Mac on Simon and Stynes

Ed Eagle reports these comments from Mac on the fans' sense that the team might be better without Simon and Stynes:

Chris Stynes and Randall Simon have been at the top of the hit list. Stynes, a .280 career hitter entering this season, is batting .212 with no home runs and 11 RBIs in 132 at-bats. Simon, a .297 career hitter before this year, is batting .200 with no home runs and three RBIs in 85 at-bats. The Bucs' Opening Day third baseman and first baseman draw a chorus of boos at PNC Park each time they fail to produce.

McClendon, who said that he understands the fans' dissatisfaction, explained why the two remain valuable to the club even as they continue to struggle.

"I understand people's frustrations," said McClendon. "The first thing they say is 'Get rid of them.'

"OK. Let's release them. Then what happens? What happens to young guys who come up and can't compete at this level? Where is your depth? Then you get hit in the [behind] because you have nothing left."

In Mac's defense, he hasn't been starting these guys and he's wise to think about depth.

In our defense, Stynes is fine as a bench player who specializes as a defensive replacement, but we have Abraham Nunez and we don't really need both of those guys. If Stynes can't play well enough to start, he's gotta be high on the list of first to go. Him or Noonie or Bobby Hill.

Simon only started his last game because Bay was a late scratch. If Simon could lose some weight and get speedier, he'd get on base more often and he'd be more likely to hit like his track record suggests he's capable of hitting. In the meantime, it doesn't look like he's competing at this level. The Pirates could get the same "production" from Carlos Rivera. The team should never make a move like that just to make a move, of course, but with Ward's strong play, Craig Wilson's ability to play first, and Carlos Rivera's ability to play a bit, the Bucs don't look exposed on the first-base depth chart without Simon.

The fans don't know if the team plans to trade one or more of the position players, so we can't know how exposed the team might be down the road if they lose Simon or Stynes. It does seem pretty clear, though, that once these guys have played themselves into bench roles, it won't impact the team a whole lot if they stay or if they go.

One other thing, Mac: now is not the time to talk like our current collection of players can compete at this level. I'd say we've been hit in the ass pretty good already.

... 2:30pm update ... on second thought, that's a pretty impossible situation Mac was in. What's he going to say, "Yeah, we sure got some deadwood on this roster." Depth is a good talking point for retaining people. He could also talk about patience, gotta be patience, and he could say when they produce more, they'll start more. He can't back into that corner where he's defending the deadwood like they've been productive or will be for sure a week or two from now.