Everyone likes pie!

I'd been meaning to do a blog post on Felix Pie for a while, but I always put it off because the moment never seemed right. Now, though, I think is the proper time.

Adam Jones has severely sprained his ankle and will be out for two or three weeks - and is likely done for the season. This comes on the heels of the announcement that Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman will be shut down soon due to their innings limits as young pitchers. Prepare for a brutal September as this trio is replaced by Chris Waters, David Pauley...

...and Felix Pie.

Pie's season has been incredibly up and down. Though he wasn't the Opening Day left fielder, he essentially took over the role quickly, and through May he had twenty-five starts in the Orioles first thirty-six games. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't hitting at all - in his first thirty six games, he batted only .195 with two home runs and an incredible four RBI (how is that even possible?). Across June and July he accrued just seven starts and saw only limited action as a pinch hitter, pinch runner, and defensive replacement.

Unknown to most people, Orioles' hitting coach Terry Crowley was completely taking apart Pie's swing and putting it back together again. If you compare games from April and August, the difference in Pie's swing is huge - he's much more crouched now, his bat held higher. He uses a leg-kick as a timing mechanism that (if you'll excuse me) greatly resembles Sadaharu Oh.

The results have been obvious. Besides the night he memorably hit for the cycle against the Angels, he has batted .382 with 6 home runs and 13 RBI over his last 18 games. He's .329/.383/.612 since the All-Star Break.

So what does this all mean? With Jones out Pie will have ample chances to prove how himself over the next few weeks. There has been heavy criticism levied at Pie for his constant mental errors. He remains the only player Trembley has called out all year. Pie can prove to the skeptics that he can actually hit, field, and run like the superstar he was claimed to be all those years ago.

Adam Jones's stats had been plummeting across the board prior to his injury, and right now Pie actually has a higher OPS. That said, there is no chance Pie usurps center; not only is Jones younger, but his improvement has been so rapid. Jones could be an elite player next year, and the team isn't going to mess with the guy who, along with Wieters, will likely become the face of the franchise over the next several years. Pie's real future lies in left field.

It's no secret that Reimold has been banged up on-and-off during the season. Though his arm is good, Nolan doesn't run particularly well, and Trembley has spoken (repeatedly) about working with Reimold to help him have more confidence when coming in on balls. Considering his injuries and the fact that Pie is without a doubt a superior defender, and there's an excellent chance that Pie is the Opening Day left fielder next year with Reimold at DH. I think the most likely situation is the two platooning left, with Pie sitting against lefties and Reimold starting at DH against right-handed pitching.

I always felt that the Cubs gave up much too quickly on Pie. He had only a few hundred at bats across two seasons, and those were when he was 22 and 23 - you can't look at sporadic playing time over those ages and call the results conclusive. The team (and the Cubs' fanbase) turned on him incredibly rapidly, considering how much talent he had demonstrated as a teenager. Andy MacPhail got Pie for Garrett Olsen, who has nearly a 6 ERA and is back in the minors. There is a real chance that Olsen-for-Felix-Pie could be a swindle on par with the Erik Bedard trade.