Bball Plays Pirates GM: Part Three
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by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)
In Part One, I analyzed the hitters and in Part Two, the pitchers. This article will look at the manager, front office, and organization as a whole. As well, I will try and develop a rough plan of action heading into the future.
Jim Tracy is an improvement over former manager Lloyd McClendon, but he is nothing more than an average, at best, manager. He uses his bullpen well, although he can overwork the top relievers. Tracy is willing to mix up his lineup, but rarely fields the optimal order.
Dave Littlefield needs to go. He has not been given a Yankee-esque budget, but Littlefield has not made the most of what he has been given. Littlefield has shown a talent at acquiring cheap, one-year veterans (i.e. Kenny Lofton, Reggie Sanders, Randall Simon, etc.); however, these are not the type of deals a "rebuilding" team needs to make. Rebuilding was placed in quotes, because the Pirates have never made a plan clear. They looked to be totally in rebuilding mode in the late-90s, but never fully committed. Last season, the Pirates front office's attempt at putting a contender together was the free-agent spending spree on useless veterans such as Burnitz, Randa, and Casey. These three took at bats away from the future of the team: Nate McLouth, Freddy Sanchez, Jose Bautista, Ryan Doumit, Chris Duffy, etc. The Pirates will be destined to lose until they finally decide on a plan, any plan will do at this point, and stick to it. Unless their plan is to not have a plan, the front office has failed miserably.
- The values listed next to the names are the players' VORP from 2006.
With Ryan Doumit crushing the cover off of the ball in the minors, and Ronny Paulino keeping the starting spot warm in the majors, Humberto Cota is the odd-man out. There is no reason to carry a third catcher, so the Pirates should call-up Doumit and find a way to get rid of Cota. It is highly unlikely anyone would accept him in a trade. If there are no takers at all, the Pirates might as well drop him to clear room for Doumit's bat.
Tony Armas is nothing more than a #5 starter with no future on the Pirates. They should try to deal him at the deadline if any contender is looking for some pitching depth. If not, he should go the way of Cota and be released.
Trade Proposal #1: Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte for Chris Ray
For some reason, Xavier Nady was a prime target of the Pirates last year. With Andrew McCutchen on his way up and Chris Duffy, Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit and Brad Eldred all capable of playing rightfield, Nady should go. He likely has value around the league. Damaso Marte is an effective reliever, but the Pirates have plenty of prospects in the bullpen rising through the minors. What the Pirates need is a closer-type reliever, which Marte is not quite at that level. Corey Patterson will be a free agent at the end of 2007. Xavier Nady would give them a replacement for next season and Marte is the type of veteran reliever who would likely flourish under Leo Mazzone.
Trade Proposal #2: Salomon Torres for Ben Zobrist
The Devil Rays have starting pitching in the minors, but their bullpen is horrid. Torres gives the Devil Rays a veteran presence in the bullpen and a guy with closing experience. Reyes has done well for Tampa Bay, but he has injury question marks around him. Meanwhile, Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria are going to be the future left side of the infield in Tampa, so Zobrist will be without a spot in the starting lineup. This would be a clear win-win for both teams.
Trade Proposal #3: Jack Wilson for Austin Kearns
With Zobrist in a Buccos uniform, this makes Jack Wilson and his team-high 3 year/ $20.2 million contract obsolete. The Nationals have a horrible situation at shortstop in the form of Christian Guzman. Wilson is an improvement both offensively and defensively over Guzman. When Nick Johnson returns, Dmitri Young and Chris Snelling can aptly fill in for Kearns.
Acquiring Kearns would put the Pirates back into the logjam in rightfield, but Kearns gives them a clear-cut winner to the position battle. McLouth and Duffy would split time in center until McCutchen arrived, then they could back-up the outfield, while Eldred could split time with LaRoche at first, and Doumit would shift behind the plate to share time with Paulino. This gives the Pirates an extremely deep bench and flexibility to make more trades in the future, possibly for relief pitching.
Kearns contract is roughly the equivalent of Wilson's in dollars and years, so neither team would be changing their payroll.
Those five listed above are the guys the Pirates must do everything possible to keep around. Bay and Paulino are the two most valuable commodities on offense and Snell, Duke, and Gorzelanny could turn into a poor-man's version of Hudson, Mulder, and Zito.
Payroll:
2003: $54,812,429
2004: $32,227,929
2005: $38,133,000
2006: $46,717,750
2007: $38,537,823
Despite increasing revenues from the league revenue sharing, Pittsburgh has cut their payroll since 2003. In 2006, Pittsburgh hosted the All-Star Game. Pirates fans were rewarded with a spending spree on old-timers Joe Randa, Sean Casey, and Jeromy Burnitz. There is no doubt the Pirates are capable of spending more on payroll. As a side note, a little over $5 million of the $38.5 payroll is toward paying off Jason Kendall's contract. This huge contract may be a reason why the Pirates are afraid to sign anyone to an expensive long-term deal, fearing they will vastly overpay like in Kendall's situation. Still, when Jack Wilson is the highest paid player on the team, making less than $9 million per year and almost the entire team is in pre-arbitration years, the team can afford to go out and sign a big-name free agent, if possible.
Projected Lineup:
- SS Ben Zobrist
- LF Jason Bay
- 2B Freddy Sanchez
- 1B Adam LaRoche
- RF Austin Kearns
- 3B Jose Bautista
- C Ronny Paulino
- CF Chris Duffy
- Pitcher
That is a much-improved lineup compared to what the Pirates are throwing out on the field these days. Zobrist gives the Buccos a better leadoff hitter than the current one, Duffy. Kearns adds some pop and better on-base ability than Nady.
Overall, the Pirates have not seen a winning season since Bonds left town. This has been mostly due to a lack of a concise plan. With the talented pitching rising through the minors and a cheap, pre-free agency riddled roster, now is the time for the Pirates to make a few bold moves and spend some of the revenue sharing money to bring a winner to Pittsburgh. If the St. Louis Cardinals could win the NL Central and the World Series in 2006, then the Pirates certainly have a realistic shot in the near future, if all goes according to plan.
Thank you to everyone who read this series, voted, and commented. Baseball season is finally upon us.
