Roundtable

Today's Pirates Roundtable is up, with questions on the 2007 use of Salomon Torres and a franchise player for the Pirates. Take a look.

Somehow Salomon Torres has already made 12 appearances in 2007. I'm not sure how, other than the fact that he's really durable.

Pirates Roundtable

The newest Pirates Roundtable has been posted, with today's questions asking about the likelihood of Chris Duffy having a successful 2007 season and the organization's most pressing need. There are a variety of opinions on these matters, so take a look.

Pirates Roundtable has undergone a few changes recently. The first is that there will now be two new posts per week, with one on Monday and one on Thursday. Contributing writers have been split into two groups in an effort to keep posts shorter and fresher. So remember to check back frequently in the future. The second change is that the roundtable will now be using the Most Valuable Network. One improvement that results from this change is that comments can be left without requiring an MLB account. Hopefully this will allow for more discussion throughout the week.

Thanks again to Cory for all of his hard work organizing the roundtable project.

Roundtable

This week's edition of Pirates Roundtable is up. Three outsiders contributed their thoughts on the recent shift in ownership for the Pirates. The regulars will return next Monday.

Pirates Roundtable

This week's edition of Pirates Roundtable is up for your viewing pleasure. Take a look to read various opinions on the Pirates' ZiPS projections and the 2007 Ronny Paulino.

Time for some holiday catching up

It's been over a week since my last post, so let us catch up on some holiday news:


The 2007 Pirates ZIPS projections were released, and they were scary. If these are even close to accurate, the Pirates are going to be in trouble this season.

Aubrey Huff signed with the Baltimore Orioles. I was against the Pirates signing Huff, so I was glad to see this. However, the list of available free agents continues to get shorter and shorter, and the Pirates have yet to address a single need this offseason. Unless DL pulls off a decent trade, 2007 could be a long season.

Pirates Roundtable #6 was posted, and included questions about veteran relievers and Ryan Doumit. Take a look for various opinions on these topics.

Changing gears for a moment, the Steelers finished 2006 with an exciting overtime win over the rival Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs, indeed a very disappointing season. But they finished strong after an absolutely terrible first half, and received the satisfaction of knocking the Bengals out of the playoffs. Greg Easterbrook (aka Tuesday Morning Quarterback) awarded the Bengals the worst play of 2006 for their role in the winning touchdown by Santonio Holmes. Here's hoping Bill Cowher chooses to return for another season in 2007.

The Pirates resigned Jose Hernandez. Don't get me wrong, I am a Jose Hernandez fan. He is a solid 25th guy that has been around the game and can play almost anywhere on the field. But that doesn't help a team with a complete lack of offense. He will only take at-bats away from younger players who need development, and will put up numbers that are mediocre at best. Also, don't let the fact that he was signed to a minor-league contract fool you. Jose Hernandez will without a doubt be on the Pirates opening day roster. I have never been more sure of anything in my life. This signing was absolutely worthless, but not surprising at all.

Dejan reports that the Pirates are interested in free agent pitcher Brian Lawrence. Lawrence was a decent pitcher for the Padres a few years ago, but missed all of 2006 with a severe shoulder injury. Pirates' officials would know more about his health than I do, but I do know that torn rotator cuffs are pretty serious.

Roundtable #5

There is a special Pirates Roundtable up this morning. Cory invited bloggers representing some of the teams interested in Mike Gonzalez to weigh in on Gonzo's value to each of those teams. It is interesting to get some outsider views on this topic. Check it out.

Pirates Roundtable #4 and more

The new edition of Pirates Roundtable is up and running. My favorite quote comes from Randy at Buried Treasure when asked to discuss what the Pirates could get in a trade for Jason Bay: "This would be on my top ten list of things I don’t like to think about along with being eaten alive by ants." That's true, killer ants are scary. Also, I believe that I forgot to link to Roundtable #3. It can be found below this week's responses.

Pat came up with a reality television show starring Masumi Kuwata. Good stuff here.

Changing gears a bit, the Penguins future is still up in the air, as the Isle of Capri proposal was not awarded the slots license.

Look at that, a whole post without mentioning a Mike Gonzalez trade rumor. Oops.

Roundtable

The second installment of Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable has been posted. The lone question asks for an analysis of the Pirates' performance at the winter meetings last week compared with the rest of the National League Central Division. Take a look at it and be prepared for a minor league edition of Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable due out on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable

The Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable is up and running with its initial discussion topics. This is a website that was orgainzed by Cory at A New Pirates Generation and brings several different writers together to discuss nothing but Pirates baseball. Check it out to see a variety of opinions in one place. This week's questions were:


1. What's your take on the Pirates' situation within the NL Central? What impact have free agent signings and trades within the division had on the Pirates as they move forward this offseason and enter the 2007 campaign?

2. Which pitcher in the Pirates' organization would you absolutely refuse to trade?

3. If you had Dave Littlefield's job, what's the first personnel move you'd make?


The Roundtable will be updated with new questions and responses each Monday. Feel free to leave any comments you have and get a discussion going over the next week.

Many thanks to Cory for the extra work he put in to make this project possible. Also, check out his site for some great reading.