Official Game Thread - 6/23 - Bucs vs Rays

[Bobster]

Hate to say but,Skenes gets lit up today.

Hmmm
Line on Skenes
7 innings 1run 6 hits 8K's
You might have to change your definition of getting lit-up

Looks like it's Holderman getting lit up today.

[Wildwoodcoach]

What a Joke- 3 hits again today
In the first game of this series, the Rays had 17 hits.
The bucs don't have 17 hits total in 4 games. Didn't have a hit after the
4th inning today.
Reynolds 2 hits, Olivares 1 hit
I believe it was last Sunday that BOZO Shelton rested Cutch, Gonzales and Joe and
we got the same result. It's beyond pathetic.
Getting more and more painful to watch

[Wildwoodcoach]

Hate to say but,Skenes gets lit up today.

Hmmm
Line on Skenes
7 innings 1run 6 hits 8K's
You might have to change your definition of getting lit-up

Looks like it's Holderman getting lit up today.

I jinxed him

[Bobster]

They lost the rubber game of the series but the important thing was that Cutch and Gonzales got rest (again). Judging from the lineup, it wasn't a game Sheltington cared about winning.

[JollyRoger8]

Another wasted pitching performance and a Sunday lineup that featured: .227, .226, .210, .178, .184, .192
Time is slipping away. BC needs to bring in some bats.
There is no excuse for seeing another at bat by Suwinski, Taylor, Grandal.
Would the White Sox part with Roberts for a package containingTemarr, Priester, Suwinski, and another ML pitcher not named Chandler, Solometo, or Harrington?

[PooperScooper !]

Gold glove 3b that's always hurt, can't hit and has team control should fetch something ?

3 hits Pirate's have another week of good Reynolds and he will surely go back to reality.

Long summer ahead.

[Doc]

While Nutting was telling reporters that the goal for this year is to make the playoffs (I nearly split my spleen laughing at that one), behind closed doors he’s instructed his management team to try not to win games over the next few weeks. BC can then admit it’s no longer feasible to be buyers at the Deadline and the team will therefore be sellers, with the goal to acquire young, projectable talent (that’s preferably in Low A ball) by July 31 in preparation for making a run at the postseason in future years.

[Wildwoodcoach]

Think how difficult it is for a Pirate starter who knows that he has to
pitch a shutout for a chance to win.

[Doc]

Think how difficult it is for a Pirate starter who knows that he has to
pitch a shutout for a chance to win.

Their agents probably have to talk them off a ledge after every start, and explain to them that it’ll all be over soon, and then they’ll be able to play with a real organization that tries to win.

[Bobster]

Think how difficult it is for a Pirate starter who knows that he has to
pitch a shutout for a chance to win.

I feel bad for Keller because he signed an extension. Skenes and Jones likely see this as a steppingstone to a career somewhere else, as Cole did. They know the team doesn't prioritize winning, so I doubt they get too upset about something they have no control over. There are the occasional exceptions like Keller, Reynolds and Hayes but the Pirates are generally a team of young players trying to establish themselves in MLB before moving on and older players trying to hang on or get a chance no one else would give them to revive their careers.

The players see what we see and to even a much greater degree. They see the lack of significant roster improvements and they see the impoverished lineups while better players get an abundance of rest. I think over the course of 162 games they get accustomed to not expecting to win. They want to win of course. But they must feel like they're playing with one hand tied behind their back. They haven't won more than 2 in a row or lost more than 2 in a row since early May. So they know that when they win a game, they are likely to lose the next one. Especially when they see how Shelton runs the team with no priority on winning. I suspect the players are too accustomed to the lack of success to get upset about it.