No Moss?

Going into this season, Brandon Moss was a player that I felt as though we could count on seeing a great deal more from this season. I thought he could surprise some people with his power and stroke from the left hand side. So far this season, he has looked completely lost at the plate when there are runners in scoring position.

Take for instance his splits this season:

Situation	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Bases Empty	35	0	11	2	1	0	0	0	7	0.314	0.314	0.429	0.743
Runners On	15	9	0	0	0	0	1	3	1	0	0.211	0	0.211
RISP	11	9	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	0.267	0	0.267
RISP w/2 Outs	4	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.333	0	0.333
Bases Loaded	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Those are not pretty numbers and a heck of a lot of zeroes. He has just disappeared any time there are runners on base and that is clearly not what we need from anyone in the lineup, let alone one that we are looking to for run production. It is not like we are asking much from him for run production, he has a bit of a track record for producing in the minors.

Moss' inability to drive in runs is not only hurting him, but will hurt the team down the line. The less productive he is the more we will need to depend on Hinske and Monroe to hit, making the bench less valuable. It is not to suggest that Hinske or Monroe cannot do the job, but it is better to have them on the bench, where they are much more valuable and productive for us.

One would think that Brandon Moss has a future with Pittsburgh. He came here with a track record and seemingly needed a chance. We are giving him that opportunity, but he so far has not grabbed that opportunity. It is early, but the less and less productive he continues to be the more likely he will get pushed aside in the future outfield picture.