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Guest Column - Ready for another Pie Piece?
Life is so much easier when people do your work for you. Here’s a fine piece from TCR loyalist Virginia Phil, comparing player development in the Braves organization with the Cubs’ treatment of Felix Pie. - Trans.
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As somebody who likes an infusion of young talent into a baseball team, I’ve been thinking lately that it must be nice to be an Atlanta Braves fan. Nice, that is, if you don’t live in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond is the Braves’ AAA franchise, and if you’re a Richmond fan it’s fifty-fifty, at best, that you will get the chance to see top-flight Braves talent on a fast track to Atlanta. Jeff Francoer, the Braves’ 23-year-old right fielder, never played an inning in Richmond. Neither did Brian McCann, their 23-year-old power hitting catcher. Francoer was hitting .275 with 13 home runs in 335 at-bats in Mississippi in the Southern League (AA) when he was called up to the Braves in 2005. McCann was hitting .265 with 6 home runs at Miss. when he got his ticket to Atlanta in 2005. 2005 was a playoff year, not a rebuilding year, for the Braves. There never really are rebuilding years in Atlanta because they rebuild constantly.
Andruw Jones skipped Richmond. So did Rafael Furcal. Jermaine Dye came up with the Braves and played 39 games at Richmond. Chipper did play there for one entire season. He’s the exception.
The Braves enter each season with a different mindset than the Cubs. More…With the Cubs, it’s always, This will be our year, the year when hell freezes over, the year of the Cubs, finally. Needless to say, when the Cubs pledged $300 million over the winter they created a frenzy of expectation about the 2007 season. It’s easy to forget, though, that it was the same way last year. All we had to do was give Dusty a leadoff man and he would take us to a world championship–remember? That’s why we traded the future–our of our best right-handed pitching prospects and two other high-level arms–for the present, one year (but it would be a glorious one!) of Juan Pierre.
The Braves expect to make the playoffs every year and they almost always do, so they enter each season with a ho-hum attitude. They’re usually looking three years ahead. They never act under duress and they keep that conveyor belt going from double-A to the majors. Do they have better prospects than the Cubs or just a better attitude toward them, or both? I think their players are a little better but their attitude is very different. The Braves put a major-league uniform on a player and say to him, You’re a Brave, act like it, and most of the time he does!
The Cubs have talent in the organization, but there has to be a significant breakdown at the top level for them to reach down. In order for Matt Murton to come to Chicago in 2005 (up from AA), three outfielders–Dubois, Hollandsworth and Patterson–had to fizzle. Rich Hill earned a spot in the Cub rotation last August and September, but only after Wood, Prior and Marshall went down. If they hadn’t, Hill would be at Iowa, or, more likely, in another organization.
If Felix Pie had not injured his ankle, he would have made his Cub debut the same week as Murton in 2005 and we would know who our centerfielder was today. Now I’m beginning to wonder when, if ever, he’ll get his first at-bat with the Cubs. Will Jones or Soriano have to injure one of their ankles? Pie is twenty-two now. Would the Braves think he needed more seasoning? Somehow I think they would have found a place for Pie, even though Andruw (not Jacque) Jones would be blocking him.
It’s easy to imagine Murton never having gotten a shot. Not to mention Theriot, who only got to play second after Izturis went down AND Cedeno moved back from second to short AND Neifi was traded. And then last September we wanted to see Scott Moore play, in case Aramis left via free agency, but he could only get a start when Mabry’s back was hurting. Mabry! Is this any way to run an airline?
Okay, Dusty was an extreme case. But is Lou going to be more like Bobby Cox or more like Dusty? I’m pretty sure it’s more like Dusty. Managers always have a short time-frame, especially old managers who don’t expect to be around long.
It’s an organizational decision, anyway, to play a guy who’s oh-for-oh in the majors. I listen closely to every word Hendry utters publicly because I think he chooses his words carefully (as opposed to Piniella’s constant boilerplate patter). Hendry certainly intended to make centerfield available to Pie this season. He said from the start that Soriano would be a corner outfielder. Hendry hasn’t said one word about Jones being in his plans this year. But Piniella has praised Jones and so the word has gone out that Jones will play center or right. Hendry has said repeatedly that he would not acquire a centerfielder who would block Pie. So his manager starts talking up Soriano for center, and it’s in every newspaper in the country, until Pie is out there coaching Soriano on fielding his position. Who could possibly be a greater roadblock to Pie than Soriano?
Only Hendry can prevent a situation where in late July, 2007, the Cubs trade Pie–still oh-for-oh in the majors–for a closer or some other “missing piece” that will put the Cubs over the top. Oh, the excitement, I can feel it already. This will finally be our year! I’m worried about Hendry having enough nerve and backbone to be an effective GM. Last season at the midpoint he should have traded Pierre and installed Pie in center, even if Pie was only hitting .250 at the time. Obviously Hendry should have fired Dusty.
Is Pie ready? It’s the wrong question. Are the Cubs ready to become a team that can look farther down the road than a few months?
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19 Responses to “Guest Column - Ready for another Pie Piece?”
March 10th, 2007 at 11:01 am
I think its still too early to label Piniella. I think the Cubs would have liked to trade Jones but weren’t able to get equal value…Given the fact that Jones is the only legitimate lefty in the lineup, they’re probably reluctant to make a deal. I think Az Phil was right the other day-they won’t break camp with Pie and Murton is probably the odd man out.
I’ve been following the Cubs every move since 1972. They’ve never been able to develop talent at the major league level, because they’re always in a crisis management mode. You are definetely right about their track record.
That said, when they have promoted a young player, its usually under high pressure circumstances and usually damaging to the player. That is why I very much like the approach they’re taking with Theriot. If he out plays DeRosa for instance, I think its safe to say that DeRosa will become the super-sub. Same with the pitchers. A year in middle relief not only helps to develop confidence but also the arm strength needed to pitch 180+ innings in a 162 game season.
I say ease them in. More youth on the bench and in the bullpen. That philosophy would really put the spotlight on Pagan, Ohman and Novoa especially. If we have young players with a higher upside, why not use those roster spots to develop talent while were still focused on building a champion.
March 10th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Gary Scott skipped Triple A and hit .165 when handed the Cubs third bas job after a hot spring.
Andruw Jones was slugging about .650 in the minors when he got called to the majors.
Jermaine Dye. Franceuor and Furcal got called up to fill holes due to injury.
All of those Braves came up when they had the big three pitchers and weren’t major parts of the team, except Franceuor and they haven’t been so good since he got called up. If the Cubs had Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux circa 1996, I am sure they would be more than happy to plug in Pie in center and say ‘play defense’. Unfortunatley the Cubs rotation isn’t quite that good.
March 10th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
[…] Original post by Guest Columnist […]
March 10th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
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March 10th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Neal,
I’m sure the Braves had injuries; but the Cubs had to have injuries to everyone, down to the last player on the bench, Mabry, for Scott Moore to play. That was Dusty, of course. I’m hoping, but not confident, that things will be different. We may just have a different set of Mabrys. I’m thinking of DeRosa blocking not just Theriot but also Eric Patterson, who is killing the ball in Arizona and would be considered “ready” if the word had its usual meaning with the Cubs. It’s frustrating for a fan who likes young players. It must be really tough for these kids.
With a ripe prospect like Pie, I’m afraid that there is a determinism that says you must play him or you will trade him. To other GMs, the Cubs’ confusion about Pie is like blood in the water. They are probably circling Hendry right now, and when his cellphone rings, it isn’t about Jones–who is a write-off at this point–but about Pie. Some time around midseason, Hendry will say, Okay, okay. I’m getting great offers for Pie–players with some mileage on them, I’ll admit, but one or two who will put us over the top, give us that elusive championship. We just have to grab the brass ring one time and the curse will be broken!
Shortsightedness is a lazy habit, not a curse. You could serve drinks to all the goats in Wrigleyville and it wouldn’t fix what’s wrong with the Cubs.
People on this board who think Pie belongs in Iowa will applaud when he’s traded. You guys should be honest. You want to trade him.
Gary Scott: I moved away from Chicago and there must be seasons when I wasn’t paying attention. The name doesn’t ring a bell. I do remember Joe Carter. In ‘84, the Cubs traded rookie Joe Carter for Rick Sutcliffe, who had a great year and almost took the Cubs to a World Series, but not quite. After that, Sutcliffe was a .500 pitcher, and Carter went on to an Andre Dawson-like career.
I was looking at Carter’s numbers recently, and I saw something that surprised me, considering how big he was: 231 stolen bases, including season totals like 29, 31, 27. So Carter was apparently one of those five-tool guys, like Pie and Corey Patterson. People are so worried about Pie following Patterson’s career trajectory. I think he’s more likely, vis-a-vis the Cubs, to follow in Carter’s footsteps.
If you blinked, you missed it, but I actually remember seeing Joe Carter in a Cub uniform. It must have been ‘83, when he was a September call-up and got 51 at-bats. He didn’t hit any home runs, which is too bad: every one of his 396 home runs–the total doesn’t include 4 World Series homers including a 6th-game series-winning walkoff–was in another team’s uniform.
I’m not really as pessimistic as I sound. To an extent I’m playing the devil’s advocate. I do think the Cubs will be making a fateful, not a trivial, decision in a couple of weeks.
March 10th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
You’ve definitely made some good points, but the crux of the matter is that the culture of the Atlanta Braves could not be more different than the Cubs. While the Braves have consistently had strong team leadership and a winning attitude, the Cubbies have languished in a putrid state of self-loathing incompetence. In the former situation, a youngster can develop quickly and thrive. However in the latter environment, a young players talent can be quickly subsumed by the depressing banality of the reality of the Cub clubhouse. Hopefully that’s changing. After all thats why they brought Sweet Lou in, but don’t forget that the culture of a place, has just as much to do with longterm success, as anything else.
March 10th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
I bet the Cubs could trade Jones for Jon Lieber right now. Would you do it? Or would you take the best pitcher you have right now for the #5 spot? That pitcher could very well be Angel Guzman. We need to see some Angel starts in spring training don’t we?
March 10th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
IMO, Felix Pie needs a full season at Triple A. His performance over the past 24 months has been too yo-yo like. According to reports, his batting stance has changed with the wind over the past two years. And he also was plagued with gaping holes in his swing last year at Des Moines. Major league pitchers will eat him for lunch just as soon as there is a “book” on him around the league.
As Paul Mason used to say, we shall sell no wine before its time. Let Pie work on his batting stroke and develop a modicum of consistency and success at Triple A. Then, call him up in September.
March 11th, 2007 at 3:25 am
‘I’m sure the Braves had injuries; but the Cubs had to have injuries to everyone, down to the last player on the bench, Mabry, for Scott Moore to play”
VA Phil,
Murton, Pierre, Jones was the starting outfield for the Cubs in 2006. None of them got hurt. Yes, they could have brought Pie up to platoon with Murton in a position he has never played when he was batting .263 in Iowa, but they want him to get practice hitting lefties and he wouldn’t be able to do that in Chicago last summer with Murton there, not to mention impeding Murton’s progress as well.
I don’t know if you have to wait until September to call him up. If one of your ‘big three’ outfielders get’s hurt, I would rather see Pie playing than Pagan on a daily basis, but unless he forces his way into the bigs (I am talking .330 .400 .550 for over a month level forcing), then let him learn in Iowa.
March 20th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
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February 27th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
March 13th, 2008 at 12:43 am
March 13th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
March 25th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Sorry, but what is kimerikas?
Jane.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:25 pm
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May 4th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
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June 11th, 2008 at 11:13 am
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