Why Pie now?

[Return2Glory]

I would absolutely agree with your post, if I thought we had the starting pitching to compete now. Unfortunately, as it stands now we have to wait for our starting pitching to mature anyway. I would wholeheartedly agree with starting Scott/ Montanez/ Reimold over Pie if we were ready to bring up some of the young guns, but as it stands now I say give him a shot until they get here. What have we got to lose? Give him a half a season, and if he is showing no signs of being the player we need him to be, oh well, see ya.

[Owen21]

However, you may want to consider our opponets in the AL bEAST facing our starters. That is the potential season writing off issue. Remember, the cavalry is coming !

[Odenton O]

Sorry folks, but I'm really starting to get irked at our writing off this season before it starts. I WANT TO COMPETE.

I want a million dollars, but that isn't happening either. Have you looked at our pitching staff?

Whether Felix Pie starts in left field or not, we aren't competing for anything this year. Other than a high draft choice, that is.

[lebowski]

Why settle for average to slightly above average players (excluding Reimold's potential) at a position when Pie at least has a chance to be a high caliber player someday? The only way for that to possibly happen is to play him at the MLB level.

[MikeAD]

I'll gladly sign the same list.

I think most of us feel this way, theres just a vocal minority that wants to can the kid now, luckily management agrees with us.

[DrungoHazewood]

Sorry folks, but I'm really starting to get irked at our writing off this season before it starts. I WANT TO COMPETE.

Starting Pie over Scott, Wiggington, Montanez, Reimold and maybe even Freel is bothersome. I know all about his potential and needing a chance, but why not put him on the bench (or minimal duty) until we are eliminated/July and then let him get his experimental at bats? And please stop comparing this situation to Adam Jones - we had nobody else to play his position.

If I'm a veteran, giving this kid a shot he hasn't earned would really tick me off. I'll bet Trembley is grinding his teeth.

I'll bet Felix is a great kid, but sadly I find myself already rooting against him.

Pie has a higher ceiling than Scott, Wigginton, Montanez, Freel, and Reimold. Getting him playing time in 2009 could be one of the keys to competing in 2010 and beyond. He's the one left fielder we have with a good chance of being more than a part timer in the majors, especially in 2-3 years.

Are you really saying that Adam Jones only played last year because the O's had no other options? They had no other options because they had Adam Jones. When you have a great young player you don't go out and find other options.

[VeveJones007]

Sorry folks, but I'm really starting to get irked at our writing off this season before it starts. I WANT TO COMPETE.

Starting Pie over Scott, Wiggington, Montanez, Reimold and maybe even Freel is bothersome. I know all about his potential and needing a chance, but why not put him on the bench (or minimal duty) until we are eliminated/July and then let him get his experimental at bats? And please stop comparing this situation to Adam Jones - we had nobody else to play his position.

If I'm a veteran, giving this kid a shot he hasn't earned would really tick me off. I'll bet Trembley is grinding his teeth.

I'll bet Felix is a great kid, but sadly I find myself already rooting against him.

Did I miss us competing last year when Scott got 475 ABs?? If starting him in left over Pie is the only thing holding us back, then get him out there!!!

:cussing::angryfire::cussing::angryfire::cussing::angryfire:

[Satyr3206]

I keep hearing buzzwords like upside, ceiling, and they all mean potential. Sometimes it's fufilled and sometimes it's not.

And some low ceiling guys are pretty good. Lowenstein, Dauer, Dempsey, Boddicker, and the list goes on and on. I think potential has it's place, but at some point you have to give the job to the guy doing the job right now.

[now]

All the haggling about Pie aside, I'm starting to think of the pitching rotation as a potential "Big Three" right under our noses, a month from now: Guthrie, Uehara, and Hill. By then we might even have credible #4-#5 guys ready to contribute as well: Patton and Bergesen. Add to that, a projected top offense and defense. Oh yeah, and a guy named Wieters.

Mind you, like any postulated "Big Three," this one is predicated on upside, good health, things going right. But the credentials are certainly there.

Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have a deep hole to dig ourselves out of by the time the first few weeks of the season are done. Here's where it'll take a large dose of that foreign substance known as luck. If the O's aren't 0-20 to start the season, who knows? Anything can happen.

And then, on top of it all, what if Pie DOES start to hit??? :wedge:

[NCRaven]

Don't want to pile on, but, I think you're entirely wrong. This is the season that you do play a guy like Pie for as long as it takes to decide whether or not he has a major league future. Reimold belongs in AAA to start the season. Wigginton will get plenty of AB's at DH, 1B, 3B and occassionally in LF. Freel will get his chances. And, Montanez is 4 years older. If you get through June and it's clear that Pie is not making progress, Reimold and Montanez will be ready and waiting in Norfolk. That's when you make that particular move and not before. This year is entirely about finding out what you have and what you need for next year.

[bluedog]

Sorry folks, but I'm really starting to get irked at our writing off this season before it starts. I WANT TO COMPETE.

Starting Pie over Scott, Wiggington, Montanez, Reimold and maybe even Freel is bothersome. I know all about his potential and needing a chance, but why not put him on the bench (or minimal duty) until we are eliminated/July and then let him get his experimental at bats? And please stop comparing this situation to Adam Jones - we had nobody else to play his position.

If I'm a veteran, giving this kid a shot he hasn't earned would really tick me off. I'll bet Trembley is grinding his teeth.

I'll bet Felix is a great kid, but sadly I find myself already rooting against him.

Playing Pie is not writing off the season. AM isn't just guessing about Pie, he truly believes that he's a phenom in waiting or he wouldn't have worked so hard to get him here.

Pie has done nothing in the minors to suggest he's not capable of becoming an all-star, gold glove outfielder in the bigs. All of the naysayers on OH are using a hand full of at bats in spring training and less than 350 total at bats in the bigs to write him off while completely ignoring his exceptional totals in the minors.

Reimold and Montanez have not even come close to performing as well in the minors as Pie did and both have less major league experience, poorer defensive skills and less upside. Expecting either of these guys to come to the bigs and immediately perform at a significantly higher level than Pie seems terribly naive to me. Neither Reimold or Montanez is anything close to a sure bet to stick in the majors and yet you seem to be willing to give either of them the LF job based on pure guesswork about what they might be able to do?

On June 16th, 2006, a young player named Nick Markakis was hitting just .221 with a .597 OPS with a total of about 200 plate appearances in the bigs. If we'd treated Nick the way you and others want to treat Pie, he'd have been benched or sent to the minors (or shudder the thought waived). Who knows how things would have gone with him after that?

Give Pie a shot. If he fails to show significant progress by June or July, I'm sure we'll see Reimold or Montanez. But dumping a guy with Pie's potential without giving him a real shot just because we think we might win a few more games doesn't make sense.

[RVAbird]

I keep hearing buzzwords like upside, ceiling, and they all mean potential. Sometimes it's fufilled and sometimes it's not.

And some low ceiling guys are pretty good. Lowenstein, Dauer, Dempsey, Boddicker, and the list goes on and on. I think potential has it's place, but at some point you have to give the job to the guy doing the job right now.

Yes, and that point is when you are ready to field a competitive ball club.

This team is not at that point. We are in a rebuilding process with several quality prospects close to being ML ready. So, we are at the point where giving the job to a guy with potential who hasn't gotten a chance to prove himself yet is the most rational thing to do in the search for long-term solutions to provide sustained success once the top tier of our farm system arrives.

[Big Mac]

Sorry folks, but I'm really starting to get irked at our writing off this season before it starts. I WANT TO COMPETE.

Starting Pie over Scott, Wiggington, Montanez, Reimold and maybe even Freel is bothersome. I know all about his potential and needing a chance, but why not put him on the bench (or minimal duty) until we are eliminated/July and then let him get his experimental at bats? And please stop comparing this situation to Adam Jones - we had nobody else to play his position.

If I'm a veteran, giving this kid a shot he hasn't earned would really tick me off. I'll bet Trembley is grinding his teeth.

I'll bet Felix is a great kid, but sadly I find myself already rooting against him.

This is incredibly short-sighted thinking.

[Sports Guy]

It is completely laughable to even suggest that contention is being stopped because we are starting Pie over that list...to even mention Freel or Montanez is also a complete joke.

[Satyr3206]

Yes, and that point is when you are ready to field a competitive ball club.

This team is not at that point. We are in a rebuilding process with several quality prospects close to being ML ready. So, we are at the point where giving the job to a guy with potential who hasn't gotten a chance to prove himself yet is the most rational thing to do in the search for long-term solutions to provide sustained success once the top tier of our farm system arrives.

At the Major League level a GM should always try to make a team competitive. I didn't say playoff caliber, I said competitive.

I'm a system guy so I believe in giving the young guys a chance, my issue is that the wrong guys are getting a chance. And it's not confined to Pie. Perfomance should trump potential in some instances, especially when it's a, "find out what you have" year.