Garrett Atkins: What You Need To Know
The Pirates continue to throw more players into the pool of potential contributors with the addition of Garrett Atkins, who was signed to a minor league contract last week. Let’s take a look at what the Pirates have acquired.
Garrett was drafted in the 5th round of the 2000 draft. His first full season was in 2005 where he hit .287 with 13 HR and 89 RBI. The next year would be his breakout season, and his best of his career where he hit .329 with 29 HR and 120 RBI. His power to the gaps and patience was also very good as shown through his .965 OPS. Though his numbers in 2007 and 2008 weren’t as good, they were still decent as he would average 23 HRs and and a .285 AVG.
However in 2009 his numbers tailed off dramatically. He hit just .226 and had just 9 HR. The Rockies non-tendered him and the Orioles took a chance on him in 2010. After putting up abysmal Ryan Church-like numbers hitting .214 with 1 HR before being released in June.
The coincidence behind Atkins’s good years and the Pirates? He performed well under Clint Hurdle.
However you shouldn’t go around thinking that just because the two are back together, that Atkins will be back as a middle-of-the-lineup force. He won’t be a starter. He will most likely be a key part of the now depleted Pirate bench. The Pirates are just hoping to get a little extra out of him by reuniting him with his former manager.
Atkins seems to fit a similar role as another Pirate from past years Steve Pearce. After showing promise against lefties, Pearce’s season was derailed with an injury. The addition of Atkins seems to thwart any chance of a comeback and I expect Pearce to be left off the roster.
This is a shame. In the few times I’ve met him Steve has been a great guy. He has always been one of my favorite players despite his underground standing with the team. Unfortunately in this business, being nice doesn’t guarantee success. We’ll just have to see how the roster shakes out.
Ticket Stubs
I’m a pack rat when it comes to keeping things sports related. My room is filled with stuff I don’t want to get rid of
For example, one shelf of my bookcase is stuffed with old Pirate programs.
Minus a few holes, I can say I have just about every monthly installment from 1997 to 2010, and I for sure have every one from April 2002 on.
I also keep a ticket stub from every event I go to. Being a huge fan of live sports like I am, it’s a pretty big stack.
I don’t know why I keep them, I guess it’s just a free memento from your trip to the ballpark, arena, or stadium where you’ll have a nice remembrance of what happened. Plus in recent history there have been some pretty cool designs. Here are my favorites.
University of Pittsburgh Panthers Season Tickets 2008
The Panthers always do a good job with a mosaic picture for the whole seasons worth of tickets. This one here features a classy picture of the team coming out of the tunnel with a panorama of the Pittsburgh skyline along the bottom. I felt bad ripping these apart as the season went on so I was sure to put them back together after it was over.
Pittsburgh Pirates 2001 Season Ticket
I got this stub when I sat in my uncles company’s seats back when PNC first opened. A beautiful picture of the new ballpark with Inaugural Season in gold made this one a keeper. Can’t figure out how I’ve kept it so nice since being in the 3rd grade.
Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Playoff Ticket
This thing is awesome plain and simple. The Penguins always do a good job with their stubs and this one is no different.
Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Season Tickets
I found these often times on the ground leaving the Mellon Arena after games. Why would people want to get rid of these? Each game features a completely different picture for all 41 games depicting action against the Penguins’ opponent that game.
Three Rivers Stadium Final Weekend 2000
Besides the awesome $3 kids general admission price tag, this stub features a nice picture of old pirates memorabilia. Since Three Rivers didn’t have those fancy scanners like we see today, instead ticket takers had a puncher that engraved “I Was There” on each ticket rather than ripping them. Definitely unique.
Florida Marlins 2004
First the fact that I payed $3 to see a defending World Series champion is awesome. Next the tickets, which we bought from the window, featured Dontrelle Willis and Juan Pierre doing their thing. Good stuff
Pittsburgh Pirates 2008 season tickets
Topps baseball card design + ticket stub = win
Pittsburgh Pirates 1996/1997 single game stubs
If there is one thing I hate about exchanging my games as a season ticket holder (and yes this sounds stupid) is getting one of those bland box office tickets instead of my cool ones from my book. If the Pirates still had these, I wouldn’t mind so much. Lots of color and the little baseballs for the section row and seat location add a nice touch.
Recently, teams are moving away from printing tickets as we used to know them. Now most people print them at home or have the barcode on their cell phones. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL had season tickets stored on what is like a credit card that is swiped when you enter. This kind of makes me sad because there is nothing like a nice collection of old fashioned ticket stubs.
Lyle Overbay to rock black and gold in 2011
While the Phillies were able to sign some guy named Cliff Lee yesterday, (Maybe you’ve heard of him?) the Pirates were able to counter today by signing Lyle Overbay to a one-year $5 million deal.
We’ve seen this before, the Pirates sign an aging mid-level slugger to a decent contract looking to catch lightning. Will it finally happen here? Lets take a look at his track record for clues.
A 10 season veteran who has played with the Diamondbacks, Brewers and Blue Jays, Lyle has seen modest success, though never enough to really warrant notice. His averages over the full seasons of his career are .274 avg/.358 obp/.805 ops. He has averaged 17 HRs a year and 75 RBIs. Nothing too earth shattering.
Lyle is known for having good defense, which will be a huge upgrade over whoever else the Pirates were planning on playing there. There are few things that disgust me more than poor defense. At least there will be one less position to worry about when the Pirates are in the field.
But how does this affect the Pirates lineup? It can be assumed that Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz will platoon in right field. This leaves Ryan Doumit on the outside looking in. There have been rumors of him being close to being dealt. It should be interesting to see how it turns out.
So whats my final thought on this? He won’t be the piece that makes the Pirates much better. The pitchers will be able to stress a little less about the fielders behind them with this solid upgrade in the infield. I wouldn’t expect too much out of the bat as his best seasons are behind him. I see a .240 avg with 15-20 HRs in the cards. Id like to say better, but I’ve seen the Buccos strike out with this kind of deal before way too many teams.
I’m working on a light-hearted piece that should be done later in the week, so be sure to check it out. I also just finished up a winter meetings wrap-up for Speakeasy Magazine. Read it HERE.
Bucs to sign Correia, other day 2 happenings
The Pirates are going to add yet another arm into the mix for the rotation for 2011 by signing righty Kevin Correia to a two year, $8 million contract. While not an ace type arm, Correia should be welcomed depth to a depleted rotation.
The Correia File
A veteran entering his 9th season in the bigs, Kevin Correia comes from the San Diego Padres where he didn’t have one of his most shining seasons in 2010. Plagued with inconsistency and injuries he only pitched in 145 innings going 10-10 with a 5.40 ERA. He isn’t what you call a workhorse. In his four full seasons, he’s pitched 101, 110, 198, and 145 innings. His best season came in 2009, his first as a member of the Padres, where he went 12-11 and had an ERA of 3.91. Not much of a strikeout pitcher, he relies on ground balls to get outs, which means his numbers won’t be aided by the Pirates perennially poor defense. One scout told the PG’s Dejan Kovacevic that he would be “a back of the rotation starter on a good team.”
Right now as I see it the rotation for 2011 will consist of Maholm, McDonald, Ohlendorf, Correia, and Scott Olsen and Jeff Karstens competing for the last spot. Not a great line of aces by any means but better than what we saw for much of last year. Brad Lincoln and Charlie Morton have their work cut out for them. They will have to dazzle the management during the spring in order to get a spot in the rotation out of the gate.
John Anderson of the McEffect blog did a great sabermetric based analysis of the two signings which you can check out HERE.
Pirates Aggressively Pursuing Bullpen Arms
Ken Rosenthal tweeted today that the Pirates have been very aggressive in trying to get free agent bullpen help. They were “in on J.J. Putz” and have looked at other players such as Kevin Gregg. What does this mean? Well it could be that the Pirates are trying to have options in place in case they trade more established relievers such as Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan.
Host of Extra Innings, the Pirates post-game show, Rocco DeMaro feels the same as he tweeted, “If Bucs land multiple FA relievers, I have to think the odds of Meek or Hanrahan getting dealt go way up.”
In essence, the Pirates could possibly be trying to sell high on them in order to get help in other positions.
Buccos Looking for Answer at Shortstop
Despite taking up a $2 million offer to keep Ronny Cedeno, the Pirates have been looking around for other options at shortstop. Minnesota’s J.J. Hardy has frequently come up in trade rumors, however the Pirates don’t seem to have a package that impresses the Twins. Kovacevic also reported earlier today that the Pirates inquired on free agent Orlando Cabrera, though not much seems to be happening on that. They have also taken looks at Jason Bartlett and Brendan Ryan.
If the Pirates were looking for a new shortstop, I don’t understand giving $2 million to a player you don’t want starting anymore. However, if nothing becomes of these proposed deals Cedeno will be the only option up the middle.
Winter Meeting Musings: Day 1
The first day of the winter meetings are history.
No the Pirates didn’t make a blockbuster trade for a slugger, or ridiculously overpay for a somwhat decent outfielder. Instead they made a modest signing for the rotation and saw a little progress in talks with other free agents
Pirates to ink Scott Olsen
Numerous writers for the team have reported today that the Pirates are close to signing lefty starter Scott Olsen to a one-year incentive based contract. Olsen was released soon after the past season ended after he went 4-8 with a 5.56 ERA in 81 innings. Over his career with the Marlins and Nats he has gone 37-49 with a 4.85 ERA.
It’s not a flashy signing but given the Pirates desperate need for starters, it makes sense. He really profiles to be a cheaper Zach Duke.
It is worth noting that Olsen has a lengthy history of being in trouble (his wikipedia page has a section set aside just to list them all). It will be interesting to see how his personality meshes with the usually docile Pirate clubhouse
Pirates looking to add another arm
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Pirates are interested in adding another arm. Names that have been thrown around include Kenshin Kawakami to get a shot at the rotation, and Jeremy Accardo to help the bullpen. He also reported that the team and Justin Duchscherer have “mutual interest.” For those wishing to see Brandon Webb in black and gold next season don’t hold your breath, the two haven’t spoken in about a week.
Doumit Coming or Going?
Though it has widely been reported that the Pirates are shopping catcher/outfielder Ryan Doumit, GM Neil Huntington said that as of today Doumit is the starting right fielder “as we sit today.” With the aquisition of Chris Snyder at the deadline last season, it seemed as if Doumit’s days were numbered. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pirates do move him before the season, however getting a team to take him, while getting something decent in return will be a challenge.
What else will come together for the Pirates as the week continues? No one knows. But keep it here for the latest insight on all of the Buccos doings.
Non-Tender Recap
This is a slow time to be a baseball fan. For most teams, the ball doesn’t get rolling until the Winter Meetings which isn’t until next week.
But the Pirates did make a little news as to what the roster will look like in 2011 by non-tendering pitchers Brian Burres and Donnie Veal along with infielder Argenis Diaz and outfielder Lastings Milledge.
What’s non-tendering? Well basically it’s the Pirates deciding that instead of offering these players arbitration (in which they would get a pay raise in 2011) they decide to release them.
While the Pirates did send these four packing, the Pirates did make deals with Jeff Karstens, Joel Hanrahan, and Ross Ohlendorf for the 2011 season.
Let’s take a look at what the Pirates gave up.
Brian Burres was signed as a minor league free agent before the 2010 season. Not expected to be more than minor league depth, Burres somehow found himself in the majors with the Pirates due to the tragedy that was Pittsburgh’s starting rotation. He did well considering the circumstances, going 4-5 in 13 starts with an ERA of 4.99. While the record would maybe warrant a spot on the team again this year, Burres lacks any true “stuff” to be a serviceable major-leaguer. A fringe spot starter is easily replaceable and at a very low cost.
Argenis Diaz made his way to Pittsburgh in the Jason Bay trade of 2008. Never known for his bat, Diaz was able to advance through the minors with his glove work. He saw just 33 ABs in his short stint with the Pirates last season, managing just 8 hits (.242 average) without any homers and only one extra base hit. It appears that Diaz will never hold his own at the major-league level and the deal between Ronny Cendeno and the team would basically make him a non-factor at short. The only players that now remain on the Pirates roster from the Bay deal is AA pitcher Bryan Morris, and oft-injured fireballer Craig Hansen.
Donnie Veal was selected in the Pirates in the 2009 Rule 5 draft. Since he was forced to remain on the 25-man roster the entire season, Veal saw very little playing time and spent a lot of time on the DL and on rehab stints with phantom injuries. He probably would have seen some time last year in the rotation but he was sidelined for the year with Tommy John surgery in May of 2010 while pitching in Indianapolis. A big guy (6-4, 235) that tops out in the mid 90s, I find this release puzzling. The Pirates are short on pitching, and lefties that throw as fast as Veal does are hard to come by. Though he would be sidelined much of 2011 I would have though he would have gotten a shot to show what he has. I guess the front office thought otherwise.
Lastings Milledge came to the team along with Joel Hanrahan from the Nationals in a deadline deal in 2009 for exchange for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett. Once a highly touted prospect in the Mets system, he could never live up to the potential in New York or DC. While the Pirates were hoping to buy low on him, he could never get it going in the Steel City as well. Milledge did hit for a solid average, especially against lefties (.282 AVG) he never could hit with power consistently (.386 SLG). Not to mention the heart-failure inducing routes he would take to the ball. Lastings was a sort of cult favorite among many fans, but let’s face it; Pittsburgh’s OchoCinco doesn’t have what it takes to be a great baseball player.
The winter meetings start soon which hopefully means the Pirates can start to get some free agents. Keep it here for updates!!
Getting My Feet Wet
Coming home for Thanksgiving/Christmas break has given me a chance to reflect on the first 10-week quarter of my college journey. I got to have a lot of great experiences ranging from growing a taste for coffee, to experiencing college level finals, and the most fun, getting a lot of experience covering sports.
Perhaps the best part of all this was being exposed to all of the tools for me to become the best sportswriter I can be
WOUB, the PBS affiliate in Athens and Ohio University provides a lot of opportunities for me to improve my sports reporting. It took me a tenth of a second to join the crew of Gridiron Glory, a show that features highlights of high school football in the southeastern Ohio area. Though I haven’t gotten on camera my first season, saying I learned how much goes into a single live sports show is an understatement. A ridiculous amount of things have to line up and get done for the show to run smoothly. Luckily, the upperclassmen have been great to me showing what needs done. Not only have I learned about reporting, but I’ve learned many technical and editing things that make me a better all around journalist.
All of the things I learned in the fall got me a chance to be an online reporter for WOUBs Hardwood Heroes, a weekly show that features high school basketball shows. Those of you who follow me on twitter and are friends with me on facebook will be able to see my articles and video reports (if you don’t follow me or friend me, what are you waiting for?).
But while the lights and camera of broadcast journalism are fun, my heart will always be in writing. I jumped at the chance to join Speakeasy online at OU. While it isn’t as big as The Post, the student newspaper, I knew Id be able to get more experience covering bigger sports right off the bat. For example, just 5 weeks after starting, I found myself in the press box at Ohio University’s football game against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
Now to the unknowing fan you may say, “who cares”. And while Ohio may never play for a national championship, the Mid-Atlantic Conference is still Division 1 football, and have a surprisingly large following. This made me nervous as I checked in at Peden Stadium and got my first legit press pass.
The view from the box was awesome.
This was my first game that dealt with an actual “deadline” too. But with all the stats (I got over 100 pages worth of game notes and stats throughout the game) this made it very easy. Much better than counting them yourself as I have done at many events. After the game it was time for my first professional press conference. First the players came to answer our questions then the coach. Being the youngest person there, I was a tad intimidated at first, but as a journalist you have to get out of your comfort zone and I eventually worked up courage to ask some questions.
But after the conference there was no time to rest, I got back up to my perch and cranked out the story. After checking in at 12:30, the game at 2, and getting my story done shortly before 7, I sat there thinking of what I had just done.
I can’t wait to do this for a living.
Pirates cut ties with Duke, LaRoche, Young
Late Friday night, the Pirates announced that they had designated pitcher Zach Duke, infielder Andy LaRoche, and utility-man Delwyn Young for assignment.
This comes at no surprise to me as all three players were becoming dead weight on this roster. They were all in over their heads at the major league level. Lets take a look back at these three players’ time with the franchise.
Zach Duke
Zach exploded onto the scene during the second half of the 2005 season, going 8-2 with an ERA of 1.81. However from 2006 to 2010 he could regain his dominance as he went 37-68 and his ERA ballooned to 5.28. Many blame ex. pitching coach Jim Colborn’s tinkering with Duke’s mechanics for his demise. While that could be a part of it, I think the primary reason is Zach just wasn’t as good as we thought he was. He never threw hard, and his pitches didn’t have much movement. After his honeymoon period in 2005 batters started to figure him out. After a variety of setbacks including minor league stints and injuries, Zach had appeared to rebound in 2009 going 11-16 with an ERA 4.06. At the all star break Duke had one of the lowest ERAs in the NL and was rewarded with being selected to the all star game to replace an injured player. But in the second half Duke would fade, foreshadowing his rough 2010 campaign. Duke put up dismal numbers and was shown the door.
Andy LaRoche
The centerpiece of the Jason Bay trade, Andy was once a highly regarded prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system. After coming to the Pirates, he was given the third base job where he put up abysmal numbers in his first two months with the club hitting .152 with 3 HR and 12 RBI. In 2009 he showed great improvement, flashing a steady glove at the hot corner while putting up mildly respectable numbers at the plate hitting .258 with 12 HR and 64 RBI. In 2010, he was long rumored to be on the move to second base when prospect Pedro Alvarez came up to the majors. However Neil Walker had other plans, leaving Andy without a position. After rotting away on the bench the rest of 2010 Andy has been released. Though he may not had been the greatest success on the field, Andy was a great guy that really enjoyed his job. At every community or fan event you could count on Andy to be there.
Delwyn Young
Acquired for single-A pitcher Eric Krebs and $1 from the LA Dodgers, Delwyn was the utility man for the Pirates in 2009 and 2010. He was a favorite of John Russell to come off the bench and pinch hit. He did fairly well off the bench but lacked power to be a true threat at the plate. Despite seeing time many positions including second base and right field, he never excelled at one position in particular. Like Andy, by the end of 2010 he was without any real use to the team.
Having met all three players I can say they are all great guys. I wish them all the best in the rest of their careers.
And in remembrance of “The Best Around” Andy LaRoche, I will play this song once more in his honor.
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Hurdle to lead Pirates in 2010 and beyond
On Monday, the Pirates made it official, naming Clint Hurdle
manager and signing him to a three-year contract.
After his interview with the team, he along with Pirate
coach Jeff Bannister were considered to be the two finalists for the job. After Hurdle had interviewed with the
Mets following his meeting with the Pirates, many felt he wouldn’t end up in
Pittsburgh.
Hurdle didn’t see much success in his previous tenure
managing in the majors, going 534-625 in six seasons with the Rockies. His only
winning season and playoff appearance came in 2007 when the Rockies had their
historic year-end winning streak before losing to the Red Sox in the World
Series.
At the press conference today, Hurdle seems eager to take on
the challenge of managing a team like the Pirates.
“I’m all in,” Hurdle said. “This wasn’t about taking a
job because it was a sure thing. This was about taking an opportunity that felt
sure and fit right. It felt comfortable with the people I was going to get
after the job with.”
One thing this move certainly did was silence many of the
critics of the Pirates organization. Many of them were waiting for the Pirates
to hire Bannister, which would have been a PR disaster. Unlike Bannister or
previous manager John Russell, many don’t think that Hurdle will be a “yes man”
to GM Neil Huntington as many believed Russell was. Perhaps Bob Smizik put it
best in his column today.
“He will not bend
to the will of general manager Neal Huntington, as Russell often seemed to do.
He will be his own man. He will set his lineup. He will set his defensive
alignments. He will play the team that gives him the best chance to win and not
the lineup that makes the GM’s trades look best.”
But what does
this mean for the Pirates style of play? Well as hitting coach of the Texas
Rangers the past couple of seasons, Hurdle and the other coaches encouraged a
very aggressive style of offense that relies on lots of stolen bases and sacrifices.
With the speed the Pirates have at the top of the order, and the lack of power
in the middle this could work very well.
All in all I’m
applauding the Pirates for going the extra mile and hiring Hurdle. They could
have gone the easy way and hired internally by getting Bannister to manage and
continue the same route under Russell.
As for this blog,
I’ve got finals the next week but after that I’ll be home for six weeks (Yay
for Ohio University’s unusual schedule!) I’ll have plenty of posts about free
agency, some baseball card box breaks, and any breaking news as it happens.
Don’t forget to
follow the twitter as well @suhlmann12
Photo from postgazette.com
Pirates expected to make decision about manager soon
It is being reported that the Pirates are close to naming a new manager and could do so as early as today (Friday November 5).
The Pirates are considering two people now for the job, Jeff Bannister and Clint Hurdle. My money is on Bannister given the history of this regime. Though I don’t think a completely inexperienced manager is the way to go with this club.
When the Pirates do name someone I’ll have a recap right here. Dont forget the twitter either as I’ll have updates as well (@suhlmann12)
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