Comments on: Two Promotions the Pirates Need to Make

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:41:00 +0000

Yeah, in his last 2 years in the majors he has a .286/.360/.393 line.
Of course this is only in 100 plate appearances, but these numbers look a
lot better than the other options. And I certainly would call them “horrible.”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:45:00 +0000

He was hitting 291 with one homer in 55 at bats before he went down. That is better than any one who plays first on the team right now. Defense seems solid too

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:20:00 +0000

If D’Arnaud is ready to compete at the big level, he should be brought up. From an organizational standpoint, that also puts Mercer at AAA where he needs to be. That’s an easy move that would just require Ciriaco going back to AAA. Presley is a little tougher move, in that someone is going to have to be let go or traded to make a move. Overbay should be the guy moved if that’s the move. His swing doesn’t seem to be a fit for PNC when he does make contact. My question about Presley, is does he provide a marked improvement over Paul? Even though Paul has no power to speak of, he provides stellar defense, and outstanding speed. If it were me, with the way the roster stands today. I’d move Jones to first and play him against righthanders and move Wood there against lefties. I’d platoon Paul in right against righthanders with Diaz, and I would bat Tabata, Paul, McCutchen as the top three in the order and I’d be running like crazy. They need to be stealing second more often since they lack the power to get there more often than not.

Like it or not, this team will go as far as speed, defense and pitching take it. Teams have won with that formula before, there’s just less room for error.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:45:00 +0000

I agree this needs to happen and probably already should have. Give these guys a shot, the big league squad needs a boost of energy. I agree that bringing up D’Arnaud will really make Cedeno work harder, Pressly deserves a shot.

By: Todd Smith

Todd Smith — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:56:00 +0000

Oh, I have no expectations that Presley is a long-term solution for this team. I’m definitely at the “can’t do any worse” point as well. I don’t see Cedeno, Diaz, Overbay, Paul or Jones as long-term solutions either though. With the way this offense is struggling, I don’t think it should be that difficult to find a roster spot or playing time.

By: white angus

white angus — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:28:00 +0000

i agree about Overbay not hitting well, Tim. i really do. but Jones is not the answer at 1B. his so called hot streak will be over soon and then his game, plus his confidence, will be shot for another month or so.

jones’ swing does look much better lately though. i hope im wrong about him but i dont think i am this time.

By: white angus

white angus — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:26:00 +0000

matt hague is actually playing 3B almost exclusively in the month of June. looks like they know his bat wont play in the majors unless he becomes more like Pearce or even Harrison by playing more positions.

By: white angus

white angus — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:25:00 +0000

no one is arguing against Presley nor d’Arnaud… in fact, d’Arnaud is argued to be a real prospect while Presley is not.

cedeno is alot like Jones. what you see is what you get. neither is going to magically become an above average hitter. however, Cedeno has become a stellar defender at the 2nd hardest position to play.
good news concerning d’Arnaud is that he is having a good year defensively as well. so thats a plus for him.

just remember this; Ronny Cedeno has a lifetime batting average of
.357 in tripleA. so you really need to temper your expectations of guys like Presley.

that being said, Presley does deserve a shot, but whom gets replaced for him to get that chance?

By: Todd Smith

Todd Smith — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:20:00 +0000

Matt Hague is putting up some interesting numbers at AAA. How is he defensively compared to Jones?

By: Todd Smith

Todd Smith — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:10:00 +0000

That’s absurd. Walker was hitting .321/.392/.560 at AAA last year. He was going to get his chance whether Iwamura struggled or not.

Iwamura hit .182/.292/.267 and they still let him start almost up until June with a better option at AAA. They are doing the same thing this year.

Outside of Cedeno’s infamous “two good weeks at the plate”, he is hitting .187 on the year – including a .156/.207/.247 line since May 24th. No excuse for letting him continue to start every game.