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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Pirates: Huntington answers fans’ questions

Great leader! Great energy! Great Cesar Gutierrez’s Ghost!

Are we going to try to re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz and Jason Michaels? hey both are great leaders and brought great energy to this team last year.

We certainly would like to bring Doug and Jason back to the Pirates, Jeff. They did provide quality leadership and energy, but it will come down to finding a common ground on role, playing time and salary. We have talked with both players about exploring the free-agent market, determining their market value, seeing how it compares with what we have to offer and seeing if there is a deal for them to remain Pirates.

What are your evaluations and expectations of the players received in the Xavier Nady and Jason Bay trades now that a few months have passed?

Justin, we continue to be enthusiastic about the players we received in the two trades. We acknowledged from the outset that not all eight players would live up to expectations, but we need to caution against jumping to quick judgments (positive or negative). We did not make the trades looking for immediate returns; rather we made the trades to positively impact the quality and depth of our system currently and in the future, and we believe we have accomplished that goal. Our challenge going forward is to find ways to help these players achieve their potential.

Repoz Posted: November 26, 2008 at 10:23 PM | 18 comment(s)
  Related News: GeneralPittsburgh

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   1. ckash  Posted: November 26, 2008 at 11:04 PM (#3016726)
We have talked with both players about exploring the free-agent market, determining their market value, seeing how it compares with what we have to offer and seeing if there is a deal for them to remain Pirates.


I translate that as "If no other team thinks they are worthy of a major-league deal we will gladly welcome them back", which I think a Pirate fan would find disturbing.
   2. Greg K : President of the Shooty Fanclub  Posted: November 26, 2008 at 11:43 PM (#3016737)
I know it's not true, but from reading that response I get the vague inkling that he's not entirely sure who he got in return for Bay and Nady (and Marte).

He could have at least mentioned one by name.
   3. The Joe Mauer Power Hour (kj)  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 12:19 AM (#3016743)
He could have at least mentioned one by name.

I think he knows his audience. A lot of MLB.com readers wouldn't have a clue who the players are anyway.
   4. WTM  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 01:25 AM (#3016750)
The intern who drafted Huntington's answers may not know who they are, either.
   5. Russ  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 07:41 AM (#3016793)
I don't know... I think the wishy-washosity of his answer about the prospects is that he doesn't want to slight one or the other and doesn't want to put undue pressure on the guys who really struggled at the end of last year (i.e. LaRoche the Younger). He can't win with that question in specific... if he says LaRoche will rebound, then people will say he's being unrealistic or, if LaRoche doesn't rebound, he looks like he doesn't know what he's doing. If he says he's worried about Andy, then he doesn't have confidence in his prospects.

It was a loaded question and there really wasn't a great way to answer it without much waffling.
   6. Babe Adams  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 11:08 AM (#3016835)
I think the answer might reflect the bull that's been slung by Pirate management for the last 10 years or so. There's always been a list of 8 hitters and five pitchers, at all levels of the organization, who would develop to the maximum, get together in Pittsburgh, and contend 3 years down the road. Huntington has to get the message out that development is not a sure thing, so you have to get forty prospects together.
   7. Sidd [bleeping] Finch (SuperBaes)  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 11:09 AM (#3016838)
I translate that as "If no other team thinks they are worthy of a major-league deal we will gladly welcome them back", which I think a Pirate fan would find disturbing.

Only if "disturbing" = "expected".

This whole article was plain vanilla GM-speak. There was absolutely no commitment to anything, including guaranteeing a spot in the rotation for Paul Maholm or Ian Snell's contract. I do like how he admitted Neil Walker's future without saying that that future might be to spin another trade or as expendability of another 3B, such as LaRoche. Most surprised at the blurb under the photo about Walker's defense, which I then looked up, and am pleasantly surprised by.
   8. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad)  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 12:08 PM (#3016850)
I wouldn't hate it if they brought Dougie Ballgame back. He's not an ideal fit, but it is nice having some OBP on the bench.
   9. WTM  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 12:40 PM (#3016863)
I DID like this part:

As evidenced by our recent signings of a player from South Africa and two players from India, we are expanding our worldwide scouting operations. We have recently hired or are in conversations to hire scouts to help us cover Europe, Asia, Australia, Taiwan, Korea and several other countries. Additionally, Rene Gayo, our director of Latin American scouting, continues to make inroads in the lower-profile Latin American countries to help us acquire talent across the world.

In connection with the last sentence, the Pirates HAVE gotten some interesting prospects out of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Panama in the last few years.
   10. haven  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 04:43 PM (#3016930)
Bringing back Menky and/or Michaels if no one else wants them doesn't bother me. Someone has to be on the Pirates next year.

Huntington said what I would have expected him to say answering fans questions. Some here seem to have a problem with that.... I am not sure why.
   11. WTM  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 09:37 PM (#3016971)
I'm not sure why some here insist on believing that it's actually Huntington answering the questions.
   12. CW uses it as a stick to beat someone with  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 09:58 PM (#3016977)
I'm not sure why some here insist on believing that it's actually Huntington answering the questions.


Uh... for those of us who maybe aren't as plugged in as you, why shouldn't we believe that?
   13. greenback  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 11:38 PM (#3017009)
Everybody knows Huntington's afraid of that dude from Bucco Blog.
   14. haven  Posted: November 27, 2008 at 11:38 PM (#3017010)
I don't think Wilbur is plugged in...... Just think he is being petulent.
   15. WTM  Posted: November 28, 2008 at 01:04 AM (#3017030)
It's just conjecture, although I think it's at least as realistic as thinking Huntington writes the answers. I've seen too many similar situations, in different contexts, where people have underlings answering correspondence, drafting statements and speeches, and the like. And they may be getting hundreds of questions (well, OK, this being the Pirates they may not generate that much interest) and I find it especially hard to believe Huntington is going through all those questions to decide which ones to answer. If an intern or somebody is sifting through the questions, I figure he's probably drafting answers, too.
   16. Exploring Leftist Conservatism since 2008 (ark..)  Posted: November 28, 2008 at 02:59 AM (#3017045)
Bringing back Menky and/or Michaels if no one else wants them doesn't bother me. Someone has to be on the Pirates next year.
This is so mellow I fear a thorazine drip must be involved.
   17. Russ  Posted: November 28, 2008 at 07:52 AM (#3017061)
This is so mellow I fear a thorazine drip must be involved.


As long as they're not starting, doesn't really matter... it's probably better than having someone young and potentially decent rotting on the bench.

I don't think Cutch will start in Pittsburgh this year, but he should be up by mid-season. Someone's got to rotate in and out of the OF with Moss until and they need someone back up LaRoche the Elder if Pearce gets the RF slot (which he probably should). Once Cutch comes up, they can move one of these guys out by either trading or cutting them, depending on their play to that point.
   18. WTM  Posted: November 28, 2008 at 09:34 PM (#3017317)
As long as they're not starting, doesn't really matter.

Trouble is, the 4th outfielder on this team is likely to start a lot. Moss may not be healthy to start the season, and there's no proven outfielder outside of McLouth. I have no desire to watch a washed-up Jason Michaels drag a 70-odd OPS+ out there for 400 ABs next year.
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