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2014 Pirates thread

Steelerfan81

Steelerfan81

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Bucs head into another one with the Brewers in the house of horrors in a few minutes.
 
The pitching worries me a bit in the early going. I do not trust Morton or Rodriguez at all, and Cole and Liriano have been far from great.

Taillon's surgery is a big deal in the short term, but relative to the rapidly growing success rate of the "Tommy John" procedure, it should not matter much in terms of the bigger picture.

This team is going to struggle to score runs, especially with both 1B and RF being manned with near fringe sub-MLB talents.

Granted, McCutchen has not hit much this season, but scoring will be a struggle for the Pirates even once he returns to the top of his game.

I'm sensing a poor 75-80 win season. Sorry, fellow fans.
 
Well least Lambo and Polanco are tearing it up in triple A. Need to sweep the Reds.
 
3 back to back homers by the buccos? game has been suspended by rain
 
I know Alvarez brings a lot of power, but is he batting above the Mendoza line yet?
 
it would be nice if they could package T Sanchez, who ain't all that, Mercer, and a bullpen guy for a real SS.

one that can field AND hit.


so far.....I don't expect much above .500.
 
The season is young... not worried at all, but man was that a bad road trip... Let's Go Bucs!
 
Well at least the Lumber Company is back in town. They be hitting a lot of homers this year and not just Pedro
 
Well, we got ANOTHER weak hitting first baseman.

Mets trade 1B Ike Davis to Pirates
April 18, 2014 07:05 PM EST | AP

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets have traded slumping first baseman Ike Davis to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league pitcher Zack Thornton and a player to be named.

The Mets announced the move just minutes before they played Atlanta on Friday night. Davis was on the field during batting practice earlier in the day.

The 27-year-old was hitting .208 with one home run and five RBIs in 12 games for the Mets. He was platooning with Lucas Duda and Josh Satin at first base.

Davis hit 32 homers for the Mets in 2012 but fell off sharply last year.

Thornton was 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four relief appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis. The 25-year-old righty originally was signed by Oakland.
 
I like the move. It seems like a Hurdle type of move. Bring in someone who has done well in the past, dust him off and reset him in a position. Platooning with Gabby, he will see a lot of that short porch in right. If they can get him to quit trying to pull the ball...it is a steal.
 
I agree with Silent. It's a good move and if he turns out to go back to his 2012 form, it's a steal for a long term need. He's still young enough to put up some more good years with a change of scenery.
 
This move tells me more and more that Polanco will be in RF before we know it...
 
Root Sports had a nice segment on Polanco during the rain delay in Cinci. He got high praise and is the real deal, can't wait to see him up here.
They will continue to trot out the curtain jerkers out there until it financially makes sense to bring him up. It's always about the money.
 
Even in his "great" year, Davis hit only .227. He's a high power/low contact hitter, of which they already have a few.

He's an upgrade in the sense that provides more power potential than Ishikawa, but considering the Pirates currently lead the league in HRs, I'm not sure how much better he makes them in the grand scheme of things.

The starting pitching is what's killing them right now.
 
The starting pitching is what's killing them right now.

It hasn't been stellar, but they left the bases loaded twice last night and also left men on 2nd & 3rd with one out. Pedro continues his practice swings like he is golfing. WTF!
 
The situational hitting leaves a lot to be desired, but it's been that way for years. My point is that regardless of how good one's offense is or isn't, he cannot expect winning baseball with a 4.3 ERA from his starters.

Cole needs to be much better, and they cannot afford to keep Rodriguez in the rotation much longer with the way he's pitching. If he ***** the bed tonight, they need to consider replacing him.
 
Davis is a good move....he does have the swing for PNC.....if Branson can get him straightened out a bit....though word is Davis doesn't respond well to coaching.

also, the Mets have indicated the PTBN isn't gonna be a former curry server.
 
you are absolutely correct on the starting pitching, not arguing. There really is not one starter that is the "go-to guy" right now. I keep hearing that the season is still very young and it is, but they look like a .500 team right now with little on the horizon to prove otherwise. Davis may help at 1st base, Polanco may/should help in the right field when he is brought up, but if they don't get consistency out of Morton, Liriano and Cole, it's going to be an uneventful season.
 
Davis is making $3M a year. Morneau is making $5M this season, $6.75M next season and an option for 2016 at $9M. The Davis deal seems like a no-brainer for the thrifty Buccos.
 
Grilli blew a save tonight, allowing a 2-run HR to Ryan Braun of all people.
 
Grilli does not look comfortable on the bump right now, hopefully it is not injury/elbow related. His placement has been off all season.
 
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