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Pirates 2017 thread

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Buster

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Less than 2 weeks until pitchers and catchers report. Cutch is still around, need young prospects to step up to solidify the rotation, Josh Bell having surgery but will hopefully be ready for the beginning of the year and can be a consistent bat and hopefully Kang can stay out of the slammer.

LET'S GO BUCS!
 
I haven't paid much attention, but did they have any additions to improve the roster?
 
Not overly excited as they have about NO chance of beating out the Cubs for the division. May not even be competitive for a WC spot.
 
Middle of the road deliver Daniel Hudson is the only addition. Lost Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce. They were nice bench guys. Need Adam Frazier to step into the super utility role for Rodriguez. I think he is up to the task.
 
Sarge said:
Not overly excited as they have about NO chance of beating out the Cubs for the division. May not even be competitive for a WC spot.
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They'll be lucky to finish 3rd in their own division. The Cubs and Cards are clearly better teams and the Brewers were playing better than the Bucco's down the stretch last season.

Once again, they let 2 more power hitters go, the infield is STILL made up entirely of platoon players and the pitching staff in nothing special.
 
Buster said:
Middle of the road deliver Daniel Hudson is the only addition. Lost Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce. They were nice bench guys. Need Adam Frazier to step into the super utility role for Rodriguez. I think he is up to the task.
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Didn't realize we lost those guys... not good
 
hook said:
Once again, they let 2 more power hitters go, the infield is STILL made up entirely of platoon players and the pitching staff in nothing special.
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When Kang is healthy and focused, as he was at the end of last season and in 2015, he's proven to be much more than a platoon player. He can hit both left and right handed pitching.

Mercer and Harrison, with their fielding, are more than good enough at the defensively oriented positions of SS and 2B, IF the Pirates get good offensive production from the corners.

I'm just not quite as pessimistic about the infield as many people are. Kang and Bell both have 80+ RBI potential, IMO.

I actually think the offense overall will be fine. It's the pitching that is the question.

Cole, Taillon and Nova could actually be a very solid top 3, but the inability to acquire a legit #4 hurts. They're going to be a lot more dependent on Glasnow's development than one would like, but if the light does come on for that kid in additional to a rebound from Cole, the Pirates are going to surprise a lot of people in 2017.
 
Punxsutawney said:
When Kang is healthy and focused, as he was at the end of last season and in 2015, he's proven to be much more than a platoon player. He can hit both left and right handed pitching.

Mercer and Harrison, with their fielding, are more than good enough at the defensively oriented positions of SS and 2B, IF the Pirates get good offensive production from the corners.

I'm just not quite as pessimistic about the infield as many people are. Kang and Bell both have 80+ RBI potential, IMO.

I actually think the offense overall will be fine. It's the pitching that is the question.

Cole, Taillon and Nova could actually be a very solid top 3, but the inability to acquire a legit #4 hurts. They're going to be a lot more dependent on Glasnow's development than one would like, but if the light does come on for that kid in additional to a rebound from Cole, the Pirates are going to surprise a lot of people in 2017.
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If Kang can stay out of jail.....Dumbass

I like Harrison, but wouldn't be surprised if he gets traded.

Starting pitchers are pretty young and inexperienced. Cole is as good as he's going to be. Pretty good, but not ace of the staff material, except maybe on this team. The bull pen sucks. Watson is not the answer.
 
They have had a good spring training with the pitching being somewhat of a surprise.
I believe they are the surprise team in baseball. I believe Cutch bounces back and the starting
pitching surprises. If Cubs starters fall off a bit, they could make a run at the division.
 
21STEELERS21 said:
They have had a good spring training with the pitching being somewhat of a surprise.
I believe they are the surprise team in baseball. I believe Cutch bounces back and the starting
pitching surprises. If Cubs starters fall off a bit, they could make a run at the division.
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Hope springs eternal
 
21STEELERS21 said:
They have had a good spring training with the pitching being somewhat of a surprise.
I believe they are the surprise team in baseball. I believe Cutch bounces back and the starting
pitching surprises. If Cubs starters fall off a bit, they could make a run at the division.
Click to expand...

I do think the Pirates are underrated coming into this season.

The raw talent is definitely there. Whether it performs is the question.

If Nova and Taillon can pitch for six months like they did in half a season last year, in addition to rebounds from Cole and McCutchen, the Pirates will win a lot of games.
 
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Frazier has the super utility spot nailed. Gosselin's versatility will win him a spot. Osuna will play at Indy, but if Cutch is traded at some point or someone goes on the DL, he may grab a bench spot based on performance.
 
I know it's sacrilege around here but I'm not a Pirates fan so I have a question for those of you that are.

Drafted Josh Harrison on my fantasy baseball team. His numbers seem pretty mediocre how is he?
 
Depends on how many teams and how many roster spots in your league. He's not one of the 12 best 2B in baseball unless he really breaks out this year.
 
Punxsutawney said:
I do think the Pirates are underrated coming into this season.

The raw talent is definitely there. Whether it performs is the question.

If Nova and Taillon can pitch for six months like they did in half a season last year, in addition to rebounds from Cole and McCutchen, the Pirates will win a lot of games.
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3rd place in division at best. Brewers were on rise at end of last season, we were sinking. I think we'll be battling them for 3rd.
 
A third place finish could be the best the Bucs would settle for. No pitching and no power bats means another sub-.500 season. Unless something drastic happens or a handful of players have breakout seasons, it's going to be a ho-hum, frustrating season. I'm not excited about the season, but will watch like I always do. Still in hockey mode.

Play ball!
 
hook said:
3rd place in division at best. Brewers were on rise at end of last season, we were sinking. I think we'll be battling them for 3rd.
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We'll see.

I still like the talent more than most.

Taillon's start against a strong Red Sox lineup was impressive, especially in cold weather.

In the opener, Cole was cruising until a couple infield hits, preceding a 3-run HR, derailed things in the fifth inning

We'll see how Nova performs today ( as well as Glasnow later), but I have a good feeling about the rotation, in which a good one essentially guarantees a team 85-90 wins in MLB.

The position players are an issue, as Kang may very well not play for the team again and I'm not sure what the **** is going on with McCutchen. In the opener in a key RBI situation, he swung at a 2 strike pitch that crossed the plate at his ankles.
 
Lloyds legend said:
I know it's sacrilege around here but I'm not a Pirates fan so I have a question for those of you that are.

Drafted Josh Harrison on my fantasy baseball team. His numbers seem pretty mediocre how is he?
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Does your fantasy team have a category for defense? If not, no bueno for fantasy.

P.S. The pitching staff is good, and very deep. The Pirates have 6 guys in AAA (Brault, Santana, Neverauskus, Clay Holmes, Nick Kingham, Angel Sanchez) with major league stuff. If Kang knew how to call for an Uber, this team would win 90 games. Without his bat? Going to be close for a wildcard.
 
Steeltime said:
Does your fantasy team have a category for defense? If not, no bueno for fantasy.

P.S. The pitching staff is good, and very deep. The Pirates have 6 guys in AAA (Brault, Santana, Neverauskus, Clay Holmes, Nick Kingham, Angel Sanchez) with major league stuff. If Kang knew how to call for an Uber, this team would win 90 games. Without his bat? Going to be close for a wildcard.
Click to expand...

It's early, but I do like the rotation, especially considering that a talent like Cole may be only their third best starter behind Taillon and Nova.

Also, I like Hurdle hitting Polanco clean up. He had 23 HRs last year and is still growing into his 6'5 frame. There's a lot of power potential there.
 
I know it's early, but I'm thinkin' it's gonna be a long season for the Buccos.

Let's Go Pens!!!
 
Bucs just completed a sweep of the defending WS champs. Taillon pitched a beaut.
 
They might have something special in Taillon. His stuff rivals Cole, with much better poise and composure.

Sweeping a team the caliber of the Cubs on the road definitely provides some optimism for the season.
 
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