Pirates Trade for Rafael Belliard

I've read a lot of analysis and thoughts from Pirates blogs discussing the Adam LaRoche trade with the Boston Red Sox. Bucs Dugout probably has the best information about Argenis Diaz, the shortstop prospect, the Pirates received.

Diaz is supposed to be an incredible defender, but even incredible defenders need to hit a little bit, and right now his line at Class AA Portland is .253/.309/.310. He's only 22, which is a reasonable age for the level, but I don't see much in his minor league profile that suggests he's ever going to hit. It might be tempting to think he's a future replacement for Jack Wilson, but it's worth remembering that even Jack Wilson hit well in the minors.

Since no one has mentioned this anywhere else, I'd like to be the first: the Pirates received the 2009 version of Rafael Belliard!



You may remember Belliard as a great glove, no-hit shortstop for the Pirates during the 1980s and Atlanta Braves in the 1990s. He played in the majors in part of 17 seasons but only had more than 300 at-bats in four of those seasons. Belliard's career stats: .221 batting average/.270 on base percentage/.259 slugging percentage. Belliard also had two career home runs. He mostly played as a defensive replacement.

Should we hope that Diaz becomes Rafael Belliard?

Your 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates

I recently found the 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates Official Magazine and Scorecard. There’s some neat facts and advertisements in the magazine including the following:

* The most expensive seats, Club Box seats, were $9.50. General Admission was $3; Youth General Admission (14 and under) was $1.

* There is an advertisement for Elby’s Family Restaurants. Are they still around or are they now Big Boy?

* In the game notes section, Darnell Coles was Pittsburgh’s top hitter during Grapefruit League play. Not mentioned in the game notes section is the nickname my brother and I had for Coles, which was “Darn It” Coles. We would say Darn It Coles after he struck out or grounded out. That happened a lot.

* While I recognize most of the names on the Pirates roster, I do not remember infielder Dave Hostetler. Thanks to Baseball Reference, I learned that Hostetler played 8 games for the Pirates in 1988, going 2-for-8 with 3 strikeouts. I guess that’s why I don’t remember him.

Rafael Belliard is listed as 5-6 and 150 pounds; John Cangelosi is listed as 5-8 and 150 pounds. I am guessing that there is not a pair of teammates that weighed less over the past 30 years. Compare that to Walter Young who played 14 games for the Orioles in 2005. His listed weight is 322 pounds!

There are beer advertisements for Busch, Iron City, Rolling Rock and Stroh’s/Stroh Light.

There is an advertisement for B-94’s Quinn & Banana. If only there were more radio stations today that have Thirsty Thursdays, Stupid Human Telephone Tricks and Friday Morning Joke Off.