Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic
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All behold the unimaginable power of the Q&A: One morning, a complaint is raised that Steve Pearce is playing at too low a level in the system and, later that same morning, he is promoted to Altoona!
Well, either that or the Pirates just decided an off-day for the Curve was a good one to give the kid a chance to travel north and that hitting a home run pretty much every day for two weeks made him deserving.
Fun to have delusions once in a while ...
Q: Dejan, how do you feel about the Pirates finishing April at .500 despite being one of the worst hitting teams in the National League? Is there hope of a winning record in 2007?
James Zerfoss of Seoul, South Korea
KOVACEVIC: It is stunning, James. Not because they are the Pirates but, as you point out, because of how it has come about.
Here is a number I was looking up during the game tonight: Your PBC has now scored three runs or less in 13 games but is now 5-8 in those games, thanks again last night to some fine pitching from Zach Duke, Jonah Bayliss, Matt Capps and yes, Salomon Torres.
What kind of a trend is that?
This thinking is part of why I emphasized the game story today toward momentum. (Well, in addition to LaRoche giving me a pretty good quote.) If this team can get players like LaRoche and Ronny Paulino and Freddy Sanchez, who had two hits and might have had two more, untracked, it looks like a completely different team. Those remain ifs, of course, but probably not by much. All three are pretty good hitters, their histories will show.
A winning record?
I stand by my call in the preseason that the pitching makes that too tough to forecast, even if Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny have done as well as they have. It has to be encouraging to the Pirates that Zach Duke seems to have gotten back on his horse and that Paul Maholm had that complete game. But question marks continue to abound with this rotation.
Q: I am sure you have heard this already, but here it is: What are the chances of Ryan Doumit unseating Ronny Paulino at catcher? We sure could use the runs.
Kevin Strafalace of Troy Hill, Pittsburgh
KOVACEVIC: The chances are extremely slim, Kevin, and they likely will remain that way. Tracy has made clear countless times that his view of a catcher's value is weighted much, much more heavily on his handling of the pitching staff than any other trend. And he has made no less clear that he loves Paulino's handling of the staff.
That said, the way this team is hitting, there is absolutely no cause for Doumit not to be in the lineup somewhere.
Q: Dejan, I am about to ask a question last year that was unthinkable: Is it time to consider moving Freddy Sanchez down in the order in hopes of getting him back on track? Unless there are some injuries affecting his timing which aren't being disclosed, would you think a move down in the order would benefit his confidence? Jim Tracy has done it with other struggling hitters, Adam LaRoche this year, Jason Bay last. He could move Jose Bautista into the No. 3 hole and Freddy down to sixth.
Kevin Van Asdalan of Banksville, Pittsburgh
KOVACEVIC: That is a fine line to walk, Kevin, if only because the move down in the lineup can have a further damaging effect on the hitter's confidence. Some guys might get relaxed by it, as you point out, but others might take it quite badly.
Sanchez was not just any other hitter. He was the best in the National League in terms of average last season, and he especially handled lefties well. The Cubs start a lefty again tonight.
After that, maybe thoughts about a move down would move to the forefront.
Until tomorrow ...
First Published April 30, 2007 5:18 pm
