With pitchers and catchers already hard at work, and a number of position players shaking off the rust in Pirate City, I figure now is as good a time as ever to recap Neal Huntington’s off-season.
The Departed:
Cesar Izturis
Josh Phelps
Salomon Torres
Jose Castillo
There was some outcry over dumping Phelps, and while he did swing a good stick [...]
The National Post is reporting that the Bucs have signed former Gold Glove winner Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league deal, with an invitation to spring training.
Mientkiewicz, while known for his leather, has been no slouch at the plate the last couple of years either. The 33-year old batted .271 and posted an OBP of .349 [...]
I decided to do a little research putting Neal’s “under-performing” claim to the test. Basically, I wanted to see how the Pirates’ 2008 line-up would stack up against some other NL line-ups in 2007. I provided two line-ups below — the Phillies, who were tops in the NL with 892 runs scored, and the Cubs, [...]
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times has reported that Mariners CF Adam Jones has left Venezuela, where he has spent the winter playing in the Venezuelan league, and is on his way to Baltimore for a physical.
A.K.A - The Mariners have found their pitcher, and with that, ladies and gentlemen, we can be assured that [...]
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the Pirates have signed pitcher Jaret Wright to a minor league contract, and have extended him an invitation to spring training.
Wright, who turns 32 this season, won 15 games in 2004 while a member of the Atlanta Braves, and has enjoyed modest, though inconsistet success as a Major League [...]
There is a very interesting debate going on at the Bucco Blog Forum regarding what the Pirates should do with the number 2 overall pick. Pedro Alvarez, the power hitting third-baseman from Vanderbilt is the consensus talent that fans seem to think the Bucs should seek, but some argue that the team should go after [...]
“I would say there is a pretty good nucleus in place with the major-league roster, particularly the rotation. I would argue, too, that, if you go around the diamond with our everyday players, there are as many as five who underachieved last year. If just three of those five meet or exceed expectations, those 68 [...]
As a baseball fan, I have always been very fond of Roger Clemens, despite my allegiance to the Pirates. He was a guy that I respected, especially after reading an article in Sports Illustrated that outlined his normal workout regimen. The guy was a workhorse, and I respected that.
I wasn’t alone. Despite the large constituency [...]
