Pirates vs Padres - 5/16 - Game Thread

[JollyRoger]

This was the game we really needed to win with Williams on the mound. I don’t feel good about the rest of this series

[SteadyFreddy]

Yea if you can win the opener of a 4 game series you at least like your chances of winning 1 of the next 3 and worst case scenario gaining a split in the series. If you lose this game tonight it makes winning tomorrow nights game all the more important to avoid losing 3 of 4 or being swept 4 games which is the last thing you wanna see.

[SteadyFreddy]

Frustrating loss tonight that should have been a win. So tired of this bullpen blowing leads after the 6th and 7th innings. How much longer are they gonna keep throwing Rodriguez out there and let him give up a game changing home runs?? He has costs the Pirates at least 4-5 games so far this season. Hurdle uses Felipe in the 8th tonight but not last week in the 6-2 game against the Rangers. His usage of this bullpen continue to be troubling to me. The Bucs are now 4-4 on this trip need a big effort out of Jordan Lyles tomorrow night or this series could really get ugly the rest of this weekend.

[Bobster21]

Rodriguez, in only 19.2 innings, leads the staff in HRs allowed (8). He's tied for 9th in the NL for most HRs. He's pitched the fewest innings of everyone in the NL with 8 or more HRs. He's given up HRs in 4 of his last 7 games.

[CarolinaBucco]

So you're saying that Rodriguez is very good at doing what he does.

[Ecbucs]

032E23323524337370410 wrote: Rodriguez, in only 19.2 innings, leads the staff in HRs allowed (8). He's tied for 9th in the NL for most HRs. He's pitched the fewest innings of everyone in the NL with 8 or more HRs. He's given up HRs in 4 of his last 7 games. 


almost anyone else doing this would be back in the minors.

[MaineBucs]

The Pirate's pen has little depth, particularly in comparison to last year. Last year Vasquez, Krick, Rodriguez, and Santana were all good or superior relievers, and the Bucs added Kela (grossly underperforming) to the mix in August.



This year, Rodriguez is every hitter's friend, Santana is out for the year, and Kela is sort of available and pitches okay now and then when he is available. Liriano, unexpectedly, is our 3rd best reliever, and heaven forbid, Feliz may be #4 on the depth chart.



The bullpen, like the starters, has had little depth since the start of the off-season. The failure to add more talent this past off-season is not only at the surface, it is ready to sink a team that really has little business being an above .500 team.



As others have noted, the injuries will give the front office the excuses that they are looking for when the team's record sinks. Unfortunately, we, the fans, will suffer through another season that could have and should have been so much better.



While I like the positives of this year's team:

- Excited and honestly somewhat stunned by Bell's hitting,

- Love Tucker's enthusiasm and believe he can be a major league player,

-Am encouraged by Reynolds play in the majors before any of us thought that he would arrive;

- Can't believe that Lyles has been as good as he has;

- Like how Vasquez is a beast,

- How Melky has demonstrated how little I know about baseball, and a few more.



The disappointments on this year's team are pretty overwhelming:

- Kang, the tank may be empty.

- Moran, does not even look like a short-term option at 3rd (then again, maybe he will have a Josh Bell learning curve);

- Gonzalez, little with the stick,

- Frazier, limited fielding ability and is not hitting all that great

- Cervelli is not hitting and he doesn't try to block pitches with his body, his main goals appear to be animated behind the plate and to make throws.

- Archer - not looking good.

- The 6th & 7th starters, Kingham and Brault, have been horrible.

- The AAA call-ups for the pen have generally been pounded



In short, there is only so much I can tolerate when Greg Brown tries to direct enthusiasm to the good things (I know it's his job), when on the whole, there is no progress to winning a division, the team is at best, treading water.

[SteadyFreddy]

I’m just tired of Clint Hurdle and his usage of this bullpen and his resting of players and his excuse making yet again for Marte forgetting how many outs there were again last night that almost cost Bell getting an at bat with 2 men on. Bob Nutting is the main problem but this team is not gonna go any further under the guidance of Huntington as GM and Hurdle as the manager. Both of these guys need to go. There are just not enough good players on this roster right now to be anything better then a .500 team.

[steve49]

705D50414657400003320 wrote: Rodriguez, in only 19.2 innings, leads the staff in HRs allowed (8). He's tied for 9th in the NL for most HRs. He's pitched the fewest innings of everyone in the NL with 8 or more HRs. He's given up HRs in 4 of his last 7 games. 


Anyone remember Furggie Jenkins ? Really good pitcher that led the league in gopher balls on a regular( 7 times) basis. In his worst year (by far) he gave up 40 Hr in 259 innings. Our guy would be on schedule to give up 108 in the same amount of innings.

[Bobster21]

In the 5th last night, the Pirates got a break when Newman's leadoff pop up was dropped and he was generously credited with a double. Then they got a break when Liriano's weak grounder to 3B was not fielded by the 3Bman and an out became a single. Bucs had 1B & 3B nobody out when it should have been 2 outs and no one on. They got their 3rd break of the inning when Frazier bounced to the pitcher who tried unsuccessfully to get Newman at the plate instead of taking the easy out at 1B. They got their 4th break of the inning when the absent minded Marte forgot how many outs there were and was past 2B on a routine fly out to CF but was able to get back to 1B due to a poor throw. And with 4 breaks in the inning, they managed to score 1 run. ::)