Link Roundup: Adam LaRoche At It Again

by Charlie on Sep 17, 2008 11:06 PM EDT Comment 9 comments

-P- The Bucs, as if suddenly having noticed that they'd only scored about six runs all month, dropped fifteen on the Dodgers tonight. The Pirates did this against a pretty good starting pitcher (Chad Billingsley) too. Adam LaRoche hit two homers and drove in five runs, and every spot in the lineup had at least one hit. Deep thought: put LaRoche on a team like the Mets, and he'd be loved rather than maligned. If his annual second-half hitting binge occurred in the context of playoff runs every year, he'd suddenly seem like a star. He's not, but he's probably actually become underrated in Pittsburgh.

-P- By the way, the Post-Gazette reports that the Bucs will very likely tender a contract to LaRoche, which isn't at all surprising. Not to beat a dead horse, but the only viable alternative at first is Steve Pearce. (Sorry, Doug Mientkiewicz doesn't count.) If the Pirates were planning to ditch LaRoche, it's very likely Pearce would be playing more, if only to invest in a backup option in case other efforts to acquire a first baseman didn't pan out.

-P- The Pirates' low Class A affiliate will move from Hickory to Charleston, West Virginia next year. They'll still be in the South Atlantic League. Apparently the ballpark in Charleston is very nice.

-P- Sorry, Pitt fans--I encouraged Aaron Hawley, a buddy of mine from the Morgantown music scene, to start a blog about WVU sports. He actually followed through, and he's off to a great start. Check in for the game against Colorado tomorrow.

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West Virginia

The park is quite nice,more of a retro feel than the early 90’s park in Hickory.
Hickory had a decent park,but more of a sterile environment.

Worst part of the Power is their hats and uniforms-they look like they were bought from a UPS overstock store………….

Check out my blog at thoughtsofrs@blogspot.com

by Count Vertigo on Sep 17, 2008 11:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You're right...

horrible color scheme.

by Deaner on Sep 18, 2008 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pirates Power!

I grew up near Charleston, WV and attended many games in the old Watt-Powell Park. I’ve never been to a game in the new Appalachian Power Park but I have visited it and it’s VERY nice.

This is a great move for both sides because there are a lot of hungry Pirates fans in the area. Some of the previous affilations just didn’t work out geographically.

by Deaner on Sep 18, 2008 8:01 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Quality effort last night.

Looks like there must have been some post-game ass-chewing on Tuesday. They were showing a lot more fire.

by Vlad on Sep 18, 2008 9:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Adam LaRoche is riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma:

After two consecutive seasons of his best Jeckel/Hyde impersonation I really don’t know what to think of this man. It is so typical of ballplayers to have their best seasons immediately before either FA or arbitration and then fail to live up to their numbers. However, in his case, I believe we have to bite the bullet and offer him a contract since it’s painfully obvious Pearce is not ready to replace him and won’t be until he can learn to lay off the curves down and away. By signing LaRoche we could use him as trade bait if management decides they can no longer trust him for fear the wrong LaRoche will show up for a given game. I’ve pretty resigned myself to the fact I was wrong about Pearce, at least for the time being. Plus, I’m also willing to forget this short season for Andy and let him start over next spring as our regular 3B and see what he can do when healthy. If these two can ever materialize together they would bring some much needed power to our infield as well as solid defense.

by Illinois Pirate Fan on Sep 18, 2008 9:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I call bullshit

How much of that ass-chewing do you think really had anything to do with anything that happened last night? How did it get Dodgers pitchers to groove balls to LaRoche and Doumit? How did it help LaRoche and Doumit see and hit those balls better? It’s not like you can say, “I better get off my I-don’t-care ass and hit some home runs,” and then go out and do it, is it? You just grit your teeth and will the pitcher to throw you a belt-high fastball, and you pissed-off it over the wall? That how it works? You look at LaRoche, nobody on the team looks like he gives less of a shit. But look what he did.

This kind of stuff … I don’t know. To me it’s like the manager’s-got-their-backs thing. If your players suck, none of it really makes much difference. If it did, every manager in the game would be out arguing every call every night, and there’d be an ass-chewing in the clubhouse after every game. If any of that ever actually helped you win. There might not be a bigger red-ass in the game than Piniella. How did his act work in Tampa Bay? Now he’s gone and the Rays are terrific. How did that happen, without him there to kick dirt on umpires every night? And the Cubs … didn’t Piniella’s arrival coincide with the team’s decision to spend $300 million on talent? That couldn’t have anything to do with it, must be the fiery manager.

Sorry, Vlad, didn’t mean to go off on you. This stuff … it just bothers me.

by bucdaddy on Sep 18, 2008 10:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm not talking about results.

I’m talking about seeing a higher general level of hustle and attentiveness in the game. Now, that may or may not have led to better results, but a high level of hustle and attentivenes is, in and of itself, a good thing.

It’s nice that they scored a bunch of runs and won, but I would’ve been encouraged even if they’d gotten buried, because it seemed like they were putting forth an honest effort (which isn’t something that can be said about all this week’s games). They were throwing to the right bases and backing each other up on defense, they were busting ass down the line and opportunistically advancing the trail runner on offense, things like that. None of that is enough to make a bad team into a good one by itself, but it’s all necessary, and it hasn’t always been there.

by Vlad on Sep 18, 2008 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK, point taken.

You’re right about that. Hustle never hurts. It’s just I’m sure there are lots of fans who today are using the logical fallacy “B follows A, therefore A caused B.”

Charlie, You know Aaron? Aaron’s a great guy, a walking party, one of the happiest people I know. I wondered why I hadn’t heard from him in awhile, now I know he’s been busy.

by bucdaddy on Sep 18, 2008 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs