May Baseball Musings

This is drastically overdue, but better late than never, right? Anyway, with two months of the baseball season pretty much in the books, I wanted to catch up on some interesting things in this early season.

Predictions—The Wheelhouse might have been a bit off with some of our preseason forecasts as not only are the Indians in dead last (picked to the the AL Central), but I also thought the Diamondbacks were on their way to a great season to compete with the Dodgers down the stretch all season. As it turns out, the Dodgers, with or without Manny, might have the NL West wrapped up by the Fourth of July. They are currently up 8.5 games over the Padres—yes, the Padres and they just won 10 straight this week! Meanwhile, the D-Backs are 20-27 and have really been hurt by the loss of Brandon Webb since April. The Dodgers look to be a force in the National League. With Chad Billingsley living up to the expectations, the Dodgers might be my favorite to come out of the NL.

Zach Greinke—Can you say legit? Greinke is finally putting together that breakout season that people have been talking about for a couple years, and it's not a breakout season for a young player, but possibly on way to a historic season. He's already fired five complete games while sporting an ERA under 1.00 through his first 10 starts, which hasn't happened since 1966 when Juan Marichal did it. Not bad company at all. It'll be a great thing to watch all summer to see how long he can keep this incredible pitching going. And he almost makes the Royals watchable...every fifth day at least.

Early Surprises—If you scour the standings, you see two teams near the top of their respective division that is a bit of a shock. Before their recent nine-game streak into the tank, the Blue Jays were the hottest team in baseball. They have come back to earth, but once they figure out how to win again, I think they can hang around for a while and compete. I've always been a fan of the Blue Jays. I love the city of Toronto, a great baseball town. Love the SkyDome (forget the Rogers Centre crap) and I think they have a decent team. The other surprise is the Texas Rangers, who are leading the AL West by three games. Sure, they can hit the ball, they have always been able to do that, but the pitching has been there for them through 40 games. Will it last? No, it will not. I mean they are getting pitching from guys you never heard of like Matt Harrison. Texas will not last and the Angels will pass them once they get healthy and their shit together.

Guys I Would Love to Have on my Fantasy Team—This is a long list, but nobody is higher on the list than Raul Ibanez. I had him on my radar in both of my drafts this year because he's always been a consistent hitter and I liked the move to Philly. Of course, I thought he would drop a round or two more and passed him only to see him get taken and absolutely rake in this early season. Have you seen this guy? He's having an incredible start to the season, hitting .339 with 17 long balls, 44 RBI. He had just 23 homers in 162 games last season! Of course, I wish I had Greinke. How about Orioles outfielder Adam Jones—what a pickup if you grabbed him late. I do have Justin Morneau in two leagues, so I can't complain there as he's been a beast so far this season as well. The list goes on...Ian Kinsler, Dan Haren, Billingsley.

Pride. Passion. Pittsburgh Pirates—Of course, the Pirates would put their fans through a series of crazy emotions through just two months. The Pirates ran out to an 11-7 start, dropped eight straight after that and have been about 4-5 games under .500. It would be nice to see them sniff .500 all year and actually make something to watch down the stretch to see if they can avoid the infamous record. Honestly, I don't see that happening. They just don't have the talent (surprise) yet. The winning in April was a nice reminder of how great it can be if they would have a winning team one of these years. For now in Pittsburgh, we're on the Andrew McCutchen watch till he gets called up.

Quote of the Year?

I needed a good laugh this afternoon, and thankfully the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and newly added Pirates outfielder Jeff Salazar were willing to oblige.

"I like what the Pirates are trying to do. It's one thing to talk about it, but there are people around baseball who see what they're doing. And being here, you can just see it in their body language: They're done with the losing." - Jeff Salazar

Oh Jeff, Jeff, Jeff...you really have not been here that long at all. I love when the Pirates sign new free agents and they say something along the lines of this. Salazar has no idea what he just got himself into...if he even makes the team. Welcome to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization...Pride, Passion and unprecedented losing. We're talking about 16 seasons and counting. Get ready for all-time sports history, Jeff. Welcome to the Pirates, where the losing never ends.

The Pirates Finally Made the Right Moves

Look, I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan...probably the biggest one you'll find these days. I'll be the first to point out the horrendous signings, drafting and trades they've made in the past 15 years. But the two trades made in the past week at the trade deadline were the right moves. Most of the fans and people around baseball are saying "here we go again" with the Pirates. I understand that fans are fired up once again (trust me, I've been there), but this time it is different. Really.

Some are comparing the Jason Bay trade to the Aramis Ramirez deal in 2003 when the Pirates handed the Cubs an All-Star third baseman for pretty much nobody (Bobby Hill, Jose Hernandez and Matt Bruback). They went ahead with that trade because they could not pay Ramirez what he wanted, and the front office at the time had no idea how to value its stars for sterling prospects. This is not the case this time around.

The Pirates can afford Jason Bay. They can afford Xavier Nady. The problem is prior management (Cam Bonifay, Dave Littlefield) left this organization in shambles with the Major League roster and minor league system depleted of stars and talent. The Pirates weren't going to finish over .500 with Bay and Nady...they simply need a lot more. Forget about the history and press that will come with the 16th consecutive losing season because it's already over. It's going to happen and there's nothing to do about it in the final two months, but they can start to finally rebuild in the right direction.

Neal Huntington took probably the worst job in baseball last winter with the task of piecing together a winning team with absolutely nothing in the cupboard. The former GMs left him with prize pieces such as John Van Benschoten, Sean Burnett, Bryan Bullington, Matt Morris and so on. In short, it's a mess. That's why Huntington went out and traded his best two bargaining chips for prospects that are Major League ready in an attempt to flood this system with quality prospects and add depth to it. He was able to acquire two top prospects in the Red Sox organization (Moss and Hansen), along with the number two prospect in the Dodgers organization (Andy LaRoche) and the third in the Yankees organization (Jose Tabata).

Huntington and the Pirates still have a long way to go. These trades are not going to make them contenders tomorrow, but it's a start. They need to continue building with solid draft picks and smart free-agent signings in the offseason. For the first time in the past 15 years, I can confidently say that the Pirates are finally moving in the right direction.

Extra, Extra!

Always looking for some way to make news, the Pirates put together another great note during Sunday's 11-3 loss to Colorado. Not only did the loss put the finishing touches on a four-game sweep by the Rockies to open the second half, but the Pirates were knocked right into the Rockies record book...again.

What was it you ask?

Well as I was scanning yesterday's boxscores as I do each day at the office, I noticed that the Rockies had a truck load of doubles...eight to be exact. Add those doubles in with a triple and two home runs and you have 11 extra-base hits. ELEVEN!! That's a ton of extra-base hits. I don't care if it's at Coors or not, you don't see that very often. I quickly grabbed the Colorado media guide to see what their team record was for extra-base hits in a game. I wasn't surprised when I found that 11 XBH did in fact tie the Rockies record. It had been done three other times in Rockies history and no surprise again, one of those games was against the Pirates back on August 3, 2003 at PNC Park. Take a look at that boxscore at baseball-reference.com, it's not pretty.

I also was not surprised to look at the Pirates pitching line to see who pitched this gem and, of course, find that it was Zach Duke. How could it not be? Duke was hammered for nine runs on 10 hits in 5.0 innings of work. This is nothing new. Duke is probably the most hittable pitcher in the history of baseball. Numbers don't lie. He's surrendered 151 hits in 115 innings in 2008 and is not much better for his career (646 hits in 522 innings). Awesome. How he currently has an ERA under five is beyond me (4.92), but he won't be under that mark for very long...probably after his next start.

Even though the Rockies tying their XBH record isn't exactly breaking news, it somehow was lost in the AP recap thanks to Aaron Cook's All-Star year. I guess that's a good thing for the Pirates. Ah, just another day in the life of a Pirates fan.

Pirates-Yankees

With the Yankees scheduled to make their first trip to Pittsburgh since the 1960 World Series, the Post-Gazette is gearing up for the series. They've kicked off their preview to the three-game series that begins Tuesday with a great article by Paul Meyer that can be read here.

It's a sort of long, but well written and worth the time if you enjoy reading about the days when the Bucs were good. Growing up and watching the Pirates over the past 20 years, you find it hard to imagine the Bucs competing in the World Series with such franchises like the Yankees. This article helps. It takes you back to an era where baseball was at the top of the world and so were the Pirates. The '60 World Series hero Bill Mazeroski will be on hand Tuesday to throw out the first pitch to begin this series so hopefully the Pirates can actually do something and honor his presence instead of just getting swept. Now if only they could play this upcoming series in Forbes Field...

Pitchers and Catchers Reporting

"They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and they tell
you to hit it square." -- Willie Stargell

Lost in the shuffle of the Clemens, McNamee, Pettitte, HGH headlines today was pitchers and catchers reported to Florida and Arizona, signaling that the first signs of spring and baseball are just around the corner! Thank God. Despite being a Pirates fan, every year I'm pumped for the start of spring training. I guess when you think about it every team (yes even the Bucs) has a shot at beginning anew and claiming that World Series title in the fall. Of course, the Pirates will be out of by the end of April, but hey from a sunny perspective in Florida we sure can dream right?

So what's going on this first day of spring training? Here are some news clippings from around the Grapefruit and Cactus League.

The World Champs are back. The Red Sox pitchers and catchers reported today to Fort Myers and apparently they are thinking about repeating as champions. Shocking, I know. And they have a good shot of doing the job. They didn't lose much of any significant players from last year's team and with a pitching staff that will return Josh Beckett, Dice K, young prospects Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and the ever-reliable 4.00 ERA/180 IP guy per year Tim Wakefield. Forget about Curt Schilling for now...his loss, for half a season or whatever it'll be, hurts but this team won't need him to cruise into the playoffs. I'm sure he'll suddenly be back and healthy come October.

The Dodgers checked into Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., for the 61st year and also their last as the team plans to move onto Glendale, Arizona next year (of course it would be the fast rising city of Glendale). Sure the move to Arizona makes sense geographically, but moving out of Dodgertown where you have been for over 61 years is a bit weak. But I guess the Dodgers are used to pulling out of things to make more money somewhere else.

Reigning AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia checked into the Tribe's camp in Winter Haven, Fla., and announced that he was done talking about a possible extension with the Indians until after the season. Sabathia could become a free agent after the 2008 season, and I'm sure he wants to test the free agent market and see the $$$ that awaits him. Supposedly Cleveland offered him a four-year deal where he would make at least $17 mil next year. That wasn't good enough and really, with the Yankees and Red Sox out there reading to spend money, it probably wasn't enough. Sabathia is rolling the dice, though, in a contract year and better produce if he wants a Johan Santana type deal.

A couple of former junk Pirates showed up on new rosters today as well. Former No. 1 draft pick Kris Benson signed with the Phillies. Wow, look who's desperate for pitching. After his publicized divorce from Anna Benson, Kris missed the entire 2007 season due to some injury (it doesn't matter, he's had all of them in his career) and I totally forgot he could still throw the baseball. Also, Craig Wilson (nicknamed "Thor" in Pittsburgh) signed with the Reds. If there's one place that will tolerate striking out a ton and blasting home runs once a week, it's Cincinnati so maybe he'll make the team and then bury the Pirates in their first series with four home runs in three games.

Speaking of former Pirates, it was reported that Dodgers pitcher Jason Schmidt will likely not be ready for Opening Day and there's no timetable for his return. Yeah, that three-year, $47 million contract he signed last offseason is looking solid for LA. What does Schmidt have to show for all that money so far? One win. He went 1-4 with a 6.31 ERA last season before needing surgery. Joe Torre has his work cut out for him in the city of Angels.

Oh yeah, can you feel baseball in the air?! The Wheelhouse can and I can't wait to get the season underway.