Just read the recap, guess they made it up to 6 walked in runs, and somehow that wasn’t a record. Amazing.
They came back to win, but I accepted the season for what it will be a few weeks ago.
2024 Pittsburgh Pirates Thread
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They came back to win, but I accepted the season for what it will be a few weeks ago.
And somehow still pulled out a win. They would be pretty good if the bullpen was decent.
Well other than not being able to hit, relief pitch, run the bases and field the ball they are doing great. The only bright spot has been starting pitching. Long overdue for Sheltonand his staff to be shown the door.
I went to read the recap, too, as I couldn’t believe what you typed. Jesus!
Perhaps fittingly, that is a little league-ish stat.
Never seems to matter who's GM, manager, coaches, etc. They're generally horrible. Face it, just a joke of a franchise.
I wish I could share your optimism, but I see them losing the next 2 to the Braves, a much better team. Either that or they will take the next 2 and then lose 2 to Detroit. I'm hope I'm wrong.
After the Braves scored five to make it 11-5, I wasn't ruling out another blown lead last night. This bullpen is plain terrible.
Raise it! Raise it! Sitting here in Boalsburg watching Ted and Molly rock out while eating pizza and drinking beers at Angelo’s. Good Times to be a Pirates fan!
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He wasn't at his best, but good enough. One of the amazing things tonight was 36 year old Chapman hitting 104mph several times.
It was impressive but I’m never confident when he enters the game. The bullpen looks to be the weak spot of this team. Hopefully, they have something in mind at the trade deadline.
Some games they look great, others, they have their challenges. We now known Grandal can catch a 104 MPH fastball thrown out of the strike zone. I wonder how many other catchers can as well?
I Would still be looking first for batting production as the trade deadline approaches.
They are frustrating to follow, but with nearly 40% of the season gone they are only a game and a half out of a wild card spot. Still, I won't hold my breath.
Good idea. Today's debacle backs that up. So typical.
Need bullpen arms ASAP. Problem though is that only the CWS, Angels, A's, Rockies, Mets and Marlins will be in sell mode right now and most of them dont have anything useful in the pen. GOing to need to stick it out another 3 weeks and then see if someone else can drop out of the wild card race
It is amazing how bad the bulklpen has been.
Coming into the season, one might have reasonably expected it to be quite good, and the strength of the team:
1) At the back end, Bednar, Chapman (though there is no way he was worth $10 million, especially not for this team, with their other needs), and Holderman, at the back end of the bullpen.
But only Holderman has been solid.
Hopeful that either/or Ortiz or Contreras could be a good multi-inning guy (and Ortiz has been solid enough).
Moreta, Borucki, Hernandez, and Mlodzicki all showed decently last year - but between injuries and poor performance, there has been nothing but gas cans there.
Most of their bullpen, honestly, wouldn't find a job on most AAA teams. Maybe not even AA. They are that bad.
2) One might have hoped for some decent run production - if Suwinski could even repeat last year (and hopefully improve), Ke'Bryan - What time is my next DL stint? - Hayes could be more the guy from the 2nd half of last year, than the "out with a sore ____" slap hitter he has been most of his career, and Cruz and Davis could live up to some of their promise.
But the offense has stunk of week old fish all season. Leading the league in nothing but strikeouts.
3) But the rotation - which after losing Oviedo for the year looked like Keller (who had 1/2 of a good season coming into 2024) followed by a bunch of duct tape, bailing twine, and spit, and hoping for Skenes to come through - has actually been quite good. Overall.
Go figure.
Coming into the season, one might have reasonably expected it to be quite good, and the strength of the team:
1) At the back end, Bednar, Chapman (though there is no way he was worth $10 million, especially not for this team, with their other needs), and Holderman, at the back end of the bullpen.
But only Holderman has been solid.
Hopeful that either/or Ortiz or Contreras could be a good multi-inning guy (and Ortiz has been solid enough).
Moreta, Borucki, Hernandez, and Mlodzicki all showed decently last year - but between injuries and poor performance, there has been nothing but gas cans there.
Most of their bullpen, honestly, wouldn't find a job on most AAA teams. Maybe not even AA. They are that bad.
2) One might have hoped for some decent run production - if Suwinski could even repeat last year (and hopefully improve), Ke'Bryan - What time is my next DL stint? - Hayes could be more the guy from the 2nd half of last year, than the "out with a sore ____" slap hitter he has been most of his career, and Cruz and Davis could live up to some of their promise.
But the offense has stunk of week old fish all season. Leading the league in nothing but strikeouts.
3) But the rotation - which after losing Oviedo for the year looked like Keller (who had 1/2 of a good season coming into 2024) followed by a bunch of duct tape, bailing twine, and spit, and hoping for Skenes to come through - has actually been quite good. Overall.
Go figure.
Following a team for 162 games is hard but few things in life can be more satisfying than when your team grabs lightning. 1969, 1980, 2019. Hang in there and hope the good outweighs the bad.
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Good way to view it, Jim. But, most Pirates fans now follow the old "Hope for the best and prepare for (or expect in the Pirates case) the worst."
I am not a fan of the owner. The organization itself is doing some good work in the community. The manager and every player on the team are the kind of quality people you want representing your team. There is just so much to like about whats happening currently.
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LOL although very true. Watched their game last night. There is a lot to like about the Phillies.
Agree. The GM, coaches, and players are doing a great job despite horrendously poor ownership. An early Christmas gift for us would be if Nutting sold the team to someone who actually wants to commit to winning, but I know that’s not happening. I say this as I watch the Phillies. That’s an organization that wants to win now. They are fun to watch.
Not a lot of rookie pitchers make the All-Star game. Congrats, Bucco fans:
Word on the street is that Skenes will be traded to the Yankees in the off season for 5 AA prospects, $500,000 in cash, and a bag of donuts.
As if anyone in Picksburg didn’t know this would be Nuttings answer
I agree they will be even though if they could make a couple minor deals to pick up another bat in the outfield and a bullpen arm, they could stay in the wildcard hunt all year.
Ultimately, what’s best for them is to sell because I don’t think their two rookie pitchers will be able to make it all year. The problem with selling is that they are not going to get anything worthwhile.
Trading Chapman and Holderman out of the bullpen would make sense, but I don’t think either one of them is enough to get a quality bat who can step in and play next year like one of the Orioles group of young outfielders.
Given the juries on the pitching staff, I do not see the Pirates making any moves unfortunately. They do need an outfield bat who can raise a position average by 50 to 75 points and they do need another two quality arms in the bullpen. I am guessing with Ortiz, Perez, and Priester they feel they are as set as they are going to be with the starting rotation while Talter and Jones rehab.
The same old story. Thin everywhere but also gritty.
Tellez's 'surreal' 100th HR highlights Bucs' night of big blasts
MILWAUKEE -- When Rowdy Tellez was still amid his slump in early June, the Pirates’ first baseman saw some new faces by the team's dugout. The usual season-ticket holders for that spot gave their tickets away to two kids from Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh that day, and Tellez took some
www.mlb.com
That would be like someone in a trailer park having a yard sale. Who is going to buy something that they are looking to get rid of?
(The expiring contracts they have? Tellez? Taylor? Grandal? Chapman? Perez? If you tagged them as "free to a good home", who would take them?)