Interesting quote from the Altoona Mirror

[Gnats Eyelash]

<<<<The staff's hands are tied in part because of a ridiculous policy of the Pirates. The organization forces its minor leaguers to show up way, way too early for pregame drills, often times with players on the field shortly after 1 p.m. That leads to burnout and tired players by the time the game starts.>>>>

If you're looking for me to blast the Pirates for doing this with minor leaguers, I won't.  I've advocated turning the minor leagues into some sort of baseball academy for fundamentals for years.

Now, I don't believe it is helpful to have continuing mundane drills just for the heck of drilling.  I do think you have to change things up...and that's where a coaching staff has to be a bit creative.  You do have to have the right coaches in place for this sort of thing.  Bad messengers can generate bad attitudes.

If you have been chosen to play baseball for a living, and the team is doing its best to make you a better player, you should be grateful and enthusiastic for the opportunity.

[frieshoo]

1 PM seems pretty early to me too.  How long do they practice?  What do the players do for six hours before game time?

I went to a game last year and was there early (4 PM) for a stadium tour.  The clubhouse was pretty empty as the other team was in the indoor batting cages. 

I can't comment on Altoona, but at Lynchburg and West Virginia the drills are pretty low keyed, and slow moving.  The players get instruction on footwork, positioning, and situational plays during infield drills.   The outfielders work on backing up infield plays during the infield drills, and get instruction on positioning.  The outfield drills consist of locating the cutoff men, and identifying which bag to throw on the given situation.  All this was at slow pace, and the players are not busting 100% on every drill.  I doubt anyone is tired after these drills. 

[Dignan]

I can't comment on Altoona, but at Lynchburg and West Virginia the drills are pretty low keyed, and slow moving.  The players get instruction on footwork, positioning, and situational plays during infield drills.   The outfielders work on backing up infield plays during the infield drills, and get instruction on positioning.  The outfield drills consist of locating the cutoff men, and identifying which bag to throw on the given situation.  All this was at slow pace, and the players are not busting 100% on every drill.  I doubt anyone is tired after these drills. 

Sounds pretty reasonable to me.  I definitely like the fact that the minors don't consist of "show up, play game, go home, and repeat."  It sounds to me like it's an effort of continuous instruction and improvement.

[CentralCABucsFan]

I know the reporter was trying to write something negative here about the Pirates policy, but the moment I read it, it came as a positive to me as a Pirates fan.

See the Altoona reporter wants victories and a happy clubhouse.  I'm a Pirate fan that could care less about Altoona's place in the standings, or Lincoln's win-loss record.  I want prospects to develop into major league players, and that wasn't happening in Altoona's "happy" clubhouse.

The one thing that Littlefield failed at worse than the draft, was his player development.  It will take a while to know for sure whether this new regime will produce results, but it can't be any worse.