Jose is back and it's hasta la vista to Pedro for the time being. Looks like the Ryan Ludwick era in left field is over already; he'll probably replace Matt Diaz in right against lefties. Harrison will get some hot corner time now, and we'd guess Steve Pearce will see some action at first.
- Pedro got the pink slip today and was shipped to Indy to work on his swing and clear space on the 25 man roster for JT. We advocated Alvarez learning his lessons up here, but if if his woes at the plate are worming into his head, then Indy is where he should go to regain a hitter's most important attribute - confidence. He should be back in September with Ohlie, and that's only a couple of weeks away.
- The Pirates haven't have three pitchers win 10 games or more in the same season since 2003. Kevin Correia has a dozen wins, Charlie Morton nine, and Jeff Karstens is going after his tenth tonight. J-Mac has eight wins, and Paul Maholm six, so they could all potentially get into double figure wins this year.
- The Bucs broke a seven game home losing streak last night.
- In case you're wondering what the other #1 draft picks signed for, Jim Callis of Baseball America has the list posted.
Pedro is in trouble. He's teetering on the edge of "first round bust" territory, though it bears repeating that his entire professional body of work, including his major league time, is still relatively small. But the clock is definitely ticking.
ReplyDeleteAs for Diaz, have you heard anything about him being hurt this year? I know he had a rather severe hand injury last year in Atlanta and I'm wondering if that has carried over. His power has just completely evaporated. If he had hit to his career norms Ludwick would not have been acquired.
Yah, Pedro is definitely a work in progress, and not progressing too well at this point. But by all accounts, his head is still in it, although I'm sure there is some doubt creeping in. I guess I was wrong and the suits right; he should have stayed at Indy.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard anything about Diaz being hurt, but his lack of power goes against his norm. The scouting stuff I've seen on him report that his swing has slowed down; that's why he's going opposite field so often. Whether the hand plays a part in that scenario, I dunno.