Phillies sign Juan Pierre

[Cowtipper]

Pierre is one of those guys I have always followed and hope he does well in Philadelphia.

The Phillies have officially agreed to a minor league deal with free agent OF Juan Pierre. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro says that the 34 year old Pierre, who leads all active major leaguers in steals, can provide some speed off the Phils bench next season.

“He’s not the same blazer he was with Florida and Los Angeles, but we think he can provide something we were grossly lacking on our bench last year, speed,” Amaro said. "We did not sign him to be our everyday left fielder. The bulk of the time will go to John Maybery and Laynce Nix, and, of course, Dom Bown is still in the picture.

http://philly.sbnation.com/philadelp...or-league-deal

[philliesfiend55]

I believe Pierre will end up getting a lot more playing time than the Front Ofiice currently projects for him.

[philliesfiend55]

I believe Pierre will end up getting a lot more playing time than the Front Ofiice currently projects for him.

That "Bold prediction" certainly came true. Juan Pierre is playing in his 125th game of the season today, with nine more on the schedule. He should play in 130+ games. He's currently hitting .315. In SpringTraining he had to battle Scott Podsednik for a spare outfielder's job. I doubt that Amaro Jr. and the front office anticipated That he would become nearly an everyday player with close to 450 plate appearences by season's end. It was more than just a "happy accident" because although given a reserve role to start the season, Pierre is one of the most prepared players you will find and he was up for the challenge of additional playing time and playing everyday for long stretches of the schedule.
Looking back to Pierre's signing in late January I had a feeling that the Phillies would be a good fit for Pierre. I also noted that given the regular leftfielder's job with the Chicago White Sox in 2010 & 2011, Pierre played in 318 out of 324 possible games. He is extremely durable.
Well, I called one right, but as they say, "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day". - philliesfiend55-

[Ben Grimm]

Unfortunately for the Phils, Pierre got so much playing time due to Mayberry's brutal start to the season.

First off, I never understood why Amaro had so much faith in him being the everyday guy simply based on two months of 2011. Even he started losing it as he went looking for anybody who was anybody prior to the season who could hit from the left side of the plate.

But Mayberry had to succeed early for this team to get going. Without Howard & Utley for the first half, JMjr's bat was critical in adding some power to the middle of the lineup. But, it's looking like JMjr is exactly what he his - a player with holes in his game that prevented him from reaching the ML level until later in his 20s with a team as desperate for offense as the Mariners were at the time.

Mayberry's 2012 Splits

First Half: .232 AVG / .646 OPS
Second Half: .279 AVG / .773 OPS

Mayberry's Career Splits

First Half: .230 AVG / .693 OPS
Second Half: .285 AVG / .847 OPS

Starting to see a pattern here. For Pierre, it's been a great personal season for him. He'll likely get a ML contract this offseason and well-deserved. This year (statistically) was one of his best in a long time.

[philliesfiend55]

Unfortunately for the Phils, Pierre got so much playing time due to Mayberry's brutal start to the season.

First off, I never understood why Amaro had so much faith in him being the everyday guy simply based on two months of 2011. Even he started losing it as he went looking for anybody who was anybody prior to the season who could hit from the left side of the plate.

But Mayberry had to succeed early for this team to get going. Without Howard & Utley for the first half, JMjr's bat was critical in adding some power to the middle of the lineup. But, it's looking like JMjr is exactly what he his - a player with holes in his game that prevented him from reaching the ML level until later in his 20s with a team as desperate for offense as the Mariners were at the time.

Mayberry's 2012 Splits

First Half: .232 AVG / .646 OPS
Second Half: .279 AVG / .773 OPS

Mayberry's Career Splits

First Half: .230 AVG / .693 OPS
Second Half: .285 AVG / .847 OPS

Starting to see a pattern here. For Pierre, it's been a great personal season for him. He'll likely get a ML contract this offseason and well-deserved. This year (statistically) was one of his best in a long time.

3rd in the league in stolen bases, only two behind the leader, for a part-time player, with a batting average over .310 - not a bad year for Juan Pierre at all.