On the Astros site, they call it acquiring three from Philadelphia:

The Houston Astros today acquired outfielder Michael Bourn, third baseman Michael Costanzo, and right-handed pitcher Geoff Geary from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett.

…

“One of our goals coming into the offseason was to find a quality speed centerfielder who could hit at the top of the order and give us a spark,” said Wade. “Bourn is an outstanding young player who will make an immediate impact and should be productive for a long time. Plus, his addition allows us to move Hunter Pence to right field, where he will continue to grow into the All-Star caliber player that we know he’s capable of becoming.”

More importantly, Bourn coming to the NLC will give Reds’ broadcaster Steve Stewart yet more chances to make one of his favorite jokes:

You could say he wasn’t born yesterday…but he was.

The Pirates finally ended the managerial suspense today when they named John Russell as the next guy to try to right the ship. From the press release:

The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that John Russell has been hired as the 38th manager in team history. The announcement was made by senior vice president and general manager Neal Huntington.

Russell, 46, spent the last two seasons as the Triple-A manager in the Philadelphia organization. He was named the International League Manager of the Year after guiding Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Northern Division title in 2006. Russell, who served as manager at the 2007 International League All-Star Game, managed Ottawa last season.

There’s also a letter to the fans from the general manager. Letters from the general manager? That won’t last.

Dear Pirates fans:

I am extremely excited to officially announce today that we have hired John Russell as the new manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. John’s hiring is another significant step in the process of changing the culture of this organization to a culture of pride, passion and excellence.

Throughout the process it became clear that John was the top choice to lead our ballclub. His positive energy, intense passion for the game and strong managerial experience set him apart from every other potential candidate we considered.

John has been extremely successful getting the most out of his players in his 10-plus years of managing. During his Minor League managing career, John was a two-time Manager of the Year and twice selected by Baseball America as a top managerial prospect.

John is a great teacher of the game, an exhaustive communicator and tireless worker. He will hold himself, the coaching staff and our players accountable for being the most prepared and hardest working club in Major League Baseball. He will ensure that our players continue to improve at the Major League level and play with the pride and passion we, and you the fans, expect of them.

He brings a focused intensity to the managerial role and to our clubhouse. I am extremely confident in John and his abilities to manage our ballclub and instill in our players the sense of pride they should take in playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He shares our vision of how we will return the Pirates to a consistent winner.

Thank you for your continued support of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sincerely,

Neal Huntington

My favorite part is where he qualified “John has been extremely successful” with “getting the most out of his players.” That can only say good things. And as if that weren’t enough, this original sentiment always turns out to be true about new managers:

Speaking to reporters at PNC Park on Monday, Russell, 46, used the words “accountability,” “discipline,” “pride” and “passion.” Those were adjectives Russell believes will be attached to the club moving forward, and are words that Huntington believe already describe the man that he brought in to replace Jim Tracy.

Pat at Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke fails to be outraged:

I can imagine that a lot of people’s thoughts today run along the lines of, “We looked for a month and we ended up with this guy?” The truth is, most managers are incredibly similar.

While Jake at Bucco Blog takes a somewhat firmer stance:

Some will suggest the proper thing to do would be to give Russell a chance before blasting him, but since he’s already proven to be total garbage in Pittsburgh, why wait?

And what do I think, you might ask, seeing as I’m supposed to be a Pirates blogger these days. Well, I’m just so psyched to see that they picked up Phil Dumatrait, I can’t even think of anything else.

All you Reds fans who bought the Dumatrait jersey (or more likely, all you Bats fans who bought a Dumatrait jersey) will be glad to know that you’ll still get to see your fair share of the youngish lefty now that the Pirates have picked him up off waivers:

The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced they have claimed left-handed pitcher Phil Dumatrait (pronounced “doo-MAH-tray”) off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds. The announcement was made by Pirates Senior Vice President and General Manager, Neal Huntington.

Dumatrait, 26, spent a majority of the 2007 season with Triple-A Louisville, where he went 10-6 with a 3.53 ERA in 22 starts. He made his Major League debut with the Reds on Aug. 2 at Washington and made six starts with Cincinnati over the final two months of the season, pitching a career-high 6.0 innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers on Aug. 9.

Originally selected by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft (22nd player chosen overall), Dumatrait was named Boston’s Minor League Pitcher-of-the-Year in 2002 after going 8-7 with a 2.88 ERA in 26 starts with Augusta (A) and Sarasota (A). He was traded to the Reds organization, along with cash considerations and a player to be named (LHP Tyler Pelland), in exchange for right-handed pitcher Scott Williamson on July 29, 2003. Dumatrait missed the 2004 season after having Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on April 12 of that year. In 145 career Minor League games (142 starts), he has gone 45-44 with a 3.33 ERA

To make room for Dumatrait on the 40-man roster, the Pirates outrighted catcher Carlos Maldonado to Triple-A Indianapolis.

How considerate for the press release to provide a pronunciation guide for Dumatrait’s name. They ought to provide one for poor Paul Maholm, who seems to be under the impression that his last name has three sylables. Not that I can talk: I tried to spell the word “pronounciation.”

Another NLC platoon catcher is off the market now that the Astros have resigned catcher Brad Ausmus. Good thing, too; where would Houston be without his three homers? (Via AstroCast)

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros announced today that the club has re-signed catcher Brad Ausmus to a one-year, $2-million contract, plus incentives. The announcement was made by General Manager Ed Wade.

Ausmus, 38, hit .235 (82×349) with three home runs, 17 doubles and 25 RBI in 117 games with the Astros in 2007. He recorded his 100th career stolen base on July 27th, becoming the 21st catcher all-time to reach the 100-steal plateau. Defensively, he ranked fourth among National League catchers with a .995 fielding percentage, committing only four errors in 814 total chances. He made his franchise-record eighth Opening Day start at catcher for the Astros in 2007, breaking a tie with Alan Ashby.

“Brad has had a solid big league career and, despite the fact that he’s played for a couple of other teams, he considers himself to be a lifelong Astro,” said Wade. “We’re very pleased to have him back for 2008. We know that he can make a significant contribution on the field, and we know the impact he has in our clubhouse. Additionally, he can help mentor a young catcher like J.R. Towles, which will make both J.R. and the Astros better.”

Originally selected by the Yankees in the 48th round of the June 1987 draft, Ausmus has a .252 (1490×5905) career batting average with 256 doubles, 76 home runs, 572 RBI and 101 stolen bases in 1,833 career games. He won his third Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2006 after winning consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Awards from 2001-02 and ranks 12th all-time with 1,780 career games caught. His 12,040 career putouts ranks second all-time, trailing only Ivan Rodriguez (12,504). Ausmus has spent all or parts of 15 seasons with three teams, including the Astros (1997-98 and 2001-07), San Diego (1993-96) and Detroit (1996, 1999-2000).

Ausmus is the Houston franchise’s all-time leader in both games (1,166) and starts (1,057) at catcher and leads the Majors in games played, assists and total chances at the position since 1995. He also was a member of the American League All-Star team in 1999 while playing for Detroit. In 35 career postseason games, Ausmus has hit .245 (26×106) with five doubles, three home runs and seven RBI.

An era officially came to an end in Cincinnati this week as lefthanded pitcher Eric Milton, for three years an icon for the Reds’ starting pitching woes, filed for free agency on Tuesday.

Milton was signed by former GM Dan O’Brien to a three-year, $25.5 million free agent contract in December of 2004. The payoff for the Reds? A 16-27 record, a 5.83 ERA in 66 starts, and a league-leading 40 homers allowed in 2005. Does anyone still wonder why one of the very first things Bob Castellini did when he took over the club was to show O’Brien the door?

A few weeks ago, one of the mainstream national sports magazines did a preview of this winter’s free agent market and actually listed Milton among the top 20 free agent pitchers likely to be available this offseason. That speaks volumes about the quality of the pitching that is likely to be available to the Reds (or any other team for that matter) via free agency this winter. You know the pickin’s are going to be mighty slim when a guy with an 0-4 record and 5.17 ERA in 2007 who is recovering from a torn ligament in his pitching elbow is one of the top 20 pitchers to be fought over by 30 major league teams, most of whom could use an upgrade in the pitching department.

So, any significant additions to the Reds’ pitching staff for 2008 are most likely going to have to come through trades. Or maybe new manager Dusty Baker pulls a few rabbits out of his nice, spanking-new red hat (Kerry Wood became a free agent on Monday and Mark Prior is expected to become one if the Cubs don’t offer him arbitration). Or maybe GM Wayne Krivsky has a couple more bargain-basement acquisitions up his sleeve. Or maybe all of the above.

Baseball’s winter meetings are still a month away, but there should be some big news on the Reds’ player personnel front in the next week or so. The Reds must exercise Adam Dunn’s $13 million option for next season by Sunday if they wish to do so, and Eddie Guardado’s $3 million option must be exercised by Friday. Then there is Scott Hatteberg’s $1.85 million option, and of course, the $1.3 million option on longtime RHM favorite Javy Valentin.

One thing’s for sure – Baker is now officially on the job. His contractual obligation to ESPN ended when the World Series did. On Tusday, the Reds named the two new members of the coaching staff. Chris Speier becomes Baker’s new bench coach, as well as the Reds’ new infield coach. Juan “Porky” Lopez takes over as bullpen coach. Both of these guys worked for Baker on other teams, as did pitching coach Dick Pole, so Dusty will have some familiar faces around as he bends to the task of turning the Reds into a force in the NL Central.

HMZ