--Fabienne from Pulp Fiction
Jim Hendry obviously disagrees with the above quote. By shipping him to Baltimore for Garrett Olsen, the Cubs are basically getting another team's failed prospect.
I am a big supporter of Pie's. I never understood why the Cubs didn't give him more of an opportunity. Pie plays great defense, is a good runner, and has shown some pop in the minors. The Cubs named him their everyday center fielder last season but pulled the plug after 83 at bats. What kind of chance is that?
In order to replace him, the Cubs signed Jim Edmonds in a move that worked out better than anyone could have imagined. They won't be so lucky this year. This team has no center fielder. Reed Johnson is not a center fielder and Fukudome is already in Lou's doghouse. That's right, the Cubs will probably wish they still had Pie on the roster.
In Baltimore Pie will be moved to left field (a definite waste of his defensive value) since they already have a budding superstar in Adam Jones entrenched in the middle. He is going to a team that will not give up on him after 83 at bats. Now, I'm not predicting Pie will be an all-star and it's pretty widely accepted that he's brutal against lefties, but a .270/.330/.465 line isn't out of the question. Add in gold glove caliber defense and 20+ steals and you have yourself a guy who could get a team like the Cubs over the hump. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention he turns 24 in February.
The Cubs traded away a guy with whom they should have been patient. Instead he goes to Baltimore to help form the youngest outfield in the majors with Nick Markakis (25) and Jones (23) but one that now might have the most upside. Baltimore is building a team the right way whereas the Cubs' window is closing fast.
2 comments:
I like Pie, too, but if nobody's willing to give him 150 games to prove himself, then he's never going to be more than a AAAA player. He clearly cannot play part-time at the major league level.
Maybe Pie is too much of a physical specimen to play baseball. Being that the game is so mental, maybe hes more fitted for playing football or basketball. Maybe the Cubs scouts just saw the writing on the wall and bailed on a guy that was all hype once again. Not like the Cub farm system would actually produce a future all-star.
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