Baseball Guru
03-27-2002, 02:20 AM
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
March 26, 2002, 9:48 PM EST
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't set their opening-day roster yet, partly because general manager Dave Littlefield is involved in active trade discussions with several teams.
"We've been talking to some clubs ... we've got a lot of areas we would like to improve," Littlefield said Tuesday night. "We'll stay open to discussion and see what might be available.
"This is the time of spring when you start to do that dancing," he said.
Littlefield wouldn't identify the teams involved, or whether he was looking mostly for hitting or pitching as the Pirates try to avoid a club-record 10th consecutive losing season and a repeat 100-loss season.
"We were near the bottom in pitching, defense and runs scored," Littlefield said. "We've got a lot of room for improvement."
And not much time, or money, to do extensive renovations, with more about $15 million tied up in 2002 salaries for players coming off poor seasons: infielder Pat Meares, first baseman Kevin Young, outfielder Derek Bell. Also, this is the first year of catcher Jason Kendall's $60 million, six-year contract.
However, the Pirates are expected to cut their ties to Meares and Bell within a matter of days, although the Bell move may not come until he is over a groin injury.
Then, the Pirates are expected to eat the final year of Bell's $9.75 million, two-year contract -- his .173 average was one of the majors' worst last season -- and the final two years of Meares' $15 million, four-year contract.
Meares was signed in 1999 after seriously injuring his left hand, and his statistics have declined each year since. He had a closed-door meeting with Littlefield and manager Lloyd McClendon on Monday, leading to speculation that they were discussing his options.
Meares hasn't started a game in 10 days, an indicator that he doesn't fit into the Pirates' plans.
The Bell and Meares contracts were remnants of Cam Bonifay's unsuccessful eight-year reign as general manager, and there seems little doubt Littlefield wants free of them as soon as possible.
"We've got to fight through some things; we've had some contracts that haven't been productive, and we've got to use better judgment in some of our decisions," Littlefield said. "But it can be done, other teams are doing it -- the White Sox, Athletics, Phillies and Twins -- and we can do it.
"But we don't have much margin for error and a long way to go, and we've got to allocate our money wisely."
The Pirates have 34 players in camp, nine over the opening day limit, but pitchers Kris Benson and Ryan Vogelsong will start the season on the disabled list. Reliever Josias Manzanillo can't rejoin the team until May 1 after re-signing as a minor league free agent.
Also, outfielder Armando Rios (knee) and reliever Mike Fetters (strained muscle) are sidelined for several days by minor injuries. Littlefield doesn't want to cut down to 25 until he's certain they won't be out longer than expected.
AP Sports Writer
March 26, 2002, 9:48 PM EST
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't set their opening-day roster yet, partly because general manager Dave Littlefield is involved in active trade discussions with several teams.
"We've been talking to some clubs ... we've got a lot of areas we would like to improve," Littlefield said Tuesday night. "We'll stay open to discussion and see what might be available.
"This is the time of spring when you start to do that dancing," he said.
Littlefield wouldn't identify the teams involved, or whether he was looking mostly for hitting or pitching as the Pirates try to avoid a club-record 10th consecutive losing season and a repeat 100-loss season.
"We were near the bottom in pitching, defense and runs scored," Littlefield said. "We've got a lot of room for improvement."
And not much time, or money, to do extensive renovations, with more about $15 million tied up in 2002 salaries for players coming off poor seasons: infielder Pat Meares, first baseman Kevin Young, outfielder Derek Bell. Also, this is the first year of catcher Jason Kendall's $60 million, six-year contract.
However, the Pirates are expected to cut their ties to Meares and Bell within a matter of days, although the Bell move may not come until he is over a groin injury.
Then, the Pirates are expected to eat the final year of Bell's $9.75 million, two-year contract -- his .173 average was one of the majors' worst last season -- and the final two years of Meares' $15 million, four-year contract.
Meares was signed in 1999 after seriously injuring his left hand, and his statistics have declined each year since. He had a closed-door meeting with Littlefield and manager Lloyd McClendon on Monday, leading to speculation that they were discussing his options.
Meares hasn't started a game in 10 days, an indicator that he doesn't fit into the Pirates' plans.
The Bell and Meares contracts were remnants of Cam Bonifay's unsuccessful eight-year reign as general manager, and there seems little doubt Littlefield wants free of them as soon as possible.
"We've got to fight through some things; we've had some contracts that haven't been productive, and we've got to use better judgment in some of our decisions," Littlefield said. "But it can be done, other teams are doing it -- the White Sox, Athletics, Phillies and Twins -- and we can do it.
"But we don't have much margin for error and a long way to go, and we've got to allocate our money wisely."
The Pirates have 34 players in camp, nine over the opening day limit, but pitchers Kris Benson and Ryan Vogelsong will start the season on the disabled list. Reliever Josias Manzanillo can't rejoin the team until May 1 after re-signing as a minor league free agent.
Also, outfielder Armando Rios (knee) and reliever Mike Fetters (strained muscle) are sidelined for several days by minor injuries. Littlefield doesn't want to cut down to 25 until he's certain they won't be out longer than expected.