Walk On The Wild Side (contd.)
- RETURN TO PART 1 OF "WALK ON THE WILD SIDE" -
Now, you'd think with the wildness of the 2008 staff that management would go out and sign a reliable, dependable, and (most) importantly a controlled pitcher to add to the roster. Well, if you call Daniel Cabrera that pitcher, you might as well not call yourself a baseball fan. The 27 year-old is a possible candidate for the Pirates, after being non-tendered by the Baltimore Orioles. His "throwing capabilities" have attracted much attention, as over seven teams are looking to sign the right-hander.
Cabrera occasionally showed ace-like signs with the O's, as his power arm has thrown some huge games ((almost hitting the NY Yankees back in 2007) and he has been an anchor for a young rotation. Unfortunately, the strikeouts couldn't catch up to the walk total for Cabrera, as the right-hander averaged 95.6 BBs per year. Take a look at this:
In 2008: 8-10, 5.25 ERA in 30 GS w/ BAL ... 180.0 IP, 90BB/95 SO ...
Other recent Pirates signings include Rule-5 draftee Donald Veal, RHP Brian Slocum, and LHP Daniel Haigwood. All of these players share their own wild side, especially Veal, who walked 81 batters last season over 145.1 IP at Triple-A. With young players like these, bad habits are usually broken with help from their pitching coach. These guys will have a great instructor in Joe Kerrigan, former bullpen coach to the Yankees. However, will Kerrigan's lessons be enough to save these player's young arms?
Kerrigan, who quite possibly has the most work laid out for him this offseason, is using a lot of video footage to study his new students. Though re-capturing Snell and Gorzelanny's fame will take some trying, Cabrera's control issues may be an impossible task in itself. Coaches in Baltimore Rick Kranitz and Leo Mazzone couldn't solve the right-hander, and Mazzone has a much better track record than Kerrigan. Nevertheless, who knows what will happen with a transition for Cabrera, no matter where he lands. Maybe all he needs is a change of scenery.
16.78 P/IP, 1.06 K/BB, 4.50 BB/9, 4.75 K/9
Career: 5.05 ERA, 841.1 IP, 478BB/651 SO, 5.11 BB/9
Those numbers are hard to believe, huh? 104 and 108 walks in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Also, Daniel hit 18 batters in 2008, most by any other player in the American League (Texas RHP Vicente Padilla was second with 15). Trying to share some positive assets from Cabrera's report would be almost impossible until the man is able to get his control down; strikeouts mean nothing, H/IP mean nothing, even ERA means nothing. Cabrera has the capabilities of being a future number two or three starter, but he won't be able to pitch in the majors with those kinds of walk totals.
General manager Neal Huntington took it upon himself to find a pitching teacher that could work well with his new "youth movement." Andrews was out of the question; a staff 5.08 ERA doesn't award you a second chance. From the available coaches, Huntington found Joe Kerrigan as the best bet in saving the Burgh's pitching core. Kerrigan worked with the Montreal Expos system early in his career before going to the Boston Red Sox. He interned for a while as manager there, but his greatest feat was in aiding Pedro Martinez, as Pedro went on to win two Cy Youngs in 1999 and 2000. For a complete bio on Kerrigan, check one out at Pirates.com.
The offense has its own troubles lurking within, but the gapping hole between power and control has created a much more important matter to take care of. The offseason is not yet done, with a month or two for president Frank Coonelly and co. to round up some more arms. Needless to say, this will be a young group of hurlers who have shared their wildness together in the past. Some of the stats like Zach Duke have put up would scare the living daylights out of you.
Will "Pirates Gone Wild" be the returning craze in 2009, or can the Buccos core keep their focus? Russell continues to stress the significance of not "giving away" wins, but when your staff hands out walks like free market coupons... the BB will reign supreme.
- Jesse Behr, The 'Burgh Blues -
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