Ahoy Matey!

On July 31st, the last day for teams to be able to make non-waiver trades, the San Francisco Giants dealt veteran right-hander Matt Morris to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In return, they got young outfielder Rajai Davis from the Buckos. This was one of, if not the most, confusing trade in baseball this year. Experts could not understand why the Pirates, a rebuilding franchise, would want to obtain an aging pitcher who has not had an ERA under 4.00 since 2003. But I may have an explanation. His name is Nyjer Morgan.

Morgan made his major league debut on September 1st, and had some fairly decent success. The 27-year old rookie played in 28 games in 2007, hitting a nice .299 with a .359 on-base percentage. He also managed to swipe seven bases, while only getting caught three times.

He is not going to smack 30 home runs, and he's not going to drive in 90 runs. But over five minor league seasons, he stole a total of 190 bases, including 59 in 2006 (and his minor league career stolen base percentage...73%). So this guy can fly. He has also made his fair share of dazzling catches out in centerfield. So what he might not do with his bat, Morgan certainly makes up for with his legs and glove.

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Baseball Update:

• It's official. The Rockies are playing in October (and more than just one game). They beat the Padres on monday night in dramatic fashion. In the top of the 13th inning, the Padres had taken an 8-6 lead - and still had future Hall-of-Famer Trevor Hoffman to close out the game. But Hoffman was unable to hold the lead, and the Rockies came from behind to beat the Padres and clinch the National League Wild Card. They will face the Philadelphia Phillies; game one is in Philly on Wednesday night.


• There is a report on ESPN.com that the general manager of the Atlanta Braves has told free agent outfielder Andruw Jones that the team does not plan on re-signing the nine-time Gold Glover. Jones is expected to be one of the most coveted free agents in the market this offseason.


• Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year. This was almost a no-brainer. The slugger, who was drafted in the first round of the 1998 amateur draft by the Texas Rangers, had a career year in 2007 (after a disatorious one in 06). In 2006, Pena played in 18 games for the Boston Red Sox, finishing with only one home run and three RBIs. In 2007, he played in 148 games with the D-Rays and hit 46 home runs and drove in 121 runs! His .627 slugging percentage was second in the majors only to some guy named Alex Rodriguez.


• The National League Comeback Player of the Year was Washington Nationals first baseman Dmitri Young. Young, who was out of baseball by the end of the 2006 campaign, hit .320 with 13 home runs and drove in 74 runs on a rather surprisingly decent Nationals team. The 34-year old veteran set a career high with that batting average, as well as his .378 on base percentage.

Statistical information curtousey of baseballreference.com and ESPN.com.