Monday’s Bunts and Boots

Having watched the Pirates stumble their way to three straight losses at the hands of the Yankees, I think it’s high time that this once proud franchise make some major changes to its structure. The Pirates made so many fundamental mistakes on defense and in running the bases that they took on the aura of a Rookie League team buried low in the minors. Indecisiveness by third baseman Jose Bautista led to Friday night’s loss in extra innings, the repeated inability to hit the cutoff man resulted in numerous extra bases for the Yankees, and Freddy Sanchez’ inexplicable decision not to tag up from second to third on a deep fly ball to right field derailed a potential game-tying rally on Sunday. The inability of a team to execute basic fundamental plays on the bases and in the field reflects badly on the manager; that is why Jim Tracy, who supposedly emphasizes the fundamentals, should be given the boot.

Yet, it’s not all Tracy’s fault. While he has a decent core of talent to work with—including Sanchez, Jason Bay, Adam LaRoche, Xavier Nady, Ryan Doumit, Ian Snell, and Tom Gorzelanny—this Pirates team has too many problem areas. They are a punchless offensive team, with major holes at shortstop and center field, and have a bullpen that is a borderline mess. The inability of Dave Littlefield to make trades—it seems like he needs a federal proclamation to make an in-season deal—has hurt the Pirates badly in their efforts to improve from Central Division doormat to legitimate contender. The Pirates have needed an offensive boost for years now, but only LaRoche and Nady have been brought in through recent trades to help the situation. The team needs better hitters at short, center, and third base, but Littlefield seems unwilling to trade from the team’s depth of starting pitching to address the problem. Given the continuing inertia on the part of Littlefield, who is the anti-Trader Lane, it’s time to change the general manager, too.

The Pirates haven’t fielded a .500 team since 1992, despite the influx of money brought upon by the addition of wonderful PNC Park. Littlefield and Tracy have had their chance to improve the on-field product, but the bottom line remains a team that hasn’t shown one ounce of improvement over last year or the year before. They are still a sub-.500 team that lacks talent and the ability to play sound baseball, one that has no business calling itself a postseason contender. It’s time for a change—and that change needs to start with the manager and the general manager…

The annual Cooperstown Baseball Symposium, which took place last week at the Hall of Fame, once again proved to be a fountain of baseball knowledge, academic discussion, and good-time socializing at Cooperstown’s late-night establishments. The most interesting nugget that came out of the Symposium, at least indirectly, involved the rumor that Hall president Dale Petroskey would like to become a candidate to replace Bud Selig as commissioner once he retires. Petroskey has long been rumored to be angling toward a return to politics—he once worked for President Reagan—but his interest in the commissionership has apparently become his first priority… In other matters related more directly to the Symposium, a number of the game’s leading academics, including Ron Briley, George Gmelch, Larry Hogan, Alan Levy, Joel Nathan Rosen and Bill Simons, attended the conference. Not surprisingly, there were several outstanding presentations made by baseball academics and historians. University of Nebraska professor Dave Ogden opened some eyes with his examination of select youth baseball, which is now becoming a training ground for future major leaguers and may be contributing to the lack of African Americans playing professional baseball today. Steve Treder of The Hardball Times impressed with his study of how increased interest in the Negro Leagues has not translated into increased participation by African Americans in baseball today. He also cited how improvements in civil rights have not led to a corresponding decrease in real-life racism. In spite of advancements in the law, the racial divide remains ever present, resulting in a larger presence of ghettoes in cites like Kansas City and Chicago… Another highlight of the symposium involved a three-hour panel on Hall of Fame executive Branch Rickey. The panel examined Rickey’s days as an undergrad at Ohio-Wesleyan, his pursuit of a legal degree at Michigan, and his efforts in bringing Jackie Robinson to the major leagues. The panel, which was very informative, included the sons of famed Supreme Court justices Earl Warren and Thurgood Marshall along with Rickey’s grandson, Branch III. If there was a criticism, the panelists took only one question from the audience in the Hall’s Grandstand Theater, which seemed a bit on the skimpy side after three hours worth of presentations… All in all, it was a good show put on by Jim Gates and the staff at the Hall of Fame Library. If you’re a researcher or an academic interested in baseball, the symposium should become a must-attend on your baseball calendar in 2008…

Finally, I found it somewhat surreal watching highlights of Sunday afternoon’s game between the Mets and Tigers at Comerica Park. I haven’t seen as many birds—were they seagulls?—descend upon the playing field since a Yankees-Brewers game at County Stadium in the 1980s. With so many birds flying throughout the outfield and infield, all that was missing was Tippi Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette, and Rod Taylor from the 1963 Hitchcock classic. Ah yes, combining baseball and horror, my two favorite pastimes.