2 Things Today

[Doc]

I agree with much of what's been said in this thread so far. It's time to start acting like a major league club that's trying to win. Some guys need to be sent down while others need to be released.

Demoting Davis, Cruz, Suwinski, and maybe even Triolo would allow the four of them to band together, and support each other, while making a pact to all get back to Pittsburgh with renewed confidence (although I'm no longer sure Suwinski can be a contributing major leaguer). I think it would be easier to go through something like a demotion if one is not alone. Replacing them with Bae, Gonzales, Peguero, Grandal, and Lamb is an easy call at this point.

Releasing Tellez could serve as an indication that the days of trying to resurrect a veteran, who's proven he can't do it anymore, are over. The club needs to stop trying to find success in that way. It rarely works. I would also give great consideration to releasing McCutchen, which would be a PR nightmare but, within a week, it would be forgotten, especially if the team started winning. He has very little left in the way of being an everyday, or even sometime, contributor.

Hard decisions come with the territory when trying to be a winner. It's really easy being in the bottom 25% of the league, or at least the Pirates have made it look easy. But it's really disheartening for those of us who care.

I agree, Doc. Particularly about Suwinski. He was 1 of 3 players SD traded for Adam Frazier, who was a good, steady player but not elite. So a package of 3 prospects was more about quantity than quality. And the primary guy SD was giving up was believed to be Tucupita Marcano, who had hit well in the minors.

OTOH, Suwinski had struggled against high-A pitching in 2019, hitting just .208 with 143 strikeouts in 408 ABs. The minors were shut down in 2020 and in 2021 the Padres moved him up to AA where he hit better (.269 with 15 HRs in 216 ABs but struck out 74 times (1 per every 3 ABs)). The Pirates were intrigued by the power potential and SD didn't mind giving him up. He finished that season in Altoona and his combined AA stats were a .262 BA with 19 HRs but an alarming 125 strikeouts in 367 ABs. After a hot start at Altoona in 2022, the Pirates recalled him after 13 games, skipping AAA. He was optioned to AAA in July despite hitting 14 HRs because he was hitting .198 and still striking out once per every 3 ABs. At Indy, he hit .214 but was recalled anyway in late August. In his 2 stints with the Pirates that year, he hit a combined .202. And his 19 HRs provided only 38 RBIs (just 19 besides himself) since his hits were so few and far between.

In a full season with the Bucs last year, he hit .224 with an impressive 26 HRs. But he struck out once per every 2.5 ABs. This year, he has reduced his strikeouts (21 in 95 ABs, or 1 per every 4.5 ABs) but hitting the ball hasn't helped him. He's at .168. If Suwinski has a future in MLB, it needs to be with a good hitting team that can afford the luxury of a player who usually won't contribute but is always a HR threat. With the Pirates, he's just one of too many players who rarely get hits and contribute to the lack of run production. That's just not a luxury the Pirates can afford when on any given night, there are about 7 guys in the lineup not expected to get a hit. If they can find a team interested in the power potential, I'd trade Suwinski ASAP. Barring that, he's doing more harm than good so I'd send him to AAA.

Good research, Bobster. I think most of us can see that Suwinski strikes out a lot but never really knew at what rate and, now that you've put it out there, it seems even more frightening. His power potential is intriguing but the amount of strikeouts doesn't offset the few times, especially in the first part of this season, he hits a HR.

[3pirates3]

https://twitter.com/_NoahHiles/status/1 ... 7851955263

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/17 ... 7424504093

[Buccobill]

Anybody see Terry Francona wants to get back to managing. Bring in the New Brighton guy.

[Bobster]

Anybody see Terry Francona wants to get back to managing. Bring in the New Brighton guy.

I doubt he would be willing to work as Cherington's yes man.

[PooperScooper !]

I`m all about trades and getting something for Bae would be fine with me. Suwinski you send down to stew and bring up later when he's hot in AAA and the deadline comes up. Then trade his ass. I don`t want guys that strikeout more than 100 time per full season. Done with those. Give me an Eddie Murray .