When I heard that Juan Pierre was benched yesterday for lack of production my first thought was ABOUT DAMN TIME. Then somehow he was back in the lineup today. In this short season I have seen Pierre make four blooper reel errors in the outfield that would rival something a dandelion picking little leaguer would do.
There are five tools which a player aspires to have: hitting for average, hitting for power, speed on the base paths, throwing ability and fielding ability. Pierre has showcased his lack of fielding ability with the aforementioned errors and he does have a career low fielding percentage of .943. His arm is average at best and his career assist stats measure up against notorious weak armed outfielder Johnny Damon, He has never been accused of having a power stroke with a career high three home runs in 2004 and 2006. At the plate Pierre is having a career worst start with a .242 average and a career low .313 OBP. His bread and butter had been racking up steals but though 42 games he has been caught stealing 8 times compared to only six thefts.
It is apparent that Pierre is having a career worst season and this is likely just the start of the decline. A turnaround will be difficult with Pierre currently missing all five tools. The White Sox need to recognize that he is walking around with an empty tool box and give another player a chance to produce and spark their struggling team.
I hope Pierre can get it together. It is awful to be in a slump. I like your tool box analogy, bro.
ReplyDelete