Pierzynski's deflection of blame weaker than his arm

After A.J. Pierzynski blamed Gavin Floyd for Minnesota's five stolen bases Tuesday, Ozzie Guillen placed the responsibility squared on his catcher.

“It’s not fair? When a guy steals second and third with a slide step, you have to wear it, you gotta admit you’re not throwing the ball well right now,” Guillen said. “If you have to take the blame, take the blame. The people think it’s your fault, well, it’s somebody’s fault. It’s not my fault. It has to be between the pitcher and the catcher, and the pitcher went slide step twice.” -- CSN Chicago

Beerleaguer: I'll admit Gavin Floyd deserves some of the blame, as Minnesota didn't attempt a steal Wednesday afternoon with Mark Buehrle on the mound. But for Pierzynski to essentially throw his starter under the bus (quote in CSN link) is a cowardly move when he clearly has to share the blame.

Pierzynski has thrown out a grand total of six runners this season--according to Baseball-Reference.com, the 12 caught stealings he's registered include pitcher pickoffs when he was behind the plate. So on 41 stolen base attempts in which Pierzynski has had to make a throw, he's gunned down 14.6 percent of runners. Some players arms are described as cannons, some as rifles. Pierzynski has an early-1800s Deringer for an arm.

And his throws aren't accurate, either. On every throw that reached second base on the fly Tuesday, the ball ended up on the third base side of the bag. Given that runners steal from first base, not third base, that's not good.

Yes, Floyd is slow to the plate. So is Edwin Jackson. But don't use them to deflect attention away from a poor, inaccurate throwing arm.

Speaking of weak: In four games against the Twins, the White Sox have scored three runs. They've had two complete games thrown against them, one of which was a no-hitter. There's no logical reason for this offensive malaise except the easy way out: it's against the Twins.

The Wizard of Target Field: In three starts at Minneapolis' new outdoor stadium, Mark Buehrle has allowed four runs in 22 innings with three walks, seven strikeouts and one home run allowed. Unfortunately, that lone home run came Wednesday to Michael Cuddyer and was the decisive blow in Minnesota's 1-0 win.

In a larger sample size, Buehrle had a 4.67 ERA at the Metrodome, which he addmited was in his head. Those mental issues don't appear to be present under the sun in Minneapolis.

Comments

[JRFegan]

A.J. recently assessed his career as it nears its close and realized that one thing was missing--the ire of all 30 fanbases.

One step closer to immortality, #12. You're one step closer.

[JJ -- White Sox Beerleaguer]

Well, the ironic thing is that the average Sox fan still gives Pierzynski one of the loudest cheers on the team every time he/she goes to U.S. Cellular Field.

[JRFegan]

Wait till he blames THEM for not holding the runner

[JJ -- White Sox Beerleaguer]

"You were too slow in drinking that beer! That's why Michael Cuddyer stole three bases!"

[The Wizard]

>> The Wizard of Target Field

am I eligible for any royalty checks?

:p

[Buford]

I recall that the Sox were attempting to sign Miguel Olivo before Reinsdorf jumped in and personally re-signed AJ. I admire JR, but his loyalty sometimes goes too far. Once he likes a player, he just can't let go.

The same can be said for Guillen and his loyalty to Pierre. As a Marlins coach, he remembers Pierre's better days in Florida which triggers his "He plays the game the right way" defense of Pierre.

But a manager needs to evaluate players without rose-colored glasses tinted with gold from a player's long-gone productive years.

Leaders need to distinguish between gold and fool's gold...and loyalty simply can't factor into the decision-making process.

[SoosteFem]

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