FanHouse RamonVazquez

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For the better part of the last decade, the Pittsburgh Pirates aimlessly wandered through the wilderness of baseball with Kevin McClatchy and Dave Littlefield at the helm. Finally, they lost their jobs and Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington took over. For more than a year, the new front office has been working on digging out of the hole dug by Littlefield during his reign of terror. There's only one real problem: The hole dug by Littlefield was so deep that it's going to take more than a year to dig out of it.

All of the focus during these winter meetings is on the big moves: signings of K-Rod and CC Sabathia, a JJ Putz trade, Jake Peavy rumors, etc. Just because the focus is elsewhere, that doesn't mean that the smaller market teams aren't active. It's just harder to notice.

Take, for example, the Pittsburgh Pirates (shocking that picked them, I know). Their rumored Jack Wilson to Detroit trade fell apart this week, but that doesn't mean that GM Neal Huntington go nothing done in Vegas. To the contrary, he shipped off former "catcher of the future" and current malcontent Ronny Paulino (known to Pirate fans as "Joggin' Ronny" for the way he runs the bases) to the Phillies for AAA catcher Jason Jaramillo.

Not excited yet? After scaring the crap out of fans like me with some rumors of a David Eckstein signing, the Bucs also appear close to signing utility man Ramon Vazquez, formerly of Texas. He's not bad for a utility guy and may even start, should the Pirates find a new home for Freddy Sanchez or Jack Wilson this winter. And if that's not titillating enough, they drafted Donald Veal in the Rule 5 draft. A big lefty who throws hard but can't throw strikes!

Yeah, maybe it's best that the big moves get all the attention.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

When you're the Texas Rangers, and you have a grand total of one playoff win in 47 years of existence, there's little place to go but up. Thanks to GM Jon Daniels' dilligent work in the draft and in last year's Mark Teixeira and Eric Gagne deals, that's just the direction in which they're headed.

There are a lot of things to feel good about in Arlington these days, actually. The Rangers had the best offense in the American League last year and could conceivably be better in 2009. The farm system is overflowing with talent and almost certainly one of the five best in the game. There's even optimism about the return of Nolan Ryan as the team's president.

If you're looking for a club that could make a Rays-like rise in the near future, the Rangers might be the best candidate. The question isn't if, but when they make their presence felt, and the answer to that query will determine in part how aggressive Texas is this winter.

Cheap Yard Work helps you pick out likely free agents in your league that have been raking over the past week.

Russell Branyan, 3B, Brewers
7 day stats: .315/.381/.842, 3 HR, 7 RBI
Seriously, how many times have we done this dance? Russell Branyan hits home runs. He always has, and, as long as he remains employed, he always will. He's also downright terrible at everything else and strikes out at a higher frequency than Ryan Howard. Right now, though, he's on another level. Ten bombs in only 70 at-bats this year is insane. You might as well take a flier with the chance he doesn't wake up and remember he's an extremely poor-man's Rob Deer by the end of this week.

Willy Taveras, OF, Rocks
7 day stats: .345/.387/.414, 6 SB, 9 R
Another "you know what you're gonna get" guy that's hot right now. Taveras is arguably the best base stealer in the league. The problem is that you can't steal first base and he's OBP challenged (.334 career). As long as he's getting on base like he is now, ride the wave -- soaking in the steals and runs.

Ramon Vazquez, 3B, Rangers
7 day stats: .333/.417/.524, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 6 R
He's never gotten consistent playing time because he's never earned it. A journeyman with more minor league than major league service time. He's taking full advantage of the Hank Blalock injury (who could return this week, so monitor the situation before picking up Vazquez) and is giving the Rangers the chance to make Blalock take his sweet ol' time. The Rangers are a scoring machine, and as long as Vazquez gets the playing time this week he'll be a part of it.

When Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock went on the disabled list back on April 29th, not much was going right in Arlington. The Rangers were 9-18 in last place of the AL West, there were rumors beginning to swirl that manager Ron Washington was on the verge of losing his job, and Blalock's injury was just another indicator that it was going to be a long season for the Rangers.

Then the Rangers won 13 of their next 18 games without Blalock to improve to 22-23, and are now only 3.5 games out of first place. Having a front row seat for those games, Hank saw first hand the improved play and chemistry his team was showing, and he doesn't want to mess it up. That's why when he returns from the DL, he'll be playing first base.

The two-time All-Star third baseman figured the best way to help a lineup that has clicked in his absence was to switch to first base, where production has been a problem for the Rangers since Mark Teixeira's departure last July. So Blalock made the suggestion to Ron Washington on Friday, and general manager Jon Daniels agreed it was a good idea.

"I'm not doing anything to benefit myself here," Blalock said. "It's a new position for me, so I'm not sure how I'll do over there. Just watching the guys and how well we were playing, it crossed my mind."

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Texas Rangers (19-21) vs. Seattle Mariners (15-25) - 8:05PM Est.

Let's start today's On Deck by taking a trip in the FanHouse Time Machine. We're going to go all the way back to May 8th, 2008. The world was a different place back then. Ok, so the world was really any different as all, as it was just five days ago, but it was sort of exciting!

That was the day when Richie Sexson threw his helmet and charged Kason Gabbard after taking exception to a pitch. Sexson thought that Gabbard's eye-high fastball was meant for his face even though it was over the heart of the plate, and he took umbrage. Of course, had Felix Hernandez not plunked Ian Kinsler earlier in the game after Kinsler homered, none of this would have happened.

Now, here we are five days later, and Gabbard and Hernandez are set to face each other one more time. Will we have an encore?

The Rangers have been without third baseman Hank Blalock since Friday when he pulled his hamstring during the 10th inning of a 6-5 Rangers victory over the Twins. He sat out both Saturday and Sunday's contests, and is now slated to undergo an MRI today with team orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister.

"I don't know what to think," Blalock said. "My mind is optimistic, but I'm confused. I've never had a hamstring injury. The soreness died down a little today. It had to after I iced it down about six times yesterday."

Wow, that's pretty impressive actually. All the injuries Hank has suffered in his career, and not once has he tweaked a hammy?

Regardless of what the MRI says, I'm guessing that Blalock is going to end up doing some time on the disabled list because of it. Teams generally take the cautious route when it comes to hamstrings because rushing a player back before he's ready usually leads to a lot of long term problems.

The problem for the Rangers is that, if they do put Blalock on the disabled list, they don't have many options to call up and fill in for Blalock. The only extra infielder they currently have on their 40-man roster is Joaquin Arias, and he's still recovering from shoulder surgery that basically makes it impossible to play on the left side of the infield right now. So it's more likely they'll call up another pitcher, and use Ramon Vazquez and German Duran to fill in for the time being.

How many home runs is too many to give up in one game? Two? Four? Six? Six is definitely too many. I don't think teams hit six home runs too often. I don't know the stats, but I can't imagine too many baseball teams win games after they give up six home runs. The Houston Astros will certainly vouch for me. They gave up six homers today and lost to the Rangers 14-1. Let's hit up the home run roll call from today:

• Woody Williams served up three dingers in his four innings of work.
  
• Rick White only gave up one in his three innings of work. Gold star for Mr. White.
• Trever Miller gave up none, but he only pitched two-thirds of an inning. No gold star, that's what he's supposed to do.
  
• Brian Moehler gave up two in an inning and a third. Not so good.
  

Mark Teixeira and Victor Diaz accounted for two-thirds of the six bombs by hitting two apiece. Kenny Lofton and Ramon Vazquez (who had five RBIs in this one) finished out the yard work.

The loss that Woody Williams took was his sixth, to go with only win win on the year. He actually only struck out two more batters than home runs allowed. That's generally a bad sign for any start. I know Williams is a respected veteran and the Astros are paying him handsomely and all, but he's 1-6 with a 5.52 ERA. They've gotta try to do something with him because he's clearly not getting the job done.