Trot Nixon = Lefty McRump?

Dejan interrupts our Loney/Kotchman dream sequence with the news that DL is pursuing Trot Nixon:

It is something of a surprise, as Nixon, 32, hardly fits the Pirates' stated goal of finding a young, left-handed power bat...

The Pirates' discussions with Nixon could be taken as a sign that they are seeking a fallback if they fail to acquire a young bat such as Atlanta Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche, the name most often linked with the Pirates in the lobby yesterday...

It is possible, too, that the Pirates' eye on Nixon is a sign that they are entertaining platoon options.

How else to explain the word circulating that they were bidding for free-agent first baseman Kevin Millar before the Baltimore Orioles signed him over the weekend for one year at $2.75 million? Millar is neither young, at age 35, nor left-handed.

Sigh. Millar is safely employed with another team now, so at the risk of cerebral hemorrhage, I'm letting that go for now.

Nixon? Ugh. Nixon made $7.5 million last year, but according to Dejan, "The view from Boston: Interest in Nixon is thin, and his salary could dip." For good reason. In 2003, Trot raked in a monster career year (.306/.396/.578). It's been downhill ever since. Over the past two years, Trot has put up lines of .268/.373/.394 in 381 ABs (2006) and .275/.357/.446 in 408 ABs (2005). Since 2004, Trot has been ravaged by injuries, going on the DL six times with serious injuries including: herniated disc, strained quad, torn quad, oblique strain, sprained groin, and strained biceps. On top of that, he had knee surgery in Oct. '05. For his career, Trot is notoriously useless against LHP. Against RHP, Trot is .292/.379/.513. Against LHP, Trot turns into Abe Nunez: .213/.309/.325 for Trot, .243/.313/.318 for Noonie. Against RHP and if healthy, Trot would likely be the second best hitter on the Bucs. But overall, is a 32 year old injury-prone platoon RF part of a "plan"? Would Trot be Lefty McThump or Lefty McRump?