it might just be a real competition this year. They know they have a tough schedule and after the McCutchen contract, the fans are pumped and ready to win. Translation: If Hague continues to outplay everyone else, either at 1B OR 3B, he may very well be our starter.

The Bucs will begin the season versus Halladay, Lee, and Hamels, then the next 9 games away from LH-power friendly PNC. With Kershaw the probable starter in their 6th game, that's 3 of MLB's top LH pitchers in the first 6 games. I could see Pedro going 0-12 v. Phillies and slump for the rest of the year. I am warming to the idea of having the contact hitter Hague start the season on the 25-man roster.

I agree with you, and predicted the exact same thing in my last blogpost which I'm not sure I bothered to mention here (I don't think it was one of my best). The point was that sometimes, despite service time issues and all the rest, sometimes rookies DO make the team out of ST, and I believe Hague will be one of them.

This actually harkens back to the point I made in a PRIOR blog post, which was that I'm not really even sure that pedro is in their plans anymore. If he turns it around and comes through, great. If not, I think they believe b/w Jones, Hague, and McGeehee, they've got the corners covered. That does raise some interesting questions about what to do with Pedro, doesn't it?

btw, it's hard to concentrate on anything you say with that new avatar. Not that I am complaining.

WWSD

(the pieces are at montesnewblog.blogspot.com if anyone cares/is interested).

Hague is simply taking Pedro's roster spot.

-Hague 9 for 21, .429 2 HRs, (3 HRs if you include B-game)
-Alvarez 4 for 18, .222 2 HRs ( 6K's v. Hague's 3 K's, still 33% of all Pedro's ABs are K's)

It's still early in ST, but if this trend continues Hague should be on the roster on opening day.

Much as I like Hague, I also like Nick Evans. I thought Evans would be a better platoon partner for Jones. Buy boy, is Evans ever having a miserable spring. 1 for 18 isn't going to earn him a roster spot. So, that helps Hague's cause, as well.

Just wondering what your thoughts are about Alvarez and Hague both coming north. My thinking is you have the platoon at 1B so there is one bench guy. The back up catcher and middle infielder takes us to three. Nate is four.

If Hague and Alvarez both come north, against lefties, you can have McGehee and Hague start at the corners. Obviously that leaves Alvarez and Jones against RSP. But since Jones can technically play 1B and RF, leaves Nate to spell Cutch and Pressley.

Unless Alvarez goes 0-20 with 15 k's the rest of spring training, I don't see him going to Indianapolis.

What if he keeps doing what he's currently doing, for the rest of ST? If Alvarez goes into April batting .222, with a 33% K rate, do you still bring him north?

Good question. And the answer is he$$ no. My theory is he had a pretty blah start to the spring. But after that start, he is appearing to showing signs of having a productive spring. Of course, I am going off of local published reports from people who are actually down there.

If he has to be part of a platoon, so be it. To be quite honest, I don't want him in the lineup against some of the tougher lefties the Pirates are going to face early on. May as well stack the lineup with as many right handed bats as possible.

Regardless, unless Hague bombs the rest of the way, bring him north. Hence, we will probably get the company line: "Matt is better served playing full time at AAA where he is just a phone call away."

I like Hague, but it's hard to jump on his bandwagon, when Jones is having such a good spring, as well. Plus, Jones is 2 for 5, vs. LHP, this spring. As a contrast, Jones only had 10 hits vs, LHP, all last season.

If Jones can figure out LHP even a little bit, enough that he gets the lion's share of the 1B starts, he could still be a 30 HR/100 RBI guy. Of course, that's a big if, and 5 ST ABs doesn't tell us a thing.

Still, if Jones gets some hits vs. LHP early this season, I could see Hurdle possibly trusting him enough to keep him in there vs lefty starters, until he stops hitting them, again. A power bat in the middle of the Pirates order could make a big difference. And Jones could be that bat - if he can hit well enough to earn the playing time.

"he could still be a 30 HR/100 RBI guy."

Yeah, he very well could be. Especially with the speed in front of him. Wouldn't two lefty thumpers be lovely? I'd rather the 4/5 hitters be Jones/Walker. In a perfect world, Alvarez hits and drops Walker to the 6 hole. In that scenario, things could be interesting for 2012.

why did you change the Avatar??

Alvarez numbers aren't all that but he is 4 for his last 13 (.307) with only 2 K and 2 HR.

"Plus, Jones is 2 for 5, vs. LHP, this spring. "

Talk about completely meaningless.

"If Jones can figure out LHP even a little bit"

So players can only improve if you think they can? Even if the probability of that happening is zero.

0 for 2 today. Of course, he was facing Cliff Lee. And Alvarez is never going to be good against LHP, even if he does get it all together. Ryan Howard is a .231 career hitter vs LHP.

You hope, though, like Howard, Alvarez can eventually hang in there vs LHP well enough to avoid a platoon situation. And to that end, I think he could benefit from some more time in AAA. I think the Pirates would be better served by suspending Alvarez's service clock, while gettting him full-time PT in Indy, vs. platooning him with McGehee this year.

You might be right about him needing more AAA time but i dont think they will do it.

""suspending Alvarez's service clock"

I might be wrong but i think he would need to be there a good while for that to come into play.

Maybe we'll get the "we're leaving him in extended ST" answer.

""I might be wrong but i think he would need to be there a good while for that to come into play.""

Well, the 6 year contract Alvarez signed in September of 2008 expires after the 2014 season. After that, Alvarez will need to be resigned, based on his service time - as a 0-3 guy, or an arb1, or an arb2, whatever he is, at that time.

So, by suspending his service time while he still has an available option, the Pirates could save millions, in a few years. Plus, whenever Alvarez reaches 6 years of service time, he's outta here - Boras clients almost invariably head to free agency, as soon as possible. So, the longer he's in Indy this season, when his MLB production may not be up to par, the longer he's a Pirate down the road, when he's fully blooming.