Conditioning camp, Day 1: Pirates offered Capps to Brewers in trade

real news!  ok, not the earth shattering kind, but nice to have somethink other than Hank Blalock and Jermaine Dye to talk about.

Reading Andy LaRoche's comments about learning 2nd base, even though we traded for Akinori Iwamura (sp?), just confirms for me once agian why I like having this young man on our team.  He has class.  (Aside from that, he's a good ball player!)

Sad to hear about Matt Capps's Dad.  You think you'll get to have your Parents to treasure into old age.  Real life often differs from what we hope....

Sorry, buddy!

Spike - ditto re: Andy's comments and Matt's dad.  Big dittos on the last.

Hi, Drew,

   I was looking for the Afternoon thread - this is waht I found.  Am I in the wrong Universe, or have the ants simply not marched yet from the Morning Links?

  By the way, I brought up the Jermaine Dye question when I heard that he hadn't been offered a measly $950K to stay in Chicago.  So, I figured we could come up with maybe twice that and pick him up - seemed relatively cheap.  It stirred a maelstrom of comments, though, didn't it?

I wonder if fans get NASTIER or not if we trade Capps?There were times he incensed fans.They say relievers need short memories,but those same folks also keep bringing up Capps' good years too.Split personality announcers or.....hypocrites?

Spike, if DL was still GM, we'd come up with about 8 times that amount to sign him to sit on the bench.

Spike Crain:

Chicago paid Jermaine Dye $950K to go away.  He made $11.5M in 2009 and his option was for even more in 2010.  He won't get anything like that in free agency but he is still pricey.

Mark Cuban interested in buying Dodgers

www.latimes.com/.../la-sp-dodgers-cuban10-2009nov10,0,7450454.story

My thoughts to Matt and his family and a consoling Big Hug to the big guy.  

LOVE to hear that Andy, DY and the others are here getting some conditioning done and really love Andy's attitude.  

Nice to see a couple new guys in that list.  Welcome!  

Would have been nice to get JJ Hardy, but I'm content with Cedeno until Chase D'Arnaud comes to town.

Mark Cuban's track record will show you that money can't buy a championship in basketball.  The Mavs are great in the regular season, but never good in the playoffs.  He may fair a better owner in baseball.  

Mark, buy the Pirates!  I'd be half of what the Cubs went for.  

Thanks, GoBucs!

  Mrs. Spike says I'm nothing - if not naive!  Oh well:  Life gazzone!

G;>}

Where's the report of how Mr. Ohlendorf did in Washington? Did I miss that?

My sympathy to the Capps family.

Mr. Cuban ASKED to buy the Bucs, WNels, from what I understand. I also understand they are not for sale.

So who here thinks the reason Mr. Ward gave that football he took into the endzone to that young man was not because he had a Ward shirt on, but BECAUSE HE WAS WEARING A PIRATES CAP! Gotta love the faithful!

Andy LaRoch learning skills at second = trade plus. I'm good with anything that makes him more marketable, as I am for any of the players on the team so when it comes time to make trades for the run in October, we can get what we need.

The news on Capps is interesting on a number of levels.  One - it is again crystal clear that NH is intent on ridding the franchise of every remnant of the DL regime (not necessarily a bad thing.)  This further convinces me that Ryan Doumit will be gone relatively soon.  Two - NH is obviously not as enamored with Ronny Cedeno as his pronouncements would lead one to believe.

And, finally - DK: Aren't you supposed to be on vacation until before the Winter Meetings?  Well between covering Dave Molinari's Elmer Ferguson Award in Toronto (and blogging about it on Empty Netters) and this conditioning camp, you're not getting much of a rest.  Go and enjoy your kids and wife for a while!!

Hey, PoH,

  Sorry to drop that plumb and run yesterday afternoon.  I park about  1 1/2 mi. from work, and had a shot at a ride, so I left for home.  I didn't actually think you were making a straight-up compare betweeen Ryan and Roberto.  I was just funnin', after all.  Besides, how often would I get a chance to quote MC Hammer in a Baseball context?

G;>}

If there is a housecleaning of the DL regime, doesn't that mean Andrew McCutchen too? Maholm? Duke?

That just sounds like a conspiracy theory to me, there are too many people on the farm, and in the bullpen, that would have to go.

From Above << Thomas, 25, had a 4.48 ERA in 53 appearances for Tacoma, including some unsightly splits: 1.48 ERA vs. lefties, 6.50 vs. righties, but the Pirates have told him -- as they tell all left-handers -- they are not interested in specialists. >>

Those numbers might change my mind, . . .   just sayin'.

Afternoon mates, good tidings

I would think that if there was really a purge of the last regime, it would be the awful scouts and those who chose the stellar draft choices they did under DL, McCutch, excluded.

If we're going to keep blowing the team up, then by all means, do it now.

Thomas was from the Mariners dumpster, so NH is dumpster hopping ; }

Gomez basically stunk last year and looks like a long term pinch runner. Tells you what teams think of Capps-no much.  He really lacks the "stuff" to ever be a really good closer.  

Good afternoon inmates near and far.

Forgive me, I'm probably the only one who doesn't know, who is Van Evry? When and where did we get him. What position does he play? Is he on the 40 man? thanks.

Thanks RadioWave...I thought it was just me missing something on Van Evry.  :-)

Wow!

I saw the REAL BASEBALL NEWS from Dejan, and my heart actually started beating faster!  Thanks, DK!   I feel like a thirsty man in the desert.

I also liked the report about Andy at Instructional League.  He is showing class and a desire to be better.  Good to have on team!

Positive report about Capps for Hardy discussion.  We still need a shortstop and I like it that Neal wasn't discussing Duke for Hardy as some have desired.  With a good 2nd Base/SS combo, Duke is our best!  He is a good change off from Ross O.  Man, I hope Ross comes out at least the same or better in '10.

As much as I still like Capps and think he will rebound, Capps for Hardy would have been an appropriate exchange!

Hey Rocky Nels,

Bucs like d'Arnaud so much at short that they are playing him at 2B in Arizona.  You might not want to wait for him to replace Cedeno!

This is just my opinion, but if Mark Cuban owned the PBC, I think we'd be begging for Nutting, McClatchy, or anybody else before too long.  The current ownership may be cheap and may be content to ride the revenue sharing/giveaway gimmick horse for all it's worth, but at least they ain't bat-poop crazy.  I don't like the idea of having an owner so unpredictable that he'd up and move the team to Vancouver on a whim (or some other such nonsense).

There are some people that are controversial because they're brilliant free-thinkers and nobody's seen the likes of them before or knows how to react to them (I'm thinking of your controversial scientists-- like Gallileo and Copernicus-- here).  There are also some people who are controversial because they are, at heart, crass jerks with a lot of money who can make people pay attention to them.  I think Cuban falls more into the latter category than the former.

Just my opinion.

It looks like every one missed Van Every :>}

Biz - one man's junk is another guy's treasure.

Point in case: The Legend.

Statistically, it doesn't come around very often, but when it does happen, how sweet it is!

Van Every is a 30-Yr-old Outfielder who played a few dozen games with the Red Sox in 2008-09. He was released by the Red Sox this fall. I have no clue when or how the Buccos picked him up.

Groat

Bucs like d'Arnaud so much at short that they are playing him at 2B in Arizona.  You might not want to wait for him to replace Cedeno!

________________________________

He played 3rd base in fall league all-star game over the weekend.

"There are also some people who are controversial because they are, at heart, crass jerks with a lot of money who can make people pay attention to them.  I think Cuban falls more into the latter category than the former."

If Cuban ever owns the Dodgers I'll give you my first born.

Yup, PoH, if you put a monkey in front of a piano long enough, he will play you ain't nothing but a hound dog.  (the actual saying is bethoven, but I don't know how to spell that)

Dumpster diving is a heck of a way to build a bullpen though.

Yeah, who is van Every??  Is DK pulling our legs??

StevePegues wrote-

This is just my opinion, but if Mark Cuban owned the PBC, I think we'd be begging for Nutting, McClatchy, or anybody else before too long

  I follow the NBA real close.The other owners(and many players)like Cuban about as much as used toilet paper.He has been fined over 1.6 million for everything from going after referees to threatening players.He has stopped games by being on the court.

 Some quotes about Cuban-----------------------------------

 Mavericks player Dirk Nowitzki said about Cuban --

He's got to learn how to control himself as well as the players do. We can't lose our temper all the time on the court or off the court, and I think he's got to learn that, too.The game starts, and he's already yelling at them. So he needs to know how to control himself a little.-------------------------------------------------------------------

n May 2009, Cuban made a reference to the Denver Nuggets being "Thugs" after a loss to the Nuggets in game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The statement was geared towards the Nuggets and their fans. As he passed Martin's mother, who was seated near Cuban as he left the arena, he pointed at her and said, "that includes your son". This controversial comment revisited media attention on Cuban yet again.------------------------------------------------------------------

During the 2005–06 NBA season, Cuban started a booing campaign when former Maverick player Michael Finley returned to play against the Mavs as a member of the San Antonio Spurs  

    In a playoff series between the Mavericks and Spurs, Cuban cursed Spurs forward Bruce Bowen  and was fined $200,000 by the NBA for rushing onto the court

In short just because he has money does not mean he would be a "good" owner.Dallas is always in the playoffs.......they do lousy.When he wanted to buy the Cubs it was a distinct probability the other owners would not allow and Dejan alluded to that fact as well.

Spike

It looks like every one missed Van Every :>}

______________________

Maby DK. got him mixed up with someone else. He is not on the roster of any team the Pirates have.

Van Every was picked up after the Red Sox DFAed him during the season  to activate Jed Lowrie. He is a CF and he actually pitched 2/3 of an inning in a 13-0 blow out the Sox lost to Tampa Bay. Has 28 ML AB with a .286 avg, 1HR.

Condolences to Matt.  A great guy with a great attitude and a pretty bad 2009 season, unfortunately.  That said, I think JJ Hardy had pretty much his career year in 2007.  He's overrated.

I'm not sure whether to be happy or concerned that a majority of our starting lineup is in Conditioning Camp.

StevePegues - I'll disagree with you on Cuban. The guy is very smart and right much more often than he is wrong. You'll notice that he beat the SEC on the insider trading rap all the Cuban haters were so giddy about.

He comes off as arrogant and I guess you could say he is, but he also has a lot to back it up.

His first company he started in college was a very popular bar and he made enough money to start his second company.

His second company was a tech company and he sold it to become a millionaire.

He started broadcast.com with that money and was first person to realize the potential of live sports on the internet, he sold his company at the optimum time to become a billionaire.

He bought the Mavericks when they were the laughing stock of the league and they have been one of the most successful franchises during that time, despite not winning a championship.

He bought Landmark Theaters and started a production company because he wanted to make high quality art films and take advantage of new digital distribution technology. One of his first films was nominated for 6 Oscars.

The guy is either very lucky or knows something most people don't.

You don't want to cross him, though.

A description of Cuban's childish temper tantrums(which I have seen on tv) would be ...Lloyd McClendon's temper tantrums... on steroids.As soon as Dallas starts playing Cuban is on the out of bounds lines screaming at the refs....not a pretty picture and it goes on and on and on.

Re: "Hey Rocky Nels,

Bucs like d'Arnaud so much at short that they are playing him at 2B in Arizona.  You might not want to wait for him to replace Cedeno!"

Hey Groat2Maz,

Too bad its not the Pirates organization playing him at the AFL.  It's the Scottsdale Scorpians whom is a team made up of the D-Backs, Giants, Phillies, Pirates and Rockies.  Six of their eight infeilders are shortstops.  Chase is lucky to be able to get some playing time, et alone start at short.

Get your facts straight Billy Groat Gruff!

IT'S A CULTURE OF CONDITIONING CAMP!

Srsly.

More on Van Every:

Van Every, who is out for the remainder of the season after knee surgery, had been designated for assignment on July 8. He was 4-for-11 with a home run in seven games for Boston this season.

Maybe picked up as minor league FA after the season?

re Mark Cuban

Where were the mavericks before he got there?  There is no way you can argue that they did not benefit from his ownership.

DK, DK, DK! Thank you so much for the conditioning story. As we head into mid-November, news like this, FROM YOU, well, let's just say I salivated worse than Pavlov's dog!

Very sorry, though, of course, to hear the news about Capps' father ... Matt, my condolences to you.

d'Arnaud was drafted as a shortstop, but he played 2nd base for Lynchburg. D'Arnaud is a slick fielding infielder that can play anywhere in the infield and is a good contact hitter, could be here in 2 years.

Mercer was drafted as Shortstop when they drafted D'Arnaud and still is.

"Maybe picked up as minor league FA after the season?"

Yep, except I think they signed him before the season ended.  He'll probably be at Indianapolis and serve as organizational depth.

Will the Real Mr. Van Every please stand up and explain himself.

LarryZ: if this is the starting lineup, <<Andy LaRoche, Lastings Milledge, Kevin Hart, Evan Meek, Delwyn Young, Steve Pearce, Craig Hansen, Jose Ascanio, Justin Thomas, Phil Dumatrait, Jeff Clement and Jonathan Van Every.>>

Then I shall commence with drinking before noon. Except for Milledge, who is trying very hard to be a primo example of turning a new leaf, God bless him, and Capps, who had a rough season, the rest of them should be there with a "I am about to get off this team and not of my choosing, so let me do some leg lifts" position.

You really wouldn't kill my 2010 season so early, wouldya?

"You'll notice that he beat the SEC on the insider trading rap all the Cuban haters were so giddy about."

The SEC has recently filed an appeal.

In 8 years as owner the Mavericks made the finals one time.In those 8 years in the playoffs their record is 39-40.

                    Their playoff record before that was 21-32

In 8 years 79 playoff games, before that in 21 years 53.  

OK, maybe for Milledge and Laroche.  I'd be there too becuase I love baseball so much.  

it makes me chuckle when peolpe complain about Capps size.  Look at CC Sabathia!  You can't miss him...

I think the Cuba(n) embargo is still in effect for many professional sports franchises.

leadoff -Mercer and d'Arnaud were in high A ball and   d'Arnaud for only 54 games.I think it is a pretty good stretch to say could be here in 2 years. The Bucs have even said they prefer to promote one class at a time.Also 14 errors in 54 games projects to well over 40 in a season.

 Mercer only has 21 errors in 131 games...plus 36 2B....10 HRs and 83 RBI.I would think Mercer would be a better prospect....at this point

Thanks Pghfan on van Every

So NH knows where the BoSox's dumster is located.

He is a proponent of equal diving opportunities.

Cuban is from where I grew up, Mt Lebanon, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't want him owning the club, deep pockets or not, and as noted, budmeister would never allow it.

From 1990-1999 0 playoff appearances.

From 2000-2009 9 playoff appearances.

Answer the question, are they better off with him than they were without him.

Thanks Pghfan for the bit on VanEvry.

To all:

Groat2Maz2Strangeglove isn't wrong and will never be wrong in anything (even if he posted it was sunny outside as the hurricane rolled through).

You all are wrong.

Chase D'Arnaud can't and never will play SS for the Bucs.  He played 2B in the AFL.  That is the end all be all.

In 8 years 79 playoff games, before that in 21 years 53.  

Duly noted,but how many NBA franchises make the playoffs in their first several years?How many times do any pro teams make the playoffs in ANY sport for the first several years?

Dmac, thanks for the support.

Bucco fan, Thanks  for the update, I'm embarrassed to say as a Red Sox fan I did not recall the name.

Anyway, Cuban will never be the owner of the Pirates.

I seriously doubt MLB would approve him as an owner of any club, let alone the Dodgers. He was not in the running for the Cubs, even though I understand his bid was higher.

Man, when is the next trade coming??  How long has it been??

Most interesting thing in the entire story to me is that Hansen is there.  Last we heard he might never pitch again so does this mean his health has improved a lot?

I would say the fact that d'Arnaud is in the AFL and Mercer is not should tell us where the FO sees them on the totem pole.

This from Greenie Weenie talking about 3B prospects in the low minors...

>The top gun may be prime shortstop prospect Jordy Mercer, 23. He hit 10 homers and drove in 83 runs for Lynchburg, and saw some time at third base as he's on the same track as Chase d'Arnaud, a better-fielding SS prospect from the same class.

So, now we know what NH felt he could offer for Hardy. That was not going to get it done. For a relief pitcher to equal a possible 4.5 WAR shortstop, they would have to be Mariano Rivera.

JAL; I was thinking the same thing. Maybe DK or CF can do a follow up story on his status.

Markln

Not necessarily,  FC was quite clear in his disappointment that some players would not go to winter ball.  He did not name names but until we know why Mercer is not there we can't know how the FO sees the order.

Why waste time with talk about Mark Cuban? He (fortunately) never will own the Pirates or any other MLB club. The owners will permit it. As to the Pirates, the Nuttings aren't selling, so we'll just have to grin and bear it for the foreseable future.

JAL - True. But I'd guess d'Arnaud is getting the impression that he's on the fast track to Pittsburgh if he can do well. I know I am.

It seems the level of pitching in the AFL is around AA level, which is better than d'Arnaud has seen to this point. But he's adjusting well to it.

This is going to be an important year for him as he jumps to AA. Argenis Diaz better learn to hit or he could be out of a job mid year.

More on Van Every:

Van Every picked up by Pirates: The Providence Journal reports that OF Jonathan Van Every, who was released by Boston in early July, has been signed by the Pirates.

(Updated 07/26/2009).

.......................

Van Every took a while to get out of short season ball for good.  Once he did, he's hit for power on a consistent basis and has also drawn a lot of walks, but his low averages and extremely high K rates probably kept him off the prospect map.  He's fanned in well over a third of his career ABs.  He spent 2008 as AAA outfield depth for the Red Sox and made it to the majors briefly.  The Sox wanted him back in the same role in 2009, but he missed most of the season, first due to an ankle sprain and then due to knee surgery.  He's good enough defensively that he was playing mainly CF in the minors in 2008-09, but it remains to be seen what impact the knee injury will have.  Boston eventually released Van Every due to a roster crunch and he signed with the Pirates.  He was still rehabbing his knee at that point and wasn't expected to play again in 2009, so the Pirates must have signed him to a minor league deal for 2010.  Van Every stated at the time that he expected to have a chance to make the major league roster.  He'd probably be an upgrade from Jeff Salazar.

                    Hear Ye Hear Ye Hear Ye

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                      December 5 Noon Time

    The Double Wide Grille 2339 East Carson Street

                             Special Guest

                               Lou DePaoli

Executive Vice President and Director Of Media Marketing

                           Pittsburgh Pirates

  Another limited space location RSVP seat required

                  RSVP to  tjfran@comcast.net

                    Accepting emailed question

OK, so let me get this straight.....

The likes of Bud Selig and Bob Nutting look down their noses at Mark Cuban? - Now that is rich. Bud Selig has damaged MLB more than any man in history and he looks down his nose at Cuban? - Oh what a hoot.

Mr. "Zisk" Thanks for the Van Every update. Hope he's not another Pearce with injuries.

Jon VanEvery- I'm thinking that NH Scouted him and helped sign/draft him.  VERY SIMILIAR minor league stats to Garrett Jones.  

Nice guy to have if he can hit some bombs!

Oh please....Van Every will be 30 years old next season.

He does nothing for the Nutting Pirates.

It's a minor league move is all it is.

Geez, you people really need to set your sites and expectations a little higher.

Upgrade from Salazar isn't saying much.

AAAA players the Pirates have had before. They need MLB players with a decent ceiling, not a30 y.o never was.

Biz-

This is too funny (and I have no strong feelings either way about Cuban- haven't really paid any attention to him).

I spoke with a former girlfriend (Mt. Lebo native, actually) five years ago and, I'm forgetting how Cuban's name came up, but she and her husband attended his wedding. Well, she must have spent hours upon hours working on a really nice painting as a wedding gift for him. He never sent a thank you note. She was none too pleased.

I just read on mlbtraderumors.com that Jack Wilson is likely to reject the Mariners contract offer. Do we expect the FO to go after him again or do they stick with Cedeno?

NutHos-  Its winter. No baseball.  The guy is most likely in Indy, I agree, but isn't the potential coming of a Brad Eldred with some plate discipline helpful?  

Unless the Mariners pick up Wilson's $8.4M option, you have to like the Pirates' chances of getting him back.

I think unless someone else offers him significantly more money, I'd guess we see Jack back jacking Jack jacks.

NuHo: I'm offended. I've advocated we get both Albert Pujols and Mariano Rivera. How bout them standards, baby?

Let's see the Dodgers are not for sale although they might be some day, and if they are for sale Mark Cuban might be interested in them if they meet his conditions -- and somehow the problem is with Bob Nutting.  

Not mentioning any names here, but I love the way you can turn any casual conversation into the same lame blame game.

NutHo - Just curious, but what is your beef with Selig? Are you upset he canceled the season, allowed a tie in the AS game, bears responsibility for the roid era? What is it about him that you feel has damaged the game?

Although I've got no great love for the guy, I do think he got the expanded playoffs right as well as inter-league play, and those two things have done a lot for the popularity of baseball.

have not seen it talked here :  Danny Murtaugh has been nominated for the Hall of Fame.

Start flooding support to the best Pirate manager of all time.

Seems to me a Cuban buying an MLB team would an unfair advantage in getting Cuban players  to play for his team--da da boom  :)

JAL will be here all week folks... try the veal.

As JAL points out about the FO disappointment in those not playing or doing a planned off season program ball club designed because of injury or something very personal in at least the top 25 minor league prospects, you can bet those players are on the list of disappointing the FO.

Mark- One thing Selig needs to do is compress the playoff schedule by about 5 to 8 days.  

NuttingHostage

Huntington fans have to talk up minor moves and players who could sign (Sano, any remaining second-tier free agent) as a substitute for actual significant signings.

WhyStan - I agree it's too long. Maybe they should just have a round robin tournament like the WBC. :-)

Oh yeah...that's another good thing Selig did.

I'm kinda sorry I brought it up, but...

I never said, and I don't think, Cuban is stupid.  Far from it.  He's a heck of a businessman, investor, and risk-taker.  I just said he's kinda crazy and crass.  And more than a little unpredictable.  He also does some good work with charities and veteran's groups.  It's just that he can't seem to hold his tongue when he oughta, and he's often arguin' when he should be apologizin'.

I don't know that Selig and the rest of MLB looks down on him so much as they don't want his kind of wild card playing at their table.  They are, in effect, a cartel that depends to a degree on the discretion of its members.  Somebody like Cuban in their midst could wreak some real havoc, upset the apple cart, etc.  That sound more nefarious than I mean it to be, but I think it gets the point across.

Steve - I'm not sorry you brought the Cuban defense up.

He's a character, and he's done a lot of good. He also has a potload of money he earned by being smart.

Put him and Steinbrenner in a room and I'd pay $5 to watch.

OK I thought Cuban was gone,but did ya'll know he was for steroids?He said they could be but,in a controlled environment.He said they could be supervised.We seem to have their use curtailed(somewhat) and he advocates using them.------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll get killed for saying this ... but I'm not so against steroids if they're administered under proper supervision and there is no long-term damage," Cuban said.-------------------------------------------------------

   Say what?? No long term damage? This was from October 22, 2009,

Being business-smart and owner-smart are 2 different animals.I hate to say it but George Steinbrenner had it both ways.He figured it out 20+ years ago.Owning a team in the biggest city he knew he could drive players  salaries up so much that he could/would have less competition for any free agents he desired.The rest of the owners twiddled thumbs and the players union fought off any attempt at controlling pay.

 Now the only chance the small market teams have is a salary cap which couldn't be COMPLETELY implemented for at least 10 years.There would have to phases.I know the NHL worked it in quicker,but baseball has an antitrust exemption and baseball is huge compared with hockey.Steinbrenner was shrewd,but I still hatre him.

WBC= Dice K Tourney.  It really should be 10-12 pros and then the rest college players. It basically has become "a Cuban scouting tool" for those who defect.

Oh please....Van Every will be 30 years old next season.

He does nothing for the Nutting Pirates.

It's a minor league move is all it is.

Geez, you people really need to set your sites and expectations a little higher.

_________________________________________________

Blame DK for mentioning he was at the conditioning workouts, my friend.  I don't believe anyone hear thinks this guy is the 2nd coming....just offering info on where he came from, as far as i can tell.  He's organizational filler at AAA, especially if/when Tabata moves up.

To be fair though, I believe Raul Ibanez came on when he was 29 or 30....so its possible.  Lighten up.

Mark.

My beef with Selig?

1. Cancelled a season for the first time ever in the sport and did not accomplish anything in the process.

2. Allowed a tie in the AS game.

3. Enabled the games worst drug scandal in it's history.

4. Looked like a buffoon in front of Congress on several occasions and made himself the sport look bad.

5. Enabled a disasterous gulf between markets within the game that has distored the competitive landscape well beyond reasonable means.

6. Never accepts accountability. Blames collective bargaining for all his shortcomings.

7. Enables owners like Bob Nutting to make a mockery of the sport, the concept of professional sports, and the great tradition of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Justifies all these horrible things on the basis that he and his owners are making money.

Believe it or not, I believe Selig has hurt the game far worse than Bob Nutting.

Selig is by far the weakest commissioner not only in baseball history, but in the history of professional sports.

but what is your beef with Selig? Are you upset he canceled the season, allowed a tie in the AS game, bears responsibility for the roid era? What is it about him that you feel has damaged the game?

Although I've got no great love for the guy, I do think he got the expanded playoffs right as well as inter-league play, and those two things have done a lot for the popularity of baseball.

Mark,

One other thing I don't like about Selig.

About every three years or so, DK or someone from the local media will interview him and he addresses questions about the Pirate organization with the same, tired answers.

During the 2006 AS game he told Pittsburghers that Kevin McClatchy were heading in the right direction in the midst of a .414 baseball season.

Following the 2009 season he told DK the same thing about Coonelly and Huntington.

And guess what? All these wonderful assurances from the wonderful commissioner and we still haven't seen any improvement in the major league club yet.

Selig is a big phony baloney.

my prayers for  capps for his dad. one of the hardest things a son can do is say goodbye.

DK- NEWS! way to feed the masses! thanks! conditioning- are they getting shampoos?

van Evry...more bosoxbotox? 30? injured? some wood? lets see the man play some ball! the more the merrier. he didn't cost us anything.

jersey joe- on murtaugh- WORD! dude was amazing. uncanny knack. an irish yoda. already in my hall of fame.

Hopefully by Thursday the votes will be counted for the All-Conditioning Camp Team.  

Well that's it for me this evening, but remember I'm pullin' for ya'.  We're all in this together.

Given the exorbitant cost of procuring a giant banner, the Player "Banners" hanging outside PNC Park might provide a sneak preview of which players are locks to make the team.  If so, the anticipation is gone.  Go ahead and cancel Spring Training.  If you don't have a banner, you might want to look for housing in Indianapolis.  No Banner.  No Dice.  

I think Selig needs to stop this Yankee overpaying nonsense.  While about 1/3 of the Yankees making near minimum, but they are killing the arbitration numbers, especially in 2012 after Pedro is eligible for it, and they compare Arod 2009 season with his 2011.  

Lets hope that Von Emry is to NH as Jayson Werth was for Gillick.

I hope Murtaugh gets selected this time for the HOF.  He was a great manager.  I am concerned, however, because the MLB.com article is clearly promoting Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson, and to some extent Billy Martin.  On the other hand, Murtaugh is given short shrift in the article with an after-thought mentioning at the end with no career details.  

I wonder what they do with the banners after a player is traded.  I would love to see a banner that gets worn out.  That means the player has been featured for a few years.

I would think Pirate Charties could make a nice donation via fan auction.

Why Stan,

If Bud is going to limit the Yankees over spending, then by the same token he needs to limit the Nuttings underspending.

You can't have it both ways.

Nuthos-100% agree.  If you recall a few years back, there was rancor about the Brewers doing the same thing.  Then Fielder was promoted, and that started their upswing.

I see Fielder in Boston or Baltimore by fall.

A CULTURE OF BANNERS

larger than life action heros...

and when they leave? banners burned in a secret ceremony over an open hearth cauldron, and dust scattered to the winds from mt washington [with pizza]

I found this Red Sox blog page on Van Every, Googling kind of deep ...

toeingtherubber.weei.com/.../jonathan-van-every

@bay

on that web site that pic of van every with the blue goggles and cigar- we simply MUST play that dude. put THAT on a banner!

Pi-Rat - I'm w/you ... I liked that picture, too. Yee-Haw!

Gonna throw this out there ... I think it was Drew who came up with Iwwy Pop for Aki ... How about "Van Everyman," based on the famous Jackson Browne album, "For Everyman."

Nice find of the picture, Bay-bee.

Shooting for "the Legend, Part Deaux."

maz -

Cuban said that he felt steroids should be legal within a medical context to treat injuries because they are indeed used to treat some injuries for non-athletes. I agree. If they are not used for performance enhancement, why should athletes not be allowed to use them?

He most certainly and expressly said they should not be used for performance enhancement.

This is the thing about Cuban. He is going to say things that make sense and not just toe the conventional wisdom line. He holds nuanced opinions.

I don't like the way he tries to bully the officials, but actually the things he says about them are generally correct. It IS wrong to officiate different players and teams differently. Everybody knows that it happens. It's the elephant in the room in the NBA. And yet it was a taboo subject until he started making videos to send to the commissioner's office and making a big deal about it.

If he were an owner in MLB, there's no doubt he would take on the umpiring and try to standardize it. There's no doubt it can be improved, and there's no excuse for different umpires having wildly different strike zones.

The other owners know this and I'd be surprised if they let him into the club. The reason is most owners don't like controversy and having to answer all the questions.

But I do believe that MLB would be better for having him.

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