OnlyBucs

I look at this from the Nutting/FO point of view since they pull the strings. They told us we had TBMTIB and that they were building toward a championship. Of course that failed miserably because of Nutting's cheapness. I can't see them now admitting they failed and starting over with another rebuild, especially after the extensions to Hurdle and NH implied they were on the right track. So I see another quiet off season that saves money while pretending little is needed. I would bet money that Nutting has accountants calculating the drop in attendance if Cutch is moved and the bottom line relevant to such a drop. I suspect that and nothing else will determine if Cutch is moved in the off season. Beyond that I expect the company line to be that few moves are needed to compete next year. I don't say this out of anger toward the org. It's my assessment of how the org is run, what we've seen in the past ad what we can reasonably expect to take place in the future.

4B4340776144636C020 wrote: Blow the entire thing up. Trade everyone, up to and including Taillon. This team is not good, not even close to good. If we bring the same sad group back next year, another year older, we're only going to go further south, record wise. This is a 90 loss team this year. If no significant, and I mean SIGNIFICANT upgrades are made, this is a 100 loss team next year. We can talk about down years and Kang and Marte until we're blue in the face. But the truth is, people have down years every year. Last year it was McCutchen. This year it's Polanco. Next year could be Bell.



Bottom line...this team stinks. They have no heart, lack basic fundamental skills I'd expect from a bad high school team, and have no star power.



Blow the whole thing up...I'm totally serious. Trade McCutchen, Marte, Polanco, Cole, Harrison, Mercer, Cervelli, Freese, and maybe even Taillon and Bell, depending on what kinds of offers you get. Everybody. This team, as currently structured, isn't even close to competing. We, and TBMTIB, are kidding ourselves if we think otherwise.






I agree with this !

6D404D5C5B4A5D1D1E2F0 wrote: I look at this from the Nutting/FO point of view since they pull the strings. They told us we had TBMTIB and that they were building toward a championship. Of course that failed miserably because of Nutting's cheapness. I can't see them now admitting they failed and starting over with another rebuild, especially after the extensions to Hurdle and NH implied they were on the right track. So I see another quiet off season that saves money while pretending little is needed. I would bet money that Nutting has accountants calculating the drop in attendance if Cutch is moved and the bottom line relevant to such a drop. I suspect that and nothing else will determine if Cutch is moved in the off season. Beyond that I expect the company line to be that few moves are needed to compete next year. I don't say this out of anger toward the org. It's my assessment of how the org is run, what we've seen in the past ad what we can reasonably expect to take place in the future.


and clearly NH and Frank C. are fine with this. in a lot of ways I look at this approach as being unethical as the team is telling fans it wants to win, be a champion, etc. when in fact it is operating like a minor league franchise where wins and losses don't make much difference to owners.

507179507B73140 wrote: I think they will rebuild.  Its cheaper!  Unless TBMTIB led by the Cheapest Owner In Baseball (COIB) is willing to spend so serious money they will just continue to disappoint the fans and lie to the fans saying they are limited by fan apathy and being a small market.


I agree Possum! I think Bob Nutting understands that attendance/interest will continue to wane thus his precious revenue stream will be looking more and more like a revenue trickle. His default recourse as we have just witnessed the last two years is to cut payroll. I expect a massive sell off this off-season. I believe they'll shop Almost every veteran position player plus Nova and Cole. Wouldn't surprise me in the least to see the Pirates on opening day 2018 with a payroll in the $50-$60 million dollar range...maybe lower.

I expect them to make an effort to put together a team they think has a shot at winning. They are counting on their pitchers to be the core of that team (and if I'm wondering about Glasnow, I'm sure NH is a lot more concerned). I do think payroll will go down, but a result of pruning the higher payroll guys -- Cutch and likely Harrison -- replaced with cheaper options. I would look for them to add someone at third and possibly someone for the outfield.

When do they need to sign a TV deal? Does it run though the end of the 2019 season, or the end of the 2018 season? A quick google didn't help.



I expect them to spend more, and be more willing to part with prospects to boost the team the last year of the contract. They may start 2 years in advance to build the ratings numbers. It would be in their best interest to go all-in on getting the fans excited so they can get a big TV contract. Spend an extra 20-30 million over the next year or 2, trade for/sign a player that will create excitement, and get much more than that back through the contract.



If they think that way, we may clean out the minors, then rebuild when the contract's signed and the team appears to be not competitive.

507B777E7B7A202D140 wrote: When do they need to sign a TV deal?  Does it run though the end of the 2019 season, or the end of the 2018 season?  A quick google didn't help.



I expect them to spend more, and be more willing to part with prospects to boost the team the last year of the contract.  They may start 2 years in advance to build the ratings numbers.  It would be in their best interest to go all-in on getting the fans excited so they can get a big TV contract.  Spend an extra 20-30 million over the next year or 2, trade for/sign a player that will create excitement, and get much more than that back through the contract.



If they think that way, we may clean out the minors, then rebuild when the contract's signed and the team appears to be not competitive.


I've said similar things about investing more in the team and going for it all as a means of getting a better TV contract, but I'm not sure Nutting trusts his guys enough to do that in spite of him oddly calling them the best in baseball at one point.