OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: Polanco likes to fish

[cheesedanish87]

Did Pedro get traded to Miami

 

[clefty]

Cole Tucker out for 12 months, huh? Well that's lovely.

 

[Evsidney Malkinsby]

Locke is only at 95 pitches. Hopefully he can get through 8. Nice rest for the bullpen.

 

[bathroomSTAAL]

Nice play by Rammer. If that had been Pedro taking the throw at first the runner would have ended up at 3rd though.

 

[ColePens]

I'm betting on the Cards tonight so that will get a game back for the Buccos. #anythingtowin

 

[ColePens]

I'll also be in Vegas til Sunday so someone spam post this thread up for games. I'll miss watching the games, but the break is worth it.

 

[bathroomSTAAL]

Raise it

 

[DJ Spinoza]

That was a nice relief for a change, and with Cole on the mound tomorrow, we should be able to finish the job and take 3/4.

Cardinals down 1-0 but it's very early.

 

[ColePens]

Well... Won a couple hundred. Small consolation prize to the Buccos gaining no ground.

 

[wheelz87]

Well... Won a couple hundred. Small consolation prize to the Buccos gaining no ground.

Oh man you weren't messing around! That's a big boy bet.

 

[ColePens]

They were getting even money line. Best team in baseball with even ML right before heading to Vegas... so my buddy and I put a nice bet down each to see if we can start up on the trip. It was a nice start lol

Cubs lost though! Which is good. 20/25 for them, right? Ridiculous!

 

[cheesedanish87]

Bum against Haren this afternoon

Cole against Nicolino tonight

On paper it looks like it should be a good day for the Bucs.

 

[Winger for Hire]

Guys, Polonco is getting good vs LHP.

Facing off against Lester in the WC game might not be the mountainous task it was perceived to be a month or two ago.

Also, quick question... how many people hear think Matre gets a Gold Glove this season?
He leads the NL in OF assists (12), has only committed 2 errors (1 coming in CF) and leads LFs in Defensive Runs Saved Above Average.

 

[WickedWrister]

Guys, Polonco is getting good vs LHP.

Facing off against Lester in the WC game might not be the mountainous task it was perceived to be a month or two ago.

Also, quick question... how many people hear think Matre gets a Gold Glove this season?
He leads the NL in OF assists (12), has only committed 2 errors (1 coming in CF) and leads LFs in Defensive Runs Saved Above Average.

And he's had quite a few web gems as well. That actually matters

 

[sf expat71]

Guys, Polonco is getting good vs LHP.

Facing off against Lester in the WC game might not be the mountainous task it was perceived to be a month or two ago.

Also, quick question... how many people hear think Matre gets a Gold Glove this season?
He leads the NL in OF assists (12), has only committed 2 errors (1 coming in CF) and leads LFs in Defensive Runs Saved Above Average.

The same award that Jeter won numerous times? I don't know that he's popular enough, seems you have to "pay your dues" before winning those things...

 

[cheesedanish87]

I think Arrieta would start the wildcard game over Lester.

 

[ColePens]

I heard this on Madden yesterday, but Madden was saying GP was just getting rest. DK was also on and said Hurdle likes to give guys rest and might as well rest him against a lefty even though his numbers improved.

 

[Winger for Hire]

I think Arrieta would start the wildcard game over Lester.

I agree. I would certainly put Jake out there for the WC game.

I was just addressing the worry a couple months ago that any decent lefty would shut down the Pirates, let alone a marquee one like Kershaw or Lester. Madden, DK, the entire The Fan roster was of the opinion that facing Kershaw/Lester/MadBum was an automatic loss because you would have to sit Greg and Pedro and flip Walker to the right side. Now with Greg beating the hell out of lefties and Pedro actually hitting them fairly well (and Morse as a not terrible option), I don't think a team throwing their best lefty for the WC game is a foregone conclusion.

I would love to have Lester on the mound for that game and have Marte, Polonco, Cutch, and Harrison run all over him when they get on base.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Yeah, i'm hoping its Lester on the mound.

Even if Lester is on his game you can manufacture runs because of his inability to control the run game.

And the Pirates lifetime numbers against Arrieta are very ugly outside of Cutch.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I hope we face Lester if we are playing the Cubs in the WC game.

I am not worried about Polanco vs LHP. It was never really an issue for him, and he's been absolutely locked in since he turned everything around. His problems this season were just general problems- certainly they were exasperated against tough lefties early in the season, but those days are behind us.

 

[cheesedanish87]

I was looking at the pirates contracts going into next year

I think it would be a good time to trade Melancon in the off season, he only has 1 year left before free agency, hes making 5.4 million this year, hes going to get a nice raise for next year.

You would be selling high on him.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

I was looking at the pirates contracts going into next year

I think it would be a good time to trade Melancon in the off season, he only has 1 year left before free agency, hes making 5.4 million this year, hes going to get a nice raise for next year.

You would be selling high on him.

I agree 100%. Those are the types of tough decisions that a small market team needs to make to stay relevant. Melancon is great, but they can't afford to let him walk in fa for nothing. Also Watson is a more than adequate replacement.

I don't get why people ever feared a lhp in the wild card game. Granted, it keeps Pedro and Walker's power from the left side out of the starting lineup, but Mercer and McCutchen crush lefties and the Pirates still have plenty of other good right handed bats.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I agree that it's a smart idea, but depends in part on the specifics to me. I haven't done any research on it, but the way you guys are speaking it sounds like we wouldn't get a comp pick for him signing elsewhere? If so, I'd definitely want a return that's more valuable than a 1st round pick.

Kang is on the bench again tonight. Not a fan of this move - it could be just to give him some extra rest, but so far it seems like the nexus of Kang/Ramirez/Mercer/Harrison/Walker is being regularly rotated, with Ramirez resting on all travel days, Walker against any LHP, and Mercer the designated SS for Charlie.

I'm probably reading a little bit into it, and against the Marlins I'm not sure it's a big deal, but Kang is our second best offensive player right now probably.

 

[cheesedanish87]

I don't understand what Hurdle is doing today.

Hes playing Walker and Pedro over Kang Harrison and Morse against a lefty.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Imo Kang has had the 2nd best offensive season of any Pirate, behind only Cutch (duh).

I was for him getting more rest, like once a week. This is too much though. He is too good to be treated as equal to Harrison, Ramirez, and Mercer. I had a feeling Hurdle would pull this bs. Kang has played like a star this year but is being treated like he's a utility guy. No excuse for him getting 2 days off in 1 series so inferior players can get more playing time.