Some real baseball news

The return of Dejan from his winter vacation coincides with two pieces in the PG today that actually have something to do with Neal Huntington's off-season plans. Imagine that.

First up, we learn that the Pirates have inquired about Matt Clement. I've never been a big Clement fan, but it's probably true that he'd be a cheap option to fill the back end of the rotation since he's coming off of shoulder surgery. A sure thing? No. Cheap and possibly worth something in a trade if he comes around? Yes. Then again, the back end of our rotation is already plugged with a massively expensive option. Maybe Neal has something in mind for Matt Morris. I sure hope so.

Next up is Dejan's first Hot Stove report. It's about Jason Bay and Jack Wilson and whether or not they're going to be dealt this off-season. The money quote:

"No, none of our players is being actively shopped," he said.

In the same breath, though ...

"If a club calls and inquires about one of our players, we have to listen. That's just where we are."

Huntington often has repeated that the Pirates must improve their organizational depth, especially in Class AAA, even if that means making moves he feels will be "not popular."

So, none of the players are being actively shopped, Doogie's just trying to trade all of them. Got it. If I'm not mistaken, he's also got some bad grammar. He does say that Maholm, Snell, and Gorzelanny are pretty off-limits right now. Of course, there's also his speech to the other GMs about his off-season plans at the GM Meetings:

"We stood up and said that we're interested in making good baseball trades and that we need to add depth to our system."

And the meaning of "good baseball trades" was that other teams should not expect outright salary dumps?

"Exactly. For certain players, our asking price is outrageous, and we acknowledge that. We feel there are guys on this club who are a big part of our core."

DAVE LITTLEFIELD ALERT! DAVE LITTLEFIELD ALERT!