As I always post..Pirates are at it again...

[xero380]

Pirates shuffle outfield in pair of deals
Comment Email Print Share
ESPN.com news services

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates, swapping outfielders at a rapid rate for the second successive season, sent starting left fielder Nyjer Morgan to the Washington Nationals in a four-player deal involving outfielder Lastings Milledge.

Earlier Tuesday, they shipped backup Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees.

The Pirates, who have pushed to restock a thin farm system by making numerous trades over the last year, get Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan from the Nationals for the fleet Morgan and left-hander Sean Burnett, a former first-round draft pick.

Earlier, they sent 2002 AL Rookie of the Year Hinske to the Yankees for minor league right-hander Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer. The Yankees also get some cash to help pay Hinske's $1.5 million salary.

Just as they did last season by dealing Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, the Pirates have traded two of their three starting outfielders before Aug. 1. They sent former NL All-Star center fielder Nate McLouth to the Braves on June 4 for pitcher Charlie Morton and two other prospects.

Though rumored for several days, the Nationals trade is somewhat surprising because the Pirates dealt Morgan -- who turns 28 on Thursday -- less than halfway through a promising first season as a starter. He is hitting .277 with 2 homers and 27 RBIs, only four fewer than No. 3 hitter Freddy Sanchez, and has 18 steals, although he has been thrown out 10 times.

Milledge, a former top Mets prospect, has played in only seven games with Washington while part of the season rehabilitating a broken right ring finger that required surgery in May. He is expected to join Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up by Pittsburgh later this month.

Milledge, 23, has more power than Morgan -- he has 25 homers in 897 career at-bats -- but has bothered frequently by injury problems that include a broken right hand, sore foot and groin strain. He hit .268 with 14 homers, 61 RBIs and 24 doubles in 138 games last season, earning him a spot on the cover of the Nationals' media guide this season.

Still, Milledge was a major disappointment to the Nationals, who dealt two starters -- catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church -- to acquire Milledge from the Mets in November 2007.

The right-handed Hanrahan, 27, is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in 34 games -- he was demoted from the closer's job -- and has a 5.30 ERA in 115 career games. Burnett, the Pirates' top pick in 2000, is 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 38 games and has pitched in 96 games the last two seasons.

The 31-year-old Hinske hit .255 in 106 at-bats this season with nine doubles, one homer and 11 RBIs, playing right field, first base and third base. He was 8 for 24 as a pinch hitter and has been disappointed by a lack of playing time.

Through June 29 last year, he had 13 home runs en route to a 20-home run season with the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays. He won the rookie award with Toronto in 2002, when he hit .279 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs, and was a member of Boston's World Series championship team in 2007.

The 23-year-old Erickson was 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts and 18 relief appearances at Class A Charleston this season. Fryer, also 23, hit .250 with 11 doubles, two homers, 24 RBIs and 11 steals for Class A Tampa after leading the South Atlantic League with a .335 average last year for West Virginia. He was obtained by the Yankees in February for left-hander Chase Wright.

To fill Hinske's roster spot, Pittsburgh purchased the contract of 28-year-old outfielder Garrett Jones from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit .307 with 18 doubles, 12 homers, 48 RBIs and 14 steals.
_____________________________________________________________

That's two guys now they traded away that they "brought up through the sytem as an above average major leaguer". I'll still be a loyal Pirates fan but that's all we are anymore from top to bottom is a farm system. I liked Morgan esp. watching him play for Altoona when I started working in the Production Booth in 2006 at BCB. What a shame.

[joltinjeff]

I FREAKIN" GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What the hell are they doing?????????? Now the Pirates will finish at least 25 games below .500 and at least 30-35 games out of first place. It it time that someone in the front off (technically my boss Bill NUTting) should get rid of Neal Huntington and Frank Connely. These guys are worst than the ones before and Cam Bonifay who sent his own son someplace else!!!!!!!!!
I hate the Phillies and I am not jumping on any damned bandwagon to rout for anyone else!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe I will start watching Wimbeldon and other things like soccer and the World Series of Poker and other interesting TV shows instead of tuning into FOX Sports to hear Stan Savaran, Bob Walk, Tim Neverette, Tim Brown and all these other "homer" commentators saying what a good move it was and not being able to say... "The Pirates front office screwed up again by sending another one of the team's best players to a team that does not need any help. Watch Morgan become an All-Star and Hinske hit about 30 home runs and these dildos they got in the trade turn into a big bunch of steamming pile of dog shit!!!!!!!

[GoneForever]

I heard about the Morgan trade the other day. I was hoping it was just a rumor.

[PStl]

McCutchen coming up made Morgan replaceable.
No need for 2 speed guys in the OF.
Pirates need POWER!
Hinske was worth the gamble, but 1 HR in 106 AB = the door.
Milledge hopefully stays healthy and becomes a 25/100 guy.
If Pence can win the other COF spot, they will have 3 OF's with power potential.
Hanrahan for Burnett could be a Pirate steal.
Nationals needed help defensively, and at leadoff, but overpaid for Morgan.
Pirates get some depth in the minors from the Yankees.
Good deal.

[f.sciarrillo]

No wonder they have'nt had a winning season in 17 years.. sheesh ..

[Banned]

No wonder they have'nt had a winning season in 17 years.. sheesh ..

I think that if they go one more year with a losing season, that it will set the all time mark for losing seasons, for ALL professional sports franchises.

[Jim Price]

As one of the local sports radio talking heads recently asked, when will the Pirates finally decide that they have arrived at the team they've been trying to put together?

It's nice to keep going after the prospects and plotting out future scenarios, but at some point, all this stuff has to start coming together to produce results. How are the Pirates ever going to realize if they have "the team" they've been assembling if they keep trading everyone? How can they gauge progress if the team never has a chance to develop any long-term chemistry?

It will be nice if all these prospects pan out and live up to the potential the Pirates envision...But if not, it could get a whole lot uglier.

[ozwalt816]

I'm with Phil....this deal was not that bad "on paper".....however, when you read how Jack Wilson spoke out to the media against the trade, it's easy to read between the lines....the trade has created potential dissension because in the players' opinions, Nyger brings more to the table than just speed and a lefty slap hitter at best....he must have been a great young guy to be around in the clubhouse as well....as for Burnett, can't we get rid of Grabow instead....obvious answer is "NO" because who in their right mind would want Grabow....Hinske has done next to nothing all year, so who cares!!!

I will root for them, but I will not spend my money on a management that has consistently ripped off the loyal fans of Pittsburgh...IF they hold on to Adam LaRoche, Freddie Sanchez, and Jack Wilson through July, they will remain in contention and perhaps I'll attend in August, but don't count on it....the way Jack Wilson is openly expressing his discontent with management and the fact that the Red Sox need a shortstop has me worried.....Jack is truly one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball...also, Sanchez and LaRoche will most likely be this year's Nady and Bay...oh well, Phlly is too far away and Baltimore is worse than Pittsburgh and twice the price

Go Pens!!

S

[PStl]

I also agree with JP, but you can run this team out there for 162 games and if they finish under .500, where are you?

This is the time when you get the most value, so you must make this deal.

The Pirates had a change of attitude when they drafted Alvarez, now you just have to wait it out!

It's all about drafting, and $$$ signing $$$, great players!!! (when you're the Pirates).

Plus, they've missed on so many cheap free agents, maybe it's the Major League scouts, who are they anyway? Friends, etc. cashing a check. The bench coaching has been below average, at best, for years.

[Colton]

and as I always say..


People still play baseball???

[witchhunt]

and as I always say..


People still play baseball???

And as I always say...
"People still play the blues?"

Actually, out of all the teams that are last in their division, The Bucs are 6.o GB. All the others are between 10.5 and 17.5 GB.

[GoneForever]

and as I always say..


People still play baseball???

And as I always say...
"People still play the blues?"

Only when the Banana Republic runs out of khakis.

[GoneForever]

Jack Wilson spoke pretty honestly about the trade...

http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/news/ ... p&c_id=pit

"They are building something," Wilson said, referring to management. "Unfortunately, none of us here are kind of seeing that direction. We understand that it's a business and that they have to do what they have to do to make the team better. Hopefully it does. I just know there are a lot of people in this clubhouse who aren't going to be here, so we don't care too much about it.

[Hawk]

I give up. I really liked Nyjer. No more Pirates for me this year.

I think the owners suck. Soon they'll tell us the Pirates are moving to another city because they can't make any money in Pittsburgh. That's a prediction I'll bet on.

[DirtySanchez]

This is why I became a Phillies fan when I was a kid. fuck'em.

They don't need a winning team, you boneheads keep buying tickets regardless. Keep supporting. lol

The Pirates are the Rolling Stones of baseball. They barely resemble what they used to be, yet people still go to see them and are paying more to do so.

[witchhunt]

Maybe the Rooneys will save us all.

[moxham123]

I don't really follow baseball much anymore but it seems that the Pirates are a major league farm team that takes promising prospect players and develops them into good players and trades them to other teams.

[witchhunt]

I don't really follow baseball much anymore but it seems that the Pirates are a major league farm team that takes promising prospect players and develops them into good players and trades them to other teams.

The nerve!...Well...Maybe you're right.

[Plastered Bastards]

City Of Champions!!!! and the Pirates