Buccos FINALLY make the deal for LaRoche

Better late than never, I guess.

The Pirates finally made the deal, tentatively, to land Adam LaRoche, while dealing away closer Mike Gonzalez. According to our colleagues at Bucs Dugout, the complete deal is Gonzalez and Brent Lillibridge for LaRoche and outfielder Jamie Romak. I'll give Littlefield credit (if true) for not giving up players that were reported to be included such as Duffy, Maholm, or Castillo.

Several different stories spawn out of the deal finally being made;

• Tough to see Mike go. Good guy, reportedly a good teammate and clubhouse guy. Not a Mariano Rivera-like shutdown closer, but pretty damn close. 24 for 24 last year, obviously perfect, although many of those were pretty hairy during those 9th innings.
• Tough to lose a closer like that. However, the Bucs were going absolutely nowhere unless they at least pulled the trigger on this trade. Shit, they still might not be going anywhere. Personally, my goal for the team is just to finish over .500 for a change.
• So does this annoint Solomon Torres as the defacto Bucs' closer. Not a bad selection at all. Torres won't be your typical 98 MPH closer, but I love his sinker, that in itself gives the job to him.
• LaRoche is the perfect PNC Park hitter. I used to think Brian Giles was that type of player, but in retrospect I don't think he took advantage of it as much as I expected. LaRoche has a little bit more of a golf swing for a lefty, perfect for the short porch in right and the Clemente wall.
• I would imagine that puts LaRoche in the cleanup position, with Bay 3rd and Nady 5th. Now if we can only get Jason to cut down on the K's this year....
• I continue to wonder if this was spawned by the "Bob Nutting coming out of hibernation party".
• Come on McClatchy, quit stalling, when's Adam's bobblehead night, you need another sellout.

Post-Gazette: LaRoche/Gonzalez deal pending Gonzo's physical

Well, it appears that Dave has blinked.

According to the Post-Gazette, the deal to send Adam LaRoche to the Bucs for Mike Gonzalez ispotentially a done deal, pending the Braves' physical of Gonzo's left elbow.

The Bucs shut Gonzo down in late August because of tendinitis in that elbow, and although interviews with him late in the season indicated that he felt good, the Bucs erred on the side of caution and did not pitch him for the remainder of the year. In fact, again per the PG, Gonzo was pitching in side sessions by late September.

There is no further word on the possible inclusion of Kyle Davies and Jose Castillo to the deal. If you ask me, they can have him too.

Besides the LaRoche/Gonzalez deal, we continue to hear about Ryan Church from the Nats, and new today is unconfirmed reports about the Bucs pursuing Adrian Beltre from Seattle. Beltre makes 12 million clams a year, not so sure about that rumor.

Winter Meetings Update: Might as well go to Epcot, Dave

That's right, fellow Bucco faithful. You ain't missed a damn thing.

[[ By the way, thanks to the Bucco Blog for the pic, couldn't resist. ]]

And judging by the ranting of the thousands of self-appointed experts around the baseball blogosphere, ain't much going to be happening when these guys go back home later this week.

I will admit this right up front, if all of this "no trading" banter that's been reportedly coming out of the Bucs' camp is some type of reverse psychological B.S. and actually leads to a decent trade for the Bucs, I'll be the first one to raise my hand and give all the props in the world to Dave and the boys.

But until that actually happens, just what the hell is their mindset in these negotiations ??

You've been saying for a few months that you covet a power hitting 1B and RF, and a RHP.

OK, how do you expect to get ANYTHING decent if you supposedly WON'T trade any of your four starting pitchers, nor your closer ??

Has Humberto Cota suddenly become a hot trade commodity that we weren't aware of ??

I've really been trying to take all of these rumors and their supposed comments from the GM's with a grain of salt, but the more you hear of the same old song and dance, the more it ticks you off.

So anyway, I've heard about;

• Hawpe for Maholm straight up (as part of a 3 way with the Cubs as well)
• Hawpe for Maholm AND Gorzy (yeah, right)
• LaRoche for Gonzo
• LaRoche for Gonzo and Castillo
• Negotiations with FA Trot Nixon
• Gonzo or Torres to the Sox for ???

Sorry folks, the pessimism just continues for me.