Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh Pirates’

Seems odd to be admitting this, but I have been following a lot of Pittsburgh Pirates blogs and sites lately. A lot of it is becuase of the emergence (or expected emergence) of Luis Cruz. As you may recall, he descretely made his MLB debut last year; becoming the 73rd former Wizard and 11th during the 2008 campaign to do so.

After getting off to a torrid start in Winter League play this offseason, Cruz hasn’t appeared an many games. However, he’s back at it. Afte r aslow start in his return, he’s picking up momentum again:

SS Luis Cruz doubled to lead off the 7th inning for Obregon, then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single, giving Obregon the tying run.  Another run, on a fielding error and a single, gave Obregon the lead.  In the 8th, Cruz hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, bringing in another run.  Obregon scored two more insurance runs on a walk, a hit batter, and two wild pitches [Sandlot Swashbucklers].

Apparently, Cruz favors playing competitively all year long too, as he remains a possibility to play with the Mexican squad in the World Baseball Classic. He appeared in 5 games during the 2006 edition, but had no hits in one at-bat.

Cruz played with the Wizards in 2003 after he came to the Padres via a trade with the Boston Red Sox for 2B Cesar Crespo. He appeared in 129 games and posted a .231 average with 8 home runs, 53 RBI’s and 2 stolen bases while walking just 30 times over 481 at-bats. On the bright side, he struck out just 55 times. His lackluster offense and propensity to ground into double-plays (he led the team with 15) left much to be desired. Since that time, he’s played in a handful of other organizations, but is finally emerging as a viable ML utility middle infielder. 2009 may in fact be his year.

Sandlot Swashbucklers catches us up with former Wizards infielder, Luis Cruz, who is making his presence known in the Mexican League this winter. I look for him to be an everyday player in 2009. 

Luis Cruz has a 9-game hitting streak going, and he’s hitting .371 over those 9 games for the Obregon Yaquis.  His 4th inning double brought in two runs for Obregon on Nov 21st.  The next night, Cruz went 3-for-5.  He singled in the 1st inning rally, and singled again in the 7th inning, batting in the tying run for Obregon.  In the bottom of the 9th, Cruz hit the second of three consecutive singles in the game-winning rally.

See also: Luis Cruz’s MLB Debut

One of the spring stories I’ve enjoyed following is that of Luis Rivas. The former Wizards infielder won an opening day job with the Pittsburgh Pirates, thanks in large part to injuries.

On the season, he is hitting .318 with 7 hits, 2 RBIs and a stolen base in 22 at-bats over 6 games coming into the day. This is all in spite of being asked to play shortstop; a position he is largely unaccustomed to playing.

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t trying:

More than four hours before first pitch on Wednesday night, and well before the Pirates took infield practice, Luis Rivas was out on the dirt at PNC Park, fielding ground balls at the shortstop position. [ source: MLB.com]

He played the position a bit during Spring Training, but most of his career has been at second base. He’s made three errors at the position so far, and while rookie Brian Bixler got the start tonight, plans call for him to continue playing in Jack Wilson’s place for the foreseeable future.