Game Thread Nats@Pirates 4/17…

[rucker59@gmail.com]

66415054514C73475051514C350 wrote: I like this team.  A lot.   Ben has the foundation pieces starting to come together and they look like they could be a very strong foundation.  Ben has added players that seem baseball smart and with some talent to fill in. 



Shelton has done an excellent job getting players into the game and a very good job with the staff.  He’s growing into the job.



There is clearly a plan coming together with a LOT of talent in the minors.  They might lose the next 10 in a row.  But I don’t think they will.  The past couple years have been tough to watch, but necessary.  Even Nutting is being a bit more responsible. 



Take a look. You might see the light of a new day breaking.  I’m already enjoying this ride. I agree with you VA you can start to see some pieces coming into place slowly but surely. They are stacked position player wise right now with starting position players literally about a year or so away from being up here. I wanna continue to see Cherrington fast track some of these guys like Gonzales and Peguero now in AA and even Henry Davis in High A. I wanna see all 3 of these guys up here by next season sometime so let’s see if that happens. I wanna see Shelton quit using so many different lineups each game which hopefully he will do but so far through 9 games he has done a pretty good job with his decision making and using the bullpen guys so hopefully that can continue as well. But so far I am very surprised this team is 5-4 overall and playing so well. I didn’t see a decent start like this coming I’ll admit almost 10 games in it’s nice to see and has been fun to watch so far and hopefully it can keep up.




We’re thinking the same thing except for the lineups. I’m ok with the moving pieces. I think this entire year is going to be a lot of moving pieces. But these moving pieces are to our advantage. None of this is just meaningless roster shuffling.



I’m a believer in giving credit where it’s due. Besides Ben’s work, Shelton has impressed me with his managing.



With all the cynicism it’s easy to blow off progress.

[rucker59@gmail.com]

4B697A67646166694A7D6B6B67080 wrote: Agree with VA totally that this team seems to have the kind of "baseball smarts" that Pirates teams haven't had for a long time. It is a really nice, refreshing change. It's been fun to watch. On a negative note, I just don't think winning is sustainable for this team due to the (complete lack of) starting pitching. It's just too much to overcome.


Keller is a major disappointment. Looks like there’s no happy ending lining up. If Keller and Q work out then we have something to build around. I do think the team is going to be pretty competitive. I almost went crazy in my season prediction, almost went 81-81. But they won’t pull that off….I don’t think.

[Bobster21]

5A786B76757077785B6C7A7A76190 wrote: Agree with VA totally that this team seems to have the kind of "baseball smarts" that Pirates teams haven't had for a long time. It is a really nice, refreshing change. It's been fun to watch. On a negative note, I just don't think winning is sustainable for this team due to the (complete lack of) starting pitching. It's just too much to overcome.
As much as I dislike Shelton's lineups (i.e, who plays and who doesn't) I like his handling of the pitchers. I'm sure it's agreed upon with Cherington but they acknowledge they do not have any legit SPs, are happy to get 4 innings from them without the game getting out of hand, and have no faith that these SPs can get thru a lineup a 3rd time. But they have at least 4 relievers who can give them 2 or 3 quality innings and a few more who can close out games. And even in these 4 inning starts, the SPs are giving up 2, 3 or 4 runs before exiting. Keller and Brubaker have ERAs over 9. By letting a couple relievers go multiple innings each game, they don't have to get the bulk of the BP up and throwing every game. We'll see if it's a sustainable approach.



What's odd to me is that Shelton realizes he needs to use this unusual strategy to try to win games but at the same time often uses lineups that make him appear disinterested in winning.

[fjk090852-7]

4E6F674E656D0A0 wrote: I think Michael Chavis needs to remain in the lineup for several days to see if he can continue to hit like he has over the past few games. Right now he appears to be locked in at the plate.


I agree, but what happens when he becomes "unlocked" at the plate?

Then we have to think about Diego Castillo.  How long do they stick with him?  He is not hitting with the power he did in ST but he is not disproving his inclusion on the Active Roster with his timely hits and his ability to play several positions.

The Bucs have some big decisions to make when rosters are pared down to 26 at the end of the month.


At the end of the month when they reduce the roster the position player they must remove should be between Tucker and Park. At this point Castillo remains on the roster. I just noticed today Tucker has fanned 10 times already this year, and he is not a home run threat.

[Bobster21]

6A66673C353C34393E213B0C0 wrote: I think Michael Chavis needs to remain in the lineup for several days to see if he can continue to hit like he has over the past few games. Right now he appears to be locked in at the plate.


I agree, but what happens when he becomes "unlocked" at the plate?

Then we have to think about Diego Castillo.  How long do they stick with him?  He is not hitting with the power he did in ST but he is not disproving his inclusion on the Active Roster with his timely hits and his ability to play several positions.

The Bucs have some big decisions to make when rosters are pared down to 26 at the end of the month.


At the end of the month when they reduce the roster the position player they must remove should be between Tucker and Park. At this point Castillo remains on the roster. I just noticed today Tucker has fanned 10 times already this year, and he is not a home run threat.
I won't be surprised if they option Castillo when they have to cut down to 26. Not for performance issues. But they won't want him to be in the top 22% of rookies in service time which would give him an extra year of arbitration via Super 2 status unless they perceive Castillo will not become the type of player who could command a high salary in arbitration.

[Surgnbuck]

Guys enjoy the win.

[DemDog]

I look at Chavis as being a JHay clone. He can play all over the field and seems to have a desire to do whatever he can to win a game.

[fjk090852-7]

446964757263743437060 wrote: I think Michael Chavis needs to remain in the lineup for several days to see if he can continue to hit like he has over the past few games. Right now he appears to be locked in at the plate.


I agree, but what happens when he becomes "unlocked" at the plate?

Then we have to think about Diego Castillo.  How long do they stick with him?  He is not hitting with the power he did in ST but he is not disproving his inclusion on the Active Roster with his timely hits and his ability to play several positions.

The Bucs have some big decisions to make when rosters are pared down to 26 at the end of the month.


At the end of the month when they reduce the roster the position player they must remove should be between Tucker and Park. At this point Castillo remains on the roster. I just noticed today Tucker has fanned 10 times already this year, and he is not a home run threat.
I won't be surprised if they option Castillo when they have to cut down to 26. Not for performance issues. But they won't want him to be in the top 22% of rookies in service time which would give him an extra year of arbitration via Super 2 status unless they perceive Castillo will not become the type of player who could command a high salary in arbitration.
Darn, you make a good point about sending him down. I forgot about Super 2.