Neil Walker Retires

Much congratulations to former Pirate Neil Walker, who announced his retirement as an active player earlier this week.  If you are a Pirates fan, you know his story.  The Number 1 draft selection of the Pirates in 2004 out of Pine-Richland High School, Walker joined the Pirates in 2010 and, along with fellow #1 pick Andrew McCutchen and others, he led the Pirates out of a 20 season losing streak and to three straight playoff appearances in 2013-15.  And while it wasn't the only reason, it also wasn't coincidental that the return of the Pirates to mediocrity beginning in 2016 coincided with Walker's trade to the Mets for the steaming pile of garbage that was Jonathon Neise.

Walker had seven solid seasons with the Pirates  - .272 BA, 93 HR, 418 RBI, and then he turned into a baseball journeyman, playing for five other teams.  His career numbers (1,224 hits, 149 HR, 609 RBI) when prorated on a "per 162 game" basis are .267 BA, 18 HR, and 76 RBI. Would you be interested in that for your second baseman?  He lived almost every American kid's dream, he did most of it for his home town team, and earned $51.8 million in the process.

Walker has been much interviewed in the local media these past few days, and it sounds like he wants to stay in baseball, and, possibly, continue his involvement with the Pirates in some capacity.  He seems to carry no rancor or bitterness towards his old team (the absence of Neal Huntington probably has a lot to do with that attitude).  My friend Dan has maintained for years that Neil Walker would someday become the manager of the Pirates, and who's to say that that won't happen at some point in the future? 

Hey, if anyone should be a "Pirate for Life", who better than Neil Walker, The Pittsburgh Kid?

Happy times with Cutch and Walker

The Walker Deal

If you follow these things closely, the news of the trade by the Pirates of Neil Walker came as no surprise, but it was nevertheless jarring because of Walker's popularity with the fans, his overall skill level, and, of course, the fact that he was "The Pittsburgh Kid".  The deal, however, once again brought home the fact that baseball is, as are all professional sports, a business - on both sides of the negotiating table.

Bob Nutting and his fellow fraternity members in MLB are business owners who have every right to turn a profit and set and live within a budget.  We may not like it, but there you are.

Neil Walker and his fellow players are Hessians who have every right to seek the top dollar from whomever employs them.  The people who are now berating the Pirates for getting rid of Walker need to be aware that while the Pirates were working long term deals with Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Charlie Morton, they were also making offers to to do the same with Walker, and Walker said no, not once, but twice over the years.  That is his right, and he will now have the chance to seek a deal more to his liking from the Mets this year, or any other team in 2017 if he opts for free agency.  And I hope that he gets it.

Also, let's abandon the idea that the Pirates have somehow "betrayed" the fans by trading the local guy.  Neil Walker is going to a good team, the defending NL champion, and I doubt that he will feel bad in the least that he is not playing in his home town when he gets his money from the Mets.  Plus, outside of the Walker Family, I doubt that the Pirates sold a single extra ticket over these years because a kid from Pine-Richland was playing for them.

Okay, how about this deal from a baseball standpoint?  Well, there is no doubt that the Pirates need starting pitching to replace A.J. Burnett and J.A. Happ, and maybe, possibly (hopefully?) Jeff Locke.  Who knows at this point if Jonathon Niese fit the bill?  If he duplicates what Burnett did (9-7, 3.18) last year, will that be enough to make up for losing Walker?  On such things will Neal Huntington and the Pirates be judged come October 2016.

It can also be stated that with the loss of both Walker and Pedro Alvarez, the Pirates are a severely diminished team from the one that won 98 games last year.  With those players' departure, the Bucs are losing 43 home runs, 148 RBI, and 129 runs scored.  That ain't going to be easy to replace.  The good news, though, is that the Pirates don't have to play a single game until April, so there is time for Huntington to assemble new pieces to the Pirates puzzle.  Three years ago, I would have been railing at Huntington and the Pirates, over these moves, but the last three years have shown that NH can assemble good teams given the resources his bosses have given him, so I'll draw no conclusions until the final 25 guys head north from Bradenton at the end of March.

However, a final word on those resources that Huntington is given.  One has to wonder if the Pirates will EVER make the one big move that will put them over the top and make them truly elite.  Last year, the Nationals GM Mike Rizzo had to go to his ownership to see if they would swallow hard and make the move to sign Max Scherzer.  They did, and Scherzer performed up to expectations, even though the Nats did not.  This winter, the Diamondbacks did the same thing in signing Zach Grienke, and who knows how that will work out for them.  Will the Pirates EVER do something like that?

Sadly, I'm afraid that we all know the answer to that question.

My Autographed Baseball

In my previous post, I alluded to having a baseball autographed by Chuck Noll.  My friend Tim Baker asked about seeing a photo of said baseball, so here you go....

I obtained the Coach's signature when I was a participant in the Pirates Alumni Golf Outing in July 1992.  Other autographs on that ball are former Pirates Bill Mazeroski,  Bob Friend (right below Noll's), Nellie Briles, Nellie King, Vernon Law, Dave Guisti, Roy Face, Grant Jackson, and Frank Thomas.  

One other autograph on that ball is from the former ball player in whose foursome I played that day.  He was not a Pirate Alumnus, but, rather a former major leaguer who now lives in the Pittsburgh area.  I admit that I was unaware of this guy at the time I met and played with him, but he was very nice gent, and a pleasure to play with. He also was guy who would have a most significant impact on the Pirates in the years ahead, although we didn't know it at the time.  His name is Tom Walker, and one day, many years down the road, his son Neil, only six years old back in July of '92, will one day no doubt be playing in that same Pirates Alumni Golf Outing.

Opening Day 2014

Two weeks ago, I had no intention of attending the Pirates Home Opener for this year, and then I received an email from friend David Cicotello in Tennessee who said he found three tickets to the games on Stub Hub, and he asked Fred Shugars and I if we wanted to repeat our experiences from game three of last season's NLDS, so, why not, I was now headed to the Home Opener, and what a terrific day it was.

The fact that the Bucs won in the tenth inning on a Neil Walker walk-off home run, which broke a scoreless tie, only added to the fun of the day.

It was a good omen when Fred and I arrived at the North Shore, walked into what has become our favorite pre-game eatery, Dominic's, and found an empty table for five.  Within five minutes David showed up (good thing since he had the tickets!), and shortly after that, we were joined by Dan Bonk and Len Martin.

L-R: Bob, David, Dan, Len, Fred

At the risk of sounding really corny, you really can't put a price on friendship, and I consider myself very fortunate to have friends like these guys.  And I say that even though Dan and Len blew us off shortly after lunch to sit with the rich guys in a corporate box.

OK, I'm not going to dwell on the balls-strikes-runs-hits-errors of the game, but I do want to comment on two aspects of what occurred yesterday.

The first was the new replay/challenge system.  Each manager challenged an umpire's call yesterday, one was upheld and one was reversed (both to the benefit of the Pirates as it so happened).  The system is brand new, there are no doubt bugs in it, and I am sure that MLB will figure it out as the season goes along, but after seeing it first hand yesterday, I have to say that I like it.  Neither replay review took as long to adjudicate as any typical challenge in any typical NFL game, and in both cases, the right call was made.  What's not to like?

Finally, the much talked about appearance of Barry Bonds in the pre-game ceremonies came off not with a bang, but a whimper.  Scattered booing of Bonds from the crowd was more than drowned out by loud cheers for MVP Andrew McCutchen.  We can debate the merits of inviting Bonds back until the cows come home, but for now, let's consider it a dead horse that we can now stop flogging.  However, I do have one question.  As I said, we have all asked over the last several days why on earth the Pirates did this, but my question concerns the other side of the coin.  What motivated Bonds to accept the invitation?  It's not like there was an outpouring of love between he and the City while he was here, and God knows, no one has had a great deal of nostalgia for him in the years since he left.  I am sure the Pirates paid for him to come here, but surely THAT couldn't be the reason, could it?  We'll probably never know the answer, but it would be interesting, to me anyway, to find out.

Here was the scene of Barry's re-introduction:

The Bucs at the Break

I know that I have been a bit quiet of late about the Pirates - somebody actually told me that they don't always read The Grandstander because they don't want to read about the Pirates all the time; can you imagine such a thing? - so a few opinions at the All-Star Break.

• Eleven games over .500 and in first place at the Break.  Did you in your wildest dreams imagine such a thing on Opening Day?  Be honest now, because I sure didn't?
• What can you say about Andrew McCutchen?  18 home runs, 60 RBI's and a .362 average.  Haven't seen a season like this since Barry Bonds was winning MVP Awards at Three Rivers Stadium.
• In his blog today, Bob Smizik stated today that you Cutch will probably not maintain this severe assault on NL pitching, but, the scary thing is, he just might!
• Pedro Alvarez also seems to be coming around.  Perhaps we may have to endure some more of those fallow periods he has had, but when he does hit, wow!  As it is, he has 16 HR and 50 RBI's.  Project those numbers out for the rest of the year and I'll take 'em, even with the strikeouts and the sub-.250 BA.
• Pedro's two two-run RBI singles he had in back-to-back games last week might have been more impressive than any of his home runs this season.
• That 8-7 walk-off (Drew Sutton!!!!) win over Houston on Tuesday had to be the highlight of the season so far.  When was the last time you saw such pure, unadulterated joy on a professional playing field in any sport?
• And since Bob Smizik - and The Grandstander - wrote of cause for concern over the declining numbers for Neil Walker around Memorial Day, Pine Richland's Neil Walker has responded, capped by that 5-for-5 day yesterday that boosted his average to .291.
• One of the more encouraging signs from the past two weeks as we look ahead to the second half were the two strong performances by Jeff Karstens.
• I can't say for sure if the Pirates will make the playoffs, but I would be shocked - SHOCKED - to see any kind of implosion similar to what befell last year's team.  Having anchors like James McDonald and A.J. Burnett, and now maybe Karstens, will prevent any long losing streaks.
• What does GM Neal do at the trading deadline.  Another pitcher? A strong hitter for the corner outfield? Or does someone come up from Indy (Starling Marte, Rudy Owens?) to fill those needs?  Lots of speculation in the next three weeks.  My own guess is that Neal will look for a pitcher first with "a bat" second.
• McCutchen's participation in the Home Run Derby tonight is a mixed blessing.  I will be compelled to watch and root strongly for him, but will also have to endure the old, tired, and worn out act of Chris Berman.
• Finally, the Zoltan signal that has become the team's rallying point is silly, immature, and goofy, and I love it!  the fact that it sprung up internally from within the clubhouse, and not manufactured by some front office PR flack, is what makes this fun and meaningful for the team.  It serves the purpose of past seasons' Green Weenies, Stargell Stars, and "We Are Family" anthems.  If the team goes deep into the post season this year, Zoltan will surely be commercialized and over-done next year, but for now, let's enjoy it!!  Right, Andrew?

 

On Neil Walker

In his Post-Gazette blog yesterday, Bob Smizik offered a post wherein he asked questions pertaining to the performance - the "declining performance" as he put it - of Pirate second baseman Neil Walker.  Smizik included the numbers to back up his assertion.  I found the article of interest because the very night before, while attending the Pirates - Reds game, Len Martin, Dan Bonk, and I had the very same conversation.  "Have we seen the best that Neil Walker has to offer?" was the way we framed the conversation.  I copied Smizik's post and posted it on the "Pirate Chat" Facebook page.


Well, that Facebook post created a mini-storm of comments, most of which fell in the "Smizik's-a-jaggoff-so-where-does-he-come-off-criticizing-Neil-Walker" school of thought.  However, here are the numbers for Walker thus far in 2012:


.254 BA
.648 OPS
2 HR
17 RBI
Only 10 extra base hits


On a team of under performing offensive players, Walker has certainly been one of them.


Now, I am not giving up on Walker.  I think that he can be a solid performer, but that means hitting in the .270 to .280 range, 12-15 home runs and 75 or so RBI's, and he is not performing at that level this year, and you could point out that this decline began in the latter half of the 2011 season.


Perhaps there is a reason that the Pirates have not sought to sign him to a long term deal, as they did with Andrew McCutchen.


Here's hoping that he can turn things around.  I like the kid.  He's hustles, has a great attitude, and he is playing a nice second base.  He would be a nice player to have on a good ball club.


Oh, and did I mention that he is from Pittsburgh.  Would the criticism of Walker be heightened (and the criticism of Smizik lessened) if Walker had been born and raised in, say, Peoria, Illinois instead of Gibsonia, PA? 


Just askin'.

A Night at the Ballpark

OK, the adventure that ended late last night with Andrew McCutchen's dramatic 12th inning walk-off game winning home run against the Diamondbacks actually began the night before, shortly after the Bucs dramatic 8th inning rally sparked a come from behind win over those same D'Backs. Shortly after that game ended, the phone rang - who calls anyone after 10:00 at night? - and it was SABR/Facebook friend Dan Bonk, who practically screamed into the phone "c'mon, a bunch of us are gonna go down to the game tomorrow (Weds.), you wanna come?"

So it was that Len Martin, Jim Haller, Dan, and I met up at the Honus Wagner statue (a tradition, I might add, that dates back to the days when this statue sat in Schenley Park outside of Forbes Field), bought tickets for section 318, and headed into PNC Park. First of all, I can't remember the last time I was part of such a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to a Pirates game, which made the whole deal all the more fun.

By now, those who are interested know the outcome of the game. It was a great ball game that the Pirates won 3-2 in twelve innings. There were heroes galore: Paul Maholm throwing six shutout, one hit innings, reliever Tony Watson making his MLB debut by coming in with one out and two men on base and striking out Arizona's #3 and #4 batters, Neil Walker getting a clutch two out single in the 10th to tie the game after Arizona took the lead, the nifty 3-6-3 double play the Bucs turned in the 11th, and, of course, Cutch's walk-off dinger to lead off the 12th that put the Pirates at .500. The excitement in the ballpark and among the crowds as you walked out of the park after the game was unlike anything I've seen at a Pirates game in years and years. The game also officially marked the Jumping on the Pirates Bandwagon of Dan Bonk.

And, as someone observed, how much fun baseball talk are you going to get when four SABR geeks get together at a ball game (and five when you include Marky Billson who happened to be sitting two rows behind us)? I mean when else are you going to have conversations that involve names like Carl Sawatski, Choo-Choo Coleman, and Greg Goosen, facts like Wilber Wood being the last pitcher to both win and lose 20 games in a season, and Bob Buhl once going 0-for-71 at the plate in a season, and debating whether Willie Stargell or Barry Bonds belongs in left field on the all-time Pirates team over the last fifty years?

But the quote of the night came when we were all marveling at the fact that it seems like every single pitcher in the majors can now throw pitches in excess of 92 MPH. At that point Jim Haller eloquently stated, "There are no Eddie Lopats anymore."

What a great night!

Early Pirates Thoughts

It is early, very early, but how about a few thoughts on your 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates.

• Neil Walker, with 7 hits, 7 RBI, and an OPS over 1.000, has been the Pirates best player, and his scoring the winning run on Sunday from second base on an infield single has been the Pirates' best play of the four game season.


• Not bad for a guy who the Pirates last year were grooming to be a utility infielder.


• While Walker has been the best player so far, Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata have not been far behind.


• The biggest surprise has been the fairly strong performances of the four starting pitchers. Correia, Maholm, Ohlendorf, and Morton, especially Charlie Morton, all have done good work in their starts, each of them lasting six innings.


• How about Clint Hurdle coming out of the dugout on Sunday in Chicago to vociferously argue an umpire's call? After the three years of sleep-walking John Russell, I didn't think that Bucco skippers were allowed to do that.


• And kudos again to Hurdle for yanking his ineffective Eighth Inning Set-Up reliever, and bringing in his Closer with two outs in the eighth inning to put out the fire last night. Used to be that your best relievers were often called upon to pitch two or even three innings at a crack.


• On the minus side of the ledger has been Even Meek and Ronny Cedeno. You have to think that Meek will turn things around and be an effective reliever. You have no such hope that Cedeno will be an effective short stop. He has butchered two seemingly sure fire double play balls two games in a row, and the team is extremely fortunate that those two blunders didn't cost them the last two victories.


• GM Neil can be criticized for many things, and the fact that Ronny Cedeno is the best SS the Pirates have to offer four years into the Huntington Regime ranks very high on the list.

Switching from the diamond to the hardwood, congratulations to the Connecticut Huskies for winning the NCAA Championship last night. The game was, shall we say, far from an artistic masterpiece. I was glad that I had a baseball game to switch too for most of that hoops game. However, that takes nothing away from the well-earned Championship for UConn.

Incidentally, Loyal Reader Bill had pointed out to me over the weekend that the two teams that played for the Championship last night, UConn and Butler, were the same teams that handed Pitt it's two post-season losses in the Big East and the NCAA, respectively. Those victories over Pitt came by a combined score of a whopping three - count 'em - THREE POINTS. Kind of adds a bit of perspective to the Panthers' season.

Spring Training...and Other Travlin' Thoughts

For those of you who may be wondering where I have been for the last several days, the picture above should tell you all you need to know. Marilyn and I took off last Tuesday and headed down to Long Boat Key, a barrrier island situated halfway between Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida, and took in some Spring Training baseball.

Thanks to Bucco Prez Frank Coonelly, we had prime seats for the Pirates-Blue Jays on Wednesday and Pirates-Orioles on St. Patrick's Day. Second row, right behind the Bucs dugout. You could almost reach out and touch the batters in the on deck circle, as the pictures below will attest.

And if you are lucky enough to be a Grapefruit League game on March 17, you can see the Bucs wearing their once-a-year green caps. You may even get the new Skipper to tip his hat to you!

As for the games themselves, we were fortunate to see the Pirates start their Opening Day line-ups both days, including starting pitchers Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf. In fact, the only projected regular we did not see was catcher Chris Snyder, who was sitting out both games with some sort of tweak. (On the bright side, we did see Snyder field a foul ball hit into the dugout and then roll it over the dugout roof to a kid with a glove sitting in front of us. So, kuddos the Snyder for this fan- and kid-friendly gesture!)

We also got to see Neil Walker belt a home run and Andrew McCutchen lace a gap shot double in one game. Watching Cutch steaming around the bases is one of the more fun things you can see at a ball game. Unfortunately, we also saw Maholm give up a four run inning to the Jays and Ohlendorf yield a six run inning to the O's, and both of these innings led to Pirates losses.

As we left McKechnie Field on Thursday, Marilyn said she wondered if what we saw was a preview of what we would be seeing at PNC Park in the season ahead. Unless the Pirates can manage to score about eight runs a game, I do fear that the mediocrity of the starting pitching could indeed cause us to see much of the same as we saw in Bradenton last week.

But, hey, what the hell...these were spring training exhibition games!!! Who really cares if you win or lose? It was just great to be at baseball game in gorgeous Florida sunshine!

Speaking of that Florida sunshine, we could not have asked for better weather. Temps in the high 70's each day, breezy, and not a cloud in the sky. Chamber of Commerce perfect!

Some other comments and observations about the trip....

• We flew on AirTran for the first time and give them a solid "A." All four flights (Pgh-Atlanta, Atlanta-Sarasota each way) were on time. No delays. Perfect.
• When checking our bag (which cost us $20, btw) on the flight home, we were found to be six pounds overweight. We could have checked it through for an additional $49. Instead, we made quite a picture at the Sarasota Airport check-in opening our suitcase and pulling stuff out to cram into our carry-ons. We made it with a half-pound to spare!
• Forty-nine bucks! It would have been cheaper to pack a second bag and pay whatever they were extorting, er, excuse me, charging for a second bag!
• It had been 18 months since we've traveled by plane, and AirTran's good performance aside, air travel really is a pain. I understand why this is so in these times we live, but it is still a pain.
• We stayed at the Hilton Resort Hotel on Longboat Key, which we learned is the last actual hotel on Longboat Key. The rest of the place is now given over to luxury condos.
• Very nice pool at the Hilton, but we did encounter a Sopranos-like moment. Early one morning as we sat on the side of the pool, two ducks flew in and landed in the pool! As soon as I got home today, I made an appointment for myslef with Dr. Melfi!!
• Friday evening we decided to walk up to the beach to sit for a spell, and when we opened our room door, we almost collided with a young lady in a wedding dress. Turns out there was a wedding on the beach about to take place! I wish I knew where the happy couple lives, because I got some great pictures of the Happy Event.
• Had some great meals down there, but our favorite was in a little bar in Bradenton Beach called the Bridge Tender Inn. Open air seating, ice cold beer, great food, a guy with a guitar singing 60's era music. An absolutely perfect seashore place.
• It also happened that the Bridge Tender is owned by a guy from Wisconsin and the place is covered with Packers memorabilia. I told the guy that we were Steelers fans but we were going to stay and eat anyway! Ended up having a nice conversation with the guy, and that just added to the zietgiest of the moment.
• As for the singer, if you travel to beach towns like this, you have seen the same kind of guy. He was in his 50's with a David Crosby mustache and a gray ponytail. There are hundreds of guys like this. What is his story? Is singing Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor songs for tips how he supports himself? Or, did he play in a band forty years ago and now works in a square 9-to-5 office job, and singing in a bar with a tip jar is how he recaptures his past when he was REALLY happy?
• We watched the sun set into the Gulf of Mexico for four nights in a row. Spectacular!
• I found myself to be hopelessly out of it by traveling without either an iPad or a Smart Phone of some type. It seems that everyone is now connected all of the time.
• That included the jackwagon at the pool one morning who was kind enough to share his office conference call with everyone at poolside. There oughtta be a law against that.
• Coming home last night, we had a three hour layover in Atlanta, which we learned is now the busiest airport in the world. Talk about people watching heaven! You wouldn't think an airport would be all that busy from 7:30 to 11:00 on a Saturday night, but Hartsfield Airport sure was.
• Contrast that scene to arriving at 12:15 on a Saturday night/Sunday morning in Pittsburgh. I believe that we were one of two flights arrriving at that time. It was ghost town.
• A word about Frank Coonelly here. As CEO of the Pirates, he takes a lot of heat, and not without some justification, for the performance of the team, but he could not have been nicer to Marilyn and I during our trip. I've gotten to know Frank due to my SABR connections, and let's face it, that is just a glorified fan club. Yet Coonelly was giving us the same kind of treatment - almost - as he was also giving during one game to Sy Holzer, Chip Ganassi, and Tom Reich, guys of considerably more import to the Pirates than Marilyn and Bob Sproule. There are a lot of reasons that I root for the Pirates, and not the least of them is being able to see Frank Coonelly succeed!
• At the risk of slipping into an advanced state of Geezerhood here, I note that there was no loud, ear-splitting music during every stoppage in play and between innings at the games at McKechnie, and the absence of this was absolutely delightful.
• I enjoyed running into SABR buddy Ed Luteran at the game on Thursday. Ed now lives in Winter Haven and works as an official scorer for Florida State League games. Ed is hoping for a visit to Pittsburgh in the fall, which could call for an impromteau Hot Stove Night for some of the SABR guys.
• Having a Kindle sure makes travel easier for the reader. On the down side, you have to turn it off when the airplane is taxiing, taking off, and landing.
• Read a thriller called "They're Watching" by some guy named Gregg Hurwitz. Don't bother with it.
• Started reading the new book "56" by Kostya Kennedy about the Joe DiMaggio hitting streak. Am about 25% into it, and it's a good one. I'll give it a fuller review when I'm finished with it.
• All in all a great trip, but, as always, it's good to be home once again. It is even better to be home from vacation and not have to worry about getting up for work tomorrow!