Results tagged ‘ marlins ’
Pirates cut Locke, Moskos, 8 others from camp
The Pirates cut 10 players from camp on Monday Morning: Andrew Lambo, Brian Friday, Chase D’Arnaud, Aaron Thompson, Ramon Aguero, Jeff Locke, Tony Watson, Gorkys Hernandez, Alex Presley and Daniel Moskos.
Lambo was reassigned to minor league camp. Expect him to play a corner infield (with first base as a fall back option) with the Triple-A Indians this year. Lambo was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 4th round of the 2007 draft (He was acquired in the Octavio Dotel trade last July). In 26 games with the Altoona Curve, Lambo batted .275 with two homeruns and10 RBI.
Friday was reassigned to minor league camp. He should spent the most of his playing time at second base. Friday was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2007 draft by the Pirates. In 93 games with the Triple-A Indians, the 25-year-old batted .257 with two home runs and 28 RBI.
D’Arnaud was reassigned to minor league camp. He will spend the season playing short, but General Manager Neal Huntington said he will also play some time at third base. D’Arnaud was drafted in the 4th round of the 2008 draft by the Pirates. In 132 games with the Altoona Curve, the 24-year-old batted .247 with 33 doubles, nine triples, six home runs and 48 RBI.
Thompson was optioned to Double-A Altoona. Although he was optioned to the Curve, he could start the season at Triple-A, depending on how the pitching shakes out. Thompson was drafted in the 1st round (22nd overall) by the Florida Marlins in the 2005 draft. The Pirates claimed the lefty off waivers from the Washington Nationals. Last year, combined with Double-A and Triple-A for the Nats, the 24-year-old went 5-13 with a 5.64 ERA in 141.2 innings.
Aguero was optioned to Double-A Altoona. Aguero had an injury plagued 2010 season (elbow soreness and back stiffness) and only pitched in 25 games. He had a 6.14 ERA combined with the High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona.
Locke was optioned to Double-A Altoona, but like Thompson could start the season with Triple-A. Locke was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft (He was acquired in the Nate McLouth trade). The 23-year-old went 12-5 with a 3.56 ERA combined with High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona last year. He also struck out 139 batters in 144 innings.
Watson was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. The organization is still undecided on if he will be used as a starter or a reliever. Watson was drafted by the Pirates in the 9th round of the 2007 draft. The 25-year-old went 6-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 34 games (nine starts) with Double-A Altoona in 2010.
Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis and will be the Indians primary center fielder. Hernandez batted .266 with 11 doubles, two homers, 26 RBI and 10 stolen bases with Double-A Altoona.
Alex Presley was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Presley will bounce around in the outfield with Hernandez being the teams primary center fielder. Presley was drafted in the 8th round of the 2006 draft. In 136 games (combined with Double-A and Triple-A) last season, the 25-year-old batted .320 with 28 doubles, 13 triples, 12 home runs 85 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Presley also made his major league debut with the Bucs where he batted .261 in 19 games.
Daniel Moskos was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Although he and Watson were two lefty candidates for the Bucs bullpen, the organization believes they could use more seasoning in the minors before making their debuts. Moskos was drafted in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2007 draft. He had a 4.14 ERA in 56 games (1.52 ERA with Double-A Altoona) with 61 strikeouts over 58.2 innings. Moskos also picked up 22 saves.
44 players remain at big league camp.
Veras signs a minor league deal with Bucs
The Pirates have signed reliever Jose Veras to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
Veras, 30, went 3-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 48 appearances with the Florida Marlins in 2010.
According to ESPNDesportes, Veras had other offers from the Giants, Rockies, Twins, Marlins, and Rays.
If he makes the major league roster, Veras will make $1 Million plus incentives.
Winter meetings updates/rumors/signings: Day one
I will continue to update this post throughout the day on any rumors and signings that happen during the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida.
*5:10 PM-
Ken Rosenthal tweeted this: Pirates looking at free-agent RHP Kevin Correia, among others.
Correia went 10-10 with a 5.40 ERA in 28 games (26 starts) with the San Diego Padres. In eight seasons (combined with the San Francisco Giants and Padres) he has a record of 36-43 with a 4.57 ERA. Correia,30, averages 6.6 strike outs per nine innings.
*4:30 PM-
Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington when asked about reports that teams have asked about Andrew McCutchen: “I wouldn’t always believe what you read.”
*4:22 PM-
General Manager Neal Huntington says Ryan Doumit is Pirates starting right fielder for 2011 “as we sit right now”. He also would do some catching.
*3:55 PM-
According to Dejan Kovcevic of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette, the Pirates are “deeply interested” in right hand pitcher Jeremy Accardo.
Accardo, who turns 29 on December 18th, appeared in five games (6.2 innings) with the Toronto Blue Jays during April 2010. He allowed six runs on 12 hits with three strike outs and three walks. Accardo was non-tendered by the Jays on December 3rd and was due to make $1.08 million.
In 41 games with the Blue Jay’s Triple-A team, Accardo went 2-2 with a 3.64 ERA and had 24 saves. In 42 innings pitched he allowed just one home run, walked 14 and struck out two.
*3:08 PM-
According to Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston, A couple of teams have approached the Pirates about Andrew McCutchen (not the Red Sox) Bucs would have to be “overwhelmed” in order to trade the center fielder.
*2:01 PM-
Agent for Scott Olsen told MLB Trade Rumors that “nothing is done yet” on one-year deal with the Pirates.
*1:45 PM-
According to Jen Langosch of MLB.com, The Pirates have tentatively agreed to a one-year contract with Scott Olsen. The deal is pending a physical (which would happen later this week) and is incentive-laden.
Olsen, 26, became a free-agent in November after being out righted off the Washington Nationals roster.
In 17 games (15 starts) with the Nats in 2010, he went 4-8 with a 5.56 ERA.
Olsen is coming off two injury plagued seasons with Washington. In his previous three seasons with the Florida Marlins he had at least 31 starts and pitched at least 176.2 innings.
His career stats (six seasons) is 37-49 with a 4.85 ERA in 130 games (127 starts).
An official announcement could come by Friday.
*1:03 PM-
According to Jen Langosch of MLB.com, the Pirates have shown interest in Kenshin Kawakami. The Braves right hander is set to make $6.667 million in 2011, but Atlanta are interested in parting ways with the starter, covering most of the salary. It’s possible the Bucs could pay $1-2 million and not have to trade any player in the deal.
Kawakami, 35, went 1-10 with a 5.15 ERA in 18 games (16 starts) with the Braves in 2010.
The Pirates are also rumored to be eyeing shortstop (he can also play second and third base) Brendan Ryan of the Cardinals. Ryan hit .223 with two homers and 36 RBI in 139 games.
*12:17 PM-
The Pirates talks with starting pitcher Brandon Webb have gone cold according to sources. The Bucs have not contacted Webb since November 22nd. Justin Duchscherer, Jeff Francis and Scott Olsen are still on the Pirates radar.
The Pirates are willing to trade Evan Meek or Joel Hanrahan for a “significant offer” but they are not shopping them around.
*11:40 AM-
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette, an informed source told him the Pirates “would love” to trade Ryan Doumit.
Walker named to Rookie All-Star team
Pirates second baseman Neil Walker was named to the Topp’s Major League Rookie All-star Team.
It is the second straight year a Bucs player has been named to the starting roster. (Andrew McCutchen was chosen in 2009)
Walker is the 17th Pirates player to earn a spot on the team since 1959 when Topp’s starting handing out the award.
In 110 games with the Bucs, Walker hit .296 with 12 homers, 29 doubles, 66 RBIs and 57 runs scored.
The complete roster for the Topp’s Major league Rookie All-Star team is: 1B Gaby Sanchez, 3B Danny Valencia, SS Starlin Castro, OF Austin Jackson, OF Mike Stanton, OF Jason Heyward, C Buster Posey, RHP Stephen Strasburg, LHP Jaime Garcia and RP Neftali Perez.
Bo Porter interviews with the Bucs
On Thursday the Pirates’ announced that Bo Porter was interviewed for the open managerial job –the second candidate to interview for the position.
Porter spent the 2010 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks as the third-base coach. He was promoted to bench coach after the Dback’s dismissed A.J. Hinch and Kirk Gibson was promoted to interim manager. Porter was released after the end of the ’10 season.
The Marlins interviewed Porter earlier in the year after they fired Fredi Gonzalez.
Porter, 38, has spent time as hitting coach for the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2005 and manager of the Class-A Advanced Jamestown Jammers in 2006. From 2007-2009 he was the Marlins third-base coach and outfield/base running instructor.
He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 40th round of the 1993 major league draft. Porter’s career lasted three years in which he played for the Cubs, Athletics and Rangers (99, 00, 01). He has a career .214 average with two home runs and eight RBI’s.
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Bucs end season with number 105
The Bucs lose the final game of the season to the Marlins 5-2 on Sunday afternoon sealing the Pirates 2010 record to 57-105 –the second worst record in franchise history and lowest since 1954.
Both the Pirates .242 batting average and the pitchers 5.00 ERA ranked last in the National League this season.
“Obviously, 100-plus loss season is not where we thought we’d be,” general manager Neal Huntington said. “The most obvious starting point is that the losses have been difficult, the losses have been tough. A good number of them were unexpected.
“At the same time, you see some pieces being put in place. You see some guys developing and getting better, and you begin to become optimistic about where we’re headed. It hasn’t translated into wins and losses as we would have liked and expected, but there are some pieces that we can build with as we go forward. Each one of us, myself included, has to get better.”
The Pirates bats fell silent on the last game of the season. Not a single player managed to get more than one hit and they combined to strike out 12 times.
Ryan Doumit committed an error, bobbled a ball in right field (which should have been ruled as an error) and struck out three times in, perhaps, his final game in a Pirates uniform.
Neil Walker and Jose Tabata –who were chasing to end the season at .300– both went hitless.
But despite the horrible season and loss, some of the players are looking forward to next season and beyond.
“A lot of us learned quite a bit,” Walker said. “If you look at it from a won-loss standpoint, it wasn’t very good. But I think a lot of us learned a lot at the Major League level — especially a lot of us young guys — and learned how to be resilient and how to push forward and get better. I think we can take a lot of positives here playing pretty good baseball late in the year.”
Added Tabata: “We need to come back next year with a winning mentality and do something good. There needs to be energy for next year.”
Brian Burres got the loss after allowing three runs on five hits through 5.2 innings. The Pirates rotation ended the season with a 34-84 record.
“Coming out of Spring Training, obviously, we didn’t know that our starting rotation was going to lose 84 games,” Russell said. “You look at our season in a nutshell, and it’s 84 losses from our starting rotation.”
The Pirates 2011 season opener is April 1st in Chicago.
Pre-game Notes 10/3: Final game of season, Pirates vs Marlins
Notes:
· The Pirates game on Sunday against the Marlins is the final game for both clubs this season.
· The Bucs are 12-13 in the past 25 games, 9-6 in the last 15 and 4-4 in the past eight games.
· Jose Tabata (14), Pedro Alvarez (11) and Neil Walker (18) have all had double-digit hitting streaks this season. It is the first time since 1952 that the Pirates have had three rookies with double digit hitting streaks in the same season.
· Pedro Alvarez’s 16 home runs and 64 RBI and Neil Walker’s 12 homers and 66 RBI are the most in Pirates history. It’s also the first time that two rookies hit more than 10 home runs and 60 RBI.
· Joel Hanrahan struck out two fish in the eighth inning Saturday night giving up 100 K’s on the season. He is the first Pirates reliever to strike out 100 since Don Robinson in 1984 (101).
· The Pirates pitching staff have struck out 24 batters in the past two games and has posted 1022 strikeouts this season which is the highest since 2006 (1060) and just the 10th time the staff have struck out more than 1000.
· The Bucs season opener for the 2011 season is scheduled on April 1st in Chicago.
Links:
Neil Walker and his quest for .300
and
John Russell not expected back in 2011
Pitching Matchup:
LHP Brian Burres (4-4, 5.01 ERA)
Vs
RHP Anibal Sanchez (12-12, 3.62 ERA)
Burres is making his 13th start –20th appearance– of the season on Sunday against the Marlins. He picked up the W against the Cardinals his last start allowing two runs (one earned) through 5.2 innings. Burres is 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in his last five starts.
Sanchez is making his 32nd start of the season and has lost three straight starts. Sanchez allowed three runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts over 6.2 innings. He has faced the Pirates once in his career in which he allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings and received the loss.
Pirates final lineup of 2010:
McCutchen 8
Tabata 7
Walker 4
Jones 3
Doumit 9
Cedeno 6
LaRoche 5
Jaramillo 2
Burres 1
Marlins final lineup of 2010:
Bonifacio 8
Martinez 6
Morrison 7
Uggla 4
Sanchez 3
Stanton 9
Helms 5
Davis 2
Sanchez 1
*** Pedro Alvarez was not in the lineup due to injured knee. Alvarez hyper extended his right knee during the eighth inning of Saturday’s game when he stepped awkwardly on first base.
Manager John Russell said he would be available to pinch-hit but would not be able to start for the Pirates.
“If it was the regular season, he might miss today only, but the last thing we want to do is let it flare up so that it’s sore for the next two weeks,” Russell said. “We don’t want his knee hampering him so he can’t get his [offseason] work.”
Bats fall silent, Morton finishes season with gem
It’s been a rocky up and down season for Charlie Morton but on Saturday night in Miami –despite the 2-0 loss to the Marlins– he ended his season with a smile.
The right-hander pitched his best start of the season and cracked a smile after the game when addressing the media. Morton pitched six innings allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and nine strikeouts –which were his career high and the Pirates’ season high from a starter.
It’s been a long process for Morton but in order for him to be successful he knew he had to move past the horrible first two months of the season that he said “felt like two years.” Morton finishes the season 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA (which has been steadily dropping from 10.03) but those numbers don’t indicate how much he has improved and performed since being re-called in August.
“I’ve moved on past it, which has allowed me to pitch better and do things I need to do,” Morton said. “It looks good on paper. I’m not really concerned with that right now. Other people are, and I understand that. But my attitude and my approach and the way that I go about things is what matters. Results come secondhand from that.”
Morton’s best pitch is his fastball –which he used four out of the nine k’s for the third called strike– although he used his curveball for some swinging strikes as well.
“He’s good when he pitches off his fastball, like most starting pitchers are,” Bucs manager John Russell said. “He had good velocity, good angle.”
“He did good,” noted Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez. “[He has good] arm strength and a very powerful arm. He pitched a very good game.”
The only two runs Morton allowed were very unlucky. In the fourth inning, an infield single bounced over the head of Alvarez and a sac fly by Chad Tracy scored the lone two runs of the game.
“I’m really happy he was able to finish the way he did,” Russell said. “The way he is throwing the ball, it should be a good thing for him to take into the offseason. He should be a good guy coming into Spring Training.”
“I have, for a while now, wished I had more time because my approach is a lot different,” Morton said. “I think that I’m having more fun, which makes it more enjoyable. Now, I do know I can go out there and compete with what I have. Not only can I compete, but I can succeed and do my job. That’s what makes it hard to walk away knowing it’s my last one.”
John Bowker went 2-for-3 with a walk and Ronny Cedeno –who committed another error, six in the past 8 games– went 2-4 on the night. The bats fell silent and the Bucs left nine on base.
The Pirates fall to 57-104 –which matches the Pirates 1985 club who had the worst record in a 162 game season (58-104).
Pre-game Notes 10/2: Presley impresses Russell, Pirates vs Marlins
The Pirates and Manager John Russell are impressed with Alex Presley’s versatility.
“It’s nice, because when he’s not playing, I look down on the bench and I’ve got a weapon,” Russell said. “He can do some things to help you win a game. He gives you a good at-bat. He gives you some speed and can play defense. He’s a guy you look down on the bench and you like having him around because he can help win a game for you because there’s a lot he can do.”
Notes:
· The Pirates are 12-12 in their past 24 games.
· Pedro Alvarez has homered in back-to-back games and has hit the long ball five times in the last 10 games. His 16 home runs are the most by a Pirates rookie third basemen since Aramis Ramirez hit 17 in 2002.
· Jose Tabata extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games during Friday’s 5-1 win over the Marlins.
Pitching Matchup:
RHP Charlie Morton (2-11, 7.94 ERA)
Vs
RHP Jorge Sosa (2-3, 5.23 ERA)
Morton his 17th and final start of the season. He got a no-decision his last start against the Cardinals. Morton allowed four runs on 10 hits through six innings, striking out four. He is 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA in his last four starts.
Sosa is starting in place of Alex Sanabia who was scratched due to right elbow stiffness. He is making his second start –22 appearance– of the season. Sosa is 2-2 with a 4.45 ERA when pitching from the bullpen. His only start of the season came on September 15th against the Phillies where he allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits with three walks in 2.1 innings.
Pirates Lineup:
McCutchen 8
Tabata 7
Walker 4
Alvarez 5
Jones 3
Bowker 9
Cedeno 6
Snyder 2
Morton 1
Marlins Lineup:
Bonifacio 8
Martinez 6
Morrison 7
Uggla 4
Sanchez 3
Stanton 9
Tracy 5
Hatcher 2
Sosa 1
Park surpasses Nomo for most wins by Asian-born pitcher
The Pirates had another reason to celebrate on Friday night in Miami. Not only did the Pirates defeat the Marlins 5-1, Chan Ho Park picked up the victory –his 124th– passing Nomo for the most wins by an Asian-born pitcher in major league history.
“One hundred, twenty-four is not great for the Major Leagues, but it’s very special,” said the South Korean native, who entered Friday tied with Japan’s Hideo Nomo with 123 wins. “It makes me think about 17 years ago, when I first came [to America]. I think about the people who brought me here and helped me. I’ve met a lot of special people through my career, and today, that means a lot.”
Upon entering the clubhouse, Park was doused with beer and celebrated with the Pirates team. He was given the lineup card and game used ball and Park even decided to keep everything, from his socks to his underwear –which was soaked in beer– as a memento of the milestone moment.
“Obviously, that means much, much more than a couple of weeks ago when I had the last win,” said Park, who tied Nomo back on Sept. 12. “Honestly, I thought it was going to be tough to get another one this season. Now that I’ve made it, it’s very special. It’s great for my family. And it’s very special for my fans in Korea.”
Even players of the team were excited and happy to share this moment with Park.
“To be a part of that was quite a highlight of my baseball career so far,” said Daniel McCutchen, who pitched the first four innings on Friday. “He came in and dominated. He’s the story of the day. That’s a huge accomplishment for him and his country.”
Dominated, he did. Park pitched three innings not allowing a hit or run and struck out six.
“He wanted it,” Russell said. “He was locked in. We were trying to get him that extra one and it was awesome. He threw the ball great tonight. I can’t be more proud of him.”
Kristy Robinson
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