It is so exhilarating to now have a power arm in our rotation, the first one since......Cole. It gets frustrating complementing the opposing teams starter, ie. Strider, Skobal, Luzardo, Weathers. Now we've got one of our own. With Skenes on deck. Some good ole fashioned hardball!
Pirates win 9-3 and are in first place with the best record in baseball.
The carrot juice is going straight to my brain and I never like to drink alone on a Sunday morning so it's time to spread some CARROTS ON THE HOUSE!!!!
One delicious root for the Bullpen, which threw 3.1 innings of shutout ball. Accepting today for the Pitchburgh Pen is the once and future renegade, David Bednar.
Two (2) Eyesight Enhancing Vegetables for those cave-men gathered around the bat rack who accounted for 16 hits on the day and were consistently hitting brickbats to the wall. Accepting for Onk, Grog and Gomp is Connor Joe (3 for 5 with 3 runs and 2 rbi, not to speak about one of the aformentioned stone missile 2 baggers)
THREE (3) Orange Triangles of Divinity for Jared Jones who foreshadowed a Pitchburgh Rotation to come by striking out 10 in 5.2 innings. Good golly, if there was ever a duck to water, it is Jones to the rubber.
_________________________
"Oh Finster! Oh Finster, baby! There you are, you naughty baby! How many times have I told you not to play with the doity money?"
The Pirates have an interesting decision to make when Roansy comes back from leave which I assume is some time this week. After these two impressive outings by Hernandez, I hate to see him go. A lefty lineup of Chapman-Borucki-Hernandez, especially at PNC Park, would be tough to breakup. Something AM commented yesterday about perhaps they have an agreement with Honeywell makes me think they could be shopping Holderman.
While maybe not fair, in the world of you can never have enough pitching, Hernandez and Ortiz I believe are the 2 that can be optioned. I personally would rather do that than rush into a trade or potentially sell low on RO or Holderman. Of course if neither perform upon return then selling low just becomes selling at actual value.
Your last sentence is the question. Trade now for a lower value, hold and they do well, great or hold and they do poor, in Ro's case lose for nothing. Holderman still has an option I think.
Certainly a good point. I brought it up mainly because they surprised most of us with the Brubacher trade so who knows. Maybe I heard it wrong but I thought I heard they sent Hernandez down to work on a sidearm delivery.
I think it's too early to be dealing our surplus. The inevitable forearm tightness will hit somebody and it's still March. Unless you can get that high upside prospect, which Miami GM could be staring at an 0-4 start.
If they lose one more starter, they're going to have to deal.
Ro's in-between a rock and a hard space. I want to see how he does on his return but if he performs bad there's a good possibility of losing him for nothing.
Really enjoyed JJ's debut. Imo, still needs work on his command. He can throw a strike, but seemed just a hair off in consistently placing his pitches, which carried over from ST. He still can be effective with 2 pitches, because his FB has movement as opposed to being flat, so it's not just about the velocity. I wonder about Skenes. Correct me if I'm wrong. Haven't seen a lot of him pitching, but it looks like his FB doesn't have a lot of movement. I wonder how that will impact him at the ML level.
Happy Easter to all, which in the Christian world is The Feast of the Resurrection. And, to borrow that word, the Pirates have their own type of resurrection going on so far. They may not be hitting on all cylinders yet, but they have started the season with timely hitting, efficient pitching, and enough glovework to post a record of 3-0. And, YES, they are playing the Marlins, who have most of their dominant pitching out injured, and cannot locate a "new" identity - hopefully they do not find that identity until April and we will be safely out of town.
Keller, Perez, and Jones have been solid the first three games and the Rotation looks better than many of us thought it would a month ago. Nice to see the return of Oneil Cruz, and the veterans leading the way offensively, especially Ke'Bryan Hayes - just wish he was a better fielder!!! Who'd of thunk it? So far, BC looks golden in his trades/signings, not only with pitching, but with guys like Olivares and MAT who have been steady contributors offensively.
PTBNL for BRU/Intl dollars - Everson Pereira, 23, RH Hitting Centerfielder, the Yankees No. 3 Prospect (BA) who only has Judge, Grisham, and Prospects #1 Dominguez, and #2 Jones ahead of him as Centerfielders. OPS numbers of 900 + at both AA and AAA in 2023, and has both average and power potential. Was up with the Yankees in 2023, but is now back at AAA. Would be nice to have a kid this talented in the system that could step up later in 2024. It may take another person to be added by the Pirates, but, if so, it will be worth it.
Jones’ start probably went as well as anyone could have hoped, that’s essential “peak” Jones for now. There is still a lot of development left imo as the need for a legitimate third pitch and command issues just don’t go away after a snap-of-the-fingers. Nevertheless, it was one start. The results were great, and the process was pretty darn good too!
I know it gets old, but Spencer Strider threw 2 pitches last year (FB, SL) 93% of all of his pitches. Strider is successful because of his velo and he locates those two pitches well. Jones also has the velo and that capability to locate, and he seems to be talented enough to develop a third pitch, when needed.
My angst (and full disclosure I was one of those who did not agree with the Strider comparison on many points) is that Strider has 2 dominant (almost off the chart for location, speed, movement etc.) pitches while Jones has a fastball with elite speed but nothing else really elite YET. Strider was that dominant (look at his minor league stats) from the time he started his professional career so he wasn't finding his way in AAA or MLB. The thought that you can have a successful career with 2 pitches I can grasp, but I actually think the Burnett(thank you GW) comparison (and his ups and downs) is a much better comparison and still serves the valid (2 pitch success) talking points. No reason not to be excited about Jones if he becomes Burnett.
It is so exhilarating to now have a power arm in our rotation, the first one since......Cole. It gets frustrating complementing the opposing teams starter, ie. Strider, Skobal, Luzardo, Weathers. Now we've got one of our own. With Skenes on deck. Some good ole fashioned hardball!
[Leo pointing dot gif]
How many is the offense gonna have to put up to cover for falter?
Considering you will probably see Williams and Delay in the line up today runs may be at a premium. It will be interesting to see what he does, lol.
According to the transaction log, Ali Sanchez elected free agency
Oh dear.
🤣
Carter Bins for the wins
Waiting for this Sunday special lineup from Shelty makes it feel more like Christmas than Easter.
You know all the subs will be in because the regulars need a break already.
Kind of odd scheduling because they play in DC tomorrow but are off on Tuesday.
It's pretty common for a team to schedule a day off right after their home opener. I guess the idea is to leave some room in case of bad weather.
Good point, I wasn't looking at if from that perspective.
3 down. 78 to go.
Pirates win 9-3 and are in first place with the best record in baseball.
The carrot juice is going straight to my brain and I never like to drink alone on a Sunday morning so it's time to spread some CARROTS ON THE HOUSE!!!!
One delicious root for the Bullpen, which threw 3.1 innings of shutout ball. Accepting today for the Pitchburgh Pen is the once and future renegade, David Bednar.
Two (2) Eyesight Enhancing Vegetables for those cave-men gathered around the bat rack who accounted for 16 hits on the day and were consistently hitting brickbats to the wall. Accepting for Onk, Grog and Gomp is Connor Joe (3 for 5 with 3 runs and 2 rbi, not to speak about one of the aformentioned stone missile 2 baggers)
THREE (3) Orange Triangles of Divinity for Jared Jones who foreshadowed a Pitchburgh Rotation to come by striking out 10 in 5.2 innings. Good golly, if there was ever a duck to water, it is Jones to the rubber.
_________________________
"Oh Finster! Oh Finster, baby! There you are, you naughty baby! How many times have I told you not to play with the doity money?"
-Wabbit
The Pirates have an interesting decision to make when Roansy comes back from leave which I assume is some time this week. After these two impressive outings by Hernandez, I hate to see him go. A lefty lineup of Chapman-Borucki-Hernandez, especially at PNC Park, would be tough to breakup. Something AM commented yesterday about perhaps they have an agreement with Honeywell makes me think they could be shopping Holderman.
While maybe not fair, in the world of you can never have enough pitching, Hernandez and Ortiz I believe are the 2 that can be optioned. I personally would rather do that than rush into a trade or potentially sell low on RO or Holderman. Of course if neither perform upon return then selling low just becomes selling at actual value.
Your last sentence is the question. Trade now for a lower value, hold and they do well, great or hold and they do poor, in Ro's case lose for nothing. Holderman still has an option I think.
Certainly a good point. I brought it up mainly because they surprised most of us with the Brubacher trade so who knows. Maybe I heard it wrong but I thought I heard they sent Hernandez down to work on a sidearm delivery.
Miami is hurting for pitchers currently, maybe Ro to the fish for their compB and a lottery ticket or 2.
Not sure though
I think it's too early to be dealing our surplus. The inevitable forearm tightness will hit somebody and it's still March. Unless you can get that high upside prospect, which Miami GM could be staring at an 0-4 start.
If they lose one more starter, they're going to have to deal.
Ro's in-between a rock and a hard space. I want to see how he does on his return but if he performs bad there's a good possibility of losing him for nothing.
Love this
Remind me… is Braxton Ashcraft starting in AAA or AA?
AA
Kinda surprising no? Or an i misremembering that he made it to indy yesterday
Last I saw was Altoona but that was when he was optioned.
He is not on the AAA roster.
Really enjoyed JJ's debut. Imo, still needs work on his command. He can throw a strike, but seemed just a hair off in consistently placing his pitches, which carried over from ST. He still can be effective with 2 pitches, because his FB has movement as opposed to being flat, so it's not just about the velocity. I wonder about Skenes. Correct me if I'm wrong. Haven't seen a lot of him pitching, but it looks like his FB doesn't have a lot of movement. I wonder how that will impact him at the ML level.
Happy Easter to all, which in the Christian world is The Feast of the Resurrection. And, to borrow that word, the Pirates have their own type of resurrection going on so far. They may not be hitting on all cylinders yet, but they have started the season with timely hitting, efficient pitching, and enough glovework to post a record of 3-0. And, YES, they are playing the Marlins, who have most of their dominant pitching out injured, and cannot locate a "new" identity - hopefully they do not find that identity until April and we will be safely out of town.
Keller, Perez, and Jones have been solid the first three games and the Rotation looks better than many of us thought it would a month ago. Nice to see the return of Oneil Cruz, and the veterans leading the way offensively, especially Ke'Bryan Hayes - just wish he was a better fielder!!! Who'd of thunk it? So far, BC looks golden in his trades/signings, not only with pitching, but with guys like Olivares and MAT who have been steady contributors offensively.
PTBNL for BRU/Intl dollars - Everson Pereira, 23, RH Hitting Centerfielder, the Yankees No. 3 Prospect (BA) who only has Judge, Grisham, and Prospects #1 Dominguez, and #2 Jones ahead of him as Centerfielders. OPS numbers of 900 + at both AA and AAA in 2023, and has both average and power potential. Was up with the Yankees in 2023, but is now back at AAA. Would be nice to have a kid this talented in the system that could step up later in 2024. It may take another person to be added by the Pirates, but, if so, it will be worth it.
Why no word on Jackson Wolf? Should we presume he has been taken?
WTM commented yesterday that it looked like he’d been outright to Indy?
No word on Wolf. I’d guess he was claimed and the Pirates are trying to work out a deal.
Went back and found the comment. It was CSN and Sanchez. I’m becoming forgetful in my old age. Thanks for the clarification.
Happy Easter my fellow Bucs fans.
Part of me says temper you’re expectations, because Nick Kingdom look like a god his first start. And Jones only through two pitches.
The other part of me thinks if he could just start getting a change up over for a strike lookout.
Prospects are never a sure thing, but I’ve felt for a little while now that people have been sleeping on Jones. Prospect analysts and fans alike.
Jones’ start probably went as well as anyone could have hoped, that’s essential “peak” Jones for now. There is still a lot of development left imo as the need for a legitimate third pitch and command issues just don’t go away after a snap-of-the-fingers. Nevertheless, it was one start. The results were great, and the process was pretty darn good too!
I know it gets old, but Spencer Strider threw 2 pitches last year (FB, SL) 93% of all of his pitches. Strider is successful because of his velo and he locates those two pitches well. Jones also has the velo and that capability to locate, and he seems to be talented enough to develop a third pitch, when needed.
My angst (and full disclosure I was one of those who did not agree with the Strider comparison on many points) is that Strider has 2 dominant (almost off the chart for location, speed, movement etc.) pitches while Jones has a fastball with elite speed but nothing else really elite YET. Strider was that dominant (look at his minor league stats) from the time he started his professional career so he wasn't finding his way in AAA or MLB. The thought that you can have a successful career with 2 pitches I can grasp, but I actually think the Burnett(thank you GW) comparison (and his ups and downs) is a much better comparison and still serves the valid (2 pitch success) talking points. No reason not to be excited about Jones if he becomes Burnett.
AJ Burnett made a nice living with 2 pitches. Imo, I don't think JJ is too far off from having an effective 3rd pitch.