MLB FanHouse

Rays Trade Akinori Iwamura to Pittsburgh for Reliever Jesse Chavez

Pat Lackey — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:56:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, Rays, AL East, NL Central

In a surprising piece of mid-World Series news, the Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a trade this afternoon. Tampa will send second baseman Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates in return for relief pitcher Jesse Chavez. According to the same report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (who broke news of the Pirates' involvement in the trade after the St. Petersburg Times first reported an Iwamura trade this afternoon), no cash or other players are involved.

Iwamura, 30, is due $4.25 million in 2010 and the emergence of Ben Zobrist makes that a price the Rays clearly weren't eager to pay for a player who'd likely be a utility man for them in '10. The Pirates, however, are looking to add payroll after cleaning house last year and have a gaping hole at second base, so Iwamura is a logical addition for them.

Chavez was one of the Pirates' most reliable relievers last year. That may sound like damning with faint praise, but he improved his control (he only walked 2.9 batters per nine innings, down from his 3.3 BB/9 average in the minors and his 5.4 BB/9 rate with the Pirates in 2008) and was very good early in the year before hitting a rough patch in July and August.

Tampa, though, can use relievers and Chavez is only 26 and under team control for five more seasons, so he's a solid option for them. So the Pirates get a second baseman that they need, the Rays clear out some payroll and get an extra arm. It seems like the trade works for both sides, except that it weakens an already bad bullpen in Pittsburgh. Given their 99 losses in 2009, though, the Pirates probably have other needs to address before worrying about the bullpen

Rays Trade Akinori Iwamura to Pittsburgh for Reliever Jesse Chavez originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:56:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Washington Won't Be Only Century City

Ed Price — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Braves, Indians, Mariners, Nationals, Orioles, Pirates, Red Sox, Rockies, Royals, MLB Injuries, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
One team has 100 defeats, two more could follow -- and there could even be a record-tying four 100-loss teams.

The Nationals on Thursday fell to 52-100 with their 7-6 loss to the Dodgers. And the Pirates are 56-95 after a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Reds.

Anyone want to bet Pittsburgh -- 3-23 since Aug. 28 -- goes better than 6-5 in its final three series against Los Angeles, Chicago and Cincinnati?

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

The other two candidates to hit the century mark are Baltimore (60-92) and Cleveland (61-91). The Orioles have lost seven straight while the Indians have dropped 11 in a row, one off the team-record skid set in 1931.

We'd bet on both teams to reach 100 losses but for one small detail: They play each other this weekend.

Which means someone's losing streak ends tonight. And the only way for both teams to lose 100 is if Baltimore wins two of three this weekend and both teams then drop their final seven games.

Which, considering how these teams are going, isn't out of the realm of possibility.

The only time four teams lost 100 games in the same season was 2002 -- Detroit, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. There have been seven other seasons with three 100-loss teams, but only once (1985) since it happened four times in five years after the 1961 expansion.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez -- who has hit .297 with a .601 slugging percentage since Aug. 7 -- has missed two straight games with a tight left hamstring.

"We are backing off," [manager Jim] Tracy said. "He will be available to hit. But I wouldn't put him out there where he has to run. The injury is near the bottom of the hamstring so we have to be very careful."

Numbers Game ...
Boston's Clay Buchholz allowed fewer than two runs for the fourth straight start, pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a win at Kansas City. Since Sept. 8, Buchholz is 3-0 with a 0.70 ERA, 18 hits allowed (one homer) and 19 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings.

In Their Own Words ...
"I'd vote for Greinke, he's doing a great job. He's tough, he's nasty." -- Seattle ace Felix Hernandez (who improved to 17-5 Thursday with a win in Toronto) on the debate over whether he or Kansas City's Zack Greinke should win the AL Cy Young Award

Advance Scouting ...
If the Braves are going to make a dramatic charge to the playoffs, this is the weekend to gain major ground. Atlanta -- 3 1/2 games behind Colorado -- opens a three-game series in Washington Friday night (7:05 PM ET), while the Rockies host the NL Central-leading Cardinals for three (8:10 PM ET). The Braves passed the Giants, who stayed four back of the Rockies with Thursday's loss to the Cubs.

Starting Five: Washington Won't Be Only Century City originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pirates Close Upper Deck Due to Minuscule Crowd During G-20

Pat Lackey — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:21:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central

There is a perfect storm of sorts going on in Pittsburgh this week. The Pirates have lost 22 of their past 25 games (and are in the process of losing number 23 as I type this), which is the worst streak for the franchise since well before the turn of the 20th (not 21st) century. Meanwhile, the city is hosting the G-20 Summit, which has resulted in a huge spate of business and school closings in the downtown area as the city ratchets up security for the visiting heads of state.

The result is a crowd at Thursday afternoon's Pirates-Reds game that is so small, the entire upper deck at PNC Park is closed. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic has some pictures of the empty park on his blog; he estimates that the actual attendance as the first pitch was thrown may have been below 200 people (UPDATE: apparently, attendance climbed during the game a bit to around 2,000, per both Kovacevic and MLB.com beat writer Jen Langosch)

Seventeen years of losing and global summits do not mix, apparently. I'm not sure I've ever seen a ballpark so empty. The picture of the parking lot is particularly striking; there are more cars parked around the building I work in than there are at PNC Park today, I think.

It's not fair to blame the Pirates entirely for this, because of the G-20, but this really is one of the sadder sights I've seen in baseball this year. PNC is a beautiful park, but it looks like a high school team is playing there with the size of that crowd. And making that comparison only invites jokes about the Pirates' level of play lately, which honestly hasn't seemed much better.

Pirates Close Upper Deck Due to Minuscule Crowd During G-20 originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most of the Pirates Are Uninterested in Winter Ball

Pat Lackey — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:12:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central

The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing some terrible baseball right now. They've won just three games in September, just 12 games since Aug. 1, and are 20-50 since July 1. After emptying their roster in late July, their lineup has been composed mostly of players that only have an opportunity to play regularly in the majors because the Pirates exist.

These players, with the possible exceptions of Garrett Jones and Lastings Milledge, obviously haven't made much of the opportunity afforded to them by the Pirates' firesale. Monday, word got out that they don't seem to be too worked up about it either. When GM Neal Huntington went around the clubhouse looking for winter ball commitments, he got an apathetic response from most players. In fact, John Perrotto is reporting that not one American player on the Pirates has agreed to go to Latin America for the winter.

Huntington was disappointed by the reaction and it's easy to see why. Among the young Americans struggling on the Pirates at the moment are Delwyn Young, who's trying to re-learn how to play second base and who has just five hits in his last 60 at-bats, an .083/.167/.117 streak that's dropped his OPS over a hundred points, and Andy LaRoche, who's needed a recent hot streak to get his OPS up to .700 on the season.

Of course, winter ball really isn't for everyone, but it seems awfully telling on a team like the Pirates that so few players are interested. The Bucs really are playing a lifeless brand of baseball right now (they were just shut out for the 15th time on Sunday) and I guess it's not surprising to hear that none of them are interested in extending their season at this point.

On the flip side of things, it's also probably just a blip on the radar since most of the guys on the team right now don't have long-term futures with the Pirates. If you're a Pirate fan that's getting worked up over these reports, I'd recommend you close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and repeat to yourself, "Pedro Alvarez is almost here, Pedro Alvarez is almost here, Pedro Alvarez is almost here." I mean, maybe a team can be awful for 17 years, but they can't be awful forever. Right?

Most of the Pirates Are Uninterested in Winter Ball originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Texas in Trouble

Andrew Johnson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Astros, Mariners, Pirates, Rangers, Red Sox, Twins, MLB Milestones, MLB Playoffs, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That in a little over 24 hours the Rangers went from in the hunt for the AL wild card to hanging on by a thread. Texas split a doubleheader with the Mariners Sunday and dropped two of three to Seattle over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox -- the team the Rangers are chasing -- swept the reeling Rays, who have now lost 11 straight, including taking both games of a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park.

Boston doubled its lead in the race -- from two games to four -- with 20 games remaining for each team.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

The Sox were an 88 percent favorite to take the wild card entering play Sunday, according to Baseball Prospectus' Postseason Odds Report, an edge that should get even larger with two more games completed by each team and Boston's growing lead.

Things won't be getting any easier for Texas. The Rangers will play 13 of their final 20 games against teams currently above .500, including six against the Angels. The Red Sox only have six games against similar competition -- three against the Angels and three against the Yankees -- sandwiched around series with Baltimore, Kansas City, Toronto and Cleveland.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Justin Morneau has an appointment with the doctor. The 2006 American League MVP has a strained back in addition to a sore wrist, injuries which may explain his recent slump.

Morneau, who also has been playing with a sore wrist, is batting .100 (7-for-70) with two homers and six RBI in his past 20 games.

Though Morneau hasn't blamed injuries, Gardenhire said, "He's really been fighting through it with everything."

Numbers Game ...
The milestones keep coming for Ichiro Suzuki. The one-of-a-kind Mariners star notched his ninth consecutive 200-hit season, a major league record, in the second game of Seattle's doubleheader against the Rangers.

After he reached 200 hits for the ninth straight season during the second game of a doubleheader, Ken Griffey Jr. picked up his slight teammate, slung him over his shoulder and carried him to the showers, where teammates awaited with a beer bath.

"To get to enjoy this with these teammates I have, and especially that guy over there makes me very joyful," Ichiro said.

In Their Own Words ...
"Just compete. You don't need to do any of that stuff. Those two have a thing going out there. I'm set, and he's not even looking at me. That tells me all I need to know." -- Pirates closer Matt Capps, who got into a shouting match with Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada and first base coach Jose Cruz because he believed they were conspiring to steal signs. Tejada later denied any shenanigans.

Advance Scouting ...
The Angels and Yankees are mostly jockeying for playoff position at this point, but don't underestimate the significance of Monday's makeup game (7:05 PM ET) between the two AL powers. Not only are both teams vying for home-field advantage throughout the postseason, but New York is probably hoping for a little peace of mind. The Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs by the Angels twice since 2002 and are 12-23 against Los Angeles since 2006. Joba Chamberlain will go for New York against Jered Weaver.

Starting Five: Texas in Trouble originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Not a Clean Sweep, but a Sweep The Rangers Will Take

Ed Price — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Blue Jays, Cubs, Indians, Orioles, Pirates, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, Twins, MLB Injuries, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That it took a lot of work for the Rangers to climb within two games of the Red Sox in the American League wild-card race.

Texas swept a doubleheader at Cleveland, 11-9 and 10-5, and the games took a combined five hours, 59 minutes.

"It's pretty good to get back on track and win some ballgames," manager Ron Washington said. "We'll come back tomorrow, get greedy and see if we can get a [series] sweep."

Texas has played three regular (i.e., not day-night) doubleheaders this year, most in the majors, and has swept all three.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

In Game 1, Texas led 4-0, fell into a 5-5 tie, went up 8-5, had that cut to 8-7, made it 11-7 and held on 11-9.

In Game 2, a 7-0 lead became 7-5 before getting extended to 10-5.

The pitching wasn't great, but no one had to work both ends of the doubleheader, and the batters pounded out 31 hits after coming into the game with a 15-inning scoreless streak.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies' star shortstop, sat out Tuesday after leaving Monday's game with back stiffness.

"Tulo has to be right to have him out there," [manager Jim] Tracy said. "He has to be able to bend over, dive for a ball, run from first to third, score from second to home on a single. Right now he can't do those things."

Team trainers have told Tracy that once Tulowitzki's muscle spasms are gone and his back unclenches, he will be on the road to recovery. But Tulowitzki is not there yet.

Numbers Game ...
By losing 10-0 at Boston -- and allowing six homers -- Baltimore fell to 5-33 in its past 38 road division games. Since the start of last season, the Orioles have won just two of 20 road series against AL East teams, with the last series win July 28-30, 2008 in New York. (By the way, the last time the Red Sox hit six home runs in a home game was June 29, 2003 -- and four of them came off Brad Penny, then with the Marlins.)

In Their Own Words ...
"I've never really seen anything like that, but it happened. It was just one of those things where we couldn't stop it. You can't explain it. It was just bad luck or good hitting, I don't know what it is." -- Pirates manager John Russell after the Cubs tied a major league record by starting the game with eight straight hits, all off Pittsburgh's Zach Duke. No NL team had begun a game with eight consecutive hits since the 1975 Pirates.

Advance Scouting ...
Roy Halladay tries to keep intact his perfect record against the Twins as Toronto hosts Minnesota tonight (7:07 PM ET). Halladay is 8-0 in 12 career outings against the Twins, with a 2.77 ERA. He has been especially hard on Jason Kubel (1-for-12), Joe Mauer (1-for-10) and Alexi Casilla (0-for-7, four strikeouts).

Starting Five: Not a Clean Sweep, but a Sweep The Rangers Will Take originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pirates Clinch Record 17th Consecutive Losing Season

Pat Lackey — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, MLB Milestones

With a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Monday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched their 17th consecutive losing season, a new record for any North American sports franchise. The Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1992, the year that Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Andy Van Slyke, and Jim Leyland took the Pirates to 96 wins and a National League East championship.

Since '92, the Pirates have managed no more than 79 wins, reaching that mark just once in 1997. They've currently lost nine of their last 10 and have only 18 wins since July 1. In fact, this record has been a foregone conclusion for most of the season, long before the Pirates traded Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, and John Grabow in a full-on rebuilding effort.

The previous record for the most consecutive losing seasons was the 16-year run by the Philadelphia Phillies between 1933 and 1948. The Phils had 30 losing seasons in 31 between 1918 and 1948. The Pirates are a long ways from matching that sort of streak, but at the same time it's been an eternity for the Pirates and their fans since Francisco Cabrera singled home Sid Bream to complete the Braves' comeback and the Pirates' heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS.

While the players on this current Pirate club are forced to shoulder the brunt of this dubious achievement, they've really got relatively little to do with it. Of the Pirates' regulars, only Ryan Doumit, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Matt Capps played significant roles with the club in 2008. The current coaching staff, led by manager John Russell, has only been in place for the last two seasons and the current front office, with GM Neal Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly, inherited a club that was already doomed to set this record at the end of the 2007 season.

The real architects of this mess are the team's two prior GMs. Cam Bonifay was unable to rebuild the Pirates after the departure of Bonds, Drabek and others in 1993, and when Bonifay was fired in 2001, Dave Littlefield only managed to make the mess worse. It's too soon to know whether the current front office will be able to reverse the trend, though the farm system has improved considerably since they took over in 2007.

Of course, even with improvement coming in the low minors the Pirates might not be able to end this streak until 2011 at the earliest. Until then, everything they're doing will be remembered by baseball fans forever, even if they'd probably rather it be forgotten.

Pirates Clinch Record 17th Consecutive Losing Season originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: NL Wild-Card Leaders Keep Winning, Braves Fading

Jeff Fletcher — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cubs, Giants, Mariners, Marlins, Pirates, Rockies, Yankees, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the National League wild-card leaders are all playing well this weekend, leaving the Braves in the dust. For the second consecutive day, the Rockies, Giants and Marlins all won. The Braves have lost four in a row, falling six games out in the wild-card race.

The Rockies have won four of five games since getting swept by the Giants last weekend. They got a boost on Saturday night when Jose Contreras gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings in his Rockies debut. The Marlins have also been hot, winning four games in a row. They have scored eight runs in each game, a first in the franchise's history.

The Giants, meanwhile, still aren't scoring much, but their pitching is carrying them. Five games into this tough six-game trip through hitters parks in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, the Giants have scored 13 runs. They've won three, including a 3-2 victory on Saturday that snapped Matt Cain's eight-start winless streak.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Meanwhile, the Braves seem just about finished.

"I don't know what to say anymore. It's getting frustrating, considering how important these games are," said pitcher Jair Jurrjens.

From The Trainers' Room...
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who has been sidelined because of a sore left groin, threw about 20 pitches in the bullpen before Saturday's game and reported no problems. Rivera might be able to return to closing duties as soon as Sunday.

"I wasn't expecting to feel anything," Rivera said. "I just have to make sure that it's ready. I wasn't looking for something."

By The Numbers...
Pirates righty Ross Ohlendorf became just the 40th pitcher in big league history to strike out the side on nine pitches, whiffing the Cardinals in the seventh inning. What was even more unusual was that all three times catcher Ryan Doumit mishandled the third strike and had to throw to first for the putout.

"I threw a lot of sliders that bounced for strike three, and he did a great job of knocking them down and going and getting them and throwing them out at first," Ohlendorf said.

In Their Own Words...
"I told her, 'Man, now I've got to hit a home run for you and Dylan. It's going to be tough,' " -- Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, recalling what he told his daughter, Jada, who is always asking him to a hit a home run. Lee returned to action for the first time since his wife gave birth to Dylan, the couple's second child, and he responded with two homers.

Advance Scouting...
You might only have to watch the first batter of the Mariners-A's game (4:05 PM ET) to see a milestone. Ichiro Suzuki has 1,999 hits in the major leagues. Granted, 2,000 hits is not that big a milestone (the are 18 active players with 2,000 hits), but it is just the appetizer for the milestones upcoming for Suzuki. He's got 194 hits this season. When he gets to 200, he'll break Willie Keeler's record with his ninth consecutive 200-hit season.

Starting Five: NL Wild-Card Leaders Keep Winning, Braves Fading originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Futilitywatch 09: Destiny Awaits

Pat Lackey — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:12:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central

Futilitywatch '09 is a our semi-regular update on the Pittsburgh Pirates and their march toward their record 17th consecutive losing season.

Remember last week's Futilitywatch? The one that was so filled with vague optimism because the Pirates went 7-2 on a homestand and took a series from the Phillies? The Pirates have quite literally not won a baseball game since then, dropping seven straight on the road to the Brewers and Reds. That leaves them just three losses away from clinching their 17th consecutive losing season, which as you likely know by now would be a record for a North American sports franchise.

Since Last Week

After taking five of six from the Brewers and Reds at PNC Park not two weeks ago, the Pirates dropped all seven over six days starting last Friday. Because of Monday's double-header, the Pirates used six starting pitchers to lose those seven games. Actually, the starters took six of the seven losses (Zach Duke took two, rookie Daniel McCutchen was the only starter to not earn an L for his work in the past week) and that illustrtes just how ugly this stretch has been. The Pirates have been behind early and they haven't been coming back.

That leaves the Pirates needing what would be a remarkable 29-2 run to close out the season at 81-81. What's much more likely is that the Pirates will lose their 82nd game sometime in the next six days, either against the Cardinals or Cubs, and set the record at PNC Park.

A Little Bit of Reverse-History

Because this is likely the last Futilitywatch, let's use this space to address two questions: 1.) How long will the Pirates losing streak last? and 2.) Does anyone anywhere have any chance of breaking this record?

The first question isn't easy to figure, but the answer is probably "sooner than you think." The Pirates' pitching staff this year has allowed 616 runs, just a few more than the National League average. They'll return mostly intact in 2010, likely with Daniel McCutchen to bolster either the rotation or the bullpen and maybe even a free agent reliever to strengthen a bullpen that's certainly the weak point of the pitching staff. Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan has made huge strides with a group that was the worst in the National League last year and if he returns, it's probably safe to expect a pitching staff that's again about average.

The remaining question is whether the Pirates can score the runs to support that staff. The Opening Day 2010 lineup will likely look a lot like the one on the field right now, but given Pedro Alvarez's huge numbers in Double-A this year and Jose Tabata's quick adjustment to Triple-A late in the season, they both could be in Pittsburgh by early next summer.

The real depth in the organization exists in the lower levels of the minors right now, though. Partial seasons from Alvarez and Tabata probably won't be enough to prevent an 18th consecutive losing season, but they should be part of a wave of players that keeps a 19th from happening. It's obviously far too soon to know how any of these prospects will develop, but it only takes an average team to finish .500 and seriously, how long can the Pirates really go without that happening? That's why this streak is so staggering.

I think the second question is much easier to answer. In 2010, every major North American sport, save baseball, has a salary cap. Sure, the Detroit Lions looked lost every game last year and have rolled up eight straight losing seasons, but look at how quickly the Falcons and Dolphins turned around last year. The Lions have ten years to assemble a decent enough football operations staff to squeak out eight wins. It might seem impossible right now, but it's really far from that.

In the NHL, teams that lose games in overtime no longer get credited with full losses. As a result, only seven of 30 teams had a losing record last year. It'd be unfathomable to have 18 straight losing seasons under those conditions. In the NBA, the Clippers have only had one winning season in the past 16, but they have had one and it was fairly recent (2005-2006). In a 42-game season, it's a little easier to stumble into a winning record. Plus, rosters are smaller and the NBA draft allows for quicker fixes than the MLB draft. Even as bad as franchises like the Bucks and T'Wolves seem, they're still more than a decade of losing away from the Pirates. It's possible here, but probably only if Donald Sterling lives forever.

The closest challenger to the Pirates may come from their own sport. Currently, the Orioles are rolling towards their 12th straight losing season while the Reds have racked up nine and the Royals are at six with only one winning season since 1995. The Orioles have accrued a lot of young talent (Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Nolan Reimold, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, and Brad Bergesen, to begin with) and so even though their division is brutal, they seem like they're in good position to at least finish .500 sometime in the near-enough future.

The Reds and Royals are different. They're both small-market franchises, like the Pirates, that have generally been very poorly operated, like the Pirates. Still, the Reds are only halfway to the losing streak needed to catch the Pirates and the Royals are only a third of the way there. It's maybe doable for them, but all they need is for lightning to strike once, like it did for the 2003 Royals.

That's why only one team has pulled off seventeen straight losing seasons in the last 110 years. The number of factors involved in something like this -- poor planning, poor execution, other teams fulfilling their role, a mountain of bad luck both on the field and off of it, just to name a few -- are staggering. The Phillies between World War I and World War II had what was almost certainly the worst run of any sports franchise in the history of this country. They had 30 losing seasons in 31 attempts between 1918 and 1948, they lost 100 games a staggering 12 times in those 31 seasons, and yet they never quite put together 17 straight seasons without a winning record. This is history, and I'm not sure this is a record that's ever going to be broken.

The Number
3

Futilitywatch 09: Destiny Awaits originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: New Dodger Garland Garners Win Over Former Team

Ed Price — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Mets, Pirates, Rays, Rockies, Royals, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
Jon Garland couldn't beat them. So he joined them. And then he beat the old them.

Traded from the fourth-place Diamondbacks to the first-place Dodgers earlier in the week, Garland on Friday faced Arizona in his first start for Los Angeles.

"It was fun. I grew up coming to games here, and getting a chance to pitch for this team is definitely a dream come true," Garland said. "It's kind of awkward the way it happened -- but nevertheless, it did -- and I was able to throw a good one up. I didn't leave too many tickets. I cut the phone off and told people if they want to come, they can pay for it and support the team."

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Garland allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings, retiring the final 14 batters he faced, as the Dodgers won 4-2.

"I think it was more uncomfortable because I was in that other dugout the first game and then came over," Garland said. "I mean, if it would have been like a week or two weeks down the road, it would have been a little bit different. But the fact that it was in the same series, there was a little extra the first few innings."

... "Being able to go out there and give this team a good quality start, coming out of the game with the lead and ending up winning it, I couldn't have asked for much more," Garland said. "Once I finally calmed down and got my feet underneath me, the ball started moving a little bit more and I was getting more ground balls and we got off a nice little run."

The Dodgers expanded their lead in the NL West to 5 1/2 games; their magic numbers are 22 to eliminate the Giants and 23 to eliminate the Rockies.

Garland became the 12th different starter used this year by the Dodgers, one shy of the L.A. team record set in 1964. And the Dodgers have gotten a win from 21 different pitchers, most in the majors since the 2007 Rockies and Yankees had 22.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Not only did the Rays fall six games out in the wild-card race with 29 to play by losing 6-3 to the Red Sox, but center fielder B.J, Upton left the game with a sprained left ankle. Upton collided with left fielder Carl Crawford in the fifth inning and will miss at least two more games.

Numbers Game ...
Mets lefty Pat Misch, in the rotation because of injuries to Oliver Perez and Johan Santana, got his first big-league win in his 55th career appearance (13th start). Misch, who held the Rockies to two runs in seven innings, was the first southpaw to go winless in his first 12 starts since Mike Mohler of the 1993-97 A's.

In Their Own Words ...
"In our immediate-gratification society, everybody wants to point fingers. But from what I've seen from everything that goes on in this organization, Trey Hillman's leadership is one of the strengths of our organization. People can debate that, and I know they will, but it's one of the strengths of our organization because the guy is a winner and he works and he cares." -- Royals GM Dayton Moore, four-year extension in hand, saying that manager Trey Hillman will be back in 2010 as well.

Advance Scouting ...
Adam Wainwright can add to his case for the Cy Young Award -- he's right there, along with teammate Chris Carpenter and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum -- as St. Louis visits Pittsburgh (7:05 PM ET). Wainwright (16-7, 2.47 ERA) is tied for the major league lead in wins and is third in the NL in ERA. His streak of 12 starts going at least six innings while allowing no more than two runs is the longest since Greg Maddux had 13 such games in a row in 1995.

Starting Five: New Dodger Garland Garners Win Over Former Team originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Dugout: McCutchen's Run

B. Thompson Stroud — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:45:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, The Dugout

Things are about to turn a corner in Pittsburgh. End the Futilitywatch, ace pitching prospect Daniel "The Man" McCutchen will make his Major League debut Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds. This year McCutchen is already 13-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 24 starts, and in his last 52 innings has walked only four while striking out forty. He is like Jay Bruce and Matt Wieters combined! Except his pitches!

Though general manager Neal Huntington said last week that the Pirates would not go to a straight six-man rotation in September, it appears that they are reconsidering it, because 38 guys on their 40-man roster are pitchers. The other two are Lastings Milledge and the Parrot.

Tonight's Dugout is after the jump.

The Dugout

	Online Host Welcome to the Pittsburgh Pirates Playoff Carousel Chatroom!
	NealBeforeZod: I don't know how to read or count, how many games back are we in the division?
	RussellFanFest: 22, Mr. Huntington
	NealBeforeZod: ...and how many games do we have left in the season?
	AndradeGiant: 34, Mr. Huntington
	NealBeforeZod: and how many games are there in a season? Normally?
	DonLongSilver: 162 normally, Mr. Huntington
	NealBeforeZod: and what division are we in?
	YouGottaVarshoAss: The NL Central, Mr. Huntington
	NealBeforeZod: Hmmm, that's the one with the Yankees and the Red Sox and the Dodgers, right? Hm, that's going to be hard
	NealBeforeZod: but opening up the calculator function on my computer and getting my assistant to do the math, I just found out that 34 - 22 = 12
	NealBeforeZod: So that means we aren't mathmatically eliminated!
	RussellFanFest: we were mathmatically eliminated so bad last year they gave us rollover losses and just eliminated us again for this year
	NealBeforeZod: /frantically mashes keys
	RussellFanFest: i was kidding
	NealBeforeZod: haha, you guys and this chatroom, always exaggerating so much, acting crazy... lol remember the time when you said we hadn't had a winning season in 17 years
	NealBeforeZod: n e wayzzz, how do we get better? How about a new stadium? You guys want that?
	AndradeGiant: our park is beautiful and great
	NealBeforeZod: You don't want like, like a retractable dome? Or a big sliding board? Or a train? A pirate train!
	AndradeGiant: no
	NealBeforeZod: no Wednesday afternoon concerts before, during, and after the game by Big and Rich? No? Okay, how about uniforms?
	DonLongSilver: our unis still look really good, too
	YouGottaVarshoAss: except for the sleeveless red ones that made us look like an intramural basketball team
	NealBeforeZod: You didn't like those? I designed them myself, after I fell into a disasterous arrangement of condiments
	NealBeforeZod: in 2010 the Pirates will be debuting new blue and red uniforms with our new logo, "Pittsburgh" written in cursive while a grimacing, muscular cartoon bird swings a bat
	AndradeGiant: ughhhh
	NealBeforeZod: It gets better, instead of pants you'll be wearing black mesh shorts with slightly longer grey shorts underneath. Like my favorite shorts from second grade!
	RussellFanFest: I have a suggestion
	NealBeforeZod: Oh, good! Hi, and what's your name?
	RussellFanFest: Uhhh, John Russell, I'm the coach...
	NealBeforeZod: I thought Craig T. Nelson was Coach???
	RussellFanFest: Why don't we stop trading away every talented 28 year old we get if we keep them in the minors until they're 27?
	NealBeforeZod: how about instead of doing that, we get inspired by soul hits of the 70s
	DonLongSilver: no, seriously, we get some pretty good young players, if we kept them or arranged them in some kind of useful way we could at least be like, San Francisco good
	NealBeforeZod: you think I don't like good players? Look at Ryan Doumit! We've held on to him FOREVER
	RussellFanFest: Ryan had one good year and then his attitude went to sh**, I had to bench him in the middle of the game the other day
	RussellFanFest: I told him I was replacing him with Robinzon Diaz, but I think he figured out there's nobody named "Robinzon" in the world
	AndradeGiant: we should trade Robinzon Diaz to Florida for Logglobo Vlandignorf
	NealBeforeZod: How old is Vlandignorf?
	AndradeGiant: pretty sure I just made him up
	NealBeforeZod: Hmmm, sounds risky, he might end up being too good and we'd have to trade him right back
	NealBeforeZod: How about this, I didn't want to do this until the end of 2012, but I'll go ahead and call up Daniel McCutchen. Maybe he can help.
	NealBeforeZod: /activates palm crystal
	Online Host Meanwhile, in the AAA Indianapolis Indians Chatroom!
	CookFoodInMcCutchen: /red symbol on hand begins to flash
	CookFoodInMcCutchen: I just got called up to the Pirates roster! I'm pitching against the Reds tomorrow night!
	WaterMeloan: NO! Don't go in there! You're going to be 27 in a few weeks! No one has to die at 27! You could live! LIVE! Live, and grow old! I've seen it! He's seen it!
	Online Host Last day. Capricorn 17. Year of the City - 2009. Carousel begins.
	TaggBozieSpray: No! Don't! Don't go! Listen to him! He's telling the truth! We've been outside! There's another team you can play for! We've seen it!
	WaterMeloan: Pirate callups are a lie! Carousel is a lie! There is no contract renewal!

Photos link to player info. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) WordUpThome.com

The Dugout: McCutchen's Run originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pirates' Manager John Russell Benches Ryan Doumit Mid-Game

Pat Lackey — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:44:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central

When the Pirates cleaned house before the trade deadline last month, they left their roster mostly with young players trying to get established (Andrew McCutchen, Lastings Milledge) and career fringe guys trying to prove they belong in the big leagues (Delwyn Young, Garrett Jones). The one exception to this is Ryan Doumit; currently the longest tenured Pirate with 384 games in black and gold since 2005.

Doumit, however, is apparently not pleased with this arrangement. During last night's 8-6 loss in Miwaukee, Doumit did something mid-game that caused manager John Russell to pull his starting catcher from the lineup in the fourth inning. No one's talking, but Russell made it clear that it wasn't injury-related and that he was very disappointed in Doumit. At this point, though, it seems likely that whatever happened is stemming from Doumit's displeasure with the trades made by the Pirates earlier this summer.

It's strange that this is happening now; as I noted yesterday, the Pirates are playing much, much better in the past week and a half. They've still got a long ways to go, but at the very least it seems like the Pirates are moving in the right direction for the first time in a while. It's easy to understand why Doumit would be upset to see the players he moved through the minors with traded away, but the team isn't actually all that much worse for the wear right now.

If Doumit is making a power play for a trade, he's certainly doing it at the worst time for the Pirates. He suffered a broken wrist earlier in the season and is currently only hitting .219/.255/.406 just a year after a breakout season in which he hit .318/.357/.501 with 15 homers. He's very injury prone (he's never had more than 465 plate appearances in a season) and his latest injury has left questions about his power, so it's hard to imagine that he'd draw much interest in a potential trade.

Should they decide to move Doumit, the Pirates certainly have depth at the catcher position with Jason Jaramillo and Robinzon Diaz able to fill the position immediately and 2009's first round pick Tony Sanchez performing well in the low minors and expected to move quickly through the system. Still, it's unlikely the Pirates are looking to move him with his value as low as it is. I suppose we'll see in the next two months whether or not Doumit intends to force their hand.

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Philadelphia Phillies' Cliff Lee pitches in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Howie Kendrick #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is congratulated in the dugout after scoring a run in the third inning against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium on August 29, 2009 in Anaheim, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 4-3. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Howie Kendrick

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ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Howie Kendrick #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim slides safely into third base under the tag of Adam Kennedy #29 of the Oakland Athletics in the third inning at Angel Stadium on August 29, 2009 in Anaheim, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 4-3. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Adam Kennedy;Howie Kendrick

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ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Jered Weaver #36 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the fourth inning at Angel Stadium on August 29, 2009 in Anaheim, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 4-3. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jered Weaver

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ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Relief pitcher Jose Arredondo #66 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is taken out of the game in the seventh inning by manager Mike Scioscia during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium on August 29, 2009 in Anaheim, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 4-3. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jose Arredondo;Mike Scioscia

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ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Adam Kennedy #29 and Cliff Pennington #26 of the Oakland Athletics congratulate one another following their victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium on August 29, 2009 in Anaheim, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 4-3. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Adam Kennedy;Cliff Pennington

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ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 29: Pitcher Andrew Bailey #40 of the Oakland Athletics throws Howie Kendrick of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim out at first in the ninth inning at Angel Stadium on August 29, 2009 in Anaheim, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 4-3. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Andrew Bailey

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Seattle Mariners' Jack Hanhahan rounds second base after he hit a solo home run in the fifth inning of a MLB baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, at Safeco Field in Seattle. The Mariners beat the Royals 8-4. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Kansas City Royals' Yuniesky Betancourt reacts to striking out with the bases loaded in the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners in a MLB baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, at Safeco Field in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones catches a ball for an out hit by Cleveland Indians' Shin-Soo Choo during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, in Baltimore. The Indians won 5-3. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Oakland Athletics center fielder Rajai Davis, right, celebrates with second baseman Mark Ellis after their 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Angels during a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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Pirates' Manager John Russell Benches Ryan Doumit Mid-Game originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Phillies' Howard Making MVP Case

Ed Price — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Phillies, Pirates, Rays, Tigers, Twins, MLB Injuries, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Ryan Howard is trying to challenge Albert Pujols for National League MVP.

Howard homered twice, doubled and drove in three runs Friday in the Phillies' 4-2 defeat of the Braves. Philadelphia now has an eight-game lead in the NL East.

"It makes you feel good when he starts hitting," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's amazing. He'll take two swings and not look too good, then all of a sudden he stays on a pitch and smokes it out of the yard. He's a tremendous hitter."

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Pujols, who hit a walk-off homer Friday, has 41 home runs, 108 RBI, a .440 on-base percentage and a .666 slugging percentage.

Howard has 37 homers, 111 RBI, a .352 on-base percentage and a .572 slugging percentage.

But Howard is heating up as the September nears. Over his past 15 games, Howard is 20-for-59 (.339) with 11 homers and 29 RBI.

He has also excelled in divisional play, with 19 homers and 46 RBI in 51 games against NL East teams.

Howard leads the NL in go-ahead RBI (36) and game-winning RBI (17), and the Phillies are 25-7 when he homers.

From the Trainer's Room ...
After a defeat of the Rangers, the Twins put third baseman Joe Crede on the disabled list because of his chronically bad back. Crede is hitting just .229 but he has 15 homers and 48 RBI in 328 at-bats while other Minnesota third basemen have combined for one homer and 16 RBI in 172 at-bats.

Numbers Game ...
Pittsburgh lost for the 19th straight time in Milwaukee, tying a major-league record. Toronto lost 19 straight at Baltimore in 1978-81. One player, Ryan Doumit, remains from the Bucs starting lineup on May 3, 2007 -- the last time the Pirates won at Miller Park. Chris Duffy, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Jose Bautista, Ronny Paulino and Tom Gorzelanny have all since departed.

In Their Own Words ...
"Timmy showed what he's about. He's a guy you want on the mound in a game like this. He knew how big this game was." -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy on ace Tim Lincecum, who threw a season-high 127 pitches while holding the Rockies to four hits in eight scoreless innings, enabling San Francisco to get within two games of the wild-card lead

Advance Scouting ...
There's only a game difference in their record, but the Rays and Tigers, who meet today in Detroit (4:05 PM ET), are in much different situations. Tampa Bay is 4 1/2 games out in the AL wild-card race and sends the the mound lefty David Price, who is 0-4 with an 8.07 ERA on the road. Meanwhile, Detroit enjoys a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL Central and turns to lefty Nate Robertson, who makes his first big-league appearance since June 26. Robertson missed two months after surgery for a mass in his elbow.

Starting Five: Phillies' Howard Making MVP Case originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Futilitywatch 09: A Brief Reprieve

Pat Lackey — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central

Futilitywatch '09 is a our semi-regular update on the Pittsburgh Pirates and their march toward their record 17th consecutive losing season.

At some point in the next two or three weeks, the Pittsburgh Pirates will lose their 82nd game. There's no real debate at this point with their 53-72 record. Still, over the past nine games, the Pirates have reeled off seven wins and last night, they wrapped up a series win over the defending world champion Phillies with an eighth inning home run by Garrett Jones, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win. On the heels of Andrew McCutchen's walk-off homer on Tuesday, it was certainly a good week for the Pirates and their two rookie of the year candidates.

Since Last Week

As noted above the jump, the Pirates are kinda-sorta on fire right now. They've won seven of nine with some really good pitching and timely hitting. Ross Ohlendorf has rediscovered his fastball in the past two months, and he's only allowed more than two runs in one of his last seven starts. Andrew McCutchen continues to surpass the high expectations that Pirate fans have placed upon him with his nine homers, .847 OPS, and 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts. If he'd started the season in Pittsburgh, he might be a front-runner for Rookie of the Year in the National League.

With the Brewers and Reds (who the Pirates took five of six from last week) back on the schedule in the next seven days, the Pirates could even pull themselves comfortably out of last place in the NL Central, which seemed impossible a scant ten or so days ago when the team had lost 12 of 13.

A Little Bit of History

OK, let's just say that the Pirates hypothetically keep playing this well. With their current record, 53-75, they'd have to go 28-9 over the final 37 games to finish .500. That's an awfully tall task, though both the Rockies and Angels have done it this year. If you add in the seven wins in nine games that they've already logged, though, then they'd have to go 35-11 over the last 46. Only the Yankees have done that this year. You'll also note that no team has played either span even one game better than the Pirates would need to finish .500, so while hoping that they go 81-81 at this point is wildly implausible, hoping they go 82-80 is downright crazy.

For their part, the Pirate franchise has indeed had several spans in which they played at that sort of rate, but most of them came prior to 1910. More to the point, the last time the Pirates have gone 35-11 over 46 games was 1978, a season in which the Pirates won 88 games and finished just 1 /2 games behind the Phillies in the old National League East. Which is to say that this portion of the article might be called "a little bit of history," but there's a whole lot of it suggesting that the Pirates are going to set this record at one point or another.

The Number

10

Futilitywatch 09: A Brief Reprieve originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did Dave Parker's Drug Use Cost Him a Hall of Fame Spot?

Pat Lackey — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, MLB Hall of Fame

With only two years of eligibility left on the BBWAA ballot, Dave Parker's chances of getting into the Hall of Fame are looking awfully slim. In this year's balloting, his name only appeared on 15 percent of the writer's ballots, leaving him far shy of the 75 percent needed for induction. Barring a miracle, Parker's best shot to get in is going to be through the Veteran's Committee.

After attending a celebration at PNC Park this weekend to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1979 World Series champions, Parker told AP writer Alan Robinson that he often wonders if his involvement in baseball's drug trials in the '80s is what's keeping him from being inducted. It's a fair question and it's one that I've pondered myself in the past.

The question comes up because of Jim Rice's induction this year. One of the biggest criticisms of Rice's induction is that it opens the door for many other players (Parker and Andre Dawson come immediately to mind) that are probably in a tier just below true Hall of Fame quality.

Robinson does a good rundown of the surface statistical comparison between the two in the story and it's true; they have a lot in common. To really compare the two, I wanted to look at their career Wins Above Replacement (WAR). WAR is a composite stat which takes batting runs, fielding runs, and baserunning runs and combines them all to quantify how many wins in a season a particular player is worth. Sean Smith compiles historic WAR on his BaseballProjection.com site, so finding Parker and Rice is an easy exercise.

According to WAR, Parker was worth 37.9 wins over the course of his career while Rice was worth 41.5. Both players had their best seasons in 1978, when they both were named MVP, with Parker's 7.1 wins edging out Rice's 7.0. Interestingly, Rice's defense rates as much better than Parker's. His total zone number is +9 and his arm rates as +13 while Parker's numbers are -25 and +4. That's in stark contrast to conventional wisdom, as Parker won three Gold Gloves and Pirate fans that watched him play routinely say that his arm from right field was only surpassed by the great Roberto Clemente.

Of course, these numbers are calculated from Retrosheet, so they're not nearly as accurate as the highly advanced ball-in-play metrics we have available to evaluate modern players. The WAR you find on FanGraphs uses UZR as its defensive component, which makes it a little stronger than the historic WAR. Thus, it's possible that Rice gets a defensive bonus from spending his entire career in front of the Green Monster at Fenway, which left him with less ground to cover and easier throws in from the outfield (remember how many assists Manny Ramirez used to rack up playing there?). That would close the gap between Parker and Rice even a little more, maybe down to just a win or two instead of the four that we currently see.

So Parker and Rice really were comparable players playing in a similar era. But is it the drug use that costs Parker? That's some of it, but I think more of it has to do with the way their careers unfolded. Parker had a short, but very strong peak between 1975 and 1979 where he was worth 30.1 wins, then he only approached that level one more time in his career, in 1985. Besides that year, he battled injuries, weight problems, and the drug trials and he had several years where his value was below replacement. In contrast, Rice is famous for the 12-year run between 1975 and 1986 when he led or was close to leading the American League in most important batting categories. He never had a peak quite like Parker's, but he never bottomed out like him either.

In the long run, I think that's what makes the difference between Parker and Rice when it comes to Hall of Fame voting. Parker's role in the drug trials don't help him at all, but if he'd just stayed healthy for a few more years in the early '80s I think there's a good chance he'd probably be in the Hall of Fame anyway.

Whether Parker deserves to be in right now is a different question. There is something to be said for Rice's longer period of production, but Parker was probably the best player in baseball between 1975 and 1979 and in the end, his career is pretty even with Rice's. It's certainly very easy to make a case for Parker now that Rice has been inducted.

Did Dave Parker's Drug Use Cost Him a Hall of Fame Spot? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Futilitywatch 09: Playing Out the String

Pat Lackey — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central

Futilitywatch '09 is a our semi-regular update on the Pittsburgh Pirates and their march toward their record 17th consecutive losing season.

After 12 losses in 13 games, the Pittsburgh Pirates managed to rally the troops and sweep the Milwaukee Brewers this week. That won't keep the Bucs from their 17th consecutive losing season and it might not keep them out of last place, but given the bad blood between the Pirates and Brewers it was about as gratifying as meaningless mid-August sweeps go.

Still, with just 12 losses to go before the historic 82nd loss, history is bearing down heavily on this team whether they want it or not. The longest losing streak in the history of professional sports. Think about that. Or try not to, if you're a Pirate fan.

Since Last Week

The most encouraging part about watching the Pirates sweep the Brewers is the faint hope that maybe some of the players on the club right now (besides Andrew McCutchen, of course) might have some sort of long-term value. Ronny Cedeno has, at the very least been an adequate replacement for Jack Wilson. Delwyn Young hasn't looked hopeless turning double plays at second base. Garrett Jones has cooled down considerably in the last few weeks, but he's still on a 50-homer pace in 2009. Ross Ohlendorf and Zach Duke are continuing to pitch well.

Taken with the group their in now, these players aren't likely to get the Pirates any closer to a playoff spot than the group that Neal Huntington showed to the door in July, but grouped with two good-looking draft picks and some other young talent that Huntington managed to buy low on. It sounds crass, but actual wins and losses aren't as important to the Pirates right now as improving individual performances that may contribute down the road.

A Little Bit of History

Seventeen years. Seventeen years! I've been trying to think of a way to put seventeen years of losing into real perspective this week, but I'm struggling a bit to find the right way to do this. There have been ten different World Series winners over the past 17 years. Two of those clubs (the Diamondbacks and the Marlins, one of three teams to win multiple World Series) weren't even in the league when the Pirates last made the playoffs in 1992.

When Sid Bream slid across the plate in October 1992, George HW Bush was still president and his son hadn't even been elected governor of Texas yet. When Christina of Sweden was 17 years old, she'd been Queen for eleven years. A 17 year old today would be a junior in high school, probably with a driver's license, and not one memory of the Pittsburgh Pirates having a winning season.

Perhaps this is more illustrative; the Pirates haven't lost 17 games in a row since a ridiculous 23-game losing streak in 1890. Baseball wasn't even baseball in 1890. In fact, they've only had three losing streaks of 12-games or longer since the turn of the 20th century (12-gamers in 1914 and 1939 and a 13-gamer in 2006).

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THIS LOSING STREAK IS APPROACHING THE LENGTH OF THE LIFECYCLE OF A CICADA.

I'm sorry. I'm a Pirate fan. I overdosed on perspective.

The Numbers

There's only one number left. It's 12.

Futilitywatch 09: Playing Out the String originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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John Russell Will Be Back in Pittsburgh Next Season

Tom Fornelli — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:48:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, MLB Rumors

With the Pittsburgh Pirates in the midst of their 17th consecutive losing season, a lot of Pirates players have been walking the plank and being shipped to other teams around the majors. Still, even with all the roster upheaval in Pittsburgh it seems there will be at least one person left who will be returning to the Bucs next season.

While in Chicago on Sunday during a rain delay -- the game was eventually postponed -- team president Frank Coonelly talked about the future of current manager John Russell and said that he would be back manning the ship in 2010.

Coonelly did not elaborate, given that the extension the team and Russell signed this past spring already took him through next season.

Russell, 48, has a 113-165 record in his two seasons and is headed toward a second last-place finish at 46-70. But his roster has seen more upheaval than any in Major League Baseball, including the trades of former All-Stars Jason Bay, Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, among many other experienced players.

It is hard to pin the blame for what's looking like another last-place finish on Russell considering that he's basically had his arms and legs chopped off each of the last two season, but as for what his future will be after next season, that seems to be up in the air.

Russell's contract runs through 2010 as does general manager Neal Huntington's so if the Pirates decide to get rid of Huntington, odds are Russell will be going with him.

If any changes are coming next season they'll likely be within Russell's coaching staff, all of whom are working on one-year deals. The Pirates say they'll make decisions on those coaches no later than October 10.

John Russell Will Be Back in Pittsburgh Next Season originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Futilitywatch 09: The End Is Nigh

Pat Lackey — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:38:00 EST

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central

Futilitywatch '09 is a our semi-regular update on the Pittsburgh Pirates and their march toward their record 17th consecutive losing season.

Since they finished making moves a day before the trade deadline, the Pirates' have gone into free fall. After winning their first two games in the post-Jack Wilson/Freddy Sanchez era against the Washington Nationals, they dropped two to the Nats and were swept by the Giants and Cardinals, then dropped two of three more to the Rockies. That's ten losses in 11 games and if you throw in the five game losing streak that happened before Wilson and Sanchez were traded, that's 15 losses in 18 games. Futility! Thy name is Pittsburgh.

Since Our Last Update

Believe it or not, the whole "15 losses in 18 games" thing doesn't even aptly describe how bad the Pirates have been of late. They've been shut out five times in the last 18 games and in their more recent skid of 10 losses in 11 games, they've scored more than four runs just twice. Their bullpen post-John Grabow has been atrocious. At one point, the pen took the loss in four of five games, blowing leads of one, three, one, and failing to hold a tie game.

It's not actually all bad news for the Pirates; the prospects the team has been stockpiling in the past few years are doing quite well. Pedro Alvarez is on fire in Altoona, following up a .352/.406/.571 line in July with an even more ridiculous .432/.545/.682 line in August. Jose Tabata and Jeff Clement are both hitting the ball well in Triple-A, some of the pitchers acquired in the July deals have made very good minor league debuts for the Pirates, and the team has now signed all of their draft picks through the first 11 rounds, despite taking several high school pitchers that were thought to be "tough signs" due to college commitments.

Of course, as bullish as I might be on the future of the Pirates, this column is called "Futilitywatch" for a reason. With their recent span of awful play, the Pirates stand just fourteen losses away from an unprecedented 17th consecutive losing season.

A Little Bit of History

I thought I'd have more time to delve into the history of futility here, but with the Pirates' terrible play I realize I've got maybe one or two more weeks left. This week, let's look at the Pirates' futility compared with great losing team losing streaks in other sports. Since the Pirates' streak began in 1993, the team has gone 1150-1487. That's a winning percentage of 0.436. We've already talked about the team who's record the Pirates are going to be break, the terrible Philies teams of the 30s and 40s, but how does it compare to other sports?

The most consecutive losing seasons by an NFL team is 14; a dubious record set by the pre-Tony Dungy Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Another word for pirate! Symmetry!) Between 1983 and 1996, the Bucs were a putrid 64-159; a 0.287 winning percentage. It's really, really hard to put that many losing seasons together in a league that plays so few games. Put it this way; if the MLB season were as long as the NFL season, the Pirates would've finished 9-7 this year and they would've made the playoffs and maybe even earned a bye with their 11-5 record in 2002, and they would've finished .500 on six other occasions.

The futility record in both the NBA and NHL is 15 seasons. The Kings' franchise (starting in Kansas City) holds the NBA record by going 455-775 between 1983 and 1998 (.370 winning percentage) while the Vancouver Canucks went 438-637-61 between 1976 and 1991. That's a points percentage of 0.439, but they only won about 41% of the games they bothered to find a winner in. If the MLB season were the same length as the current NBA or NHL seasons (82 games), the Pirates' losing streak would've been halted in its tracks in 1999, when they were 41-41. They also had spurts of above .500 play over similar lengths in 1997 (they were 47-45) and in 2003 when they closed the season out by splitting their last 100 games right down the middle with 50 wins and 50 losses.

If it's comforting to Pirate fans, immediately after ending their 14-season streak, the Buccaneers went on to make the playoffs five times in six years and that run culminated in a Super Bowl win. The Canucks actually made the playoffs nine times during their 15-season losing streak and they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 1982, but after ending their losing streak they made the playoffs four straight years, winning at least one playoff round three times, and coming within a Mark Messier of a Stanley Cup in 1994. And the Kings made the playoffs in eight straight years following their losing streak and if not for a suspiciously officiated Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, they might have a banner of their own to hang up in Sacramento. Even the Phillies, the team who's record they're on the verge of breaking, made a World Series in 1950, just one year after their own 16-season losing streak ended

It's really the unique nature of baseball that's contributed to the Pirates' streak, though. Despite having a higher winning percentage during their losing streak than any of their counterparts in futility, the long baseball season makes it much more difficult for a team to achieve a "fluke" winning season. On top of that, the streaks by the Canucks and Kings are lessened by the fact that they made the playoffs during their losing streaks. Because baseball only lets eight teams into the playoffs each year, it's nearly impossible for a team with a losing record to back into the playoffs. I'm not making excuses for the Pirates here, but it's only logical that a baseball team would hold this sort of record.

The Numbers

Pirates' record: 46-68 (please note how little the first number has budged since I last ran an update two weeks ago)
Record required to finish .500: 35-13 (yikes)
1949 Phillies through 114 games: 57-57

Futilitywatch 09: The End Is Nigh originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Victorino Center of Attention

Andrew Johnson — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Nationals, Phillies, Pirates, Reds, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That it's possible to get ejected by the home plate umpire when you're standing in center field. That's exactly what happened to Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, who questioned a call by Ed Rapuano in the seventh inning of Philadelphia's 12-3 loss to Florida by gesturing and jumping up and down in center and was then run from the game.

After Rapuano threw Victorino out, the speedy outfielder known as the Flyin' Hawaiian sprinted all the way to the infield to challenge his decision. It appeared he was going to make contact with the umpire, but he denied that was the case, explaining:

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"I'm not trying to show anybody up," Victorino said after his first ejection in the big leagues. "Things got built up from the half-inning before that. It was one of those things. I let my emotions get the best of me. I love Ed and when it happened I came sprinting in and figured I'd get my money's worth. I had no intentions of touching him. He's one of those guys you can have fun with on the field. My first ejection from a game."

For all of Victorino's levity, it had to be an awfully frustrating weekend for the Phillies. They were swept by the Marlins, trimming their NL East lead over Florida to four games. Despite the addition of Cliff Lee at the trade deadline, Philly has lost eight of its last 11.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Reds third baseman Scott Rolen is unlikely to play in his club's next series against his former team, the Cardinals. Rolen has played sparingly since he was hit in the head by a Jason Marquis pitch a week ago because of post-concussion symptoms.

Numbers Game ...
The Nationals won their eighth straight game Sunday, beating the Diamondbacks 9-2 and securing the club's longest winning streak since June 2005. Washington's run essentially ends any serious thought that the team could challenge the 1962 Mets' all-time record of 120 losses in single season.

"This is what I expected from day one, and that's why it's so frustrating," [Nationals slugger Adam] Dunn said. "Because I knew we were capable of playing like this. I wish we would have played this loose and had this much fun earlier in the year and we wouldn't be however many games back."

In Their Own Words ...
"I think [the umpire] read it exactly right. I think it was an intentional hit. And there's no doubt in my mind it came from the bench. I really believe it didn't come from the manager. Don't ask me to expound on that. That's my comment. It was intentional. It came from the bench, it wasn't the manager who ordered it. The umpire handled it properly." -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on the ejection of Pirates closer Matt Capps after he plunked Albert Pujols in the eighth inning of Pittsburgh's 7-3 loss. The St. Louis slugger said he didn't think the pitch was intentional.

Advance Scouting ...
The slumping Dodgers, who were swept by the Braves at home over the weekend, head to San Francisco to play the rival Giants (10:15 PM ET). If all goes well for San Francisco, the NL West -- which Los Angeles had run away with for most of the season -- could suddenly get interesting. Jonathan Sanchez takes the hill for the Giants, who trail the Dodgers by 5 1/2 games in the standings entering play Monday.

Starting Five: Victorino Center of Attention originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Gorzelanny's Cubs Debut Another Slap to the Bucs

Jeff Fletcher — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Orioles, Pirates, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That every day Pirates fans seem to suffer another indignity. If it's not seeing their whole team get traded, it's seeing Yusmeiro Petit nearly pitch a no-hitter against the guys who are left, or seeing cast-off Tom Gorzelanny pitch his best game in two years.

Gorzelanny, a once promising lefty, had fallen so far out of favor in Pittsburgh that he spent most of the season in the minors. He hadn't started for the Pirates since last year. The Cubs got him last week, and on Tuesday night he made his debut for his new team. Gorzelanny gave up three hits and one run in 7 1/3 innings.

Of course, it was only against the Reds. Cincinnati, losers of 14 of its past 15, is perhaps the only team going worse than the Pirates these days.

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From the Trainer's Room ...
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, who has been out since May 26 with a right leg injury, had a setback and returned to New York. Although Mets officials would not comment on Reyes' status until he's re-evaluated, it seems the chances are getting dimmer of him returning to the field at all this season.

Numbers Game ...
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols hit his fifth grand slam of the year, pulling within one of the major league record, held by Travis Hafner and Don Mattingly. Pujols hit two homers in the game against the Mets, including the 10th-inning slam, to emphatically snap out of his slump. He had hit .207 with no homers in his previous 15 games.

In Their Own Words ...
"He is the real thing. This is one that everybody should take a great deal of pride in for a long time. The night belongs to Matusz in some respects, but it belongs to everybody with the Orioles because certainly a lot of people helped to make this happen tonight." -- Orioles manager Dave Trembley, after touted prospect Brian Matusz won in his big-league debut, just over a year after he was drafted. The left-hander allowed one run in five innings. The Orioles became the first team in modern major league history to have five pitchers win in their debut in the same season.

Advance Scouting ...
Giants right-hander Joe Martinez will make his return to the big leagues, starting against the Astros in Houston (2:05 PM ET). Martinez began his big-league career by making the Opening Day roster, but his second game, on April 9, ended with a frightening incident. He was hit in the head by a Mike Cameron line drive, causing a concussion. He has not pitched in the majors since.

Starting Five: Gorzelanny's Cubs Debut Another Slap to the Bucs originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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