Tag: Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB Trading Deadline: The Things That Annoy Me

I like the MLB trading deadline as much as the next. The speculation, the potential deals and the names discussed make for great conversation. However, I do get annoyed, perturbed, bothered, name the adjective when I hear certain names and teams mentioned. This usually involves teams that are deemed as “sellers” and players that are viewed as “available”. Now, there is a good chance that all three of our teams will benefit from these conditions. As a fan of the game, these situations still bother me because we have fan bases involved that have been repeatedly kicked at this time of year.

Here are my three items for this deadline that really make me frown. Keep in mind I don’t speak for the fans of the teams involved so maybe they don’t have an issue with what is going on. I speak from an outsider’s perspective.

Enough of the Mitch Keller trade talk. Credit: Forbes

Pittsburgh Pirates

The first domino fell with third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes being sent to the Cincinnati Reds earlier today. The name that has been talked about seemingly since May is pitcher Mitch Keller. Why, Pittsburgh, why? Keller does not become a free agent until 2029, so yes, he theoretically can bring back a great return. But again, why? Do Pirates’ fans trust that the players coming back will actually pan out? Even more of a problem for me is the Bucs have assembled a solid rotation with Keller, Paul Skenes and Bailey Falter. If they can manage to put a decent lineup around this trio, then we are talking about a team that contend in 2026. That also means keeping closer David Bednar, also mentioned in trade discussions and is controlled through next season. Fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates deserve much better than seeing their team raided year after year at the deadline.

Miami Marlins

Maybe it is just a rumor but the Marlins did make the playoffs in 2023. They took a giant step backwards last season because their entire starting rotation landed on the injured list. Pitcher Sandy Alcantara has been seemingly been talked about in trade rumors for the last four years. You would think that with Miami going 28-22 since June 1 to crawl their way to the fringes of a playoff spot that any talk of Alcantara being moved would die down. You would be wrong. It is the Marlins so nothing is off the table when it comes to player movement. I don’t expect them to become buyers which is fine. However, it would be a big disappointment to trade the former Cy Young Award winner just as his team is turning things around.

Cleveland Guardians

Did we forget that it was just last year that the Guardians reached the American League Championship Series? So a semi lost season later, there is this need to tear the thing down? I get it, outfielder Steven Kwan may command a significant return with him being under control until 2028. But this team still has Jose Ramirez, one of the best players in baseball. Perhaps the investigation into Emmanuel Clase‘s alleged gambling activities, himself the subject of trade rumors, has forced Cleveland into the possibility of selling. However, with Ramirez at 33 years old, the Guardians should be doing everything in their power to add help for him, particularly since he signed the most club friendly contract in baseball history. Suck it up, Guardians, keep Kwan, hope Clase gets cleared and take a run at 2026.

Dave Parker Helped My Love of Baseball

The world knows by now that Hall of Famer Dave Parker has died at age 74 from Parkinson’s disease. If you watched the excellent 2019 documentary by MLB Network, “The Cobra at Twilight”, you know that he had been battling the disease for a long time. While it is tremendous that Parker was able to field the call that granted him induction into Cooperstown, it is tragic that he will not be there in person next month for enshrinement. I can honestly say that although most of his best seasons came before I turned 10, he was an influential player that grew my love for the game of baseball.

Hall of Famer Dave Parker. Credit: USA Today

You see, my earliest baseball memory was that of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series Championship team. Dave Parker (or Willie Stargell, take your pick)was the best player on that team. I love the song, “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge, which was the Pirates’ theme song for that season. To this day, whenever I hear that song, all I can think of his PArker, STargell and one heck of a baseball team. In the summer of 1980, I attended the Paul Blair Baseball Camp and I remember watching the video of that World Series. Parker was the guy with the big arm in right field and who was an intimidating player to face when he was at the plate. Growing up, it just FELT like he was the best right fielder in the game, and not only that, the best player in all of baseball. He did everything well, hit, hit for power, play Gold Glove defense and steal bases. I know there was a little bit of a gap in production those final years in Pittsburgh. However, when he joined the Cincinnati Reds, he looked like the old Cobra, finishing second in the MVP voting in 1985 and then fifth in 1986. Parker won a second World Series championship as a member of the Oakland A’s. He was a big time player throughout my childhood and into high school. I always supported his candidacy for the Hall of Fame.

So why did it take over 30 years after his retirement for Dave Parker to get into the Hall of Fame? I think the first reason was his admission of both his use of cocaine and his introducing of a drug dealer in the Pirates’ clubhouse. This shocking testimony came during the infamous Pittsburgh Drug Trials of 1985, a scandal that rocked baseball as much as the steroid testimony did two decades later. The second was his overall numbers. He did not reach any of the milestone numbers needed for a 19 year playing career. Although he was unquestionably one of the five best players of his era, his “dominance” was not for a long enough period of time for the voters. I think Parker would have been inducted sooner had he decided to stop playing after winning his second championship ring. Short periods of dominance has to count for something; so does championships with two different teams. Parker’s induction may pave the way for another favorite of mine rowing up, Dale Murphy.

I am happy Dave Parker left this Earth knowing he made the Hall of Fame. It’s a shame he will not get his plaque in person. I will always remember him as an important of my baseball upbringing. Rest in peace, Cobra.