I’ve been a little busy today, so here are some notes to catch up:
-Kristy from Hands Off My Pirate Booty was at Pirate City today, and passed along a report that Jameson Taillon mentioned he will be starting the 2011 season in West Virginia. There has been a lot of talk about how Taillon could start out the season in West Virginia, but this marks the first time I’ve seen anyone from the team talk about it.
–Jennifer Langosch reported today that John Bowker and Josh Rodriguez were both dealing with minor injuries. Bowker has left wrist soreness, while Rodriguez has right-quad tightness. Both are likely to miss a few days.
-I mentioned today in my Draft Prospects Rundown that Austin Kubitza had a great outing this weekend, pitching a complete game shutout for Rice. Kubitza was a seventh round pick for the Pirates last year, but ultimately didn’t sign. I interviewed Kubitza last August, and in the interview he mentioned how he was asking for $1.5-2 M, and was set on going to Rice if he didn’t get that amount. In hindsight, the $1.5-2 M might have been worth it (although Kubitza wouldn’t have been making his pro debut until June, so we wouldn’t know it yet). At the same time, it’s a tough situation to be in. Every prep player says “I want this amount or I’ll go to college”. Some players stick with that amount, and some players eventually negotiate. The only way to avoid situations like missing out on Kubitza is to give players what they want, which is never beneficial to teams in the long run, as you throw all future negotiating power out the window.
