Baseball - Baseball Notes - May 17, 2006

Pirate Ownership

By his own admission Pittsburg Pirate owner Kevin McClatchy may not be owner of the Pirates for much longer. Apparently the ten years of consistent losing have taken its toll on McClatchy’s health and sanity. Meanwhile Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban continues to make noise about buying the team. Who knows how much of an effect Cuban had on the reversal of the Mav’s fortunes when he bought them but Pirate fans shouldn’t look at his possible purchase of the team as a negative. One thing you can be sure of if Cuban buys the Bucos is that he will pour resources into player payroll and make the Pirates a team that draws interest nationwide.

Catchers Hot in the Desert

Last season Diamondback catchers hit a combined .218/.306/.325. Those anemic numbers had to be addressed in the off-season and they were in the acquisition of Johnny Estrada from the Atlanta Braves. As the team’s starter, Estrada has solidified the catcher’s position both offensively and defensively. Estrada’s backup is Chris Snyder who in his third year in Arizona is putting together his best offensive season. The two have produced a .285/.331/.469 line this season which represents a dramatic improvement over last year’s figures.

Hamels

The much touted twenty-two year old minor league standout Cole Hamels saw his first major league action in a Phillies uniform on Saturday. In five innings Hamels allowed only one hit, struck out seven batters and allowed no runs. On the negative side he did walk five batters and was not economical with the ninety-two pitches he threw. If Hamels is able to cut down his walk figures and maintain a high strikeout rate then he’d be a good pitcher to bet on for at least a couple of months. Major league hitters are the best in the world but a newly promoted pitcher with the movement that Hamels has are tough for hitters to figure out for weeks if not months.

Gonzo

Mike Gonzalez of the Pittsburg Pirates is putting together his third straight year of excellence out of the bullpen. The twenty-seven year old lefty is one of the least known great relievers in the game today. After a rocky 2003 rookie season, Gonzalez settled down in 2004 and 2005 with 1.25 and 2.70 ERA’s respectively. In each of those seasons he struck out more batters than innings pitched with his consistently hard stuff. This year in fourteen-plus innings Gonzalez has racked up a 1.88 ERA and continues to be a go-to guy out of the bullpen for manager Jim Tracy. He’s on pace to throw 20% more innings then he has in the past two seasons.

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