by Matt Shetler
Judging by the recent crowds at PNC Park during the Pirates recent ten game skid, it’s clear who is to blame for the Pittsburgh Pirates woes. That would be none other than third baseman Pedro Alvarez.
Judging by the three double play in four inning performance Friday night, it’s clear to the crowd at PNC Park that drafting Alvarez was a clear mistake and that the young third baseman is the sole reason the Bucs won’t be winning the National League Central in 2011.
The call in shows and blogs all around have come nothing short of calling Alvarez a bust.
Slow down and look at things for a minute and you will see just the opposite is true. Yes, Alvarez has struggled mightily this season, but so has the entire Pirates batting order. I get the fact that Alvarez has been held to a higher standard than most, but why? He’s a 24-year old that hasn’t had a full season’s worth of major league at bats. He’s going to struggle. He’s going to have rough spots. Allowing him to work through those spots is the proper way for the Pirates to go.
What other options are there anyway? Despite his struggles, Alvarez has outproduced both Josh Harrison and Chase d”Arnaud during their starts at the hot corner. Brandon Wood has outperformed Alvarez by a bit, but also has a career OPS of .515. It’s a no-brainer that manager Clint Hurdle should pencil in Alvarez’s name in the middle of the lineup and allow him to work through his struggles. It will benefit both the Pirates and Alvarez in the long run.
How do I know? I don’t, but I’m banking on history.
Let’s take a look at some actual stat lines.
Player A: .196 avg. 19 HR, 538 AB’s
Player B:: .260, 2 HR, 577 AB’s
Player C: .239, 17 HR, 598 AB’s
Player D: .239, 12 HR, 561 AB’s
Player E: .225, 16 HR, 516 AB’s
Player F: .239, 19 HR, 522 AB’s
Now the question begs, which one of these stat lines belongs to Alvarez? It’s not the worst one on the page, it’s actually Player F, at first glance the best. Your next question may be “who are you comparing him to?”
Fair enough. Player A just happens to be Mike Schmidt. Player B turns out to be George Brett. Player C is Scott Rolen. Player D is Aramis Ramirez and Player E happens to be Jose Bautista.
All of these guys were young once as well and guess what, they all had their struggles. Oh yeah, there were complaints about their defense as well. Pirates fans know first hand how the careers of both Ramirez and Bautista turned out, but the point is that it’s far too early to write Alvarez off. When he’s going good, his bat has life. He has the ability to be a middle of the order hitter in the major leagues.
Remember the fact that he’s only 24, was rushed up to the big leagues too early, and has been in pro ball only since 2009. Most players spend over three years in the minors, yet Alvarez is learning his craft at the games highest level.
It makes no sense for the Pirates to send him down now. All that’s going to happen is that teams will pitch around Alvarez. There isn’t much to learn there. A guy like Alvarez can’t figure out major league pitching in the minors.
Has he been bad? Yes. Will he figure it out? Yes. He’s a 24-year old that has had his struggles in his first full-year in the majors. That’s natural.
So back off Pedro. He’s not the sole reason the Pirates have been struggling. Unless you would have cut Mike Schmidt as well, then go ahead and boo away.
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