Non-Pirates Baseball Thread

[thehockeyguru]

Buccos apparantly making a real push for Martin, and it's not going to be near that number floated on rotoworld (4/40), looks like 3/25. that's kind of reasonable.

Really? That still seems high, but if he can platoon with McKenry I would be fine with that. I would like to find a team to take Tabata.

[Troy Loney]

Martin is a veteran catcher, he should be good for 20 HR this year, he's worth that much money. He's not going to hit for average, that's for sure, but I think that money is well spent.

Plus, I don't trust McKenry as a platoon, he's a backup. His strikeout rate is unsustainable in the lineup, he had a nice run last season at one point with the bat, but chasing that production by annointing him a prominent role could be a disaster.

[beerman]

3/25 would be ok, hopefully he could get his average up some (his babip really sucked), even in the 230ish range would end up being a big improvement on Barajas in both average and OBP. The power might not take too big a hit in coming to PNC since Yankee Stadium kinda sucks for right handers too but i think expecting 20 hr is a stretch since last season was the first time he managed to do it. He is starting to strike out a ton so he'd fit good from that standpoint.

Wonder on his defense though it took a little step back last year and his caught stealing percentage was actually a tick worse than Barajas' was in 2011 with LA (20-60 for Barajas in 11, 20-63 for Martin last year). Couple that with a complete disregard to hold runners by the entire organization and it may just continue to be an endless line of steals.

At least he's only going to be 30 so there's a chance he could improve a little and he can hold up to a heavier workload than Barajas could at this point. It's not a huge amount of money but I'm not the least bit confident it would be a good option. Although it may still be the best option amongst a bunch of really crappy ones.

[beerman]

The market for catchers just absolutely blows, even though it isn't an overly palatable option I still wonder if rather than committing 3 years to Martin if they'd be better off just getting someone who can split time with McKenry and see what happens. Then put the money/years in a better commitment, pitching?

Could they be better off throwing $3M at someone like Miguel Olivo (it's depressing thinking about this) who over the last two years has hit 223/248/385 with 31 hr with half his games at Safeco (Martin the last 2 yrs: 224/317/405 39 hr in Yankee Stadium and a much better lineup)? You could get away with a one year commitment most likely and continue looking for a solid catching option or maybe get something more out of McKenry or develop Sanchez (both unlikely). This is not an endorsement for Miguel Olivo because he does suck no denying it. Basically is a low cost option to catch in the neighborhood of 75-90 games or just throw Sanchez in and see what happens and taking the extra money and getting a little more pitching better than committing to just Martin who you can't say with any certainty is going to absolutely be the best option?

If the Yankees aren't willing to pay 3/$25 for a guy they know at a position of need it scares the day lights out of me that the Pirates would..

[columbia]

Can Martin throw out a base runner?

[Troy Loney]

Might as well just bring back fat Ronny.

[thehockeyguru]

Can Martin throw out a base runner?

24% i believe to McKenry's 18%

[beerman]

Can Martin throw out a base runner?

He's had some good years of doing so in the past. Last year he threw out 20 of 63, for perspective Barajas threw out 20 of 60 in his last year in LA. I don't expect anybody to be as bad as Barajas was last year at it but if the pitchers completely ignore base runners like they did last year then I don't think anyone can even approach a league average rate of catching runners. League average over the past 15 years is 29%, so Martin was above average last season but so was Barajas the year before.

[thehockeyguru]

Sanchez needs more seasoning at AAA. He is going to turn 25 in May. I'd like to see him play at least a half season at AAA before he is called up. I dont want Martin at 3/25 without giving Sanchez a shot at some point next year. I'd rather see the Pirates spend that money on a legit #3 starter.

[beerman]

Might as well just bring back fat Ronny.

I'm not saying they should or shouldn't go with a crappy cheap option.. I just think all the options are bad at catcher. I wouldn't hate it if they signed Martin, was basically just wondering if its the best way to spend the little bit of money they have.

[columbia]

Speaking of the money:

I thought the word was that were only going to spend $5-6M total on free agents?

[thehockeyguru]

Speaking of the money:

I thought the word was that were only going to spend $5-6M total on free agents?

That's what I heard as well.

[MWB]

How did this become the Pirates Baseball Thread?

[ulf]

How did this become the Pirates Baseball Thread?
:pop:

Because non-pirates are going to be pirates, and as we all know, all pirates become non-pirates. What?

[KennyTheKangaroo]

any thoughts on david wright singing an extension until 2020?

[columbia]

any thoughts on david wright singing an extension until 2020?

He's totally awesome.

The Mets have to get that deal done, in order to gain some credibility with the fan base.
They are in too shaky a financial situation to give up and watch attendance decline for 4-5 years.

[columbia]

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick
"Watch out for #phillies to surprise everyone and sign Hamilton,'' said one prominent agent. A scout told me the same thing.

[Troy Loney]

Braves trade Hanson to the Angels....not sure what the return is, but either way, I don't think the Braves would have made this move if there weren't something wrong with him

[Kraftster]

Glad I dealt him in fantasy. But seriously, there's definitely something wrong with him.

[Troy Loney]

Glad I dealt him in fantasy. But seriously, there's definitely something wrong with him.

:middle finger:

[Troy Loney]

Another hip sugery for A-Rod,...if I were a Yankee fan i'd really question whether he's going to be committed to put the effort in to fully rehad this injury.

[Rylan]

I was hoping A-Rod would finish his career healthy. That sucks.

[Troy Loney]

Napoli to the Red Sox, that has seemed inevitable for a long time.

[Idoit40fans]

I can't believe someone took Hanson in a fantasy trade.

In other news, it looks like the Braves are going back to those 6 inning games again.

[MWB]

Another hip sugery for A-Rod,...if I were a Yankee fan i'd really question whether he's going to be committed to put the effort in to fully rehad this injury.

He's got a reputation as being a really hard worker, so not really worried about that aspect. I'm more worried that his body now regularly breaks down, he's old, has an awful contract, and this changes the already slim chance he'd get traded to no chance.