Be Like Tike

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Although its not technically the end of the season, the Pirates have been playing meaningless games for at least a month now.  Does anyone really care what happens in the last game tomorrow?  However, there are some leftover minutiae to deal with:

• Jack Wilson got jacked up tonight.  Diving after a ball hit by So Taguchi, Jack went headfirst into Matt Kata and was immediately knocked unconscious.  He managed to sit up but was taken off the field on a cart.  Jack has been the best hitter in the major leagues since the beginning of August, but concussions can have long term impacts on coordination. He has the entire fall and winter to recover, but this could definitely impact his trade value.
• Next season, I expect the starting lineup to include Adam LaRoche, Freddy Sanchez, Jose Bautista, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, and Ryan Doumit.  Cesar Izturis will likely be at shortstop after Jack gets traded somewhere for a few non-prospects.
• Steve Pearce and Nyjer Morgan both played very well for September callups, with their averages floating around .300.  However, Pearce started the season at single A for a reason and at 27, Morgan is a little old to be considered a prospect.  I’m not implying anything, but Pearce may be the first person to move from single A to the bigs without a drop-off in productivity at any level.
• Josh Phelps hit .512 for the month of August, but he hit .182 in September.  Ignoring August, he would have hit around .270 this year. However, the team doesn’t have a place for him with LaRoche at first.
• Ronnie Paulino, Chris Duffy, and Jose Castillo have no place in the organization.  Paulino has blown far too many plays on defense, and he couldn’t throw out a runner if his life depended on it.  Duffy is a prima donna who has already stated that he doesn’t like Pittsburgh.  Castillo flat out stinks.  He is fat, but he has no power.  He was originally projected to be a 20 steals/20 homerun guy, but that certainly hasn’t panned out.
• The Great Pittsburgh Pierogie Race n’at is approaching its final running for the season.  The standings are tight, as Cheese Chester, Sauerkraut Saul, Jalapeño Hannah, and the highly intelligent Oliver Onion are tied at 19 wins apiece.  Tomorrow’s race will be fierce, as no one wants to end up like Potato Pete.

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