What to Think of Jeff Clement

One of the many stories of the spring has to do with the education of Jeff Clement. Clement, a former catcher, has been working at first base to learn the position as the team feels that might be the best place for his bat. As a catcher he was not much of one, but at first base he might be able to play serviceable defense.

The reports seem to show that Clement is picking up the position fairly well, but until we see him in any games, we really don't know. That tends to the be case with defense, it is not until you see all the myriad of possibilities that can happen in a game, that you know if they can play defense.

To me that thinking of Clement's defense is the issue is somewhat off. What do we even know about his bat? Granted he was a former high draft pick that was highly regarded, but will it really matter if he turns into a gold glover at first base, but cannot hit.

Take a look at his statistics from the minors:

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
408	1761	1526	248	431	109	7	67	276	3	5	187	314	.282	.370	.495	.865

Those are stats from over a five year period in the minor leagues. There is a good deal to like there from the raw power to a rather decent batting average. The plate discipline is not all that out of whack either. Looks like a pretty good prospect.

Then look at it compared to this brief major league numbers over 2 seasons:

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
75	243	219	21	52	11	1	7	26	0	1	18	66	.237	.309	.393	.701

Now those don't look to be numbers that would get anyone really excited. The power is still there, but the guy turns into quite the hacker in the major leagues. The pitching clearly took a step up from the PCL.

Looking at what he has done in the major leagues, there is no reason to think that he is capable of being a major league caliber hitter. If anything we might get a good dose of power, but at what cost defensively, as well as offensively when the power is not there?

I leave with one final thought. If Clement is good enough offensively, as seems to be the assumption as we only need to find a position for him, why did he not play at DH in Seattle? There is a position where he only needs to use his bat, but yet the Mariners did not think enough of that bat to put him there. Instead they trotted out Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Sweeney.

If the assumption is that defense has kept Clement out of the majors, then why could he have not played a position where that is all that is required. It looks like he may be a lot more than a work in progress.

Bradenton Likes the Pirates

I thought I'd share this video from a local news station in Florida that details the nature of the relationship between the City of Bradenton and the Pirates. They had a sort of fan fest in Bradenton celebrating the start of spring training and also the debut of the Marauders. Tony Sanchez appears briefly in the video modeling the uniforms, but I also have the shots below. They look like a play on the big league club's uniform, but pretty nice looking.

What to expect from Lastings

There were two articles that spotlighted Lastings Milledge that caught my eye. One a brief piece that was run on the USA Today site and the other from the Bradenton Herald, again. The theme of both are indeed the same. Milledge, once the touted top prospect turned potential bust, is back in Pittsburgh to prove everyone wrong and to be a professional ballplayer.

We heard some stuff like this in the local media last year, when Milledge was first acquired. It seems that he is still talking that way and the team is still talking of his work ethic in glowing terms. Perhaps it sunk in to him that two franchises had given up on him as a viable professional and he saw this as his last chance. Maybe the Pirates were the only team to not treat him as something special and to provide guidance and instruction. Mainly, I would think that Milledge has matured as a person and has taken the opportunity, the guidance, the instruction, and his talent and made the most of it.

In the USA Today piece, Milledge also makes a comment that seems to make a lot of sense as well. He says that the media is not out to get him here, a reference to the enormous media glow of New York and the pressures of Washington. Here in Pittsburgh he is not the guy, as the focus is more on Andrew McCutchen and the eventual arrival of Pedro Alvarez. Those guys are going to take the media pressure, all Lastings needs to do is play ball.

That being said, I truly feel that Milledge is going to be a break out this year. Will we see the total package that we thought he would be when had came up with the Mets? No, I don't think he was ever the type of player he was hyped to be. I do think we will see a player that is able to do everything well above average. I want to say that the power will start to come, as his hand is fully healed, and that the speed and defense will pick up as well.

I don't think we will have to worry all that much about left field. Milledge should be more than up to the task. His defensive abilities as well as presence at the plate will be a welcome addition to the lineup for the full season.

Dynasty

Sometimes you say something and immediately you almost want to take it back. I am sure that is a reason that many of us don't hold positions where we speak for an organization. We don't quite have that ability to be able to pick and choose what words to exactly say. It seems as though sometimes, the guys running the Pirates seem to lose that ability to carefully choose their words. Frank Coonelly did just that yesterday in Bradenton, when he said that the current group of Pirates are "the beginning of the next dynasty of the Pirates".

After 17 years of losing the Pirates are sometimes, not matter what, a walking punch line. Until they win, there are many things that can be immediately made into a joke. This is one of those times.

Of course dynasty may be a too strong of a word to describe what he is looking for. Perhaps powerhouse would have worked better. Take a look at the long history of the club, tell me where you can say that there is a dynasty. Maybe the 1970's with the two World Series, but I would think a dynasty would mean at least one more World Series in that great run. The Steelers of the 1970's are more dynasty-like. Perhaps the closest to a dynasty is the turn of the 20th century Pirates, led by Honus Wagner.

Could this be the team that is the beginning of the end of "the Streak'? Yes. Could this be the beginning of a great run? You bet. A dynasty? Well we can all dream can't we?

Actions Speak Loudly

It always seems that the Pirates have quite a few position players show up early for spring training. As far back as I can remember, there was always a group of guys that seemed to show up with the pitchers and catchers. That was the same this season as well, but what was not the same, is that the entire camp was able to participate in drills a day early.

In this age of professional athletes not wanting to do more than what they are paid to do, it is somewhat refreshing to see that the young Bucs all showed up early. Granted you can't read much into it, but it seems to me that all of those stories of the team coming together as a unit during all of that losing, may have some merit to it. It seems that they are ready to go to work and want this season to get under way.

In the grand scheme of things, there is not much to be had from seeing the entire camp show up early, but it is a good sign in that they are eager at least and want to be there. The same cannot be said of plenty of Pirates from the past decade plus.

Hart v. McCutchen

With spring training just weeks old, there was some buzz that the Pirates had said that they are leaning towards Kevin Hart over Daniel McCutchen in the early going for the fifth starter job. On the face this made little sense when you looked at how the two performed down the stretch last season. To sum it up; Hart horrible, McCutchen not.

It seemed puzzling to me as well, until I read this article that appeared in the Bradenton Herald about Kevin Hart. It seems that when Hart came to Pittsburgh, Joe Kerrigan and John Russell had noticed that Hart was releasing the ball at different points in his wind up, thus throwing off his mechanics on each and every pitch. This inconsistency is probably a carry over from Hart being a swing man with the Cubs.

“My release out of the windup was completely different than out of the stretch, and we are trying to get the two to where they are exactly the same,” Hart said. “There were a lot of things that were going on in the windup. Being able to take that body of knowledge into the offseason and re-work my mechanics where you are repeating it 120 to 130 times a day really helps.”

Noe focused on starting the Pirates took the opportunity to rework his mechanics to get him to be more fluid and to be more consistent.

“We put our heads together, and Kevin was totally on board and wanted to change his delivery,” Kerrigan said. “He is going over his head now. Before, he was not and had a real vanilla delivery. Now he has a better turn with more flexibility to his delivery, and it’s not as stiff and robotic.”

Does that sound a little familiar to you? It probably should, as they took the same type of approach to Ross Ohlendorf in getting his delivery more standardized. It worked great with Ohlendorf. Hart has a similar profile to Ohlendorf as a player or prospect, though Ohlendorf may have a better 'pedigree' . I would think it is worth finding out if it can work with him as well.

Will it work? That I cannot say. Lightening usually does not strike twice, but you never know with ballplayers. If anything it is better to try to simplify his mechanics to work with him that way, than to continue on with the bad mechanics he was using. Brad Lincoln may make it all a mute point later in the season, but if this change can improve Kevin Hart as a pitcher of any kind for the Pirates it is well worth it.

Bullpen Woes

The practices have barely begun and it looks as though we have some issues. Joel Hanrahan, seen as a critical piece of the bullpen, has been shutdown with an injury to his elbow. The injury seems to be one where we will have to wait and see what is wrong exactly, as it may or may not require surgery. Either way it seems that Hanrahan will not be ready for opening day, at least.

Neal Huntington seemed to be somewhat wishy washy on what exactly they think will be the case, and are instead looking for James Andrews to tell the team what is wrong. From Huntington's quote to Chuck Finder, it seems he is leaning towards not having him for sometime.

Not having Hanrahan available is a big deal for the club, as he was going to be a late inning guy for them. He would have been the first option should Dotel not be able to close and if Brendan Donnelly falters. Now we look to Evan Meek to hold it alone, putting a lot of pressure on him, and waiting for either a free agent or a non roster invitee to impress and fill that role.

There are plenty of guys, some currently hurt that may fill Hanrahan's role, so we have options, it is just a case of not having perhaps the best option in Hanrahan, as he was so good for the Bucs after coming here from Washington.

I would think that the first choice to replace Hanrahan, is another closer in waiting type that we had gotten in a trade, would be Craig Hansen. Hansen is scheduled to throw off the mound soon and I would think that the results they see from that could shape how the team moves forward. Hansen was groomed from the time he was drafted by the Red Sox to be a late inning guy, so if he can work back from injury in the spring, the Bucs may have their man in house.

Hopefully the team is able to get a clear diagnosis of what the issue is with Hanrahan next week and have a clear idea of how to proceed with his injury. It will also be even better if the team has an idea of what their in house options are as well. Until then it seems to be a bit in limbo, causing a stir in a spring that looked like it might be a quiet one for the team.

Pitchers and Catchers

Again my favorite words that anyone can hear this time of the year, "Pitchers and Catchers". It is always great to hear that the team is starting to assemble in Bradenton once again this year. While the snow may seemingly be 60' 6" high up here in Pittsburgh, in Bradenton the pitchers will be slowly getting used to throwing from that distance.

I would anticipate that the pitchers that will get the most look at prior to the position players reporting will be:

1. Octavio Dotel. He has the resume of a legitimate bullpen arm and has already been anointed the closer. He has had a varied experience with multiple teams closing, but as perhaps the marquee free agent this offseason, eyes will surely be watching how he performs.

2. Ross Ohlendorf. It has been a while since we have seen Ross take the mound, as they shut him down a little early to preserve the arm. Mainly we have been reading about him out riding fences in Texas or working for the Department of Agriculture this offseason. He took some pretty big steps forward last season and we will surely want to see if he can build on it.

3. Charlie Morton. No pitcher on the staff would seem to have the stuff that Morton has. He does things with the baseball that are simply a natural gift. At times he was dazzling last season, and others not so much. Many will be looking to see if we can get more of the good, while lessening the ammount of the bad.

4. Brendan Donnelly. I could easily say the whole bullpen, but Donnelly may epitomize the story of the building of the bullpen. Coming back from age and injuries, Donnelly pitched well for the Rangers in the minors then in the Marlins' bullpen. He is still getting up there in years, so it will be worth watching to see if he still has some bullets left hat arm.

The majority of the battles for the roster will take place in the bullpen and on the bench for the Bucs this spring. The bulk of the battles will more than likely get started in the coming week as the pitchers report.

Even though there might not be all that much going on, except for some long tossing, it is nice to see more pictures of the team on the field in Bradenton. Baseball is back.

A Crowded Outfield

Going into the spring another story to keep an eye on is the vast number of outfielders that currently reside on the 40 man roster. There are a whopping 10 outfielders listed on the roster, which is a ton, considering that two of the three outfield spots are going to be manned by Andrew McCutchen and Lastings Milledge. Those two names can be carved into the lineup cards. As for right field, well it will be a revolving door of Garrett Jones and Ryan Church, until Jose Tabata will come up, when he will be the main player out there.

Jones may end up being more of a first baseman than outfielder, so we can say that perhaps there are 9 guys then. McCutchen and Milledge are spoken for, so there are 7 left. Ryan Church will be on the opening day roster, and if we keep him, John Raynor as well.

Add to that group there will be room for perhaps one more guy. Dependent on Raynor, if may come down to Brandon Moss and Delwyn Young, who has been a bit of a forgotten man this winter. This is where the decisions will be made. The trio of Moss, Young and Raynor will be a pretty close competition to watch. Young may have an edge as he is good off the bench and has some versatility. It may be a two man race between Raynor and Moss. The team must like what they have in Raynor, why pick him in the Rule Five, and Moss has been given plenty of opportunity to date but has not done much with it.

On top of that we will have Jose Tabata waiting to come up later in the season. Brandon Jones is on the roster as well, but has been rumored to be some sort of trade bait. Gorkys Hernandez is not really on the radar yet, as he will probably be back in Altoona.

In years past there has been battles in the rotation, but this year the interesting battle may be in the outfield bench picture, to compliment the seemingly yearly bullpen battles.

Why so few catchers?

Has anyone looked at the 40 man recently? Are you aware that there are only two catchers on the whole 40 man? I almost could not believe it myself, but there it was plain as day. Listed at catcher are only Ryan Doumit and Jason Jaramillo.

Most teams use more than just two catchers during the whole season. Catcher is a demanding position that wears down the players donning the tools of ignorance. Ryan Doumit is a quick trip away from the DL almost anytime he playing. If anyting is certain with the Bucs this season, it is that Doumit will be hobbling around.

Jaramillo played well last season in filling in for Doumit, but can he handle the bulk of the duties, should Doumit go down? He seemed to really thrive on the idea that he and Diaz would be platooned at catcher. This year there is no such luxury. If one of them goes down, we may have to swing a trade or use a minor league veteran.

Here is an option that no one has really brought up, Jeff Clement. First base may not work out for him, as he seems to be really learning on the job. If it doesn't, he can always fall back to his customary catcher position.

The team probably is not considering moving Clement just yet, but the possibility of him moving is probably not out of the question. The Bucs seem to think very highly of Clement, so you would think he'll stay in the lineup somewhere.

While we can't predict who will be playing catcher in the event of an emergency, I can almost guarnatee, some will have to do it, it is jsut a question of who.

The Full Baseball America List

In the PBC Blog, Chuck Finder listed the whole top 30 plus one for the Pirates minor league prospects. We had already gotten a glimpse of the top ten earlier in the season, but this list is pretty telling. Seven of the top 10 and 22 of the top 25 were brought on board by Neal Huntington. The lone Littlefield era guys were: Brad Lincoln, Rudy Owens, Starling Marte, Brian Friday, Neil Walker and Danny Moskos. It is pretty telling when not even 3 seasons after his release, Littlefield has such a small imprint on the top prospects list.

Overall I am sure many have their own thoughts about where players should rank on this list. I don't have too much to add to the list, as I think most of the rankings are pretty fair. I may not have put Josh Harrison on the list, as he really did not do anything all that impressive with us. The rankings of Brock Holt and Gift Ngoepe are eye brow raising, but nothing to really get upset about.

It should be interesting to see what happens to this list after this season, as one would expect to see Alvarez, Tabata, Lincoln, and Daniel McCutchen come off the list due to playing time this season. That alone will take 3 of the top 10 off the board for next season.