Lots of Roster News.....

[magnumo]

.....in this article in the trib, in cased anyone missed it:

Pirates activate Ohlendorf, send him to Indy - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

I'm wondering who's going to provide the most help for the remainder of the season. Choices are Ohlendorf, Tabata, D'Arnaud, Presley, Alvarez, Lee, and Crotta.

We obviously can drop Crotta from consideration, since he was re-signed to a minor league contract after being dropped from the 40-man roster. And I don't think D'Arnaud is ready to play at the major league level..... so I don't expect much help from him. Both could be added after rosters expand, but neither is likely to help much.

Even though Ohlendorf has been optioned to Indy, it's possible that he could have an impact during the last month to 6 weeks, either out of the bullpen or as a starter.

Seems that Alvarez COULD have the most impact IF he finds himself. And Lee could provide a boost if his hand gets well and he hits.

Perhaps most interesting will be Tabata and Presley, if only to see who will be dropped from the 25-man roster when they return. My bet is on Paul and Pearce. Either or both (Tabata and Presley) would be a welcome sight at the top of the lineup and could have a positive impact. If both come back soon, it will provide some interesting playing time decisions for Hurdle for Ludwick, Diaz, Tabata, Presley, Jones, and Lee.... 6 guys for 3 spots (LF, RF, first base).

At any rate, it appears that there COULD be help on the way, at least for the offense. On the other hand, it could take a while for either Presley or Tabata to get back in a groove..... and the same could be said for Alvarez and Lee.

One thing seems certain: Without help from one or more of these guys (and without a bounce-back from the pitching staff), the Pirates seem to have little hope of breaking the losing streak. So..... who's gonna step up?

 

[Mdgross2005]

Hmmm, maybe now that the pressure is off, Pedro can start producing.

It would be nice to see Presley continue WINNING, but I'd be very happy to see Ohlendorf bump someone like KC out of the rotation.

 

[magnumo]

Derrek Lee - Fractured Wrist

Welcome, Mdgross2005, and thanks for your reply.

MLB.com is reporting that Derrek Lee has been placed on the DL with a fractured wrist. Gotta wonder why it took this long to figure that out. At any rate, it doesn't appear that the lineup will get any near-term help from Lee.

 

[Mdgross2005]

Welcome, Mdgross2005, and thanks for your reply.

MLB.com is reporting that Derrek Lee has been placed on the DL with a fractured wrist.Gotta wonder why it took this long to figure that out. At any rate, it doesn't appear that the lineup will get any near-term help from Lee.

Exactly. It was a "bruised hand" or something for awhile. At least he didn't cost anything like Beltran.

Also, good to be here, Mags. Like something element said in another thread, changing message boards is serious business. I've been on Dizney's site for something like 14 years, but the action there is too stale, now, for a lurker like me. Not that I've completely left it...

 

[magnumo]

Exactly. It was a "bruised hand" or something for awhile. At least he didn't cost anything like Beltran.

Also, good to be here, Mags. Like something element said in another thread, changing message boards is serious business. I've been on Dizney's site for something like 14 years, but the action there is too stale, now, for a lurker like me. Not that I've completely left it...

Wow! I started reading the Pirates' board at ESPN regularly (just lurking at first..... started posting perhaps a year later) when I got my first home computer in 1998. So it sounds like we started there at about the same time. Although I left that board (for the most part) in the middle of the 2009 season, I seem to remember seeing your screen name there on occasion..... but without the capital M.

I doubt that I'll go back there..... especially once they dump the old boards for good (scheduled for this coming Monday, I believe). If you do go back, please don't hesitate to invite any quality posters you encounter to join here. I think this board is up to about 15 guys from the old Pirates' board at ESPN, but additional value-adding posters are always welcome.

I remain very thankful that Darkstone42 posted about this site over at ESPN. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I had not heard of SportsHoopla until he did that.

 

[element1286]

If both come back soon, it will provide some interesting playing time decisions for Hurdle for Ludwick, Diaz, Tabata, Presley, Jones, and Lee.... 6 guys for 3 spots (LF, RF, first base).

It will definitely be tough to get everyone playing time. Presley/Tabata will be an upgrade over Paul for certain, and probably Ludwick at this point.

Hopefully Tabata goes back to his old swing, I read somewhere that he was trying to get the ball in the air more to hit more homeruns (can't remember where). The Pirates could use the Jose Tabata of last year right now.

Hopefully Presley doesn't regress a lot. I'm fairly certain he isn't capable of putting up an OPS around .900 over the long haul, hopefully the regression is slow and linear not fast and exponential.

Good news is that I think Morton has worked some things out, and I'm fairly confident going forward he is a solid #3 starter, and someone they can count on.

As for Ohlendorf, I'd rather see him out of the pen. Performance wise the past few years he's been a #5 starter, who can't stay healthy, but has a good fastball along with two average pitches. Seems like a perfect guy to put in the pen.

I'd like to see Lincoln get some starts down the stretch.

 

[WVUinVegas]

Hopefully Tabata goes back to his old swing, I read somewhere that he was trying to get the ball in the air more to hit more homeruns (can't remember where).

Every time Tabata hits one in the air, he owes me 20 pushups!