This post may or may not be an issue right now, but one has to wonder what the status of Luke Scott will be considering the acquistion of Pie. As it seems, although Luke will do whatever the team wants him to do — however, he wants to play in the field as much as possible.
That may not be possible with Pie on the squad.
From the Baltimore Sun: The team appears likely to move him into a regular designated hitter role, but Scott is still projecting himself as a regular outfielder.
“Absolutely, I don’t see any reason not to … any reason why I shouldn’t,” he said. “I don’t mind doing a little DH-ing. If you’re a DH once or twice a week, your legs stay fresher. It gives you a little bit of a break if you get a tweak somewhere. That’s good. I will do whatever they ask me to do to the best of my ability, but my opinion: I don’t want to DH for 130 games.”
This is the point at which a lot of players might talk about playing somewhere else, but you’re not going to hear Scott demanding a trade if he ends up as a full-time DH. He’s not built that way. He just wants to make the point that he established himself in left field last year and wants the opportunity to stay there, though it’s just as obvious that the Orioles have decided to give newly acquired outfielder Felix Pie every opportunity to play regularly.
Well, I appreciate Luke’s honesty, but also his professionalism.
As much as I like our number 30 as a fan, one has to ask will he really be part of the Orioles in two, three, four years? If I was a betting man, I’d say more than likely — no. Luke could be the designated hitter for a while in Baltimore, or he could be used as trade bait down the road.
Luke should play the field some in 2008; however, right now the Orioles really need to evaluate Pie, as he is younger, and frankly has more upside down the road — if he can develop. This year is one where the Orioles are surveying talent and picking out pieces for the next decade — not to placate guys who just want playing time.
