Maholm\Hinske\Mientkiewicz...Are We Done Yet?

I'm not in much of a blogging mood. And if you've lived under a rock for a majority of the day, then you should just smash your head off of said rock. The Pirates have officially signed Paul Mahom and Eric Hinske to their contracts.

Maholm, signed a 4 year deal worth a guaranteed 14.5 million Bucs. Actually, the contract is for 3 years, and a club option for the 4th year, Maholm's first in free agency. Given the track record of management and long-term contracts, I would expect to see Maholm on the DL by mid-May and pitching in Indy around August 15th.

Eric Hinske was signed as a free agent from the AL Champion Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. Hinske's contract could total 2.5 million Bucs (1.5 million base pay and 1 million in bonuses). The 31 year old Hinske was signed over the widely popular Doug Mientkiewicz, and the ancient Luis Gonzalez. Hinske will be able to play the corners of the in and out fields. He is another left-handed power bat, which I think will workout well in PNC Park. Just as Maholm is leaving for the DL, I expect Hinske to be getting regular playing time at first base. That'll last until mid-June when Adam LaRoche will decide to hit well.

Now that these contracts are signed, I do not want to have to make another post featuring the names Paul Maholm, Eric Hinske, or Doug Mientkiewicz for a long, long time.

More on Hinske

Dejan is running a piece today in the Post-Gazette that makes it sound like Eric Hinske will most likely be signing a contract with Pittsburgh later this week. As I mentioned before, Hinske would be the best of the three free agent choices we have out there right now. He's younger than Luis Gonzalez and Doug Mientkiewicz and he has more power than the ever so popular Mientkiewicz.

Hinske isn't the right-handed power bat that the Pirates were looking for, however, his power from the left could prove to be an advantage to him at PNC Park, all thanks to the 321' Clemente Wall in right field.

I've linked the three free agent outfielders career stats that have been the topic of discussion for the Pirates this off season so that you may compare numbers and make a decision for yourself who would be the better player for this team. Hinske Gonzalez Mientkiewicz

A Mientkiewicz mutiny ahoy!

Let's Go Bucs!

PS: I can pretty much spell Mientkiewicz now without looking it up.
PSS: Dejan also has a great write-up as to why it's worth it to go cheap when signing bench players

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photo credit: Right field and the Clemente Wall. baseball-reference.com

Hinske in the Free Agent Outfield Mix

Earlier today it was announced that the Pirates were looking at Luis Gonzalez as a potential 4th outfielder and veteran leader. He is a guy with decent numbers, however, his age (41) is an issues with me. He's also seems to be limited to the positions in which he could play. Dejan mentioned that the Pirates were looking at several other free agents. Turns out one of those free agents will be Eric Hinske formally of the Tampa Bay Rays.



Hinske's numbers aren't quite where Gonzalez's numbers are at, however, he is a decade younger. And, unlike Gonzalez, he can play the corner spots of the outfield and first and third base. According to the article on pirateball.com, it sounds like Hinske is a priority for the Pirates and he could be in town as soon as the end of this week. It's looking less and less likely that Meintkiewicz will be back in Pittsburgh.



Because I'm lazy, check out link to the article above for all of the details on Hinske and Gonzalez.

Lets Go Bucs!

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photo credit: Eric Hinske strikes out during Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. daylife.com

Huntington Admits He'll Take It From Either Side

As reported on the PG today, the Pirates are in talks with free-agent left-handed outfielder Luis Gonzalez. The primary role of Gonzalez, 41, will be to serve as a leader, a la Doug Mientkiewicz. Which means, if Gonzalez gets signed, it looks like ol' "Dirty Doug" won't be coming back to Pittsburgh.



I would welcome a guy like Gonzalez into the organization. However, he is not the right-handed power-bat that the Pirates were looking for. Neal Huntington recently admitted that they are open to getting power from wither side of the plate. Last year, Gonzalez had

341 at-bats with the Florida Marlins, batting a respectable .261 with 8 homers and 47 RBIs. He has a career .283 batting average and .845 OPS. Decent numbers, however, would his age be an issue?

Let's Go Bucs!

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photo credit: Luis Gonzalez with the Diamondbacks. USAToday.com

More Uniforms, PiratesFest & Braden Looper

I took the opportunity to check out some other Pirates blogs and message boards regarding the new uniforms. It seems like a majority of people are happy to see the red jersey gone. More people seem to be happy that the sleeves are back as well. I don't get this. I think the vest look was great. Whatev. The sleeves aren't bad...except for the new solid black one. To those of you that don't like them...kudos to you.

It sounds like fans were pretty harsh this year when it came to the management Q&A session at PirateFest Friday night. A lot of people were disappointed with the rather quiet off season. Even more people were disappointed with the fact that Doug Mientkiewicz has not been signed yet. I really feel that if "Dirty Doug" isn't signed back to the team to sit on the bench and play the occassional corner infield or right field, you will see a mutiny at PNC Park. He is easily the most popular player on this team.

Of course some little kid asked about whether or not Jack Wilson will be traded. Jack is a hero to the kids. I'll be glad to see him come back simply because the only reasonable shortstop back up that we had last year was Luis Cruz.

There is talk of the Pirates showing some interest in reliever turned started Braden Looper. I don't really see him as being someone who will greatly improve the starting rotation. Then again, I'm not expecting much to come from these rumors.

Let's Go Bucs

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photo credit: Braden Looper - NY Times.
photoshop: Braden Looper in the new Pirates Alternative Jersey - Me