because Pearce needed to be buried just a little deeper.

They supposedly got rid of Josh Phelps because he was an "American League player". I guess Mietsdniooapsz is finally in the league where he belongs!

They did this a few years ago with guys like Loften and Sanders, but it just failed miserably; they never managed to get any value out of Sanders and his 1 year contract.

When I saw this headline, I thought "of course they did." I feel bad for the folks in Pittsburgh.

"Having nothing, nothing can they lose."

-- William "Game Face" Shakespeare, The Pirates VI, Part Three (Act III, scene iii)

Chris Gomez.

It's staggering. A career 2B/SS and not a good-hitting one even for a SS, the Blue Jays in desperation used him some at 1B. That shining example of an organization, the Baltimore Orioles, thought this a splendid idea and gave him nearly 250 innings at 1B the next season. Even the O's recognized some of their insanity and reduced that to 138 the next year and he piled up another 151 in 07 between Baltimore and a brief stint with Cleveland (what were they thinking?).

So now, he's ensconced in the ML mindset as a viable option for "backup 1B". This is a guy with a career OPS+ of 82. To put that in perspective, Omar Vizquel is at 84. To put that in perspective, Gomez's 82 OPS+ features a below-average OBP (at least Vizquel gets on at a league-average rate). And Gomez will be 37.

All this might make sense if he hit LHP well, but his career 719 OPS vs. lefties makes it clear that's not the case.

I have no doubt that any SS, or at least any SS over 5'6", would make a fine defensive 1B and so if you want to have Gomez around as backup 2B/SS and slap him in as a defensive replacement at 1B -- that might work.

So of course it's the Pirates. And who do the Pirates bring in as competition -- Mientkiewicz, who hits lefty just like LaRoche.

Meanwhile, if I'm a Red Sox fan, I'd be really pissed. It's still more eye-catching to label him a former Yankee? Don't writers know that the Red Sox are the new Beast of the East? Don't they know this is World Champion Doug Mientkiewicz, former Red Sox?

The Red Sox aren't "big time" until the Pirates sign Mike Stanton (2009 closer) and the headlines refer to him as "former Red Sox Mike Stanton."

Heh. Nice intro.

This is pretty pointless. It's probably better than the Trachsel signing, however, so it doesn't even get to claim the title of Worst Signing of the Day.

I guess I haven't been paying attention, because I had no idea Chris Gomez was still in the major leagues, let alone that a purported major league club used him at FIRST BASE. Good lord.

I suppose Eye Chart does look good as a backup 1B by that standard...

I am extremely glad that Doug M to Z will no longer be a Yankee.

I guess I haven't been paying attention, because I had no idea Chris Gomez was still in the major leagues, let alone that a purported major league club used him at FIRST BASE. Good lord.

Hey, the Mets were using Marlon Anderson and Chris Woodward at first base in 2005, and they even had a winning record.

And their main 1B was Minweynisz, just like the Pirates! I smell division title for the Bucs in 2009.

Oh, wait--EyeChart and LaRoche both hit lefty. I stand corrected--this is just stupid.

I'd rather have Anderson at first than Gomez.

Similarly, I'd rather have yellow snow on my waffles than warthog semen.

Didn't the Yanks use Cairo at first a couple years ago?

Chris freaking Gomez to you, Walt. The Pirates are welcome to former Blue Jay "leftfielder" Dave Berg anytime they want, and I don't care what he is called when they make the announcement.

Bonifay, Littlefield, Huntington. Perhaps next time, they'll choose a GM with two syllables in his/her name, for luck.

Didn't the Yanks use Cairo at first a couple years ago?

Last year too.

Hey, the Mets were using Marlon Anderson and Chris Woodward at first base in 2005, and they even had a winning record.

Don't forget Kaz Matsui and Miguel Cairo at 2b with a combined OPS+ around 67.

That team had a starting rotation with an ERA+ of 111 which is much better than the have had the last two years when they have been more competitive. With any offense at all, they could have made the playoffs.

Perhaps next time, they'll choose a GM with two syllables in his/her name, for luck.

There's only one syllable in Ng.

"Manischewitz spent the 2007 season with the Yankees"

He may be a soft hitter (career 100 OPS+) for a first baseman, but he makes some of the sweetest kosher wine in the majors. Just blows away that crap Mogen David Ortiz makes.

"Manischewitz spent the 2007 season with the Yankees"

He may be a soft hitter (career 100 OPS+) for a first baseman, but he makes some of the sweetest kosher wine in the majors.

Even one eye-charter member himself, Sammy Davis used to agree!

Ng works for me, OCF.

Sorry to see Dougie no longer playing in organized ball.

They picked up Josh Wilson after the Rays DFA'd him, too, and apparently intend to use him. My theory is that Nutting wants to save money on uniforms, so Wilson the Younger will just impersonate a clubhouse boy most of the time, and whenever Jack Wilson needs a day off Josh can just put on his jersey. That, or he wants to make extra money from all of Jack Wilson's devoted fans who will run out and buy the new JA. WILSON jersey.

I mean, when you sit there and sign a contract with the Pirates, you know this means your career is over, right?

I've been amazed that over the past 3 years, Mientkiewicz hasn't gotten an opportunity to seriously try to spend some time at 3rd or in the OF. He'd have had to have found a team to let him try it, of course, and he might have been terrible if he did. But as a very good first baseman, you'd think he'd have a chance to not be terrible somewhere up the defensive spectrum. Maybe his arm is terrible...I've never been able to get a good read of that, but I think he'd have reasonable enough speed and reflexes to have a chance.

Anyway, a guy who's nothing special with his bat and can only play first base doesn't get too many chances. But if he could prove to be a more flexible utility guy, or even a passable every day or platoon 3rd baseman, he'd had a much bigger window of opportunity. Mike Lamb signed a deal for 2 years and $6 million, Mientkiewicz gets a minor league invite. Lamb's a little better hitter, but not much. Chris Gomez can't hit, but gets $1 million guaranteed deal because he can play maybe a dozen games somewhere other than first base.

Hits 271, saves at least two runs a game...what else do you want?

Eyechart is lefthanded, no? It'd be tough for him to play 3rd.

He throws righthanded.

Chris Gomez: has five letters in his first name, and five letters in his last name.

Why are people down on this signing? A minor league deal for a guy who is about a win below average at his position offensively and a win above average defensively is a great move.

Because the Pirates have no use for him. They're afraid that Steven Pearce will be good if he plays, and determined to bury him to make sure that doesn't happen. Same thing they did with Craig Wilson, basically.

Some of the invective in this thread is kind of amazing. It's a minor-league deal. Signing Mientkiewicz is a little bit weird given the options they already have, but who cares? If LaRoche goes down for any long period of time, they will probably just use Pearce there. It is theoretically possible that Gomez could see, or could have seen, some innings at first, but it is more likely that they'll use Ryan Doumit there unless they just need defense.

I don't understand why Mientkiewicz would want to sign with the Pirates, unless they're going with a surprising bench realignment or a trade is in the works. But, again, who cares? It's a minor league contract.

I don't understand why Mientkiewicz would want to sign with the Pirates,

I can think of only two conceivable reasons:

1. The Pirates were the only one of the 30 teams that showed any interest in him at all; OR
2. The Pirates were the only one of the 30 teams that was willing to promise him significant playing time (if he makes the roster).

I would handicap option 2 as a 2-to-1 favorite.

Justin, the "Steve Pearce should start" ship isn't in the harbor anymore. What they really should've done this offseason is trade Nady, but they didn't. I honestly don't think this Mientkiewicz signing has much to do with Pearce's future, except insofar as they don't want to use Pearce off the bench in the bigs. (Which is understandable.) The real problem is that they're not going to start him, and they weren't going to do that with or without Mientkiewicz.

But, again, who cares? It's a minor league contract.

Minor league contracts have a bad habit of turning into major league salaries in Pirate-land.

The Pearce issue is the major one. There's nothing (other than injury) that can happen between now and April 1st that should take Pearce out of the starting lineup for opening day. Having Eyechart around just increases the probability of Pearce losing playing time, which is simply unacceptable.

I do agree with charlie that the Pirates have already made up their minds that Pearce isn't going to play.

The frustration from Pirates fans is that this is exactly the kind of pointlessness that characterizes everything the Pirates do. Everything this franchise does is low-ceiling, no-upside.

There's nothing (other than injury) that can happen between now and April 1st that should take Pearce out of the starting lineup for opening day.

Well, I agree with you there. I just don't think Eyechart has anything to do with that. If Littlefield were still in charge, I'm sure I'd be screaming bloody murder about it. But - and maybe I'm too idealistic - I don't think Coonelly and Huntington are idiots.

Eyechart is lefthanded, no? It'd be tough for him to play 3rd.

throws right. he played a bit of 2b for the red sox.

Probably a stupid question: Who are the Yankees playing at first again? For some reason I was thinking that Mientkiewicz would be back.

Duncan/Betemit split with Giambi getting some time there as well.

Who are the Yankees playing at first again? For some reason I was thinking that Mientkiewicz would be back.

The "depth chart" at their official website lists Jason Giambi, Shelley Duncan, and Wilson Betemit as the top three choices. Um...that doesn't sound good. Maybe Damon has to play DH fulltime now, and Giambi is really going to be out in the field again. I guess if Betemit is a good hitter and fielder for a third baseman, that wouldn't be so bad.

They also have formerly promising corner infielders Eric Duncan and Morgan Ensberg in the organization now. Either of them could be the new Andy Phillips. And then there's Nick Green!

I guess the Pirates have only themselves to blame, with all this angst surrounding a minor league contract. I used to be afraid every winter that Littlefield would sign Mientkiewicz to a major league deal to be the regular 1B. But Huntington signs a guy to a minor league deal who's better than most of the guys Littlefield used to sign to major league deals, and somehow it's the same old Pirates. I don't get it.

I'd been wondering who was going to play 1B at Indianapolis. Pearce supposedly needs more experience in RF, since that's where he's most likely to find playing time in the majors, and Indianapolis didn't have anybody else available to play 1B. Now it does. And that's all I see here.

Thanks WTM, that puts it back into perspective.

But Pearce is ready for the majors, isn't he? He played RF during his call-up. Couldn't they trade Nady now and give him the job?

Um...that doesn't sound good.

Why? I doubt Giambi will spend more than a game a week at first and Ensberg most likely pushes Duncan back to the minors.
Betemit hit .355/.486 vs right-handers and Ensberg .409/.551 vs lefties over the last 3 years. Looks like a nice platoon to me if Girardi sticks with it. Even without platooning ZIPs projects Ensberg as above average for 1B and Betemit alone would probably be acceptable at worst. Both should be somewhat above average defensively at the position.

Has Mientkiewicz ever played for a team that wore "vest" uniforms? Because boy, are they going to have a hard time fitting that name on the back.

On the other hand, be thankful the Bucs' numbers aren't as large as those worn by the early '70s Phillies. At least there's some room.

I just assumed from the article that it was a different Chris Gomez.

How mystifying, the truth is.

The Pirates get ripped when they make a redundant signing of Mientkewicz to a minor league contract and no on says a word that Chris Gomez (already mentioned in this thread) is going to make $1 million this season.

Pearce is going to AAA to play RF everyday (why, I have no idea) and the Pirates must still be obsessed that they only have Nady and Gomez as potential backup 1b. Or they simply want to add a MLB player to the ST roster. I can understand why people might be wary of this signing, but even if Mientkewicz heads north, it won't matter one iota - this is a 72 win team, and Eyechart ain't changing that.

I can find a lot of reasons to kill Huntington and Coonelly the Puppetmaster, but this signing isn't one of them.

Along with Mientkiewicz, other NRIs in Pirate camp with veteran presence include Adam Bernero, Hector Carrasco, Elmer Dessens, Casey Fossum, Masumi Kuwata (I thought they cut him), Jaret Wright, Raul Chavez, Luis Rivas, and Jose F. Macias. The Paul Bako negotiations mentioned a while back must have gone badly -- he signed with the Reds.

On the flip side, manager John Russell is new in town, and has no reason to trust any of these guys over homegrown young talent, right?

Hey--Jose F. Macias is a third catcher. He brings mad versatility to bear.