Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Now the offseason gets going . . .

Clint Hurdle is the new Pirates manager. Great. So what does that mean? Hurdle really only had one good season, but it was a good one. He seems like a solid on the basics coach, who has some experience with the young guys. Although it should be noted that he lost them the next season. I would have preferred Tony Pena. But, you get what you can, and Pena is not going to Pittsburgh, at least not in the condition they are now. For those of you worried about JR, don't. He is the new bench coach for Baltimore.

The impact that Hurdle can have now is in helping to lure free agents. Pitching is the biggest need and seems to be where the Pirates are concentrating. They are actively pursuing former Rockies Jeff Francis and Jorge De La Rosa. Now, I am actually against a De La Rosa signing. He is going to command big money, and I don't think he will be worth what he is going to get. It will also cost the team that signs him a 2 round draft pick, which for the Pirates is the first pick of the second round. So, I think that it is better off not signed. Jeff Francis, however, is not coming with such baggage. He has shown he can be great and produce in big games. Hurdle was there for that, and maybe he can whisper the right things in Francis's ear.

Brandon Webb is also supposedly being pursued by the Pirates. Webb was one of, if not the, best pitcher in the NL a few years ago. But injuries destoryed him, and now his fastball was last clocked topping out at 85. Clearly that will go up some, but whether or not he will be any good again is not clear. I think that this might be a mistake to sign him, but the upside is too intriguing to pass on if the price is low enough. I'd rather have Francis.

Oh yeah, Chan Ho Park is thinking about re-signing with the Pirates, a minor league deal. I guess it is hard to object to a minor league deal.

Hurdle could help some of these signings along by getting his pitching coach in order. Leo Mazzoni is available. Who he puts for the rest of his coaching staff is going to be interesting. I still hope the Pirates can find a place for Andy Van Slyke. The Cubs passed on Ryan Sandburg (which is a mistake), so despite the fact that he appears to be the head coach for the Phillies AAA club, maybe he could find a place as the bench coach for the Pirates. Who else could teach defense like Sandburg? Oh yeah, the Iowa Cubs were great last year under him.

Looking forward what comes next.

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