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

[CTSoxFan]

Pirates Open Minicamp Without Manager, Young Pitchers Return to Mound

On the same day that David Forst was announced as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team opened up the sixth annual, voluntary, off-season minicamp. With temperatures hovering around 80 degrees under partly sunny skies Tuesday at Pirate City, all that was missing from a typical Spring Training day were the sounds.

And, the manager.

The Pirates expect to name a manager by next week, but for now the team is being managed by interim manager Doug Strange, who was previously the team's assistant general manager. Strange, who played for the Pirates in 1998, will move back into the Pirates front office as a special advisor once the new manager is hired. For now, the team will focus on getting in shape for the spring, without knowing who will be coaching them when they return to Bradenton.

The Pirates expect to have 29 pitchers and six catchers in camp this week. Pitchers will be divided into two groups and will throw on alternating days between Wednesday and Saturday. Centerfielder Chris Duffy, second baseman Jose Castillo and outfielder Jody Gerut, all of whom had their 2005 seasons cut short by injuries, are also expected to participate in the minicamp.

Unlike previous years, players attending this minicamp will be housed at a local hotel rather than the Pirate City dormitory. The 68-room dormitory, which is owned by the City of Bradenton, has been closed since last May due to health concerns stemming from a mold problem in the building. Trevor Gooby, the Pirates director of Florida operations, said that the facility will likely be torn down and rebuilt in 2007, as part of a renovation plan that includes adding lights to McKechnie Field. "If everything works out with the city, we hope that it will be done by next Spring Training," said Gooby.

The first day of minicamp was more important for two of the Pirates top young pitchers, Sean Burnett and John Van Benschoten. While most players at the camp are trying to work off the rust and continue off-season workout programs, but after months of rehabilitation, Burnett and Van Benschoten were given the green light to return to the mound on Wednesday. Each threw approximately two dozen pitches in their bullpen sessions.

"It felt great," said Burnett, who has undergone elbow and shoulder surgeries since last pitching in the big leagues on Aug. 21, 2004. "Through all of the rehab, I've spent a lot of time in the training room. It was finally good to see all of the work pay off and get on the mound.

"I felt pretty good, the ball was coming out well and I was throwing strikes. That was the key."

Van Benschoten, who has had surgeries performed on both of his shoulders since he last pitched on Sept. 18, 2004, also felt fine, albeit a little rusty, during his session.

"I felt a little tight, but it will loosen itself up," said Van Benschoten. "The first day out, you're not going to feel 100 percent great. But I'll work through all of that."

If nothing else, after spending all of last season watching from the dugout, the bullpen session and fielding practice enabled Van Benschoten to feel as though he was finally a member of the team again.

"I'm actually sweating and hanging around with other guys," said Van Benschoten. "It's just good to be able to participate in drills with the other guys instead of watching everybody doing everything. You feel part of something again instead of being outside the loop."

Burnett, assuming he suffers no further physical setbacks, is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Indianapolis with the hope that he is ready to compete for a spot in the big league starting rotation in June. Tracy, though, did not rule out the possibility that Burnett could be in the mix for a spot with the Pirates earlier than that if all goes well. Van Benschoten will likely be headed to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin the season.


Van Benschoten (left)has undergone surgeries on both shoulders, while Burnett (right) has had both elbow and shoulder surgery. Neither has pitched since 2004.

[CTSoxFan]

Today was my second official day on the job here in Pittsburgh and I have just finished getting my office organized. I am really excited about working here with the Bucs, especially with Paul again, and I think that this team has potential and with some work it could actually be somewhat of a winner.

One very important thing that Billy Beane taught me in Oakland is to surround yourself with people who think like you do. He has always surrounded himself with a great front office staff and it really made working there easier, because everyone had their own job and did it well, but everyone was always on the same page. The first thing I did when I got the job was sit down with the team owner, Mr. Avery as well as Paul, and discussed who I would like to hire for my front office. Mr. Avery is a great guy, and he gave me full authority to hire a team that I liked, so I have.

The first person I contacted when I got to my office that day was a good friend of mine, Jeff Bridich. Jeff was a Harvard teammate and a former right fielder who graduated in 2000 and played two seasons with me on the Crimson. Bridich went into the MLB offices after graduating as Coordinator of Minor League Operations, before being hired to his current job, as the Colorado Rockies Director of Minor League Operations. Bridich is a really smart guy and has a great baseball mind and I knew he would fit right in here in Pittsburgh and I was glad he took the job, as Assistant General Manager.

Jeff brought along someone who has worked with him in Colorado the past few years, Jon Weil, who has served as director of minor league operations. Weil will be the team's director of player development.

Doug Strange has moved back into the front office as a special assistant to the general manager and I have also brought in a guy I got to know well while working in Oakland, Eddie Epstein, a former member of the San Diego Padres front office and an important member of STATS Inc. Eddie will also be a special assistant to the GM.

To fill the role of scouting director I wanted to bring in someone who thinks in the same way that Paul and I do, so we decided to hire Grady Fuson, the former Scouting Director of the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers, who worked closely with Paul and I in Oakland. Grady had been serving as a special assistant to the GM in San Diego.

To fill the remaining spots in my front office I called Billy Beane and asked if I could take two guys from the lower part of his office, and he agreed.

The first person I talked to was Adam Rhoden, the Athletics Video Coordinator. Rhoden has become a great friend of mine, as we spent a ton of time together as I reviewed video. Adam isn’t just great with video, but is also a great baseball guy and has a bright future in the Front Office, and that’s why I wanted to bring him here. He agreed to take the position as Director of Player Personnel. Adam is from the Oakland area and is a Stanford graduate, and is just 27 years old.

Finally I had to find a Director of Baseball Operations, and went to the Athletics again. Farhan Zaidi, a MIT grad and who also attended Berkeley grad school, and was born in Canada and grew up in the Philippines, playing baseball for an independent team during high school. Zaidi was the fourth man in line in Oakland, behind Billy, myself, and the new Assistant GM Keith Lieppman. Zaidi spent a year working for www.smallworld.com a fantasy baseball site that has since been acquired by Sporting News. Zaidi just recently earned his PHD in Economics from Berkeley.

Our front office is shaping up to be a great one, maybe one day one that will be as famous as Billy’s, but first we have to turn this place around. First thing we are going to do when everyone gets here in a few days is hire a coaching staff, then look at our roster and evaluate everyone. Rhodey (Adam Rhoden) is in the process of putting together video packages for all players in our organization, which will be a big help, and once we hire a manager we can all sit down and figure out what we have here. November will be spent mostly fine-tuning the remaining 2005 roster and dealing with arbitration and resigning the few free agents we have.

[Klew1986]

I love this dynasty so far. Are you using Cubbyfans most recent roster release??? I'm thinking about starting a dynasty for fun, but wondering what roster you are using? Also, do you have AOL?? If so what is your SN?

[CTSoxFan]

Im using the world baseball template rosters, whatever that set is. I don't have AIM, it doesnt work on this computer.

[Klew1986]

Ok, I don't know if you like his rosters, but Cubbyfan said he will be releasing an update this afternoon. Where do you find the World Baseball roster thing?

[CTSoxFan]

I think the world baseball one is Cubbys 06 OOTP6.5 rosters, imported into OOTP06, there are some minor problems, but it doesn't really bother me.

http://ootpdevelopments.com/board/sh...d.php?t=127202

I am actually considering restarting the league, since I haven't done much, redoing those transactions and using the new Cubbys roster, but I'm not sure yet. Those rosters are probably a lot better, I have been noticing a lot of ratings issues in the world template.

[Klew1986]

Yeah. Except for Cubbyfans release today, all he has done so far is re-rate the AAA players/teams. It will probably be another 2-4 weeks before his roster is completely done and updated.

[And1pg2]

Absolutely love this so far. I'm a huge Bucco fan IRL, so it's good to actually see a Pirate team going in the right direction, instead of having no direction at all. Hopefully you can turn this young team around and get them to that .500 mark!

[CTSoxFan]

Skinner Named New Pirates Manager

By John Tressler



Joel Skinner, formerly the Cleveland Indians bench coach, was announced as the new Pittsburgh Pirates manager by CEO Paul DePodesta and General Manager Dave Forst in a press conference yesterday afternoon at PNC Park. Skinner, who is 45, has been coaching with the Indians for the past six years. Prior to those six years with the major league club, Skinner found large amounts of success with the Indians' minor league clubs for six seasons from 1995 to 2000. Skinner is the son of former Pittsburgh Pirates' outfielder Bob Skinner, and played in the major leagues with Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, and Indians for nine seasons. Skinner was drafted by the Pirates in 1979, but in 1982 he was drafted by the White Sox from the Bucs as a compensation pick. Skinner played two seasons in the Pirates minor league system.

DePodesta said that the Pirates hired Skinner because, "He is a guy who knows how to coach the old fashioned way, but is still open to new ideas, like statistical analysis, the stuff that our front office loves. His success in the minors shows how good he is at what he does."

Skinner has a major Pittsburgh connection, his father Bob, played with the Pirates from 1954-1963 and won a World Championship with the Bucs in 1960. Joel's playing career began in 1979 when the Pirates drafted the young catcher out of high school in the 37th round. Two years later Skinner was the first player taken in the free agent compensation draft, by the White Sox, after two seasons playing for the Pirates' class A affiliates, Shelby and Greenwood. He finished with a career batting average of .228 (329-1441) with 17 HR & 136 RBI in 564 Major League games. He was then traded to the Yankees and later onto Cleveland. He spent the last three seasons of his career from 1992-94 battling back from right shoulder surgery after the 1991 season before turning to managing in 1995.

Skinner immediatly found success managing in the Indians' farm system. After one year as a roving catching instructor, Skinner became the manager of the Watertown Indians, whom he led to the New York-Penn League Title and won Manager of the Year honors. The next season he led the Columbus Redstixx to a second-half title in the South Atlantic League and in 1997, he managed the Class A Kinston Indians (Carolina League) in 1997 as they won titles in both the first and second halves with an 87-53 record, earning him, again earning him Manager of the Year honors. Skinner then managed the Akron Aeros in 1998 & 1999 and was named USA Today Baseball Weeklys Minor League Manager of the Year in 1998 after guiding the Aeros to an 81-60 record and an Eastern League regular season title. .In 2000, Joel managed the AAA Buffalo Bisons to the best record in the International League and an IL North Division title with a record of 86-59, earning him IL Manager of the Year honors, as well as Minor League Manager of the Year honors from Sporting News and Baseball America. In his six seasons as minor league manager in the Indians farm system he compiled a record of 448-333

After his big success with Indianapolis in 2000, Skinner moved up to the major league club, where he coached third base. In 2002 Skinner served as interim manager, and compiled a record of 35-41 in the second half of 2002 in his first big league managerial opportunity, including a record of 15-13 in September. When Eric Wedge was hired as manager, Skinner returned to his role as third base coach, before becoming the bench coach last season.

Skinner should name his coaching staff today.


Skinner while coaching third base.

[HoustonGM]

I'd definitely suggest switching to Cubby's newest update, if you're up to it.

Love this dynasty so far. It's the first OOTP one that i've found that interests me. (Mainly, the only dynasties anywhere that interest me are 2006 ones with real players..something I see may be hard to come by in OOTP! )

I'll be reading!

[PGH726]

the name of this dynasty caught my eye and i just had to check it out. i love the idea of making the pirates one of the premier teams in the mlb a great idea. they are one of the oldest and not a past storied past either. good luck with your dynasty!!!

[CTSoxFan]

Originally Posted by HoustonGM

I'd definitely suggest switching to Cubby's newest update, if you're up to it.

Love this dynasty so far. It's the first OOTP one that i've found that interests me. (Mainly, the only dynasties anywhere that interest me are 2006 ones with real players..something I see may be hard to come by in OOTP! )

I'll be reading!

Thanks for reading, I'm not sure if I'm gonna switch or not, if I do I'll take away the world leagues, but they're messed up anyways.

Originally Posted by PGH726

the name of this dynasty caught my eye and i just had to check it out. i love the idea of making the pirates one of the premier teams in the mlb a great idea. they are one of the oldest and not a past storied past either. good luck with your dynasty!!!

Thanks for the luck

[CTSoxFan]

Bench Coach - Torey Lovullo - Lovullo, who is 41, was a key steal from the Cleveland Indians minor league organization by Joel Skinner. Lovullo was named the top manager prospect by Baseball America after last season and was a rising star in the Indians organization. Lovullo had also become close friends with Skinner, who served as somewhat of a mentor for Lovullo after Torey retired from baseball in 1999 and the became an instructor in the Indians' minor league system. Luvollu spent one season as an instructor with the Buffalo Bisons' in 2000 while Skinner managed and played on the Akron Aeros under Skinner for a short time in 1999. Lovullo has risen steadily through the ranks of professional baseball. He planned on returning to Buffalo in 2006 after winning back-to-back Manager of the Year Awards with the Carolina League's Kinston Indians and the Eastern League's Akron Aeros in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Lovullo, a former major league infielder, was considered as a managerial candidate for the Los Angeles Dodgers vacant job that was filled by Grady Little earlier this off-season. This job as a bench coach could serve as a jump-off point into a managerial job soon.



Pitching Coach - Charles Nagy Nagy, 39, is another rising star in the coaching ranks that Skinner has brought onto his staff. In Skinner's last major league season in 1990, he was the starting catcher for the Indians, while Nagy was a top prospect on the team as a 23 year old. Skinner acted as a friend and mentor to the rising pitcher and the two have had a close bond since that time. Nagy is a former all-star who played in 14 seasons from 1990 to 2003, with the Cleveland Indians until 2002, and the San Diego Padres in his final MLB season. Nagy finished his career with a record of 129-105 in 318 games. Nagy spent his first two seasons (2003 and 2004) after retirement as a special assistant to baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians, a job that Skinner helped him land. Nagy then moved on to become the pitching coach for the Salt Lake Bees, the Triple A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.



Hitting Coach - Gerald Perry Skinner has decided to keep Gerald Perry on the coaching staff after talking with many of the Pirates hitters. The top hitters on the team, including Jason Bay, Craig Wilson, and Jack Wilson say that Perry has done a lot to help improve the team and is one of the best hitting coaches in the league. Perry was considering moving to another team after McLendon was fired, but Skinner was able to convince him to stay on. In his first season as the Pirates hitting coach in 2003, the team batting average improved 23 points from .244 and a last place finish in 2002 to a .267 mark and a third place ranking in the National League in 2003.



First Base Coach/Infield Coach - Bill Selby Selby is a former Cleveland Indians infielder who played at Buffalo and Akron under Joel Skinner. He was a power hitter who has worked in the Cleveland Indians system as a roving instructor since retirement from baseball in 2004. He hit six home runs in 2002, including the most dramatic of his career, a pinch hit walk off grand slam against Mariano Rivera of the Yankees on July 14.



Third Base Coach/Outfield Coach - Mike Pagliarulo "Pags" was a good friend of Skinner while the two played for the New York Yankees and is a talented scout, who has run his own international scouting corporation until he sold the company this past off-season. Looking to stay in baseball, and itching to be back near the field he took the job with his good friend in hopes of climbing through the ranks of baseball coaching. "Pags" has a lot of experience in scouting and will assist the front office at times.



Bullpen Coach - Chris Nichting Nichting is a former Indians farmhand who has worked as a pitching instructor in the minor leagues since retirement. He pitched for Skinner with the Bisons in 2000.

[CTSoxFan]

Forst Says Wilson 'Not For Sale'

By John Tressler

Craig Wilson, formerly the starting right fielder for the Pirates, is not on the trade block according to new general manager Dave Forst. Rumors had circulated that the Pirates were looking to trade the outfielder/first baseman, but Forst said that "Wilson is not for sale. He is a key player on our team and will compete for a starting job at first base and right field. Just because [Sean] Casey and [Jeromy] Burnitz were brought in to the team, does not mean that Craig [Wilson] is out of a job." A source inside the Pirates front office told the Gazette that Wilson had been on the block, but was taken off after team's were unwilling to meet the high demands for the veteran slugger.

With Jason Bay set in left field and Casey most likely set at first base, Burnitz and Wilson will be forced to battle it out for the starting job in right field, and one will be a very expensive backup. Wilson is set to make 3.3 million in 2006, while Burnitz signed a one year deal worth 6 million. Sources also say that Burnitz may be used as trade bait and was signed to add another slugger to the team that can be moved for younger players at the trade deadline, while also making Wilson expendable if the right deal comes up.

Wilson, who is 29, has played with the Pirates since his debut in 2001, and has 95 career home runs. Last season Wilson hit 5 home runs in 59 games after being injured. Even though he was injured last season, he still managed a .387 OBP in 197 AB’s. The reason he was able to do this is because of his great patience at the plate. Wilson hit 29 home runs with 82 RBIs in 2004. Manager Joel Skinner said, "I am not afraid to not start someone. I look at who is the better player, not who makes the most money. We can't play everyone." The Burnitz signing does give the Pirates protection in case Wilson is injured again, something that happened twice in the past two seasons.

Burnitz, who turned down a contract from Baltimore, refused to comment on the matter yesterday, but has said that he expected to be the starter in right field. Burnitz is 37 years old and has played in the majors since 1993 with the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, and last season the Cubs, where he hit .258 with 24 home runs and 87 RBI. In 2004 while in Colorado Burnitz had a career year, hitting 37 home runs, with 110 runs driven in, while hitting a career best .283. He has 314 career home runs, but a career batting average of .234. He is very much an older version of Wilson, with less plate patience and less ability to get on base.


After a questionable signing of Burnitz for 6 million, the right field battle for the Pirates between Burnitz and Wilson is shaping up to be a bitter one.

[TheGame08]

The only reason I can think you would keep him is if he still has a catcher rating. Then he would be the veteran you were looking to add to the mix.

[HoustonGM]

Question for any readers: Are there any other good 2006 dynasties?

[CTSoxFan]

Bonds and Beyond isnt bad. And I suggest that you read some of Craig Knox's Pale Hose dynasty, it isnt in 2006 (I think its 2007 not sure), but he started with a 2004 roster set, simulated 2 years ahead and has now played two seasons, writing about every single game. Its very interesting and he is a great writer.

[CTSoxFan]

Originally Posted by TheGame08

The only reason I can think you would keep him is if he still has a catcher rating. Then he would be the veteran you were looking to add to the mix.

I don't think he does, but according to my head scout, he is the third best hitter on my team, so that makes me want to hang on to him. Plus I haven't been able to find any team who would give me what I want in return. I'm probably going to just keep him until the deadline and then trade Burnitz or Wilson. If I'm somehow still in the Wild Card or Division ( ) race, then I'll trade the one doing worse for me, if not I'll trade the better of the two to get younger.

[CTSoxFan]

Edit: If I don't get any updates up this weekend its because,

A) I'm working a lot.

B) I'm editing the Cubbys set to fit the roster changes in my dynasty so far and editing some ratings to fit what I prefer more.

[HoustonGM]

Here's me anxiously awaiting the next update..