Results tagged ‘ Ryan Church ’
After the Dust Settles: Trade Deadline 2010
Earlier this season, Pirates GM Neil Huntington was quoted saying the Pirates wouldn’t be as active at the deadline as in past years. I along with many other fans knew that this just wouldn’t be true. The Bucs had some nice pieces that could be moved. Huntington knew this, and was able to pull off three stellar deals.
Trade 1: D.J. Carrasco, Bobby Crosby, and Ryan Church to the Diamondbacks for Catcher Chris Snyder and cash.
At first glance, I couldn’t believe this trade was really happening when I first saw it. Crosby (.224, 1 HR, 11 RBI) and Church (.182 3 HR, 18 RBI) flopped big time this year, and I thought that we would be stuck with them for sure. However the Diamondbacks for whatever reason felt the need to take them off our hands. In return we got catcher Chris Snyder.
At first glance, Snyder doesn’t look like much. He is just a career .233 hitter, and is hitting just .231 this season. But he has tremendous patience at the plate as his career on base percentage is .353. A high walk hitter is something the Pirates sorely lack. He also has 10 home runs this year which will put him near the team lead. In addition, many compliment him on the way he works with pitchers, something the Pirates really could use.
He is also a much much much better defensive catcher than Ryan “No-Mit” Doumit. It appears that Doumit’s days behind the plate are over once he is activated off the DL. Problem is that there is really nowhere to put him. He failed miserably at some starts at 1B back in June, and while he had seen time at RF during the early part of his career, Lastings Milledge has seem to gotten a hold on that position. What happens to Doumit should be an interesting story to follow in the future.
There is only one drawback I can think of to this trade is that the awesome stirrups of D.J. Carrasco will be no more. DJ was a fun guy to watch and was a pleasent surprise in the bullpen this season. But he was expendable, and if this is the best guy we gave up, then I’m all on board.
Trade 2: Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers for Pitcher James McDonald and Outfielder Andrew Lambo.
This was one that most fans could see comming. At 39, Octavio doesn’t really seem to fit into the Pirates’ future, and Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan could easily assume the closer’s role. So Neil flipped Dotel to the Dodgers for James McDonald and Andrew Lambo.
McDonald, a once hearalded prospect with the Dodgers, was immediately activated on the Pirates roster. He saw action in 45 games in LA in 2009 going 5-5 with a 4.00 ERA. He also made 4 starts which makes me figure him to be the long man out of the bullpen for the rest of this season. His stuff isn’t overpowering, as he throws in the 91-93 MPH range. He relies on a big curveball to get swings and misses.
Andrew Lambo, who was drafted in the 4th round of the 2007 draft, is a power hitting outfield prospect. Though he has tailed off a bit, he did hit over 20 HRs between A and AA in 2008. He is still stuck in AA Chatanooga where he has hit .271 with 4 HR and 25 RBI. His progress has been derailed by a 50 game suspension for a failed drug test this season. Hopefully he can put his problems behind him and get back on track in Altoona
Trade 3: Javier Lopez to the Giants for Pitcher Joe Martinez and Outfielder John Bowker.
The Pirates weren’t done yet. Shortly before 4 PM, they sent lefty-specialist Javier Lopez to San Francisco for prospects Joe Martinez and Outfielder John Bowker.
The 27 year old Martinez has seen little time in the majors. In four games this season (1 start) he has gone 0-1 with an ERA of 4.91. He doesn’t figure to be more than a 5th starter or a deep bullpen man but he still is much welcomed depth to what is still a somewhat depleted minor league pitching staff. He has a hard sinking fastball that hits 90 MPH on average, but his lack of off-speed pitches keep him from being a reliable arm.
Bowker is also 27. He made the Giants opening day roster this season but was sent down after a 17 for 82 start. John has shown tremendous hitting ability in the minors(.342/.451/.596 in AAA in 2009, .310/.388/.594 in 2010) but has never been able to translate that at the major league level. He should be up in Pittsburgh sooner rather than later.
So all in all it was a very productive day for the Pirates at the deadline. They didn’t give up much in the way of key pieces, and were able to make improvements. Many baseball experts have applauded the Pirates deadline deals and feel they got good value for what they gave up. Neil Huntington knew he had chips in the bullpen, and he cashed in on them.
What will be interesting to see is how the bullpen performs after this turnover. With three reliable arms gone, the rest of the season is essencially a tryout for Wil Ledezma, Justin Thomas, Steven Jackson, and a host of others to see if they can figure to be a part of the Pirates plans in 2011.
Photo credits: Yahoo! Sports, exsposay.com, bayareasportsguy.com
Lumber Company 2.0? Opening Day 2010
The scene could not have been better. A sold-out PNC Park on a sun-drenched and warm spring afternoon, throw in a Pirates victory….
Wait? The Pirates??? Winning??? It happened alright, and the worst offense in the league during the 2nd half of last year and 2010 spring training exploded for 11 runs and 3 dingers. Here is my account of one of the better days of Pirates baseball I’ve experienced in my life.
Perhaps one of the best thing about Opening Day is the atmosphere. The children are skipping school, the adults are skipping work, everyone is in a good mood and the hope of a great season of baseball ahead is in the air. This is usually the only day where tailgating is a big happening on the North Shore. Props to my friend Adam who today invited me to his large family gathering across the street from the stadium. Very good food and an atmosphere that put me in the mood for baseball.
After filling my stomach it was time to head inside. The tail end of batting practice was going on for the Dodgers, and so also a desperate attempt for me to get on the board in the ballhawk league. Some close calls while standing down the 1st baseline, but no dice. I’ll have to take a goose egg for week one as I can’t get to the ballpark Wednesday or Thursday.
A nice surprise (and change) for this season is the free programs that are now being given out every homestand.
Though I’ll miss collecting the monthly issues of the game programs (I have every one dating back to 1999), I won’t mind saving the money.
The view from section 4
Yes, I know this goes against the title of this blog but I could not pass up the chance to have better seats to the opener. I bought these for $25 as a part of my 20-game plan. I would like to see another team that offers that good of a seat for this price. The only drawback was that the 1st base coaches would occasionally obstruct the view of the batter, but flaws aside they were beautiful seats. Another good thing about my location was in close proximety to a ball girl. Though there was great hope I could get one from her, it just was not ment to be. Not a single foul ball rolled down the line and the only ones that came close to me whizzed way over my head. Oh well at least the game was a good one.
It did not get off to a good start however, as Zach Duke allowed two runs in the first inning. With how hard the Dodgers hit him in the 1st I thought for sure we were in for a long game. But Garrett (G.I./Freakin’) Jones erased all doubts with his 2 run homer in the 1st inning. It was a monster shot traveling 460 ft and landing in the Allegheny River. (View the video HERE) He had many doubters after having a breakout 2009 where he hit 21 HRs after spending the past 11 seasons in the minors. But he has thus far shut up the critics by starting the Bucco season with a bang. It got the crowd of 39,000+ rocking and back into the game tying it 2-2.
But Jones wasn’t done yet. In his second at bat in the he hit a high fly ball to the left field corner. It just kept carrying and carrying and it barely made its way over the short left-field fence (It also didn’t hurt having Manny Ramirez trotting over and failing to make a play on it). 2 HRs in 2 ABs? As unreal as it seems, it happened, and to none other than Garrett Jones. He also shone defensively making two diving grabs as well. It was an MVP effort that electrified the crowd.
The game remained close until the bottom of the 5th. With the pitcher spot up and the bases loaded John Russel elected to yank Duke to send newbie Ryan Church to the plate. He made quite the first impression ripping a double right-center and breaking the game open. Pinch me, the Pirates were up 7-2. It was 8-2 after the 5th when Russel then turned the game over to the new-look bullpen. Jack Taschner did a fair job, while DJ Carrasco and Evan Meek (the only returning member from the pen last year) let the Dodgers chip away at the lead, going into the 8th, the score was now 8-5. But in the bottom of the 8th Ryan Doumit crushed a 3-run homer that would put the Buccos up for good. New closer Octavio Dotel put together a quick 1-2-3 9th and the Pirates were victorious 11-5. It was an offensive explosion that I and many others were not expecting from the anemic Pirates, so maybe this year won’t be so bad after all?
Here are some pics from the day:
Andrew McCutchen accepting his award for Baseball America’s Rookie of the Year
The Dodgers on the baseline
The Pirates (Love DJ Carassco’s stirrups!)
The Parrott attempts some BP
Manny and other Dodgers warming up
RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!!!
My Pull-no baseballs 
STATS AFTER ONE GAME ATTENDED:
Record: 1-0 (Bullington jersey works its magic)
Balls snagged: 0 on the day 0/game
Times scolded by an usher: 1 on the day 1/game
Crappy songs played over the PA: 5 on the day 5/game
Highlights by MLB.com can be viewed HERE
Pirates Sign Church
The Pirates made a little splash with the signing of free-agent outfielder Ryan Church. The 31 year-old signed a one-year, 1.5 million contract today and figures to be a reserve behind Lastings Milledge, Andrew McCutchen, and Garett Jones. Last season he hit .273 with 4 HR and 40 RBI as he played 110 games between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.
This move is bad news for Brandon Moss, as it seems time is running out for him to make his mark in the majors. Having Church on the bench with him will further cut his playing time, and his opportunities to establish himself as an everyday player. Another question is what will happen to Rule 5 selection John Raynor, as it is very unlikely that the team will carry six outfielders. He would have to pass waivers before being allowed to be demoted to the minors for the entire 2010 season.
This signing also means the end of the Pirates’ pursuit of Rick Ankiel. I feel that Church is a much better signing than Ankiel, as the Pirates would have had to pay much more for Ankiel, who was rather disappointing in 2009.
You can view Church’s career stats HERE.
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