Add new comment

The Pineda situation has a number of differences.  (While I still have the same basic foundation principle of don't leap frog AAA except in RARE cases, many variables are different).
With Ackley:  He's playing 2B.  The club doesn't need a 2B.  While he's walking up a storm, he's not doing anything else (yet) that is remotely possible to sustain.  (He's hitting .444 during his spree, and walking .  Any takers on him hitting .444 in Safeco?).  The club already has a 1B in the pipeline, at a higher level, who has ALREADY added the power that has been conspicuously absent from the 1B slot - Carp. 
The club HAS a problem at Pineda's position (pitcher - bullpen, instead of starter - but SPs getting RP experience early is standard fare).
Pineda is at least dominating AA for 2 months, instead of 2 weeks.
The club, however, just dumped two of the underperformers, creating a vaccuum in AAA, which is therefore the much more logical spot to move Pineda in the immediate future. 
What I REALLY want to know, however - is whether the push to rush Pineda and Ackley to the majors pronto as response to the 3-game win-streak or the being 6 games back in the West two months into the season?
Actually - I'm pretty sure the push for Ackley is really just an extension of the urge to dump Kotchman.  Hey - finding a way to usher Kotchman out, I'm fine with.  He had his shot and blew it.  What I *DON'T* get (at all) is the the #1 complaint about Kotch from day one was the utter and complete lack of power -- and Ackley, while absolutely on fire, STILL hasn't shown as much power as Kotchman.
From my perspective, the IDEA of Ackley taking over at first or in LF is blantantly and indefensively hypocritical when being suggested by many of the same people who were howling over the choice of Kotchman at 1B specifically due to his lack of power. 
I've SEEN Ackley.  He is not pounding 350 foot shots off the wall in the gap.  He's hitting 200 foot liners for solid singles, which occasionally happen to be in the gap or pulled down the line.  Against AA hitting - he's hitting with about 75% of the power the Kotchman was showing in April.  Does he have a great eye?  Absolutely.  But Youklis walked 73 times in his first 276 PAs, (64 games) - literally walking more than once per game.  Ackley has a solid eye ratio, and good walk rate and is currently bringing absolutely nothing else to the table.
Now, if somebody will explain to me how the current club has so much power that it can afford to bring a guy in to provide even LESS than Kotchman ... (oh, never mind).