Hanging Up the Spikes

Buried deep in the sports pages earlier this week was the news that Joel Hanrahan, a baseball free agent since March of 2015, had announced that he was formally retiring from baseball.  Hanrahan pitched for parts of seven seasons in the majors, compiling a record of 22-18, 3.85 ERA, and recorded 100 saves.  He earned over $13 million in his career, but if ever a guy defines the concept of going out not with a bang but a whimper, it's Hanrahan.

The best part of his career, of course, was spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Acquired in a trade from Washington in June 2009, Hanrahan pitched out of the Bucs' bullpen through the 2012 season.  While with the Pirates he was a lights out relief pitcher.  He appeared in 238 games, went 10-8 with a 2.59 ERA and recorded 82 saves.  In 2010, on a genuinely terrible team that lost 105 games, Hanrahan went 4-1, 3.62 with 27 saves.   He was a two time All-Star, and he was electrifying to watch, often hitting 99 and even 100 MPH with his pitches.  The "Hammer Time" video that played on the PNC Park jumbotron when he came into a game gave you goosebumps.

He was traded to Boston after the 2012 season, and things went downhill for him soon after.  He pitched in only nine games for the Red Sox, recording four saves, before having to undergo Tommy John surgery.  He never pitched again in the major leagues.  In attempting a comeback with the Tigers in 2014, he had to have Tommy John surgery a second time, and that was pretty much all she wrote.

We are oft times critical of professional athletes.  They're too pampered, make too much money, and have too big a sense of entitlement, but they are also living in a profession that can be fragile and can end in an instant, as it pretty much did with Joel Hanrahan.  For a brief moment in time, though, no player served the Pirates in their tenure with the team as well as Hanrahan did when he was here.  

Here's wishing him a happy post-baseball life.

It's Official: The Hammer is Gone

The news reports from the weekend are now official:  the Pirates have traded Joel Hanrahan, All-Star closer, who is the victim - in the Pirates point of view - of his own success.  He performed so well that he became too expensive for the Pirates to keep.

Hanrahan and infield prospect Brock Holt are off to the Red Sox and the Pirates receive these four players in return: pitchers Mark Melancon and Stolmy Pimentel, infielder Ivan DeJesus, Jr., and 1B/OF Jerry Sands.  Here are some of my thoughts on this deal.

1. You can probably defend and make a case in defense of this deal, based upon the potential of the four players  coming here, and Neal Huntington will no doubt be spewing the Nealspiel from now until Opening Day doing just that, however...
2. ....this is yet another deal where the NHR (Neal Huntington Regime) seems to be looking towards the ever expanding and undefined "future" while not necessarily latching on to the chance to win NOW, in 2013.
3. Jerry Sands seems to be the same player as Clint Robinson and Travis Snider.  First baseman/outfielders.  Is Neal going for the throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach?
4. I am sorry to see Hanrahan go.  I liked him, but at the same time, he can and will be replaced.  Finding a closer is not all that difficult, even for a team like the Pirates. (maybe).
5. Even putting the best light on this, this deal still reeks of being a salary dump, pure and simple.
6. Even if you can make a case, baseball-wise, for this deal, given the NHR track record in such deals, how confident are you that it's going to work out for the Pirates?
7. And  I say the odds are less than 50/50 that Garrett Jones will in a Pirate uniform come Opening Day.

As always, big Pirates news are always accompanied by some great quotes from Huntington, the wacky Nealspeil we have come to know and love.  Here's one of them:

"I'm not saying that Mark's (Melancon) going to become Joel, but sometimes we get caught up in what we've done today and not necessarily take a look in how we've gotten there."

That is a quote directly from the Post-Gazette this morning.  Can anyone tell me what exactly he was trying to say there?

For the next bit of Nealspeil, I turn the stage over to my friend Fred Shugars and a comment he made on Facebook Pirate Chat this morning.  Take it away, Fred:

NH on adding Holt to the deal: "He was somebody Boston came after, and we reluctantly put him in the deal". That does make Neil sound like the bully just took his lunch money.

Thank you, Fred.  Couldn't have said it better.

If you are reading no great sense of outrage on my part, what can I say?  The Pirates have succeeded in numbing me on such matters over the course of the NHR.

But, hey, we're baseball fans, right?  Everything looks good over the Hot Stove, right?  Maybe this one will too.

Watch, but don't bet.

Neal Does It Again

Events have kept me away from the keyboard these last few days, but my plan was to blog this Sunday morning on the Pirates signing of free agent pitcher Francisco Liriano.  Then I come home last night to find that the Buccos madcap GM Neal Huntington had worked his magic once again and engineered a deal that will send All-Star relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan to Boston for, yep, you guessed it, prospects.  So far, a pitcher and an "outfielder/first baseman" (I can't remember their names, don't feel like looking them up, and does it really matter anyway?) will be coming to the Bucs.  Also, it is reported that one other Pirate and two other "prospects" from the Red Sox will be involved once physicals are taken and the deal is finalized sometime after Christmas.

Exchanges on Facebook's Pirate Chat page have been voluminous and lively.   The consensus is that this is yet another Pirates Salary Dump (Hanrahan is arbitration eligible and would have probably been awarded a salary in the $7 million range) in which Huntington deals away an All-Star player for some batting practice balls and a couple fungo bats.  The Huntington supporters, and there are some, believe it or not, claim that this could be a good if not great deal for the Pirates, since Hanrahan's value is high, you can always find someone to close for you, and you can "get something" for him.

My thoughts are, yes, a team should be able to find a closer, and yes, why should a cash-strapped (purportedly) team like the Pirates shell out seven mill for such a commodity, so, in some sense, it DOES make sense to shop and even trade a guy like Hanrahan.  My beef is that this trade reeks of almost every other trade made by the Neal Huntington Regime (NHR).  When the dust settles, and the highly played and proven player leaves Pittsburgh, the Pirates are left with "prospects", guys with "high upsides" over whom the Pirates will have multiple "years of control".  What this really means is - CHEAP.  And how have these trades worked out for the Pirates so far?  How come guys like Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss, Tim Alderson, Gorkys Hernandez, Craig Hansen, Jeff Locke, Jeff Clement and others of their ilk have yet to lead the Pirates to multiple pennants?  Hey, maybe I've left out someone that Neal HAS traded for that has been a big contributor, and I've failed to mention him, and if so, I apologize.  Wait, he did trade Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals and received Joel Hanrahan in return.  That was great deal for the Pirates, right up until the time Hanrahan got too expensive.

My point - and my frustration -  is that this is yet another deal where the Pirates are looking to "the future" and are not looking to win now, today, in 2013.  The Washington Nationals got ripped two years ago when they signed Jayson Worth to a mega-contract, but that signing proved to Nats' fans that the team was going to win right away, and not build for some undefined "future" that, in the Pirates case, anyway, always is being redefined and pushed further and further out into the distance.  

My friend Al Cotton predicted that the next guy to go will be Garrett Jones.  He, too, will be arbitration eligible and will be getting a huge raise after his 27 HR season last year.  Couple this with the Huntington's stockpiling of "outfielder/first baseman" and I'd say that Jones is as good as gone.  Again, the NH Supporters were out saying that Jones' is nothing but a platoon player (true, but one that hit 27 HR, 86 RBI, and an .823 OPS), whose value "will never be higher" (which could very well be true) so why not deal him?  Well, here's two reasons why not.  One, the Pirates might certainly be a better team with him than without him in 2013, and two, based on his track record, do you have any confidence at all that Huntington will get equal, much less better, value in return?  I don't.

Oh, and about that Liriano signing?  My initial thoughts were, hey, this guy was one of the very brightest young pitchers in baseball a few years back when he came up with the Twins, so what the hell, this might be a good signing.  At the very least, he would be the equal of Kevin Correia, and better than Eric Bedard.  On the other hand, to use a phrase that Neal himself likes to use, Liriano's performance has been "trending down" in recent seasons, but still he is only 29 years old, so, again, what the hell?  But once again on the other hand, this is the Pirates that are making this signing, so how good can it really be?  This is how the NHR has rotted my perspective, and taken away my ability to be positive about the team that I have followed and loved for 54 seasons.

Bombs Bursting In Air

With apologies to Francis Scott Key, but how appropriate to use his words after the dramatic home run struck by Mike "Fort" McKenry last night? I have sat through a lot of dreadful and meaningless games over the past 18 years at Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park, and I have often stated that I'd absolutely love to see the Pirates play a meaningful game at PNC in September some year.

Well, it's not September yet, but they played a VERY meaningful game in July last night and what a treat. The Pirates trailed, were tied, led, and then trailed again, only to win it with a three run blast in the bottom of the eighth from the most unlikely of offensive heroes. That was great, great stuff that made a game that lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes seem to pass in the blink of an eye.

And is there anything cooler in Pittsburgh sports right now that watching Joel Hanrahan come in from the bullpen to put the hammer down for the Bucs in the ninth? He is amazing, and for those of you have not been at PNC Park to see this phenomenon, here is what plays on the scoreboard as Hanrahan enters the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AnVBz80VaM

Being in the crowd walking over the Clemente Bridge after that game was fabulous. A real playoff atmosphere. I'm not sure how the rest of this Pirates season will progress, but so far, it has been an absolute blast!!

First Half Thoughts and a "Name to Remember"

The Pirates are now one game short of the actual half-way mark of the season, and with their 41st win last night, they are assured of finishing the first 81 games of the season with a +.500 mark. Raise your hand if you predicted that back on Opening Day. I sure didn't.

Some thoughts, questions, and comments on the first half of the '11 campaign.

• Obvioulsy, the pitching on this team has been beyond anyone's expectations. Kevin Correia has already given the team something it lacked all of last season - a pitcher with double digit wins.


• The bullpen has also been lights out, and there are not enough superlatives to describe Joel Hanarahan.


• Looking at the performances of the eight man, everyday line-up and you ask yourself "how is this team over .500 at this point?" The performance and output at catcher, first base, third base, and right field has can be described as anywhere from "underachieving" to "downright lousy."


• Notice I left short stop off of the list above? Ronny Cedeno is no all-star, to be sure, but as of this morning he is hitting .252 and has been playing solid, if unspectacular, defense. Who saw that coming?


• When you consider the offensive holes in this line-up, plus the injuries (seven catchers used so far!), let's give Clint Hurdle huge props for the smoke and mirrors act that has this team where it is today.


• You hear talk that the Pirates should approach the trade deadline as "buyers" to get "a bat" to help them out "down the stretch." Paul Maholm's name has often been mentioned as the guy to trade. I have some problems with that:


• First off, do you REALLY think the Pirates can be a championship contender to the point that you trade a guy who has, won-loss record aside, pitched so well for you?


• Second, unless you would get a player or players, quality players, who can help the Pirates, now, in 2011, trading Maholm will be viewed as another penny-pinching salary dump and would be yet another PR disaster for the team.


• Third, the "bat" that so many are clamoring to obtain could very well be Pedro Alvarez, currently rehabbing in Bradenton. Yes, we know that Alvarez was lousy in the first month and a half of the season, but he is still the guy that the Pirates MUST have be the power hitter that he showed he could be last season.


• Fourth, Ryan Doumit is another "bat" that will return before the month of July is done. True, Doumit is no Johnny Bench, but he is damn sight better than Mike McKenry.

The Pirates Coonelly/Huntington Brain Trust has said for years that ".500 is not the goal; winning championships is the goal" and now that the team has played half a season of .500 ball, I have to agree with them. Yes, getting the losing seasons streak monkey off their back is important, certainly to the fans, but I sit this morning a lot more excited that they are only two games out of first place in the NL Central. Do I really think that they can make the playoffs? For some of the reasons listed above, no I do not, but I have to say that I see progress for the first time since I can remember. I expect that they will flirt with the .500 mark for the balance of the season, and maybe, given the injuries to the Cardinals, they might be in the hunt for the Division, stranger things have happened. First, though, they have to start beating the Hated Brewers in Miller Park. When THAT happens, then I will say that anything is possible.

Let me veer into different Bucco area to close out. I am going to go "Joe L. Brown Show" on you and give you a "Name to Remember." Two summers ago, I attended a State College Spikes game, and saw pitcher name Phillip Irwin pitch for the Spikes. Irwin had just been drafted in the 21st round by the Pirates a few weeks before, and this could well have been his first ever professional game. I remember that the Spikes won that game, and while I don't have his numbers from that game, I can recall that Irwin looked very good in that game. Since that time, this has been Irwin's career path.

• He finished that '09 Spikes season with a 1-2 record, a 2.12 ERA with 32K and 6BB in 29.2 IP. He made the New York-Penn League All-Star team.


• In 2010, he pitched a full season in West Virginia and went 6-3, 3.35, 111K, 20BB in 113 IP.


• He started 2011 in Bradenton and went 5-0, 2.03, 40K, 12BB in 53.1 IP.


• He was promoted to Altoona where after two starts he is 1-1, 2.45, 8K, 1BB in 11 IP

Pretty impressive numbers, yet in all the talk about all of the "young arms" in the Pirates system, you never hear Irwin's name mentioned. Well, if and when this guy comes to the Bucs and becomes a star, remember that you heard it here first.

Bieml to DL; Moskos Returns

Yesterday afternoon after the Pirates 4-2 win in Chicago, I posted a question on Facebook asking why was Joe Bieml on the team. I could not recall seeing Bieml have an effective appearance this season, at least not in games that I had seen either in person or on TV. On clever response suggested that he was there to take non-save situations and turn them into save situations for Joel Hanrahan, as he did yesterday.

Anyway, today the team places Bieml on the DL and recalls Daniel Moskos, who pitched very well in a few non-pressure situations earlier in the month.

Another question I posed asked how would you feel if you were a Cubs fan and watched your team getting is collective butt whipped by the Pirates for the last year-and-a-half? Yes, the Bucs, the lowly Pirates, are 16-6 against the Cubs since September 2009. Gotta really be galling for the Bleacher Scums in Wrigleyville.