The Shape of Things to Come

Like a sailor celebrating one last day on land before shipping out to seas feared and forbidding, the Pirates snagged another victory in the comforting climes of PNC Park today. The 6-5 triumph over the Colorado Rockies was notable in several regards: a rare one-run win, and in come-from behind fashion, no less; a fine recovery from what could have been a dispiriting nine-run loss the night before; a win over a pitcher (Jason Jennings) whose recent performances had been among the best in the league; and last, but not least, a second straight series win, giving the the team a 4-2 homestand.

Zach Duke also got his second straight win, although again in unimpressive fashion, to improve his record to 7-8. The win is the good news; the bad news is he surrendered a 3-1 lead in the sixth by giving up three runs, before the offense rescued him with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

With slightly less than two weeks to go before the trading deadline, we are again left to ponder a question raised by the Buccin' Ear earlier in the season: Who are these guys? (see post of June 11.)

Zach Duke is one of these guys, of course, but the Buccin' Ear, for one, has no clear idea of who he is. His two wins since the All-Star break have done nothing to improve his plus-five ERA, and he has been in a month-and-a-half-long funk. At least he's consistent. His outing today (six innings, four earned runs) is about what you expect from him these days, which is more than you can say for any other pitcher on the staff.

Lest anyone ask why the Buccin' Ear is quibbling after a win, the simple response is, the team is about to go on the road, where the offense has been far less potent than at home. The Pirates keep looking for a lift from their pitching staff, and it simply hasn't been there. Simply stated, this team is going nowhere (as if it weren't there already) if the starting pitching continues at its current pace.

So that brings us to the subject of Kip Wells, whose departure is apparently imminent. It's hard to lament the loss of anyone whose post-2003 contribution has been as minimal as Wells', but we are still left with the question of who will fill his spot. At this point, the only viable options appear to be Victor Santos or Oliver Perez. The latter is 0-2 for Indianapolis with a 4.58 ERA since his demotion, which isn't very encouraging, although he has 23 strikeouts vs. 4 walks in 20 innings. The Buccin' Ear isn't much of a fan of Santos as a starter, so it says here that OP gets a call-back. The more nagging question is, how long does the team with Tom Un-Terrific Gorzelanny, but we'll jump off that bridge when we come to it.

All signs point to an end to the brief homecoming of Sean Casey, who deserved better. The best bet here, as the Post-Gazette pointed out, is to work out a deal for the Rockies' Ryan Shealy, who has no future with Colorado as a first baseman. The kid can hit, and the Pirates have some relievers who could help the Rockies, who are hurting in that area with the collapse of Ray King and the departure of Chris Dohmann and David Cortes to the minor leagues. As noted in an earlier post, the Rockies' recent travails can largely be blamed on their suddenly vulnerable bullpen, including All-Star closer Brian Fuentes. Could Roberto Hernandez or Damaso Marte help them? You bet. And Shealy would be a great addition. The team needs to make this a top priority.

Joe Randa has shown a lot of class since his injury and job loss to Freddie Sanchez, who simply made the third base job his. Joe has hit well in spot duty since his return, which is not an easy thing to do, and the team would do well to reward him with a trade to a contending team.

Jeromy Burnitz, on the other hand, has zero trade value, as he combines a hefty contract with a poor set of stats. The Buccin' Ear could come up with all the different possible scenarios for moving JB, but the fact is, the inept front office got themselves into this one, and they probably need to eat plenty of unwanted material to move him along. It would be nice to think that this will be a lesson to them, but....naaaaaaaaaaaah.

So excluding pitching and assuming for the moment that the Pirates were to get Shealy, the position player problem for the Pirates is as follows:

Jose Bautista has obviously earned a spot somewhere. If he stays in CF, however, RF would be manned by Craig Wilson or Nate McLouth, with one of the two left out in the cold. If the team doesn't get Shealy and lets Casey go, Wilson is the only option at first, barring some other move. That leaves McLouth in right, not his natural position.

If McLouth is in center, Bautista becomes the question mark. His natural position is third, but there is a guy named Sanchez there.

The X Factor, it says here, is Chris Duffy. If he could return to the form he had shown last year, he could man center, Wilson could take over right, Bautista would move to third, Sanchez would move to second and...

Jose Castillo, who would command some value, would be traded. The trade choice, otherwise, is Wilson, but that leaves RF in the hands of McLouth or...Jose Hernandez? Have another drink. Trade McLouth? Okay, but for whom? He has an OBP of .298 and has yet to prove himself.

The problem, as it has been for some time, is frickin' right field.

Want to be Pirates GM? Be my guest.