KEVIN YOUNG RELEASED

[imgreat95]

KY was released after the game tonight. They claim that it had nothing to do with money, which I would believe it does not since they still have to pay him for the full life of the contract.



KY is a class act, and in all honesty, I will miss him being a part of the team, but at the same time, I am happy to see him go.

[Greymire]

I have mixed emotions as well. I think with Rivera showing a good glove, that was the end for KY. I would not be surprised to see him somewhere before seasons end though.

[imgreat95]

Cook: Still tough to see Young released

Sunday, June 29, 2003








From a baseball standpoint, the Pirates' decision to release Kevin Young after their 5-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park last night was an easy call. He can't play the game anymore and had to go. He didn't fit into the team's plans, now or in the future.

From a public relations point, the Pirates couldn't have made a better move short of firing Manager Lloyd McClendon, who has been incorrectly and unfairly fingered by the masses as the reason for the team's woes. Young had come to symbolize the wasted millions of the Cam Bonifay era. Beyond that, he infuriated many fans earlier this season by blaming them for the lack of a home-field advantage at PNC Park. It was an outrageous observation from someone who was doing so little on a team that is headed to its 11th consecutive losing season.

But from a personal standpoint? This one is tough. It's always hard to see one of the good guys go, especially like this.

Young is as good as they come as a man.

He was here a long time -- going back to when he was McClendon's teammate on the Pirates' team that won the division in 1992, the franchise's most recent winning team -- and never did anything but carry himself with great class, that little blip with the fans aside.

That's why it was so nice to see Young have some success in the late '90s. He had 27 home runs and 108 RBIs in '98 and 26 home runs and 106 RBIs in '99. For much of his career, he was a superb defensive player, first at third base, then at first base.

That's also why it was nice to see Young get the big money -- a four-year, $24 million deal -- after the '99 season. It's easy for media and fans alike to say now it was a disastrous contract, but let's be truthful. Few of us were saying it back then. Young seemed like he was worth it, at least as much as any player is.

We'll never know if Young would have lived up to the contract if he didn't have his deteriorating knees. The turf at Three Rivers Stadium ate him up. He thought he would play better on the PNC Park grass, but he never did. His production dropped each of the past four seasons. He was hitting .202 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 84 at-bats when McClendon and General Manager Dave Littlefield gave him the news he was released.

Young's final appearance at PNC Park, sadly, came Friday night when he struck out as a pinch-hitter and was soundly booed.

"I don't do things for the fans," Littlefield said, fully aware this move will be receive rave reviews all over town.

"This was strictly about production. You just didn't see it at the current time and, secondly, you didn't see much to believe there would be more later."

It would be nice to say this is something of a fresh start for the Pirates. It would be nice to say they're finally starting down the smart path taken by the Cleveland Indians, who came to PNC Park over a week ago with 10 rookies on their roster and seem certain to be a contending team within two years.

But that's not the case. The Pirates still are paying a big price for the bad drafts of the Bonifay regime. Their top prospects aren't close to being ready for the big leagues. That's why Littlefield had to go out and sign aging players -- Kenny Lofton, Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs -- as stopgaps during the off-season. The Pirates are a lot further away than two years from being a contender.

But releasing Young does at least shows that the Pirates are beyond the point where they have to fret about eating a big contract. In this case, they're eating about $3 million and moving on. The at-bats that would have gone to Young will now go to Carlos Rivera, Craig Wilson and Stairs.

"Dave Littlefield, Lloyd McClendon and Kevin McClatchy are all in this thing to get this team better," Littlefield said. "Kevin McClatchy has given me the direction to make decisions from a baseball standpoint. Money is not an issue."

Cheer that this morning, Pittsburgh, even though money always will be an issue with the Pirates.

Don't cheer Young's demise as a player.

No matter what, he deserves better than that.

[3-2 Changeup]

I agree with Cook, but would be less than honest if I didn't admit that the headline brought a crooked smile to my lips. Now if DL gets the courage to make a few more moves to free up playing time for some of the younger guys who figure to be here next year and get some value back, we'll be making progress.

[GiveHyzduashot]

KY was a class act, no disputing that ... but he was a very bad baseball player in the last three seasons.

This was a move that had to be made. Heck, he wasn't even the best defensive first baseman on the team ... Rivera is.

As a person, I'm sad to see KY go in spite of his comments about the fans ... but as one of those fans he criticized, I'm glad to see him go, because he really wasn't worth keeping around. To be honest, this move should have been made three months ago, but at least we can play July, August, and September with one less .200 hitter with no power.

Best of luck KY ... hopefully you can catch on to another team.

[imgreat95]

Analysis: Pirates will miss Young's presence

Tuesday, July 01, 2003

By Paul Meyer, Post-Gazette Sports Writer







Kevin Young was the Pirates' "go-to" guy. Not in the fashionable sense of, "Man, we need a hit here. I'm glad Kevin's up." Certainly not in that sense the past few seasons.

But Young was the "go-to" guy in the clubhouse. He was the player other players went to for advice on how to act in the major leagues, how to hit that slider on the black, how to dress on the road, how to play defense with the bases loaded, two outs and the team up a couple of runs.

He was the player other players went to to learn what had been said on a certain day during labor negotiations, to learn about saving money for a possible strike or lockout, to learn the players association's strategy during collective bargaining talks, to learn what union head Donald Fehr had advised.

Young was the player other players went to for solace, for encouragement, for counsel, for wisdom. Or, sometimes, for a pat on the back. Ask Jack Wilson.

Or, sometimes, for a kick in the backside. Ask the 1997 Pirates about that.

Young was the player who screamed at his teammates late in the '97 season when he felt they weren't focusing on the business at hand -- the improbable opportunity to win a division championship.

Young was the player who occupied the locker in the Pirates' PNC Park clubhouse that was the farthest from the trainers room -- OK, Jason Kendall's locker is the same distance on the other side of an entryway -- and how ironic is that? Young played on knees so bad he could barely move. And yet he had to walk the full length of the clubhouse to get to the trainers room for ice and treatments.

There wasn't a player in the clubhouse who could have missed that daily walk made by Young. And so maybe he had his locker where it was by design.

Young, released by the Pirates after the game Saturday night, led by example and with quiet words. On the field, certainly. And off the field, definitely. If a player wanted to know how to play baseball, he watched Young. If a player wanted to know how to "be" in the major leagues, he listened to Young.

Now the Pirates' "go-to" guy is just gone. To where?

Young insists he'll hook on with another team before this season ends. I don't know about that. He can't hit much anymore. Can't run much anymore. Can play defense, but what's the market for a 34-year-old right-handed-batting first baseman who might only be used for defense in the late innings with a lead? And never mind that a team would have to pay him just $150,000 for the rest of this season.

But what if a team, say a team that has a shot at making the postseason, wants a player who knows how to play the game? Who knows how to help other players play the game? Who might just say the right word at the right time to help somebody on that team win an important game down the stretch?

Former Pirates utility player Dale Sveum was like that with the New York Yankees in 1998. Heck, after the Yankees released Sveum as a player in early August that season, he volunteered to hang around with the team as a bullpen catcher just to still be there. And the Yankees gladly said OK.

This isn't to say Young will volunteer to hang around the Pirates for the rest of this season. He won't. And the Pirates probably wouldn't gladly say OK if he did. It's a different situation than the one Sveum enjoyed five years ago.

But Young is the same kind of person and teammate as Sveum. Same kind of confidant. Same kind of big brother. Same kind of leader.

Same kind of gone.

And so now what? Or, more important, now whom?

Young's release and absence leave a leadership vacuum in a clubhouse that seemed just about devoid of positive leadership even when he still was a Pirates player.

It seemed to an outsider that he never had a lot of help when it came to taking aside a young player. Or saying what needed to be said to a veteran player. Or to a team in general.

With the Pirates' "go-to" guy gone, who of the relatively longtime Pirates steps up? And steps in? Kendall? Brian Giles? Mike Williams? Scott Sauerbeck? Aramis Ramirez?

It sure would be helpful to this team if somebody steps up and steps in and fills the leadership void left by the absence of Young -- who led so well for so long.

Might even be a fitting tribute to Young by his now former teammates.

After all, "KY" showed them how.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Meyer can be reached at 412-263-1144

[GiveHyzduashot]

That was a pretty good article ... the PG also had a couple of other good articles written, all viewing Young favorably.

Young was a class act, and he never made excuses, from his knees to the death of his son last year.