OnlyBucs

I kind of feel sorry for Archer. He gets traded to a Pirate team that will probably finish last in their division while the Rays will have a good chance to make the playoffs next year.

I wonder what is going through his mind?

He's probably figuring out the number of hours remaining on his current contract.

If the Bucs are having a poor season come the July trade deadline, they could move him if he is having a successful season. Personally I don’t see that happening. I think the Bucs will be competitive in the very strong Central Division. Sometimes I wish they were in The American League Central. That division is not as tough as the National Central.

I'm okay with being in the NL Central I just wish the Pirates would SPEND MONEY AND TRY TO WIN, instead of "feeling good about our internal options."



It's a sad situation and one of the most depressing offseasons I can remember.

Tampa has the Red Soxs and Yankees to deal with in their division. Last wild card spot I think would be their only shoot.

That suggests an interesting question - is divisional baseball inherently unfair? We saw what happened to the Pirates in 2015 when they had the second best record in the league, but picked the wrong division to have it in. The Rays have never had a realistic chance for any sustained success, and when the Yankees and Sox put their minds to it (and open wallets), the Rays get blown out of the water. I doubt there's any workable solution, however.

63617B7D6B0E0 wrote: That suggests an interesting question - is divisional baseball inherently unfair? We saw what happened to the Pirates in 2015 when they had the second best record in the league, but picked the wrong division to have it in. The Rays have never had a realistic chance for any sustained success, and when the Yankees and Sox put their minds to it (and open wallets), the Rays get blown out of the water. I doubt there's any workable solution, however.
It's always unfair because of the difference in schedules. Even with the two WC teams, it's more difficult to have 1 of the 2 best records of non division winners if your division requires you to play more games against the top teams than WC contenders in weaker divisions. If your division winner is the only good team in your division and you are a mediocre team feasting on the other 3 weak division teams, you might have a better WC record than a good team in a very tough division. There's also the unbalanced schedule for inter-league games. So some WC contenders have easier schedules than others.

4163706D6E6B6C63407761616D020 wrote: I'm okay with being in the NL Central I just wish the Pirates would SPEND MONEY AND TRY TO WIN, instead of "feeling good about our internal options."



It's a sad situation and one of the most depressing offseasons I can remember.
Spending Money and Trying to Win are 2 different things to me. I think the Pirates are trying to win, and I don't think you have to spend money to do that. They won 82 games last year with injuries and only 1 1/2 months of Archer. They have talent on this team and can (in my opinion) win more games than last year, so I don't find it sad at all. I am excited for the 2019 season.

515D5C070E070F02051A00370 wrote: If the Bucs are having a poor season come the July trade deadline, they could move him if he is having a successful season. Personally I don’t see that happening. I think the Bucs will be competitive in the very strong Central Division. Sometimes I wish they were in The American League Central. That division is not as tough as the National Central.


I see Archer having a rebound season, but don't think this team will be competitive just yet. I need to see if Williams' 2018 is sustainable. We have not improved this roster one iota from the offseason, while other teams behind us have. If Cincy finds a way to get that three-way and get Kluber, then ...

183538292E3F28686B5A0 wrote: That suggests an interesting question - is divisional baseball inherently unfair? We saw what happened to the Pirates in 2015 when they had the second best record in the league, but picked the wrong division to have it in. The Rays have never had a realistic chance for any sustained success, and when the Yankees and Sox put their minds to it (and open wallets), the Rays get blown out of the water. I doubt there's any workable solution, however.
It's always unfair because of the difference in schedules. Even with the two WC teams, it's more difficult to have 1 of the 2 best records of non division winners if your division requires you to play more games against the top teams than WC contenders in weaker divisions. If your division winner is the only good team in your division and you are a mediocre team feasting on the other 3 weak division teams, you might have a better WC record than a good team in a very tough division. There's also the unbalanced schedule for inter-league games. So some WC contenders have easier schedules than others. 




unfairness in scheduling is an unrecognized problem. When there were two divisions the schedules were balanced.



In a close wild card race now the difference in schedules can be the deciding factor.