Pirates Demote John Van Benschoten
by Charlie Wilmoth on May 12, 2008 8:58 PM EDT
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PrintHe stunk -- who'd have thought? The Bucs will call up a pitcher tomorrow.
You know, I'm kind of looking forward to the day -- hopefully in the next several months -- when neither Van Benschoten nor Bryan Bullington will be on the 40-man roster anymore. Not that I have anything against them personally, but I'm sick of being reminded they're still with the organization. If these guys weren't first round draft picks, they'd have been gone already.
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I agree Charlie...
I had high hopes for both of them, but it should be quite clear by now that neither one of them will amount to much in a Bucs uniform.
Eternal optimist in me even held out a sliver of hope for JVB. Enough already. End this constant reflux. Lets move on.
JVB
I haven’t actually seen him pitch, so speaking with an opinion unsullied by the facts…from the play by play, it looks like JVB pitched well for three innings today. He’s also done pretty well in a couple of other short outings. I would think there’s at least some hope that he could be a decent major league reliever.
by brooklynpirate on May 12, 2008 10:48 PM EDT reply actions
I agree, he might make it as a reliever
I haven’t seen JVB pitch either, but it seemed like he was effective today the 1st 2 times thru the Braves’ lineup, but they really hammered him the 3rd time they saw him. (what was the top speed on his fastball?) hopefully he will become an effective reliever for some (other) team.
He might have a chance still to carve out a bit of an MLB career
as a reliever, brooklynpirate, but I think it will have to be with another organization from 2009. It`s a long season, so JVB might find his way back for a few more games this year, but he won`t be around next season, and neither will Bullington.
They wouldn't...would they??
Red Sox DFA’d Julian Tavarez tonight.
i hope not
the sox had been discussing a deal with colorado for him so this is strange timing to put him on waivers. the rockies wanted to make him a starter. who knew that having kip wells and mark redman wouldn’t solve your rotation problems?
No relevance here
On sportsceneter this morning I saw that last night Buster Posey played all nine positions (he struck out two hitters on mid-80s fastballs) and hit a grand slam.
Just thought that was pretty cool…I think he’s the guy I want this year.
And the winner is...
Marino Salas…per Pirates press pass notes. Wearing 56.
I've been wondering
...if the Pirates shouldn’t trade JVB or Bullington for some other team’s disappointing first round draft picks. Someone like Tim Stauffer of the Padres. It would do each player some good changing scenery and not trying to live up to the original expectations of the organization who drafted them so highly, not to mention the media and fans.
That’s not a bad idea. Sort of like the Dewon Brazelton for Sean Burroughs deal a couple years back, except hopefully it would work out better.
by Charlie Wilmoth on May 13, 2008 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Or Jake Gautreau for Corey Brown!
Sorry, I’m just full of trivia I need to eject.
by Charlie Wilmoth on May 13, 2008 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Corey Smith, not Brown
Speaking (indirectly) of Gautreau, there’s a charity walk for Crohn’s and colitis downtown on June 1, if anybody’s interested.
So, they had to watch
JVB absolutely suck as a starter and end the winning streak before sending him down?
Just when things were looking bright(er than they were before), the team decides to mess it all up to get the guy 1 start before sending him down?
The Utah Jazz
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...
He hasn't pitched in a week
plus his prior starting experience give the Bucs an opportunity to give starters an extra day to rest. Too bad JVB didn’t do well as always.
JVB
As I’ve said before,I believe that the Pirates were the ONLY organization that saw JVB as a pitcher first. Everyone else considered him a better 1B/OF prospect.
I think if he’s going to have a chance at any sort of career in MLB,the Pirates should revert him to being a position player,and see if he can hit his way to the big leagues. It would seem to be worth a try,as he’s already 28 and has bombed as a big league pitcher.
He’ll probably never be a star,but if he shows he can hit,he may wind up having a few decent seasons,maybe even off the bench,if nothing else.
If it can work for Rick Ankiel...
then why not for JVB? I think most people would agree that he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a pitcher so why not see what his bat can do? I think he led the nation in homeruns his senior year and he does have a couple of XBH so start the conversion now or cut him loose.
by Illinois Pirate Fan on May 13, 2008 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions
IPF
How many times does it need to be said on this site and others that JVB cannot hit anymore because of the damage to his left shoulder? Even if he didn`t have a screwed-up left shoulder, his days of hitting HRs at college are 7-8 years in the past and he doesn`t have the athletic ability to become a MLB OF like Rick Ankiel anyway. Enough already!
JVB will either find a way to make it as a relief pitcher with the Pirates, or another team in the next year or two, or he will be out of the game.
probably not...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07260/818202-63.stm
“his surgically repaired left - non-throwing - shoulder would not allow him to hit effectively again.”
P-G Poll: "Did the Pirates give JVB a fair chance?"
http://www.post-gazette.com/polls/default.asp?pollID=2517
voting ends today!
I voted ‘yes’, also considering the 9 starts he was given last year.
JVB
Just saying that at this point it’s worth a try to convert him to a position player. I recall this idea being floated as recently as last year. And who says he’s no Ankiel athletically? What’s to lose at this point,a 28-year old pitcher with a “career” ERA of 8.81 in MLB? Worth a shot. As the saying goes,”Who Dares,Wins”.
i was
going to construct a thought out reply to this but i’m sick of it. it’s not going to happen, nor should it. let’s move on already.
rissaldar
“And who says he’s no Ankiel athletically? “
I do, and I think most others who`ve watched both players over the years.
I have one name for you, rissaldar, and it`s not Rick Ankiel: Clint Johnston.
If JVB and his DAMAGED LEFT SHOULDER THAT HE SAYS WOULD NOT ALLOW HIM TO PLAY THE FIELD AGAIN cannot make it as a reliever in the next year or two, he will be out of the game. Period. End of story. Let`s move on to what`s important for the Bucs this year and on.
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