Sano affair still wide open

and the beat goes on--with the end result still held up  Wonder when last a 16? year old was so sought?

JAL,

Al Kaline, perhaps?

It seems that the longer that this gets draged out, the more the rest of MLB teams want to jump in the fray.

An Anerican League team that wants the right to match any offer given..........wonder who that could be.....

Here's hoping the Buccos can get this done.  I sense there are many disgruntled fans, myself not included, who are just hanging on by the Sano thread.  They are turned off by the McLouth/Nyjmo trades along with the selection of Sanchez at #4 (although he seems to be tearing it up so far) and would be willing to forgive what are in their minds horrible trades and a Moskos like draft pick if they get a prospect like Sano.  I know I should probably not concern myself with fans like this but I for one, am dying to see the excitement that would most likely come from a signing of this magnitude.  Perhaps a deal like this would also make PBC formidable in the international scope of things.

pghfan

Maybe Kaline--he was signed at 18 but not sure if he was looked at closely at 16.

Big Friddy

No question is would be good PR--I am not convinced it would be much more than that.

Danny Almonte, but he was saying he was 12 at the time

UK

I guess you think Yanks but could also be the Red Sox

I can already hear the spin doctors in the front office preparing the press release for next week:

"The Pittsburgh Pirates were unsuccessful today in adding Miguel Angel Sano to our improving minor league system.  Miguel is an exceptionally talented young player, but one whose signing bonus and financial commitment from the (LA Angels of Anaheim/New York Yankees/LA Dodgers) surpassed the value that our Latin American scouting team placed on him.  

In order to build a long-term, sustainable championship-caliber club, especially in the current challenging economic climate of MLB, difficult decisions must be made about acquiring talent, and at what price.

With the newly opened facility in the Dominican Republic, the continued passionate work of Rene Gayo and the international scouting team, we are already beginning to see the fruits of the substantial investments made by ownership in the world market.  

We are excited to bring our recent Taiwanese, Australian and Dutch signings into the Pirates family, and remain committed to further enhancing our presence in the Dominican Republic, the rest of Latin America and other international baseball talent markets.

Our sole focus in the day to day operations of the Pittsburgh Pirates is to bring winning baseball back to the loyal, passionate and deserving fans of Pittsburgh and the world over.  We thank you for your continued support of the Pittsburgh Pirates."

Eh??

Are we talking in Pirates' history?  Because to be honest I haven't heard of this kid outside of the Pittsburgh media.

I love analogies and I hope I dont loose you guys with this one but it seems the CAT IS OUT THE BAG..

The Pirates seemed to be destined to sign SANO, There were no reports of any other team and now like a SWARM OF BEES , teams are coming out the woodwork..

Its like if you take a BEAUTIFUL WOMAN and she has never EVER seen a man, the first man she sees she is attracted to him , she has nothing to compare that man to , Then all of a sudden she sees and realizes there are more men, all different types , shades, builds, ..Now her interest in the ORIGINAL man has swayed and she has her sights on the NEW ATTRACTIVE men ,So the Original  MAN is LEFT OUT IN THE DUST,

LETS HOPE THE PIRATES ARE NOT THE ORIGINAL MAN :)

could be the Angels with Arte Moreno owning that team

I just don't see how people can be so upset at the trade with the Nationals.  Morgan didn't do anything until this year, and we got a guy with speed and some pop for him WHO IS YOUNGER!  Hanrahan has a lot more potentional than Burnett, and could be a potnential closer again if we deal Capps.

Yes, the Moskos pick and the Morris trades were horrific, but that was under Littlefield.  The worst trade so far was the Bay trade, but if we can get Moss on the field and he is an average starter, that trade is at least passible as well.

@ all. If Sano is going to go to the highest bidder, the bucs could offer 10 mil and it still wouldn't be enough. I am not sure who said it in the last thread, but the BoSox giving DiceK 50 mil...I am sure it will happen again.

The only thing the bucs can do is drive up the price for someone else

I don't like the sound of the Sano news.  It sounds to me like the Pirates have less and less of a chance of signing him.  Sigh... depressing.

Daryle,

Original Man?!  I am laughing out loud right now!!

Smoky

Could be the Angels--I hear they are very interested in Halladay

@ Matt Hammer - re - PBC statement

Send that in, they can use your talent...

Not good vibes on SaNO

@HAMMAR

That was perfect!

Bucco Fan in NC:

Amen.

GGG

It will be what it will be and all we can do is wait and see.:)

I brought this up last week re: SaNo...but it's starting to look like it at actually might come into play...so I will ask it again:

How much is too much to pay SaNo?

I guess that's the big question, Comet.  I'd imagine the Bucs have set a value on him (with hopefully a little flexibility), but if another team goes over the top with an offer, I can't imagine they'd go way over his determined value to sign him.

@Hammar

Nice press release!

I've figured for some time that the Pirates will make a good offer to Sano but will be oubid by some other team. It would be nice to get him but if not, that is okay. I actually like Gayo's theory of spreading money around in the Latin American market. These kids are so young that you never know who will turn into future stars and who will flop.

Bucco Fan in NC - I am not one of those who hated the Morgan/Burnett trade, although Nyjer was very entertaining and Burnett did a solid trade this season.  In fact they traded two average players for two guys with a ton of upside.  But all you have to do is read these comments day in and day out and you see that many people are fed up.  I don't do a ton of posting but I read this blog everyday.  I just think Sano would give those fringe fans some hope.

I said I would not give PBC a penny after they passed up Wieters and I have not been to a game since but I still watch the team on TV and follow them passionately.  I know people say this is a new regime but Bob Nutting was still part of the ownership group back then.  I also know Littlefield was awful but who in their right mind would take Moskos over Wieters unless he was told they would not pay him what he and Boras wanted?  I remember I was sick as a dog and was being discharged from the hospital and I got into my van the moment the Moskos pick was made.  I told my wife at that moment that it was the straw that broke the camel's back.   My ten year old bailed on the Buccos and became a Red Sox fan two years ago and when Bay was traded there, it cemented his loyalty to the Red Sox.  But I will always be a Pirates fan.  I will never let the Nuttings take that away from me.  My hope is that they will sell the team soon.

More on possible Duke trade and when the FO might spend more money...

It's obvious to all that the strategy of the FO is to flip their highest value players for high ceiling prospects that will help populate the minor levels and provide a steady stream of talent to the big club. If you believe that is necessary like I do, then the next question is when will that ever stop if ever?

As I've said, the answer of when the club might be able to raise payroll lies in how long it will take to raise attendance at PNC, and I believe that will take a 10K/game increase at least to where they feel comfortable going to $65M, and if they are able to raise it to near capacity, then the club can probably have a payroll ceiling of $80M-$85M at current ticket prices.

I think it's pretty clear that the Pirates won't begin to increase attendance drastically until they get near .500 late in the season and there is genuine hope in the Burgh for the future.

An estimation of how long this might take is certainly going to play into whether the FO thinks they can plan on paying free agent contracts to Duke, Maholm and other players they have under their control for less than 5 years.

It has been shown that the best return in prospects you can get for players approaching FA is going to be in their 4th and 5th year of team control. Waiting for their 6th year lowers the value in prospects tremendously, as teams are not willing to give up their future for a half year rental player.

So if they deal Duke now, does that mean they don't expect to reach .500 for another 2-3 years? Not necessarily.

In 2004, the Milwaukee Brewers were in the basement of our division with the Pirates and had a payroll of $27M and attendance of 25K (a 4K+ increase from 2003).

In 2005, they had a payroll of $40M and finished at .500 exactly with attendance of 27K.

From then to 2008, they increased attendance and general team performance to 37K/gm and payroll to today's $80M.

So notice...they started to have the pieces in place in 2004-2005, but it took 5 years for the attendance to rise 10-12K per game. Now they can retain some - but not all - of their free agents.

So trading Duke now does not mean the Pirates feel like they will not have a good team before his free agency. What it means is they acknowledge that it will take 3-5 years for the attendance to support raising the payroll, and they are going to look for the optimum time to flip ANY player that will reach FA before revenue can support keeping them.

CA Pirate

Agree, you set value--just like you do at any auction.  You can't stop others from overbidding.  Unlike most auctions, where you at least know what you are getting, with a 16 year old you have onlt early projected potential.

As a comparison, let us go a different sport. A few years ago Freddy Adu was so hot he was signed to a soccer contract at 14.  He is now 20 and still not among the top players in the US.  On the other hand Lionel Messi at age 22 is considered one of the best players in the world and he started his pro career at 16.

@ FSF: I agree and that is the tact I would take, but you know there are people out there (and in here) that will go ballistic if we don't sign him at any cost and will blame Nutting & Co for being ultra cheap, without knowing anything else about SaNo expect what they've read...

It's hard to argue that Peter Gammons is losing it but at the same time he made some good points about teams overpaying for 16 year olds.

I hope the Bucs don't get Sano, I don't want him, the reason I don't want him is because the sigings in latin america is now becoming a circus, just because someone is from latin america does not make that player better than someone from somewhere else.

Boston is spending millions in Latin America, teams are not spending on free agents, they prefer to spend the money on latin america.

What does this mean?

It means this is another arena we cannot compete in.

18,000 people to a game is nothing like 40,000 every game, the people in Boston pay for their team, the people in Pittsburgh want the the Pirates to pay for their team.

I would say the last 16 year old to have this much interest was Alex Rodriguez, but since he was draft eligible he couldn't be taken until he was 17.

He made his major league debut 1 year later.

@Mark

You touched on my favorite point in regards to the attendance.  The easiest way to force this owner to spend is to fill up that park every single night.  No team would get away with a $40 million payroll to go with record attendance, huge amounts of revenue sharing, and a brand new ballpark.  Pirates fans would become a national sympathy story and the commissioner's office would probably be outraged.  Their hand would be forced at raising payroll to a comparable level.

Smizik also touched on this in his blog the other day.

Comet- Based on last year and this year, I'm getting the feeling it will take $4.5 million.   I get the feeling that the Pirates will not adapt to the new reality down there, and have a limit at $2.7 million.    I feel making a splash down there with Sano would result in signing a few other quality players at under market cost just to play with him and would enhance the pirates creditibility.

I do think anything over 5 million is insane.

@Big Fiddy,

you say this...

I know people say this is a new regime but Bob Nutting was still part of the ownership group back then.  

But he was not the controlling partner - so he did not have the day to day control.  Moskos is all on Littlefield and McClatchey.

Didn't Joe Nuxhall pitch a no-hitter when he was 16 or something like that?

I think it's about more than money with Sano, as it seems the Pirates have a good relationship with him, or at least Rene Gayo has a good relationship with him.

ESPN Desportes Senior Writer Jorge Arangure must have heard about this, because on his twitter just 30 minutes ago he quoted

"I haven't changed my opinion. Still 90 percent."

90% easily leaves enough leeway for another to team to get him though. I mean were not talking about the chance of rain or something.

I won't really care if they don't get him, to be honest. I'm just happy they finally brought Garrett Jones up. With the spring he had, he should have beaten out Craig Monroe in the first place. I'm a lifelong fan though either way. I am not blown about by every wind of doctrine like some people. I'm set in my Pirates fandom regardless.

Re:  Adu and Messi,

JAL, you are talking my language now.

Adu probably never would have been signed as a professional in the US if MLS would not have existed.  It was a major PR move by the league, and eventhough teams in Europe were looking to sign him, IMO Adu was too young.  He is now in Portugal with Benfica but was on loan to AS Monaco in France most recently...still trying to break the starting 11.  He does have talent, but I think he is still a little one dimensional with his left foot.

Messi is far and away a phenomenon!  He also gets to play every day with one of the most prominent club teams in the world - Barcelona.

Markln

Good point on A-Rod

@WSB - so $5mm is the point at which you won't be outraged? I'm just trying to get a handle on it....I agree. If the Red Sox throw $6mm or so at this kid and we miss out, I chalk it up to giving it the old college try. I will be disappointed if we miss out but I won't hold it against them...

Here's an outrageous scenario - what if we get SaNo and pay $6mm to do it?

Who amongst you will be upset that we overpaid?

Geez.  By the time MLB finishes this investigation, he might not be 16 any more.

"Didn't Joe Nuxhall pitch a no-hitter when he was 16 or something like that?"

Oh goodness no.

Nuxhall never threw a no-hitter.

He did appear in a major league game at age 15 in 1944 pitching 2/3rds of an inning giving up 2 hits, 5 BB's, and 5 earned runs for a 67.50 era that season.

He next appeared in a major league game 8 years later in 1952 at age 23 and then went on to have a successful major league career.

Well it all this makes it seem like the Pirates chances are dwindeling.

I only have a problem with the Pirates not signing Sano if the number he signs for is something reasonable. If he signs for...say $2M...with someone else...that starts the talk about the Pirates being cheap. If he signs somewhere for $5M or $6M...then I don't mind the Pirates not signing him near as much.

daryle

LMAO!!!!

Re:  Sano

It will be interesting to see what happens.  He does seem to become more and more coveted as the days pass.

In saying that, I feel that throwing $5 milliion at a 16 year old is a HUGE gamble.

hammar

Wow are you sure your names not Neal Huntington or Frank Coonley?

Pig Legs (not Pgh Legs) -- Joe Nuxhall did pitch in the big leagues at the age of 15, but it was in 1944 when most big leaguers were in WWII.  He only pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up 5 runs, and then was in the minor leagues until 1952.  He finished his career 135-117 and 3.90, so there was some talent recognized early there, but no big league no hitter at age 16.

pghfan

Glad to see someone else knows those players.  Well put.

Call me the whistleblower.

In truth - the Sano affair will be remembered for centuries to come... and here is why:

The Pirates are pulling attention away from their northern European project.  As soon as all the dust settles, the Pirates will have signed 100% of Lithuania's prospects.

It won't matter whether or not we sign Sano, 2011 will be the year of the Pirates.

Hostage

And Nuxhall probably never would have appeared in 1944 if not for so many players being off in the war

When it comes to payroll, am I the only one who feels that ALL major league payrolls are way out of whack?  

Salary cap, please.  Salary floor, too.

@Dan - That's a great dream. :) If that would actually happen, I'm sure they would raise payroll, but the people of Pittsburgh have already spoken. They are not going to pack the ballpark just for the beautiful scenery. The scenery sure helps keep the attendance from bottoming out though.

Given the reality, I think the FO's plan is very reasonable.

@Dan - That's a great dream. :) If that would actually happen, I'm sure they would raise payroll, but the people of Pittsburgh have already spoken. They are not going to pack the ballpark just for the beautiful scenery. The scenery sure helps keep the attendance from bottoming out though.

Given the reality, I think the FO's plan is very reasonable.

Hostage

Thought you might like to know that I met Robert Piccardo and Ethan Phillips on Saturday--they would make a good comedy team.

JAL,

Agreed on Nuxhall - at age 15.

Hey, did you see Ryan Reynolds was tabbed yesterday to portray Hal Jordan / Green Lantern in the upcoming movie?

Should be good.

In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight

Let those who worship evil's might,

Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!

JAL,

Soccer is #1 with me.  I can talk soccer as long as this blog can talk baseball.  :-)

JAL,

Wow! - How did you meet them?

I knew I read something on the back of his baseball card about him pitching in the big leagues at a young age. I don't know where I got the no-hitter though. Maybe I'm mixing him up with another Reds pitcher. Jim Maloney comes to mind, I don't know why. Nuxhall had a successful broadcasting career too if I'm not mistaken.

If he goes above 6 mil, I think they should save the bread on Sano and keep Jack Wilson around a couple more years. He does wonders for a pitching staff ERA.

That is, unless this guy really is the second coming of Arod.

Also, I hope that was just a rumor and nothing more on that Maholm - Rios deal that someone posted about earlier. Rios gets worse & worse every year, and he really doesnt have the power that people seemed to think he had. That would definitely be a stupid trade. Some Bluejay fan probably floated it, is my guess.

jhadar

I agree 100 billion percent on a cap, too bad it will NEVER happen.

Wow. - DK getting a little feisty with a couple of folks today on his day off and it isn't even me???

;-)

Might we have a Pig Legs Line one day soon?

Hostage

No, did not see that--hope they make it a good movie--keep the power battery going

If we offer Sano $2.5 Million and someone else signs him for $3 Million that will push me closer to the dark side and NuHo's world but if some team losses their mind and signs him for 6 or 7 million good for our PBC for passing. If he was 18 or 19 and a little more of a semi sure thing then I could see breaking the bank but a 16 yr old...

Pig Legs,

Former Reds lefty hurler Tom Browning pitched a no-hitter but was also known for breaking his arm while throwing a pitch during a regular season game.

It was sickening to watch on TV and in slow motion.....yet somehow you just couldn't help but watch it over and over ......

@DK.

No soup.  Back on the couch.

Wabbit

Hostage

They were at a convention outside Baltimore.  Got to talk to them individually for bit and then watched them do a talk on stage.

The anecdote about Nuxhall reminds me of an orchestra conductor I once knew whose main point on his resume was that he was the conductor of the Singapore Symphony in the 1947-48 season.

"When it comes to payroll, am I the only one who feels that ALL major league payrolls are way out of whack?"

=====================================================

Depends on if you think Pro Athlete salaries are outrageous or not.  I personally do (and it sounds like you do to), but some think it fair for the amount of scrutiny they face in the public eye.

And so the world turns.......

I wonder if the Pirates were not more aggressive in their attempts to trade Freddie recently to come up with more $$$ to offer Sano.  

Will a Sano signing have any effect one way or another on a Jack/Freddie trade?

NH -- I thought DK's comment was about the quote in Pigleg's post, not aimed at him.  

pig legs

Maloney threw a no-hitter in 1965 at age 25--and it was a 10 inning no-hitter

Papa,

My side is not the "dark" side.

It is the "enlightened" side.

You are welcome to join me anytime.

;-)

JAL,

Browning's gem in 1988 was perfect.

Time to head off for bit

Reminder to those without avatars, they make the posts easier to follow--especially when we scroll up and down to refer to previous posts.

Just click on my avatar for instructions on how to add one.

Catch up with things this evening

From the looks of things, the Pirates should have plenty of money left unspent on draft choices to sign Sano at $6 million. Early yet, I know, but I think they've signed 15 guys.

As for attendance, after 16 years of losing, the Pirates still draw about 75% of the the entire Metropolitan Statistical Area's population every year. If they even sniff the vaguest hint of a shadow of a contender, they'll be busting the doors down. Build a winner and they will come. Hell, most of them are coming already.

Juniata,

I think you mean Bob Nutting will have plenty of money to put in to his bank account.

;-)

Hostage

I remember Browning's and his injury.

Have a good evening

JAL,

Live long and perspire.

;-)

tjk

"Will a Sano signing have any effect one way or another on a Jack/Freddie trade?"

No.

@JAL (is that really you?)

@pghfan

Now you both are talking my language!  Soccer is #1 with me also.  When talking about the Sano contract, I think it is apt to describe the voracious world of bidding in Europe for the top players in the world.  

Some of the fees that are being tossed around now as Premeirship clubs are opening their camps is otherworldly.  I'm seeing $10-15 mil being tossed around like it's nothing for top U21 players, some of them still teens.

Wabbit.

IMO the greatest game ever pitched still and alway will belong to our Harvey Haddix.

NuttingHostage,

I fear you're right about that. Or he's putting it into his money-losing newspapers. I can only stay a Pirates fan by believing that isn't the case and he's saving it all up for the day he needs to ink Alvarez to a four year $80 million deal and snatch Lincecum in free agency. Yes, it's a pretty, pretty dream.  

Minimum payroll doesn't make any sense. MLB does have rules that govern making sure revenue sharing goes back into the team. It doesn't have to be on payroll, though. There are a lot of ways to improve your team without raising payroll.

Would you want the league to say - sorry, you can't trade Hinske because then you're under the minimum cap?

Why purposefully pay players more than they are worth?

Juniata

You don't seriously believe Nutting would spend that money on Sano do you?

Juniata

You don't seriously believe Nutting would spend that money on Sano do you?

It's been a busy day, so checking in briefly....

Duke -- he needs to stay, IMO.  I can understand wanting to stock up on young players, but HELLO!  Duke is one of the younger players to build around, is he not?  Like PoH said...can't we have SOME players other teams covet, but can't have?  

Freddy -- I'd hate to see him go because I don't think there's a good replacement for him in the system right now.  For our pitchers, they need a strong duo up the middle, and we have one of the best INF's in the majors right now.  They have probably saved us a lot of runs.

I bow to Wabbit for having the courage for saying "No Soup" to DK for getting off the couch during his break.

DK...See?  We care about you having days off as much as the updates you give us.  ;-)

IMO, it would be nice to sign Sr Sano, but it's not a make or break thing to me.  If he signs with the Pirates, cool...if not, then it wasn't meant to be.  

Catch you all later...

Isnt that the Doctor & Neelix?

I loved that show. Especially when Seven replaced that boring Tess.

DK - Agreed, that is an odd way to state things. Didn't really think about it till you said that.

I normally keep track of my players health & status (fantasy league) at the sites www.rotoworld.com & www.rototimes.com, and thats how I began to notice the weight being placed on this Jorge Arangure dude's twitters concerning international signings. Both of those sites reported his "opinions" regularly on signing predictions, and darned if most if not all were right on. Thats why I began to follow his twitters myself rather than wait to read about it on those player news sites. I'm not saying the guy is flawless, but I also don't know of anything he's been wrong about. (although I wasn't following him until the past 3 weeks).

I still say 90% leaves an awful lot of leeway for him to be wrong. Unless He's 100% sure, these twitters on Sano are pretty meaningless. I could say the Pirates have a 90% chance of winning Friday and if they lose I could easily just say well that was the 10% I left open, so I was right.

PghfaninSTL,

I can talk soccer all day, too.  I also happen to be a Benfica fan, and was reading in the Portuguese papers that the new manager supposedly plans to give Freddy a chance to crack the regular first-team this season.  Let's hope so; he needs to be playing first-team soccer somewhere at this stage in his career.

Juniata

The day we give someone $80, and sign a free agent better then Chris Gomez, let alone the caliber of Lincecum, I'll be SHOCKED!

@Juniata,

I don't think the Pirates will go way over their internal valuation of Sano's chances in making it to the big leagues no matter how many draft picks they sign.

I think there's a good chance they'll sign many more of their holdouts anyway. NH said they were expecting a good many of them to go down to the wire with the strategy they chose.

marty -- a couple of others, Johnny Vandermeer (Cin) threw two consecutive no-hitters in 1938 against the Boston Bees and Brooklyn, and in 1917 Fred Toney (Cin) and Hippo Vaughn (Chi) threw no-hitters for 9 innings against each other, Vaughn gave up two hits and a run in the 10th and Toney finished with the no-hitter.

jhadar

I still say Haddix, but maybe I'm just a little biased. :)

I don't know if anyone does ESPN.com's Streak for the Cash (I think I recall one poster saying he did), but anyway, one of the picks you can make for tonight:

Where will PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FIRST PITCH LAND FIRST?

The Ground

Albert Pujols' Glove

I didn't see Browning's arm break but I saw Dave Dravecky's. That's a gruesome thing. Didn't John Smiley break his arm too?

I know what you mean about watching it even though you don't want to. The game that Jason Kendall broke his ankle was replayed at night and I taped it knowing what was going to happen, but I half expected them to censor it, but they didn't.

So I have the whole footage of the break and the field mike even picked up his anguished screams and swearing.

I was really surprised that nobody censored it, but it was a holiday (I think it was July 4th) so maybe nobody was "at the office".

But anyhow, my friends insisted on watching it over and over, and everytime they came over for like a month they wanted to see it again, and they made me make copies for them.

marty -- I tend to agree that Haddix had the single best pitched game in the history of baseball.  If nothing else, those others show how rare a thing it was.  You could add Don Larsen's world series no-hitter to that list of unique and sensational performances.

It's one of the things that I like about baseball.  There are so few truly rare events -- but you never know when you walk up to the ticket window what you'll be taking home with you.

Well asylum it is dinner time in my household, I shall talk to you inamates later.

Big Fiddy,

I'm very late to the game today but IMO  I doubt that NH could care less about whether signing Sano will influence fans that are hanging onto the ede of the bandwagon.  He, and the other evaluators, have placed a value on Sano and that is what he's willing to commit.  

To Hammer's mock release, I can certainly see it being written in that very manner and I would support it if it comes to fruition.  Overinvesting in a 16-year-old prospect (to pghfaninstl's point) and missing on him could seriously set back the plan that NH has in place and has been executing quite well for the past couple years.  I certainly hope they get him but I want him at what NH feels is a reasonable and tolerable  price.  We don't have that large margin for error.

As for Joe Nuxhall, I had the pleasure of working with Nuxy for several years back in the 80's and he was an absolute joy.  Just a wonderful, unassuming character and very beloved in the Cincinnati area.  He and Marty Brennamen formed a classic duo that endeared themselves to Reds fans in the same manner that the Gunner and Nellie King did in Pittsburgh.  Just a good man.

hello ladies and gentlemen of the asylum...spaning the globe all the way from italy....

anyways, this sano thing is crazy...can we really be excited by a possible 16 year old ?(proof to come)

i guess it gives us a topic of conversation during the all star break, considering neither one of the pirates reps are guaranteed to play...espcially, like DK jokingly *wink*wink pointed out, with larussa on the bench...

If we do sign Sano, he should be ready to take over for Pedro Alverez when he leaves in 6 years.

Wabbit and FSF,

I just got the latest issues of World Soccer and FourFourTwo yesterday.  Messi is on the front of FourFourTwo.

Adu does need first team soccer, but I am not so sure he is going to get much in Europe...I will shoot you guys an e-mail at some point, and we can talk more.

Now, back to your regulary scheduled programming and Bucs baseball talk.

FormerSoxFan wrote:

"Where will PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FIRST PITCH LAND FIRST?"

I thought his first pitch (spendulus package) already landed...in the toilet.

Dejan---just can't stay away, eh?  Neither can I...even though every day I wake up and say, I'm just gonna lurk for a minute.  Uh huh.  Pathetic.

:>)

Like a virus to a computer, our baseball stream has been attacked by soccer lovers.  We are doomed!

Women and children to the lifeboats first.  

Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet!

 I think the PBC has backed themselves into a corner. With the trades already completed and more looking quite likely (with the salaries shed) coupled with signing Sanchez way ahead of his pre draft ranking and signing him quickly for below slot money they have to come up with Sano or an extraordinary number of draft picks. Even the most loyal Bucco FO apologists would have to admit that at such a crucial juncture in this rebuilding mode (yes, repeat after me it is a total rebuilding effort) that shedding assets and not drafting and signing as much talent as possible would be tantamount to saying that profit is driving this organization.

  And for those of you not familiar with terms like "debt reduction" in terms of what the Pirates do with some of their profitability here is a 3 second summary. You buy a club for 100 million with 20 million down and finance the remaining 80 million. If you pay down the debt by 5 million a year in 16 years you own the entire asset free and clear. So when you hear that some of the profitability goes to debt reduction be perfectly clear that Nuttig and his partners reap 100% benefit straight to their pockets on that "debt reduction". I am keeping an open mind but need to see Sano or a whole lot of draft picks in the fold by whenever the final deadline comes for signing. I went to the Super Bowl this year and also flew to Detroit to watch game 7 of the SCF's. As much as I dream about it happening I can't actually envision the Pirates in the World Series again.      

I sure hope the game tonight is at least entertaining, punctuated by appearances of Freddy and Zach.  Anybody else think the Derby last night was a real snoozer?  Maybe it was just me.

Sano---throwing millions at a barely pubescent (allegedly) child just boggles the mind.  I don't think I really care about the outcome of this one and its relationship to the front office's agenda.  Maybe that's just me, too.

Hope everyone has a nice night...

Bucco Nation (40 States in the Union)

Still looking for inmates from the following:

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota,

Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wyoming

We do have 10 countries represented: Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy,Phillipines, Scotland and lest I forget, the good old USA

The way I just read the post, STLRFANRC, posted from Italy, now that’s not permanence, but its like a post card, world wise, I’m gonna count it, nah, sandbagging, back to 9, unless you are living there.

IMO all star game is not a big deal, unless we are saying goodbye to Freddy and Zach

KMR

It was pretty boring.  Also shows than even top HR hitters can't hit one on demand.  

Groat

No doom--there is no OS now so every so often something non-baseball gets discussed.  

We need to sign Sano, regardless of the amount. Even if he doesn't pan out, it sets the stage for PBC that they are serious about aquiring talent in the Dominican.

There should not be a limit, the only risk is if PBC doesn't sign him and he turns out to be Pujols?

This is playing out the same way as P. Alvarez did last year in the blog. A great deal of the folks on here were fine if Pedro walked after it seemed like he wasn't coming.

The organization needs talent. Talent costs money. PBC will never add an ace or big bat from the free agent market.

This is a rare chance to get back into the latin market by making a big splash.

Good evening inmates near and far. A quick technical question please. I check off the remember me on this computer box twice on this website. But every couple of days I have to do it again. How can I get this info saved into the system?

NO TREVOR HOFFMAN TONIGHT AND THE NL WINS!

My fellow fantasy leaguers & I hit on the best idea for making an all-star game worth watching years ago - We count the stats from the all-star game in our league. That way you're not just watching to see the Pirate rep play, which usually isnt till like the ninth inning anyway. I'm surprised more fantasy leagues don't do this.

We even award 3 extra points to the guy who has the all-star game mvp.

Fantasy leagues are weird. I know alot of them don't even count a pitcher's hitting stats, which seems ridiculous to me.

We've always counted pitcher's hitting.

I guess when you use a service to do your stats you run into those problems. I have always done my league's stats by hand straight from the box scores every day. I been doing this since 1989. I still have nightmares about driving all over town looking for a paper with the late box scores in the days before the internet. I'll never forget when the Pittsburgh Press went on strike and then was swallowed up by the Post Gazette. Man, those were some trying days!

I say stay aggressive but keep a cap on things. A team can show committment in other ways than WAY over spending on a 16 year old player. If the sale price is $5 million, then split it up among two other prospects (or whatever). Putting all your money in a young player like that is not too wise--regardless what the FO-haters say.

If we sign him we sign him...if we don't I think there is more fish in the pond.

Radio

Takes someone with tech knowledge than me to answer that--same thing happens to me.  

DK  I took your reporting the pirates saying they did not make the call to move freddy for what it was worth. I missed you correcting that info. as it looked to me like you were also accepting what they said as fact.

Soccer is not just non-baseball.

It is a virus that sneaks up on you and eats away at you.  

Little children play soccer instead of baseball because you need little equipment and less skill to coach  .  .  .  and a generation is lost to the fine points of baseball——and the Pirates.

NO DOOM, YOU SAY  .  .  .  you yourself may have already been infected!

Pretty soon you'll be saying, "Tony LaRussa is a nice guy."

Women and children to the lifeboats!  POH will drive!

ToddSm66

Thanks for adding avatar--very colorful--now easier to find your posts.

Groat

If i ever say LaRussa is nice guy take me out and shoot me :)

Radio Wave - You probably have your internet setting checked to delete all temp files after 48 hours.

Its probably a good idea to keep it that way though.

I clear mine every ten minutes personally, I just like it that way. It keeps you from bogging down.

I never click it, but it might been that the server refreshes every few days to run more efficiently.

Stargell Lover,

If we sign him for $6.2 million, he may end up going to AA and hitting .200, with a strikeout 1 out of every three at bats, while making an error in the field every 4 games.

That would be a disaster!!

Made me laugh, JAL!

Maybe you're not infected after all!

By the way, I thought the Freddie Adu analogy was very cogent.

Groat,

PEDRO IS A PLAYER.  I would STRONGLY URGE you to go to a minor league game to see him.

@eight was great- re - fishing

Ok, then catch something PBC, I'm getting hungry, have been for a while actually  : }

Groat

Thank you, it just seemed like a good example of someone who was the talk of soccer at 14 and 6 years later still trying to become a starter.

Biz

you were correct--Decker Creek Boys is my team--chugging along, thanks mainly to Albert

Mr Groat2Maz2Strangeglove

Hey we signed Pedro for that, or a bit more, and I don't know if he's a guarantee.  

Again I ask, whats the problem with some sort of draft or slotting with Latin American players?? That money is not going to the strongest sports union in history?

One would think its part of the collective barganing agreement, but why?

Underhand Stan,

I'm thinking about taking a run up to Altoona in the next week/10 days.

I just have a problem with guys who don't make contact even in the Minors.

1/  It's hard to get excited about someone on the Pirates, even a so-called core player:  he may get traded.

2/  I don't think I can take much more disappointment from the Buccos.  If Advarez is just one of those flame-out guys like Ron Wright or Brad Eldred, I might not want to see him.  I may want to keep dreaming for a while.

Thanks JAL, I knew that, just wanted to be sure (and respond to JHadar with some sort of an answer). If I remember correctly Puholz went No 1, that was a horrible pick ; }

UDN, I know the story, Duke 84 has been away for a while, I'm sure people, like many things, come and go, some find a home and stay forever...

A good thing, IMO of course

It is impossible for any of us here to understand what is overspending and what the market value for Sano is.

If Sano is the next Aramis Ramirez, what cap do you put on him then?

I also think that some might forget that if we are ever in contention again, we may need to make a trade, at worst, Sano can be traded to get a pitcher or thumper to get us over the hump one year.

The brew crew didn't get Sabathia for free.

PBC needs to add a talent like Sano at any cost.

They should be on top of whatever the market sets.

First time poster, the asylum is terrific as it keeps me in touch with the Pirates.  I am currently in China and it is very difficult getting access to some sites.  The Post-Gazette site, so far, has not been banned.

Some people complain about posting of all information, but I say keep it up as some of us only have access to limited info.

@Dongta,

The moment any organization needs to do anything "regardless of the amount" is the moment you know they've got no real plan and no hope of long-term success.

Success comes from doing things consistently well and making good evaluations over time. If it were a 100% certainty that Sano would be Pujols, then they'd place a higher valuation on him than $4M. However, if they think he has a 30% chance of never making it to the bigs, and a 30% chance of being a spare part, how much should they risk?

BTW, Pujols was a 13th round draft pick and signed for $700,000. On the other hand, there are tons of 1st rounders who never made it to the bigs. Most people are saying that Sano would be a mid to late first rounder if available for the draft.

Xataki

Welcome--glad you can get to this site.  

Xataki -

Wecome!

Wow thats awesome!

A BIG Welcome to you, Xataki!

Well, that makes 11 now, right Bizrow?

Xataki--Welcome to the group!!!  Feel free to post any baseball stuff from China.

Xataki,

Welcome aboard the Pirate ship.  We are listing badly, but we keep bailing water.  We have HOPE!

Groat if you check in my late April recap, Pedro wasn't being pitched to by the Blue Rocks and was over anxious.   Brad Eldred he is not.  

I figure one winter with Don Long (not this crappy workout place that Boris has that all his clients end up getting hurt) will get Pedro on board.  He did homer off of David Price in High school.  

markindallas-

That is the rub with this structure. There is one shot to get international talent into the organization.

To say there is not a plan is not correct. As NH has said time and time again the plan is to aquire and develop talent which by retaining Sano's services is exactly what they are doing.

Why not aquire the best talent available?

xataka

           Welcome.

dmac, pbp tonight?

JAL:

"If i ever say LaRussa is nice guy take me out and shoot me"

Are you aware that Tony LaRussa's "Animal Rescue Foundation" has saved thousands of dogs from being put to sleep?

http://www.arf.net/

I can't believe we aren't going to have a game thread w/ lineup and box score for the All Star Game?

xataka, welcome to our little group. Let us all hope your access keeps  getting better and better.

Freddy was a great comparison for Sano. Even 18 year olds are hard to project (see Brien Taylor and others) trying to project a 16 year old is like buying a lottery ticket. Every once and a while someone wins big, but the state always makes money in the end.

Venerable Hostage sir, when you live in the darkness of negativity even the slightest glow can seem to be enlightenment :)

Will pickup PBP after work...another 30 min or.

Bucco Nation (40 States in the Union)

Still looking for inmates from the following:

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota,

Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wyoming

We do have 11 countries represented: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Phillipines, Scotland and lest I forget, the good old USA,

Welcome Xataki, and you know, IMO if the mates go somewhere overseas, and they send a post card, it’s a hit for the Bucco Nation, heck you are in China and still check on the folks in the asylum.  Xataki – you be careful over there

Yeah, about SaNO, two things, we got fired up on the PBC playing with the big boys, second is he could have an entourage of advisors, hey, bidding wise do you want to say one club has a 90% chance?

Like JAL said, see what happens, but as there is a saying "Patience?? BS, I'm gonna ^%$& something"  Ok, did not want to say the saying, moderator might/probably would catch that

Pittsburgh and the Nots (I mean the Nats) have much in common:  Last place in their division locked up; a daily infusion of "talent" from the minors, majors, and all outposts in between; an interchange of players between the two teams.....the Nots get two good, everyday players and the Bucs get two underachieving, disappointing and, in one case,  possibly cerebral challenged player(s); the Nots fire the manager and promote the bench coach.  Question:  in order to maintain parity with the Nots, is it not reasonable to consider a similar move so as "nots"  to be left in the dark in the park in a lark?  C'mon Huntington, get with the program.  

Dmac, seriously, pbp tonight??  If you do, have some rum, send me the bill, and have some fun with the game, you need a signature thing when the good guys win, we had them all the way is a suggestion???

@ Groat: Football (soccer) is a beautiful game that is definitely NOT easy to coach. it may look easy and I have had legions of parents over the years screaming great advice like "kick the ball hard!" which typically is exactly the wrong thing to do.

My kids played both. My oldest played baseball until his coach (speaking of not having to know much to be one) decided that since he was a lefty there was no way he could play second base despite his being able to field the position and throw accurately to first. He learned something called the "crow's step" which allowed him to get to the ball while getting his body into position to make the throw all in one motion, wron foot and all.

Personally what I think is killing youth sports these days is that we over-regiment things. Pick a sport and kids are playing on organized teams when they are 5. They are burnt-out when they are 10.

I believe this even though I am a coach. I think organized sports should start at age 11. Nothing like going to an indoor soccer arena and watching a "select" team of kids who are U-8 for crying out loud...

Jose

Was I the only person who saw Obama's pitch go low, near the dirt, and thought to himself, "Yup, Adam definitely would've chased that one"?

They really should start all of stuff at 7 and the game at 8  eastern time

Jose, you are SO right about youth sports. I also coach soccer (thus the coach part of my name) and parents are the chief detriment to kids having fun. After it is a game and we play soccer or baseball, we do not work it.

@JP - re - soccer

I coached that many years ago, I had no clue what I was doing, I had them play like hockey, three up front, two defense, one sweeper and a goalie.

It was fun, first year was swarmball, so I used that to split them up a bit

In the 60's Pittsburgh had a soccer team, one of my high school friends loved it, we went to Forbes Field a couple of times to watch, he even talked us into playing it a few times instead of softball on Sundays.  It was awful, IMO too much running and we had no skills at it.  The experiment ended shortly, we went back to softball/baseball, football/slow motiong football, basketball and pinochle shortly there after.

But what a good life we had...

NL better get its act together or the Pirates will not have home-field advantage in the WS.

Wow--Pirate infield plays better defense that that!

AL has an inning full of pencil hit bleeders and scores 2 runs. First NL guy hits line shot and 1 away.

@papacoach - re - parents

My son, Chirs, is 34, so that was back in the early 80's maybe mid 80's so no one understood soccer really, the parents were mostly happy that their kids had fun, enjoyed things and got some exercise.

A big difference from baseball, in Hopewell, PA anyways

Biz, the problem is that parents are beginning to learn a litttle bit about the game and as the wise man said "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing". Too many parents now think they are mini Bob Bradleys. Admittedly it is not as bad as football where every parent thinks they are experts but...

IYou folks have a good time watching the game, seriously (srsyl is patented)

I'm going to ask Nurse Ratchett, Cratchett, to change the channel, and follow Dr DKs instructions till the am

Night mates, good tidings, and keep the candles burning

Hey we have family from China today, but no one posting from 10 states?  

American hero's, you guys in the service, I know you are out there somewhere, give us a yell and say hey.

Biz...PBP was requested by WSB.  :-)

I lied though...I'm a bit late...

Picking it up in the top of the 3rd...3-2 NL  Franklin on the hill for the NL.

Jeter grounds to 2nd...Utley to 1st.. 1 away.

Mauer takess a called strike, 0-1.  Line drive -- caught by Pujols for the out.  2 away.

1-2 count  to Texeira.  FOuled away, still 1-2 count.  Grounded to 1sg...Pujols unassisted for the out.  Side retired.

YESS, I CAN'T Believe it the NL is winnng.

NO TREVOR HOFFMAN TONIGHT. PLEASE!

Thanks Dmac.  You add to the experience of work!

DMac's doing PBP? Then I'm coming back on!

Besides, I need 3 more posts after this to get my 20 quota.

Buehrle for the ChiSox now pitching for the AL.

Utley leads off and takes a called strke 1.  Swings and misses, 0-2.  Fly ball to CF...Josh Hamilton is there to make the catch.  2 away.

Pujols takes a called strike, 0-1.  Misses, 1-1 count.  Misses again, 2-1.  Grounds to 1st, Texeira,unassisted.  2 away.

Cryin' Ryan Braun takes a called strike, 0-1.  And he grounds to SS...Jeter to Texeira.  Side retired.

Still 3-2 NL

Dan Haren now pitching.

Jason Bay leading off and he swings at the first pitch.  Fly ball to RF...Braun makes the catch.  1 away.

Hamilton has a 1-1 count.  Pitch gets away from Molina, 2-1.  Fly ball to CF...Victorino makes the catch.  2 away.

Michael Young hits the first pitch to LF for a single.

Aaron Hill takes a called strike, 0-1.  ouled away, 0-2.  Ball in the dirt, 1-2.  Misses, 2-2.  Misses again, 3-2.  Grounded to SS...Ramirez to Pujols.  That's 3.

I've been off on the bike for a while.Then I get back! You guys are crazy.Changing a bike tire 12 miles out of town.... however I did it while staring out over a cliff overlooking the Mississippi  and had a  heckuva view.With so many baseball people in St Louis you gotta wonder how many deals are cooking this very minute.In my mind ..no news is good news.

I do not even count daily posts--which is better or worse anyway--20 posts of two sentences each or two posts of 50 sentence each?

Greinke now pitching for the AL.

Ibanez pops the first pitch to 3rd...Michael Young makes the play in foul ground.  1 away.

David Wright takes a called strike 1.  Misses, 1-1 count.  Fouled away. 1-2.  Fouled off again.  Called strike 3 over the outside corner.  2 away.

Victorino takes a called strike, 0-1.  Misses low, 1-1.  Fouled away, 1-2.  Swings and misses, it's in the dirt, Mauer to Texeira completes the K.  Side retired.

Still 3-2 NL, after 4 complete.

JAL - I vote for pithy and concise.

Of course, we welcome all, even long winded and self indulgent!  

Mrs Drew is looking over my shoulder...read my post and said that's me.  Aint love grand!

Drew-Pithy?.. Lisp?;-)

Zimmerman is on at 3rd, Braun is in LF, Hawpe is in RF.  Chad Billingsley is on the mound

1-1 count to  Crawford.  Misses down and in, 2-1.  Singles to CF for the leadoff single.

Ichiro takes ball 1.  Crawford goes and Ichiro fouls the ball away, 1-1.  Fouled off again, 1-2. Grounded to 2nd...Utley fields and throws to 2nd to get the force.  Ichiro is safe at 1st.  1 away.

Jeter steps in, and takes strike 1.  Swings and misses, 0-2.  Outside, 1-2.  Grounded to 1st.  Diving stop by Pujols.  Throw to 2nd for 1, the relay back to 1st is late.  2 away, runner at 1st.

Mauer takes ball 1.  Misses away, 2-0.  Takes a strike at the knees, 2-1.  Takes a strike on the outside corner, 2-2 count.  Foul tipped.  Line drive into the LF corner.  Braun digs it out but Jeter scores as Mauer is in at 2nd with a double.  

Texeira takes a called strike, 0-1.  Fouled away, 0-2.  Grounded to the right side...Pujols makes a nice diving grab and throws to Billingsley covering the bag at 1st for the 3rd out.

Tied at 3, heading to the bottom of the 5th.

Adam Jones in for JBay, Crawford in LF, Edwin Jackson pitching.

Molina leads off and grounds to SS...Jeter to Texeira.  1 away.

Zimmerman takes a called strike.  Fly ball to CF.  HAmilton makes the catch.  2 away.

Ramirez grounds the first pitch to 3rd...Young to Texeira.  Side retired.

Tied, 3-3 going to the 6th.

Drew

Any post will do and most of us post different numbers on different day--depends on our schedules and on what is happening that interests us.  

@Maz - "Pithy? Lisp?"

very good.  Laughed my pithy off.

What was that comment about Hoffman not pitching....  

Hi All,

Reading all the blogs reminded me of some baseball trivia as well along with a question: Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Bob Prince was the voice of the Pirates, his nickname for Nuxhall was "Hamilton Joe."

I also got to thinking back to that not-to-be-forgotten night when I was still in high school trying to complete some homework but also listening to a Pirate game on my old Channelmaster transistor radio, a game that could possibly go down in baseball as one of the greatest games ever - Harvey Haddix's perfect game in Milwaukee. I can vividly remember being moved to tears over that game. But I also remember that from that time on, whenever the Pirates played in Milwaukee, the standing ovations Haddix continually received whenever he was introduced. I know they looked upon that performance as one of the greatest games ever played. Little did I know that the game I listened to that evening would be remembered as perhaps the greatest games ever played.

Now question wise, in all the comments made concerning the youngest players to start in the major leagues, wouldn't Tim McCarver rank in this category? I think at one time he was the youngest starting player. Please fill me in if I am wrong concerning this.

NOOOOOOO... CHARLIE WHY..... ONE BATTER... WHY TREVOR HOFFMAN...  PULL HIM, HE'S the VASQUEZ of the NL.

Hoffman is on the mound for the NL

Adam Jones leads off..swings and misses, 0-1.  FLy ball to RF...Hawpe makes the catch.  1 away.

Hamilton singles to RF.  

Michael Young takes a called strike, 0-1.  Grounded to 2nd...Utley to Tejada, relay to Pujols for the DP.

Okay...this is harder than a Spring Training game!  Srsly.  ;-)

Just got home about an hour ago. DMac, thanks for the play-by-play. Nice touch ...

I was sorry I didn't get home in time to see them recognize Stan Musial ... Hopefully will find something on the Internet, a YT or something. I love that guy ...

Hope Freddy and Zack get in.

I agree JAL.  I'm just playing around between LONG All Star commercial breaks.

Morneau is now at 1st, Bartley is at SS.  Granderson in CF.  V-Martinez at the plate, Felix Hernandez on the mound.

Orlando Hudson hits a fly ball to RF...Jones makes the catch.  1 away.  He PH-d for Utley.

Pujols takes ball 1.  Inside, 2-0.  Chopped to SS...Bartley to Morneau.  2 away.

Justin Upton now in for Cryin' Ryan.  He takes ball 1.  Misses inside, 2-0.  Fouled away, 2-1.  Grounded to SS...Bartlett to Morneau.  Side retired.

Still tied, 3-3, after 6

Why Stan - take a breath, brother.  We survived it.

Pujols is replaced by Adrian Gonzalez.  Cordero on the mound, Upton in LF. Werth is now in CF, Victorino is out. Orlando Hudson at 2nd.

Hill hits a fly ball on a 1-0 count.  Upton makes the catch, 1 away.  

Crawford take ball 1.  Ground ball to SS..Tejada to Gonzalez.  2 away.

Morneau has an 0-2 count.  Missea low and away, 1-2.  Just misses inside, 2-2.  Lined to 3rd...Zimmerman makes the catch for the 3rd out.

Wow!   Stretch time already!

I'm behind on my 20 post quota.Maybe I can come up with a couple long winded posts.Nah!

Go ahead; make my day

Give Freddie and Zack some time to play.

And when they get in, we'll go for the win

For tonight is the National's day!

Bottom of the 7th...

Jonathan Papelbon on the mound.

Hawpe launces the 1st pitch to deep LF...Crawford makes the catch at the wall!  1 away.

Tejada hits a fly ball to RF...Adam Jones makes the catch on the track.   2 away.

Werth takes a strike, 0-1.  Low and away, 1-1.  Up and away, 2-1.  Big swing and miss, 2-2.  Misses outside and the count goes full, 3-2.  Fouled away.  Fouled away, still 3-2 count.  Swings and misses for strike 3.

Still tied at 3 after 8.  

To help add a bit of nostalgia to tonight's all-star game would have been the voice of the now-late Jack Buck, who added so much as a true voice of baseball. Joe, Dad "learned" you well.

Heath Bell pitching for the NL.

Bartlett leads off and it's just a little high -- over his head -- ball 1.  Grounde to SS...Tejada to Gonzalez.  1 away.

Granderson takes outside, 1-0.  Fly bal to LF...it's over Upton's head.  It bounces off the wall and Granderson is in at 3rd with a triple.  

Martinez is being walked.

Hill takes a called strike, 0-1.  Fouled away, 0-2.  Fouled away again.  Fouled away again.  Fly ball to RF...Catch is made but Granderson tags and scores.  2 away.

Youklis is not batting, he takes a called strike, 0-1. Singles to LF.

2 out, Runners at 1st and 2nd.

Zobrist takes a strike on the inside, 0-1.  Fouled away, 0-2.  Misses, 1-2.  Fouled away.  Misses low, 2-2.  Swings and misses for strike 3.

AL takes the lead..4-3.

Dissappointed to see that unless it heads to extras we won't get to see Zachary pitch.

Maybe I should have said "San Diego reliever".  MAN..

Dejan, you have really let me down on this. Arangure has had nothing but good things to say when asked about you and you choose to harp on his use of the word opinion. You really sound like a child who is mad someone disagrees with him.                                                                                                                                                                                                 And opinion has everything to do with it unless Sano himself is your source. The whole debate on who will sign Sano is based on opinions of writers based on information given by sources. I do not know who your sources are but, Arangure is inside the inner circle of Latin America more than anyone out there. Stop harping on him saying its opinion, because ultimately it is the same as you given your facts. And for someone who aimlessly said something to the "pushing" of a Sanchez trade only to retract it later.                                                                                 &nbs