Bucs Dugout

Japanese Paper: Pirates a Serious Player for Hisanori Takahashi

2010-02-09T06:13:28Z

NPB Tracker has the story in English here, and here's a Google translation of the original story in the Japanese publication Sanspo. I don't know how to assess the credibility of the story, so take it with a grain of salt for now.

Anyway, Takahashi will be 35 at the start of the season. Here are his stats. If I understand the translation correctly, it sounds like the Pirates would be offering the same sort of minor-league deal they gave Masumi Kuwata in 2007. While this may not be saying much, though, Takahashi is probably a much better pitcher--Kuwata had been declining even in Japan before he signed with the Pirates, while Takahashi had an ERA below three last year. He does, however, allow a bunch of homers in Japan, which could become even more of a problem against major league pitching.

While there's no harm in giving a guy a minor league contract, I don't see a compelling to gum up the works unless the Pirates really believe they're getting someone good. The Bucs have four spots in their rotation set with Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm and Charlie Morton, a couple of options to sort through in Kevin Hart and Dan McCutchen, and a prospect who could be ready in June or so in Brad Lincoln. You can never have enough starting pitching, but the Pirates do have a fair amount, and I'd probably rather they just sorted through options like Hart, McCutchen and Lincoln unless they really believe that Takahashi can pitch very well.

If the report of the Pirates' interest in Takahashi is correct, then, I bet they're thinking of him more as a potential LOOGY (lefty one-out guy). With the additions of Octavio Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, D.J. Carrasco and Javier Lopez, the bullpen is a lot more crowded than it was a couple months ago, but Lopez is the only lefty so far who looks likely to earn a spot.

Above is some video of Takahashi pitching to former minor league slugger Craig Brazell. Unfortunately, Takahashi is pitching from the stretch. Has anyone here seen his windup? Is it conventional?

Thanks to WTM.

Neal Huntington Clarifies Comments About Jose Tabata's Age

2010-02-08T00:10:51Z

At the Tribune-Review:

"All of the documentation he has used to obtain his visa from the U.S. government and his passport from the Venezuelan government indicates his reported age is accurate," Huntington said in an e-mail to the Tribune-Review. "Apart from unfounded speculation, there is nothing to indicate his age any different than reported. My point is that while we have reason to doubt his reported age, it is a non-issue to us."

We discussed this last week here.

Brian Giles Signs Minor-League Deal With Dodgers

2010-02-07T21:11:35Z

Brian Giles Signs Minor-League Deal With Dodgers

How far the mighty have fallen. He'll compete with Jason Repko, Xavier Paul and our old friend Doug Mientkiewicz for a bench job after hitting .191 last season.

SI Report: Pirates in on LHP Hisanori Takahashi

2010-02-06T20:33:11Z

The Pirates are one of at least six teams interested in LHP Hisanori Takahashi, according to Jon Heyman at SI.com. The 34-year-old Takahashi is a free agent after 10 years with the Yomiuri Giants, where he posted up-and-down numbers as a starter. Last year, he put up a 2.94 ERA and 126/36 K/BB in 144 innings.

He wants to remain a starter and features a plus screwball and an 85-90 mph fastball, supplemented by a slider and curve. He likely wouldn't be a lefty specialist after lefties hit .300 against him (righties hit .250) last year.

The Giants and Dodgers are considered front-runners for his services, with the Mets, Red Sox and Padres also in the mix. A decision is expected this week.

Locking Up Star Players Isn't High on Bucs' List of Problems

2010-02-06T07:28:01Z

More photos » Bob Levey - AP

How did the marquee deal for Jason Kendall turn out?

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Chuck Finder nails it here:

True, words are cheap. Star contracts are expensive. And that, wacky as it seems, would probably be a more tell-tale day for long-suffering Pirates fans: Not the moment when the club noses above .500, but when the owner locks up core players to long-term, marquee deals. . . and keeps them around on that growing payroll.

Yep, that probably is going to be the moment for a lot of people, if it ever happens. And that will be a relevant moment. Of course, if the Pirates do get there in the next few years, 95% of the work will already have been done. The players fans will want to lock up will be contributing peak seasons at relatively cheap prices, and fans will want to keep them in Pirate uniforms for their decline years. And few will mention that the failure to give out "long-term, marquee deals" has been about 99th on the list of the Pirates' problems over the past decade or so.

The Aramis Ramirez giveaway was a travesty, and nothing any fan wants to have happen again. But the Bucs have paid to control free agency seasons by Brian Giles (great contract), Jason Kendall (a disaster), Ian Snell (bad idea), Jack Wilson (largely irrelevant), Freddy Sanchez (irrelevant), Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit. Except with Ramirez--which was, again, a debacle--the Pirates' problem has not been an unwillingness to pony up for free agency seasons, or to keep their core players around more generally. The problem has been the fact that most of their core players weren't very good to begin with, and were even worse by the time they amassed six years of major league service, which is the point after which a player becomes eligible for free agency.

Most players have passed their peak by the time they finish their sixth year. And if the Pirates' willingness to keep stars around on long-term deals is to be some kind of litmus test--and it probably will--then you can look at someone like Pedro Alvarez even now and see how he might become a problem. Now, I realize that sounds absurd, but: Alvarez isn't exactly slow, but you can watch video of Alvarez running and see how he might become a bit of a slug as he gets older and adds a few pounds. His defensive issues at third are well documented, and he probably won't be playing there in six years. He has issues with strikeouts that could get worse if his bat slows down a bit, as well.

My point is not to write an obituary for Alvarez's career before it even starts. He's a great prospect. And with Scott Boras as his agent, he'd be very unlikely to sign an extension with the Bucs in the first place. My point is that Alvarez is pretty likely to do the most damage in the years in which the Pirates already control him, during which he'll be pretty cheap. And after that, it may well turn out to be in the Pirates' best interest to let him go. Assuming the Pirates keep Alvarez in the minors to start the year, they'll have him year-to-year through 2016, after which he'll be almost 30. I would not bet on Alvarez being a great player into his 30s.

Someone like Andrew McCutchen, who is an excellent athlete with a very well-rounded game, may well be a different story, and is probably exactly the sort of player the Pirates should at some point consider locking up long-term. If he continues to develop in the next two years or so, he's an outstanding bet to continue to be productive at, say, age 32. But players like him are the exception rather than the rule. Rarely is it a good idea to lock up defensively challenged sluggers like Alvarez; even more rarely is it a good idea to commit oneself to a big-money deal with a pitcher.

So I don't think the Pirates' willingness to lock up players to "marquee deals" should be that much of an issue, though Finder is clearly right that fans will make it one if the Pirates have any success. The main project should be developing enough players good enough to press the issue. And payroll will need to rise, but not primarily because of marquee contracts. Rather, young stars' salaries will rise as they become eligible for arbitration, and they will need to be complemented with free agents when they're ready to contend. Many fans surely will make "marquee deals" the issue, but reluctance to do those sorts of deals hasn't been the Pirates' problem in the past, and it's unlikely to be their problem in the future.

2010 Pirates Draft Preview

2010-02-05T06:24:12Z

2010 Pirates Draft Preview

Excellent preview of the upcoming draft from the Pirates' perspective. Includes detailed account of (Scouting Director) Greg Smith's drafting history, analysis of the Pirates' recent draft strategy, and speculation about what the Bucs might do in this year's draft.

Post-Gazette Attacks Bob Nutting in Open Letter

2010-02-05T00:25:17Z

More photos » Keith Srakocic - AP

10 days ago: Bob Nutting, right, the owner of baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, and Hall-of-Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski unveil a model of a statue of Mazeroski the team plans to erect near PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Friday, Jan. 29, 2010. The statue depicts Mazeroski as he rounds the bases after hitting the game-winning walk-off home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series to defeat the New York Yankees for the championship. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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The Post-Gazette takes more shots at the Pirates' ownership in this open letter to Bob Nutting:

Still, your family has had an ownership stake in the Pirates for 14 years and you've been the controlling owner since January 2007. Not once during the Nuttings' involvement has the team had a winning season. The Pirates' streak of 17 losing campaigns exceeds any run of futility in the history of professional sports. It is, no doubt, as frustrating for you as it is for the fans.

The difference between you and the other Pirates faithful, though, is you can do something about it.

Yeah! Yeah man yeah! 'Course, the Post-Gazette itself also used to have an ownership stake in the Pirates, so by their logic, they could have done something about it too. But instead, they wrote ridiculous puff pieces like this one about "exciting prospects" like never-was Victor Mercedes. And this one, an absurd Dave Littlefield hero piece that literally ends, "What if Littlefield hadn't done a good job?" And nearly every Q+A, which sought to convince the masses that whatever inane thing Littlefield had done that week was actually pure genius. Littlefield had the Pirates circling the drain then, but you never would have known it from the Post-Gazette. And yet now that the Pirates are actually trying to deal with the problems that Littlefield created for the Bucs when they were partially owned by the Post-Gazette, the P-G editorial board just can't bash them enough. More from today's editorial:

That change could come sooner if you were open to the reported offer by Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle to buy the baseball team. Your insistence that the Pirates are not for sale would seem to put an end to the whole idea. Let's hope not.

As a sports owner powerhouse, Lemieux-Burkle has been able to put the necessary money into the hockey team to keep top talent on the ice. To no one's surprise, the Pirates and Penguins are poles apart in terms of image, success and symbols of Pittsburgh.

I don't know anything about hockey, and even I know that's misleading. Lemieux and Burkle fielded a number of inexpensive and very bad teams before the NHL instituted a salary cap. But they built with young talent (just as the Pirates are currently doing), won the Sidney Crosby lottery, and got to compete on a level playing field once a salary cap was established.

Just to be clear, I would have no problem with Lemieux and Burkle buying the Pirates. I couldn't care less if Bob Nutting is in charge. But I also think it's pretty likely that Lemieux and Burkle would look around, assess the situation and allow their GM to keep doing what Neal Huntington is now doing, which is to rebuild the team from the ground up. Plowing a bunch of money into payroll right now, which is what so many fans seem to want Nutting to do, isn't Lemieux and Burkle's style, and it wouldn't be too likely to significantly help right now either. As owners, Lemieux and Burkle would probably be fine. But neither they nor Nutting deserve the breathless idiocy and sanctimony that have been coming from the Post-Gazette since the paper broke the news about Lemieux's interest in buying the team.

(Thanks to Novelist for jogging my memory about the Post-Gazette's former ownership role.)

UPDATE: This is pretty funny.

Was told there isn't much going on in the trade market for Ryan Doumit of the Pirates. But he's a...

2010-02-04T20:28:02Z

Was told there isn't much going on in the trade market for Ryan Doumit of the Pirates. But he's a name to watch during season.

Jon Paul Morosi (of FoxSports.com), via Twitter

Since we're all going a little stir-crazy waiting for spring training to start, how about some...

2010-02-04T20:23:04Z

Since we're all going a little stir-crazy waiting for spring training to start, how about some baseball? Spotted this clip over at Rum Bunter, and I had to share it. The video shows two prime candidates for our 2010 roster in action against Tampa Bay: Javier Lopez and Jon Van Every. The trick is that in the clip, Lopez (a left-handed pitcher) is playing right field, while Van Every (an outfielder) is pitching.

Maybe if Van Every can't crack our crowded outfield, he can sneak off with the job as our second lefty in the pen.

Pirates Sign Kevin Melillo, Billy Killian, Anthony Norman

2010-02-02T23:50:49Z

The Pirates have added a few minor league free agents, none of whom are likely to find their way to the majors:

-P- Second baseman Kevin Melillo was once a well-regarded prospect in Oakland's system, but he seemingly peaked at 23. He's a pretty good Class AA or Class AAA hitter, though, so he'll be in the high minors somewhere, perhaps at Altoona.

-P- Catcher Billy Killian is probably best known as a throw-in from the infamous (well, from a Rangers fan's perspective, anyway) trade in which the Padres got Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. He was a third-round pick in the 2004 draft, but he never really learned to, you know, hit, so he'll probably be a backup catcher in Class A somewhere.

-P- Outfielder Anthony Norman was an undrafted free agent by the Angels whose issues with hitting for average have been masked somewhat by the California League, where he's played the past couple years. I probably saw him play for a pretty lackluster Rancho Cucamonga team this year, but I don't remember him at all. He stole 36 bases in 2008, so he's probably pretty good defensively, and he'll take a walk, but that's about the extent of his abilities, and at 25, Class A+ is as high as he's likely to go.

Infielder Doug Bernier is listed too, but I wrote about him a few days ago.

Thanks to WTM.

Waiver Pickup: Gaby Hernandez?

2010-02-02T23:50:28Z

Please note: I'm just throwing this out there as a thought. I have no real information indicating that it might actually happen.

In order to clear a roster spot for recent signee Ryan Garko , the Seattle Mariners designated pitcher Gaby Hernandez for assignment. I'm curious what people here think about him as a possible waiver claim.

Hernandez is a right-handed starting pitcher, listed at 6'3" and 215 lbs, who will be 24 next season. 2009 was his first year on Seattle's 40-man roster, and as such he has two options remaining. He was originally a third-round pick by the Mets in the 2004 draft, out of a high school in Miami. The Mets traded him to the Marlins in a deal for Paul Lo Duca in 2005, and the Marlins passed him on to the Mariners in 2008 in exchange for Arthur Rhodes .

Hernandez had been fairly highly-regarded as a prospect throughout most of his minor league career. Baseball America ranked him between #3 and #5 in his teams' systems every year from 2005-2008, for example, and John Sickels listed him as the #37 pitching prospect in baseball as recently as 2008. His BA scouting reports across the years credit him with a low-90s fastball with sink, a good changeup, and a curve that's inconsistent but effective when it's on. Physically, he's described as athletic and durable, with a clean delivery. I've attached some film from a June 2009 game below, so you can judge for yourself.

Hernandez fell almost all the way off the prospect map after struggling in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, he surrendered 14 home runs in only 64 AAA innings, and was demoted back to AA to repeat the level, then capped off a disastrous season by struggling in the AFL. He made a second attempt at AAA in 2009 and held his own but did not excel, posting a 5.23 ERA and 1.41 WHIP as a member of Tacoma's rotation. HIs peripheral numbers (6.0 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9) suggest that he may have been undermined by some bad luck, with Fangraphs translating them into a FIP of 4.49. He's a flyball pitcher, accounting in part for the problems with the long ball, and he doesn't miss as many bats as you might expect for a player with his pedigree and scouting reports. His full minor league stats are here .

While Hernandez probably would not be ready for a ML role in 2010, I think he could be an interesting project to stash at Indy this year, and then provide a potential rotation option for 2011 if he shows progress, filling the Creech gap in front of our cattle call of promising A-ball arms. Huntington has shown some proclivity for making waiver claims on players from organizations we recently scouted prior to trades (Justin Thomas , Anthony Claggett , Steven Jackson , etc.) - perhaps he will do the same here. If so, hopefully he will turn out better than the last G. Hernandez we picked up .

What do you think? Yea, or nay? And if your response is affirmative, who should go from the roster in order to make room?

On Miguel Sano

2010-02-02T00:30:45Z

Vlad found a good quote from Neal Huntington on why the Pirates were unable to sign Miguel Sano, about whom there's been a lot of talk over the past few days. With all due respect, I think people who are still fixated on Sano specifically are missing the point. This is understandable, since the Pittsburgh media placed a great deal of emphasis on Sano, which they were right to do since he is a top talent and the Pirates apparently wanted him badly.

But still: let's say that Huntington's version of the story, in which he got screwed over by Sano's agent, is true. Heck, it probably is true. But Sano has hardly been the only Latin American amateur signed to a seven-figure bonus this offseason. The Yankees signed Gary Sanchez for $3 million, the Mariners got Guillermo Pimental for $2 million, the Red Sox got Jose Vincio for about $2 million, the Rangers signed Jurickson Profar and Luis Sardinas for $1.5 million each, and the Royals signed Cheslor Cuthbert for $1.2 million. The Pirates didn't sign any of those players, either. They were rumored to be in on Cuthbert, but they didn't get him.

In fact, we haven't yet heard of any major signings from Latin America this year. Not one. Now, there are a couple of mitigating factors: first, bonus figures on these players aren't always made public, so it could be that the paragraph after this one is much ado about nothing. Second, because of the risk involved in signing 16-year-olds, it might be a better strategy to give medium-sized bonuses to lots of players than to give out lots of money to just one. The mid-size bonuses the Pirates gave Exicardo Cayonez ($400,000), Jordaneli Carvajal ($350,000) and Jonathan Barrios ($250,000) in 2008 appear to be consistent with such a strategy, and I have no problems with what they did in Latin America in 2008.

What about 2009, though? So far we've heard about some Latin American signings. We've also heard about some creative talent finds in Lithuania, Australia and Taiwan. In total the Pirates made at least 43 international signings this year. But we haven't heard that any of them required much of an investment. Perhaps the Pirates have opened their wallets and we just haven't heard about it yet, but if not, then that's where I think the problem lies. Not with Sano specifically, but with the fact that the Pirates spent millions on this new Dominican academy and haven't taken significant (or, at least, obvious) steps this year to fill it with talent.

UPDATE: I just spoke to Dejan Kovacevic about this, and he told me he thinks the Pirates spent around their entire budget of $2 million, or maybe a bit more. There were 31 international signings, so that makes an average bonus of around $65,000, which means there are probably a couple signings in the range of Cayonez or Carvajal. We just don't know what they are yet.

Byung-Hyun Kim Un-Retires

2010-02-01T22:02:13Z

Byung-Hyun Kim Un-Retires

Byung-Hyun Kim, last seen sleeping his way through Spring Training with the Pirates in 2008, has come out of retirement to sign with the Giants.

Take your frustration level and multiply it by about million the day that I got the call that...

2010-02-01T21:58:29Z

Take your frustration level and multiply it by about million the day that I got the call that Miguel Sano was signing (with the Minnesota Twins). Quite simply, I didn't get it done because the player is not a Pittsburgh Pirate. I relied on the agent to live by his word that he would come back to us and give us a chance to make our final bid. That never happened.

We were the only team that made an offer to him on July 2, the first day he could sign. We were told that he wasn't ready to sign, and the agent would get back to us when he was ready to sign because there were questions about his age and his identity. We were told that, when those issues were resolved, he would be ready to negotiate. . . . His identity came back as accurate. . . . His age came back unresolved. We don't know for sure if he's 16 1/2 (years old).

We made another aggressive offer, bidding against ourselves, increasing our offer significantly. Once again, the agent said, 'I'm not ready to negotiate. When I am ready to negotiate, I'll come back to you.' I got a call with the team in Chicago that he had signed somewhere else. We never got a chance to offer our highest bid.

Neal Huntington, as quoted by Paul Ladewski in East Liverpool, OH's The Review

[Relatively clear and unambiguous remarks, worth noting given the frequent citation of the team's failure to sign Sano as an example of the franchise's cheapness. -Vlad]

Strange Comment About Jose Tabata

2010-01-31T22:31:41Z

At about 39:00 in the Neal Huntington interview on Rocco DeMaro's show yesterday, which MarkinDallas recently highlighted in a fanshot:

DeMaro: How old is he really?

Huntington (stammering a little): He's not 30, let's put it that way. I mean, our records, and the people with the Yankees, indicate that his age was legitimate. There's a lot of rumblings that he's really older than what he is. If he's 24, he's still a young player with a great upside. In our minds, we don't really care. We know we've got a good player that's on the verge of the major leagues. It's not like we're talking about a guy that's on the verge of being 30.

Tabata is supposed to be 21, and the idea that his power will eventually come along is predicated on the idea that he's been very young for his leagues. If he's 24, that's a big problem. This isn't the first time anyone has wondered about Tabata's age, but Huntington almost sounds here like he has accepted that Tabata is actually much older.

Community Projection: Lastings Milledge

2010-01-31T22:04:39Z

More photos » Keith Srakocic - AP

5 months ago: Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Lastings Milledge misses a ball as he dives for a hit by Philadelphia Phillies' Eric Bruntlett in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. The Pirates won 6-4. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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Type your guesses about Lastings Milledge's 2010 average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in the comments below. As a bonus, guess the number of times the Pittsburgh press will describe Milledge as "immature." Any registered user can join in, so if you aren't registered, feel free to sign up. We'll compile the results into an overall community projection once we're done.

Andrew McCutchen's projection is still open.

Here are Milledge's career stats.

Your dreams of pretending to be Brendan Donnelly will remain unfulfilled

2010-01-31T06:56:32Z

Your dreams of pretending to be Brendan Donnelly will remain unfulfilled

Video game blog Kotaku writes on how replacement players from the 1994 strike, such as recent Pirate acquisition Brendan Donnelly, are still essentially barred from MLB video games.

What Kind of Owner Would Mario Lemieux Make?

2010-01-30T21:19:26Z

More photos » Paul Sancya - AP

8 months ago: Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux answers a question at a news conference before the start of Game 1 between the Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL Stanley Cup finals hockey series in Detroit, Saturday, May 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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I'm sure many of you know quite a lot about the Penguins, but this post is directed toward readers like myself who might not. I didn't know enough to put into perspective this morning's Post-Gazette story about Pens co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle offering to buy the Pirates, so I asked someone who does: "FrankD," who runs SB Nation's Pensburgh. Here are his answers to my questions:

BD: Is it correct that the Penguins' team salary was, for the most part, below the NHL average during the years between Lemieux and Burkle's purchase of the team and the NHL going to a salary cap? If so, why was this? Were there hockey reasons? Financial reasons?

FrankD: At the time Burkle and Lemieux's purchase in 1999, they were definitely operating on a low budget. When Lemieux came out of retirement in 2000, they couldn't afford to keep certain guys around. More specifically, Jaromir Jagr. He was sent packing off to Washington, although there was a lot of speculation at the time that Jagr was all for testing the free agent market. He had a nice payday in DC but by that time it didn't matter much for the Pens. There's no way they could've matched his ridiculous seven-year, $77 million deal. That season they failed to make the playoffs and had to cut the salary of Alexei Kovalev and Robert Lang as well. So yeah, the salary was an issue at the time. I wish I could give you exact numbers that the Pens had to work with at the time, but I don't really know what they were. All I know is that this looked liked the beginning of the end for them until Lemieux ultimately resurrected them with the acquisition of draft picks, which ultimately brought in the young, talented group of guys playing for the Pens right now.

BD: In your opinion, how would Lemieux do as the owner of a team like the Pirates, given that Major League Baseball does not have a cap?

FrankD: It's hard to say. I don't think he'd step up and try to buy big-time players along the likes of George Steinbrenner or anything, but the guy hates to lose. But to be honest I don't think Lemieux's all that savvy when it comes to baseball knowledge (I could be wrong of course, but I'm going to at least believe I'm right), so chances are it's going to really come down to the Pirates' GM presenting the case for certain players. With the Penguins, GM Ray Shero makes a lot of go-get-em decisions when it comes to locking up players for the future or signing some low-key, high-contributing players. Overall I just get the impression that he's intent on winning, but given unlimited spending potential I don't think he would triple the payroll or anything.

BD: Given that the Pirates are a young organization in the process of rebuilding, do you think Lemieux would be likely to want to continue that process, or would he want to make a splash right away by acquiring veteran talent?

FrankD: Again, hard to say. If anything the guy has proven that he isn't afraid to take on challenges, as seen with his purchase of the Penguins during the darkest days and ultimately raising them to the level of champions. But if the structure of the Penguins will reflect on the Pirates in any way than I see it going down like this: Have a core of young, talented players and find a way to keep them around for a few years. Experiment with them in the majors as much as possible and keep them in the mix, gaining experience along the way. Maybe they'll shuttle up and down for a season or two, but it's important to get them into major league action. Meanwhile, bring in a veteran or two or three and have them sort of act like a player coach to the younger guys. Little things like rehashing fundamentals down to perfecting things like eating healthy on the road (this is something Gary Roberts was famous for during his time in Pittsburgh) can do wonders for the future of a younger player. If they can find that young, talented player to build around then the formula will be even more successful.

BD: Judging from the way Pittsburgh sports fans have responded to Lemieux as a player and as an executive, what effect do you think he might have on the Pirates' image if he were the public face of the team?

FrankD: It definitely couldn't hurt. I'm sure you know more than anyone else that the Pirates have been the butt end of jokes lately because they are seen as the red-headed stepchild in a City of Champions. Lemieux's position as owner of the Penguins brought with it tremendous respect for the guy, not just as a player but as a philanthropist and cancer survivor, and I don't think that sort of thing will wash off easily with a trip across town.

BD: How have Lemieux and Burkle handled actual hockey decisions (that is, decisions about player acquisitions, etc.)? Do they mostly trust those decisions to others? The results they've gotten speak for themselves, but have those been the result of luck, sound planning, or both?

FrankD: I can't say for sure, but I really don't think Burkle has much to say in terms of transactions. GM Ray Shero is the one who handles the hockey transactions and such. In the past there have been instances where it was suggested Lemieux said things like, "I want so and so on this team, make it happen," and then Shero goes out and makes it happen. There have been other instances where Shero allegedly approached Lemieux and said, "We need this guy and here's why" and Lemieux said, "Do it" (paraphrasing, of course). It strikes me as a team effort between Lemieux and Shero, but again I don't see what goes on behind closed doors.

Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle Make Offer to Buy Pirates

2010-01-30T06:12:46Z

Bob Nutting says no. I can't imagine the amount of tooth-gnashing this is going to inspire. This is way out of the realm of my expertise, but: I won't be one of the tooth-gnashers, because I suspect that as the Pirates' owner Lemieux would run up against many of the same challenges Bob Nutting faces.

Mets Sign Josh Fogg

2010-01-30T02:52:54Z

Mets Sign Josh Fogg

It's a minor league deal, but Fogg handled himself decently last year in Colorado despite having all kinds of problems the year before that. Citi Field isn't necessarily the haven for mediocre fly-ball pitchers it might appear to be, but Fogg still did well to join up with such an injury-plagued pitching staff. Good luck to him.