mvn.com - 12/18/2008
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In Dejan's Q&A today, someone questioned why the Pirates do not take advantage of the current market, in which prospects are arguably overvalued while free agents are undervalued. In the subsequent discussion, Dejan endorsed the idea that the Pirates should have held onto Jason Bay and ...
bucsdugout.com - 12/17/2008
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bucsdugout.com —
Jason Bay after the trade (photo: Keith Allison
) There's a really interesting and somewhat maddening discussion...
in the Post-Gazette's Q+A today : Q: Is it smart for the Pirates to be avoiding free agents and targeting prospects? In honor ...
(more)
In Defense of the Jason Bay Trade
community.post-gazette.com - 12/17/2008
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community.post-gazette.com —
By Dejan Kovacevic | 11 a.m. Wednesday Click
here to submit question. We have Qs ... __________...
Q: Is it smart for the Pirates to be avoiding free agents and targeting prospects? In honor of 'Moneyball' and its premise that teams like the A's (and ...
(more)
Pirates Q&A: Not playing the market
bugsandcranks.com - 12/16/2008
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bugsandcranks.com —
The Pirates, who have emphasized a need to
find talent via every available outlet, have again gone...
where no team has gone before. Late Monday night, the Pirates came to terms with Iraqi pitcher Muntadhar al-Zaidi. The 28-year-old al-Zaidi will ...
(more)
Pirates Sign Iraqi Shoe Thrower
Comments
Blog Reactions
Free agents vs. prospects
Honest Wagner —
The Bucco blogosphere has suddenly been festooned with much excellent interesting commentary on a Q+A question about free agents vs. prospects in the current market, and whether the Bay trade was wise. For the record, Rowdy and I both liked the Bay trade at the time. Andy LaRoche has 164 ABs as a Pirate. Sure, those haven't been pretty, but give him a chance at least.
Some mid-day links
Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? —
... I don't know what that means, but it's rumored that someone offered him a deal for more than one year and I suppose the Pirates might be that team.
Rafael Furcal is now signing with the Dodgers, which means they don't need a shortstop. And it means the Braves don't have extra shortstops to deal. And so it seems likely that the trade doors are closed for Neal Huntington for a bit.
... Ray King? No thank you. Derrick Turnbow? No thank you.
The Pittsburgh Lumber Co. adds in to yesterday's discussion on the Bay trade and free agency.
12/18 Quick Hits
3rd Down & Full Count —
... for him.
Honest Wagner thinks we should give Andy LaRoche a chance (he only has 164 at-bats as a Bucco right now), in light of all the uproar about the Jason Bay trade. I think that’s just stupid. With a team like the Pirates, a team that’s ready to win now, giving youngsters a chance is just dumb. We should be chasing after Mark Teixeira & Manny Ramirez and the likes. Seriously. (Please, please catch the sarcasm.)
A great post from Pittsburgh Lumber Co. on the Jason Bay debate. And as is brilliantly summed ...
Bridging the (Roster) Gaps - Part One
MVN RSS —
... There has been a lot of discussion this week about the validity of the Pirates going out and signing free agents. The general idea of such signings is usually to fill holes on a team that is considered to be close but not quite. As Matt over at PLC pointed out, however, it would take at least several high-end free agents to bridge the gap between the current team's production and what would be required to become a serious contender. ...
Give Neal Huntington a break
Raise the Jolly Roger —
... Next we have Matt from Pittsburgh Lumber Co. [Matt uses statistical analysis] to determine what would happen IF the Pirates were to do what the fans suggest (holding onto Bay and going after free agents this winter. His number-crunching shows that a 2009 team with Bay, Doumit, McLouth, and Maholm all maintaining their 2008 career years PLUS free agents Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia, Mark Texiera, Derek Lowe, AJ Burnett, Rafael Furcal, Joe Crede, and Orlando Hudson would finish around 93 wins. That is right around where the Cubs ended up in 2008. So, assuming a few of those added ...
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Baseball's Salary Cap Solution —
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