The Pirates lost their arbitration battle against Jack Wilson this winter and wound up having to pay him $1,850,000. So far, Wilson is the only player among the five highest-paid Pirates earning his pay.
While keeping in mind that more than four-fifths of the season has yet to be played, Wilson is currently the top offensive shortstop in the league, and it's not close.
It's doubtful that a guy who almost never walks (just two after 29 games) can sustain a .352 on-base average, but Wilson's .339 batting average is enough to have him lead shortstops in both categories.
More encouraging, Wilson is hitting the ball with authority. His .521 slugging average puts him 96 points ahead of the second-best shortstop, San Diego's Khalil Greene.
Don't bank on Wilson remaining at the top all season, not with Edgar Renteria in the league. But given that Wilson and his subs combined to make Pirates shortstops 12th in the league in on-base average plus slugging average (OPS) last season, that is real progress.
The rest of the lineup has sucked wind. The Pirates are 15th in a 16-team league in runs scored because they are 15th in OPS. Here's how the team ranks in that category by position: P, 2nd; C, 9th; 1B, 15th; 2B, 10th; 3B, 12th; SS, 1st; LF, 11th; CF, 15th; RF, 5th.
Don't get too excited about the high ranking for Pirates pitchers. They don't get up much and their relative success is due more to their league-leading 14 sacrifice bunts than their nine hits. Right field is high because Craig Wilson and Rob Mackowiak slugged a combined .706 in 51 at-bats there, but both players are needed to turn around dreadful production from the corner infield positions.
I criticized manager Lloyd McClendon a week ago for batting Tike Redman instead of Jason Kendall in the leadoff spot, a drag on the team that he corrected last weekend. But there's only so much a manager can do with a roster this weak. While we wait to see how much Jason Bay can help, let me run another hitting statistic by you: Isolated Power.
As you know, batting average is computed by dividing hits by at-bats. Slugging average is total bases divided by at-bats. Isolated Power (IsoP) is slugging average minus batting average. It essentially shows how much of a player's total bases come from extra bases.
Among the six Pirates with enough plate appearances to qualify among league leaders, Craig Wilson leads the Pirates with a .276 IsoP, 18th in the league. Mackowiak is next at .183, 48th in the NL. Jack Wilson is 49th at .182; Raul Mondesi is 62nd at .141; Redman is 85th at .088; Kendall is 98th at .040. That's last among the 98 qualified hitters.
The Pirates have too many singles hitters. Kendall's ability to get on base (.354 OBA this season; .384 career) makes him a fine leadoff man, but there have to be more long balls behind him. Only Mondesi (assuming he returns from the Dominican Republic) can reasonably be expected to turn up the power. Both the Wilsons and Mackowiak are currently hitting for more extra bases than in previous seasons.
All the bunts and baserunning in the world can't make up for that power outage. The Pirates have out-singled their opponents, 187-154, but have been out-doubled, 64-49, out-tripled, 7-6, and out-homered, 29-21. They've also been out-walked, 108-70.
Fans had better hope Kris Benson starts earning his $6.2 million salary so he can be traded for someone, anyone at almost any position, who can drive the ball. Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez is slugging almost as high as Craig Wilson, and he makes almost as much as Benson. Anyone know if he's available?
I'm kidding. I was among those who thought Ramirez, a good not great hitter, would be replaced fairly easily after his salary was dumped last August. So far, so bad.
First Published: May 11, 2004, 4:00 a.m.
