First baseman Adam LaRoche brings intangibles to the Pirates' lineup.
Monday, March 12, 2007
By Paul Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Pirates didn't just get a cleanup hitter when they acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche from Atlanta.
They apparently got a complete big-league lineup as well.
"You say, 'Wow! We have a pretty good lineup now that he's in there,"' shortstop Jack Wilson said. "We had a couple holes in the past. I don't see any holes anymore, to be honest."
For years, it seems, the Pirates haven't had a big-league, everyday lineup -- a list of eight position players their manager could pretty much write down before every game.
Players would be platooned at one position. Maybe two. There would be a player who didn't pan out and would have to be sent back to the minor leagues, replaced by another player who wouldn't make it, either.
It was a trial and error process -- mostly error.
Jack Wilson
Not now, though.
LaRoche, who cost the Pirates left-handed closer Mike Gonzalez, will anchor the lineup, which -- if the plan holds this time -- will feature Chris Duffy in the leadoff spot, followed by Wilson and National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez.
Jason Bay will follow LaRoche most days -- there could be a Bay/LaRoche flip-flop depending on whether a left-hander starts for the opposition. Then comes Xavier Nady, Ronny Paulino and probably Jose Castillo.
"Everybody has a simple role to fill," Wilson said. "It's not like 'You need to do this, this, this and this.' Just do this.
"In years past, it was like, 'Jack, we need you to hit second, hit close to .300 and get on base and if you can steal some every now and then that would be good.' It's not like that now. All I need to do is when Duffy's on first base I either get him over or take a bunch of pitches to let him steal second and then we work from there."
This is how Wilson envisions the roles playing out: "Duffy, get on base and run. Jack, do whatever you can to get him in scoring position. Freddy, hit him in. Jason, hit him in. LaRoche, hit him in. Nady, hit him in. Paulino, hit him in. We have five guys right there who can do a lot of [damage] in those holes."
Ronny Paulino
That sounds so good it almost makes one want to load the Pirates on the next charter to Houston and get the season started now. And all that doesn't take into account the intangibles that LaRoche brings with him from the Braves, who are perennial winners.
"Until we get into the [regular-season] games, you don't really know how the winning attitude is going to translate into the clubhouse," Sanchez said. "But having gotten to know him some so far and the way he fits in, he's been a great addition so far. He'll help us out a lot."
"Most people are just going to look at the numbers, and rightfully so. They speak for themselves," Bay said. "But at the same time, he's been in an organization that knows how to win. He came right over and said, 'Hey, we have to change the mind-set.'"
It's very nice for the Pirates that LaRoche probably will improve on his .285 batting average, 32 home runs and 90 RBIs of a season ago. That right-field porch above the Clemente Wall should be an inviting target for him.
But the seven seasons he spent in the Atlanta organization count for something, too. The Braves won their division in all of those years except 2006.
"There are things I'd like to bring over that I learned just from watching," LaRoche said. "I don't know how it will play out, but it rubbed off on me that 'We're going to win today.' You show up expecting to win every day.
"How you get that, I don't know. It was already there when I got there. I just became a part of it just like with everybody who goes through there. It comes with gaining some respect. It's all of us getting on the same page and saying, 'You know? We're going to start winning.' You may lose a couple in a row, but the fact is you know you're going to eventually win a lot of games."
Still, it isn't like all the Pirates not named LaRoche are mere wide-eyed kids fawning over their new friend. There was some talent in their clubhouse before LaRoche took up occupancy.
"These guys have a couple of years in," LaRoche said. "Last year was big for them to get that first year, that second year in -- just a little bit more experience. Now people are expecting them to get it done. The grace period's over. Now it's time to do it. And I think they're ready for it. I think if you ask any of them, they're ready for it."
Freddy Sanchez
Well, let's ask Sanchez.
"We have to look at ourselves and show ourselves that we believe we can win," he said. "We can't be like, 'He's been on a winning team and he knows how to win.' He's only human. We have to take what he does on the field -- offensively and defensively -- and take that into our attitude and not look at like, 'OK, he's been on a winning team. We're just all of a sudden going to win.'
"He's going to be a huge part of this team. He's a great guy. He's going to be a huge part of helping us win and hopefully creating our own winning attitude."
"But not just because I'm in there," LaRoche said. "Because of the structure of the lineup. It's a team thing. Pitching is huge. Defense is huge. Yeah, you have to score runs, but you have to save runs, too.
"And you can't have four or five guys thinking we're going to win and four or five guys thinking we're done and be successful. You have to have everybody with one common goal -- and that should be to get into the playoffs. It shouldn't be .500."
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