Monday, August 27, 2007

Maybe, Just Maybe

Dave Littlefield is smarter than both you and I.

Maybe.

For it was the majority of opinion of Pirates Nation that turning down a deal for Jack Wilson that included Jair Jurrjens was a mistake, especially considering Jurrjens status as a top prospect in the Tigers system, and especially including the Pirates diluted minor league system, ESPECIALLY pitchers and even more, a deal that was rumored to include another prospect in addition to Jurrjens.

Throw in Jurrjens major league debut, and his subsequent start after that, and well, it was yet another bonehead move by Davey L.

But then, Jurrjens left his latest start with an arm injury, and was immediately placed on the DL, with those close to the situation saying the details were bad, possibly very bad.

Did Dave and his scouts do their homework? Was Jurrjens an injury waiting to happen, so the Pirates needed to get more for him so when Jurrjens broke down, there were more prospects to point to?

Possibly, consider this from the MLB.com story of Jurrjens injury:

Jurrjens has had shoulder problems before, most recently a strain that forced him onto the DL at Double-A Erie near the end of last season. That pain, he explained, was lower in his shoulder, around the lat area. This recent pain, by comparison, is around the back of the shoulder.

It turns out Jurrjens injury might not be that severe, but that's moot. The question is, did Dave get it right?