Lyle Overbay is Overdue and Overdone

 I have to say as much as I'm loving watching the Pirates this year, it's been the complete opposite with Lyle Overbay, which I refer to him now as OverDUE. Everyone knew coming into this season that it was going to be a LONG shot for this guy to even be somewhat productive. This month alone Overbay has just 5 RBI's and the past 10 games he is only batting .125. How much longer can they keep running this guy out there?!

The Pirates have flirted with and have been in first place for a large margin of this year, all because of pitching. It has been an enormous miracle kind of season, no thanks to the offensive side of the field. So my question, where will the Pirates turn for runs if they wish to make a playoff push? It's been clear as day, for a while now, Overbay isn't the answer.

The only productive part of the lineup has been Andrew Mccutchen and Neil Walker. Garrett Jones had a phenomenal year his rookie season, but he just hasn't been the same since and is quickly wearing out his welcome in the Burgh. Pedro Alvarez may one day be, "the savior of Pittsburgh baseball", but the more he plays, the more terrible he looks.

Is there any options offensively internally? The answer to this is basically no, the Pirates will have to make a move externally, before the Sunday's trade deadline, if they plan to improve. Ryan Doumit is about a week, to a week and a half away from returning. He has some power potential, but he is extremely streaky with the bat. Where do you put Ryan Doumit? You don't want to break up the success Michael "The Fort" McHenry has done behind the plate. Right field is a weak option at best. Putting Ryan Doumit at first base is out of the question, seeing how horrid he was when they had him there last year.

So the Pirates will have to go outside the organization and make a move. They MUST make some kind of deal, because you can't let this over-achieving pitching staff waste this great season. The Pirates have been linked to three names, Derek Lee of Baltimore, Jason Kubel of Minnesota and Ryan Ludwick from San Diego. The Cleveland Indians have made the most progress with Ludwick.

The Pirates made an offer for Derek Lee, which was rumored to have been an deal to be laughed at. So that leaves up with Jason Kubel. Kubel is hitting .300, although being injuried a while this season, I think he's the best option. He lacks a bit on defensive, but he would be a MAJOR improvement over Jones and Overbay. The only problem with a Kubel deal is that the Twins are still some-what contending, so the Twins may not want to let a .300 hitter go.

written by Brad Douglas