OnlyBucs

3239313D3839226761162F373E3939783539560 wrote: I feel they were a slip away from winning this series. I still don't think the Cubs and Cardinals are as good as season's past. The Pirates can catch them. I don’t think they can catch anybody in this division anymore. This team was in a great spot a few weeks ago at 26-17 9 games over .500 and totally screwed it up by losing 16 if it’s next 22 games. They are simply not good enough and consistent enough to overcome that can kind of bad stretch. The best this team can hope for I feel now is staying barely around .500 or barely over and a 2nd wildcard spot and even that is a huge stretch to say that. They aren’t going to catch the Cubs,Cards or Brewers most likely in this division.

193B28353633343B182F3939355A0 wrote: When you look back at all the losing over the last 3 weeks, and yes the Pirates have been absolutely pathetic and hopeless, but man it's such a fine line to determine your perception of a team.



I just looked back at this 6-16 stretch. If you just changed 2 results, our perception would be so different.



* If the Pirates had not lost 3 straight at home to the Padres, which is inexcusable, and just won 1 of the 3.



* And if the Pirates (Vasquez) had not choked away the 8-5 lead in the 9th in STL.



Just change those 2 results only ... and the Pirates are 34-31, 5 games out of 1st place and 3.5 out of the wild card and we are all feeling a bit different about this team.



So, yes, they have been TERRIBLE the last 3 weeks, but they have not been swept and they are barely hanging on somehow. Those two extra wins would have made a huge difference. I think the two games that hurt the most aside from the blown 8-5 game in St Louis by Vazquez were the back to back Sunday home losses to the Padres and the Cards the following week. Both games the Bucs were in total control of and the bullpen just completely melted down. I think these next 6 games at Arizona and at home With the Reds next weekend are important. The Pirates I feel desperately need to go 4-2 in that stretch and win both series. They have lost 7 straight series and that has got to stop and it need to stop this week against Arizona and the Reds. I think another week of 1-5 or even 2-4 and slipping further under .500 and this team is done they won’t recover and bounce back.

I would say the Pirates have almost no chance of winning the Arizona series (Corbin is almost an automatic loss and Greinke is a likely loss), and we all know our history with the Reds.



We will be LUCKY to go 3-3 this week, and that is probably a stretch.



This team is a mess right now.

555C54454B310 wrote: If we can't send down Kingham because of his performance who do we send down?  Nova stays because of his contract.  Kuhl stays because he has not been really bad, Brault going down would take a lefty out of the pen, Glasnow, I just don't know about him.  He is on and off and is showing signs of being more of a setup guy or closer in the future.  So maybe they send him down there to work on what it takes to be the setup guy or closer.  Anyone else will shorten the BP and I would rather do that for a good bench player who can hit than another arm.



Looks like the TBMTIB is between a rock and a hard place here.  Of course they could just release Nova and eat the money but that will not be done due to the money and the fact that the team is not re-building.


How about Mike Feliz and his 7 ERA?  He's turned back into a pumpkin again and again doesn't look like a major league reliever.   Very disappointing to me.  I though he was going to end up back in the minors when we acquired him based on his numbers, but then he fooled me for 20 innings and looked really quite good.   Back to a pumpkin big time.  Send him down.   



It is a sad, embarrassing move to demote Kingham yet again while sporting the best performance metrics of ALL starters on this baseball team.  He deserves to stay, and WE deserve him to stay.



This organization, it's ownership, and its leadership are an embarrassment to professional sports.  The only positive is that it's very likely not the WORST and MOST EMBARRASSING, but it's d@mned frusterating being trapped into Pirate fandom   These guys are flat out LOSERS and they operate like it.  Losers, losers, losers. losers losers.


Feliz is the guy I would have sent down.

66415054514C73475051514C350 wrote: I feel they were a slip away from winning this series. I still don't think the Cubs and Cardinals are as good as season's past. The Pirates can catch them. I don’t think they can catch anybody in this division anymore. This team was in a great spot a few weeks ago at 26-17 9 games over .500 and totally screwed it up by losing 16 if it’s next 22 games. They are simply not good enough and consistent enough to overcome that can kind of bad stretch. The best this  team can hope for I feel now is staying barely around .500 or barely over and a 2nd wildcard spot and even that is a huge stretch to say that. They aren’t going to catch the Cubs,Cards or Brewers most likely in this division.




If they win the 2nd Wild Card, they would have passed one of those teams you mentioned?

6F646C6065647F3A3C4B726A6364642568640B0 wrote: I feel they were a slip away from winning this series. I still don't think the Cubs and Cardinals are as good as season's past. The Pirates can catch them.


We aren't catching either one. Don't fool yourself. Both will go out and get help at the trade deadline. Pittsburgh won't.



We are 4 games behind STL and the ONLY reason we are that close is injuries to STL. They are starting to get somewhat healthy now. We are 6 behind the Cubs. No chance there.

4062716C6F6A6D62417660606C030 wrote: When you look back at all the losing over the last 3 weeks, and yes the Pirates have been absolutely pathetic and hopeless, but man it's such a fine line to determine your perception of a team.



I just looked back at this 6-16 stretch. If you just changed 2 results, our perception would be so different.



* If the Pirates had not lost 3 straight at home to the Padres, which is inexcusable, and just won 1 of the 3.



* And if the Pirates (Vasquez) had not choked away the 8-5 lead in the 9th in STL.



Just change those 2 results only ... and the Pirates are 34-31, 5 games out of 1st place and 3.5 out of the wild card and we are all feeling a bit different about this team.



So, yes, they have been TERRIBLE the last 3 weeks, but they have not been swept and they are barely hanging on somehow. Those two extra wins would have made a huge difference.
Every win is so important and when you have a ball game won and just give them away it is demoralizing and just shouldn't happen. A real manager should realize when his closer is shaky and have some ready if he struggles when brought in to finish a game. Instead of that Hurdle wants to show his confidence in his guy and leaves him in after blow 2 games in a row and the results are 2 more losses. He and CH just don't understand the import of winning every game.

2002110C0F0A0D02211600000C630 wrote: When you look back at all the losing over the last 3 weeks, and yes the Pirates have been absolutely pathetic and hopeless, but man it's such a fine line to determine your perception of a team.



I just looked back at this 6-16 stretch. If you just changed 2 results, our perception would be so different.



* If the Pirates had not lost 3 straight at home to the Padres, which is inexcusable, and just won 1 of the 3.



* And if the Pirates (Vasquez) had not choked away the 8-5 lead in the 9th in STL.



Just change those 2 results only ... and the Pirates are 34-31, 5 games out of 1st place and 3.5 out of the wild card and we are all feeling a bit different about this team.



So, yes, they have been TERRIBLE the last 3 weeks, but they have not been swept and they are barely hanging on somehow. Those two extra wins would have made a huge difference.
I wouldn't call them barely hanging on somehow. A win yesterday was nice but as they say, "Ya can't lose 'em all!" Since being in 1st place at 26-17 on May 17 with the 3rd best record in the NL, they have gone 6-16. In a little over 3 weeks they have plummeted to 4th place, 7 games out of 1st, have lost 7 consecutive series, tied for the 10th "best" (or 5th worst) record in the 15-team NL with 5 teams ahead of them and 1 more tied with them just for the 2nd WC spot. The only reason they're not buried yet is because this free fall hasn't had enough time. But give them another 3 weeks. It's nice to be optimistic but I think this is like falling off a 1,000 foot cliff and after falling the first 3 feet saying, "this isn't so bad." 

545F575B5E5F440107704951585F5F1E535F300 wrote: I feel they were a slip away from winning this series. I still don't think the Cubs and Cardinals are as good as season's past. The Pirates can catch them. I don’t think they can catch anybody in this division anymore. This team was in a great spot a few weeks ago at 26-17 9 games over .500 and totally screwed it up by losing 16 if it’s next 22 games. They are simply not good enough and consistent enough to overcome that can kind of bad stretch. The best this  team can hope for I feel now is staying barely around .500 or barely over and a 2nd wildcard spot and even that is a huge stretch to say that. They aren’t going to catch the Cubs,Cards or Brewers most likely in this division.




If they win the 2nd Wild Card, they would have passed one of those teams you mentioned? 

That’s the best I said they can hope for and I also said I feel that’s a stretch too to suggest. So let me rephrase that I think they have no chance right now of finishing over .500 and no chance of winning the 2nd wildcard. Going 6-16 the last 22 games after being 9 games over .500 has totally convinced me this team is not for real and that the hot start was probably a fluke. Plus, like SC just pointed out the Cubs and Cards will go out and add to payroll the Pirates won’t they will dump guys and trade players like Mercer, JHay, Dickerson just to name a few. I think suggesting that the Pirates can actually catch the Cubs when they still have about 75-80 percent of their World Series winning roster on their team from 2 years is ridiculous to even say.

no chance for .500? They're one under. i mean things aren't going well right now but it's not a stretch to think it's possible they win one game more than they lose over the next 97 games.