Kipper : Why Clint Barmes And Not Jordy Mercer?

7338440.jpgI ask this question and I'm sure the majority of responses will be "He's not Clint Hurdle's pet" or a variety of responses that come back to Clint Hurdle, but those are all general knee jerk reactionary claims. That's not to say it's not true, but it's a Highschool drama-esque type of response I'd rather ignore.
Right now, Jordy Mercer looks really good. His Defense at SS might not be as good as Clint Barmes' but Barmes' won't be with the Pittsburgh Pirates next year and through a season and 1 month, his Offensive Production (or lack of) is going to be the main reason. The Pirates rather than needing to sift through the Free Agent dumpster to overpay for a Short Stop that is clearly lacking in something, finally have a guy that can step into play Short Stop - Jordy Mercer. Unlike prospects before him like Chase d'Arnaud who couldn't hit the ball off a Tee if he were allowed at the MLB level, Jordy Mercer has more than held his own as a Temporary starter in place of Neil Walker. He's hitting above average, he's hitting for power and likely overachieving quite a bit in that area but more importantly, he doesn't look overmatched at the plate.
Mercer is going to be 27 years old in August. He's past prospect status, it's time for the Pirates to start using these guys at the AAA Level when they start showing the ability to perform at the MLB level. Mercer has a hot bat right now too. You gain nothing by sending him down to the Minors to continue producing down there while continuing to plug Clint Barmes and his .207 Batting and Average to go along with his non-existent power. It's a clear cut kick to the balls of the MLB teams offensive production. Clint Barmes has shown that outside of 1 month as a Pittsburgh Pirate, he can't hit. There was hope and expectation that Barmes might produce closer to what he accomplished at the end of his prime, but it's becoming more and more evident that he's not. At 34 years of age, Barmes is into his decline years and his Offensive production are proof of this. He could still provide value as a bench player, especially if someone like Jordy Mercer ends up struggling.
The Pirates are still in a transition mode whether fans like it or not. They've been transitioning from a team that hit bottom in 2010, winning 57 games to a team that has found itself a month or more into the Regular season for the past 3 years in First Place at some point. The Transition into a winning team is still ongoing but there's a transition from needing to acquire Free Agent talent because you don't have the available talent ready in the minors to having that talent in the system to use. The Pirates are seeing more and more of that transition happening with the Pitching Staff (especially in the Bullpen) and in the lineup (Marte, Walker, McCutchen, Alvarez). Now they have Jordy Mercer who is ready. It took an injury to get Neil walker into the starting lineup to prove himself at the MLB level and it's taken an injury to get Jordy Mercer into the MLB lineup. Unfortunately for Mercer, the guy he needs to replace isn't the one that is injured.
The goal for the Pirates is to constantly improve. If there's better options available to improve, the Pittsburgh Pirates need to utilize them. If a particular player is a coach's personal "pet", the GM can still override that decision. Right now at this point, the best option for the Pittsburgh Pirates is to have Jordy Mercer start at SS. Release John McDonald who has been about as useless as you can get and start using the better, younger talent you have and have been developing. This is why you drafted them... to help out and be MLB starters, not be blocked by declining aging vets who are struggling to stay above the mendoza line with no pop in their bat.
The final question revolves around money. since Clint Barmes is making all this money, the Pirates can't justify letting him rot on the bench. It's a fair question but the Pirates have shown a willingness to cut ties with players that are making money under Bob Nutting's Majority ownership. The Pirates have cut Lyle Overbay, they released and ate Matt Morris' contract. They released and ate Aki Iwamura's contract. Money doesn't seem to be the leading cause for forcing players into the lineup for the Pirates. Beyond that, Barmes won't be here after this season, he's not a long term solution and the Pirates unexpectedly have stumbled into a better solution for the present and near future at SS, so why wait until later?
The Pirates will most likely send Mercer back down when Walker comes back to get regular everyday playing time while we trot out the incompetent batting duo of Clint Barmes and John McDonald, but there's still a glimmer of hope that Logic overtakes the status quo.