Simon with a runner on first

Brian O'Neill warms up the calculator and writes some more about Chulo today.

Simon's real close to getting cut, I think. His production is not there. He's too old to keep for any sign of progress, and he's not Chris Stynes with the glove. The Pirates can't justify keeping Simon much longer ... not to the fans, not to the other 39 players on the 40-man roster, and not to the coaches.

A lot of baseball fans assume that Simon is Mac's pet, especially if they don't really follow the Pirates and remember Mac as a free-swinger. But I doubt that's the case. This year, Simon has "contributed" two extra-base hits and three RBIs in 69 plate appearances. As the slowest man in baseball, and as the fat version of the slowest man in baseball, he's not going to leg out many doubles so any power he'd contribute would have to come from home runs. And he's not hitting them, or anything else.

And he has grounded into four double plays. That's what slow guys do. When we talk about Simon's ability with a man on first, we can't forget the generosity he shows to the other team's second baseman. When Simon grounds out, the second baseman can step on the bag, jump over the sliding baserunner, get set, put some more sunflower seeds in his mouth, tie his shoes, take a call on his cell phone, and still have time to throw to first to get Simon "hustling" down the line. Simon's four GIDPs in 70 PAs projects to something like 35-40 GIDPs over a full season of play. Praise Moses that's not happening. I don't know what's the NL record for GIDP, but Jay Payton led the NL with 27 in 2003, Brad Ausmus led with 30 in 2002, Vlad Guerrero led with 24 in 2001, and Moises Alou led with 21 in 2000.

How can a ballclub that finds dignity in "small-ball" keep this guy around? He's the last guy you want hitting with a runner on first and one out.

I truly doubt the Bucs are keeping Simon in hopes they can trade him for some C prospect or a manilla envelope stuffed with two-dollar bills. They are deluding themselves if they think Simon has any value on the trade market. Not even the Giants could use him right now. He's at least one month of intense conditioning away from being as good as he can be - which isn't that good. Simon : Pirates 2004 as Ward : Dodgers 2003. His days as a Pirate are numbered.