Take My Baseball Team - PLEASE! [A Plea to Mark Cuban]
It's hard watching a team that you used to love continue to throw itself into and then FLUSH the toilet. But my formerly beloved Pittsburgh Pirates have done it yet again.
They traded center fielder Nate McLouth back in early June - yes, hitting.259 but with an .829 OBP - AFTER he singed a 3 year 16 million extension! - for 3 minor leaguers. Add 1B Adam LaRoche to the Red Sox last week for two minor league pitchers, left fielder Nyjer Morgan back on July 1st for a minor league outfielder. And lets not forget center fielder Jason Bay to the Red Sox last season - .280 hitting, 30 HR power Jason Bay - for a slump prone 3B [Andy LaRoche], a fourth outfielder in Brandon Moss and a couple minor league pitchers. And left fielder Xavier Nady to the Yankees. And super 3B Aramis Ramirez back in 2003 - yes I am still pissed over that! How good would a .290 hitting, 30 HR guy look now? How about Jason Kendall in 2004? A great contact hitting catcher? Who needs that?
Today they traded 9 year veteran shortstop Jack Wilson and the 2 - 8 pitcher Ian Snell to the Mariners for an underachieving Ronny Cedeno and 4 minor leaguers. They then flipped 2006 batting champ and 3 time All Star second baseman - injury prone this year, but still - Freddy Sanchez for another minor league pitcher.
This week alone, the Pirates dealt away almost 24 million - HALF OF THEIR PAYROLL. And their payroll was all ready 3rd lowest in the National League, if not the whole league [Yahoo Sports is unclear].
What they got in return will restock their minor league systems - not bad. But the Pirates have shown a streak for bringing talent to the majors then trading it. And this week just leaves the major league club just decimated.
Manager John Russell, obviously toeing the company line said on Yahoo Sports:
“People now might wonder what we’re doing, but if you keep looking at all the names we’re getting and all the premier talent we’re getting, it’s going to equate to a very solid, very good ballclub in Pittsburgh."
GM Neal Huntington told the Pittsburgh Trib-Review Sunday July 26th that this was good for the team:
"It is (owner) Bob Nutting's intention that any money saved from trades goes back into baseball operations," Huntington said.
It is unclear to me what baseball operations are left.
Let's not fool around here - when baseball talks about contraction again - and they will - let's put Pittsburgh at the top of the list. This is a team headed for a Major league record 17th straight losing season. These guys make the St. Louis Browns look like the Yankees! They make bad teams look... well... okay by comparison.
Let's stop trying to put happy face on an unhappy story. All the Pirates are doing is stocking other major league teams anyway, let's put them out of the misery. Yes they have a great ballpark there and a history, but let's face facts - current ownership is not about to spend one thin dime more than they have to to keep any player worth their salt.
Mark Cuban is a good boy from Pittsburgh - sell him - hell, GIVE HIM the club! I'm willing to bet the team that the 12 Dallas Mavericks could beat the Pirates in a real baseball game. PLEASE MARK! PLEASE! I know you were turned down from the Cubs because you say what is on your mind - but this is Pittsburgh. You're not going to get a hint of national media here unless you're sitting with the Rooney's at a Steeler game or Mario in the owners box at the new Igloo! Please find a way!
Christ, I may have to watch the damn Rangers now. Or the Astros. Or the Cubs. Never the Red Sox or the Yankees, though.
ADDENDA:
I thought the cupboard was bare as Old Mother Hubbard's place, but the Pirates managed to squeeze a little more blood from the turnip flipping lefty reliever John Grabow and lefty starter [and Chicago native] Tom Gorzelanny for Kevin Hart [who had just finished beating the Astros] and two more minor leaguers. This leaves the Pirates short of left handed pitching - not that it matters. The Pirates will struggle now to get to 70 wins.
That leaves Zach Duke and Matt Capps. The deadline isn't until 4 p.m. Eastern. See if the Bucs can get their payroll under $ 20 million by then.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Random Thoughts:
What is this fascination with everything Jack White of the White Stripes touches? The Raconteurs were ok at best and this new thing - The Dead Weather - is just awful. But it gets pushed by the few hype sits - My Space Music and ads all over the place. I'm not even big on the White Stripes anyway, but dude, stick to your own band.
The Michael Jackson Circus has begun. You thought Michael was a freak show while alive, just the way the family - well, Latoya and Joe, not the stablest bananas in the bunch - think there is some sort of conspiracy rather than face the fact that Michael was an anorexic drug abuser.
I had to get a greatest hits of Fishbone recently and I blasted it for two days straight. Why the Red Hot Chili Peppers got huge and these guys are forgotten is beyond me.
As far as Wilco - The Album goes, If you liked Sky Blue Sky, you'll like this. If you didn't, you'll be moaning "Tweedy's no fun since he went to rehab." I recently had Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on my MP3 player and I really really like it, a lot more than I did before.
Another thing I discovered loading random things on my MP3 - Be Bop Deluxe. Haven't listened to much of their studio stuff but their Live at The BBC titled Radio Birdland is really interesting in a Cars / Gary Numan / little 80s King Crimson kind of way.
A 4 song [plus demo] EP and a new single from Superchunk in the last 3 months - I hope this means the band is gearing up for a full length album really soon!
What is this fascination with everything Jack White of the White Stripes touches? The Raconteurs were ok at best and this new thing - The Dead Weather - is just awful. But it gets pushed by the few hype sits - My Space Music and ads all over the place. I'm not even big on the White Stripes anyway, but dude, stick to your own band.
The Michael Jackson Circus has begun. You thought Michael was a freak show while alive, just the way the family - well, Latoya and Joe, not the stablest bananas in the bunch - think there is some sort of conspiracy rather than face the fact that Michael was an anorexic drug abuser.
I had to get a greatest hits of Fishbone recently and I blasted it for two days straight. Why the Red Hot Chili Peppers got huge and these guys are forgotten is beyond me.
As far as Wilco - The Album goes, If you liked Sky Blue Sky, you'll like this. If you didn't, you'll be moaning "Tweedy's no fun since he went to rehab." I recently had Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on my MP3 player and I really really like it, a lot more than I did before.
Another thing I discovered loading random things on my MP3 - Be Bop Deluxe. Haven't listened to much of their studio stuff but their Live at The BBC titled Radio Birdland is really interesting in a Cars / Gary Numan / little 80s King Crimson kind of way.
A 4 song [plus demo] EP and a new single from Superchunk in the last 3 months - I hope this means the band is gearing up for a full length album really soon!
