Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Pirates 2004 review

Now that the 2004 regular season is well behind us, it's time to assess the Pirates season. To make things easier, I'll grade the Pirates on a position by position basis. The grades are strictly based on the combination of performances that the Pirates got out of the players who played the position over the course of the season. I'll sporadically post additional positional reviews in the next few days/weeks. Today, I'll take a look at catcher and first base.

Since the goal of every franchise is to win a championship, my grading scale takes into consideration what kind of performance is necessary at each position to win a championship. Each level is therefore named after a player from Pirates history that exemplifies the level of performance. The scale is as follows:

Parker - major or primary contributor on a championship quality team
Bibby - solid performer on a championship quality team
Reynolds - bit player on a championship quality team
Distefano - it would be difficult to win a championship with this performance from an everyday player
Hermanson - it would be impossible to win a championship with this performance from a player


Catcher
Grade: Parker
Judging strictly on performance, the catching position was a tremendous strength for the Pirates. Whether they got an adequate return for their money is a topic for another article. Regardless, Jason Kendall affords the Pirates a luxury that few other teams have: the luxury of plugging the same name into the lineup day in and day out. Kendall had one of his best seasons offensively, as he has reversed the severe decline he appeared to be in a few years ago. As a bonus, he appears to have found a new level defensively. The beatings he has taken will eventually take its toll, but for the short term, the Pirates will be able to continue to rely on above average production from this position. Its unlikely that the Pirates will ever get equal value for the money they are paying Kendall. This is especially true now Kendall is entering the balloon years of his contract. However, Kendall is what he is...a dependable top of the order table setter and solid defensive catcher.
Short term outlook: Set with Kendall.


First Base:
Grade: Distefano
The Pirates ended the year much the same way they entered the year with regard to first base: without much of a plan. Last off-season they brought in a number of cheap free agents hoping that one of them would earn the right to share time at first base with Craig Wilson. Unfortunately, they wasted about 200 plate appearance before they realized Randall Simon wasn't the answer. After starting the year in AAA, Daryle Ward provided a brief spark at the position before getting hurt. Other than Ward's flirtation with legitimacy and Craig Wilson's cameo appearances, first base was largely an offensive and defensive wasteland.
Short term outlook: If Craig Wilson settles into the outfield and not first base, then the Pirates need to look outside the current 40 man roster for a solution at 1b.

posted by bkopec @ 10:53 PM   3 comments