Bucco Fever

Posts Tagged Nyjer Morgan

Clubhouse Chemistry

Jun 10

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

I was browsing Twitter this afternoon, when I stumbled upon this remark by @whygavs:

WHYGAVS Tweet

The article he links to appears on the Pittsburgh magazine website.  It would easily be the biggest misuse of a journalistic platform related to the Pirates this year, were it not for the Pirates Report fiasco just a few weeks ago.  While I’m tempted to tear it apart Fire Joe Morgan style, I’m going to go another route.

There are lots of problems with what Conboy is saying.  But the most egregious of them seems to be a comical misunderstanding of the nature of the sport of baseball.  Baseball, at it’s very core is a game of one hitter vs. one pitcher.  It’s that nature that allows a pitcher like Strasburg to completely dominate a game, despite the fact that he plays for a Nationals team that is below .500, even after sweeping the Pirates this week.  Conboy’s assertion that players like Morgan are important to a developing team seems to completely ignore that aspect of the game.  In true team sports like Hockey, Football, and Basketball you have to rely on your teammates to help maximize your performance.  I have no doubt that in those sports guys like Morgan and Billy G can make a profound difference to a teams ability to win a championship.  But in a baseball, an individual sport disguised as a team game, team chemistry is incredibly overrated.

Now don’t get me wrong, Nyj-Mo was one of my favorite players when he was in a Pirates uniform.  He’s a plus defender with speed on the base paths who can survive as a slap hitter because of his speed.  But ultimately, this isn’t about Morgan’s skills on the field but rather what he does off of it for a young team.  From what I know of Morgan, based mostly on interviews and the like, he seems like an very likeable, funny guy.  That likeability almost certainly translates to the clubhouse, helping to keep teammates loose, but the assertion that it translates to wins on the field is at best unproven and at worst just plain wrong.

If Conboy wants to criticize Pirates management because Milledge hasn’t played well since coming to Pittsburgh and we’d be a better team with Morgan back, that’s fine.  It’s pretty clear at this point that Milledge has been a dissapointment.  Maybe you don’t like the risks Neal Huntington has taken in many of his trades and think disgraced former top prospects like Milledge and Clement never workout and aren’t worth trading for.  But that isn’t what Conboy says.  In Conboy’s world, Nyjer Morgan and Doug Mientkiewicz (for the record he never specifically mentions Dougie baseball, I’m just assuming Conboy would put him in the same camp as Morgan) would still be Pirates, and those 2 players would lead their young players to victory.  In the real world talent, not chemistry, is what wins baseball games.  I’ll even go a step further and bet that if the Pirates continue to develop talent, to the point that they become a winning team, the chemistry and morale in their clubhouse will be just fine.

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At the Break – Part 1

Jul 13

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

Last year, The Pittsburgh Pirates finished 67-95, over 30 games out of first place in the NL Central.  Coming into this season, most projections had them doing little better than that 2008 team.  PECOTA, just to give one example, projected the 2009 Pirates to finish with 70 wins.  So far the 2009 Pirates played mostly to those projections, however there are some peripheral statistics to indicate they should be better.  The Pirates currently have a win percentage of .432, which over a 162 game season should translate to a record of 70-92.  Their Pythagorean projection, based on run differential, has them at a record of 43-45.  This comes despite 2 trades designed to help restock the farm system and help the team in the future.  I’ll dive into some statistics and look ahead to the second half in part two (currently slated for tomorrow, depending on how much time I have to write today), but for today, let’s look back at some the key moments of the first half.

April 13th Zach Duke pitches a complete game 4 hitter as part of 7-0 blanking of the Astros that moves the Pirates to an early 4-3 record.  Duke’s re-emergence as a solid starting pitcher has been one of the biggest surprises of the season so far.  A few weeks ago, I wrote that I don’t think Duke will ever return to the pitcher he was in 2005, basing this on his BABIP and other peripheral numbers.  While some regression seems to be due, he has pitched very well this year.  The fact that he was named as an all-star alternate just shows how far he has come this season, lets hope he can keep that up in the second half and beyond.

April 21st It is announced that Ryan Doumit will need surgery to heal his ailing wrist and will be out 8-10 weeks.  Doumit, The Pirates starting catcher and cleanup hitter, finally returned this past Friday.  His shoes have been filled quite admirably by backups Jason Jaramillo and Robinzon Diaz.  So well, in fact, that moving Doumit to right field in order to keep his bat in the lineup and save him from some wear and tear has to at least be considered.  Neil Huntington is adamant that Doumit is the Pirates catcher, so in the near term at least, don’t expect it to happen.  But the emergence of Diaz and JJ has created a bit of a logjam at catcher.  Certainly, its a nice problem to have.

May 10th The Pirates lose to The Mets 8-4, the last loss in an 8 game losing streak and a 1-12 stretch that began in late April.  To me, this was unquestionably the low point of the season.  Not that I had expectations of greatness coming in, but this was the point where I realized this was not the year.  Less than a month later, Neil Huntington would make that more or less official.

June 4th The Pirates send Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves for AAA starter Charlie Morton and 2 lower level prospects, Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez.  In a related move, they call up CF Andrew McCutchen.  This trade has been dissected to no end now, but looking back, one thing seems clear.  If McCutchen and Morton continue to develop (I’m ignoring Locke and Hernandez due to their youth), this deal made the Pirates a better team not only next year and beyond, but this year as well.

June 25th Ian Snell, in the midst of a very frustrating up and down season is optioned to AAA Indianapolis.  Making it even more frustrating, Snell strikes out 17 Toledo Mud Hens just a few days later.  You hate to say never, but given some of Neil Huntington’s comments following the demotion, I don’t expect to see Snell in a Pirates uniform ever again.

June 30th After trading Nate McLouth to begin the month, the Pirates bookend it by consummating two deals on this day.  The second (and more compelling) of the two trades sends Nyjer Morgran and Sean Burnett to the Nationals for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan.  We can’t really begin to analyze this trade until Milledge makes an appearance in a Pirates uniform, but what we can say is that the Pirates will miss Tony Plush defensively.  The sample size since the trade is too small to make any conclusions, but one of the ongoing positive story lines of this years team has been the defense and run prevention, and Morgan was clearly a part of that.

July 3rd and 8th On the 3rd Charlie Morton tosses 6 strong shutout innings in Miami in a 7-4 win.  5 days later Morton only lasts 4 innings in a 5-0 loss at Houston.  These 2 starts show the good and the bad of Charlie Morton.  The start on the 3rd was Morton’s first win in a Pirates uniform and displayed to everyone just how strong his stuff can be.  Against Houston though, bad doesn’t begin to describe it, as he was hit hard seemingly from the get go.  Clearly Morton has the stuff to get big league hitters out, but clearly he needs to be more consistent.  As I mentioned earlier, his development is one of the keys to the success of the McLouth trade and something to keep an eye on in the second half.

July 11th In the 2nd to last game of the first half, the Pirates lose 8-7 in Philadelphia.  Heading into the bottom of the 9th, they hold a 7-3 lead, with a 98% chance of winning the game.  Closer Matt Capps gives up a lead-off HR en route to 6 hits, 2 walks and 5 earned runs against only one out.  The pirates would also lose the next day to conclude the first half on a 3-11 stretch, leaving just about the worst taste possible in your mouth as we go into the break.

So that’s it, The Pirates first half in a nutshell.  Two trades, two losing streaks, the Ian Snell saga, the catching situation, the return of Zach Duke, and the team defense.  Rest assured there was winning too, but there really weren’t any winning streaks of note.  Feel free to leave it in the comments if you think there’s any major dates or story lines I missed.  As I said at the top, look for the second part of my first half review tomorrow or the next day.  Its sure to include lots of statistics, and also a bit of a look ahead at what I expect to see from now until October 4th in Cincinnatti.

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Assessing the Trades – Milledge for Morgan and Hinske for Prospects

Jun 30

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

Neal Huntington has been a very, very busy man lately.  First the McLouth deal, then the rule 4 draft, then all the Snell craziness, and now NH has consummated 2 trades affecting the major league roster in 1 day.  First, the Pirates sent utility man Eric Hinske and cash to the New York Yankees for 2 prospects, and then they sent Nyjer Morgan, aka Tony Plush, along with Sean Burnett to the Washington Nationals for OF Lastings Milledge and RP Joel Hanrahan.

First the Hinske deal.  Eric Hinske was on a one year contract, he’s 32, and he was hardly playing (only 106 ABs so far this year).  He was distinctly not part of the future of this team.  To get anything in exchange for him is a win, even if we did have to cover about half of his remaining salary, sending the Yanks $400k.  In return we got 2 prospects, both currently playing A ball.  Eric Fryer is a 23 year old outfielder currently playing at high A Tampa Bay and will be assigned to Lynchburg.  Last year at low A West Virginia, then part of the Brewers farm system, he hit .355 with 26 2Bs and 10 Hrs in 104 games.  So far this year in Tampa he has hit .250 with 2 dingers.  He has played mostly left field, but can also play behind the plate.  Casey Erickson is a left handed pitcher, and will be assigned to low A West Virginia.  In 21 appearances with Charleston, Erickson has gone 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA.

I love this trade, absolutely love it.  While neither of the prospects we got in return is considered to be an impact level player, this trade characterizes what this front office is doing right.  Neal Huntington never stops, he never settles.  He continues to add pieces and organizational depth, taking advantage of every possible opportunity to do so.  Eric Hinske is a good guy and a nice player, but he was never going to be a part of the future of this club.  Instead of just letting him play out his contract here and lose him at years end, NH went out and made a move to get something in return, even if its small.  For a team in situation the Pirates are in, these are the kinds of moves that need to be made.  If either of these guys turns out to be anything at the big league level, this trade is a win.

Of these 2 moves though, the one more likely to have a long term impact is the Nyjer Morgan trade.  Frankly, I’m still not sure how I feel about this one.  Nyjer is one of my favorite players on the buccos roster this year.  His glove is a thing of beauty.  His interviews are fun to listen to, and the way he plays the game, you can tell he’s having fun out there.  For evidence of that, just go back to the game last week where he was mic’d up.  It was very entertaining to say the least.  But he is also very limited offensively, and at 29 he’s not likely to ever develop into much more than what he is now.  Along with Nyjer, the Pirates sent Sean Burnett, a pitcher who has done a very nice job in making the transition from being a starter into the bullpen.

In return, the Pirates received Lastings Milledge, a player who seems to have been a top prospect and ready to break out, first with the Mets, now with the Nats, since about the turn of the century.  Milledge has career numbers of .261/.326/.400 for an OPS of .726.  While these numbers don’t really jump off the page, the indications are that he has the tools to do much more than that.  He has definite baggage and character issues that have followed him, and from all accounts that seems to be what have prevented him from becoming the player his skills indicate he can be.  You may remember, for example, that after he hit his first career homer, he was criticized for high-fiving a fan when returning to the field for the next half inning.  The point is this guy is ultra talented, but also, ultra risky.  At 24, he is also five years younger than Morgan, which could make him part of the outfield of the future.  However, I should balance that by saying he has more Major League service time, and will be arbitration eligible after this season. (EDIT: It seems this is not true.  Due to the service time Milledge has missed with injuries, he will not be arbitration eligible for another year, after the 2010 season and not before.)  The Nats also sent over Right handed reliever Joel Hanrahan.  Hanrahan has a career ERA of 5.30, 7.71 this year. Neither of those numbers looks good.  I’m not quite sure what to make of the reliever swap here.  I don’t really know much of anything about Hanrahan, aside from seeing his numbers.  I believe he was given a shot at the Nats closer job this year and blew it.  Burnett seems to have developed into a solid reliever, lefty specialist, but frankly that’s not a big piece in this deal, and long term it probably won’t have a ton of impact.  This trade will ultimately be judged on Milledge for Morgan.

So, considering all of that, I’m not sure if I like this deal.  I really haven’t seen enough of Milledge to really know how much I like him, and I have seen enough of T-Plush to know he’s the kind of player I love to watch.  It seems obvious, though, that the Pirates are getting the more talented player in this deal, at least offensively.  Based on that, and Neal Huntington’s track record making trades, I have to support this deal in principle.  It certainly seems much more likely that the Pirates can calm Milledge down, allow him to mature, and have him reach his potential than it is that Nyjer will develop into an elite player at age 30. I guess only time will tell on this one.  Either way, stay tuned, as you never know when the next time NH will make a big move, they seem to be coming almost daily now.

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