OnlyBucs

1F495F4B445E4E45485F6D4A404C4441034E2D0 wrote: The trade of Dyson is encouraging.  Dyson had been receiving way too much playing time.   



Also, the slot money may turn out to have more value than acquiring someone who was likely a non-prospect.


Couldn't agree more.  When we see teams around baseball sign brilliant players from the Caribbean who are in the major leagues at such a young age, performing at a high level, I'm all for Cherington getting as much money as he can for a player of little worth to use to extract talent from that part of the world.


Do you mean like Polanco? Signing them is an important thing to do but developing them is even more important. I just hope that BC and his regime can manage that well.

66474F664D45220 wrote: The trade of Dyson is encouraging.  Dyson had been receiving way too much playing time.   



Also, the slot money may turn out to have more value than acquiring someone who was likely a non-prospect.


Couldn't agree more.  When we see teams around baseball sign brilliant players from the Caribbean who are in the major leagues at such a young age, performing at a high level, I'm all for Cherington getting as much money as he can for a player of little worth to use to extract talent from that part of the world.


Do you mean like Polanco?  Signing them is an important thing to do but developing them is even more important.  I just hope that BC and his regime can manage that well.




Possum, the one thing that gives me hope is that I don't think it's possible for BC to be worse at evaluating and developing talent than Huntington was. Polanco has displayed talent in the past but his inconsistencies have been maddening. I don't know if that's a result of poor development but we've all seen that Polanco hasn't improved as a player during his career.

I would love to see a better RF than Polanco, but I don't believe that Riddle and Tucker are an improvement over Polanco.

524944454C404F210 wrote: I would love to see a better RF than Polanco, but I don't believe that Riddle and Tucker are an improvement over Polanco.


Current statistics show Tucker is better in nearly every way. Riddle's batting average is higher than Polanco's, both of which are bad, and he's a better defensive 3Bman than Polanco is a right fielder. Polanco has more talent but chooses to rest it at most every opportunity.

Shedman



The Pirates have 9 wins on the season and the worst run differential in the National League.



This shortened season is now essentially half over. Even if the Pirates won 2 of every 3 games the rest of the season, they would still only finish with a .500 record which likely would not qualify them for the play-offs.



While I want to win as much as any fan, at present, I do not feel that it matters if the Pirates are playing the person in RF or any position that gives the team the best opportunity to win an individual game. I want the Bucs to play the player who has an opportunity to further develop and provide the team the best opportunity to win in future years.



I am hoping that players like Riddle and Dyson (now gone) are not needed next year and that they only play now when there is not another alternative. I am encouraged that the team moved Dyson, particularly if it means that Tucker receives more regular playing time in CF and the outfield. With the scarcity of outfielders in the Pirate system, the Pirates must determine if they have in-house options who can play the OF for them next year.



So --- I am hoping that the Bucs decision to move Dyson is the start of a series of moves.



I generally would keep the following position players: Stallings, Newman, Gonzalez (hard to believe I am saying this), Reynolds, and likely Tucker and Moran. That said, I would consider moving any of the above except Stallings if someone overpaid for their services. On the pitching end, I would keep Kuhl, Keller and Hartleib. I would aggressively market some players more than others, for example, Frazier, Holland and Rodriguez, but I would try to add more talent for the longer term by dealing what I can. The trades would be much less about moving salary than adding talent.



At present, I do not have high expectations for this trading season, but perhaps if Bell or someone gets hot (his swing shows little signs of such), they could obtain more this off-season.



I really need to see some signs of hope that we don't need to wait 20 years this time to again see a winner in Pittsburgh.

MaineBucs



I understand your desire to build for the future, but I have been trained over many years to understand that the future never gets here in Pittsburgh. Rather, all that happens is we hear a series of excuses and alibis for not spending any money to improve the team. We are wasting at bats on guys like Riddle and Tucker. I know, I know, Tucker is young and full of enthusiasm, but he is a minor league ballplayer. We need to get major league ballplayers in Pittsburgh to compete with the other teams major league ballplayers.



If you remember, the future never arrives in Pittsburgh, then, the only thing that is important is how many games we win this year and right now. I want to know who will help us win tonights game and I will worry about the future in the future. We only have a handful of major league ballplayers on this team and we need many many more major leaguers. I will criticize this Management for their lack of action to bring major league pallplayers in here and for sending out major league ballplayers to other teams to save our greeedy owner some more money. Likewise, I will applaud each and every major league ballplayer that Cherington brings in right now. I am not at all interested in a pseudo-future.

Mets pick up Heredia from the Pirates on a waiver claim. Thus, Mets are responsible for the remainder of his pro-rated salary; $172,000 or so.



Nutting is so joyous that he offers Ben a one-day vacation package to any community within one hour driving distance of Pittsburgh.

In Pirate baseball there is no future, only the past happening over and over again.

765A52555E794E58483B0 wrote: Shedman



The Pirates have 9 wins on the season and the worst run differential in the National League. 



This shortened season is now essentially half over.  Even if the Pirates won 2 of every 3 games the rest of the season, they would still only finish with a .500 record which likely would not qualify them for the play-offs.



While I want to win as much as any fan, at present, I do not feel that it matters if the Pirates are playing the person in RF or any position that gives the team the best opportunity to win an individual game.  I want the Bucs to play the player who has an opportunity to further develop and provide the team the best opportunity to win in future years.



I am hoping that players like Riddle and Dyson (now gone) are not needed next year and that they only play now when there is not another alternative.  I am encouraged that the team moved Dyson, particularly if it means that Tucker receives more regular playing time in CF and the outfield.  With the scarcity of outfielders in the Pirate system, the Pirates must determine if they have in-house options who can play the OF for them next year.      



So --- I am hoping that the Bucs decision to move Dyson is the start of a series of moves.



I generally would keep the following position players: Stallings, Newman, Gonzalez (hard to believe I am saying this), Reynolds, and likely Tucker and Moran.   That said, I would consider moving any of the above except Stallings if someone overpaid for their services.  On the pitching end, I would keep Kuhl, Keller and Hartleib.   I would aggressively market some players more than others, for example, Frazier, Holland and Rodriguez,  but I would try to add more talent for the longer term by dealing what I can.  The trades would be much less about moving salary than adding talent.



At present, I do not have high expectations for this trading season, but perhaps if Bell or someone gets hot (his swing shows little signs of such), they could obtain more this off-season.



I really need to see some signs of hope that we don't need to wait 20 years this time to again see a winner in Pittsburgh.


This is a post that I'm pretty much agreeing with word for word. Those would pretty much be my core players heading into next year and I'm not including guys like Hayes since he isn't here. I would move everyone else, including Bell. I just don't see any sort of consistency from him at all. Take away his first half last year, he has been garbage for basically a year but someone would probably give some talent back for that.



I'm glad Dyson was moved. This is a move like BC's counterpart in the NHL, JR. Dump a contract that you brought in that sucked or didn't work. Except we are all waiting for JR to dump Johnson.

19353D3A3116213727540 wrote: Shedman



The Pirates have 9 wins on the season and the worst run differential in the National League. 



This shortened season is now essentially half over.  Even if the Pirates won 2 of every 3 games the rest of the season, they would still only finish with a .500 record which likely would not qualify them for the play-offs.



While I want to win as much as any fan, at present, I do not feel that it matters if the Pirates are playing the person in RF or any position that gives the team the best opportunity to win an individual game.  I want the Bucs to play the player who has an opportunity to further develop and provide the team the best opportunity to win in future years.



I am hoping that players like Riddle and Dyson (now gone) are not needed next year and that they only play now when there is not another alternative.  I am encouraged that the team moved Dyson, particularly if it means that Tucker receives more regular playing time in CF and the outfield.  With the scarcity of outfielders in the Pirate system, the Pirates must determine if they have in-house options who can play the OF for them next year.      



So --- I am hoping that the Bucs decision to move Dyson is the start of a series of moves.



I generally would keep the following position players: Stallings, Newman, Gonzalez (hard to believe I am saying this), Reynolds, and likely Tucker and Moran.   That said, I would consider moving any of the above except Stallings if someone overpaid for their services.  On the pitching end, I would keep Kuhl, Keller and Hartleib.   I would aggressively market some players more than others, for example, Frazier, Holland and Rodriguez,  but I would try to add more talent for the longer term by dealing what I can.  The trades would be much less about moving salary than adding talent.



At present, I do not have high expectations for this trading season, but perhaps if Bell or someone gets hot (his swing shows little signs of such), they could obtain more this off-season.



I really need to see some signs of hope that we don't need to wait 20 years this time to again see a winner in Pittsburgh.


The best- and, I mean, the best- player you listed isn't anything more than a bench player.



We need authentic, legitimate, no kidding, died-in-the-wool, bonafide MLB players, and we won't have them for many years. But, a few years is better than not having them at all like we do today.