OnlyBucs

The Reds are apparently close to trading for Sonny Gray.

46616A49040 wrote: The Reds are apparently close to trading for Sonny Gray.


Gray will love that -- goes from the AL bandbox to the NL bandbox.



His ERA in NY was almost 5 and on the road was in the low 3's. I'd love to get him as I think he'd pitch well at PNC. But I also hate to see the Reds get him ...

01262D0E430 wrote: The Reds are apparently close to trading for Sonny Gray.
If they acquire Gray they will be a much tougher team this season. They have several players who are free agents at the end of this season, but if they are not in contention in July they could move these players for prospects.

Interesting strategy ... the Reds are SPENDING MONEY and at least TRYING TO WIN.

7052415C5F5A5D52714650505C330 wrote: Interesting strategy ... the Reds are SPENDING MONEY and at least TRYING TO WIN.






Such and uncalled for strategy in Buccoland!

But they're going to give up all those years of control!

I saw these comments in the Post-Gazette from Joe Starkey in response to a mailbag questioner:



You’ll be excited to hear this quote from GM Neal Huntington, Mr. Shryock, as told to our new Pirates beat writer Nubyjas Wilborn. It is not defeatist or depressing at all. No, not one bit.



“We like Erik Gonzalez and Kevin Newman,” Huntington said. “And we like what we feel is the level they can produce at in comparison to what else is truly out there.”



Have they planned a parade route, just in case?



As for the NL Central, where teams (most of ‘em, anyway) are making big offseason moves, Huntington said, “It’s a great division. We recognize that and we respect that. It was a great division last year and we finished above .500 in the division. If we continue to take care of business in the division and get back to a winning record against the East and West, then we can expect to be in a position to compete to win the division and fight for a playoff spot.”



Translation: If we can win more baseball games in most parts of North America, we might be good.



Have they planned a parade route, just in case?



Huntington also uttered this quote, which really should be distributed as a recording, because I feel like I’ve heard it 9 million times before. Only the numbers have changed: “We have the ninth-best record in baseball over the last six years. We are one of a few teams that have made the postseason three times in the last seven years.”



I can see the banner now, right next to those commemorating the five World Series titles:



“NINTH-BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL, 2013-2018”



https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe ... 1901150109







Actually, they've made the post season 3 times in the past 6 years. So maybe NH is already writing off 2019 (or he's just bad at math).   In any case that comment sounds a lot better than 0 times in the past 3 years following a 98 win season after which they downgraded the roster. Since NH's admitted strategy is to assemble a team that looks capable of winning 78-82 games (which it has triumphantly achieved in 2 of the past 3 years) and hope to someday overachieve, maybe Bob Prince's "hidden vigorish" principle will apply, meaning the longer you go without doing something, the closer you get to finally doing it. All it will take is a best case scenario season from just about every player on the roster. But IMHO, I think NH will again achieve the goal of 78-82 wins. 

I'm not sure he will achieve that this year. I honestly think this is a bad baseball team. 78 wins might be overly optimistic.

74756E7F69292E1A0 wrote: I'm not sure he will achieve that this year. I honestly think this is a bad baseball team. 78 wins might be overly optimistic.
With this tough division it could be a year in which the Bucs finish below.500. The 2020 season could be successful with the additions of full seasons of Keller, Tucker, and Hayes. Who knows possibly Bannister could replace Hurdle for the 2020 season as well.

7E7273282128202D2A352F180 wrote: I'm not sure he will achieve that this year. I honestly think this is a bad baseball team. 78 wins might be overly optimistic.
With this tough division it could be a year in which the Bucs finish below.500. The 2020 season could be successful with the additions of full seasons of Keller, Tucker, and Hayes. Who knows possibly Bannister could replace Hurdle for the 2020 season as well.
We keep hoping. After 40+ years of rooting for this team I am coming seriously close to walking away. I've lived and died with these losers for a long, long time. I keep thinking maybe they will surprise us, but I'm just about at the end. There is no real clear path to winning. :'(