Bye Bye Byrdie (?)

[Benjamin Grimm]

I tried, but couldn't find an image of Dr. Doom talking about Droopy Herrera (or whatever the hell his name is.)

[G-Fafif]

Ken Rosenthal reporting Black is the new orange and blue.

[bmfc1]

Vic "Is The New" Black

[Edgy MD]

It didn't take long to name that player to be named.

[Edgy MD]

Byrdie batting cleanup for Pittsburgh tonight.

[Zvon]

Edgy MD wrote: Byrdie batting cleanup for Pittsburgh tonight.

All the more reason to root for the Bucs in the post.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

The walks from the Black kid are a little high... but the strikeout numbers (12+ per 9 over the last two whole seasons) and velocity (95-98 with bite, and a Harvey-hard slider that flashes 90)?

[Zvon]

Byrd bats fourth and hits his 22nd homer. How about that?

[MFS62]

I'm pretty sure Vic was named by his parents when he was born. Why did he have to be named later? Shouldn't it be "Player to be Identified Later"?

Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

The teams may not be allowed to publicly name the guy, but who's to say they can't silently lip-synch his name in front of a lip-reader, or indulge in some leaky charades?

[Frayed Knot]

MFS62 wrote: I'm pretty sure Vic was named by his parents when he was born. Why did he have to be named later? Shouldn't it be "Player to be Identified Later"?

Dick (don't me me Richie) Allen and Albert (don't call me Joey) Belle were players to be named (by themselves) later.

Vic "Is The New" Black

It didn't take long to name that player to be named.

Or nicknamed.

[Frayed Knot]

Sickels chimes in on Vic Black now that he's been ID'd as the PtbNL

... Black is having a fine season down at Triple-A Indianapolis: 17 saves, 2.51 ERA in 46.2 innings, 63 strikeouts, 21 walks, only 28 hits allowed. He's held International League hitters to a .169 average. He's had a rough patch over his last few games, giving up three runs in three innings with four walks, but overall it has been a very successful season.
The Pirates got a brief look at Black in late July when he made three relief appearances out of the big league bullpen, giving up six hits, two walks, and two runs in four innings of work, fanning three.

Unlike many minor league closers, Black does not want for stuff: he has one of the best fastballs in the system, clocked as high as 101 MPH in the minors; he hit 98 during his major league trial and averaged 95. A supplemental first round pick in 2009 out of Dallas Baptist, he struggled with control problems, a substandard change-up, and persistent arm trouble early in his career and at one point looked like a bust.

He revived his career by converting to relief, posting an excellent 1.65 ERA with an 85/29 K/BB in 60 innings with 13 saves last year in Double-A, followed by consistent success this year. He's had fewer problems throwing strikes and staying healthy with relief use, doesn't have to worry about the change-up, and can just come in and blow people away for an inning or two with his fastball and a slider that can touch 90.

Black clearly has closer possibilities down the road if his command holds up. At worst he should be a good middle reliever.

[Lefty Specialist]

Victor Black ?@Vic_Black_2 20 Aug

I love how baseball embodies traits of Christianity... Hope for tomorrow and redemption from the past. #GetItTomorrow

I'm guessing Vic's faith is going to be tested soon.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Keith Law hates Black people:

Black's got a 70 fastball and maybe 35 command. Brutal delivery - one scouting director called him a "complete delivery overhaul" when he was in college - and very inconsistent slider. If he's the PTBNL, Pirate fans shouldn't be upset. Herrera's the bigger loss, and even he's three years away.

[Edgy MD]

If he's the project among the two, gimme a project with a three-digit fastball.

[MFS62]

If you were having deja vu, you were right.
Didn't see the same thing earlier in this thread.
Duly deleted.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Rick Reed more. Wally Post less.

[MFS62]

Oops. I'll delete it.
Thanks.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Apparently, they are able to openly admit that Black is Metbound, because Sandy does as much in his new dispatch to season ticket holdas.

[seawolf17]

Interesting that Sandy named him.

Vic Black gets hit by a bus tomorrow and is out for a year -- what happens?

[Frayed Knot]

MLB.com is listing this under its 'Transactions' data so I'd have to assume this is all officially official at this point, and there's no way Sandy would be talking about it on team stationary otherwise.
Not sure why Black was the player who dare not have his name spoken two days ago but is firmly out of the closet now, but that appears to be the case. Whatever paperwork needed doing apparently done got done.

[smg58]

He must have cleared waivers, allowing the deal to be finalized now.

[Edgy MD]

Indianapolis still has two games left in their schedule, plus they're in first place, so there's a post-season for Blackie.

[batmagadanleadoff]

smg58 wrote: He must have cleared waivers, allowing the deal to be finalized now.

Most likely. Teams have 48 hours to put in a waiver claim from the time the player is waived. Black was probably put on waivers during negotiations between the Mets and the Pirates, which probably began two days ago.

[batmagadanleadoff]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: smg58 wrote: He must have cleared waivers, allowing the deal to be finalized now. Most likely. Teams have 48 hours to put in a waiver claim from the time the player is waived. Black was probably put on waivers during negotiations between the Mets and the Pirates, which probably began two days ago.

I suppose that the Mets were also allowed to put in a claim for the waived Black. Because of the Mets poor W-L record, there were only a few teams that had priority over the Mets to block their claim.

[Edgy MD]

He's not on the Indians roster (unlike d'Arnaud's brother), so I guess he's Met property.

[batmagadanleadoff]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: He must have cleared waivers, allowing the deal to be finalized now. Most likely. Teams have 48 hours to put in a waiver claim from the time the player is waived. Black was probably put on waivers during negotiations between the Mets and the Pirates, which probably began two days ago. I suppose that the Mets were also allowed to put in a claim for the waived Black. Because of the Mets poor W-L record, there were only a few teams that had priority over the Mets to block their claim.

This got me to just now realize an inherent unfairness in MLB's waiver claim system. If more than one team puts in a claim for a waived player, claim priority is determined as follows: The claiming team with the worst record in the same league as the waiving team is awarded the claim. If no team from the same league as the waiving team claims the waived player, then the claim is awarded to the claiming team with the worst record in the other league. This is unfair to the National League because the AL has two more teams than the NL does.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Not anymore it don't, fella. (Hence, the Astros carrying a DH, and the interleague-every-day thing.)

[batmagadanleadoff]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Not anymore it don't, fella. (Hence, the Astros carrying a DH, and the interleague-every-day thing.)

Plus, it was the NL with the extra team. So the waiver system was unfair to AL teams. Can you blame a fella for not thinking of the Astros as an AL team?

[Edgy MD]

Dilson goes 2-3 with a hit-by-pitch, two runs, and the go-ahead RBI in his debut with Savannah. That's half as many runs as Justin Turner.