2008 Pittsburgh Pirates

[WiffleBaller]

This is my first dynasty so i hope its ok.

First off I am using BM09 with HGM's rosters on Mogul difficulty.

I am setting myself up with some guidelines to keep this fair(er), I am only allowing myself to use the trading block for trades, i can edit them if i think it makes sense for both teams involved but in general i will try not to edit the trades at all. I also am going to try and keep this as realistic as possible (except hopefully the pirates will be good), especially with regards to free agency.


also i plan to use a kind of objective point of view with my dynasty with a Newspaper headline perspective as well.


So lets begin.


First off i think i will do some trades to address some of the team's needs, I will see if i can dump some salary at the same time.

April 1st, 2008
Pittsburgh sends 3 packing in return for star third baseman

Today pirates' management announced that they have worked out a deal for future allstar Ryan Zimmerman. The pirates aquired Zimmerman (84/88) for former third baseman Jose Bautista (79), RP Romulo Sanchez (66/82), and Lefty RP Dave Davidson (70/81)




Analysis:
I like this deal for us because we were able to aquire an extremely solid third baseman in Zimmerman, a solid hitter and good fielder gives us a hopefully long term solution for the hot corner. I plan to lock him up when the time comes.

We had to give up Bautista who was... a starter, but nothing to write home about, not to mention we were able to dump all his salary as zimmerman doesnt hit arbitration until '09. We also gave up a couple of 23 year olds, Sanchez was a pretty decent prospect and could have developed into a good reliever but i dont miss him at all. Davidson on the other hand was interesting, while still not major league ready his power and movement made me think that someday he could become a lefty specialist.

All said and done i am completely satisfied with the deal.

More deals out of Pitsburgh as the Pirates bolster starting pitching


The Pirates continue to try to improve thier team by dealing players, here in a 5 person deal the pirates traded SP Matt Morris (71), SP Brad Lincoln (62/86), RP Ronald Belisario (63/74), and $5 million. In return the pirates recieved Lefty SP Jon Lester (77/87), and SP Justin Masterson (71/88).

Analysis:
Another deal that should show us dividends now and in the future. We get a solid number 4 guy in Lester with the potential to be a good number 2 man. We also recieve a great prospect in Masterson, he is getting close to major league ready but will spend time in AAA/AA for now. Masterson has good control and movement with a formidable sinker, he throws in the upper 80's and we have high hopes for this kid.

We lost starter Matt Morris who had a fat $9.5 million contract and a set of skills that were aging like fine milk. We also lost prospect Brad Lincoln, prior to the trade i had high hopes for this kid as he looks like he could develop into a really good pitcher, Belisario has the potential to become a decent reliever someday but doesnt seem to be worth much to us. We also gave up $5 million to finalize the deal. leaving us with about $4 million left in the bank.

Young stud comes to Pittsburgh

With the changes in pittsburgh still coming the most recent aquisition being SP Max Scherzer (71/93), in return for RP Evan Meek (73/81), and 3B Neil Walker (71/86)

Analysis:
I feel like we get a steal here, i absolutely love Scherzer, he is an ace in the making who throws in the mid 90's. The 22 year old will spend time in the minors to continue to develop.

We gave up Evan Meek who was one of our better relief prospects but one the i have no qualms with parting with. We also delt 3B Neil Walker who will most likely develop into a solid third baseman, but with the recent aquisition of Ryan Zimmerman we should have little use for Walker.

These trades bring us to our 2008 Starting line-ups:

1. Nate McLouth (85) L CF
2. Freddy Sanchez (84) R 2B
3. Ryan Zimmerman (84/88) R 3B
4. Jason Bay (84) R LF
5. Adam LaRoche (81) L 1B
6. Xavier Nady (81) R RF
7. Ryan Doumit (83) S C
8. Jack Wilson (81) R SS
9. Pitcher

Bench:
Ronny Paulino (80) R C
Matt Kata (73) S IF
Nyjer Morgan (74/77) L CF
Doug Mientkiewicz (77) L 1B
Josh Wilson (72/73) R IF
Brian Bixler (70/80) R IF


Top Prospects:
AAA Steven Pearce (74/86) RF
AAA Andrew McCutchen (72/92) CF


Pitching:

#1 Starter: Ian Snell (90/92) R
#2 Starter: Tom Gorzelanny (81/88) L
#3 Starter: Paul Maholm (81) L
#4 Starter: Jon Lester (77/87) L
#5 Starter: Zach Duke (77/80) L

Closer: Matt Capps (84/90) R
Setup: Damaso Marte (83) L
Short Relief: John Grabow (79/80) L
Short Relief: Jason Davis (75) R
Middle Relief: Tyler Yates (75/77) R
Long Relief: Adam Benero (72) R

Top Prospects:
AAA Justin Masterson (71/88) R
AAA Max Scherzer (71/93) R

Ladys and Gentlemen, your 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Looks good so far. Way to fleece Washington by the way. How many drinks did it take before Bowden agreed to that ?

[WiffleBaller]

Yeah, i didn't understand it much but i decided to pull the trigger before he sobered up, hey you could end up with a couple of mediocre relivers if they develop

[WiffleBaller]

April Review

Well we had an up and down first month as we went 12-13.



Pirates Injury Report

Max Scherzer went down for 2 weeks in mid-April with a hand stress fracture, he has since recovered.



Team Leaders:

ERA: Ian Snell (3.63)
Wins: Ian Snell (4)
Ks: Ian Snell (36)
Saves: Matt Capps (9)

AVG: Ryan Zimmerman (.394)
OBA: Ryan Zimmerman (.429)
RBI: Ryan Zimmerman (21)
Runs: Nate McLouth (20)
HR: Adam LaRoche (5)
SB: Nate McLouth (3)

League Leaders:

AVG: Chipper Jones (ATL) .444
HR: Joe Crede (CHW)/Jack Cust (OAK) 10
SB: Chone Figgins (LAA) 15

Wins: 7 tied with 5
ERA: Scott Baker (MIN) 0.82
Ks: Jake Peavy (SDP) 51
Saves: Francisco Cordero (CIN)/Jason Isringhausen (STL) 10



Pirates Hot Pitcher:

Ian Snell


Honorable Mention:

Damaso Marte



Pirates Hot Hitter:

Ryan Zimmerman



Honorable Mention:

Xavier Nady



Prospect Watch:




Justin Masterson:




Max Scherzer





Andrew McCutchen





Steven Pearce



Pirates Finances:

A great fiscal month for the Pirates as we made $9.5 million.

Bringing our bank total to $13.6 million

Look to see increased spending on our farm system, scouting, and medical departments.



Around the League

Washington Sends: Wily Mo Pena, Ray Olmedo, Tony Batista

Oakland Sends: Justin Duchscerer, Mark Ellis, Donnie Murphy



The Month of April was also interesting because on April 6th Jon Garland threw a perfect game for the Angels against the twins.

Placido Polanco had a 20 game hit-streak

Mark Teahen hit for the cycle

John Smoltz grabbed his 3000th strikeout

Ivan Rodriguez hit his 2,500th hit

Magglio Ordonez also got his 1000th RBI

[filihok]

**** I wish it was that easy, IRL, to get three future stars for your team

[WiffleBaller]

May Review

May was a slightly better month for us. We went 15-12, placing us in third place, 3.5 games out of first.


Standings



Pirates Injury Report

I'm happy to report that we have experienced no significant injuries this month.



Team Leaders:

ERA: Ian Snell (4.24)
Wins: Ian Snell (6)
Ks: Ian Snell (66)
Saves: Matt Capps (21)


AVG: Ryan Zimmerman (.366)
OBA: Ryan Zimmerman (.413)
RBI: Adam LaRoche (39)
Runs: Nate McLouth (38)
HR: Adam LaRoche (10)
SB: Nate McLouth (5)

League Leaders:

AVG: Chipper Jones (ATL) .411
HR: Alfonso Soriano (CHC)/Albert Pujols (STL) 18
SB: Chone Figgins (LAA) 21

Wins: John Smoltz (ATL) 9
ERA: Johan Santana (NYM) 2.34
Ks: Johan Santana (NYM) 88
Saves: Matt Capps (PIT) 21



Pirates Hot Pitcher:

Matt Capps



Honorable Mention:

John Grabow

(Poor month for starers all around)


Pirates Hot Hitter:

Ryan Zimmerman



Honorable Mention:

Xavier Nady



Prospect Watch:




Justin Masterson (71/88)




Max Scherzer (71/93)





Andrew McCutchen (72/92)





Steven Pearce (80/88)



Pirates Finances:

Still going strong with a year-to-date profit of $19.2 million

Such a strong financial showing will no doubtedly result in further increased expenditure, fans can be happy to know that the money they spend on tickets is going right back into the team.



Around the League



and in a literally unbelieveable trade:

Florida sends: Hanley Ramirez

Washington sends: Levale Speigner, Kory Casto, Luis Ayala, and former Pirate Dave Davidson.

Looks like they wont be missing zimmerman as much now.



Other May Trades:

[WiffleBaller]

May 2nd, 2008

Grand Theft Shortstop


The most recent trade in Major League Baseball has GMs across the league scratchting thier heads.

In a startling swap of players, The Washington Nationals have traded Levale Speigner, Kory Casto, Luis Ayala, and Dave Davidson for Allstar shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Fans across florida are shocked and dissappointed.

Levale Speigner was quoted as saying: "Its cool to be traded for someone of Hanley's caliber but... Im a little wary of the immense pressure this puts on us to perform at least as well as he did."

Pirates general manager Neil Huntington was also quoted; "Wow, I mean, really? I wish i would have known they wanted ot give him away, I surely would have put in a 'competitive' bid."

Only time will tell if the trade shakes out in someones favor, although now, it looks like Washington got the edge.

[WiffleBaller]

Karma strikes back


Hanley Ramirez won't be giving Washington any immediate dividends.

In a rare turn of events, after only playing 5 games for the Nationals, Allstar shortstop Hanley Ramirez tears an ankle ligament, knocking him out of comission for six months. Many saw the deal as an outright steal, now maybe the Marlins might not regret the trade as much, and maybe cows will fly.

[ADman]

**** I wish it was that easy, IRL, to get three future stars for your team

That's what I was thinking.

[gosensgo101]

Ah, karma's a *****. Anyways, what were the ratings of the guys they gave up for him?

[WiffleBaller]

Young Outfield Stars swapped in busy may trading


In the center of a Orioles/Rays 11 player deal was the swap of Nick Markakis and Carl Crawford

Alongside Markakis on a bus to Tampa Bay are Ben Davis, Adam Stern, Danys Baez, Craig Anderson, and Jon Leicester.

Those going to Baltimore with Crawford are Ben Zobrist, Marcus Giles, Carlos Pena, and Trever Miller.

Baltimore traded 2B Brian Roberts earlier this month in what has been a crazy month for transaction followers.

[WiffleBaller]

gosensgo101:
Levale Speigner (67/70)
Kory Casto (70/79)
Luis Ayala (80/81)
Dave Davidson (70/79)

It makes zero sense to me. when i saw he was injured i thought his trade value was decreased due to injury but he played 5 games for WAS so he was traded at full health. im dumbfounded.

[dannymac910]

Well that's the Marlins for ya'. I'll bet you $5 they'll win the WS in 2 years though.

[WiffleBaller]

well they freed up some salary by getting rid of him, and are ensuring a very good draft pick so maybe... i just dont know how they couldnt have gotten more

[filihok]

Excellent pic of Ramirez after his injury...kudos for coming up with that one