Return To Glory 2006: Bringing The Pirates Back To The Top

[CTSoxFan]

Pittsburgh Pirates Introduce New Ownership

By John Tressler

In a press conference in Pittsburgh today, the Pirates announced that the ownership group led by local Pittsburgh businessman Thomas Avery had won the bidding war for the team. The former owner, Kevin McClatchy, announced last June that the Pirates would be put up for sale. McClatchy and his fellow owners decided that it was the right time to sell the team.

McClatchy said back in June, "Next year Pittsburgh hosts the All-Star Game, something that I helped orchestrate, and that brings the value of the team up. Pittsburgh has great fans, but I am tired of putting my money into this team and coming away with nothing. It is just too hard in the current state of baseball to win in a small market. I can't keep throwing away my money, it just doesn't seem worth it anymore."

Standing at the podium in the press room at PNC Park, McClatchy looked like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Next to him however was the sign of an owner who was happy to be in charge of a MLB baseball team. Thomas Avery, who will become the majority owner of the Pirates, put together a star studded ownership group which won the bidding with a 400 million dollar offer, almost 50 million more than the second highest bid. Avery's group, Pittsburgh Sports LLC, includes former Pittsburgh University and Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and Dallas Mavericks owner and Avery's good friend Mark Cuban. Cuban and Marino will both be minority owners, while Avery will be the team president.

Avery said in his first comments to the press, "It has been a dream of mine since I was a kid to own a baseball team. I have been lucky enough to make enough money in my life to have the chance to purchase a team, and with the help of some great partners, like Danny Marino and Mark [Cuban], I have the chance to run a MLB team. I have been a Pirates fan my entire life and to be the owner now is just amazing. I promise to bring the Pirates back to the promised land, I will return this team to the glory that I remember."

Avery was flanked by the team's new President and CEO, Paul DePodesta. DePodesta will not be the team's GM, but will serve in a role similar to that of Larry Lucchino with the Boston Red Sox. Avery said of the thirty-three year old DePodesta, "He is one of the smartest men in baseball and he brings the baseball experience to this administration that we need. Paul admits that he wasn't the greatest General Manager ever, but he was one of the big players in Billy Beane's front office and I believe that in the CEO role, he will help bring the Pirates back to the top."

In a continued organizational youth movement, Avery announced that the teams chief financial officer will be Jonathan Mariner, the former Vice President of finances for the Marlins and the former MLB CFO. Mariner is one of the highest ranking minorities in baseball and was looking to move back into the baseball front office. The final major addition to the new front office was the new director of marketing, Nick Gregorian. Gregorian served under Sam Kennedy as a special assistant in the Red Sox front office and helped lead the Red Sox into a new era of community involvement. Avery said of the Mariner and Gregorian, "These two guys have the smarts to make the Pirates profitable and enjoyable for the fans, while giving a lot back to the Pittsburgh community."

Avery and DePodesta announced that current General Manager Dave Littlefield would remain as GM for now, but the new front office will evaluate his position later. The team is currently searching for a new manager, and DePodesta, along with Littlefield, will conduct that search.

[The Just]

I was just thinking about what it could take to bring the Pirates back to glory a few days ago, and what it would be like for baseball if they got themselves back on their feet.

Good luck!

[CTSoxFan]

Strike Three...He's Out

By John Tressler

Yesterday the new Pirates front office said that general manager Dave Littlefield would remain in that position for now. Well for now meant today. News leaked late last night that Littlefield was out as Pirates GM. Paul DePodesta will not be taking over the job, but a search is now underway for a new GM. With the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cincinnati Reds all looking for new general managers at this time, the market is small and the Pirates will need to act quickly to hire a GM. The GM must be willing to work under former GM DePodesta in a unique front office situation.

Littlefield has been the Pirates general manager since 2001 and was formerly the Florida Marlins assistant general manager. DePodesta said in a brief press release this morning, "The Pirates front office is looking for a fresh start and after talking yesterday with Littlefield we quickly realized that we want to go in another direction. Littlefield has had many opportunities to turn things around in Pittsburgh and has failed many times. We want a true fresh start and a new GM will help us achieve that goal."

Speculation around the Pirates organization is that Littlefield was upset that DePodesta had been named CEO and was not willing to work underneath him. Littlefield wanted full control over baseball operations, as he has had for the past five seasons, but DePodesta and Avery planned for DePodesta to hold final veto power over all baseball operations.

The candidates for the Pirates job are thought to include former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who is a longshot to take the job, especially after feeling so stressed out with the Boston job, Oakland Athletics assistant general manager David Forst, who replaced DePodesta in Oakland and would work well under him once again, Braves director of player personnel Dayton Moore, Indians assistant general manager Chris Antonneti, former Orioles GM Jim Beattie and current interim Nationals GM Jim Bowden.

Pirates News and Notes

The first signings of the Avery ownership were made yesterday, the Pirates signed three players to minor league deals, former Dodgers utilityman Mike Edwards (.247, 3 HR, 15 RBI in 88 games), former Dodgers middle reliever Giovanni Carrara and former Reds prospect Gookie Dawkins, who has not played in the majors since 2003 with the Royals...The Pirates front office will begin the search for a new manager following the hiring of a new General Manager, the team hopes to have a new GM in place within the next two weeks...The Pirates are rumored to be close to a deal with outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, as well as Jody Gerut, the deals are being negotiated by Paul DePodesta, who is running the GM side until a new GM is named...

[CTSoxFan]

Last night I really wanted to jump right in to the writing of this dynasty, but I figured I should introduce the dynasty with some background and such.

Back two seasons ago I started a Pirates dynasty which lasted about a year and a half and involved me trying to get the Pirates back to the top. When OOTP2006 came out I retired that dynasty with plans to start another one as soon as a real player roster came out and I decided now was the time. (The old dynasty is still linked in my signature, so you can check it out if you want).

Basically this dynasty will focus on the Pirates, the MLB, the baseball world, and will have different perspectives throughout the story. The main persepective is Pirates' beat reporter John Tressler, so most will be in the form of news stories. Also the owner, Tom Avery, the GM who will be announced soon, the manager, and at times different players. I'm hoping to at some point find one player to focus on as well, I was planning on do that with Nate McClouth in the old one, so he might be the focus in this one as well, it will most likely be a rookie or young player so that I can chronicle his entire career.

I hope you enjoy the dynasty, as I write about the day to day adventures of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

[CTSoxFan]

Jody Gerut sat in the spacious office of Paul DePodesta, the new Pirates CEO, and wondered about the season that was to come. Last year had been a rough one for him. He was traded from the team that had drafted him, the Cleveland Indians, who he had played on for his first two big league teams, to the Chicago Cubs and then again to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gerut had passed pitcher Ryan Vogelsong on his way into the Pirates offices earlier today and the two briefly talked about the team's new management. Vogelsong had just signed a one year deal, avoiding arbitration, something that Gerut hoped to do today. Vogelsong said that DePodesta had seemed very excited about the Pirates 2006 season during the negotiation and that the 550,000 dollar contract that DePodesta had offered was a very good offer.

Gerut was looking to earn a little more than that, somewhere around 800,000. At least that is what his agent, Craig Landis of the firm Reich, Katz, and Landis, had said. Landis sat at Gerut's right, to do the negotiations with DePodesta. Landis had worked out a detailed pitch as to why the Pirates should avoid arbitration. It was well known that the Reich, Katz, and Landis firm has had success in arbitration and that was one of the reasons that DePodesta and the Pirates wanted to get Gerut wrapped up right away.

Landis began the discussion with DePodesta as Gerut, who is highly educated himself, sat as a very intersted observer. Gerut, a Stanford graduate, thought to himself that he one day might want to be back in a room like this negotiating, either as a general manager, or as an agent. He knew he had the ability too, and it would be great to stay involved in the game that he loves after retirement. Landis began speaking, snapping Gerut out of his thoughts, "Paul, we both know that Jody is going to be an important player for you next year. Jody should be your starting centerfielder, not only for this year, but for years to come. Last year was not the year we would have liked to see from Jody, but he was injured. Jody has 34 career home runs and is a 20 plus home run guy. He is what the Pirates need right now and for the future."

Paul agreed, shaking his head up and down and returned, "Definitely Craig, we in the Pirates front office want to quickly and smoothly get Jody's contract done so that he can be slotted in as our starting center fielder right now. With Jason Bay in left and Jody in center we will have two power hitting outfielders. Now as you know we are not a large market team and do not have a ton of money to spend. We were thinking of offering Jody around 750,000 for this season."

Landis did not immediatly return fire with his counteroffer, but sat thinking it over and then turned to Jody and then back to Paul. "I know you want to make this quick Paul, and so do I, but Jody and I are willing to take this to arbitration if we have to. We were looking at somewhere around 900,000."

Paul nodded his head and then slowly backed away from his desk, speaking as he stands, "You know what, the team owner Tom Avery is in the building right now, let me go talk to him and see what I can do for you guys." As DePodesta leaves the room, Landis turned to his client. "Jody, I know how these things go and so far its going great, I think we may get more than the 800,000 that we thought." Jody smiled at that thought as the door behind them opened again and in walked DePodesta, with a 40 or so man in a business suit. The man walked over to Jody and Craig and they quickly stood up. "Hey guys, I heard you were here and thought I'd introduce myself, I'm Tom Avery, the new owner of the Pirates." Jody shook Tom's hand and introduced himself. "Look, Paul here told me that you wanted 900,000. Now I can't go that high, but I can go to 850,000, but that's the most we can slot for you this season." Craig looked at Jody and Jody nodded his head and Landis replied, "We'll take that, I'm glad these negotiations were quick and painless for all of us."

Avery turned to Gerut and smiling said, "I'm glad that you are going to be our center fielder next season Jody, I look forward to seeing you play. I think you have the talent to be a star, and this season you will show everyone that." Avery shook hands with Jody and Craig, and the two then shook hands with Paul as all four left the room chatting and laughing.

[CTSoxFan]

Burnitz Close To Signing With Pirates

By John Tressler

The Pittsburgh Pirates new front office seems to be close to signing their first big name free agent. Jeromy Burnitz, who was rumored to be in negotiations with the Baltimore Orioles, is expected to sign a deal with the Pirates later this afternoon. Burnitz and the Pirates are said to have already agreed on a deal, but Burnitz must take a team physical before the deal is made official. It is believed that Burnitz will sign a one year contract worth 6 million, with a mutual option for 2007.

The Pirates will likely play Burnitz in right field, with Jody Gerut, who is expected to sign a one year deal to avoid arbitration today, in center field and star Jason Bay in left field. The Pirates also have young outfielders Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy itching to get fulltime jobs. McLouth and Duffy will both likely start in Triple A once again, but any signs of struggles from Burnitz and especially Gerut, and Duffy or McLouth will likely be up with the Pirates.

Even with no general manager in place at this time, President and CEO Paul DePodesta has wasted no time making moves. Burntiz is the fourth free agent signed, and while he is the only one expected to be a major player with the Pirates in 2006, it shows that DePodesta has full control over this team's future. DePodesta said, "We in the front office expect the new general manager to think on the same page that we do, so the signings that we make should be ones that the future general manager would make as well."

DePodesta says that the team is not done and that more moves should be expected this winter, "The hot stove is just heating up for us, we plan to make the Pirates a winner right away, and we can't sit on our hands waiting for a general manager to be hired. It is a long process to hire a general manager and we are not going to let any remaining free agents slip out of our grasps or any trade oppurtunities slip away because we waited too long."

The Pirates acquired first baseman Sean Casey from the Reds back in December and he will split time at first base with Craig Wilson, who may be on the block. The Pirates are looking to solidify the bullpen and hope to find a veteran catcher to go along with Ronny Paulino and Humberto Cota. Joe Randa, who signed with the Pirates on December 30, is a player that DePodesta is happy to have, "Randa is a veteran presence in a young infield. [Randa] along with Casey are two of the moves that I am glad Littlefield made. We have a talented, but young, roster and we need veterans to help lead this team."

The Pirates hope to have hired a general manager by next week. Currently Dayton Moore is the team's favorite, but Moore is reluctant about leaving the Braves organization. Jim Beattie, who has experience, seems like a likely candidate as well as David Forst, the Oakland assistant general manager.

[NYJuggalo45]

Good luck with this one man. I'm thinking the best bet would be deal for as many draft picks as possible, hire the best coaching/scouting staff you can afford, and build that way. With the small market, and having to resign guys like Bay/Duke/Perez, most of your money will be tied up.

[ifspuds]

I came late to the original dynasty, so I'm glad to get in on this one from the start. Looking forward to it.

[CTSoxFan]

Five Player Swap Sends Eaton To Texas

by Rob Neyer

A six player deal between the Texas Rangers and the San Diego Padres was finalized today. The Rangers sent pitcher Chris Young, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, and outfielder Termell Sledge to the Padres in exchange for pitchers Adam Eaton and Akinori Otuska as well as minor league catcher Billy Killian. The Rangers believe that Eaton will be a veteran starter in the 2006 rotation and will help the team win the AL West. The Rangers have now added three starters to the rotation, along with Eaton the Rangers signed free agent Kevin Millwood and acquired Vicente Padilla from the Philadelphia Phillies.

From a Rangers' fan's persepective one might see this deal as a step forward, but truly this is a step backwards for the Rangers. Chris Young is a pitcher with a lot of potential and Adrian Gonzalez has at times been regarded as one of the best slugging prospects in the league. Gonzalez has 69 career minor league home runs and was a .296 hitter in his six season minor league career. While Eaton adds depth to the rotation, he will be a free agent after this season and the Rangers may not be able to resign him.

The Rangers may have been better off keeping Chris Young and putting him in the rotation behind Millwood and Padilla. Eaton is 29 years old and has a 47-43 career record. Young is 26 and went 12-7 last season and was the Rangers top starter. Young is considered to have more upside than the injury prone Eaton and in the end the Padres could be the true winners in this deal. However, if the Rangers can win the AL West this season, with a high powered offense and a now deep rotation (as long as Eaton, Millwood, and Padilla remain healthy, a difficult challenge for all three), the team could go deep in the playoffs.

[CTSoxFan]

Durazo Signs With St. Louis

1B Signs 8.3 Million Dollar Deal

by Rob Neyer

The St. Louis Cardinals announced that the team had come to terms with free agent first baseman Erubiel Durazo on a three year deal worth 8,310,000. Durazo is expected to start at first base, while Albert Pujols will move back to the position he originally played for the Cardinals, left field.

Durazo has played seven seasons in the majors, four with the Arizona Diamondbacks and three with the Oakland Athletics, where he had his best seasons. In 2003 and 2004 Durazo was a middle of the lineup slugger, hitting 22 and 24 home runs respectively with 77 and 88 runs driven in. In his seven seasons Durazo is a .281 hitter with a .866 OPS and 94 home runs. Durazo adds another bat to an already powerful lineup. With Pujols batting third, third baseman Scott Rolen fourth, center fielder Jim Edmonds fifth and then Durazo, the lineup should be the best in the National League.

[CTSoxFan]

Dodgers Acquire Seo From Mets

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Jae Seo to add depth to their rotation in a trade with the New York Mets for relievers Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll. The Mets also sent reliever Tim Hamulack to the Dodgers. Seo went 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA for the Mets in 14 starts in 2005, while Schmoll and Sanchez made a combined 127 appereances for the Dodgers. The Dodgers have Brad Penny, Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe at the top of the rotation and added Brad Tomko to the roster earlier this off-season.

Yankees Sign 2B Miguel Cairo To Minor League Deal

Miguel Cairo has crossed boroughs back to the Bronx, the Yankees announced Thursday. After spending last season across the Triboro Bridge in Queens with the Mets, the 31-year-old infielder agreed to terms on a one-year, $1 million contract to return to the Yankees, for whom he played 122 games in 2004. Cairo will back up Robinson Cano to start the season. The Yankees also signed veteran Ramiro Mendoza to a minor league deal.

Phillies Sign SP Ryan Franklin

The Phillies signed veteran starting pitcher Ryan Franklin to a one year deal, rumored to be worth 2.6 million. Franklin has had two difficult seasons the past two years with the Mariners, going 12-31 with a 4.99 ERA. But from 2002 to 2003 Franklin was 18-18 with a 3.73 ERA. Franklin also is known for violating the steroid policy last season and serving a ten game suspension. Phillies GM Pat Gillick is hoping that Franklin can bring depth to the rotation.

[CTSoxFan]

Pirates Sign Six Minor League Free Agents

By John Tressler

The Pittsburgh Pirates began filling the team's spring training roster by signing six free agents to minor league contracts, with invitations to spring training. Pitchers Brandon Duckworth, Marty McLeary, CJ Nitkowski, Nerio Rodriguez, and Scott Strickland, as well as infielder Gookie Dawkins all finalized minor league deals yesterday.

Duckworth, who is 30 years old, was once a top prospect for the Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched with the team from 2001-2003 and compiled a record of 15-18 before being traded to Houston in 2003 in the trade that brought closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia. Duckworth played in Houston the past two seasons with limited success, winning just one game with the Astros. Last season he was 0-1 with an ERA of 11.02 in seven appereances, including two starts.

Marty McLeary is a 32 year old pitcher who has spent most of his career in the minor leagues. His only major league action came in 2004 with the San Diego Padres when he went 0-0 with a 14.73 ERA in three games. McLeary was 5-8 with a 4.75 ERA for Portland, the AAA affiliate of the Padres, in 2005.

CJ Nitkowski returns to the Pirates after beginning the 2005 season on a minor league invite with Pittsburgh. Nitkowski spent the beginning of 2005 at AAA Indianapolis in the Pirates organization where he posted a 0-0 record with a 0.83 ERA in 18 relief appereances. Nitkowski spent the rest of the season in the Nationals organization, including seven relief appereances in the majors. In his career he has gone 18-32 with three saves and a 5.37 ERA in 336 appearances (44 starts) in the big leagues with Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, the New York Mets, Texas, Atlanta, the New York Yankees and Washington.

Rodriguez, a 33 year old pitcher from the Dominican Republic, has spent the majority of his career in the minors. Rodriguez is 4-6 with a 6.32 ERA in 32 appereances with Baltimore, Toronto, Cleveland, and St. Louis.

Scott Strickland is a major league veteran who has the best chance out of any of these signings to crack the opening day roster for the Pirates. Strickland has spent his career in Montreal, New York (Mets), and Houston and has a career record of 12-21 with a 3.34 ERA in 236 appereances. Strickland adds depth to a bullpen that is weakened with the loss of Jose Mesa to free agency.

Gookie Dawkins, a second baseman and once a top prospect like Duckworth, has seen next to no time in the major leagues. His last major league action came in 2003 when he played three games with the Kansas City Royals. Dawkins is a longshot to make the roster and will most likely spend the entire season at Triple A Indianapolis, barring an injury. Dawkins
spent the entire 2005 season at Triple A Toledo, the Tigers affiliate and hit .241 with 21 doubles, 10 home runs, and 38 RBI in 103 games with the Mud Hens.

In other MLB news, the Toronto Blue Jays traded third baseman Corey Koskie to the Milwaukee Brewers for a minor leaguer...The Arizona Diamondbacks signed shortstop Justin Upton the team's top draft pick from 2005...The Marlins traded second baseman/shortstop Josh Wilson to Colorado for cash, Wilson was expected to contend for a starting job, but the 24 year old was deemed expendable when Pokey Reese signed with the Marlins...B.K Kim signed a one year deal with the Rockies...J.T. Snow signed a one year deal with the Red Sox...Devil Rays signed Korean outfielder Y.K. Tae to a minor league deal and added him to the major league roster...MR Tim Spooneybarger signed a one year deal with the San Diego Padres

[CTSoxFan]

Pirates Expected To Choose GM By Monday

By John Tressler

The Pittsburgh Pirates have narrowed down the general manager search to three general managers. Former Orioles and Expos general manager Jim Beattie, Indians assistant general manager Chris Antonetti, and Athletics assistant general manager Dave Forst are all scheduled for interviews with the Pirates this weekend and a press conference announcing the team's choice is likely on Monday or Tuesday. The Pirates were looking at Dayton Moore, the Atlanta Braves director of player personnel, former Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, and Nationals interim general manager Jim Bowden. Epstein is rumored to be returning to the Red Sox soon and it is known that he has been running things behind the scenes for the Red Sox since the beginning of this month. Bowden has decided to remain with the Nationals, hoping that when the new ownership takes over he will stay as general manager. Dayton Moore is expected to eventually take over for John Schuerholz and did not feel that this was the time to leave the organization that has helped make him one of the most prized general manager prospects in baseball.

Beattie, 52, is the only of the three candidates with previous general manager experience. Beattie served as the Baltimore Orioles Co-GM from 2003 to 2005, along with current Orioles GM, Mike Flanagan. Before being name Co-GM of the Orioles, Beattie was the general manager of the Montreal Expos from 1996 to 2001, previously working in the Seattle Mariners front office as farm director and director of player development. Beattie, who played college baseball at Dartmouth, pitched in the majors from 1978 to 1986 with the New York Yankees and the Mariners. Beattie finished with a career record of 52-87. Following his retirement from baseball, Beattie enrolled at the University of Washington School of Business, and graduated in 1989 with a MBA. Beattie's biggest success with the Mariners was helping the development of last year's MVP Alex Rodriguez. Beattie was considered for the Boston Red Sox GM job earlier this year, but the job eventually went to Ben Cherington and Jed Hoyer.

Antonetti, a well-educated, well-prepped assistant GM, has been the right hand of Mark Shapiro for a couple years, overseeing a rebuilding program that's beginning to bear fruit. His championing of the Diamond View data system will be a big plus, while his knowledge of baseball will make him a great candidate. He doesn't seem comfortable with the media yet, something that's a minor negative but certainly not deadly. Antonetti, 30, has spent seven years with the Indians, the last four in his current position, one in which he oversaw the team's information systems, was involved in player procurement, and was the point man in contract negotiations. A former student manager for the Georgetown University basketball team, Antonetti has a master's degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts.

The final candidate is the most likely to be hired by the Pirates. Forst, 29, is a Harvard graduate, like Paul DePodesta and worked under DePodesta in Oakland. Forst replaced DePodesta when he went to the Dodgers in 2004, and has been praised by Billy Beane. Forst is in seventh season with the A's, having served as an assistant to general manager Beane and coordinator of professional scouting for the past two seasons. Forst graduated from Harvard in 1998 and was a four-year baseball letterwinner, earning third-team All-America honors in 1998.


"David is one of the bright young minds in the game today," said Beane, whose disciples include DePodesta and Blue Jays general manager J.P. Riccardi "I expect David to have a big future in baseball, and he deserves to be hired as a general manager very soon."

Forst, with his experience working with DePodesta is most likely the Pirates top choice. Billy Beane is expected to give the okay for Forst to take the job and while Antonetti has a bright future and Beattie has the experience, Forst makes the most sense for the Pirates.

[CTSoxFan]

'Everyday Eddie' Moves to Atlanta

By Rob Neyer

The Atlanta Braves have acquired a closer in the off-season for the second straight season. General manager John Schuerholz is hoping that this season's acquisition will fair better than last year's, Dan Kolb, who was traded back to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this season. Eddie Guardado, known by his nickname "Everyday Eddie" will be the Braves closer for 2006. The Braves sent veteran pitcher John Thomson, 20 year old pitching prospect Jake Stevens and 24 year old second base prospect Carl Selby to the Mariners for Guardado.

[TheGame08]

I like how you are writing this, I really like the Pirates and hope you can turn them around, its good to get an update even after only 10 posts I already wanted more

[CTSoxFan]

Originally Posted by NYJuggalo45

Good luck with this one man. I'm thinking the best bet would be deal for as many draft picks as possible, hire the best coaching/scouting staff you can afford, and build that way. With the small market, and having to resign guys like Bay/Duke/Perez, most of your money will be tied up.

Thanks for the luck, I plan on trying to build by adding some youth to my roster that can play now. I want to trade some of the guys like Craig Wilson and bring in some young players who can help me win when Bay/Duke/Perez are all in their prime. I'm hoping for a good first half for Kip Wells, so I can trade him :-x

Originally Posted by TheGame08

I like how you are writing this, I really like the Pirates and hope you can turn them around, its good to get an update even after only 10 posts I already wanted more

Glad you are enjoying it, I went to two concerts this weekend so I didn't have that much time to update it, but I plan on doing it a couple times everyday.

[CTSoxFan]

Since I changed to the Cubbies roster, Guzman, who was part of the World Template roster, does not exist anymore, so I decided to delete this post and not create him.

[CTSoxFan]

Three Team Trade Sends Huff to Angels, Lugo to Mariners, Prospects to Tampa

By Rob Neyer

The second trade of the week for the Seattle Mariners involves division rival Los Angeles and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Rays moved two veteran starters in exchange for a group of prospects from the Mariners and Angels, while sending second baseman Julio Lugo to the Mariners and versatile outfielder Aubrey Huff to the Angels, along with pitcher Mark Hendrickson. The Angels also sent outfielder Juan Rivera to the Mariners and the Mariners sent catcher Corky Miller to the Angels.

The Devil Rays acquired 24 year old catcher Mike Napoli and 21 year old center fielder Warner Madrigal from the Angels and 25 year old starting pitcher Clint Naggoette from the Mariners.

Lugo, who is 30 years old, has played for the Devil Rays since 2003, when he was released from the Houston Astros. Lugo is a career .276 hitter who hit .295 with 6 home runs and 57 runs driven in for the Devil Rays last season. Lugo has a career on-base percentage of .359. He will start at shortstop for the Mariners, replacing Bret Boone, who was released during last season and will bat second behind Ichiro Suzuki, hoping to get on base for power hitters Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre. The acquistion of Lugo allows the Mariners to move young infielder Jose Lopez to second base, a more natural position for him. The Mariners also acquired right fielder Juan Rivera, who at 27 has always shown potential, but has only 35 career home runs. Rivera should start in right field, but also spend time at DH, platooning at the two positions with Roberto Petagine (claimed off waivers from the Red Sox earlier this week) and Matt Lawton.

The Angels filled a whole in the team's lineup by adding a power hitter to hit behind Vlad Guerrero in the fourth spot. Huff, who is 29, is entering his prime and has 120 career home runs. Huff is a versatile player, who will split time between first base, third base, the outfield, and DH. The Angels have two young players, Casey Kotchman and Dallas McPherson, and two veteran players, Tim Salmon and Darin Erstad, who play the same positions as Huff, but are unpredicatable, so the consistancy of Huff (who has hit at least 25 home runs and drove in 90 runs each of the last three seasons) will be a major plus for the Angels, unlike Rivera who was sent to Seattle. Catcher Corky Miller was also acquired from Seattle, but he will most likely start the season in Triple A, while Mark Hendrickson will be the fifth starter in the Angels rotation.

The Devil Rays used this trade to get younger. The team has considered trading Lugo and Huff both of the past trade deadlines, but neither was moved and both have played well for the Devil Rays. However, Lugo was blocking top prospect B.J. Upton, who will now take over as the starting shortstop, and Huff allowed the team to acquire a young catcher, while opening up the outfield and infield for younger players, such as Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young, both who are near ready to play in the majors. The best player acquired by the Rays is catcher Mike Napoli, a power hitting 24 year old who is ready to be a major league player. He struggles with strikeouts, but has amazing power ability. Napoli will compete with 27 year old Miguel Olivo (who was acquired by the Rays from the Marlins for 2B Luis Rivas earlier this week) and veteran Toby Hall. The Rays also acquired Clint Naggeotte from the Mariners. Nageotte is a top prospect who has fizzled over the past few seasons and at 25 will be a younger starter than the veteran Hendrickson. The final player the Rays acquired is 21 year old center fielder Warner Madrigal, a mid-level prospect for the Angels. Madrigal is a Dominican native who has a good swing, power potential and is a good fielder.


Devil Rays' Teammates Aubrey Huff and Julio Lugo Will Become West Coast Rivals

[CTSoxFan]

David Forst Announced as New Pirates GM

By John Tressler



After one week of searching, the new Pittsburgh Pirates ownership announced in a press conference yesterday afternoon that Oakland Athletics assistant general manager David Forst has been hired as the team's new general manager. Forst, who is 29, graduated from Harvard University, the alma mater of Pirates' CEO Paul DePodesta in 1998. Forst is a young, energetic, and innovative general manager in the mold of his new boss and former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. Forst has been in the Athletics' front office since 2000 and was named assistant general manager by GM Billy Beane when DePodesta moved on to Los Angeles.

CEO DePodesta, who ran the team during the general manager search and headed up the search committee said, “David [Forst] was the top of a short list of candidates for this job, and after a very impressive interview, it was an easy choice to hire him. Forst is young and has a lot of good ideas that he wants to introduce to the Pirates to turn around this team. Forst comes from a system that has had great success in the past, and is a guy that I know very well. He was very important in Billy Beane’s front office and I look forward to working with him once again here in Pittsburgh."

Billy Beane met with media in Oakland after the announcement was made. "David is one of the bright young minds in the game today," said Oakland General Manager Billy Beane, “He will be missed in Oakland, but I am happy to see him get a shot to be a GM.”

Forst is a member of the Harvard graduating class of 1998. He played varsity baseball for the Crimson for all four years he was there, as the starting shortstop and was a Third Team All American as a Senior. After graduating from Harvard he started his baseball career in the independent Frontier League. He spent two seasons in the League, but failed to have major success and decided to look towards the business side of baseball. Forst then earned a job in the front office of Oakland through Paul DePodesta, a 1995 graduate of Harvard who knew Forst through mutual friends, in 2000 as Assistant of Baseball Operations.

He spent most his time doing advanced scouting work: charting advance teams, putting together reports for the coaching staff, and learning the league.

Forst quickly became a favorite of Billy Beane and rose through the ranks of the front office. Two years later, he was promoted as coordinator of professional scouting. Forst quickly enjoyed having the opportunity to be more involved in dealing with agents, trades, and player personnel moves.

Part of the reason for Forst's success was his unusual combination of having an Ivy League degree along with experience playing professional ball. "I think [his Harvard education] certainly helped me get in," Forst said. "Once I got in, it certainly helped that I played, if nothing else than to gain credibility right away with some of our baseball people."

But in the end, Forst's attention to detail and dedication to getting the job done right earned the most respect from his peers. "[The scouts] welcomed my opinion," Forst said. "I think they knew that anything that I offered was probably well researched and had evidence behind it."

Two more years later, in 2004, Paul DePodesta left the A’s to become the General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Billy Beane promoted Forst to the position DePodesta had occupied, Assistant General Manager, making him second in command of the Front Office. His primary duties included assisting both the general manager and assistant general manager in all player personnel moves, contract negotiations and statistical research, providing the major league coaching staff with advance scouting and statistical analysis reports and coordinating professional scouting assignments and scheduling.

Now David Forst becomes the second Beane disciple to get his shot at running a team, this time working with the first to get a shot. Forst moves to a team similar to Oakland, a small market with a good amount of diehard fans that can be brought back to the stands with a winning team. Pittsburgh has many holes that need to be filled, and not much money available to fill them. But that is what Moneyball General Manager’s are good at, right? We will soon find out.

Forst first has to fill out his front office and coaching staffs, and has said that he will do that within the next few days, after meeting with the ownership group and DePodesta for a longer period of time than he has, to discuss the candidates for the open jobs.

[CTSoxFan]

Pirates Acquire Snyder From Kansas City



1/11/06 1:53 PM

The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced they have acquired right-handed pitcher Kyle Snyder from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for utility infielder Jose Hernandez. No other terms of the deal were disclosed. The announcement was made by Pirates President and CEO, Paul DePodesta.

Snyder, 28, was 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in 13 games, including 3 starts for the Royals in 2005. Snyder, who attended the University of North Carolina, was drafted in the first round (seventh overall) by the Royals in 1999, after a 7-5 season as a junior, in which he fanned 102 with a 3.82 ERA. Snyder fared well for the Royals in the bullpen in 2005, going 1-0 with a 2.66 ERA.

Snyder has been injury plagued his entire career after being nearly unhittable at UNC. He is a sinkerball pitcher in the mold of Derek Lowe, and could still be a valuable player for the Pirates, who are in need of pitching help.


Snyder