Pirates get Milledge, Hanrahan from Nats in four-player deal
Baseball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired outfielder Lastings Milledge and right-handed pitcher Joel Hanrahan from Washington in a four-player deal on Tuesday.
In return, the Pirates gave up outfielder Nyjer Morgan and left-hander Sean Burnett.
"In both Hanrahan and Milledge we have acquired players with the upside to be solid to above average major league players," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "Hanrahan had a strong season in his first year as a relief pitcher in 2008 and has the arsenal to pitch in late game situations in a quality Major League bullpen. Milledge was one of the premier prospects in baseball. He is still young enough and has the tools to develop into an above average Major League player."
Milledge began the 2009 season with the Nationals, but was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse on April 14 after hitting only .167 (4-24) in seven games. He broke a finger on his right hand on May 11 while in the minors and was on a rehabilitation assignment with the Gulf Coast League Nationals when the trade took place. Milledge was originally acquired by Washington from the New York Mets for catcher Brian Schneider and Ryan Church in November of 2007.
The flamboyant outfielder, who was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft by the Mets, has yet to live up to expectations. In 260 games, he has a .261 average to go along with 25 homers, 113 runs batted in and 107 runs scored. He is expected to complete his rehab stint before heading to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Hanrahan is 0-3 with five saves and a 7.71 earned run average in 34 relief appearances this season.
Morgan was batting .277 with two home runs, 27 RBI, 39 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 71 games this season. In 157 contests, all with Pittsburgh, he is a .286 hitter with three homers, 41 RBI, 80 runs scored and 34 steals.
Burnett is 1-2 with one save and a 3.06 ERA in 38 relief outings in 2009.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Pirates shipped utilityman Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees for minor league pitcher Casey Erickson, outfielder Eric Fryer and cash considerations.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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