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

New Uniforms and More

The much anticipated new jerseys were revealed today at PiratesFest, and I must say that I am meeting them with mixed emotions. Let's take a look at this picture, and I will simply move from left to right with commentary on each jersey.



I'll start with last year's lone Pirate All-Star, Nate McLouth. Nate was able to shine on the national stage in last year's All-Star game. Unfortuniately, he seems to be lacking an All-Star look in this new solid black jersey. The button up jersey features a gold "P" over the left chest and the player number on the lower right side of the jersey. HATE IT! I say get ride of these things and bring back the red jerseys.

Moving on. Our next model is Matt Capps, superstar closer and all around swell guy. He is wearing the pin stripes with the vest jersey and t-shirt under it. This is the look the Pirates have had for the past several years. Since I've had season tickets, I've seen these jerseys worn mostly on Sunday afternoon games. I like it, it's in.

Next is Mr. Nyjer Morgan. As you can see, Nyjer is sporting a solid gray away uniform. It's a mix of the old unis from around 1990 which had the cursive "Pittsburgh" across the chest and the recent away jeresys. They have had the gray look for about two decades now, but the 1990's is the most recent I can remember. I like it, it's in.

Finally, there is the 2006 NL Batting Champion Freddy Sanchez. He is sporting a uniform simlar to that of Nyjer, only in white, and it says "Pirates" across the chest. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but I'll end the uniform discussion with an I like it, it's in.

It looks like "Mr. Almost Perfect" Jeff Karstens will be sitting out the first week or so of Spring Training. Due to some elbow soreness from minicamp a few weeks back, Karstens was shut down for a few days, and it looks like the Pirates will be taking it easy on him for the start of training. All the better in my opinion. There is no need to rush him. We've seen that he has potential to be good (held opponents scoreless through his first 15 innings last year). I'm looking forward to big things from this kid in the upcoming season.

I'll be back tomorrow with more musings. Look for my PiratesFest update on Sunday.

Let's Go Bucs

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photo credit: Players modeling new uniforms. pirates.com