The Official 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates Thread

[mjb2124]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Craig has 2 problems. First, he really doesn't have a position. He plays 1B and RF...both very average if not a little below. He also can play C, but is pretty bad. Second, he does K too much. He can maul a fastball, but can't hit offspeed pitches well.

With that said, he's no different than Burnitz. Only thing I can tell is PNC is a nightmare for RH hitters. It's great for LH hitters. Ward isn't on the team anymore.

Yeah Duckworth was horrible last year. He's always been very talented, but never really put it together or was injured. When Billy Wagner was traded from HOU to PHI, Duckworth was supposed to be one of the main guys (or the main guy) that HOU got back.

However, he's done very well this spring. I think the Pirates are just looking for a guy to eat innings. Duckworth might be that guy. I just hate to see them deal when if Duckworth does fail, they can always call-up Burnett or Gorzelanny or even use Ryan Vogelsong.

[LetsGoPitt]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Joeboo is right on about Wilson. He's mediocre at best in the field, and he still can't lay off the sliders low and away. He handled himself well in RF at PNC, but I think that's more a product of it being so damn small.

If this trade for Thomson goes through, I'm going to scream. Yes, he was good for a while, and as was pointed out, then his ligament blew up. Hasn't been the same since. SO WHY TRADE FOR HIM? If you're not sold on Duckworth or Santos, give Gorzelanny a shot. He had a good spring. I wouldn't use Burnett yet, simply because he needs to knock the rust off, but Gorzelanny is a much better option than Thomson. All he's going to do is maybe pitch well, but even that's a losing situation as far as I'm concerned. If Thomson does well, he's going to hold up one of the Pirates' young pitchers (Burnett or Gorzelanny). If he does poorly, his salary is such that the Bucs can't just dump him, and if they do it would just mean yet another trade of a decent player for no return.

[Karlos05]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Subject change, but Duke got torched today.

4IP, 8R, 7ER, 1BB, 0K, 0HR


Ouch

[rsox]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

This deal really does two things for the Pirates: 1) with Duke and Maholm getting lit up most of the spring Thomson would give the Pirates a veteran arm to fall back on. And...2) trading Wilson would open up a roster spot for Nate McClouth.

A side note about John Thomson:
Thomson has finished a season with an ERA over 5.00 only once in his 8 year career. Remarkable because more than five and a half of those years were spent in Coors Field in Colorado and Ameriquest Field in Texas, two of the best hitters parks in all of Baseball.

[SPTO]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

I was reading the game recap for the Jays/Pirates game. It seems Duke is having a tough spring. Is this more a function of the Sophmore Blues or is he just struggling to find his stuff? I saw him in action against the Marlins last year and I really like his stuff. He is one pitcher i'll be looking out for all season long.

[mjb2124]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

SPTO - Duke's struggling to find his stuff....specifically his 2 seam fastball. He said that he just doesn't seem to have the control of like he wants. He also stated that without his 2 seamer, he's toast. I knew he relied on it a lot, but I always thought his curve was his go to pitch. I guess not.

One things for sure, Duke and Maholm better find it fast. I think Duke will pull through as he just knows how to pitch. However, Maholm is a real concern right now. Oliver Perez is another concern.

Look out for Ian Snell. He might be turning the corner and finally maturing as a person/pitcher. Great stuff (95 mph fastball, sharp slider and a changeup he just started throwing) and has dominated the minors throughout his career. His biggest problem......he's at most 5'10, 170 lbs. The Pirates have been very slow to accept that he might be able to be a starter at the MLB level despite his size. Might be another guy like Pedro in terms of his size.

[Kohlstar20]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

This deal really does two things for the Pirates: 1) with Duke and Maholm getting lit up most of the spring Thomson would give the Pirates a veteran arm to fall back on. And...2) trading Wilson would open up a roster spot for Nate McClouth.

A side note about John Thomson:
Thomson has finished a season with an ERA over 5.00 only once in his 8 year career. Remarkable because more than five and a half of those years were spent in Coors Field in Colorado and Ameriquest Field in Texas, two of the best hitters parks in all of Baseball.

Nice stat on Thomson rsox. I honestly think Thomson is underated. He is a good pitcher that any team would love to have if it weren't for the finger injury he substained last season. He is a bargain if you ask me because you can't get a veteran pitcher with a salary of only $4.75 million very often.

[bravosfan]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Little bit from the Braves' site: Link

There is a belief that the Braves have offered Thomson to Pittsburgh in exchange for Craig Wilson and right-handed reliever Salomon Torres. But a Pirates source said Sunday that he doesn't believe they'd be willing to exchange two players in exchange for Thomson.

If a deal is reached with the Pirates, the source indicated it would be more likely that Thomson would be traded simply for Wilson, who can play first base and the outfield. With Mike Gonzalez entering his first year as a closer, the Pirates are leery of trading any of their top middle relievers.

[Karlos05]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Wilson and Torres for Thompson is robbery by the Braves.

[mjb2124]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Wilson and Torres for Thompson is robbery by the Braves.

Torres is one of the better RH setup men in the NL. Plus he's a workhorse in the bullpen. I'd hate to see the Pirates do that deal. If Torres was gone, we'd only have 1 RH short reliever....and that would be 41 year old Roberto Hernandez.

[pncbucs]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

bravegamer your avatar makes me gag

anyway the bucs are on tv one more time on wednesday before the season starts next monday. can't believe we're only a week away!

[Karlos05]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

bravegamer your avatar makes me gag

Oh god I just saw that.



Take it down!!

[rsox]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Torres is one of the better RH setup men in the NL. Plus he's a workhorse in the bullpen. I'd hate to see the Pirates do that deal. If Torres was gone, we'd only have 1 RH short reliever....and that would be 41 year old Roberto Hernandez.

Since Tracy will find someway of getting Giovanni Carrera on the Pirates roster they would still have 2. For whatever reason Tracy loves that guy, 214 of Carrera's 288 career appearences have come playing for Tracy.

[mjb2124]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Since Tracy will find someway of getting Giovanni Carrera on the Pirates roster they would still have 2. For whatever reason Tracy loves that guy, 214 of Carrera's 288 career appearences have come playing for Tracy.

Good point. I forgot about Carrera and Tracy loving him.

Here's another name I forgot about - Matt Capps. The Pirates are very high on him. Big, hard throwing RH reliever However, he jumped from AA to MLB at the end of last year. I think he should start out in AAA, but he is still in camp right now so who knows what the Pirates will do?

[bravosfan]

Re: The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirate Thread

Oh god I just saw that.



Take it down!!

Yeah, I thought I might catch some heat for that...

I've been fiddling with a few different avatars, this one probably won't be up for long.