Nothing much going on this eve – I’m kicking back with some friends watching the Rising Stars Showcase which is a non-event so far for the immensely overrated D’Arnaud. It’s just the first inning and Mike Minor has taken a beating from his defense and his own miscue. Tabata with two infield hits, in the first inning to boot. Shoddy play, and pitching, rules the AFL. We’ll see if it gets any better. (edit – what do you know, D’Arnaud with two hits through 7 and Moskos gives up the farm.)
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Boy is Mark Cuban getting boring lately, or what? Gag me with a spoon, man.
He needs a new life.. one in Pittsburgh. LOL
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I couple of readers e-mailed asking if I would consider trading for the D’backs Chris Snyder (his name has popped up in trade rumors lately). No, I’d pass.. to unhealthy, too little pop, and owed too much. His D isn’t too bad though.
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A tuned-in reader asked: did the Pirates give Akinori Iwamura a physical before trading for him?
Considering he’s in Japan, I would guess not and took the word of the Rays and Iwamura and his agent that he’s healthy. But that’s a guess.
Stay tuned.. February is going to be an interesting month.
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He may not have had a physical, but there ARE things called airplanes that doctors can ride on to places like Japan. And Japan DOES have a bunch of doctors able to do a physical.
We all know the Pirates need more pop. Should be bring up or get a guy who can hit 30+ out a year, but maybe K’s 150+ times, hits under .260, and have hands of stone? Is it worth those things to get that pop in the line-up? Or should we play guys we have now and hope with the extra experience they develop more MLB power? Maybe nobody hitting 30+, but several guys hitting 5-7 more HRs a year?
Jake,
Although I like Aki, I have to agree with you – I don’t think his acquisition was a particularly smart move by the Pirates. Given the 100+ non-tenders available in the free agent market this offseason, it will be interesting to see what Neil can do to improve the club. So far, he’s failed to impress with most of the players he’s acquired via trades – the offseason will be a good test for him.
Jake,
What about D’Naraud do you think is overrated? Granted it’s in very limited AB’s, but he seems to have a pretty solid all around skill set. Have you seen him play, and if so, expand on your thoughts on him.