PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Pittsburgh Pirates closer Matt Capps walks off the field after giving up a walk off two-run home run to Cincinnati Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, June 30, 2008, in Cincinnati. Cincinnati won 4-3.
(AP Photo/Al Behrman)
One could hardly fault Pirates general manager Neal Huntington if he felt gun-shy about giving out any more long-term contracts.
Or even any short-term ones.
Is it possible to rent players by the month?
Huntington's three significant signings during his first offseason were second baseman/designated sacrifice bunter Freddy Sanchez, starting pitcher Ian Snell and closer Matt Capps.
I'd call them the three bust-kateers, but that wouldn't be entirely fair. We don't know how injuries have affected Sanchez and Snell, and Capps is having a horrible month, not a horrible season.
Sanchez was hitting a feeble .233 through his first 78 games, next-to-last among National League second basemen with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, which Sanchez won two years ago.
Or was it 200 years ago?
Snell turned in seven full innings precisely once in 16 starts before landing on the disabled list with a sore elbow.
You know what, though? Nobody can fairly render a final verdict on these deals just yet - and I don't blame Huntington for making them.
First of all, none of the contracts was going to bankrupt the franchise, no matter what.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Freddy Sanchez rounds the bases in front of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett after hitting a solo homer in the fourth inning of the baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 27, 2008. The Rays won 10-5.
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Capps signed for two years at $3.05 million, which means, if anything, the Pirates were wisely cautious with a pitcher who was only named closer last June. Capps has blown five saves since June 10th, but he remains in the middle of the pack among NL closers - at least for now -- with 17 saves in 22 opportunities.
Through Monday's games, 15 of the 18 NL relievers with at least 10 save opportunities had blown at least three of them. Eleven had blown at least four; five had blown more than that.
It's not time to scrap Capps as the closer, though it's getting a whole bunch less comfortable watching him take the mound these days.
The Pirates protected themselves late in the Sanchez and Snell deals. Sanchez signed for two years at $11 million with a club option for a third year. The third year could kick in automatically if Sanchez makes 635 plate appearances in '09.
The deal wasn't exactly a reach, considering Sanchez was a .310 hitter in 1,706 major-league at-bats after hitting .318 in more than 1,500 minor-league at-bats. That is a more-than-adequate sampling.
Injuries were a legitimate concern, though Sanchez had been mostly healthy over the previous two seasons, as he became the first Pirates infielder to hit .300 in back-to-back years (minimum: 450 plate appearances) since Bill Madlock in 1982-83. He'd never admit it, but you have to wonder if offseason arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder hampered Sanchez early on.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ian Snell throws against the Toronto Blue Jays in a baseball game at Pittsburgh Sunday, June 22, 2008.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
As for Snell, 26, he signed for three years at $8.6 million with a club option for two more seasons.
In this case, the Pirates were looking at a young player with no injury history, one who figured to get better or maybe plateau as a quality starter.
Snell tore through the minors with a 23-10 record, a 3.36 ERA and 8.46 strikeouts per nine innings. He had a very impressive .500 record -- yes, there is such a thing when you're pitching for the Pirates -- in his first two full big-league seasons, averaging nearly eight strikeouts per nine innings.
This year, Snell has yet to look comfortable. Or maybe he was too comfortable after signing that nice contract. Or maybe he was hurting more than he let on.
Whatever the case, it's easy to be critical now.
When those deals were signed, you barely heard a dissenting word.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com.
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