2024 Pittsburgh Pirates Thread

Tgar

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Yes they did. Yes they can! Raise it! Raise the Jolly Roger!
 

dcf4psu

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Question for Pirates fans; How excited are you about Skenes knowing he's not going to be a Pirate long term unless something drastically changes with ownership? You'd almost think based on this they'd end the misery and trade him now while his value is at it's zenith. Plus in today's game the clock is ticking until his arm issues begin and major surgery follows.
 

Midnighter

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Question for Pirates fans; How excited are you about Skenes knowing he's not going to be a Pirate long term unless something drastically changes with ownership? You'd almost think based on this they'd end the misery and trade him now while his value is at its zenith. Plus in today's game the clock is ticking until his arm issues begin and major surgery follows.

Big draw for fans and merchandise; keep and enjoy while it lasts. What is the point of trading now? What could possibly be worth it considering this franchise has no serious interest in competing.
 
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Tgar

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Question for Pirates fans; How excited are you about Skenes knowing he's not going to be a Pirate long term unless something drastically changes with ownership? You'd almost think based on this they'd end the misery and trade him now while his value is at it's zenith. Plus in today's game the clock is ticking until his arm issues begin and major surgery follows.
To quote the lyrics from one of Tgar’s favorite bands

I may be going to hell in a bucket babe,
but at least I’m enjoying the ride.

The future is the future, who knows what that delivers or if it’s even fun. Today is today and today is a blast. Live for today. Or be a curmudgeon. Cherrington and Nutting have a track record of screwing things up for a variety of reasons, the first being I don’t believe they actually care and will seldom spend to be winners.

The Pirates have a great broadcast team and they are making this season that much more enjoyable as well.
 
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Mufasa94

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Question for Pirates fans; How excited are you about Skenes knowing he's not going to be a Pirate long term unless something drastically changes with ownership?
This reads like a legitimate question.
You'd almost think based on this they'd end the misery and trade him now while his value is at its zenith.
This reads like intentionally poking the bear.
 

dcf4psu

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This reads like a legitimate question.

This reads like intentionally poking the bear.
I'm a New Yorker originally. But I fully understand the place the Pirates hold in baseball history, maybe more than some Pirates fans. The Pirates played in the first World Series, for example. Who didn't love We are family in 1979? I kind of remember Clemente dying, but really only learned of his numbers later on. Pittsburgh was a baseball town long before the Steelers and later the Penguins. See the 1960 World Series against my Yankees. Mickey Mantle said he cried after they lost that World Series. Amazing. No, I am not poking the bear. I'm just old enough and have looked at history enough to know Pittsburgh was a baseball town for good reason.
 

fairgambit

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I'm a New Yorker originally. But I fully understand the place the Pirates hold in baseball history, maybe more than some Pirates fans. The Pirates played in the first World Series, for example. Who didn't love We are family in 1979? I kind of remember Clemente dying, but really only learned of his numbers later on. Pittsburgh was a baseball town long before the Steelers and later the Penguins. See the 1960 World Series against my Yankees. Mickey Mantle said he cried after they lost that World Series. Amazing. No, I am not poking the bear. I'm just old enough and have looked at history enough to know Pittsburgh was a baseball town for good reason.
Bad ownership in sports can be fatal and the Pirates have the worst owner in baseball. I expect "Bottom Line Bob" to milk this franchise until it is on life support and then sell the team to some conglomerate who will move it out of town.
 

LB99

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Bad ownership in sports can be fatal and the Pirates have the worst owner in baseball. I expect "Bottom Line Bob" to milk this franchise until it is on life support and then sell the team to some conglomerate who will move it out of town.
Deadbeat Nutting has publicly said in the past that he intends on keeping the team and turning it over to his daughters at some point, which doesn’t sound very promising to me the fan. This tells me he is making a decent income off the team despite their struggles. He’s the worst. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to the GM and front office to want to go get a player in free agency or trade and have the cheapskate veto it. As a competitive balance maneuver, I wish MLB would strong arm Nutting into selling the team to someone who actually wants to win.
 

dcf4psu

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Bad ownership in sports can be fatal and the Pirates have the worst owner in baseball. I expect "Bottom Line Bob" to milk this franchise until it is on life support and then sell the team to some conglomerate who will move it out of town.
 
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dcf4psu

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Given it's place in baseball history I cannot see the Pirates and cannot imagine MLB allowing the Pirates to ever leave Pittsburgh. But in today's world who knows.
 
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LB99

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Given its place in baseball history I cannot see the Pirates and cannot imagine MLB allowing the Pirates to ever leave Pittsburgh. But in today's world who knows.
Money talks. The Raiders are in Vegas. I never thought they would leave Oakland and I can’t believe there’s a pro sports team in Vegas. It seems like such a conflict of interest to me, but I’m not into the gambling scene.
 

Mufasa94

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I'm a New Yorker originally. But I fully understand the place the Pirates hold in baseball history, maybe more than some Pirates fans. The Pirates played in the first World Series, for example. Who didn't love We are family in 1979? I kind of remember Clemente dying, but really only learned of his numbers later on. Pittsburgh was a baseball town long before the Steelers and later the Penguins. See the 1960 World Series against my Yankees. Mickey Mantle said he cried after they lost that World Series. Amazing. No, I am not poking the bear. I'm just old enough and have looked at history enough to know Pittsburgh was a baseball town for good reason.
That is irrelevant to the prior comment.

You condescendingly said the Pirates/fans should not enjoy any time they have with a guy who is still working on qualifying as being a rookie service wise. Just say F-it and trade him.

If you don't understand it, I can't help you.
 
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JakkL

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They need an OF to replace Taylor. He's been awful all season. I don't thinknthey should trade young pitchers tho. I think a couple will move to the bullpen to Jumpstart their careers in the majors especially with some starters ready to rejoin the rotation. With bubba and ashcroft almost ready it seems foolishness to trade any of them now. God. I sound like tightwad Nutting.
 

LB99

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Christian Walker may be available for 1B at the trade deadline if the Dbacks are out of it. He would be the powerbat they need at 1B. However, he is a FA at the end of the year, so little chance the Pirates would resign him to a long term deal. Otherwise, hearing Tommy Pham and Jazz Chisholm would be available for the OF. Not sure how excited I would be at either.
 
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AvgUser

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I'm a New Yorker originally. But I fully understand the place the Pirates hold in baseball history, maybe more than some Pirates fans. The Pirates played in the first World Series, for example. Who didn't love We are family in 1979? I kind of remember Clemente dying, but really only learned of his numbers later on. Pittsburgh was a baseball town long before the Steelers and later the Penguins. See the 1960 World Series against my Yankees. Mickey Mantle said he cried after they lost that World Series. Amazing. No, I am not poking the bear. I'm just old enough and have looked at history enough to know Pittsburgh was a baseball town for good reason.
Lots of things and place s”used to be something”

Make no mistake. Ever since Franco came to the Steelers, it has been a football town first and foremost.
 
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fairgambit

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Lots of things and place s”used to be something”

Make no mistake. Ever since Franco came to the Steelers, it has been a football town first and foremost.
I will disagree. Pittsburgh was a football town much earlier than Franco. It all began in 1924 when Jock Sutherland coached Pitt to 27 National Championships in 15 seasons.
 

Auxgym

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That is irrelevant to the prior comment.

You condescendingly said the Pirates/fans should not enjoy any time they have with a guy who is still working on qualifying as being a rookie service wise. Just say F-it and trade him.

If you don't understand it, I can't help you.
You don't really think a Yankees fan will act any differently did you? The team that has basically spent 3 billion dollars since their last World Series win and still can't get it right. It's called entitlement.
 

Bison13

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LB99

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Yahoo writers obviously don’t know much about this kid. First they called him an outfielder and then second they said he was the best high school hitter in the draft. Both of those are false as he is a shortstop and his hit tool is his lowest ranked tool.
He is listed as a SS, but many (including the player himself) project him as an outfielder. Some analysts even saying he could be a gold glove outfielder. The Pirates farm system is pretty deep at middle infield, so they most likely view him as an outfielder. He was widely regarded as the best HS player in the draft. While his hit tool is his lowest rated, he is also considered a possible 30-30 guy in the future. He was the Gatorade HS Player of the year this season and hit .559 for the season.

 
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Tgar

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IMHO, NUTTING IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM ( putting it kindly ) but the players, manager, and broadcast team make you forget that when you are in the moment enjoying a game.

Maybe, just maybe, he will recognize what he has and the incremental revenue that can be generated by investing more in the salary bucket. Doubtful but there is always hope.
 
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LB99

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IMHO, NUTTING IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM ( putting it kindly ) but the players, manager, and broadcast team make you forget that when you are in the moment enjoying a game.

Maybe, just maybe, he will recognize what he has and the incremental revenue that can be generated by investing more in the salary bucket. Doubtful but there is always hope.
I had that same hope back in 2013 and 2014, but he quickly threw a wet blanket on those hopes.
 

Tgar

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I had that same hope back in 2013 and 2014, but he quickly threw a wet blanket on those hopes.
Agree. He is a Dick. The worst. I only hold out hope that at some point he has an awakening and realizes the good he can do Including expanded outreach and charity.
 

Bison13

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He is listed as a SS, but many (including the player himself) project him as an outfielder. Some analysts even saying he could be a gold glove outfielder. The Pirates farm system is pretty deep at middle infield, so they most likely view him as an outfielder. He was widely regarded as the best HS player in the draft. While his hit tool is his lowest rated, he is also considered a possible 30-30 guy in the future. He was the Gatorade HS Player of the year this season and hit .559 for the season.

I’ve got a couple former players playing in the big league so I know a few scouts and my issue isn’t with anything that you posted. What they tell me is that the Pirates organization is just very bad at developing players. He has some issues with his swing that he gets away with Because of his elite athleticism. I understand what you’re saying about him being talked about as an outfielder but what these guys tell me is that everybody that scouted him said that’s the fallback. Trea Turner is a more likely comparison, Which I would take every day, but there were some better choices to be middle of the order bats who would get to the big leagues within 2 1/2 years and not 4 1/2.

Could prove me and those scouts wrong of course, but Pittsburgh’s window is the next three years until they get rid of Skenes because nut job won’t pay him so they need to get hitters right now.
 

LB99

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I’ve got a couple former players playing in the big league so I know a few scouts and my issue isn’t with anything that you posted. What they tell me is that the Pirates organization is just very bad at developing players. He has some issues with his swing that he gets away with Because of his elite athleticism. I understand what you’re saying about him being talked about as an outfielder but what these guys tell me is that everybody that scouted him said that’s the fallback. Trea Turner is a more likely comparison, Which I would take every day, but there were some better choices to be middle of the order bats who would get to the big leagues within 2 1/2 years and not 4 1/2.

Could prove me and those scouts wrong of course, but Pittsburgh’s window is the next three years until they get rid of Skenes because nut job won’t pay him so they need to get hitters right now.
Gotcha. Thanks for the insight. I did see that his swing has a bit of a slow development to it. We’ll see. He’s young and, hopefully, coachable. I gotta think that he finds his way to the OF. Otherwise, why do they keep taking shortstops? Another one after this kid, then one today. My bigger issue with them is, why can’t they find a long term solution at first base? They need a power hitting first baseman that they can plug into the lineup for a few years.
 
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Bison13

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Gotcha. Thanks for the insight. I did see that his swing has a bit of a slow development to it. We’ll see. He’s young and, hopefully, coachable. I gotta think that he finds his way to the OF. Otherwise, why do they keep taking shortstops? Another one after this kid, then one today. My bigger issue with them is, why can’t they find a long term solution at first base? They need a power hitting first baseman that they can plug into the lineup for a few years.
High school shortstops are always the best players. My trout was a shortstop for most of his life too. Most power five conference baseball teams recruit only shortstops and then move them around the diamond as they fit in.
 

NittanyBuff

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Christian Walker may be available for 1B at the trade deadline if the Dbacks are out of it. He would be the powerbat they need at 1B. However, he is a FA at the end of the year, so little chance the Pirates would resign him to a long term deal. Otherwise, hearing Tommy Pham and Jazz Chisholm would be available for the OF. Not sure how excited I would be at either.
I'd be happy with any of the 3 as they would all be upgrades.
 

Bison13

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Completely forgot about this, but as one of those scouts reminded me, generally first round high school kids who have scholarships and NL lined up to big-time colleges will need an over slot value signing bonus to stick. Makes it even more surprising that Pittsburgh would go for that kid. College seniors who are out of eligibility are ones that you can sign for a little bit undervalue since they don’t have anywhere to go next year.
 
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JakkL

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Nutting is notorious for siphoning off the Pirates luxury tax money to fill his purse and fund his ski resort. That's not gonna change. We missed our chance at the last labor contract. Players were pushing for a salary floor to force teams like the Pirates to spend their money, but the players caved.
 
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SleepyLion

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Nutting is notorious for siphoning off the Pirates luxury tax money to fill his purse and fund his ski resort. That's not gonna change. We missed our chance at the last labor contract. Players were pushing for a salary floor to force teams like the Pirates to spend their money, but the players caved.
I'm not defending Nutting, but he sold the ski resort about 4 or 5 years ago. He kept the fishing and shooting areas, not sure about the golf course. Otherwise your point still stands.
 

fairgambit

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Awful loss to Cards 2-1. Skenes goes 9, gives up 2 runs on 4 hits and the Bucs lose at home. Cutch can't hit his weight this year. 0-4 today as leadoff. .231 on season.
 

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