OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: New season of plundering begins

[Empoleon8771]

IMO the next stretch is pretty do or die, simply in terms of whether or not the team has a puncher's chance to stay relevant as we get close to the warm months of the summer.

I guess it's possible that we could continue to struggle in the A's series, as well as against the Rockies and Angels, and then stay in the thick of it, but it's pretty much desperation time as far as getting some Ws back on the board and having a better 10-game stretch.

Eh the season is 162 games long. I have a tough time saying any sort of stretch 30 games into the year is a "do or die". A hot 10 game run in July can completely negate out a cold run in August.

I don't think things are amazing right now, and I can definitely criticize quite a few players. At the same time, some of the criticisms in here seem over the top and complaining to complain. Like Hayes is a good example of this, there was a post that Hayes "regressed back to 2022 form" above yet he's still at a 112 OPS+ on the year (at least before this game right now).

I'm not trying to gatekeep what is fair and what isn't fair to criticize, because there is so much to criticize. But at least from what I can tell, some of it is reaching unnecessary levels overreacting to a bad stretch. With that being said, some guys on the Pirates (namely Bednar, Tellez, Davis and Suwinski) have been truly ghastly so far and absolutely deserve the criticism that has been thrown there way here.

 

[Factorial]

Nice play by Triolo.

Kevin Young mentioned him being 6'6", 6'7"?

He's a net negative on the telecast.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I know they use Joe in more of a platoon role against lefties, but I really feel like he should be the everyday 1B until he cools off.

He obviously beats up on lefties, but he also has a .269/.345./.423 slash line against righties so far this year. Even taking out how awful Tellez has been, Joe has an OPS+ of 120 against righties this year and that's plenty good enough to be the everyday 1B.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Eh the season is 162 games long. I have a tough time saying any sort of stretch 30 games into the year is a "do or die". A hot 10 game run in July can completely negate out a cold run in August.

I don't think things are amazing right now, and I can definitely criticize quite a few players. At the same time, some of the criticisms in here seem over the top and complaining to complain. Like Hayes is a good example of this, there was a post that Hayes "regressed back to 2022 form" above yet he's still at a 112 OPS+ on the year (at least before this game right now).

I'm not trying to gatekeep what is fair and what isn't fair to criticize, because there is so much to criticize. But at least from what I can tell, some of it is reaching unnecessary levels overreacting to a bad stretch. With that being said, some guys on the Pirates (namely Bednar, Tellez, Davis and Suwinski) have been truly ghastly so far and absolutely deserve the criticism that has been thrown there way here.

No, it really is that bad.
These guys are fraudulent. To some extent the comment about Hayes was overkill though.

The offense needs to score 4 runs a game. If they can't, most of them should be replaced.

Mitch Keller also sucks.

 

[BusinessGoose]

Keller is okay in every sense of the word

Would have been nice to sign some other ball throwers though to compliment it

 

[ChaosAgent]

Keller is okay in every sense of the word

Would have been nice to sign some other ball throwers though to compliment it

Why couldn't we have just gone year to year with this okay dude in arbitration? We had 2 more years.

He regressed so hard in the 2nd half of last year, it's baffling to think we needed to extend him with 2 years of team control remaining.

It's for the PR and the vibes of the team, not a player who deserved it.

 

[Factorial]

Keller is okay in every sense of the word

Would have been nice to sign some other ball throwers though to compliment it

Sadly, it's what a .500 pitcher costs these days.

 

[metalan2]

This lineup is as bad as it's ever been. How are we in year 6 of the rebuild and have not made one significant upgrade in the lineup? This can very easily be a 90-95 loss team.

 

[ChaosAgent]

This lineup is as bad as it's ever been. How are we in year 6 of the rebuild and have not made one significant upgrade in the lineup? This can very easily be a 90-95 loss team.

I think 100 honestly.

Bob Nutting is terrible, but Ben Cherington is just about as bad of an exec/baseball czar.
Don't see how anyone can defend this failure any more.

 

[BusinessGoose]

Yeah, we don't want to go late into games with the score close

It's unlikely that we'll beat the bullpen

And the A's have some long bomb hitters with speed, too

Just quoting myself

My scouting report on the A's holds up. How do I send this to the team?

Outclassing us in all metrics

To think, we are going to have a losing west coast swing

 

[wheelz87]

I have nobody to blame but myself but I should be HAMMERING the team total under on the Buccos night after night. I'd be making some serious cash.

 

[ChaosAgent]

At this point I think Haines must be fired, Suwinski/Davis must be sent down and Tellez must be released just to send a message.

Honestly I am hoping the team is booed mercilessly and insulted by the fans on Friday. They deserve so much hate. What a disgusting group.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

 

[metalan2]

I think 100 honestly.

Bob Nutting is terrible, but Ben Cherington is just about as bad of an exec/baseball czar.
Don't see how anyone can defend this failure any more.

Besides Hayes and Reynolds, the entire lineup is cheap cast offs, like it always was. It's absolutely horrific stuff.

I forgot about Cruz, but even he doesn't move the needle.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Besides Hayes and Reynolds, the entire lineup is cheap cast offs, like it always was. It's absolutely horrific stuff.

I forgot about Cruz, but even he doesn't move the needle.

Cruz is a 6'7 guy with lightning quick hands. Too bad he can't actually hit MLB pitching. For a lineup-carrying kind of prospect his track record is extremely suspect.

You're right though, it's a vastly undertalented lineup. Suwinski was a B- prospect who was the 2nd piece of the Adam Frazier trade behind Marcano who BC coveted (gone). Triolo is a glove/utility guy. MAT was available for $4M in March. Cutch is washed. Tellez was a dart throw that failed.

The scary part is BC produced just about zero depth behind this group, aside from (checks notes) Nick Gonzales.

 

[sovietsanta87]

I mean. The owner employed a hockey guy as team president. Are we really trusting he’s doing his due diligence on hiring people to run a state of the art baseball team

 

[MrBrightside]

The one upside to the offense’s collapse is that they may break down and call up Skenes just to turn attention away from the bleakness that exists otherwise.

 

[BusinessGoose]

Looks like Priester will get the nod again today. I still want to hate him, but he's really been quite decent, certainly good enough to keep it close and give the team a chance to win.

We're going up against Stripling. Might be our best chance to put up early runs.

I don't think we will though. Ready to finish the swing on a positive, so hope my expectations are subverted...

 

[DJ Spinoza]

It seems like most people think Skenes will make one last home start in Indianapolis on Sunday, which then puts him in line to be called up for the following weekend at home vs. the Cubs.

From a ticket standpoint, I sort of thought they might try to time Skenes' home debut for a Mon-Thurs night, since those games tend to sell horribly, but it does seem like things will line up to happen in this way.

That said, there's one last excuse I can see the Pirates trotting out, which is that Skenes still hasn't really been on a 5-day routine yet. In part because of the minor league schedule (no Monday games), he's mostly been 5 full days off instead of the 4 that is typical for the MLB rotation. So they could push that out and then maybe wait until whenever the next homestand is in a few weeks.

He's obviously too good for AAA.

 

[metalan2]

Cruz is a 6'7 guy with lightning quick hands. Too bad he can't actually hit MLB pitching. For a lineup-carrying kind of prospect his track record is extremely suspect.

You're right though, it's a vastly undertalented lineup. Suwinski was a B- prospect who was the 2nd piece of the Adam Frazier trade behind Marcano who BC coveted (gone). Triolo is a glove/utility guy. MAT was available for $4M in March. Cutch is washed. Tellez was a dart throw that failed.

The scary part is BC produced just about zero depth behind this group, aside from (checks notes) Nick Gonzales.

Yea dude, it's absolutely criminal. Pirates are no closer to competing for a playoff spot than when Cheirngton arrived lol

Worst franchise in professional sports.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Lol, no runs and Cruz's "nevermind the yips, look at how hard he throws!" costs us.

Beyond his offense, people ignoring the throwing demons are delusional. Ticking time bomb.

 

[sovietsanta87]

mccutchen with a .545 average vs stripling. Naturally he isn’t in the lineup today

 

[ImporterExporter]

How do you people actually spend time watching this bullshit?

 

[Empoleon8771]

I am absolutely perplexed how this team is trying literally nothing to spark the offense.

At least Priester looks encouraging?

 

[Empoleon8771]

Honestly the biggest concern I have with the hitters right now is Cruz. His average and OBP are fine, but the dude is just hitting for zero power. It's fine if Cruz is around a .250 average and .300 OBP, you're not expecting him to be an on-base machine or anything like that. But he has a .345 slugging right now, that is horrendous for someone with his power. His slugging should be a full 100 points better, the expectation for him should be a .250/.300/.450 slash line.

That's just what he did in his rookie year in 2022 (.233/.294/.450 slash line), so I don't even think that's an unreasonable ask. He needs to be hitting the ball with power and he's just not. Freaking Alika Williams is getting XBHs at a higher rate (3 in 37 ABs) than Cruz is this year (6 in 113 ABs).