Remember (or Forget)

By Sean D. Hammill, The New York Times

Coming into the 1960 Series, the Pirates were widely seen as the sacrificial lamb on the altar of a Yankee dynasty that was in the process of winning 10 of 16 World Series from 1947 to 1962.

“The sportswriters, especially those guys from New York, never gave us a chance,” said Bill Virdon, the Pirates’ fleet-footed center fielder on the 1960 team. “They didn’t bother to look at how we got there.”

While the Yankees, led by Mantle, Moose Skowron and the newly acquired Roger Maris, lighted up the American League, hitting a league-record 193 homers and winning 97 games, the Pirates were winning 95 games the hard way.

“This was a team that came from behind from the seventh inning on 40 times during the season,” said Groat, the Pirates’ shortstop and the 1960 league most valuable player. “We just didn’t think we could lose. And we just rode that into the World Series.”

The Yankees won Games 2, 3 and 6 by scores of 16-3, 10-0 and 12-0, while the Pirates eked out their wins by 6-4, 3-2 and 5-2, setting up the Game 7 slugfest.

As Mazeroski tells it, when he led off the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied, 9-9, his goal was simply “to hit it hard, get on and get us started.”

Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry's first pitch, a fastball, was a ball, high in the zone. His next pitch was down a bit lower — right in Mazeroski’s power zone.

“He said it was a breaking ball, but it didn’t break too much,” Mazeroski said. “And this one came in chest high.”

It left the ballpark, soaring over Yankees left fielder Yogi Berra and the 406-foot sign, into the grass and woods behind the 12-foot wall, sending the Yankees into despair, the Pirates into euphoria, and turning Mazeroski into Pittsburgh’s hero. “Somehow, it just did something to the city,” Mazeroski said, “and they just can’t forget it."

We Need a Miracle

Yes, we need a miracle now to beat those wascally Wed Wings.

Rest in Peace, Hedy Lamarr

"That's HEDLEY!!!"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/29/state/n155845D90.DTL

This could be bad for the Wed Wings.

We keep coming back to the boxing analogy. Like a fighter sizing up its opponent, the young Penguins played last night as if they were a young team just beginning to figure out its older, more experienced, savvier, more skilled opponent. Its young stars stopped trying to do everything individually, and started passing more instead of stick-handling through traffic.

Just as auspiciously, the defense jelled, and hit, and hit, and hit, and hit. Especially Brooks Orpick. More of that to come, and as this young team finds its legs, the older Wed Wings could be in for a fight, no, make that a slugfest.

This series is only just beginning. Having said that, the Penguins had better start winning some face-offs.

Home Sweet Home

The Penguins haven't lost at The Igloo in three months. The key? Move your feet.

"I think maybe we moved our feet a little bit more," said Crosby, explaining his squad's improved play.

And, admit it. You've done it, too.

You've called them the Wed Wings.

What took so long?

Good riddance, Mark Madden. Your misanthropic, mean-spirited, low-minded schtick is done. It's about time – long overdue, in fact. Somewhere, Myron Cope is smiling and raising a toddy in a celebratory toast to karma.

Ryan Wilson, who writes for AOL Fanhouse and Heels, Sox, Steelers, said it well:

"Earlier this year, I spent a few hundred words bellyaching about the sorry state of Pittsburgh sports radio. Specifically, the fact that village idiot/local ESPN radio 'personality' Mark Madden earned a paycheck to spew invective while making everybody who listened to him dumber in the process. … For Madden, it couldn't have happened to a nicer jerk."

As George Costanza might've said, "The jerk store just ran out of jerks."

Schadenfreude can be so sweet sometimes, and this is one of them.

Steel City vs. Motor City: "Get Dressed Grandma, This Bingo Game is Ready to Roll!"

“What’s the sense of being Irish if you can’t be dumb?"
-- Billy Conn, the Pittsburgh Kid

If Philadelphia's Flyers were paper thugs, ersatz contenders like Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa, Detroit's Red Wings are the real deal. Like Joe Louis.

The Penguins go from Rocky Balboa to Joe Louis.

From Philadelphia's thugs on ice and louts in the stands to Hockeytown, with octopi tossed onto the ice at Joe Louis Arena and a rich tradition of class and grace surrounding the franchise and its fans.

Unlike Pittsburgh-Philadelphia (Penguins-Flyers), there is no animosity between Pittsburgh and Detroit. In fact, for these two great cities built long ago in part as French colonial fort outposts, there's a sense of kinship forged in the historical socio-economic connection of history and industry (Pittsburgh's steel building Detroit's automobiles) and cemented in the February 2006 Super Bowl where Les Detroitois embraced and welcomed more than 100,000 visiting Steelers fans who adopted the city as their home away from home, as the Steelers prepared for and won Super Bowl XL.

But Detroit had no stake in that game, except as host city. Once again Detroit plays the host, but this is a different story. This is the Stanley Cup Final. And it starts in Hockeytown.

"Oh, woe is me, tut-tut, how will the Penguins ever compete?"

The Red Wings, one of the NHL's most storied Original Six franchises, have won 10 Stanley Cups to the Penguins two. The Wings have been to the Stanley Cup Final four times in the past 11 years, the Pens not once since 1992. The Wings had the NHL's best record this past season and bring a distinguished and accomplished corps of veteran stalwarts and future Hall of Famers to this Final. The young Penguins open on the road and are led by a 20-year-old. It's been speculated that if somehow the Penguins win this series, juice boxes will be handed out in the winning locker instead of champagne.

If the powerful Red Wings are Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, the plucky Penguins are Billy Conn, the Pittsburgh Kid. And we all know how that one turned out. Let's hope the Pittsburgh Kids come out on top this time, and let's hope the series will turn out to be be every bit as entertaining as that legendary fight (see the excerpt, below, from Frank Deford's classic article in Sports Illustrated).

Other Perspectives:
A great column from the Post-Gazette's Bob Dvorchak, who notes the historical connections between the two cities:

The teams never have collided in the playoffs and meet sporadically during the regular season because of the unbalanced schedule. And at first glance, this series is a blank slate. There is no contempt bred by familiarity. No known grudges. No coaching feud. No insults or trash talk. Just a best-of-seven played out in two cities with blue-collar legacies between two teams with world-class forwards, team-based defenses and high-caliber goaltending. In short, it could be a classic and the best ad for the new NHL that the suits could have hoped for.

But from the long view, the two cities -- both of which share roots as French forts before there was an America -- have hockey bonds that rival those between father and son, and sports traditions that intertwine.

The Pirates won their first World Series title in Detroit in 1909, with Honus Wagner outplaying Ty Cobb. Billy Conn, an upstart light heavyweight from East Liberty, was nine minutes away from becoming heavyweight champion of the world in 1941 when he got greedy and was knocked out by Detroit's Joe Louis, for whom the Red Wings' hockey arena is named. Detroit's NFL team has endured the Curse of Bobby Layne stemming from his trade to the Steelers in 1958. Pittsburgh won its last major title in Detroit at Super Bowl XL, when the city welcomed Steelers fan with open arms. Former Pirates skipper Jim Leyland now manages the Tigers.

And, as far as hockey goes, the sport wouldn't exist in Pittsburgh without Detroit. The relationship goes back to 1936 when a minor-league team called the Detroit Olympics was sold, relocated to Pittsburgh and operated as a minor-league team for the Red Wings. That team became the Pittsburgh Hornets, denizens of the old Duquesne Gardens, who shipped NHL players to Detroit the way the old Pittsburgh mills shipped steel to the Motor City to make cars.

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Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times is one of many across North America who says "Pens vs. Wings: Just What the NHL Needs," but she says it well ...

"The face of the NHL is scruffy, Sidney Crosby's attempt at a playoff beard having resulted in fuzz more befitting a high school prom king than a player who carried the Pittsburgh Penguins from near-extinction to the Stanley Cup finals.

"Crosby, a few months too young to legally drink adult beverages, will take on the biggest challenge of his career starting tonight at Joe Louis Arena. The final between the Penguins and Red Wings is the most eagerly anticipated in years, promising world-class skills, smart defense and the grit that sets the hockey playoffs apart from other postseason tournaments."

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More on Billy Conn vs. Joe Louis:

"The Boxer and the Blonde," Frank DeFord's classic article on Billy Conn, in Sports Illustrated, courtesy of billyconn.net:

June 18, 1941, The Polo Grounds, New York ...

Billy Conn crossed himself when he climbed into the ring that night.

And ... the fight began, Joe Louis’s 18th defense, his seventh in seven months.

Conn started slower than even he was accustomed to. Louis, the slugger, was the one who moved better. Conn ducked a long right so awkwardly that he slipped and fell to one knee. The second round was worse, Louis pummeling Conn’s body, trying to wear the smaller man down. He had 30 pounds on him, after all. Unless you knew the first rounds didn’t matter, it was a rout. This month’s bum.

In his corner, Conn sat down, spit and said to his cornerman, “All right, Moon, here we go.” He came out faster, bicycled for a while, feinted with a left and drove home a hard right. By the end of the round he was grinning at the champ, and he winked to Jawnie Ray, his trainer, when he returned to the corner. The spectators were up on their feet, especially the ones who had bet Conn.

The fourth was even more of a revelation, for now Conn chose to slug a little with the slugger, and he came away the better for the exchange. When the bell rang, he was flat-out laughing as he came back to his corner. “This is a cinch,” he told Jawnie.

But Louis got back on track in the fifth, and the fight went his way for the next two rounds as blood flowed from a nasty cut over the challenger’s right eye. At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh the crowd grew still, and relatives and friends listening downstairs from where Maggie lay worried that Billy’s downfall was near.

But Conn regained command in the eighth, moving back and away from Louis’s left, then ripping into the body or the head. The ninth was all the more Conn, and he grew cocky again. “Joe, I got you,” he popped off as he flicked a good one square on the champ’s mouth, and then, as Billy strode back to his corner at the bell, he said, “Joe, you’re in a fight tonight.”

“I know it,” Louis replied, confused and clearly troubled now.

The 10th was something of a lull for Conn, but it was a strategic respite. During the 11th, Conn worked Louis high and low, hurt the champ, building to the crescendo of the 12th, when the New York Herald Tribune reported in the casual racial vernacular of the time that Conn “rained left hooks on Joe’s dusky face.” He was a clear winner in this round, which put him up 7—5 on one card and 7-4-1 on another; the third was 6—6. To cap off his best round, Conn scored with a crushing left that would have done in any man who didn’t outweigh him by 30 pounds. And it certainly rattled the crown of the world’s heavyweight champion. The crowd was going berserk. Even Maggie was given the report that her Billy was on the verge of taking the title.

Only later would Conn realize the irony of striking that last great blow. “I miss that, I beat him,” he says. It was that simple. He was nine minutes from victory, and now he couldn’t wait. “He wanted to finish the thing as Irishmen love to,” the Herald Tribune wrote.

Louis was slumped in his corner. Jack Blackburn, his trainer, shook his head and rubbed him hard. “Chappie,” he said, using his nickname for the champ, “you’re losing. You gotta knock him out.” Louis didn’t have to be told. Everyone understood. Everyone in the Polo Grounds. Everyone listening through the magic of radio. Everyone. There was bedlam. It was wonderful. Men had been slugging it out for eons, and there had been 220 years of prizefighting, and there would yet be Marciano and the two Sugar Rays and Ali, but this was it. This was the best it had ever been and ever would be, the 12th and 13th rounds of Louis and Conn on a warm night in New York just before the world went to hell. The people were standing and cheering for Conn, but it was really for the sport and for the moment and for themselves that they cheered. They could be a part of it, and every now and then, for an instant, that is it, and it can’t ever get any better. This was such a time in the history of games.

Only Billy Conn could see clearly—the trouble was, what he saw was different from what everybody else saw. What he saw was himself walking with Mary Louise on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City, down the shore, and they were the handsomest couple who ever lived, and people were staring, and he could hear what they were saying. What they were saying was: “There goes Billy Conn with his bride. He just beat Joe Louis.” And he didn’t want to hear just that. What he wanted to hear was: “There goes Billy Conn with his bride. He’s the guy who just knocked out Joe Louis.” Not for himself: That was what Mary Louise deserved.

Billy had a big smile on his face. “This is easy, Moonie,” he said. “I can take this sonuvabitch out this round.”

Jawnie blanched. “No, no, Billy,” he said. “Stick and run. You got the fight won, Stay away, kiddo. Just stick and run, stick and run. There was the bell for the 13th.

And then it happened. Billy tried to bust the champ, but it was Louis who got through the defenses, and then he pasted a monster right on the challenger’s jaw. “Fall! Fall!” Billy said to himself. He knew if he could just go down, clear his head, he would lose the round, but he could still save the day. “But for some reason, I couldn’t fall. I kept saying, ‘Fall, fall,’ but there I was, still standing up. So Joe hit me again and again, and when I finally did fall, it was a slow, funny fall. I remember that.” Billy lay flush out on the canvas. There were two seconds left in the round, 2:58 of the 13th, when he was counted out. The winnah and still champeen. . . .

“It was nationality that cost Conn the title,” the Herald Tribune wrote. “He wound up on his wounded left side, trying to make Irish legs answer an Irish brain.”

On the radio, Billy said, “I just want to tell my mother I’m all right.”

Back in the locker room, Jawnie Ray said not to cry because bawxers don’t cry. And Billy delivered the classic: “What’s the sense of being Irish if you can’t be dumb?”

Ohhhhh ... She wants to sell my monkey!!! Call Arnold Slick From Turtle Crick! Scratch My Back With a Hacksaw!!!

Get Dressed, Grandma, This Bingo Game is Ready to Roll!!!

The lights go out in Philadelphia, one by one.

There Will Be Blood, Philly Fans Will Boo ... Let's Go Pens! Let's Go Pens!!

From Sports Illustrated, for cryin' out loud ...

"Ever since they booed Santa Claus, Philadelphia fans have had a reputation as the nastiest in all of sports."

From Answers.com ...

"The incident occurred in 1968. The Eagles were having a miserable season under Joe Kuharich, who may have been the most disliked coach in team history. The team started off the season 0-11 (back then they played 14 games), but the lone bright spot was that the team would be in position to select O.J. Simpson with the first overall pick in the 1969 draft. The Eagles then went on a two-game winning streak and lost out on the first pick. So even when they won, they lost."

"The Santa Claus incident occurred during halftime of the last game of the season, a game in which the Eagles were defeated by the Vikings. Back then, the regular season ended before Christmas, so they had a show at halftime. An older person was supposed to be Santa but he didn't show up (or was too sick or drunk depending on which version of the story you hear). In his place, they found a guy in the stands who had come to the game dressed in a Santa suit. He was young, skinny guy who didn't look the part. There have been accounts of the person being drunk, but it's unclear whether that's ever been verified."

"The fan reaction was a combination of a poor portrayal of Santa, frustration with coach Kuharich (who was fired after the '68 season) and the team. Philadelphia had become a football wasteland at the time. Between 1962 and 1977, the Eagles had exactly one winning season. On this day, fans took their frustration out on Santa."

Men In Black ... Well, in Black 'n Gold: Let's Go Pens!

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

Let's Go Pens!

This is good, from Doubt About It.

Behind Blue Eyes

This post is not about football. Sorry.

And we're just asking, although it probably wouldn't make people smile during polite dinner conversation ...

Did you know one in every 100 Americans is in prison?

So, we're just asking: Do you know anybody in prison? In a county jail? City lock-up? In a federal penitentiary?

Personally, I don't (except for Michael Vick).

I don't know anybody in jail or prison.

Damn, though, that statistic seems high. Is it accurate? I sure don't know.

What I do know is this: There is a company out there called Corrections Correction of America.
ttp://www.correctionscorp.com/

It's a big company.

From CCA's own boilerplate statement:

"Corrections Corporation of America is the nation's largest owner and operator of privatized correctional and detention facilities and one of the largest prison operators in the United States, behind only the federal government and three states. CCA currently operates 63 facilities, including 38 company-owned facilities, with a total design capacity of approximately 67,000 beds in 19 states and the District of Columbia."

Hey, just throwing it out there.

Okay, cut me a break: It's the off-season.

Comments, insults, stories, jokes and jibes are welcome.