Saturday, March 22, 2008

Pierre already unhappy about role

Juan Pierre has been arguably the major subject of Dodger fans this offseason. The second Andruw Jones was signed, the question was not only where Pierre would play, but if he would even start anymore. Now, Pierre is showing signs that the tension is getting to him.

After only pinch-hitting in Thursday's game against the Chicago White Sox, he met privately with Joe Torre. The issue of the meeting was obvious - he wanted to know where he stood in the outfield log jam. He claimed that he had no idea that Jones' signing meant that he would now be in competition for a starting spot. I guess he was under the assumption that a position change would be all that was asked of him.

While I can certainly understand his willingness to play, I find it hard to believe that he had no clue about not starting. I mean geez... couldn't he have at least turned a TV on or read the Internet at some point? Even non-Dodger fans knew he might be squeezed out.

With a .200 AVG and .273 OBS this Spring, it's a little hard to take his complaining seriously. Just last game, he was 1-5 with an RBI and was caught stealing 2nd base. He needs to start playing better to even come close to justifying his contract. Sitting on the bench to start the year would hopefully light a fire under him.

Torre knows that the Dodgers haven't done jack squat since the 1988 World Series, and he was brought in to win now. Playing the hot hand in Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp with Jones is the best option now. Pierre will still get some playing time, but until he shows that he can get on base more, he should get a seat right next to Torre on the bench.

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