McLouth vs Morgan

McLouth in 2007

AB-329  HR-13  AVG-.258  RBI-38  R-62  SB-22 

Morgan in 2007

AB-107  HR-1  AVG-.299  RBI-7  R-15  SB-7

Morgan's numbers averaged out over 329AB.

HR-3  RBI-21  R-46  SB-21

Who's going to win the CF battle and why?

They both had about the same OBP (.351 to .359) last year.  McLouth brings more power and Morgan is more of a contact hitter. I believe Morgan is going to win the job based on his defensive skills.  Although power brings in runs, solid defense keeps you in more games giving you a greater chance of more W's.  Plus the Pirates desperately need a solid contact hitter to bat leadoff.

     I personally, would take a healthy Chris Duffy over both of them. He is the better defender of the three, he has better power than Morgan, and can get on base better too. 

     But since it is between the two, I would take Nate McLouth. He gets on base just as much as Morgan and has more power. Also, I think Nyjer Morgan's defense is a little overrated. He runs terrible routes and oonly makes nice plays once in a while. He is alot worse than Duffy when it comes to defense. Nate's defense is also not as bad as some think either. He is just solid and doesn't make many big plays. The only thing I will give Morgan credit for is his speed. All of his other tools are still just too raw and he may never fully develop them because his age. Also, Nate plays the game tough and he never gives up. That should also be a factor when it comes to deciding who gets the job because he could set an example of his hard-nosed play for everyone else.

My bad, I'm getting lazy, this from Wikipedia:

His last name is commonly mispronounced; the correct pronunciation rhymes with the word "mouth", rather than the word "couth".

Here's a good article about Nate from Scout.com:

Perhaps no Pirates player is more excited about the start of spring training than Nate McLouth.

McLouth will have a chance to compete for the starting center field/leadoff job with rookie Braves.scout.com/a.z?s=248&p=8&c=1&nid=3589555">Nyjer Morgan and Chris Duffy, who figures to be no more of a dark horse in this derby as he is recovering from shoulder surgery performed last August.

While manager John Russell isn't handicapping the competition, it would seem McLouth rates as the morning-line favorite. He is coming off a solid 2007, his second full season in the major leagues, as he hit .258 with 13 home runs, a team-high 22 stolen bases in 23 attempts and a solid .351 on-base percentage in 137 games and 382 plate appearances.

"I feel like I'm ready to play every day in the major leagues," McLouth said. "Certainly, I'm not the most objective person in the world about the subject, but I felt I proved to myself last season that I can be a regular. I felt that when I got the chance to play regularly that I was consistent on a day-in and day-out basis."

McLouth was a bench player two years ago and for the first half of last season until Duffy sprained his ankle in late June and went on the disabled list. McLouth got the opportunity to play regularly in July and August before Morgan got a September call-up and hit .299 with seven steals and a .359 on-base percentage in 28 games.

Kenny Lofton!!!!

The Pirates should sign Kenny Lofton to a Major League contract and place him in the leadoff role and centerfield. To be honest I think he is a better option then Nate McLouth, Nyer Morgan, and Chris Duffy. Plus he gives the Pirates some great vetran leadership. The Pirates are in a rebuilding phase and this would make so much sense for the team because they can trade him to a contender which will bring them prospects. These other players lets be honest they are not super stars and the Pirates are just trying to get by this season because Andrew McCuthen will be starting next year. Also I think the Pirates will end up trading Xavier Nady this year also for prospects. This would leave more playing time for Steven Pearce the second half of the year in rightfield and allow the others to play in center. I just think if they could get a good thirdbase prospect by trading one or both in the same trade it would be great. Plus trade that horrible contract of Matt Morris. Well thats my opinion. 

Whoa big fella!

Crosby and Malkin are two of the 5 most talented players in the entire sport, no one on the Bucs approaches that status, not even close. The Bucs best player is indeed Bay, but I doubt he even cracks the top 40 MLB players based on talent. Its easy to build around superstars, but building around above average guys is a lot tougher.

Clyde:  Now, remember the Oliver Perez we traded - a guy who in 2 short years had gone from being one of the best in the National League to a guy who could not find the strike zone, velocity had dropped into the low to mid 80's, his record was 2 - 10 with a 6.63 ERA, and he had been sent down to AAA.  On July 31, 2006 we traded our AAA Perez and 42 year old reliever Roberto Hernandez to the Mets for Xavier Nady.  That was a friggin steal.  With the Mets he went 1 - 3 with an even higher ERA, but Pedro Martinez got hurt and they had to go to Perez.  He pitched real well in the playoffs and was "saved".  In an article written in a North Jersey newspaper recently, Perez was interviewed on his upcoming Arbitration case with the Mets where he is represented still by Scott Boras, and he wants $6 mil for one year and will get a helluva lot more for a long term deal next year.  Anyway, he states that he is not going to get too wrapped up in the contract because 2 years ago he "lost his focus" on things.  We traded a head case that we had "lost" and who had to go to a team that had some folks who understood latin ball players.  It woke him up, but I still think it was a positive trade because he was useless to us.

The Ramirez of 2005 is not the same as we have seen since he left, but his trade is still one of  the most god-awful pieces of idiocy known to baseball.  I can't put a nice spin on that pig! 

Barring something amazing happening, I fully expect Morgan to open the season as the Pirates starting center fielder.  Not because he's a better player, but because the FO seems to think they can trade him at some point during the season to help restock the minor league system.

McClouth will end the season in center field, but who know how long he'll have the job with Andrew  McCutchen just waiting to break in to the majors.

Got to go with  McLouth. The numbers he put up  towards the end of the season prove a little more than Morgan few ABs.  They both are pretty solid something will have to give and my guess would be they go with McLouth.  GO BUCS...

Here is a good article from KFFL.com, written by Bryce McRae.

In a surprising development for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year, they will actually have a surplus of quality players competing for time in center field. The team will report to camp with three competitors for the job: outfielders Nyjer Morgan, Nate McLouth and Andrew McCutchen. Each player brings something different to the table for the Pirates, which should make for an interesting battle for the job.

Morgan

Morgan enters camp with the most immediate potential of any of the players competing. He was a callup last season and posted solid numbers during his short 28-game stint with the team. In that stretch, he hit .299 with one home run,