Gameday #62: Seriously, JR?

Pirates (23-38) at Tigers (31-29) 7:05 PM EST–Comerica Park, Detroit Here is the MLB.com Gameday TV: FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Detroit Unreal. Last night, John Russell stuck Ryan Church–a guy who can’t hit and is useful ONLY on defense–in the DH spot the Bucs have to fill for these games at the AL parks. That was one of at least three really dumb lineup decisions. Tonight? Not any better. Garrett Jones is your Pirates DH. Ryan Doumit is starting at first base. Doumit is the worst defensive player on this team, and first base isn’t even his real position. Jones is a perfectly competent first baseman. The only reasoning behind this would have to be the Bucs trying to make Doumit more “marketable” by diversifying his defense….but having him play a couple of games at first base isn’t going to solve anything–especially if he does poorly (which he has). By the way, Church is in the lineup again. AHHH!! At least Tabata’s back in ...