Wildcard games late last night...
Moderators: SammyKhalifa, Doc, Bobster
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SteadyFreddy
Wildcard games late last night...
The Giants come back to beat the Marlins 8-7 in 14 innings as Brandon Crawford enjoyed a 7 hit game, but more importantly the Cards who were down 4-0 to the Reds entering the bottom of the 9th inning score 5 runs and actually take advantage of a bad Reds bullpen something the Pirates didn't do the other night and win 5-4. Just a huge win for the Cards in a very tight wildcard race where every win is huge at this point. The Bucs pull within 2.5 games of the Marlins and drop a half game to the Cards as they are now 2.5 back as well. The Pirates have 3 games in hand with both the Marlins and Cardinals so winning games in this San Diego series is very very important needless to say. You cannot afford to have any slip ups these next 3 games if you're the Pirates you just can't
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Bobster21
Wildcard games late last night...
Freddy, I think the Pirate ship has sailed. After 109 games, they have never looked like a playoff team. They aren't in the WC "hunt" as much as the "hunt" merely came down to their level. At 1 game over .500 and still playing poorly even during the weak part of their schedule, they aren't chasing anybody. They can't help that other teams haven't put more distance between themselves and the Pirates. But the Pirates continue to plod along with poor play and poor roster decisions. The Dodgers appear to have the 1st WC spot sewn up. Maybe St.L or Miami should get hot and put Pirate fans out of their misery of wondering with each disappointing game if this will be the game that begins their run for the other WC spot. It ain't happening.
Wildcard games late last night...
46617074716C53677071716C150 wrote: You cannot afford to have any slip ups these next 3 games if you're the Pirates you just can't
Would you go so far as to say these are, "Must win" games? [smiley=laugh.gif]
"Must win", went out the window when they played .500 ball after the all-star break against bad teams. Now we just enjoy baseball because we love baseball, watch to see if Kang and/or Cutch get their collective $#!% together, and dream of next year.
Also, there's the time-honored tradition of complaining about the front office, that's always fun.
Would you go so far as to say these are, "Must win" games? [smiley=laugh.gif]
"Must win", went out the window when they played .500 ball after the all-star break against bad teams. Now we just enjoy baseball because we love baseball, watch to see if Kang and/or Cutch get their collective $#!% together, and dream of next year.
Also, there's the time-honored tradition of complaining about the front office, that's always fun.
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SteadyFreddy
Wildcard games late last night...
I personally don't think they will get the 2nd wildcard spot either as they have just not earned it enough and played well enough. But as long as their is still a chance which there very much is you cant sit back and just take it for granted. I pointed this out last night in another thread that the lack of hustle and just going through the motions attitude a lot of these players seem to have over the last 3 weeks or so is on Hurdle. He even admitted after the game on Sunday they lost to the Reds that he has to do a better job in cleaning up the mental mistakes and getting these guys ready to play.
Out of the 6 seasons Hurdle has been here even including both the 2011 and 2012 collapses I think this is by the far the worst coaching job Clint Hurdle has done this season. His handling of the whole Cutch situation I don't think has been good, his continued use of Jeff Locke in the rotation, and just his mis-management of key decisions during critical junctures of games has not been very good at all this entire season.
I've also said this numerous times that I like Clint a lot I really do, but I have begun to question day after day if he truly is the right man to get the Pirates to the World Series and win a championship. I just see too much of the same mistakes happening with Hurdle's teams even the good teams the last few seasons that leave me with a ton of doubt if he is the right man going forward.
Out of the 6 seasons Hurdle has been here even including both the 2011 and 2012 collapses I think this is by the far the worst coaching job Clint Hurdle has done this season. His handling of the whole Cutch situation I don't think has been good, his continued use of Jeff Locke in the rotation, and just his mis-management of key decisions during critical junctures of games has not been very good at all this entire season.
I've also said this numerous times that I like Clint a lot I really do, but I have begun to question day after day if he truly is the right man to get the Pirates to the World Series and win a championship. I just see too much of the same mistakes happening with Hurdle's teams even the good teams the last few seasons that leave me with a ton of doubt if he is the right man going forward.
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dogknot17@yahoo.co
Wildcard games late last night...
I am not giving up on this team yet. They go 4-2 and the team in front of them go 2-4 it is a new ball game. Hopefully, getting closer gets them motivated.
There has been some pretty bad play and yet they are still in this. Just imagine if Harrison, McCutchen, Jaso, or Kang showed up for a week? Things can change.
There has been some pretty bad play and yet they are still in this. Just imagine if Harrison, McCutchen, Jaso, or Kang showed up for a week? Things can change.
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Bobster21
Wildcard games late last night...
16312024213C03372021213C450 wrote: Out of the 6 seasons Hurdle has been here even including both the 2011 and 2012 collapses I think this is by the far the worst coaching job Clint Hurdle has done this season. His handling of the whole Cutch situation I don't think has been good, his continued use of Jeff Locke in the rotation, and just his mis-management of key decisions during critical junctures of games has not been very good at all this entire season.
I've also said this numerous times that I like Clint a lot I really do, but I have begun to question day after day if he truly is the right man to get the Pirates to the World Series and win a championship. I just see too much of the same mistakes happening with Hurdle's teams even the good teams the last few seasons that leave me with a ton of doubt if he is the right man going forward.
I think Hurdle is very average as a manager. Managers always look good when they have good players performing well or bad when they don't. Outstanding managers who can do more than just put names in a lineup are rare and Hurdle isn't one of them. In MLB today, most managerial decisions are made before the season begins. Who bats where. The pitching rotation. Which relievers will pitch the 6th, 7th and 8th innings after the starter throws 100 pitches. Who pitches the middle innings if the starter is pulled early.
The problem for a manager is when the players put into those roles don't perform and a Plan B is needed. Hurdle makes numerous batting order changes, which shows some creativity. But he's locked into Cutch hitting 2nd or 3rd no matter what. That has really hurt the team. He likes to use up his bench each game, often with needless substitutions. He is also locked into the 100 pitch count. Sometimes that results in an effective starter being replaced by a struggling reliever. He doesn't have the power to add better players to the roster. He can motivate players to give max effort but can't make them hit a HR or strike a batter out. But this year, some don't even seem to give max effort.
I guess what I'm saying is that Hurdle is very average. When he has talented players playing well, he gets credit for winning. When he doesn't have the players or they don't play well, he doesn't look so good. Most managers are like that. I don't think he's bad. nor do I think he gives them any advantage as a manager.
I've also said this numerous times that I like Clint a lot I really do, but I have begun to question day after day if he truly is the right man to get the Pirates to the World Series and win a championship. I just see too much of the same mistakes happening with Hurdle's teams even the good teams the last few seasons that leave me with a ton of doubt if he is the right man going forward.
I think Hurdle is very average as a manager. Managers always look good when they have good players performing well or bad when they don't. Outstanding managers who can do more than just put names in a lineup are rare and Hurdle isn't one of them. In MLB today, most managerial decisions are made before the season begins. Who bats where. The pitching rotation. Which relievers will pitch the 6th, 7th and 8th innings after the starter throws 100 pitches. Who pitches the middle innings if the starter is pulled early.
The problem for a manager is when the players put into those roles don't perform and a Plan B is needed. Hurdle makes numerous batting order changes, which shows some creativity. But he's locked into Cutch hitting 2nd or 3rd no matter what. That has really hurt the team. He likes to use up his bench each game, often with needless substitutions. He is also locked into the 100 pitch count. Sometimes that results in an effective starter being replaced by a struggling reliever. He doesn't have the power to add better players to the roster. He can motivate players to give max effort but can't make them hit a HR or strike a batter out. But this year, some don't even seem to give max effort.
I guess what I'm saying is that Hurdle is very average. When he has talented players playing well, he gets credit for winning. When he doesn't have the players or they don't play well, he doesn't look so good. Most managers are like that. I don't think he's bad. nor do I think he gives them any advantage as a manager.
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SteadyFreddy
Wildcard games late last night...
39323A363332296C6A1D243C353232733E325D0 wrote: I am not giving up on this team yet. They go 4-2 and the team in front of them go 2-4 it is a new ball game. Hopefully, getting closer gets them motivated.
The Cardinals play 4 games at Wrigley starting this weekend which will not be easy for them, and the Marlins this week have two more with the Giants before playing the White Sox over the weekend. The Mets schedule escapes me now but I think they play the D'Backs the next few days then the Padres this weekend. At some point the Pirates need to start stacking a bunch of wins in a row. They simply aren't doing that enough right now. You cant afford to win one game and then lose one game, then win 2 in a row against a bad team like they did with the Reds and then not finish off the sweep when Cole is on the mound. The Cards winning that game last night down 4-0 to the Reds was a big win for the Cards. Wins like that add up when you are chasing a team and are 2-3 games behind. Every game is going to start to be like gold here pretty soon.
The good news for the Pirates is they have 3 games in hand still with both the Marlins and the Cardinals and play both of them a combined 9 more times with 6 of those 9 being at PNC Park where the Pirates are a much better team. You have to win the majority of those head to head games and win a bunch more to make having that 3 games in hand at the moment mean something.
The Cardinals play 4 games at Wrigley starting this weekend which will not be easy for them, and the Marlins this week have two more with the Giants before playing the White Sox over the weekend. The Mets schedule escapes me now but I think they play the D'Backs the next few days then the Padres this weekend. At some point the Pirates need to start stacking a bunch of wins in a row. They simply aren't doing that enough right now. You cant afford to win one game and then lose one game, then win 2 in a row against a bad team like they did with the Reds and then not finish off the sweep when Cole is on the mound. The Cards winning that game last night down 4-0 to the Reds was a big win for the Cards. Wins like that add up when you are chasing a team and are 2-3 games behind. Every game is going to start to be like gold here pretty soon.
The good news for the Pirates is they have 3 games in hand still with both the Marlins and the Cardinals and play both of them a combined 9 more times with 6 of those 9 being at PNC Park where the Pirates are a much better team. You have to win the majority of those head to head games and win a bunch more to make having that 3 games in hand at the moment mean something.