1. I heard on MLB Network yesterday what surely must have been a mistake ... that the Pirates (the Pittsburgh Pirates) lead all of MLB in home runs this spring. (A) Can that possibly be true?; and (B) Does that even matter and can it be a good sign? In my opinion I just don't see how it can project to this Pirates team having a lot of power. I still think we'll be in the bottom third of all teams in HR.
2. Musgrove got lit today and I continue to be convinced that we don't have anywhere near enough good starting pitching. We have Taillon (who might be legit) and then 5 or 6 pitchers who would be contending to be the No. 5 starter for actual contenders. Even if our offense overachieves, I'm afraid our starting rotation is going to be somewhere between below average and rotten. Why Neal continues to believe this collection of 6 or 7 starters can be competitive at the major league level is beyond me.
2 Spring Training Thoughts
Moderators: SammyKhalifa, Doc, Bobster
2 Spring Training Thoughts
1. As far as the home run thing is concerned I'm willing to say with some confidence that those numbers in Spring Training are predictive of nothing. Exhibit #1: Brad Eldred
The Pirates might hit more home runs than anyone is predicting, but that doesn't mean they'll hit all that many. I'd be astonished if as a team they finish higher than 11th out of the 15 NL teams.
2. Young starting pitchers are probably the most volatile set of athletes on the planet, given to wildly variable performances over the course of a season. With Nova being the only true "veteran" on this staff I expect following the Pirates this year will be a lot like riding The Wild Mouse at Rainbow Gardens.
The Pirates might hit more home runs than anyone is predicting, but that doesn't mean they'll hit all that many. I'd be astonished if as a team they finish higher than 11th out of the 15 NL teams.
2. Young starting pitchers are probably the most volatile set of athletes on the planet, given to wildly variable performances over the course of a season. With Nova being the only true "veteran" on this staff I expect following the Pirates this year will be a lot like riding The Wild Mouse at Rainbow Gardens.
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ChitownBucco
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2 Spring Training Thoughts
i'm not sure Brad Eldred is the example for this.
don't recall whether he hit alot of HR's in spring training. but I do know he hit a TON Of HR's in the minor leagues. and when given the chance had a VERY high rate of HR's in the Majors. To the tune of 12 HR's in 190 ABs in 2005
Mark Johnson is the guy that comes to mind for me for mr. Spring HR mirage
don't recall whether he hit alot of HR's in spring training. but I do know he hit a TON Of HR's in the minor leagues. and when given the chance had a VERY high rate of HR's in the Majors. To the tune of 12 HR's in 190 ABs in 2005
Mark Johnson is the guy that comes to mind for me for mr. Spring HR mirage
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dogknot17@yahoo.co
2 Spring Training Thoughts
Why are people down on Kuhl and Williams? They had a great ending in their first full season. Williams was considered a rookie last year. Kuhl only had 14 starts prior to 2017.
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DemDog
2 Spring Training Thoughts
606B636F6A6B703533447D656C6B6B2A676B040 wrote: Why are people down on Kuhl and Williams? They had a great ending in their first full season. Williams was considered a rookie last year. Kuhl only had 14 starts prior to 2017.
Great endings do not a full season make. To answer your question Dog I believe folks are down on these two because they consider that each may have reached his ceiling and there is not any real chance for improvement going forward. Of course that is just some folks opinion of the two pitchers. Others like you may disagree. This is something that you and others could argue about until hades freezes over and never come to an agreement.
Great endings do not a full season make. To answer your question Dog I believe folks are down on these two because they consider that each may have reached his ceiling and there is not any real chance for improvement going forward. Of course that is just some folks opinion of the two pitchers. Others like you may disagree. This is something that you and others could argue about until hades freezes over and never come to an agreement.
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Bobster21
2 Spring Training Thoughts
5259515D5859420701764F575E5959185559360 wrote: Why are people down on Kuhl and Williams? They had a great ending in their first full season. Williams was considered a rookie last year. Kuhl only had 14 starts prior to 2017.
I'm optimistic about those two. I'm anxious to see if they continue to progress. Kuhl found that 97+ FB last year so he's still evolving. He needs to improve his control, but it wasn't terrible. Williams looks like a smart pitcher with good control. Not just that he doesn't walk a lot but, unlike Glasnow, he puts his strikes where he wants them. Williams had the lowest hits/inning rate of the starters. Cole was 2nd and Kuhl was 3rd. Neither Kuhl nor Williams came with a strong hype or pedigree but I think both have the potential to become valuable starters. Only time will tell but I enjoy watching those two to see how they're coming along.
I'm optimistic about those two. I'm anxious to see if they continue to progress. Kuhl found that 97+ FB last year so he's still evolving. He needs to improve his control, but it wasn't terrible. Williams looks like a smart pitcher with good control. Not just that he doesn't walk a lot but, unlike Glasnow, he puts his strikes where he wants them. Williams had the lowest hits/inning rate of the starters. Cole was 2nd and Kuhl was 3rd. Neither Kuhl nor Williams came with a strong hype or pedigree but I think both have the potential to become valuable starters. Only time will tell but I enjoy watching those two to see how they're coming along.
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SammyKhalifa
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2 Spring Training Thoughts
6368606C6968733630477E666F6868296468070 wrote: Why are people down on Kuhl and Williams? They had a great ending in their first full season. Williams was considered a rookie last year. Kuhl only had 14 starts prior to 2017.
I'm not down on them, just view their upsides as "kinda average." Not sure we're going anywhere with a team full of average guys.
I'm not down on them, just view their upsides as "kinda average." Not sure we're going anywhere with a team full of average guys.
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dogknot17@yahoo.co
2 Spring Training Thoughts
Ok, why do people think they have reached their ceilings? Didn't we see improvements all year long? One was a rookie and the other changed their pitching technique.
How come Taillon didn't reach his ceiling as people expect him to be a top pitcher eventually?
How come Taillon didn't reach his ceiling as people expect him to be a top pitcher eventually?
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SammyKhalifa
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2 Spring Training Thoughts
It's just a feeling man, probably based as much on "professional" reports and predictions as anything else. I like them both (Trevor Williams social media posts are pure gold); but at the same time wouldn't mind if we happened to pick up someone with a 1-2 upside, and they or someone else were bumped.
2 Spring Training Thoughts
Kuhl was consistently really good in the minors. Not a strikeout guy, but didn't walk many. Consistent low ERAs and WHIPs.