Official Game Thread - 6/23 - Bucs vs Rays

[Carolina Bucco]

The whole "resting" think drives me nuts.

The Pirates were off last Monday.

Cutch and Gonzalez were given the day off to "rest" last Thursday.

The Pirates were off again this past Thursday.

So in a span of 10 days, Cutch and GOnzalez had 3 days to "rest."

So OF COURSE they needed another day off today after playing TWO WHOLE GAMES IN A ROW !!!

Honestly it's just idiotic.

Your best players should get 1 day off every 2 weeks ... because they also get team off-days built in as well.

Drives me crazy ...

[Doc]

The whole "resting" think drives me nuts.

The Pirates were off last Monday.

Cutch and Gonzalez were given the day off to "rest" last Thursday.

The Pirates were off again this past Thursday.

So in a span of 10 days, Cutch and GOnzalez had 3 days to "rest."

So OF COURSE they needed another day off today after playing TWO WHOLE GAMES IN A ROW !!!

Honestly it's just idiotic.

Your best players should get 1 day off every 2 weeks ... because they also get team off-days built in as well.

Drives me crazy ...

Which is why no one - not the owner, not the GM, not the manager - can ever convince me that winning is the priority.

[Doc]

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.

This is exactly how I see it, too. Not only our players, but the others around baseball. No player worth his salt would want to come here because, in the end, they're all driven to compete and to win. Those goals are foreign in this organization.

[bucs607179]

Hate to say but,Skenes gets lit up today.

You may be expecting to much cause I'll take his line from yesterday any day.

[Wildwoodcoach]

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.

This is exactly how I see it, too. Not only our players, but the others around baseball. No player worth his salt would want to come here because, in the end, they're all driven to compete and to win. Those goals are foreign in this organization.

Yet the faithful come out in droves to see Skenes and Jones pitch, further filling Nuttings pockets. Glad I don't live
there because I would probably do the same damn thing.

[Bobster]

The whole "resting" think drives me nuts.

The Pirates were off last Monday.

Cutch and Gonzalez were given the day off to "rest" last Thursday.

The Pirates were off again this past Thursday.

So in a span of 10 days, Cutch and GOnzalez had 3 days to "rest."

So OF COURSE they needed another day off today after playing TWO WHOLE GAMES IN A ROW !!!

Honestly it's just idiotic.

Your best players should get 1 day off every 2 weeks ... because they also get team off-days built in as well.

Drives me crazy ...

Cherington knows fans will come to see Skenes. Attendance was 29,000 yesterday. So that was the "win" they were looking for. The outcome of the game--and the series--was insignificant, as proven by playing the game without Cutch and Gonzalez and with 4 guys near or below the Mendoza line.

The over emphasis on resting players is counterproductive to winning. That's obvious. But it makes sense if the goal is to keep the best players from sustaining injuries due to wear and tear on their bodies and losing them as gate attractions for any length of time. Especially this season when so many NL teams are hovering at or just below .500 that the Pirates can be marketed as playoff contenders without even needing a winning record. Sheltington isn't trying to pile up wins. They are trying to sustain marketability.

[Surgnbuck]

Damn, I hope a bunch of you stayed away from knives and guns yesterday.

[Osushawn]

If I am Nutting, I am telling Shelton that Skenes only pitches on Saturdays or Sundays so he will always get huge home crowds.

[Wildwoodcoach]

Damn, I hope a bunch of you stayed away from knives and guns yesterday.

Surg, Carol broke up my profanity laced tirade by asking me if you were at the game?
I said "hopefully, he deserves to suffer like the rest of us"

[Surgnbuck]

Damn, I hope a bunch of you stayed away from knives and guns yesterday.

Surg, Carol broke up my profanity laced tirade by asking me if you were at the game?
I said "hopefully, he deserves to suffer like the rest of us"

I only went to Saturday's game. The one they won