FanHouse DelwynYoung

The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing some terrible baseball right now. They've won just three games in September, just 12 games since Aug. 1, and are 20-50 since July 1. After emptying their roster in late July, their lineup has been composed mostly of players that only have an opportunity to play regularly in the majors because the Pirates exist.

These players, with the possible exceptions of Garrett Jones and Lastings Milledge, obviously haven't made much of the opportunity afforded to them by the Pirates' firesale. Monday, word got out that they don't seem to be too worked up about it either. When GM Neal Huntington went around the clubhouse looking for winter ball commitments, he got an apathetic response from most players. In fact, John Perrotto is reporting that not one American player on the Pirates has agreed to go to Latin America for the winter.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Eugenio Velez (pronounce the first name: ay-ooh-HEY-nee-o) is a relative unknown major league baseball player. He's currently gaining playing time for the San Francisco Giants without having an actual starting job. He fights for playing time at second base (against Freddy Sanchez), left field (against Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis) and right field (against Randy Winn). Lately, though, Velez has been playing pretty much everyday, and swinging a hot bat. The question is, can it continue?

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

Just a week ago, we left the Pirates and their fans reeling in the wake of the Nate McLouth trade. Even the fans that felt that the trade was a necessary step of rebuilding (you can put me firmly in that category) were shaken by the loss of McLouth. So now that a week has gone by, just where do the Pittsburgh Pirates stand?

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.

The almost inevitable finally occurred, as the Giants and Dodgers found themselves to be trade partners for the first time since 1985. San Francisco dealt Mark Sweeney to LA for cash or a player to be named later. This is a significant deal, but not because of what Sweeney brings to the table. To me, it carries more significance because it shows that the bitter rivals are willing to work with each other, and more specifically, that the Giants are willing to help out the Dodgers in the midst of a playoff push. This was to be somewhat expected considering Dodgers GM Ned Colletti used to be the Giants assistant GM.

Some people will argue that Mark Sweeney will be a valuable player down the stretch for LA. With 155 career pinch-hits, he ranks 2nd all-time in the category to Lenny Harris. But I don't feel that Sweeney is a better bat off the bench for the Dodgers than say a Delwyn Young, Andre Ethier, or a few of the other players who may be on the bench in a key spot. In my eyes, this is not a significant move because of who it is, but rather, because of what it is.