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They have developed some good players over the years, only to flip them to other teams. This has lead to many years of below .500 ball in the Steel City. Can they break out of that funk? Can Ronny Cedeno save the day??? Pittsburgh Pirates 2009 Record: 62-99 (6th, NL Central) Key Additions: Akinori Iwamura (2B), Bobby Crosby (INF), Ryan Church (OF), Octavio Dotel (RP), D.J. Carrasco (RP), Brendan Donnelly (RP), Javier Lopez (RP), Wilfredo Ledezma (RP), Vinnie Chulk (RP) Key Losses: Matt Capps (RP), Jesse Chavez (RP), Brian Bixler (INF), Phil Dumatrait (RP) Summary: It has been a sad, sad streak indeed, and it is likely to continue. No team has has 17 straight losing seasons until Pittsburgh did it last year. This team has some fun players to watch (namely Andrew McCutchen), but talent-wise they are still well behind the rest of the division. Garrett Jones was a pleasant surprise, and with him the offense actually looks decent. The pitching is scary however. Zach Duke should not be a team's top starter, and Octavio Dotel should really not be closing. Unless Pittsburgh can get some pitching to go with their decent lineup, it will be #18. Cubs Connection: I hate doing former players *all* the time, but I have to talk about Ronny Cedeno. Before Ryan Theriot came along and before Starlin Castro was the shortstop of the future, Cedeno was to be the the man for many years. He showed signs in 2005 and was handed the job in 2006. He struggled, and Cesar Izturis was brought in to do not much better. After a couple of seasons as a backup, a brief, terrible stop in Seattle, and a half-season in Pittsburgh, Cedeno hopes to finally realize the talent. Like many Cubs products, he lacks a good approach at the plate, and sometimes shows a lack of sense on the field. The talent is there though, and who knows? Maybe John Russell can finally unlock it. I would not bet on it. BIBGLBOOPSARG(tm) 2B Akinori Iwamura CF Andrew McCutchen RF Garrett Jones C Ryan Doumit LF Lastings Milledge 1B Jeff Clement 3B Andy LaRoche P Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Russ Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton, Daniel McCutchen SS Ronny Cedeno (Yes, he is batting 9th in a LaRussian lineup.) Closer: Octavio Dotel Predicted Finish: Sixth place in the NL Central. I do think they could sneak up and pass the Astros, but Houston still has some good players that will probably prevent that from happening. Again, it comes down to pitching. Maybe a couple of these young guys like Charlie Morton and Russ Ohlendorf can step up. But if a team ever needed an adjustment to the structure in Major League Baseball, this would be it. Posted in: 2010 Preview, Pittsburgh Pirates I will make another post later, as I have some thoughts about the current roll the Cubs are on, but first, a quick analysis for today's trade with Pittsburgh which saw the Cubs acquire John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and a single A infielder, Josh Harris. Bottom line, I think it's a good trade. I don't think it's great, but the Cubs have no where near the money or the farm system to make a great trade. So: I am giving Hendry credit on this one. We need a lefty in a bad way, and B.J. Ryan is throwing mid 80's heat in the minors right now, which does not bode well for him making an impact with the Cubs. Grabow, whose numbers against lefties are actually worse than his numbers against righties, is at least decent enough to either take some load from Marshall, or free up Marshall for a return to the rotation. Either one is fine. If by some chance Ryan regains his velocity, then we have a good stable of lefties available. The one thing about Grabow though that isn't as publicized is that he is on course to be a type A free agent. If the Cubs offer him arbitration, which they should, and he declines, the Cubs will get a nice draft pick, so either way, Grabow helps the Cubs beyond 2009. Tom Gorzelanny is a throw in that could be a decent pitcher this year or the next few years. He had a good season in 2007, but has been battling injuries and conditioning issues lately. His AAA numbers are promising, so he could do something. It can't hurt to have him around. As far as what the Cubs gave up, no big losses there. Kevin Hart has had a good run, but this is clearly a sell-high scenario. He had a couple of good starts, but his control is suspect and he's not super young. Honestly, I think Gorzelanny and Hart are roughly a wash, with Gorzelanny having a more proven track record, and Hart having more recent success. Therefore, we will see Gorzelanny or Marshall take that 5th spot until Lilly comes back. That didn't hurt the Cubs at all. Ascanio is an average bullpen arm, but with Gregg, Marmol, Guzman and the recent (though brief) emergence of Jeff Stevens, Ascanio adds nothing to the Cubs that they don't already have. Josh Harris is a low level prospect, so who knows what will happen? My bet is on not much. Overall, I cannot complain about this trade. I have to admit Hendry has done a decent job with the current situation he's in. (To be fair, he's the one that put the Cubs in the situation with bad contracts.) Maybe the current run has made me soft, but I think getting Jeff Baker for really nothing was a good deal, and Baker hasn't done too bad with the Cubs. B.J. Ryan was definitely worth a gamble, even if it doesn't work. And today's trade was another good, cost-efficient move that will help the Cubs long term. And let's be honest, the Cubs need all the long term help they can get. Posted in: John Grabow, Tom Gorzelanny, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, B.J. Ryan, Trade | ||