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Pirates 2018

steelermania said:
Everybody was screaming for Nutting to do something. He does something, and now everybody is pissed. At least it wasn't a rent a player trade. The next couple of years will tell whether this was a bad trade.
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I loved the Archer trade at first, but ultimately including Shane Baz in the deal was too much for a pitcher who, despite his talent, has not pitched at an elite level for a few years.

They could not have predicted Polanco's injury, but not having Meadows for the first few months of next season is already making 2019 seem like a lost cause.

Also, Nutting's motives for the move are questionable, given the big drop in attendance and the upcoming expiration of the team's TV contract.
 
21STEELERS21 said:
Since early July Pirate starters have lowest ERA in all of baseball. They pretty much have the pitching staff solved for 2019.
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Which is making the Archer trade look worse, as they probabky did not even need him, especially with Mitch Keller getting close.
 
Pirates still have a shot at .500 which I think would be a success for this season. That is considering all that has occurred.
 
Tommy8Maddox said:
Pirates still have a shot at .500 which I think would be a success for this season. That is considering all that has occurred.
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They actually can't finish at .500 because of the rainout last Sunday. 81 wins will get them a winning season, which considering all of the crying after the trades of Cutch, and Cole, won't be a horrible outcome. The pitching staff is really set to be dominant for the next couple of years. Right now, I'd say this is a 90 win team next year. What moves can we make to add a few more wins to that total?
 
steelermania said:
They actually can't finish at .500 because of the rainout last Sunday. 81 wins will get them a winning season, which considering all of the crying after the trades of Cutch, and Cole, won't be a horrible outcome. The pitching staff is really set to be dominant for the next couple of years. Right now, I'd say this is a 90 win team next year. What moves can we make to add a few more wins to that total?
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I think 2019 has more promise, too. Pitching will be a key. So will injuries. Need everyone to be healthy coming in.

I am hoping we can finish with a winning year this year. It would salvage a lot of the negatives and may even save Hurdle's job. Though I think the team won't fire him even if the Pirates finish below .500 this year.
 
The rainout is being made up on Oct 1.

Polanco could be out until next June. I think they may roll the dice and pick up Kang's option, hoping he can be their primary 3rd baseman in 2019.
They could go after a free agent SS. If Phillies go after Machado, Asdrubel Cabrera would be interesting on a 2 year deal. Not sure how his defense
is but he hit 23 HRS this year so far.

Not sure what McCutchen's market value is contract wise, but with Polanco out for awhile, Pirates might at least talk to him. He would be one way to help
fix some of the attendance problem.
 
The Pirates continue their strong September. Now 2 games over .500.
 
Looks like Pirates have found their utility man and sparkplug for 2019 in Pablo Reyes. He can play 2B, 3B, SS, RF, LF.
He has been fun to watch, nice throw out at the plate last night.
 
Have to give the Bucs credit. After the Atlanta series, I looked at the Bucs schedule. I saw 10 home games vs awful competition, and 6 tough ones on the road coming up. Considering that they have 4 road games in Chicago after this, I figured that we needed to somehow split the road games with the Cards, and Brewers, and then somehow win 8 of 10 vs the scrubs if we wanted to finish above .500. We actually did even better than that. We got the split on the road, but we've won all 9 games vs the scrubs, with the makeup game vs Miami left. If we can get 2 wins vs Milwaukee this weekend, it would take a total collapse to end up with a losing record. I'm going to be greedy, and hope for 8 wins in the last 11 games. 85 wins would be a good result in a season where nothing was expected, and the strong finish would create a positive vibe going into the offseason, and give some hope for next year.
 
Bucs reach 80 wins. Need one more for a winning season. Good outing for Archer.
 
Bucs win their 81st game tonight. This clinches a winning season as they won't be making up the rainout with Miami.
 
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They need to figure out 3B and SS for 2019, upgrade those two positions and they have a shot at the playoffs.
 
Finished above .500 with the 7th best record in NL...

Top 5 make the playoffs...their not that far off..
 
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