Pirates trade Bautista to Toronto

Wonder what NH has in mind?  Hopefully he didn't just give up on Joey Bats and expect nothing in return...

Anyone have a guess"

At least they got a body; Jose was gone by next year.  I hope he's a better fit for the Jays.

i was just about to leave a comment about this on the morning links page, refreshed first and then this post was up

Rocco already knows who is coming back so we'll find out after the game.

Probably somebody to help out Hickory next year.

Well, it was apparent he wasn't long for the team when he got sent down.  Its too bad, it seems he could've been a nice player as a super-sub type.  But, when he got miscast as a starter, that just drove his arbitration price up, thus making too much for the Buccos to pay a non-starter.

Maybe the Bucs will get a couple cases of Molson XXX and that topless chick who was in the hotel window at their stadium outta this.

This deal makes a ton of sense.  He over stayed his welcome here and, as discussed several times, we have several 3rd basemen in the waiting.

Hopefully, they got a young arm as the PTBNL.

As Brandon Moss says; "Wow". That did not take very long. Salary dump, or is there really a decent player to be named later to come?

I wasn't expecting to see him back in a Pirates uniform anyhow.  Good luck in Toronto.  

Wow, somebody bit after JBats had only two good games at Indy? Does Littlefield work for Toronto now?

Good riddance

???? Why now and to a team out of playoff contention. His value couldn't have been lower since we just demoted him. I wasn't a big fan but wouldn't you try and maximize his value at a more opportune time? With the waiver situation you can't even market him to all the teams. Strange, very strange.

I'm surprised they gave him to the Jays.

I been saying for the past month that the Minnesota Twins  would give us something decent for him.

The Twins had been pursuing Adrian Beltre, who had a 30 million dollar contract. Beltre is no superstar, though he is good and much better that Bautista.

But Bautista could have given them better results thatn Mike Lamb was giving them. I think with Brian Buscher emerging, they saw no need for Bautista, and they are right.

I hope they got someone who can make a difference in our lineup. Still, I wont miss Jose. He never put anything together for more than a couple weeks at a time. Guys like him are all over the place. No consistency.

He wasn't even as good as our super sub from the late 70's, Fernando Gonzalez.

What's unspoken is that he cleared waivers without a claim.

This transaction takes me back to Dejan's story right after JB was sent down. NH is definnitely getting rid of all the old underachiever familiar faces from the Littlefield days. Can Paulino be far behind?

More likely we won't see a player, but money instead.

The player to be named later might be more useful than the bag of balls the Jays will be sending with him.  Then again, maybe not .....

And whatever will we do with an opening on the 40 man roster?

I think Paulino might not be far behind him because at the trade deadline his name floating around but he never went anywhere

pirates management is the worst in the history of professional sports.

That's too bad, I always thought that Jose Bautista would be an excellent "super-sub" on a championship caliber team. He surely was miscast as a starter, but contributed enough on offense to make a well-above average bench player.

I guess $1.8 million is a bit much for a utilty guy. Unfortunately, the way baseball's arbitration process goes, he could hit .185 and probably still get a raise on that. (God this system is BROKEN!)

Best of luck to Jose in Toronto.

Paulino will be back. With the way he's hitting right now, they'll sit back and watch his value increase until the end of the year. He has basically no value right now, no reason to trade him at this point. He has had spells of success in the MLB and decent catchers are hard to come by. Plus it allows for a little offensive output at the C position if Doumit goes down.

Sorry about my last post. I leave the computer for 10 minutes and my brother tries to ruin my reputation as a supporter of FC and NH.

G-man,

I could be wrong on this, but couldn't it be that Toronto was the team who claimed him, which allowed the Bucs to deal him there? Of course, that would still mean he was passed over by all NL teams and half the AL as well!

Toronto apparently traded out of need, Scott Rolen has shoulder issues and the Jays aren't out of contention for a playoff spot yet (one game behind the Yankees, I think).

3 Topless dancers and some Steel City and nachos

Is anyone of value ever obtained from PTBNL trades?

PTBNL

My guess is it would be either a catcher or a plus A Ball starter.  Catcher BRIAN JEROLOMAN would be a nice fit.  Left handed hitter with strong defensive tools.  

It won't be Travis Snyder.  If it is, then we do have the greatest management team in the history of management.  

MattThe Rat

Hey. Are you knocking Ray Sadler?  

Buc Fever -

I'm not an expert on waivers. That said, I believe all other team must pass on him for a trade to be make. I suppose Toronto could have claimed him off waivers and then the Bucs withdrew him and then traded. But, I'm not sure why the Bucs would have put him on waivers in the first place except to make a trade or, maybe, take him off the 40-man roster. But I'm not sure if that would have required waivers for Jose since he apparently had option(s) left when we sent him down to Indy.

@ mazfromiowa - no deal unless we can the beers with greater alkie content.  

The player we get might be better than expected.  A lot of times in post deadline deals, a Player to be named later is someone on the 40 man who didnt clear waivers.  Notice the Adam Dunn deal had 2 PTBNL's involved.  Could be nothing in return, but could be a current 40 man as well.

DK, any insight on that?

Come on guys, I can't believe all of the posts where people are upset that Jose is gone and I'm amazed that people are expecting value in return. He was, and still is, below average except for the few weeks he goes out of his mind and looks like a stud. There is no room on this roster for him after this season. I realize championship calibur teams would love a "super-sub" but is he really going to help the Bucs get any better in '09? We'll see zero value in return for this deal except for a marginal minor leaguer, probably someone you can't consider a prospect. One final note, the post that mentioned trading him at his lowest possible value, well was his value ever that high to begin with? This isn't like the Oliver Perez deal and definitely is like the Bay deal. So take it easy Bucco fans, we've got enough reasons to believe we'll be fine at third and I'm sure we an find a bench guy that will be just fine. Remember, our bench was supposed to be horrible this year and it has worked out alright.

Reds got Micah Owings as one of the PTBNL for Adam Dunn, bashing, but underperfoming starting pitcher from AZ.  But I don't think he went there yet.  If he didnt' make it through waivers (or perhaps so AZ can keep him through their current playoff run), the Reds will get him after the season.

Lots of depth at third down the line and Andy LaRoche is the man for now.  Joey Batts and his five-run home run swing were expendable.  Dougie becomes the super-sub/team leader for '09.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

Hope this leaves the super-sub role open for Mienkiewicz next year, and  that they sign him . . .

"He originally was a Rule 5 claim of the Pirates in 2004, then was reacquired the following year through trade."

Wasn't Bautista drafted by the Pirates? I know he was lost through that Rule 5 draft fiasco and re-acquired through the Benson trade, but I'm pretty sure the Pirates drafted him first.

JHadar -

>>Hope this leaves the super-sub role open for Mienkiewicz next year, and  that they sign him <<

I'll second that. And we'll save the $1.8MM-plus that Bautista would have received in arbitration. Maybe Doug will come back if we pay well enough. Still, DK has pointed out that Doug's main motivation is going to a team where he can play almost everyday. That's not so likely here with the Bucs in building mode.

The uncertainty, the not knowing is killing me. In the same week we're on pins and needles waiting to here the PTBNL and Obama's choice for a running mate!

GMan

Don't forget the PTBNL in the monster Craig Wilson to Seattle deal.  

20th round draft pick in 2000 by the Pirates.

www.baseball-reference.com/.../bautijo02.shtml

I like it.  While he might fit some where in MLB as a utlity guy, but to me he is always playing for himself.  In certain situations where he needs to move the runner or take a couple of pitches he is doing nothing by swinging for the fences.  

The Pirates drafted Bautista in the 20th round in June 2000, but he did not sign with the team until nearly a year later. Bautista was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2003 Rule 5 draft.

Between April and the end of July 2004, Bautista had been cut by Baltimore, claimed by Tampa Bay, traded to Kansas City and dealt to the New York Mets. The Pirates re-acquired Bautista July 30, 2004, as part of the deal that sent pitcher Kris Benson to the Mets.

agreed that jose had to be moved.  but, these PTBNL deals rarely pay off for the team who gets said PTBNL.....

....unless the PTBNL is crash davis, of course.....

Just saw the head shot of Jose has been updated with a Blue Jays cap. PhotoShop rules!

Hey guys, check out www.fanzak.com for live Pirates chat all the time.

You can even upload the RSS feeds from the PBC Blog.

www.fanzak.com/.../Pirates_MLB

Cave: don't forget that we still don't know about a PTBNL in another blockbuster - Josh Wilson to the Red Sox.

G-Man, et al: Bautista supposedly cleared waivers in early August (see www.mlbtraderumors.com/.../perrottos-lates.html - dated August 10). Most teams put a bunch of guys on waivers just in case they want to trade/to mask which player they really want to trade.

Who needs Joey Bats when we got Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker and Andy LaRoche.

Speaking of Pedro Alvarez, is he ever gonna be in Pittsburgh for a press conference and such? Or did he skip past Pittsburgh and head straight o Bradenton?

nice catch Dirty.

PTBNL--Unfortunately we will not get much more than a box of burgers from the Hard Rock Cafe from inside the Rogers Centre

Sorry, if this has already been covered ... I haven't read all the posts here, on the Bautista post-mortem ...

Could this deal possibly have precipitated the Pirates remake of that 1950s TV show, "Make Room for Duffy?" Or was that "Make Room for Daddy?

I mean you had an outfield there, made up of Bautista, McCutch and Nyj when he goes back ... OK, Nyj will be back up in September ... soon enough.

But, really, methinks after Duffy shows himself healthy, with a few decent games under his belt, he's gone for some money and a bag of balls, too.

Or maybe Atlanta's still interested, and we could have Ol' Man Glavine.

RE: P'sTBL -- With these kind of deals you're getting rid of some guys who are taking up higher level space in the system and essentially trying to catch lightning in a bottle, possibly doing some favors, building some good will, for a potential or past trading partner in the process.  

The Blue Jays found Huntington intractable when they wanted Bay.  Now he helps them out with a piece he can afford.

Also realized we've traded a lot of Wilsons lately.  About time for that to stop.

Duffy, September call up?

Question is you have an open spot on the roster today...Who do you bring up? Would Capps qualify?

Another question...Who is next? My bet is on Michaels. Possibly Grawbow but he is kind of a shaky commodity (elbow chips)

"Player to be named later" usually means you got a glove with a warm body attached.  Why the giveaway?

Super speedy on the Photoshoppage!

Adios, Joey Bats - you were okay.

DK not sure where you are hanging out tonight but one of my Milwaukee favs is a local/tourist haunt The Safe House, food is good beverages are better with a 007 feel. Travel channel did a thing on it as well as a decent write up under Milwaukee Restaurants.

Wow, I guess I am really in the minority here, however I REALLY do not like this trade - this not only rings of a 'salary dump', it also has the LittleYield component to it (trade a guy who has been terribly devalued by sending him down to AAA) - this kid is only 27 & was fourth on this TEAM with 12 homers (with more homers/AB than Adam LaRoche) (after the Nady & Bay departures). I am FAR from being sold on either LaRoche - Alvarez is still at least a year and a half to two years away (without injury)-I thought NH was supposed to be about 'dealing from strength' & 'organizational depth' - Also the whole PTBNL is often only associated with deals that are terribly one-sided. I guess we have to find out who is coming back to correctly evaluate this trade-I hope the hole on the 40 man is being filled by Capps & this isn't a precursor to Jack Wilson being moved....If there is one thing that would be intolerable, it would be a left side of the infield filled with Andy (Zoolander 'can't turn to my left') LaRoche & either of the two Bedrock-Gloved SS (Rivas or [I don't even want to utter this kids name...he was THAT bad] Bixler)...

Last nights game was very indicative to me as to how badly our offense has been decimated since the departure of Nady & Bay....Will nate even hit 30 hrs now? Plus, last night, I turned off the game the moment we were down 5-2, I knew that was an IMPOSSIBLE comeback for this group - With Nady & Bay, even at 11-2, you had to wonder.

BillyKidd: its the 40 man roster we are talking about, Capps is already on that

Baywatch:   Duffy? Really?

I'd rather see Joey Bats on 3rd with sub-par defense and absolutely no offense for years than Duffy even sitting on the bench.

Duffy, September call-up? No way that happens, I don't think he has played more than 10 games in a row this season. If teams gave purple hearts for injuries physical and mental, he would be covered with them.

PTBNL for Josh Wilson to Boston: Probably NH's way to say thanks to Epstein for his help in brokering a deal with LA.

PTBNL for Jose Bautista: Either a low A minor leaguer depending on Bautista's performance the remainder of the season or Toronto picks up the remainder of his salary. I wouldn't read too much into it. I doubt one of Toronto's top 50 prospects will end up in the PBC's lap.

Also, I believe that a team can claim someone on waivers and have up to 48 hours to work out a trade with that team. If no deal is done, the team offering said player can take him back or let him go for nothing. I'm sure that DK will have more info within the coming hours on how Bautista was dealt to the Blue Jays.

This is not a salary dump. JB is at best a utility player, Unfortunately he was allowed to believe that he was going to be a starter, so he is now unwilling to accept that role, at least with the Pirates. So he should be traded for the good of the team, and the player.

As for trading at high value...when would his value be higher than now? Spare me the comparisons to Bay and Nady. It's not the same. NH knew those two were going to play every day this year, so they would have the opportunity to increase their value, so he held on to them in the offseason. JB was not going to play every day next year with the PBC, so no chance for his value to go up.

As for our return on the trade, or for that matter, our evaluation of the deal, why don't we wait until we know for sure what we get? Rocco, what are your super secret insider sources saying? lol

jose was traded because he voiced his displeasure and because he is replaceable.

even if we get nothing in return it was still a good deal because he is gone and is no longer on our payroll.

he had plenty on chance and failed. on top of that he is slower than a snail in mud.

@ Missing-Thank you I thought so just wasn't sure with all of this waiver stuff happenning. again thanks

the destroyer -

Not to worry ... the Braves are on the phone with NH as we speak. It's Duffy for Glavine AND Chief KnockaHoma. Plus, they're thowing in a PBC Blogger-bag full of those yummy chili dogs from The Varsity, world's largest drive-in.

Check it out!

www.thevarsity.com/menu.php

@Bay-- Don't say that. I love those Dogs form the Varsity...If they are throwin in a bag of those they can have Doumit, McClouth...LOL

Baywatch... keep glavine and the chief, I'll be happy with the Varsity Dogs...that place is a trip...If anyone goes to Atlanta, you have to check that place out.

I'm tellin' you, when I pulled up that Varsity menu page, and saw those chili-laden puppies ... Gadzooks! It was like, forget the diet, I'm comin' home.

I've eaten there once, but it was about 30 years ago.

Wow.

Bummer , I liked Joey Bats. Even if he wasn't exactly upto what the Bucs NEED to have.

I wish him well up there.

As for what we get back?

I trust NH that we'll get someone decent.

Bautista is what Branch Rickey used to call an "anesthesia plaer". Play him long enough, and you wake up in sixth place. He gave good value for a bottom dwelling team, but there are better options at third now and in the future. Lucky that he slipped through waivers. Best of luck to him, but it's time to say goodbye.

As a matter of fact I think thePBC got a bag of those VDogs for Gimpy El Sid Bream.

Even more to that I think there is a Zapruder type film Showing Barry eating a VDog just before that no name *** Francisco Cabrera pinch-hit knocked it into right field

From WikiPedia:

Some minor league PTBNLs who have turned out to be productive in the majors include Jeremy Bonderman, Scott Podsednik, Coco Crisp, Moisés Alou, Jason Schmidt, and David Ortiz.

That is the extreme exception, not the rule.  Bautista, who simply is not good enough to be an everyday 3B (and is NOT a kid at 27, that's typically a player's peak), was not going to be happy here being "demoted" to a utility role.  So he had to go, plain and simple.

You just hope the PTBNL turns out to be semi-useful.  If nothing else, organizational depth.

Those worried about Bautista's being "devalued"... you have to have value before it can be decreased.  No one was going to offer anything of substance for Bautista because he's mediocre, plain and simple.  It has nothing to do with him being sent to the minors.

Look at the bright side, now Denny doesn't need any initials qualifiers...

@ moderator--Sorry thank you for cleaning up my ***

oops sorry Left

I hear Davis Romero might be our guy.

thebaseballcube.com/.../Davis-Romero.shtml

Johnny Nez - LOL - quite the optimist on the Denny Bautista situation.

BillyKidd - LOL II, BTW, on throwing in Doumit and McLouth for a bag of those Varsity Chili Dogs!

I am surprised that some people are really surprised or even a shade upset by this move.  Bottom line is you don't pay 27 year old recently demoted utility guys $1.8mill.  There was never going to be a point where his value was going to be much higher than it is now.   It's funny how people love to complain about how bad pirates management is/was and then when new people come in and make changes to a bad team they get upset.  Be happy that changes are being made. FC and NH seem to have an idea of what they're doing so let's let them and we can judge in a year or two.

@Bay--very seriously one of the best.There are very few places that serve "Slap your Mamma" good food, The Varsity, ATL GA. Port O Call in NOLA (Burgers) Pinks Dogs in LA, Red Mill, (Seattle Burgers), Annapolis Seafood, MD (CrabCakes)..

And of couse the best for last Primanti's

Sorry folks I know this is not the Food Channel Blog. Won't happen again.

If it is him an under 4.0 era is not bad but on the DList  because of a shoulder issue???

BillyKidd -

>>very seriously one of the best.There are very few places that serve "Slap your Mamma" good food, The Varsity, ATL GA. Port O Call in NOLA (Burgers) Pinks Dogs in LA, Red Mill, (Seattle Burgers), Annapolis Seafood, MD (CrabCakes). And of couse the best for last Primanti's<<

Sounds like a marathon of episodes from that defunct Rachael Ray show "Tasty Travels." Can you say "Yum-O"?

On the subject of a salary dump: it just occurred to me it may be at least partly a salary dump. Recently, DK talked about one-way contracts once a player reached arbitration years. JB is already there so he's making the $1.8MM even playing in AAA. Since they were not going to tender him and probably not bring him back to Pgh. in September, dump the salary and get something in return. Makes sense once you think about it.

@G-Man Recently, DK talked about one-way contracts once a player reached arbitration years. JB is already there so he's making the $1.8MM even playing in AAA.

Absolutley correct assessment from my PoV. Bats will get a chance to kick start his career. Probablay as a rental to the Jays if they make the playoffs he will get a stage to perform on. He was done here. They were not going to go to arbitratrion and possibly get stuck with 2.5 M or more as it seems to be going in the players favor recently.

DK, this may sound stupid but something I always wondered about.  Is Joey Bat's picture photoshopped with the Jays hat on?  I always wondered how they get a picture that quick.

there seems to be a run on former Pirates thirdbasemen -yesterday JCastillo, today JBautista. Who's next, Ty Wigginton......JRanda.................DHoak?

BuccoNation: Where did you hear that?

If it is him, I like the deal fine. It was good enough just to get rid of him, but to get an under 4 era reliever is gravy!

And hey guys, give Rocco a break already. I don't even care for the guy, but at east he is the first attempt at an all-pirate radio talk show, not heard around these parts in oh, my lifetime?

(I'm 43).

I mean, if that joke of a station KDKA were still in charge, we'd probably have to hear that irritating, nails on a chalkboard bore John Shumway after Pirate games.

Does anyone remember the mid 70's when John Cigna came on after games and extolled us with his NO KNOWLEDGE of baseball whatsoever?

Man, I can still remember my dad screaming at the radio.

This reminds me of Chuck Noll in 1969 telling his team that "most of you cannot run fast enough or jump high enough and won't be here next year."

NH is steadily re-making what has to this point been a losing roster. I think this makes 21 or 22 new names on the 40 man since NH took over. I hope it continues. It is the ONLY way to eventually break the string of losing seasons.

gawdawful hat those jays have, a real contendah for goodwill with our red vests. if we are cleaning house with the new management, can we please get rid of the vests too?

jose had a good run to establish himself here-time to move on. lets keep loading for 2010.

@James--Man, I can still remember my dad screaming at the radio.

My dad and I would leave 3Rs and hope to catch a good post game while sitting on one of the bridges in traffic to hear Cigna talk about the game and say things that drove him nuts about the game. God forbid Cigna ever got anything right about a particular players play that evening.

guess what Bautista is now the leading HR bat for the Jays...

hard to believe when they have Rios, Vernon Wells, Overbay etc.

but their top HR guy is none other than Matt Stairs.

no wonder they like Jose.

One other thing that I thought of about Joey Bats - Dave Littlefield loved him, which means NH probably doesn't, which is probably a good thing.  DL loved him, which makes his decision not to protect him in the Rule 5 draft all that much more crazy.  But at least he was able to trade back for him a year or so later.

Dave Littlefield, he was so crazy.

Dave LIttlefield didn't think much of McLouth, Sanchez, Snell, or Doumit behind the plate, but loved Paulino.

Dave Littlefield, so crazy.  

@ Lee--<Dave Littlefield, he was so crazy.>

For the most part you hear GM's referred to as Good Baseball men...Just afew here

Wren, Gillick, Sabean, Epstien, Beane, Cashman, Shapiro (Huntington's Mentor)

I know joeybats was done with the bucs, but I wonder if Andy Laroche will be as good. So far he is not an upgrade. Personally< I would take 20 homers and 80 RBI which is what I think JB would have gotten if he played everyday.

I know Joeybats was slow and all, but he was headed for 20 homers and 75 RBI. Any LaRoche doesn't look like he is going to be the answer. He hasn't impressed me so far. I would take a 20/70 guy at third.

How many third baggers did the Bucs need? He was a career .240 guy. It doesn't matter who they get back but it will be better than just letting him go when the PBC didn't want to pay his new arbitration salary next year.

Potential + .240 = AAA

The funny thing is I submitted a question to Dejan this morning asking if Wilson was traded if JB could play Shortstop.  He has a descent bat for SS.  The question this morning about Andy Laroche's defense got me thinking about the nice plays JB would make from time to time and the possiblity of him at SS.  

We're probably just seeing Andy during his slump part of the year.  I expect him to start next year in a tear.

BillyKidd, re Safe House in MKE - NOOOOO!!!!

There are about 50 better places to eat in Milwaukee than the Safe House, a tourist Mecca but with expensive drinks and run-of-mine food.  Anyone going to Milwaukee, check out the JSONLINE Food or Cue sections first.

The Blue Jays are beating the mess out of the Yankees tonight. It's funny: Sportsline says the guy who has been playing 3B, Scutaro, will forfeit third to Bautista, and go back to the utility role.

Guess who's 4 for 6 tonight with a homer and four RBIs ... No, it's not Bautista. It's Scutaro! Just Bautista's luck I guess.

They show Bats on the bench ... I might even pull up mlb.tv to see if I can see him over on the bench (Alright, it won't be quite as exciting as seeing JBay in his first game!)

Here's what Sportsline's fantasy analysis says about Bautista:

"The Blue Jays need to take a good, hard look at talents like this as they build for 2009 and beyond."

Rotsaruck, Blue Jays ... and, seriously, lots of luck, Jose.

Wouldn't it be funny if they tried to give Matt Stairs back to us ... I'd say he's an AL value only now, though.

Hey I would take the bag of balls for Joey.  We may need them for Tabata, Pearce, Alvy, Moss  and so on.   So I see it as an even trade dollar for dollar.

Maybe I should have said for the fans when the above guys knock them out of the park...  Forgot to mention Doumit McLouth ...

@Wozzle-- Yeah a tourist "trap" I had a great burger there yeah a little pricey but decent pub food. I do agree that there are alot better place in MKE. I do not think of Dejean as a White Linen type of diner.

I guess one of the problems with a super-utility guy is that he probably thinks he's a starter. And in some places, who knows? I'm sure some teams probably do have a use for him as a starter.

Hey Bay my new AVATAR took. Yipee!!!

Tabata 2 for 2 tonight, plus 2 walks, 2 runs scored, 5 total bases.

I say bring McCutchen up and let him play for the Pirates in September ... and let Tabata take his place at Indy.

OR, leave McCutchen down and bring up Tabata to play right field.

Let's get a fresh picture of the guy. Minorleaguebaseball.com still has him in his Trenton Thunder uni.

BillyKidd - If it's the picture of the guy tagging the guy coming down the line, I been seeing that one on you all afternoon ... Or maybe you got a newer one than that, and my 'puter hasn't caught up yet.

Mine's got some serious modem problems.

"Kickin' Rear End in 2010"

I tried to put that up several times then quit trying around 7:30. I guess it got hung up in the server.

@Bay--<I say bring McCutchen up and let him play for the Pirates in September ... and let Tabata take his place at Indy.>

When does the season at Indy end? I thought early Sept...right around call up time.

I just looked 1 Sept. is the end of AAA Ball. Maybe add Tabata ust to get a look.

BilllyKidd - your avatar is attached to your profile so it's on all your old posts as well as your new ones.

mgeorg-I saw that, thanks. I was having a heck of a time getting that to "update "over my original avatar...I had finally given up  and lo and behold...there is my new avatar...

mgeorg-- speaking of avatars is that a rookie Barry?

@JamesPaul

Pure speculation, I saw it on TIOPS, I'd link you but I'm not sure how The Dean feels about linking to other Pgh Sports sites.

Anyone see my man Tabata tonight?

2-2, 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 2R!!

Sorry about that fellas... Hasselhoff beat me to it!

Bucco--If we can speak about speculation from Rocco...linking us to a respectable site should not be an issue...Anyway I won't tell on you. lol

@ Lynchburg tonight...

Brad Lincoln 6IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K

Moskos - 2IP, 2H, 0ER, 0BB, 2K

Very solid outing from Lincoln.... Moskos... ehh....

Alright Billy, if I go down you're comin with me!

I'm sure a lot of these guys here know the site, but for those who don't.

www.theinsideronpittsburghsports.com

was having a heck of a time getting that to "update "over my original avatar...I had finally given up  and lo and behold...there is my new avatar...

That's exactly how it worked for me!  Fiddled around for the longest time, and then wham it was there all over the place.

This blog is really catching on.  Couldn't have imagined even a couple months ago that trading Bautista could generate this much verbage (though a little bit of it seems repetitive).  Maybe when we make them buy bigger servers they can make it easier and faster to change pictures.

Is it possible to paste pics in-line?  

I believe Moskos has 3 K's tonight.

What a great pick from Creech and DL!

Welcome back JHadar--Thought you were gone for the night? Anyway thanks for the tip...:)

@BillyKid

trying to upload an avatar but my site says they are disabled!

Oh my! Did you have the same problem? any words of wisdom?

@Hadar, you're not alone with the avatar adventures, took me about 25 tries to get mine uploaded!

@Teke's Shades, classic username my man! And you're right, guess the box score wasn't updated, 3Ks.

Moskos is gonna have to do that every night before mgmt. will feel comfortable Just my lowly opinion. But it is a start in the right direction. Same with Lincoln. Congrats to both for a well pitched game.

Hey Teke, where can i get some of those specs?

@Indiana lets see here we go

Click YES on Enable avatars

Click Browse then open your PIC

Scroll to the bottom of the edit page and CLICK SAVE

Click update at the top of the page (next) to Browse.

You should see a message in green about waitng 10 minutes bla blah blah...If that doesnot work let me know.

I owe all of this "knowledge" to several of the other bloggers out here  so to them I say thanks.

The keys are the SAVE button at the bottom of the page and the UPDATE button. Words of advice after that

patience grasshopper

@Walky, Teke, Indiana, and anyone else that has recently joined the community,

A hearty welcome aboard! Make yourselves at home. The first virtual beverage of your choice is on me, after that you are on your own.

@missing the burgh

@stealer6

@JohnnyNez

@scooter

1. I am always concerned & a bit amused how bucco fans can swear by a guy that puts up a good year and a half (see McClouth & Doumit), yet someone who does not put up a good year and a half is seen as 'useless' - at least bautista would give you at least 15 homers & .250 avg with some RANGE at 3B- LaRoche has not shown that he can do ANY of the above at the major league level (see JVB).

2. I do not like it when a GM simply MUST create a roster in his own image (no matter the pieces that are currently in play)-ego is not a place for a GM (especially in pittsburgh)

3. a salary DUMP is only a good one if it is BEING REINVESTED INTO THE TEAM....I don't know about you folks, however, I really don't give a you know what if Nutting saves a few bucks so that he can go on an extra hunting trip this off season.

I pay my hard earned money to see a QUALITY ML team, it is no longer that for the rest of this year & probably all of next year as well.

The bucs are going to break the Phillies record for all-time longest streak of losing baseball - it is almost a guarantee in the post-Bay/Nady era

You sign Bay/Nady to contract extensions, than add a CC Sabathia, you than have a team to be reckoned with - yes it would cost $70M-$80M payroll per year, however, you would have a quality big league roster.

Lastly, here is a long question for all of you:

What if Alvarez/McCutcheon/Tabata/Karstens/Ohlendorf do not work out in the long run? What than?

It may shock some of you, however, Baseball America called Bautista: the Pirates 5th-best prospect and the best "power hitter" prior to the 2006 season

I am just saying that NOTHING has been accomplished yet - the bucs are still losing far more than they are winning & until that turns around, Nutting et all have nothing to be proud of.

Thanks for the welcome.

Walky, I can’t tell you where to get these sweet specs, it would be breaking the Sacred Submariners Code.

Andy, from an offensive stand point is far and away better than Jose.

Andy may struggle a little this year, but he should pan out well in the future.  He commands the strike zone better than most.  If you look his low average is not due to k's.  He is making contact.  Just not finding the holes.  That will balance out over the course of a season.  

If he bats .265-.270 that will be great.  The thing with Andy is OBP.  His ability to draw walks is amazing.  We could see Andy pop 20-25 HR's as well. I see a .390+OBP and 490 SLG.  He could be slightly better, or worse.  An OPS range of .840 to .890.