Baseball Thread 5 - #5 George Brett Has a Story to Tell

One fallacy in that post is McCutchen getting his chance when McLouth was traded. They didn't have to trade McLouth to bring up McCutchen. Brandon Moss is betting .267 with one home run. He doesn't have to be in the lineup. It was good PR by the Pirates linking the two, to give the illusion that they had to make room for McCutchen. It just isn't true.

I really don't have a problem with either of the trades yesterday, especially the Hinske trade. It was more the idea of the Pirates actually giving the Yankees money that struck me as odd given the finances of the two franchises. My Bill Gates comment was simply a bit of hyperbole.

Andy LaRoche and Brandon Moss are batting fifth and sixth because the team doesn't have better options, not because they have earned it. LaRoche had one good hot streak, but he is still hitting only .278 with minimal power (three home runs).

Given that the team is five games out, where do you think they could be with Bay in left, McLouth in right, McCutchen in center field and some scrub at third base instead of LaRoche (who was part of the Bay deal)?

Maybe those deals pan out in the long run, but I still don't think they got enough for Bay or McLouth.

 

Well, shit. There went one idea.

 

Re: Stick A Fork In The Mets

Did he miss the ball or are you pointing out the fact his body is twisted into a near-perfect "L" for LOSER?

 

Re: Stick A Fork In The Mets

It looks like he stuck the landing.

 

Re: Stick A Fork In The Mets

Take it to the baseball thread.

Oh, and Mets won today.

 

No, I'm really not. ;D

And I didn't write it; AP did in last night's gamer.

 

Exactly where they are right now, maybe a little further back because the Bucs would have less pitching (Morton, Karstens and especially Ohlendorf).

Remember that with Bay, McLouth and Nady, they finished 30.5 games back a year ago. A great outfield doesn't guarantee wins. Just ask the Royals how many times they were in contention with Dye, Damon and Beltran.

 

Any way the Twins can just play the Royals the rest of the way?

 

Here's the problem -- they weren't moving McLouth to right, and McCutchen has played nothing but center in the minors. They've groomed him for that position from the start.

McLouth's a tier 2 outfielder who has probably maximized his potential. Morgan is a dime-a-dozen guy. Trust me, I understand the frustrations of the Pirates fans. But you can't look at that rotation and bullpen and legitimately think the Pirates are one or two players away from earning a playoff berth this season.

 

that shit-fest brought you back to even on the season with MLB's best AA lineup. Not exactly Cubs-Pirates. At least not yet.

 

Morton is 0-1 in three starts for the Pirates, including one in which he left after an inning. He may contribute something. He has contributed nothing.

Karstens and Ohlendorf were not part of the Bay deal or the McLouth deal. They would still have those two. I'm not questioning the Nady deal. Obviously, that one has turned out quite well for them.

And Cosmo, no, I don't think that pitching staff is enough to get them in the playoffs and I agree that Morgan was no great loss at all. If they wanted to put their best team on the field, moving McLouth to right field is exactly what they would have done.

They have made some decent moves since the new regime took over. Drafting Alvarez (though that should have been an easy call). Getting value out of Nady and Marte. Getting some upside in exchange for Morgan. I'm not a big fan of Milledge, but he certainly has a better chance to develop into something than Morgan does.

But they still didn't get enough for their two most valuable pieces, Bay and McLouth.