Where I am right now
This has been a great week for the Pittsburgh Pirates. We've (so far) beaten up on the two titans of the NL East, taking 4 out of 5 games from the Marlins and Braves, with two to go against the Braves. We beat AJ Burnett, Brian Moehler (who came into Wednesday's game with us with an ERA of under two, then gave up 5 runs in less than six innings) and Tim Hudson. None of these wins really looked like flukes, and I find myself wondering how we can have such a great week, and yet I can feel so negative about the team.
Back on April 23rd, I posted an ideal lineup. Since then Craig Wilson has gotten hurt and Jose Castillo has emerged as a much better second baseman than I thought he would, but the lineup Lloyd discovered this week is pretty close to the one I was calling for in April (I think he made the right move picking Sanchez over Hill at third). The players aren't quite batting in the order I would've liked in April, but hey, things change, and the basic order he's going with in his right-handed lineup looks good to me (except Mackowiak batting 4th and Ward batting 5th last night, I was not a fan of that, look at it this way, Mackowiak will score from second on just about anything, but Ward needs someone like Mackowiak behind to drive a ball to score him on the basepaths). It took from April 23rd (actually, I posted a very similar lineup on April 11th, my second post ever, but there were some cosmetic tweaks made from the 11th to the 23rd) until the beginning of June for Lloyd to see the things I saw in his own players and put them together on the field. Even the blind squirrell finds the nut faster than that. I know I'm not the only person that's been calling for a similar lineup, and I'm not going to gloat, but the fact is, with Lawton, Sanchez, Bay, Ward, Mackowiak, Castillo, Cota, and JWilson playing, they're a lineup no one wants to face. Each player in that lineup can hurt you, especially now that Sanchez is filling the gaping void that was the #2 slot in our order (look at the difference him batting second made last night, resist the urge to move Jack back to 2 Lloyd, resist it!). This isn't the problem, the problem is the lineup we trot out against lefties. I don't know how any one person can look at the lineup that we play against right handed hitters and see their success, then think to themselves that Sanchez, TRedman, Bay, Wigginton, Castillo, Restovich, Ross, JWilson will have the same effect. They go from one of the stronger lineups in the NL to the weakest lineup in the NL on a daily basis. Lloyd said after the Dontrelle Willis game that he doesn't play Ward and Mackowiak against lefties because if they have a bad night it "might mess with their heads and they might go out and have a bad night against a righty" (or something to that effect). What a load of crap. My dad's friend was recently remembering the late 60s when Larry Sheppard managed the Pirates. He liked to platoon Willie Stargell because he thought he couldn't hit lefties. Danny Murtaugh took over in 1970, put Stargell in the lineup everyday, and said "Willie's a good player. He can hit anybody. Just let him go." They won a World Series the next year (I don't know the validity of this story, but they guy is a big Pirates fan and was so in the 60s, a time that I wasn't exactly around for, and baseball-reference.com says Stargell didn't even make 500 PAs in 1968). Maybe Mackowiak and Daryle Ward aren't Pops, but hey, Willie Stargell wasn't always Pops either. Someone had to give him a chance to play every day to become the guy that is so revered in Pittsburgh today.
This whole thing has left with one gigantic fear, whether it's a rational one or not remains to be seen. Craig Wilson will be back, maybe even by the end of this month (at the earliest). That means a roster spot will open up. It seems pretty obvious the move is to waive Restovich or trade Lawton (because based on current performance, when Craig comes back he should be our starting right fielder and Law-dog should hit the bench), but this little voice in my head is telling me Mackowiak is only playing against righties for a reason. To keep his average, and thus trade value, up. It wasn't a very well-kept secret that Littlefield was shopping Mackowiak this spring, and the way he's being played now makes it seem to me like he's being showcased. He plays the outfield, he plays third (hey buyers, look at how versatile this guy is!), he bats everywhere in the lineup, but only plays against righties, keeping that average around .330-.340. I guess I've had my heart ripped out by the Pirates too many times to be this paranoid, but all I keep hearing from the higher ups on the team is how this team is building for the future. I think they need to look at the field. The future is guys like Rob Mackowiak. I've been watching this core group of guys very closely this year and last year and let me tell you what, there is plenty of talent. If Ryan Doumit catching means we go back to the days of second base being free and no pitchers reaching their full potential in Pittsburgh because the catcher can't handle them, I don't want him catching. If Brad Eldred's play at first base even resembles Ty Wigginton's I'd rather watch Daryle Ward (who has improved a hundred-fold at first over last year). Maybe Duffy and McLouth are good outfielders, but would you rather see them everyday than Mackowiak, Bay, or Craig Wilson? I wouldn't. I suppose I'd rather see these guys than Restovich, Tike, and Wigginton, but hey, I'd rather see a high school team at this point. The pitching we have between AAA, the Majors, and the DL (Burnett and VanBenschoten) is phenomenal. The future isn't 2007. It's here now. From everything I've seen since the beginning of May, and especially on Tueday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week, it's going to be a crime if the Pirates don't finish .500 this year, but instead of expecting it, I'm just trying to figure out how the people that run the team will screw it up this time. And that's the problem.
Back on April 23rd, I posted an ideal lineup. Since then Craig Wilson has gotten hurt and Jose Castillo has emerged as a much better second baseman than I thought he would, but the lineup Lloyd discovered this week is pretty close to the one I was calling for in April (I think he made the right move picking Sanchez over Hill at third). The players aren't quite batting in the order I would've liked in April, but hey, things change, and the basic order he's going with in his right-handed lineup looks good to me (except Mackowiak batting 4th and Ward batting 5th last night, I was not a fan of that, look at it this way, Mackowiak will score from second on just about anything, but Ward needs someone like Mackowiak behind to drive a ball to score him on the basepaths). It took from April 23rd (actually, I posted a very similar lineup on April 11th, my second post ever, but there were some cosmetic tweaks made from the 11th to the 23rd) until the beginning of June for Lloyd to see the things I saw in his own players and put them together on the field. Even the blind squirrell finds the nut faster than that. I know I'm not the only person that's been calling for a similar lineup, and I'm not going to gloat, but the fact is, with Lawton, Sanchez, Bay, Ward, Mackowiak, Castillo, Cota, and JWilson playing, they're a lineup no one wants to face. Each player in that lineup can hurt you, especially now that Sanchez is filling the gaping void that was the #2 slot in our order (look at the difference him batting second made last night, resist the urge to move Jack back to 2 Lloyd, resist it!). This isn't the problem, the problem is the lineup we trot out against lefties. I don't know how any one person can look at the lineup that we play against right handed hitters and see their success, then think to themselves that Sanchez, TRedman, Bay, Wigginton, Castillo, Restovich, Ross, JWilson will have the same effect. They go from one of the stronger lineups in the NL to the weakest lineup in the NL on a daily basis. Lloyd said after the Dontrelle Willis game that he doesn't play Ward and Mackowiak against lefties because if they have a bad night it "might mess with their heads and they might go out and have a bad night against a righty" (or something to that effect). What a load of crap. My dad's friend was recently remembering the late 60s when Larry Sheppard managed the Pirates. He liked to platoon Willie Stargell because he thought he couldn't hit lefties. Danny Murtaugh took over in 1970, put Stargell in the lineup everyday, and said "Willie's a good player. He can hit anybody. Just let him go." They won a World Series the next year (I don't know the validity of this story, but they guy is a big Pirates fan and was so in the 60s, a time that I wasn't exactly around for, and baseball-reference.com says Stargell didn't even make 500 PAs in 1968). Maybe Mackowiak and Daryle Ward aren't Pops, but hey, Willie Stargell wasn't always Pops either. Someone had to give him a chance to play every day to become the guy that is so revered in Pittsburgh today.
This whole thing has left with one gigantic fear, whether it's a rational one or not remains to be seen. Craig Wilson will be back, maybe even by the end of this month (at the earliest). That means a roster spot will open up. It seems pretty obvious the move is to waive Restovich or trade Lawton (because based on current performance, when Craig comes back he should be our starting right fielder and Law-dog should hit the bench), but this little voice in my head is telling me Mackowiak is only playing against righties for a reason. To keep his average, and thus trade value, up. It wasn't a very well-kept secret that Littlefield was shopping Mackowiak this spring, and the way he's being played now makes it seem to me like he's being showcased. He plays the outfield, he plays third (hey buyers, look at how versatile this guy is!), he bats everywhere in the lineup, but only plays against righties, keeping that average around .330-.340. I guess I've had my heart ripped out by the Pirates too many times to be this paranoid, but all I keep hearing from the higher ups on the team is how this team is building for the future. I think they need to look at the field. The future is guys like Rob Mackowiak. I've been watching this core group of guys very closely this year and last year and let me tell you what, there is plenty of talent. If Ryan Doumit catching means we go back to the days of second base being free and no pitchers reaching their full potential in Pittsburgh because the catcher can't handle them, I don't want him catching. If Brad Eldred's play at first base even resembles Ty Wigginton's I'd rather watch Daryle Ward (who has improved a hundred-fold at first over last year). Maybe Duffy and McLouth are good outfielders, but would you rather see them everyday than Mackowiak, Bay, or Craig Wilson? I wouldn't. I suppose I'd rather see these guys than Restovich, Tike, and Wigginton, but hey, I'd rather see a high school team at this point. The pitching we have between AAA, the Majors, and the DL (Burnett and VanBenschoten) is phenomenal. The future isn't 2007. It's here now. From everything I've seen since the beginning of May, and especially on Tueday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week, it's going to be a crime if the Pirates don't finish .500 this year, but instead of expecting it, I'm just trying to figure out how the people that run the team will screw it up this time. And that's the problem.