1C213F323D373C1E3621303637530 wrote: Kang and Gonzalez will be better defensively than Moran and Mercer were last year, and it's basically impossible for them to combine to be less productive offensively.
I think a stronger left side of the infield could make Bell's defensive deficiencies less impacting, but that is just a guess.
Most MLB teams will survive a rotating cast occupying the fifth starter role. I think folks are putting too much stock in who the starters are when the team breaks camp. Kingham will be given a 4-5 start leash to show if he's effective, if he's not, he'll be optioned and someone else will be given the chance. There are some options, I think having Holmes and Brubaker in Indy makes it likely, that should Kingham tank, someone will be ready to fill in.
Kingham is out of options so he'll either start or go to the BP. They gave him an extra option last year because of missed time due to injuries. But he's out now.
I guess one of the issues with being a Pirate fan is that we're never going to have many players who can be expected to perform at a predicable level. Marte is such a player. Dickerson and Cervelli are reliable but last year Dickerson hit half as many HRs as usual and Cervelli hit twice as many. Hard to know what to expect this year. Frazier has never been an everyday player and until now they've been reluctant to start him in the infield because of questionable defense. Is Bell the 26 HR guy of 2017 or the 12 HR guy of 2018? Can Gonzalez play? Can Kang still play? When will Polanco return and will he ever be better than a league average outfielder? How much will Chisenhall produce in the meantime?
Right now, it's fair to be optimistic. Also fair to be pessimistic. We just have to see how these issues sort themselves out.
3-19 Game
Moderators: SammyKhalifa, Doc, Bobster
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OrlandoMerced
3-19 Game
I think Kingham will be given the opportunity to sink or swim here to start 2019. If he sinks, it would likely mean that he'd be exposed to waivers. He's already 27, so if he's not performing now, there's no reason to worry about exposing him. I don't think he has value coming out of the bullpen so it would serve no purpose stashing him there. As the Pirates are apt to try and squeeze juice out of the turnip, they are trying one more time to see if Kingham can establish himself as a competent major league starter. A not-cheap team would have allowed Kingham to go to waivers at this point.
I'm not going to get hung up on HR totals, Dickerson hit .300 and eliminated his issue with strike outs. He is hitting for power in ST and the upside is that he's permanently fixed the problem and added some pop to his new approach.
I can definitely understand why one would hesitate to be optimistic, there are glaring question marks. But I have a hard time being pessimistic with the number of options the organization has, should players falter. Mostly on the offensive side, the bench will have Moran and Reyes ready to step back in to the lineup, and Hayes and Tucker will be in AAA pushing for promotions should those players falter.
I'm not going to get hung up on HR totals, Dickerson hit .300 and eliminated his issue with strike outs. He is hitting for power in ST and the upside is that he's permanently fixed the problem and added some pop to his new approach.
I can definitely understand why one would hesitate to be optimistic, there are glaring question marks. But I have a hard time being pessimistic with the number of options the organization has, should players falter. Mostly on the offensive side, the bench will have Moran and Reyes ready to step back in to the lineup, and Hayes and Tucker will be in AAA pushing for promotions should those players falter.
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SammyKhalifa
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3-19 Game
I'm seeing a high floor, low ceiling team.
3-19 Game
08352B262923280A2235242223470 wrote: I think Kingham will be given the opportunity to sink or swim here to start 2019. If he sinks, it would likely mean that he'd be exposed to waivers. He's already 27, so if he's not performing now, there's no reason to worry about exposing him. I don't think he has value coming out of the bullpen so it would serve no purpose stashing him there. As the Pirates are apt to try and squeeze juice out of the turnip, they are trying one more time to see if Kingham can establish himself as a competent major league starter. A not-cheap team would have allowed Kingham to go to waivers at this point.
I'm not going to get hung up on HR totals, Dickerson hit .300 and eliminated his issue with strike outs. He is hitting for power in ST and the upside is that he's permanently fixed the problem and added some pop to his new approach.
I can definitely understand why one would hesitate to be optimistic, there are glaring question marks. But I have a hard time being pessimistic with the number of options the organization has, should players falter. Mostly on the offensive side, the bench will have Moran and Reyes ready to step back in to the lineup, and Hayes and Tucker will be in AAA pushing for promotions should those players falter.
We were 8th in the NL in runs scored per game last year with 692 runs, 4.298 runs / game. NL average was 709 or 4.376 R/G .
I believe we can get flirt with the top 5 with Kang and Frazier playing all year, but ultimately we're going to be towards the middle yet again.
No team scoring more R/G than we did last year hit fewer than 167 HR (Cubs). Atlanta was next with 175, then the Nats at 191. 4 teams hit over 200 HR. We hit 157.
Without a power increase, it's going to be a struggle. There's a very strong correlation between slugging % and runs scored. And a weaker correlation between homers and slugging.
These players are going to need to park a few more balls this year. Dickerson, Kang, Marte, Bell (please), Gonzalez (I believe he's a 15+) I think we can do it.
I'm not going to get hung up on HR totals, Dickerson hit .300 and eliminated his issue with strike outs. He is hitting for power in ST and the upside is that he's permanently fixed the problem and added some pop to his new approach.
I can definitely understand why one would hesitate to be optimistic, there are glaring question marks. But I have a hard time being pessimistic with the number of options the organization has, should players falter. Mostly on the offensive side, the bench will have Moran and Reyes ready to step back in to the lineup, and Hayes and Tucker will be in AAA pushing for promotions should those players falter.
We were 8th in the NL in runs scored per game last year with 692 runs, 4.298 runs / game. NL average was 709 or 4.376 R/G .
I believe we can get flirt with the top 5 with Kang and Frazier playing all year, but ultimately we're going to be towards the middle yet again.
No team scoring more R/G than we did last year hit fewer than 167 HR (Cubs). Atlanta was next with 175, then the Nats at 191. 4 teams hit over 200 HR. We hit 157.
Without a power increase, it's going to be a struggle. There's a very strong correlation between slugging % and runs scored. And a weaker correlation between homers and slugging.
These players are going to need to park a few more balls this year. Dickerson, Kang, Marte, Bell (please), Gonzalez (I believe he's a 15+) I think we can do it.
3-19 Game
2D242C3D33490 wrote: I think Kingham will be given the opportunity to sink or swim here to start 2019. If he sinks, it would likely mean that he'd be exposed to waivers. He's already 27, so if he's not performing now, there's no reason to worry about exposing him. I don't think he has value coming out of the bullpen so it would serve no purpose stashing him there. As the Pirates are apt to try and squeeze juice out of the turnip, they are trying one more time to see if Kingham can establish himself as a competent major league starter. A not-cheap team would have allowed Kingham to go to waivers at this point.
I'm not going to get hung up on HR totals, Dickerson hit .300 and eliminated his issue with strike outs. He is hitting for power in ST and the upside is that he's permanently fixed the problem and added some pop to his new approach.
I can definitely understand why one would hesitate to be optimistic, there are glaring question marks. But I have a hard time being pessimistic with the number of options the organization has, should players falter. Mostly on the offensive side, the bench will have Moran and Reyes ready to step back in to the lineup, and Hayes and Tucker will be in AAA pushing for promotions should those players falter.
We were 8th in the NL in runs scored per game last year with 692 runs, 4.298 runs / game. NL average was 709 or 4.376 R/G .
I believe we can get flirt with the top 5 with Kang and Frazier playing all year, but ultimately we're going to be towards the middle yet again.
No team scoring more R/G than we did last year hit fewer than 167 HR (Cubs). Atlanta was next with 175, then the Nats at 191. 4 teams hit over 200 HR. We hit 157.
Without a power increase, it's going to be a struggle. There's a very strong correlation between slugging % and runs scored. And a weaker correlation between homers and slugging.
These players are going to need to park a few more balls this year. Dickerson, Kang, Marte, Bell (please), Gonzalez (I believe he's a 15+) I think we can do it.
I would have to believe that Dickerson and Bell will hit a few more than last year. Dickerson should be a good bet for 20.
I'm not going to get hung up on HR totals, Dickerson hit .300 and eliminated his issue with strike outs. He is hitting for power in ST and the upside is that he's permanently fixed the problem and added some pop to his new approach.
I can definitely understand why one would hesitate to be optimistic, there are glaring question marks. But I have a hard time being pessimistic with the number of options the organization has, should players falter. Mostly on the offensive side, the bench will have Moran and Reyes ready to step back in to the lineup, and Hayes and Tucker will be in AAA pushing for promotions should those players falter.
We were 8th in the NL in runs scored per game last year with 692 runs, 4.298 runs / game. NL average was 709 or 4.376 R/G .
I believe we can get flirt with the top 5 with Kang and Frazier playing all year, but ultimately we're going to be towards the middle yet again.
No team scoring more R/G than we did last year hit fewer than 167 HR (Cubs). Atlanta was next with 175, then the Nats at 191. 4 teams hit over 200 HR. We hit 157.
Without a power increase, it's going to be a struggle. There's a very strong correlation between slugging % and runs scored. And a weaker correlation between homers and slugging.
These players are going to need to park a few more balls this year. Dickerson, Kang, Marte, Bell (please), Gonzalez (I believe he's a 15+) I think we can do it.
I would have to believe that Dickerson and Bell will hit a few more than last year. Dickerson should be a good bet for 20.
3-19 Game
Bell needs 30. Dickerson at 20 sounds good to me.
All else equal, that puts us around 175. I want to go 30 with Kang, but I'm already getting laughed at for optimism with him, so I'll go 20. That puts us around 180.
Yeah. I see that as a possible number and maybe 750 runs with it. So yeah. 20-25 more homers 50-55 more runs.
I'm in
I wonder what trash the O's would take for a surgically repaired Mark Trumbo? Unspectacular, yet solid defensive 1b with 3 true outcomes offensive production.
All else equal, that puts us around 175. I want to go 30 with Kang, but I'm already getting laughed at for optimism with him, so I'll go 20. That puts us around 180.
Yeah. I see that as a possible number and maybe 750 runs with it. So yeah. 20-25 more homers 50-55 more runs.
I'm in
I wonder what trash the O's would take for a surgically repaired Mark Trumbo? Unspectacular, yet solid defensive 1b with 3 true outcomes offensive production.