I won’t be raising my hand. I’ve been supporting Moss this whole time saying that he should play out the rest of the year to see if he’s going to be the Bucs’ right fielder of the future (and he probably still should get a majority of the starts), but with each passing game, he continues to prove that he’s not starting material in the big leagues. He’s a fourth outfielder at best, just like he was with the Red Sox and just like he will be the rest of his career if he can’t step his play up. There’s no doubt that he’s our second best defensive outfielder behind Cutch, but it’s all about hitting. If you can hit, teams are going to find a spot for you to play in the field (in the National League anyway). That’s why Delwyn Young, although his defense is suspect, is getting a majority of the starts in RF and Jones in LF. Until Moss proves he can hit both lefties and righties as well as produce on a consistent basis, he will be a platoon player at best. I think when Milledge gets called up (whenever that is), you will see an outfield of Milledge, McCutchen and Jones with Moss sprinkled in here and there. By no means am I on the Garrett Jones bandwagon yet, but Jones has the same number of HR in four games that Moss has for the entire season! Will Jones keep it up? Who knows. But you can’t argue with the production to this point. I don’t think Moss is the answer in RF for the Pirates.

We’ll find out rather quickly…

Yeah, but DK reported that Milledge was going to be sent to Triple-A Indianapolis by today.

Ian’s value pre-return to the majors is minimal. Unless they keep him down there for 15 more starts, and they’re all as good as the first 2 (which seems a lot to ask), at which point teams will (presumably) be willing to say, ‘OK, here’s a guy whom NH will never bring back up, but as best we can tell he’s got his head (semi-)back. He’s worth a trade.’

But really, I think that other teams want to see Ian back in Pittsburgh before they’re willing to part with any talent for him. I think calling him a Bixler is kind of silly – Bixler has never had the least bit of ML success – but leaving him in Indy tells other teams that the Pirates don’t value him, which is not exactly the position to be in if you want return on a trade (of course, NH saying, “I don’t value him” also sends the message that the Pirates don’t value him…). If Ian does this for another half dozen starts, then comes up and has 2 strong (not merely adequate) starts, then he can be moved. But as long as he’s in Indy, his head is a huge question mark (if he comes up and performs, his head reduces to a big question mark).