Expectations Enjoying Baseball

johnfluharty · Post by **johnfluharty** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:06 pm

I expect the Pirates to lose a lot of games this year, so I will focus on individual players. I will definitely enjoy watching Reynolds in the outfield and Newman at short. I will be rooting for Moran to turn some kind of corner and find some more power in that bat. I will be hoping that Bell will hit a hoard of home runs so we can trade him for a big pile of prospects later on. I will be rooting for the new cleanly shorn Archer to thrive with some better coaching. I will hope that Kela makes us forget all about our previous closer.

Basically, I WILL find a few things to enjoy and be optimistic about.

It's time for baseball!

GermanTownship · Post by **GermanTownship** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:57 pm

Hoping that we sign Pillar to play center by the end of this week.

Lecom · Post by **Lecom** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:05 pm

313433353D372E333A292F225B0 wrote: I expect the Pirates to lose a lot of games this year, so I will focus on individual players. I will definitely enjoy watching Reynolds in the outfield and Newman at short. I will be rooting for Moran to turn some kind of corner and find some more power in that bat. I will be hoping that Bell will hit a hoard of home runs so we can trade him for a big pile of prospects later on. I will be rooting for the new cleanly shorn Archer to thrive with some better coaching. I will hope that Kela makes us forget all about our previous closer.

Basically, I WILL find a few things to enjoy and be optimistic about.

It's time for baseball!

Probably a good way to look at it since I agree we will not have a winning season again. I really thought if Ben would have added pitching and a catcher we would be competitive but he decided to go young to a degree.

mouse · Post by **mouse** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:35 pm

I, too, am ready for baseball. It will be a year to watch young talent. I've been reading about guys in the minors - time to see what they can do at the ML level.

Quail · Post by **Quail** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 2:02 pm

For the first time since the end of the 2016 season I will be watching the Pirates with a sense of hope. Not the hope that they will somehow have a winning record, but the hope that I will be seeing improvement in how fundamentals are stressed and taught, how players progress and develop, and how under new management there is a refreshingly clean slate to begin the slow climb to a new era in Pirate baseball.

DemDog · Post by **DemDog** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 2:17 pm

As usual I am waiting for the season to begin. Just being able to go to an MLB game or watch on tv gets my blood flowing and my spirits up. Win or lose I love my Bucs.

This season though will be that much more exciting as I follow the MiLB Buc team especially the WV BlackBears. It will be very interesting to see how the new development team will work with the kids.

An of course it will be interesting to see if some of the guys who underperformed last season can be fixed by the new coaching staff.

This will be interesting season full of hope for success but most likely clouded more by failure.

Bobster21 · Post by **Bobster21** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 2:25 pm

I think my main interest this year will be to see how the new regime operates. Will players be better prepared when they graduate from the minors? Will the major leaguers stop being flummoxed by the fundamentals of baseball? Will players who have previously disappointed become better? Will Shelton be a slave to formula managing as Hurdle was? Will BC be calling many of the shots for Shelton as I suspect NH was form Hurdle (e.g., scheduled days off)?

The Pirates will not be competitive this year but the new regime was hired to eventtually get them there. At least we will see how this regime operates in year one to see if the chances of becoming competitive are legit.

SyrBucco · Post by **SyrBucco** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 3:27 pm

The Jarrod Dyson signing has put the icing on the crap cake for me.

The Bucs are tanking this season. Their acquisitions have been organized around cheapness rather than any discernible strategy.

Yes, the new additions are expected to provide competent defense. But our offense will be at the bottom of the league, and our pitching was not improved and was at the bottom last year.

I ask myself: Why should I spend a lot of money traveling to Pittsburgh, PBC tickets, expensive hotel, etc., to watch them lose? I'm 90% sure that I'm taking the year off.

Bobster21 · Post by **Bobster21** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 3:55 pm

4A606B5B6C7A7A76190 wrote: The Jarrod Dyson signing has put the icing on the crap cake for me.

The Bucs are tanking this season. Their acquisitions have been organized around cheapness rather than any discernible strategy.

Yes, the new additions are expected to provide competent defense. But our offense will be at the bottom of the league, and our pitching was not improved and was at the bottom last year.

I ask myself: Why should I spend a lot of money traveling to Pittsburgh, PBC tickets, expensive hotel, etc., to watch them lose? I'm 90% sure that I'm taking the year off.
I would rather just go with young unproven guys than bottom of the barrel dumpster dives like Dyson. See what Craig or Martin or even Reyes can do. Instead we get a 35 year old guy who could never hit to block younger players in a season that won't amount to anything more than giving younger guys a chance to develop for subsequent seasons when it might matter. I thought that was the plan. But it appears BC is showing his new boss that he can operate within the dime store economics of the Pirates.

maher.timothy20@gm · Post by **maher.timothy20@gm** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 5:25 pm

486A7D626E615B6078617C67667F0F0 wrote: Hoping that we sign Pillar to play center by the end of this week.

He's about to sign with the Red Sox: https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/reds ... story.html