Two huge disappointments so far this year have been Reed and Duffy both fleet centerfielders. Duffy with Pirates was shipped down and is in limbo because he refused or something. Reed with the Marlins has also been sent down. Both were having trouble hitting but my take is that patience is thin for fast white guys. They weren't given the benefit of the doubt. Like a Corey Patterson or other speedy blacks. I hope they recover. They are both very fast and it is a shame that once again not enough speedy white players are not on view.
Eric Reed and Chris Duffy
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It's inexplicable that the Pirates have given up on Duffy when they have so many players doing poorly, but it's par for the course for this sad-sack organization. Duffy is already 26 and finally got a chance in the bigs last season and hit .341. With the team already hopelessly out of the race again, they should stick with Duffy rather than scapegoating him.
This was in this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Duffy: "The Pirates yesterday placed center fielder Chris Duffy on the minor league restricted list for failing to report to Class AAA Indianapolis within 72 hours of being optioned there Sunday. While on the list, Duffy will not be paid any of his $331,000 salary, although the team retains his rights.
"It was not immediately clear why Duffy refused his assignment. 'You'd have to ask him,' Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said. Neither Duffy nor his agent returned calls yesterday.
"Duffy, 26, was batting .194, which prompted management to demote him after the game Sunday at PNC Park. Littlefield and manager Jim Tracy met with Duffy for an hour in the manager's office to discuss it. Upon emerging, Duffy told reporters he was unhappy that Tracy tried to convert him into a prototypical leadoff hitter by stressing that he hit the other way, pound the ball into the ground and take more walks. Throughout his time in the minors, Duffy was an aggressive, line-drive hitter, and he used that approach to bat .341 for the Pirates in a half-season as a rookie last year.
"'Before I even played for Tracy, he was already kind of saying what he wanted me to do. I think, sometimes, I'm a little too coachable,' Duffy said Sunday. 'I'll just try to get my game right and back to where it usually is'."
This was in this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Duffy: "The Pirates yesterday placed center fielder Chris Duffy on the minor league restricted list for failing to report to Class AAA Indianapolis within 72 hours of being optioned there Sunday. While on the list, Duffy will not be paid any of his $331,000 salary, although the team retains his rights.
"It was not immediately clear why Duffy refused his assignment. 'You'd have to ask him,' Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said. Neither Duffy nor his agent returned calls yesterday.
"Duffy, 26, was batting .194, which prompted management to demote him after the game Sunday at PNC Park. Littlefield and manager Jim Tracy met with Duffy for an hour in the manager's office to discuss it. Upon emerging, Duffy told reporters he was unhappy that Tracy tried to convert him into a prototypical leadoff hitter by stressing that he hit the other way, pound the ball into the ground and take more walks. Throughout his time in the minors, Duffy was an aggressive, line-drive hitter, and he used that approach to bat .341 for the Pirates in a half-season as a rookie last year.
"'Before I even played for Tracy, he was already kind of saying what he wanted me to do. I think, sometimes, I'm a little too coachable,' Duffy said Sunday. 'I'll just try to get my game right and back to where it usually is'."
Latest word is that Duffy may quit baseball altogether. He hasn't reported to the minors and is currently in limbo. That can't be put entirely on Jim Tracy, but when a guy has great speed and hits .341 in half a season as a rookie, taking him and trying to totally rebuild his hitting style is a head scratcher.