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Young Blood Invigorates Pirates!

So says Paul Meyer. (Their opponents don't seem to notice).

I like Zach Duke, Ryan Doumit and company as much as the next guy, but the notion that they've somehow invigorated the Bucs has no particular basis in fact. Duke's performance has been exceptional, of course, but the Pirates are 9-12 since he's arrived. They've been 3-6 since Chris Duffy returned. And so on. The Pirates haven't played well at all recently. (Taking three of four from the Rockies doesn't impress me much, either.)

My point is this: I know I shouldn't care, but Paul Meyer is a hack. He could've explained how the callups of these players were necessary because of injuries and performance, and then explained how letting these guys play positions the Pirates for the future, perhaps including a quote or two from Dave Littlefield.

Instead, Meyer probably asked Jack Wilson a softball question that could only produce an enthusiastic response ('So, Jack, what do you think of the young guys?'). Then, he let Wilson explode with meaningless optimism for several paragraphs: "It's great. There's nothing like it... I enjoy it... They're all buddies. It's really good. It definitely helps the team."

Great! I enjoy it! It's really good! Then, add a bizarrely narcissistic quote from Lloyd McClendon...

(Okay, I admit, it's a good one: "There's this word going around that I don't like young players. I don't like young players who can't play..." I guess Craig Wilson can't play, then.)

... and tack on a rah-rah intro sentence ("It seems unanimous that the recent infusion of players from Class AAA Indianapolis has provided a spark for the Pirates"), and you've got a piece of Great, Really Good, Enjoyable, Helpful journalism that would be even more Great if the Pirates had just hired him to write it for them.