The Pirates organization never made a serious effort to win this off-season, They were projected to be the 3rd worst team in the NL and finish 14 games under .500. Player for player they are nowhere close to the Padres, Braves, Mets or NL champ Dbacks who are all ahead of them in the wild card race. The Pirates are having a good season ahead of teams that were picked to finish ahead of them like the Cubs, Reds, Giants and Marlins.
Losing to the Dbacks sucks, but it shouldn;t be a surprise that better teams are finally playing to their potential.
They signed Reynolds and Keller to extensions… that and the enjoyable environment to watch the ballgame should be enough for you! Never mind you have teams in similar revenue markets like the Reds and Brewers actually spending money.
Yeah this past offseason was really the final straw for me. The lack of willingness to spend even the bare minimum, misjudging the market, wildly over-estimating the offensive talent they had on hand. What they did this past offseason was termination worthy IMO.
-For the line-up we have and the back-end rotation we have, 3 games out from a wil card looks pretty darn good. On the flipside, we are 3.5 games out of having the third worst record of the 15 teams in the NL.
-Now if we were chasing down the Nats, Reds, Cubs and Giants, I would be a little more optimistic. Instead we are chasing down the Braves, Mets, Padres, Dbacks and even Cardinals.
That’s partially a function of the mediocrity in the league and the higher floor roster they assembled. You look at the list of teams we are chasing and one thing jumps out: the depth. Those teams are well constructed for the inevitable up and downs, injuries of a 162 game season. And here we are wondering how we replace 1.1 fWAR at second base from an already underwhelming offense.
That's one thing that's probably not mentoned enough when it comes to big market teams. We talk about they can sign the big free agents, but they can spend more money on depth than some teams do on their starters. Not to mention, the luxury of being able to make bad signings without it crippling their organization.
.17 chance according to fangraphs that we make the play-offs. I understand the reasoning, but when you have a guy like Skenes that only pitches once a week that's not the same as the dominant starters that used to go every 4 or 5 games. We have a reliable Keller, an injured Jones and Falter, then a mess of starters that are not on a regular routine.
I will say if we win tomorrow, it will feel like a split.
Skenes and Jones will be like Mitch next year. Mitch went through some of the same limited in games and days off when he finally figured it out for the first full year through then the training wheels came off. They will come off next year for Skenes and Jones. I have said this since this time last season that the FA and other acquisitions would be a bit better than the prior few years and they have been. Rowdy had a slow start but has been more than solid the last 2 months. Bart was a solid addition. Before tonight Marco was solid when healthy. The up coming offseason should see a solid step up in FA quality since the Pirates can show that the have a top end rotation where the could not show that last off season. Am I disappointed that they are not taking a huge step forward? Yes. Am I losing sight of the big picture of 2025 and beyond? No. They should be pretty strong to start the season in 25 and be in better position heading to the deadline when it would make a bunch more sense to drop quality prospects on short term assets as the should be in much better position to contend this time next year. This is way more half full than at best half empty since 20114-15.
Shelton had a plan , damn the consequences - priester needs the innings tonight. Now watch us use holderman and Bednar in garbage innings instead of when game was on the line in the 6th
Yep, it's not like Priester could have gotten some innings on Sundays loss to the Phillies or Wednesdays win against the Cardinals. First use in 8 days for a guy use to a starters schedule, what could go wrong.
another one off the board that i didnt want
still in the cards for Yandy, Happ and Mullins
CF Mullins
DH Cutch
LF Reynolds
SS Cruz
RF Happ
1b Rowdy
3b Yandy
C Bart
2B Bae
Winker to Mets, curious to see the what it 'cost' the Mets🤔
Still no word yet. Must hinge on his physical.
like seeing another interdivision trade
The Pirates organization never made a serious effort to win this off-season, They were projected to be the 3rd worst team in the NL and finish 14 games under .500. Player for player they are nowhere close to the Padres, Braves, Mets or NL champ Dbacks who are all ahead of them in the wild card race. The Pirates are having a good season ahead of teams that were picked to finish ahead of them like the Cubs, Reds, Giants and Marlins.
Losing to the Dbacks sucks, but it shouldn;t be a surprise that better teams are finally playing to their potential.
They signed Reynolds and Keller to extensions… that and the enjoyable environment to watch the ballgame should be enough for you! Never mind you have teams in similar revenue markets like the Reds and Brewers actually spending money.
I had my melt-down this off-season. Just sayin.
Yeah this past offseason was really the final straw for me. The lack of willingness to spend even the bare minimum, misjudging the market, wildly over-estimating the offensive talent they had on hand. What they did this past offseason was termination worthy IMO.
-For the line-up we have and the back-end rotation we have, 3 games out from a wil card looks pretty darn good. On the flipside, we are 3.5 games out of having the third worst record of the 15 teams in the NL.
-Now if we were chasing down the Nats, Reds, Cubs and Giants, I would be a little more optimistic. Instead we are chasing down the Braves, Mets, Padres, Dbacks and even Cardinals.
That’s partially a function of the mediocrity in the league and the higher floor roster they assembled. You look at the list of teams we are chasing and one thing jumps out: the depth. Those teams are well constructed for the inevitable up and downs, injuries of a 162 game season. And here we are wondering how we replace 1.1 fWAR at second base from an already underwhelming offense.
That's one thing that's probably not mentoned enough when it comes to big market teams. We talk about they can sign the big free agents, but they can spend more money on depth than some teams do on their starters. Not to mention, the luxury of being able to make bad signings without it crippling their organization.
meh - we will win tomorrow and keep our unswept streak alive
we are still in it
.17 chance according to fangraphs that we make the play-offs. I understand the reasoning, but when you have a guy like Skenes that only pitches once a week that's not the same as the dominant starters that used to go every 4 or 5 games. We have a reliable Keller, an injured Jones and Falter, then a mess of starters that are not on a regular routine.
I will say if we win tomorrow, it will feel like a split.
Skenes and Jones will be like Mitch next year. Mitch went through some of the same limited in games and days off when he finally figured it out for the first full year through then the training wheels came off. They will come off next year for Skenes and Jones. I have said this since this time last season that the FA and other acquisitions would be a bit better than the prior few years and they have been. Rowdy had a slow start but has been more than solid the last 2 months. Bart was a solid addition. Before tonight Marco was solid when healthy. The up coming offseason should see a solid step up in FA quality since the Pirates can show that the have a top end rotation where the could not show that last off season. Am I disappointed that they are not taking a huge step forward? Yes. Am I losing sight of the big picture of 2025 and beyond? No. They should be pretty strong to start the season in 25 and be in better position heading to the deadline when it would make a bunch more sense to drop quality prospects on short term assets as the should be in much better position to contend this time next year. This is way more half full than at best half empty since 20114-15.
I think we are on the same page.
Ben, you're free to do what you know best! Lose away, bud.
tough loss
Team quitting in mid-game
That would imply Cruz quit, Palacios quit, and so on.
So who exactly quit?
Did they score those runs in the beginning of the game or?
Way to duck the question.
I did not see quit. I did see a lineup that I'm kinda shocked actually scored five runs.
The team quit because they're not as good as the Dbacks because their GM didn't try this offseason. Good enough?
Nope
we beat the crap out of puk in the beginning of the year when the marlins tried him as a starter
tbf, just about everyone beat him up when he was a starter lol
Man, it might just be time for Cutch to hang it up. Another 0-4?!
I keep waiting for Ben Gamel to be announced..
they really put Priester back out there? no desire to win after the first two innings he pitched.
Ji Hwan No Way
I have seen this movie before. Here be the collapse.
well - now we just have to get three runs back
4 for a tie, right?
three more innings
Shelton had a plan , damn the consequences - priester needs the innings tonight. Now watch us use holderman and Bednar in garbage innings instead of when game was on the line in the 6th
Yep, it's not like Priester could have gotten some innings on Sundays loss to the Phillies or Wednesdays win against the Cardinals. First use in 8 days for a guy use to a starters schedule, what could go wrong.
Derek Shitton thinking
Priester I'm going to start calling Keister. Always getting knocked on his ass.
Diamondbacks are much much much much better coached haha