-- Paul Maholm and Rick Porcello take the hill today. The first pitch is at 1:35 PM, and the game will be shown on Root Sports.
-- Today's lineup: Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Garrett Jones RF, Neil Walker 2B, Lyle Overbay 1B, Steve Pearce 3B, Chris Snyder C, Ronny Cedeno SS, Paul Maholm P.
Pearce gets the start at third today; the Pirates have been working him there and at second. If he can hold his own at the hot corner, Brandon Wood could become redundant and the Pirates might actually look for a true middle infielder to solidify the bench.
-- Jose Veras had his first MLB at-bat last night; he told the beat gang that he was under orders to keep the lumber on his shoulders. Good thing too, as he walked on four pitches and eventually came around to score. He had to borrow a bat and helmet; we wonder if he kept Brandon Wood's mooched stick as a keepsake?
-- McCutch's fielding has been sometimes spectacular this year, as his UZR/150 verifies - it's now 9.4, compared to last year's -12.9. His arm has improved too, from -0.9 to +0.9, thanks to the elimination of his rainbows aimed at the cut-off man. He has five assists so far this year; he only had eight all of last season.
And we think that undervalues his play; just last night he ran down four bombs to the wall, and seems to make a nightly sliding grab. Our guess is that his UZR will always be a false indicator of his range because of the Pirate OF configuration; JT gets a lot of balls in left center that the UZR tracker probably consider to be in McCutch's outer patrol zone.
-- Dewey is thriving both at the plate and behind it as a platoon guy. His hitting metrics are are among his overall bests, and his fielding value has increased from 2010's -15.5 to this year's -1. There's something to be said for keeping a guy's body in one piece, and Ryan Doumit so far this year has avoided all the nagging injuries that he's played with throughout his career.
If he continues near his current pace, it'll be interesting to see what the Pirates do when the season ends. There's no chance they'll pick up his options ($7.25M in 2012, $8.25M in 2013), but the FO could be tempted to work out a new deal to keep him in his current status if he keeps on keepin' on, especially with an off-season to get him some outfield work to increase his value and find him some extra at-bats.
His current deal pays him $5.1M, and Fangraphs has his current value at $3.8M. There may be some wiggle room between those numbers to reach an agreement, if both sides are willing.
Showing posts with label ryan doumit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ryan doumit. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Ryan Doumit
Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors has a post today on Ryan Doumit called "Make or Break Year."
These two lines sum it up pretty well: "It's hard to imagine a scenario that would keep Ryan Doumit in a Pirates uniform past the 2011 season...The challenge for Doumit is to both stay healthy and to play well enough to impress his next team."
These two lines sum it up pretty well: "It's hard to imagine a scenario that would keep Ryan Doumit in a Pirates uniform past the 2011 season...The challenge for Doumit is to both stay healthy and to play well enough to impress his next team."
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Doumit Done?
-- A little more on the Bucco bid to land JJ Hardy, from Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports: "The Brewers did not want Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit for shortstop J.J. Hardy. They also did not want another player the Pirates suggested, right-handed reliever Matt Capps.
No, the Brewers' preference from the Pirates, according to a major-league source, was one of two left-handed starters, Zach Duke or Paul Maholm. The Pirates said no."
Doumit for Hardy? Guess he is on the market. The Fox duo speculates that the Giants, Mariners, and Rays could use a player like Doumit, but caution that they're not aware of any interest or even conversation regarding him so far.
He does have a club-friendly contract for the next two years, with team options for 2012-12, and had a slugging percentage of .501 and OPS of .858 as recently as 2008. Doumit can also play a corner outfield spot or first; he's not necessarily anchored behind the dish.
Maybe the Bucs just got tired of the injuries and his little pout attack. After all, they didn't really miss him when he was out with his broken wrist, though it does seem they're trying to move him at a low value point of his career.
Anyone got any good deals in mind for Doumit?
No, the Brewers' preference from the Pirates, according to a major-league source, was one of two left-handed starters, Zach Duke or Paul Maholm. The Pirates said no."
Doumit for Hardy? Guess he is on the market. The Fox duo speculates that the Giants, Mariners, and Rays could use a player like Doumit, but caution that they're not aware of any interest or even conversation regarding him so far.
He does have a club-friendly contract for the next two years, with team options for 2012-12, and had a slugging percentage of .501 and OPS of .858 as recently as 2008. Doumit can also play a corner outfield spot or first; he's not necessarily anchored behind the dish.
Maybe the Bucs just got tired of the injuries and his little pout attack. After all, they didn't really miss him when he was out with his broken wrist, though it does seem they're trying to move him at a low value point of his career.
Anyone got any good deals in mind for Doumit?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Whassup With Ryan Doumit?
JR made an uncharacteristically bold move last night when he yanked Ryan Doumit in mid game for some unnamed transgression.
What could the poster child for hustle have done to earn Russell's rare pique? Well, contrary to some of the chat boards, he still runs out most of his balls, though with an occasional glaring bout of the dog thrown in, probably due more to frustration than temperament. He ran out a possible DP grounder last night and eventually scored, although he did jake a pop up to center.
He also nearly had a head-on with Steve Pearce on a foul pop. Doumit hit the brakes a step short of Pearce, who reached out and missed a ball that was his all the way. But that sometime happens when a ball's hit into no-mans' land.
His pitcher, Zach Duke, was raked at Miller and maybe the bench bosses had some head-knocking with his calls. But that's unlikely; his catching matrix is the best its been during his career, and the Bucs just came off a home stand that he caught virtually single-handedly while they pitched lights out.
Which leads us to attitude. Since he broke his wrist, the team make-up has completely turned around. His buds are gone, and the new face of the team is, and rightfully so, Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates' unquestioned alpha dog.
The transformation from a clubhouse full of card-players to a frat house of hip bumpers happened while he was gone; it doesn't appear that he's exactly warmed up to the cultural change in Pittsburgh baseball.
There's little doubt that it isolated him somewhat; after all, he played in the minors with Nate McLouth, Gorzo, Ian Snell, and Sean Burnett and went to war with Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, Adam LaRoche, John Grabow and company every day.
So the 2008 trades of veterans might not have been such a personal sea-change for him, but the 2009 wave hit close to home. He was said to be quite vocally opposed to the deals privately. Add in the frustration of hitting .182 this month, and it's pretty clear that Doumit's head isn't into the transitional Baby Buc era, where change is the only constant.
The contract he signed to make him part of the core, judging by recent practice, is nothing more than a negotiable paper, and it's logical to assume that his perceived spot in the Pirate future is a wisp.
And don't forget that Doumit has caught almost every game since he's been back, even the night-day getaway matches, and taken his fair share of shots behind the plate.
Maybe the suits were trying to showcase him - after all, they didn't really miss a beat with Jason Jaramillo and Robby Diaz behind the dish, and added Tony Sanchez to the mix - or maybe they just felt the threat of his bat made him an indispensable middle-of-the-order stick.
At any rate, Pittsburgh has a player that's tired, beat-up, and frustrated. Doumit's lost his leadership role - or did you miss that Ramon Vazquez has become the Bucs' new pappa bear? - and has become a stranger in his own land. He has no reason to believe the Pirate future includes him. A head case in the making? It sure has the right smell.
Is any of that an excuse in the baseball industry of this day and age? No. But Doumit has always been a player that runs on emotion, not calculation. What's crystal clear that he isn't performing up to expectations. We suspect this little demonstration by JR, triggered by an otherwise insignificant play or comment, is a last-ditch effort to get Doumit's attention.
If not, he'll be gone in the winter, and at a low value, to boot. The suits don't cotton to guys that don't buy into what they're selling, especially when they spend more time in the tub than the field. It would also purge the last of Littlefield's MLB postion players, which some feel has been a goal all along.
A change of scenery might be best for the team and Doumit - and hey, it may well be what he's looking for. After all, we haven't heard many complaints from the guys that left town, have we?
What could the poster child for hustle have done to earn Russell's rare pique? Well, contrary to some of the chat boards, he still runs out most of his balls, though with an occasional glaring bout of the dog thrown in, probably due more to frustration than temperament. He ran out a possible DP grounder last night and eventually scored, although he did jake a pop up to center.
He also nearly had a head-on with Steve Pearce on a foul pop. Doumit hit the brakes a step short of Pearce, who reached out and missed a ball that was his all the way. But that sometime happens when a ball's hit into no-mans' land.
His pitcher, Zach Duke, was raked at Miller and maybe the bench bosses had some head-knocking with his calls. But that's unlikely; his catching matrix is the best its been during his career, and the Bucs just came off a home stand that he caught virtually single-handedly while they pitched lights out.
Which leads us to attitude. Since he broke his wrist, the team make-up has completely turned around. His buds are gone, and the new face of the team is, and rightfully so, Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates' unquestioned alpha dog.
The transformation from a clubhouse full of card-players to a frat house of hip bumpers happened while he was gone; it doesn't appear that he's exactly warmed up to the cultural change in Pittsburgh baseball.
There's little doubt that it isolated him somewhat; after all, he played in the minors with Nate McLouth, Gorzo, Ian Snell, and Sean Burnett and went to war with Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, Adam LaRoche, John Grabow and company every day.
So the 2008 trades of veterans might not have been such a personal sea-change for him, but the 2009 wave hit close to home. He was said to be quite vocally opposed to the deals privately. Add in the frustration of hitting .182 this month, and it's pretty clear that Doumit's head isn't into the transitional Baby Buc era, where change is the only constant.
The contract he signed to make him part of the core, judging by recent practice, is nothing more than a negotiable paper, and it's logical to assume that his perceived spot in the Pirate future is a wisp.
And don't forget that Doumit has caught almost every game since he's been back, even the night-day getaway matches, and taken his fair share of shots behind the plate.
Maybe the suits were trying to showcase him - after all, they didn't really miss a beat with Jason Jaramillo and Robby Diaz behind the dish, and added Tony Sanchez to the mix - or maybe they just felt the threat of his bat made him an indispensable middle-of-the-order stick.
At any rate, Pittsburgh has a player that's tired, beat-up, and frustrated. Doumit's lost his leadership role - or did you miss that Ramon Vazquez has become the Bucs' new pappa bear? - and has become a stranger in his own land. He has no reason to believe the Pirate future includes him. A head case in the making? It sure has the right smell.
Is any of that an excuse in the baseball industry of this day and age? No. But Doumit has always been a player that runs on emotion, not calculation. What's crystal clear that he isn't performing up to expectations. We suspect this little demonstration by JR, triggered by an otherwise insignificant play or comment, is a last-ditch effort to get Doumit's attention.
If not, he'll be gone in the winter, and at a low value, to boot. The suits don't cotton to guys that don't buy into what they're selling, especially when they spend more time in the tub than the field. It would also purge the last of Littlefield's MLB postion players, which some feel has been a goal all along.
A change of scenery might be best for the team and Doumit - and hey, it may well be what he's looking for. After all, we haven't heard many complaints from the guys that left town, have we?
Monday, December 22, 2008
Bucs Build Around The Edges...
The Pirates announced a bevy of signings today (so much for Christmas killing the news cycle, hehe). The key deal is the lock-down of C Ryan Doumit through his arbitration years with a club option for 2012-13.
Doumit came to camp last year penciled in as Ronny Paulino's caddy, but soon overtook him to claim the top spot. The second round draft pick of 1999 figured it out in his fourth season, hitting .318 with 15 HR, 69 RBI and a .501 slugging percentage in 116 games.
The switch-hitter's split against RHP/LHP was pretty solid, going .314 vs. righties and .330 vs. lefties, and batting off the charts with runners in scoring position, with a .407 average, third best in MLB.
His ball receiving mechanics improved as the season wore on, and his game management should improve too, as Joe Kerrigan plans to call many of the pitches from the pine to pick up the pace of his, and the staff's, learning curve.
The 27-year old inked a contract that guarantees him $11.5M over his three arb years, with a $300K bonus and salaries of $2.05M in 2009, $3.55M in 2010, and $5.1M in 2011, with a $500K buy-out if the Pirates don't exercise his future option, according to figures provided by Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette.
The optional years are 2012-13, and the team has a one-shot trigger for the option after the 2011 season. He'll earn $7.25 in 2012 and $8.25 in 2013, with bonuses that could add another $1M per year to those seasons depending on All-Star and Silver Slugger appearances. So that's $26.5M over the life of the contract, with a top value of $27.5M if the stars align.
GW likes the deal's structure. Doumit started 103 games behind the plate last year, losing chunks of time to a couple of injuries. Both Doumit and the Pirates have affordable cost certainy over the arb years, and if Doumit proves durable, they have their man locked up for his first two free agency seasons. If he can't stay out of the tub, the Bucs have an escape hatch via the buy-out option.
A catcher with a stick isn't an everyday commodity in MLB. If Doumit stays consistent with his bat, and there's no reason to believe he won't, and can catch 125-140 games a year, which is a bit more problematic, the Pirates have a nice deal, and Doumit has a fat carrot to chase, the $15.5M payday for the final two years.
The length of the deal is also interesting to us. As GW opined in the last post, the Pirate plan should begin to bear fruit in 2011-12. And now the suits have Snell and Doumit both tied into that time frame. There's no mistaking the reasoning behind those two deals - Snell is the most talented, if enigmatic, arm on the staff, and Doumit is a clubhouse leader who's about to become the face of the Pirates.
Neal Huntington signed another half-dozen guys to minor league contracts today, and they'll all be invited to camp. They are RHPs Chris Bootcheck, Juan Mateo, and Denny Bautista, along with utility guy Andy Phillips, OF Luis Salazar, and 1B Garrett Jones.
The dope on them, thanks mainly to the Pirate release, is:
Chris Bootcheck (RHP) - The 30-year old spent the 2008 season with the Angels organization. He began the year on the DL before making 10 relief appearances for the Angels. Bootcheck posted a 2.86 ERA in 19 relief appearances with AAA Salt Lake. He was originally picked by Anaheim in the first round of the 2000 Draft (20th pick overall).
Juan Mateo (RHP) - The 26-year old went 8-1 with five saves and a 3.66 ERA in 38 games between the Cub's AAA Iowa and AA Tennessee, and the Buc's AA Altoona in 2008. He was 7-1 with 5 saves, a 2.12 ERA, and .99 WHIP for the Curve.
Denny Bautista (RHP) - The 26-year old posted a 4-4 record with 44 strikeouts, 42 walks, and a 5.22 ERA in 51 combined games between Detroit and Pittsburgh in 2008. The wild child had a great start to the season and then faded badly. The question is whether he was overused or just not that good.
Andy Phillips (INF) - The 31-year old RH hit a combined .231 with 18 doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI in 56 games between the Reds and the Mets in 2008. Phillips was originally selected by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 1999 Draft. He has a career average of .250 with 25 doubles, 14 home runs and 70 RBI in 259 games and five seasons. Phillips has played 1B, 2B, and 3B.
Jeff Salazar (OF) -- The 28-year old hit .211 with five doubles, three triples, two home runs and 12 RBI in 90 games last year with Arizona. The LH was tied for 13th among NL players with 10 pinch hits in 2008, and has a career average of .291 as a pinch hitter. He hasn't made an error in his 147 MLB games.
Garrett Jones (INF) -- The 6-4, 245 pound LH spent 2008 with AAA Rochester (Twins), where he hit .279 with 33 doubles, 23 home runs and 92 RBI in 138 games. He led the International League in games and total bases (255), and was tied for third in doubles and second in extra base hits (59). Jones plays both first and some OF.
None of these guys are world-beaters, but they all help fill a void in Pittsburgh's upper level organization. Phillips has the best chance to stick as a RH utilityman off the bench and back-up to Adam LaRoche. He also provides some balance to Ramon Vazquez's LH bat.
Salazar has an opportunity to make the roster as an extra outfielder if the Bucs opt to send Steve Pearce back to Indy, although the Pirates are already overloaded with LH outfielders.
The rest look like AAA fodder, where Jones will add some sorely missing pop to the system and the pitchers provide some power arms for the Indy bullpen.
Some observations - Phillips and recent signee Vazquez seem to have taken Dirt Dog Mientkiewicz's bench roles, so the odds of his return just took a big hit.
Another is that with Phillips, Jones and Pearce all being capable first-base types (although Phillips, a good glove man, can move around the infield), the Bucs have a short-term safety net if they uncover a taker for Adam LaRoche.
We should find out the Pirate take on LaRoche soon enough. At 28-years old, he's still young enough to fit into the Pirate plans, but he may have priced himself out of the organization. If Pittsburgh signs him to a multi-year deal, which is unlikely, he'll be the first baseman of the future. If not, we expect him to be trade deadline bait in 2009.
The same scenario could be in play for Freddy Sanchez, too, as Vazquez and Phillips have both logged a lot of innings at second and Shelby Ford seemingly a season or two away from a shot at the bigs.
Vazquez and Phillips can also platoon at third if young Mr. LaRoche continues to have his problems at the hot corner and plate. The Pirates are slowly building options for the club.
Now to see whassup with Paul Maholm and Nate McLouth...
Doumit came to camp last year penciled in as Ronny Paulino's caddy, but soon overtook him to claim the top spot. The second round draft pick of 1999 figured it out in his fourth season, hitting .318 with 15 HR, 69 RBI and a .501 slugging percentage in 116 games.
The switch-hitter's split against RHP/LHP was pretty solid, going .314 vs. righties and .330 vs. lefties, and batting off the charts with runners in scoring position, with a .407 average, third best in MLB.
His ball receiving mechanics improved as the season wore on, and his game management should improve too, as Joe Kerrigan plans to call many of the pitches from the pine to pick up the pace of his, and the staff's, learning curve.
The 27-year old inked a contract that guarantees him $11.5M over his three arb years, with a $300K bonus and salaries of $2.05M in 2009, $3.55M in 2010, and $5.1M in 2011, with a $500K buy-out if the Pirates don't exercise his future option, according to figures provided by Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette.
The optional years are 2012-13, and the team has a one-shot trigger for the option after the 2011 season. He'll earn $7.25 in 2012 and $8.25 in 2013, with bonuses that could add another $1M per year to those seasons depending on All-Star and Silver Slugger appearances. So that's $26.5M over the life of the contract, with a top value of $27.5M if the stars align.
GW likes the deal's structure. Doumit started 103 games behind the plate last year, losing chunks of time to a couple of injuries. Both Doumit and the Pirates have affordable cost certainy over the arb years, and if Doumit proves durable, they have their man locked up for his first two free agency seasons. If he can't stay out of the tub, the Bucs have an escape hatch via the buy-out option.
A catcher with a stick isn't an everyday commodity in MLB. If Doumit stays consistent with his bat, and there's no reason to believe he won't, and can catch 125-140 games a year, which is a bit more problematic, the Pirates have a nice deal, and Doumit has a fat carrot to chase, the $15.5M payday for the final two years.
The length of the deal is also interesting to us. As GW opined in the last post, the Pirate plan should begin to bear fruit in 2011-12. And now the suits have Snell and Doumit both tied into that time frame. There's no mistaking the reasoning behind those two deals - Snell is the most talented, if enigmatic, arm on the staff, and Doumit is a clubhouse leader who's about to become the face of the Pirates.
Neal Huntington signed another half-dozen guys to minor league contracts today, and they'll all be invited to camp. They are RHPs Chris Bootcheck, Juan Mateo, and Denny Bautista, along with utility guy Andy Phillips, OF Luis Salazar, and 1B Garrett Jones.
The dope on them, thanks mainly to the Pirate release, is:
Chris Bootcheck (RHP) - The 30-year old spent the 2008 season with the Angels organization. He began the year on the DL before making 10 relief appearances for the Angels. Bootcheck posted a 2.86 ERA in 19 relief appearances with AAA Salt Lake. He was originally picked by Anaheim in the first round of the 2000 Draft (20th pick overall).
Juan Mateo (RHP) - The 26-year old went 8-1 with five saves and a 3.66 ERA in 38 games between the Cub's AAA Iowa and AA Tennessee, and the Buc's AA Altoona in 2008. He was 7-1 with 5 saves, a 2.12 ERA, and .99 WHIP for the Curve.
Denny Bautista (RHP) - The 26-year old posted a 4-4 record with 44 strikeouts, 42 walks, and a 5.22 ERA in 51 combined games between Detroit and Pittsburgh in 2008. The wild child had a great start to the season and then faded badly. The question is whether he was overused or just not that good.
Andy Phillips (INF) - The 31-year old RH hit a combined .231 with 18 doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI in 56 games between the Reds and the Mets in 2008. Phillips was originally selected by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 1999 Draft. He has a career average of .250 with 25 doubles, 14 home runs and 70 RBI in 259 games and five seasons. Phillips has played 1B, 2B, and 3B.
Jeff Salazar (OF) -- The 28-year old hit .211 with five doubles, three triples, two home runs and 12 RBI in 90 games last year with Arizona. The LH was tied for 13th among NL players with 10 pinch hits in 2008, and has a career average of .291 as a pinch hitter. He hasn't made an error in his 147 MLB games.
Garrett Jones (INF) -- The 6-4, 245 pound LH spent 2008 with AAA Rochester (Twins), where he hit .279 with 33 doubles, 23 home runs and 92 RBI in 138 games. He led the International League in games and total bases (255), and was tied for third in doubles and second in extra base hits (59). Jones plays both first and some OF.
None of these guys are world-beaters, but they all help fill a void in Pittsburgh's upper level organization. Phillips has the best chance to stick as a RH utilityman off the bench and back-up to Adam LaRoche. He also provides some balance to Ramon Vazquez's LH bat.
Salazar has an opportunity to make the roster as an extra outfielder if the Bucs opt to send Steve Pearce back to Indy, although the Pirates are already overloaded with LH outfielders.
The rest look like AAA fodder, where Jones will add some sorely missing pop to the system and the pitchers provide some power arms for the Indy bullpen.
Some observations - Phillips and recent signee Vazquez seem to have taken Dirt Dog Mientkiewicz's bench roles, so the odds of his return just took a big hit.
Another is that with Phillips, Jones and Pearce all being capable first-base types (although Phillips, a good glove man, can move around the infield), the Bucs have a short-term safety net if they uncover a taker for Adam LaRoche.
We should find out the Pirate take on LaRoche soon enough. At 28-years old, he's still young enough to fit into the Pirate plans, but he may have priced himself out of the organization. If Pittsburgh signs him to a multi-year deal, which is unlikely, he'll be the first baseman of the future. If not, we expect him to be trade deadline bait in 2009.
The same scenario could be in play for Freddy Sanchez, too, as Vazquez and Phillips have both logged a lot of innings at second and Shelby Ford seemingly a season or two away from a shot at the bigs.
Vazquez and Phillips can also platoon at third if young Mr. LaRoche continues to have his problems at the hot corner and plate. The Pirates are slowly building options for the club.
Now to see whassup with Paul Maholm and Nate McLouth...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday Chatter
> Ross Ohlendorf is the third Princeton ballplayer to make an appearance in the Pittsburgh-San Diego series. The Padre's Chris Young and Will Venable suited up for the Tigers, too. Ohlendorf was teammates with both. The Orange and Black must be doing a pretty good job of recruiting these days.
> Ryan Doumit's 15 home runs are the most by a Pirate catcher in a season since Mark Parent hit 15 in 1995. The club record is 17, set in 1965 by Jim Pagliaroni. It's hard to believe that in 122 years of play, no Bucco backstop has ever hit 20 homers.
> GW was pretty hard on Doumit's ability to handle the chores behind the plate, but we're glad to be eating some crow. He, with a few stretches of regression, has improved noticeably during the season at setting a target, framing a pitch, and blocking balls. He's still a work in progress, but he is progressing.
Overall, the 2008 catching line isn't much different than 2007. Pirate catchers threw out 30.6% of the wanna-be base snatchers (46-150), compared to 31.8% (35-110) last season. Doumit nailed 26.8%, Paulino 25.8%, and understudy Raul Chavez gunned out 48% of the runners. Robinzon Diaz was 1 for 1 in his lone appearance.
And we don't read much into the fact that opposing teams ran 40 more times on Pittsburgh this year, other than there were more baserunners to send between the increase in hits and particularly walks in 2008, plus some to-be-expected early season testing of Doumit's arm.
Errors and passed balls were virtually identical between the two seasons. As bad as the pitching was, the ERA went up just a tad from 4.93 in 2007 to 5.12 this season. It was terrible in 2007, and almost unbelievably, even worse in 2008.
The only major upticks were in wild pitches, leaping from 45 to 64 (to us, a combo of poor pitching and catching), and of course, those pesky walks, skyrocketing from 518 to 652 in a year. And you can't blame the receivers for that.
Doumit seems well on track to losing his old moniker of Ryan No-Mitt. More importantly, his legs held up, and he's a lock to man the dish next year.
> Dejan says that the Bucs are gonna try to hold on to Dirt Dog Doug and Jay Michaels. Mientkiewicz we can see, if a contender doesn't pry him away. But Michaels? He gave us some dramatic moments, but a .226 corner OF'er doesn't warrant an invite back to us. We will say that 42 RBI in 226 AB's, though, is clutch, and that's why they're looking hard at keeping him.
The silver lining we see from the offer is that it gives us a glimmer of hope that the Bucs were just puffing up and showcasing Nyjer Morgan, the latest Rajai Davis/Tike Redmond clone, to the baseball world. Just building value, as the suits like to say.
But with Cutch almost sure to start 2009 in Indy and Brandon Moss being sliced, it looks less and less like that's the scenario.
> BTW, the untouchable Yankee arms that Pittsburgh couldn't tear loose at the trade deadline, Phil Hughes (0-4, 7.96 in seven starts) and Ian Kennedy (0-4, 8.35 in nine starts) didn't fare as well as the pitchers the Bucs did get, Jeff Karstens (2-6, 4.03 in nine starts) and Ross Ohlendorf (0-3, 7.50 in four starts, with one more coming today). Just sayin'...
> Ryan Doumit's 15 home runs are the most by a Pirate catcher in a season since Mark Parent hit 15 in 1995. The club record is 17, set in 1965 by Jim Pagliaroni. It's hard to believe that in 122 years of play, no Bucco backstop has ever hit 20 homers.
> GW was pretty hard on Doumit's ability to handle the chores behind the plate, but we're glad to be eating some crow. He, with a few stretches of regression, has improved noticeably during the season at setting a target, framing a pitch, and blocking balls. He's still a work in progress, but he is progressing.
Overall, the 2008 catching line isn't much different than 2007. Pirate catchers threw out 30.6% of the wanna-be base snatchers (46-150), compared to 31.8% (35-110) last season. Doumit nailed 26.8%, Paulino 25.8%, and understudy Raul Chavez gunned out 48% of the runners. Robinzon Diaz was 1 for 1 in his lone appearance.
And we don't read much into the fact that opposing teams ran 40 more times on Pittsburgh this year, other than there were more baserunners to send between the increase in hits and particularly walks in 2008, plus some to-be-expected early season testing of Doumit's arm.
Errors and passed balls were virtually identical between the two seasons. As bad as the pitching was, the ERA went up just a tad from 4.93 in 2007 to 5.12 this season. It was terrible in 2007, and almost unbelievably, even worse in 2008.
The only major upticks were in wild pitches, leaping from 45 to 64 (to us, a combo of poor pitching and catching), and of course, those pesky walks, skyrocketing from 518 to 652 in a year. And you can't blame the receivers for that.
Doumit seems well on track to losing his old moniker of Ryan No-Mitt. More importantly, his legs held up, and he's a lock to man the dish next year.
> Dejan says that the Bucs are gonna try to hold on to Dirt Dog Doug and Jay Michaels. Mientkiewicz we can see, if a contender doesn't pry him away. But Michaels? He gave us some dramatic moments, but a .226 corner OF'er doesn't warrant an invite back to us. We will say that 42 RBI in 226 AB's, though, is clutch, and that's why they're looking hard at keeping him.
The silver lining we see from the offer is that it gives us a glimmer of hope that the Bucs were just puffing up and showcasing Nyjer Morgan, the latest Rajai Davis/Tike Redmond clone, to the baseball world. Just building value, as the suits like to say.
But with Cutch almost sure to start 2009 in Indy and Brandon Moss being sliced, it looks less and less like that's the scenario.
> BTW, the untouchable Yankee arms that Pittsburgh couldn't tear loose at the trade deadline, Phil Hughes (0-4, 7.96 in seven starts) and Ian Kennedy (0-4, 8.35 in nine starts) didn't fare as well as the pitchers the Bucs did get, Jeff Karstens (2-6, 4.03 in nine starts) and Ross Ohlendorf (0-3, 7.50 in four starts, with one more coming today). Just sayin'...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Another one bites the dust
Ryan Doumit from Pirates.com
(photo by Keith Stakocic, AP)
The team lost starting catcher Ryan Doumit indefinitely last night to a thumb injury.
On the 15th pitch of Redbird game, a fastball from Phil Dumatrait hit Doumit's glove awkwardly and fractured his left thumb, ricocheting away for a passed ball. It seemed to be the result of crossed wires between the pitcher and catcher.
Doumit, flashing several signs because there was a runner on second, called for a slider and set up down and in, but Dumatrait instead let loose with a 93 MPH heater, up and out.
Dumatrait threw one more pitch to Doumit before the inning ended. After an exam by the Pirates' doctors, he was determined to have a slight fracture near the top of the left thumb.
Doumit will return to Pittsburgh today to have his thumb re-evaluated. He's headed to the 15-day DL no matter what they find, but the million dollar question is for how long. It's estimated that it will be 2-3 weeks if nothing worse turns up. (EDIT - the doc said a month minimum for it to heal. So much for John Russell as a diagnostician.)
Ronny Paulino will start while Doumit's gone. The Pirates plan to call up a another catcher today, probably one of AAA Indianapolis' two backstops, Michel Hernandez or Raul Chavez, to serve as Paulino's caddy. (EDIT - it's Chavez.)
Hernandez, 29, hit .312 with a home run and 7 RBIs while Chavez, 35, batted .306 with 3 HRs and 13 RBIs at Indy. Hernandez has a better OBP, Chavez the better slugging percentage. They shared the duties behind the dish and both played well defensively in the spring for the big team and at Indy.
Doumit had settled into the cleanup spot, hitting .350 with 5 HRs and 15 RBIs in 103 at-bats.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)