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…as the Mets kick off an abbreviated two-game series with the Pirates tonight, i did a quick Q & A with Charlie Wilmoth, who blogs about the Pirates for Bucs Dugout…
D.J. Short:
I’ll start off with something positive: Nate McLouth, who homered twice Sunday. Did you see this potential in him during the second half of last season?
Charlie Wilmoth:
Well, I obviously didn’t think he’d be THIS good. But I, and a number of other fans and bloggers, have been ranting on-and-off for years about McLouth’s playing time. He’s always had a skill set that’s unusual for a Pirate prospect (plate discipline, some power, genuine baserunning ability that goes beyond simply being fast), and he’s had to compete against players like Chris Duffy and Nyjer Morgan, who can’t hit. Morgan’s only virtue as a baseball player is that he’s exciting, mostly because he goes a little too crazy on
the bases and dives around a lot in the outfield after balls that would’ve been much easier to catch if he would’ve run in a straight line to get to them. One would think that serious talent evaluators would’ve been able to see right through that kind of excitement, but Dave Littlefield and his crack front office couldn’t. And so it’s taken years for McLouth to win a starting job.
D.J. Short:
With Moises Alou’s rehab predictably delayed, many Mets fans have been asking about Xavier Nady again. Do you think he will be traded at some point this season?
Charlie Wilmoth:
Yes. He’s useful but not good enough to build around, and the Pirates have a crowded outfield.
D.J. Short:
Were you surprised to see the Pirates cut their losses on Matt Morris? In a weird way, does his release signify progress for the organization?
Charlie Wilmoth:
I wasn’t surprised, no. He was so bad on so many levels, it simply had to happen. In my view, it doesn’t necessarily mean the Pirates are making progress. For example, early in the tenure of the Pirates’ previous GM, Dave Littlefield, the Bucs dumped Derek “Operation Shutdown” Bell. It was easy for Littlefield to identify and admit his predecessor’s mistakes, but that didn’t prevent him from making plenty of his own. Time will tell whether history is repeating itself here with new GM Neal Huntington.
D.J. Short:
What happened to Tom Gorzelanny? Just a bad month, or cause for greater concern?
Charlie Wilmoth:
Cause for greater concern. Former manager Jim Tracy rode him hard down the stretch last year in a desperate attempt to save his job, and Gorzelanny got scratched from his first Spring Training start because of shoulder stiffness. So far this year, Gorzelanny’s
velocity has been off, and his numbers have been horrific. If a good starting pitcher racks up 22 walks in 22.1 innings, as Gorzelanny has so far this year, it’s probably not a fluke. Something’s wrong.
D.J. Short:
You’ve been running an excellent “Worst General Manager” poll on your site recently. Which results have surprised you the most?
Charlie Wilmoth:
Thanks. The most surprising development was that Reds GM Wayne Krivsky got fired just before he was supposed to square off against top seed Brian Sabean. I’m sure Sabean would have annihilated him, so I guess the Reds’ ownership spared him that indignity. I’m also shocked that Omar Minaya didn’t make it past the first round. Oh well, Mets fans – wait ’til next year!
…thanks, Charlie…by the way, if you are a fan of independent music or college radio, check out his work for Dusted Magazine, as well…
why is he shocked Omar Minaya didn’t make it past the first round? Is there really that strong a sentiment throughout baseball that he is a horrible gm? Sure he’s made some poor moves, but also some great ones. How is he horrible?
I don’t think a Pirates fan has any useful persepctive on the topic. I feel bad for al of them – they deserve better.
Agreed. The only bad move that really comes to mind is the Bannister deal, and there’s no way he could’ve known that Burgos would’ve gotten injured that severely that early on. People get on him for the LM deal, but his value was down, and he was able to get 2 good starters for 1, and in hindsight I don’t think any one is really questioning this move any more, at least for the short term.
Again, not perfect, but far from horrible.
I was actually just kidding. I don’t think he’s that bad.
I really hope this front office finally gets it together…PNC is a fantastic park, and you guys deserve good baseball.
This is true… any organization that gave us all Roberto Clemente deserves better. Regardless of the rivalry from the early-mid 60’s, I still have a warm spot for the black lid w/ the yellow P.
well….. exept when they play our Amazin’s
Yeah – it kinda seemed like a low blow when I first read it, then I was like, “he can’t be serious”…we Met fans may talk all that sh*t on our guys on Metsblog, but when it comes to defending them against other teams, watch out! he can be the worse out there, we’ll still go and vote in his favor….
no fracture for alou…back in az on friday
but for how long?
he should really only play like 4 times a week…
How would that help?
I don’t see that it would make him any less likely to be injured per inning played. It just means that in addition to missing games to injury, he’ll be missing games to sitting down.
That’s exactly right. His injuries don’t seem to come from wearing down and playing too much – it’s usually some freak thing that could happen any day, any time. I don’t understand the thinking of sitting him down if he’s healthy….he was hurt, as in injured…not tired, like Jose last year or Piazza in 2005….if he’s healthy, we need to run him out there (as long as he doesn’t get tired) and maximize whatever we can get out of him because….as we all know, some freak thing is bound to happen again…
not necessarily true…something like a groin or a quad or some other type of muscle strain can be due to wear and tear…it’s not like im the only one to think of this anyway…we all know willie believes in giving his guys rest
Anyone going to tonight’s game? I am considering going, but don’t have tickets. How hard would it be to get tickets at the stadium?
I think today is a “value” game, so I’m sure you could get seats pretty easy.
They have $5 tickets today. From their fanmail: “The Mets host the Pirates tonight and tomorrow at Shea Stadium. Tickets start at $5, and great seats are still available. Join the lineup!”
So word is that Alou is ok, and will be activated for Friday’s game…He is actually working out with the team today…Schneider on the otherhand, is still in the hospital…Whatever he’s got, it must be pretty nasty
staph infection, and they are indeed nasty.
Interesting that he gave such a definitive response about their desire to trade Nady.