I just had to post my digust with the Lyle Overbay signing. We seriously gave this guy 5MILLION DOLLARS!! It is and has been for a couple of years my opinion that he the worst everyday first baseman to ever start in the MLB. Unbelievable. And for what? Another left handed hitting first baseman?? WTF!!!
It takes a lot to get me angry about the Pirates at this point but this is probably the worst signing I've seen since Kevin Young.. At least the other ones made SOME sense.
At least I have a new "Sean Burnett".
(OK after looking at the numbers he actually had a better season that Garrett Jones last year, so he is not the WORST first baseman in the league, but he did have the lowest RBI total for all 1B with over 500 ABs)
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Ryan and I have been texting about it, apparently he is okay with this signing. It would be fine if they used him in a platoon situation with Steve Pearce and used Diaz/Jones in RF. unfortunately the Pirates will probably start Overbay all season.
I am definitely ok with the signing. He has been a consistent hitting first basemen, and we got him on the cheap from what he's been making the last 4 years in toronto. He was the second best defensive first basemen in the league last year, which will definitely help a defense that finished 2nd to last in the league, and he stays healthy.
He consistently hits 30+ doubles a year and double digit homeruns into the teens; we only have 2 players that can consistently do that in jones and mccutchen...He doesn't strike out a lot, makes consistent contact with the ball and gets on base with a career OBP higher than any players best year on our roster besides our only all star worthy player; I think our ball park will suit him well with the short fence in right, which could be a boost in his power numbers, and he still will not be the highest paid player on the team.
Sure, he's left handed, when we have an obvious need for a right handed bat; there is not a first basemen available with the defensive skills overbay has whom bats right handed in the organization or on the market, except maybe derek lee and there is no way we could afford him.
All this really proves is what everyone in the organization and in the press has been predicting; That Doumit is on his way out, and this also shows that the organization isn't as high on jones as we thought they could be.
I think it is a very good signing the more I research it and think it was relatively cheap considering Huntingtons other options. I'm beginning to think that offord is relying too heavily on his fantasy teams to determine who the worst first basemen in the league are. Overbay is going to be a huge upgrade for us this year and even more positively...ONLY this year. Make no mistake, in terms of his financial future, this is going to be a make or break season for Ole' Lyle; which Huntington is banking on. He could use the Pirates as a spring board season to, hopefully, finish his career with a lucrative 3-4 year deal during a successful season for the Pirates, which leaves him as huge trade bait for Huntington come July; or he will perform miserably and his career will be over in the next 2 years disappearing from the league faster than club house snack cakes in front of the Fielder family.
Overall, I give Huntington a B on this signing...the only thing that stops this transaction from being a B+ to an A is the fact that Overbay is not right handed, and he made this signing without having any serious suitors for Doumit.
Yes, he is a good defensive first basemen. I was going to mention that at one point, but i figured you would scoff at defensive metrics that were not fielding percentage.
unfortunately, the rest of the infield is pretty bad fielding, so who knows how much he can help.
he is pretty consistent at hitting doubles and he definitely will help. I can see Offord's anger though. i honestly think the money would have been better used locking up mccutchen. yes, we have him under control for a few more years through arbitration, but why not lock him up after that (like how the brewers/rays/nationals did with braun/longoria/zimmerman)...
they would have to be vegetarian snack cakes...
I understand the money issue, but I don't think they are going to worry about those circumstances with McCutchen until he has another year or 2 of solid play, then they will look to do what the brewers/rays/nationals have done. The money they spent on Overbay will have very little kickback with what we all hope they will do with McCutchen in a couple years.
In all honesty, 5 million is not that much money for a 1B, even one like Overbay. The more I think about it, I might be with Ryan, Offord may have overreacted a bit. haha
Those teams all took the chance on their guys after their second seasons (Longoria may have gotten his after his first season). I only worry that Cutch will see that they are not going to contend until his final arbitration years and decides to just take more money elsewhere...
You all have turned to the dark side!!!!
Overbay = Pile o' Dog Shit
I will not be swayed by this. He put up worse all around stats than LaRoche and play worse defense. Plus he is older. Is that what we really need right now??
GAG. You people make me sick. Don't say I didn't tell you so when he is hitting .240 with 3 HRs in June.
By the way, it is much easier to predict a Pirates free agent signing will turn out bad, so I'll give you guys that.
Offord, how does LaRoche come into the argument? Was he an available first basemen for the Pirates? Is this the best thing in the world? Not at all, but is it the worst signing the Pirates have ever made? Absolutely not. If he hits 20 HR and 35 Doubles, but does not look like a mentally challenged kid at 1B, then he is a better option than Jones.
Yes, if I had my choice, I would like the pirates to sign Dunn or hell, wait until next year and sign that Pujols guy. I hear he is pretty good...
I was just using LaRoche as an example.
If Overbay hits 20 HRs and 35 doubles this year I will dance naked in the streets.
Of course I don't think that they will ever sign Dunn or Pujols, nor do I care if they do or not, it is just the wasteful spending on stop gap guys when the money could be invested into the younger talent. I mean, the definition of a stop gap guy is someone to hold the position down while we wait for the incumbent youngster. But, what good is that if we don't have anyone to take his place? My point I guess is why even throw away the money if it is not going to help anything. They could have kept Jones at first, lost nothing but defense, and signed Sano last year. We could have had a shortstop for the future for less than we have Lyle Overbay..
Look, I see everyone' points, I just don't like him and never will.
that's just backwards thinking. being pissed about what we did this year because we didn't do something last year is kind of ridiculous. the pirates were in the running for Sano last year, they were one of the final teams. they offered him a good chunk of money.
anyways, they will most likely draft anthony rendon, so there is your SS.
i understand not liking Overbay, but to think that this signing caused them to not be able to sign anyone else is just silly. it is not a massive contract. we are paying ryan doumit more money to not be able to throw runners out or catch balls in the outfield.
Points taken.
Did someone say Rendon could play SS??
my bad, i guess he is a 3B. well then, i guess Pedro will be moving to first. see, so overbay is not worth getting upset over. haha.
IF they take Rendon. They have made some dumb picks.. If Bullington's younger brother is available who knows
ugh. why would we think that Huntingdon will not take Rendon? This is not like Littlefield and McClatchy screwing things up...
wait. I'm confused. Would rendon be a good pick or a bad pick? I'm not up to date with the draft stock this year. Or any year for that matter.
I think it would be a good pick since we stocked up on young pitching in last year's draft. That way they will all be coming up together. Move Alvarez to 1B this year, play Fields/Marte at 3B, and replace them with Rendon in two years. BENCH OVERBAY.
He's making 5 million dollars...they will not bench him. He's here for only a year...chill. And, i know doumit is making 5.1 mil and he could end up being benched but he's going to be traded soon.
I was just kidding I know they won't bench him. But if they are planning on moving Alvarez to first wouldn't it make sense to start this season when they probably aren't going to compete anyway?
They will compete. THEY WILL BE THE BEST!
they will be the best last place team in the NL Central!!!
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