2013 Pirates thread (Wilson: to live, price, budget)

[greg42]

In honor of the Pirates at this moment having the BEST RECORD IN THE LEAGUE (seriously, look it up, at least for the next few hours ), I think we need a thread for just the Bucs. Here is where we can discuss the rise and perhaps inevitable fall for the 2013 season.

Raise it!

[sskink]

They now have 24oz Yuengling tall boys for $10, so if you get a can and a cup, 2 people can have a 12oz beer for $5 each.

Went to the game last night and I don't recall any hot dogs being shot into the stands. I hope that's not a budget-cutting exercise :-)

I understand they're going to wear the black alternate jerseys until they lose.

And NO to any Stanton deal including Taillon or Polanco.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

They don't need Stanton, but someone much less pricey such as Alex Rios. They could even snag a more budget-friendly option such as Josh Willingham or Michael Morse. Ive heard Ben Zobrist's name thrown around, though I think he would cost too much, too (though way less than Stanton). But they do need consistent production out of RF. Snider was a good risk but I don't think he is ever going to live up to his prospect hype. I would give Andrew Lambo (currently killing it at AAA) a shot before making a trade for anyone.

I'm confident this team won't see a big swoon again this year. While the injury bug stinks, it also helps take a little extra wear off of those arms. So, I'd expect Burnett, Rodriguez, Liriano, and to a lesser extent Gomez, to all finish strong given their extended periods of inactivity this year.

[bmust71]

Lambo wont be better than snider, he will be a bench player at best. We should trade guys like locke, Morris, and Wilson. Guys who we can afford to give away due to our depth but hold high value because of their success so far this year (which for many cant be sustained).

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

20 HR so far in Indy...I know it's AAA but he has earned the shot. He could very well be better than Snider, no way to know.

As for trading pitchers, we certainly can't get rid of our best pitcher (Locke) or deplete bullpen depth. I'd prefer a trade for a mid-range OF such as Morse because it would involve less value in return (maybe Tabata or Lambo and Cumpton, or Olver, etc...).

[bmust71]

Locke is getting lucky and you can tell by his low strikeout rate, high walk rate, and high contact rate. We need to trade him now while his value is at its peak. We can afford to deal him because we have so much depth with our starters.

As far as Lambo goes he deserves a shot, but he will be like Brock Holt was last year (mediocre at best).

8 in a row, go bucs!

[Pitt Chick]

Hot dogs and t-shirts were shot into the stands tonight.

Great game, except for that unfortunate base-running by Liriano.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by trlstreet

They don't need Stanton,

Well, depends on what you mean. Dude's gonna be in the Hall of Fame after all, haha.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

True, the could definitely use him, but I'd prefer not to lose 4-5 of our best prospects to do it. It would probably require Tailon, Polanco, Sanchez, and Kingham, maybe more. All of those guys project to be at least quality major league players, if not all stars. Polanco is probably 2 years away from manning RF, so I'd prefer to see an option that will cover the gap until he arrives.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

And i know prospects aren't a sure thing but these guys are about as sure as they get. A rotation in a few years that features Cole, Tailon, Kingham, Locke, and a veteran FA is pretty exciting, especially with guys like Turnbow and Heredia still in the pipeline.