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« Free Agent Stock Watch: Jason Varitek | Main | Julio Franco Calls It Quits »
Juan Pierre Not Happy Being A Bench Player
Juan Pierre, who has been the odd man out in the crowded Dodgers outfield this year, said following the team's 5-3 victory over the Florida Marlins on Thursday that he still has not accepted his current role with the club as a bench player:
"I don't see myself as a bench player. I haven't accepted that. I know if they don't want me to play out there, that's their decision. But I don't see myself as a bench player."
One reporter asked Pierre if he wanted to remain with the Dodgers to which the 30-year old responded:
"I'm not going to answer that one. It is what it is. I'm not going to touch that one."
Pierre is currently behind young outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, along with offseason acquisition Andruw Jones, in the Dodgers' depth chart. His deal is guaranteed for four more years including 2008 (at a combined $36.5MM) with a limited no-trade clause.
One difficult aspect of this situation is that Pierre is essentially still the same player he always was offensively. He has never hit for power and his OBP has always been fairly reliant on maintaining a high batting average (a dicey proposition year in and year out). The Dodgers knew what they were getting when they signed him in November 2006. Now Pierre is left to wonder what changed.
Paul Moro is a writer for UmpBump.com and can be reached via e-mail at Paul@UmpBump.com.
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ANDRUW JONES SUX!!! LEt pierre start playing because at least he can hit.200 and theres only a one homer difference betweeen the 2. At least pierre can also steal bases. As a huge dodger fan, the dodgers need to play kemp, pierre, and ethier to have their best lineup.
Posted by: Willywonka | May 03, 2008 at 05:20 PM
uh... he's *never* been a good OBP guy?
he's sucked the last few years, but he had a streak of 3-4 ears in the 370 range, which isn't amazing, but it doesn't suck.
Posted by: greg | May 03, 2008 at 05:43 PM
The A's should get on this. Yeah Yeah I knoe their rebuilding but he is a veteran and would be good for a team with Chris Denorfia as their starting CF. Or at least Coco Crisp.
Posted by: CUBBIES2008 | May 03, 2008 at 06:23 PM
Cubbies, Billy Beane would never do that deal, because it was speculated when Jones signed the A's would be potential suitors and I when Beane said he did have an interest it was said that the Dodgers wanted nothing less than Mark Ellis. No way he said. The A's are looking for young talent with high OBS. Always have and as long as Beane is in charge they Always will. This trade won't happen.
P.S. Chris Denorfia isn't the Starting CF, him and Ryan Sweeney platoon.
Posted by: AriGoldisaG | May 03, 2008 at 07:24 PM
Yeah Billy Beane should go for a terrible LF with an atrocius contract.
Posted by: ArodSucksAtLife | May 03, 2008 at 07:25 PM
Why is Juan Pierre so full of himself? Maybe if he could either get on base or play good defense then he'd have a starting job. You can get more OBP and power from Ethier and Kemp. Jones is not the same CF he used to be, but he still has the reputation as the best CF to play since Mays.
"The A's are looking for young talent with high OBS. Always have and as long as Beane is in charge they Always will."
Beane looks for inefficiencies to exploit in the market, not just young and high OBP. OBP has been undervalued so he's been taking advantage of that but some people are catching on (Red Sox for example). Beane wants any talent he can get below market value in both dollars and trading. That's why he signs old people like Thomas. Juan Pierre is the opposite of what Beane wants because he's overvalued and has a bad contract. If Pierre was a league minimum player then it'd be a different story even if his OBP sucks.
Posted by: Victor | May 03, 2008 at 07:48 PM
From the Dodgers' perspective, I don't see how Pierre isn't better than Andruw Jones' right now, because at least he hits, even if he never walks... ever. He still racks up a ton of hits... over 200 for a few years now. Not to mention the stolen bases and the effect his speed has on the game. I don't really see how he went from 5 years of playing every game (literally) to getting dumped on the bench.
That said, I wonder if the Dodgers would eat some salary to send him back to the Marlins? Or if the Marlins would even be interested, given the acquisition of Cameron Maybin and of course, the "payroll".
Posted by: NYYanksCaptain23 | May 03, 2008 at 09:23 PM
One reporter asked Pierre if he wanted to remain with the Dodgers to which the 30-year old responded:
"I'm not going to answer that one. It is what it is. I'm not going to touch that one."
What a jag, this guys team has turned it around and is about to win there 8TH straight and all this guy can do is bitch about his playing time? Unbelievable! At this point Colletti should be willing to eat the $12 mil of his contract that a team would want and cut bait with this guy, no matter how bad Jones is doing.
Posted by: forlife61 | May 03, 2008 at 10:10 PM
I'd take him on the Jays if the Dodgers ate the majority of his contract. We seem to want to steal bases this year, so it would make sense to get a guy who's actually capable of doing that lol.
Posted by: andagh | May 04, 2008 at 12:55 AM
As a Braves fan, it's entertaining to see how long it takes Torre to realize that A Jones is done. Through. History. He CANNOT HIT BIG LEAGUE PITCHING any more. They'll end up eating that $36 mil. The only question is how much they hurt the team before they do it.
Posted by: AtlantaMike | May 04, 2008 at 01:11 AM
I dislike Juan Pierre as much as the next guy, but I'd keep him over Andruw Fatass Jones at this point. I HATE the way Jones smirks after his inevitable strike out.
The Braves made a smart move by letting him walk. Ned Colletti duped once again! First Jason Schmidt, now Jones.
Posted by: Chillin | May 04, 2008 at 04:11 AM
You know what? I was actually a Juan Pierre fan a few years ago. I thought he was an excellent leadoff guy when he was with the Marlins, and, being a Cubs fan, when they didn't have a leadoff hitter and whiffed on Furcal, I thought it was a great move when they traded for him.
However, after watching him day in and day out for a season, he truly is a bench player, or he is an 8th hitter at best. He's arrogant enough that he doesn't want to change his game and become more patient. He makes contact when he swings, and he has the potential to be a good, patient, on-base leadoff hitter. He won't change his game, which absolutely makes no sense. With his speed, it would behoove him to get on base any way that he can because that's where his value is. To be worth anything at all, he has to get on base and use his legs. His defense is good, but he has a noodle for an arm. That sort of nullifies his range.
The moral of the story:
If he doesn't get on base, he's absolutely worthless. As long as his OBP is below .350, Juan Pierre sux.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't want to be a Dodger. When he followed the money and signed a big contract that he didn't deserve, he set himself up for this exact situation. They can't trade him unless they eat the overwhelming majority of his salary. His trade value is nil. I guess they kind of set themselves up for this one too.
Posted by: MarkH | May 04, 2008 at 09:01 AM
"I dislike Juan Pierre as much as the next guy, but I'd keep him over Andruw Fatass Jones at this point. I HATE the way Jones smirks after his inevitable strike out"
...Yeah, no kidding! Its too bad that the teams FO wasnt smart enough to realize that an OF of Pierre/Kemp/Ethier was already in place and able to generate enough production to take the team to the playoffs ~ but noooo, they had to go out and fork over 32M for 2 years of a guy off a rather pitiful season so he could resurrect his career in a pitcher-heaven park in a OF with solid options in place. Like Pierre or not, doesn’t matter; those three (Pierre/Kemp/Ethier) make a solid OF in the NL-West and are all hitters which are more likely to succeed in the park the team plays. There aren’t many teams Pierre can fit-in, but LA is probably the one where it makes the most sense ~ too bad the team is still stuck on “Vet-Name-Presence” over talent or skill-set compliments.
Posted by: darkstar1661 | May 05, 2008 at 01:09 PM
I agree that letting Jones go somewhere else and moving Pierre to Left (where he made an amazing catch the other day) while allowing Ethier and Kemp to go to their natural positions of Right and Center respectively would have been the best move. It would have also meant Delwyn Young would be the 4th outfielder, which is just perfect for him. Then again, at least Jones can still play defense (not that defense alone is worth $18 million) and is starting to remember how to hit.
For all the Pierre detractors, the only thing you can really be down on about the guy is his lack of power, which was advertised anyway. He may not walk much (though he is doing a better job this year), but he doesn't strike out either, and that is probably even more important. Further, he hits for a high average and can bit both right and left handers. Then there is the speed and base running intelligence.
Posted by: AA | May 05, 2008 at 02:26 PM