OnlyBucs

Why is Neverwanttoseehimpitchagain still on the roster? He is clearly worse than our other relievers, and that's saying something.

Right now this Pirates team is a dumpster fire. Five unearned, garbage runs in the first inning loads it up, and a bullpen with a box of matches and buckets of gasoline to keep it blazing. I think I heard Clint say that the results may be much to the chagrin of those outside our vacuum, but the weenies and marshmallows were excellent.

The Pirates don’t just lose. They Lose in spectacular fashion.



They have a unique way of embarrassing themselves.

This is what happens when you have an owner you won't pay to obtain or retain good players, a GM who overrates players' abilities and a manager who just makes one incredibly bizarre head scratching move after another.

A comment on last night's first inning.



The Bucs are already down 4-0. Marte, the 7th batter, is on 3rd after his triple. There are 2 outs. Hurdle decides to walk the #8 hitter to get to the pitcher Clay Buckholtz. A thought this was a very appropriate considering all of the pitches that Williams had thrown.



The obvious objective was to get Buckholtz out. So, what does Williams do, he gets concerned about the runner on first on Bell (on cue) fails to stop the throw. Marte walks home and the DB runner on first (already have eliminated his name from my brain) easily makes it to third and then trots home when the throw bounces off of him and trickles down the 3rd base line.



The first inning was bad enough, but Williams could have been out of there down 4 instead of down 6. Also, didn't Williams that Marte is really (really) fast and that any slight delay in his throwing to first would result in Marte breaking for the plate, particularly because Bell does not make good throws and his reaction times are slow. Williams should have recognized that the D-Backs were trying to manufacture another run. It really shouldn't have mattered if the runner on first stole second, because the real target was Buckholtz.



Then again, I am sure that Williams must have been thinking that Diaz wouldn't be able to contain himself if the runner on 1st broke for second and that Diaz would have foolishly tried to throw him out even though it likely would have been futile and would have allowed Marte to score anyway.



This Pirate team is in trouble.

Huge mental error by Williams. Walked the guy to get to the pitcher and then he was concerned about the guy he walked. Greg Brown was going nuts on the radio. 5 unearned runs in the first inning will always be tough to over come.



Bad defense last night for sure. Moran had a ball go past him. It was hard hit, but if he knocks it down it saved a run.

1D3F2C313237303F1C2B3D3D315E0 wrote: Look, our rotation is NOT GOOD. There is no debating it.



We have about 7 or 8 guys who could maybe be the No. 4 or 5 starter on a really good team.



That's our rotation. Mediocre quantity.



No elite quality.



And that's a recipe for 90+ losses.



Then throw in the fact that the bullpen is even worse than the rotation.



And we can't hit.



And tonight after one inning we are on pace to commit 24 errors.



So that's where we are right now and for the foreseeable future.


I have maintained this since day 1. I made these comments relative to the starting rotation long ago. JT is the ONLY one that can move into a top 2 spot in the rotation and that is based on potential. We have nothing more than 4's or 5's in the rotation. Nothing will change anytime soon either. None of our pieces that will be moved will garner anything of consequence in return. Bullpen sucks. This is on our GM. Glasnow was supposed to be our savior in our rotation absent JT. He isn't even a reliable reliever. Now, we have Keller, who might suffer the same fate. What is behind him?



In the last two games, the Bucs have scored 6.5 runs per game. That should be enough for two wins. Instead, 0-2 because they gave up 22. This is due to bad defense and bad pitching. That is on the GM and coaching staff and all decision makers.

7767665147474B240 wrote: Look, our rotation is NOT GOOD. There is no debating it.



We have about 7 or 8 guys who could maybe be the No. 4 or 5 starter on a really good team.



That's our rotation. Mediocre quantity.



No elite quality.



And that's a recipe for 90+ losses.



Then throw in the fact that the bullpen is even worse than the rotation.



And we can't hit.



And tonight after one inning we are on pace to commit 24 errors.



So that's where we are right now and for the foreseeable future.


I have maintained this since day 1.  I made these comments relative to the starting rotation long ago.  JT is the ONLY one that can move into a top 2 spot in the rotation and that is based on potential.  We have nothing more than 4's or 5's in the rotation.  Nothing will change anytime soon either.  None of our pieces that will be moved will garner anything of consequence in return.  Bullpen sucks.  This is on our GM.  Glasnow was supposed to be our  savior in our rotation absent JT.  He isn't even a reliable reliever.  [highlight]Now, we have Keller, who might suffer the same fate.[/highlight]  What is behind him?



In the last two games, the Bucs have scored 6.5 runs per game.  That should be enough for two wins.  Instead, 0-2 because they gave up 22.  This is due to bad defense and bad pitching.  That is on the GM and coaching staff and all decision makers.




Why do you think this?

The Pirates are now 6-18 in their last 24 games, they have went from 9 games over .500 to 3 games under .500 and have now lost 8 straight series. It’s getting pretty embarrassing watching this team play night in and night out. Something has to change at some point.

0A1A1B2C3A3A36590 wrote: Look, our rotation is NOT GOOD. There is no debating it.



We have about 7 or 8 guys who could maybe be the No. 4 or 5 starter on a really good team.



That's our rotation. Mediocre quantity.



No elite quality.



And that's a recipe for 90+ losses.



Then throw in the fact that the bullpen is even worse than the rotation.



And we can't hit.



And tonight after one inning we are on pace to commit 24 errors.



So that's where we are right now and for the foreseeable future.


I have maintained this since day 1.  I made these comments relative to the starting rotation long ago.  JT is the ONLY one that can move into a top 2 spot in the rotation and that is based on potential.  We have nothing more than 4's or 5's in the rotation.  Nothing will change anytime soon either.  None of our pieces that will be moved will garner anything of consequence in return.  Bullpen sucks.  This is on our GM.  Glasnow was supposed to be our  savior in our rotation absent JT.  He isn't even a reliable reliever.  Now, we have Keller, who might suffer the same fate.  What is behind him?



In the last two games, the Bucs have scored 6.5 runs per game.  That should be enough for two wins.  Instead, 0-2 because they gave up 22.  This is due to bad defense and bad pitching.  That is on the GM and coaching staff and all decision makers.






I once had a mentor describe poor leadership as follows: a poor leader shoots an arrow into the air, runs to wherever the arrow lands, and paints a bullseye around the arrow - just because you say you have a plan doesnt mean you actually have one.



This was a point I was making in the winter, backed off of as the season drew near as I started to think maybe this was 2013 again, but now realize the original point is closest to reality: it’s like Neal is just firing arrows off and claiming they represent a plan. Is the team rebuilding or contending? so we end up with a mishmash roster, and lineups, that seemed pointed nowhere.