If I were the Pirates GM...

[realmofotalk]

A former top prospect with the Dodgers, LaRoche never lived up to expectations in Pittsburgh, hitting only .206/.268/.287 in 247 at-bats in 2010.

Get on the phone Ned! But seriously, he can't be worse than the ever declining Casey Blake, can he?

[love_that_reefer]

Yes, he can and is.

[General]

lol @ LTR "Pirates said they're gonna be buyers."

What else are they gonna say? We're gonna continue finding every last **** in the universe to suck?

[realmofotalk]

I suppose there could be worse things to say, like for example, forcing fans to choose between a competitive baseball team and charity.

"If you bring somebody in to play and pay them, pick a number, $30 million, does that seem a little weird to you?" Jamie McCourt asked in an interview at the Evergreen Recreation Center in East Los Angeles. "That's what we're trying to figure out. We're really trying to see it through the eyes of our fans. We're really trying to understand, would they rather have the 50 [Little League] fields?"

"We're really trying to understand, would they rather have the 50 fields?"

all together now: NO!

[love_that_reefer]

lol @ LTR "Pirates said they're gonna be buyers."

What else are they gonna say? We're gonna continue finding every last **** in the universe to suck?

They could say they are in a rebuilding mode? That they're not going to be buyers? You know, stuff other teams say.

[Sabu88]

HAHAHAHAHA Looks like Huntington did the "unrealistic"!! I swear Huntington must have read this. Good job by Huntington cutting the fat off this team. These guys have no future. Suck on it Sabu! Huntington definitely did the right thing here in getting rid of busts like LaRoche and Duke and helping them get past the loser mentality. Now Huntington has to spend money wisely and get better quality players. Shouldn't be too hard to replace what is now gone but he needs a lot of help in the rotation. Jeff Francis has been rumored as has Jorge de la Rosa. Keep up the good work Huntington

Ahh yes the prized cow Jorge De La Rosa. The man with a career ERA higher than duke, above 5, and with a rumored asking price of 12 million. I'm sure the Pirates would LOVEEEEE to invest in something like that.

Jeff Francis will sure bolster this rotation with his career numbers that are worse than Dukes. This is of course after you've established again that Jeff Francis will

A) Have interest in the Pirates
B) Sign for less than Duke
C) Provide an upgrade at the position

I'm happy you were able to reverse your thought process and consider the Pirates trade Duke for something though. Seems like the suckers in Arizona didn't want to wait the 10 days and just sign Duke for league minimum. Pirates sure swindled them. Duke had no suitors.

We're making this too much about Duke. I could give a ****ing shit about Zach Duke. He is a bottom of the rotation starter who was a number 2 on the Pirates.

I'm not worrying though your suggested magical little upgrades throughout the lineup that will cost less will sure pay dividends and get asses in the seats. Jorge De La Rosa will sure have them lining up at the gates. He'll be the next best thing to the fans than: Fireworks, dollar dog nights, cap promotions, bobblehead doll nights, Styx concerts...

I'm sure De La Rosa will put the team over the top. They're so close to contending with the unwavering Cedeno at shortstop. Super Duper Garrett Jones at first and right field. Miracle Man Lastings Milledge patrolling the outfield. Who can forget about the combo of Chris Snyder and Ryan Doumit who piss on Johnny Bench and his shittiness.

Big moves or sitting on the farm and praying is all the Pirates have hope for. You're not going to get the big moves from ownership. You're again being laughed at in another thread by board members because of something asinine you believe in.

IF the Pirates finally figure out how to develop minor leaguers and draft well (BIG IF), then MAYBE the ownership group is competent enough that they WILL sign a quality free agent or two that makes a big difference in the in column.

Little shitty moves now aren't being made out of necessity and to "improve the club", but to save some ****ing money. I'm looking forward to a broken down has been being signed for 4 million a year for 2 years to put up same or worse numbers than Duke. Are you?

Glad Laroche was designated for assignment. He sucked this year. That possible upgrade for a utility player who will somehow make less money will sure boost the winning % of the Pirates. Buying my playoff tickets now.

[Sabu88]

They could say they are in a rebuilding mode? That they're not going to be buyers? You know, stuff other teams say.

This again is where perspective comes in.


Some fans are blindly clinging onto the belief that the team is trying to compete now. A lot of fans in this market get turned off by the "Five year rebuild" phrase.

Also, logically... "We are rebuilding our team will suck" isn't going to sell tickets...but maybe you're onto something here. I guess people will come if most Pirates fans who go to games only go for the promotions.

[love_that_reefer]

I'm glad Sabu somewhat finally came to reason but you keep missing a lot of points.
To answer your question on Francis:
A) He should have interest because of Hurdle
B) He will make less than Duke would have through arbitration
C) Not hard to be better than Duke

Its good to see your thoughts changed on Duke now calling him shit after trying to defend him earlier. Its sad to see your still calling it "magic" to replace these horrible, god awful players that were released. Shouldn't and won't be hard at all to do. Its also sad that you think I somehow suggested making moves would put them over the top. Nothing could be further from the truth but I'm not surprised after witnessing your reading comprehension throughout this thread. The Pirates have been drafting well the past couple of seasons so that "big if" has already been answered. Your sarcasm is piss poor just like your loser attitude but I could care less. It was glad to put you in your place and prove you wrong. Way to be a man and admit you were wrong too. Took a lot of guts And please stop coming at me with your "perspective". Its worth shit since you have been wrong on just about everything in this thread Thanks for playing though. I had a lot of fun!

[General]

I gotta say LTR, as somebody who, like the Pirates' owner, doesn't give two shits about the Pirates, I'm gonna go ahead and say that your proclamation of being right on "just about everything" is, well....f@cking stupid.

[General]

My reasoning being that you, in your arguments, have proven nothing, despite implying that your magical solution is indeed magical.

[love_that_reefer]

Explain further General if you please. I don't see how I haven't been proven right since the Pirates have done what I suggested but please proceed how it is magic to replace the players released. I am very curious because calling it "magic" is what I deem ****ing stupid! Sabu in all his arguments were wrong so someone has to be right don't they? You haven't added anything but a sly remark that didn't make much sense. So far you are off to a bad start because I did not imply anything to be magical.

[General]

Not much to explain, really. You're just saying WOW THEY DID WHAT I SAID THEY SHOULD IM RIGHT SABU U SUX DIX. The marginal improvement that the Pirates will (or, in all likely hood, will not) display on the field is not nearly enough to change everyone's perception of this organization as the laughingstock of the MLB. The type of work that needs to be put into the Pirates and their minors system requires several years of consistent, dedicated efforts by an effective and determined GM with a good support staff. I agree that getting rid of players like LaRoche is a good idea, but the problem is, what are they gonna put in place? May as well go with the turds they have for now until they have somebody worthwhile to put in their place, be it from the minors or from free agency (via a different owner, most likely).

[love_that_reefer]

And you're thoughts are different than mine how exactly? And I never said Sabu sucks dicks, just that his reasoning for ridiculing me for my thoughts were wrong.

[General]

Well, I don't advocate signing Jeff Francis, for one. And I don't call Sabu a ****ing idiot as much as you do. Also, I know how to use "you're" and "your" properly.

[General]

Its sad to see your still calling it "magic" to replace these horrible, god awful players that were released. Shouldn't and won't be hard at all to do.

Replacing those "horrible, god awful players" with somebody marginally less shitty and [probably] more expensive will do nothing to better this ballclub. Sure, they'll get maybe 5-10 more wins in a season, but that's a drop in the ocean for an organization that is famous for being a smoldering pile of shit.