It’s stupid to have Brent Morel, Jayson Nix and Michael Martinez on the same bench, batting, respectively .143, .137 and .128.
It’s stupid to have Morel start at third base under any circumstance, much less in this latest loss, 7-3 to the Braves on Monday night at PNC Park, much less when a team was trying in vain to cut off a losing streak before it hit six.
And it goes far beyond stupid to have Morel bat in the bottom of the sixth, with the score 6-3, runners at second and third and no outs, when those runs are imperative, and strike out.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Managers love movable pieces, especially when they’ve lost a shortstop and center fielder — the toughest positions to fill — and that’s the culprit here. Clint Hurdle is missing Jordy Mercer and Andrew McCutchen, so when Neal Huntington asks Hurdle’s needs, Hurdle responds with flexibility. In turn, Huntington hands over a steaming pile of multi-positional journeymen, rather than overruling his manager by stressing the need for a late-inning pinch-hit.
The result is as sickly as it is stupid.
But malicious?
Man alive, for all the inane narratives that populate the airwaves and social media, this latest torrent about how Huntington failed to build a bench or how the team took the cheap route is so nonsensical it’s hard to summon a rational response.
But I’ll try, anyway …
The bench this GM built actually ranks No. 1 in the National League in pinch-hits, including, for crying out loud, an All-Star in Josh Harrison. And Travis Snider has 13 of those pinch-hits, among the most in baseball. That’s the bench that was built. Now, what’s become of the bench is different. Harrison and Snider are both starters of late because of those injuries to Mercer, McCutchen and, until recently, Neil Walker. And obviously, when the bench guys are forced to start, by definition, the bench will weaken.
That’s the simple part. Here’s the not-so-simple: No team in baseball — not the Yankees, Dodgers or anyone regardless of payroll — can stockpile major-league depth in Class AAA. It can’t happen because the waiver/option process doesn’t allow it. If, for example, Huntington wanted to acquire some really high-grade fourth-outfielder type and stash him away in Indianapolis for a rainy day, it would look wonderful right up until some other team claimed that guy during his ride across I-70.
Roster depth ends at 25 in baseball, unless you’re talking about major-league ready prospects. That’s how it works everywhere, not just in Pittsburgh.
Now, does that absolve Huntington, Hurdle, et al of blame here?
Wow, no.
Lambo
The real stupidity in play here, to repeat from above, is that the Pirates are valuing flexibility over a bench bat. That’s why those three automatic outs were at PNC Park last night, even as Andrew Lambo was belting two more home runs for Indianapolis vs. Louisville and raising his numbers to a .322 average, .385 on-base percentage, seven home runs, 19 doubles, two triples and 35 RBIs in 54 games since returning from an injured thumb.
It should never have happened. Lambo should be here. Not today, not even yesterday, but last week.
Moreover, the underlying reason why he isn’t here is less logical than the flexibility nonsense: It’s that Hurdle and his staff had such high hopes for Lambo in spring training, only to watch him crumble and eventually crawl into a shell. They flat-out lost faith.
I was there. I saw it and talked to all involved as it was happening, and it wasn’t pretty. Hurdle badly wanted Lambo to come through. He told me this one morning in Fort Myers, and he spoke it with a passion. Lambo desperately wanted to come through, as well. But he blew it, and he knew it.
One day down there, Lambo said, “I feel like this is my big chance and …”
He didn’t finish the sentence because he didn’t need to. Later that week, he was told first base was again up for grabs.
At the higher level, Huntington hardly can be excused for failing to add to the bench — and bullpen — at the trade deadline, when clear needs had emerged. I wrote precisely that at the time, and it’s only worsened since.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
OK, fine, so all that happened. But it’s over now, and all concerned need to move on, do what’s best for these Pirates right now, and have Lambo here by gametime Tuesday night.
If that isn’t already too late.
The home clubhouse carried all the right vibes and said all the right stuff afterward. This was Vance Worley, on toughing it out after that excruciating six-run first …
And here was Walker, whose river shot and two bombs from Starling Marte would be filed under futile, on the state of the club …
But things have to change, and they’ve got to change now. McCutchen’s expected return Tuesday will help, but it’s already proven he can’t do it without a supporting cast.
Continuing to suppress that support cast is … well, you know.
August 18, 2014
Column: Bench makeup stupid, stupid, stupid
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Pirates
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
The Pirates do stupid things sometimes.
Can we start there?
It’s stupid to have Brent Morel, Jayson Nix and Michael Martinez on the same bench, batting, respectively .143, .137 and .128.
It’s stupid to have Morel start at third base under any circumstance, much less in this latest loss, 7-3 to the Braves on Monday night at PNC Park, much less when a team was trying in vain to cut off a losing streak before it hit six.
And it goes far beyond stupid to have Morel bat in the bottom of the sixth, with the score 6-3, runners at second and third and no outs, when those runs are imperative, and strike out.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Managers love movable pieces, especially when they’ve lost a shortstop and center fielder — the toughest positions to fill — and that’s the culprit here. Clint Hurdle is missing Jordy Mercer and Andrew McCutchen, so when Neal Huntington asks Hurdle’s needs, Hurdle responds with flexibility. In turn, Huntington hands over a steaming pile of multi-positional journeymen, rather than overruling his manager by stressing the need for a late-inning pinch-hit.
The result is as sickly as it is stupid.
But malicious?
Man alive, for all the inane narratives that populate the airwaves and social media, this latest torrent about how Huntington failed to build a bench or how the team took the cheap route is so nonsensical it’s hard to summon a rational response.
But I’ll try, anyway …
The bench this GM built actually ranks No. 1 in the National League in pinch-hits, including, for crying out loud, an All-Star in Josh Harrison. And Travis Snider has 13 of those pinch-hits, among the most in baseball. That’s the bench that was built. Now, what’s become of the bench is different. Harrison and Snider are both starters of late because of those injuries to Mercer, McCutchen and, until recently, Neil Walker. And obviously, when the bench guys are forced to start, by definition, the bench will weaken.
That’s the simple part. Here’s the not-so-simple: No team in baseball — not the Yankees, Dodgers or anyone regardless of payroll — can stockpile major-league depth in Class AAA. It can’t happen because the waiver/option process doesn’t allow it. If, for example, Huntington wanted to acquire some really high-grade fourth-outfielder type and stash him away in Indianapolis for a rainy day, it would look wonderful right up until some other team claimed that guy during his ride across I-70.
Roster depth ends at 25 in baseball, unless you’re talking about major-league ready prospects. That’s how it works everywhere, not just in Pittsburgh.
Now, does that absolve Huntington, Hurdle, et al of blame here?
Wow, no.
Lambo
The real stupidity in play here, to repeat from above, is that the Pirates are valuing flexibility over a bench bat. That’s why those three automatic outs were at PNC Park last night, even as Andrew Lambo was belting two more home runs for Indianapolis vs. Louisville and raising his numbers to a .322 average, .385 on-base percentage, seven home runs, 19 doubles, two triples and 35 RBIs in 54 games since returning from an injured thumb.
It should never have happened. Lambo should be here. Not today, not even yesterday, but last week.
Moreover, the underlying reason why he isn’t here is less logical than the flexibility nonsense: It’s that Hurdle and his staff had such high hopes for Lambo in spring training, only to watch him crumble and eventually crawl into a shell. They flat-out lost faith.
I was there. I saw it and talked to all involved as it was happening, and it wasn’t pretty. Hurdle badly wanted Lambo to come through. He told me this one morning in Fort Myers, and he spoke it with a passion. Lambo desperately wanted to come through, as well. But he blew it, and he knew it.
One day down there, Lambo said, “I feel like this is my big chance and …”
He didn’t finish the sentence because he didn’t need to. Later that week, he was told first base was again up for grabs.
At the higher level, Huntington hardly can be excused for failing to add to the bench — and bullpen — at the trade deadline, when clear needs had emerged. I wrote precisely that at the time, and it’s only worsened since.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
OK, fine, so all that happened. But it’s over now, and all concerned need to move on, do what’s best for these Pirates right now, and have Lambo here by gametime Tuesday night.
If that isn’t already too late.
The home clubhouse carried all the right vibes and said all the right stuff afterward. This was Vance Worley, on toughing it out after that excruciating six-run first …
And here was Walker, whose river shot and two bombs from Starling Marte would be filed under futile, on the state of the club …
But things have to change, and they’ve got to change now. McCutchen’s expected return Tuesday will help, but it’s already proven he can’t do it without a supporting cast.
Continuing to suppress that support cast is … well, you know.