Torres Wants Away From Tricky Pirates

Salomon Torres wants to be traded. Good riddance.

Torres has been nothing short of shaky this season, and Matt Capps has already replaced him as the team's closer. Torres does give some interesting reasons for wanting to leave, though.


"I've given everything I have to the team, to the city of Pittsburgh, and I would like nothing more than to be part of a championship there," Torres said by phone from Bradenton, Fla., where he is rehabilitating his right elbow. "But I've had enough. They tricked me into signing that contract, and what they are doing to me now is retaliation because I complained about it."

The "retaliation" to which Torres referred, as he explained, was what he feels is a slow schedule the team has mapped out for his current rehabilitation.

His larger issue with the Pirates, without question, is his perception at how Littlefield handled negotiations leading up to the two-year, $6.5 million contract extension signed in the spring of 2006.

Torres, who did not have an agent in those talks, contends that he agreed to less money than market value because Littlefield had strongly suggested -- though not in writing -- that the team would consider renting one of the two baseball academies Torres built in his native Dominican Republic.


Hmmm. A player has a problem with the Pirates organization, huh? It looks like fan frustration is finally overlapping to the players.

Everyone is calling the walk-out a failure. Only about 1,000 people left their seats, and many fans booed. However, PSaMP looks at it a different way. How many times has fan frustration reached the ears of management? I can count one time, and that was the walk-out. Just because all 26k people didn't leave the stadium, it doesn't mean the protest was a failure. We can all bitch and moan about the Nuttings and Littlefields, but Fans for Change actually made their voice heard. And now players are echoing these sentiments, that the management is manipulative and uncaring.

Torres called Dave Littlefield out. Fans finally have some reasons to believe that the walk-out was done for the greater good. Its not just some renegade fans who feel the management doesn't care. There is a much bigger scheme going on. Players like Torres understand this, and are proving that point.

Torres can have his grievance. I'm glad that he probably won't be around to blow any more saves. However, his reasoning may help the most blinded fans realize that the management is duping the supporters, and players, on a rather large scale.

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.

Thursday Reads

Its Thursday, you've voted for PSaMP countless times (probably not, but its good to dream) in the Hot Blogger Bracket, and now you want to know what's going on, sports-wise, in the 'Burgh. PSaMP, as always, is here to deliver.

- Keep voting for PSaMP! What, this shouldn't be first? PSaMP can't get its message to a wider audience if you don't vote. Plus, my 65%/35% advantage has slipped to 58%/42%. I'm holding down 500 votes right now, so PSaMP has gotten a lot more support than I ever could have dreamed. Thanks for every vote! I'll try to make you all proud!

- Lawrence Timmons and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus (great...), have not opened contract negotiations with the Stillers yet. I'm going to throw out a few numbers, and you guess what they signify:

9
13

Sacks? Forced fumbles? Passes defended? What do 9 and 13 mean?

Ok, I'll tell you. Timmons has missed 9 consecutive voluntary organized team activity sessions and 13 consecutive team practices since he hurt his groin on May 11th. Timmons has been facing some major questions/criticisms since Pittsburgh selected him earlier than most teams had him on their draft boards. If he wants to quiet the naysayers, Timmons better find a way to get on the field and get signed. PSaMP is already a huge fan of 2nd rounder LaMarr Woodley, so Timmons is playing catch-up from the get-go.

- Not Pittsburgh-related, but PSaMP wants to send a congratulations to Trevor Hoffman, who recorded his 500th save last night! That is a ridiculous feat. He doesn't have a Mariano Rivera-cutter. He doesn't have a (2004 or 2005) Eric Gagne fastball. He does it with a changeup. That is something that young pitchers need to emulate.

With the steroids era, the Hall of Fame Number of 500 usually meant home runs. With the steroids cloud, the 500 homer club became awfully diluted, and now Gary Sheffield and Jim Thome (both PSaMP favorites) are knocking on that proverbial door. Trevor Hoffman is now the first and only member of the 500 save club. And he saved Greg Maddux's 338th win. Both of those numbers are incredible! Trevor Hoffman, you have the full support of PSaMP, and I hope you are a first-ballot HOFer.

- Salomon Torres did it again. The Buccos lost 6-5, after ADD Laroche hit a game-tying 3-run shot. The Buccos were down 5-1, and even lost Xavier Nady to a minor hammy injury. Torres loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs, and gave up the winning run on a wild pitch. Torres was even shown giving Ronny Paulino the pitch signal he wanted while the batter looked in his own dugout. So not only did he throw the wild pitch, but he called for it as well.

Torres is past his prime. Unlike the Stillers, who get rid of players too early rather than too late, the Pirates stick with bad players for God-knows-what-reason. My sister had this card of Salomon.

That was Topps '94. This is 2007. 13 years is a long time to be in the majors, and players rarely peak this late in their careers (unless your name starts with Barry B and ends in -onds). PSaMP has been a fan of Torres throughout his career in Black and Gold, but he needs to be demoted, traded, or something. PSaMP called for Tony Armas' head, and it worked. Now, PSaMP is doing the same for Torres.

- The Pirates are thinking about spending some of the 2008 preseason in China. That's the only place people will watch them.

- Stillers WR Nate Washington is trying to minimize dropped passes. Washington provided some timely catches during the Super Bowl run through the playoffs, and has the ability to be a big-time performer. All this after being undrafted out of D-II Tiffin.

PSaMP likes WR Walter Young, who can't seem to ever make it out of the preseason. Washington is also a fave, so minimizing "mishaps," as Washington calls dropped passes, would be a huge boost to his career. Young would need an enormous preseason to make the roster, especially after the team drafted Dallas Baker in the final round. No matter who is on the team, dropped passes need to be eliminated.

- Joe Starkey of the Trib wants the Buccos to take Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters with the #4 pick in todays draft. Wieters is viewed as the best player available in the draft, but the Buccos have Ronny Paulino. Wieters is a franchise catcher, who could be in the majors in a very short amount of time.

The Post-Gazette thinks the Buccos have limited options. I agree with the PG. Take 3rd baseman Josh Vitters. I know that Jose Bautista is young as well, but Vitters would spend more time in the minors than Wieters. Yeah, our farm-team catcher situation is less than desirable, but drafting Wieters doesn't help that if he's going to be in the bigs within a year or so.

Despite my mumblings, the decision is not in PSaMP's hands. Us fans will have to live with whoever the Bucs choose. I just hope its not another pitcher.

That's enough for now. I feel like Bill Simmons or something, what with the 3,000-word essay and all. I apologize for the longass post, but it'll keep you occupied until I find a cool miniature horse. Or until something else substantial happens to our sports community.

Torres to Return as Closer

Most Pirates fans should be questioning their loyalty to the team after reading that headline. Torres is coming back as closer after what, 2 games? And in those two games, Salomon gave up a lead-changing 2-run shot to Andre Ethier. Why then, is Torres replacing Matt Capps in the closer role?

Don't get your panties in a bunch, Sally. Its a part-time deal. Remember when Capps was ejected for plunking Prince Fielder on the arm? He was subsequently suspended for 4 games. Capps has his suspension-appeal-hearing this weekend, and Torres will replace Capps during the appeal and suspension process. That means Torres, who has been shaky all season, will be called upon to pitch against the Yankees.

Now I know the Yankees of today aren't the Yankees of, say, 7-8 years ago. Paul O'Neill is nowhere to be found. But let us look at The Buccos interleague stats from last year. The Pirates sported a 3-12 record, with a .269 team batting average and a 5.47 ERA. Interleague usually spells doom for the Buccos, so I don't care if the team is playing the Devil Rays, Yankees or BoSox. The bottom line is, the Pirates hardly stand a chance against the American League, no matter the team being played.

At least Torres hasn't regained the entire closer role. I think Capps can do a good job as closer. I mean, he's been really the only Pirate player to show any life/excitement this season. Throwing at Fielder, Capps was asserting his ability to throw inside, no matter who is up at the plate. Not many other Buccos have shown that much life this season. Seriously, are teams intimidated by a roster that includes Jack Wilson, Don Kelly, Humberto Cota (who was just designated for assignment, finally) and Nate McLouth?

Hopefully the Pirates can hold their own against the struggling Yankees. If Pittsburgh can win 2 of 3, and basically tread water while Capps sits out (since I doubt the suspension will get overturned), then the team knows it has a viable option to close out games for the rest of the season.

Bucs Win in 16, Fully Endorse Adderall

Who knew that ADD Laroche's attention span could last 16 innings? I sure as hell didn't.

Salomon Torres, who opened the season with some "lights-out stuff" but has struggled since, blew a save in the 9th again. After a well-pitched game by Zach Duke (Dude allowed a run in the 1st again and the Bucs still had a chance to win it before Torres came out), the offense added 3 runs in the 5th and 6th to help Duke out. Big Country hit a solo shot to dead center in the 6th and the game was all but won. Until the 9th.

Torres, who blew his 3rd save in the past 5 outings, hardly looked like a legitimate closer. 4 singles in the 9th, along with a throwing error by Jose Castillo (Maybe he needs the Adderall) helped the Astros back in it

After managing only 3 hits since the 8th inning, an intentional walk to Jason Bay in the bottom of the 16th loaded the pillows for ADD. With a home-opening start of 0-18 at the plate, and a game long enough for his Adderall to wear out, Laroche wasn't really expected to do much. Actually, the guy had 318 career RBIs, the most for any active player without a walk-off hit in his career. To prove everyone wrong, ADD hit a walk-off single, and the Buccos prevailed 4-3.

John Wasdin, who pitched the scoreless 15th and 16th, collected his first win of the season.

The Pirates are on a 3 game win streak, and have now opened the season with 5 straight wins against the 'Stros. During the start of the season, I mentioned how the Pirates' early season success against Houston was kinda like the Penguins' season success against the Flyers this past year. 5 straight wins against Houston will do nothing to change that. Hopefully that equals a playoff run for the Bucs (That would be crazy) this year.

Some Losses Leave A Bad Taste In Your Mouth

this was one of those losses. leading 2-nill in the 9th inning, "previously 4 for 4" salomon torres decided to emit shades of jose mesa (or mike williams...ew). torres let 2 runs score in the ninth, blowing his first save of the year. the buccos hung around until the 12th, but paulino couldnt hold on to a jason bay throw on a sacrifice fly, and the cards prevailed 3-2. bautista homered, and the pirates squandered a quality outing by gorzo. having never faced pujols before, gorzo got sir albert out 3 times to end innings (read that last line again)! why is this important? uh...take a look at alberts numbers against the pirates entering this season (thanks to albert pujols club). its losses like this that have me wondering if the buccos can take that next step, and actually compete in the central this year. if not, us loyal fans can settle down and take in another long, hard-to-watch season.

enough with the past, and on to the future. the pens are about 7 1/2 hours away from their first playoff game since 2001. i sometimes feel a little weird, because im way too pumped for the second season to start. with the success the pens had this season, as well as the whole arena/kansas city/las vegas ordeal and the maturation of staal, geno, maf and sid, the playoffs are basically the icing on the cake. i do agree with ray shero, though, that the pens cannot be satisfied by simply being in the playoffs, and must be prepared for a long run (get that playoff beard going larrybrownsports! i want pictures...just kiddin). ottawa has been somewhat shaky (im being nice by saying somewhat) in the playoffs in the past few years, and bryan murray isnt necessarily the most playoff-savvy coach (dude has never made it out of the 2nd round, in the pros and in the minors). that doesnt really mean anything this year, but its good to know.

scott burnside of espn.com wrote a story about sid that was both compelling and rich (thanks, ron burgandy). it actually made the front of espn.com (what?...hockey news on espn? you gotta be kidding). this comes only days after scotty picked the sens to win the series in 5 games. way to straddle that fence, scott! (side note: another reason to get angry at espn: the first time i clicked on espn.com today, the site crashed each site i had open, and i had to completely rewrite this entry. looks like espn has changed tactics from bashing sites on espn radio to crashing browser windows.)

thats all for now. mpotd will be coming up soon. i know you cant wait. neither can i.