Wednesday, October 17, 2007

2007 Review: Positional Odds and Ends

Time to round up the position players on the team that don't deserve a full post for one reason or another.

Jose Castillo: The giant cloud of potential that used to make up Jose Castillo completely dispersed this year as he lost his every day job and never once resembled a good hitter. Stick a fork in this guy, I'm not even sure he's useful as a utility player right now.

Cesar Izturis: Only ever on the team because Jim Tracy has a giant man-crush on him. Just a terrible, terrible hitter. If we pick up his $5 million option for next year I will demand Huntington's resignation on the spot.

Steve Pearce: Awesome year in the minor leagues where he established himself as a legitimate prospect. Didn't fare too poorly in his short stint with the Buccos, though he didn't show much of the power that zoomed him through the minors this year (from Lynchburg to Pittsburgh). He'll probably start the year at Indy next year, though I hope they give him a fair shot at making the club and just seeing what he can do because I think he's got some considerable upside.

Don Kelly and Matt Kata: The fact that these two were on the Pirates at all and managed to get 100 PAs between them embarrasses me.

Josh Phelps: Killed the ball in limited duty as backup first baseman/third string catcher. If he had the ability to play outfield, I think he'd be really useful. As it stands, he's mostly just good for spelling LaRoche against lefties, which means he's not really useful at all. I guess he'd be a good pinch-hitter to keep on the bench or something because no one is going to want him in a trade.

Carlos Maldanado: As near as I can tell he is a real person and not a figment of my imagination.