So Nate McLouth spent the last two and some odd years with the Atlanta Braves meddling around having pretty average to poor batting numbers after being traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates. I’ll never forget the absolute absurdity various fans/media went berserk that he was traded after recently signing a 3 year deal with the Pirates.
I’ll also never forget the freak out that Ryan Doumit had when Nate the Great was traded and held a candle light vigil for him. It’s safe to say now that the entire situation was overblown. Comments were said, Nate was over hyped, and things fell into place(not that the Pirates were better with or without him).
The reality now is that Nate McLouth is back, signing for 1 year at 1.75 million. It’s all but clear now that barring injury, he’s nothing more than a bench player for the Pirates with an actual outfield. Andrew Mccutchen, Jose Tabata, and Alex Presley(still relatively unknown commodity) are all roaming the outfield now, there simply is no room for McLouth otherwise, unless Presley or Tabata fail and they decide to platoon McLouth with either or.
I won’t say that I’m opposed to this move, and I in no way angry about this signing, as he’s really the only Pirate I can remember that took advantage of the short wall and can be consistent in hitting for power. Who knows, maybe he can even gain his consistency back and the Pirates are in a better situation they were in today and not yesterday.
The only real negative is that it’s still just an unknown, and I feel that we’re more likely to get the bust that was McLouth for the past two years and not the McLouth the Pirates had before the trade. Time will tell I suppose.
Thu, Dec 8, 2011
Sports