Pirates Kick Steve-O Wilson To The Curb, Trade For Izturis

July 19th. Designated "All-Pittsburgh-Teams-Must-Sign-Someone" Day.

Apparently, the Pirates are buyers. And Shawon Dunston was not involved.

Not to be outdone by the Steelers signing LaMarr Woodley and the Pens signing Ty Conklin, the Pirates showed that they can make a splash as well, trading for shortstop Cesar Izturis. The Buccos gave up the dreaded "player to be named later."

Finally, the team showed a little bit of motivation, and might not be putting up with Jack Wilson's bs anymore. Wilson, a one time All-Star (because he somehow had 200+ hits that year. How did that happen?), is currently batting a mediocre .256.

Izturis, 27, was batting .246 with 11 doubles and eight RBIs in 65 games while sharing shortstop duties with Ryan Theriot in Chicago. Previously, he was an All-Star under manager Jim Tracy with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005.

Both Wilson and Izturis are one time All-Stars who are batting around .250. However, Izturis was splitting time in Chicago, while J-Wil is the primary shortstop in the 'Burgh.

But here's the kicker. Wilson is int the final two years of his deal, and he is still owed $14 mil, making him the team's highest paid player. Batting .256 for that money is not acceptable. This sounds a little Jason Kendall-esque.

Move Wilson's salary. Pronto. I don't care how good he is defensively, his offense sucks. And last time we got rid of a crappy defensive/good offensive player, Aramis Ramirez went to the Cubs. That hasn't worked out well for us at all. Wilson's time in black and gold (and sometimes red) should be up.

Nady Well Enough to DH

Xavier Nady's tight left hammy might be healed enough to let Bucco DH in the upcoming interleague showdown with the Yankees. Jim Tracy isn't even stopping there, and said Nady could even return to the field if he feels well enough, allowing Ryan Doumit to DH.

The Buccos could use Nady's bat, so the upcoming 15-game interleague stretch might be a blessing in disguise (I say this very timidly). The Buccos have never done well in interleague games.

They are 52-84 overall since the leagues began crisscrossing in 1997, and that includes 10 opposition sweeps in 46 series and a 19-46 mark in American League parks.

Nady won't have to rush back from his injury, and a DH role can help his hammy heal. I mean, Doumit's stats as a DH in the last 2 years of interleague play are terrible. 6-33, .182, no homers, 4 RBIs. Nady can DH, instead of possibly re-injuring his hammy in the field, and put a fresh Pirate bat into a foreign position.

But its up to the entire team to turn the horrible interleague record around. The Buccos always seem to be in the same position at this point every year. Somewhere between 5-10 games back of the NL Central leader, with no clear team willing to be the Central frontrunner. Interleague comes along, and the Buccos decide to stink it up...again.

The promises of April seem to turn into the realities of May. June and interleague bring the night terrors that eventually decimate the team. July through September is then soured by the roster expansion, and the experimental 9-man rosters that resemble D-II college teams.

Matt Capps' almost-certain suspension will not help a damn thing. His suspension (from the Prince Fielder incident, now 5 weeks old) will not be overturned, and the team will be without one of its best relievers for 4 games. Capps will pitch against the Yanks, but Salomon Torres will still have to (possibly) close 4 games against either the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners or Los Angeles Angels. Including New York, the Buccos are 9-23 against their upcoming AL opposition.

Gorzo (6-3 2.53 ERA) takes the mound against Andy Pettitte (3-4 2.96 ERA) tonight at Yankee Stadium.

The Local Scoop

What could be going on with the local sports scene on a Friday at the end of May? Although it is Pittsburgh, and the Buccos are still stinking it up, the local guys are faithfully plugging away. Here's some notes around the 'Burgh:

- Big Ben is about to get a raise. Tommy Gun got an extension with more than 1 year left on his contract, should Ben get the same treatment. Alan Faneca and Joey Porter say no. Here's Yahoo Sports' take.

- Jim Tracy used the word "deplorable" to describe the Pirates' clutch hitting. I would have used "ass-clownish," but that's just me.

- Not Pittsburgh-related, but congrats to John Smoltz for winning his 200th game. He's the only guy in history with 200 wins and 150 saves, as well as the only pitcher who opened as season as a starter the year after a 50-save season. The guy is a nut. He was a baseball-card-collector's favorite back in the day. That day was Bowman '89.

- Here's a Penguins' Q&A with the PG's Dave Molinari. If he waited a little bit, he could have discussed the Pens signing free-agent defenseman Jonathan D'Aversa. Last year, he was the defense partner of Jordan Staal's younger brother, Marc. And Staal references are a plus.

- Losing to the Redbirds apparently wasn't enough for the Buccos. Tom Gorzelanny, a lone bright spot, left the game after taking a liner off the thumb.

- The Pensblog gives some predictions for the Cup finals. Best part, "Brett Hull says Red Wings in 3."

- Pirates' fan Ron Florian. In the flesh. Thanks to Mondesi's House.

- The Passion (4-0) play (are going to dominate) the Cleveland Fusion tomorrow. Jeff Ogden, former wide receiver for the Ravens and Cowboys, has joined the Passion as Special Teams Coach. As always, stay with PSaMP for stellar Passion breakdown/analysis after the team remains undefeated this weekend.



Read on, Pittsburgh lover...

Please Demote Tony Armas Jr.

How can a 7-2 win spell the end for a game’s starting pitcher? Well, if your name is Tony Armas Jr., you only pitch 3 innings (again) and the guy who relieves you pitches well above your stats, then demotion might just be in the works.

Ronny Paulino came through with 3 RBIs against the Marlins, and Shawn Chacon pitched 5 scoreless innings in relief of Armas to record the win. Armas allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in 3 innings. Jim Tracy, who has been dodging questions about Armas’ possible demotion, can elude the hounding no further. He’s come out and said that it isn’t good when you have to ask your starter for the ball in the 2nd or 3rd inning. Tracy had to do just that yesterday. Luckily, the move paid off, and Chacon pitched well enough to allow the Pirates’ offense to kick into gear.

Chacon only allowed 1 free pass, induced 6 groundouts, 6 flyouts and 3 strikeouts. Could Chacon take Armas’ place in the rotation? Very possible. Or, Bryan Bullington (6-1 2.40 ERA) or John Van Benschoten (3-3 2.47 ERA) could fill that spot. Even if one of those two who are currently in Triple-A Indianapolis don’t make the starting rotation, they could move to the bullpen, giving Chacon a chance to start again. I would be pleased with either decision. Chacon is clearly a better talent than Armas, and a demotion for Armas would mean that Bullington or Van Benschoten would be able to face some major league hitting in some capacity.

One reason for the past 14 losing seasons, is that the Buccos constantly stick with bad pitchers, mainly because there is no other option. Over the past 3-4 seasons, our current starters were all too young and inexperienced to be called up to the bigs. With a tiny payroll, Pittsburgh couldn’t afford to spend lavishly on free agents either. This year, the Pirates tried to get into a bidding war for former Buccos starter Jeff Suppan, but couldn’t match Milwaukee’s offer. Instead, Pittsburgh settled for Washington castoff Tony Armas Jr. This decision is obviously not working out. Luckily, the Pirates finally have some young pitching in the minors who are just waiting for their chance to start in a Pittsburgh uni. Bullington has been putting up some ridiculous numbers, and Van Benschoten, at the very least, is a better fit than Armas.

Chacon, Bullington or Van Benschoten? I’d be pleased with either as our 5th starter. I’d also like to see Maholm demoted, so maybe a couple of these guys are about to get their first chance of 2007.

Bucs Win In 15

Although they have already won a game in 16 innings this season, the Bucs were out to prove that winning long games is no fluke. Jack Wilson admitted that the game was the worst in his career, but his bat atoned for a throwing error in last night's 4-3 win over the Cubbies. The game took 15 innings to complete.

Jonah Bayliss (3-2) pitched 3 strong scoreless innings to get his 3rd win of the season. Bayliss needed a strong outing, after struggling over the past week and a half.

Jack Wilson committed a fielding error in the 7th, allowing Cesar Izturis to reach first. Daryle Ward delivered a pinch-hit single, and Alfonso Soriano drove in Izturis for a 3-2 Cubs lead. Ward looked to be out at 2nd, and Jim Tracy was ejected for arguing the call. Wilson was able to make up for the costly error by delivering a sac fly in the 9th off Ryan Dempster to score Nate McLouth. After unsuccessful attempts to drive in baserunners in the 11th and 12th, Wilson hit another sac fly, which scored the decisive run in the game.

Ian Snell pitched an alright game. He went 8 innings, and struck out 5. However, he allowed 10 Chicago hits. He luckily only gave up 2 earned runs over those 10 hits. No walks issued by Ian, so his control seems to be in the right place.

Tonight's game pits Tom Gorzelanny (4-1 2.97 ERA) against Jason Marquis (4-1 2.09 ERA). Both pitchers have started the season as well as they could have hoped. Marquis has won his last 4 starts, and Gorzo recorded wins in 3 of his past 4 starts. Gorzo or Marquis could tie the league lead with their 5th win tonight.

Time For Some Rebut

After I posted my feelings on the Matt Capps suspension, I received several emails complaining about my reasoning. Here is one email that I would like to share, complete with my rebuttal. The email came from a reader by the name of Brady Quinn.*

You need to look at the tape again. Prince Fielder was not hit in the elbow he was hit in the shoulder. Oh and by the way the reason he was hit in the shoulder? He lifted his shoulder to protect his head. I am all for the pitcher having the inside corner, but that's not what happened here. Capps was head hunting and it could have either seriously hurt Fielder or incited an ugly brawl.

Even Jim Tracy commented after the game that he understood why Fielder was upset. I can agree that four games may be harsh, however your stance is ridiculous.

Take your homer blinders off.

Here is my response to Brady Quinn.

Shoulder...Elbow...My bad. I typed that in a hurry cos I had to go to a meeting.
Capps headhunting? Could be. But is Capps known as a head hunter? Does he have a history of going after guys just because the batter before him is having an
unbelievable series? Thats a stretch to even think of. And should an isolated instance warrant an automatic ejection coupled with an overdone suspension and
fine?

And Fielder? His exaggerated spin, the stare at Capps, the glaring into Milwaukee's dugout to see if retaliation was coming in the next inning, and the childish antics he displayed on Sunday really begs the question if Fielder was doing a little acting. At least a little. And Capps was immediately ejected because of it. And now has four games to think about it.

Yeah I heard Tracy say that (about Fielder being upset). Fielder has every right to be upset, because the pitch was well inside. And he got hit by it. I'd be mad at that, too. I'm only saying that Capps' suspension is wrong, and Fielder, who was blatantly calling a hit on the Pirates in the next inning by constantly staring into his own dugout, is partly to blame.

Fielder gets hit sorta in between the shoulder and the elbow. Here's some crappy video. Note the elongated "lay on the ground and stare at Matt Capps."

And here is a quote from ESPN.com's account of Sunday's game.

Fielder just eluded catcher Ryan Doumit's tag as the throw home was up the third-base line. After he slid across the plate, Fielder popped up and repeatedly punched his fists toward the Pirates' bench, prompting plate umpire Tim Timmons to step in front of him and point him toward the Brewers' dugout.

Doumit followed with:

It was a nice slide," he said. "My hat is off to him, but I think that's pretty bush league what he did afterwards.

Oh, and the homer blinders part? That's part of the site. The name is Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies, and I elude to seeing the world through black and gold colored glasses in my "About" section:

Yeah, my Pittsburgh bias is evident, and if it shows itself in my posts, then you'll just have to deal with it.

Its kinda part of the site. This isn't the place for unbiased analysis. Of course I'm gonna take Capps' side.


* Names have been changed for comedic purposes.

Matt Capps Suspended, Prince Fielder Babied

Reliever Matt Capps was suspended 4 games for his actions against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. Capps plunked Prince Fielder on the elbow, and was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez. Jim Tracy was not happy at the time. Neither was Capps.

Sure, Capps had just given up a homer to J.J. Hardy, only the 2nd run he's allowed this year. He plunked Fielder, the next batter, on a rising inside fastball that caught the 1st baseman on the elbow. The ball looked like it could be going towards Fielder's head, but was deflected when Prince raised his arm.

I was perturbed with how quickly Capps was ejected from the game. I'm no fan of the "I'm gonna warn both benches" tactic, and if an ump is going to warn a team, it means he thinks they are in the wrong. Ejections are a much better way to deal with intentional hits.

With that being said, an ejection and 4 game suspension plus an undisclosed fine was a little overboard for the hit on Fielder's elbow. Capps had just given up a home run, and needed to reestablish his control over the inside of the plate. Sure, the ball was high and inside, but it wouldn't have hit Fielder's head. The only reason it hit Fielder's elbow was because Prince flailed his elbow out when he saw the ball coming inside. Fielder is a smart player. The guys in the booth couldn't stop talking about that fact for the entire series. He was shown paying attention to the littlest of details, and we were all treated to his superior knowledge of how the game is supposed to be played (blah, blah, blah). Any batter coming up after an "insurance" home run knows that the pitcher is probably going to come inside with the next few pitches. As soon as Fielder saw the the pitch coming, his elbow went up, and he dramatically spun around to the ground, staring at Capps.

Marquez wasted no time, and ejected an obviously heated Capps. Jim Tracy seemed upset with the swift ejection, and Capps ran his mouth the whole way to the dugout. Here's Capps' take on the situation:

I had him 0-and-1," Capps said. "So he had a quick hook. Obviously, stuff
like that is a judgmental call on his part, and I'm not going to question what
he did. I have to show him I can pitch inside. If they don't like it, that's
their problem. I'm going to continue to throw the ball on the inside part of the
plate.

The Pirates look to Ian Snell to help the team get back on track tonight versus the Cubs. Snell is following up his worst performance of the season from this past Wednesday, when he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits. He also walked 4, threw a wild pitch, and hit a batter (and wasn't suspended for 4 games). The Buccos face Ted Lilly, who the Pirates touched up for 5 runs and 9 hits over 5 1/3 innings on May 1st.