It's August, the MLB non-waiver trade deadline has passed, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in a familiar position: last place. See, for Pirates fans, Christmas comes on the first day of the regular season, because it's virtually the only day of the entire year when we're in the pennant race. Optimism is abound, and even Bob Smizik can outline the positive aspects of that year's team.
But with a new CEO and GM who resemble change in an organization nearly bereft of talent, die-hard fans may have a reason to hope for the future of the franchise. General Manager Neal Huntington has done his best to dismantle his predecessors grand plan, and has not failed in doing so. Gone are Salomon Torres, Bryan Bullington, Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, and Jason Bay. Tom Gorzelanny and Ronny Paulino have been demoted as part of the new management's promise to take a no-nonsense attitude.
The new-look Pirates are full of Major-League-ready AAA players, as opposed to AAA players who had no business being on a Major League team. Make no mistake about it, there have been times this season when management has had to promote such players. The difference is that Huntington did not disguise that fact, where former GM Dave Littlefield most likely would have stressed how important such players will be to the future of the franchise.
The difference Pittsburgh fans can expect to see will most likely take place next year in Altoona. Curve fans going to the ballpark in 2009 can expect to see real talent, possible future Pirates like Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Brad Lincoln, Dan Moskos, Jim Negrych, Jamie Romak, Brian Friday, and Bryan Morris could all see time there next year.
Huntington has made a name for himself in his first year as GM because he is a risk-taker. Something neither Cam Bonifay or Dave Littlefield will ever have mentioned in the same sentence. Huntington's approach has been almost an exact 180-degree turn from Littlefield, in fact. Hard-throwing pitchers and high-ceiling bats are being brought in with as much regularity as Littlefield signed over-the-hill free agents.
The Littlefield-era was built upon taking two star position players, first Jason Kendall and Brian Giles then later Jason Bay and Jack Wilson, and meshing them with sub-par free agents, with a few less than stellar farm products thrown in there as well. The worst part though, is that Littlefield always wanted to build a team through pitching. His idea of pitching, however, was in line with the word finesse. In this era, finesse pitchers who succeed at the major league level are few and far between. Anyone could see that this fact alone would render Littlefield's teams useless.
By making trades, signing players off the scrap heap, and putting existing Pirates in new positions (both literally and figuratively) Huntington has begun the first true rebuilding process the Pirates have had in this soon to be record breaking losing streak. To the casual fan, these are the same old Pirates. I caution that where there's smoke, there most certainly is fire. When the Altoona Curve are smoking everyone next year, let's hope the fire is lit in Pittsburgh. While we're at it, let's hope that fire burns us into contention with guys like Pedro Alvarez, Brad Lincoln, Andrew McCutchen, Andy LaRoche, Jose Tabata and a few others leading the way. Let's Go Bucs!
Showing posts with label Ronny Paulino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ronny Paulino. Show all posts
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Trades, Anyone pt. 2
With the trading deadline quickly approaching, let's take a look at some of the Pirates who might be putting on a new uniform in August, and which uniforms that might be. After talking about catcher, let's jump over to first base this time...
Adam LaRoche 1B
-Why he will be traded: Adam "0-for-April" LaRoche, much like Ronny Paulino, has also wore out his welcome. LaRoche presents a very large conundrum, however, for the Pirates. Do they sell low in the middle of the season, knowing he hits so well the second half of the year, or do they sell high at the end of the season, and still probably not get much for him because of his now legendary first-half slump? The Braves were able to get a high-end pitcher from the Bucs in the form of Mike Gonzalez because LaRoche, at that time, did not have the track record he does now. Conventional wisdom would say that the best place for an Adam LaRoche-type player would be an American League version of the Pirates, that is some team with the DH that can afford to sit LaRoche quite a bit the first half of the season. However, with the second half tear that he is capable of, maybe a contender will take a shot at him, hoping to once again pawn him off in the winter. Regardless, it's obvious the Bucs cannot win with LaRoche at first.
-5 teams to trade to:
1. Oakland Athletics - Daric Barton needs to be replaced, and LaRoche would be an ok stopgap until Barton is ready for full-time play again.
2. Texas Rangers - Perhaps I'm just hoping the AL West doesn't pay attention to what the Pirates do the first half of the season, but I still think LaRoche has a better second half in him than Chris Shelton and Hank Blalock combined.
3. Seattle Mariners - Another AL West team who needs help at 1b, the Mariners recently cut Richie Sexson, and could have LaRoche for next season too.
4. San Francisco Giants - McCovey Cove needs a left handed bat with some power.
5. Chicago White Sox - A platoon of Paul Konerko and LaRoche could be quite a boost for the Sox offense.
-Why he won't be traded: LaRoche is a tough sell. The Pirates would have to convince teams that he's worth a decent prospect, and that he can be playable in the first half of 2009. Also, there's nobody behind him in the Pirates' system. Management seems content to have Steve Pearce in the outfield, and Jason Delaney is still at least a year away, if he's even a legitimate prospect.
Adam LaRoche 1B
-Why he will be traded: Adam "0-for-April" LaRoche, much like Ronny Paulino, has also wore out his welcome. LaRoche presents a very large conundrum, however, for the Pirates. Do they sell low in the middle of the season, knowing he hits so well the second half of the year, or do they sell high at the end of the season, and still probably not get much for him because of his now legendary first-half slump? The Braves were able to get a high-end pitcher from the Bucs in the form of Mike Gonzalez because LaRoche, at that time, did not have the track record he does now. Conventional wisdom would say that the best place for an Adam LaRoche-type player would be an American League version of the Pirates, that is some team with the DH that can afford to sit LaRoche quite a bit the first half of the season. However, with the second half tear that he is capable of, maybe a contender will take a shot at him, hoping to once again pawn him off in the winter. Regardless, it's obvious the Bucs cannot win with LaRoche at first.
-5 teams to trade to:
1. Oakland Athletics - Daric Barton needs to be replaced, and LaRoche would be an ok stopgap until Barton is ready for full-time play again.
2. Texas Rangers - Perhaps I'm just hoping the AL West doesn't pay attention to what the Pirates do the first half of the season, but I still think LaRoche has a better second half in him than Chris Shelton and Hank Blalock combined.
3. Seattle Mariners - Another AL West team who needs help at 1b, the Mariners recently cut Richie Sexson, and could have LaRoche for next season too.
4. San Francisco Giants - McCovey Cove needs a left handed bat with some power.
5. Chicago White Sox - A platoon of Paul Konerko and LaRoche could be quite a boost for the Sox offense.
-Why he won't be traded: LaRoche is a tough sell. The Pirates would have to convince teams that he's worth a decent prospect, and that he can be playable in the first half of 2009. Also, there's nobody behind him in the Pirates' system. Management seems content to have Steve Pearce in the outfield, and Jason Delaney is still at least a year away, if he's even a legitimate prospect.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Trades, Anyone?
With the trading deadline quickly approaching, let's take a look at some of the Pirates who might be putting on a new uniform in August, and which uniforms that might be. One at a time, and we'll start slowly...
Ronny Paulino C
-Why he will be traded: Paulino has wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh. Whether it's the passed balls, not catching throws from the outfield or his step-in-the-bucket stance, it appears Ronny Ballgame has played his last...err ballgame...in Pittsburgh. Many teams will be looking for catching help, as it may be the hardest major league position to fill, and if you look around, there's a lot worse on rosters right now.
-5 teams to trade to:
1. Boston Red Sox - The BoSox could teach Ronny to catch the knuckler, and Ronny could teach Jason Varitek how to hit .220...wait a second...
2. Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies need to let go of the Carlos Ruiz idea, and who knows, maybe Paulino could do a bit better. Stranger things have happened.
3. Florida Marlins - Word is out that Florida wants a catcher. They are apparently worried about Matt Treanor. Could be a possibility.
4. Kansas City Royals - Just in case John Buck fractures his other testicle.
5. Cincinnati Reds - There's no good reason not to trade him to the Reds, they could always use another ex-Pirate catcher.
-Why he won't be traded: Nobody really wants a lazy catcher. Especially not a hurt and lazy catcher. Paulino has been hobbled recently by a sprained ankle. You can be sure, however, he was not hurt while blocking the plate. Also, Paulino has holes in his offensive and defensive game that seem to be spreading like wildfire.
Ronny Paulino C
-Why he will be traded: Paulino has wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh. Whether it's the passed balls, not catching throws from the outfield or his step-in-the-bucket stance, it appears Ronny Ballgame has played his last...err ballgame...in Pittsburgh. Many teams will be looking for catching help, as it may be the hardest major league position to fill, and if you look around, there's a lot worse on rosters right now.
-5 teams to trade to:
1. Boston Red Sox - The BoSox could teach Ronny to catch the knuckler, and Ronny could teach Jason Varitek how to hit .220...wait a second...
2. Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies need to let go of the Carlos Ruiz idea, and who knows, maybe Paulino could do a bit better. Stranger things have happened.
3. Florida Marlins - Word is out that Florida wants a catcher. They are apparently worried about Matt Treanor. Could be a possibility.
4. Kansas City Royals - Just in case John Buck fractures his other testicle.
5. Cincinnati Reds - There's no good reason not to trade him to the Reds, they could always use another ex-Pirate catcher.
-Why he won't be traded: Nobody really wants a lazy catcher. Especially not a hurt and lazy catcher. Paulino has been hobbled recently by a sprained ankle. You can be sure, however, he was not hurt while blocking the plate. Also, Paulino has holes in his offensive and defensive game that seem to be spreading like wildfire.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Game Review 6/8 W 6-4
The Pirates take their first game of the four game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. I'll be honest, I'd be real happy with a split of this series. The Pirates have to be going through a four game stretch against opposing starting pitchers like they haven't gone through this year. Possibly like they won't go through again this year either. Just look at the stats for Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Doug Davis and Randy Johnson.
Mark Reynolds has to drive the D'Backs fans crazy. The guy is more streaky than a pet-store window. Hopefully they get out of town while he's just getting hot. I'm not sure what the big fuss about Chris Young is. He hits some home runs and is young, but he looks to have a lot of holes in his swing. For the first time in a long time, I can say I like our outfield better than theirs.
I also think they've rushed Max Scherzer. The guy's gonne be crazy good, but this isn't the year. Especially not with their starting rotation. They probably won't need a long man very often, so you have to wonder if he wouldn't be better off getting a regular turn in AAA. Seems to me he's got some control issues to work out.
Every time I think about the Pirates lineup I get excited for Andrew McCutchen. Come to think about it, there's not much that doesn't make me excited about Cutch. Assuming he can hold down hitting leadoff, we can move Freddy Sanchez to the second spot, and Jack Wilson will FINALLY have no reason to show his face batting second. In all honesty, I think that gives us a huge advantage over what we have now. Even putting McLouth second in the order would be a huge step up from Sanchez/Wilson, McLouth/Sanchez or McLouth/Wilson.
I also wonder what management is going to do with Adam LaRoche. I was much in favor of trading for him from the Braves, even at the expense of a guy like Mike Gonzalez, however I can now understand why Atlanta made this trade. I would be curious to find out if LaRoche had this same early season slump problem in the minor leagues. I'd imagine LaRoche's trade value has dropped significantly in his time with the Pirates, since this is now turning into an annual problem.
While I may be getting ahead of myself here, the Pirates seem to be falling in love with veterans again. Doug Mientiewicz is a fine first baseman, but offensively he lacks quite a bit of what Jose Bautista has. It now seems as though the Bucs learned their lesson, and can stick with Jose Bautista for a while. I predict a similar outcome with Ronny Paulino. Raul Chavez is nothing more than a AAAA player. I mean, the guy hit .221 last year in AAA and .255 the year before in AA. And now, all of the sudden, because he has a decent arm and "handles pitchers extraordinarily well" he is better than Ronny Paulino? Has Paulino played poorly enough to get sent to the minor leagues?
Most fans (and apparently management too) say yes. I disagree. If you look at Paulino's stats from the last week he was with the club, here's what he hit: .357 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in 14 AB's. So what happened? Paulino promptly went down and has hit .700 in 10 AB's with 2 doubles and 2 HR's since his demotion. I'm not suggesting he would have done this in the majors, but it sure would be nice to have that bat on the bench right about now. Especially since Chavez really hasn't been all that great defensively, consider in roughly 10 games he's had 2 passed balls, 2 wild pitches and an error. Paulino's stats are these: 30 games, 1 passed ball, 8 wild pitches and an error. The only place Chavez looks better is on wild pitches, which are on the pitcher, and not the catcher! It's also been proven that CERA (catcher's ERA) is not indicative of anything, so there goes that idea. Paulino may be lazy, he may not be playing to his capability, and he may not be a good catcher. But he is a better option than Raul Chavez.
Mark Reynolds has to drive the D'Backs fans crazy. The guy is more streaky than a pet-store window. Hopefully they get out of town while he's just getting hot. I'm not sure what the big fuss about Chris Young is. He hits some home runs and is young, but he looks to have a lot of holes in his swing. For the first time in a long time, I can say I like our outfield better than theirs.
I also think they've rushed Max Scherzer. The guy's gonne be crazy good, but this isn't the year. Especially not with their starting rotation. They probably won't need a long man very often, so you have to wonder if he wouldn't be better off getting a regular turn in AAA. Seems to me he's got some control issues to work out.
Every time I think about the Pirates lineup I get excited for Andrew McCutchen. Come to think about it, there's not much that doesn't make me excited about Cutch. Assuming he can hold down hitting leadoff, we can move Freddy Sanchez to the second spot, and Jack Wilson will FINALLY have no reason to show his face batting second. In all honesty, I think that gives us a huge advantage over what we have now. Even putting McLouth second in the order would be a huge step up from Sanchez/Wilson, McLouth/Sanchez or McLouth/Wilson.
I also wonder what management is going to do with Adam LaRoche. I was much in favor of trading for him from the Braves, even at the expense of a guy like Mike Gonzalez, however I can now understand why Atlanta made this trade. I would be curious to find out if LaRoche had this same early season slump problem in the minor leagues. I'd imagine LaRoche's trade value has dropped significantly in his time with the Pirates, since this is now turning into an annual problem.
While I may be getting ahead of myself here, the Pirates seem to be falling in love with veterans again. Doug Mientiewicz is a fine first baseman, but offensively he lacks quite a bit of what Jose Bautista has. It now seems as though the Bucs learned their lesson, and can stick with Jose Bautista for a while. I predict a similar outcome with Ronny Paulino. Raul Chavez is nothing more than a AAAA player. I mean, the guy hit .221 last year in AAA and .255 the year before in AA. And now, all of the sudden, because he has a decent arm and "handles pitchers extraordinarily well" he is better than Ronny Paulino? Has Paulino played poorly enough to get sent to the minor leagues?
Most fans (and apparently management too) say yes. I disagree. If you look at Paulino's stats from the last week he was with the club, here's what he hit: .357 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in 14 AB's. So what happened? Paulino promptly went down and has hit .700 in 10 AB's with 2 doubles and 2 HR's since his demotion. I'm not suggesting he would have done this in the majors, but it sure would be nice to have that bat on the bench right about now. Especially since Chavez really hasn't been all that great defensively, consider in roughly 10 games he's had 2 passed balls, 2 wild pitches and an error. Paulino's stats are these: 30 games, 1 passed ball, 8 wild pitches and an error. The only place Chavez looks better is on wild pitches, which are on the pitcher, and not the catcher! It's also been proven that CERA (catcher's ERA) is not indicative of anything, so there goes that idea. Paulino may be lazy, he may not be playing to his capability, and he may not be a good catcher. But he is a better option than Raul Chavez.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Pirates Win the First Series (Part 3)
After an awesome Pirates win today, it got me thinking about the lineup. Jack Wilson should be back soon, and though Ryan Doumit won't be back on the field for a month or so, Ronny Paulino still has to be considered an above average offensive catcher. We won't get into his defensive shortcomings (not today, at least). The offense should still be potent enough to keep the Bucs around the .500 mark. Hopefully, that scenario won't deter Neil Huntington & company from dealing Jason Bay and/or Xavier Nady for a top pitching prospect. Here's a detailed look at the Pirates' offense compared to the Cardinals and the Cubs.
Name...........AB....D....T....HR....RBI....BB....K....AVG....OPS
N.McLouth.....161...13...2....11....33.....21....21...304....1.007
F.Sanchez.....160....9...0.....1....21......6....22...250......603
X.Nady........153...14...0.....5....34.....14....28...320......894
J.Bay.........142....6...0.....8....17.....30....32...268......872
A.LaRoche.....132....5...0.....4....16.....19....40...197......624
J.Bautista....127....8...0.....4....17.....12....36...228......682
R.Doumit......103....8...0.....5....15......5....14...350......955
R.Paulino......67....4...0.....0....13......7....13...224......577
R.Ankiel......147....9...0.....7....21.....20....28...293......876
S.Schumaker...147....8...1.....2....13.....17....17...286......755
A.Pujols......143...10...0.....8....27.....41....15...357....1.097
T.Glaus.......140...14...0.....2....26.....26....28...264......786
Y.Molina......126....6...0.....2....14.....15.....5...302......770
R.Ludwick.....112...11...2.....8....25.....14....34...330....1.077
C.Izturis.....108....5...0.....0.....7.....13.....6...250......643
A.Kennedy.....106....3...1.....0....13......9....17...283......666
D.Lee.........168....11...1....10....29.....19....23...310......943
R.Theriot.....152.....7...1.....1....11.....20....17...329......816
K.Fukodome....148....11...2.....2....16.....27....26...324......892
A.Ramirez.....136....12...0.....6....26.....25....27...294......934
G.Soto........131....13...1.....7....29.....24....34...321....1.018
M.DeRosa......129.....7...0.....3....22.....22....30...287......810
R.Johnson.....121.....6...0.....1....17......9....19...256......674
A.Soriano.....113.....6...0.....6....18......7....20...257......767
I only took the top 8 players from each team based on at-bats. Notice that McLouth and Bay possess the Pirates top threats to reach via walk. Other than those two, the Pirates are a free swinging offense that has been lucky thus far. That luck will run out eventually, probably starting with Xavier Nady, if they don't start taking more pitches out of the strike zone. The Pirates, for far too long have coveted power hitters without an eye for the strike zone. Rich Aude, Brian Hunter, Freddy Garcia, Brant Brown, Chad Hermansen, Alex Ramirez, Jose Hernandez (twice), Carlos Rivera, J.J. Davis, Brad Eldred, I could go on forever. These guys each struck out around 3 times as often as they walked in the minor league career. Various Pirate GM's actually have labeled several of these guys as the future face of the organization at one time or another!
Actually, a superstar who struck out three times as often as they walk (like the guys I just mentioned) while still in the Minors comes along, on average, once every 5 years. In the whole major leagues. Yet our braintrust, if that's what you want to call it, thought we had one of those guys every year. Unfortunately, Dave Littlefield has left us with plenty of left overs. We'll call them Brad Corley's. Xavier Nady strikes me as more of a Brad Corley than an Albert Pujols. Speaking only about their betting eyes of course. Nady is a free swinger, just like the rest of the Pirates. Winning baseball takes patience. Especially for a Pirates fan - and especially from the Pirates offense.
Name...........AB....D....T....HR....RBI....BB....K....AVG....OPS
N.McLouth.....161...13...2....11....33.....21....21...304....1.007
F.Sanchez.....160....9...0.....1....21......6....22...250......603
X.Nady........153...14...0.....5....34.....14....28...320......894
J.Bay.........142....6...0.....8....17.....30....32...268......872
A.LaRoche.....132....5...0.....4....16.....19....40...197......624
J.Bautista....127....8...0.....4....17.....12....36...228......682
R.Doumit......103....8...0.....5....15......5....14...350......955
R.Paulino......67....4...0.....0....13......7....13...224......577
R.Ankiel......147....9...0.....7....21.....20....28...293......876
S.Schumaker...147....8...1.....2....13.....17....17...286......755
A.Pujols......143...10...0.....8....27.....41....15...357....1.097
T.Glaus.......140...14...0.....2....26.....26....28...264......786
Y.Molina......126....6...0.....2....14.....15.....5...302......770
R.Ludwick.....112...11...2.....8....25.....14....34...330....1.077
C.Izturis.....108....5...0.....0.....7.....13.....6...250......643
A.Kennedy.....106....3...1.....0....13......9....17...283......666
D.Lee.........168....11...1....10....29.....19....23...310......943
R.Theriot.....152.....7...1.....1....11.....20....17...329......816
K.Fukodome....148....11...2.....2....16.....27....26...324......892
A.Ramirez.....136....12...0.....6....26.....25....27...294......934
G.Soto........131....13...1.....7....29.....24....34...321....1.018
M.DeRosa......129.....7...0.....3....22.....22....30...287......810
R.Johnson.....121.....6...0.....1....17......9....19...256......674
A.Soriano.....113.....6...0.....6....18......7....20...257......767
I only took the top 8 players from each team based on at-bats. Notice that McLouth and Bay possess the Pirates top threats to reach via walk. Other than those two, the Pirates are a free swinging offense that has been lucky thus far. That luck will run out eventually, probably starting with Xavier Nady, if they don't start taking more pitches out of the strike zone. The Pirates, for far too long have coveted power hitters without an eye for the strike zone. Rich Aude, Brian Hunter, Freddy Garcia, Brant Brown, Chad Hermansen, Alex Ramirez, Jose Hernandez (twice), Carlos Rivera, J.J. Davis, Brad Eldred, I could go on forever. These guys each struck out around 3 times as often as they walked in the minor league career. Various Pirate GM's actually have labeled several of these guys as the future face of the organization at one time or another!
Actually, a superstar who struck out three times as often as they walk (like the guys I just mentioned) while still in the Minors comes along, on average, once every 5 years. In the whole major leagues. Yet our braintrust, if that's what you want to call it, thought we had one of those guys every year. Unfortunately, Dave Littlefield has left us with plenty of left overs. We'll call them Brad Corley's. Xavier Nady strikes me as more of a Brad Corley than an Albert Pujols. Speaking only about their betting eyes of course. Nady is a free swinger, just like the rest of the Pirates. Winning baseball takes patience. Especially for a Pirates fan - and especially from the Pirates offense.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Nate the Great?
After reading today's article in the Post Gazette about Nate McLouth, several things jumped out at me. First off, while Nate is having a heckuva season, I'm still a bit skeptical. I don't think McLouth's a 4th outfielder, but let's face the facts. We're Pirates fans, we've seen this before. Several times. The rise and fall of Adrian Brown, Tike Redman and, more recently Chris Duffy, makes it seem as though this was meant to happen. The only question should be whether we're dreaming and this is really the second half of the season (in which case, like Brown and Redman, we can assume McLouth hits the usual .200 come next spring) or when he will have the unavoidable hamstring-followed-by-a-shoulder injury, which will no doubt reduce McLouth to a machine that takes the first 2 strikes and then whiffs wildly at the third.
By the way, has anybody noticed how many players Dave Littlefield was just plain wrong about? Counting McLouth, I'd say roughly half of our roster contains players in capacities Mr. Littlefield thought were impossible. Of course, a large helping hand was thrust forth by Jim Tracy, too. Let's look at the difference in personnel here:
Ryan Doumit c - Right Field, anyone? First base?! He can't be a Major League catcher! No way!
Freddy Sanchez 2b - Remember when it was Freddy or Bobby Hill for pinch hits? Thank God Wigginton sucked so badly.
Chris Gomez ss - Ok, you're right. This one is typical Littlefield. Though I doubt Littlefield/Tracy would have ever tried anyone else at short in Jack's absence.
McLouth cf - See article above.
Ian Snell sp - I still remember when the light bulb came on. Futures Game, thanks!
Matt Morris released - With Littlefield, he'd still be here to bontribute his share of 30 losses for the year.
Zach Duke sp - Perfect example of Jim Colborn's excellent instincts. Maybe Zach will never be "The Duke", but atleast he has a slider again.
Phil Dumatrait sp - Finally getting a chance, despite not being one of our #1 picks. How did this happen?
Doug Mientkiewicz util - It takes some big ones to tell a 35-year old gold glove 1b he should try some new positions. He'd be platooning at first with Littlefield. On second thought, maybe he should still be.
Ronny Paulino bench - Thanks to Jeff Manto, we still haven't fixed that step-in-the-bucket stance of his. Atleast his confidence is back
John Van Benschoten rp - Relief pitcher? Why? He's a #1 pick! Ahh, I can hear it still.
Sean Burnett rp - See above.
Jack Wilson ss - "Well we had a similar situation a few years ago with Aramis Ramirez, where he was able to avoid the DL, he just kept pinch-hitting for a month or so, he ended up fine. Just ask the Cubs." - Probable Littlefield quote.
Tyler Yates rp - A guy that can throw 98? Why would Littlefield want him?
While this is all speculation of course, the above hints at where the future was heading. I like the new management, believe it or not, and do think we're heading in the right direction. Not in the "you take a right, then a left and it's right there - you can't miss it" sort of way. More of a hopeful kind of way.
By the way, has anybody noticed how many players Dave Littlefield was just plain wrong about? Counting McLouth, I'd say roughly half of our roster contains players in capacities Mr. Littlefield thought were impossible. Of course, a large helping hand was thrust forth by Jim Tracy, too. Let's look at the difference in personnel here:
Ryan Doumit c - Right Field, anyone? First base?! He can't be a Major League catcher! No way!
Freddy Sanchez 2b - Remember when it was Freddy or Bobby Hill for pinch hits? Thank God Wigginton sucked so badly.
Chris Gomez ss - Ok, you're right. This one is typical Littlefield. Though I doubt Littlefield/Tracy would have ever tried anyone else at short in Jack's absence.
McLouth cf - See article above.
Ian Snell sp - I still remember when the light bulb came on. Futures Game, thanks!
Matt Morris released - With Littlefield, he'd still be here to bontribute his share of 30 losses for the year.
Zach Duke sp - Perfect example of Jim Colborn's excellent instincts. Maybe Zach will never be "The Duke", but atleast he has a slider again.
Phil Dumatrait sp - Finally getting a chance, despite not being one of our #1 picks. How did this happen?
Doug Mientkiewicz util - It takes some big ones to tell a 35-year old gold glove 1b he should try some new positions. He'd be platooning at first with Littlefield. On second thought, maybe he should still be.
Ronny Paulino bench - Thanks to Jeff Manto, we still haven't fixed that step-in-the-bucket stance of his. Atleast his confidence is back
John Van Benschoten rp - Relief pitcher? Why? He's a #1 pick! Ahh, I can hear it still.
Sean Burnett rp - See above.
Jack Wilson ss - "Well we had a similar situation a few years ago with Aramis Ramirez, where he was able to avoid the DL, he just kept pinch-hitting for a month or so, he ended up fine. Just ask the Cubs." - Probable Littlefield quote.
Tyler Yates rp - A guy that can throw 98? Why would Littlefield want him?
While this is all speculation of course, the above hints at where the future was heading. I like the new management, believe it or not, and do think we're heading in the right direction. Not in the "you take a right, then a left and it's right there - you can't miss it" sort of way. More of a hopeful kind of way.
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