4A676A7B7C6D7A3A39080 wrote: This is why any time I hear anyone talk about an "easy" stretch of the schedule, I cringe. That's not the way the Pirates operate.
Pirates are just as likely to beat the Nats or Yankees as they are the Reds and Giants.
5-1 in Wrigley.
4-2 vs. Yanks, Nats.
But now 2-11 vs. the two bottom-feeders.
Make that a very reasonable 7-6 instead of 2-11, and the Pirates are in 1st place.
I don't think I've ever seen a team play up or down to its competition as much as the 2017 Pirates. They were inspired against Milwaukee, like they knew the season was on the line, which it was. This series, it's like, ehh...NBD.
I have some longer thoughts on this that hopefully, I'll post later. For now, suffice it to say that this team disgusts me. When we win, I very rarely see the other team beat itself. Maybe it's just the homer in me, but it seems to me that when we lose, we're beating ourselves.
One day, it's a TOOTBLAN. The next day, it's a throwing error. The next day it's forgetting how many outs there are. The next day it's throwing the ball into left field. The day after that, it's trying to hit a five run homer when a sac fly will do. The day after that it's wandering off third base and getting picked off. All in all, I've never seen a more undisciplined team. I normally tend to stay pretty even keel and not get too high after wins or too low after losses, but we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot on plays that I'd expect a Little League team to make. And I mean that sincerely. It's one thing if the other team just beats you. Like last night. I didn't really care. It was against Bumgarner. Taillon didn't have even his average stuff, let alone his best. That's baseball. It happens. Even the best teams lose one out of every three. But it seems to me that more often than not, the 2017 Pirates can pretty easily point to an unforced error as a primary factor in why they got beat on a particular day.
That's why it bothers me when Hurdle defends their mistakes. Of course, we don't know what is said behind closed doors, if anything. But these mistakes just never end. So even if Hurdle is talking to them behind closed doors, he's not getting thru. The buck stops at the top and Hurdle has to ultimately be responsible for an undisciplined, poor fundamental team. And it's this way every year under him. Combine that with his obsession with resting players; even hot hitters in key games and I think he is not helping this team.
I think you've finally won me over. I'm a big Oklahoma football fan, and I wanted them to get rid of Bobby Stoops. I'm sure Stoops is a good guy. He brought OU football back from the doldrums of the Howard Schnellenberger/John Blake era. He won a national championship, but it just seems to me that his team was never ready to play in big games. After his 2000 NC, he was 0-3 in the National Championship game and 0-1 in the CFB playoffs. Like I said, I'm sure he was a good guy. I'm sure he's a guy I would love to sit down and have a drink with. But I'm glad he's no longer coaching OU football. I'm excited to see what Lincoln Riley can do.
What does that have to do with baseball? I see a lot of Stoops in Hurdle. I'm sure Hurdle is a great guy. The players seem to love him. I've never heard a negative word about him from one of his players. I wouldn't want to have a drink with him, but that's only because he's a recovering alcoholic, and I wouldn't want to cause a relapse. But, I'd love to sit down and talk baseball with the guy. However, I think I'm ready to admit that you're right. I'm not sure Hurdle is the right guy to lead this team anymore. I think he was the right guy to get them over the hump of 20 straight sub-.500 seasons. But, I do think we need new leadership at the helm. You're exactly right...it's not just once in a while that they make a mental mistake. It's night in, and night out. I'm sure if I watched the Cards play as much as the Pirates, I could find mental mistakes they've made. Heck, they recently lost a game because Trevor Rosenthal forgot to cover first base on a ground ball to the right side. But we seem to make more than our fair share. I hate to admit it, but just as I've been won over to the "Nutting is Cheap" crowd, I think I've been won over to the, "I (reluctantly) think we need to move on from Hurdle," crowd.
Afternoon in SF
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JollyRoger
- Posts: 1469
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Afternoon in SF
I watched the Marte tootblan. I believe that he lost the ball in the Sun/glare and never got a good read on it. I don't blame him for that screw up. But dammit what I want to see is some emotion to show that you care. I want to see him in the dugout looking dejected like he just lost his best friend. Not jogging in and strutting around like nothing bad happened.
This is why I love Josh Harrison. He gives 110% on every play and I mean every play. He shows emotion. If he messes up you know it. You never see him jogging to first. He goes all out on every play. He is the first one out of the dugout congratulating a HR or walk off. That is what I want to see. I want to see players that care and show emotion. I would take 9 Josh Harrison's in a heartbeat.
As for Marte; he has let down what is left of Pirate Nation. I would not be opposed to shopping him when he has built up his trade value.
This is why I love Josh Harrison. He gives 110% on every play and I mean every play. He shows emotion. If he messes up you know it. You never see him jogging to first. He goes all out on every play. He is the first one out of the dugout congratulating a HR or walk off. That is what I want to see. I want to see players that care and show emotion. I would take 9 Josh Harrison's in a heartbeat.
As for Marte; he has let down what is left of Pirate Nation. I would not be opposed to shopping him when he has built up his trade value.
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rucker59@gmail.com
Afternoon in SF
54717272674C71797B6C1E0 wrote: I watched the Marte tootblan. I believe that he lost the ball in the Sun/glare and never got a good read on it. I don't blame him for that screw up. But dammit what I want to see is some emotion to show that you care. I want to see him in the dugout looking dejected like he just lost his best friend. Not jogging in and strutting around like nothing bad happened.
This is why I love Josh Harrison. He gives 110% on every play and I mean every play. He shows emotion. If he messes up you know it. You never see him jogging to first. He goes all out on every play. He is the first one out of the dugout congratulating a HR or walk off. That is what I want to see. I want to see players that care and show emotion. I would take 9 Josh Harrison's in a heartbeat.
As for Marte; he has let down what is left of Pirate Nation. I would not be opposed to shopping him when he has built up his trade value.
Except Marte said the wind blew the ball! ;D Didn't say anything about the sun. Watch his "route", that must have been some crazy wind. Didn't seem to affect anyone else during the game so it was probably a sudden wind, hurricane force.
Marte did what Marte does - his head was NOT in the game. He let a can of corn drop 10 away from him. What's funny is, if the wind was blowing the ball, how come once he got planted he never moved a muscle until the ball hit the grown.
I've only seen one other player EVER stand there like Marte did. Too bad Clint doesn't at least have a bit of energy like this manager...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rsXS7Y5rTs
This is why I love Josh Harrison. He gives 110% on every play and I mean every play. He shows emotion. If he messes up you know it. You never see him jogging to first. He goes all out on every play. He is the first one out of the dugout congratulating a HR or walk off. That is what I want to see. I want to see players that care and show emotion. I would take 9 Josh Harrison's in a heartbeat.
As for Marte; he has let down what is left of Pirate Nation. I would not be opposed to shopping him when he has built up his trade value.
Except Marte said the wind blew the ball! ;D Didn't say anything about the sun. Watch his "route", that must have been some crazy wind. Didn't seem to affect anyone else during the game so it was probably a sudden wind, hurricane force.
Marte did what Marte does - his head was NOT in the game. He let a can of corn drop 10 away from him. What's funny is, if the wind was blowing the ball, how come once he got planted he never moved a muscle until the ball hit the grown.
I've only seen one other player EVER stand there like Marte did. Too bad Clint doesn't at least have a bit of energy like this manager...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rsXS7Y5rTs
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Bobster21
Afternoon in SF
505741494750171B62454F434B4E0C414D4F220 wrote: I watched the Marte tootblan. I believe that he lost the ball in the Sun/glare and never got a good read on it. I don't blame him for that screw up. But dammit what I want to see is some emotion to show that you care. I want to see him in the dugout looking dejected like he just lost his best friend. Not jogging in and strutting around like nothing bad happened.
This is why I love Josh Harrison. He gives 110% on every play and I mean every play. He shows emotion. If he messes up you know it. You never see him jogging to first. He goes all out on every play. He is the first one out of the dugout congratulating a HR or walk off. That is what I want to see. I want to see players that care and show emotion. I would take 9 Josh Harrison's in a heartbeat.
As for Marte; he has let down what is left of Pirate Nation. I would not be opposed to shopping him when he has built up his trade value.
Except Marte said the wind blew the ball! ;D Didn't say anything about the sun. Watch his "route", that must have been some crazy wind. Didn't seem to affect anyone else during the game so it was probably a sudden wind, hurricane force.
Marte did what Marte does - his head was NOT in the game. He let a can of corn drop 10 away from him. What's funny is, if the wind was blowing the ball, how come once he got planted he never moved a muscle until the ball hit the grown.
I've only seen one other player EVER stand there like Marte did. Too bad Clint doesn't at least have a bit of energy like this manager...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rsXS7Y5rTs
Yes, the wind was blowing the ball to deep straightaway LF, then stopped the ball in its tracks and made it turn left. Happens all the time. Probably the same wind that held up Joggin' John Jaso on his way to 1B as he grounded to 2B in the 9th inning. But I take exception to Charlie Brown calling Lucy the worst player in the history of the world. Obviously, he never saw Derek Bell.
This is why I love Josh Harrison. He gives 110% on every play and I mean every play. He shows emotion. If he messes up you know it. You never see him jogging to first. He goes all out on every play. He is the first one out of the dugout congratulating a HR or walk off. That is what I want to see. I want to see players that care and show emotion. I would take 9 Josh Harrison's in a heartbeat.
As for Marte; he has let down what is left of Pirate Nation. I would not be opposed to shopping him when he has built up his trade value.
Except Marte said the wind blew the ball! ;D Didn't say anything about the sun. Watch his "route", that must have been some crazy wind. Didn't seem to affect anyone else during the game so it was probably a sudden wind, hurricane force.
Marte did what Marte does - his head was NOT in the game. He let a can of corn drop 10 away from him. What's funny is, if the wind was blowing the ball, how come once he got planted he never moved a muscle until the ball hit the grown.
I've only seen one other player EVER stand there like Marte did. Too bad Clint doesn't at least have a bit of energy like this manager...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rsXS7Y5rTs
Yes, the wind was blowing the ball to deep straightaway LF, then stopped the ball in its tracks and made it turn left. Happens all the time. Probably the same wind that held up Joggin' John Jaso on his way to 1B as he grounded to 2B in the 9th inning. But I take exception to Charlie Brown calling Lucy the worst player in the history of the world. Obviously, he never saw Derek Bell.
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OrlandoMerced
Afternoon in SF
Losing four out of five might have changed their deadline approach. Kind of sucks, but they just don't seem to have the right group in place to make a run.
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rucker59@gmail.com
Afternoon in SF
79445A575852597B5344555352360 wrote: Losing four out of five might have changed their deadline approach. Kind of sucks, but they just don't seem to have the right group in place to make a run.
My guess is that's Neal's thinking. I'm not expecting any real help at the deadline. The only Q is what does he trade away?
I will not be surprised to see Cole moved.
My guess is that's Neal's thinking. I'm not expecting any real help at the deadline. The only Q is what does he trade away?
I will not be surprised to see Cole moved.
Afternoon in SF
I'm thinking he keeps Cole, but I'm guessing McCutchen's status depends on what is offered. Same with Harrison. They have Watson and a lot of AAA pitchers to add to trades as well. I could see some cleaning out going on.
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rucker59@gmail.com
Afternoon in SF
393B212731540 wrote: I'm thinking he keeps Cole, but I'm guessing McCutchen's status depends on what is offered. Same with Harrison. They have Watson and a lot of AAA pitchers to add to trades as well. I could see some cleaning out going on.
I hate to think of this team with out Harrison. We'll keep the likes of Marte, Polanco and Jogging John, and trade the one guy who plays the game the right way every play.
I think you may well be right, but it will be a sad day.
I hate to think of this team with out Harrison. We'll keep the likes of Marte, Polanco and Jogging John, and trade the one guy who plays the game the right way every play.
I think you may well be right, but it will be a sad day.
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rucker59@gmail.com
Afternoon in SF
For those out of town that wonder about the pulse of the town: the FAN is dedicating entire time slots to Marte and Jaso. Needless to say, people are not being kind. Both are getting rightfully drilled.
Calls for Jaso to be dropped.
Calls for Jaso to be dropped.
Afternoon in SF
If it were up to me, I'd trade Marte. I think something is going on there that's more than PEDs.