Pittsburgh is near the bottom of the standings this season. Meanwhile, Nate McLouth has become a household name for baseball fans everywhere. Did Pirates fans see this type of potential in McLouth or has he been a surprise to them too?

Well, I have no idea what the new management saw, although I suspect McLouth’s fine season hasn’t been a surprise to them. The Pirates’ previous management certainly didn’t think McLouth was any good–they told the press he was unlikely to develop power and repeatedly benched him in favor of the massively inferior Chris Duffy and the ludicrous Nyjer Morgan. Oops! Anyway, many Pirates fans have been lobbying for McLouth, on and off, for years.

Though mathematically still possible, it looks as if the Bucs are a long shot to win the division. Speaking for the fan base, what are some goals – if not playoff related – for the remainder of the 2008 Pirates’ season?

I can’t speak for the fanbase at large, but for myself, I’d like to see Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss and Steve Pearce make strong cases for regular playing time. I’d also like to see some of the players the Bucs recently acquired from the Yankees stabilize the pitching staff somewhat. I’d like to see Tom Gorzelanny return and pitch well. I also wouldn’t mind strong finishes for Jack Wilson and John Grabow so that they can be traded during the offseason.

What’s your opinion of the Jason Bay trade? Does the return of Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen, Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris make losing the face of the franchise worth it?

I liked the trade. There weren’t any Matt LaPortas in this deal, but I think LaRoche can be a very good regular or even a minor star, and Morris has lots of upside. Moss might blossom into a solid regular, too. I think that’s a good return for a year and a half of Jason Bay.

Jeff Karstens has pitched great since getting a shot in the Pittsburgh rotation. In your opinion, was he (and the other three prospects) worth dealing Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte? Why or why not?

I liked that trade too, but Karstens wasn’t a particularly important part of it. It’s great that he’s had some good starts, but he’s really just throwing the ball over the plate and hoping for the best. Jose Tabata was the best player in that deal, and what the Pirates need most are high-reward players like him. Also, I’m suspicious of players who suddenly break out at age 29, and I think that Nady will be more like his 2007 self than his 2008 self next year. I also suspect most of the Pirates’ trading partners would agree with me on that.

The organization was able to ink top pick Pedro Alvarez just before the deadline to sign. Was he worth the $6 M? Furthermore, do you think the near $10 M spent to sign draft picks shows a commitment to a winning future?

Yes, and yes. From my perspective, the draft was noteworthy not just because of Alvarez, but because of the above-slot bonuses paid to late-round picks like Robbie Grossman, Quinton Miller and Wesley Freeman. Finally, the Pirates are taking their farm system seriously.

Do you see any parallels between the 2008 Pirates and Brewers of a few years back, or the Brewers of now?

I actually wrote a long article about this a few months back, but it’s not easy to summarize. Basically, though, it will take some time before we know whether the Bucs’ new management team is much like the Brewers’. The best I can say, at this point, is that the early months of the tenures of both Neal Huntington and Doug Melvin were both uneventful despite the obvious problems their franchises faced. About a year after he was hired, Melvin began taking decisive action to turn over the roster and improve the team, and it looks like Huntington is doing the same thing.

Did you ever imagine Salomon Torres having over 20 saves at this point in the season? 

Well, Eric Gagne’s implosion doesn’t surprise me much, but yes, I’m surprised that Torres has been so good. He missed time in 2007, the Pirates publicly criticized his conditioning, and he considered retiring instead of playing for the Brewers. I thought he was done.

After impressive 2007 campaigns both Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny have struggled this season, is there any chance they rebound next season? Which is more likely to find his old form? 

I’d say Snell has a better shot, just because his struggles this year don’t seem to have anything to do with his health. He looked filthy Tuesday night against the Cardinals. 

Are there any minor leaguers in your system (not named Andrew McCutchen) that Brewer fans may not know about who we should keep a collective eye out for?  

Until recently it was a pretty terrible system. I’d say Bryan Morris, Jamie Romak, and a couple of new guys, Robbie Grossman and Quinton Miller.

Any predictions for this weekend’s series? 

The Brewers go nuts on Zach Duke on Friday, and then the two teams play low-scoring games on Saturday and Sunday. 

* Read my answers to Brewers questions on his Web site HERE.

Tags: Blog Ambassador, Pittsburgh Pirates

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Blog Ambassador. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.