Jed Lowrie Trade Tree

Posted on February 5, 2013 by David Kaleida

Houston made a surprising trade last night, flipping Jed Lowrie (and Fernando Rodriguez) to Oakland for Brad Peacock, Chris Carter and Max Stassi. This continues the Astros’ trend of adding useful pieces to their rebuilding franchise.

When Houston decided to not extend the contract of aging franchise star Lance Berkman, they traded him to the Yankees for Jimmy Paredes and Mark Melancon. After a good season of relief they moved Melancon to the Red Sox for Kyle Weiland and Jed Lowrie. And now after one productive but injury filled season Lowrie is gone too. That’s a great series of deals, continually adding both big league players and minor leaguers that might add more value. (Click to embiggen)

Jed Lowrie Astros

The trade tree for the Oakland side of this deal will have to wait a few days because it ended up containing Mark Mulder, Rich Harden, and the recent John Jaso trade among others and is a total mess can be seen right here.

Filed under: baseball, Trade Tree | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Astros Wrap Up

Posted on September 6, 2012 by David Kaleida

Scores:
Monday: 5-1 Loss vs. Houston. Listless Bucs lose lacklusterly. Box score.
Tuesday: 6-2 Win vs. Houston. Holt, Cutch, Wandy snap losing streak. Box score.
Wednesday: 6-3 Win vs. Houston. Pirates cruise to easy win. Box score.

Season Record: 72-64, 3rd place in NL Central, 10.0 games back; 1.5 games back of a Wild Card spot

Notes: Two nice wins take the series after a let down on Labor Day. 72 wins matches the Bucs’ total from last season. 10 more in their last 26 games will clinch a winning season. It will probably take at least 16 more wins to get them into the playoffs. As far as I can remember, this is the first series in a few months that the Pirates did not hit a home run. Brock Holt and Andrew McCutchen each had four hit games on Tuesday. Wandy Rodriguez was brilliant in seven shutout innings. Kevin Correia continues to defy all analysis and evidence by being an effective starter, becoming the Pirates’ third 10 game winner this year.

Combined Box

Pittsburgh AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG OBP
Alvarez, 3B 12 1 1 0 0 3 11 0.083 0.083
Holt, Br, 2B 11 2 5 2 0 2 2 0.455 0.455
McCutchen, A, CF 11 2 4 3 1 1 4 0.364 0.417
Jones, G, RF, 1B 10 1 5 2 2 1 2 0.500 0.583
Barmes, SS 9 1 3 2 2 3 1 0.333 0.455
Sanchez, G, 1B 8 0 3 1 0 2 4 0.375 0.375
Presley, LF 8 3 2 1 1 1 2 0.250 0.333
Barajas, C 6 1 1 0 0 1 7 0.167 0.167
McKenry, C 5 0 0 0 0 3 2 0.000 0.000
Snider, LF, RF 4 1 0 0 1 1 1 0.000 0.200
Rodriguez, W, P 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0.000 0.000
Tabata, RF 2 1 0 0 1 1 3 0.000 0.333
Clement, PH 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.000 0.333
Harrison, PH-2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000
Correia, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.000 0.000
Fryer, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000
Locke, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000
  Totals 95 13 24 11 9 24 43 0.253 0.317

Batting
Doubles (3): Jones (25), McCutchen (26), Holt (1)
Triples (2): Alvarez (1), Presley (5)

Fielding
DP: (Sanchez-Barajas-Sanchez), (Hughes-Barmes-Sanchez)

Pitching

Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA WHIP
Rodriguez, W (W, 10-13) 7.0 4 0 0 1 7 0 0.00 0.71
Correia (W, 10-8) 6.0 4 1 1 1 1 0 1.50 0.83
Locke (L, 0-1) 5.0 7 5 5 1 6 1 9.00 1.60
Hughes, J 3.0 2 0 0 0 5 0 0.00 0.67
McPherson, K 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 1.00
Hanrahan 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 1.00
Takahashi 1.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 1.00
Grilli 1.0 2 2 2 0 2 1 18.00 2.00
Resop 0.7 2 2 2 0 0 0 27.00 3.00
Watson 0.3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 3.00
  Totals 27.0 25 10 10 4 27 2 3.33 1.07

Transactions: None

Filed under: baseball, Pirates | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Series Preview: The Astros

Posted on September 4, 2012 by David Kaleida

Current record: 70-63, 3rd place in NL Central, 11.0 games back

Up Next: Houston Astros, 41-93, 6th place in NL Central, 40.5 games back

Season Series: 9-2 (2-1, 4-0, 3-1)

Notes: Bucs lost the first game and looked bad, but are in the process of winning game two and looking pretty good.

Familiar Faces: Chris Snyder

Monday: Bucs lose, 5-1
RH Edgar Gonzalez (1-0, 5.1 IP, 5 K, 1.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP)
vs. LH Jeff Locke (0-1, 9.1 IP, 7 K, 4.82 ERA, 0.96 WHIP)

Probable Pitchers

Tuesday: RH Jordan Lyles (3-10, 113.2 IP, 76 K, 5.46 ERA, 1.48 WHIP)
vs. LH Wandy Rodriguez (9-13, 170.0 IP, 110 K, 3.86 ERA, 1.31 WHIP)

Wednesday: LH Fernando Abad (0-2, 31.2 IP, 25 K, 4.83 ERA, 1.64 WHIP)
vs. RH Kevin Correia (9-8, 135.0 IP, 64 K, 4.40 ERA, 1.34 WHIP)

Filed under: baseball, Pirates | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Series Wrap Up: The Astros

Posted on July 30, 2012 by David Kaleida

Scores:
Thursday: 5-3 Win at Houston. Marte impresses, Burnett cruises. Box score.
Friday: 6-5 Win at Houston. The Fort with a big day; late rally. Box score.
Saturday: 4-3 Win at Houston. Wandy not sharp in debut. Box score.
Sunday: 9-5 Loss at Houston. JMac struggles again, walks 7. Box score.

Season Record: 58-43, 2nd place in NL Central, 3.0 games back

Notes: The Bucs take 3 of 4 from the hapless Astros and still lose a game in the standings to the Reds. Starling Marte had an impressive debut, hitting a home run on the first pitch he saw in the majors. Garrett Jones lead the team with five hits in the series. Three of those went for extra bases. A.J. Burnett was the only starter who had a good outing but they all went at least 5 innings. Wandy Rodriguez walked 5 in his Pirates debut. Kevin Correia was moved to the bullpen, gave up 4 runs in 2 innings and demanded a trade.

Combined Box

Pittsburgh AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG OBP
Marte, S, LF, CF 18 2 4 2 0 3 4 0.222 0.211
Jones, G, RF, 1B 17 3 5 4 0 1 6 0.294 0.294
Alvarez, 3B 15 1 4 0 1 5 7 0.267 0.313
Walker, 2B 13 2 3 3 2 2 7 0.231 0.353
McCutchen, A, CF 12 2 4 0 1 1 8 0.333 0.385
Presley, RF, LF 12 2 4 2 1 5 5 0.333 0.385
Barmes, SS 10 1 3 2 0 3 1 0.300 0.300
McGehee, 1B 10 0 1 0 1 3 2 0.100 0.182
Barajas, C 8 1 1 1 1 2 3 0.125 0.222
McKenry, C 7 2 4 2 1 1 2 0.571 0.625
Burnett, AJ, P 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0.333 0.333
Harrison, SS 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 1.000 0.667
Sutton, PH-RF 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 0.000 0.333
Mercer, PR-SS 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 0.000
Karstens, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000
McDonald, J, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000
Rodriguez, W, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000
  Totals 135 20 36 17 9 30 48 0.267 0.311

Batting
Doubles (5): McCutchen 2 (19), McKenry (9), Harrison (8), Walker (24)
Triples (1): Jones (2)
Home Runs (8): Marte (1), Jones 2 (16), Barmes (5), Presley 2 (8), McKenry (9), Walker (10)

Baserunning
SB: Marte (1)
CS: Marte (1)

Fielding
Double Plays: (Walker-Barmes-McGehee), (Alvarez-Walker-McGehee)

Pitching

Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA WHIP
Burnett, AJ(W, 12-3) 7.3 4 2 2 1 5 2 2.45 0.68
Rodriguez, W 6.0 6 3 3 5 5 0 4.50 1.83
Karstens 5.0 6 4 4 3 7 2 7.20 1.80
McDonald, J(L, 10-5) 5.0 6 5 5 7 5 1 9.00 2.60
Hanrahan(S, 30,31) 2.0 2 1 1 1 4 0 4.50 1.50
Hughes, J 2.0 4 1 1 1 1 0 4.50 2.50
Correia 2.0 5 4 4 1 2 0 18.00 3.00
Lincoln(H, 4,5) 1.7 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 1.20
Grilli(S, 2) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 0.00
Watson(W, 5-1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 0.00
Resop(W, 1-3) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 1.00
  Totals 34.0 35 20 20 20 35 5 5.29 1.62

Transactions (since the AllStar break): Activated OF Alex Presley from the DL. Optioned 1B Matt Hague to AAA. Placed RHP Juan Cruz on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Evan Meek from AAA. Traded minor league pitchers Rudy Owens and Colton Cain and minor league OF Robbie Grossman to Houston for LHP Wandy Rodriguez. Optioned RHP Evan Meek to AAA. Optioned OF Gorkys Hernandez to AAA. Recalled OF Starling Marte from AAA. Traded minor leage 2B Brian Friday to Atlanta for minor league OF Christian Marrero. Assigned Marrero to AAA.

Filed under: baseball, Pirates | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Series Preview: The Astros

Posted on July 26, 2012 by David Kaleida

Current record: 55-44, 2nd place in NL Central, 2.5 games back

Up Next: Houston Astros, 34-65, 6th place in NL Central, 24.5 games back

Season Series: 6-1 (2-1, 4-0)

Notes: This isn’t the same Astros team the Bucs faced three weeks ago. Gone are Carlos Lee, J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon and Brett Myers. SS Jed Lowrie is on the DL. Their best pitcher left is Bud Norris, who won’t face the Pirates this series because he started last night. This is baseball so anything can happen, but the Astros are really bad right now and Bucs should take three or four games here.

Familiar Faces: Chris Snyder, Brian Bixler

Probable Pitchers
Thursday: RH A.J. Burnett (11-3, 107.2 IP, 89 K, 3.59 ERA, 1.29 WHIP)
vs. LH Dallas Keuchel (1-2, 29.0 IP, 11 K, 4.03 ERA, 1.55 WHIP)

Friday: RH Jeff Karstens (3-2, 46.0 IP, 31 K, 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP)
vs. RH Jordan Lyles (2-7, 73.2 IP, 44 K, 5.50 ERA, 1.53 WHIP)

Karstens hasn’t been officially announced, but this is his turn and he’s pitching well so I wouldn’t mess things up.

Saturday: LH Wandy Rodriguez (7-9, 130.2 IP, 89 K, 3.79 ERA, 1.27 WHIP)
vs. TBA

This was supposed to be Wandy’s start for Houston. Instead he’ll make his Pirates’ debut. So far, the Astros haven’t announced a replacement.

Sunday: RH James McDonald (10-4, 125.2 IP, 110 K, 3.15 ERA, 1.12 WHIP)
vs. RH Lucas Harrell (7-7, 121.2 IP, 81 K, 4.07 ERA, 1.34 WHIP)

Just announced – Erik Bedard‘s start will be pushed back to Monday’s game. I have no problem giving the typically injury prone Bedard some extra rest, even when he’s pitching well. Kevin Correia has been moved to the bullpen.

Tonight’s Lineup:
Starling Marte LF (Major League debut)
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones RF
Casey McGehee 1B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
A.J. Burnett P

Filed under: baseball | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

Astros Wrap Up

Posted on July 6, 2012 by David Kaleida

Scores:
Monday: 11-2 Win vs Houston. McDonald battles, gets lots of support. Box score.
Tuesday: 8-7 Win vs Houston. Sutton walk off HR. Box score.
Wednesday: 6-4 Win vs Houston. Pirates win #45 in game 81. Box score.
Thursday: 2-0 Win vs Houston. Karstens: 8 very strong innings. Box score.

Season Record: 46-36, 1st place in NL Central, 2.0 games ahead

Notes: A four game sweep puts the Pirates all alone in first place. Five players had at least 5 hits in the series. Pedro Alvarez returned from a lingering leg cramp, but the team lost Alex Presley to a concussion. Joel Hanrahan pitched in the last three games so he will not be available on Friday. He’s been shaky enough lately that I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a few days off. Not counting The Hammer, the rest of the bullpen pitched seven scoreless innings.

Combined Box

Pittsburgh AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG OBP
Sutton, RF, LF 18 3 7 1 0 6 4 0.389 0.389
Jones, G, RF, 1B 16 8 9 7 0 2 7 0.563 0.563
McCutchen, A, CF 15 6 8 3 2 1 5 0.533 0.588
Walker, 2B 15 4 5 3 3 4 4 0.333 0.444
McGehee, 3B, 1B 14 3 6 4 1 3 5 0.429 0.467
Barmes, SS 13 0 2 2 0 2 10 0.154 0.154
McKenry, C 9 0 2 2 0 5 4 0.222 0.273
Presley, LF 7 1 2 0 0 2 1 0.286 0.286
Alvarez, 3B, PH 6 1 2 4 2 2 4 0.333 0.500
Barajas, C 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 0.250 0.250
Harrison, PH-SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 0.000
Hernandez, Go, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.000 0.000
Karstens, P 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.333 0.333
Fryer, PH 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.500 0.500
Burnett, AJ, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000
Correia, P 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 0.000
McDonald, J, P, PR 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000
  Totals 136 27 46 26 8 31 52 0.338 0.375

Batting
Doubles (12): McGehee 3 (11), McCutchen (17), Jones 3 (13), Walker 2 (17), McKenry (6), Sutton 2 (9)
Triple (2): Presley (3), Sutton (1)
Home Runs (5): Jones 2 (12), Walker (5), McCutchen (16), Sutton (1)

Baserunning
CS: Walker (2), Sutton (1)
PO: Sutton

Fielding
Errors: McDonald (1)
Double Plays: (Barmes-Walker-Jones) (3), (Walker-Barmes-McGehee) (2), (Barmes-Walker-McGehee)

Pitching

Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA WHIP
Karstens(W, 2-2) 8.0 4 0 0 1 8 0 0.00 0.63
McDonald, J(W, 8-3) 7.0 4 2 2 5 4 1 2.57 1.29
Correia(W, 5-6) 6.0 6 3 3 2 1 0 4.50 1.33
Burnett, AJ 5.0 12 6 6 2 5 0 10.80 2.80
Hanrahan(BS, 3)(W, 4-0)(S, 21, 22) 3.0 2 2 2 3 0 1 6.00 1.67
Grilli(H, 19, 20) 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 0.00
Hughes, J 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 0.50
Cruz, J 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 0.00
Lincoln(H, 2) 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 2.00
Resop 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00
  Totals 36.0 31 13 13 13 25 2 3.25 1.22


Transactions: Optioned OF Jose Tabata to AAA. Recalled OF Gorkys Hernandez from AAA. Placed LF Alex
Presley on the 7-day concussion DL. Recalled SS Jordy Mercer from AAA
.

Filed under: baseball, Pirates | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Next Page »