A Couple of Quick Thoughts

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MaineBucs
Posts: 1145
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:51 pm

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by MaineBucs »

1 - Feliz is gone. Good move, even if he experiences some success with other teams. Feliz showed initial promise and then quickly fizzled out for the remainder of his Pirate career.



2 - T. Frazier recorded some hits yesterday, but none were hit hard. Shelton stated that Frazier will get most of the reps at first in Moran's absence. If he doesn't find his stroke while Moran is out, Pirates need to move on.



3 - Looks like the merry-go-round in the OF will not be coming to a close any time soon. Season is just 40 days old and the Bucs have already seen Fowler, Alford, Tom, Stokes and now Gamel, with a sprinkling of the versatile players --- Diffo, Evans, and Owens, and even A. Frazier for an inning or two --- as well as the rebel (who can't follow team or MLB protocol) Polanco. As circumspect as the collection of other team's cast-offs are, I am hoping that the Bucs use this opportunity to DFA Polanco.



4 - As bad as this team is, collectively, BC seems to have made a number of good decisions this off-season:



a. He traded Bell, who is not hitting much for the Nationals, and received a pitching prospect with some upside and a pitcher, Crowe, who looks like he could be a #5 starter (Particularly as teams now run through 10 starters or so in a season).



b. He traded Tallion before finding out if he would successfully bounce-back from his most recent surgery. While Tallion may experience future success, he is struggling at the moment. It also looks like the players received in return may offer future value to the Pirates, including Yajure who could be a low end starter for the team by mid-season.



c. While Musgrove has generally pitched well since the trade, it appears that the Pirates have received some prospects who can help. Perhaps Head is a future outfielder. Also, Bednar is showing some promise in the pen.



d. Oviedo, with the exception on one horrendous outing, has generally held his own in limited play. A frequent past criticism of the Pirates has been that they hold their prospects back for too long. Oviedo, per MLB requirements, must remain with the team all season. To date, decent pitching for someone who never pitched above A ball. Could the current regime actually have a eye for scouting?



e. Anderson has really pitched well for a still on the board into February (unsigned) cheap free agent starter. If he continues to pitch well I fully expect that he will be traded come late June.



f. Clearly, some moves that have not worked out that well, Cahill looks all too hittable; the previously mentioned failures of Fowler and Alford; and I am not a fan of Perez as the back-up catcher. That said, it is hard to add talent when you have no money to work with.



5. Yesterday's starting line-up featured no power. I believe the entire line-up had all of 5 HR's this season. Going to be tough sledding with Moran and Hayes out, Reynolds banged up, and Evans coming back to earth.



6. While the Pirates have a lot of folks who can play SS - Gonzalez, Newman, and Tucker, none of them are showing much ability to hit. I initially thought that the team should move Cruz off of SS and use him as an outfielder, but unless Peguro looks like the real deal, perhaps Cruz should remain at SS.



7. Looks like .500 at the end of April will be the high-point for the season. With a 6-2 lead entering the 9th and 2 relievers available who were fresh and had yet to give up a run this year, yesterday's game would have been a bitter pill to swallow if Rodriguez hadn't eventually hung on to win.




Surgnbuck
Posts: 12086
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2020 6:42 pm

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by Surgnbuck »

052921262D0A3D2B3B480 wrote: 1 - Feliz is gone.  Good move, even if he experiences some success with other teams.  Feliz showed initial promise and then quickly fizzled out for the remainder of his Pirate career.



2 - T. Frazier recorded some hits yesterday, but none were hit hard.  Shelton stated that Frazier will get most of the reps at first in Moran's absence.  If he doesn't find his stroke while Moran is out, Pirates need to move on. 



3 - Looks like the merry-go-round in the OF will not be coming to a close any time soon.  Season is just 40 days old and the Bucs have already seen Fowler, Alford, Tom, Stokes and now Gamel, with a sprinkling of the versatile players --- Diffo, Evans, and Owens, and even A. Frazier for an inning or two --- as well as the rebel (who can't follow team or MLB protocol) Polanco.   As circumspect as the collection of other team's cast-offs are, I am hoping that the Bucs use this opportunity to DFA Polanco.



4 - As bad as this team is, collectively, BC seems to have made a number of good decisions this off-season:



a.  He traded Bell, who is not hitting much for the Nationals, and received a pitching prospect with some upside and a pitcher, Crowe, who looks like he could be a #5 starter (Particularly as teams now run through 10 starters or so in a season). 



b.  He traded Tallion before finding out if he would successfully bounce-back from his most recent surgery.   While Tallion may experience future success, he is struggling at the moment.  It also looks like the players received in return may offer future value to the Pirates, including Yajure who could be a low end starter for the team by mid-season.



c.  While Musgrove has generally pitched well since the trade, it appears that the Pirates have received some prospects who can help.  Perhaps Head is a future outfielder.  Also, Bednar is showing some promise in the pen.



d.  Oviedo, with the exception on one horrendous outing, has generally held his own in limited play.   A frequent past criticism of the Pirates has been that they hold their prospects back for  too long.  Oviedo, per MLB requirements, must remain with the team all season.  To date, decent pitching for someone who never pitched above A ball.  Could the current regime actually have a eye for scouting?



e.  Anderson has really pitched well for a still on the board into February (unsigned) cheap free agent starter.  If he continues to pitch well I fully expect that he will be traded come late June.   



f. Clearly, some moves that have not worked out that well, Cahill looks all too hittable; the previously mentioned failures of Fowler and Alford; and I am not a fan of Perez as the back-up catcher.  That said, it is hard to add talent when you have no money to work with.



5.  Yesterday's starting line-up featured no power.  I believe the entire line-up had all of 5 HR's this season.  Going to be tough sledding with Moran and Hayes out, Reynolds banged up, and Evans coming back to earth.    



6.  While the Pirates have a lot of folks who can play SS - Gonzalez, Newman, and Tucker, none of them are showing much ability to hit.   I initially thought that the team should move Cruz off of SS and use him as an outfielder, but unless Peguro looks like the real deal, perhaps Cruz should remain at SS.



7.  Looks like .500 at the end of April will be the high-point for the season.  With a 6-2 lead entering the 9th and 2 relievers available who were fresh and had yet to give up a run this year, yesterday's game would have been a bitter pill to swallow if Rodriguez hadn't eventually hung on to win. 



 

 
I agree pretty much with everything you're thinking. I'm guessing the thought with Todd Frazier is at some point, they expect he'll start hitting some HR's, so his power potential I think is what is keeping him in play. There isn't any power, potential or otherwise I think sitting out there right now.



As far as SS goes, I say stick with Gonzalez. He's a much rangier and better fielder. I'd much rather see Evans at third, he looks like an actual major leaguer there as opposed to the outfield.



Speaking of, I'm really pulling for Stokes. That catch going to the line yesterday was something for never playing Wrigley. Who can forget Evans dropping a similar ball that cost them the game? Difo I'm not sure about yet, he also cost them a run and possibly the game with his failure to just throw the ball home as soon as he caught it. Him and Evans might have versatility, but if you don't play a position worth a hoot, you're not versatile at all, you're just willing to take a beating if it happens.



An OF of Tom, Reynolds, and Stokes looks pretty competent if they can all hit their weight. Difo has been fairly good as a bench guy. Move Evans to third, Gonzo to short, Newman to the wastelands of the bench along with Perez. We already know Todd Father is playing first whether we like it or not.



Not optimal, but as optimal as they can get right now. I really think Polanco's career might be sitting in Stokes hands. If he starts showing at the plate like Tom has done, with Reynolds and Difo both actually hitting the ball, there is no choice but to dump him.



Still, it's a pretty sh*tty team offensively. But if they can get some semblance of order and consistency, I think they can gel into the kind of squad that can win 70 games.
Bobster21

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by Bobster21 »

T. Frazier was just DFA'd.
MaineBucs
Posts: 1145
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:51 pm

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by MaineBucs »

Two comments regarding Frazier DFA.



1) Unexpected based on Shelton's recent comments.



2) Good to see the team move on from someone who offered zero production to date, particularly someone who has no longer term role with the team.



Time for Evans to sink or shine.
2drfischer@gmail.c

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by 2drfischer@gmail.c »

133E33222534236360510 wrote: T. Frazier was just DFA'd.


Now, if BC would just make the same move with Polanco. This last stunt Polanco pulled should be the last straw.
ScottinMass
Posts: 304
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2016 4:26 am

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by ScottinMass »

416D6562694E796F7F0C0 wrote: 1 - Feliz is gone.  Good move, even if he experiences some success with other teams.  Feliz showed initial promise and then quickly fizzled out for the remainder of his Pirate career.



2 - T. Frazier recorded some hits yesterday, but none were hit hard.  Shelton stated that Frazier will get most of the reps at first in Moran's absence.  If he doesn't find his stroke while Moran is out, Pirates need to move on. 



3 - Looks like the merry-go-round in the OF will not be coming to a close any time soon.  Season is just 40 days old and the Bucs have already seen Fowler, Alford, Tom, Stokes and now Gamel, with a sprinkling of the versatile players --- Diffo, Evans, and Owens, and even A. Frazier for an inning or two --- as well as the rebel (who can't follow team or MLB protocol) Polanco.   As circumspect as the collection of other team's cast-offs are, I am hoping that the Bucs use this opportunity to DFA Polanco.



4 - As bad as this team is, collectively, BC seems to have made a number of good decisions this off-season:



a.  He traded Bell, who is not hitting much for the Nationals, and received a pitching prospect with some upside and a pitcher, Crowe, who looks like he could be a #5 starter (Particularly as teams now run through 10 starters or so in a season). 



b.  He traded Tallion before finding out if he would successfully bounce-back from his most recent surgery.   While Tallion may experience future success, he is struggling at the moment.  It also looks like the players received in return may offer future value to the Pirates, including Yajure who could be a low end starter for the team by mid-season.



c.  While Musgrove has generally pitched well since the trade, it appears that the Pirates have received some prospects who can help.  Perhaps Head is a future outfielder.  Also, Bednar is showing some promise in the pen.



d.  Oviedo, with the exception on one horrendous outing, has generally held his own in limited play.   A frequent past criticism of the Pirates has been that they hold their prospects back for  too long.  Oviedo, per MLB requirements, must remain with the team all season.  To date, decent pitching for someone who never pitched above A ball.  Could the current regime actually have a eye for scouting?



e.  Anderson has really pitched well for a still on the board into February (unsigned) cheap free agent starter.  If he continues to pitch well I fully expect that he will be traded come late June.   



f. Clearly, some moves that have not worked out that well, Cahill looks all too hittable; the previously mentioned failures of Fowler and Alford; and I am not a fan of Perez as the back-up catcher.  That said, it is hard to add talent when you have no money to work with.



5.  Yesterday's starting line-up featured no power.  I believe the entire line-up had all of 5 HR's this season.  Going to be tough sledding with Moran and Hayes out, Reynolds banged up, and Evans coming back to earth.    



6.  While the Pirates have a lot of folks who can play SS - Gonzalez, Newman, and Tucker, none of them are showing much ability to hit.   I initially thought that the team should move Cruz off of SS and use him as an outfielder, but unless Peguro looks like the real deal, perhaps Cruz should remain at SS.



7.  Looks like .500 at the end of April will be the high-point for the season.  With a 6-2 lead entering the 9th and 2 relievers available who were fresh and had yet to give up a run this year, yesterday's game would have been a bitter pill to swallow if Rodriguez hadn't eventually hung on to win. 



 

 
While the outfield merry-go-round is a crazy, I will give credit that they are trying a ton of players and seeing if they can find one that fits. If not, let them go. The last regime would have made up their minds and then kept running the same player hitting .050 out there because they "are close to snapping out of it".

Keep throwing spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks.
GreenWeenie
Posts: 4012
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 3:47 pm

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by GreenWeenie »

If two my my Old Regime's outfielders were Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte (before their paydays), I'll admit- I would run them out there, too.



The Current Regime's "Hope Something Sticks" doesn't seem like the best of strategies, but they don't have a lot of choice.
SCBucco
Posts: 1791
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2016 11:47 am

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

Post by SCBucco »

Agree with Mainer on his initial post. Absent Alford, Fowler and Cahill (I wasn't a big fan of Perez either ... would have kept Wolters instead), the moves have been pretty good. I think in time, we will call the trade with the Yanks a bigger heist for us than TB got for Archer. It all depends on the development.



I'm curious how much of a leash BC has with Keller. BC isn't afraid to cut bait. Keller doesn't seem like he gets it. Does he have the remainder of the year, or next year?
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