Fundamantal flaws in development are cracking the remaining hull of the Pirates ship

It’s plays like the one you see above where Pedro Alvarez tried in vain to corral Yorvit Torrealba’s average-hit ground ball in Sunday’s game which is causing internal grief inside the Pirates organization. You see, internally the Pirates are debating whether or not to move Alvarez to first base sooner than later because his footwork leads many to believe he’s never going to be an adequate third baseman.

And that’s where the grief starts.

What’s making the Alvarez debate interesting is that there are some who argue that because Alvarez is pigeon-toed it’s likely he’ll never be able to make the corresponding first moves necessary to even get to the next level. Call it ‘the internal belief’ factor, if you will. Then there are others who point to his thickness and still others who point at his instincts.. all trying to justify why Alvarez isn’t a fit at third defensively. In other words, it’s Alvarez that is the problem.

While those I spoke to around the game wouldn’t point fingers, one thing has become crystal clear – the Pittsburgh Pirates are not showing they have a desire to see Alvarez get to the next development level. And it’s not just Alvarez.. it’s Milledge, and Tabata, and Cedeno, and Jones.. it’s the entire core group. They are floundering, and floundering for a reason.

Last year two-a-days three times a week were automatic.. this year PNC Park is a ghost town when our young Bucs are in town. The net result of the decreased emphasis in development is showing up in poor fundamentals as well as the extremely high error rate.. the Pirates have already accumulated 73 errors in 98 games which is the highest rate since 2003. Last year the Pirates had only 73 errors over the entire year.. one of the lowest rates in quite a few years.

While you can argue the 2009 season began with Wilson/Sanchez/Adam LaRoche while also forgetting Wilson and Sanchez both hit the DL, you have to also consider that 60-80 games were played with the likes of Young/Vazquez/Andy LaRoche/Pearce/and Cedeno. And don’t forget for one second that those players were raw when they came to us.. Cedeno’s footwork was horrid, LaRoche was an error-machine, and Young at second was perhaps the worst defender at the position for us in decades. Yet those young pups finished the year strong.. so strong the Pirates remained at the top of the league in fielding.  

Doumit is still catching and McCutchen is still in center, yet look at our defensive runs saved chart between 2009 and 2010:

We’re already -60 runs and every single position has declined. Not one position, not four, not six.. all nine. Now consider this.. that’s an average of -0.61 defensive runs per game which means we’re on course to end the year with an insane -100 defensive run swing from 2009. That’s crazy high.

Throw in the 86 stolen bases we’ve allowed on top of the 73 errors we’ve made, and then subtract the 18 we caught stealing, the Pirates now lead the major leagues in giveaway bases at 141 over 98 games which is 30% higher than the major league average.

When you look at the Pirates fundamental play on the field today versus where they were at just six weeks ago, you see a declining defensive core. What we are witnessing are the fundamental flaws in our development system, not fundamental flaws in player productivity. These players need better instructors, they need better motivators, and they need more commitment from the Pirates front office, all of which are failing them.

Going back to the internal grief, the Pirates seem to want to take the path of least resistence to accomplish their development goals instead of making good short-term decisions. Moving Alvarez to first might indeed be the right answer, I don’t know. But there’s no way to tell without an increased emphasis on development. Based on numerous reports I’ve received, Carlos Garcia isn’t the answer as an infield instructor – it’s over his head for numerous reasons. It’s a shame Perry Hill isn’t around but maybe the Pirates can bring him back, I don’t know. But something has to give as our direction is totally unacceptable.

This is also another perfect example why John Russell is failing as a manager. He is charged with managing the core operations of development with his staff and, while he might not be able to entirely help who is on his staff, he has failed to account for the growing dysfuncation in fundamental baseball play. He’s accountable.. not Neal Huntington, and not Frank Coonelly. It’s John Russell.

The current fielding chart is at the end of this post for you to play with but, no matter which column you sort, you’ll get the same answer – the 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates, as assembled, are one of the worst fielding teams we’ve had in this decade. We’re never going to turn a -60 defensive run squad into a positive figure the way we’re going about our business – forget that.

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Brad Lincoln was mercifully demoted to 3A after his Sunday start. Lincoln’s promotion is just another example of the poor developmental system we have in place all across this organization. Pirates management didn’t even bother to consult with some of their better evaluators before making the decision to promote Lincoln.. they just did it, and that pissed off some people in the organization.

Lincoln was clearly unprepared to compete at the major league level.. he never had a chance. You can point the finger anywhere you want but at the end of the day it was Neal Huntington who made the move.

Hopefully he’ll rebound.

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More scathing news over the next few days because there’s just too much to put in one post.

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Nothing new on the trade front other than we’re working to deal for a pitcher. I can’t tell you much about it because I don’t know that much, but it might be part of a bigger trade. We’ll probably start hearing more the next couple of days. Stay tuned.

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Anup Sinha has a nice article up at Bucs Prospects on prospect Alex Presley.

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In fantasy action, I went 3-0 this week and the two teams I drafted are now 11-5 and 13-3 (unbelievable), and the other team is 8-8.

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Here’s the current defensive stats:

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