Final: Pirates 8, Twins 7

NO THANKS!!

Not to get things heated...but I don't want a rental 1B...and Napoli has been declining for the past few years.

Most likely the best we can hope for at this point.

Don't be surprised if he is added as a RH 1B...he's a rental that should not cost much.

Why would the Pirates want this from a RH 1B? Pedro's splits against LH pitching are bad, but they aren't significantly worse than this to justify a rental trade.
G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO
89 341 298 32 62 15 1 11 35 3 1 40 87
BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB
.208 .305 .376 .681 88 112

Because Mike Napoli can actually play defense at 1B...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Prepare to be underwhelmed at the trade deadline...apparently the Buccos needed to trade Pedro to shed payroll so they could upgrade at 1B. That sepaks volumes.

Hey steelag70...that is the first I've heard of salary dump. Why would they take on 3mil of Aramis' salary if that was the case? I don't buy it.

Steve Stone...it's what other teams were saying they were told about Pedro...that before they could upgrade at 1B, they needed to move his salary and him before they added one in another trade....

That is negotiation tactics. And, that could be the other teams seeking to lower the Pirates' asking price for El Toro.

Source?

Morosi was tweeting it earlier.

This one?

"Sources: #STLCards talked with #Rockies about Troy Tulowitzki before he was dealt to #BlueJays. Tulo is close with Matt Holliday."

That's the one......

the "came close" inference is YOURS steelag, no one elses. That the Cards talked to the Rockies does not make it so that a deal was 'close'. Not in the Cards MO in the slightest. Tulo will not be a good investment toward the back end of that contract, precisely what Mozeliak deftly avoids.

I'll play mediator...

Tulo was absolutely close to becoming a Cardinals, but that occured two years ago; NOT, prior to the Jays trade.

Always go with Goold:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/birdland/goold-tulowitzki-deal-that-didn-t-happen-for-cardinals/article_0dc8ab66-ac03-5c54-a92e-6d29f2091f76.html

Haha...thanks NMR.

Saw that...the Power's Twitter account posting something like "Anyone hear any good rumors lately?" this morning. I laughed.

Haha....too funny.

Total shocker...looks like Papelbon may go to the Nats.

Reyes isn't that horrible, I don't think haha. I saw that too. He'll probably set up Storen

Wait until Tulo sees all the taxes Canada takes out...haha.

@steel - yeah, but just imagine what he'll save on healthcare. ;)

Haha...true NMR. With that hip and playing on that astroturf, he'll need it.

Thanks as per usual, JAL

The man is nothing if not reliable.

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano.

Twins Lineup

1. Brian Dozier (R) 2B
2. Torii Hunter (R) RF
3. Joe Mauer (L) 1B
4. Miguel Sano (R) DH
5. Trevor Plouffe (R) 3B
6. Eddie Rosario (L) LF
7. Aaron Hicks (S) CF
8. Kurt Suzuki (R) C
9. Eduardo Escobar (S) SS

Uda man JAL...thanks as always

Marte a late scratch from lineup...no reason given yet. Replaced by Decker in LF.

Three pitchers ranked higher: Sonny Gray (#5), Jose Fernandez (#6) and MadBum at #7....

Here's the link to the rankings:

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/139014786/top-25-mlb-players-25-and-under

No kidding Biz...the yinzer's would be restless....haha.

Was doing that ANYWAY! Crazy day! :)

I would rather get both...and if they are going to hold on to Pedro, then they should go out and add a starter that can start Game 1 of the NLDS and slide into AJ's spot in the rotation next year.....

So you would be ok with Sean Rodriguez starting at 1B in a WC game?

No. I'd be fine with Pedro starting.

Not if MadBum is starting that game...or Lester...or Kershaw...

I agree.

But if you're looking out through right field, as in the picture, the city is visible.

there are few mlb players I dislike more, for his personality and ego, than Papel-bum. Nats' Rizzo has made good moves, but moving Storen back to 8th inning and turning the keys over to Papel-bum just seems like a chemistry experiment that makes risk greatly outvalue reward,....or is it just my bias against that idiot Papelbon.

Phillies supposedly getting an AA pitcher, no word on cashola

cmat...totally agree. I have yet to hear anyone saying that it would be nothing less of a disaster based on the exact points you make. But..if the Nats want to do something stupid, who am I to object...lol.

Prepare to be underwhelmed....

Hey guys, did you know cheygyrl30776 is a season ticket holder?

Yeah, me too.

Man. Prepare to be underwhelmed. I havent seen that in what? 363 days or so?

Locke has been better than Morton lately.. but do need an arm and a bat

what news do you have, ms. season ticket holder, that the "Pirates have given up" trying to make trades? Should i bookmark your twitter as another MLB insider alongside Heyman, Stark, Olney, et al?

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think we will see a MAJOR DEAL involving the Pirates...thought that is not exactly trying to be nostradamus. I do believe strongly we will see a bullpen add and perhaps a depth rotation pickup, though I'm against that (either go big or stay home in the rotation).

steelag--are you paying theplanisworking for use of "prepare to be underwhelmed." I think he has a copyright on it. :)

Maybe I'm preparing to be overwhelmed by the underwhelming

AW....I'll have my attorney contact his. :)

Definitely one of the storyline I'll be watching

At least I have him on my fantasy team...haha.

He's' goof for two or more dingers against "Ground Chuck" and "Robin."

William...I hope so! I could use them in my matchup this week!

The kid can RAKE! My Sano T-jersey will arrive soon...

Buxton is better than Sano

Durka...Buxton is a better all-around player, yes, but Sano has Stanton-like power and can hit. That's all he needs to do for them.

@Neal....I stashed Sano on my fantasy roster all season...lol. His power grade of 80 was only matched by Joey Gallo. I see Sano as a 30-40 HR player who will probably hit between .270-.280...his speed for a big man is impressive too...6'4", 260 lbs.

Napoli wouldn't be "placating the masses", he'd be making up for the $2.5m they threw into a dumpster, doused with gasoline, and lit up like the 4th o' July in the form of the sack of bones previously known as Corey Hart. Placating the masses would be doing something dumb like letting the White Sox out of the awful contract they signed Adam LaRoche to this past winter.

I cannot think of a single possible reason why the RH side of the platoon couldn't be upgraded.

Lind is, objectively, an upgrade over Pedro; but you're still talking about a guy who most certainly will not be the difference in winning the division, has a chronically bad back, and shouldn't be starting in a one-game playoff against LHP. On top of having his numbers inflated by that band box he's playing half his games in right now.

The next time Neal placates the masses will be the first. And I say that as a compliment.

@NMR....agree totally.

Let the Cards have Adam Lind...I'd like Matt Adams when he's healthy!

You will NEVER see this management team make any kind of move "just to placate the masses." I see that too often. I can't think of one placating move they ever made.

We all seem in pretty good agreement here... Who is the best RH platoon upgrades out there for Petey?

Also that Meadows is higher than the others

David...not really. Taillon has lost two seasons now with injury, Hanso has reached his max and Bell has been knocked a bit I think for his lack of power and difficulty in picking up 1B.

Steve Lombardozzi concurs.

MLB.com actually has Ke'Bryan hayes ranked as it's #7 overall 3B prospect. Great to compare all the rankings.

Ha!

Boy would I have loved to hear what Dejan would've said about Dayton Moore before last season...

Choosing failure and whatnot.

Forget your prospects and ratings. Will Tony Sanchez ever be in the majors?

Unfortunately Tony Sanchez hasn't done much at AAA this season to warrant a call up. I really like him, he helped a lot the last few seasons...but I think he's a candidate for DFA at seasons end.

I think Tony's level of defensive improvement will determine if he's released or not when the time comes

Lots of Twins on those lists...and I don't even have to look at it to know its true. I also choose NOT to look at it because I find slide shows to be an incredibly sophomoric way to present features.

@Neal...the Twins do have a deep farm system and not just Buxton/Sano. They have done well.

Top 20 in '20 .... somebody ( Joel Reuter's editor ) at Bleacher Report has too much free time on their hands!! ... they should look for more relevant news instead of GUESSING who will be around in 5 year!

@NMR: It's a sensational stance to disagree that prospects ultimately need to become major-leaguers.

Like this move. Maybe this will clean out the "I don't vote for anyone on the first ballot" type voters

Help me on this, did BBWAA member have lifetime voting privileges before?

Matt, DK would know for sure but I believe Smizik was still eligible to vote a few years ago. I think he recently stated since he no longer actively followed the game as he once did on the beat, he no longer would submit a ballot.

Matt, according to the info posted by Craig Calcaterra, lifetime voting was the rule regardless if the writer still covered baseball or not. Now they have 10 years from the time they stop covering the sport to still have a vote before they lose that privilege.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/07/28/the-hall-of-fame-just-made-a-major-change-to-the-hall-of-fame-voting/

The Hall announced that, beginning with the upcoming election, voters will have to be active BBWAA members or have held active status in the past 10 years. BBWAA members become eligible to vote for the Hall of Fame once they been BBWAA members for 10 years. In the past, those voting rights remained until death unless voters opted not to vote.

My opinion on the Hall seldom changes from issue to issue: It's the most overblown thing on Planet Earth.

10 years seems a little long, no? That's my thought at least.

You make some very good points. Too honest for the Pirates FO liking. You're a fan and have a right to your opinion and they are not stupid.

Wait? You are a season ticket holder? Why haven't you ever mentioned this before?