Bucs may be deadline buyers

PITTSBURGH -- The month or so leading up to the July 31 trading deadline is always a busy time for Pirates GM Dave Littlefield.
In the past few seasons, other teams have contacted the Bucs' GM hoping to add a veteran to their rosters in anticipation of a playoff run. And while those calls haven't stopped, Littlefield's response to them is a little different this time around.

"I think there is a general feeling in the industry of, 'Let's check in with Pittsburgh. Maybe they're going in the same direction that they have the last couple of years,'" said Littlefield. "We relay that we're not."

It's not that Littlefield isn't open-minded about a deal, it's just that he's in a better position both financially and talent-wise now than he was during his previous years in Pittsburgh. There is no dire need to trade any of his high-priced players.

What could also be different about this summer is that the Pirates might be in a position to be buyers rather than sellers at the deadline. However, despite the team's recent surge to the .500 mark, Littlefield isn't sure they are at that point yet.

"Are we playing better? Sure," said Littlefield. "Do I want to be in that position to be a buyer? Absolutely. That's what we hope to have happen. But you've got to deal in reality. We're on a high, if you will, having played well the last four or five weeks. You've got to be objective with where you're at."

And what if the Pirates continue to play at their current level and remain within shouting distance of a Wild Card berth?

"You can come up with 10 different scenarios as to when you should be buyers or sellers. The biggest factor that will be driving us is our record and how we're playing as a team," said Littlefield. "It's hard to say where it all goes. We still have four or five weeks before we get to that point."

Littlefield also enters this with a chip he'd never had before -- the financial resources to add approximately $4 million to the payroll.

"It's definitely helpful," said Littlefield. "It's certainly nice to have."

Perez vs. Perez and Cota: Almost lost in the aftermath of the Pirates 18-2 pounding of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday night was an odd confrontation in the top of the fourth inning between Pirates pitcher Oliver Perez, catcher Humberto Cota and Devil Rays veteran first baseman Eduardo Perez.

Eduardo Perez was annoyed by the pitcher's trademark "praying mantis" delivery and shouted something to out to the mound. Cota took offense at the batter yelling at his starter.

"He was just trying to get on Oliver saying, 'Stop all of the stupid things,' about the praying mantis Oliver sometimes does," said Cota. "I just didn't like it. I stood up and said, 'If you've got a problem with that and a problem with Oliver, you've got a problem with me.'"

Oliver Perez said he didn't even hear what Eduardo Perez was yelling.

"I don't know what he said," Perez. "I was trying to focus on the game and not think about what he said."

Cota wasn't buying his pitcher's story. He believes the hard-throwing southpaw reached back for a little something extra on the next pitch -- a called strike three on a mid-90 mph fastball that brought the 31,113 fans at PNC Park to their feet.

"Oliver probably got fired up with that and struck him out," said Cota.

The Pirates went on to outscore Tampa Bay, 15-2, after the incident.

"That confrontation with [Eduardo] Perez pumped us up," said Cota. "We've got this mentality that nobody is coming into our house and kick[ing] our butts down. We're going to fight back. We don't care if it's the Devil Rays or the Cardinals. We've got to play everybody the same way."

Outside the box: Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon came out to talk to home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman in between innings following the incident, but he wasn't looking for a clarification of the incident.

"I didn't ask him for an explanation," said McClendon. "[Breckman] tried to offer one, but they were speaking Spanish. He didn't know any more than I did."

However, McClendon did want to know why Eduardo Perez was granted three timeouts during his at-bat. McClendon said that the umpires informed managers during a recent discussion at the Winter Meetings that the practice of calling timeouts after two strikes would no longer be permitted without a valid reason.

"[Eduardo Perez] did it three times with no apparent reason to call a timeout. That was my concern," said McClendon. "It was agreed that umpires were not going to be granting timeouts. At what point do we stop granting timeouts just so a guy can step out and get back in the box? It doesn't make sense. This is not the first time it's happened to Oliver."

McClendon admits that he hasn't seen the rule enforced much in the past two seasons, mostly because it only seems to happen when Perez is pitching, hoping to get the young lefty out of his rhythm.

"I haven't seen guys call timeout consistently unless it's Oliver Perez in there," said McClendon.

"Other teams are always looking for an edge. But I don't think it bothers Oliver."

Hot homestand: With a win on Sunday, the Pirates would have their first 10-win homestand since going 10-4 at Three Rivers Stadium from July 12-22, 1984.

The Bucs' consecutive series wins against the Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Devil Rays have been highlighted by outstanding all-around play. In the first 12 games of the homestand, Pittsburgh batted .296 as a team and scored 68 runs, while posting a sparkling 2.39 ERA.

"We put ourselves in a position [Sunday] to be 10-3 on this homestand. That's just phenomenal," said McClendon.

"It's already a great homestand. We can top it off and make it fantastic."

On deck: The Pirates will begin their highly-anticipated three-game series at Yankee Stadium beginning on Tuesday night. Right-hander Kip Wells (5-4, 3.39), who has allowed just one run in 14 2/3 innings over his last two starts, will taken on Yankees veteran Mike Mussina (6-4, 4.33).

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/