Adios Joe Beimel

Last June, when Joe Beimel pitched every damn day and the Pirates were taking it to the Red Sox, the Braves, and the Blue Jays, I was painting a room in the house and had KDKA on the radio for everything Bucco related. For a period there, Beimel was our only reliable reliever. Mac kept bringing him in because you never know when you'll have another lead. We slagged that poor guy's arm but the victories were delicious. His numbers were great until July.

Then he threw with what must have been some kind of dead arm the rest of the season. Joe took one for the team, and it made me a little angry to hear (or read) people giving hell to Littlefield for treating him with respect over the off-season. Some of the ballwriters regard the players like cattle. They recommend roster moves that make sense in the meat-packing business (or in Strat-O-Matic) but are too lacking in a basic love of humanity to be taken seriously. Sure, business is business, but a winning team is one in which every member takes a turn - usually in some random order - at stepping up and taking over. Grind the players under your heels and they'll never step up for you. It's Sports 101 as far I'm concerned.

The AP calls this a surprise move. If this surprised you, all I can say is you haven't been paying attention. Anyone who spins this as a money decision is an ignorant cynic. The Bucs could have cut him loose long ago. I think everyone felt that Joe had earned a full opportunity to recover from second-half struggles that were obviously usage-related. Also, I don't know what to say to anyone who thought the Bucs were going to take their worst pitchers north.

When I saw the story this afternoon, I considered it non-news until a few good people sent emails asking what we had to say about it. I never thought the Pirates had Beimel in the plans so long as he pitched poorly, and since he's been pretty awful this spring (15 hits in 8 IP), I assumed we could leave him out of the 2004 plans here and here. I'm not saying I knew Joe would not make the team - I don't think anyone knew that until the end - but by no means was this decision a surprise.

Adios Joe. You gave it your all, and that's what we'll remember until we see on the mound again.

... April 1 update: Beimel wonders why they signed him in the first place this past offseason. So much for the signing sending a clear message. Or, maybe it's hard to not be a little bitter when you were 24 hours away from making an additional $400K.