Why Pie now?

[NewMarketSean]

Pie needs to play everyday, and build up some consistency. He can rotate between LF and CF so Freel and Scott can also get some PT and Jones can get an occasional rest. Delaying The Pie Experiment makes no sense whatsoever.

[SilentJames]

Hill was wild all last year. No one is really sure why. Injury maybe. But all year? Fact is he could not control the ball, until he does, he does not belong on a major league mound. The O's know that. That is why he is going to extended ST and then on rehab to the minor before he joins the major league pitching staff.

That is what Pie needs. Get him playing well before you throw him out there. It will not help him to play poorly in front of large crowds. That is not a good situation.

You are letting one bad intersquad game color you opinion. He had a bad 08, but was injured for most of it he had a GREAT 07.

All of the bullpen sessions and practice sessions have been great, except one intersquad throw. He is going to Ext.ST to build up innings and little else. He will be in the rotation by mid-end April.

Trembley said at the beginning of ST that you could pretty much pencil Hill into the number three spot. Hill will be fine.

[getxstoked]

To whoever said something about the weather in Camden Yards being a factor, you do realize that Pie played a bit at Wrigley Field which features strange wind patterns, 30,000 obnoxious fans, cold, and everything else that could happen in Baltimore...it's not like he was playing in San Diego or playing in a dome before coming here.

[PrivateO]

Weren't people doing this same thing with Jones last year?

He had a few errors out in CF down in Ft. Lauderdale, and boom, let's release him.

Relax, it's Spring Training.

[Carroll County]

I can't believe people question whether or not a guy who would be a top 5 defensive CF will be able to adjust to LF. It's like switching from SS to 3B. Probably easier. I would venture to say that there is not a single MLB starting center fielder that would not be league-average defensively in left.

Pie needs to be out there everyday. I have no reason to believe that we won't get an Adam Jones 2008ish season from him, with excellent defense and speed on the basepaths.

[Anonymous]

Can't adjust to LF from the bench.

I continue to be amazed about how people lack the ability to see the big picture.

The big picture, in baseball as in life itself, is that there's this thing called nuance. Sometimes it's better to be eased into a role rather than have it thrown at you all at once. If hypothetically Trembley decided that in Pie's best developmental interest, he should start out part-time (say, maybe 1/3 of the time he gets a start and then comes in as a defensive replacement in other games when the team is ahead and as a PR when they're behind) and then the 1/3 turns into 1/2, 2/3, 3/4 as the season unfolds, you clearly would find that beyond absurd, as you believe that Pie can't learn LF on the days he's not playing there.

I'm not advocating such a schedule -- just throwing out what I see as one among many plausible alternatives. Maybe it IS best for him to just play nearly full-time from the get-go. But the point is that there's more than one way for him to learn and grow, with no single plan an obvious best one. (There are some obvious worst ones, like DFAing him.)

[Sports Guy]

The big picture, in baseball as in life itself, is that there's this thing called nuance. Sometimes it's better to be eased into a role rather than have it thrown at you all at once. If hypothetically Trembley decided that in Pie's best developmental interest, he should start out part-time (say, maybe 1/3 of the time he gets a start and then comes in as a defensive replacement in other games when the team is ahead and as a PR when they're behind) and then the 1/3 turns into 1/2, 2/3, 3/4 as the season unfolds, you clearly would find that beyond absurd, as you believe that Pie can't learn LF on the days he's not playing there.

I'm not advocating such a schedule -- just throwing out what I see as one among many plausible alternatives. Maybe it IS best for him to just play nearly full-time from the get-go. But the point is that there's more than one way for him to learn and grow, with no single plan an obvious best one. (There are some obvious worst ones, like DFAing him.)

Pie is going to sit versus lefties..that's how they are going to ease him in.

[Anonymous]

Pie is going to sit versus lefties..that's how they are going to ease him in.

Yes, that's convenient -- and it may lead them to just the right level of easing. Then again, it may not be.

[SilentJames]

Weren't people doing this same thing with Jones last year?

He had a few errors out in CF down in Ft. Lauderdale, and boom, let's release him.

Relax, it's Spring Training.

When Markakis was batting around the Mendoza line his first month in the bigs people were freaking as well.

[Mark Carver]

An excerpt from a MLB.com story on the Mets Nick Evans having to play RF, a position he hasn't played and having to play it in Ft Lauderdale, "where the winds terrorize experienced outfielders".

Now Evans is to play an unfamiliar position in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where the winds terrorize experienced outfielders. And Evans says "It'll be exciting" in an exclusively positive sense.

Ya think the weather is having something to do with Pie's poor showing defensively this spring?

[Carroll County]

An excerpt from a MLB.com story on the Mets Nick Evans having to play RF, a position he hasn't played and having to play it in Ft Lauderdale, "where the winds terrorize experienced outfielders".

Ya think the weather is having something to do with Pie's poor showing defensively this spring?

Of course, but it wouldn't be OH if we didn't have an 11 page thread discussing it. This is blown way out of proportion in my opinion. I think you could throw him in left for 162 games with absolutely zero notice and he'd still be an above average defender.

[Tony-OH]

I think there are lot of good points on both sides but in my opinion, we're going to stink this year so we might as well put Pie out there for at least 300 at bats and see what we got. Overall, he's the guy with the highest ceiling that we can put out there and although he's looked pretty poor this spring, we've got to give him every opportunity to play every day in the big leagues before making a decision on him.

[markdublya]

I think it is clear. He is going to get to play thru it, like Jones, like Markakis. I believe that this team is pretty excited about 2010 and very optimistic about 2011. They will let him have a lonnnnnnnng go at it in 2009 to see if he is part of those plans, I think.

[atom_25]

I see both arguments here too. For my 2 cents, just the thought of an outfield of Pie, Jones, and Markakis over the next 6 or so seasons is more than worth the experiment. It could be one of the best outfields in all of the major leagues defensively, offensively, on the basebaths, and just plain fun for the fans to watch. We are not going to be all that good this year, so if Pie does not pan out it is on to plan B next year, which I assume is Reimold. No harm, no foul and nothing really is lost.

[freethebirds]

The Cubs tried this. It didn't work. We got him for his upside, we need to give it a chance and see if he blossoms. His defensive problems, to me seem short term. He's getting used to new routes, a new look on the balls, etc. I don't think those adjustments will take too long and obviously he has the potential to be an amazing defensive LF.