Big Lead Sports Bar

6/01/2010

NEAL HUNTINGTON WITH QUOTE OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE



Whenever you have a chance to lock up a journeyman pitcher, you do it - and immediately boast about your financial control over him to whatever remains of your fan base. 

That's what the increasingly-curious Neal Huntington did in a press release this afternoon about new Pirates pitcher Dana Eveland, he of the 16-21 career record with a 5.66 ERA who was acquired today from Toronto (my emphasis added):

“Dana Eveland is a 26-year-old left-hander who has shown the ability to be an effective major-league starting pitcher. He has an interesting four-pitch mix, and we feel this acquisition is a potential upgrade for our current rotation with the upside of years of control and improved production.”

Seriously, the Pirates have got to be the only organization that boasts about years of control in a press release about picking up a guy who was just designated for assignment. His ERA this season is 6.45, but don't fret. I'm sure he has great stuff.

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12 comments:

BurressWithButterflywings said...

Just another move by Opie to delay Lincoln's arrival...... What is it with C***ington that makes him so shy about bringing up Littlefied's draft picks? Is he afraid he is going to end up looking worse than him if they pan out?

I really think Huntington is delusional.

Adam said...

Thumbs up on quoting Seibel and Starkey verbatim. To refute all three of you:

I'm fairly certain he was referring to Eveland's contractual control in comparison to the larger free agent pool, which would typically preclude the Pirate from paying the money they're paying for Eveland for your run of the mill 5.66 career ERA veteran pitcher. Just throwing that out there.

Adam said...

And since I'm sure that's going to earn me the label of NH apologist, note that I don't see how Eveland represents any kind of an upgrade on Jeff Karstens, who not only should be in the rotation ahead of Eveland, but ahead of Morton and Burres as well. But for some reason, he's in the back of the line of below average pitchers at the back of a below average rotation.

Papa Eo said...

I love this site, and I know it has connections to the show. And I’m also not saying I’m perfect or could do much better myself, but I think Seibel and Starkey are awful. I was very excited that we had an all-sports, all-the-time FM station in Pittsburgh so I could listen online and have a go-to station when I come home, but those guys are a supreme disappointment. Their gimmicks like the Aki Iwamura song (one of the least funny things I’ve ever heard in my life), along with their senseless banter and oftentimes repetitive point-making makes them difficult to listen to. And I hate to rip someone for something out of their control, but Joe Starkey’s weird lisp/ speech impediment is so distracting that I can’t even concentrate on what the hell he’s talking about. You would think someone who talks like that would pursue an avenue other than radio.

I will say that they do a great job on the majority of their interviews, finding insightful and sometimes tough questions, but all in all, I am shocked that Pittsburgh can find NO ONE better than those two for such a prime time slot on The Fan. Maybe I just need to listen more. I don’t know…

Matt said...

it's june 1, bring these guys up already. preferably someone who can hit the ocean with an oar.

BURGH08 said...

I liked Starkey at ESPN Radio, but this combo annoys me as well. Maybe it's just too much of him through the week has exposed his flaws. Seibel takes fifty words to say something that takes ten words.

As for the 'control' comment by NH, I'm not as outraged by that as them telling me Charlie Morton doesn't need to be sent to the minors (before his DL stint). I recall the term Littlefield used to make about 'financial flexibility' with their players. I don't really take offense to the statement, and felt like that was for lack of a better term....a 'radio bit'.

It's just the Pirate Way. What else is new?

Nate said...

Huntington "refuses to bring up Littlefield's guys?" Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker would like to have a word with you. In fact, in order to bring McCutchen up Huntington traded Nate McLouth, and in order to bring up Walker he decided to bench the team's highest paid player.

Does it ever occur to you that maybe Lincoln just isn't ready? As someone who has seen Lincoln live, I can tell you this: when you hear his changeup described as a "fringe pitch," it's a kind description. The guy's not dominating AAA, and if he come to the show with his fastball, curve, two-seamer, horrible change combo he would get shelled. He needs to work on that changeup, and the place to do that is AAA.

Adam said...

How dare you bring reasoned baseball talk onto this site.

Steve said...

"in order to bring up Walker he decided to bench the team's highest paid player."

Decided to? Must have been a tough decision. Doesn't take baseball smarts to bench your worst player and bring up one of you better one's. That was a move long overdue, just like removing Morton instead of allowing him to hone his skills at the big league level at the cost of wins. The fact that they simply put him on the DL just tells me what I knew all along, that Huntington didn't want to spend Morton's final minor league option.

Also, what's that say about N.H. that the teams highest paid player needs to be benched?...a player he brought in just last Nov. and what's that say about Huntington's GM skills that we now have to play a catcher/3rd baseman at 2nd base?

HomeRunFromBehindTheMeatballs said...

Converting a Catcher to 2B worked out alright for Craig Biggio.

Agree with Nate. Lincoln isn't ready, and Tabata & Alvarez might not be ready yet either. There shouldn't be such a rush to 'bring these guys up', because... really who thinks the Pirates are competitors THIS season? The whole NH rebuilding is a long term plan. He's only got 2 drafts & 2 offseasons under his belt. I hope rushing Alvarez to the Majors doesn't hurt him, like it hurt Aramis Ramirez's development early on. Let's all calm down and realize that the pirates ARE NOT going to finish .500 this year, and prob not next either, but they are much improved from where they were at the end of the littlefield era.

BURGH08 said...

Yep, let's calm down and realize Craig Biggio as an example, Say Lincoln isn't ready but Morton is, accept at least two more years of losing baseball, and accept NH's plan.

That's why he was offered an extension already right? Oh wait...

expectingrain said...

Is that the guy we traded Malkin for?