Kuzul

With Zach Greinke off the board signing with the Milwaukee Brewers, what if the Twins were in a position to grab their neighbor to the east’s other prized possession, Prince Fielder? Bleacher Report will examine this possibility and rate it on a scale of one to 10 with one being the least likely. We will also look at a few other stars in major league baseball and their chances of playing the Twin Cities in the near future.

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On a day where the Pirates made some minor moves by signing Garrett Atkins to a minor league deal, acquiring minor league shortstop Corey Wimberly from Oakland, claimed left-hander Aaron Thompson of waivers from Washington, and designated reliever Wil Ledezma for assignment, it’s time to take a different look at some of the Pirates needs.

It’s the holiday season, so just like everyone else, the Pirates have their wish list for Christmas.

Only time will tell if the Buccos have been naughty or nice.  Maybe some of their wishes can be granted.

So without any delay, lets look at the Top 10 items on the Pittsburgh Pirates Christmas list.

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At long last, a man has been called upon to take command of a sinking ship. 

Clinton Merrick Hurdle will take over as the newest manager of a Pittsburgh Pirate team in desperate need of some proper direction.  He comes to the team fresh off a bench ride with the Texas Rangers to their first World Series appearance in franchise history.

Hurdle was the Rockies manager from 2002 through the early part of the 2009 season. He led the team to the 2007 World Series and had a 534-625 record with Colorado.

I know many Pirate fans have to be happy that this long and exhaustive search for a new skipper has finally come to an end.  Of the two “finalists” for the gig, I felt Hurdle was far and away the better candidate over Jeff Banister. 

Hurdle brings a wealth of hitting instructor experience, which can’t hurt with the young emerging superstars the Pirates have on offense.  I am anxious to see if he can help Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez develop even further as major league hitters.

What remains to be seen in what staff Hurdle will put into place to fill out the major league coaching staff.  Hopefully a top notch pitching instructor will enter the mix, as this team will be going nowhere without improvement in that facet of the game.

The “best management team in baseball” didn’t take the cheap way out this time, so hopefully it’s a sign the franchise is ready to start taking all the necessary steps to put a winner on the field. 

Now let’s see if they can get Hurdle some more talent to manage.  I think the fans of Pittsburgh have been more than patient with this ownership group and hope that the promise of better times to come will be honored this time around. 

All in all I am happy with the hiring as they went outside the organization to bring in someone who knows how to win.  Hopefully, that will help inject new blood and new life into this organization as it continues the transition from perennial losers to championship contenders.

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It’s been a little over two weeks since the Pittsburgh Pirates last interviewed a candidate for the open managerial position.  They’ve yet to name a manager and many believe that the Pirates were waiting for the New York Yankees to get eliminated from the playoffs.

Could they be waiting for another guy and another team to get eliminated from the playoffs?  Maybe Texas Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle?

It makes sense.

Hurdle, as manager of the Colorado Rockies, has shown the ability to deal with young players.  He handled the learning process great as skipper of the Rockies.  He took a last place team and guided them to the only World Series appearance in franchise history.

It would be a good fit because the Pirates had the youngest roster in the majors last season and likely will get even younger through the next couple seasons.

In Colorado, Hurdle became the public face of the franchise, which elevated credibility of the Rockies as a competitive threat in the eyes of baseball fans. This is important in Pittsburgh as well. 

While young studs like Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez will become the face of the franchise with time, it also would be good for the team to have a respected leader like Hurdle guiding the ship.

That’s what would separate a guy like Hurdle from the likes of Pena and the others.  That’s no knock on Pena and the other candidates, as they are all great baseball minds, but Hurdle has earned respect as a manager, while Pena and the others have not.

In seven-plus years as a manager in Colorado, Hurdle’s record was only 535-624, but after building with the young talent, he won the National League pennant in 2007.

He just may be the guy that the Pirates are waiting for.

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I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats anxiously awaiting to see who would be so lucky to be honored by achieving my year-end Pirates awards.

On a team that lost 105 games, awards aren’t likely for many of these guys. Or deserved for that matter. What fun would that be though?

Let’s dive right in and see who receives the dubious honors to conclude the 2010 season.

Feel free to comment and add your own opinions on each award.

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The Pirates are concluding yet another terrible season with only two games left in the 2010 schedule. They are going to pick first overall in next year’s draft and have over 100 losses.

This seems pretty dim and honestly it is hard to get excited over much, but the Pirates have their young core finally and have reinforcements on the way.

With any luck they will be just a little bit better in 2011 and will make huge strides in 2012. No need to look that far ahead as you will need a reason to get tickets for next year.

These are the five players that will have you glued to the television next year when the Pirates are on FSN.

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With all of the troubles with its parent club in 2010, the Pirates AA affiliate Altoona Curve and the High-A affiliate Bradenton Marauders recently completed very successful seasons.

In case you haven’t noticed, or have been too turned off by the latest 100 loss season by the Pirates, most of the real talent in the organization are currently playing at one of these two levels.

All of the trades and all of the last three successful drafts will wind up paying off in the form of these talented young players. For once, the Pirates have “real” prospects.

The Curve recently became Eastern League Champions. They defeated the Trenton Thunder, the AA affiliate of the New York Yankees to bring home the crown.

The marauders didn’t have as much success, losing to the Charlotte Stone Crabs in the opening round of the Florida State League playoffs. Charlotte is the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Rays.

Before you ask, this is not a case of the Pirates sacrificing major league success for minor league championships. This is the process starting to pay off. There is legitimate talent at each level. Hopefully, within a couple of years, we won’t have to hear the term “rebuild” any longer in Pittsburgh.

Here is a look at the prospects currently in Altoona. These will be the names you should be hearing in Pittsburgh within a couple of seasons.

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Since this season became a wash a really long time ago, there are still several things worth keeping an eye on the rest of the season. How will the rookies perform the rest of the season? What will the Pirates do at the trading deadline? Will this season’s team lose 100 games?

All of these areas could draw the casual fans interest, but for me there is one area worth keeping an eye on that will go a long way to determining what type of season the Pirates will have in 2011. Can these guys learn to win on the road?

The Pirates are semi-respectable 23-26 at the friendly confines of PNC Park, but are a dismal 11-38 on the road; including winning only three of their last 28 road games.

Good teams tend to play at least .500 ball on the road and the Pirates haven’t come close to that of late. In the two-plus year tenure of John Russell as the Pirates manager, the Pirates are only 61-149 (as of Sunday) away from Pittsburgh- worst in baseball.

Currently there are twenty teams in the majors sitting with records above .500 and all but seven are playing above .500 ball on the road. Out of those seven, only the Mets, Rockies, Tigers and Cardinals sit more than five games under .500 away from their home ball parks.

Teams have won before without winning records on the road, but for this Pirates team to get to the point where everyone wants them to be, they have to start winning on the road, plain and simple. You can’t compete on a nightly basis when you have no chance of competing on the road.

What’s been the problem? Pretty much everything. Offensively, the Pirates are hitting only .235 as team on the road, compared to .250 at home. Neither number is very good, but they have to hit better on the road to win.

The difference is the pitching staff is more glaring. The Pirates staff has a 4.39 era at home, yet on the road there is over a runs difference where they have a 5.68 road era.

Pretty much every statistical category needs to improve on the road for them to consistently win. The biggest thing they are missing is confidence. It seems they expect to lose most of the time on the road and when one bad thing happens, it snowballs on them.

Leadership is also a problem.  The Pirates need a go-to-guy in the clubhouse.  Someone that can speak up and lead by example.  That guy has to be Andrew McCutchen.  Granted he’s only in his second season, but this has to become his team.  He needs to be the guy that changes whatever routine this team has on the road.

Everything they do must change and change for the good.

The Pirates can begin to change that culture the rest of the season. The team faces 32 more games on the road and it should be a focal point to go out and compete and win more than half of these games.

Half of losing is attitude. Let’s see the Pirates start to change that attitude by becoming successful away from home. If they wind up the season well, then maybe these guys will expect to win away from PNC park next season.

That challenge begins with the current six game road trip to Colorado and St. Louis. Hopefully they come back to Pittsburgh with at least four wins.

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Who woke up the Pirates offense after the all-star break? Whoever it was, what took you so long? The Pirates entered the break with pretty much the worse offense in baseball. It looked like it would be another long and dreadful summer, but the Bucs have come out swinging the sticks to begin the second half of the season.

So far, in six games after the all-star break, the Pirates have scored 50 runs on 77 hits, going 4-2 in that span. That averages out to a major league best 8.3 runs per game and 12.8 hits per game. Looking just at the wins after the break, the Pirates are averaging 11.75 runs and 16.25 hits. While I’m not suggesting we are looking at the 1927 Yankees, it has been a nice change of pace from what we’ve been used to seeing from the Pirates bats of late.

What’s the reason for the hot streak? I don’t want to hear that they have been playing bad teams. They have, but those same two bad teams (Houston and Milwaukee) have owned the Pirates up to this point of the season.

The main reason for the success is the approach. We haven’t seen hitters chasing many balls out of the zone. They’ve been waiting for good pitches and when they get them, they are putting good swings on the ball. Another thing I like is that the Pirates have been more aggressive early in the count. They haven’t been digging themselves into an 0-2 hole every at bat. They’ve been jumping on fastballs early, which is a good approach to have for a young team.

Even more impressive is the fact that the Pirates have been hitting well, without the services of Andrew McCutchen, who has missed the last three games nursing a shoulder injury.

Let’s take a look at some numbers through the six games after the all-star break.

McCutchen- 4-12 (.333), 3 RBI’s before he got hurt.

Jose Tabata- 10-27 (.370), 6 RBI’s.

Neil Walker- 14-26 (.538), 7 RBI’s.

Garrett Jones- 6-24 (.250), 1 HR, 5 RBI’s.

Pedro Alvarez- 10-24 (.417), 4 HR’s, 10 RBI’s.

Lastings Milledge- 9-24 (.375), 4 RBI’s.

Ronny Cedeno- 10-24 (.417), 2 RBI’s.

Delwyn Young- 5-7 (.714), 1 HR, 6 RBI’s.

As you can see, everyone other than the catcher platoon of Eric Kratz and Ryan Doumit (combined .192) are hitting well coming out of the break. Not only that, but they are driving in runs and hitting for power. The Bucs have combined for 29 extra base hits in the six games, something that has bee a huge problem all season.

I’m not suggesting that this torrid streak will continue, but it gives you a glimpse at what the Pirates could be capable of. Two things stick out at me. One is the fact that Lastings Milledge is playing everyday. Having a guy hitting a respectable .285 in the middle of the lineup is a major upgrade over a platoon with Ryan Church (currently hitting .190).

The other thing is that the rookies are starting to become legit major league ball players. They’ve made the lineup deeper and more effective. It was just 14 games ago that Alvarez was hitting .065. He has quietly got the average up to .259 with seven HR’s and 20 RBI’s in just 29 games.

Tabata looks like he is becoming a guy that will be a fixture in left field. He’s hitting .266 and has a great approach and a knack for getting on base.

Walker’s bat has been the biggest surprise for me, hitting .319. If the youngsters can keep getting on base and coming up with big hits, the rest of the lineup will prosper. All three of the rookies should see their numbers go up during the final few months of the season.

They still have a few holes, but at least for a few game stretch, we may have seen a glimpse of what could be a productive Pirates offense in the future. If they’ve done anything this last week, they saved John Russell’s job for the near future.

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I am a new writer to the Pittsburgh Pirates page but not a new writer to this site. I have lived in Pittsburgh all my life and have only been a Pirate fan for three years.

I am 20 years old and soon to be 21 in August. As everyone knows about the losing streak, that means I don’t ever recall a good Pirates team.

I got hooked on the Pirates when I bought a 10 game pack and started to attend games in 2008. Funny enough I originally got the 10 game pack to make sure I would have a ticket to one of the Yankee games.

Back to the main point though. I found out that baseball is a great game to watch, and believe it or not the Pirates are fun to watch.

Quickly I took to players like Jason Bay, Nyger Morgan, Matt Capps, Xavier Nady, and Nate McLouth in the first few years of my fandom.

When Duke came up I followed the Pirates very briefly and learned quickly that they weren’t good and they didn’t have many good players. So even though I liked these players it was always done with some reservation.

I knew they wouldn’t be around for the long haul and they certainly wouldn’t be around when we were finally winning. In the time I have been attending Pirates games there have been a lot of bad ones.

Hell I was in the stands when the Cubs made sure we were losers for the 17th straight year. We lost a game 20-0, we were outscored 54-3 in that series, and now we are losers of 10 straight.

Yeah it was frustrating and it was annoying to listen to everyone complain and generally crap all over the Pirates. There was always one thing that made it bearable, the future wasn’t here yet.

Once Andrew McCutchen got called up we got to see the first piece of the future. Then we made a lot of trades and our farm teams had hope again.

We then got to the 2010 season and our farm teams were stacked and the future was primed to come up and make an impact. Well last night Wednesday, June 16th ,2010 the future arrived.

With the arrival of Pedro Alvarez the biggest and best prospects we have now are up. The lineup of Jose Tabata, Neil Walker, McCutchen, and Alvarez represent something new.

They represent “Our Team”, the team that we can fall in love with and not hold back. This is the team that will be together when we win.

This team has a lot of work to do. We need to assemble a pitching staff and we need to assemble a better, younger bullpen. We have another few years ahead of us no doubt.

The new refreshing feeling is though this team is our team and we are going to go through the highs, and more often than not the lows, together for those few years.

Alvarez didn’t do anything spectacular in his debut. He went 0-2 with one strikeout, a lineout, and a walk with one run scored.

Tabata had the best night of the young guys when he went deep for the first time. Alvarez although not wowing on the field did something for all of us fans.

He made this team “Our Team” he made the core of young players here. Tonight wasn’t about our 10th straight loss, it was about this team becoming ours.

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