Monthly Archives: January, 2010

Steve Sommer of Play a Hard Nine posted 2010 defensive projections in November, so let’s look at how the Pirates stack up. Steve...

The Venezuelan Winter League announced that reliever Jean Machi has won the league's Pitcher of the Year award, as well as the title of Closer of the Year. �Machi, who pitched for both the Altoona Curve and the Indianapolis Indians in the 2009 summer season, made 31 relief appearances for Los Navegantes del Magallanes this winter. �He earned a 2-0 record and 16 saves in the regular season for Magallanes, with a 1.25 ERA. � In 36 innings, Machi gave up 22 hits and only 6 runs (5 earned). �He walked only 6 batters while striking out 27. �Opposing batters hit .177 against him. �The Venezuelan native, who will turn 28 next month, has signed another minor league contract with the Pirates for the 2010 season and has been invited to major league spring training. The Mexican Pacific League had Friday night off, but the other leagues continued their playoffs (round robin style): PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Indios de Mayaguez 16, �Leones de Ponce 1 Oops. �Mayaguez went wild on Ponce, with 6 runs in the 3rd inning on two 3-run homers, then 8 runs in the 5th inning on three doubles, a 2-run double, and a 3-run double. �Ponce scored their lone run in the 8th. �After a lead-off single, 3B Greg Picart was hit by a pitch, and an RBI single brought in the lead runner. �Reliever Jorge Charry pitched the bottom of the 8th for Ponce. �He hit a batter and gave up a walk, but got a pop out and a double play to get out of the inning. DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Toros del Este 9, �Gigantes del Cibao 2 1B Yurendell de Caster led Los Toros with 4 hits, just a homer short of the cycle. �He tripled in two runs in the top of the 1st and then scored on a sacrifice fly. �He singled in Los Toros' run in the 3rd inning, and doubled and scored in their 2-run rally in the 5th. �They scored another run in the 7th without help from de Caster, and he contributed an RBI single and scored again in the 2-run 9th inning. �Los Gigantes could only manage one run in the 4th on a walk, a double, and a sacrifice fly, and a solo homer in the 8th. Tigres del Licey 9, �Leones del Escogido 1 Another rather lop-sided game. �Licey was ahead 3-1 going into the 8th inning, when CF Jose Bautista and DH Ronny Paulino both blasted solo homers (though not back-to-back) to spark a 6-run rally. �Four singles, a walk, and two wild pitches brought in the rest of the runs in that inning. �Bautista also doubled in the 6th inning, as Los Tigres loaded the bases and had a run forced in with a walk. �Escogido recorded 8 hits but left 7 runners on base and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. �Their only run came in the 7th inning, on a single, a double, and an RBI ground out. VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Navegantes del Magallanes 10, �Bravos de Margarita 9 This contest started off lop-sided too, but Margarita made Magallanes sweat in the late innings. �Three doubles, including one by LF Mike Ryan, started Magallanes off with 3 runs in the 1st inning. �They scored one run in the 2nd inning, and then two RBI singles and a 3-run homer added 5 more runs in the 4th inning. �Two singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly gave Los Navegantes their final run in the 5th. �Argenis Diaz entered the game as a defensive replacement at shortstop in the 5th inning, and went 0-for-2 at the plate. �Margarita scored their first run in the 1st inning on four walks. �A single and a triple gave them one run in the 3rd and two doubles gave them another run in the 4th. �Los Bravos couldn't do much more until the 8th inning, when two singles, a double, and an RBI ground out gave them two more runs. �They began the bottom of the 9th with a walk and a 2-run homer, bringing them within 3 runs of Magallanes. �Jean Machi was brought in from the bullpen after the homer, but he gave up a walk, got a strikeout, then gave up a double and a single, and two more runs scored -- Margarita was one run away from a tie. �Machi gave up another single, and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position. �He got a strikeout for the second out of the inning. �Then Corey Hamman came in to get a grounder for the final out of the game. �Machi was credited with a Hold, and Hamman earned a Save. Aguilas de Zulia 6, �Tiburones de La Guaira 5 Zulia scored one run in each of four innings �plus two runs in the 5th, and by the middle of the 7th inning, they had a 6-0 lead. �After back-to-back singles to begin the bottom of the 1st inning, La Guaira batters bounced into a double play, then went down in order for the next four innings, until they got one more single in the 6th inning. �In the bottom of the 7th, Los Tiburones burst out for 4 runs, on a single, a double by 1B Hector Gimenez, two more singles, and two fielding errors. �A solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 8th brought La Guaira within one run of Zulia. �Gimenez singled after the homer, but could not get around to score. �Two more singles in the bottom of the 9th also went to waste as those runners were left on base when the game ended.

Dan Budreika took a look at Charlie Morton on RotoGraphs today. The portion that stuck out to me was this paragraph regarding Morton’s...

I was reading an article on Evan Longoria's contract (and similar contracts) at DRaysBay yesterday, which got me thinking about Andrew McCutchen. I think...

A few Pirates' players and friends got into Thursday's winter league playoff games: PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Gigantes de Carolina 4, �Leones de Ponce 1 Each team posted only 5 hits and committed 2 errors. Ponce's only run came in the 3rd inning on a walk, a passed ball, and a fielding error. �Carolina scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st, and added one more on a solo homer in the 8th. �Ponce's reliever RJ Rodriguez came into the game in the 8th after the homer and one out. �Rodriguez gave up a double and a walk, but then got a pop out and a strikeout to end the inning. �He also pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning, with another strikeout. DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Tigres del Licey 2, �Toros del Este 1 CF Jose Bautista made the difference in this game, with his solo homer to lead off the 3rd inning. �That broke a 1-1 tie, after each team scored a run in the 2nd inning. �Licey scored on three singles, while Los Toros scored on wild pitch after loading the bases on a single, a double, and a walk. �Bautista also walked twice. �C Ronny Paulino singled in the 1st inning and also walked for Licey. �1B Yurendell de Caster went 0-for-4 for Los Toros with 3 strikeouts. Gigantes del Cibao 7, �Leones del Escogido 5 Escogido had a 3-0 lead going into the 7th inning, but Los Gigantes tied the score with 2 runs in the 7th and one run in the 8th. �The two teams took the tie into the 11th inning. �Los Gigantes loaded the bases in the top of the 11th with a single and two walks. �A single complicated by a fielding error allowed 3 runs to score, and another RBI single made the score 7-3. �An RBI double gave Escogido two runs in the bottom of the inning, but that was all Los Leones could get. �Bryan Myrow came into the game as a late-inning defensive replacement for Escogido, and he flied out in his only plate appearance. VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Bravos de Margarita 9, �Navegantes del Magallanes 4 2B Ronny Cedeno and LF Mike Ryan were both hitless for Magallanes, who could not overcome four consecutive scoring innings by Margarita. �The score was tied at 2-2 going into the bottom of the 6th, when Margarita scored 2 runs aided by throwing errors on two consecutive plays. �Los Bravos added another 2 runs in the 7th inning. �Magallanes came back with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 8th, but Margarita kept up the pressure with 3 more runs in the bottom of the 8th. Leones del Caracas 4, �Aguilas de Zulia 3 With the score tied at 3-3 since the 7th inning, C Carlos Maldonado led off the bottom of the 9th by working a walk. �He was replaced by pinch runner Hernan Iribarren, who was bunted over to second base. �After an intentional walk, Zulia brought in reliever Romulo Sanchez. The first batter Sanchez faced grounded to third base, where the Zulia third baseman had trouble handling the ball. �The error allowed Iribarren to scramble around to score from second base and give Caracas the win. MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS This is not a round-robin style tournament like in the other three winter leagues. �Instead there are three best-of-seven series going on. �One series is completed -- last night Los Yaquis de Obregon won their fourth game to beat out Los Aguilas de Mexicali. �Los Naranjeros de Hermosillo have a 3-2 lead over Los Mayos de Navojoa. �Even with the win on Thursday, Los Venados de Mazatlan have a 3-2 lead over Los Tomateros de Culiacan. Tomateros de Culiacan 4, �Venados de Mazatlan 1 Mazatlan scored their only run in the 8th inning on a single and a double. �Culiacan got onto the scoreboard in the 1st inning with a run on a single, two ground outs to move the runner along, then an RBI single. �They scored what would be the winning run in the 3rd inning on two more singles. �Two singles, including one by 2B Luis Cruz and two throwing errors added another run in the 6th, and they picked up one more insurance run with a solo homer in the 8th. �</p>

Just a few playoff games in the winter leagues on Wednesday, with the Puerto Rican League taking the day off...

DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Gigantes del Cibao 5, Toros del Este 2

Two hits by 1B Yurendell de Caster were not enough to help Los Toros overcome Los Gigantes. Los Toros scored a run in the top of the 1st, but Los Gigantes came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning then 2 more in the 6th and another on a solo homer in the 7th. Los Toros scored a single run again in the 8th.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Tiburones de La Guaira 12, Leones del Caracas 6

For the second night in a row, Los Tiburones chomped on their opponents. This time 16 hits produced 12 runs. They scored 4 in the 1st inning, on a sacrifice fly by 1B Hector Gimenez and a 3-run homer. Two doubles, two singles, and a fielding error added 3 more runs in the 2nd inning. Two 2-run homers plus an RBI single gave La Guaira 5 more runs in the 5th inning. Gimenez had a double and scored in that inning.

Navegantes del Magallanes 5, Bravos de Margarita 4

Magallanes scored their first two runs on two solo homers -- one by 3B Pablo Sandoval to lead off the 4th inning and one by LF Mike Ryan in the 6th. An RBI double produced another 2 runs in the 7th inning, and C Robinson Chirinos' solo homer in the 8th gave Magallanes a 5-1 lead going into the 9th inning. Reliever Jean Machi took the mound ofr Magallanes to begin the 9th inning. Caracas coaxed two walks off Machi, then CF Frank Diaz blasted a 3-run homer to bring Caracas within one run of Magallanes. But Machi got a fly out to end the game and preserve the win.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Venados de Mazatlan 10, Tomateros de Culiacan 2

Mazatlan took a 3-1 lead in this best-of-7 series with this commanding win over Culiacan. Three singles, two doubles, and a walk gave Los Venados 5 runs in the 3rd inning. A bases-loaded grounder brought in another run in the 7th, and they scored 4 more in the 8th on two singles, three walks, and two errors. Rogelios Noris pinch-ran in the 8th, and he came around to score on the second error. 2B Luis Cruz went 0-for-4 for Culiacan, who posted 9 hits but also left 8 runners on base.

Pirate fans have mostly supported adding a second-rate free agent to team with Garrett Jones in covering the right field/first base spots. Even...

Pirates' players and friends in Tuesday's winter league playoffs:

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Criollos de Caguas 5, Indios de Mayaguez 4

The two teams kept pace with each other until the bottom of the 7th inning. Mayaguez got things started with a run in the top of the 1st. Caguas' SS Luis Figueroa singled in the bottom of the inning, and scored on a double and a sacrifice fly. Mayaguez added 2 runs in the 3rd, and Caguas replied with 2 in the bottom of the 4th. Los Criollos took the lead with a run in the 5th, when CF Luis Matos reached first base on a wild pitch on strike three. A hit batter, a single, and another hit batter forced in Matos with the run. Mayaguez tied the score again in the top of the 7th, and Caguas scored again in the bottom of the frame with a double and an RBI single. This time, though, Mayaguez could not respond, and Caguas had the win.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Gigantes del Cibao 9, Toros del Este 2

Los Gigantes scored 2 runs in the 4th and 5 more in the 5th, while holding Los Toros to just 4 hits. The only extra-base hit for Los Toros came off the bat of 1B/3B Yurendell de Caster, who had just joined Los Toros after a stint with Guasave in the Mexican Pacific League. The double led off the 3rd inning, and de Caster advanced to third base on a bunt, but was left there when the inning ended.

Tigres del Licey 7, Leones del Escogido 6

Licey scored 2 runs in the 5th, 2 in the 6th, and one more in the 7th inning, and Escogido tied the score with a 4-run bottom of the 7th inning. LF Brian Myrow began Escogido's rally with a lead-off walk, and he scored on a single and a fielding error. Another walk, an RBI ground out and a 2-RBI double brought the score to 5-5. Licey broke the tie in the next inning with two runs on a walk, two consecutive fielding errors, and an RBI ground out. A walk and a double gave Escogido one run in the bottom of the 9th, but two ground outs ended the inning and the game before Escogido could get any further.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Bravos de Margarita 5, Leones del Caracas 3

Margarita got off to a good start with 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning, on a walk, two singles, an RBI ground out, and a wild pitch. They added another run in the 3rd and a solo homer in the 8th. Caracas scored a single run in each of the 1st, 8th, and 9th innings, but it wasn't enough to catch up. Carlos Maldonado made a pinch-hit appearance for Caracas in the 8th inning, and was hit by the pitch. He was replaced by a pinch-runner, but that was more likely due to the fact that Maldonado is a very slow runner than because he was significantly injured when he was hit.

Tiburones de La Guaira 16, Aguilas de Zulia 1

Los Tiburones took a huge bite of Los Aguilas, with 16 runs on 21 hits. The 6-run 4th inning began with three consecutive walks, then two singles, a double, and a final RBI single by 1B/3B Hector Gimenez. Gimenez also doubled and scored in the 9th, and reached base on a grounder force out and then scored in the 6th.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Tomateros de Culiacan 8, Venados de Mazatlan 6

Two late-inning rallies were not enough for Mazatlan to overcome an early Culiacan lead. 2B Luis Cruz led off the 2nd inning for Culiacan with the first of three singles in the inning. A double followed the singles, and 2 runs were in. Mazatlan scored one run in the top of the 3rd, on two walks, a sacrifice bunt and a balk. Culiacan picked up 2 more runs on three singles in the 4th inning. Cruz started the 4-run rally in the 5th with another single, which was followed by four more singles and a hit batter. Mazatlan had a 3-run homer in the 8th, and a 2-run homer in the 9th, but still fell short.

Pirates' players and friends in Monday's winter league playoff action (the Mexican Pacific League had the night off):

DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Toros del Este 8, Tigres del Licey 6

Los Toros exploded for 8 runs in the 7th inning, which featured three walks, three doubles, and a homer. All the scored occurred after two outs had been recorded. Denny Bautista pitched to two batters in the middle of the mess, and walked the first and gave up an RBI single to the second. CF Jose Bautista contributed an RBI single for Licey in the 3rd inning, but was out at the plate when he tried to score himself. He also had an RBI double in the 8th inning. DH Ronny Paulino went 0-for-4 and was hit by a pitch.

Leones del Escogido 4, Gigantes del Cibao 3

Los Gigantes had an early 2-0 lead, but Escogido caught up with 2 runs in the 6th, and took the lead with a walk, a wild pitch, and a single in the 7th. Reliever Juan Perez pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 9th for Los Gigantes, and his teammates came through with a run on a walk and two singles to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. That sent the game into extras.... Escogido put two runners on base in the top of the 12th, but couldn't push anyone across the plate. Former Indy Indian (2000-01) 1B Kevin Barker (more recently with the Reds and Louisville Bats) gave Escogido the win with a solo homer in the top of the 13th.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Criollos de Caguas 4, Leones de Ponce 3

Ponce took a 3-0 lead with a 2-run homer in the 3rd inning and another run in the top of the 4th. Caguas came back to score in three consecutive innings. They scored one run in the bottom of the 4th, then tied it with two runs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI double in the 5th. A walk, a throwing error, and a single complicated by a second throwing error in the 6th inning gave Caguas the go-ahead run. CF Luis Matos and SS Luis Figueroa each had a hit for Caguas, but neither came around to score.

VENZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Leones del Caracas 5, Navegantes del Magallanes 4

LF/2B Ronny Cedeno did not have a hit (he had 7 hits over the last two games), but he contributed a run-scoring bunt and later came around to score in Magallanes' 4-run 3rd inning. DH Mike Ryan had an RBI double in that rally. The 4 runs gave Magallanes a 4-2 lead, which held until the 8th inning. In the top of the 8th, Caracas' CF/RF Josh Kroeger (White Sox and Team USA) reached base on a fielding error. Kroeger scored on a triple, and LF Jose Castillo brought the tying run in with an RBI single. Magallanes' reliever Corey Hamman took the mound at that point (one out), but Hamman gave up a single to pinch-hitter Carlos Maldonado, and he was also relieved. A walk loaded the bases, and a wild pitch allowed Castillo to score the winning run.

Tiburones de La Guaira 3, Aguilas de Zulia 2

Romulo Sanchez suffered the loss for Zulia when he gave up an RBI single and then threw a wild pitch that allowed La Guaira to score another run in the 8th inning. That gave La Guaira a 2-1 lead, and even though each team scored a run in the 9th inning, Sanchez was charged with the blown save and the loss. 1B Hector Gimenez went 0-for-4 for La Guaira.

The Pirates have signed three pitchers to minor league contracts:

Tyler Yates is not a big surprise. The 32-year-old had "Tommy John" surgery on his right elbow last July, and had already agreed to come back to play for the Pirates. This was just the formality of signing the paper. Yates made 72 relief appearances for the Pirates in 2008, earning a 6-3 record with on save and a 4.66 ERA. In 73.1 innings, he gave up 72 hits, 38 earned runs, 41 BB, and struck out 63 batters. Prior to going on the Disabled List in 2009, Yates had thrown just 12 innings in 15 appearances, allowing 10 earned runs on 14 hits, with 7 BB and 9 K. That gave him a 0-2 record and a 7.50 ERA. Yates was originally drafted by the A's in 1998 and reached the AAA level in their organization in 2002. He was traded to the Mets after that season, and continued in their minor league system, making his major league debut in April 2004. He also pitched for the Braves at the AAA and the major league levels in 2006 and 2007. Yates will be joining the Pirates for spring training as a non-roster invitee, but isn't expected to be game-ready yet.

Neal Cotts was also drafted by the A's, in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft. The lefty was traded to the White Sox after the 2002 season. Cotts was assigned to the AA level in the White Sox system, where he had a 2.16 ERA in 21 starts, with 133 strikeouts in 108.1 innings. That earned him a call-up to the majors for his major league debut in August 2003. After three full seasons with the White Sox, during which he made the move to the bullpen, Cotts was traded across town to the Cubs. He split the last three season between the AAA Iowa Cubs and the big league team. With Iowa, he had a combined 3.70 ERA (and 2.30 for 2008 plus 2009) with 92 strikeouts in 90 innings. With the Cubs, his combined ERA was 4.99, with 66 strikeouts in 63.1 innings. His 2009 season was halted by elbow problems and he too had "Tommy John" surgery, back in July. Like Yates, Cotts has an invitation to major league spring training, but won't be ready for live game competition when the 2010 season begins.

The third pitcher signed is lefty Brian Burres. Burres was drafted by the Giants in 2000, and pitched for four seasons in their organization as both a starter and a reliever. He was claimed off waivers by the Orioles and spent the 2006 - 2008 seasons in their organization, splitting the all three seasons between the AAA and major league levels. In 2008, he was mostly in Baltimore, making 31 appearances and 22 starts, with a 7-10 record and a 6.04 ERA. In 129.2 innings, he allowed 165 hits and 87 earned runs, with 50 BB and 63 K. Burres, who will turn 29 just after the start of the 2010 season, spent most of 2009 with the Blue Jays' AAA Las Vegas team. He made 17 starts and 2 relief appearances, earning a 6-7 record and a 4.76 ERA. He pitched 107.2 innings and gave up 121 hits, 57 earned runs, only 30 BB, and 84 K. He also made 2 starts for the Blue Jays at the end of April, but lasted only into the 5th inning in one and only 2 innings in the second, and gave up a total of 10 runs on 12 hits and 5 walks. Burres was also invited to major league spring training, and he should be ready to go at the beginning of the season. If he does not make the major league roster out of spring training, the contract has an out clause that lets him leave, and maybe go to an Asian team.

List of the current non-roster invitees:

Pitchers: Jimmy Barthmaier, Brian Burres, Vinnie Chulk, Neal Cotts, Craig Hansen, Jeff Karstens, Wil Ledezma, Jean Machi, Jeremy Powell, Jack (Jayson) Taschner, Justin Thomas, Virgil Vasquez, and Tyler Yates.

Catchers: Erik Kratz and Tony Sanchez

Outfielder: Jonathan Van Every

About a week ago, I wrote that the next winning Pirates team was beginning to take shape. At the time, I was simply...

Per Dejan: The Pirates have agreed to terms on minor league contracts with pitchers Brian Burres, Neal Cotts and Tyler Yates. All will be invited...