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Odds & Ends: Kasten, Pirates, Rolen

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Links for Thursday as we congratulate Jose Bautista and Ichiro Suzuki. Bautista hit his 50th homer of the season in Toronto today and soon afterwards, Ichiro reached the 200-hit plateau for the tenth time in his ten-year career…

  • Nationals president Stan Kasten will not return to the team after the season, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). Owner Ted Lerner released a statement saying the organization respects Kasten's decision and "will continue to call upon him for his vast knowledge of the game."
  • Pirates manager John Russell tells MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch that the Pirates are closer to respectability than some think. Russell, who faces speculation that he could be dismissed, says he isn't worried about his job security.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports admits that his initial assessment of the Scott Rolen trade was off-base. Like many analysts, Morosi questioned the Reds' decision to give up top prospects (Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke) for a third baseman who appeared to be past his prime.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Jenks, Jays, D’Backs GM, Torre

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Links for Monday night, as the Phillies extend their NL East lead with an eighth consecutive win….

  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides a lengthy preview of the 2011 Pirates, speculating about how the team may improve its roster.
  • Ozzie Guillen tells Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he has no idea whether the White Sox' front office plans to retain Bobby Jenks next year.
  • The Toronto Sun's Ken Fidlin believes that questions about J.P. Arencibia behind the plate and Adam Lind at first base mean that the Jays could attempt to bring back John Buck and Lyle Overbay.
  • Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports (via Twitter) that Logan White is out of the running in the Diamondbacks' search for a general manager. ESPN.com's Buster Olney confirms (via Twitter) that it appears to be a two-man race between Kevin Towers and Jerry Dipoto. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports suggests that the D'Backs are torn between the appeal of Towers and loyalty to Dipoto; they should name a GM this week.
  • Joe Torre hasn't ruled out managing the Mets or another club, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork. Torre told WFAN: "I don't really anticipate managing again, but I think it would be unfair not to listen just out of curiosity to see if something excites me."
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Coco Crisp would like to return to Oakland next year, though he knows he'll have little say in whether his 2011 option is exercised.

Rosenthal On Beltran, Pirates, Pujols, Braves

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There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the 2011 Mets from Francisco Rodriguez to Omar Minaya to Jerry Manuel. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Minaya or his replacement,  “would be wise to explore trades for [Jose] Reyes and [David] Wright” this offseason. Here are the rest of the rumors:

  • Carlos Beltran, a player who could become a trade chip this winter, told Rosenthal that he would like to remain on the Mets.
  • Pirates president Frank Coonelly is the team's “de facto GM”, according to some rival executives.
  • Not surprisingly, the Cardinals’ top offseason priority will be extending Albert Pujols, who will hit the open market after 2011 unless the Cards lock him up. It took Joe Mauer and the Twins a while to work out their $184MM extension, so we could be in for a winter’s worth of Pujols rumors.
  • As Rosenthal points out, the Braves could use a big bat to play left field and they'll likely be on the lookout for one this offseason.

Odds & Ends: Ellsbury, Pirates, Soto, Drew

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Links for Sunday, as the Padres, Giants, and Rockies find themselves separated by a single game in the NL West standings….

Rosenthal On Darvish, Towers, Pirates, Brewers

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Let's check out what Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has for us in his latest edition of Full Count..

  • A source tells Rosenthal that Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish is highly likely to be posted this offseason.  The Yankees, unsurprisingly, are keeping close watch on the righthander.  One scout says that he doesn't see the 24-year-old as being much more than a No. 3 starter.  The ball in Japan is smaller, starters only work once a week, and as we've seen the transition for those starters can be very problematic.
  • If Kevin Towers becomes GM of the Diamondbacks, it could wind up haunting not only his former employers, the Padres, but also the Dodgers.  When Dennis Gilbert tried to buy the Rangers he was ready to name Towers as his GM and now Gilbert could be a buyer for the Dodgers if they are sold.  Towers, however, isn't going to wait around for the dust to settle in Los Angeles.  If he does become the D'Backs GM, the guy he would replace, interim GM Jerry Dipoto, could become a candidate for the Mets.
  • Pirates president Frank Coonelly has said that the club's losing is unacceptable and rival execs expect the team to make changes.  Both GM Neal Huntington and manager John Russell are under contract through next season but the team has offered no assurances that either man will return next season.  Russell appears to be in greater danger of getting the axe than Huntington as the GM was tabbed by Coonelly.
  • Brewers manager Ken Macha is "almost certain" to be fired and his coaches are also uncertain to return.  That includes bench coach Willie Randolph who was once seen as the heir apparent to Macha's position and could include pitching coach Rick Peterson, who has a year remaining on his deal. 

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Pirates, Cotts, Marlins

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Links for Friday, before Dan Haren celebrates his 30th birthday by taking on one of baseball's most potent offenses…

  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan lists ten decisions that have been critical to the Rangers' success this season.
  • The Pirates have released lefty Neal Cotts according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America and this week's edition of minor league transaction.
  • Padres' first base coach Rick Renteria is on the Marlins radar with regards to their managerial opening, says MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. He adds that Yankees bench coach Tony Pena is a candidate as well. 
  • Chipper Jones told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that it would be hard to stop playing before his body prevents him from doing so, partly because “you can make absurd amounts of money” as a baseball player.
  • Former Orioles manager Dave Trembley told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that he’d like to coach in the major leagues next year (Twitter link).
  • The Pirates' minor league success has been a major positive this year, but Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette questions how the Pirates also allowed for "near-total destruction of the major-league product." The team is 50 games below .500 with the worst record in baseball.
  • Carl Crawford told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that his impending free agency hasn't been hard to handle, since the Rays are winning. Click here for Bradford's analysis of how Crawford would fit in Fenway.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald breaks down Boston's options behind the plate for 2011, from free agents Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek to new acquisition Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
  • John Dewan of the Fielding Bible explained to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Adam Dunn's poor defense wouldn't necessarily prevent the Nationals from building a better defensive team.

Odds & Ends: Young, Torre, Williams, Bass, Ethier

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Links for Thursday, after lots of chatter about Derek Jeter's acting ability…

  • The Padres will wait until Saturday to activate Chris Young from the disabled list, at which point they'll need to remove someone from the 40-man roster according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that Joe Torre has informed his wife and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti about what he plans to do next season, but he will not make his decision public just yet.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams chatted with Joe Posnanski about football and the challenges of being in second place. Check it out at SI.com.
  • Brian Bass cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple A, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Bass for assignment earlier in the week. 
  • Andre Ethier told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that it doesn't even make sense to comment on the rumor that he'd like to play in Boston.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs argues that the Royals should offer Wilson Betemit a contract this offseason, since he can be something of a "bridge between the present and the future."
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he and assistant GM Chris Antonetti met with friend and former colleague Josh Byrnes. The former D'Backs GM "would make anybody better," including the Indians, Shapiro said.

Non-Tender Candidate: Zach Duke

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Last year, Zach Duke represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game, but after another poor outing, he has become a non-tender candidate. The 27-year-old leads the league in losses for the second consecutive season and while won-loss records don't mean much, Duke has also posted a career-high 5.78 ERA in 141.2 innings.

Duke makes $4.3MM this year, which means he won't be cheap if the Pirates offer arbitration. Even a modest raise would give the lefty a $5MM salary in 2011, which is roughly what Vicente Padilla, Brett Myers and Doug Davis signed for last winter. The Pirates will have to be prepared to pay Duke as well as established starters coming off better seasons if they offer arbitration.

But in spite of the ugly ERA and loss total, there's some hope for Duke. His 5.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 are respectable and he appears to be the victim of bad luck. No MLB pitcher who has as many innings as Duke has seen a higher percentage of batted balls fall in behind him for hits. Opponents have a .351 average on balls in play against Duke, which is well above his career mark. With better luck and potentially better defense, he could have a lower ERA.

It's also worth noting that only one MLB pitcher with as many innings as Duke has seen a higher percentage of fly balls leave the yard. Home runs haven't been a massive problem for Duke before, and if his homer levels return to normal, the rest of his numbers would look better, too. At this point, his stats don't look good, and we can't simply write this season off in the name of bad luck. Duke has not pitched well and his manager appears to be losing confidence in him.

The Brewers had interest in Duke last winter, according to FOX Sports. They're one of many teams likely to add starters this winter, so Duke would draw some interest if the Pirates non-tender him. Uncertainty surrounds Pittsburgh's 2011 rotation, partly because of Duke. The Pirates must decide whether to non-tender Duke and risk losing him to a rival team or offer him $5MM or so after a disappointing performance. I'm guessing the Pirates non-tender the left-hander and see if they can bring him back at a discount, but let's see what you think: Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Duke, Red Sox, Lee

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Links for Wednesday, four years after the Padres completed the trade that sent 2010 All-Star Evan Meek to Tampa Bay. A year later, the Pirates shrewdly plucked Meek from the Rays in the Rule 5 draft…

Pirates Notes: Pitching, McDonald, Jones, Doumit

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette touched on several Buc-related hot stove topics in an online chat with fans.  Here are a few of the highlights…

  • If the Pirates make any significant winter moves, Kovacevic thinks "there's a better chance that you'll see money invested in pitching than in offense," both because Pittsburgh has more of a pressing need for quality arms and since finding pitching help could be easier.  Kovacevic notes, however, that GM Neal Huntington needs to work at "upgrading the team's mechanisms for finding real pitching talents."
  • Speaking of acquiring pitching, Kovacevic calls the deal that brought James McDonald and Andrew Lambo to Pittsburgh for Octavio Dotel "outstanding."  McDonald has a 3.49 ERA and 2.44 K/BB ratio in eight starts since joining the Bucs.
  • The Pirates may be in the market for a right handed-hitting first baseman or right fielder to be a platoon partner for Garrett Jones.  Kovacevic's Post-Gazette colleague Chuck Finder reported over the weekend that the team was no longer looking at Jones as an everyday player.
  • Kovacevic believes that Ryan Doumit's starts in right field over the last two months have been intended to showcase Doumit for a potential trade.  Doumit is slated to earn $5.1MM next season, the third-highest salary of any player projected to be on the 2011 roster (behind Chris Snyder and Paul Maholm).   
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