Ok. I want him. I want us to keep Sheff - and I want him. Can we pull it off? I don't know. Have I watched him closely? Not really. Will the Marlins deal him? Who knows. But, if they do - I want him. I want him over Griffey, Kotsay, Cameron and Encarnacion.

Out of those 5 players - he is the youngest at 27. He's a full year and 5 months younger than the next youngest, which is Encarnacion. I'd like us to deal for him and then lock him up.

I look at his numbers and the numbers of the other players. The most hits Griffey has ever had in a season is 185. That was an MVP season where he hit 56 home runs and drove in 147. The most hits Kotsay has in a season is 190 last year. 162 in 2003 for Encarnacion. 145 in 2000 for Cameron. Pierre? 221 last year. That's not all, though. He's reached 200 hits 3 out of his first 4 full seasons. If you look at his 4 seasons before this one, you see 2 very good years, a good year and a decent year. This year is shaping up to be a poor year. But, I'm not reading much into this season because bad hitters don't have 200 hits a year for 3 out of their first 4 seasons. Pierre is a good hitter. He's got fabulous speed. He seems to get caught stealing a bit, so that has to be worked on, but look at this lineup.

1. SS Jeter
2. CF Pierre
3. RF Sheffield
4. 3B Rodriguez
5. LF Matsui
6. C Posada
7. 1B Giambi
8. DH Williams
9. 2B Cano

(He could even bat 9th, switching with Cano, quite possibly). Imagine him between Jeter and Sheffield. As a hitter who can and does hit .300, he protects the plate. He's an awesome bunter from what I've seen (yeah, I know "awesome bunter" - but it's a skill) and he can both bunt for a hit and sacrifice Jeter over in a close game (and maybe even beat it out), setting the table for the heart of our order. And when he gets on base, he'll wreak havoc with those kinds of hitters around him.

Now, defensively... he's better than what we have certainly, but how much better? Last night I spent some time watching the Juan Pierre highlights at MLB.com for this year and last year. He is capable of making some great plays - is that because he gets a late jump? I don't know. But, with his speed, he has to have at least decent range. Supposedly his arm is better than Bernie's but he's still a bit of a rainbow maker (as per Steve Lombardi). But, that doesn't stop me from making a deal.

The man bunted for a double and hit an in the park home run in the same freaking season, for pete sake! :)

So, what do we deal? I'm of the mindset that they can have any prospect in our farm system for him plus a low/medium grade prospect or some other part that we don't really need at the major league level, as well, if they want. However, they're in the hunt, so maybe they don't want. The fact that they have Encarnacion works to our advantage, as they can put him in CF, possibly and we don't have to send them one back. So, I ask myself, who do we have that I want to trade that could help them win now? And I come back with basically nobody. Would they be interested in Sturtze? He's pitched well for us, but he's 34 and this is the best year he's ever had, except for one. Do they need pen help? Who doesn't? If they're depth chart at Yahoo! is any indication, they might. Would the "performing" Sturtze who has a cheap team option for next year and the prospect they want most in our farm system be enough for the "under performing", last year of his contract Pierre? (Can they start Conine? Do they want Womack? ... Probably not. On the last one, at least.)