5E737E6F68796E2E2D1C0 wrote: The pathetic 11-1 loss was the 32nd time this season that Pirate pitching surrendered 8 or more runs. That's 32 times in 126 games. 25.4% of the time. One out of every 4 games the Pirates give up 8 or more runs!
And they have given up 10 runs or more 23 times.
Brault is now the Number 1 starter. Everyone else has ERAs above 5.
At this point in time; yes; the team is beyond help
Pirates vs Nats 8/21
Moderators: SammyKhalifa, Doc, Bobster
Pirates vs Nats 8/21
And worse, at this point, there is no hope that anything is going to get better.
Bell and Marte are having career years.
Reynolds (whose performance has exceeded what Dickerson provided in 2018) and Newman have performed beyond anyone's wildest expectations.
Moran is hitting much better than was expected.
Cabrera has provided reasonable production, although much less power than Polanco provided in 2018.
While Frazier has been somewhat below expectations, and Cervelli/Diaz/Stallings collective performance is below what Cervelli/Diaz provided last year, they are nowhere near the Mendoza line.
In short, on offense, 5 of the positions have delivered better performances than were expected, and in some cases (Bell and Newman) considerably better than last year. While Frazier has dipped a bit, and Cabrera's overall production has been less than Polanco's, neither has been a complete black hole. Overall, the offense is equal or better than was expected, and there does not appear to be a lot of room for improvement next year (actually greater opportunity for regression) among Bell, Marte, Newman, Reynolds and Moran. The offense is now in somewhat of a collective funk, particularly against better pitching, but they are not the major problem.
As all know, the real problem is Pitching.
We have no dependable starting pitching, and there does not appear to be any reason to have any optimism; particularly with Keller looking so overmatched. Also, with Archer now hurt, and Williams tanking so badly, I would use Stratton to start a game. He is no great shakes, but he has starting experience and has generally pitched well in relief the last 1.5 months.
Collectively, there is some reason to believe that the pen could be better next year if the team found a decent long reliever to replace the innings awarded to the likes of Montana, Neverman, McCrae, and others, and all of Vasquez, Rodriguez, Kela, and Crick return, and Santana and Kuhl work their way back to health.
Oh well --- Just another depressing game to watch in the most beautiful (and empty) ballpark in baseball.
Bell and Marte are having career years.
Reynolds (whose performance has exceeded what Dickerson provided in 2018) and Newman have performed beyond anyone's wildest expectations.
Moran is hitting much better than was expected.
Cabrera has provided reasonable production, although much less power than Polanco provided in 2018.
While Frazier has been somewhat below expectations, and Cervelli/Diaz/Stallings collective performance is below what Cervelli/Diaz provided last year, they are nowhere near the Mendoza line.
In short, on offense, 5 of the positions have delivered better performances than were expected, and in some cases (Bell and Newman) considerably better than last year. While Frazier has dipped a bit, and Cabrera's overall production has been less than Polanco's, neither has been a complete black hole. Overall, the offense is equal or better than was expected, and there does not appear to be a lot of room for improvement next year (actually greater opportunity for regression) among Bell, Marte, Newman, Reynolds and Moran. The offense is now in somewhat of a collective funk, particularly against better pitching, but they are not the major problem.
As all know, the real problem is Pitching.
We have no dependable starting pitching, and there does not appear to be any reason to have any optimism; particularly with Keller looking so overmatched. Also, with Archer now hurt, and Williams tanking so badly, I would use Stratton to start a game. He is no great shakes, but he has starting experience and has generally pitched well in relief the last 1.5 months.
Collectively, there is some reason to believe that the pen could be better next year if the team found a decent long reliever to replace the innings awarded to the likes of Montana, Neverman, McCrae, and others, and all of Vasquez, Rodriguez, Kela, and Crick return, and Santana and Kuhl work their way back to health.
Oh well --- Just another depressing game to watch in the most beautiful (and empty) ballpark in baseball.