DH Follies

by WTM on May 22, 2009 12:55 AM EDT Comment 19 comments

The Pirates evidently are exulting because they have some players who are experienced in the "art form" (Eric Hinske's phrase) of serving as a DH. Because they're blessed with some guys who used to play in the AL, things are going to be totally different in interleague play this year. Now they have the unparalleled advantage of choosing from among Hinske, Craig Monroe and Ramon Vazquez. As the Post-Gazette explains, this is a huge advantage for the team:

Vazquez went 0 for 2 in a DH role in his AL days, but the other two have a plate pedigree for it: Monroe is batting .231 in 84 games with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs, Hinske .254 in 88 games with five homers and 25 RBIs.

Uh . . . come again? .231? .254? A composite 18 HRs and 71 RBIs in 172 games?These are supposed to be good numbers??? And why exactly do Vazquez' whopping two at-bats as a DH make him a candidate for the role? Isn't that like saying Brian Bixler is better qualified than Hinske to pinch-hit because NL teams pinch-hit more and Bixler has had all of his major league experience in the NL?

Meanwhile, isn't there somebody missing . . . ? Oh, yeah, it's that Delwyn Young guy. He's only hitting .359 AVG / .419 OBP /. 436 SLG. And he's defensively challenged, so it's a bit of a mixed bag to get his bat in the lineup when he also has to use a glove. He's perfect to DH . . . but no, we can't pass up the opportunity to use some guys who stunk in the role in the AL, or one guy who happened to be in the ballpark when other guys were DH'ing.

Am I missing something, or is this discussion of the Bucs' DH prospects a pretty silly, irrational piece of anti-logic?

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You Haven't Missed A Thing!

The Pirates’ press relations people spew out some of the most outrageous things imaginable. And Russell goes right along with it - a real company man.

by thegunner on May 22, 2009 1:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think it has anything to do with Russell being a company man.

It has everything to do with Russell being in idiot. If he ware a company man he’d be playing the NH acquisition (Young) every chance he got.

by Slick1 on May 22, 2009 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

With each passing day

I am more convinced Russell has no clue. His moves last night, coupled with this nonsense, do nothing to change my opinion.

by Hitman Easler on May 22, 2009 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not even a Delwyn fan exactly, and even I think he should be DHing.

By the way, WTM, sorry to take out that last line. I don’t mean to censor you, but I didn’t want that going on the front page, for the reasons discussed in the “Quote of the Day” thread yesterday.

by Charlie on May 22, 2009 3:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

with all due respect, Charlie

the fact that John Yoo hasn’t been disbarred and removed from his teaching post at Berkeley isn’t a political “right-vs.left” issue… it’s a right-vs.-wrong issue. I thought WTM’s analogy was a bit over the top, but I didn’t think it was inconsistent with BucsDugout.com’s policies.

by humbucker on May 22, 2009 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought this bit was hilarious:

“Our team is pretty well set up for it because we’ve got good, veteran guys who have done it, but other National League teams may not have that luxury,” Hinske said. Those teams could end up using as a DH “just some guy who might be a backup utility infielder, or something like that.”

That doesn’t sound like Vazquez at all, does it?

by Vlad on May 22, 2009 10:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

compared to the Pirates' DH options last year

Hinske and Monroe have to be an improvement over Chris Gomez (15 career G at DH) and Jason Michaels (5 career G at DH)…. of course, that’s not difficult to do.

I’ve also wondered about Russell’s (lack of) common managerial sense — for example, it was nice to see JR pull a double switch the other day (for just the second time this month, IIRC). but in his defense, JR has a very fine balancing act to remain optimistic without coming off like he’s trying to polish a turd.

by humbucker on May 22, 2009 10:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with your last comment. These people are all part of an organization, and if they can’t find something nice to say about other members of the organization, they say bullshit, which is probably better than speaking their mind and potentially alienating players who occasionally exceed expections (like NyMo). We don’t need to know what’s going on behind the scenes, even though it’s nice when we get honest glimpses into the inner workings. It bothers me when we pull Andy LaRoche in a clutch situation for Ramon Vazquez. This sort of thing doesn’t bother me at all – it’s just noise.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on May 22, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the problem with Russell is that he looks like a smart guy, so I feel like I should trust him more than his actions warrant. Why do your glasses betray me?! At least I can still trust Dan Bylsma’s sharp spectacles. : P

by wickethewok on May 22, 2009 10:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

JR and Bylsma

Look like each other, don’t they? Or is it just the glasses?

by bucdaddy on May 22, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If JR is smart...

he just pencils in Delwyn at DH for the weekend and fills out the rest of the lineup around that. However…I don’t give JR that much credit. After all, he did use Vasquez to PH for Andy last night…and used Gorzo for the 3rd time in 4 nights…when he’d pitched in relief 3 times in his career before this week.

by Thunder on May 22, 2009 11:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

what infuriated me most about taht

was that he felt that pinch hitting Vázquez (Lefty on Righty) for Andy was a good idea but didn’t think it was a good idea to STOP GORZO FROM FACING THEIR BEST HITTING RIGHT HANDER on their team with the game on the line (which promptly results in loss of the lead when Gorzo gives up a very predictable hit).

Jason
The Hanging Curve

by poorboywilly on May 22, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Charlie

you are way off. Of course experience on such marvelous teams as last years Rangers and Blue Jays puts these guys in a ridiculously good position to succeed and….pffffffffffbahahahahah I can’t keep it up anymore.

It’s called a DESIGNATED HITTER. All he needs to do is hit. Put in the guy you think will hit best. Might be Delwyn Young. Might be Craig Monroe if there’s a lefty on the mound.

Jason
The Hanging Curve

by poorboywilly on May 22, 2009 3:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs