Another day, Two more Trades

When will the madness stop? Do you believe the Pirates traded Nyjer Morgan? and Sean Burnett? and Eric Hinske? Well, yeah, I believe Hinske. I can see Morgan, too. Can't Figure Burnett though. I'd say he was just part of the trade the Nationals insisted on. The Nats gave up a pitcher too, though, in Joel Hanrahan.

Here's my breakdown of the trades:
If we could have gotten a six pack for Hinske I would have been happy. He's played very little and been ineffective for the most part when he has played. Possibly the Pirates signed him this year because he played mostly in the AL in the past and they wanted him to DH against the AL in their parks. Since that part of their schedule is over they have plenty of outfielders even without Mr. Craig "I'll take my time getting to first base" Munroe. They've got Jose Tabata on the way and Steve Pearce as a short term fill in. I like Steve " Please trade Adam LaRoche" Pearce and I hope he can go on a home run tear. The Pirates need them.

What they got back from the Nationals was Lastings Milledge. He is young and was a top prospect of the Mets not too long ago. He has potential home run power but possibly potential attitude problems. Maybe another change of scenery will cure that. Also, some veteran guidance in Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche for as long as they last.

What they lost to the Nationals was Nyjer Morgan. He had a surprisingly good start this year. Played at the end of last year and played well, but Pirates fans know the stories of Center fielders that play well for short periods and then disappear. Where have you gone Tike Redman and Midre Cummings among others. Nyjer started the season like a house of fire and continued to play well, but the batting average dropped into the .270s from his torrid .300+ start. He was a speed demon, but he did manage to get caught 8 times. Seems like a lot to me. The problem is we already have a very promising center fielder and like I mentioned we need some power. Morgan, as far as I can tell was liked by his teammates and he and McCutcheon seemed to have some chemistry in the outfield, playing in the minors together for a while. So, let's hope that Milledge will give us another 20 HR hitter. Wait and See. Hanrahan has been a good reliever for the Nats, maybe they were looking for a starting pitcher. Burnett has been a pleasant surpise so far this year and maybe they plan to convert him back to a starter. Kinda stinks because they did develop him and suffered through a year layoff during the Pirates "Tommy John surgery era" where all the starting pitchers they drafted missed a year because of surgeries.

As for the Hinske trade, a outfielder/catcher and minor league pitcher. If they breathe I'd take them for Hinske. He might have been a good guy, but not a core player.

Til tomorrow.

I already mentioned a few names from the past ala Midre Cummings and Tike. My friend Craig, not Munroe, mentioned another name Sixto Lezcano. It's always fun to remember players from the past with good names even if they weren't particularly good players. Here's one I thought of, Benny Distefano. Where are you Benny D.