Official Game Thread - 6/15 - Bucs @ Cubs

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

486568797E6F78383B0A0 wrote: Pirates have a real chance to win the division and BC is sitting on his hands. Go get a difference maker or at least try. The Cards will not be down for long.



Castro first pitch pop up with Joe on 3rd

and no outs was pathetic.


My concern is- and, i hope that I am wrong that TCBT doesn't want to win, deep down inside.



Rather, I feel that they choose to delay (again) so that fans see this year.....then, get excited about next season's outlook.



If we succeed this year, less excitement for next.  It will be expected.  I read that in comments on this board.



I say- this year matters a lot.  We've caught opponents when they weren't looking. 



Next year, no one knows.  It could be successful.  It might not be.



We are winning.  We should keep winning.



Just my opinion.


As long as they don't claim to be trying to win, they don't face criticism for failing. Since Cherington and Shelton arrived, the focus has always been on tomorrow. Get the fans excited about the possibility of winning at some future time. It's a big leap to say, "Ok, this is it! This is what we've been planning toward. It's happening now!" Because then they are scrutinized solely on results instead of the abstract hope for some unspecified future. This year they are enjoying the luxury of being competitive in a weak division at just 1 game over .500 while still putting the focus on the future. BC doesn't seem to want to "go for it" this year. [highlight]They're still rotating 2B, SS, RF as if it's spring training and starting Hedges when they have 2 top catching prospects in AAA.[/highlight] The effort still seems geared toward tomorrow rather than today. 


Agreed, those four positions are unsettled, but I think for valid reasons. Cruz's injury has forced Marcano into the starting role for the most part, at the game's prime position. I like him, but I don't think he's progressed enough for that responsibility yet. I also think he might be better suited for a super utility role on a winning team.



Cruz's injury also affected the 2B position because Marcano would likely be getting most of the starts there instead of guys like Castro (who to me is a 24th or 25th man at best), Bae, Mathias, or any other version of VanMeter. The team would be way better off with Cruz and Marcano in the middle than Marcano and the other guys who've played 2nd base.



As for RF, the parade of guys who've played out there just shows the lack of depth of outfielders in the system. It's remarkable to me that it's so barren. That's why BC needs to draft Crews, even though Skenes is so tempting. If Crews is the player experts say he'll be, he'll pay big dividends for as long as the team owns him.



As for the catching position, neither Endy nor Davis have done enough to warrant bringing them here. If they're not meeting expectations in Indy, it's not likely they'll meet them here. I'd like Hedges replaced too, but it isn't his fault neither of those guys has earned his way here.



I want the team to win this year like everyone else but they just don't have enough talent in Pittsburgh yet. I know it sounds like I'm deferring to the future but, looking at the major league roster, that's the reality. The team has surprised us this year and, after eight years of awful baseball, we've become greedy. It's understandable.

[GreenWeenie]

1D3B3C29202C3B2D254E0 wrote: Pirates have a real chance to win the division and BC is sitting on his hands. Go get a difference maker or at least try. The Cards will not be down for long.



Castro first pitch pop up with Joe on 3rd

and no outs was pathetic.


My concern is- and, i hope that I am wrong that TCBT doesn't want to win, deep down inside.



Rather, I feel that they choose to delay (again) so that fans see this year.....then, get excited about next season's outlook.



If we succeed this year, less excitement for next.  It will be expected.  I read that in comments on this board.



I say- this year matters a lot.  We've caught opponents when they weren't looking. 



Next year, no one knows.  It could be successful.  It might not be.



We are winning.  We should keep winning.



Just my opinion.


People will be less excited next year? Sorry, you're completely off base there. I point to 2011-2012-2013-2014-2015...each year became even better. Attendance figures as the fan base grew more excited in anticipation that the next season would be even better:

2010 (105 losses)-1,613,399

2011 (90 losses)- 1,940,429

2012 (83 losses)- 2,091,918

2013 (68 losses)- 2,256,862

2014 (74 losses)- 2,442,564

2015 (64 losses)- 2,498,596



It took till 2018 before attendance and interest dropped below the 2010  level.



They have a plan in place. That plan has been working. The team they assembled this year at the outset was good enough to win the division, and they know that, IMHO. But like any team, you have no clue who will go down. Cruz. Their pitching depth. That's some huge holes to fill, and they've done it internally instead of doing a stupid knee jerk reaction, by trading for marginal guys at a premium price. They are doing what the Dodgers are doing right now, you ought to read what their fan base has to say, and that team has money. Imagine what Mets fans are going through, highest payroll and highest number or near highest number of games missed by players on the IL.



They're going about things the right way. If they do make any kind of trade, it will be for some marginal guy for a marginal guy.



Just like the team, after a bad loss (or series) we're all starting to learn to wash it off, and look forward to the next series. It's a completely different vibe now from the Ka'ai Tom and John Nogowski days. I know, I'm at the park, and it's like 2011 all over again, with fans coming back and getting on the bandwagon.


I'm not a psychologist and don't study the human mind, but I can recall empty seats a few years during the Cera when the franchise consistently won. Winning was taken for granted.



Those were pre-PNC days, though. Tgat could make a difference.



We would need to see what research. If any, exists. We've seen the same in other cities more than once, so if will use my instinct and say yes.

[ChillinStation]

BC should keep an eye on Pads,the are sinking in div. go get Musgrove and Soto !!!



I would offer one of the catchers , Priester and anyone else ! Pads can have Hudson Head back for free.

[Surgnbuck]

Okay, this board is becoming ridiculous. Musgrove, Soto, Goldschmidt. He'll why stop there go get Ohtani. Just go all Ditka like and drain the entire system, sign the Savanah Bananas to replace them all, and sit back and light a cigar.

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

4368696C6C696E53746174696F6E000 wrote: BC should keep an eye on Pads,the are sinking in div. go get Musgrove and Soto !!!



I would offer one of the catchers , Priester and anyone else ! Pads can have Hudson Head back for free.


Soto and Musgrove would be great pick-ups.  As a fan, I’d love it.  But how do you think Bob Nutting would take the news?  The two of them combined would cost Bob around $19-20 million for the remaining two and a half months of this season.  Soto has one year remaining in arbitration, so he’ll be getting more than the $23 million he’s receiving this year in 2024. Musgrove will have four more years at $20 million per.  That’s the neighborhood our owner has no intention of living in.



Major League Baseball isn’t fantasy league baseball.  There’s a real world opportunity cost to all of these trades.

[ChillinStation]

Just think how much fun it would be to get those guys. Isn`t all this about fun ? Finish strong this season with a taste of some Pirate playoff action. Then next year be loaded up to make a real run. Bob will make his money back. Ridiculous is being a lifelong Pirate fan ;D



Cruz

Reynolds

Soto

Suwinski

Davis

Endy

Hayes

other suspects



Keller

Musgrove



Not bad

[ChillinStation]

79525356565354694E5B4E5355543A0 wrote: Just think how much fun it would be to get those guys. Isn`t all this about fun ? Finish strong this season with a taste of some Pirate playoff action. Then next year be loaded up to make a real run. Bob will make his money back. Ridiculous is being a lifelong Pirate fan ;D



Cruz

Reynolds

Soto

Suwinski

Davis

Endy

Hayes

other suspects



Keller

Musgrove



Not bad


Forgot I traded a catcher ...lol

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

557E7F7A7A7F78456277627F7978160 wrote: Just think how much fun it would be to get those guys. Isn`t all this about fun ? Finish strong this season with a taste of some Pirate playoff action. Then next year be loaded up to make a real run. Bob will make his money back. Ridiculous is being a lifelong Pirate fan ;D



Cruz

Reynolds

Soto

Suwinski

Davis

Endy

Hayes

other suspects



Keller

Musgrove



Not bad


Forgot I traded a catcher ...lol




Of course it’s fun, for everyone but the owners. It’s their business. A guy like Nutting only cares about making as much money as he can. If the fans suffer for it, he really doesn’t care.



I have no doubt he can afford a payroll that includes Soto and Musgrove, plus a few other stars. But that’s not the point for him. He’s so into minimizing his costs that he loses sight of the purpose of an MLB team: to win the World Series. He’s more interested in winning the Fewest Dollars Spent Per Win championship.

[ChillinStation]

Cutch and Santana like to eat against Tehran the Terrible.



Like the Bucs in gm# 1 tonight