On Garrett Jones, Nyjer Morgan and Steve Pearce
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 1:10 AM EDT
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PrintNice to see Lastings Milledge grab a couple of hits in his Pirates debut today...
There was a discussion earlier today in the Adam LaRoche thread about my position regarding Garrett Jones, Steve Pearce and Nyjer Morgan, and this seems as relevant as ever, what with Nyjer in town and Milledge's arrival potentially jeopardizing some of Jones' playing time.
If I seem wishy-washy about these three guys, it's because I don't think any of them are very good. We can't get too excited about small sample sizes. I know there were some people here championing Jones back when he was still in the minors, but most who have argued passionately on his behalf have done so since he came up to the majors. When you have a 1500 at bat sample telling you one thing and a 100 at bat sample telling you another, you should weight the 1500 at bat sample a lot more heavily. Jones' last three years in the minors have been distinctly unimpressive, so his (admittedly brilliant) performance so far this year is probably mostly just the world's biggest sample-size fluke. And yes, minor league stats matter. It's not reasonable to claim that Jones was blocked in Minnesota (the obvious conclusion being that he's going crazy now because he's finally getting the chance the Twins unfairly denied him). He wasn't blocked. He never earned a chance. Major league promotions aren't given at random, and minor-league stats, particularly AAA stats, matter.
Morgan is a slightly different story. I do think a lot of the improvements he's made this year are legitimate, but I still can't get too excited, because he's still 29 and still has no power at all, so he's playing at the absolute peak of his abilities. He won't get any better than he's played so far this year, and he isn't likely to have a long career. To my eyes, he's improved from a mediocre, unpredictable defender to a sure-handed one; I'm not sure what changed, really, but if he can continue to do that, he's a good role player for a contending team. But since I wouldn't bet on him still playing well a few years from now, and that's when the Pirates would need him.
As for Pearce: it's not that I think he's good, it's that I think he has some remote chance to be good. Neither Morgan nor Jones have ever had a full season as promising as the one Pearce put up in 2007, when he was the Hitter of the Year for all the minor leagues. He also improved every month at Indianapolis this year. He might as well have stayed at home in 2008, though, and now he's 26. I argued passionately for him in 2007 and before 2008, but that moment has passed.
I'm not sure any of the three are particularly helpful for what the Pirates are trying to achieve. If someone wants to argue for Jones over Pearce, I think that's defensible--not because Jones is any good, but because neither of them are good. If I seem overly negative about Jones, that's probably because, in my opinion, a lot of people, including John Russell, have gotten far too excited over a career minor leaguer on a hot streak. If you want to stump for Jones, go ahead, but please understand if I don't come to your rally. If it's any consolation, I'm not carrying signs for Pearce anymore, either. I'm probably done with Brandon Moss, too, who's already gotten plenty of time to prove he's little more than a decent fourth outfielder.
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I agree
Moss has been given his chance.
But I’m still a bit high on Pearce. You don’t dominate like he did in 2007 by accident.
small sample size and minor league stats matter rules
have never applied to Pearce, for reasons I’ve not come close to understanding. I have no idea if he can succeed at the MLB level but this much is undeniable: Pearce has never never never been given a real chance, either by Littlefield/Tracy or Huntington/Russell. Until now.
He’s had about a week in his audition, and I already see people kvetching about his lack of production (though admittedly, mostly the jagoffs in the P-G chats fretting over the length of his “leash”). Really? Like he’s been a black hole in an otherwise scintillating lineup?
If reasonable sample sizes are needed to judge a player, and if minor league stats do indeed matter, Pearce deserves the chance he’s getting. He’s not blocking anyone who hasn’t already had his reasonable sample size opportunity.
He homered yesterday. That should placate some people for a little while.
www.sixtyftsixin.com
by Sixty Feet, Six Inches on Aug 1, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree
about the small sample size when it comes to Jones, but partially disagree about minor league stats holding meaning. Jones’ age does hold concern as well.
MiLB is about developing skills and grooming tools for a player’s time in the major leagues. If a player does well and puts up good numbers that is a bonus, but the numbers, a lot of time have little meaning.
Jones has had a great start and I hope that it continues. You cant really count on anyone to have long extended hot streaks In this game. All Stars and big time prospects (McCutcheon) are the only ones in whom you can rreally rely on. Most of it has to do with adjustments and learning from mistakes and anticipating next steps.
Take a guy like Casey McGehee for instance of the Brewers. Like Jones, he is a old timer for having his first shot. He murders fast balls and never really had exceptional MiLB numbers. There is a reason that guys like him or Jones are 26 27 year old rookies. The league has started to figure out that he (McGehee) cant hit the breaking ball, and unless a pitcher starts to get in trouble, wont see many fastballs for the rest of the year. Who knows? This could be the case for Jones the 2nd time through the league.
That may all be true......
But why would it take so long? With video and everything else people have today, Christ they should figure things out immediately. Why would the Nats for instance need to make up their on book on MVP. They have scouts and they can watch video of his previous 100 PA in the bigs.
I don't mind Jones.
At this point, Jones isn’t blocking anyone. Like you said, Moss is a fourth OF who has his moments. Seeing him on hot streaks is nice, but the slumps are killer. I’d still prefer to see him start, but I’m not angry about him being in a platoon role anymore, especially because the logical part of my brain knows that no manager is going to bench a player on a streak as ridiculous as Jones’ for anything more than a disciplinary reason or a routine rest.
I highly, highly doubt that Jones is who some think he is. However, I’ll say this: I think we should play him for other purposes.
Jones is in the prime of his career at 28 years old. That prime still isn’t very good, but I think even after he slows down he can play like a Major League average outfielder. That, coupled with this streak, is enough to fool people into thinking he’s a worthwhile player to trade for. Look what a ridiculous hot streak followed by an average performance did for Nate McLouth’s stock. Maybe lightning can strike twice. Jones having few enough plate appearances that a team will control his rights for 5 1/2 years at next year’s deadline can only help.
As for Pearce, I wish the team would have just given him a real chance when he was 24 and still a prospect. At this point, he’s a nice player at most. I’ll always look at him and wonder what could have been.
www.sixtyftsixin.com
by Sixty Feet, Six Inches on Aug 1, 2009 1:56 AM EDT reply actions
Nyjer becoming a borderline star (if you believe measures such as a UZR of +25 runs/150 games on defense!) is the most surprising story in all of baseball this year.
Love to have him on my team, but the Pirates in rebuilding position couldn’t refuse the upside of Milledge. Generally the later a player starts his ML career, the sooner the decline comes. Morgan could defy this trend and make the Pirates look bad, but the trade was still the right thing to do.
The Moss/Pearce/Jones contingent is boring, but there may be something in that group. I’d love to say it will be from Pearce, but how seriously can we take a 5’10’’ first baseman? You have to actually catch throws to play there. Clement is very interesting to me, though. Love the power and versatility in him, and I hope he is up soon.
I do agree with Sixty Feet about playing Jones to build his trade value, as I advocated that when he started the hot streak.
Pearce's defense
First of all, I got a little mancrush on Pearce for when he described his OF play as a clownshow, but that his 1B play would be the real deal. Nice blend of humility and bravado.
Second of all, the radio guys were gushing over Pearce’s range last night, saying that his first step is so quick. It’s not clear to me – height aside – how good (or bad) a receiver he is, but at least his UZR will look good to anyone who wants to trade for him.
Keeping it warm for Tabata
I feel that the Jones/Moss combo are just keeping the position warm until Tabata makes his way up in 2011/2012. It’s good to see that they both seem to be competent players, so we don’t have a black hole in RF while we wait for Tabata to develop. If they can increase their value enough in the meantime that we could flip them for some nice prospects all the better.
As far as Pearce goes, my opinion of him has been all over the map the past couple years, culminating in my current position that he should at least be given the rest of this year to show us what he has, and I hold cautious optimism that maybe he could be more like what the 2007 season portended instead of a career AAAA player.
What could be interesting is if Jones comes crashing back to earth, and Moss continues his middling season, while Pearce has decent success and Clement tears it up at AAA. Would we send Pearce back out into RF and give Clement the shot at 1B? Pearce seems to be a bit of an adventure out there, and apparently Clement has minimal experience at first. Combine that with Young patrolling 2B and I would have to close my eyes every time a ball is hit to the right side.
Well, yeah. I have to think that when Tabata is ready, whoever is playing beside Cutch and Milledge will be benched for him. Tabata is one of the best prospects in our system right now. You don’t call guys like that up to bench them.
As for your Pearce scenario, I think that in that instance they’d definitely play Pearce in right and Clement at first. Why not? Jones can’t field either, and Moss can’t hit consistently. Pearce would probably be the best option. Jones would probably become a pinch hitter while Moss would spell Pearce.
As for Young at second, I feel like it’s too early to form an opinion of him either way. We know for sure that Cedeno is an average defensive SS at best, but Young has only played 15 games at second in the Majors, and he only started the game there in 8. That’s not enough of a sample to form ANY kind of opinion, good or bad.
Do I think his glove profiles there? No, but I’m willing to wait and see. He did improve his OF defense from bad to average before the Sanchez trade. Maybe he can master the higher learning curve at second as well. It was, after all, his primary position in the minors.
www.sixtyftsixin.com
by Sixty Feet, Six Inches on Aug 1, 2009 3:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Trouble with Pearce in RF
Is that I think it hurts his trade value. He doesn’t have enough ML reps at 1B for anyone to feel confident placing him there. But, if what we’ve seen is indicative, then he might be a plus defender there which, paired with a competent bat and a league-minimum contract, makes him valuable to any team with an injured (or simply bad) 1B.
But as long as he’s in RF, he’s a minus defender and (probably) a sub-RF bat. There are plenty of guys out there with better bats that you can hide in RF with only slightly worse results than Pearce (DYoung, for instance, who was available for $1).
I don’t think the team sees Pearce as a trade candidate. He’ll be in his prime in 2012. If he plays well, I think they want to keep him around.
www.sixtyftsixin.com
by Sixty Feet, Six Inches on Aug 1, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Tabata is our guy
There’s no doubt that Tabata is the future right fielder. This is the reason I don’t ever worry too much about Moss, Jones or Peace. Not one of those 3 guys has all-star potential, they can be average players at best (Jones could be a little above average I suppose). Tabata on the other hand has upside that compares to the likes of Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen. He’s been crushing the ball in the minors and has earned a promotion to AAA. You say he will be coming up in 2011? I don’t know, I think it could be sooner. Next September isn’t out of the question to me if things fall in place and he continues to get better in Indy. Eventually we’re going to lose Moss for nothing, I’m just hoping that somebody takes an interest in Garrett Jones and gives us something for him, because he isn’t of much value to our franchise.
WInter ball for Young?
Do you think they would have Young play some winter ball to work on his defense? Having primarily been a pinch hitter and spot starter for most of the season, I wouldn’t think he would be too worn out at the end of the season.
Also, maybe Perry Hill can work some magic with him. I don’t know how much credit should go to Hill, but LaRoche the Younger has turned into quite a defensive marvel over at 3B.
Regardless, it seems Young is our only viable option at 2nd for the near future, and his bat definitely seems worth it to give him the shot.
How great is it that we nicked this guy from the Dodgers for a bag of balls and a PTBN? I think it, along with the Jaramillo and Robinzon Diaz trades, are very underrated moves (outside of the Bucs Dugout), that have had a much more substantial impact on our season than I ever would have predicted when they happened.
I heard they got a dollar and a PTBNL.
I think that’d buy them 2 balls, not exactly a bag of balls. :-)
Winter ball for Young is almost guaranteed, I would say.
www.sixtyftsixin.com
by Sixty Feet, Six Inches on Aug 1, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
I still don't believe in Garrett Jones.
In the last seven games, he’s been hitting .208 with 0 HR. He certainly earned a starting spot, but if he doesn’t keep producing, I think it’d be time to put Brandon Moss back in. Like I kept saying, he’d have to keep doing this for several months or even in to next year for me to believe he’s the real deal.
Keep Pearce and Delwyn at 1st and 2nd unless they think there’s someone better in the minors. Clement might eventually take over 1st, but I don’t think there’s anybody there to take over 2nd for Delwyn anytime soon.
7 games = cherry-picking a bad sample.
Like I said, I don’t think he keeps this up, but I think he can play like an average OF.
www.sixtyftsixin.com
by Sixty Feet, Six Inches on Aug 1, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Good Post
Not to suck up, but this is why you’re the boss, Charlie. I think you may still be (slightly) underestimating Nyjer, but I think that you’re basically right about all these guys, and think you did a nice job of laying it all out.
hard to say without knowing the plan
It’s hard to say whether any of these guys are “good” without setting expectations.
If they expect Pearce and Jones to be everyday players, then I agree, neither is particularly good. Judging by recent additions and promotions, I don’t believe that’s the intent. I do think both Jones and Pearce can be contributers in a less than full time capacity.
Moss is going to have to grind it out at this point and capitalize on opportunities. He really hasn’t demonstrated the pedigree or performance to justify giving a full time job to.
Regarding Russell, he’s doing the right thing with Jones. No one knows how long a hot streak will last. Yea, he cooled off on the road, but let’s see if he heats back up now that they’ve returned to PNC.
Bench guys
I worry that neither Pearce nor Jones can hit off the bench. Pearce has already demonstrated that he can’t (conceivably he’ll get comfortable against ML pitching this year and be able to pinch hit in the future, but that’s a long shot at best), and odds are that, come midnight, Jones won’t be able to hit ML pitching in any capacity.
It’s not a big worry, unless the Bucs go into their “good” years relying on these guys to be bench bats, only to discover two 1-for-27 performances later that they’ve got nothing.
Could be
But they’re worth a shot in this transitional period. Pearce clearly made adjustments this year. Jones has some versatility. I wouldn’t exclude them from consideration of a bench role over the next few seasons.
by nick987nick123 on Aug 1, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions
Good timing
well this is a good time for these guys then. They can get serious reps in the big leagues while the future gets their reps in the minors. Jones’ Moss and Pearce could certainly be parts of the team in the future, but their going to have to prove it now, which gives us a reason to watch the Pirates for the rest of 2009.
I would like to see
one good player emerge out of Pearce/Moss/Clement. Moss seems the least likely to be that guy — he basically has a season of ML plate appearances and has been average at best. Pearce and Clement are still question marks. All three are at the end in terms of age (26) if we want them to be good young players. As such, I would like to see them get a full third-season of at-bats down the stretch. Unfortunately, there is no place to play all three. Accordingly, Moss should play everyday in right. Pearce should get the shot at first only because everything I read about Jeff “Hands of Cement” Clement’s defense scares the hell out of me. Thus, I think some remedial defensive instruction at Indy and over the winter is worth a shot so he can compete fully for the 1b job in 2010. Jones just doesn’t make any sense. The at-bats for the rf and 1b positions remaining in this season are an asset and should be used as an evaluation tool for the future. I don’t want to see them wasted.
"Never mistake motion for action." - Ernest Hemingway
Where's cocktailsfor2?
He hasn’t chimed in on why Moss must be played over every other possible OF.
I was ready to pass on Moss as a starter a month ago. He’s had more than enough time to earn a starting spot, but his inconsistency was alarming. Maybe he’ll mature down the road, and shake his streakiness? If so I’m not opposed to seeing him play ahead of someone else. Just don’t know if he’s the everyday player the Bucs will need in the years to come.
by Pensburgh Pirates on Aug 1, 2009 10:08 AM EDT reply actions
Low Ceiling
This is what’s always killed me about Moss. His ceiling is OK average, a little bit of pop – maybe .750 OPS? That’s just not starter material on a good team. It’s nice that his glove is good, but it’s not so good that he becomes a starter (the fact that we have good defenders with better bats in the minors contributes to this sense).
by JRoth95 on Aug 1, 2009 11:05 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I have laid off the Moss thing for a while
for a couple of reasons:
Jones WAS having a good streak, and therefore should’ve been playing as the hot hand. Even though I think it’s to the detriment of Moss’ development, however much or little that may be.
It is apparent that JR is not going to play him consistently, going so far as to leave him out of the lineup after having good games, because of the “lefty-righty” thing, even though IMO that’s complete horsebleep.
I got tired of the repetitive bullcrap arguments with a couple people over and over and over and over and over.
Also, DY is going to get time in the OF even though he’s a complete butcher out there.
I’ve grown tired of banging my head against the proverbial wall over this.
Free your ass and your mind will follow.
by cocktailsfor2 on Aug 1, 2009 8:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Charlie, I don't understand your logic?
You are quick to point out that because Garrett Jones had disappointing AAA stats he would soon fail. Yet, you seem to believe Pearce, too, will also fail but yet he had impressive AAA stats (at least for that one year). This seems to be inconsistent logic and I would like you to explain your rationale.
by Illinois Pirate Fan on Aug 1, 2009 10:42 AM EDT reply actions
It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be. Pearce has been intermittently impressive in the minors, but he was terrible last year.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I would still
like to see Moss play some more just because he’s a little younger and can defend. He doesn’t need to hit nearly as well as Jones or Pearce do to be a valuable player in RF.
Not sure about that
If he were a steady hitter or if he showed more power, I’d be willing to buy that about Moss. But he’s such a liability at the plate for weeks at a time that I have trouble caring about his defense. I’m willing to give up a bat for defense at a position or two, but this team – even with our future players – is light on bats. How can we give one up in RF?
by JRoth95 on Aug 1, 2009 10:57 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Plus
The team doesn’t need defense in RF. Once a guy learns how to play the wall at PNC, you can get away with having very little range. Nady had poor range and played RF just fine.
They can give up some hitting to have a competent defender in LF, but not in right.
by nick987nick123 on Aug 1, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Disagree
Moss’s career UZR/150 is 11.9, which means that over the course of a season he’ll save about 12 runs more with his glove than the average RF. Jones, in a smaller sample size, is around -15 in the outfield, but I think everyone agrees that Jones and Pearce are below average OF defenders. We’ll call Jones -10 over 150 games, which is pfrobably charitable. What all that means is that Jones needs to create 22 more batting runs than Moss over thge course of the season to be as valuable. I think their actual hitting abilities are closer than that, probably much closer based on their minor league hitting records.
Of couse Moss has been pretty bad at the plate and Jones has been great in his limited time here so the argument diesn’t sound so great right now, but that’s how I see it.
Some plate presence can be sacrificed
up the middle if you get superior defensive play, but not at the corner outfield or infield positions, particularly in the National League.
"Never mistake motion for action." - Ernest Hemingway
Brandon Moss
Brandon Moss, too, who’s already gotten plenty of time to prove he’s little more than a decent fourth outfielder
I thought that was kind of the consensus when we acquired him, though: that Moss would turn out to be a decent 4th outfielder. The problem is we don’t have 3 good outfielders to put in front of him right now.
I think perceptions of Moss suffer from the fact that we acquired him in the Bay trade. It seems people (not necessarily you, Charlie!) expect Moss to replace Bay and anything short of that is a failure. That doesn’t strike me as reasonable.
Yeah, the consensus was Moss as a 4th OF. The argument about playing him was that we should find out for sure if that were true or not.
www.sixtyftsixin.com
by Sixty Feet, Six Inches on Aug 1, 2009 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions
I believe that’s about what I said. And I’m satisfied that we’ve found out. If he can get hot and earn more playing time, I’m fine with that, but if not, I think he should probably be a defensive sub on days he doesn’t start and get 250-300 PAs a year.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Pearce
Someone didn’t get this memo, Pearce not in the lineup
I don't understand the line,
“a lot of people, including John Russell, have gotten far too excited over a career minor leaguer on a hot streak.”
What does this mean? JR shouldn’t be pleased that one of his players is performing exceptionally well? JR shouldn’t have penciled him in the lineup for 25 games when he is on this incredible hot streak? Why has JR gotten “far too excited,” what is the proof for this statement and what should he be doing and how should he be reacting in your opinion? This seems to be criticism that has no basis in fact. In fact it seems to be something that is the type of criticism that we scream about on the PBC blog—totally grounded in nothing, but from the complete other side of the fence.
Sure some fans are going to overreact, but fans misunderstand and overreact to everything, so who cares. Most people have been arguing to play Jones while he is this hot streak, give him 300 at bats and see what happens. 300 at bats in the ML this year with the 200 in Indy he got earlier this year, combined with the 550 he got last year—those 1,000 at bats will begin to trump what happened before. If he fails so be it. If he succeeds, great. Nothing more, nothing less.
I don’t really know why you’re so convinced that I just made this up out of whole cloth, like I do that all the time… Russell likes Jones a lot and hasn’t been shy about saying so.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981854-63.stm
"I’m getting excited about our lineup, to be honest with you, and that has a lot to do with Garrett," Russell said before the game. Of Jones specifically, Russell added, "He could be one of those guys who just hasn’t been given the opportunity. We think he looks really good, and we’re looking forward to seeing more."
This was after Jones had played only a few games. “Opportunity” had nothing to do with it. He hadn’t earned a big league job.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions
No,
I think you are hammering JR for saying basically nothing. “He could be….” It’s a meaningless quote. I’m asking you what you would like him to say and do?
What is Russell supposed to say?
I wouldn’t read this much into Russell’s public comments. He is just saying what has to be said from a PR perspective.
I am not particularly high on Jones or Pearce. And remained shocked at Morgan.
I commented on the LaRoche trade thread that I wouldn’t want Kotchman not because I like Jones, Pearce or even Moss particularly. I am also not drinking any sort of kool-aid with regards to what was brought back to the PBC in the LaRoche trade. I just saw no point to Kotchman on the Pirates.
The manager, or general manager, could give a player a halo and angel wings, distribute a tract describing the player as a god, and tie his shirts together to make a carpet for the player to walk from the dugout to the plate, and if I wrote that this was weird, somebody would be on here saying, “How do you EXPECT him to act?”
I’m sorry; I don’t mean to be a smart-aleck. And I get that the manager isn’t going to say anything negative. But there’s a huge difference between “We’re encouraged by Garrett’s performance so far” and the over-the-top effusion of “I’m getting excited about our lineup, to be honest with you, and that has a lot to do with Garrett.”
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Well in this case.....
I think it’s relevant because when the GM was perfectly candid YOU did rip him as I linked below.
How is that any kind of contradiction? He’s probably also being perfectly candid in the Jones quote, just (IMO) in a way that strikes me as being inaccurate and silly.
I just don’t see why you’re up in arms about this. Seriously, is JR worth all this energy? If Jones is getting him excited about the Pirates’ lineup, I’m sorry, but he’s lost perspective on the situation, because the Pirates’ lineup and a AAA journeyman are nothing to get excited about. If Russell thinks it even MIGHT be the case that Jones was blocked in any meaningful way, that is wrong.
The accusatory tone of your posts is, in my opinion, bizarre.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you are being a fool here.....
…..just because you don’t want to admit you are wrong.
Wrong about what? Russell himself says he’s excited about Jones. I don’t think that excitement is warranted. This isn’t really a right/wrong issue.
If you want to argue with me, that’s fine. But please don’t call me names if you want to engage in any sort of dialogue with me. I’ve got better things to do.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Pretty simple....
Wrong that there was nothing else for Russell to say.
Wrong in the first place that Kotchman was of any use to the Pirates.
Calling you names? Damned, you are thin skinned.
This is a great blog. You have many excellent points. But in this case you are taking criticism very poorly.
Would you prefer....
“We don’t think he’s very good, we’re just playing him because he’s hot right now. This certainly can’t last but were gonna squeeze all the juice out of it that we can?”
I’m pretty sure after ripping NH for saying negative things about Jack,
http://www.bucsdugout.com/2009/7/20/955421/pirates-flummoxed-by-jack-wilson
(and many should note that NH’s comments seemingly had zero effect on his ability to move either Jack or Freddy, as they suggested it would.)
you probably don’t think that’s the right approach.
You are going to take that line and say JR “has gotten far too excited”? I think it was a completely unnecessary potshot at JR. And again I ask, what would you prefer, that he just left out the “He could be one of those guys who just hasn’t been given the opportunity.”
I don't mean.....
to be an ass about this and I’m nitpicking. But there is such relentless criticism of this team and organization, that at times I just look for things I can defend.
Having to listen to the national media this past week that is generally so unwilling to do any research to actually analyze what the team is doing, the PBC blog, DK’s salary-dump opinions that aren’t opinions, the trolls on this site……it occasionally sets me off.
I am seriously enthusiastic about the franchise’s direction for the first time in 10-12 years. I think NH and FC are doing an awesome job in the sense that they have a plan and are following it come hell or high water. We’ll see in a few years about their talent evaluation abilities. But, I love the direction that they have charted. And I love what Kyle Stark seems to be doing to the minor league organization. Also cited in this Edge article:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/01/different-milledge-spurs-pirates-to-win/
So as NH’s bitch and Pres of MVP’s fan club I apologize for occasionally be overzealous.
I understand. I think we’ve all been there.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 1, 2009 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Mossome
Good to see the JR reward system still works…and this time it should make Moss fans happy. Pearce goes yard and gets benched so Moss can play today. Go figure. Karma I guess. lol
No kidding
It’s like the exact opposite of Michel Therien, who gave guys power play minutes or minutes on Crosby’s line just for saying “hi, Coach” at the morning skate.
HORSESHIT PIRATE TEAM
BOYCOTT THE PIRATES SEND THAT DIPSHIT OWNER PACKING
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