Neal Huntington has been a wheel and dealer, but 2012 looks like a different story

Shane Victorino?  Shit. No.  Hunter Pence?  Carlos Lee?  Come on.

Nonetheless, in about 24 hours, the Pirates will have made the moves that the team feels will give this 2012 club what it takes to grab a spot in the playoffs.  Let’s trust the 2013 and 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates are set for success as well.  All along, Huntington has said that is the plan.

Unfortunately, the developments over the past week have made the waters on the North Side mirky.  Real mirky.  Will the question marks make the Bucs do something out of character in order to overtake the Reds?  We doubt it.

Some of those developments and questions are as follows:

A young ace in James McDonald has some things to work on.  If you watched the game yesterday, the Buccos right-hander could be seen flexing his pitching hand on a few occassions.  We’re not sure what that was about, but we trust as he approaches the most innings he has thrown as a big leaguer, that he will remain healthy.

July 29, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage (54) talks to starting pitcher James McDonald (53) against the Houston Astros during the third inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE

Veteran pitcher Kevin Correia has came out to the press and said he wants to be a starter.  Some have said, that he demanded to be traded.  Whatever.  Correia wants to help the team win.  The guy is as competitive as it gets and I trust he can stick around and won’t be moved.  Love him or hate him, the Pirates are better with six experienced ML starting pitchers than they are with five.  What would Correia get right now–a marginal prospect or a bench bat?  No thanks.  We know some of you are pissed about what KC said, but this team is better with him on it than trading him for some prospect or a bench bat guy who gets an AB once every three games.

The Pirates offense keeps slugging home runs, but failed to hit very well with runners in scoring position against what could be the worst team in baseball this past weekend.  A rare four game sweep of the Astronauts was missed because of a combination of all three of the areas of concern.

And finally, with all that on his plate, today is Clint Hurdle’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Clint!  He might be so damn busy he doesn’t even get to enjoy his cake.  In fact, how Hurdle goes about his day should decide what the Pirates will look like after the trade deadline dust settles.

Will Hurdle have a heart to heart with Correia?  Yeh, we would take that to the bank.

Can Hurdle and Searage fix JMac before the big Reds series this weekend?  We bet it’s going on right now.

Can Hurdle be absolutely certain that his team is focused on a Cubs series that could mean just as much as the Reds series coming up?  Lose another series to the Cubs with the Reds chalking up win after win, and winning that Reds series this weekend in Cincy where they are 7-2 the past two years, won’t be such a big deal.

The Pirates need a clubhouse leader to step up and take charge today.  If not, a golden opportunity to set up a showdown in Cincy could be gone.

The Bucs seem very reluctant to include Starling Marte, or any big arms like Gerrit Cole in a deadline deal.  We are behind that thinking as it directly relates to picking up players like Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence.  Victorino can’t hit line drives anymore and his power is gone.  Pence has been awful in right field, sure…. all of us have seen enough of Josh Harrison, but the thought of Pence in Pittsburgh doesn’t make me immediately think the Bucs will get to the promised land.

But what about selling right now…you know adding by subtracting?  Surely teams have asked about left handed pitcher Justin Wilson?  He has pitched 113.2 innings and struckout 120.  The part we love is he has given up just 81 hits.  As you know, the downside is his walk rate of 4.75BB/9 stinks.  Wilson is sporting a 4.06 FIP.  Would the Pirates move him in a deal, he has looked solid in the International League if it wasnt for those damn walks.

Wilson catches Wil Rhymes looking during a 2-0 Indianapolis no-hitter earlier this season.

Here is Wilson whiffing Josh Rodriguez during his seven strikeout, five walk outing yesterday.

Would the Pirates move Tony Sanchez who recently has found his homerun stroke?  You can take it to the bank that teams have called on Sanchez’s availability.  Ballsy move?  Sure it is, but Sanchez has made some questionable decisions in his career.

Let’s face it.  The 2012 Pirates are close.  But take a really good look at that team in Cincy.  That team is better right now, even without Votto.

But check this out, the Pirates are 15-9 in head-to-head matchups against the Reds in the past two years.  Suck it Marty.  The Bucs are 7-2 at their house, just 8-7 at PNC Park.  The Pirates have scored 95 runs in those games and allowed 93.  The Bucs addition of Wandy Rodriguez should help reduce those runs allowed based on what he has done against the current Reds lineup.  An improved Bucs defense will help as well.

But will it be enough?   We think the Reds pitching staff is due for a regression.  So we think it is.

Another point that is brought up is why not sell a few Major League pieces and be set for a while, allowing the team to grow?   I still keep looking at 2013 and wondering what that team will look like?  We can’t see the Pirates paying Joel Hanrahan in ’13, but the market is limited as most of the competitive teams have a solid closer.  So just what team is going to give up those Major League bats for the Hammer?  We are still trying to find out.  Maybe that guy meant two actual bats…you know, the Louisville Slugger kind.

The Pirates match up well in head-to-head competition against the Reds without any more moves.  The Pirates are probably concerned about just what the Reds will add at the deadline, but based on our beliefs, it will only weaken the Reds in the future.

The Pirates have work to do that doesn’t involve overpaying for a bat.  Sweep the Cubs.  Figure out JMac.  Calm Correia’s ass down with some tough love from the birthday boy.

The Bucs should add a reliever if the price is right, but now isn’t the time for the Pirates to move any of their best prospects for the bats that they have been linked to in trade rumors.   Based on what we hear about the demands of the selling teams, the idea of trading for one of those bats right now compares to going into Sheetz and paying five hundred bucks for a one dollar scratch off ticket.

Screw that, even if all the proceeds benefit Pennsylvania senior citizens.

Starling Marte, who stopped Twitter from functioning a few days ago, could be on the move at the trading deadline.   The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie crushed a bomb on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues on Thursday.

The report said that Marte is being discussed in deals for Hunter Pence and Shin-Soo Choo.  In the same story Yunel Escobar is mentioned in connection with the Athletics, which is a name that while we discussed it, for some reason hasn’t been connected to the Bucs.

Clipped from: www.latimes.com (share this clip)

We know.  We know.  It was a source of pain last season, when we got your hopes up about Pence.  This year we promise to be easier in regard to the “Pence to the Pirates” talk.

May 21, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Hunter Pence (3) during the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. The Nationals defeated the Phillies 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

You didn’t hear the Pence news?  Yeah, we didn’t hear too much either. And Pence just recently discovered the news he will be on his way out.  No, he did not injure himself doing back flips.

The Phillies continue to signal to clubs that they are eager to move right fielder Hunter Pence, who could earn $13 million to $14 million next season in his final year of arbitration.

Are the Phillies seriously considering moving Pence?   He is in his prime.  17 homers this year.  Everybody thinks they are in in the wild card race.  Everybody wants a bat… there aren’t many that are bigger and available right now, even though some in Philly point toward the streaky production by Pence at the plate and wonder if he is more a piece-of-the-puzzle type player than being the go-to guy.

The Pirates tried to make a move on Pence last season, so the interest is there, if only the Astros then-GM Ed Wade would have paid attention.

So, we guess the love affair between Philly and Pence is about to go through some shaky times – especially after Pence found out he was on the block.

“Today is the first day I’ve heard of it, so it hasn’t really sunk in or anything,” Pence said.

The Phillies are consistently at the top of attendance in baseball, but the love/hate relationship with the seemingly win-all-the-time Phillies and their die-hard-all-the-time fans doesn’t seem divided on the subject of Pence. In fact, most Phillies fans we tweeted and texted tonight seem unfazed.  Most understand that Pence is a big chip, and his value will only be reduced if he isn’t moved at the deadline.  One would think the Phillies would want a third baseman or perhaps a shortstop project: a player like Alan Hansen would almost be a lock to have to be included along with a few others with one being a pitcher that you know the name of for certain.

But we digress.

We heard Pirates scouts were at the Phillies big comeback tonight that was led by the 29-year old Pence.  The more you look around at what bats are available, the more it seems the Phillies RF could be the grade-A choice for buyers at the deadline.  Especially with Carlos Quentin and Edwin Encarnacion being off the market.  Ruben realizes this fact, and like any savvy GM, he is going to cash in and attempt to avoid paying the would-be growing luxury tax over multiple years.

For the Pirates, a big bat like Pence has strings though…

The strings attached are that the Pirates would need to give up big prospects, and take on even more serious coin.  It says here, Pence to the Bucs is a pipe dream.  The Pirates don’t have the stroke to get a Pence deal done.

Stop dreaming.