Pirates admit ‘rumblings’ about Tabata’s age

Write it down,in your book
Pennsylvania 25-OH!-OH!-OH!

His birth certificate and passport say outfielder Jose Tabata was born Aug. 12, 1988, in Anzoategui, Venezuela. Yet, during a recent radio interview, general manager Neal Huntington admitted there are “a lot of rumblings” that Tabata might actually be in his mid-20s.

In Latin America, record-keeping can be spotty, especially when it comes to youngsters with excellent baseball skills. The New York Yankees investigated Tabata’s background in 2005 and, satisfied he truly was 16, signed him as an undrafted free agent.

The Pirates are not publicly disputing Tabata’s age, and yet ...

“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.”

Lemieux, Penguins co-owner offer to buy Pirates

Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, co-owners of the Penguins, recently made an unsolicited offer to buy the Pirates in a face-to-face meeting with that team’s owner, Bob Nutting, but the offer did not receive a response.

Sources on the Penguins’ side last night described the offer made by Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle as “very serious,” without divulging a dollar figure, and said they remain interested in following up.

The Pirates characterized the matter far differently.

Mr. Nutting, the only person in the meeting to comment on it, was adamant that no serious discussion about a sale had taken place. And he firmly reiterated that the Pirates are not for sale.

“Honestly, I’m not sure there’s a situation to describe,” Mr. Nutting said last night when asked about the meeting. “I like Ron. He’s an extremely competent businessman and deal-maker, and we’ve talked about a wide range of topics. But I think the simplest way to say this is that there never has been a substantive or formal offer for the team. The team is not for sale.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10030/1032299-63.stm#ixzz0e7Mt2klH

Yellow and Black Unite! NUT!

Keith Law: Top 100 prospects

NO.  PLAYER
1 Jason Heyward, OF, ATL
2 Stephen Strasburg, RHP, WAS
3 Carlos Santana, C, CLE
4 Buster Posey, C, SFO
5 Mike Stanton, OF, FLA
6 Desmond Jennings, OF, TAM
7 Martin Perez, LHP, TEX
8 Dustin Ackley, CF, SEA
9 Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX
10 Jesus Montero, C, NYY
11 Brian Matusz, LHP, BAL
12 Starlin Castro, SS, CHC
13 Neftali Feliz, RHP, TEX
14 Domonic Brown, RF, PHI
15 Wade Davis, RHP, TAM
16 Aroldis Chapman, LHP, CIN
17 Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, TAM
18 Casey Kelly, RHP, BOS
19 Aaron Hicks, RHP, MIN
20 Brett Wallace, 1B, TOR
21 Logan Morrison, 1B, FLA
22 Tyler Matzek, LHP, COL
23 Jenrry Mejia, RHP, NYM
24 Michael Taylor, OF, OAK
25 Zach Britton, LHP, BAL

Scouting reports for the top 25 should be free, I think.

Pirates plan to add Mazeroski statue to PNC Park

Screw the B of the Bang...it’s the D of the Double play.

The Pirates will unveil the plan for a statue of Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski this weekend at PirateFest, according to multiple sources.

The statue, PNC Park’s fourth, will be added during the coming season, which will represent the 50th anniversary of Mazeroski’s winning home run in the 1960 World Series.

Planning for the statue has been in the works—quietly—for several months, but neither a design nor a location has been determined.

Mazeroski and other members of that championship team will be on hand for the PirateFest activities at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, including the unveiling of the design that could happen Friday night in front of season-ticket holders.

The three current statues honor Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Honus Wagner. There also is a Ralph Kiner memorial inside the stadium of just his hands gripping a bat, as well as several smaller monuments to players who were part of the city’s Negro Leagues teams.

P-G: Pirates owner Q&A

Bob Nutting speaks!

Well, what I really believe is that we’ve put in place an orderly, systematic plan, and the last thing we can do is divert from that plan or change it, as I’ve seen done before in Pittsburgh and with other clubs. I believe that the decisions being made are giving the team the best opportunity to compete this year, as well as going forward. I don’t want to do anything that handicaps that.

Pirates, Dotel agree to year, option

The Turning Point? - The generations change. But the damn choices remain the same!

The Pirates and free-agent reliever Octavio Dotel agreed to terms on a one-year contract plus a club option for 2011, a source directly involved in the talks told the Post-Gazette tonight.

The agreement is pending a physical scheduled for tomorrow in Pittsburgh and, if Dotel clears, he could sign by the afternoon.

Financial terms were not immediately available, but Dotel made $6 million with the Chicago White Sox last year, and his new salary is expected to be about half that.

Still, it should qualify as the Pirates’ most expensive free-agent signing this winter, easily topping outfielder Ryan Church’s guaranteed $1.5 million. Their most expensive acquisition was the trade for second baseman Akinori Iwamura, who will make $4.85 million.

Pirates claim outfielder Brandon Jones

From the announcement:

The addition of Jones officially puts the Pirates’ 40-man roster at 40 players while the club awaits confirmation between Major League Baseball and The Player’s Association on one of Pittsburgh’s recently-announced free agent signings.

Can anybody translate that from baseball-to-English? Right now, the team’s 40-man roster shows 41 players…

Chass: WEINER WHACKS MARLINS; PIRATES NEXT?

Kudos to Murray’s headline writer.

No other Florida-like agreements have been reached and none apparently will be sought until after April 1, the deadline for revenue-sharing recipients to report on their use of the 2009 money. But the Pirates, the Rays, the Padres and the Royals remain in the union’s sights, according to union and management representatives.

Weiner, who succeeded Donald Fehr last month as the union’s executive director, declined to discuss the matter Saturday, saying he had said all he wanted to say in a statement the union issued last week.

Rob Manfred, the chief management labor executive, declined to confirm the identity of teams that have been discussed with the union but said, “We’ve had more conversations than just about the Marlins. It’s not a Marlins-only issue.”

Baseball Picture of the Day: Caption this Bathroom

30 days! That’s, like, close to an average month!

Today’s image:

It’s a Bathroom in Lakeland. You can no doubt come up with a witty comment about how it could be said the Pirates have been in the toilet for awhile....

Creative Commons:

Tomorrow’s Image: Wolverine! No, not Hugh Jackman…

Pirates trade Bixler, sign Donnelly

The Pirates have traded Brian Bixler to the Indians for Jesus Brito in an exchange of infielders, clearing space on the full 40-man roster for the signing of free-agent reliever Brendan Donnelly, which was made official this afternoon after he passed his physical.

Ding, dong, the Bix is dead!

Kyodo: Masumi Kuwata’s dad killed in house fire

Sad news for the one-time Pittsburgh Pirate, longtime Yomiuri Giant.

The father of Masumi Kuwata, a former pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants, died Sunday in a residential fire in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, police said.

The body of Taiji Kuwata, 67, was recovered from the burned-out site of his home, they said.

MLB: Pirates, reliever Donnelly reach deal

The gold and black Donnelly.

The Pirates agreed to terms on a one-year Major League contract with free-agent right-handed reliever Brendan Donnelly on Saturday, a Major League source confirmed to MLB.com.

ESPN.com is reporting that the Major League deal—still pending a physical—gives Donnelly a base salary of $1.5 million, with incentives that could kick it up to nearly $3 million. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the signing.

The Pirates have gone to work recently in hopes of addressing holes in the bullpen. They signed D.J. Carrasco to a Minor League deal Saturday and are said to be closing in on acquiring Octavio Dotel.

After posting a 1.75 ERA in 24 games with the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate at the start of the 2009 season, Donnelly signed as a free agent with the Marlins in July and finished 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA and two saves.

MLB: Pirates closing in on deal with Church

Intelligent design? Church of the Pastafarianism rulz.

The Pirates may soon have a new option in right field, as FOXSports.com reported on Monday that the club is “closing in” on acquiring free-agent outfielder Ryan Church.

The Web site, citing multiple Major League sources, added that it’s possible a deal could be announced within the next few days, but one source said “steps in the process are still remaining.”

Church batted .273 with four homers and 40 RBIs in 359 at-bats over 111 games with the Mets and Braves in 2009. Swapped for Jeff Francoeur on July 10, Church hit .260 in his final 44 games of the season in Atlanta, then the Braves non-tendered him in December.

The Pirates have Andrew McCutchen entrenched in center field, and in-season acquisition Lastings Milledge played mostly left field down the stretch. Church would likely get the majority of his at-bats as a right fielder, where Brandon Moss and Garrett Jones also get playing time.

The 31-year-old left-handed hitter has spent significant time in all three outfield positions but has seen the most action (210 of his 481 games as an outfielder) in right field. For his six-year career—the first four of which were spent with the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals—Church has hit .272 with 51 homers .

Pirates focus on Dotel, dim outlook on Ankiel

The Pirates have zeroed in on free-agent closer Octavio Dotel, according to multiple sources yesterday, but they might be looking away from outfielder Rick Ankiel.

Dotel is one of several relievers the team has offered a contract, but he is atop their wish list. He is one of only three free-agent closers left, all represented by agent Dan Horwits, along with Jose Valverde and Kevin Gregg. The Pirates made an initial inquiry months ago on Valverde, perhaps the best of the group, but were turned off by the price. They also asked about Gregg in December, but that, according to a source, went little further.

Bert Blyleven staying positive on Hall of Fame prospects

Blyleven, 58, failed today for the 13th time to receive the necessary number of votes in annual balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America and thus will be on the outside looking in again — or more likely, sitting in a broadcast booth, working and circling for the Twins — when Andre Dawson is enshrined July 25 in a sunny, Sunday ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. Dawson’s name was marked on 420 of the 539 ballots, 15 more than the 75 percent (405) he needed to gain election. Blyleven, in his strongest showing yet, got 400 votes for 74.2 percent.

“I’ve got to stay positive with it,” Blyleven told me when I phoned him shortly after the results were announced. (Full disclosure: I have voted for the Hall since 1991 and have put an X next to Blyleven’s name since he became eligible in 1998.) “It’s come up a long way, so that’s very nice. … Only five votes short. There’s not much you can say.”

Then Blyleven cracked wise: “Well, you can string ‘em up so they never vote again.”

Anyone want to forward him Marriotti’s address?

Correcting History

In July of 2006, a man named Joseph Preston “Pete” Hill, born in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1880, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Among numerous accolades, Pete was called, “one of the greatest line-drive hitters of his era.”
[...]
His induction ceremony was witnessed only by strangers present to share the glory of some other inductee. The few die-hard aficionados who recognized his achievements, despite knowing little of his personal life were more than a little puzzled and began to ask questions.

Their research was extremely thorough and led to a remarkable discovery: the man inducted in 2006, indeed was “Pete” Hill, but his real name was John, not Joseph, his birthdate was not 1880 and he was not born in Pittsburgh.

Pirates: Money’s being spent strategically - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Are the Pirates just selling another way of finishing at the bottom of the standings? I guess that depends on the quality of they scouting department.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the owners trying to make a profit,” said baseball analyst Gary Gillette. “It’s in the time-honored tradition of American capitalism for people who run businesses to not tell people what they’re really trying to do, which is to make money.

“On the other hand, if what the Pirates are doing is hoping to be competitive without ever really taking a chance, that’s taking advantage of the fans.”

Gillette is editor of “The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia” and author of “Big League Ballparks.” He also is former co-chair of the Society for American Baseball Research’s business of baseball committee

“While no one will say it, what the owners of (small-revenue) clubs have concluded is, they can cash the revenue-sharing checks, keep expenses low and make a guaranteed profit every year,” Gillette said.

BDD/Golebiewski: What Happened to Ian Snell?

Really nice detailed look at the travails of a pitcher I’ve always liked, with this concise summary:

If Ian Snell is to re-emerge as a valuable starting pitcher, he is going to have to make wholesale changes. His passive, pound-the-outside-corner fastball philosophy has resulted in plenty of crooked numbers for the opposing lineup.

Snell never handled left-handers particularly well, but it seems as though righties have caught on to the concept that they’re rarely going to get an inside heater. Essentially, Snell works one side of the plate against same-handed batters. That’s an awfully predictable pitching pattern. It seems like Snell has strayed far from having a purpose behind every pitch he throws.

Jeff Pearlman Blog: Xavier Nady & Damaso Marte to the Yankees

Swing Tabata, Tabata, Tabata!

All that being said, I want to make a point that I consider, without question, indisputable: Pittsburgh’s July 26, 2008 trade of Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Yankees for Daniel McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens and Ross Ohlendorf was absolutely, positively terrible. A horrible swap for the Pirates, sans debate.

The Pittsburgh loyalist—an odd breed who gets punched in the head repeatedly (by his loved one, no less) while screaming, “More! More! More!” looks at this deal 1 1/2 years later and says, “Not bad.” Nady, after all, has been injury prone and, when healthy, only moderately productive. And, before his dazzling World Series showing of two months ago, Marte was pretty much a Yankee bust—a 5.40 ERA in 25 games last season, a 9.45 ERA in 21 games this season.

So what did the Pirates receive for two craved medallions? Daniel McCutcheon, who at best will be a fourth starter for a bad team. Jeff Karstens, a non-roster invitee for 2010 who will likely wind up in Triple A for somebody. Ross Ohlendorf, a No. 5 starter or long reliever for 90 percent of Major League teams (but, in Pittsburgh, a key component of the rotation). And, last but not least, the mighty Jose Tabata, a 21-year-old outfielder and the key to the deal for the Pirates. Tabata’s skills have beeCookie+Stealer+AA0911_0053n compared to those of Manny Ramirez, and he was Baseball America’s 12th best prospect in the Eastern League. But, of late, Tabata has been, well, mediocre. In 93 games split between Double A and Triple A last year, he hit a whopping five home runs, to go with 35 RBI and a .293 average. To suggest Tabata has fallen off the Top Prospect list is going too far. But in Pedro Alvarez, the Pirates have a can’t-miss slugger just waiting for a chance. Tabata can miss. An increasing number of people seem to think he will.

Pirates, new lefty Lopez hope to fill mutual needs

The Pirates yesterday signed free-agent reliever Javier Lopez to a one-year, $775,000 contract, thus raising the number of left-handed relievers on their 40-man roster ... from zero to one.

MLB: Q&A with Neal Huntington

Mental wherewith-alvarez and other goodies.

jvwill: I am sure finding a closer can be a tough thing. To be a closer how much is having the right physical tools and right stuff on the mound compared to how much do you look for someone having the right mental attitude?

Huntington: Closing is a balance of physical tools and mental wherewithal. Some setup men have dominant stuff but struggle to get the final outs. Some closers may not have dominant stuff but find a way to get the final outs. Unlike front-line starters or quality everyday positions players, closers come from many different places and it is tough to predict success with most closers. Similar to other relievers and kickers in football, closers tend to have a limited shelf life. History has not been kind to teams in markets like Pittsburgh that have invested heavily in a closer. As a result, we will build depth, give ourselves options and see who steps up to take the ball and get the final outs in our close wins.

dewars: How is Pedro Alvarez progressing with the Pirates’ conditioning program?

Huntington: Pedro is putting in quality work and is making solid progress. He is in probably the best shape he has been in as a Pirate, but work still remains.

showwn: How difficult is it to make moves/decisions you know will be unpopular with fans while believing wholeheartedly that they will eventually benefit them and the franchise?

Huntington: Making a move that we believe will benefit the organization despite that move likely being unpopular is actually not that tough, because it is the right thing to do. I did not come to Pittsburgh to be popular; I came to Pittsburgh to build a consistent championship caliber organization and to give the fans of Pittsburgh what they deserve—a winning baseball team in one of the best ballparks in the world. Thank you all for your questions today, and Spring Training will be here before we know it! Happy Holidays to you all.

Sickels: Pittsburgh Pirates Top 20 Prospects for 2010

1) Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Grade A: Bat looks excellent. Even if he moves to first base, his bat will be good enough for him to be an All-Star. Upside: David Ortiz.

2) Jose Tabata, OF, Grade B
3) Tony Sanchez, C, Grade B
4) Zack Von Rosenberg, RHP, Grade B-
5) Tim Alderson, RHP, Grade B-
6) Brad Lincoln, RHP, Grade C+
7) Chase D’arnaud, INF, Grade C+
8) Starling Marte, OF, Grade C+
9) Rudy Owens, LHP, Grade C+
10) Ronald Uviedo, RHP, Grade C+

If Pedro Alvarez gets anywhere close to David Ortiz I will sponsor his BB-Ref page.

My Life in Sports: The Bob Markus HOF Ballot

27 writers didn’t vote for Roberto Clemente in 1973...Bob Markus was one.

As Frank Sinatra memorably crooned: Regrets, I’ve had a few. One of them is that I’m probably the only baseball writer who didn’t vote for Roberto Clemente when he first appeared on the Hall-of-Fame ballot. Since Clemente, obviously, was one of the greatest right fielders of all time, that, on the face of it, appears to be outrageous. No one admired the Puerto Rican born Pittsburgh outfielder more than I did. On the one occasion I met him, in the dressing room after his second home run in two days gave the Pirates a 2-1 victory over Baltimore in the seventh game of the 1971 world series, I found him cooperative, thoughtful, and surprisingly articulate in his second language.

What, then, was my problem? It was this: Clemente was killed in a plane crash while on a mission of mercy after the 1972 season. There was an immediate stampede to place his name on the ballot, despite the rule that a player must wait for five years after his retirement before being eligible for the Hall-of-Fame. My argument was that if we bent the rule for Clemente, there might come a day when we would bend it for someone not so worthy. Besides, as far as I was concerned, Clemente was already in a higher Hall of Fame and he didn’t need any writers’ votes to validate it. I intended all along to vote for him five years later and I did write his name in on my ballot that year. Which was my second mistake, although not one that I regret.

...Last year I voted for seven players, including Harold Baines. I admitted that I ws only voting for him to help him get the 5 per cent he needed to stay on the ballot. He did that, but from now on he’s on his own. As the Hall of Fame is now constituted I don’t think he belongs there. At some future date, who knows. I voted for only five players this year, finally deciding that as long as Mark McGwire’s name is on the ballot it’s not up to me to rule on his character. So he got one of my votes. Lee Smith, the big, hard throwing relief pitcher, whose 478 saves rank third alltime, also gets an “x” next to his name. He definitely belongs. I voted for Andre Dawson, who captured 67 per cent of the votes last year and is the leading returning vote getter, and for Pitcher Bert Blyleven, who got nearly 63 per cent in his 12th try. Obviously his time is running out.

I considered Martinez and probably will vote for him some day, but all his numbers were accrued as a designated hitter and I have a problem with that. Finally, I voted for Alomar. I hope I don’t regret it.

AZ Central/Piecoro: D-backs Checked In On Valverde, Targeting Johnson

Not the Big Unit:

2B Kelly Johnson appears to be the Diamondbacks’ top target at the moment. We still think they’d end up dealing IF Augie Ojeda if they get Johnson, in part because the savings on Ojeda would help off-set the cost of signing Johnson. They also think IF Tony Abreu can handle the utility infield role.

With the obligatory Pirates reference:

As for RHP Matt Capps, Diamondbacks people expect him to require a two-year deal and they don’t sound likely to give it to him.

Bucco Fans: Pirates made a mistake letting Capps go

Pirates continue phogbound…

Today the Pirates made a shocking move by non-tendering Matt Capps, making Capps a free agent.  Capps was in his second year of arbitration, and due for a raise over his $2.42 M contract in 2009.  He was pretty much guaranteed this raise, even though he was coming off a year in which he posted a 5.80 ERA in 54.1 innings, with a 3-8 record, and five blown saves.

I’m not going to say that Capps wasn’t bad in 2009, because he clearly was.  I am going to say that it was a mistake for the Pirates to non-tender Capps.  The Pirates have admitted in the past that relievers are the hardest to predict in terms of year to year performance.  I feel that the 2009 season for Capps was a clear indication that this is true.

In 2007 and 2008, Capps combined for a 2.58 ERA in 132.2 innings, with a 0.995 WHIP, a 7.0 K/9, a 1.4 BB/9, and a 0.7 HR/9.  Looking at those two seasons, and looking at his 2009 season, it’s quite obvious that the 2009 season was a fluke.  At the end of the season, Capps claimed his struggles were a result of getting away from relying on his fastball, and focusing more on his slider.  A quick look at the FanGraphs Pitch Type numbers will show that this was happening.  Capps threw a fastball around 78-79 percent of the time in 2007 and 2008.  He threw a slider between 14.8 and 17.6 percent of the time.  In 2009 he only threw a fastball 68.7 percent of the time, and threw a slider 25 percent of the time.  The question of whether that was the source of his problems remains to be answered, but it’s something the Pirates definitely should have tested next year.

SI/Andrecheck: If you wait too long to sign free agents, you may be waiting forever

While waiting for a team’s young nucleus to come together before adding free agents seems like a good strategy, teams that adhere to this can get stuck in a perpetual cycle of rebuilding. Huntington’s Pirates have been in that rut for the past 17 years. It costs a lot of money to retain decent players with six or more years of MLB service. However, it’s difficult to construct even a .500 team with only young players ineligible for free agency. Hence a team with a rebuilding mantra may be constantly letting free agents go and avoiding major signings because they are not one or two players away from playoff contention.

Interesting take.

MLB.com: Bucs nearing deal for infielder Crosby

A source with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed that the Pirates are close to coming to an agreement with free-agent shortstop Bobby Crosby. Nothing, though, has been made official yet.
...
Until now, Crosby has spent his entire career in Oakland, which selected him in the first round of the 2001 First-Year Players Draft. Crosby was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2004, despite hitting .239, and he has reached a higher batting average only once in the past five seasons.

Crosby is coming off a season in which he appeared in only 97 games while battling injuries. The infielder finished the year hitting .223 with six homers and 29 RBIs.

Last season was also Crosby’s final season of a five-year contract that paid a total of $12.75 million. He pocketed $5.25 million in 2009, but isn’t likely to approach that salary figure in any deal this winter.

PIT Post-Gazette: Possible return of Nady among recent inquiries

The Pirates have made initial inquiries on free-agent outfielder Xavier Nady, as well as reliever Ron Villone and shortstop Bobby Crosby, though none of those inquiries is known to have moved past that stage. In the cases of Nady and Villone, management likely will wait until closer to spring training in search of the best value.

Multiple sources confirmed the inquiries.

Nady, 31, was a popular, productive player for the Pirates in 2007-08 before being sent to the New York Yankees in general manager Neal Huntington’s best trade, the one that netted Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Tabata, Daniel McCutchen and Jeff Karstens. The Yankees also got Damaso Marte.
...
The New York Mets, another of Nady’s former employers, also have inquired, as have the St. Louis Cardinals.

Villone, who will turn 40 next month, is one of many left-handers the Pirates have contacted. Both players are represented by super-agent Scott Boras, as are two others in whom the Pirates have inquired, outfielder Rick Ankiel and first baseman Hank Blalock. Of these, the team’s current interest in Ankiel is the highest.

MLB: Pirates: Coonelly talks Hot Stove, more

Do you have a reaction to Jayson Stark’s article about the amount of money the Pirates receive before selling a single ticket?

Coonelly: I have always enjoyed Jayson’s writing on baseball and the humor that he typically provides with his stories. I have not known Jayson to be focused on business writing, including the business of baseball. Having said that, the numbers that Jayson speculates are closer to reality than numbers thrown about by others such as Bill Madden and Scott Boras. Of course, if one compares what a club receives from [MLB’s] central fund and from the local revenue-sharing program to the club’s payroll, they are missing the fact that a club’s payroll constitutes only part of its player-related costs.

The millions of dollars that a club spends in the Draft and in free agents and international signings, the millions that a club spends to support its entire Minor League system, the millions a club spends on its Major League team operations such as travel, medical expenses, are all over and above what is spent on a Major League payroll. A club like ours pays considerably more in player-related expenses than even the inflated numbers that several have speculated we receive in revenue sharing and from the central fund.

And, of course, all of this is before considering all of a club’s other expenses such as stadium operations, front office, marketing, community and other expenses. In short, the effort by some to shift the debate from the real competitive balance issues in the game to assertions that low-revenue clubs are not properly utilizing revenue sharing receipts is a canard. I can only speak for the Pirates, but we utilize all of our revenues in an effort to build a winning baseball club by investing in all aspects of the acquisition and development of players.

Thanks to Nick P.

BA: Pittsburgh Pirates Top 10 Prospects

1.  Pedro Alvarez, 3b
2.  Jose Tabata, of
3.  Tony Sanchez, c
4.  Brad Lincoln, rhp
5.  Chase D’Arnaud, ss/2b
6.  Starling Marte, of
7.  Tim Alderson, rhp
8.  Zack Von Rosenberg, rhp
9.  Rudy Owens, lhp
10.  Gorkys Hernandez, of