Comments on: Pirates Unlikely to See a First Base Upgrade

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:45:00 +0000

Agreed that it doesnt need to be 1 or the other read a lot about lateral moves is all. I dont want Correia in the roto either and I could see maholm as a slight upgrade to him.I kinda would like another lefty in the rotation too. I just think at the cost ,his injury, declining innings, I’d just as soon take a shot on Lincoln Locke or if they could get Jeff Francis for $1-$2 mill.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:54:00 +0000

I love the signing of Bedard, but what I dont understand is that when people talk about signing him, they view it as a replacement for Maholm, and it doesn’t need to be one or the other. At the moment, we still have a chance Correia ends up in the rotation, and Maholm would be a big upgrade over KC. No reason signing Bedard precludes us from keeping Paul, or signing another rotation upgrade.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:32:00 +0000

And you dont know that he didnt try. This is a common defense used by anti-NH guys….. The Alfonso trade would have cost us at least Tallion, and probably more. No thanks. As for Rizzo, he would have required a Tallion also. Sorry. Wouldnt do that either. Why trade away your very best pitcher for a unproven player. I am glad you sir do not run the Pirates.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:56:00 +0000

here here. Everyone keeps looking at Mil look at Tampa look at the things they do. They were terrible forever changed their philosophy and make smart decisions w/o overspending. MIl will be a bottom feeder in a couple of years. They won’t have enough $ to resig Marcum and Greinke longterm and with no Fielder their lineup becomes Braun and the nobodies. Its a terrible comparison and it shouldn’t be made.

I understand people want a bigger splash so they can feel good but in most cases its a complete waste of resources. There is no quick fix players outside of Pujols available. These todays special 1b everyone wants are a joke. Brandon Allen? Garret Jones is better than him. Why waste your time? Best case Pedro and Mcgee hit and Pedro makes his move to 1b.

Paul Maholm is an aging mediocre or even below that guy coming off an injury. He’s showed decline the last few years. If Bedard makes 22 starts its a significant upgrade. I find it laughable that people still say they shouldve kept his option. For double what the rest of baseball thought he was worth. Unreal. Cedeno terrible inconsistent and uncoachable. Barmes the opposite even with his eh bat. Doumit a complete travesty behind the plate oft injured and inconsistent(love watching guys just freely run around the bases on him). Barajas not as much bat but some pop and a much better def catcher.

So for some people to say all these moves are nothing or lateral at best is a joke. Not spectacular but look what teams like the Rays have done and they have plenty of holes.

By: john.alcorn

john.alcorn — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Howabout the fact that the offense was the problem in 2011, not the SP? We have done nothing to improve the offense this offseason outside of hoping that Casey McGehee can hit better in a worse park for his skill set.

By: john.alcorn

john.alcorn — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:35:00 +0000

You also don’t know he tried. This is a common defense used by pro-NH guys. It just doesn’t make sense, we know the trade price that was accepted, therefore if we had offered more we’d have the player. There is little reason to think that an opposing GM would take less from another team just to avoid NH. The entire baseball world knew Rizzo was available and he’s now a Cub not a Pirate, that is worth criticism.

My greater concern is the poor track record of talent evaluation demonstrated by NH over and over again.

By: James S

James S — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:07:00 +0000

I’ve already said the same about our platoon. I’d just like them to have Nady on the bench. There will be times when they need another proven hitter in the line-up. Like I said, his price can’t be much.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:22:00 +0000

I don’t get this train of thought. The Pirates are bad but if they make two upgrades thy are good enough to compete for the title that doesn’t make any sense at all.

Now I will grant you, maybe if you were talking about signing Pujols and Sabathia, and we assume Bedard stays healthy all year, and we assume that Alvarez becomes the slugger we hope, and we assume Presley is legit, and we assume Tabata and Walker improve upon their first two years, and we assume Kartsens doesn’t regress, and we assume Morton and McDonald build off of last year and we assume ….

Yes if all that would happen maybe just maybe we would see a 90 win team capable of competing for the division title. But lets assume you realized the chances of the Pirates signing Pujols and Sabathia were non-existent and lets assume you realize that not all of other things will happen. What do we have? We have a team that I believe to be slightly better than last year’s version, not much but just a little bit so lets call them a 74 win team. Now lets add Edwin Jackson and Carlos Pena, two fairly reasonable upgrades for the Pirates at probably their weakest positions, what does that make this team? A 78 win team?

Where are the other 10-12 wins coming from? Now I am not saying they shouldn’t try to improve the clubs even if it wouldn’t make them a contender (I still think a SP needs added, another catcher should be pursued and a long term 1B solution needs found) but to act as if signing two good but not elite players would vault the Pirates into contention just doesn’t make sense.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:49:00 +0000

John.alcorn, that isnt fair to say he has been sitting on his hands. You dont know that he didnt try for Alonso or Rizzo. I understand the frustration, but it doesnt help when you just say something that you dont know is true.

By: Matt Beam

Matt Beam — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:48:00 +0000

who cares about 1B, go pay for a good SP