Well, the trade deadline has come and gone with very little fanfare and zero blockbuster trades from your Buccos. Some say that management wasn't behind this team and they're still building for the long term, some say that too many moves would've upset team chemistry, I say that I'm disappointed that, when it was clearly established that the Pirates were in a big time buying position in late July for the first time in 20 years, they didn't do more. They needed a significant upgrade to the line-up and they were not able to get it done. Hunter Pence was available for the second time in two years and they didn't get it done. There were a number of deals and a lot of noise, but ultimately the Pirates fell flat at the deadline. There are still moves that could be made by the end of August, but I have a feeling that any future moves will fall in line with what we saw the last few days.
It could be that no one wanted to make a deal with the Pirates if Gerrit Cole wasn't involved and they didn't want to mortgage their future that severely. I can respect that. But, it's possible that we'll never know whether management was just being responsible, or if they were just paralyzed by fear, indecision, and unfamiliarity with the situation they found themselves in.
Having said that, here's what I think about the moves that were actually made, as opposed to the moves I hoped they would make.
The only guy that I will miss is Brad Lincoln. As I mentioned previously, I thought he was their secret weapon -- an effective pitcher that could get lefties and righties out and could work either as a seventh inning set-up guy or a long reliever. I thought he brought a lot of skill a versatility to the bullpen, but whatever. I have difficulty giving up on guys that were drafted high and have a bunch of upside.
Speaking of upside, I like Travis Snider. A lot. What I've read on the Internet says that he has a long swing and he's had issues getting to balls in the strike zone. He's only 24 and such things can be fixed, mainly by compacting/shortening his swing and taking out wasted motion that takes away from bat speed. Andrew McCutcheon happens to have worked on this in the offseason. It's the batting coach's job to work with Snider on his swing, but I'm sure that Cutch will be able to offer some valuable guidance to Snider based on personal experience. Above all else, my friend Keith e-mailed me earlier today and said that Snider compares favorably to Brian Giles. Keith knows everything about baseball and I trust his judgement, so I have faith in Snider.
Gorkys Hernandez was having trouble adjusting to major league pitching and was being used primarily as a defensive substitute and pinch runner, which is a waste of a roster spot. I'm fine with his departure. Gaby Sanchez gives them a right-hander to platoon with Garrett Jones, which made Casey McGehee redundant. McGehee was then traded to the Yankees for Chad Qualls.
Qualls is a setup guy and would presumably be the replacement for Lincoln. He's struggled the last couple of seasons, but he could experience a renaissance away from the AL and their mean, nasty designated hitters, like AJ Burnett has. I mean, I don't think lightning will strike twice in that regard, but if he can improve like Burnett has... yeah, I still miss Brad Lincoln.
The bottom line is that this team still needs their starting pitching to continue to shine in order to stay competitive and win games. The Reds and Cardinals didn't significantly upgrade their rosters, either, which means that everyone is pretty much working with what they started with for the balance of the season.
If Cutch and James McDonald can keep from regressing (which they both did last season), Neil Walker can continue to stay around .300, the tandem of Jones/Sanchez is good for 30 home runs this season, Pedro Alvarez keeps hitting the ball hard (when he hits it), and there aren't any injuries or collapses in the starting rotation, this team can make a legitimate run at the division title or the Wild Card.
But... that's a lot of "ifs" that weren't addressed at the deadline.
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