OnlyBucs

Great walkoff win today. Nice to see the offense come through and win a game where the pitching wasn’t as good today. This team should be perfect on this homestand and 6-1 overall. Blowing those games now against the Cards stings even more so now after these 3 wins against the Reds.

What's great about this walk-off win was the did it with the "Sunday lineup a day early"!! Maybe Hurdle knows what he is doing! [smiley=cheesy.gif]

I liked what I saw out of Martin today as well. Albeit it’s only one game he appears to not look completely overmatch at the plate and had 3 pretty good at bats. I wanna see him starting the majority of the time in RF over Shuck. He has more upside and a future on this team Shuck has none of that. So the decision is very simple play Martin period.

Great win. This is why I'm not a gambler. I was critical of Hurdle for starting Martin, Stallings and Newman in the same game. They combined to go 5 for 10 with 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 SB and 1 2B. What do I know?

I may be in the minority but I really like both Newman and Stallings. It might be a stretch to envision Newman as a regular starter, but as he learns the league I think he will be a solid hitter and valuable utility guy. And really, Stallings rarely disappoints me in his role. After today, he is a .300 career hitter again.

Newman doesn't look anything like he did in September. I'd like to see him more, he was taking some good cuts and good D. I'm liking what I see of Gonzalez defense and he has speed and can bunt. Hopefully he'll continue and improve. Great win.

I really liked what I saw of Marte today, he hit the ball in the air on every at bat. If he hits the ball that way all year his HRs are going to go up and doubles and triples are going to happen. Just keep it in the air Marte.

4C545651514657504D4C5A3F0 wrote: Newman doesn't look anything like he did in September.  I'd like to see him more, he was taking some good cuts and good D.  I'm liking what I see of Gonzalez defense and he has speed and can bunt.  Hopefully he'll continue and improve.  Great win.
I think Newman should get the start at shortstop tomorrow. A couple of hits today including the game winner should be a big confidence builder for him.

747879222B222A27203F25120 wrote: Newman doesn't look anything like he did in September.  I'd like to see him more, he was taking some good cuts and good D.  I'm liking what I see of Gonzalez defense and he has speed and can bunt.  Hopefully he'll continue and improve.  Great win.
I think Newman should get the start at shortstop tomorrow. A couple of hits today including the game winner should be a big confidence builder for him.
I wonder why the Pirates soured on Newman so quickly. He had a fine offensive season in AAA last year and I never heard about problems defensively. He seemed to be the heir apparent to Mercer. In a SSS last year at the MLB level he hit poorly and wasn't impressive with the glove. But rather than chalk it up to a SSS, the Pirates felt they needed to acquire the unproven Gonzalez to take over SS this year and have Tucker waiting in the wings. Maybe they see things in practice that they don't like about his defense. I don't know. But I get the impression they see his ceiling as a utility infielder, which isn't good for a #1 draft pick. It just makes me wonder what they saw in his SSS last year that made them sour on him as Mercer's heir apparent.

30282A2D2D3A2B2C313026430 wrote: Newman doesn't look anything like he did in September.  I'd like to see him more, he was taking some good cuts and good D.  I'm liking what I see of Gonzalez defense and he has speed and can bunt.  Hopefully he'll continue and improve.  Great win.


Completely agree on both points. Newman looked impressively muscular in his postgame interview today. Other than that 2nd game, Gonzalez has looked good on defense. He made a play last night in the 9th that Mercer could only dream of making. His speed has been a pleasant surprise.