Well ... time for the annual Pirates thread :-)

[franco>madden]

Nutting's still around? (damn!)
Same old Buccos?? (ugh)

Whatever --- pandemic or not, no matter which clown made it to the White House --- it's 2021 baseball season's opening day, and hope springs eternal, and if that ain't true, to paraphrase the late, great #78 Dwight White, you can kiss my sweet ass!

Anyway I'm basking in the surely short-lived glow of the Pirates' winning-record status as they took it to the f'ing Cubs in Chicago, winning 5 - 3. Every single win ever against he f'ing Cubs is a blow against the empire, akin to beating the NE Patriots, and is to be savoured.

Ke'Bryan Hayes leading things off with a 2-run bomb, while last year's abyssmal Bucco bullpen actually looked great today, tossing 6 innings, using 6 pitchers to allow only 1 hit, and Rodriguez locking it down with some filthy stuff in the 9th.

Sure they'll revert to the suckage soon enough, but for today, boys ...

Raise the Jolly Roger!!

[jeemie]

Hey second game of the season and Ke’Bryan Hayes looks like he hurt his wrist.

He’s out of the game.

Yay.

[Dan Smith--BYU]

possibly the sorriest franchise in all of the Big 4 professional sports now that the Clippers and Browns are no longer a joke.

[franco>madden]

Obviously (to coin a phrase from our other dysfunctional team's leadership), upon seeing "Cubs at Pirates" trending today on twitter, I'm thinking, that can't be for anything good.

I'm correct.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1380243719337697284

Polonco perfectly capturing all the post-1979 Pirate franchise glory ... ugh

[Jobu]

OMG...the Pirates

[JackLambert58]

Sell the team, fucker!

[Steeler Owl]

Pirates on pace for a 26 win season!

Could happen!!

[franco>madden]

Another entry in the thick volume titled, "Former Pirates kicking ass elsewhere on actual professional-level MLB teams with owners who give a shit about trying to win" (I know, long title) . . .

Congrats to Joe Musgrove on throwing the first no-hitter in the Friars' team history:

The San Diego Padres recorded their first no-hitter after 53 years.
Joe Musgrove had 10 strikeouts and only allowed one baserunner -- a hit by pitch to Joey Gallo -- to record the franchise and his first no-hitter Friday night.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/padres-j ... hitter.amp

[Jobu]

Good for Musgrave. It must be an amazing feeling for these guys when the escape the shithole that is the Pirates organization.

[stillthere]

possibly the sorriest franchise in all of the Big 4 professional sports now that the Clippers and Browns are no longer a joke.

I think I am going to bet the against the Pirates every game this season. If the team cannot provide something on the field then maybe they can add a little spending cash to the wallet. How many games are they going to win this season?

[Steeler Owl]

Middle W/L number is 58.5 at Rivers Casino.

$100 under bet gets you $177.

[Pabst]

possibly the sorriest franchise in all of the Big 4 professional sports now that the Clippers and Browns are no longer a joke.

Nah. The Bucs had a good run for a few years from 2013-2015. I'm going to need at least 2 more good seasons out of Cleveland before removing the "sorry franchise tag".

Just for fun, here are the franchises the Bucs are competing with......

MLB: Baltimore
NFL: Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville
NBA: Minnesota, Charlotte, Sacramento
NHL: Buffalo, Columbus, Arizona, Florida

[MJG75]

Don't look now but the Bucs just won two series in a row, without arguably their most promising young player, out with injury.

Look, they won't win a championship this season, but they are a young hungry team of players who want to be here and want to compete. I'm not going to allow Nutfuck ruin my love for baseball or my love for our Battlin' Buccos. I'm going to give the new guys a chance and enjoy the ride. Baseball gives us more than we realize as sports fans in an era of bottom lines. Every battle between pitcher and batter can be enthralling. Every win can be celebrated in and of itself. Every managerial cat-and-mouse strategizing can be tantalizing. I love baseball and I damn sure love my Buccos! Let's go, Beat 'em Bucs!!

[Jobu]

Actually, they have another game with the Padres (4 game series), so they haven’t won the series yet.

[MJG75]

Ah, I did miss that, but point remains. With this young team, I'll take a split on a 4 game series as a series victory. Do hope to get the 3rd win this afternoon though!

Beat Big Joe last night, too! Always liked Joe, wish him well, but not last night.

Let's GO Bucs!

[MJG75]

Man, loving what I'm seeing so far from JT Brubaker in this early season. Man is a battler, just what I look for in a starter.

Cahill, on the other hand, must either go to the pen or go away. I'd rather see one of our young pitchers given a shot (de Jong would be my pick, another guy with a bulldog mentality). Cahill has shown me nothing.

Let's go, Bucs! We have a shot to win a road series against the hated Brewers!!

[MJG75]

Raise it baby!! Buccos take the series with a 10 inning thriller! Over the hated Brewers!

We had 'em all the way!!

[R_S]

Bucs with better record than the Yanks. All the way to the pennant babaaaaaaaayyyyy!!!!!

[jeemie]

9-10 without Hayes and pretty much no Major League hitters or pitchers is surprisingly good.

[Jobu]

Ehhh...don’t get excited. Typical Buccos season. They’ll hang around .500 for 6-7 weeks, then the losing streaks will start. 5 in a row...8 out of ten...25 of 34. We know it, we’ve lived. They’ll be out of it by the end of June, officially eliminated in mid August, and have one of the worse records in MLB at seasons end.
Yawn...moving on.

[SteelPro]

Ehhh...don’t get excited. Typical Buccos season. They’ll hang around .500 for 6-7 weeks, then the losing streaks will start. 5 in a row...8 out of ten...25 of 34. We know it, we’ve lived. They’ll be out of it by the end of June, officially eliminated in mid August, and have one of the worse records in MLB at seasons end.
Yawn...moving on.

All true. But this is a team that looked like they were going to lose 100 games and be completely non-competitive. I think it is best to measure these Bucs on whether the new front office and coaching staff can show some progress with this bunch. Thus far they have. But as long as Nutting is the owner it is impossible to ever get too excited.

[Jobu]

Ehhh...don’t get excited. Typical Buccos season. They’ll hang around .500 for 6-7 weeks, then the losing streaks will start. 5 in a row...8 out of ten...25 of 34. We know it, we’ve lived. They’ll be out of it by the end of June, officially eliminated in mid August, and have one of the worse records in MLB at seasons end.
Yawn...moving on.

All true. But this is a team that looked like they were going to lose 100 games and be completely non-competitive. I think it is best to measure these Bucs on whether the new front office and coaching staff can show some progress with this bunch. Thus far they have. But as long as Nutting is the owner it is impossible to ever get too excited.

Agreed.

[Steeler Owl]

Centerfield 2013 - Cutch, MVP

Centerfield 2021 - just jettisoned two guys who were a combined 9 for 57 with 36 K and are looking to replace them with a longtime minor leaguer who had been hitting .067 for the A's this season.

Trending upward!

[MJG75]

SteelPro, absolutely right.

If you enjoy watching baseball and you like watching the Black and Gold team win, you have been enjoying this early part of the season. 1 game over .500 and in second place. The team has to be judged in terms of new management, top to bottom, and lots of young and mostly inexperienced players, plus the expectations for the team coming in were as low as you can get.

I'm really enjoying watching this team this year, first time I've enjoyed professional baseball this much since 2015. Let's GO Bucs!

[Steeler Owl]

The Pirates are not young. Typical starting lineup avg age is 29/30 and populated by JAGs and sub-JAGS. A few are somewhat above JAG level but where are the stars?

Where are the farm prospects?

The starting pitching is circling the drain.

I am not a businessman but I am guessing that if you are in the business of feeding your customers mediocrity and they continue to consume and enjoy this product, then mediocrity it will be.

Until when?

[MJG75]

You can continue to be bitter and pissed off. And you have a right to be.

You can just enjoy the game. And you have a right to do so.

You can be both. Which I have a right to be. I tend to save most of my vitriol for the owner. I give the new guys, top to bottom, a chance.
They are expected to lose around 100 games this year and be totally irrelevant. So far these men, top to bottom, are proving them wrong. It's a long season. They may well prove the prognosticators right. But not so far, man, not so far. I'm enjoying the moment. Lets go!!!

[Steeler Owl]

Sean Poppen that aint no curve ball. We have all seen the eephus pitch.

Todd Frazier making 1.5 mil hitting .056.

Rumors have Rodriguez, Moran and Adam Frazier gone before the trade deadline.

Beat 'em Bucs!

[Steeler Owl]

HEAT CHECK

5 losses in a row.

No runs for 20 innings and counting.

Newman, Polanco and Perez all hovering at Mendoza Line.

Todd Frazier "hitting" .048.

Mark Melancon--remember him--10 saves, 0.64 ERA

BEAT EM BUCS!

[Steeler Owl]

Add Mitch Keller and maybe a rebooted Kyle Crick to the list of Bucs who are likely to finish their seasons elsewhere.

[Jobu]

Hello basement.
2-8 in their last 10.
It’s on....