Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...

[Ecbucs]

5D406466680D0 wrote: 2 errors (Gonzalez and Moran) and 3 more misplays (Bell drops foul pop, Moran lets ball go under his glove for a "hit" and Gonzalez makes bad throw to 2B to prevent Frazier from pivoting for a sure DP), a PB, 2 WPs, 3 HBPs, 8 walks. Embarrassing.


Don't forget about Gonzalez base running gaffe when he got caught in no man's land between 2nd and 3rd.



The good news is, they can't be this bad all year.  Right?


where is Ronny Cedeno when you need him?

[rucker59@gmail.com]

We can’t forget target practice against the umpires. We hit em high and we hit em very low.  Successfully knocked one ump out, working on nunber 2. 

[SteadyFreddy]

I know it’s way too early to panic 3 games in but if Gonzalez is going to continue to struggle on his defense and his baserunning and costs the Pirates games like he did yesterday then the Pirates seriously need to consider moving Kang to short and play Moran at 3rd on a daily basis. It looks like with Gonzalez right now the Pirates are pretty much getting what they paid for. They refused to go spend money on a better shortstop in free agency and guys like Newman who they drafted stink and can’t play everyday so this is the end result. So nobody especially Pirates management and Hurdle should be surprised at all.

[Bobster21]

17302125203D02362120203D440 wrote: I know it’s way too early to panic 3 games in but if Gonzalez is going to continue to struggle on his defense and his baserunning and costs the Pirates games like he did yesterday then the Pirates seriously need to consider moving Kang to short and play Moran at 3rd on a daily basis. It looks like with Gonzalez right now the Pirates are pretty much getting what they paid for. They refused to go spend money on a better shortstop in free agency and guys like Newman who they drafted stink and can’t play everyday so this is the end result. So nobody especially Pirates management and Hurdle should be surprised at all.
OMG Freddy, did you see Moran validate all the concerns about his defense by botching 2 routine grounders? And Kang hasn't played SS except for 1 ST game in years and didn't have the range back then. So they'd have a SS who won't get to enough balls and a 3Bman who can't field anything. I'd at least give Newman a try before I got so desperate that I moved Kang to SS and put Moran back at 3B. I'd also try Reyes at SS.

[rucker59@gmail.com]

55726367627F40746362627F060 wrote: I know it’s way too early to panic 3 games in but if Gonzalez is going to continue to struggle on his defense and his baserunning and costs the Pirates games like he did yesterday then the Pirates seriously need to consider moving Kang to short and play Moran at 3rd on a daily basis. It looks like with Gonzalez right now the Pirates are pretty much getting what they paid for. They refused to go spend money on a better shortstop in free agency and guys like Newman who they drafted stink and can’t play everyday so this is the end result. So nobody especially Pirates management and Hurdle should be surprised at all.


Yesterday HAD to be a fluke. One very ugly, embarrassing, costly fluke. Because if it’s not a fluke, if this team is as remotely inept as they played yesterday, this organization will be finished in Pittsburgh under this ownership. If the smallest payroll in baseball means ownership accepts the team preforming at such a poor level, then this ownership is literally violating the intregity of the game (no longer concerned for the level of play except to maintain rights to cash MLB CHECKS). Even I will be finished with this origanization.



So it must be a fluke. It better be one very ugly, embarrassing, costly fluke.

[Bobster21]

55486C6E60050 wrote: 2 errors (Gonzalez and Moran) and 3 more misplays (Bell drops foul pop, Moran lets ball go under his glove for a "hit" and Gonzalez makes bad throw to 2B to prevent Frazier from pivoting for a sure DP), a PB, 2 WPs, 3 HBPs, 8 walks. Embarrassing.


Don't forget about Gonzalez base running gaffe when he got caught in no man's land between 2nd and 3rd.



The good news is, they can't be this bad all year.  Right?
Yes, I forgot about the base running gaffe. But I noticed before Archer bunted that Bartee was telling Gonzalez something at 1B while pointing in a couple directions. I couldn't imagine what Bartee was pointing out since it was going to be a standard sac bunt. And then Gonzalez tried to go to 3B on the bunt. I wonder if Bartee was telling him to see how the infielders were shifting and to take 3B if it was left uncovered. Of course it wasn't left uncovered for long but that may have been why Gonzalez tried that. Just a horrible game on so many levels.

[SteadyFreddy]

1F323F2E29382F6F6C5D0 wrote: I know it’s way too early to panic 3 games in but if Gonzalez is going to continue to struggle on his defense and his baserunning and costs the Pirates games like he did yesterday then the Pirates seriously need to consider moving Kang to short and play Moran at 3rd on a daily basis. It looks like with Gonzalez right now the Pirates are pretty much getting what they paid for. They refused to go spend money on a better shortstop in free agency and guys like Newman who they drafted stink and can’t play everyday so this is the end result. So nobody especially Pirates management and Hurdle should be surprised at all.
OMG Freddy, did you see Moran validate all the concerns about his defense by botching 2 routine grounders? And Kang hasn't played SS except for 1 ST game in years and didn't have the range back then. So they'd have a SS who won't get to enough balls and a 3Bman who can't field anything. I'd at least give Newman a try before I got so desperate that I moved Kang to SS and put Moran back at 3B. I'd also try Reyes at SS.   


Yea I see what you’re saying believe me I’m not the biggest Colin Moran fan I don’t think he is anything special but with him and Kang in the lineup it will at least give you some pop in the lineup as opposed to both Newman and Gonzalez who both add absolutely nothing with the bat. So we’ll see like I said it’s only 3 games but like I pointed out before this management team refuses to spend money and tries to justify every garbage move they make and yesterday they got what they paid for with Gonzalez which is absolutely nothing.

[Bobster21]

51766763667B44706766667B020 wrote: I know it’s way too early to panic 3 games in but if Gonzalez is going to continue to struggle on his defense and his baserunning and costs the Pirates games like he did yesterday then the Pirates seriously need to consider moving Kang to short and play Moran at 3rd on a daily basis. It looks like with Gonzalez right now the Pirates are pretty much getting what they paid for. They refused to go spend money on a better shortstop in free agency and guys like Newman who they drafted stink and can’t play everyday so this is the end result. So nobody especially Pirates management and Hurdle should be surprised at all.
OMG Freddy, did you see Moran validate all the concerns about his defense by botching 2 routine grounders? And Kang hasn't played SS except for 1 ST game in years and didn't have the range back then. So they'd have a SS who won't get to enough balls and a 3Bman who can't field anything. I'd at least give Newman a try before I got so desperate that I moved Kang to SS and put Moran back at 3B. I'd also try Reyes at SS.   


Yea I see what you’re saying believe me I’m not the biggest Colin Moran fan I don’t think he is anything special but with him and Kang in the lineup it will at least give you some pop in the lineup as opposed to both Newman and Gonzalez who both add absolutely nothing with the bat. So we’ll see like I said it’s only 3 games but like I pointed out before this management team refuses to spend money and tries to justify every garbage move they make and yesterday they got what they paid for with Gonzalez which is absolutely nothing.
I think it speaks volumes that Cleveland included 2 pitching prospects along with Gonzalez (who they viewed as a utility player) just to get Moroff and Luplow. And Hurdle said in an interview at the end of ST that Gonzalez had been erratic in the field but he hoped Gonzalez would relax and improve after being named the starter. It's only 3 games but it's troubling that TBMTIB sees Gonzalez as the answer at SS after his old team seemed to put so little value on him and he struggled thru the spring.

[SteadyFreddy]

Listening to Frank Connelly on a lot of the talk shows yesterday talk about how good he really thinks this team is was a complete joke. He gave such garbage answers like he usually does when asked why the Pirates didn’t go out and spend more money in free agency. He said he definitely expects the team to compete for a wildcard spot. If that’s the ceiling for this management team and what they will ultimately will be satisfied with at the end of the day they need to seriously reevaluate a lot of different things.

[Bobster21]

67405155504D72465150504D340 wrote: Listening to Frank Connelly on a lot of the talk shows yesterday talk about how good he really thinks this team is was a complete joke. He gave such garbage answers like he usually does when asked why the Pirates didn’t go out and spend more money in free agency. He said he definitely expects the team to compete for a wildcard spot. If that’s the ceiling for this management team and what they will ultimately will be satisfied with at the end of the day they need to seriously reevaluate a lot of different things.
"Competing" for a WC spot is easy. Management and fans have a liberal interpretation of what that actually means. We could say they competed for a WC spot last year. But how serious was that effort? On September 15 after 147 games they were still under .500 at 73-74. They were 7.5 games behind Colorado (81-67) for that 2nd WC spot and there were 5 teams ahead of them all hoping to snag that last spot. So I think, down to the final 2 weeks of the season, most fans thought they were watching a team that lost more than it won and did not think they had been watching a WC contender all season.



But the Bucs went 9-5 after that point to finish at 82-79. So of the 5 teams ahead of them for the 2nd WC spot 2 weeks earlier, they passed the Phillies, who slumped to 80-82, they finished a half game ahead of the Nats and Diamondbacks (82-80) because the Bucs didn't make up a meaningless final game, they were still 5.5 games behind the Cardinals, who also failed to get the 2nd WC spot, and they were not able to get close to the Rockies who got the 2nd WC spot with a 91-71 record, which was 8.5 games ahead of the Pirates. Realistically, they never threatened the Rockies for that last WC spot. The Cardinals, at 88-74, were a threat to the Rockies but even they didn't make it and they were 5.5 games ahead of the also-ran Pirates.



So when we hear the Pirates are expected to compete for a WC spot, that doesn't mean much. It only means they can be under .500 with only 2 weeks to play, will never come close to the team that wins the 2nd WC spot and may not even get too close to the next best team that fails to get a WC spot.