From: snichols@adobe.com (Sherri Nichols)
Subject: Re: Stop the Keystone Cops! (was - Ted's Simmon's latest acquisition)
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 16:58:28 GMT

In article <1431@blue.cis.pitt.edu> psg+@pitt.edu (Paul S Galvanek) writes:
>That may be true Sherri, and I hope it is, but that still doesn't explain'
>the steady stream of talent that has left this team, with nothing to show
>for it, that has occurred since Simmons took over.

While I certainly don't agree with Simmons' free agent signings this
winter, that's not a fair characterization of what's gone on.

>Some cases are understandable, Bonds was simply to costly and perhaps 
>the Pirates felt they had enough young pitchers ready to step up to take
>Drabek's place, Okay!  Now explain to me the reasoning behind trading 
>a player like Steve Buechele, who cost that Pirates a small fortune in
>minor league talent, for the likes of Danny Jackson.  Forget whether
>you think Steve was a great third baseman or not, certainly he was worth
>more in a trade than Danny Jackson even up and then to lose Jackson in
>the draft 8^(  That's alot of bodies moving out of Pittsburgh with little 
>more than a half a season of playing time from S.B. to show for it.

The only good part of the whole Steve Buechele fiasco was when the Pirates
traded him even up for Danny Jackson.  Trading for him was a massive
mistake (not made by Simmons), signing him as a free agent was stupid, and
not protecting Jackson made very little sense, unless it was simply because
Simmons was told that he had to dump that contract.  

>Alex Cole's situation is much the same, you trade for an outfielder you 
>know your going to be in need of in '93, finally get a legit lead off man,
>then leave him unprotected in the draft and waste a protection slot on
>players like Stan Belinda and Jeff King.  I can't see anything here that
>makes sense.  Did He really believe either expansion team would be stupid
>enough to draft either of those guys and even if they had, so what?.

I think not protecting Cole was a mistake.  I do think King probably would
have gone in the draft (hey, Charlie Hayes went, and early), but I would
have regarded that as a positive.

>With a little bit of common sense Simmons could still have much of the
>minor league talent he does (maybe more if you count those players that
>were given away in just those two deals)

What players?  Simmons, unlike Doughty, has yet to give away any minor
league players, other than Ramon Martinez, the AA shortstop lost in the
expansion draft, who wasn't much of a prospect anyway.  

> AND he could still have had a 
>substantially better team going into the '93 season.  Maybe they couldn't
>win a fourth division tile but they'd be alot closer to contending than
>they are now.

I think it's a pretty poor bet that the Pirates, even had they retained the
players you wish were still here, would be legitimate contenders in '93.
If you aren't going to contend, then it's a sensible reaction to cut the
payroll and invest in the farm.  I do think that Jackson should have been
protected, since he obviously had trade value.  I think Cole should have
been protected.  And I have some problems with the 40 man roster Simmons
put together for the Rule V draft, though they weren't really hurt by that.
While it's not clear what Simmons' plan for the '93 season is given his
free agent signings, what Simmons has done to beef up the minor league
system is more important than anything he does or doesn't do for the '93
season.  

Sherri Nichols
snichols@adobe.com