Pirates trade Hinske to Yankees

Love it!!!  Hinske was a dud.  To get two players for him, regardless of their abilities, was a great move.  Garrett Jones is a stud and I think he could be our future first baseman.

I just googled eric freyer and there were no baseball related results.  I then went to MILB and ESPN and still nothing, is it the correct spelling.

I like this trade.  Two players for a bench guy that wasn't doing anything at the plate.  More like a trade for three players, as now we can see what GJ can do with the big club.

Agree with dubers. Hinske stunk.  Who are these guys?

Also, welcome to Pittsburgh Garrett Jones!

I'm excited just to see what Jones does with the big club.

Erickson is a reliever in low A ball (2.25 ERA, but otherwise mediocre stats).  I can't find any record of Freyer.

Eric Fryer (no second 'e') is in High A

www.baseballamerica.com/.../cards

I think it is supposed to be Eric Fryer

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/.../stats.jsp

Whats wrong

www.thebaseballcube.com/.../Eric-Fryer.shtml

Good move, if for nothing other than to see what Garrett Jones brings to the big table.

Looks like Fryer had a pretty good season last year in low A

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/.../stats.jsp

Erickson also had a solid season at a lower level

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/.../stats.jsp

Good. I didn't see the point of him taking AB's away from players that might have a future with us beyond this year. And now he has a chance at getting to the world series again this year...

Boy--trades sure bring out the gray men--Please click on my avatar and get instructions for getting an avatar so we can follow the posts easier.

I like the trade...  since Hinske wasn't much of a pick-up in the first place...  supposedly this is the just the first trade of the day for the Buccos.  It should be interesting to see who else goes.  

It should be just as interesting to watch people whine that we are breaking up a team that is "so close" to first place.  Those people are delusional.  There's way too little power, and general talent, as the team is currently assembled to even get near first place -- even in this division.  It's not like they are breaking up the Lumber Company...  Heck, I don't even know if this team is as talented as the Freak Show bunch.

"Good move, if for nothing other than to see what Garrett Jones brings to the big table."

Agreed there.  I wonder where he's going to play - are we going to see him (or Pearce) at 1B, even once a week, to see what we have if Adam gets traded?  Is he going to become part of the RF dart board?

Welcome to the BIGS Mr. Jones...Much success is wished upon you. Good luck and God Bless.

Casey Erickson (23 year old righty with Class-A Charleston)

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/.../stats.jsp

3-3, 2.25 ERA, 21 games, 3 starts, 44 IP, 51 H, 13 BB, 37 K

10th round pick in 2006.

Can I be the first to request that the approximately $850,000 to be saved on this deal, along with the cash (let's guess its $150,000 for rounding purposes) be split evenly between the two pitchers who visited this weekend.  Give them each an extra $500,000 and let's get them inked!

Re-posted from the last thread...

Lots of interesting stuff here.  I think Maz's stats at the very top are quite compelling.

I also have no problem with promotions celebrating the past.  I want fans to stay engageed, young fans to grow into the history of the team, and the rich history of the organization to remain in spite of recent struggles.  

Further, I am completely comfortable with using it to distract from the growing pains the team is going through.  We're almost the same team -- record wise -- as we were last year, but we've gotten a good deal younger.  And we've stocked the farm system with a number of new pieces that I like.  In the meantime, the big club will not be making a ton of "Throwback Night"-worthy memories.  Okay. I accept that.  But only on the theory that we are actually making progress, that we are actually building something.  

I understand, in other words, NuHo's complaints that the throwback nights are pandering when we're signing Jeromy Burnitz and the ghost of Joe Randa and Benito Santiago in a wheelchair and trying to pass that off as a major league club.  But the guys we're been bringing in and bringing up are far more encouraging.  Thus, I have no problem with giving people reason to celebrate the past as we build for the future -- even though the present is somwhere below average baseball.

nice to see a trade that saves money but most would agree with even it cost money.  Hinske looked a good pickup in the off season but has been a major disappointment so no loss to the current team even Jones performs no better.

You can tell a move involves the Yankees when it appears in ESPN.com's Baseball Transactions before it appears in most blogs.

Now we have two bench guys that aren't going to do much other than PH...Pearce and Jones.

Boy is the Indianapolis offense going to be fragrant now...about like a skunk.

On the Hinske side, .360 as a PH plus 5 BB's - .467 OBP as PH.  I took a quick look, so those are the numbers I figured as I couldn't find the exact PH stats as quickly as I wanted.  He's been identified as a clubhouse leader (Doug with less friction).  Wishing you well Mr. Hinske.

So, back to my other thought on Jones - DY is obviously our best PH, so does he play less in the field under he gets some more work with Perry Hill, giving Moss more regular time?

according to ESPN 1250, other trades could be in the making.  didn't give any details yet.

anyone have an idea who might be next to go?  is the NyMo trade still a possibility?

I'm anxious to hear the negatives because at a glance this looks like an excellent trade.

Thunder

I agree, Indy's offense is not going to be very good.  I would like to see Gorkys head there.  

@JAL

I completely agree with you!

I liked the acquisition of Hinske, and I like this trade even more. He wasn’t performing anywhere near expectations, and we were able to do a lot better than just cut our losses.

Watching WALL-E last night with my daughter, I thought of the Pirates when they announce "Celebrating the 700th anniversary of the 5 year voyage".

Wow that was depressing. :-)

Hinske was not a part of the future.  I doubt that either of the playere received are either.  Just reshuffling of the deck chairs.

SALARY DUMP!

Yes BAB - take that cash and sign those pitchers. Now is there some way of dumping Ramon Vazquez and getting that money back to put to better use? I wish.

Will he keep jersey # 69? I hope so... definitely a lucky number.

I see he's played some first base. If he keeps it up, maybe letting go of Adam LaRoche might not be such a big loss after all.

Dejan

Will this open a spot in Indy for Tabata to move upward?

What are the other trades that are brewing?

Does anyone know: Are there any players left in the Yankees' farm system?  We seem to have pretty much everyone they've had in the last year.  Which I'm fine with, except that notoriously, their system isn't that good.  

Can someone get NH the phone numbers of other major league GMs?  He does know there are no restrictions against trading with the rest of the league, right?

Are you sure the Pirates got cash back in this deal?  Everybody else is reporting that the Pirates paid the Yankees about half of what Hinske was owed for the rest of the year...around $400k.

I also like this trade or any that gets rid of under-performers.  That said, the money saved should go towards Sano.  With all the trading we're about to do, the FO needs to make a splash with the fans.

Not that it's a bad thing, but has any team in baseball had a bigger overhaul/replenishing of their farm teams, in the last year?  

This is an absolutely great move from the front office.  To get rid of Hinske and his prorated salary and get two minor leaguers is a steal for us.  Jones deserves this roster spot.  I can see him taking over 1st base when Laroche is gone.  

Looks like Nyjer is going to be a National sooner than later...guess we'll see when the lineups come out.  If he is out, the deal is done

Salary dumps don't bother me, especially in situations like this.  Hinske wasn't going to remain with the club anyways, and this trade reminds me a lot of the Kip Wells trade to Texas - and Jesse Chavez worked out pretty well...

Manny

Amen! Deal Vasquez, bring up Luis Cruz...or just anyone...and spend that money on Sano.  

I see NuHo is at it again.He's already been sickened AND infuriated by 7:30.  ;-)

Why does the ESPN.com blurb say that the Pirates are giving the Yankees cash?

sports.espn.go.com/.../story

BAB - I'd like to see Gorky's up there as well.  If his recent hitting continues, Tabata as well maybe?

D-Dubya - Wall-E reference - LOL!

Oops.. I see his jersey # is 27 this year (was looking up old stats). My bad.

Dejan

Is Jones going to be with the ballclub tonight?

Personally I don't have any issue with this trade.

I wouldn't get overly excited regarding the return, they are both 23 and still in A-ball.

But, Hinske wasn't contributing much, certainly not like he did for the Rays last year and a guy like him is pretty meaningless for the Nutting Pirates since they already pulled the plug on the season when they dumped McLouth.

This club isn't going anywhere so it's better to lose constructively and by that I mean find out if Jones can be a player or not. Better than just treading water with Hinske.

I'd say it's the right move by Huntington given the circumstances.

But, the one bad thing about all of this is that I think Coonelly and Huntington have burned their "we're the new guys and we're are building a winner now" sales pitch with major league players with the deals of McLouth and and Hinske. - My guess is that this clubhouse does not think much of this FO now and going forward it will be nearly impossible to attract even the lowest of available free agents to come here. Just the ones that can't get a job anywhere else.  

hmmmm--Ny Post says the Yanks agreed to trade when the Pirates agreed to eat $400,000 of the $800,000 on Hinske's congtract--so who saves what money?

blogs.nypost.com/.../yanks_obtain_hi.html

Maybe Jones should just put his stuff directly in Adam LaRoche's locker.  I didn't think about trading Hinske away.  I don't know why.  It just didn't occur to me.  Hinske is in a free agent year, just like LaRoche.  I didn't see the need for bringing up Jones and having two left-handed hitting 1B/OF's on the bench.  Problem solved.  Jones played well and earned a shot.  

How many guys have we gotten from the Yankees organization the last year?  Tabata, D. McCutchen, Karstens, Ohlendorf, S. Jackson, Hacker, Fryer, and Erickson.  Maybe there's more and I'm forgetting.

Can I be the first to request that the approximately $850,000 to be saved on this deal, along with the cash (let's guess its $150,000 for rounding purposes) be split evenly between the two pitchers who visited this weekend...

**********************************

JUST A GUESS.....more likely the CASH SAVINGS will be reinvested in a new SKI LIFT at Seven Springs?

From previous thread:

from NUHO to JAL,

"I think most of us be very pleased if the team went 82-80 this season, 87-75 in 2010, and 92-70 in 2011.  We all should want to see continual steps forward, not a back and forth dance."

I completely agree.

I think the difference is that some of us are more comfortable and patient with waiting for the day that progression will finally begin.

Again, they wouldn't even try to address the answer to that question last week in DK's interview. - They said not sure but hopefully sooner than 2015. - That is a completely unacceptable answer.

What I and other find unnacceptable is the lack of urgency, commitment, and accountability.

The empty words and vague promises do less for me than others. Far less.  

@NUHO

Now we have something to discuss. What would be an acceptable answer? That we want to win now? 2010? 2011? 2012? I think that that one answer, "2015," may well have been a bit of a "one-off" quote for a date as we have not heard him say "2015" in any other interview or since that interview. You may be pounding on a quote that has no real merit, though he did say it once.

As for urgency, commitment and accountability, I'll ask for patience for NH and FC, but not for Nutting. What's urgency for a baseball team? What does that mean? Does it mean throwing a bunch of money at players? Sounds like the constant rallying cry of public education: "We need more money. We need more money." As a 14 year veteran teacher, I challenge that notion all the time. You just can't  throw money at a problem and expect everything to turn out ok.

I see commitment from this current FO...they've put together a plan and they're sticking to it. The results will get to the PBC at some point in the next 2-4 years...or they won't. And if the results don't come, then those guys will either be fired or still trying or still projecting 2-4 years down the line.

But again, what's urgency here? To bring in players with big contracts? To move players to the next level though they may not be ready? This FO is building the team in their fashion with their own vision and their own plan...not someone else's, not their predecessor's. They're building this team from the ground up and acquiring more talent every chance they can do so.

Head spinning from all the non-avatar posters who look identical--

Just taking a shot

Bucco Nation (37 States in the Union)

Still looking for inmates from the following:

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wyoming

We do have 8 countries represented: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Phillipines, Scotland and lest I forget, the good old USA

@BABS - good idea with the savings,  

ESPN 1250 is saying more deals in the works?  Hmmm

The Pirates will make money off of this trade?!

Well....For God sake....Do it then!!

This trade of Hinske is really a non-event.

It is a trade of a bench player signed to a one year contract that is half way over.

It is no big deal.

How anyone can color it as a "great move" is absolutely hilarious and speaks volumes as to the incredibly low expections of Pirate fans these days.

And why anyone would be encouraged the club saved 1% or so of it's overall operating budget is even funnier.

Wow, I never cease to be amazed by Nutting Nation.

I never thought I would see the day a sports fan would be excited that an owner's profit would increase.

Clearly I was wrong.

Dejan has just updated that the Pirates are paying NY $400,000 as part of the deal.

I cant' believe it not 1 negative comment yet.

Oh wait NuHo ain't posted here yet

Mad you owe me some money for your blatant plagirism of my argument to NuHo about his house. It still is painted that awful puce color.

Great trade to dump Eric, not a fan of his never was, but best of luck in NY Eric.  Let's see we need a new outfileder in INDY we have several choices on our menu.

1. jose tabata

2 gorkys hernendez

3.pedro alvarez? hey why wait find him a position where ther are few error chances.

4 lastings milledge gotta get some reps before the big club

oh Yeah before I forget. Yesterday I opined that NuHo was really Bob Nutting incognito.

For the record NuHo always comes back for the sake of arguing, but interestingly enough , he never appeared to disabuse me of that notion. I'm just sayin!!!

Hi all...

If people are hearing that more moves are in the works today, then I'll hold off on any opinions, although I don't think everybody should jump at the wonder of the trade. I normally don't agree with NuHo a lot, but he brings up a great point--how many people are going to want to come here if they know they'll be traded?

Anyway, best of luck to Eric Hinske.

JAL: Patience please . . . I uploaded an avatar, but it's taking a while to show up

Bizrow: I'm in TN

mb trade rumors just tweeted a Morgan trade will go down in next 24 hours or won't happen at all

I like the trade...if the Bucs are going to lose, I would rather it be with the younger guys to see what they can bring.

UK

DK says that is not confirmed--posted the NY Post story about 10 posts ago just before DK did

Oh ok....Wouldn't be the first time we had to pay to give people away. Just make sure you do whatever the Yankee's want.

We don't wanna get on their bad side!

Sports Illustrated just reported that the Pirates paid $400,000 to the Yanks, not the other way around. Still, two single A players for Hinske sounds about right. I like it. At least we get something,  two 23 year old  A ball guys, but hey, you never know.

I'm betting DK will be pretty busy this afternoon. Sounds like there's a couple more deals coming.

It IS a "great move" because what in the hell was Hinske doing for us riding the pine?  Nothing.  We got 2 minor leaguers that look like they have good ceilings.  This makes total sense when looking at the plan by the FO.  The only reason people are liking the idea of saving the money was because of the pitching prospects in over the weekend and the possibility of signing Gano.  So yes, it is something that is important at this point in time.

Corey

It does take a while and sometimes it doesn't work.  Make sure you click save after uploading it.

Thanks

New York's point of view of the trade and of the two "prospects" the Nuttings received in return:

blogs.nypost.com/.../yanks_obtain_hi.html

MLB TRADE RUMORS TWEETED THAT NYJER MORGAN MAY

BE TRADED IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS OR THE DEAL WON'T

HAPPEN AT ALL

Sorry for the caps but I wanted to make sure everyone saw this

Whether we pay, they pay, or if it's an even trade, we have been feasting on the Yankees of late. We better find someone else to deal with, how much can the have left to offer?

No T-long.

It is an insiginificant move that desperate sad Pirate fans with nothing else to talk about will overanalyze and compliment.

Only here and only in Nutting Nation would the insignificant trade of a lame duck bench player be trumpeted as "great" and fans would be happy the owner will earn more profit.

It is a sad and pathetic state of affairs and the demonstration level of expectations of fans is just flat out embarassing.

Put me in the group that is not real excited about 23 yr old A ball players but Hinske adding no power to a team with no power was useless.  Lets see what Jones brings to the table.  Might be a preview of life after Adam LaRoche...

McCutcheon

Morgan

Sanchez

Doumit

Jones

Andy LaRoche

Moss

Wilson

P

This means Adam is gone.  Given what he does late in the year, I hope the Bucs are getting some good offers for him.  I have a feeling that he is going to really elevate some club with his late-season bat.

1 thing I will miss......

now I can't yell, "THE HINSK!!!!" every time he gets in the game.  O well.  I really have no feeling on this trade, except that it get's 2 players into our system (remember quality AND QUANTITY).  Even though both are 23 @ A ball, doesn't mean they can't make contributions when they're 26 or 27.  Also, they may end up being important to trades that we'll make down the line (as throw ins).

NH & FC continue the plan.  BLOW IT UP!

Ken,

I don't think "feasting" is the right word.

The 23 yr old a-ball guys are just bodies, not legit prospects. Roster fillers.

"great" move might be overstating it, but @T-Long has it right.  Why keep Hinske? And the return looks about as good as could be hoped.  

I'm consistently being impressed by the front office, including the McLouth deal. This is exciting, hopefully the run of deals being predicted here is correct.

Good bye and good luck Eric!  

naje...I'm having a lousy day and I had a knee-jerk reaction, I believe.  I'm sorry.  

Hostage

People use "great" differently.  Great does automatically mean great on building a winner.  I think the great here means people think it is great that they got something possibly good for someone who was not adding anything.

As for saving money, which now appears wrong, not happy for the owner but happy they got something for very little.

NH & FC continue the plan.  MAKE MORE PROFIT FOR BOB!

NuHo

I think its funny that you are so, um, dedicated to your cause as to post what you have on this thread.

No one expected to get prospects for Eric Hinske. The fact that we got two guys who look like they've at least got a little potential is GREAT considering Hinske has not been much all year.  

No one is celebrating the profit for the Nuttings, which, incidentally, is not much.  Hinske was due about 800,000 for the rest of the year.  The Pirates will pay Garrett Jones the league minimum, or about 220,000 pro-rated for the rest of the year. Plus they will pay the Yankees 400,000.  Plus, they will pay each of the newly acquired guys...lets just guess 80,000 between them.  That means the team saves 100,000.  We are ALL hoping that money goes toward signing the pitchers we want to see in Pirates-affiliates' uniforms.  

Jones and Hinske are pretty interchangeable, and neither appears to make much of a difference on this club.  If anything, Jones appears to be a better option right now.  Thus, we're happy to have gotten ANYTHING for Hinske, who was not a good signing in the first place.

Hostage

Well, you didn't really expect to get much for a part time player with a .255 average and 1 HR, did you?  With Nady probably out for the year the Yanks are scrambling to get some bats and taking a chance on Hinske for $400,000 is not a big risk.

This certainly can't be called "great move"  but it cannot be a bad thing to trade a minimal contributor (who will be gone next year for no return anyway) and get a couple bodies who might eventually prove useful. If they don't, we didn't give up much.

It's also interesting that the PBC has been so active ithe past couple years n making deals with, or picking up waiver wire players from the Evil Empire.

I was really enthused about getting Hinske, but not so enthused with what he did while here. Trading him for something is better than having him ride off into the sunset at the end of the season.

I am more curious to see if Jones can translate his AAA/ST #s to the Bigs.

@ Joey Bats: Loved the chair lift comment - Nice!

Jose

Jones is probably a AAAA guy, but intriguing and definitely worth a look.  The minor leaguers coming back  - who knows, but maybe you get lucky.

Finding room for Jones makes this move a win as well. It was time for him to come up and someone had to go.  Better to get these guys who at first glance look like they at least add to the "organizational depth" for someone who we had no need or use for than to just cut someone.

JAL,

"Great" is not the word, I don't care how you color it. - This is an insignificant deal. I agree with it, but never in a millions years does it qualify as "great'. Nope, sorry, no way.

And yes, Bob saved a small amount. Hinske was due $800K, Bob agreed to pay half, yielding overal cost avoidance of $400K.

That's fine, not a big deal, certainly a fraction of a percent of the clubs overall operating budget but it is absolutely ludicrous anyone would actually express excitment that Bob Nutting achieved $400K in cost avoidance.

Like I said upthread, these kinds of comments are simply a reflection of a fan base that has been beat down by it's owner and possessing the lowest of low expectations.

This is crap baseball fans should not even be bothered with.

It is just pathetic.

Meh, this trade is nothing for nothing. Hinske was merely a FA trying to show enough to be of interest to a better team. He did and the Bucs got 2 minor league "filler" type players. Rarely are 23 yr olds in class A prospects, but they will serve a role in the Pirate minor league system.

Garrett Jones is 28 yrs old. While I hope he might be the next Bill Robinson or Mike Easler, that's probably unrealistic.

I would think, at this point, Delwyn Young would be a good candidate to be traded. He's shown he can hit and would be an ideal AL DH since every ball hit to him is an adventure.

The Pirates seem overly enamored with "5 tool" players (Milledge).

They can't see the forest for the trees. It's why the FO had no problem with trading McLouth, because in their mind, he never had the "talent" to be anything more than a 4th outfielder. They could not understand why McLouth consistently out-performed expectations. It was the same thing with Snell. Huntington et all just saw the "stats" and that told them Snell was worth signing. They evidently gave little weight to Snell's career long odd behavior and personality and how that could affect his ability to fulfill the promise of his "talent".  I suppose the FO need to have to that old saying "million dollar talent attached to a ten cent head" prominently displayed in their offices.

Well this just stinks.  I have tickets to take in the whole Indy series here in Columbus next week, and there might not be any players there worth watching.   ;)

Just kidding, I love this deal.  Hinske has stunk and has done nothing like Meintkewicz did last year in that kind of role. That's the kind of deal nobody will complain about.

Plus, I still get to see Snell and Gorzy throw in person next week (assuming the rotation holds).  I have front row seats by the Indy dugout, I'll try to get a word from my pal, Ian.  Maybe I'll tell him "I'm not your pal, pal."

Last year there were many saying the Bucs got"taken" in the Nady trade.I read the quotes from newspapers and the so called evaluations from bloggers on ESPN.com and Sporting News.Guess what folks?Nady and Marte have been either hurt or pretty much worthless.We have Ohlie and Karstens who have definitely been helpful plus Tabata is now coming back from injury.I say keep dealing w/Yankees!

I'm wondering if the "other deals" that are coming won't include Ad LaRoche, now that we have someone with more experience at 1B. Of course, Hinske had experience there, too.

Doesn't seem to make sense to have both Pearce & Jones up here not getting any playing time.

JAL,

"Well, you didn't really expect to get much for a part time player with a .255 average and 1 HR, did you?  With Nady probably out for the year the Yanks are scrambling to get some bats and taking a chance on Hinske for $400,000 is not a big risk."

Now wait a second big guy, make up your mind.

Is it a "great" trade or not?

And is it "great" Bob saved some money?

This trade is no big deal. Period. - It's meaningless.

As I've repeated lately....Make sure you keep having "utility men" prepared for whenever the Yanks, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. need them.

Occasionally, have a starter ala Nady, Bay & McLouth.

Morgan looks to be on his way out.

A bit too much of a fiery guy (with a sense of humor) for this franchise.

They prefer guys that look like they were carved out of wood....ala the field boss John Russell.

I'm thinking package deal....McCutcheon & Alvarez.

It might get up to six more roster-fillers!

Bucco Nation (38 States in the Union)

Still looking for inmates from the following:

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming, thanks to coreybower for knocking Tennessee off the list

We do have 8 countries represented: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Phillipines, Scotland and lest I forget, the good old USA

Supposedly the RedSox may be losing Mike Lowell, which means they could be in the market for a first baseman??

As some have said, IMO the best thing about the Hinske deal is we can see if Garrett Jones can help us.  Hinske was one and done

Morning Announcements: From NuttingHostage's keyboard to your eyes!

1a. The Pirates operate at a payroll 40% below the league average.

1b. PNC Park is a publicly funded ballpark.

1c. Bob Nutting has been the chairman of the board since 2003.

2. Coonelly and Huntington will not commit themselves to a year except 2015.

3. It’s Nutting’s fault that Snell was a headcase and couldn’t succeed consistently on the major league level.

4. The FO are comparable to the Three Stooges and will never obtain a winning record unless they actually try, and they are not trying now.

5. Bob Nutting, Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington are NOT among the Pirates greats. I repeat, they should NOT be considered “greats”, and in order to return to winning the Pirates need to get rid of all three of them.

6. The Pittsburgh Pirates should be renamed the Pittsburgh Nuttings until they can return to their rich winning tradition. Also, they should stop all promotions based on greatness achieved by past greats in the organization.

7. Coonelly will NEVER contribute anything positive to Pirates history.

8. "You" people in Nutting Nation will believe anything this FO tells you.

What am I missing that should be added?

Hostage

I think that feasting is the right word......Karstens, Dorf, Tabata, Jackson......we've gotten more than we've given time and again. Why are you so sure that this time is different when recent history says that we have benefited from the Yankees' moves? Just your nature?

My other thought is that any money saved right now may have to go to pay another team to take Snell. 100K won't go far in that regard, though.

Good to move Hinske out as everyone has said.  Prospect age seems to be rising with the college game.

Interested to see what moves are coming up.

Hey Matty, looks like you are catching on.

Excellent work.

Hostage

Oh now--great has many variations, like great news can be you just won a million dollars or that your car repair will only cost $10. Insignificant things can still be labeled "great" some--we probably overuse the word--I hear announcers call a play great that i look at and think any pro should be able that play.  People say I saw a "great" concert last night.  

Any trade, regardless of impact, will discussed.  That is what baseball fans do.  This trade is more significant than  the trade rumors we post about all the time because it actually happened.

Gives people something to discuss even it has no real impact.

I think I've figured NuHo out ... unless the FO can turn water into (very expensive) wine, it's not a good deal.  That's a very good metric for evaluating, well, nothing.

One point that many seem to have overlooked about Jones is that he is 28!  Sorry, but he's probably not even a short-term answer or he would have had a real shot before now.

Ken,

"Why are you so sure that this time is different when recent history"

The NY reports that the prospects they gave were not considered significant by the Yankee organization.

Matt the Rat speaks the truth.

Nice list!....Very true.

As for Nutting Nation....I'm convinced that 80% of them are employee's, relatives, friends, etc.

Spreading propaganda faster than a Pyongyang daily newsletter!

If they had released Hinske and brought Jones up, I don't think any of us would have minded -- so picking up a couple of minor leaguers and being rid of at least part of Hinske's salary is not bad.  

And now we have another guy who can start if Moss starts hitting.  8^]

Corey

Very nice avatar--thank you

I didn't know the word GREAT would be criticized so much.  It's pretty lame if you ask me.

When I said it was a great move, I said it because we actually got something for nothing.  Hinske was useless to us.  He was taking at bats away from Young and Moss and Pearce.  Those are guys that should be here for the forseeable future and Hinske would be gone in September.  

Hey, anyone want to take a guess at who the next three Bucs to be traded will be?

Fuzzy,

Apparently your reading skills are lacking.

I stated upthread this deal is right thing to do, though not nearly as meaningful as many would suggest.

Ants marching ==============

Hostage

If you are tired of this topic try your habd at Jason Stark's trivia quiz

Marino Rivera saved his 500 the game for the Yankees last night. Only three currently active pitchers (that means Billy Wagner does not count) have 100 or more saves for their current team--who are they?

Of course it will be more fun when the Pirates are winners, but playing monday morning front office has become a great past time for all sports, even with winning franchises like the steelers.  Why do you think the draft has become so popular, even in baseball and hockey when it'll take years to even see the very few who actually make it to the top level?  People will pay attention to this type of move even when the Pirates are a success, see the NY Post, which included 8 reasons why the Yankees made this deal, eight!

NY liked the Nady trade too......was that bad for us? Let's see what they say in a few months, if they bother to say anything at all. These guys were each 10th round picks in their 2006 & 2007 drafts. Meaning one has been in their system for a little over 2 years, and the second is just half way through his second season. Hinske is a known commodity that just doesn't fit.

I'll add that I like first basemen described as "burly".  Adam has the beard but he's like 6'3 and 121 lbs. I want our 1B to be the guy who goes up and "swings hard in case he hits it" (Zim).  I dont want to see anymore waving at down and away pitches, finishing with 1 hand on the bat.  I want to see a burly guy squeezing the bat into sawdust and swinging out of his cleats.  Can Jones be that guy?

We stink anyway so why not have burly at the bag, dang it.

NuHo,

Reading skills are spot on, just tired of a tired act.  That's all.

Speaking of the Nady trade, isn't it amazing that we got so much for that one and so little for J-Bay?  I'm writing an article now about that very thing.  If we had Bay and his current production, it should be expected that we'd be 5-6 games better than we are, which would put us tied for first or one game back.  Aside from Andy LaRoche, we've got nothing else to show for that one.  Bay in right this year instead of Moss, and a stopgap 3B in the offseason (like a Mark DeRosa) and we'd actually be in first place right now with a shot this year.

Ugh...  that would have been cool.  Then there is no way we deal Bay this deadline.  Instead, we're contending and we offer him a long term extension and he stays in the Burgh.  And all we're out is LaRoche, Moss, Hansen, and Brian Morris.

F Manny Ramirez.

So they gave up essentially nothing (nothing personal to Hinske, but he wasn't worth much to this year's team) and got two A ball guys back...  Can't really complain about that.

And really, Fryer has advanced each of the 3 years he's been a pro, Rookie to low A to high A, and he had a pretty nice full season in low A.  23's not ideal, and I'm not saying he'll pan out, but I also wouldn't completely write him off as just a roster filler.  The pitcher...  yeah, not likely going to make it at 23 in low A.

So a potential something for pretty much nothing.  Not great, but decent.  It'll likely amount to nothing in the end, but it won't hurt.

ants have marched to new thread on another possible trade=============================================

JoeBucco << if we had Bay and his current production >>

That is truly going to be a fantasy story..... Bay's current numbers would NEVER project similarly at PNC. By looking at his old home field, you will notice that it is not very friendly to right handed hitters. Look at his current home field.... it's perfect for him. Nice wall to bounce it off and over and he doesn't have to cover nearly as much ground in his current LF compared to the sweeping landscape of PNC's LF. Frankly, with the players batting around him now, how could he ever expect to see the kind of pitches he sees now compared to batting in our lineup?

"How anyone can color it as a "great move" is absolutely hilarious and speaks volumes as to the incredibly low expections of Pirate fans these days."

@ HOSTAGE

                        I completely agree with you this was not a great move, i believe Hinske's lack of production {HR} was more of an indictment of the Pirates not having enough around him to make him a valuable extra part.

Hinske certainly didnt STINK, he had some excellent at bats and had some quality starts. Great to have Jones up here but you now basically have 4 young every day players.  MOSS-YOUNG-JONES-PEARCE  who are not going to play every day, is that a great move?

                        What we got in return ????  who knows they might work out and this could be a great trade, but we wont know until 2011 probably but today June 30 2009 i look upon this as much as a lost opportunity as much as a POTENTIAL opportunity in the future.

@ NuHo: " This trade is no big deal. Period. - It's meaningless."

And yet a full 10% of the posts on this thread are from NuttingHostage.  Things that make you go hmmmmm..........

I love this trade.

More importantly, I am starting a campaign to have everyone remove their Avatars.  I prefer that my view be less cluttered by your foolish pictures.  There is no place for avatars in this blog.  Join me in my plan to irritate JAL and remove your avatar today!  Workers of the world unite!  All you have to lose is your chains!

1. Surely Wilbur Miller's post this morning should have quieted the people insisting that trading Bay, Nady, McLouth was bad. But apparently not.

2. This trade is not a big deal but not bad either. Two prospects, one sounding promising on the mound in a system still woefully short of future arms. FO doing exactly what they've said they would do, all along. One wonders if they signed Hinske with the assumption he'd be trade bait later, and to the Yanks in particular, given that he was an AL guy. At any rate he was doing nothing here. Don't be surprised if Pearce goes any minute now; he's never going to amount to much, he's a Littlefield guy, and Jones is likely to replace Dr. Strangebat soon. And it looks more and more that Alvarez will arrive here as a 1B, not a 3B.

3. It would seem the Plan is to strip the Yanks farm system of every piece we can pry out of it. Jury's out, but not a real stupid way to restock your scorched-earth minors (and majors) from the looks of things. Worked pretty well for Syd Thrift, too, as I recall.

I guess that's why he played the next day after Young's 3-run homer and smash to left---displaying his wares for Yankees?  He belongs in AL where gloves are optional!  Hopefully, Young will find his somewhere out there.  Mileage from Milledge not Lasting.  This guy's got a losing attitude.  Morgan's is just the opposite.  Bad swap of characters.  Nice replacement for Ian though.  Should keep things interesting.  The Cubs Bradley an even better choice and I bet Pinella would take Morgan.  Why not go for the really "great" disrupters instead of the mediocre?  Oh, ya only get those kind when ya have a great team?