2011 Pirates

[Crimson09Crazy]

This season is shot, but we still have a good chance to get that #1 overall pick from Baltimore. Thats something to work for. But lets not get overly excited with these 2 blowouts, its a fluke. Even the best offenses aren't going to put up these kind of numbers all the time. With that said, its nice to see the young guns putting it together.

Here are some positives going into next season.
1.This lineup 1-5 is going to be solid. I mean a lot better then what we have been putting out there for the past 15 years.
2. Although we are about to ship out 3-4 Relief Pitchers, We are going to have a great 8th inning man in Hanrahan and new closer, All Star, Evan Meek. Both throw 95+. Gotta love it.
3. Money!! The Pirates are going to be getting rid of Iwamura, and the management promised they would get this payroll up to the 60 million dollar range, competing with teams like Cincy and Milwaukee who actually have put a dollar into their teams. Not to say they won't break this promise. First thing they need to spend money on is......Within. They need to go out and get at least 1 if not 2 veteran starting pitchers. But more importantly they need to lock up Andrew McCutchen. The other young guys are wrapped up a little longer. But make this a priority that McCutchen gets a Grady Sizemore type deal that will keep him around.


I mean if I'm making the lineup next season its going to look like this.

1. Jose Tabata LF- The guy has speed. And he is a descent hitter. What I want from him? I want a BA. of .280 or better. He's not hitting many homers or driving in many runs, but also I would like 30-35 Stolen Bases. He is more then capable of doing that. At 22, he has room for power to come.
2.Neil Walker 2B-Finally got to the bigs, hasn't dissapointed. What I want from him? I want a batting average of around .295. He is a good hitter, and he is going to hit a ton of doubles and I don't think 12-15 Homers is too much to ask of him. The guy is just a baseball player, he's turning into a very good defensive 2nd Basemen.
3. Andrew McCutchen CF-Co-face of the franchise. What I want from Him? I want him challenging for a Batting Title, I want him in the All-Star game. I think he has a great bat and can flat out hit the baseball. He can be the best CF in the National League, its not that far fetched. I want him staying put in the 3 hole. Keep the BA up and drive in 75 runs. Steal 20 bases. and will obviously play an excellent Center Field.
4. Garrett Jones 1B-I love this guy. What I want from him? Anything we get out of Garrett is awesome because he's an afterthought. He has been flat out awesome for the Bucs. But he still has some productive seasons within himself. I think he can bat around .260 and be just fine. 25 HR's is very reasonable, and I'd love to see 100 RBI's. He's more then capable and will have some protection next year.
5. Pedro Alvarez 3B-Wow, superstar in the making. What I want from him? He can be right up there with Zimmerman,Longoria,Wright ect. He is "our" guy. He isn't going to have an outstanding average. .275 sounds within reason. 30+ HR's is not out of the question. Actually It might be expected of him. tough to ask. But here is where our lineup becomes better then years past. potential 2 100 RBI guys. "El Toro" can do it.
6. Lastings Milledge RF-God learn to run bases!!! What I want from him? haha just that. Be a smart baseball player. He's been around forever and is only 25. He can get better. And you know what? He isnt doing all that horrible this year. If your going with two OF's with very little power the third better hit some dingers. He has 3 HR's at the end of July. He's gotta be better. He can .270-.280. Hopefully 15-20 HR's and 60+ RBI's. I think Lastings can manage that.
7. Ryan Doumit C-Are we trading him? What I want from him? I want him to be here. He has an excellent bat, but he has AL DH written all over him. High schoolers could steal on this guy. He is not that great of a catcher. But Doumit can hit.`And can hit with power. If we keep him(why would we not?! Jaramillo and Kratz are nowhere near the hitters and Sanchez is 2-3 years away) he should bat in the .260 range with a dozen homers and a good amount of doubles. 55 RBI's. and will have a terrible throwing out runners percent.
8.Ronny Cedeno SS-If we have money spend it here. What I want from him You know you aren't going to have a lineup 1-8 that will be good hitters. Ronny has a good glove, but man hes a bad hitter. So to sure up the linep maybe find a veteran SS with a bat. But Ronny isn't that bad. He's been around and you might not find anything better out there. Hes gonna hit about .235 with 7 Homers and 35 RBI"s. He'll play good D though sooooo


Guys that should be on the bench.....
Steve Pearce-Good bat, not going to learn anything more in Indy. Keep him in the 'Burgh
Eric Kratz-backup catching is backup catching.
Delwyn Young-Can play OF,2B,3B. and can pinch hit. he has more RBI's then some of our everyday players.
Then go find two veterans maybe an OF, and utility player.

Get rid of.....
Ryan Church-actually was hitting worse than Aki
Akinori Iwamura-worthless. awful hitter
Andy LaRoche-you know it really hasn't worked here for him. move for him might be better
Jeff Clement-can't catch anymore. Pearce is a better first basemen. Sorry dude
Brandon Moss-hasnt seen the bigs this year, but what a horrible return from the Bay deal.



Now Pitching is an absolutely different story. There are nooo sure things.
What is for sure......KEEEEEP PAUL MAHOLM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, he is our ONLY good starter. At best he's a 5th starter on any good teams, but he's the best we got. I have no issues with spending money on him.

Other starters. I mean take your pick. Zach Duke will never be as good as his rookie season. Karstens is a spot starter. Morton is terrible. Ohlendorf....what happened? Brad Lincoln hasn't figured it out yet. McCutchen is bad.

Bullpen. a few sure things
Meek
Hanrahan
after that not so much
I'd like to see Danny Moskos come up and I think he will.
Then we have 4 spots open.


Here's the thing we brought up all of our Major League ready prospects, so Indy doesn't have much at the moment but all of our good pitching prospects are in Altoona. So maybe they can skip AAA. But the Bucs are too conservative to do that. :roll:

Wilson 22 L 7-5 2.95 ERA 90 K's
Owens 22 L 8-4 3.12 ERA 84 K's
Morris 23 R 7-4 2.97 ERA 95 K's(with High A Bradenten and Altoona)
Locke 22 L 10-3 3.24 ERA 91 K's (Bradenten and Altoona)
All starters. All having terrific seasons in Altoona. Who happens to own the best record in professional baseball.

[raidernation]

nice to see some positive comments about the Pirates. i know that the bucs aren't doing so good this year but for the first time in along time i see real progress, some real talent and as a team that isn't going thru the motions as most of their teams have done lately

[davesandstorm]

They still have a professional baseball team in Pittsburgh?

[Crimson09Crazy]

yeah, Washington Wild Things

[raidernation]

crimson have u checked the wild things record lately

[Crimson09Crazy]

haha havent followed the frontier league since the Johnies left town.