Instead of my normal Good / Bad / Blog structure this week, I’m going to take advantage of the All-Star Break by saying a few quick things and seeing my way to the door.
First of all, the Pirates lost 5 of 6 this week to bring them to a nice, even 30-60 at the All-Star Break. Kudos. A 54-108 pace. They now have to go 33-39 the rest of the way to avoid 100 losses. 33-39 is actually like playing decent, consistent ball, so I’m not holding out more than a couple ounces of hope.
In honor of GM Dave Littlefield’s recent 5-year anniversary with the club, let’s use bullet points!
- In 2001, the Pirates went 62-100. In celebration of Littlefield’s 5 years with the club, they’re on pace for 54-108. There’s arguably more talent on this team than there was in 2001, but results still matter.
- One of Littlefield’s goals was to get out from under the many bad contracts Cam Bonifay left behind. This year, the Pirates are paying Sean Casey, Joe Randa, and Jeromy Burnitz a combined $18.2 million. That $18.2 million has paid for 17 HR’s, a .264 batting average (that’s gone up about 30 points in the last 2-3 weeks) in 532 AB’s, and two stints on the disabled list. The main two guys whose playing time they’ve stolen, Freddy Sanchez and Craig Wilson, have combined for those same 17 HR’s and a .319 batting average in 527 AB’s. Oh, and better defense.
- Another of Littlefield’s goals was to build depth in a depleted minor league system. Now that Tom Gorzelanny has been called up, there is officially 1 major-league caliber prospect at the AAA level (two if you count Oliver Perez, who got sent down recently). That is actually 1 better than the 0 at the AA level. In other words, what you’re seeing on the current Pittsburgh roster is what you’re going to get since we know for a fact that Littlefield will get nothing of value in trades for Burnitz, Randa, and maybe Casey. He could try to get a solid A-ball prospect for them, but instead he’ll settle for a “major-league ready” AAA-baller who will proceed to bat .245 (or, if he’s a pitcher, have an ERA of around 5.25) in the Pirates’ farm system for the next 3-4 years before being released.
- Chris Shelton of the Detroit Tigers was left off the 40-man roster by Littlefield in 2003-04 because the Pirates were about to sign Raul Mondesi and Benito Santiago. Mondesi played about a month for the Pirates in 2004 before going AWOL because of “family crisis” and magically reappearing to play for another team when the Pirates finally cut him. Santiago played about a month for the Pirates before getting put on the disabled list and disappearing. Shelton has a .286 career batting average, is on pace for 30 HR’s this year, and is a key cog in the Tigers’ resurgence this year. In Shelton’s place, the Pirates got two years of Daryle Ward playing first base. Ward had 27 HR’s and a batting average around .255 in that time.
- Oh, and the Tigers are managed by former Pirate hero/manager Jim Leyland and are staffed almost entirely by former Pirates, including Andy Van Slyke and Lloyd McLendon. Littlefield apparently decided not to interview Leyland when the Pirates’ vacancy opened last year, opting instead for Jim Tracy.
- Bronson Arroyo was waived by the Pirates after a 2002 season in which he had a decent 4.00 ERA in 9 games. He was picked up by the Red Sox for 2003. In ’03 with Boston, he had a 2.08 ERA in 6 appearances. In ’04, he had a 4.03 ERA as a starter and was clutch out of the bullpen for the World Champions. In ’06, now with Cincinnati, he’s an All-Star. But he had no place on Dave Littlefield’s roster.
- After five full years on the job, Dave Littlefield still has a job. Who’s fault is that? As Pat of Where is Van Slyke said on the Irate Fans site recently, “For thirteen years I had hope that the Pirates would be able to get their heads above the water, but that hope is gone. It’s playing third base in Chicago, it’s playing first base in Detroit, it’s pitching for the Giants and Orioles, it’s struggling to find it’s fastball in AAA, it was drafted by the Devil Rays and Diamondbacks when the Pirates decided they couldn’t afford hope. In recent years the ownership group spearheaded by McClatchy and the Nutting family has taken a lot of money out of this baseball team without much of an attempt to make them any better, but they’ve also taken something else. They’ve taken the fans’ hope away.”
Go Buccos!
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