Beating a dead manager

I haven’t had much chance to post since last week, but I can sum up the Cardinal series and last night’s game with the following well worn points:

• Just because the press calls Mesa the team’s closer, doesn’t mean he always needs to pitch the 9th inning when the Pirates have a lead. If he is struggling (and clearly he’s beyond struggling right now) let someone else grab a save or two. It doesn’t make sense to manage according to labels, and not according to who gives you the best chance to win.

• John Grabow has had a fine season, but why oh why does he continue to get the high leverage innings that call for a left hander. Mike Gonzalez has been excellent this year. Give him more opportunities in the clutch.

• John Van Benschoten remains the Pirates best hitting prospect. He might even be a good enough hitter to deserve a roster spot with the Pirates right now.

• Kip Wells – elbow, out indefinitely. Sean Burnett – elbow, out indefinitely. I’ll say it again….trying to build primarily through pitching is a dangerous proposition for small budget teams because so many young pitchers end up blowing a tire on the way to stardom.

posted by bkopec @ 9:14 AM   1 comments