Pirates

[voncap]

Curious to read the last two posts concerning Lawton. The posts seem to exemplify why I am not a big fan of Lawton's.

B16mitch lists him as a singles/doubles hitter but his average is only around .270. IMO, a quality singles/doubles hitter should be flirting with a .300 average on a regular basis.

Jumper22 says he's a 20hr/70 rbi type guy. Implying (sorry if I misinterpret J22) he is a power type guy. Those aren't great power numbers by any stretch of the imagination. 30/100 would be average power numbers.

I am not arguing a point either way and both poster's opinions are based on some merit. This is my problem with the guy. Is he a for average hitter or a power hitter? For 7 mill a year, one should be able to tell.

[defender007]

Matt Lawton has hit leadoff in his last two stops (Cleveland and here), but I agree with voncap, I don't know if he fits in that spot. He gets on base but doesn't have exceptional speed or, as we've seen lately, is not particularly great at baserunning. The more I think about it, the more I think I won't miss him as much. As far as his HR/RBI numbers he is currently on pace for 20/70, while Johnny Damon by comparison, is on pace for 8/80. I believe what makes him a leadoff hitter in Pittsburgh is his OBP which is second only to Jason Bay (suprise, suprise)!!

I would say that Mark Redmen will also be moved before the 31st. He is a solid starter who, with some offensive support, could win a reasonable number of games. I feel very bad for him. He wants to win every start, you can see it when he gets pulled and hangs his head in the dugout. Last night I believe he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned. You have to win games when a guy holds a team to 3 ER/start. His ERA for the year is 3.76 and his career ERA is only 4.20. I think he may go to a decent team, maybe we can get something for him.

Kip Wells should bring someone that can help us right now. They should try to go get something for Jose Mesa. As was stated before a closer isn't that important right now, plus we have Mike Gonzalez coming off the DL 2 weeks after the All-Star break. He can close games. Maybe we can get a bat for Mesa. That'd be ok with me.

[voncap]

Really enjoyed Z. Duke's performance against the Phillies. Granted it is only his second start, but you have to like the composure he has shown.

Of all the Pirate pitchers I've seen come through BCB, he was, IMO, the best. I would rank Dave Williams second and Sean Burnett a close third.

It is going to be fun to see how the Pirates' pitching staff 'shakes out' when Burnett and VanBenschotten get healthy. Throw Bullington, Malholm, and Gorzleanny into the mix, all three will start at AAA next year and have shown they have good enough stuff to pitch in the 'bigs', and the Pirates' front office will have to make some big decision in the next two years.

[jumper22]

Yeah, Duke pitched a heck of a game. Hopefully that will continue. They have a bunch of great young arms that should really help this team. I'm just hoping that those two starts weren't flukes. He says he thinks pitching against them twice in exhibition helped so hope he continues.

No, Lawton isnt a power guy. He should end up with 20 homers but i still dont really see him as a power guy. He could have more RBI's if he didnt bat leadoff. He would be a decent #5/6 guy. His speed/baserunning does suck. He gets on base well, but doesnt help us out playing small ball the way we have too. All this is a decent player but not for the price. Johnny Damon also is hitting around .320 or so and that team doesnt need to run, just keeps cranking homers.

Nice comeback tonight (with some help from the Mets defense) Redman and Cota of all people with the big hits. Congrats to them but im still not big fans.

[bfords16hmansMITCH]

Pirates beat the mets 11-4.....in the old throwback crawford jerseys........cota with a big day and ross is down in triple A........craig was back but with just an infield single.......jack wilson with a grand slam....what a pretty good game

[defender007]

Buccos win the series against the Mets, but lose 6-1 going into the All-Star break. Everyone watch Jason Bay represent Canada and the Bucs tonight in the Homerun Derby!!! Good Luck!

On another note, McClendon is leaning toward giving Ian Snell a spot start in the nightcap of the upcoming doubleheader with Houston. Do you agree with this or do you think Snell should remain in the bullpen for this game?

[voncap]

I agree with letting him start the in the doubleheader, but afterwards he needs to go back to Indy to be a starter.

The Pirates starting rotation is set for now. Even though there are some questions mark concerning Wells' and Fogg's performances, Snell is not ready to supplant them yet.

Let him go back to Indy get a few starts then call him up when/if Wells or Fogg gets traded. If neither depart by the trade deadline, bring Snell back up in mid-August and let him get a few big league starts before he has pitched too many innings this season to see what he can do. Put Fogg in the pen for a few weeks and cut Vogelsong or Meadows.

Even though their top five starters may be LH'ed, I don't think the Pirates can afford to have five lefties(this is why I think Redman will be traded before Wells) in their starting rotation next season so either Wells, Fogg, or Snell will be needed. WIth Wells being considered trade bait and Fogg nearing free agency, that kindda narrows down the choice for that RH'ed started.

[defender007]

Voncap, that is an excellent idea. Sending him back to AAA and keeping his confidence up would be great. I totally agree that Vogelsong of Meadows needs to go. Vogelsong is a weak, weak pitcher and is only used if we are trailing. Neither pitcher has been able to carve a niche for themselves in the bullpen and neither is near good enough to start.

[jumper22]

Glad to see Ross finally get sent down. Wilson did only have an infield hit but hopefully things improve with a couple more games. I would rather see Voglesong go. Meadows seems to do ok at times, at least better than Vogelong. Neither is great though. I have no problems with seeing Snell go back down either. With Duke up, and when Perez comes back, then what to do with the 6th starter? Send them to the bullpen? And if so, who? I would like to see Snell get the chance to start to see if he would be better suited as a reliever or a starter. Hope the second half goes a little better than the first.

[defender007]

Here's something I hadn't considered in all this Ian Snell stuff. When Perez comes back that leaves us with a rotation of Perez, Wells, Redmen, Fogg, Williams, and Duke. Wells and Fogg are the only Right handers in there. Presuming Wells is traded before the end of the month, that leaves you with Josh Fogg as the lone right hander. Would that make Ian Snell a logical starter?

I know you could go with a rotation of 4 lefties and one righty but its just not done that often. Also, once Ollie is back, that leaves you with 7 possible starters if you include Snell. What to do, what to do?