Game thread 4/8 vs Reds

[CarolinaBucco]

I know we've played mostly bad opponents, but I'm still pretty much shocked at 7-2. I was expecting 1 in Detroit, 1 vs. Minn, 2 vs. Cincy for a 4-5 mark. So 7-2, and FIRST PLACE, sounds great.



So happy for Taillon. What an inspirational story.



Polanco looks like a different player.



Dickerson is legit.



Now we must go into Wrigley and get at least 1 vs. those clowns.



I don't like Nova's chances vs. the Flubs in game 1. Nova just seems so hittable. Maybe he'll surprise me (but I doubt it).

[DemDog]

Gerrit Who?

[Quail]

Nice outing by Taillon!!! CG one-hitter. I think most folks expected good things from him, but he's delivered two gems in his two starts thus far.



Big (pleasant) surprise for me has been the offense. Polanco looks like a different player, and Dickerson and Moran are nice additions to the lineup.



Beat 'em Bucs!

[BenM]

Six innings of no hit ball from one pitcher and a one hit complete game from another in the first two weeks.



I certainly didn't see that coming.



I was skeptical, but it appears Polanco's new off season program is working.

[GermanTownship]

Starting pitchers have to go at least seven innings giving the Buccos a chance.

[dmetz]

Very impressive start. The tigers and reds are lousy ball teams, but the Twins I don't think so much. Regardless, the bucs offense is booming. And if you're a decent or good team, when the scrubs come to town, you stomp them and don't let up.



Now.... What do we have in Indy as far as bullpen? Holmes can stay up, option Nevergonnamakeit and replace him with who?

[INbuc]

29202839374D0 wrote: Very impressive start.   The tigers and reds are lousy ball teams, but the Twins I don't think so much.   Regardless, the bucs offense is booming. And if you're a decent or good team, when the scrubs come to town, you stomp them and don't let up.



Now.... What do we have in Indy as far as bullpen?  Holmes can stay up, option Nevergonnamakeit and replace him with who?






We may be brewing a new formula. Guys get on the bullpen track for two reasons: they throw hard, and they don't have a third pitch. If we want quality in the big league pen, let's audition more minor league starters----- like Brault and Glasnow, and Holmes. Guys like Smoker, Santana, and Neverauskas struggle without that third pitch. I agree, try Holmes for a while. Maybe Kingham, is on deck. Have Never go work on that third pitch....he has better days ahead.

[IABucFan]

This has got to be the first time in a long time when the nine guys who started the game were the nine who finished it. Even when we had a pitcher throw a CG, it seems like we always had somebody coming in to play defense at first, or in the outfield, or third, or wherever. Solid game all around.

[skinnyhorse]

Great game today, but against a very bad team. Some thoughts, I was very disappointed we didn't sweep, we could have and should have won all four games. Our offense yesterday was awful after the 3rd inning. When we see good pitchers I really worry about these guys. They don't have anyone with patience when facing a good pitcher except for Cervelli. Frazier, JBell and Polonco are doing better and I haven't seen enough of the new guys to tell just yet. With good pitchers you have to make them work and Cervelli is the best on the team at that most of the time. The goal is to make the pitcher throw lots of pitches by fouling off pitches and not swinging at bad pitches get there pitch count up and get them out of the game. Even if you are making outs your accomplishing something. Guys who aren't patient like JH, Marte, Mercer and can anyone figure out why Marte is batting 3rd. He needs to prove he deserves to bat there and so far in his career he not even close to showing me he should be batting 3rd. I would move Cervelli batting 2nd and Polonco bats 3rd for me. Pitching is the great unknown and we'll find out more against the Cubs, Cards and Brewers, but I think it is very suspect. I like what I saw from Tallion and that's about it. I like the way Holmes comes over the top with his pitches, Brault looked good in relief, Williams looks ok, and Glasnow is just nasty if he can get the ball across the plate close to the strike zone. Nova has looked awful so far, Kuhl has got stuff but control is a big issue. I would get rid of Smoker, Neverauskas, and bring up some younger guy from Indy and/or Altoona, and I would get Keller up ASAP why waste him on minor leaguers. I'd look at getting Glasnow and Brault in the rotation if we have anyone falter. Glasnow's confidence was really shaken by the way he was mishandled last year, Hurdle should have been fired for that alone, I argued early on he should be in the bullpen to get his feet wet before throwing him to the wolves.



What is so evident is how much winning a single game can mean to a team. Imagine where we would have been if that Detroit game would have ended differently. Same goes for the game yesterday. Somehow our FO and Manager don't seem to get that. The game yesterday was just given away with very little effort on our part to win it. Every win is just so important, and I don't get the feeling Hurdle understands it.



Off to a great start just need to keep it going.

[IABucFan]

Two more thoughts...last year, the Pirates finished 75-87. But, they were 6-13 against the Reds. If you just kept everything else the same, and reversed the record against the Reds to 13-6, we're 82-80.



And I can't help but be disappointed. I can't help but feel like we really should be 9-0, or at worst 8-1. Wednesday against the Twins, according to Fangraphs' win probability, we were as high as 77.4%, even 74% as late as the fifth inning. Yesterday against the Reds, they were at 90% after Frazier's RBI single. I don't think you should ever lose a game you're leading 4-0, certainly not to a terrible team like the Reds. Imagine the buzz around this team if they were 9-0.



I guess the flip side of that was Opening Day where the Tigers had a 90% chance to win at one point. Regardless, it's only nine games, but I'm cautiously optimistic about this team.