Pirates to address key areas – MLB News
Pittsburgh Pirates’ trade talks with the Boston Red Sox have commanded attention and interest. Reports indicate that the Pirates are going to get four players while the Red Sox will have two players in exchange.
But that which has been the most interesting aspect of the news is the Red Sox’ bid to get Joel Hanrahan. The Bucs closer in 2012 Major League Baseball won praise for his outstanding performance throughout the season.
The trade is expected to be completed after the Christmas. Bringing in Hanrahan essentially means there will be questions over the role of Andrew Bailey, who was the Sox’ closer in 2012, but was out of lineup for many games due to his injury.
Nonetheless, with Hanrahan to be traded soon, the Pirates are ready to use Jason Grilli as the Bucs’ closer in 2013. After having a successful season as setup man, and being a constant support to Hanrahan, Grilli is all set to assume the role.
The Pirates, on the other hand, are coming with an altogether different preparation for the upcoming season. Part of the strategy was to make moves in the offseason that can help address the areas which faced problems this past season.
One addition, quite interestingly, is to have player-development philosophy wherein the controversial military-style training will be part of it. The Pirates are to employ techniques that the Navy SEALS training also uses.
Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank Coonelly had shed light on this subject during the PiratesFest after some questions were put regarding the involvement of Navy SEALS.
He said, "..we don't actually have SEALS people involved, just some of their techniques that have been used with overwhelming success by numerous industries and athletic teams. We're teaching Minor Leaguers how to push through the grind, and somehow that's
a bad thing? We want the next generation of Pittsburgh Pirates to be able to get through a 162-game season and bring the championship that you deserve back to this city."
Although the Pirates experienced downward spiral after their initial amazing performance in 2012, they want to overcome the weaknesses that cost the team.
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