Andy LaRoche is still the Pirates' starting third baseman. It's just that he hasn't been used like a starting third baseman in the early stages of the season.
LaRoche has been held out of the lineup three times in the first seven games in favor of veteran utility infielder Ramon Vazquez. LaRoche has been the team's biggest disappointment of the early part of the season -- he is 0-for-14 and has made three errors. However, manager John Russell insisted that LaRoche is still the primary third baseman.
"Andy is going to play," Russell said. "He's going to continue to work through (his hitting and fielding slumps), and we're going to let him watch some games for the bench to relax. We have the luxury of having guys on our bench who can step in and do a good job while we give Andy a chance to get on track."
The Pirates had hoped things would be different for LaRoche this season after he hit just .152 with nine errors in 49 games last season. He was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a July 31 trade and later admitted he put too much pressure on himself to justify being involved in a three-team trade in which the Pirates shipped their best player, left fielder Jason Bay, to the Boston Red Sox.
"I'm sure Andy is putting pressure on himself, but I don't worry about him putting pressure on himself anymore than any of our other players," Russell said. "Freddy Sanchez puts pressure on himself when he's not playing well. Everybody does to some extent."
