Still Sad Bay, Nady, and Marte Are Gone?

So, how are you feeling with three weeks left in Pittsburgh Pirates spring training?  There are numerous questions left to answer as the Pirates begin making cuts this week at about the halfway mark in Grapefruit League play.  But I am especially intrigued by the players picked up at last years deadline.

To recap, the Pirates traded  two-time All-Star outfielder Jason Bay for Craig Hansen and outfielderBrandon Moss  from Boston and third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris from Los Angeles. The trade was a buzzer beater. Completed with minutes, maybe seconds, to go before the deadline, and wasn’t announced until well after the deadline, taking many folks by surprise.

Also, Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte were moved to the Yankees for  “top outfield prospect” Jose Tabata and minor league right-handers Dan McCutchen, Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf. 

The fans were a mess.  Sports talk radio shows moaned like cats in heat.  How could we break up the most productive outfield in baseball?  Nutting sucks.  What is he thinking?  The list went on and on and on…

I didn’t have this blog last summer, so nothing I write is able to be proven, take my word for it, I thought why not?  Everyone knows the reasoning for this side of the arguement, I won’t waste your time.

To tally the deals, we now have three pitchers who can walk to the hill this year and eat up innings versus the alternative of Marte’s typical one inning relief appearances. Ohlendorf will take the mound every fifth day. Karstens just needs confidence in the final three weeks of spring training, a few solid outings and he will be fine.  A tall order, yes.  Achievable? Entirely.

McCutchen has struggled. When I watched McCutchen throw earlier this spring in Bradenton, there is no doubt he has the stuff.  It will come. Hansen is making strides in the right direction. He has had one bad outing this spring. His velocity is down from 95mph, but he also hasn’t flashed back to the consistent ‘Wild Thing like’ appearances of last season. Keep an eye on his next appearance for the recovery outing.

If I was Neil Huntington, I would make the trades again. Obviously he didn’t have many choices but to unload Bay and Nady, however the players he received will produce.  The price is right for the Pirates. (Bay’s contract talks have been halted by the Sox–he is in the final year of his contract)  The pitching was something the Pirates club needed desperately. We still need more.

In the future, these deals will be viewed as smart for the Pirates. I think they were great deals now.

By the end of this season it will be argued that Ohlendorf for Marte alone would have been a great deal. Ohlendorf will make some noise this year.  He threw four no-hit innings against the Yankees. Sure all the stars weren’t in the lineup for the Yankees, but I was still impressed. Often times the split squad is a recipe for disaster as pitchers have a mental letdown. Nothing of the sort for the righthander who had his first MLB hit off  The BIG Unit Randy Johnson. Oh yeh, he threw a few nice innings that day last year as well.

Spring training stats for the pitchers in the deals (Morris injured):

Ohlendorf, 9 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER, 0.96 ERA, 7K, 0BB
Karstens, 9 2/ 3IP, 12 hits, 5 ER, 4.68 ERA, 3K, 1BB
McCutchen, 6 1/3IP, 12 hits, 8 ER, 11.67 ERA, 1K, 4BB
Hansen, 7 1/3IP, 5 hits, 5ER, 6.14 ERA, 9K, 6BB

The offense wasn’t left out of the deals either.  Jose Tabata has opened my eyes and made me a believer that he will star in MLB. I was impressed with him, he is rock solid and imposing. His bat has been doing the talking for the soft spoken outfielder as he has collected 8 hits in 18 AB. His arm has been just as impressive, although it wasn’t a big secret, it just wasn’t talked about because the ”attitude” problems seemed to sell more papers. Ask speedster Carl Crawford about him being gunned at the plate by Tabata in todays game.  There is absolutely no question about how great this player will be, only the question of when it will happen.

Moss has been hurt, but the lefty did stroke 2HR in his twenty at bats this spring. He will be a strong offensive player at PNC Park.  The injury is a short term concern however.

LaRoche was awful last year. Can he hold down the hot corner? If not, it won’t take long for the Pirates to make a move as suddenly depth has evolved, but I don’t see LaRoche being the same player he was last year. The big question is just how just how well will he perform? Numerous times commentators have said that he looks like a different player this spring training. He has played so well this spring and looked so different in fact, Pirates fans are speculating what in the world we are going to do when all of these players currently playing 3B come into their own? God what a great problem that is.

Only time can equate the offensive side of this deal.  Nady and Bay were proven MLB hitters.  LaRoche, Moss, and Tabata have some work to do to prove they can succeed in the league.  I look forward to watching them prove everyone wrong.

Spring training stats for the offensive players in the deals:

Tabata 8 hits, .444AVG, .611 SLG,  .560OPS, 5 strikeouts, 5 walks
Moss, 3 hits, .150AVG, . .350SLG (hurt thumb)
LaRoche, 13 hits, .520 AVG, .760 SLG, .606 OPS 6 walks, 2 strikeouts

Could Nady have been signed?  Bay?  I don’t worry about it anymore. My eyes are on the future. I feel a component of the trades allowed some cash to flow to Pedro Alvarez.  God this guy looks amazing.  Quick hands and such a performer at the plate that it’s hard to believe its his first Spring Training. His home run today against the Rays was crushed.  “Who knows where that ball would have landed,” Bob Walk said during the radio broadcast.  Against the Yankees he hit a ball off the end of the bat for a double, “he didn’t even get all of that ball, I am really looking forward to the first time in PNC Park when he does,” said Greg Brown.

The collective look at these trades?  It stung, but the pain sure is going away.  Just watching the players above makes players like Nady, Bay and Marte a faded memory for me.  No, its not forgotten.  Especially when the Pirates went 17-37 after the trades to end the season.

But enough about the past, the real answers start in 21 days.