Later today John Dreker will be holding a live Q&A on the 2020 Prospect Guide and the farm system. We’ll post the link this afternoon for you to submit early questions.
For today’s First Pitch, we’re doing the opposite of a Q&A. I’ve got a question and a sort of challenge for you this morning.
There has been a lot of discussion about how Ben Cherington will do things versus how Neal Huntington did things. I think a lot of that is premature. That’s mostly because we have yet to see any kind of significant move that signals how Cherington will handle things. In the absence of any telling moves, we are left to only guess what Cherington will do based on his public comments.
Those public comments sound a lot like GM speak. They sound like what Huntington discussed. That’s mostly because the comments are vague, with no specifics involved.
Stephen Nesbitt had a good article about this last week in The Athletic. He focused on the fact that the Pirates wouldn’t use the word “rebuild” and laid out what Cherington’s plan might be. Again, a lot of that is based on what he did in Boston, and what it appears he needs to do from an outside look into the organization.
Even in that article, there aren’t specific plans. The entire article is about how the Pirates are being cagey about the specifics of a rebuild in any form.
Every quote I’ve seen so far has been the same, with very generic public comments. Nothing I’ve seen has indicated any type of plan, other than the common sense ideas that every team must build around.
So my challenge to you is to find a quote where Cherington, or anyone with the current Pirates’ front office, gives any kind of specifics of their plan moving forward. I’m fully admitting that I might have just missed something. I’m also guessing that I didn’t miss anything, and that quote full of specifics doesn’t exist yet.
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SONG OF THE DAY
DAILY QUIZ
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
By John Dreker
Six former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, including one of their best pitchers ever.
Sam Leever, pitcher for the Pirates from 1898 to 1910. He didn’t make the majors until he was 26 years old, but he stayed around Pittsburgh long enough to be considered one of their best pitchers ever. On the Pirates all-time list for pitchers he ranks fourth in ERA with a 2.47 mark, tied for second in wins with 194, sixth in both innings pitched (2,660.2 IP) and games started with 299. He ranks fourth in complete games with 241 and second in shutouts with 39. He won 20 games four times and three times led the National League in winning percentage. He helped the Pirates to four pennants from 190-1909. Leever’s best season was 1903 when he won 25 games and led the league with a 2.06 ERA. The Pirates were his only big league team.
Sam Frock, pitcher for the 1909 Pirates. Frock began his pro career in 1905 pitching in the New England League. In three seasons he went a combined 62-28 before signing with the Boston Doves (Braves) in late August 1907. He went 1-2, 2.97 in five games, three as a starter. Despite the nice MLB debut and three strong seasons in the minors, he returned to the minors for the entire 1908 season. For Providence of the Eastern League that year he went 24-14 in 47 games, pitching 325 total innings. Frock was a seldom used reserve for the 1909 Pirates making just four starts and four relief appearances all season. He went 2-1, 2.48 in 36.1 innings and he did not appear in the World Series. Frock was traded to the Doves early in 1910. Boston was a very poor team that year (53-100) and he got plenty of time on the mound going 12-19, 3.71 in 255.1 innings. He was back in the minors for good in 1911. He only had 15 wins in his MLB career but he was quite an accomplished minor league pitcher, winning 203 games.
Albert “Cozy” Dolan, outfielder/third baseman for the 1913 Pirates. He was acquired from the Phillies in late August of 1913 in exchange for Bobby Byrne and Howie Camnitz. The Pirates also received cash in the deal. Dolan was just 23 years old at the time of the trade and both Camnitz and Byrne were star players on the downside of their careers. In the last 35 games of that 1913 season Dolan hit .203 with 14 stolen bases. Shortly after the season ended, the Pirates traded Dolan in an eight player deal with the Cardinals. He was a .252 hitter in 379 games spread out over seven seasons.
Shawn Chacon, pitcher for the 2006-07 Pittsburgh Pirates. Chacon came to the Pirates in the middle of the 2006 season from the Yankees in exchange for Craig Wilson. He was put in the starting rotation and went 2-3, 5.48 in nine starts. In 2007, Chacon moved to relief, making 60 appearances out of the bullpen, while getting just four starts. He went 5-4, 3.94 and pitched 96 innings. He moved on to the Astros the next year, but a fight with the GM ended his year. He was released in June of 2007 and didn’t played at all the following year. Chacon played Independent ball in 2009 and had a brief stint with the Oakland A’s AAA team. He finished with a 45-61, 4.99 record over eight seasons. In 2003, he went 11-8 for the Colorado Rockies.
Rick White, pitcher for the Pirates from 1994-95, then again in 2005. White began his 12-year big league career with the Pirates, four seasons after they drafted him in the 15th round of the 1990 amateur draft. He went 4-5, 3.82 during his rookie season in 1994, pitching a total of 75.1 innings over five starts and 38 relief appearances. The next year he made nine starts and six relief appearances, going 2-3, 4.75 in 55 innings. He spent all of 1996 in the minors, though most of the time was spent on the disabled list. He signed with the Devil Rays in 1997 and first made it back to the majors in 1998. After going 5-5, 5.29 in 55 relief appearances in 2004 with the Indians, the Pirates signed White as a free agent. He went 4-7, 3.72 in 75 innings over 71 appearances, all out of the bullpen. In his career, he went 42-54, 4.45 in 18 starts and 595 relief outings.
Dave May, pinch-hitter for the 1978 Pirates. May had a nice 12-year career in the majors, but his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates consisted of only five plate appearances, all as a pinch-hitter. May began the 1978 season as a member of the Texas Rangers. Before he played a game for them, he was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers then sold him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in September and he went 0-for-4 with a walk as a pinch-hitter. That was the end of his career. He played a total of 1252 major league games, hitting .251 with 96 homers and 422 RBIs. His best season came with the Brewers in 1973, when he hit .303 with 25 homers, 93 RBIs and 96 runs scored, while making his only All-Star appearance.
