OnlyBucs

6E45494045441E132A0 wrote:



Yeah, I get that April or May is not the time to move significant parts.  This is a hypothetical discussion.  I imagine that everyone who favors building this team through trades, like myself, the FO would be forced to wait until the market is strongest. 



So while I personally think it's crazy to be determined to hold a ~.500 team together, I don't expect or advocate April or May

Trades.




Meh.  Suppose a team that fully expects to contend loses a starter tomorrow.  Maybe they lose a star outfielder for the season, or someone from high in the rotation.  In that case, there COULD be a demand now.  IF that becomes the case, we entertain offers.  IF we like the offer, we accept, if not, we wait.  Standard operating procedure, with a larger window than usual in which we're willing to entertain offers.



The season is done for the Pirates now.  You won't see me saying anything like this prior to this thread, but I'll stand by it for the rest of the season. It's not really much of a risk to do so, as I strongly believe it's an obvious and blatant situation.  From hereon out, you act with that knowledge WRT everything you do for this team. 



Also, I heard a podcast around the middle of the month where John Perotto comes right out and said that MLB was upset with the Nuttings because of the profit they're turning without putting enough back into the team, and that the MLPA feels the same way.  With that in mind, I'm more inclined than ever to turn it over and trade for new talent.  They won't be spending to improve the team, they won't even bring in mid-tier talent - just marginal guys they thing have been under performing and hoping for a bounce.



The podcast I mentioned above.  The part I'm talking about starts around the 16 minute mark.



I don't have much hope for the near future, given our apparently lackluster Latin American system right now, and the lack of high draft picks the past several years.  Heck, most of our highly-touted prospects that WERE drafted high did not turn out to be as good as we'd hoped in recent years, so I don't hold out much hope for late-round picks.


Some very interesting comments from Perotto in that podcast. He thinks the Pirates rely too much on statistical analysis and that their brain trust thinks they know more than anyone else. He also said that Nutting ordered NH to reduce payroll for 2017 because attendance went down last year.

I did not listen to that podcast. John Perotto? That guy hates life and hates the Pirates. Sorry, he has no credibility to me. Plus, if MLB is so mad why haven't they stepped in and done something about it? Probably because it's not true.

242F272B2E2F347177003921282F2F6E232F400 wrote: I did not listen to that podcast. John Perotto? That guy hates life and hates the Pirates. Sorry, he has no credibility to me. 


Don't have to be sorry, Perotto isn't anything to me, even if I am starting to come around to the, "Nuttings are cheap" thinking lately. Though I think that's a harsh way to put it, and it sounds like it comes from an angry place. The team needs more money to spend.



242F272B2E2F347177003921282F2F6E232F400 wrote:

Plus, if MLB is so mad why haven't they stepped in and done something about it? Probably because it's not true.


That's a flawed argument. Look around the world. There are a lot of people and organizations doing wrong and they take forever to get their hand slapped, if ever. You don't know what MLB/MLPA plan to do any more than I do. They might be talking with the Bucs, they might be talking with attorneys and seeing if they can address it. Or not. I'm not going to assert that Perotto is right, that would be foolish. You're smart not to take him at his word. I don't either. I'm just passing on the info and noting it, waiting to see if more comes along that agrees with it, or shoots it down.

7C575B5257560C01380 wrote: I did not listen to that podcast. John Perotto? That guy hates life and hates the Pirates. Sorry, he has no credibility to me. 


Don't have to be sorry, Perotto isn't anything to me, even if I am starting to come around to the, "Nuttings are cheap" thinking lately.  Though I think that's a harsh way to put it, and it sounds like it comes from an angry place. The team needs more money to spend. 



242F272B2E2F347177003921282F2F6E232F400 wrote:

Plus, if MLB is so mad why haven't they stepped in and done something about it?  Probably because it's not true.


That's a flawed argument.  Look around the world.  There are a lot of people and organizations doing wrong and they take forever to get their hand slapped, if ever.  You don't know what MLB/MLPA plan to do any more than I do.  They might be talking with the Bucs, they might be talking with attorneys and seeing if they can address it.  Or not.  I'm not going to assert that Perotto is right, that would be foolish.  You're smart not to take him at his word.  I don't either. I'm just passing on the info and noting it, waiting to see if more comes along that agrees with it, or shoots it down. 


Yes, being upset with what someone is doing doesn't mean it's a violation of rules. The idea that it can't be true if no one is doing something about it is absurd.

3334222A2433747801262C20282D6F222E2C410 wrote: Short term--make a deal for an outfielder or start selling off pieces


You're willing to sell off?  It would sure be a very real option for me.




I certainly would sell. We win a series then we lose one. The goal is definitely take as many series as you can

7F747C7075746F2A2C5B627A7374743578741B0 wrote: I did not listen to that podcast. John Perotto? That guy hates life and hates the Pirates. Sorry, he has no credibility to me.  Plus, if MLB is so mad why haven't they stepped in and done something about it?  Probably because it's not true.








Perotto seems to have some kind of personal problem with someone in the Pirates organization. Ironically it seemed to have started about when the team started doing well.

Actually, I think Perotto's problem started further back than that. He used to run a Pirates web-site for Nutting, but then got fired. Perotto has been testy since then.

Peretto is correct as often as the rest of them.  He nailed the AJ Burnett negotiating when he left for Philly, and was lambasted here at the time for having an axe to grind.



His sources were right on. So I'm not sure what difference it makes that he was fired a decade ago or not. Any writer who writes negatively doesn't get any support here. Dejan being the best example.

A lot of parity this year and other NL teams dealing with big injuries as well.



6 out of 15 teams are above .500

3 out of 15 teams are more than 2 games above .500



Gotta let the season breathe a little still, it's a baby



Pirates have had one of toughest early schedules and not been buried. Maybe they have more fight in them than we think

35372D2B3D580 wrote: Actually, I think Perotto's problem started further back than that. He used to run a Pirates web-site for Nutting, but then got fired. Perotto has been testy since then.


Exactly right. When he left the Beaver County Times, he sent everyone a nasty email and attacked them professionally and personally.



I would think more media heads would be all over the Nuttings if they were being questioned about their payroll. Perotto isn't the only media head who hates the Pirates.