Blogging About Baseball

To say the Pirate’s front office and management team is the worst in baseball could, quite possibly, be an understatement. It might be the worst in all of sports.

The team’s owners refuse to spend money. As a result, star after budding star heads to free agency and bigger markets; over the last couple years, fans have seen the departures of favorites Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, and Nate McLouth. The returns on those stars have been less-than-stellar. And despite having multiple first round picks every year, the team hasn’t put together a good draft since 2005 or even groomed a solid minor league system. In the best example of the team’s draft failures, the club insanely passed on switch-hitting catcher Matt Wieters for left-handed pitcher Daniel Moskos in 2007. Moskos, who was once an okay prospect, projects as nothing more than a league-average middle reliever while Wieters is already a major league starting catcher.

To put it bluntly, the team deserves to finish in last place every year.

But sometimes even the worst organizations can do good things.

The Pirate’s took their time bringing up star-in-the-making Andrew McCutchen. That’s one of them. They took a chance on the tantalizing Lastings Milledge as part of a fairly nondescript trade earlier this season. That’s another. And during the 2008 offseason, they acquired Quadruple-A slugger Garrett Jones. It was a subtle move of actual management that proves there just might be something resembling hope in Pittsburgh.

Before the 2009 season, Garrett Jones had spent the better part of the last decade toiling in the minor leagues as part of the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins systems. And while his batting average perennially left something to be desired, it was hard for clubs to dismiss his power and run-creating potential. Jones’ good glove in the corner outfield positions and first base was also a plus, but never enough to earn himself a spot on the major league roster.

After the 2008 season, Jones became a free agent. No matter how much they may have wanted to, it didn’t make sense for the Twins to keep him with his only positions blocked for the foreseeable future by former-MVP Justin Morneau and the resurgent Michael Cuddyer.

The Pirates, who have desperately lacked power since Bay’s departure, took a flier on the free swinging lefty.

Jones flourished during Spring Training with the team, but with proven major leaguers (and also left-handed hitters) Eric Hinske and Nyjer Morgan occupying reserve and starting spots, Jones was once again sent to Triple-A. He responded by hitting .307 with 18 doubles, 12 home runs, and 48 RBI in just 77 games. When the time came for the Pirates to cut ties and deal both Hinske and Morgan, they didn’t hesitate, knowing Jones’ track record and improved consistency.

On July 1, Jones was called up by the Pirates. He went 0-for-4.

The next night, he hit a home run on his way to a three hit evening. It was a sign of things to come.

Since that night, Jones has been the best player on the Pirate’s roster.

Batting in the third spot in the National League’s most anemic offense, Jones already has seven home runs in his first 12 games. Astonishingly, that puts him second among active Pirate’s players on the team’s home run leader board (behind just Adam LaRoche). He’s homered in his last four outings, including two dingers (one a game winner that splashed into the Allegheny River) last night. During those 12 games, Jones has raised his batting average to .313 and has recorded a hit in the last nine contests.

Jones should continue to be a good outfielder for the Pirates. While there is absolutely no way he’ll keep up this torrid pace, his minor league numbers indicate that he will continue to hit for power but suffer a significant regression in batting average in the near future. He still strikes out way too much and his on-base percentage isn’t exactly what a team desires from one of its middle of the order bats.

Still, Jones’ pop will keep him in the lineup. There’s absolutely no way the Pirates can afford to leave his game-changing power on the bench, especially since Brandon Moss has the punch of a toddler and the return of Milledge is still undecided.

Hey, sometimes all you need is an opportunity. Or a crappy team to pick you up.

(Rotoworld, Rotowire, Post & Courier, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Baseball America, Baseball-Reference…hire me.)

Division rivals swap underperforming outfielders in effort to ignite ailing offenses!

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Players will attempt to revive careers in cliched “change of scenery.”

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ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves acquired outfielder Ryan Church from the New York Mets for embattled former-slugger Jeff Francoeur.

While the departure of Francoeur is certainly bittersweet for Brave’s fans who remember his Rookie of the Year-caliber campaign in 2005, the move should come as no surprise; Francoeur had shown decreased plate presence in each of his last three seasons and much of the power displayed during his inaugural seasons had evaporated.

Much like Francoeur, Church had fallen out of favor in New York City. Gaining a certain amount of popularity after his exceptional start to the 2008 season, Church was lambasted by the New York media and fans after failing to tag third base prior to scoring in a tight game earlier this season. The run was appealed and the Mets eventually lost the contest. In a way, Church became the Met’s goat, symbolizing what promises to be a lost season.

Both players are, at least, league average defenders with Francoeur having the slight edge over Church due to his extremely powerful arm.

While both players are not the impact bats they once were, Church has shown a much better ability to get on base and have useful at bats than Francoeur. He strikes out much less, hits for average, steals a little, and slugs a bit.

As it stands right now, the trade is fairly innocuous, with neither team clearly coming out on top.

It should promise to be a wash, even though I like the Brave’s end of the deal much more than the Met’s. Church is a better all around player and before a string of devastating concussions last year, showed flashes of brilliance completely unknown to Francoeur recently. While he is no significant improvement to the Brave’s outfield, I do believe he’s an upgrade over Frenchy.

For the last three years, Francoeur has looked desperately lost at the plate and has become as easy an out as anybody in the Brave’s lineup. Last year, he was demoted to Double-A and despite being angry about the move, it did little to improve his performance. Besides his Gold Glove defense, he has little to offer. Yes, he’s only 25-years-old, but there are very few players who have dominated as much as he did in 2005 and 2006, fell off the map, and then returned to form.

One analyst believes the Brave’s got a huge bargain: “If you made a trade this one-sided with your little brother as a child, you parents would instantly negate the trade and send you to your room.” While that may be a slight hyperbole, in the long run the deal should work out more in the Brave’s favor.

Tom Glavine won’t be pitching in 2009.

In a text message to an Atlanta television station (when did text messaging the media become acceptable?), Glavine stated, “I’m not going to pitch or do anything baseball related until at least next year.” He went on to say he’ll become a “full-time dad.”

Earlier this month, the 43-year-old lefty was unceremoniously released by the Atlanta Braves during his recovery from left elbow and shoulder surgery. The move came as a shock to Glavine and his teammates and also to the Atlanta fanbase. Atlanta management continues to draw the ire of fans because of its poor treatment of Glavine and priorly, John Smoltz.

During his 17 year career with Atlanta, Glavine won 244 games, two Cy Young awards, and eight All-Star nods. He’s fourth on the team’s all-time wins list and he, along with Smoltz and Greg Maddux, comprise a very special period in Brave’s history.

Glavine’s time with the New York Mets wasn’t without event, however. While with the team, Glavine won his 300th game in 2008 and earned All-Star appearances in 2004 and 2006.

There’s conflicting reports regarding other teams’ interest in Glavine. The pitcher has told media outlets that he’d received offers to pitch in the MLB in 2009, but according to some baseball analysts, he drew little attention.