OnlyBucs

7224322629332328253200272D21292C6E23400 wrote: Yes, the problem stems from Nutting. Any Pirate GM is financially constrained in the players he can acquire and how long he can keep his players. And a well established, successful GM would never want to work under such conditions. Any Pirate manager is limited in the talent in front of him. And a well established successful manager would never want to work under such conditions. So we get below average GMs, managers and players.


Right as rain.  And until MLB changes so that each franchise must spend the same amount on payroll, we'll never see another championship again with Bob Nutting as owner.
I don't think there will ever be a cap in MLB. The big market teams drive the business and don't want competition from teams across the board.




I've felt that for some time now.[highlight]  It's easier, and better business for the large markets to just give franchises like the Pirates money, preserving them so that they can fill out the schedule and knowing they'll never truly compete.[/highlight] Imagine, wealthy people like Nutting accepting welfare.  I wonder if he sees the irony?




I think this is exactly right. No incentive for franchises getting revenue support to push to level the playing field.

4E5E5F687E7E721D0 wrote: So, Heredia and Osuna sent to Altoona.  Why are Del Pozo and Dyson still here?


They're being punished.

Hopefully DelPozo goes whenever Kela is activated. DelPozo does not belong on this team, or in the Majors at this time in his career. He has been very wild.

He isnt't in the majors. He's a Pirate.

4B7E6969625B69696265690C0 wrote: He isnt't in the majors.  He's a Pirate. 

Drum roll please! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Yeah. I admit my lameness.

762036222D37272C2136042329252D286A27440 wrote: I suspect Shelton has been doing just what is expected of him. Bobster alluded to this a while back and I suspect he’s right. As fans, we look at each game as game seven of the World Series and get frustrated when we see obvious things that could be done to enhance the chances to win. But it appears management was serious when they said they wanted to see what they had. You can’t tell that in Spring Training or in one or two games. If you assume they are treating this silly season as an extended test, then the decisions make sense. Shelton is placing players in situations to see how they respond. One of the announcers yesterday said Rodriquez would definitely be a starter, given his excellent defense, if he could hit ML pitching. He said the team wanted to see how he did over a season with regular at bats. So in he goes, anywhere. Tucker they already know can play short. Can he hit? Can he play anywhere else? If you look at the season as spring training it’s a lot more palatable.

I agree, Mouse, that BC is using this shortened season to assess his top 40 players, but there are some guys who really should never see the field, or play in certain positions.  Here's what I would do:

1.  Bell would almost exclusively DH.  He's not going to be here maybe as soon as this offseason.  There's no reason to have him bring his glove to games anymore.
2.  Move Moran over to 1B and start him in every game.  If he can better handle first than he can third, and if his good start at the plate is for real, he's a guy who can be here for a while.
3.  Move Newman to 2nd.  He's a below average SS.
4.  Start Tucker at SS for the rest of the season.  It's his natural position and he's a defensive upgrade over Newman.  If he doesn't hit, he at least helps in the field.
5.  Bring Hayes up to start at 3B.  He'll take his lumps at the plate but he'll get a head start on 2021.  He's wasting this year in Altoona.  Evans is there in reserve just in case.
6.  Reynolds would remain in LF.
7.  I would see if I could trade Bell (or Frazier, Polanco, and/or Taillon) for the best center fielder who is blocked in another organization.  The Yankees are loaded in the outfield.  They may have someone available in their system, and they may be intrigued enough with Taillon to take Frazier and/or Polanco.  Or a third team might be included in the trade that would take those two.  If Bell is traded, Evans can DH.  Dyson, because of his defense and the importance of the position, can play CF until a new guy is acquired.
8.  I honestly don't know what to do about RF, except that Polanco wouldn't be out there anymore.  Enough already.
9.  Stallings would remain behind the plate because he's fine defensively.  But it would be a priority to acquire someone who is an upgrade.

BC has to jump heavily into the international market.  There are treasures to be found there.
Agree with most everything, I would try and trade Bell now, and I would keep Polanco in right field for now. Don't have a problem with Tucker playing CF, he's going to make a mistakes but he got to learn.

647C7E79796E7F78656472170 wrote: I suspect Shelton has been doing just what is expected of him. Bobster alluded to this a while back and I suspect he’s right. As fans, we look at each game as game seven of the World Series and get frustrated when we see obvious things that could be done to enhance the chances to win. But it appears management was serious when they said they wanted to see what they had. You can’t tell that in Spring Training or in one or two games. If you assume they are treating this silly season as an extended test, then the decisions make sense. Shelton is placing players in situations to see how they respond. One of the announcers yesterday said Rodriquez would definitely be a starter, given his excellent defense, if he could hit ML pitching. He said the team wanted to see how he did over a season with regular at bats. So in he goes, anywhere. Tucker they already know can play short. Can he hit? Can he play anywhere else? If you look at the season as spring training it’s a lot more palatable.

I agree, Mouse, that BC is using this shortened season to assess his top 40 players, but there are some guys who really should never see the field, or play in certain positions.  Here's what I would do:

1.  Bell would almost exclusively DH.  He's not going to be here maybe as soon as this offseason.  There's no reason to have him bring his glove to games anymore.
2.  Move Moran over to 1B and start him in every game.  If he can better handle first than he can third, and if his good start at the plate is for real, he's a guy who can be here for a while.
3.  Move Newman to 2nd.  He's a below average SS.
4.  Start Tucker at SS for the rest of the season.  It's his natural position and he's a defensive upgrade over Newman.  If he doesn't hit, he at least helps in the field.
5.  Bring Hayes up to start at 3B.  He'll take his lumps at the plate but he'll get a head start on 2021.  He's wasting this year in Altoona.  Evans is there in reserve just in case.
6.  Reynolds would remain in LF.
7.  I would see if I could trade Bell (or Frazier, Polanco, and/or Taillon) for the best center fielder who is blocked in another organization.  The Yankees are loaded in the outfield.  They may have someone available in their system, and they may be intrigued enough with Taillon to take Frazier and/or Polanco.  Or a third team might be included in the trade that would take those two.  If Bell is traded, Evans can DH.  Dyson, because of his defense and the importance of the position, can play CF until a new guy is acquired.
8.  I honestly don't know what to do about RF, except that Polanco wouldn't be out there anymore.  Enough already.
9.  Stallings would remain behind the plate because he's fine defensively.  But it would be a priority to acquire someone who is an upgrade.

BC has to jump heavily into the international market.  There are treasures to be found there.
Agree with most everything, I would try and trade Bell now, and I would keep Polanco in right field for now.  Don't have a problem with Tucker playing CF, he's going to make a mistakes but he got to learn.

I think we'd all agree that Bell is unlikely to sign a long term deal here for the obvious reasons.  He's worth more now than he will be as he gets closer to free agency. I'm okay with dealing him, especially if a CFer is coming here.

As for Tucker, natural shortstops are hard to find.  I think it makes more sense to play him there, then the team has taken care of an important position for the next four to six years.  I'd rather BC then find a young natural CFer, another important position. 

I'm not a big fan of playing guys out of position, especially moving infielders to the outfield and vice versa, unless there's no other option, and it's for a short period of time.  I don't want to see another fiasco like Huntington pulled a few years ago when he had two infielders playing for the suspended Marte and the injured Polanco for more than half the season.

095F495D524858535E497B5C565A525715583B0 wrote: I suspect Shelton has been doing just what is expected of him. Bobster alluded to this a while back and I suspect he’s right. As fans, we look at each game as game seven of the World Series and get frustrated when we see obvious things that could be done to enhance the chances to win. But it appears management was serious when they said they wanted to see what they had. You can’t tell that in Spring Training or in one or two games. If you assume they are treating this silly season as an extended test, then the decisions make sense. Shelton is placing players in situations to see how they respond. One of the announcers yesterday said Rodriquez would definitely be a starter, given his excellent defense, if he could hit ML pitching. He said the team wanted to see how he did over a season with regular at bats. So in he goes, anywhere. Tucker they already know can play short. Can he hit? Can he play anywhere else? If you look at the season as spring training it’s a lot more palatable.

I agree, Mouse, that BC is using this shortened season to assess his top 40 players, but there are some guys who really should never see the field, or play in certain positions.  Here's what I would do:

1.  Bell would almost exclusively DH.  He's not going to be here maybe as soon as this offseason.  There's no reason to have him bring his glove to games anymore.
2.  Move Moran over to 1B and start him in every game.  If he can better handle first than he can third, and if his good start at the plate is for real, he's a guy who can be here for a while.
3.  Move Newman to 2nd.  He's a below average SS.
4.  Start Tucker at SS for the rest of the season.  It's his natural position and he's a defensive upgrade over Newman.  If he doesn't hit, he at least helps in the field.
5.  Bring Hayes up to start at 3B.  He'll take his lumps at the plate but he'll get a head start on 2021.  He's wasting this year in Altoona.  Evans is there in reserve just in case.
6.  Reynolds would remain in LF.
7.  I would see if I could trade Bell (or Frazier, Polanco, and/or Taillon) for the best center fielder who is blocked in another organization.  The Yankees are loaded in the outfield.  They may have someone available in their system, and they may be intrigued enough with Taillon to take Frazier and/or Polanco.  Or a third team might be included in the trade that would take those two.  If Bell is traded, Evans can DH.  Dyson, because of his defense and the importance of the position, can play CF until a new guy is acquired.
8.  I honestly don't know what to do about RF, except that Polanco wouldn't be out there anymore.  Enough already.
9.  Stallings would remain behind the plate because he's fine defensively.  But it would be a priority to acquire someone who is an upgrade.

BC has to jump heavily into the international market.  There are treasures to be found there.
Agree with most everything, I would try and trade Bell now, and I would keep Polanco in right field for now.  Don't have a problem with Tucker playing CF, he's going to make a mistakes but he got to learn.

I think we'd all agree that Bell is unlikely to sign a long term deal here for the obvious reasons.  He's worth more now than he will be as he gets closer to free agency. I'm okay with dealing him, especially if a CFer is coming here.

As for Tucker, natural shortstops are hard to find.  I think it makes more sense to play him there, then the team has taken care of an important position for the next four to six years.  I'd rather BC then find a young natural CFer, another important position. 

I'm not a big fan of playing guys out of position, especially moving infielders to the outfield and vice versa, unless there's no other option, and it's for a short period of time.  I don't want to see another fiasco like Huntington pulled a few years ago when he had two infielders playing for the suspended Marte and the injured Polanco for more than half the season.
I think you could move Reynolds to center and move Jason Martin to left. I love his speed I think he would be a much better option than Dyson. Unless Dyson starts getting on by bunting he's worthless, his career batting average is just awful.

736B696E6E79686F727365000 wrote: I suspect Shelton has been doing just what is expected of him. Bobster alluded to this a while back and I suspect he’s right. As fans, we look at each game as game seven of the World Series and get frustrated when we see obvious things that could be done to enhance the chances to win. But it appears management was serious when they said they wanted to see what they had. You can’t tell that in Spring Training or in one or two games. If you assume they are treating this silly season as an extended test, then the decisions make sense. Shelton is placing players in situations to see how they respond. One of the announcers yesterday said Rodriquez would definitely be a starter, given his excellent defense, if he could hit ML pitching. He said the team wanted to see how he did over a season with regular at bats. So in he goes, anywhere. Tucker they already know can play short. Can he hit? Can he play anywhere else? If you look at the season as spring training it’s a lot more palatable.

I agree, Mouse, that BC is using this shortened season to assess his top 40 players, but there are some guys who really should never see the field, or play in certain positions.  Here's what I would do:

1.  Bell would almost exclusively DH.  He's not going to be here maybe as soon as this offseason.  There's no reason to have him bring his glove to games anymore.
2.  Move Moran over to 1B and start him in every game.  If he can better handle first than he can third, and if his good start at the plate is for real, he's a guy who can be here for a while.
3.  Move Newman to 2nd.  He's a below average SS.
4.  Start Tucker at SS for the rest of the season.  It's his natural position and he's a defensive upgrade over Newman.  If he doesn't hit, he at least helps in the field.
5.  Bring Hayes up to start at 3B.  He'll take his lumps at the plate but he'll get a head start on 2021.  He's wasting this year in Altoona.  Evans is there in reserve just in case.
6.  Reynolds would remain in LF.
7.  I would see if I could trade Bell (or Frazier, Polanco, and/or Taillon) for the best center fielder who is blocked in another organization.  The Yankees are loaded in the outfield.  They may have someone available in their system, and they may be intrigued enough with Taillon to take Frazier and/or Polanco.  Or a third team might be included in the trade that would take those two.  If Bell is traded, Evans can DH.  Dyson, because of his defense and the importance of the position, can play CF until a new guy is acquired.
8.  I honestly don't know what to do about RF, except that Polanco wouldn't be out there anymore.  Enough already.
9.  Stallings would remain behind the plate because he's fine defensively.  But it would be a priority to acquire someone who is an upgrade.

BC has to jump heavily into the international market.  There are treasures to be found there.
Agree with most everything, I would try and trade Bell now, and I would keep Polanco in right field for now.  Don't have a problem with Tucker playing CF, he's going to make a mistakes but he got to learn.

I think we'd all agree that Bell is unlikely to sign a long term deal here for the obvious reasons.  He's worth more now than he will be as he gets closer to free agency. I'm okay with dealing him, especially if a CFer is coming here.

As for Tucker, natural shortstops are hard to find.  I think it makes more sense to play him there, then the team has taken care of an important position for the next four to six years.  I'd rather BC then find a young natural CFer, another important position. 

I'm not a big fan of playing guys out of position, especially moving infielders to the outfield and vice versa, unless there's no other option, and it's for a short period of time.  I don't want to see another fiasco like Huntington pulled a few years ago when he had two infielders playing for the suspended Marte and the injured Polanco for more than half the season.
I think you could move Reynolds to center and move Jason Martin to left.  I love his speed I think he would be a much better option than Dyson.  Unless Dyson starts getting on by bunting he's worthless, his career batting average is just awful. 

I agree. Replacing Dyson quickly should be a priority. I'm okay with Reynolds in CF for the time being but I'd like to see BC have it at the top of his list to get the real deal to play out there.