Whining And A Note

Even though Juan Pierre owes Joe Torre 80 pushups after yesterdays game, he’s still going to be our left fielder against the Diamondbacks tonight. The reasons why this is a bad idea are pretty simple, Juan Pierre is worse at pretty much every aspect of the game than Matt Kemp. This sudden plunge into the Juan Pierre experience is a bit troubling, and brings up some questions about Joe Torre’s thought process. If Kemp is being benched because he’s struggling, well, as much as you can struggle in 16 at bats, then how is he going to be able to work his way out of his struggles by sitting on the bench? The more concerning aspect is that Joe Torre had a reputation for evaluating players based on their first 20 at bats out in New York, then sticking with that to determine his guys. It’s far too soon to say something like that is happening, but it would explain why Torre seems to value Andre Ethier far more than Kemp right now.

There’s only so many ways you can say that Juan Pierre doesn’t deserve to play over Matt Kemp, and I hope I don’t have to come up with new and interesting ways to say it over the course of the season.

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When I made the Big Board I noted that AAA outfielder Anthony Raglani was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he was quietly handed his walking papers. As it turns out, he was actually placed on the restricted list, which is where players with pending felony charges or lawsuits against the team tend to go. No word on why he was placed there.

Another notable absence, Cory Dunlap, also wasn’t released, but was suspended for reasons unknown. Nook Logan was the only person I mentioned that actually was released.