Pierre: "Not playing the way I am capable"

[southsider2k5]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,5952982.story

 

As the Chicago White Sox prepare to face their eternal nemesis -- the Minnesota Twins -- in a three-game series in Minneapolis beginning Tuesday night, veteran outfielder Juan Pierre assessed the progress of his resurgent Sox team, as well as his personal challenges on the field.

 

“For me, personally, it’s been up and down. I am definitely not playing the way I am capable, or would like to play,” Pierre told the Tribune. “Just working toward it every day, and as a team I think we’re getting it going a little bit. We started out kind of slow and have been winning series here of late. We realize it’s a long season, so we are starting to turn it around by just playing good baseball. We’re not doing anything out of the ordinary, but just playing better baseball now.”

 

Indeed, the White Sox have climbed to within 3½ games of the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers, having made up 7½ games in the past five weeks.

 

The last-place Twins have won eight of their last 10 games. Last season, Minnesota won 13 of 18 games against the White Sox.

 

Pierre’s individual performance in Sunday’s 5-4 victory over the Oakland A’s at U.S. Cellular Field was rather symbolic of his entire season. On the positive side, he rapped out a pair of singles. But Pierre failed to execute a sacrifice bunt late in the close game. The first part of this season also has seen him struggle defensively in left field and steal just 10 of 19 bases after leading the majors in that category last year with 68.

 

“Every day you have to come out here with the confidence that you can do it no matter how bad it’s going or how good it’s going,” said Pierre, who is hitting .259 with an on-base percentage of .324. “That’s the big thing about baseball, you can never get too high or too low. Definitely, you never figure it out. Every day you have to go out and these guys are trying to get you out a certain way or play you a certain way. You just have to battle every day and make the right adjustments. But definitely the adjustments never stop and the humbling never stops in this game.”

 

Somehow, Sox players have managed to avoid public bickering and finger-pointing while going through difficult times earlier in the season.

 

“Without a doubt, this is a unique clubhouse, so to speak,” said Pierre. “We have got a lot of veteran guys, mixed in with the young guys. We keep everything loose and Ozzie (Guillen) does a great job of trying to keep the heat off of us from the media and stuff by saying crazy things.

 

"We’re all men in here and we’re all accountable to what we do. But it’s always good to have guys to pick you up a little bit when it’s not going on, because everybody who is in here has been through it. Nobody has hit .400, so to speak, in this clubhouse. And even then, you have some failure to go along with it. We definitely have got a good clubhouse to keep everybody together.”

 

[email protected]

[iamshack]

Love the comment about Ozzie keeping the heat off the team by saying crazy things

[elrockinMT]

He knows he needs to step it up

[Cali]

Well if that's the case he should resign and give the money back to the White Sox....

[The Ginger Kid]

benching both rios and dunn seemed to help them. I say give Juan a month off and see how it works for him. Oh, and have Viciedo fill in while he's resting.

[RockRaines]

Leads the AL in plate appearances. WTF

[greg775]

Juan is a class act.

[Kalapse]

Leads the AL in plate appearances. WTF

He also leads the game in outs just as he did last year. Dude made 515 outs last season and another 220 this year.

[elrockinMT]

Juan is a class act.

 

 

I think so too

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

Here is a pertinent article.

 

 

Now that Dayan Viciedo has successfully made the transition from range-impaired third baseman to passable right fielder at Triple-A the 22-year-old prospect told Scott Merkin of MLB.com that he’s “ready” for another chance with the White Sox.

 

And general manager Ken Williams apparently agrees, telling Merkin that “it would be awfully interesting to have him in this lineup” and “he’s obviously got some things he still needs to work on, but I would have no qualms about bringing him here.”

 

Now the only question is how the White Sox could create an opening in the lineup for him.

 

Alex Rios and Adam Dunn are slumping, but big contracts mean they aren’t going anywhere. Coming into the season there was speculation about Viciedo replacing Carlos Quentin in right field, but now Quentin is leading the White Sox in homers and ranks eighth among AL hitters in OPS.

 

All of which seems to point to Juan Pierre as the odd man out since he’s gone from light-hitting to no-hitting, batting just .259 with a .628 OPS while being thrown out on half of his steal attempts. Replacing Pierre with Viciedo–by way of Quentin shifting to left field–would be a defensive downgrade, but with Viciedo hitting .313 with 10 homers and an .877 OPS in 61 games at Triple-A the swap would also dramatically change the White Sox’s lineup.

 

Of course it's just the random musings of some guy, but I like the part about Kenny Williams. For the record, I don't hate Juan cause the guy works hard. It's clear though, that he's getting older and has lost a step.

[Jerksticks]

Here is a pertinent article.

 

 

 

 

Of course it's just the random musings of some guy, but I like the part about Kenny Williams. For the record, I don't hate Juan cause the guy works hard. It's clear though, that he's getting older and has lost a step.

 

Pierre sure does seem like a wonderful man. It's sad that Viciedo is going to push him off the roster, but I think Pierre understands more than anybody that this kid is better than him and better for the team. Pierre will still get his ring.

[The Ginger Kid]

Juan is a class act.

He most definitely is a class act. You should have seen the way he handled himself in LA when Manny took his job after JP was playing so well.

 

I just feel that he's reached the end of his usefulness.

[BigEdWalsh]

Here is a pertinent article.

 

 

 

 

Of course it's just the random musings of some guy, but I like the part about Kenny Williams. For the record, I don't hate Juan cause the guy works hard. It's clear though, that he's getting older and has lost a step.

Totally agree. The guy is a class act, works hard and from interviews I've seen seems like a really nice guy. I like him. But, it is pretty apparent he ain't what he used to be.

[BigSqwert]

I have no issues with him as a person. Seems like a great guy but he's not very good at his job anymore.

[MiddleCoastBias]

He sure is.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OjF_At3BKQ

[Real]

You all are saying these things about Pierre, "Not what he used to be", "Not very good at his job"

 

What about Rios? In terms of WAR, they're both damn near identical. Is Rios washed up?

 

Just putting it into perspective, just because a guy is having a horrible year doesn't mean he's done.

[Jordan4life_2007]

You all are saying these things about Pierre, "Not what he used to be", "Not very good at his job"

 

What about Rios? In terms of WAR, they're both damn near identical. Is Rios washed up?

 

Just putting it into perspective, just because a guy is having a horrible year doesn't mean he's done.

 

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=81734

 

Nobody has forgotten Rios.

[Kalapse]

You all are saying these things about Pierre, "Not what he used to be", "Not very good at his job"

 

What about Rios? In terms of WAR, they're both damn near identical. Is Rios washed up?

 

Just putting it into perspective, just because a guy is having a horrible year doesn't mean he's done.

Juan Pierre's been bad for 7 years and now he's getting into his mid 30's and his legs are failing him, he can't bunt and his defense is going to s*** all that on top of his other obvious shortcomings and you have a guy who's reaching the end of his usefulness as a major league baseball player.

[Real]

Juan Pierre's been bad for 7 years and now he's getting into his mid 30's and his legs are failing him, he can't bunt and his defense is going to s*** all that on top of his other obvious shortcomings and you have a guy who's reaching the end of his usefulness as a major league baseball player.

 

He wasn't nearly this counterproductive last year (he wasn't what he was in the NL, but he was serviceable as a starter). It's rare that you go from Pierre's 2010 to 2011, and have it be due to being "done".

 

And I don't think his legs are failing him. His jumps this year have been horrible, not his speed overall, again.. I think he's just having a s***ty year.

[greg775]

Pierre sure does seem like a wonderful man. It's sad that Viciedo is going to push him off the roster, but I think Pierre understands more than anybody that this kid is better than him and better for the team. Pierre will still get his ring.

 

I just don't agree he will be pushed off the roster. That's not going to happen.

His production is not horrific.

He's staying on the team.

[Real]

I just don't agree he will be pushed off the roster. That's not going to happen.

His production is not horrific.

He's staying on the team.

 

No, his production has been horrific, he's worth negative wins right now, which means the same as costing you wins.

[witesoxfan]

You all are saying these things about Pierre, "Not what he used to be", "Not very good at his job"

 

What about Rios? In terms of WAR, they're both damn near identical. Is Rios washed up?

 

Just putting it into perspective, just because a guy is having a horrible year doesn't mean he's done.

 

Alex Rios has hit for power before. He has proven capable defensively. He has proven to be a great all around player in the past, regardless of his work ethic. He also has about $36 million left on his contact.

Juan Pierre has never hit for power. He has had several defensive lapses this year. He hasn't been a great player since about 2003 or 2004, regardless of his work ethic. He has about $5 million left on his $7 mill deal this year. Oh, and there's a player waiting in the wings who could end up being worth 2-3 wins from this point forward waiting in the wings.

 

(you could argue that Lillibridge is waiting in the wings too, but I'm not...he's been nothing short of incredible, amazing, WTF this year, but I'm not going to count on him. I'm not going to count on Rios for that matter either. I do know that Rios has the ability to increase his ability by a tremendous amount, which is something that Pierre is not capable of doing)

 

Pierre has been done as an everyday player for about 5 years now. The Dodgers realized that and traded for Manny Ramirez. The White Sox need to realize that too and call up Viciedo. As Sqwert said, I have nothing but admiration for Pierre as a person, but he is simply not a good baseball player anymore. I'm sure people here would call me a class act too if the White Sox gave me $7 million, because I would be the first one at the ballpark and the last one to leave (of course, being head janitor has its downsides, but tomorrow's always another day).

Edited June 14, 2011 by witesoxfan

[SoxAce]

Totally agree. The guy is a class act, works hard and from interviews I've seen seems like a really nice guy. I like him. But, it is pretty apparent he ain't what he used to be.

 

Ditto. Can't do anything with father time however. His speed is leaving him and it's sad to watch. You can get by without it if you had solid technique in stealing bases, but Juan always seemed very average in technique and just lived off speed to get there his whole career.

[soxrwhite]

A very hard worker. A hustle guy. Never ever do you see him not give 100%. A class act. He is the type of ballplayer I like to watch and a good team would love to have at the top of the order.

 

Having said that it seems he has either lost it or is down for some reason and if you want to win games it might be time to play him less. I wouldn't cut him, as his replacement may not work out so great, you can never tell, plus he could still be valuable situationally.

 

I have said on another post an outfield of Viciedo in right, Lillibridge in center ( and leading off ), and Quentin in left is no worse defensively and better offensively.