It's official: Derrek Lee is coming to Pittsburgh

In the tradition of former Pirates like Sean Casey, Derek Bell and Jeromy Burnitz, the Pirates acquired Derrek Lee, a player well-past his prime, from the Baltimore Orioles in-exchange for a minor league prospect.

However, unlike those previous players, the acquisition of Derrek Lee actually makes sense for the Pirates this time around. He's not coming here to play for a team that has no chance of winning.

In years gone by, players like Casey and Bell came to Pittsburgh in the off-season and were expected to be major contributors to last place teams with no real plan for winning in place. Lee, on the other hand, is coming here to add some offensive punch to a team that's contending.

On his blog last night, Bob Smizik discussed the trade and said that Lee isn't enough, and the Pirates owe it to their fans and players to go after more talent before the trade-deadline at 4pm today.

When I texted my brother and told him about the trade, he texted back: "Why only Lee? Cheap-ass management."

Well, it was "only Lee" because the Giants acquired Carlos Beltran last week, the Phillies traded for Hunter Pence just the other night, and the Chicago Cubs were evidently unwilling to move Carlos Pena.

I like the fact that Pittsburgh acquired Lee for only class A prospect Aaron Baker. It's the kind of low-risk deal the Pirates should be going for this season.

The Giants had to give up the 33rd ranked prospect in baseball for Beltran, a player who is a free-agent after this season and may not even sign with the Giants next year.

For Pence, the Phillies had to part with two of their prospects that just so happen to be ranked 37th and 38th. That's fine for those teams if they want to do that. The Giants are defending World Series Champions, and the Phillies have been World Series contenders for years and are arguably the best team in baseball. Established teams can mortgage the future and get away with it.

The Pirates 2010 first round selection, pitcher Jameson Taillon, is the team's top prospect and is ranked in the top 12 in all of baseball. Would you have wanted the Pirates to trade him for Beltran or Pence? Please tell me you wouldn't. Not yet, anyway.

It's taken gm Neal Huntington three-plus years to stock the Pirates' minor league system with even modest talent, and he still has a ton of work to do.

He can't go parting with his top prospects right now. Yes, I know the Pirates are in contention. Yes, this opportunity may not come along again, but then again, it may come along time-and-time again in the next five or six seasons.

Let's be honest, the NL Central isn't exactly the AL or even NL East. And as someone pointed out last night on Smizik's blog, the Cardinals may lose Pujols after this season, and the Brewers will almost surely lose Prince Fielder to free agency. The Pirates might have a great opportunity to compete and contend in the division for years to come. 2011 isn't necessarily a "now or never" campaign.

It's true that the team has looked a bit shaky lately, and Derrek Lee may not be enough to turn the tide in Pittsburgh's favor. I know they've fallen 3 1/2 games back in the division, but the Pirates are at the tail-end of a very tough thirteen-game stretch that has seen them play the Reds, Cardinals, Braves and Phillies. All contenders, all trying to win just like the young Pirates. Going into today's game with the Phillies, the Pirates are 5-7 in this stretch. Not exactly great, but an inexperienced team like the Pirates could have very easily fallen apart, but Pittsburgh has gotten big wins whenever they've needed them, like the other night in Atlanta when they beat the Braves to earn a four-game split after suffering two-straight heart-breaking losses in extra innings. Last Sunday, on the verge of being swept right out of PNC Park, Pittsburgh found a way to defeat St. Louis in extra innings and salvage the final game of the series.

This team has taken a few big body-blows the past couple of weeks, but they're still standing. At worst, the Pirates will be 4 1/2 games out heading into a seven-game homestand against the Cubs and Padres. They certainly have plenty of time to make up ground. And let's not forget, the Pirates still have numerous games remaining against the Brewers and Cardinals.

This team has shown great resiliency this season. I wouldn't count them out just yet.

Derrek Lee is reportedly on his way to Pittsburgh

Well, after weeks of speculation, the Pittsburgh Pirates appear to have made a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for veteran first baseman Derrek Lee. It is being reported by various outlets, and it looks as if the only thing holding up the deal is a review of Lee's medical records.

Reports earlier had the Orioles insisting on top prospects in exchange for Lee, which was almost laughable considering Lee is 35 years old, not the player he once was and is in the last year of his contract.

However, it looks as if the Pirates will only have to give up a single-A prospect for Lee, which would be the kind of low-risk move that won't deplete the team's slowly-improving farm-system.

Derrek Lee isn't Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence or even Carlos Pena, but he's certainly an offensive upgrade over the Lyle Overbays and Brandon Woods of the world.

I don't know if this move will silence the critics, and it's hard to say if any more trades are in the works before tomorrow's trade-deadline, but it's sure nice to see the Pirates at least be minor buyers for a change.

Jerry Meals "Steals" one from the Pirates

I've seen the replay a dozen times, and I still can't believe the call. Last night, the Pirates participated in the longest game in team history--a 19-inning affair that lasted over six-hours--and they lost it on a blown call that has the entire baseball world buzzing today.

With one out in the bottom of the 19th inning and Braves on 1st and 3rd, Atlanta was down to using pitcher Scott Proctor to try and drive in the winning run. Proctor hit a sharp grounder to Pedro Alvarez at 3rd. Alvarez threw home in plenty of time to get Julio Lugo, who broke from 3rd base on contact. The throw clearly beat Lugo by a mile as catcher Michael Mckenry tagged Lugo on the shin or knee well before he crossed the plate.

From every angle that I saw, there is no way any umpire could have or should have called Lugo safe on that play. Homeplate umpire Jerry Meals thought differently. He called Lugo safe, and the Braves escaped with a 4-3 win. Some have said that there is a small possibility that Mckenry may have barely missed the tag there. However, even if Mckrenry missed Lugo's leg by a fraction of an inch, Meals was in no position to make a safe call there because the likely-hood of Mckenry missing that tag and Meals seeing it clearly were very low.

I watched the highlights of the disputed play on the Pirates' website, and they aired the calls of both the Pirates' and Braves announcers. Even the Braves play-by-play guys were stunned by the call. Even Lugo seemed surprised to be called safe on the play.

The real shame is that Proctor fell flat on his face right out of the batters box, and it would have been an easy inning-ending double-play.

Of course, almost lost in all of this is the Pirates continued lack of offensive production.

Mckenry hit a homerun in the 2nd inning, and it was the first homerun for the Pirates since July 16th. After Mckenry's shot, the Pirates were shut-out for the next 17-innings. It's getting to the point where even I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to bring in another bat. This 2011 Pirates' story is a great one. I'd hate to see it collapse under the weight of a dreadful offensive attack. If getting Carlos Pena from the Cubs is as easy as people are making it seem, then the Pirates should be on the phone today.

Speaking of pitching, the Pirates need Paul Maholm to pitch a gem tonight to not only preserve the over-worked bullpen, but to rid themselves of the nasty-taste last night's game left in everyone's mouth.

A few more runs and some quality umpiring wouldn't hurt, either.

One, Two, Three Time's the Charm for the Old Buccos! Pirates salvage final game against Cardinals

Chase d'arnaud drove in Xavier Paul with a sacrifice fly to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in 10 innings at PNC Park yesterday afternoon.

The win pulled the Pirates back into a three-way tie in the NL Central with the Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.

I think yesterday's victory was the most-important of the season. No, not because of the standings--the Pirates would have only been two-games back with with 63 games to go--but because of the young team's psyche.

St. Louis took the first two games of the series, and they did so rather convincingly(especially Saturday night's 9-1 thrashing), and a sweep could have easily sent Pittsburgh into a tail-spin that not only hurt their chances at the division but jeopardized their quest to finish at or above .500 for the first time since 1992.

Pittsburgh was on a modest three-game losing-streak, and a loss yesterday would have been four in a row, and things could have really gotten ugly. Starting tonight, the Pirates begin a seven-game road swing, playing four in Atlanta and three this weekend against the Phillies

Now if the Pirates can hold-serve on the road this week and win maybe three or four games, they'll set themselves up to make another run next week with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres coming to PNC Park for a seven-game homestand.

I'm obviously excited about the NL Central race, but to be honest, I'm more concerned with the Pirates finishing at or above .500. And not because 19-consecutive losing-seasons would be any more gut-wrenching than 18 years, but this season has turned-into such a feel-good story, it would be a shame to see the team finish with another losing record. Yes, no matter how 2011 ends (save for a collapse of epic proportions), the campaign has already been a success with the renewed fan-excitement and passion displayed in the stands at PNC Park, but a season that ends at .500 or better would be a nice feather in the cap of the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fan base. Right now, my magic number for the Pirates is 29 games. If they can go 29-34 down-the-stretch, the Buccos will end their 18 years of misery, and we won't have to hear about the record steak of losing seasons ever again.

I think we'll have a really good idea of how the Pirates' season will end come September. From now through the end of August, the Pirates have the up-coming series with the Braves and Phillies I mentioned earlier, as well as three games in San Francisco, six with Milwaukee, seven more against St. Louis, and a three-game series vs. the Reds.

That's a pretty brutal-stretch of baseball.

If the Pirates can get to September at or above .500 and within striking-distance of first place, we will be in for the most-exciting month of baseball Pirates fans have witnessed since the early-90's. The Pirates really could do some damage as the schedule looks at least a little easier. From August 29th on, Pittsburgh will play six-games against the Houston Astros, three-more against the Cubs, three against the Marlins and four in Los Angeles.

If the Pirates take care of business against those teams, they could really set themselves up for an exciting finish.

The Cardinals come to PNC Park one last time for a three-game series in mid-September. After the four games against the Dodgers, the Pirates finish out the year with three against the Diamondbacks, who are having a great year and in contention for the NL West, three at PNC Park against the Reds for their final home-series of the season, and Pittsburgh's final three games will be in Milwaukee against those hated-Brewers.

I don't know if the Pirates have what it takes to go all the way in the NL Central, but if they can just make it to September in one-piece, I believe at least a winning-season could become a reality.

Some Pirates thoughts

-First off, I really need to improve my pennant-race conditioning. I'm simply not used to the marathon that a 162 game schedule is. It's been so long since the Pirates were in the hunt for a postseason berth this late in the year, and all I'm used to these days is living and dying for Steelers games. Of course, any single NFL game is pretty crucial because there are only 16 of them. Each win is a reason to celebrate. Each loss is a reason to be a little concerned. In baseball, however, it's a marathon, not an intense sprint. Lately, I've been catching myself getting too high after every Pirates' win and too low after a loss like yesterday's. Oh well, I guess, like the young players, the fans must learn how to handle the ups and downs of a pennant race.

-Speaking of that, I was listening to the Pirates' postgame show yesterday, and the host was promoting the weekend series with the Cardinals. He called it the biggest series in PNC Park history. When I heard that, I got goosebumps. If nothing else, it's nice to hear that kind of stuff again.

-How about Jeff Karstens? The guy has been lights-out. He was named the player of the week in the National League, and it was based totally on his complete game shutout in Houston the first game after the All-star break. It's pretty impressive to be voted the best player of an entire week based-on 9-innings. But Kartens' game was just a masterpiece. He only needed 83 pitches to get through 9-innings, and he didn't walk a single batter. I've always liked Karstens. If I was a pitcher, I'd be like him. He's not very big, he doesn't have great stuff, but he is fearless out there, and he changes speeds better than any Pirates' pitcher I've seen in a long time. His fastball is around 90mph, and his curveball has been clocked in the 60's. Having a rocket arm is a great advantage for a pitcher, but changing speeds and keeping the hitters off balance has always been the key to pitching. Karstens does nothing fancy out there, he just lets his defense do the work. I think it's easy to forget that even the best hitters in the world still fail close to 70% of the time. It's nice to see guys like Karstens succeed. The Pirates are going to need to continue finding and developing guys like Karstens if they're going to grow as a team. Not every great major league player was a top 5 prospect.

-I'm still a little worried about what the Pirates might do at the trade-deadline. When you hear some of the names floated around as potential Pirates--Hunter Pence, Carlos Pena and Carlos Beltran--I have to admit, it's kind of intriguing. But I'm still of the belief that the Pirates should not sell the farm to rent a player for only a few months. If they can get a Pena for a mid-range prospect, I say go for it. However, if it's going to cost them too much of the future, I would just go with what they have. Pence is the only one I would consider trading a valuable commodity for, but that's only because he has at least two-years before he's a free-agent. However, I don't think the Astros are going to part with Pence unless they get a King's Ransom in return, and I don't think the Pirates are at the point yet where they can just give away top prospects. They have to continue to build their system from the bottom on up.

That's it for now. Let's see how this weekend series with the Cardinals plays out. If it goes well, there may be a few more big series at PNC Park before the season is over.

Let's Go Bucs!

The Pirates lose a tough one in Houston tonight

Like a lot of Pirates' fans whose passion and pride in the Buccos laid dormant for so many years, I'm finally allowing myself to catch "Pirates Fever" this season as the team has surprised everyone in baseball by being in the middle of the NL Central race.

Unfortunately, that pride and passion often comes with a price when you're a die hard fan. Take tonight, for example. I was on Yahoo following the Pirates' game against the Astros in Houston. Right before I decided to do my kickboxing workout, Pittsburgh was ahead, 4-3, in the top of the 8th inning. The Pirates were trailing, 3-1, earlier in the night so I was feeling confident that they had taken Houston's best shot and would shut things down and bring home the victory.

Well, after my vigorous workout, I anxiously refreshed my Yahoo feed only to discover that the Astros rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and defeated the Pirates, 6-4.

Now I'm blue......but that's a good thing.

After so many years of not having a reason to invest my emotions in the local baseball team, it's refreshing to actually live and die for every game.

Last night, my girlfriend left for Myrtle Beach, and she was very upset when she said goodbye to me because we won't see each other again for another nine days.

Part of me was upset because she was upset, but at the same time, it was nice to know that someone cared about me so much.

Same thing with the Pirates. Yes, I am unhappy that they lost tonight's game, but it's nice to have a baseball team to care about again.

Let's Go Bucs!

The MLB All-Star game losing popularity

From what I've read on various sites lately, people in charge of MLB are worried about the All-Star game's plummeting ratings in recent years and are trying to figure out a way to stem the tide, if you will, and get the game back to where it was in its glory days.

I really don't think anything can be done, and quite frankly, I don't care about any all-star game enough to worry about its ratings. Let's face it, the days of all-star games being popular and generating huge ratings for their leagues may be a thing of the past.

In days gone by, before free agency really took a strangle-hold on professional sports in North America, it was cool to see those rare moments when a Reggie Jackson would bat against a Tom Seaver in the MLB Summer Classic, but now with so much player movement, those kinds of confrontations don't seem nearly as monumental as they used to.

And baseball introducing interleague play into the mix in 1997 is another hit to the All-Star game's mystique. When I was a kid, it was really a neat thing to see one of my favorite Pirates on the same field as a Yankee or Angel, but now that I get to see the Pirates battle teams from the American League a handful of series each season, what intrigue does the All-Star game hold for me as a fan? I mean, interleague play was great the first few years, but now that it's a common occurrence every season, I don't see what's so magical about it anymore. What's the difference between the Pirates playing four teams from the American League every season and the Pittsburgh Steelers facing four teams from the NFC every year?

The 2002 game ended in a tie and the fans were so up-in-arms over it that commissioner Bud Selig tinkered with things, and now the winner of the game earns homefield advantage for its league representative in the World Series.

I can't believe I'm saying this since I live in a world with no true playoff system in major college football, but using an All-Star game to decide homefield advantage for a championship series may very well be the dumbest thing in sports.

I don't know what can be done to make the baseball All-Star game popular again, but I do know that tying postseason importance to it isn't the answer.

Let's hope that Selig doesn't get any more strange ideas. Next thing we know, the winner of the home run derby could have postseason implications.

Stranger things have happened.

Excited to be a Pirates fan again

I know I said a couple of weeks ago that I didn't think we should get too excited about the Pirates and expect them to compete for the division, but here we are at the All Star break and the team is only a game out of the division lead.

With today's 9-1 win over the Cubs at PNC Park, the Pirates improved to 47-43--their best first half since 1992. I'll be honest, I never dreamed they would be this good this soon.

When you look at the starting lineup manager Clint Hurdle throws out there every day, you wonder how it's even possible that the Pirates are where they are. However, pitching has always been the great equalizer in baseball (ask the World Champion Giants) and it's been the backbone of Pittsburgh's success so far.

Even great teams like the Yankees and Red Sox strive to have 3 solid starters, the Pirates have an entire rotation of solid starting pitching. It's incredible. Maholm, Correia, Karstens, Mcdonald, and Morton. No stars, no real aces, but all solid starters.

I have the same feelings about this team that I had about the 1990 Pirates but for different reasons. The Pirates of the 80's spent the latter portion of the decade looking up at the evil New York Mets. By 1990, they were in a dog-fight with New York for the National League East. I spent the entire year waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the Mets to overtake the Buccos in the standings. It never happened. The Pirates stared the Mets in the eye in September and were the last team standing at the end.

This season, I'm not worried about whether or not Pittsburgh will be able to win the division, I'm more worried about whether or not they'll just collapse and spiral down to well below .500. See, in 1990, I knew the Pirates were a talented team that would finish well-above .500, I just saw the Mets as invincible. However, the current Pirates have been so bad for so long I just can't imagine them maintaining a winning record for the entire season.

But, screw it! I'm going to go all in and invest my emotions in the team. That's what being a fan is all about, right?

I know this sounds a bit cliched because every one's been saying it, but it's nice to finally be paying attention to the standings again. The last time I really paid attention, the Internet wasn't even in my thought process and I would look in the sports section of the newspaper, that's how long it's been since the Pirates were really relevant in this town.

Let's Go Bucs!