Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic
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Just a reminder, as more mail starts coming in with the start of the season: If you do not include your full name, current place of residence and real email, your submission will not be read. No one sees these things but me, I can assure you, but I find that discussion tends to be held on a much higher ground when it is not anonymous.
Have no fear: I am not nearly computer-savvy enough to spam you.
Also, your worst chance of getting published comes with asking about very specific situations from games. I usually put this together the afternoon before it runs, except in rare cases such as the Adam LaRoche trade and opening day where I took entries through the night. Because of that, stuff about specific plays would be two days old by the time it runs here.
The preferred topics are more general, meaning trends, personnel stuff, whatever. Just not, "Hey, what was Tracy thinking when he sent McLouth up there in the eighth?"
Q: Hey, Dejan, I drove all the way down from Rochester, NY to go to the home opener with my dad. I was deeply saddened to hear a young father telling his son how badly the Pirates stink and the son actually joining in on the act.
I have visited other stadiums such as Fenway Park, where they had previously experienced such similar anguish and torment but the young fans were always very positive.
Either way, the players definitely feed off of the fans, and they deserve our undying support, no matter whether they are on a hot streak or not.
Drew Behling of Rochester, N.Y.
KOVACEVIC: The Pirates' situation is not comparable to that of any in the four major professional sports right now. Not only do they have the longest streak of losing, but they also have the tradition that serves as a painful reminder of how things were. These are not the Diamondbacks or Marlins. This is a 121-year-old franchise. As such, it is not apathy that comes their way when they are bad. Rather, it is anger.
The burden, as I see it, is on the Pirates rather than the public.
That starts with ownership. It remains impossible to explain how the Pirates can spend about $40 million, while the Milwaukee Brewers -- based in a metropolitan region with 800,000 fewer people -- can commit $70 million.
It continues with management. Real, long-term investments must be made in building a competitive minor-league system, as opposed to quick fixes.
And it extends to the players. This seems like a good group, seems like it has some talent, seems like it has some commitment to winning over the next three years. But they have to go out and do it.
To ask the fans to support blindly in such a scenario looks like a cart-before-the-horse argument to me, Drew.
Q: How did Jose Castillo get such an over-inflated opinion of himself? Was it from his repeated swings at pitches out of the strike zone? Or was it from his inability to concentrate while playing second base?
Bob LoCicero of Frederick, Md.
KOVACEVIC: Castillo's opinion of himself came from reaching the majors at age 23 -- skipping Class AAA entirely -- and being an everyday player for the following three years. Plenty of reason to feel confident about yourself in that scenario.
Castillo seems to understand his career is at a crossroads, and he also seems to understand the picture is not exactly bright for him in Pittsburgh. Even if Jose Bautista were to sputter, the organization has made it very clear that Neil Walker is the third baseman of the future.
It is possible, as you suggest, Bob, that a dosage of some humility might help Castillo improve in many aspects of his play. But it seems unfair, I think, to knock the guy for feeling good about his value.
Q: Dejan, found your Sunday article on 2009 interesting. That would be a great lineup.
Do you really think Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche will be here to start the season? As you pointed out, both will be going into their final season, along with several others. If the Pirates cannot afford to extend their contracts, would in not be wise to trade them prior to the 2009 season?
Francis Porch of Overland Park, Kan.
KOVACEVIC: Trading such players before a season can enhance their value, as opposed to trading them at the July deadline when a team essentially is acquiring them for only two months and playoffs. So, yes, it would make sense.
Either that, or the team could make a long-term financial commitment to keep them. But, given the low spending in recent years as well as the lingering feeling of being burned by every long-term contract signed in the past decade -- well, that looks doubtful.
On a related note, to those of who you who responded about various aspects of that 2009 lineup, it bears a second mention that this was not something I dreamed up. This is the way the Pirates -- extremely tentatively -- are looking at things.
Until tomorrow ...
First Published April 10, 2007 4:17 pm
