FanHouse CraigMonroe

Futilitywatch '09 is a our semi-regular update on the Pittsburgh Pirates and their march towards their record 17th consecutive losing season.

In the three weeks since the initial Futilitywatch ran, the Pirates have been on a bit of a rollercoaster. They went on an impressive run, swept the red-hot (at the time) Marlins, and at one point stood at 11-7 in the waning days of April. Since then, they've lost nine of 10, dropping to 12-16 and reminding just about everyone why this 17th losing season was more of a foregone conclusion than anything since well before this season started.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Minnesota Twins.

Last year was supposed to be the season in which the Minnesota Twins finally had to deal with reality. They traded Johan Santana to the Mets because they couldn't afford him any longer, and the heart and soul of the team, Torii Hunter, left for the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles. Then the Twins went out and won 88 games and were one run shy of making the playoffs after losing to the White Sox in a one-game playoff for the Central title. This is just what the Twins do. They defy everyone's expectations but their own, and odds are they're going to do it again this season.

There are a lot of people who felt the Twins should have made a move before yesterday's deadline, myself being one of them, but instead the Twins decided to stand pat with what they have. It's a move that may hurt them now that they've lost second baseman and team spark plug Alexi Casilla could miss the rest of the season.

Still, sometimes it's not the trades that you make as much as it is the players you get back from the disabled list. Of course, Francisco Liriano has been off the disabled list for a while and blowing hitters away in Triple-A, but the team has just now decided to call him up. Though that does mean they have to make room for him, and that's why the team designated both Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe for assignment.

Hernandez is 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA in 23 starts and has allowed 199 hits in 139 2/3 innings. He pitched poorly in his last start against Chicago on Wednesday and gave up five runs in the first two innings of his previous start against Cleveland.

Left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano, a sensation in 2006 before an arm injury knocked him out of action for more than a year, will take his spot in the rotation. Randy Ruiz, a 30-year-old career minor-leaguer, can play first base and right field. But he will likely be used as a right-handed designated and pinch hitter.

It seems that no matter how many times we see it, baseball fans just never learn. Every spring baseball fans and experts alike say that this is the year that the Minnesota Twins are going to finish below .500 and at the bottom of the AL Central. Then summer comes along a few months later, and there they are. Sitting on top, or near the top of the division while the rest of us scratch their heads.

Though it happens every season, it still catches us all by surprise, but this season has been the most baffling of all. There is just no way that the Twins should be sitting at 40-36, only a game and a half behind the first place White Sox. The obvious reasons for this are that the team said goodbye to both Johan Santana and Torii Hunter during the offseason, and that Francisco Liriano has spent his time on the disabled list.

Still, it's not exactly a new phenomenon that teams carry on and continue playing well after saying goodbye to their stars. The Athletics have been doing it for years along with the Twins, so we know it can be done. The difference between these Twins, though, and the Twins and Athletics teams of the past is how they're doing it.

The guys who were supposed to replace what was lost have been horrible so far, yet they're still winning.

Yesterday the Chicago Cubs made a trade with the Detroit Tigers that sent Jacque Jones back to the AL Central, and brought Omar Infante to the north side of Chicago. It was the second trade the Cubs had made with Detroit in the last three months, as they acquired Craig Monroe from Detroit in August.

Well apparently there's a "One Former Tiger At A Time" rule with the Cubs, because they've now shipped Monroe to the Minnesota Twins. In return the Cubs will be getting the infamous player to be named later.

As far as Monroe's concerned, this is a good thing for him. He never found much playing time with the Cubs, and even though the team has said goodbye to both Jacque Jones and Cliff Floyd in recent days, it didn't look like he'd get much playing time next season either.

There are more rumors out there that the Cubs are currently talking to Tampa Bay about a deal that would bring Carl Crawford to Chicago for prospects. Whether or not those talks are going to become a reality remains to be seen, but it's obvious the Cubs are looking to make more changes to their outfield.

In Minnesota, Monroe will have the chance to compete with Jason Kubel for playing time in the Twins outfield. Which there should be plenty of to go around should Torii Hunter sign elsewhere this offseason.

The Cubs did a bunch of tinkering and trading in late July and August and it looks like almost none of it is going to affect the outcome of their five game series against the Diamondbacks. Waiver wire acquisitions Craig Monroe and Steve Trachsel, who have bombed as Cubs, were both left off the Division Series roster by Lou Piniella, while trade deadline pick-up Jason Kendall appears to be mostly relegated to backing up the emerging Geovany Soto (at least if the Sun-Times guess at the starting lineup is to be believed).

It's worth noting that while Jason Marquis isn't going to be a part of the post-season rotation (as of now, at least) he did make the roster over Sean Marshall. This choice was made because, umm, I don't know why. I'd rather have Marshall make a spot start than Marquis if the Big Z can't go on three days rest (which, frankly, is something I'm surprised Piniella is banking on). I guess Marquis is a bit older and has more experience in big games, plus the Cubs haven't used Marshall much in the past couple weeks. Still, Marshall scores high on the "Not Jason Marquis Scale," which is a completely pretend method created by me to determine how much a pitcher sucks.

One final note on the Cubbie roster: Kerry Wood will be in the bullpen. Kerry Wood on the mound in the late innings of a close playoff game. That doesn't make Cub fans shudder at all, does it?

The Cubs acquired Craig Monroe from the Tigers today for cash considerations the ever popular Player to Be Named Later. From Detroit's perspective, it doesn't really matter who that player ends up being -- if the Cubs hadn't bit, Monroe was most likely going to be given his outright release anyway, so getting anything in return is gravy.

But why would the Cubs want Monroe? The guy has hit just .222 with 11 home runs in 343 at-bats. Perhaps they're hoping a change of scenery will help him escape his season-long slump -- after all, this is a guy who's hit 48 home runs the last two seasons combined. Plus, he's always been streaky as all get up -- if he gets to play every day, it wouldn't be out of the question at all for him to suddenly catch fire and double his home run total between now and the end of September.

At the very least, Monroe has still been productive against left-handed pitchers, hitting them to the tune of .302 with five home runs in 96 at-bats this year. Once Alfonso Soriano returns (hopefully on Labor Day), a Jacque Jones/Monroe platoon could be surprisingly effective.

Previously on FanHouse:
Craig Monroe: Remembering the Good Times

We've all dealt with the Tigers' designation of Craig Monroe for assignment in different ways. Some may not have even noticed, going about their day as if it was any other. Some may have felt sadness, but realized in the end Cameron Maybin is the future. And others, like Monroe fans who have ample access to highlight clips and photos, put together a video montage of him set to Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You," provided for you above.

I can only hope when FanHouse kicks me to the curb my fellow bloggers will provide video highlights of me typing away at some of my finer blog posts set to Paula Cole's "I Don't Want to Wait."

Because really, that's the only way to go out.

After the jump, a Monroe video highlight the YouTube montage overlooked.

I'm not sure why Pirates GM Dave Littlefield feels like he's in any position to rake another team over the coals, but that's apparently what he wants to do if you want to make a deal with him. According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Littlefield has two opportunities to move Jack Wilson this summer but never got a deal together due to incredibly unrealistic demands.

First, there were talks with the Blue Jays, who were looking for at least a marginal improvement over Royce Clayton. Unfortunately, Littlefield literally insulted Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi that the Jays dropped the subject completely:

That might explain why Ricciardi, on July 23, took the unusual step of mentioning another team's player publicly when he told the Canadian Press, "We have absolutely no interest in Jack Wilson. None."

Then the Tigers were (and still are, apparently) interested in Wilson, including taking on his entire salary ($14 million over the next two years):

The deal on the table at the July 31 non-waiver deadline would have netted the Pirates one of two 21-year-old pitchers, Jair Jurrjens or Dallas Trahern, and another prospect in the Detroit system. Littlefield apparently asked for a major-league player on top of that -- outfielder Craig Monroe was mentioned -- and the Tigers pulled back.

I know Littlefield must see something in Wilson that others do not -- he's the one who gave him that insane contract in the first place -- but asking for a top prospect and a legitimate big-league player is more than a bit ridiculous. How does this guy still have a job?

It's starting to look like this "Jack Wilson to the Tigers" trade might actually happen. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Shortstop Jack Wilson has informed the Pirates he will accept a trade to any of the six teams named in his limited no-trade clause, including the Detroit Tigers.

The Pirates and Tigers continue to discuss a multiplayer deal that would send Wilson to Detroit, and Wilson wanted it known to all concerned that he would do nothing to disrupt it. He also would be open to trades to other teams.

Because we're past the July 31st non-waiver deadline, Wilson must first pass through waivers for any trade to happen, but given his contract that shouldn't be a problem -- he's still owed the balance of a $5.25 million salary this year and is set to make nearly $14 million combined in 2008 and 2009. Given his poor offensive production (only once in his career has he had an OPS above .700), there aren't many teams who'd be willing to risk taking on that kind of financial burden to block this trade.

Who can Pittsburgh get in return? It's possible the Tigers might try to pass one of their big-league players through waivers (Craig Monroe, perhaps?), but otherwise it will likely be a package of prospects, since players not yet included on the 40-man roster are not subject to any kind of waiver restrictions.

Why would the Tigers be willing to take on Wilson's salary? For one, they just found out Neifi Perez will be suspended the rest of the year, so their bench could use a solid defensive middle infielder. Plus, given the length of Wilson's contract, if the Tigers picked him up it'd give them the option of moving Carlos Guillen to first base at some point in the future.