Michael Waterloo tweeted a few minutes ago that Pirates GM Neal Huntington and skipper Clint Hurdle have had no discussions talks about Maholm.

If only this news would have came out last night, when we spent an hour putting together our opinion on why Maholm would be a bad idea for the Pirates to target at the deadline.

After the flurry of trades yesterday, we couldn’t help but scratch our heads. Some teams are really trying to go for it at the deadline. The price was steep to get some pitching help.

The Braves if this deal is really done, paid dearly for Ryan Dempster. We think they really overpaid. The Tigers gave up players that would compare with Jameson Taillon, perhaps Tony Sanchez and a Colton Cain type.

Damn.

So with Paul Maholm pitching for the Cubs tonight, we tried to consider how he would help the Pirates win the NL Central title.   We looked back at the 2011 season for some help–after July 10th Maholm had a 2.96 ERA.  Seven starts later he wrapped up his season with an injury and an 3.66 ERA.  In his last eight starts he pitched 47.2 innings and gave up 64 hits.  64 hits!

But maybe that was a fluke we thought so we went back to 2010.  After the break Maholm’s ERA went from 4.37 to where he finished at 5.10.  Same thing in 2009, but not as pronounced with a 4.28 going to 4.44 to end the season.

He’s a fader.  When he pitches well, it’s typically early in the season like he did so well last year for the Buccos.  He’s pitching well later in the season for the first time in his career–let’s trust the Bucs take care of him tonight so this doesn’t steamroll the Pirates momentum.

But we just wanted to be sure we weren’t missing something. So we pulled up how Maholm performed over his career against the teams the Bucs will need to beat in order to take care of business–teams in the NL Central.

Yikes!  The Brewers love Maholm.

Yikes! The Cardinals really love Maholm.

The Lastros don’t like Paul.

Hmm…Brandon Phillips should probably be walked everytime he faces Maholm, but this doesn’t look too bad.  And how Maholm performs against Votto is solid

Hahahahahahahaha…wow.

Maybe it’s just us, but would you answer this question for us.

Without considering any prospects or cash outlays required….do you get the feeling Paul Maholm could definently help the Pirates win a division title? My answer is no.

Now consider what the Bucs will likely have to give up to get that help taking into account what the Tigers and Braves just gave up to get starting pitching help.

No. Thanks.   I will pass on Maholm.

We think you remember Paul Maholm.

Yeah. Sorry about that flashback.

But we thought it was important to point out that the Pirates are reportedly looking at the Chicago Cubs left hander. The “solid starter” part of this post when describing the former Bucco lefty is obviously up for argument….

Interest in Cubs’ starters goes past Dempster and Garza. Left-hander Paul Maholm is a solid starter who a scouting source indicated is getting looks from the Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates — his previous club.

After giving up six earned runs against the Snakes on June 23, Maholm has allowed just two earned runs in four starts against the Astros, Braves, Mets (just one inning pitched, two hits), and a revenge-fueled return start against the Diamondbacks.    In his 22.1 innings pitched in those starts, Maholm has struck out sixteen.

He must really want out of Chicago.

Baseball Reference