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@Ken_Rosenthal: Sources: #Angels interested in Burnett, but they are on his no-trade list and he wants to stay east. #Pirates heavy favorite.

Many would think that a deal would happen because the Angels are one of the Yankees rivals come playoff time. Would they really want to trade A.J. to a team where he could hurt them?

I think they would. No matter what Brian Cashman says, I think he’s that desperate to get rid of the guy. The only teams he wouldn’t trade him to would be the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

Unfortunately the Angels are on his no-trade list. So they’d have to really sweeten the pot for him to accept a trade to Los Angeles. Which is something that won’t happen. So back to the Pittsburgh Pirates rumors we go.

“Same as he’s been for the past 15 years — as incredible as that may sound,” one veteran scout said. “He has a chance to pitch in the big leagues as a fifth starter and win 10 or 12 games. He’s throwing 81 to 83 miles an hour, but he still knows how to make you look like an idiot. He doesn’t need the money. But I think he has that fire burning in his belly.”

Another scout observed: “It was amazing. He looked as loose, limber and free as he ever has.”(Jon Paul Morosi, Ken Rosenthal – Fox Sports)

In 2010, he went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA over 19 starts at the age of 47!! If he’s indeed healthy I don’t see how a team close to contention doesn’t take a chance on him.

Morosi and Rosenthal list a few potential suitors (aka teams who sent scouts) and like I said some are teams that are either close to contention or already competing. “Sources say the Mariners, Rangers, Royals, Rockies, Orioles, and Pirates are among the teams that have sent scouts to see Moyer.”

With him being a left-handed pitcher and a crafty veteran who knows how to get the best out of his limited arsenal then why not give him a chance.

Here’s another Phillies article that may interest you, the Phillies have resigned Jim Thome.

The ballpark is starting to fill up on a nightly basis and it’s not because of the opponents fans. They’ve averaged around 30,000 in attendance in the last 20 games. That coincides with it being the time of year where fans start believing their team actually has a chance to win. What has to have the fans in more excitement is that the team has become BUYERS at the deadline. That’s right the Pirates are looking to ADD talent! WTF!

Now we shouldn’t get too excited. The Pirates are shopping smart looking to add talent to help the team but not break the bank. They’re not trying to mortgage what looks like a bright future to jump back onto the scene. One of those trade targets appears to be Ty Wigginton of the Colorado Rockies.

@TroyRenck: The pirates have interest in wigginton. Not sure on giambi. Rox will look to move 1 reliever w betancourt more likely now that pitching well

If the Pirates are indeed looking at Ty then I would say great job. He’s low cost, $3.5 million and is a long time veteran who is pretty consistent at the plate while playing multiple positions. Even better is that one of those positions is one that the Pirates need help at, third base.

The third base position has been atrocious for Pittsburgh in 2011. Pedro Alvarez was demoted after his horrible start and lately they’ve been going with Brandon Wood. Wood has 152 at-bats and only has five homers and a .211 batting average. Not pretty.

Wigginton would be an instant upgrade as he has 13 homers with a .256 average over 277 at-bats. More importantly is that he’s a run producer; he’s played 83 games and driven in 40 runners. He’s a talent who could possibly push the offense to a higher level. More importantly he’s a veteran who could also mentor these kids during a stretch, playoff run.

If the Pirates can pull the trigger on this deal then they should in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t cost the team much probably just a mid-level prospect as Ty is 34-years old and on the back end of his career.

The real reason for writing this thou is not the analysis but the pure enjoyment of actually talking about the Pirates. I’m not a fan of them but it’s nice to talk positive about an annual cellar dweller.

(per Jason Beck of MLB.com) – “We’re making some progress on some trade talks at this point,” Dombrowski said. “Not quite sufficient to make any announcements, but I would think by the middle of next week we would be in a position where we would make a deal.”

Asked then if a trade is likely, Dombrowski said, “Yes, I think it’s likely.”

Many teams have rotation needs, they include the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians and quite a few others. Surprisingly none of those teams are the ones pushing for Armando.

Cleveland Indians – Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com says that the Indians aren’t interested in Galarraga because of his price. Armando’s contract calls for him to make $2.5 million in 2011 and that would be too expensive for the Tribe. Hoynes tweet goes along with a recent post where I mentioned that the Indians would be bargain shopping this winter.

@hoynsie: Don’t look for #Indians to work a deal with Armando Galarraga. He’s making $2.3 million and that’s too rich for Tribe. Which is too bad.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Pirates do have interest in Galarraga but it’s not likely that a deal happens. He mentions that it shouldn’t be because of money so I wonder what that reasoning is.

@RobBiertempfel:#Pirates have some interest in rhp Armando Galarraga. Considering they made serious offer to Pavano, I’d say they have the $$ for Galaragga.

@RobBiertempfel: Regarding galarraga to #pirates, trusted source just told me, “I don’t see it happening”

Washington Nationals – Bill Ladson of MLB.com says that the Nationals aren’t interested in Galarraga as they don’t see him as an upgrade. That is somewhat surprising to me as they’ve been scouring the free agent market all winter for a pitcher. Personally, I’m not sure how he wouldn’t be an upgrade but whatever there loss, he should of came cheap.

@washingnats: I was informed that the #Nats are not interested in #Tigers RHP Armando Galarraga. The #Nats don’t consider Galarraga an upgrade to what they already have in their rotation.

Now time for the surprise team, at least in my opinion. The Arizona Diamondbacks. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says that the D-Backs are in this heavy and making a strong push to acquire Galarraga. So much so that the two sides have already started discussing names. If Arizona did make the deal he’d likely compete for the fifth spot in the rotation to start, I’m sure a switch to the National League would help his performance.

The clubs are said to be exchanging names in trade talks; minor league right-hander Kevin Eichhorn has been discussed. A source said a deal isn’t expected to occur until sometime next week. (per Arizona Republic)

With all the various tweets and reports today, I’d have to say things are looking promising for the Diamondbacks. They obviously look like as the favorite as they’re the only team that is known to have exchanged names. Although, I’d have to say watch out for a dark horse team. There’s always a chance another team could creep in with the Tigers waiting till next week to make it happen.

@Ken_Rosenthal: Sources: #Twins closing in on Pavano. Deal expected to be for two years. #Nationals #MLB

This comes as really no surprise to me as there wasn’t much of a market for the pitcher. Yes, he was very effective in 2010, going 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA over 32 starts but it wasn’t enough for the big teams to come calling.

Other teams that did show interest were the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals. The Pirates interest was very mild but they didn’t want to “set the price”, while the Nats well who knows.

Rumors were strong that the Nationals were interested but recent reports say that they were never really that serious. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says that Pavano’s agent says the team never made much of a push.

@AdamKilgoreWP: #Nats talked w/ agent, never made much of a push. RT @Ken_Rosenthal Sources: #Twins closing in on Pavano. Deal expected to be for two years.

@jcrasnick: Free agent P Jeff Francis still drawing interest from 7 clubs — Nationals, Royals, Pirates, Rangers, Rockies and both NY teams

When you look at the list you pretty much have your small market teams that need to buy cheap and then a couple big name teams who missed out on the free agents they desired. For a player like Francis it’s not a bad group to choose from, he can choose a team who gives him the best chance to get his career back on track.

Some will argue with me on this but I’ve never felt that Francis was that great of a pitcher, maybe a middle of the rotation guy. A third or fourth starter. His career ERA in 149 starts is a 4.77, obviously skewed some by the injury to his shoulder but still, numbers you’d expect from a middle of the road kind of guy.

His best season came in 2007, where he threw for 200+ innings and earning himself a 4.22 ERA on his way to 17 wins. In 2008, he started 24 games before needing surgery on his left arm, his throwing arm and then missed all of 2009.

He returned in 2010 to start 19 games and well he was up and down, something you’d expect from someone off shoulder surgery. He had some amazing starts, including his one run in seven innings debut. On the flip side, he had some real duds. He ended the season with an ERA of 5.00.

Some will argue that number doesn’t show how he improved over the season. If you look at his post-All Star break numbers, he struck out 36 batters and walked only six over 41 innings. Not bad, right? His ERA in the second half was also 4.79 and his BAA against dropped about 30 points from his pre-All Star numbers.

Basically what Francis showed is that he was improving as he worked himself back into game shape. He showed that he can still be a major league pitcher and effective at it. For a team looking to take a chance on him then they could be well rewarded. There’s just one thing that concerns me.

Francis has always been a pitcher at HOME! Yes, that’s right he’s always had better numbers pitching at Coors Field. His ERA on the road has been almost a half a run higher on the road. Even more surprising? His homerun totals are slightly higher on the road as well.

Regardless of that fact, I’d take a chance on him if I were any of the seven teams interested. The reason being is he’s a lefty. Teams like the Rangers and Yankees need another lefty in their rotation to try and compete with that lineup of the Boston Red Sox. If he stays healthy, he could be a huge asset.

And guys enjoy the pics but make sure to enjoy some of the great pics and videos that we’ve linked too, especially the Utah fan who stripped at the game!!!!

Busted Coverage – BC Tipster Has Info On Topless Utah Fan Who Showed Off The Chest Monsters At TCU Game
Black Sports Online – Tony Parker: “I Was Just Sexting Brent Barry’s Wife Erin Barry..No Sex”
Terez Owens – Reggie’s Girlfriend Caught Wearing Engagement Ring

PSAMP – The Dude From The Worst Zelda Games Ever Is A Pirates Fan. Just Go With It
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Midwest Sports Fan – A Letter to LeBron – About your Game
The Hoop Doctors – It’s Always Sunny in South Beach

Fanhouse – Tiger Woods Needs to Learn From Michael Vick’s Blueprint
Unathletic Mag – Huge Celebrity Sports Fans!
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Here’s what the original deal was.
Yankees received Nady and Marte.
Pirates received Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen and Jose Tabata.

If the Pirates talks with Nady get serious, then the Yankees will really have nothing to show for this deal. What would make it worse is to see Nady wind up back in Pittsburgh and Tabata become the perennial All-Star many assumed he can one day be.

The key to the deal was Tabata, who was once one of the Yankees top hitting prospects. He’s now close to breaking into the majors and being a solid producer at the age of only 21. He played at Triple A Indianapolis this past season at the age of 20, batting .276 with 3 homers and 10 rbis, with 7 doubles in only 134 at bats. Not overwhelming but when you consider his age you see the talent is there.

Tabata should be in Pittsburgh by mid-season and most likely team with Andrew McCutchen to form one of the best young outfields in baseball.

Ohlendorf and Daniel McCutchen had mild success in Pittsburgh. The two of them might actually have solid major league careers by Pittsburgh standards if they stay there. Karstens didn’t have a good season at all and was recently out righted to Triple A.

I’ve never doubted the moves Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has made. He’s always done what he’s felt is best for the Yankees, so its hard to argue with him as he has had success. Even with having to give up Tabata this deal could of been very beneficial to the Yanks if Nady was what Cash thought he was getting.

Unfortunately he wasn’t and this could now wind up on the list of Yankee trades that us fans really regret.

banny76: Happy Holidays, Mr. Coonelly! I really hope that you may spend a dollar or two on Rick Ankiel, the outfielder, of course, presently of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Coonelly: banny76, I appreciate your support of the Pirates and your keen scouting report. As has been noted in several newspaper reports, Rick Ankiel is a free agent who we have some interest in. Rick certainly had an off-year at the plate for the Cardinals in 2009, but we believe that the Pirates could provide Rick with an opportunity to re-establish himself. We have let Rick’s representative know of our interest.

Coonelly couldn’t be more right about the Pirates being a place where a player can re-establish himself. The Pirates aren’t a team with star players and they have plenty of positions where the youngsters are just not ready to step in. Outfield is definitely one of them.

At the moment the Pirates have Andrew McCutchen and Lastings Milledge. Yea, they’ve also got Garrett Jones but you can expect him to also platoon at first next season, which leaves a spot in the outfield open. They’ve got Jose Tabata waiting in the wings but he’s at least a few more minor league games from being ready.

So wouldn’t that make the Pirates a perfect situation for a struggling outfielder to re-establish himself? Of course it does and if the Pirates are willing to spend a little money then a player like Ankiel would be foolish not too take the opportunity. Ankiel only batted .231 with 11 homers and 38 rbis, so he’s got to take what he can get.

In addition to playing time, the ballpark could help him as well. The Pirates hitters performed remarkably better at home in PNC Park then they did on the road. If that trend continues with Ankiel then PNC Park could help the perception that he’s turned it around, pending of course that he does well.

Some would wonder why the Pirates want to re-establish players instead of signing them to improve their club. If you think about it, both go hand in hand.

If the Pirates are doing well, they can hold on to Ankiel and keep the fans coming in.

If the Pirates aren’t doing well, which we all expect to happen, they can dangle Ankiel at the trade deadline for more youngsters. And in the end that’s what the Pirates usually prefer, cheap young talent.

For a Pirates fan it may suck to think of that possibility, but you have to like the thought of adding a player like Ankiel. If he reverts back to his 2008 form (25 homers and 71 rbis) then things could get pretty exciting in the Steel City, especially with all that young talent that would be in front of and behind him in the lineup.

So yea to me, its nice to see the Pirates being players this year.