Huntington on Bell/Jaso on radio show...

Bobster21 · Post by **Bobster21** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:48 pm

I agree that NH's comments should be taken with a grain of salt. Some of it is posturing to make his players look like better trade candidates. Some of it is to put a positive spin on a negative move. I certainly don't believe that they traded 2 of their top 10 prospects for a #4 or #5 pitcher (Hutchison) and, oh by the way, just happened to throw in Liriano and his entire contract. Nor do I believe he thinks Jaso is the best option at 1B. He had no problem using Pedro at 1B for 7 innings each game last year before replacing him with S-Rod but now thinks Jaso's defense-and Jaso has been replaced many times in late innings for defense too-is so valuable defensively that he can't be replaced at all. Yeah, right.

SteadyFreddy · Post by **SteadyFreddy** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:53 pm

2A26277C757C74797E617B4C0 wrote: For Bell to come up one of the position players needs to be sent to AAA or a position player will be traded or dfa. They will not remove a pitcher and go with an 11 man staff. Why not?? Why do you need Jeff Locke to be in the bullpen when you already have a long man in Nicasio, and 3 lefties in Bastardo, Rivero, and Watson. You send down Partch tomorrow to make room for Kuhl, and you DFA Locke and call up Bell. And here is your roster. You start Bell at 1st base essentially every game and you have a bench of Joyce, Freese/Kang, Rodriguez,Frazier, Jaso, and Fryer. And you have a bullpen of Watson, Feliz,Rivero,Bastardo,Hughes, and Nicasio, to go along with your starters of Cole,Taillon,Nova,Vogelsong, and Kuhl. So there you go that's how you get Bell up here problem solved. The Pirates probably will call Bell up September 1st as part of their expanded rosters. But you cant afford to wait that long. You have 22 games between now and then and you need to win games now, and having Bell up here now will help you win more games.

PMike · Post by **PMike** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:05 pm

01263733362B14203736362B520 wrote: He was asked about this yet again by Greg Brown and once again he gave an answer that really wasn't very good. He said something like if you look at John Jaso defensively he is a much better option then Bell is at this point and it's not even close, and having him in the lineup everyday makes us a better team over having a guy like Bell in there everyday. Yes he is definitely better seeing what a great throw Jaso made to home yesterday on that one hop when Hamilton scored. I'm sure Bell couldn't have done that.

Maybe they see things we don't which I am sure they do but how can you continually sit there and say that Jaso gives you a better chance to win games when he is hitting well under .200 in the last 7 weeks or so?? I just don't get it. This team needs an offensive spark now too being only 3 games out of a playoff spot, and by continuing to run Jaso out there every game which he played this weekend it's not getting it done. So far he is 2 for 12 in August.

It's not like Bell is some young 19-20 year old prospect the guy is going to turn 24 years old this month. What if he never gets better at 1st base then he is right now?? It's mind boggling to me when you are in a pennant race like this and are struggling for offense a ton in the last 3 weeks, and a guy like Bell who is a switch hitter and can help you and you will not give him a chance over a guy who is hitting about .170 over the last 7 weeks. Bell has to see this and has to be getting annoyed himself that he is not up here yet. It's not like he is being blocked by this great player over there either. Moves like this are why this team is going to most likely miss the playoffs.

Conveniently, you bring up Jaso's stats over the last month or so, but you don't bring up Bell's stats lately. He has played 21 games in the minors since going back to AAA. He is hitting .230 with 7 runs scored and 2(!!!) RBI's. No HR's. He's OPS'ing around .600 during that time.

Maybe the reason why they aren't rushing Bell back is because he is really struggling in AAA. Just as bad as Jaso, but a lower level and worse defense.

Quail · Post by **Quail** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:16 pm

574A6E6C62070 wrote: He was asked about this yet again by Greg Brown and once again he gave an answer that really wasn't very good. He said something like if you look at John Jaso defensively he is a much better option then Bell is at this point and it's not even close, and having him in the lineup everyday makes us a better team over having a guy like Bell in there everyday. Yes he is definitely better seeing what a great throw Jaso made to home yesterday on that one hop when Hamilton scored. I'm sure Bell couldn't have done that.

Maybe they see things we don't which I am sure they do but how can you continually sit there and say that Jaso gives you a better chance to win games when he is hitting well under .200 in the last 7 weeks or so?? I just don't get it. This team needs an offensive spark now too being only 3 games out of a playoff spot, and by continuing to run Jaso out there every game which he played this weekend it's not getting it done. So far he is 2 for 12 in August.

It's not like Bell is some young 19-20 year old prospect the guy is going to turn 24 years old this month. What if he never gets better at 1st base then he is right now?? It's mind boggling to me when you are in a pennant race like this and are struggling for offense a ton in the last 3 weeks, and a guy like Bell who is a switch hitter and can help you and you will not give him a chance over a guy who is hitting about .170 over the last 7 weeks. Bell has to see this and has to be getting annoyed himself that he is not up here yet. It's not like he is being blocked by this great player over there either. Moves like this are why this team is going to most likely miss the playoffs.

Conveniently, you bring up Jaso's stats over the last month or so, but you don't bring up Bell's stats lately. He has played 21 games in the minors since going back to AAA. He is hitting .230 with 7 runs scored and 2(!!!) RBI's. No HR's. He's OPS'ing around .600 during that time.

Maybe the reason why they aren't rushing Bell back is because he is really struggling in AAA. Just as bad as Jaso, but a lower level and worse defense.

This is a valid reason for not promoting Bell. But none of what Huntington said regarding Bell's/Jaso's defense makes a lick of sense if Bell is raking at AAA.

SteadyFreddy · Post by **SteadyFreddy** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:20 pm

594460626C090 wrote: He was asked about this yet again by Greg Brown and once again he gave an answer that really wasn't very good. He said something like if you look at John Jaso defensively he is a much better option then Bell is at this point and it's not even close, and having him in the lineup everyday makes us a better team over having a guy like Bell in there everyday. Yes he is definitely better seeing what a great throw Jaso made to home yesterday on that one hop when Hamilton scored. I'm sure Bell couldn't have done that.

Maybe they see things we don't which I am sure they do but how can you continually sit there and say that Jaso gives you a better chance to win games when he is hitting well under .200 in the last 7 weeks or so?? I just don't get it. This team needs an offensive spark now too being only 3 games out of a playoff spot, and by continuing to run Jaso out there every game which he played this weekend it's not getting it done. So far he is 2 for 12 in August.

It's not like Bell is some young 19-20 year old prospect the guy is going to turn 24 years old this month. What if he never gets better at 1st base then he is right now?? It's mind boggling to me when you are in a pennant race like this and are struggling for offense a ton in the last 3 weeks, and a guy like Bell who is a switch hitter and can help you and you will not give him a chance over a guy who is hitting about .170 over the last 7 weeks. Bell has to see this and has to be getting annoyed himself that he is not up here yet. It's not like he is being blocked by this great player over there either. Moves like this are why this team is going to most likely miss the playoffs.

Conveniently, you bring up Jaso's stats over the last month or so, but you don't bring up Bell's stats lately. He has played 21 games in the minors since going back to AAA. He is hitting .230 with 7 runs scored and 2(!!!) RBI's. No HR's. He's OPS'ing around .600 during that time.

Maybe the reason why they aren't rushing Bell back is because he is really struggling in AAA. Just as bad as Jaso, but a lower level and worse defense. Maybe that is the reason it's a fair argument. Still I find it hard to believe he can be much worse then John Jaso over there who's body of work since about June has been flat out horrific. Bell didn't really deserve to get demoted in the first place when he was up here a month ago. He was a huge spark to the team before the All Star Break. Yes 4 at bats is a very small sample size. But all I know is he hit a grand slam, got his first hit off Jake Arietta, and had two very good long at-bats where he worked walks against two pretty damn good pitchers in John Lackey and Stephen Strasburg. He deserves another shot considering the other options right now.

SammyKhalifa · Post by **SammyKhalifa** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:24 pm

331405010419261205040419600 wrote: He was asked about this yet again by Greg Brown and once again he gave an answer that really wasn't very good. He said something like if you look at John Jaso defensively he is a much better option then Bell is at this point and it's not even close, and having him in the lineup everyday makes us a better team over having a guy like Bell in there everyday. Yes he is definitely better seeing what a great throw Jaso made to home yesterday on that one hop when Hamilton scored. I'm sure Bell couldn't have done that.

Maybe they see things we don't which I am sure they do but how can you continually sit there and say that Jaso gives you a better chance to win games when he is hitting well under .200 in the last 7 weeks or so?? I just don't get it. This team needs an offensive spark now too being only 3 games out of a playoff spot, and by continuing to run Jaso out there every game which he played this weekend it's not getting it done. So far he is 2 for 12 in August.

It's not like Bell is some young 19-20 year old prospect the guy is going to turn 24 years old this month. What if he never gets better at 1st base then he is right now?? It's mind boggling to me when you are in a pennant race like this and are struggling for offense a ton in the last 3 weeks, and a guy like Bell who is a switch hitter and can help you and you will not give him a chance over a guy who is hitting about .170 over the last 7 weeks. Bell has to see this and has to be getting annoyed himself that he is not up here yet. It's not like he is being blocked by this great player over there either. Moves like this are why this team is going to most likely miss the playoffs.

Conveniently, you bring up Jaso's stats over the last month or so, but you don't bring up Bell's stats lately. He has played 21 games in the minors since going back to AAA. He is hitting .230 with 7 runs scored and 2(!!!) RBI's. No HR's. He's OPS'ing around .600 during that time.

Maybe the reason why they aren't rushing Bell back is because he is really struggling in AAA. Just as bad as Jaso, but a lower level and worse defense. Maybe that is the reason it's a fair argument. Still I find it hard to believe he can be much worse then John Jaso over there who's body of work since about June has been flat out horrific. Bell didn't really deserve to get demoted in the first place when he was up here a month ago. He was a huge spark to the team before the All Star Break. Yes 4 at bats is a very small sample size. But all I know is he hit a grand slam, got his first hit off Jake Arietta, and had two very good long at-bats where he worked walks against two pretty damn good pitchers in John Lackey and Stephen Strasburg. He deserves another shot considering the other options right now.

Well not saying I wouldn't like to see him up here, but saying he should be up because of four at bats isn't right either. Jaso has been bad for two months but was solid offensively for a good while before that. If you're willing to forgive a month of games for someone with no major league track record it seems fair to give the benefit of the doubt to Jaso at the same time, at least short term.

Steve19981 · Post by **Steve19981** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:18 pm

It's pretty laughable how people complained all last year about Alvarez' defense and now gloss over Bell's. Personally, I value offense over defense at first as I have always. Curious about people's philosophical flip flop. Why was it relevant last year and not relevant now?

Quail · Post by **Quail** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:27 pm

Jaso was excellent for the first two months of the season. He batted over .300, had an OBP of over .360, and an OPS of over .800.

However for the months of June, July and August those numbers are a BA of less than .200, an OBP of less than .300, and an OPS of less than .600. These numbers are very poor on the face of it, but when you consider that almost every at bat he has taken is against right handed pitching which favors him the results are abominable. It looks very much like Jaso's success might have had to do with NL pitchers being unfamiliar with him at the beginning of the year and now have figured him out. His 2+ months of lousy hitting doesn't seem like a slump so much as a lack of ability to counter the strategy of pitchers who have figured out how to pitch him successfully.

Quite frankly, getting Jaso out of the lineup is the easiest and best thing to instantly help the Pirates declining offense. Replace him with Bell, Freese or SRod and you've improved the offense.

SammyKhalifa · Post by **SammyKhalifa** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:40 pm

Maybe he's just one of those guys who are better as a part timer.

Tintin · Post by **Tintin** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:41 pm

75524347425F60544342425F260 wrote: You are right about Locke. I just don't see the Pirates going with 11 pitchers. While we are on the bullpen yesterday I did not like bringing in a guy like Partch when the game was still within reach at both 4-2 and 5-2. You have an off day today, and could have went with your best arms to try and give your team the best chance to win and Hurdle once again didn't do that. Hughes is another guy that Hurdle continues to use in key situations and he just continues to stink and give up runs each time he pitches.

Don't get me wrong the offense also had a lot to do with not winning that game yesterday as they blew some golden opportunities in both the 7th and 8th innings. Still Hurdle has to do a better job of using his best pitchers in a 2 run game when you have an off day the next day. Guys like Hughes and Partch don't fall into that category.

Hurdle with never win this. Watson and Feliz were burned. Bastardo relieved Cole and was done.

So his choices were Hughes, Partch, Nicasio, Locke (who might not have been available, I don't know) and Rivero.

I'm assuming Nicasio was saved to close, so who do you send out to start the seventh against Saurez, Cabrera and the Pitcher?

Assuming he's saving Rivero against their 1,2 and 3 in the eighth, he used the tools he had.