Bob Smizik: Pirates shouldn't be hesitating to try to fix their many flaws

Pirates manager Jim Tracy puts his hands to his head in disbelief as he and catcher Ryan Doumit, right, argue with home plate umpire Gerry Davis after Davis ruled Alex Rodriguez safe on Hideki Matsui's first inning two-run double yesterday at Yankee Stadium.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The profit-first operating style of owner Bob Nutting has been much in the news. The Pirates' choice to pass on catcher Matt Wieters, who appeared to be the best fit for the team, in the first-year player draft last week has once again put fans in a rage against ownership, and deservedly so.

But, today, let's look at a more short-term operating style that is dragging down the team just as much, if not more. That would be the day-to-day approach being employed by general manager Dave Littlefield and manager Jim Tracy, neither of whom has a problem standing pat with a bad team.

The way Littlefield and Tracy are running the Pirates, you would think the team was in first place by a sizable margin and not careening toward a 15th consecutive losing season. As the New York Post's Joel Sherman wrote of them after they disgraced themselves and the game at Yankee Stadium Saturday, "The Pirates are a major-league team like Lindsay Lohan is a NASCAR driver."

In the face of this abysmal play, which continued yesterday with a 13-6 loss to the Yankees, Littlefield and Tracy invariably send out the same losing team day after day. There are some minor changes, but nothing approaching the shake-up this team needs.

Here are some adjustments that should be made:

* Ronny Paulino to the bench for as long as it takes for him to shape up his attitude. Against Washington Thursday, while trying to score from first on a double, Paulino was, according to Pirates announcer John Wehner, "trotting." Wehner had no word for Paulino's failure to slide on what was a close play at home. We do: Disgraceful. On Saturday, as a laughably weak and errant throw from Jason Bay skittered toward him, Paulino made a feeble attempt to block the ball and it rolled past him as the baserunner advanced. Tracy has been trying to find ways to play Ryan Doumit. Now he has one. As for Doumit's defensive shortcomings, he can't be any worse than Paulino, whose defense has declined alarmingly -- along with his hitting.

* Jack Wilson was out of the lineup yesterday but Tracy said he'll return tomorrow night against Texas. He might need more time. Wilson is hitting .220 with an on-base percentage below .300 since the end of April. But it's his once-sure fielding that is a cause for concern. Wilson has messed up a season's worth of plays in the past few weeks, including four Saturday. He didn't see a line drive Friday against the Yankees. In all seriousness, he needs his eyes examined.

* The ridiculously inept bench needs to be imploded. If Jose Hernandez, currently at Indianapolis, is half as good as he was last year, he's more of a pinch-hitting threat than anyone on this bench, except on days when Doumit doesn't start. In the face of the total ineptitude of the bench -- a .136 average in pinch-hitting roles -- it speaks to the stubbornness of Littlefield that he hasn't recalled Hernandez. If he doesn't want Hernandez, there are plenty of veteran players in Class AAA with other organizations who would be better than what the Pirates have. Of course, that would probably require a cash transaction, which, despite protestations otherwise, does not seem to be a course the Pirates want to follow.

* Zach Duke should be sent to the minors by, say, this afternoon. Duke's ERA of 5.75 is 52nd of the 55 pitchers who have thrown 60 or more innings. His batting average against (.349) is 55th and a whopping 31 points higher than 54th. A weak offensive team like the Pirates can't afford to face a team where every hitter is a batting champion. Duke needs to fix his problems in the minors, where he won't cost the Pirates any more games. Plenty of players have reestablished their career by returning to the less-stressful atmosphere of the minors. Besides, Bryan Bullington and John Van Benschoten merit promotion because of their work at Indianapolis. Bullington is 9-2 with a 2.75 ERA. In light of how poorly Duke is pitching, how can Littlefield not make this move?

* Jose Castillo needs to play more often: Exactly what Castillo has done to deserve the doghouse treatment from Tracy is not known. Tracy repeatedly says Castillo has more power than any right-handed batter on the team. How can there be no place for a player of that caliber, who also happens to be the team's best defensive second baseman? Castillo started yesterday in place of Wilson and was 2 for 3 with two RBIs, a walk and two excellent plays in the field. It was, inexplicably, his first start since May 20. From May 14-20, Castillo started five games and batted .381 (8 for 21) with six RBIs. That performance should have merited more playing time. It's unlikely Tracy will wait another three weeks before starting Castillo again, but you never know.

The Pirates are 11 games under .500. This is a team that needs to change its act in a big way. To stand pat in the face of this caliber of play would be foolish. But that would be nothing new for this organization.


(Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.)