Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Pirates Trades

Anyone who even slightly follows the Pittsburgh Pirates knows about their recent history and how the front office is enemy number one with Pirates fans. Owner Bob Nutting, president Frank Coonelly, and general manager Neal Huntington are looked at as a modern day Three Stooges tribute group by most Pirates fans.

They get no credit for anything they do and whenever they make a mistake, they get pounced on mercilessly. Often-times they're their own worst enemy with a lot of their PR fiascoes like the bizarre situation surrounding Pedro Alvarez's recent trip to the disabled list and the false information given about the player they recalled to take his place.

On the subject of trades, naturally, Pirates fans aren't satisfied with the job Huntington has done in evaluating players since he took over for Dave Littlefield in late 2007.

One of the first trades Huntington made was acquiring Adam Laroche from the Atlanta Braves for closer Mike Gonzalez before the 2008 season. Fans were excited about the trade. Laroche looked like the kind of player that could be a fixture in the middle of the Pirates lineup for years. Unfortunately, he never panned out in Pittsburgh.

Since Huntington took over, he's traded away players like Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, Nate Mcclouth, Nyjer Morgan and Octavio Dotel.

When the new regime took over, there was very little in the Pirates farm system, and Huntington had no choice but to trade away established Major League players in-order to restock the minors. Huntington traded away Bay and Nady in '08 and nobody thought Huntington got enough in return. In regards to Bay, Huntington's most valuable trading chip, that is probably the case. Nobody associated with the Jason Bay trade is doing anything with the Pirates right now. The only Major League ready player, Brandon Moss, is no longer with the club. Pitching prospect Bryan Morris was said to be the key to the trade, but he's still trying to break through in the minors.

The results for the Nady trade have been much better. The Pirates traded Nady and reliever Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees in exchange for outfielder Jose Tabata, and pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, Daniel Mccutchen, and Jeff Karstens. Tabata is one of the core group of young players currently on the Pirates roster, Ohlendorf is currently on the disabled list, but has been a regular starter in the rotation the past two seasons, Karstens has been a solid contributor to both the bullpen and the starting rotation, and Mccutchen has been lights-out this year as a set-up man in the bullpen. That's a pretty good return in a trade for an often injured outfielder who probably reached his peak in '08.

In early '09, the Pirates stunned everyone by trading away Nate Mcclouth to Atlanta for Charlie Morton, outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, and pitcher Jeff Locke.

People were outraged at such a deal. Mcclouth had just been signed to an extension, was still pretty young, and was the team's all-star representative in '08. The fact that Morton struggled so much the first year and a half after the trade didn't help matters any. However, Morton is currently one of the top pitchers in baseball after undergoing an offseason throwing makeover, and Jeff Locke is one of the top pitching prospects in the Pirates organization.

Also in '09, the Pirates traded away popular outfielder Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals in exchange for outfielder Lastings Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan. At first, the deal didn't look like a good one because Milledge, deemed the key to the deal, never worked out in Pittsburgh and was released after the '10 season. But Hanrahan has come on and has had a dominant 2011 season so far. He's hit over 100mph on the radar gun at times this season and is 13/13 in save opportunities.

Huntington also traded Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson in '09. For Sanchez, the Pirates got pitching prospect Tim Alderson. For Wilson, Huntington received hitting prospect Jeff Clement and shortstop Ronny Cedeno.

People were upset at the thought of losing two really popular players, especially since they got very little of value in return. Alderson has struggled since coming to the Pirates and was even demoted within the minor league system last season. Clement never amounted to anything as a hitter and Cedeno has been an average shortstop for the Pirates--often showing flashes of brilliance, but also at times, leaving fans frustrated with his silly mistakes.

Fact is, the Pirates weren't going to get much for Wilson and Sanchez. They were both near the end of their contracts and were surely going to leave after the '09 season. People are especially upset about the Sanchez trade because of how well Freddy is doing in San Francisco. However, Neil Walker has taken Sanchez's place at second base for the Pirates and is one of the best young players in baseball. If Sanchez was still in Pittsburgh, where would Neil Walker be right now?

Last season, Huntington traded reliever Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for starting pitcher James Mcdonald. So far, that looks like a pretty decent trade for the Pirates as Mcdonald has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the Pirates rotation since coming over last Summer.

So that's Huntington's trade history for the most part since becoming the gm. A mixed bag, for sure, but not every trade is going to work out. I think most general managers have a trading record of about 50%. I think Huntington has done a much better job than he's been given credit for.

Most Pirates fans will never tell you that. After all, Huntington is part of a Three Stooges tribute band.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Nice to see the Buccos bounce-back after their six-game slide

The Pirates lost to the Tigers today, 2-0, in the last game of a three-game series. Pittsburgh was going for the sweep but Rick Porcello was masterful, pitching 8 innings and only giving up 1 hit the entire day. He only needed 84 pitches to get through those 8-innings, but for whatever reason, Jim Leyland decided to take him out and it nearly cost him. Well, I shouldn't say "nearly". The Pirates did get the first two men on base in the ninth inning, but Ryan Doumit struck out, Garrett Jones grounded out, and Neil Walker didn't get to be the hero again today as he, too, grounded-out to end the game. Pirates starter Paul Maholm, once again, was the hard-luck loser. He only gave up two-runs but it was enough to give him yet another tough-loss. During the game, the Pirates announcers said that the team has only given Maholm 14 runs of support during the times he's pitched this season. That's insane. Leave it to the Pirates to have some kind of weird stat like that. With a 3.65 ERA, you'd think Maholm would be having a great season, but instead, he's 1-7. That's the very definition of a tough-luck loser.

Despite the loss, it was nice to see the Pirates take 2 of 3 from Detroit. The team has been notoriously bad in interleague play since its inception in 1997. Before this weekend, they were 73-123 all-time against the American League. Interleague play usually marks a downward turn for the Bucs so maybe this series is a sign of better things to come.

After losing six in a row and facing the prospects of going up against the Reds and Tigers, I was starting to get my usual sinking-feeling. But surprisingly, they answered with a four-game winning streak by sweeping the Reds and taking the first two from the Tigers this weekend.

Instead of slipping maybe ten-games under .500, now they're only two-games under. It's weeks like this that could keep the fans hopes up and, more importantly, allow the young players to continue to have confidence as the season progresses.

Monday, May 16, 2011

13 days to remember (or forget)

Well, I just completed my 13-day work-marathon. This is the time of year my boss goes to Florida and I have to put in overtime. This year was particularly draining and grueling because I started to get sick before I had to start my string of days and I am still somewhat under the weather--suffering from fatigue and a bit congested.

When you work so many days and hours and must keep track of so much, everything is a blur. I didn't know whether I was coming or going half the time. I just tried to get through each day. I just learned to look forward to the little things like the days I started at 11am and could sleep in just a little, or hanging out with my girlfriend.

Speaking of my girlfriend, I just celebrated my 39th birthday and she was certainly the mvp of my special day. She baked me lasagna, sung happy birthday to me with the help of a brownie cake, and bought me season 3 of "The Office" and season 1 of "The Incredible Hulk." Yes, that's right, I love the Hulk. My geeky tendencies go way beyond my obsession with the Steelers. I'll probably be watching re-runs of shows like "the Hulk" when I'm 75 years old and my family will probably think I'm strange. Well, hopefully, by then I'll have my own house and I can tell them that if they don't like it, they can GET OUT! I'm not ashamed to say that I was excited to get season 1. I got back into the show two years ago and I swear, the quest to find season one and complete my collection lasted almost as long as David Banner's journey to find a cure for his affliction. Anyway, it was one of my favorite birthdays and now I'm on the road to 40. I thought maybe this age would bother me a bit, but it really hasn't. Age is something you can't control so there is no point in worrying about it too much. Although, you should probably check back with me a year from now.

One of the things I got to do on my birthday was play volleyball. I was out there running around and diving all over the place and I didn't feel any differently than I did when I was 25. In-fact, I'm probably in better cardio-shape now than when I was in my 20's.

I even managed to fit two arena football games into my crazy schedule over the last two weeks. I'm really starting to enjoy arena football. I mean, don't get me wrong, the quality of play isn't anywhere near the NFL or even big-time college football, but it's still very entertaining. While at the game the other night, I saw a guy in attendance wearing a Pittsburgh Power t-shirt and sporting a Green Bay Packers baseball cap. I didn't know what to make of that. I suspect he was from Greenfield--the hometown of Packer's coach Mike Mccarthy--but I could be wrong.

You ever have one of those periods where everything goes wrong technologically? Friday night, my new cell phone stopped working and I didn't have service for many hours until my girlfriend suggested turning it off and turning it back on. Presto! It worked again. Also, I couldn't access my email at all Saturday night. I don't think I could last without the internet because I couldn't even endure going a few hours without being able to see my email. And the worst part of the weekend was losing about 90% of a story I wrote for Behind The Steel Curtain. I spent about two hours writing it and after I was done, I went over it again to make sure I spelled everything right and realized that I spelled paltry "paultry" and decided to save the draft and go look up the definition of the word just to make sure paultry wasn't a real word and the one I was really looking for. Wouldn't you know it, for some reason, when I logged back on to the BTSC, my 1900 word post was down to 167. I was sick. I really loved that post. I re-wrote it, but I couldn't remember it word-for-word and don't think the second-version was quite as good. Stories are like snow-flakes, you can tell the same story, but the words and tone are never exactly the same every time. Oh well. That's the computer age, what can you do?

That's a little review of my last two weeks. I'm trying to get back into a more normal routine, but I have much catching up to do in many areas.

Friday, May 6, 2011

What Rashard Mendenhall said

Boy, if the Penguins are eliminated from the playoffs, people really have to search for topics to discuss this time of year.

As most people know by now, Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall tweeted some controversial remarks following the death of Osama bin laden earlier in the week. Everyone has an opinion on what Mendenhall said. A lot of people were offended by his comments. I mean, how can he wonder out-loud if bin laden was really responsible for the September 11th attacks? How dare he throw a conspiracy theory out there?

And naturally, since we now live in an era of overreacting, many are suggesting that Mendenhall be released by the Steelers. Of course, that's utterly ridiculous. I mean, how can you punish a person for having an opinion? Do I agree with what Mendenhall tweeted? No, but I've had many discussions about what happened on September 11th, 2001 with people from various walks of life who share views similar to Mendenhall's. Never once did I call up their boss and insist that they be fired.

Unfortunately, social media, like twitter and facebook, has let us in on the intimate thoughts of people of celebrity like never before. Twenty years ago, we probably would have never known Mendenhall's thoughts on bin laden. But since we live in the age of social media, his opinions became national news.

Can you imagine if social media outlets were available when Terry Bradshaw was still playing? How about Bubby Brister? You think Greg Lloyd may have turned some heads in the 90's had Twitter existed?

I wonder if fans would have called for Bradshaw's release if he tweeted controversial opinions on the Vietnam war.

People are also wondering why they should care about what athletes or any celebrities think about politics or religion. "Mendenhall should just keep his mouth shut and stick to football." Well, why is it okay for Joe the accountant or Sally the teacher to call up talk shows and voice their opinions on politics, religion, or sports, but it's not okay for Rashard the football player to voice his opinions on various subjects? What makes me qualified to write this blog? After all, I don't have a degree in sports journalism. I never played professional football. Why should I be commenting on the Mendenhall matter?

The only thing Mendenhall is guilty of is having an opinion that differs from the majority. Maybe you won't be able to cheer for him like you once did. But let me ask you this: Do you have a friend that has political views that you don't agree with? When you have a get-together, do you exclude that friend just because of his or her opinions on politics?

You might not agree with Mendenhall, and yes, you have every right to boo him, but you have no right to censor him. After all, we live in America, the land of the free. And that includes opinions.

Monday, May 2, 2011

2011 Draft Review

The general consensus I heard from most Steelers fans regarding the just completed 2011 NFL Draft was that it was solid. The Steelers did nothing Earth-shattering. They simply addressed some needs. There is disagreement among a lot of fans that the Steelers may have gone about filling their needs back assward. Meaning they should have addressed their biggest need in the first round which would have been cornerback. However, it's so hard to get a real feel for end of first round/beginning of second round talent.

I had no problem with the Cam Heyward pick. As I said in my most recent post on Behind The Steel Curtain, missing on first round selections is a quick way to get into trouble.

In 1999, the Steelers really had a need at the wide receiver position and even though he didn't grade out at a mid-first round talent, the Steelers went ahead and selected Troy Edwards with the 13th pick in round one. Edwards impressed the Steelers so much they had to go ahead and draft Plaxico Burress in 2000.

This isn't to say that Aaron Williams (the player projected to go to the Steelers by most draft experts) will not be a talent in this league. He very well could be a great corner for years to come.

But it's hard to find fault with the Cameron Heyward selection in round one. The drafting of Heyward this season and Ziggy Hood in '09 addresses a need at an important position on an aging defense. No one can say whether Heyward and Hood will duplicate what Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel have been doing for the Steelers in this era--Pittsburgh spent the entire 1980's unsuccessfully trying to duplicate the magic of the 70's Steel Curtain--but at least they have two young players in their system with tremendous upside.

This year's reaction to the Draft class is far more civil than last year's. Most fans were happy with the selection of Maurkice Pouncey in round one, but a lot of people were up-in-arms when the team drafted linebacker Jason Worilds in round 2 and receiver Emmanuel Sanders in round 3. "Why are they going after another linebacker! Why are they drafting another smurf receiver when they could have had Golden Tate in round 2!" That was my brother's reaction to rounds 2 and 3 last season. Of course, he also wanted the Steelers to pick Dez Bryant instead of Pouncey in round one. He's all about the "sexy" pick that makes you happy in April but can often leave you infuriated in November.

Of course, the fan base is going to be more emotional about a draft coming off a 9-7 non-playoff year than they are coming off a Super Bowl appearance.

Last season, after addressing a major need with Pouncey in round one, they went about bolstering their depth and their putrid special teams play that contributed greatly to them missing the playoffs in '09. It was kind of hard to understand at the time, but that strategy paid huge dividends last season.

The fans are still concerned about the cornerback position. Even though the team did draft corners in both rounds 3 and 4, that doesn't mean they will come in and make an impact. However, the process isn't complete. We do not know what's going to happen with free agency. Ike Taylor is said to be looking for a huge payday, but so was Ryan Clark last season before resigning with Pittsburgh.

As much as fans have been wanting a cornerback, I do not believe the need and the players available have been the right combination the past few years. The Steelers frustrated me for years by not addressing the offensive line position, but when the player and the need was the right combination, they found Pouncey and hit a homerun. I believe they will eventually go about addressing the corner position in round one, and when they do, knowing Colbert's track record, they will probably find a special player.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

The Steelers draft class of 2011

I listed the Steelers draft class last year and since it's become a tradition of mine (this has been a sports blog for 13 months or so), I present to you the Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 NFL Draft class:

Round one: Cameron Heyward, defensive end, Ohio state.

Round two: Marcus Gilbert, offensive tackle, Florida.

Round three: Curtis Brown, cornerback, Texas.

Round four: Cortez Allen, cornerback, The Citadel.

Round five: Chris Carter, linebacker, Fresno St,

Round six: Keith Williams, guard, Nebraska.

Round seven: Baron Batch, running back, Texas Tech.

There you have it, the Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 NFL Draft class.