Pittsburgh Lumber Co.

Neal Huntington used his first couple of years with the Pirates to replace Dave Littlefield’s aging core with a younger version of his own. With that process nearly complete, it is time for him to begin piecing together a major league team that can compete with the rest of the league. Here are the expected [...]

I am listening to an interview with Neal Huntington on 104.7 right now, and I thought I should reiterate how refreshing it is to listen to him. He is honest, intelligent and enthusiastic any time he discusses his work with the Pirates. You get the impression that he could sit there and talk [...]

The Pirates signed left-handed reliever Javier Lopez today. Lopez posted some very good ERA’s with Boston in 2006-2008 before imploding in a short stint with the Red Sox last season. He did pitch well upon a demotion to Triple-A in May.

Lopez has produced some pretty poor strikeout/walk rates over the years. He [...]

In the wake of the Matt Capps release, I thought I would take a stab at what his market value should be for the 2010 season. The following is Capps’ yearly Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to FanGraphs.

Year
WAR

2006
0.4

2007
1.6

2008
1

2009
-0.4

Yearly Average
0.65

Capps had an average WAR of 0.65 the previous four seasons. Let’s assume that would be his [...]

In a surprising move, the Pirates non-tendered Matt Capps last night, allowing him to become a free agent. Neal Huntington explained his reasoning, stating that he felt the money saved could be used to replace Capps. I’m not sure that’s accurate, but one quote from Huntington stuck out to me:

If you’re talking [...]

In a somewhat surprising move, the Pirates selected outfielder John Raynor in the Rule 5 draft this morning. Raynor will be 26 next season, and has produced some pretty successful offensive seasons in the Marlins’ minor league system. He mashed in 2007 and 2008, albeit with high strikeout rates. Baseball America rated [...]

The Rule 5 draft is set to begin in a little over an hour (9 AM EST). The Pirates own the second pick, and Neal Huntington has indicated that they will likely make a selection. Jonathon Mayo of MLB.com reports that they are leaning toward a right-handed pitcher. Look for them to [...]

The Pirates are expected to sign Bobby Crosby today to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, as management wanted someone to compete with Ronny Cedeno at the shortstop position. This is a pretty foolish signing if you ask me. Crosby is essentially a replacement level player at this point. Cedeno is not [...]

We are now in the second day of the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis, and the majority of Pirates-related news has been predictable. Managemetn is not actively shopping players such as Matt Capps, Ryan Doumit, Paul Maholm or Zach Duke, but they are willing to listen to any offers. Nothing groundbreaking there. However, one rumor that [...]