Sanchez is not a very good fit at second base
When a manager mishandles his bullpen the way Jim Tracy did last Saturday, the questionable decision is obvious. Not all managerial gaffes are specific to one game, though.
Take Tracy’s insistence on playing Freddy Sanchez at second base.
Please. Sanchez is at second because the Pirates are disappointed in Jose Castillo and hopeful about Jose Bautista.
So Bautista plays third base and Castillo, in whom the Pirates have invested three years, is a utility player.
That puts Sanchez at second, a position he appears ill equipped to handle.
His range is limited. He missed most of spring training because he injured a knee while trying to turn a double play.
Remember that infamous double play the Pirates didn’t make when they blew a 7-1 lead and lost 9-8 to Arizona last Saturday?
Backup shortstop Don Kelly rightly took some heat for a bad feed to Sanchez. But Sanchez was so intent on bailing out with the runner bearing down on him that he had no chance to make a good throw.
Bautista has been excellent defensively at third base. But is that worth significantly weakening a middle infield position?
The Pirates have ground ball pitchers. They need all the defensive help they can get.
They’re not getting a lot from second base.
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Foresight hasn’t been the Pirates’ strong suit – obviously – but give them credit for recognizing reliever Mike Gonzalez was a medical problem waiting to happen.
Gonzalez had to shut down early last season because of elbow problems. Now he’s facing reconstructive elbow surgery that will cost him the rest of this season and part of next year, too.
Despite his injury history and a throwing motion that suggested more trouble was ahead, the Atlanta Braves wanted Gonzalez. The Pirates were willing to move him, correctly figuring it was a matter of time until he had more issues with his arm.
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One night the bottom-screen crawl on ESPN carried news of some Arena Football roster move.
Who cares about Arena Football? Not many, but ESPN is carrying Arena Football games, so news and highlights show up on the network.
This is what the NHL lost when it decided to chase small change and took its games to Versus and NBC.
It’s no coincidence that NHL highlights show up about 40 minutes into Sportscenter now that ESPN has no vested interest in promoting hockey.
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Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis complained that police were profiling his players.
Given the number of times Bengals players have wound up in the police files, is it profiling or just playing the percentages?
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The Pirates are paying part of Jason Kendall’s salary with the Oakland Athletics this season. So it’s probably fitting that he was batting .188 through Saturday.
Hardly anybody on the Pirates’ payroll is hitting much this season.
Sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehno@lycos.com