McCutchen tired of Pirates' losing
www.timesonline.com/sports/article_9db07986-43be-11e0-b35e-00127992bc8b.html
McCutchen tired of Pirates' losing
by John Perrotto
It stands to reason that anyone who becomes a professional athlete is a
competitor. And competitive people hate to lose.
Thus, it is easy to understand why Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen
is not completely satisfied with his first two seasons in the major leagues.
It doesn't matter that McCutchen has the look of a future superstar and,
in many respects, has already established himself as the Pirates' leader.
The Pirates have gone 62-99 and 57-105 the past two seasons. To McCutchen's
way of thinking, those hideous records have wiped out a lot of satisfaction
he might be able to take from hitting .286 with 28 home runs and 55 stolen
bases in his first 262 games.
"I hate to lose," McCutchen said "I don't care if it's spring training,
an intrasquad game or two square, I'm out to win in anything I do."
Two square?
McCutchen described it as a game played with a volleyball and two or four
players on a court with two squares. The team that wins is the one that puts
the ball in its square or sends the ball out of bounds.
We'll take his word for it.
McCutchen makes his living playing baseball, though, and he is hopeful that
the worst of the losing is over. He is confident that the hiring of manager
Clint Hurdle in the off-season will add spark to the team.
"There's a different feeling here this year," McCutchen said. "We know
we have talent and we're not going to settle for losing. We feel like we
have some young guys here, who if we can continue to develop, can form
the nucleus of a good team."
It might be a stretch to think the Pirates will actually be good this season.
However, the 24-year-old McCutchen is one of four players who will hit at the
top of the lineup who are 25 or younger along with left fielder Jose Tabata,
second baseman Neil Walker and third baseman Pedro Alvarez.
McCutchen has proven he can handle playing in the major leagues. Now, the
biggest question is where he will settle in the batting order.
McCutchen has primarily been a leadoff hitter in the majors but Hurdle has
been experimenting with him in the No. 3 spot early in the Grapefruit
League season.
McCutchen had started 190 career games at the top of the order and hit .283
with a .358 on-base percentage. Those numbers have risen to .302 and .390 in
the 53 starts in which he has hit third.
Hurdle says he isn't close to making a final decision on a opening-day lineup
but batting McCutchen third "could lengthen our lineup and help us score more
runs, which is something we really need to do."
McCutchen says he has no preference for where he bats and will keep approach
the hitting consistent regardless of batting order slot.
"I just want to do whatever it takes to help the team win," McCutchen said.
"I'm sick of losing."
You can't blame him for that.
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