Looking at Moran and Gonzalez and their defense I wonder who the guys were TBMTIB had scouting them? Why didn't these scouts pick up on their lack of fielding skills?
When I saw the hit (error) that went under Moran's glove yesterday I flashed back to my days as a little league infielder and how the coaches told us to get in front of the ball rather than trying to field in as Moran did. He did not have to move more than a half step and he could have fielded the ball cleanly.
As for the feed from Gonzalez to Frazier on the botched DP ball they needed to let the one guy in attendance at the game Dick Groat work with him on feeding the 2Bman. It is this lack of basic play that frustrates me more than anything concerning the defense on the left side of the infield. To win this team needs to make the routine plays all the time.
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
Moderators: SammyKhalifa, Doc, Bobster
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Bobster21
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
103139103B33540 wrote: Looking at Moran and Gonzalez and their defense I wonder who the guys were TBMTIB had scouting them? Why didn't these scouts pick up on their lack of fielding skills?
When I saw the hit (error) that went under Moran's glove yesterday I flashed back to my days as a little league infielder and how the coaches told us to get in front of the ball rather than trying to field in as Moran did. He did not have to move more than a half step and he could have fielded the ball cleanly.
As for the feed from Gonzalez to Frazier on the botched DP ball they needed to let the one guy in attendance at the game Dick Groat work with him on feeding the 2Bman. It is this lack of basic play that frustrates me more than anything concerning the defense on the left side of the infield. To win this team needs to make the routine plays all the time.
Maybe it's the same scouts who said Polanco was going to be a great defensive outfielder.
When I saw the hit (error) that went under Moran's glove yesterday I flashed back to my days as a little league infielder and how the coaches told us to get in front of the ball rather than trying to field in as Moran did. He did not have to move more than a half step and he could have fielded the ball cleanly.
As for the feed from Gonzalez to Frazier on the botched DP ball they needed to let the one guy in attendance at the game Dick Groat work with him on feeding the 2Bman. It is this lack of basic play that frustrates me more than anything concerning the defense on the left side of the infield. To win this team needs to make the routine plays all the time.
Maybe it's the same scouts who said Polanco was going to be a great defensive outfielder.
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
If Gonzalez ends up not being a good fielder, I don't even know what to say. The scouting incompetence is uncanny.
Who watched statue Moran play 3b in the minors and thought he could be a major league regular at the position?
If Gonzalez is not a good fielder, who were the scouts pounding the table for him due to his defensive wizardry? Who said Newman had plus defense as a prospect? (now as he approaches MLB, a negative at short supposedly) Who said Polanco was a good outfielder? Who said Jose Tabata was a good outfielder? Who said Tony Sanchez was a major league quality defensive catcher?
How do we miss on defense so often? Or are we just spreading propaganda?
Who watched statue Moran play 3b in the minors and thought he could be a major league regular at the position?
If Gonzalez is not a good fielder, who were the scouts pounding the table for him due to his defensive wizardry? Who said Newman had plus defense as a prospect? (now as he approaches MLB, a negative at short supposedly) Who said Polanco was a good outfielder? Who said Jose Tabata was a good outfielder? Who said Tony Sanchez was a major league quality defensive catcher?
How do we miss on defense so often? Or are we just spreading propaganda?
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
7D505D4C4B5A4D0D0E3F0 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.
Our GM thought we were successful. Said we were in position to add at the deadline for the 6th straight season, or something ridiculous.
We won the "in a position to add at the deadline" trophy. It's on NH's mantle at home.
"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.
Our GM thought we were successful. Said we were in position to add at the deadline for the 6th straight season, or something ridiculous.
We won the "in a position to add at the deadline" trophy. It's on NH's mantle at home.
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SteadyFreddy
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
Neal also continues to use Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau as examples from 2013 6 years ago of how they have added in the past and also names like Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick as well which was like 8 years ago in 2011 when the team wasn’t even good. I mean you can only say these things for so long. When are Coonelly and Neal gonna realize nobody cares anymore about the 2013 team that won nothing and the 3 wildcard years from 13-15 where you won nothing as well. Make the team better now and stop trying to justify the team going out and making moves that happened 6-8 years ago nobody cares.
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Bobster21
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
44637276736E51657273736E170 wrote: Neal also continues to use Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau as examples from 2013 6 years ago of how they have added in the past and also names like Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick as well which was like 8 years ago in 2011 when the team wasn’t even good. I mean you can only say these things for so long. When are Coonelly and Neal gonna realize nobody cares anymore about the 2013 team that won nothing and the 3 wildcard years from 13-15 where you won nothing as well. Make the team better now and stop trying to justify the team going out and making moves that happened 6-8 years ago nobody cares.
Yes, I've heard them boast about taking on more payroll than any other team at the trade deadline in some years. But they're only talking about paying those players for 1 month. Any player who is picked up at the [former] 8/31 deadline and is a FA after the season has already been paid all but the final month's salary. So it's not going to be a lot of money. So it's a payroll issue TBMTIB can boast about without really having to pay too much.
Yes, I've heard them boast about taking on more payroll than any other team at the trade deadline in some years. But they're only talking about paying those players for 1 month. Any player who is picked up at the [former] 8/31 deadline and is a FA after the season has already been paid all but the final month's salary. So it's not going to be a lot of money. So it's a payroll issue TBMTIB can boast about without really having to pay too much.
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SteadyFreddy
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
When you hear him talk about both Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick from 2011 when the team was young and totally imploded that year it’s pretty much insulting to listen too. Like go sign Dallas Kuechel this year instead of Jordan Lyles or go sign Freddy Galvis or Mike Moustakas to deals to play short or 3rd and help this Infield in which you could have afforded to do this year and quit shoving guys like Marlon Byrd and Derek Lee down our throat it’s quite pathetic.
Cards@Pirates 4/1 Home Opener Game Thread...
The best I've heard was the "young Freddy Galvis" upside he laid on Gonzalez when the old Freddy Galvis is two years older and available in FA for relative peanuts.
I can't believe he said that given the circumstances of Galvis being functionally the same (or very similar)age and available for only 5-6 million, instead of costing Moroff and Luplow for the "young" "maybe someday" version.
Reading between the lines, he's unwittingly saying he botched the trade ;D
I can't believe he said that given the circumstances of Galvis being functionally the same (or very similar)age and available for only 5-6 million, instead of costing Moroff and Luplow for the "young" "maybe someday" version.
Reading between the lines, he's unwittingly saying he botched the trade ;D