OnlyBucs

1. Josh Harrison (R) 2B

2. Corey Dickerson (L) LF

3. Starling Marte (R) CF

4. Colin Moran (L) 3B

5. Elias Diaz (R) C

6. Josh Bell (S) 1B

7. Gregory Polanco (L) RF

8. Jordy Mercer (R) SS

9. Trevor Williams (R) P



A better lineup would be Meadows 2nd, Dickerson 4th and Moran, Diaz and Bell each moving down a notch. But of course it's Polanco's turn to play. And that's far more important than playing the best lineup. I wonder if the Pirate players just shake their heads and the other team just laughs when they see the lineup Hurdle puts out there. The talent gap between the Pirates and other teams is bad enough without also having to overcome the incompetence of Hurdle.

just win baby

Is this the first time we have seen Dickerson in the 2 hole?  Dickerson has really reinvented himself.  Last year he struck out 25.8% of at-bats, and excluding this season he has a 24.8% career K rate.  This season he is striking out only 12%.  He is a keeper -- at least until he is a free agent.



But I will stay positive this evening.  Last season Williams was 2 and 0 against the Snakes.  He gave up 1 ER each in a 5 inning showing and then in a 6 inning performance.  Hopefully he will charm them again tonight. 

Yes, hopefully Williams will dominate them for 6 or 7 innings tonight so that we can turn the game over to the bullpen to lock it down.

I believe there's only one team in all of baseball right now that would willingly choose to start a RF with an OPS of .725 over a RF with an OPS of 1.027.



If the objective is TRYING TO WIN, you cannot make any sane argument for benching Meadows in favor of Polanco.



It's just an idiotic idea. And there's no way you can convince me Meadows needs the rest.



If Meadows were doing this for ANY OTHER TEAM in baseball, he would be starting, at a minimum, 9 out of every 10 games.

7052415C5F5A5D52714650505C330 wrote: I believe there's only one team in all of baseball right now that would willingly choose to start a RF with an OPS of .725 over a RF with an OPS of 1.027.



If the objective is TRYING TO WIN, you cannot make any sane argument for benching Meadows in favor of Polanco.



It's just an idiotic idea. And there's no way you can convince me Meadows needs the rest.



If Meadows were doing this for ANY OTHER TEAM in baseball, he would be starting, at a minimum, 9 out of every 10 games.
Agreed. Between NH and CH, this is is an absolutely horribly run team.

5D707D6C6B7A6D2D2E1F0 wrote: I believe there's only one team in all of baseball right now that would willingly choose to start a RF with an OPS of .725 over a RF with an OPS of 1.027.



If the objective is TRYING TO WIN, you cannot make any sane argument for benching Meadows in favor of Polanco.



It's just an idiotic idea. And there's no way you can convince me Meadows needs the rest.



If Meadows were doing this for ANY OTHER TEAM in baseball, he would be starting, at a minimum, 9 out of every 10 games.
Agreed. Between NH and CH, this is is an absolutely horribly run team.




yes, if they were serious about contending, they would do everything they can to win every game. That includes roster management (which NH is in charge of) and the line up.



Both NH and Clint seem to approach the season as a long one, so losses today are no big deal, we'll get them tomorrow. Sort of how they approach team building in the off season, we'll just get them next year.

0E232E3F38293E7E7D4C0 wrote: I believe there's only one team in all of baseball right now that would willingly choose to start a RF with an OPS of .725 over a RF with an OPS of 1.027.



If the objective is TRYING TO WIN, you cannot make any sane argument for benching Meadows in favor of Polanco.



It's just an idiotic idea. And there's no way you can convince me Meadows needs the rest.



If Meadows were doing this for ANY OTHER TEAM in baseball, he would be starting, at a minimum, 9 out of every 10 games.
Agreed. Between NH and CH, this is is an absolutely horribly run team.




It certainly does raise a question about the objectives the FO has for this team. I’m back to where I was in the middle of winter: this is a team without an identity or clear goal. It’s half way between rebuilding and trying to content. They can’t even rebuild well.



Im beginning to feel like this is a good team screwed up by the management which can’t decide on team objectives. Meadows sitting tonight makes no sense, whether rebuilding or trying to contend.

606771797760272B52757F737B7E3C717D7F120 wrote: I believe there's only one team in all of baseball right now that would willingly choose to start a RF with an OPS of .725 over a RF with an OPS of 1.027.



If the objective is TRYING TO WIN, you cannot make any sane argument for benching Meadows in favor of Polanco.



It's just an idiotic idea. And there's no way you can convince me Meadows needs the rest.



If Meadows were doing this for ANY OTHER TEAM in baseball, he would be starting, at a minimum, 9 out of every 10 games.
Agreed. Between NH and CH, this is is an absolutely horribly run team.




It certainly does raise a question about the objectives the FO has for this team.  I’m back to where I was in the middle of winter: this is a team without an identity or clear goal. It’s half way between rebuilding and trying to content. They can’t even rebuild well.



Im beginning to feel like this is a good team screwed up by the management which can’t decide on team objectives.  Meadows sitting tonight makes no sense, whether rebuilding or trying to contend. 




You have some good pieces. That doesn't mean this is a good team screwed up by management. Management really didn't do much to help this roster to begin with. This team is flawed. The manager is flawed and the objectives are flawed.

Not an impressive start ... Williams has been getting tagged lately. The mistake by Bell doesn't help matters.