By Rob Biertempfel
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Xavier Nady was expected to play a supporting role in the Pirates' offense this season.
Instead, Nady is playing like a bona fide slugger -- and some might even say like an All-Star.
Without a lot of fanfare, Nady has moved among the team's leaders in practically every batting category. He is tops in home runs (13) and slugging percentage (.492), second in RBI (46) and fourth in on-base percentage (.337).
And yet, outside of Pittsburgh, Nady is probably best known as the answer to the trivia question, Who did the Pirates get in the Oliver Perez trade?
"I think he gets overlooked," Pirates outfielder Jason Bay said. "Teams come in, and they're looking at guys like myself or Freddy (Sanchez) or (Adam) LaRoche. But right now, he's the one doing all the damage, and I'm glad to see it.
"He's definitely capable. I don't think this is a one-time thing. This is him."
Nady went into Friday night's game against the Washington Nationals batting .283, 13 points better than his career average. He was riding a five-game hitting streak, going 9 for 22 with two homers, a double, four
RBI and five runs scored.
"His numbers right now correlate to being pretty good (for the season), especially for somebody projected to be in the six-hole in the lineup," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said.
"He's gotten big hits. Hits in tie games. Three-run home runs to open games up. Big base hits to extend innings, or to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Big at-bats. That's what you love to see."
Nady's stats probably would be even better, if he had not missed about 14 total days with two hamstring strains. Those injuries have been the only thing that have kept him out of the lineup.
It's also important that Nady came into this season with peace of mind, knowing he would be a full-time right fielder -- no more splitting time between first base and the outfield.
"I think the biggest thing for him is just getting a chance to play every day here, regardless of who's pitching or what's going on," Bay said. "He's going out there every day, feeling comfortable and mostly staying healthy."
His attitude is relaxed and his production is on the rise. There is talk that Nady should be the Pirates' representative in the All-Star Game.
The All-Star rosters will be announced Sunday.
"There are a lot of guys on this team who have done their jobs -- they've played every day, like (Bay), or taken the ball every fifth day," Nady said. Just to be considered among them is nice.
"But this home stretch we've got now is more important than anything else. I'm worried about these next few days more than anything else. We'll see what happens."
Rob Biertempfel can be reached at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7811.
No comments:
Post a Comment