For better or for worse, the Phillies will gamble on Juan Pierre
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For better or for worse, the Phillies will gamble on Juan Pierre
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
I hope Juan Pierre proves me wrong, because it is really hard not to like the guy. You know a player loves the game when he shrugs his shoulder at the $55 million he has already banked in his career and signs a minor league contract at the age of 34 just so he can keep on competing. Pierre takes baseball seriously, and you can see why Charlie Manuel has such an affinity for him. Plus, he wears his socks high.
At the same time, it is fair to wonder how many one-dimensional clubhouse leader types the Phillies need on their bench at any one time. If this was last year, I would understand the desire to carry Pierre on the roster. His skill set is one that has been missing from the bench ever since I started covering this beat: a guy who can lay down a bunt, a guy who can steal a base, a guy who does not strike out.
This year, though, the move feels like an extra layer of sun tan lotion while sitting on the deck of the Titanic. That is hyperbole, obviously. Regardless of the many holes that have devleoped over the last six months, the Phillies will still enter the season as the favorite to win the National League East. Still, you have to acknowledge that they are sitting in a precarious position. And while they may have had the luxury of augmenting their roster with specialists the last few seasons, right now they are in no position to be turning away a player who has the potential to make a meaningful impact on the top half of the batting order. You've been reading this blog enough this spring to know the player I'm referring to is Scott Podsednik.
Look, maybe Podsednik wouldn't have made a difference. But he at least looked like he might have the potential. We're talking about a guy who just two seasons ago hit .297/.342/.382 while stealing 35-of-50 bases. To put that in perspective, Jimmy Rollins has never hit .297 in a season, and only three times has he posted an OBP of at least .342, and he hasn't stolen 35 bases since 2008.
In 2009, Pierre hit .308/.365/.392, which is the type of line Manuel likely had in mind when he labeled Pierre a high OBP guy earlier this week. But Pierre hasn't hit better than .279 or posted an OBP better than .341 in the two seasons since. Forget about the Grapefruit League numbers. Podsednik was clearly the better base-stealer and the better base-runner and if his bat speed was not significantly better than Pierre's, well then I'll never be able to accurately scout a baseball player. Forget about the fact that Podsednik is two years older, or the fact that he was sidelined for most of last season with a foot injury. He looked faster, stronger, and more fluid than Pierre. He seems to bring you everything that Pierre does, except with the ability to drive the ball to the gaps, something the Phillies will need with Chase Utley on the sidelines.
Maybe the Phillies still have Podsednik in their plans. Maybe they want to call him up at some point before June 1. But even if that is the case, I don't know that they are a team who has done enough to be able to afford to wait.
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The difference is Pierre is now playing for a bona fide winner, not the White Sox. I think we'll all be very pleased with him. In the best case scenario, we would have kept both Pods AND Pierre. However, we just have to hope Pods accepts the AAA assignment for now.— dwp66
The most difficult pill to swallow is Thome. I love the guy & what he brings, but at a time when you need players on the field, he's a guy that's going to give you 1 at bat a game, 1 start every 5-6, and never play back to back. He's a luxury for a team that needs that 1 bench guy to provide a homerun threat off the bench. They need a bench player that can provide depth.— fuss77- Really. Another example of the power of the media. None of us have clue who to pick but a few slanted articles and we are ready to hold rallies at the injustice of the phillies keeping a bench warmer.— Fritz and Alice
- Well said Murph. Ultimately keeping Pierre over Pods could be a BIG mistake— VicM
- Pierre is so bad defensively that the little he could give you by getting on base and stealing a bag is completely negated. This signing ade no sense to me, but we'll see.— JodyMac
- I rest my case. How many inept, destructive decisions does Cholly the chimp have to make before the cowardly press wakes up form their partly line subservience and start writing that despite injuries and an aging core, their biggest liability is still the same, Cholly - the most incompetent manager in the majors who miraculously still gets a free pass and erroneously credited with being a winning manager when he was imply LUCKY! Yep, a man who happened to be in the right place at the right time in both Cleveland and now Philly. In both cases, he was simply the charmed recipient of great organizational moves by the respective GMS at the time. Ask any Indians fan who is credible and they will tell you the same thing, he inherited great players, got along well and was liked but as a tactician and sound strategists and motivator, he stunk! The Phils won the 08 championship and the last 5 division titles DESPITE Cholly NOT due to him and his "deer in the headlights" reaction to pressure situations on the field. He was so grossly out managed by La Russa in last year's play offs, it was tantamount to watching a college professor play a Rhesus Monkey at chess. The bottom line is still the same, regardless of who they have on the field, Cholly's bumbling, inept management will always pose a massive impediment to their chances of winning another WS championship and add to that, an aging core missing Howard and Chase Utley, the out looks is dire to the point that a shot at the second WC birth is even in jeopardy. Time to retire Cholly, please, let him go fishing and squirrel hunting. Maybe he can be the mystery candidate to replace robot Romney at a broken Republican convention where they can feature nude mud wrestling:-)— daystrum
- Relax, Murph. This was contractual stuff, pure and simple. I think Pierre gets a shot and that Pods can't do anything until his contract says so. But I agree he's looked good.— PhillySubsMac
- Another scenerio where RAJ actually tied the Phillies up with contractual obligations...Podsednik without a doubt has something to offer, but Nix has the guaranteed deal...I agree that for bench players, speed and defense may trump LH power (Nix) if a Thome is on the roster...If Podsednik doesn't take the assignment, a bad taste is left in my mouth..Like Murph, I hope I'm wrong.— bearsfriend
- why all the negativity on Pierre? He looked decent against the Yankees last night, is a true leadoff hitter and gives you another threat on the basepaths. His numbers are down from past years but he's still a good player to have on your bench/lineup. Even though Pods had a better spring by the numbers....those actual numbers are/can be a bit deceiving. I agree with the move. By June if Pierre stinks it up, call on Pods. Until then keep an eye on him in the minors. If his numbers by May or June match his spring numbers and he's completely over his foot injury....then the Phils have no option but to call him or lose him. Besides, someone is bound to get injured on the roster by then and they'll probably call Pods up anyway.— tony b
Pierre is a sub until POD becomes the guy 6/1 or sooner should someone else go down....which looks like the Phillies modus operanti this year...I predict more roster moves this year than last...- It is another example of bad choices. Worse choices were papplebon, Qualls, and the great GM. It is going to be a long, disappointing season.— wmontanez27
- This is one of the most ridiculous sports articles I have ever read on here. Typical negadelphia media. You do know they have an option on Podsednik but none on Pierre?— scars73
- Good Ole Boy Chawlie...you knew it was going to be Pierre.....if I were Pods I'd be pissed. he outplayed Pierre. This team is going to stink offensively...Wigginton, Nix, Pierre...washed up vets going to drag them down. I'd have started Pods in left and Mayberry at 1st.
— mbutley - Podsednik outplayed Pierre all spring and deserved the slot! At this point in their careers, Podsednik is not only the better offensive player but is also more or a stolen base threat. Again, "name" is more important than talent!— JBinPA
- I like Pierre. probably the only frenchman I can stand.— Sackbutt
- None of the above statistics mention defense. We're taking it for granted that this was the best defense in baseball a few years ago and these two guys, as well as Dom Brown whenever he comes back, are not upgrades in that area.— burholme
- The geriatric kids.— Justaschmuck
- Hopefully Pierre contributes, but if not at least they still have Podsednik. With no options left Pierre would have been released, and they obviously didn't want to see him get picked up somewhere else and contribute.
Check out this new Philly sports blog - http://www.orble.com/philly-phaithful/— Colonel Angus -
Yeah how dare Charlie keep Pierre over Murphy's latest good ole boy man crush. All those gotta keep Posednik articles for nothing huh?— JLH - 178 base hits just 6 months ago. 26 more than any Philie player. I really don't care if they were 178 singles. Enough said.......except that I would keep Pods too and dump Nix, but Charlie gotta have Matt Stairs "part dieux" for late in the game......or wait, is Jim Thome "part dieux, too"? I can't remember, but we're gonna scare thos 8th inning setup guys to death, the closers, too!— Mark1npt
- Podsenik hinted that he was not going to accept a AAA assignment.— EL Zorro
- Pierre not only knows how to steal a base, but he also knows how to get thrown out a lot!— TeamAwesome
- They should keep Podsednik and dump Laynce Nix, who has done nothing this Spring.— SteveS11
- Nix is another contract situation. The Phillies will pay him 2.5m between this year and next whether he plays or not. So there's no way they let him go unless he stinks it up for a nice long stretch. The Nix signing was probably the one I agreed with the least this offseason. It looks even worse on a bench filled with LH hitters. — s
- Nix has stunk it up his entire career. That wasn't a long enough stretch to keep Amaro from giving him a two year contract. — jtj06
- I'm on the fence. Since keeping Pierre gives them an extra two months to hang on to both Pierre and Podsednik I lean toward agreeing with the move. But if Pierre stinks it up, this experiment has to end sooner rather than later.
Nice point about the socks. I'm an old school, high socks sort of guy. Thome, Pence, Pierre ... they all do it old school. Blanton too.— s - I'm not sure Podsednik accepts a reassignment. A rehab year in the minors is one thing, but going down when you have big league skills to cover for the hillbilly and Amaro's idiotic signing of Nix is another. Carrying both Pierre and Podsednik makes far more sense than carrying both Thome and Nix. The outfielders have both had recent MLB success and are both proven champions. Nix hasn't done anything in the majors beyond having a good game against the Phillies last summer.— jtj06
- I believe he has to accept it through June 1 the way his contract is structured. Either that or retire or lobby the Phillies to let him out of the contract. I think this move was 90% about the contracts of Pierre and Podsednik.
I may be wrong about him being bound to the June 1st date. Murphy may know for sure.— s - Given his contract situation, he still didn't sound like he was sure if he would accept the demotion. If he refused it, the Phillies would either force him to retire out of spite or release him out of courtesy. Since Ibanez let the Phillies put a lucrative arbitration offer on him out of courtesy, I'd be surprised if the reality of the situation is that the Phillies would force a 36 year old established big leaguer down to the minor leagues if he didn't want to go. — jtj06
- I agree completely with Murph. Pierre's ability was gone 2-years ago. Now, he's playing off his reputation and has Charlie fooled into thinking it can be resurrected. We have enough problems. Cut him loose.— 1republican
- The Hillbilly likes Pierre. From day 1 he was going to be the choice.— Johnnyboyl
- i do assume they have Pods in reserve especially since he was able to move down unless he retires. you were aware of that scenario i assume
— righty
