OnlyBucs

Kontos has 3 strikeouts on the season.



He should be dfa'ed.   There's no chance of that working.  At first it was SSS but now there's a major problem. Cut bait now. Feliz to 8th inning. Richrodriguez to 7th

535A52434D370 wrote: Kontos has 3 strikeouts on the season.



He should be dfa'ed.   There's no chance of that working.  At first it was SSS but now there's a major problem.   Cut bait now.  Feliz to 8th inning.  Richrodriguez to 7th
It's rough when they count on a waiver pickup to be the 8th inning guy. He did well last year when they got him but that was only 15 games/14.2 innings. Seems like he was anointed the 8th inning guy this year mainly because he's a veteran. But he's a veteran who was waived by SF last year. I'd change the slots to Kontos (6), Santana (7), Feliz (8) and Vazquez (9).

Yeah. He's pitched in 16 games now and struck out 4 while walking 5 in 15.1.   That's way off his career marks and far away from acceptability.He's lucky his ERA is under 6 with those garbage periphrials.  That he's still being relied on high-leverage by hurdle is and has been lunacy.



Kontos has been a ticking time bomb.  He needs to be moved to low-leverage work immediately before the explosion really happens. You cannot pitch to contact like that in 2018 and survive.



These bullpen guys are all fungible. Their performances are unpredictable from one outing to the next. How a guy can go from 9 k/9 to 2.5 k/9 without an apparent injury is the reason you cannot trust any of these guys.



Nobody is dependable. We need to be quick with the hook and stop being stubborn when periphrials like Kontos's are staring us in the face.

One question I've had with Hurdle is how long it takes to decide a player is just having a rough spot to deciding that, for whatever reason, that rough spot will go on indefinitely. It seemed to take a lot of losses to convince him Watson shouldn't be the closer any longer. He just doesn't adjust quickly (and I am sure there are times when that works well).

0C0E141204610 wrote: One question I've had with Hurdle is how long it takes to decide a player is just having a rough spot to deciding that, for whatever reason, that rough spot will go on indefinitely. It seemed to take a lot of losses to convince him Watson shouldn't be the closer any longer. He just doesn't adjust quickly (and I am sure there are times when that works well).
Hurdle loves to manager by formulas. Once he decides who will bat where in the order or which relievers will pitch which innings, he just goes on cruise control and it takes quite a bit of bad performances to get him to change something.

7A5B537A51593E0 wrote: That had to be one of the WORSE pitching sequences I’ve ever seen: Kontos looked like he was pitching batting practice for Braun.  Of course Braun knocks in two runs.  Only T-Ball would have been easier.  Just dish this game up to Braun for the Brewers win (unless Pirates can score 2 or more in the 9th).



>:(


Kontos is the veteran in the bullpen too. At least Taillon did pretty well.


I’m probably too frustrated over the Pens, but Tallion was not very good imho.  Or put it this way: we need the “ace of the staff” to go beyond 5 innings and give up, I believe, 8 baserunners. He didn’t blow the game, I’m not implying that, I’m saying I’m disappointed in his performance. 



As I type this Paul Alexander and Josh Wilson telling me that Tallion actually pitched a good game. “Hey Paul, hey Josh - you guys are wrong.  Trust me.”



>:( :-/

Bad night in the burg.....




Tallion is gonna be ok my friend.  Yes, this was not one of his best games but he did keep the game close.  This is what "Aces" have to do for a team.  It was the lack of hitting on the Bucs part coupled with some not so good BP work that cost us this game.  So cheer up my friend and move on to today's game.




Carolina Bucco, above, made my case: the Pirates need a shut down guy, the guy who steps up and wins, whatever it takes. I’m hoping Tallion will be such a guy.



I have a Penguins analogy: Matt Murray is a good goaltender, but I don’t think he’s a great one. To win a Stanley Cup, it’s not good enough to have good goaltending, you’ve got to have goaltending that steals games.  The goaltender can singlehandly win a championship. Murray did not lose a game; but that’s not the test - he needs to WIN the game and he didn’t.



The Pirates need somebody that goes out and wins when he’s on the mound. “Good” is not the test. Someone who finds a way to win is? That’s what I was trying to say last night.



It’s especially frustrating when Cole and Mortan are proving to be “that guy” once they switched unis. 

6661777F7166212D547379757D783A777B79140 wrote: That had to be one of the WORSE pitching sequences I’ve ever seen: Kontos looked like he was pitching batting practice for Braun.  Of course Braun knocks in two runs.  Only T-Ball would have been easier.  Just dish this game up to Braun for the Brewers win (unless Pirates can score 2 or more in the 9th).



>:(


Kontos is the veteran in the bullpen too. At least Taillon did pretty well.


I’m probably too frustrated over the Pens, but Tallion was not very good imho.  Or put it this way: we need the “ace of the staff” to go beyond 5 innings and give up, I believe, 8 baserunners. He didn’t blow the game, I’m not implying that, I’m saying I’m disappointed in his performance. 



As I type this Paul Alexander and Josh Wilson telling me that Tallion actually pitched a good game. “Hey Paul, hey Josh - you guys are wrong.  Trust me.”



>:( :-/

Bad night in the burg.....




Tallion is gonna be ok my friend.  Yes, this was not one of his best games but he did keep the game close.  This is what "Aces" have to do for a team.  It was the lack of hitting on the Bucs part coupled with some not so good BP work that cost us this game.  So cheer up my friend and move on to today's game.




Carolina Bucco, above, made my case: the Pirates need a shut down guy, the guy who steps up and wins, whatever it takes. I’m hoping Tallion will be such a guy.



I have a Penguins analogy: Matt Murray is a good goaltender, but I don’t think he’s a great one. To win a Stanley Cup, it’s not good enough to have good goaltending, you’ve got to have goaltending that steals games.  The goaltender can singlehandly win a championship. Murray did not lose a game; but that’s not the test - he needs to WIN the game and he didn’t.



The Pirates need somebody that goes out and wins when he’s on the mound. “Good” is not the test.  Someone who finds a way to win is?  That’s what I was trying to say last night.



It’s especially frustrating when Cole and Mortan are proving to be “that guy” once they switched unis. 


---

If Taillon end up  being that guy, he will be unceremoniusly salary dumped too.

Taillon is the type of player who will sign an extension. He is humble and appreciates the opportunity he has in front of him.



Cole was the first good player not to sign an extension in a long time. Would you have rather gone to arbitration with Cole and let him walk in free agency?