So the NFL lockout is over and that's a huge deal to me right now... Ok, just kidding. The Buccos are still in first place, do you really think I'm going to write about football? Sheesh. My topic of the day is a bit along the same lines of the last post. But instead of pondering whether of not Pittsburgh should go after a big time position player, I am going to question the importance of the ever popular "role player". Does a player with September and October baseball experience automatically improve a young team like the Bucs. Obviously the Pirates are a team of little major league experience at all, let alone experience in the playoff stretch. So that makes me wonder, does a guy like Jason Giambi, for example, have any value; anything to offer the Bucs? Does his gray hair and beer gut get washed away because he played for the Yanks in 2004? The answer is, maybe. I have never been a big believer that experience is all that it's cracked up to be. It seems like a cop-out that experts use as a way to make their picks, in a series between teams that match up too closely for them to make a real prediction.
One way to look at it is that these guys have been to the puppet show and they have seen all the strings. They can be a calming figure in the clubhouse to a bunch of kids who could easily get overwhelmed when things get real. Right now there are 62 games left and they are still the fun-loving Buccos. But what if they are still in the hunt with ten games to go? These guys don't know that pressure, but a guy like Giambi or Cuddyer do know what it's like. They have been on playoff teams and can be someone for these young guys to look to, and talk to, when they hit the media whirlwind associated with playoff baseball. For this reason, there are those who find experience to be invaluable.
On the other hand, is Jason Giambi going to come up to Pedro Alvarez one day and say "Hey kid, this is how I did it in 2004, now you do it too." Of course not. Skill is what gets you to the playoffs, not the fact that you played on a good team eight years ago. These guys might be young but they are professionals, and so far they have the skills to win baseball games. Some say they haven't played under any pressure yet, but believe me, when they lost over 100 games last year, there was pressure coming into this season for these kids. Guys like McCutchen, Walker, Alvarez, and Tababta have been force-fed to Pirate fans as our future saviors since they hit the farm. They know there is pressure on them. They are the guys who are expected stop the runaway losing train and turn it back around. And even worse, for the first time in nearly two decades, Pirate fans are forming expectations. And that makes in even harder. But they seem to be handling it so far, don't ya think? Forget those old guys, let the young bucks play their asses off for 162 games and see where they stand when the dust settles. Either way this year has been a success.
In my opinion, the latter is the way to go. Sure the Giambis of the world can tell the youngsters all the old Jeter stories they want, but honestly, who cares? If the organization is going to add anything, I say add skilled position players over grizzled pinch hitters, all while not giving up too much of the future to do it. Experience might matter a little, but with or without it, the team that is playing the hottest baseball come playoff time is always a team to be reckoned with. If the starters continue pitching well and the entire lineup is healthy, I say we sit back and see what these inexperienced kids can do.
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