OnlyBucs

https://theringer.com/the-pirates-pitch ... .ug206yn4z



Hope this link works. Good article about the Pirates and their Pitching and Searage's magic.

Interesting article. Thanks for posting!

I didn't know Sandy Alderson threw shade on Searage and the Bucs.



I think it was more outside observers and fans who thought Ray had some kind of secret sauce than the organization.



Eh, he's got enough problems with his own staff to worry about someone else's.

Though there are only 2 comments posted to the original article, this one seems poignant and one that many true Black and Golds should reflect upon from mattwarburg:



Part of it is the fact that the Pirates have never had a true ace.

They think that Gerrit Cole is an ace, but the truth is that on many contenders he’d be a #2 or #3 guy at best.

Or to put it another way….nobody is scared by the prospect of facing the Pirates in the Wild Card game.

I think other teams had to take notice on what the Pirates have done. They took some average pitchers and made them very good. I am sure many teams want to copy that. Hell, other t arms signed these guys to very big contracts after they were "fixed".

Wasn't at least part of Searage's success convincing pitchers to "pitch to the shift"? (Remember how much AJ disliked that originally?)



Now, everybody teaches that. A little bit of their advantage goes away.

The article points out how they had Niese pitching inside and how Alderson knew he wouldn't be successful in that strategy.



I am not even sure of the Pirates are still one of the top shifting teams anymore. It sure has worked, but most teams use them now.



To the comment of Cole not being an Ace doesn't matter to me. I think there is too much emphasis on rotation numbers 1-5. Teams might not fear Cole, but he is still on the rise and can be the next great pitcher. If he never reaches that elite level, it still won't matter. He can still be a solid pitcher for years to come.

717A727E7B7A612422556C747D7A7A3B767A150 wrote: The article points out how they had Niese pitching inside and how Alderson knew he wouldn't be successful in that strategy.



I am not even sure of the Pirates are still one of the top shifting teams anymore.  It sure has worked, but most teams use them now. 



To the comment of Cole not being an Ace doesn't matter to me.  I think there is too much emphasis on rotation numbers 1-5.  Teams might not fear Cole, but he is still on the rise and can be the next great pitcher.  If he never reaches that elite level, it still won't matter.  He can still be a solid pitcher for years to come.   


Perhaps he'll continue to be good, but the injuries this season seemed to be the nagging, reoccurring type...