Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Hey Hey Ho Ho, did Aki really have to go?

Well there is your 25 man roster move. Aki Iwamura's pathetic tenure with the Pirates has come to an extremely expensive close. Obviously Aki wasn't going to stick with this team much longer, clearly he has lost a step (or maybe even an entire leg considering how bad he was at 2B). Was he the clear choice to go? I don't think so.

I've been pretty rough on Aki at times, and he has deserved it. He was extremely bad for most of his stay here.

Currently the Pirates have a total of 6 players who will primarily play in the outfield. They have maybe four guys who can play 2B (although Young clearly can't, and no one knows about LaRoche they are included in that number). Does this team really need 6 outfielders? I think trading, cutting, ridiculing into retirement Ryan Church was probably the move that needed to be made. Church is actively taking at bats away from people who deserve them more (FREE MILLY!) and flat out sucks at sports.

In fact Ryan Church has managed to put up a worse line than Aki has thus far in the season. Ryan Church is currently boasting a stunning .179/.220/.308 line to Aki's .182/.292/.267. At least when Aki wasn't hitting he was still getting on base at a decent clip in relation to his batting average. Aki although not known for power has just as many homers as Church, he also has 21 more BB than Church.

Aki Iwamura has actually been pretty successful since moving to the bench. As a PH he is .333/.429/.500 in 14 PA. I understand it's a small sample size, but those numbers are pretty good, and just might indicate he is turning a corner of sorts (or that he is just more comfortable with the knee in small spurts).

I seriously doubt that Aki is going to be traded, and if you think he's going to Indy you might want to check that you are not high, but he may sign on to someone's club, and he just might find a way to contribute off the bench.



3 comments:

Brad said...

Its really not worth arguing over who should've been DFA'd first, Aki or Church. Both will be off this team soon anyway.

Rich said...

I guess I agree, but I would have liked to see some sort of trade, maybe even Crosby. I think Aki has a bit of a chance to contribute where I don't feel the same way about Church or Crosby.

Brad said...

I think we will see Crosby and LaRoche traded soon. I like LaRoche but he just never hit here. Too bad he can't play short.