RIP Ralph Kiner

Ralph Kiner passed away today at the age of 91.  The Bucco legend and Hall of Famer was one of baseball biggest sluggers during its Golden Era.  During an 8 year stretch he averaged 44 homeruns and 115 rbis. 

Trade Bait Added

I have added a permanent link on the right side of the page to some of my trade bait cards.  You can also get to it here.

I have a bunch more that needs to be added, but this will get everybody started.  If you see something you like shoot me an email or post a comment on one of the posts. 

Neil Walker Great at Nothing Good at Everything

I'm a frequent watcher of the MLB network and one of my favorite offseason features is the top ten at each position.  Last weeks feature was 2nd base, and Neil Walker was 8th.  The rankings are based on past performance/upcoming projections and weighs defense and offense.  My first instinct was that I could name a lot more than 7 second baseman I would rather have than Walker, but that proved to be more difficult than I thought.  He is so average he is good. 

When looking at his numbers you see a good obp with a rising walk rate, decent pop (13-17 homers a year) all while continuing to improve his defense.  Really the only flaw in his game is the ability to stay on the field.  He has had DL stints each of the past two years.  A healthy Walker is vital to the Pirates success as middle infield depth has been a weakness the last couple of years. 

Would Neil Walker be in your top ten? 

Neil Walker was drafted out of high school as a catcher back in 2004.  Pretty cool company on this card.  This is from 2004 SP Prospects and is serial numbered 19/25. 

Trade Bait

Just to let everyone know I will be posting trade bait very soon.  I've been busting some boxes with friends and participating in case breaks the last couple of months with the idea of accumulating some cards to deal.  In the meantime feel free to send me an email or comment on a post with anything you are looking for.  I'm always looking for Pirate auto/relics and WVU grad auto/relics.  My buddy Micah who also helps me with the blog is an avid collector of all things Pirates as well. 

Here is a cool card I picked up last fall.

This was a box topper from 2012 Bowman Sterling featuring autos of Dylan Bundy, Danny Hultzen and Gerrit Cole.  The only bad thing about box toppers is finding ways to protect the corners.  If anybody has found something that works drop me a line.  Most of the top loaders for pictures are too big and the card still slides around. 

I'm sure I will be writing about Gerrit a ton in the next few months as I've been accumulating a pretty large collection of his auto's.  It's exciting to see the Pirates have a front line power pitcher.  One thing over the years the Pirates have been missing is that clear cut number 1 starter.  Lets hope Gerrit can feel that void over the next handful of years.  

The Forgotten Pirate

Ralph Kiner is often the forgotten man in Pirates history.  After an up and down rookie season in 1946 Kiner received some guidance from legendary slugger Hank Greenberg whom the Pirates convinced to stay on one more season.  With this knowledge Kiner blossomed into the games most feared slugger.

The sad aspect of Kiner's career is that he never played for a winner.  In fact most of the Pirates teams he played on were the worst in franchise history.  It was said fans would leave Forbes Field once Kiner had taken his final at bat as the rest of the team was not worth watching.

A fun footnote to Kiners career is that during a contract dispute with then GM Branch Rickey, Rickey told Kiner "we finished last with you, we can finish last without you."  Kiner was then traded to the Cubs, but injuries slowed down his career and was out of baseball by the age of 32. 

Kiner's offensive peak was so strong that he still was elected to the hall of fame in 1975. Take a look at the numbers.

The scan is a little shaky in this card as the silver causes a nasty glare.  This is a triple auto from 2005 Donruss Signature featuring Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson and Ralph Kiner.  Kiner autos are very affordable as he has had a long career in baseball after retirement as an announcer for the Mets since their inception.  This has allowed him to be an active signer and is featured in many sets the past 10-15 years. 

Can Andrew McCutchen repeat?

In 2013 we saw the Pirates pretty much complete a "First time since 1992" checklist that has been hanging over the club like a dark cloud since Sid Bream slid past Mike LeValliere (that is still hard to type).  The first winning season, first playoff appearance, and first payoff series win were all items on that list that have mercifully been crossed off giving Pirates fans a sense of closure and a reason for optimism for the first time in 20 years.  And, the firsts kept coming even after the NLDS loss to the Cardinals when Andrew McCutchen became the first Pirate to be named NL MVP since 1992.  A bonus checkmark to be sure, but it was great way to cap off what was a great season for the Pirates organization and fans alike.  Now, with the ghosts of 1992 mostly put in the rear view mirror, I want to look ahead to the 2014 season and another possible first for the Pirates. Can Andrew McCutchen become the first Bucco to win back to back MVP awards?  According to Steamer Projections, Cutch will be a 6.6 WAR player in 2014 trailing only Buster Posey (7.1) in the senior circuit.  This projection may be a bit conservative considering McCutchen posted a 6.8 WAR in 2012 and 8.2 WAR last season.  Of course, even with the growing acceptance of advanced statistics, traditional counting stats will still factor into the decision.  Staying with Steamer, his projected 23 HRs and 89 RBIs still stack up well against the top 5 NL players in terms of WAR (as seen here).  In fact, those numbers would actually be a slight improvement over his 2013 stats that were god enough to earn him the award.  All things considered, I think it would be safe to say Cutch has a good chance to be a top NL MVP candidate next season.  However, there is one factor that I have failed to mention.  And, that is how the overall success of the Pirates will affect Andrew's chance to repeat.  After all, the case can be made that he actually had a better season offensively in terms of traditional statistics in 2012.  But, after the Pirates second half swoon, Cutch's MVP chances faded right along with the Pirates playoff hopes.  And if you don't think team performance factors into the MVP voting, just talk to Mike Trout.  If Andrew is going to repeat, the Pirates may also have to make back to back playoff appearances. 

2012 Topps Marquee /70 Auto Patch. 

Who is Jose Tabata?

Most Pirates fans would agree that Jose Tabata has not lived up to his potential.  Jose had a successful rookie campaign in 2010 where he hit .300 with a great obp of .346.  He accumulated 1.9 WAR in just 450 at bats.  Things were looking up as the Pirates looked to have another young outfielder to go along with Andrew Mccutchen.  Seeing this potential the Pirate front office locked up Tabata to a team friendly 6 year deal. 

The rookie season has proven to be mostly a mirage.  Jose has been unable to recapture is rookie season success.  Since 2011 he has had trouble staying on the field and has been in manager Clint Hurdle's dog house several times for lack of effort.  Jose did not reach 400 at bats in both 2011 and 2012.  Losing playing time to the likes of Travis Snider and Garrett Jones the past few seasons and the emergence of Starling Marte has put Tabata's Pirate future in question.

In 2013 Jose was able to rebound to a certain extent.  After Starling Marte got hurt in the second half of the season he was able to recapture some of his rookie season magic.  He accumulated 1.1 war mainly in just the second half of the season.  He played a key part in the Pirates playoff run during the dog days of summer. 

So what does 2014 have in store for Jose Tabata?  Most project him to be slotted in as the opening day right fielder, but it seems to be temporary.  Top prospect Gregory Polanco will start the season in AAA and could be ready by mid season.  It seems that Jose's best bet for future playing time would be playing well enough to make himself attractive to other teams.  With a team friendly contract and still being only 25 years old, Jose can still be very valuable.

My own personal belief is that Tabata will be moved at some point over the next year.  Most projections already have Polcano as a + defender and better base runner than Tabata.  While Tabata is a nice insurance policy if one of the everyday guys get hurt like Marte did last year,  his time will be coming to an end as a Pirate.  Some other team will see a young cost controlled outfielder and make a nice match for the Pirates to fill a need either before the deadline or during next offseason. 

This is a wood 1/1 from 2011 Topps Triple Threads.  This was an Ebay purchase several years a go as I went and purchased many high end Tabata cards when he was struggling in 2011. 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2411&position=OF