LETS GO BUCS !

[jeemie]

I just hope we haven't ruined Henry Davis by playing him in a position he shouldn't have been playing in.

I don't know how much we will be able to tell when he finally comes back off the IL.

[MJG75]

I just hope we haven't ruined Henry Davis by playing him in a position he shouldn't have been playing in.

I don't know how much we will be able to tell when he finally comes back off the IL.

Agree there. I am puzzled by their shoehorning him into RF. His arm plays but that's about it. He seems like a very decent hitter to me and a hard worker. I'm pulling for the kid.

[jeemie]

70 wins for the first time since 2018, the last time they finished over .500.

But...50-72 since their 20-8 start...a .410 clip.

And since they have been 29-27 since the kids were called up, that means between 20-8 and the kids getting called up, the Pirates were 21-45... that is .318 ball and is pitiful.

Imagine...right now the Pirates stand 8 games out of a wildcard spot. So if they had gotten those 8 wins during that .318 stretch, that would have improved the record to 29-37 or .440.

That's all they had to do had all else remain unchanged...played .440 ball...and they'd be in the playoff hunt.

Only four teams have played .440 or less ball this season, and only Oakland has played worse than the .318 ball the Pirates played between their hot start and the arrival of the kids.

What a waste.

[MJG75]

It is, and could have been so much more, but you have to look at what that team was during that time. A mixed bag of youngsters and vets, with some dead space in the lineup, and tons of starting pitching problems--injuries, regressions, etc. It wasn't an easy period of time for anyone. So yeah, it would have been great if we could have won 8 more games during that stretch, but it was a tough stretch.

We're essentially .500 since most of the kids came up and we jettisoned most of the vets. This with a very shaky SP rotation, outside of Keller and Oviedo. This bodes well for next season, though with caution that there will be some regresssion as well as progression, but the main thing is if we can figure out the rotation, we are in good shape for a WC, at least, next season, I predict. Cherington is predicting the same, and you rarely hear that from the FO. Let's go, Bucs!

[Pabst]

70 wins for the first time since 2018, the last time they finished over .500.

But...50-72 since their 20-8 start...a .410 clip.

And since they have been 29-27 since the kids were called up, that means between 20-8 and the kids getting called up, the Pirates were 21-45... that is .318 ball and is pitiful.

Imagine...right now the Pirates stand 8 games out of a wildcard spot. So if they had gotten those 8 wins during that .318 stretch, that would have improved the record to 29-37 or .440.

That's all they had to do had all else remain unchanged...played .440 ball...and they'd be in the playoff hunt.

Only four teams have played .440 or less ball this season, and only Oakland has played worse than the .318 ball the Pirates played between their hot start and the arrival of the kids.

What a waste.

You're not wrong, but in retrospect that 20-8 start came against a pillow soft schedule. Things started to collapse at the beginning of May with 3 road series vs TB, Toronto, and Balitmore.

It's a young team, so hot/cold streaks are going to happen. It was also a paper-thin team, so injuries are going to have an outsized impact.

[jeemie]

I do wonder if we had not lost players like Cruz and Velasquez (especially Velasquez, who looked like he was ready to have a career year) if those 8 wins could have been found during that down stretch.

[MJG75]

I do wonder if we had not lost players like Cruz and Velasquez (especially Velasquez, who looked like he was ready to have a career year) if those 8 wins could have been found during that down stretch.

Possibly. That would have certainly given us another solid arm during a stretch when injuries and regression were killing us. And Cruz being healthy all year would have meant more him and less of the rotation we saw in MI this season. So yeah, that's possible, though I say at least one more solid SP would have been needed, most likely, to have made enough of a difference. And, perhaps bringing up the youngsters a bit earlier, though that would have messed with their trading ability and can't have that. LOL Though if Cruz really busted it out this season, maybe that would have given us the 8 wins along with Velasquez.

[Korey39]

I just hope we haven't ruined Henry Davis by playing him in a position he shouldn't have been playing in.

I don't know how much we will be able to tell when he finally comes back off the IL.

Agree there. I am puzzled by their shoehorning him into RF. His arm plays but that's about it. He seems like a very decent hitter to me and a hard worker. I'm pulling for the kid.

Endy is the better catcher and apparently, Henry isn't even close blocking and framing-wise. They really screwed up because they have known for a bit that this was the case and forced him to learn a completely new position on the fly in the MLB. They had him still working on catching pre-game (taking away from fielding reps in RF) and trying to split his focus three ways probably hurt him in all regards. Henry profiles to be a very good RF especially considering PNCs short porch and if you look at a guy like Daulton Varsho there isn't any reason Henry can't be a similar defensive player (Varsho is considered elite and was a former catcher). They just need to drop the catching stuff after the season and rep the shit out of him in RF and let him focus on just that and batting.

[MJG75]

I just hope we haven't ruined Henry Davis by playing him in a position he shouldn't have been playing in.

I don't know how much we will be able to tell when he finally comes back off the IL.

Agree there. I am puzzled by their shoehorning him into RF. His arm plays but that's about it. He seems like a very decent hitter to me and a hard worker. I'm pulling for the kid.

Endy is the better catcher and apparently, Henry isn't even close blocking and framing-wise. They really screwed up because they have known for a bit that this was the case and forced him to learn a completely new position on the fly in the MLB. They had him still working on catching pre-game (taking away from fielding reps in RF) and trying to split his focus three ways probably hurt him in all regards. Henry profiles to be a very good RF especially considering PNCs short porch and if you look at a guy like Daulton Varsho there isn't any reason Henry can't be a similar defensive player (Varsho is considered elite and was a former catcher). They just need to drop the catching stuff after the season and rep the shit out of him in RF and let him focus on just that and batting.

I'd go along with that. It's the shoehorn approach I am against, but too late to squack about it now, the damage was done. No clue why they didn't realize this sooner, if what you say is true. If their plan is RF for Henry, then rep the hell out of it off-season and spring training, agreed, 100%. I like the kid and am pulling for him. I believe once he gets more comfortable with whatever position he is going to be in, his hitting will improve correspondingly.

Definitely enjoying watching Endy out there behind the dish. Great arm and awareness, and he seems to work with the pitchers very well already.

Nice to take 2 of 3 from the Cubs. Next up to spoil: The hate Reds! Let's go, Bucs!

[jeemie]

Still cannot believe Endy’s rise was delayed because the Pirates’ brass didn’t want to admit they fucked up with Hedges.

[Stlcrtn1974]

Any of you watching tonight, this is unbelievable.

[jeemie]

Any of you watching tonight, this is unbelievable.

On my iPad in the background as I am watching Penn State.

Unbelievable…down 9-0 after three innings, and now 13 unanswered runs.

[jeemie]

The bullpen is looking like they are going to blow the comeback win.

[jeemie]

They held on. Key strikeout of de la Cruz and then India popped out…both with the tying run on third.

[Stlcrtn1974]

I haven't watched baseball since around the 2000 season. I was an Indians fan though. This team is going to be exciting to watch next year. I may start watching again, I miss Baseball.

[jeemie]

I haven't watched baseball since around the 2000 season. I was an Indians fan though. This team is going to be exciting to watch next year. I may start watching again, I miss Baseball.

They need pitching and could use a real bat or two.

Will Nutting go out an spend to supplement this team with proven talent?

I’ll believe it when I see it.

[Stlcrtn1974]

It seems like they have some real good talent in their farm system. Skenes might be there as well to help that rotation. This does remind me of the early 90's indians with alot of young talent, then they would sign Eddie Murray or Matt Williams or even Orel Hershiser to shore up the team. You are right about a few veteran players to help supplement this team. Their future looks really good.

[Korey39]

I haven't watched baseball since around the 2000 season. I was an Indians fan though. This team is going to be exciting to watch next year. I may start watching again, I miss Baseball.

They need pitching and could use a real bat or two.

Will Nutting go out an spend to supplement this team with proven talent?

I’ll believe it when I see it.

I don't think they even need to spend like crazy just use the money the right way. You have 2/5 starting spots inked in with Keller and Oviedo. Skenes should be up after Super 2 (so stupid) and we have to pay a vet to at least fill in for that. Then you pay a #3/4 starter in FA. Then between Jared Jones, Ortiz, Priester, Contreras, Burrows, Brubaker, Wolf, and Kranick you should be able to fill the #5 spot and maybe if you get lucky another one of them ends up being better than the placeholder vet for Skenes. Then you get back to 1B. I'd love a guy like Rhys Hoskins since the price tag is lower than it normally would to get a guy like him. We still lack a true leadoff and CF. People have floated Jung Hoo Lee and that would make a ton of sense but outside of him there aren't a ton of guys. Suwinskis arm is bad in the OF and since he can't hit lefties a DH platoon with him and Cutch makes way too much sense. The back of the BP is already pretty set with Holderman - Mlodzinski - Bednar so there shouldn't be a need for big spending there. That would put us at a comparable level of spending as this past year and with how the young guys are playing right now that should be a pretty good team.

[MJG75]

Well, we guaranteed a losing season with our 82nd loss yesterday. We're this close, though, a couple SP's, and a 1B away from a good roster at the Major League level. Agree with the comments about Suwinski and a leadoff guy, though. I believe this time next year, barring a huge rash of injuries, we are going to make noise late in the NL Central for the first time in a decade. Let's GO!