Chris Duffy placed in restricted list

[skineg]

PITTSBURGH -- Outfielder Chris Duffy, unhappy the Pittsburgh Pirates tried to alter his hitting approach after a successful rookie season, was placed on the minor league restricted list Thursday after failing to report to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Duffy becomes the second Pirates outfielder to go on the restricted list this season. Jody Gerut also declined to report to Triple-A after being cut late in spring training, but subsequently returned to work after the two sides resolved the issue on the day a grievance hearing was scheduled.

Gerut contended he was hurt, while the Pirates were convinced a knee injury wasn't serious enough to prevent him from playing. Gerut remains in the Pirates' extended spring training camp in Bradenton, Fla., and has not played in any minor league games.

Duffy, who hit .341 in 39 games as a rookie last season, began the season as the Pirates' starting center fielder but lost his job to Nate McLouth after hitting .194 in 32 games. McLouth is hitting .230, but has multiple hits in four of his last nine games.

Despite his own slow start, the 26-year-old Duffy was upset with his demotion and argued his position during a one-hour meeting with manager Jim Tracy and general manager Dave Littlefield following an 8-2 Pirates loss Sunday to Florida.

"There was definitely some stuff I needed to get off my chest," Duffy said. "I think it was a good talk, and long overdue."

Duffy was mostly a line-drive hitter while batting .301 or higher in all but one of his five minor league seasons. But Tracy attempted to convert him into a conventional leadoff hitter when spring training began, and Duffy never seemed comfortable taking a lot of pitches, drawing walks or looking to bunt.

After being sent down, Duffy said he planned to go back to the offensive approach that works for him.

"Before I even played for Tracy, he was already kind of saying what he wanted to do with me," Duffy said. "Sometimes, I'm a little too coachable. I'll just try to get my game right and back to where it usually is."

A player on the suspended list is not paid.

--Sad new twist to the Chris Duffy tale. If you hit .192 you probably shouldn't be in the bigs. Whether or not Tracy tried to change his style (he might know wtf he's doing, he was a very successful manager in L.A.) Duffy should still understand why he's being sent down and not "no show." I thinm Duffy will be fine in the long run, but this cerainly sucks.
:coffee
PEACE
Brett

[Greymire]

I saw that today and I found it very odd.

[redsfan]

He was a hot hitter last year. Why would they try to change his hitting style. If he was that kind of hitter move him in the lineup. He was too good last year to give up on. Especially when the team is a mess. They should have been more patient.

[Greymire]

There was an article in the Pittsburgh papaers that said he may quit baseball. He said it was affecting him off the field too much.

[skineg]

Yeah, making 350,000 grand would affect me off the field too.

PEACE
Brett

PS Here I sit wishing I had half of Chris Duffy's talent, and he crys about wanting to quit. What an ass.

[Greymire]

Remember Jeff King? He hated baseball. It was a job for him. Jack Wilson has also hinted he might not play beyond this contract.

[redsfan]

I wonder how a game that is this much fun can make somebody do miserable. Maybe they just don't want to play for the pirates since the owners don't seem to want to be competitive.

[skineg]

Yeah, I'm sure playing for the Pirates sucks, but quit? I know, I know, he's not the first to say or think this, but still. I'd give my left nut to be able to play HALF the way these guys can and then to see them make 320k just for getting called up while I sit here behind a computer at Jr. College, irrates me.

PEACE
Brett

PS I think Duffy is just mad at Tracy, who he claimed tried to change his hitting style, and is just venting by saying things he may not mean. I don't hold it against him, it just erks me.

[00_Agent]

It was also my first impression that he was just mad at Tracy and the organization for fmessing with his style in the first place. BUt he still hasn't shown up to play, so now I don't know what to think.

Anyway, they shouldn't have messed with him, but when you can't bat .200, it ain't the coaches faults.

00

[yagsy]

Just because we would give everything to play baseball professionally doesn't mean that guys who've played all their lives aren't sick of it. I've seen very, very talented figure skaters give up skating because they just were tired of pushing every single day. They wanted to "live a normal life" and not have to go to the rink everyday. These guys are probably interested in other things besides baseball, want to have a more balanced life but cannot. It's not for everyone. The game isn't what they hate, it's the lifestyle. We as fans have very little understanding of that lifestyle...the constant road trips, the media in your face all the time (Pirates have media too), the off the field responsibilities to the fans, to the community, to ownership.

The lifestyle may not be for everyone. It's a shame to see as I really enjoyed watching Duffy last season. He has loads of talent but it does take more than talent to sustain.

[skineg]

Just because we would give everything to play baseball professionally doesn't mean that guys who've played all their lives aren't sick of it. I've seen very, very talented figure skaters give up skating because they just were tired of pushing every single day. They wanted to "live a normal life" and not have to go to the rink everyday. These guys are probably interested in other things besides baseball, want to have a more balanced life but cannot. It's not for everyone. The game isn't what they hate, it's the lifestyle. We as fans have very little understanding of that lifestyle...the constant road trips, the media in your face all the time (Pirates have media too), the off the field responsibilities to the fans, to the community, to ownership.

The lifestyle may not be for everyone. It's a shame to see as I really enjoyed watching Duffy last season. He has loads of talent but it does take more than talent to sustain.

:thumbsup: I agree, but it's hard to feel a whole lot of compasion for him. It's not like he didn't know what he was getting into or that he didn't have the talent and was being faced with being a career minor leaguer. He didn't even show up. :eek: Here, I would give my left nut to play professionally, hell, I'd give my left nut to play in College ball. The real question is this: What is he going to do if he doesn't play baseball? Even if he has a college degree he isn't going to make the money or have a good a lifestyle as a big leaguer. Plus, with all his talent he'll always wonder what could have been. I know that no job is perfect and that their are HUGE drawbacks to playin' in the bigs. But come on, if he wants to quit do it after this season. He would have likely done well in the minors and gotten brought back up where he would have been fine.

PEACE
Brett
:coffee

[00_Agent]

I don't mind him not wanting to play anymore if that's what he wants. I think too many people assume that getting paid lots of money is good enough for anyone, and for some it just isn't.

00

[skineg]

I don't mind him not wanting to play anymore if that's what he wants. I think too many people assume that getting paid lots of money is good enough for anyone, and for some it just isn't.

00

You bring up a good point. But, I also hate it when people don't realize what they have. If he quits, he'll regret it later and all he'll have is people saying, "I told you so." Having that much talent and wasting it, to do what?

PEACE
Brett

PS I love baseball so much that it is hard to understand.

[yagsy]

How do you KNOW if he quits, he'll regret it? How can you be so judgemental about his life? I just don't understand that. :notme:

You obviously are desperate to be a MLB player. Nothing wrong with that. I did too when I was younger and I'm a female! BUT, not everyone shares this opinion. People are allowed to feel different and want different things, a different lifestyle. Just because you regard being an MLB player as high as you do, doesn't mean that everyone shares that opinion. Like I said before, it may not be the game and I suspect this is very true. It may be the lifestyle. Have you ever had to stay in a hotel for longer than a week? I have and it's NOT FUN. These guys though are packing up every few days and moving on to another hotel, they don't get to have home cooked food often, and living in a hotel room is SO BORING no matter how many toys you have.

From what I can tell, Duffy, sounds like he doesn't want to be a MLB player anymore, to live that lifestyle. And at least he tried, he used his talent for one season and made a good show of it. He just might very well be ready for a new phase in his life and if you disagree, well, it's not your life, right?

[skineg]

Sorry it took me so long to reply, :bonehead damn tests. I understand what your saying and for the most part I agree 100%. :thumbsup: It just seems to me that a lot of people make desicions without seeing what they have and thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. Yes, the reason I speak in astonishment is because I'D LOVE TO HAVE HIS TALENT, so yes I'm jealous as hell. The reason I speak this way, is because in this forum, I speak what I think. No holding back, completely baised and blunt. Not only that, I knew he'd come back, he was just mouthing off because of frustration, thus I BELIEVE he was saying what he did to show the Pirates how upset he was, not showing respect for what he's got. If he quit, all would be OK at first, then I THINK he'd regret quiting (not the he had any intention of quiting) because he probably never thought of a back up plan.

:banana:
PEACE
Brett

PS He reported to AAA after getting some things straightened out at home, the Pirates are making it sound like they knew why he was gone all along. I just hate to see someone threaten to quit no matter what their job is, ESPECIALLY when I'd kill to be able to do his job. Yes, I'm 100% biased.:tongue:

PSS God I love talking baseball