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Don’t Expect Radhames Liz to Work Out with Pittsburgh Pirates

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Pittsburgh Pirates Radhames Liz

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In recent years the Pittsburgh Pirates have become a team where pitchers go to resurrect their careers. Pitching coach Ray Searage has helped a few guys return to form in the last two years and the Pirates are hoping he does so again this season. The team recently signed 31-year old pitcher Radhames Liz to a two year deal worth $3 million. After Searage’s success, it is understandable why Pittsburgh wants to continue banking on him working his magic. Unfortunately for the Bucs, this strategy does not look likely to repeat itself with Liz.

Pirates fans are becoming ever hopeful that when the front office brings in a new pitcher, he will be the team’s next reclamation project. Why shouldn’t that be expected after this past season, where three of those reclamation projects performed admirably? Those three pitchers were Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez and Vance Worley, all of whom had a lot of success after coming to the Steel City. The difference between Liriano, Volquez, Worley and Liz is that the first three had experienced success in previous years before joining the Pirates.

Liriano had a couple good years with the Minnesota Twins before he went to the Chicago White Sox and eventually to Pittsburgh. There was a time when he was considered one of the best young pitchers in the MLB and part of a devastating duo with Johan Santana. Pittsburgh had something to work with when Liriano was signed.

The same goes for Volquez, who was a former All-Star pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds. Despite some down time, with the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pirates knew that the potential was there and felt comfortable working with Volquez.

Worley doesn’t fit the same bill as the other two guys. He is younger than both Liriano and Volquez and did not have a ton of success before coming to the Pirates. Since Worley is young, he was able to be molded into a successful starter last season. There is a good chance that another year with Searage can help Worley continue his impressive growth.

Liz does not fall into the same category as those other pitchers at all. He is a guy who has been in baseball since 2006 but has only played in 28 major league games. The last time Liz faced major league batters was back in 2009. The history is not there for him and the Pirates should know that. All of Liz’s success has come with the Baltimore Orioles’ and the Padres’ minor league affiliates and in the Korea Baseball Organization. This move does not feel the same as previous pitcher acquisitions by the Pirates. It feels more like Pittsburgh is grasping at straws to find the next Liriano or Volquez and this move does not look like it will work out that way.

The Pirates seem to be enamored by Liz’s long, lanky frame and his high-heat fastball. Liz has a very unique body type, which is what helps him get so much speed on his delivery. When he stands with his arms at his sides, his finger tips reach below his knees. The torque created from that arm length helps his fastball reach the upper 90s. The Pirates recently traded away last year’s high-heat reliever Justin Wilson, and could hope that Liz will be able to replace him in the bullpen.

Any way that this move is dissected, it looks like Pittsburgh is trying to find the next Liriano and failing. The other pitcher reclamation projects for the Pirates have had prior major league success, but Liz has been dreadful outside of Korea and the minors. Fans have to hope for the best, but right now, this move looks like a swing and a miss by Pittsburgh.

Andrew Lenz is a Blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RealAndyLenz, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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