Tanking has been a controversial subject in Major League Baseball. On one hand, it’s a situation where teams are not trying to win, all to build for a future season, which is a process that can turn off fans.
On the other hand, MLB is a league where tanking provides some teams their best, and maybe only chance to compete, which means tanking might be the best shot at bringing in fans in the future.
You can’t accuse the Pirates of this process, as they seem to be against openly tanking, even though it would benefit them. John Dreker noted yesterday that the Pirates could lose enough over the final two weeks to get as high as the sixth overall pick next year, but that they’re actually closer to the 11th overall pick. That’s significant, for the reasons John mentioned:
There’s a huge difference in the bonus pool money for the sixth pick than the 11th pick. It’s not just picking higher in each round (with the first round being the most important obviously), it’s the fact that there is a difference in the bonus slots for all picks in the top ten rounds, which also makes the 5% teams can go over their bonus pool higher. As I’ve said numerous times in the comments, this isn’t rooting for your team to lose, it’s a silver lining to those losses.
Last year the bonus for the sixth overall pick was $5,742,900. The bonus for the 11th overall pick was $4,547,500. That’s a $1.2 M difference, plus the additional $60,000 to go up to 5% over the bonus pool, not to mention a better player being drafted in the first round.
The upgrade in the quality of player you can draft, and the extra money to spend aren’t going to be franchise altering differences. But they do provide some kind of upgrade, and that’s about the only value the Pirates can get out of the final two weeks of the season.
So here’s to more losses like the ones from this past weekend, as that draft position is about the only thing to fight for with two weeks remaining. It will start with a three game series against the Mariners, who currently have the number six pick for 2020.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
We’ve got our Greensboro recap going up today, plus any other news on the off-day.
I dropped the ball on the live discussion yesterday. I was supposed to add the lineups and post it, but didn’t realize that due to misreading a message from John about the article. Fortunately, it wasn’t much of a game to discuss, but I’m sorry you didn’t have a dedicated place to vent about the latest loss. Feel free to do so in the comments here.
SONG OF THE DAY
Today’s song of the day is an Oasis cover done by Portugal. The Man. After seeing them twice in concert the last few years, they’re one of my favorite live bands. If you’re a vinyl fan, their albums are also some of the best recent albums I’ve listened to on the format.
DAILY QUIZ
Here’s a nice, long quiz for your Monday morning. Name the top five pitchers in games started for the Pirates between 1980 and 2018.
PIRATES HISTORY
By John Dreker
Eight former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including a couple recent ones we can skip over quickly. Michael Martinez (2014 roster filler) and Brandon Moss (2008-10 disappointment, who had some success elsewhere) both celebrate birthdays today. The others born on this date include:
John Ericks, first round draft pick of the Cardinals in 1988, his entire big league career was spent in Pittsburgh from 1995 until 1997. He had a 4.78 ERA in 162 innings, making 22 starts and 35 relief appearances.
Scott Medvin, 1988-89 reliever. In 23 appearances with Pirates, he had a 5.03 ERA in 34 innings.
Mark Parent, hit .232 with 15 homers in 69 games for the 1995 Pirates. He was a waiver pickup from the Cubs after the 1994 season and was returned to them during the 1995 season. Played 13 years in the majors.
Chuck Brinkman, 1974 catcher. Was purchased from White Sox in July and went 1-for-7 in four games, his last games in the big leagues. His brother Ed Brinkman played 15 years in the majors.
Con Dempsey, 1951 pitcher. The Pirates purchased the 28-year-old from the San Francisco Seals(PCL) following the 1950 season and returned him in early May after he posted a 9.00 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance.
Sam Moran. His only Major League season was 1895, as a late-season addition with the Pirates. Made six starts and four relief appearances, posting a 7.47 ERA in 62.2 innings. Moran began his career in 1893 in Altoona and by 1897, he was sick due to kidney failure, passing away at age twenty-six. You can read a bio of him here, which is a link FILLED with early player bios and a recap of the 1887-96 seasons.
