It wasn’t long ago that you couldn’t go on Twitter without seeing #FreeLambo plastered all over your timeline. You know, it’s kind of like how making Jose Altuve the #FaceOfMLB is everywhere now. It’s annoying, but regardless, it’s what the people wanted. You see, the 25-year-old Lambo was shredding the opposition in Triple-A Indianapolis, so much so that he was named the Pirates Minor League Player of the Year for his efforts. Lambo posted a .272/.344/.589 slash line, with 18 home runs and 53 RBI. After the clamoring, Lambo was brought up by the Pirates brass, and he made his Major League debut on Aug. 13, 2013
Now, after a 94-win season and falling just one game short of the NLCS, the Pirates fans are singing a different tune when you mention Lambo. Aside from the A.J. Burnett mini-drama series that took place this offseason, the most pressing desire for Pirates fans was for the team to bring in a rightfielder and a first baseman.
The Pirates made offers to free agent James Loney, but Loney ultimately took an extra year to stay in Tampa Bay. The Pirates were linked to Mitch Moreland and Ike Davis, but neither deal happened.
So, while there’s still more than a month until the season, it looks as if Gaby Sanchez and Lambo will be in charge of playing first base to start the 2014 campaign.
Now, there’s no #LamboUnchained or anything like that on Twitter. Instead, it’s frustration with the management team.
Boy, how fast things change.
I’m in the camp where I think it’s worth giving up a first-round draft pick in the mid 20s for a guy like Kendrys Morales to play first base, but it doesn’t seem as if the Pirates brass is with me. Like it or not, the draft picks in that area of the first round are a crapshoot. The likes of Michael Wacha and Mike Trout make people hesitant to part with a draft pick in that range, despite the success rate coming in around 20 percent or so for a player making a big impact at the big league level.
Despite being on Team Morales, it’s fair to think that Lambo is getting an unfair shot by the fans. In year’s past, guys like Matt Hague, Olli Maatta, Beau Bennett, Shamarko Thomas, Steve McClendon etc. were the next big things for their respective teams, and the fans were clamoring for them to get the chance.
Now, just six months after wanting Lambo to get his shot for the Pirates, he is, and the fans don’t like it.
Umm, why?
I don’t think Lambo will be a superstar, and who knows if he’ll be able to handle the duties of first base — a position he is still learning — but why not give him a chance to prove he can’t before people dismiss him?
We talked about this very topic on Sunday’s edition of the Pittsburgh Sporting News Videocast, and TribLIVE Radio’s Daniel Dudley said that it is about expectation now. He went on to say that the Pirates broke the 20-year losing streak and now they want that player that can take them to the next level.
“It’s not about the prospects anymore,” Dudley said.
But it is, according to a lot of people. What’s the reason people give for Burnett’s departure not hurting the Pirates? Well, Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano are a start, but they say it’s because Jameson Taillon will be up in June or July. When the Pirates didn’t re-sign Marlon Byrd (smart move), people were OK with it because Jose Tabata and Travis Snider would hold the fort down until Gregory Polanco. That seems to me, at least, that a lot of people are counting on the prospects to lead the way for the Pirates.
Sure, Lambo struggled in his 18 games as a Pirate, as he had a .233/.303/.400 with one home run and two RBIs in 33 plate appearances, but is that really a big enough sample size to say he’s done? Not saying he will be anywhere close to the player that Mike Trout is (he won’t, ever), but even Trout started off slow, as he had a slash line of .220/.281/.390 in 40 games during his first crack at the big leagues. Can you imagine if the Angels gave up on him?
Remember, Lambo was one of the top prospects for the L.A. Dodgers when the Pirates acquired him. The talent was and still is there. Give the kid a chance to prove he can’t do it before you kick him to the curb.
