The Ex-Pirate Factor

So the general consensus is that the Cubs made Pirates GM Dave Littlefield look D-U-M-B last year with a pair of trades that netted third-baseman Aramis Ramirez and two-month rentals of Kenny Lofton (now in the thick of a Kenny-or-Bernie? debate in New York) and Randall Simon (now back to his sausage-wackin' ways with the Pirates) for perpetually-injured non-prospect Bobby Hill, strikeout king Jose Hernandez and some other prospect that wasn't named Felix Pie and therefore wasn't worth it (Frank Brooks?). After the dust settled, it pretty much amounted to a Ramirez-for-Hill swap, which is just as one-sided as the Jon Lieber-for-Brant Brown trade and -- come to think of it -- every deal the Cubs and Pirates have agreed to in recent history. But that's what you get when you share a bed with your division rival, right?

Anyway, the "Ex-Pirate Factor" carried the Cubs a long way in 2003. Let's see how the "Ex-Pirate Factor" is helping the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 after picking up three Pirates cast-offs: Reggie Sanders (who cashed in after a 1 year deal), Julian Tavarez (who, um, also cashed in after a 1 year deal) and Stinkin' Mike Lincoln (who the Pirates inexplicably protected on their 40-man roster to the exclusion of five Rule V losses and STILL dumped).

R. Sanders 49ab 4hr 13rbi 4sb .306ba .358obp .633slg
M. Lincoln 2-1 W-L 9.0 IP 8.00 k/9 1.00 ratio 4.00 era
J. Tavarez 0-0 W-L 4.0 IP 11.25 k/9 2.50 ratio 9.00era

Ok, ok, so two week's worth of stats don't really support a quantitative analysis, especially in the case of the two pitchers. Sanders (like the rest of the team's offense) is off to a fast start, Lincoln has vultured a couple of wins in short relief and Tavarez -- who got rocked in 3 of his last 4 outings -- is throwing hard but not fooling hitters. No surprises. These three (and former Pirates 2B Tony Womack, as well) are wearing red because Jim Leyland is a Cardinals scout and went with some known commodities. So no "Ex-Pirate Factor" mojo working here -- at least not yet.

Wouldn't it be cool if padding your bench with ex-Pirates worked as a reverse-curse, though? It would certainly make it easier for the Pirates to get fair trade for Kris Benson.