What with Will Middlebrooks' season-ending injury, Pedro Ciriaco has found a home as Boston's starting 3B man. Since he's getting regular playing time again, it's time to bring this thread out of the mothballs.

After going 2 for 4 with a double, 2 RBIs, and a RS in Boston's 4-3 win Friday night, Super Ciriaco is hitting .349, with 18 RS, 9 doubles, 2 triples, a HR, 14 RBIs, 9 SBs, and an .836 OPS, after 126 ABs.

Holden Keeps waiting for the wheels to fall off. Meanwhile, Super Ciriaco is going to help lead the re-vamped Red Sox to their new era of greatness.

I found it interesting that despite all the flak you took here (from myself included), Scorp managed to write this on his site:

**I’m not a big believer in Pedro Ciriaco’s success in Boston. He has a .333/.345/.463 line in 108 at-bats. Ciriaco never had over a .741 OPS at any level in the minors. The numbers might not be legit, but what if they are? What if they’re close? The Pirates had Ciriaco last year. They sent him back and forth about 100 times between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Yet he only received 33 at-bats. And that included time in September. The team was out of it in September. They were also about to move on from Ronny Cedeno. So why not give Ciriaco a shot to see what he could do? If he does end up being legit (again, I doubt it), then the Pirates are going to look foolish giving at-bats to Ronny Cedeno in September, in a losing season, right before they cut him loose in the off-season.

aptlynamedBuc,

Ciriaco most assredly should have been retained and should have been given the real opporunity to be the Pirate's SS.

I've been saying for a while Hurdle is not inclined to use speed and stolen bases. We have the legs to be effective. Ciriaco represented that strategy. There was a reason Ciriaco made the initial roster that has more to do with his speed. Hurdle did not use him much and when he did he was productive. Whether or not Hurdle may have been eyeing Barmes even last year could have also been a factor in not retaining Ciriaco.

Ciriaco is batting .349 in his time with the Bosox so far. .349!!!!!

He is effectively in the infield, outfield and DH'ing. He has 9 steals in 9 attempts. The Bosox are also near the bottom in MLB in steals and attempts.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2012.shtml

Ciriaco is third on the Sox in steals with 9. Pedoria and Aviles have 12 and 11.

The 'Green Light' idea is really more of a theory or conjecture. The way the pitcher holds the runner on and tries to pick him off there is also a matter of execution that probably produces a successful pick off more often than not. Stealing a base is often more successful with an executable strategy.
Yes, it could be random and still be a success. However...............

If you have a lefty at the plate and a man at first, even if it is Ricky Henderson, you could easily tell the runner you are going to swing in front of the catcher on the next pitch . YOU will steal the base. I've seen batters swing on a pitch out to get the man over. When I played ball we worked on strategy like that at the college level.

It is not that Hurdle is not one of the best baseball men we have had since the days of Harding Peterson. He is. However he is also working on many fronts that may be more of his experience.
I'd say the strategy of making every pitch count and the obviously limited success we have had without running crazy is more managable at this point of our voyage.

Mark my words, the Pirates should be and at some point will become reminiscent of the old Gas House Cardinals we have heard about. You combine that missing strategy with the streaking offense we have and the Pirates might dominate.

BEAT 'EM BUCCOS

""I found it interesting that despite all the flak you took here (from myself included), Scorp managed to write this on his site:""

Scorp pretty much nailed how I feel about Ciriaco. But last September aside, Huntington had Ciriaco on the 40-man roster. And he had options, so it wasn't like Ciriaco had to start the 2012 season on the 25-man roster.

I've never understood the Barmes signing. I've always felt that between d'Arnaud, Mercer, Ciriaco, and Navarro, the Pirates had enough at SS to get through the 2012 season, while having someone from that group emerge that would exceed Barmes' career average production of .249 BA, .687 OPS, and 76 OPS+. And it was obvious that even Barmes himself wasn't going to reach his average production this year, since he was going to call a pitcher's park home for the 1st time in his career.

Although, I never expected Barmes to be THIS bad. He's averaged 35 walks in the 3 years prior to this one, and hitter's park or pitcher's park, it's still 60' 6" from the pitching rubber to home. How his plate disclipline went completely to heII in one season is a mystery to me.

But the point is, the odds were pretty good that between d'Arnaud (age 25), Mercer (age 25), Ciriaco (age 26), and Navarro (age 24), someone was going to step up, given the opportunity. And then, SS is solved for the foreseeable future. All the Barmes signing was going to do, best case scenario, was delay the inevitable search for a long-term SS solution.

Which, IMO, was best done while the myriad bodies were in place for such a search.

And I know signing Barmes didn't directly lead to Ciriaco being taken off the 40-man roster. That actually occured about 2 weeks after the Barmes signing. But still, you'd have though Huntington had better choices of players to remove from the roster than Ciriaco.

By the way, Super Ciriaco went 2 for 5 with a BB and a RS, during Boston's 10-9 meltdown last night. That raises Super Ciriaco's BA to .351, and his OPS to .839.

'''I've never understood the Barmes signing.'''

Hurdle wanted Barmes. It really is that simple. Barmes may be a mistake if we fall short of all unmentioned goals. He'd be more like Hurdle's strike one. Then again the season is just now warming up.

I'm serious. It has been a long time since the Pirates have been in a pennant race. Barmes has at least been there.

This time of year the game starts to become something much different. You have players who you absolutely expect zero production from. Fellows who have nothing to lose. BUT they literally just come out of no where and make things happen.

The race and then the playoffs to te World Series is ALL THAT MATTERS.

Maybe Barmes will be alright.

Maybe we will see Hurdle in ST 2013 with a visible leash around his neck.

Thank you for keeping this thread alive. A thread that I started during Spring Training while flipping channels and just so happen to catch Ciriaco score from 2B on a bunt in a Grapefruit League game. I mean the bunt was fielded cleanly, and Ciriaco broke for home on the throw to 1B.

It just goes to show that when you have a .361 MLB career hitter with your organization, that you HAVE to give him the opportunity to reduce to the mean, because there are some players that hit better at the MLB level than in the minors. The FO did not give him that opportunity when they were going to release the starting shortstop anyway, and now Pedro has just 18 hits less than Barmes in 195 less at-bats.

Another example of our outstanding talent evaluators.

Neal's a great GM. Bob's a great owner. We have a great club.

Are you sure??

Well today in the Boston game Pedro Ciriaco went 3/5 with 2 rs, 2 RBI, 1K, 1 error while hitting his 2nd HR of the season, a 2 run shot in the 5th while playing 3rd base.

To me i don't really care if Ciriaco maintains his average and overall good play for the Red Sox. What gets my attention is that the Pirates did not give him a legitimate shot to play SS. Anybody who watched last season's quizzical "Ciriaco is up, Ciriaco is back in AAA, Ciriaco is up and sitting on the bench for long stretches" run had to be able to read the writing on the wall.

Hurdle had somebody in mind to play SS in 2012 and he, and the Pirates, did Ciriaco a disservice in they way they handled it imo. IF Ciriaco develops and the Pirates pay for 2 years of this BArmes garbage production the Buccos it is another telling sign of poor player evaluation and general stupidity by the Buccos.

To further stick in Nutting's craw is that Ciriaco would have been a whole lot cheaper to have on the squad....just saying....

Well said, Lurkers. Golf clap to you.

After going 0 for 3 in today's 5-1 Boston win, Super Ciriaco is hitting .353, and OPSing .855.

He's a bum!!!! they should trade him to Pittsburgh.

That'd be funny, if it didn't already happen just 2 years ago.

lurkingBuc,

You keep blaming Nutting. I'm telling you Hurdle wanted Barmes. Hurdle decided Ciriaco just was not part of the solution.

As fas Nutting goes AFAIC if he gave up $10.5 million for Barmes all Hurdle has to do is say _____ 10 yrs, 260 million and it would not make Nutting break a sweat.

It is Hurdle's team.

BEAT 'EM BUCCOS

Pedro Ciriaco went 1 for 4 with his 10th SB in Boston's 6-5 loss to the Angels Tuesday night.

Ciriaco is 1 for so far tonight at Fenway and leads all MLB starters in hitting with a .349 BA!

I'm just kidding but what an interesting thread Ciriaco made on our PMB.

I will update my Aaron 'Boog' Baker thread sometime soon.

don't forget Frank. He's great too!

Well, fellow Ciriacolites, the bloom might be coming off the rose a bit. Super Ciriaco went 0 for 4 with 4 LOB in Boston's 5-2 loss Thursday. Ciriaco is now 2 for his last 16, as his BA has fallen to .336, and his OPS to .809.

The Red Sox are in the middle of a West Coast swing. They just got swept by the Angels, and they now face the red-hot A's, then travel to the resurgent Mariners. So, times might be tough in Ciriacoville, over the next week. We'll see how he responds.