July 19th. Designated “All-Pittsburgh-Teams-Must-Sign-Someone” Day.
Apparently, the Pirates are buyers. And Shawon Dunston was not involved.
Not to be outdone by the Steelers signing LaMarr Woodley and the Pens signing Ty Conklin, the Pirates showed that they can make a splash as well, trading for shortstop Cesar Izturis. The Buccos gave up the dreaded “player to be named later.”
Finally, the team showed a little bit of motivation, and might not be putting up with Jack Wilson’s bs anymore. Wilson, a one time All-Star (because he somehow had 200+ hits that year. How did that happen?), is currently batting a mediocre .256.
Izturis, 27, was batting .246 with 11 doubles and eight RBIs in 65 games while sharing shortstop duties with Ryan Theriot in Chicago. Previously, he was an All-Star under manager Jim Tracy with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005.
Both Wilson and Izturis are one time All-Stars who are batting around .250. However, Izturis was splitting time in Chicago, while J-Wil is the primary shortstop in the ‘Burgh.
But here’s the kicker. Wilson is int the final two years of his deal, and he is still owed $14 mil, making him the team’s highest paid player. Batting .256 for that money is not acceptable. This sounds a little Jason Kendall-esque.
Move Wilson’s salary. Pronto. I don’t care how good he is defensively, his offense sucks. And last time we got rid of a crappy defensive/good offensive player, Aramis Ramirez went to the Cubs. That hasn’t worked out well for us at all. Wilson’s time in black and gold (and sometimes red) should be up.
