Carroll's Latest: Burnett, Twins, Cardinals

searching through the triple a ranks? gosh darnit. i want to hear big names and big deals. reyes/duncan/anderson/mather/boggs these guys should all be available. todd and garcia maybe for the right price. that should get us something. we need damaso marte like something bad. we have no lefty relievers worth a in the minors so who is supposed to get lefties out?

Damaso Marte = 2 draft picks in 2009 (probably). How is Anthony Reyes worth more than 2 draft picks? Maybe Reyes + Todd/Garcia/Anderson, but I would not do that if I were the Cards. If anything, the Cards should look to upgrade their middle infield. Izturis is a terrible hitter.

I've watched this team grow this year, and I will put it out there, I think the Twins will make the playoffs this year, and excel to say the least. We have several contributors, manny, Morneau, Mauer, Buscher, Casilla, and Delmon Young of late has come around.

I think this club will make a run at Chicago (7 more home games vs. CWS), acquire a hard hitting righty, and get a lefty flamethrower for the pen.

my apologies for the double post.

The Twins may not keep up at this pace but I don't see them just fading out. And at the same time, while I don't see them making a long playoff run, they could definitely compete for the rest of this year.

One bat can fix a lot of things and I wouldn't hesitate to say it could do so with guys like Mauer and Morneau surrounding it. A rotation that's "solid at best" is also nothing to scoff at. Who cares if they're not overwhelming if they consistently get the job done?

i dont think marte would be a type a free agent. and while he would have serious value to the cards he isnt doing pittsburgh much good and his salary next year is 6 million which isnt exactly a value(actually an option year). reyes and something else but garcia, todd, and anderson are the prime meat. reyes and boggs. reyes, boggs, parisi and the pirates throw in a sucky young starter.

and yes middle infield is terrible but i dont think theres anything available there. wilson would barely be an upgrade. it sounds good but whose got a shortstop they r willing to trade. barmes? maybe. eckstein? better hitter bad fielder. izturis cant hit at all but he is good defensively.

Burnett, Downs, and Eckstein for Duncan, Reyes, Anderson, and Kozma.

Joelcards,

Marte was Type A after last year, so he is definitely Type A after this year (assuming he stays healthy). The Pirates will definitely decline his option and offer him arbitration if he is not traded. At worst, they get back a great lefty reliever for market value (and go through the same song & dance at the 2009 trade deadline). At best, they get 2 very good draft picks. Either option is much better than what you are proposing.

Wilson would barely be an upgrade over Izturis? Izturis is hitting .236/.310/.301. His career line is .257/.297/.332. He is beyond atrocious. He is like Ryan Theriot without the AVG or OBP. He is like Khalil Greene without the power.

Jack Wilson offers comparable defense, and hit .273/.316/.370 in 2006, .296/.350/.440 in 2007, and .304/.348/.363 in 2008.

The Cards could expect at least +.030 OBP and +.050 SLG if they got Wilson, and that is being conservative. Wilson is no Hanley Ramirez, but he is a better hitter than people give him credit for, especially those who remember the guy he was in 2001-2003.

2001-2003 Jack Wilson would hit 5 HR, 20 2B, and 75 K, posting a .250/.300/.340 line.

2004-2008 Jack Wilson hits 10 HR, 30 2B, and 50 K, posting a .300/.350/.400 line.

Joel, you do realize that the difference between Izturis and Jack is about 50 base hits a season... that equals, more everything... he scores more runs, he gets more RBI, that is a HUGE difference in players...

I know that everyone is down on Reyes but you know his whole situation reminds me of another promising young cardinal pitcher that could never stick in the majors Dan Haren. Everyone in St. Louis was convinced he couldn't hack it so we shipped him in one of the worst trades in franchise history and he becomes an All-Star. I'm with Joelcards and I think Reyes can still be a good ML pitcher just not in the STL.

Haren is only a year older than Reyes and has been a very-good-to-elite pitcher for four years now.

Reyes has never shown that he can get Major League hitters out consistently and he's almost too old to be considered a prospect. I'm just saying that you shouldn't expect much of anything for him. Haren was a far, far more valuable prospect because he was younger and had demonstrated the ability to get big league hitters out in 2004 (if you take away his disastrous first start against the Cubs that year, his ERA was 2.76).

Haren only appeared in one game before the All-Star game in 2004, a 3.2-inning, 10-run debacle in June at Wrigley. Therefore, his post-All-Star split = his stats minus that one start. Dumb luck, really.

I like Snell's upside

"I like Snell's upside"

Good thing, because all he has is "upside." He sure hasn't shown any consistent ability to perform as a MLB starting pitcher.

Let me describe a typical Ian Snell start: First three innings, 2 hits, 6 K's, shows electric stuff.

Then in the 4th the ump calls a ball on a pitch Snell thinks is a strike.

Snell sulks, then starts throwing junkballs all over the place, walks people, then decides to try and blow nothing but fastballs by everybody and ends up getting tatooed when they catch on.

He's a headcase like Zambrano, just with less talent. He has a million dollar arm and ten cent brain.

If he had a good veteran catcher like Varitek or a good pitching coach, they might get something out of him. But I don't think the Pirates ever will. I doubt they'd look to trade him but if I were running the team, I'd definitly consider it.

"Someone tell me what pittsburghs goal is. shouldnt they want to get all the young talent possible?"

Yes they should. And they do.

Perhaps you're not reading what us Pittsburgh fans are trying to tell you. So for the billionth time let me explain:

The Pirates are definitely open to making trades. But only for QUALITY players. They aren't going to make a trade just to make one.

They aren't going to trade Bay for 5 mid-grade AA pitchers and hope and pray that one turns out to be the next Brandon Webb. That's how you build a LOSING ballclub.

What they are doing is sitting back and holding their chips and hoping somebody decides they NEED TO WIN this year and offers an Ian Kennedy or Colby Rasmus to them. That's how you build a WINNING ballclub.

You seem to think people are offering Pittsburgh blue chip super-duper prospects and we're turning them down or something. I am 99.9% sure that is not the case. When the good prospects are offered, you will see trades made. Okay?

When I suggested trading Ludwick and either Duncan or Schumaker, I didn't necessarily mean for Bay, but that the Cardinals should unload those guys if they can get Bay.