79 Comments

Good bit of juice missing from Mitch. Hope he's just getting warmed up.

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Not one mention of the masterpiece from Shelton...

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The 2 intentional walks, leading to double plays was huge.

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Nobody wants to accept the reality of how much they overperformed in the win column last year and how closely that's tied to managerial competence.

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Managerial WAR!

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I'm flying back to PGH in August when they're in the driver's seat for the Division just to wear my I HEART SHELTON shirt, circa Bob Nutting 2015.

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I'm glad the Shelton fans are happy, but why not start Olivares and Joe?

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You have to be kidding me. Shelton was playing 3D chess out there.

Haterz gonna hate

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Or just answer the question posed.

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he started Joe and brought Eddie O in at the exact right moment

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He really did. Eddie O isn't great against velocity above 95mph, but can crush below. Pitch he hit was 92mph.

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Someone pointed out that to me. I think AB.

You don't want him to face Luzardo.

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I was surprised it went into the 12th. I thought once they got past Tanner Scott they were golden, and luckily the pen held it down till they could push one across. Shelton had himself a game, Rabelo on the other hand...

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Mar 29Liked by NolaJeffy(BnP)

Let's not forget Brock too......

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Oneil has arrived.

Time to protect him with a couple big righties or else he's done getting lazy fastballs from RH relievers in leverage situations.

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He did not look good on his LH ABs. He could probably draw a few walks by just not offering at all.

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Gonna get the Pedro treatment after the 6th.

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Mar 29Liked by NolaJeffy(BnP)

Someone start tracking how many errors he is saved by 1B. After one game, ONE.

Still don't know why Marlins didn't challenge Joe's holding the bag, maybe they other angles.

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Joe saved the game.

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AT first glance, it appeared he was just looking to foul off a pitch on the outside. Dude is not a human being. He's whatever Bo Jackson was.

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Honestly better.

Which of course isn't to say he's superior to Bo, just an actual baseball player first.

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Agree.

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Mar 29·edited Mar 29

Classic "oh just that?" comment, but discipline on both sides of the ball is all that separates him from being one of the Top 10 players in baseball for the next decade.

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Mar 29·edited Mar 29Author

That was a fun game to be at!!!!

Awesome stadium, and great fans. They were very friendly, and were a good time.

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Mar 29Liked by NolaJeffy(BnP)

I agree I was there too and was shocked how loud it was. Also was shocked at how many pirates fans were there. Maybe it was an OD bump

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Was showing my parents, we were on the Tim Anderson RBI highlight lol I said, "Look, you can see the row of us in yellow when it pans to RF"

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I've known people who attended, not OD, and called it a "library" or morgue.!!

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Mar 29Liked by NolaJeffy(BnP)

Yeah, yeah, we are happy for you….BUT where are the articles!!!!! Feed me Seymour…..

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Article: I sat in the RF bleachers, and all the homers went to LF

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That’s the kind of in-depth stuff I live for!

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1 down. 80 to go.

Pirates win 6-5 in 11 and are in first place.

It's a happy day getting off to a good start in Miami and in celebration it's time to spread some CARROTS ON THE HOUSE!!!

1 delicious carrot for J. Triolo who did everything he could to mess it up, dropping a double play ball and costing Keller a run and then whiffing with the bases loaded and two outs. But goldarn the guy's pluck, he nudged one into shallow right center for the game winner, expressing contrition for his prior foolishness.

2... TWO gorgeous orange triangles for B.Rey going 2 for 5 with a walk and a tater.

And 3... THREE crunchy caratin bombs for Luis Ortiz who accepts on behalf of the whole dang bullpen which, already short on arms, pitched 5.1 scoreless innings.

The Bucco Bomb Squad was represented by B.Rey, Ed Oliveras and Senor Cruz, so cool fresh dandelions for those guys!

______________________________

"Wham! A Homer! Wham! Anudder Homer!!! Wham!!!! Wham!!! Wham!!!"

-Wabbit

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Wham! Bam! That's the Bucco mashing Fam!

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We tend to overreact to the early season results, but I think it was important that players who probably feel like they're auditioning for bigger roles got off to good starts, specifically Fleming, Stratton, Ortiz, Hernandez, and Olivares.

Hoping Olivares starts at least two of the next three (I'm not sure what point Shelton was trying to make by starting Tellez yesterday but at least he was willing to sub for him later (else we would likely have lost--there's no way Tellez makes the play that Joe made)).

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Joe had a nice game at 1b.

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Joe seems like a stabilizing influence--maybe there's a reason that he's Reynold's son's favorite player.

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Hes not flashy at all, but seems very dependable and a consummate professional in his ABs. Also, his forearms have been popping recently

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Yeah, that is awesome. Saw they were talking about that during one of the ST games.

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Anyone notice how unbelievably efficient the pen was last night...

Fleming - 1 pitch, 1 out

Stratton - 8 pitches, 2 outs

Borucki - 14 pitches, 4 outs

Chapman - 8 pitches, 3 outs

Ortiz - 11 pitches, 6 outs!!! 2 IBBs followed up immediately with DPs

Hernandez - 11 pitches, 3 outs.

JC they might have something here!

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We talked a couple days ago about how in today's game a bullpen pitches almost as many innings as started. One of the ratings had the Pirates ranked 4th in MLB. They back that last night without Bednar, Holderman and Mlodzinski.

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Mar 29·edited Mar 29

6 pitchers, 6 and a third innings, 53 pitches. Effective and efficient and we didn't use Bednar.

Miami 6 pitchers, 7 innings, 128 pitches. Good bit of use on their bullpen, they're starting a former reliever in Puk tonight.

If we can get on Puk early, they might not have much left for Saturday and Sunday in their pen.

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That’s wild. In a sense.

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If they can get Ortiz to throw like that regularly, find a starter somewhere else.

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I definitely think he can become a viable bullpen option if he can throw enough strikes, great example of a guy who's stuff will probably play up in shorter stints

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I believe he found his niche. He was pumping 98 with HEAVY sink.

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He seemed comfortable and adrenaline flowing. Totally different than a starter's role.

Moreta out, Ortiz in.

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It’d be hard to improve on his GIDP rate.

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He had me FEELING some things watching him attack hitters with that stuff

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The good) the bullpen, extra-base hits and the win.

The bad) some defensive lapses, base running and stranding men on base.

The ugly) strikeouts, situation hitting and sending runners home although who would of thought Bell would make the throws

The beautiful) 2 intentional walks turning into double plays, only giving up 2 walks that weren't intentional (one being well earned on several pitches it also became a run) and timely homeruns.

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The lack of walks was a highlight. We've had to endure countless walk-a-thons over past 4 seasons, resembling LL pitching.

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Baserunning wasnt great but i dont hate putting pressure on bell or the defense to execute at times

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With Bell, I'd want to know more about how his throwing has been since leaving the Pirates. Are we using updated information or relying on data that is now several years old? In 2019 (~1160 innings) he had 13 errors with the Pirates but in the three full seasons since (~2340 innings) leaving the Pirates he has 18, so a lower rate per inning but I don't know how many were on throws.

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This is a good point. I would have assumed that would be on any good scouting report but do we trust that they actually did the right scouting... i dont know

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Apparently baserunning fundamentals still remain absent in this organization. I'm very glad for the extra inning win on the road but they need to quit giving away so many outs on the bases. There's such a thing as aggressive baserunning and then there's stupid baserunning, lol.

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A lot of that was testing Bell and I don't mind it.

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Henry Davis scores without a throw if he understood fundamentals…

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Henry should have been held by Rabelo. He was giving a half-hearted hesitant windmill sending Hank. You've got to be decisive, and throw up the stop sign once Bell has retrieved the ball. To Henry's credit, he ran hard without barely any hesitation, based on Rabelo's windmill.

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Base running starts before the pitch is thrown. He has to look to see where the defense is and react accordingly. He did hustle but mental mistakes are just plain frustrating watching the pirates every year.

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Mar 29·edited Mar 29

Where did he mess up? He held up close second base on a hard hit ball to the left side, continued to third on the throw. Got the wave to home while rounding third, was dead to rights at home. Stayed in a rundown long enough to let the runner advance to second.

A runner like Bae or maybe Taylor might break on the ground contact but Davis isn't in their speed department.

The mistake was on the 3rd base coach.

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Agree to disagree. Third basemen was playing very deep. A good secondary lead and first step would have got him there but it’s whatever. I’m not trying to die on this hill. The pirates as a team make dumb mental mistakes and questionable coaching decisions for years now.

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A very measured reaction: we may never lose again

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Now the Bucs can have a beer…’cause they won the opener 🤣

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I pull that joke at work every year. They can't wait for me to retire.

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Other than a few intriguing guys, it’s not a terribly interesting group of position players at Indy.

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Position players from here to termarr arent very interesting imo

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Frustrating considering the years of high picks. Compare the Norfolk Tides roster to ours.

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Nick Gonzales' hitting difficulties have really put a diminished the organization. Hopefully, he can correct his swing path problems like Hayes seemingly has. It would really help.

It would really help matters if one or both White and Polanco were to step up this year or next. The outfield is a real weakness in the organization. This weakness is one reason I wanted the Pirates to draft Crews or Langford. I've come to appreciate how good Skenes is and can be. I thought he was a luxury the pitching rich organization did not need. But Skenes appears to be DeGrom II in the making. There is always a need for a pitcher like that. Let's hope he stays healthy. Nevertheless, the Pirates need hitters who play the outfield. Let's hope one or both White and Polanco meet that need.

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Yeah I agree. My concern with Skenes was A.) injuries. B.) the general state of position players through the organization and C.) their general inability to develop quality hitters. A finished product like Crews or Langford that they couldn’t screw up would’ve helped immensely. Hopefully someone has a breakout/rebound season. I’ll throw another name out in addition to Gonzales, Polanco and White: Malcom Nunez. He just turned 23. Maybe if he has his shoulders issues behind him he can start raking.

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It is frustrating, and largely the result of prioritizing pitching in the drafts and missing on a lot of position players acquired through trades. However, it is also balanced by how many young players we have starting with the Pirates who are under team control for the next 4-5 years. We are susceptible to injuries but otherwise the only position that might be open to a prospect right now is 1B and I'm okay with the Joe/Tellez platoon, especially with Joe who just seems to be a well-rounded player.

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Hoping Melkel's draft strategy helps us backfill a good bit

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If fusing people together is finally achievable, why fuse Selby and Skenes?

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Good morning everyone. The Bucs are undefeated. 🙂

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Coffee tastes a little better the morning after a win.

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Definitely couldnt be the little extra something i added this morning…

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