Saturday, March 31, 2007
The Bucs coveted the former Padres outfielder in 2003.
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- Four years after general manager Dave Littlefield first tried to get him, Xavier Nady finally will be in the Pittsburgh Pirates' opening-day lineup.
When Littlefield and Padres general manager Kevin Towers were negotiating the Brian Giles trade in 2003, the Pirates badly wanted Nady in a deal that also included left-hander Oliver Perez, but San Diego wouldn't give him up.
The Pirates settled for a satisfactory second choice: outfielder Jason Bay. All Bay has done is average 31 homers in three full Pittsburgh seasons, win the NL Rookie of the Year award and start in the All-Star game.
Nady eventually was traded, but to the New York Mets. And when the Mets decided just before their stretch drive last season they wanted Perez from the Pirates, they wound up dealing the 28-year-old Nady to get him.
Missed playoffs
The Mets lost to the Cardinals for the National League pennant. Nady missed out on the postseason, but wound up with a team that has long coveted him and plans to play him almost every day.
"All season long, you kind of hoped to be playing in October, but that was the only big factor [in the trade] for me," Nady said. "I was excited to come over here and be here with this group and to play for [Pirates manager Jim] Tracy and to have an opportunity to play."
Nady arrived as the Pirates were playing above .500 (35-32) following the All-Star break, a major accomplishment for a team that went 30-60 before the break -- one of the worst such records in their history.
Nady, playing mostly at first base and right field, hit .300 with three homers and 23 RBIs in 55 games after having a .264 average, 14 homers and 40 RBIs in 75 games with New York.
"He was a big part of what we did around here in the second half," Tracy said.
Ballpark factor
No doubt it didn't help his power production that the right-handed hitting Nady now plays half his games in PNC Park, with its overly spacious left-field power alley that juts out at one point to 410 feet.
"I don't know if the park was necessarily," the reason for the falloff in homers, Nady said. "Hopefully I'll be comfortable getting a full six months there and getting used to all the surroundings and settled in, so I'm not going to blame anything. Throughout my career I've been able to drive the ball, so hopefully I can get back on track with that."
Nady sat out a week of camp earlier this month with an inflamed intestine, but has been fine since. He has been using this week to try to get his swing in a groove for opening day Monday in Houston.
With Adam LaRoche now at first base, Nady figures to get most of his playing time in right field, though he could start occasionally at first against left-handed pitchers.
"That definitely helps you to relax -- before, you don't know where you're going to be on a daily basis, whether it's first base or right field," he said. "This will kind of help me with my comfort level and help me to relax."
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