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Pirates 2024

stillerfaninfl said:
Shelton is still an idiot.
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The bullpen is just bad.

Shelton obviously is not doing them any favors with the way he is handling it, but there's really no-one that he can have a lot of confidence in from 7th inning on.

It's a shame because some pretty good hitting and starting pitching has been going to waste recently.
 
Man, they are wasting strong starts by Skenes. It’s a shame. The guy has been lights out so far and the bullpen is ***. Hope they get that sorted out soon. Or at all.
 
I admit that I had given up on Nick Gonzalez becoming an impact bat after he struggled the last couple years in the minors, but he was destroying the ball in AAA to start this season, and is continuing that in the majors. It's still early to say, but he might be fulfilling his potential as a high number one pick.

The offense overall might be rounding into shape a little bit.

Henry Davis is hitting really well in AAA after being sent down. Whether he has made the proper adjustments or is just taking advantage of weaker pitching is yet to be seen, but he'll likely get another shot soon. It might be in the outfield, with the Grandal/Bart rotation working out pretty well at catcher right now.
 
Tellez in the lineup tonite. That's about 3 or 4 automatic outs.
 
Back-to-back shutouts, this one in a bullpen game. Luis Ortiz with very strong relief appearance.

Two games under .500, in the thick of the wildcard hunt. I will tell you this - if I am a NL team, I sure as hell don't want to face Skenes, Jones and Keller in a short series.
 
Steeltime said:
Back-to-back shutouts, this one in a bullpen game. Luis Ortiz with very strong relief appearance.

Two games under .500, in the thick of the wildcard hunt. I will tell you this - if I am a NL team, I sure as hell don't want to face Skenes, Jones and Keller in a short series.
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Starting pitching alone can go a long way.

Had the bullpen performed to expectations from the beginning of the season, the Pirates might be close to first place right now, even with the inconsistent offense.

Bednar seems to be returning to form a bit, and Holderman is emerging as a fairly tough reliever. I still don't trust Chapman, though he has been better recently. They maybe need to give Ortiz more opportunities late in games.

As it pertains to the offense, they still need a lot more from Reynolds, Cruz and Hayes. Reynolds and Cruz have been showing more power, but still nothing much from Hayes.

Henry Davis is starting to look like a bust. He can crush AAA pitching, but still seems overwhelmed in the majors.

It's unfortunate because a team with limited financial resources like the Pirates cannot afford to miss on first overall picks.
 
Punxsutawney said:
Starting pitching alone can go a long way.

Had the bullpen performed to expectations from the beginning of the season, the Pirates might be close to first place right now, even with the inconsistent offense.

Bednar seems to be returning to form a bit, and Holderman is emerging as a fairly tough reliever. I still don't trust Chapman, though he has been better recently. They maybe need to give Ortiz more opportunities late in games.

As it pertains to the offense, they still need a lot more from Reynolds, Cruz and Hayes. Reynolds and Cruz have been showing more power, but still nothing much from Hayes.

Henry Davis is starting to look like a bust. He can crush AAA pitching, but still seems overwhelmed in the majors.

It's unfortunate because a team with limited financial resources like the Pirates cannot afford to miss on first overall picks.
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The Henry Davis thing is a mental issue. It is. Nobody crushes AA and AAA pitching like that and absolutely blows in the major leagues. I mean, he was pretty bad last year but at least he hit 7 HR's and he is worse this year? The problem is between the ears. He needs to see a sports psychologist.
 
Steeltime said:
The Henry Davis thing is a mental issue. It is. Nobody crushes AA and AAA pitching like that and absolutely blows in the major leagues. I mean, he was pretty bad last year but at least he hit 7 HR's and he is worse this year? The problem is between the ears. He needs to see a sports psychologist.
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Remember Chad Hermansen? He was an elite prospect in the late 1990s who was always great in the minors, but was a strikeout machine with the Pirates.

It happens.

I've wondered if they should play Davis some in the outfield like they did last year to get him away from the additional mental strain of catching.

Saying that, however, they DH'd him the other night and still struck out three times.

It's still a bit too soon to give up on him, but it's not looking good.
 
Punxsutawney said:
Remember Chad Hermansen? He was an elite prospect in the late 1990s who was always great in the minors, but was a strikeout machine with the Pirates.

It happens.

I've wondered if they should play Davis some in the outfield like they did last year to get him away from the additional mental strain of catching.

Saying that, however, they DH'd him the other night and still struck out three times.

It's still a bit too soon to give up on him, but it's not looking good.
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Same lines but pertained to a Mets catcher back when the Bucs were contenders...He had a mental block about throwing the ball back to the pitcher. It was the weirdest thing. He could zing the ball to 2nd and throw out a guy trying to steal but wigged out trying to toss the ball back to the pitcher....

Mackey Sasser I think was the guy... Not sure if he ever got past it.
 
Nicolas sucks. Send him back down again and leave him there.
 
JMM said:
Same lines but pertained to a Mets catcher back when the Bucs were contenders...He had a mental block about throwing the ball back to the pitcher. It was the weirdest thing. He could zing the ball to 2nd and throw out a guy trying to steal but wigged out trying to toss the ball back to the pitcher....

Mackey Sasser I think was the guy... Not sure if he ever got past it.
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I believe they call it "the yips", which is a bit different from what Davis is experiencing. He just might not be good enough.
 
Who the hell is Heller?!?
This kind of move makes you wonder about their overall intent...

'We want to keep winning': Pirates GM Ben Cherington focused on improvement​

Makes one wonder....
 
Last edited:
Suwinski sucks
Taylor sucks
Triolo sucks
Grandal sucks
Telez sucks

Need a 1st baseman, CF and C. Won't happen this year, but it'd be nice to fill those holes while Keller, Jones and Skeenes are still with the team. BUT Nutting is cheap and those 3 pitchers efforts will be wasted.
 
stillerfaninfl said:
Suwinski sucks
Taylor sucks
Triolo sucks
Grandal sucks
Telez sucks

Need a 1st baseman, CF and C. Won't happen this year, but it'd be nice to fill those holes while Keller, Jones and Skeenes are still with the team. BUT Nutting is cheap and those 3 pitchers efforts will be wasted.
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I remember the statement back in the day that building PNC would allow the team to generate enough revenue to be competitive on a regular basis. That was 23 or so years ago so the organization should have a **** ton of money set aside by now to buy a few mercenaries to help them take advantage of their strong pitching corps.

🤣
 
stillerfaninfl said:
Suwinski sucks
Taylor sucks
Triolo sucks
Grandal sucks
Telez sucks

Need a 1st baseman, CF and C. Won't happen this year, but it'd be nice to fill those holes while Keller, Jones and Skeenes are still with the team. BUT Nutting is cheap and those 3 pitchers efforts will be wasted
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May as well add Hayes and 3B to the list as well. His lack of production is magnified due to the money the Pirates have tied up in him.

Combine that with them apparently missing on a first overall pick in Henry Davis, and it's hard for a small market team to overcome all that.

The pitching will keep them somewhat competitive, but they just do not have enough hitting to contend for anything of significance.

They're not willing or able to pay for what they need, and there isn't much in the way of hitting prospects in the upper minors right now.
 
Catching the Pirates on TV for the first time probably since they had the wildcard game. It's on the Roku channel and is free.

Watched 2 2-run HRs to put the Bucs up 4-1 in the 5th while they were interviewing Skenes. Let's see if they blow the lead..
 
New to me since I last watched a game: Pitch clock, instant replay, National League DH. I'm sure there's a ton of other changes that they should just have left alone.

Braves have a pitcher, Holmes, who looks like Ronnie Van Zant and/or a hair bear.
 
Uggghh, they showed the replay from 1992 and Sid Bream getting tagged out by Spanky but wasn't called correctly...
 
Nice catch by Bucs CF wearing Van Slykes #18
 
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