OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: Congrats to the Houston Cheaters on their win
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DJ Spinoza
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Yeah, I'm not reading much into it other than that it's something that could happen with many of the pitchers on the team. Thompson obviously has no excuses, but not great to see Yajure struggle again.
Really, the game was probably just a normal ugly blowout if Newman is able to make the plays in the first inning that spiraled out of control. I think we're a reasonably decent matchup with the Cubs, as long as Hayes and Reynolds are going in the right direction. Really, you can jumble up the bottom three teams in the division any which way and have a plausible argument for an order. The season record vs. both will probably go a long way towards how things shake out (obviously).
Really, the game was probably just a normal ugly blowout if Newman is able to make the plays in the first inning that spiraled out of control. I think we're a reasonably decent matchup with the Cubs, as long as Hayes and Reynolds are going in the right direction. Really, you can jumble up the bottom three teams in the division any which way and have a plausible argument for an order. The season record vs. both will probably go a long way towards how things shake out (obviously).
ImporterExporter
"You're a boring old man"
MILB updates:
Cruz has struggled at the dish. I think it's more to do with less than stellar batted ball luck. His K rate isn't outrageous but his lack of power has been noticeable. Like any player, sample size is still small. I wouldn't really worry until this pace continued another month.
Gonzo. Same story. His K rate was a bitter higher than expected last year, and despite the strong spring, he's been abysmal in Altoona so far. He's K'd 20 times in 38 AB's (53 PA) and his well below .200. The good news is he's walked a ton, which he didn't last year. Again, we're talking 13-14 games. It's not a worry until this pace continues into June.
Nicolas got destroyed today giving up 9 runs and 4 HR's.
Jared Jones didn't fare much better, giving up 4 runs in 3, including 2 dingers.
Mason Martin homered again. What it would be to have a big left handed masher in PNC. I don't trust him much given his history of hot/cold and K rate but he's looked fantastic in AAA so far.
Henry Davis homered and is now .354/1.038 on the year. No clip of that from what I can see. But he's a great buffer against the rougher starts by 2 of our top guys (Cruz/Gonzo).
Hudson Head off to a great start after a very meh 1st full season last year in Florida. Now at Greensboro, he's hitting .308/.891. K rate is still high (33%) as it was last year but he continues to take walks at a healthy rate so that's a plus.
Sammy Siani pretty much same story as Head. Both are 21 and playing well in A+ ball which is age appropriate. Can they cut down on K's will be the big question between now and the jump into AA?
Cruz has struggled at the dish. I think it's more to do with less than stellar batted ball luck. His K rate isn't outrageous but his lack of power has been noticeable. Like any player, sample size is still small. I wouldn't really worry until this pace continued another month.
Gonzo. Same story. His K rate was a bitter higher than expected last year, and despite the strong spring, he's been abysmal in Altoona so far. He's K'd 20 times in 38 AB's (53 PA) and his well below .200. The good news is he's walked a ton, which he didn't last year. Again, we're talking 13-14 games. It's not a worry until this pace continues into June.
Nicolas got destroyed today giving up 9 runs and 4 HR's.
Jared Jones didn't fare much better, giving up 4 runs in 3, including 2 dingers.
Mason Martin homered again. What it would be to have a big left handed masher in PNC. I don't trust him much given his history of hot/cold and K rate but he's looked fantastic in AAA so far.
Henry Davis homered and is now .354/1.038 on the year. No clip of that from what I can see. But he's a great buffer against the rougher starts by 2 of our top guys (Cruz/Gonzo).
Hudson Head off to a great start after a very meh 1st full season last year in Florida. Now at Greensboro, he's hitting .308/.891. K rate is still high (33%) as it was last year but he continues to take walks at a healthy rate so that's a plus.
Sammy Siani pretty much same story as Head. Both are 21 and playing well in A+ ball which is age appropriate. Can they cut down on K's will be the big question between now and the jump into AA?
DanielPlainview
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Gallatin
A Banksy of Goonism
4 points on Cruz.
1) O'Neil Cruz will not hit above .250 in MLB unless he stops swinging at so many bad pitches. As far as I'm concerned, he's in AAA until he does so.
2)This would also be a great time to cut his errors in half at SS. Most of his issues seem to be with repeating the more routine plays, giving a lot of hope still.
3) Oh - and he needs to keep on working the Outfield. As good as he looks at Short, the errors continue to simply be too much for MLB.
4) I still believe in the Big Man theory - they often take longer to develop the finer coordination skills. Aaron judge was 25 in his rookie season.
And let's not forget Cruz has an equally big ego, and doesn't always listen. He's not the easiest guy in the world to coach because of that. He has a ton of belief in himself as "that special guy". Cruise is/was in no way ready for MLB this Spring. But he's the kinda guy - the light can go on - and boom he's for real crushing in the Bigs.
But that could take another year+ IMO. Personally I think he needs more failure to learn and grow from. He needs to become a better listener. So I'm all for a bad April, and even a bad May. Maybe then he'll actually make some changes...
1) O'Neil Cruz will not hit above .250 in MLB unless he stops swinging at so many bad pitches. As far as I'm concerned, he's in AAA until he does so.
2)This would also be a great time to cut his errors in half at SS. Most of his issues seem to be with repeating the more routine plays, giving a lot of hope still.
3) Oh - and he needs to keep on working the Outfield. As good as he looks at Short, the errors continue to simply be too much for MLB.
4) I still believe in the Big Man theory - they often take longer to develop the finer coordination skills. Aaron judge was 25 in his rookie season.
And let's not forget Cruz has an equally big ego, and doesn't always listen. He's not the easiest guy in the world to coach because of that. He has a ton of belief in himself as "that special guy". Cruise is/was in no way ready for MLB this Spring. But he's the kinda guy - the light can go on - and boom he's for real crushing in the Bigs.
But that could take another year+ IMO. Personally I think he needs more failure to learn and grow from. He needs to become a better listener. So I'm all for a bad April, and even a bad May. Maybe then he'll actually make some changes...
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Gallatin
A Banksy of Goonism
Now for the rest of it. I have a lot of opinions today.
Gonzo is still trying to be a 30+ homer guy. Until he fails at being a power hitter, he's going to K a lot IMO. But I don't think the adjustments to being a .300 hitter with 20 homer power will be very hard for him to make once he gets it into his head. Another guy that really really believes in himself in a way that can be both good and bad for his development.
On Mason Martin - that power stroke's certainly a thing of beauty, and I've been a fan and following him since the day he was drafted. After that huge Gulf Coast season I thought he might be a star in the making. Or maybe a Jason Thompson type 1B.
Martin has absolutely no chance at being an MLB hitter as currently constituted. His AAA walk rate has not improved from the sub 4% mark of late last season, and he's still K'ing almost a third of his AB's. He's not a Major League hitter without significant changes very late in his minor league career. And he doesn't seem to be doing that.
I'm super high on Jones still, and believe he's one of our top-3 pitching prospects, with the potential to be the best.
I have not cared for Siani as a prospect until recently. He's doing a lot of things right lately. Technically. Professionally. He's benefitting from the Bucs new development philosophies, I think he may be a legit player.
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Gallatin
A Banksy of Goonism
Davis is everything we though he could be, and then some. He's practicing the kind of leadership that changes organizational culture on top of the bat.
Love, love, love that he decided to become Solometo's & Chandler's dad this winter. They got a place together in Bradenton, and Davis made damn sure they were focused, eating right, and doing all the extra work required to be great some day. And he laid the foundations for relationships that could really matter down the road. That's how you change an Org. like the Pirates.
I need to run with that topic for a moment. Davis is practicing something called Servant Leadership, as does the coaching staff, the developmental staff, And the front office.
It's year one for the Bucs with Servant Leadership. And it's hard to learn. A lot of businesses and organizations TRY to do this, but it won't take if just skin-deep. You have to eat and breathe this stuff to be successful. It's really an all-in or don't bother type scenario. It kind of transforms you into a different person, a better person IMO.
So very few orgs succeed. If the Pirates actually can do this for real, it will be a key element to their success, driving them towards a very bright future.
Been finding it hysterically funny watching Shelton attempting to live Servant Leadership on camera. He's really giving it his all, and it's so, so uncomfortable.
Admitting to reporters you haven't thought of that, and maybe you should, is exactly an example of this tech. When was the last time you heard a coach say that when he's being criticized by the media? You just can't live this lifestyle without integrity, without being authentic.
Ultimately, I'm sceptical a Nutting lead organization can pull this off. But I also think the world of Ken Sawyer, so there ya go. We'll know in a year if it's going well. You'll be able to tell by all the organizationional success, and what the coaches, staff, and players do and say. There will also be some turnover with staff and management, as some folks just can't get it.
Servant Leadership could even save a bad Coach's career, but we'll see.
Love, love, love that he decided to become Solometo's & Chandler's dad this winter. They got a place together in Bradenton, and Davis made damn sure they were focused, eating right, and doing all the extra work required to be great some day. And he laid the foundations for relationships that could really matter down the road. That's how you change an Org. like the Pirates.
I need to run with that topic for a moment. Davis is practicing something called Servant Leadership, as does the coaching staff, the developmental staff, And the front office.
It's year one for the Bucs with Servant Leadership. And it's hard to learn. A lot of businesses and organizations TRY to do this, but it won't take if just skin-deep. You have to eat and breathe this stuff to be successful. It's really an all-in or don't bother type scenario. It kind of transforms you into a different person, a better person IMO.
So very few orgs succeed. If the Pirates actually can do this for real, it will be a key element to their success, driving them towards a very bright future.
Been finding it hysterically funny watching Shelton attempting to live Servant Leadership on camera. He's really giving it his all, and it's so, so uncomfortable.
Admitting to reporters you haven't thought of that, and maybe you should, is exactly an example of this tech. When was the last time you heard a coach say that when he's being criticized by the media? You just can't live this lifestyle without integrity, without being authentic.
Ultimately, I'm sceptical a Nutting lead organization can pull this off. But I also think the world of Ken Sawyer, so there ya go. We'll know in a year if it's going well. You'll be able to tell by all the organizationional success, and what the coaches, staff, and players do and say. There will also be some turnover with staff and management, as some folks just can't get it.
Servant Leadership could even save a bad Coach's career, but we'll see.
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DJ Spinoza
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This kind of thing is always a losing proposition because you can do it with anybody, but I felt similarly heading into the draft and so I feel somewhat justified by the early results. We'd be in a much nicer position if we had opted for Detmers over Gonzo I think. I have become much more "hitter only" at the top of the draft, and I get the middle infield/athlete philosophy, but we have a huge glut of middle infielders and a bottle neck for playing time. The latter could change if we jettison Newman and Tucker, but I'd be surprised if we did for both.
Setting that aside, it's hard not to be worried about Gonzo. The upside was never all that much more than a good hitter with some pop, and K problems in AA are a big red flag. He's still young in terms of development, and the sample is still relatively small, but I'm definitely worried. The one thing giving me pause is his performance in the AFL last year.
Setting that aside, it's hard not to be worried about Gonzo. The upside was never all that much more than a good hitter with some pop, and K problems in AA are a big red flag. He's still young in terms of development, and the sample is still relatively small, but I'm definitely worried. The one thing giving me pause is his performance in the AFL last year.
DJ Spinoza
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This means a DFA is forthcoming unless we have someone who can go to the 60-day IL, and I don't think we do -- only option would be Underwood, who I think has started rehabbing a little bit (Kranick would be too, but he is also pitching in AAA).
There are a lot of options, but Park probably makes the most sense. Very little danger of him being picked up, and he's probably emergency depth at this point.
DJ Spinoza
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That sure was fast with Alford. In general I think the bottom spots on the 40-man roster are not worth losing sleep over. It's easy to hyperfixate and lose sight of how disastrously bad the roster in general is, and how poorly Ben Cherington has done at converting much of anything to MLB success in his time so far. But it's also hard to have a ton of confidence going forward for this reason exactly.
What exactly is the plan? We're so committed to Newman at shortstop everyday that we're running Tucker and Castillo out in the outfield? Why?
Nobody is going to claim Alford (and nobody would claim Park, and probably Tucker), but a lot of the decision-making so far looks like spinning wheels. Marisnik was signed at the last minute but is barely playing. Cruz has played 1 game in AAA in the OF.
(Edit: it shouldn't get lost in the shuffle that Contreras had been the dedicated bulk guy following Brubaker. It's whatever if Contreras goes back to stretch out and replaces quite literally anybody in the rotation in 3 weeks, but the starting pitching is going to get disastrously bad and will be a reason why the bottom falls out, IMO).
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Gallatin
A Banksy of Goonism
That's 70% of it for for me. Twitter & other publications cover the rest.
Gallatin
A Banksy of Goonism
Cruz doesn't want to play outfield, just SS. I'm pretty stoked they finally started forcing it. Still hoping for a SS, but I'm glad to see the back-up plan in games occasionally now.
BTW - the Bucs "forcing it" is an informed opinion, and not a fact at this point.
dogthateats
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DJ Spinoza
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Interesting test for Brubaker now. Started poorly but then was sharper, now he has a lead. If he can even navigate 5 IP and keep the score where it is, that would be a W for the rotation.
I think in all of our wins, we have needed at least 4 runs.
I think in all of our wins, we have needed at least 4 runs.
Scandale du Jour
JordanStaal#1Fan
DJ Spinoza
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Yeah that was terrific. To his credit, yesterday he muffled the one play that led to the inning spiraling, but his second misplay was just a bad bounce.
DJ Spinoza
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Nice to see, hopefully it can get him going.
ChaosAgent
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Reynolds looks less terrible at the plate now. Maybe snapping out of it.
That would be big. Remarkable that this team is treading water without any material contribution from its best player. I see Hoy Park got sent down...who came up?
That would be big. Remarkable that this team is treading water without any material contribution from its best player. I see Hoy Park got sent down...who came up?
ImporterExporter
"You're a boring old man"
Cruz desperately needed that. Before it, he was 0-4 with 3 K's. Really rough start to the year. Hoping that is a turning point.
Roansy pitched solid enough. 3.1 with 3 hits and 2 walks, 5 K's, 1 ER on a solo dinger. He can't get back to Pitt soon enough, given our rotation is an abomination right now.
Martin with 13 extra base hits in 15 games. 2 more RBI's today. As @Gallatin mentioned, the K's are still too much and he's not walking so I remain skeptical, but the good news is he's mashing otherwise.
Gonzo 0-4 but Peguero (.320/.906) and Connor Scott continue to rake, both having multi hit games. Scott really impressive, hitting .400/1.089 with only 8 K's vs 6 walks. Suwinski is OPSing north of 1.100 so he really needs to get a promotion to Indy pretty soon.
As for the MLB club. The bullpen has to get an A+ on the year thus far. They're the difference between a borderline .500 team and probably the worst club in the bigs.
Wil Crowe has been a revelation in this multi inning role. What work to get out of that jam there in the 7th. He and Peters have almost 25 IP combined and have given up nothing. 0 runs. And of course you run that back to Bednar.
Say what you want about Newman, but the guy has hit a little better, and is playing fantastic D at SS. As much as I want to see Cruz up at some point, Newman isn't going anywhere until at least the trade deadline and even then, he's a Shelton/team favorite, clearly. I don't mind him sticking around as a 9 hitter if this is the guy we're getting. People underrate the importance of top shelf D at SS. They really do and I largely blame fantasy sports and betting for the lack of attention to D among fans.
Hayes continues to hit, and get on base. Finally a human error today, but that's an outlier.
Reynolds starting to worry anyone? Maybe it was a good idea we didn't offer him a 9 figure contract?
Let's finish this game folks, and we're looking at 8-8, hardly a record to complain about 4 weeks into the season.
Roansy pitched solid enough. 3.1 with 3 hits and 2 walks, 5 K's, 1 ER on a solo dinger. He can't get back to Pitt soon enough, given our rotation is an abomination right now.
Martin with 13 extra base hits in 15 games. 2 more RBI's today. As @Gallatin mentioned, the K's are still too much and he's not walking so I remain skeptical, but the good news is he's mashing otherwise.
Gonzo 0-4 but Peguero (.320/.906) and Connor Scott continue to rake, both having multi hit games. Scott really impressive, hitting .400/1.089 with only 8 K's vs 6 walks. Suwinski is OPSing north of 1.100 so he really needs to get a promotion to Indy pretty soon.
As for the MLB club. The bullpen has to get an A+ on the year thus far. They're the difference between a borderline .500 team and probably the worst club in the bigs.
Wil Crowe has been a revelation in this multi inning role. What work to get out of that jam there in the 7th. He and Peters have almost 25 IP combined and have given up nothing. 0 runs. And of course you run that back to Bednar.
Say what you want about Newman, but the guy has hit a little better, and is playing fantastic D at SS. As much as I want to see Cruz up at some point, Newman isn't going anywhere until at least the trade deadline and even then, he's a Shelton/team favorite, clearly. I don't mind him sticking around as a 9 hitter if this is the guy we're getting. People underrate the importance of top shelf D at SS. They really do and I largely blame fantasy sports and betting for the lack of attention to D among fans.
Hayes continues to hit, and get on base. Finally a human error today, but that's an outlier.
Reynolds starting to worry anyone? Maybe it was a good idea we didn't offer him a 9 figure contract?
Let's finish this game folks, and we're looking at 8-8, hardly a record to complain about 4 weeks into the season.
Scandale du Jour
JordanStaal#1Fan
Scandale du Jour
JordanStaal#1Fan
ImporterExporter
"You're a boring old man"
ImporterExporter
"You're a boring old man"
Chavis, looks at 2 hittable fastball, especially the first one. Then swings at a breaking pitch that bounces 3 feet short of the plate.
Yikes.
Come on Bednar, shut it down bub.
Yikes.
Come on Bednar, shut it down bub.
ChaosAgent
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Chavis has become a lefty masher only. It's irresponsible to let him face righties.
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