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| Matt Morris has decided to retire following his release by the Pirates, according to MLB.com. Morris said, "It's over and I'm happy where I am right now. In my heart, I'm happy. At the end, it all came to a head very quickly, but I've had a great career. It was time to move on and, obviously, the Pirates felt the same way. Once you mentally turn it off, it's hard to turn it back on. When you lose your edge competing and the confidence is down, it would be hard to pitch again. I don't have to go back. It's nothing against the game, but I will enjoy being with my family for Fourth of July and stuff like that. I haven't done that in 15, 16 years. I'm looking forward to it."
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Our View: Morris went 121-92 with a 3.98 ERA over 11 seasons and memorably won 22 games in 2001. In 2008, he went 0-4 with a 2.15 WHIP and 9.67 ERA over five starts.
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| According to the Pirates team website, the organization hopes that Matt Morris' 1.2-inning performance last Saturday will not be his last moment with the Pirates.
No, there is no thought of ever sending him back to the pitcher's mound. However, the Pirates would like to welcome Morris back in some other capacity, preferably in some sort of instructional role. |
Our View:
Morris has a lot of other decisions to make before deciding on a career outside of pitching, but that part [pitching] of his future appears to be over.
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| The Pittsburgh Pirates have released RHP Matt Morris today, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Morris has made five starts, going 0-4 with an ERA of 9.67 and a WHIP of 2.15. |
Our View: The Pirates will pay Morris a bit over $10 million (a sum that includes his entire '08 salary plus a $1 million buyout of the '09 contract option) to send him off, putting LHP Phil Dumatrait into the rotation to fill the void. Dumatrait is now scheduled to start on Thursday versus Washington.
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| Matt Morris lost his fourth game of the season after allowing six runs, three earned, in 1.2 innings against the Phillies. He is now 0-4 with a 9.67 ERA. |
Our View: No one should be shocked if he is released soon. The Pirates would need to eat Morris’ big contract, but they would be better off. Morris has allowed 41 hits in 22.1 innings this season with only nine strikeouts.
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| The Pirates will not rule out buying out the contract of struggling starter Matt Morris, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But that is not the current focus of the team, as a release would force the Pirates to eat Morris' $10,037,283 salary, as well as the $1 million buyout of his 2009 option, all of which is guaranteed. Team President Frank Coonelly stated, "As an organization, we can never rule out releasing a player who cannot help the team win, even if such a release would be expensive. Our objective is to win as many games as possible and we need to have the players on the roster who will put us in the best position to win. Morris is not pitching up to his standards or our expectations, but he is still working very hard to regain his effectiveness. We are working equally hard to make him an effective member of our staff and have not given up on him." Manager John Russell added that once Morris gets his control and velocity back, he will be fine.
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Our View: The team still has faith in Morris, but that does not mean that you should too. He is 0-3 with a 9.15 ERA and 1.98 WHIP. He could improve and be effective, but he will bury your team before he gets to that point.
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| Matt Morris is off to a 0-3 start with a 9.15 ERA, but he will not be dropped from the starting rotation, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Manager John Russell commented, "We haven't even really gotten into considering pulling him from the rotation. He's working really hard with pitching coach Jeff Andrews. I did see him try to be more aggressive. We've just got to get his command of his fastball better to where he can hit his spots and work ahead of batters instead of behind."
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Our View: The team tried to trade him in the off-season but found no takers, and he still holds a $10 million salary, which is the highest in team history. His fantasy stock will continue to drop.
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| Matt Morris fell to 0-3 on the year after he was bombed for eight runs in four innings on Monday. |
Our View: How happy are the Giants that the Pirates took Morris off their hands? Morris doesn't belong on anyone's roster, not even shallow NL Only leagues at this point. Hell, he may not even be worthy of a roster spot in deep NL Only leagues with a 9.15 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP.
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| Matt Morris pitched seven innings in Thursday's loss to the Cubs, but gave up 11 hits and seven runs, four earned and five big runs in one innings. Morris was forced to go deep in the pitch count (113) because of the 36 innings that were played in this series, depleting both bullpens. |
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| Matt Morris, who entered Monday's spring outing with a 9.00 ERA, gave up eight runs, 10 hits and a walk against the Rays in just short of six innings of work. He surrendered a home run to third baseman Eric Hinske and a three-run blast to Carlos Pena. As we have mentioned before, Morris' peripherals have been on a steady trend south for the last five years and fantasy owners, even in deep NL-only formats, should avoid the right-hander.
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| Matt Morris, whose long career has had its moments of triumph and pain, is struggling this spring, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Morris currently carries a 9.00 spring ERA, but had what the team called, a highly encouraging side session Saturday, this in the aftermath of allowing the Yankees 13 hits in four innings in his previous start. Morris' peripherals have had a steady trend south for the last five years and fantasy owners, even in deep NL-only formats, should avoid the right-hander. |
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| Matt Morris was lit up by the Yankees on Wednesday as he surrendered eight runs on thirteen hits over four innings, with three strikeouts and no walks. That was a nightmarish day for him, but he is still expected to be a middle of the rotation starter. |
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| Matt Morris will pitch Thursday despite minor swelling on the edge of his right hand, the result of being struck by a line drive Saturday. The injury occurred in the first inning, but Morris pitched into the fourth and was charged with seven runs that inning. "I wanted to give the team some innings," Morris said in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Maybe it wasn't such a great idea." |
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| The Pirates acquired Matt Morris from the Giants on Tuesday in exchange for outfielder Rajai Davis and a player to be named later, the AP reports. Morris could get his first start with the Bucs as soon as Saturday if Tom Gorzelanny's shoulder injury keeps him from taking the mound. The Pirates will pick up all of the remainder of Morris' $10,037,283 contract for this season. |
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| Matt Morris said that his right forearm felt stiff Wednesday, a day after it was hit by a line drive, according to the AP. However, Morris anticipates making his scheduled start Sunday. "I just don't want it to creep down into my wrist," Morris said. "With decent treatment, I should be good." If Morris is unable to go, Brad Hennessey will get a spot start. |
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