I listened to it this weekend while I was tooling around, pretending to run errands. It was fantastic.
I don’t know either of the podcasters, but they were engaging and fun. Fairly interesting that from those drafts they looked at (2016-2020), the prep bats are firmly ahead.
Would anyone consider a straight up trade of Torkelson for Davis? Torkelson has been terrible this year but was an above average hitter last season. Pirates have a little more control over Davis, but Torkelson is a pretty good defender where the hurt is still out on Davis.
At some point going forward with Bart, Grandal, and Endy back next year I feel like Henry is a round peg in a square hole with no place to play other than DH!
Both have had less than 700 minor league plate appearances they are within a month or so apart in age. One is a first base only the other is questionable at multiple positions with a high value position of catcher.
I wouldn't trade Hank for Spencer, I think both were rushed to certain degree but it's to early to tell on either. Tony Gonzales is older than both and is showing strong signs of a breakout. If anything offer a couple mid tier prospects to acquire Tork if you think you can fix him or that he'll figure out but don't swap for something similar with higher position value.
Tork’s MLB challenges are starting to feel very real while I still put Tank closer to developmental / patience so I am a no vote. I also only count Endy going into next year. Bart needs many more ABs to convince me but on that topic would really prefer a Bart / Tank combo for most of the year with some bonus ABs at DH.
You probably won't like my response on out catcher situation.
Yasmani is hitting .179 and a free agent at the end of the year.
Endy only hit .220 in his 186 at bats last year with little pop.
Bart has held his own in his 60 at bats with the Pirates, to raise his lifetime average to only .224.
Henry is only .201 lifetime.
We don't know who will make it and who will not make it, but I think Henry Davis's ceiling is still the highest. I think it is higher than Torkelson at this point, so I would not trade Davis for Torkelson.
Good question, but I think Davis is worth more than Tork. I certainly would not make that trade. Next season, Grandal will be gone. I don't really see a scenario where Bart is still on the team. I'm guessing, It's Davis and Endy sharing Catcher, with Davis getting some DH ABs when Endy is catching.
It’s easy to play MMQB, and in every case is useless. However, this fact won’t stop me from doing a little MMQBing about Shelton’s decision to have Stratton pitch to Vogie yesterday instead of Hernandez. If he’s not going to Hernandez there, then why is he even on the roster?
This is just another in a long line of examples of how Shelton doesn’t give his team the best chance to win. Unfortunately, this is an epidemic in this organization. Starts with Nutting, runs through Cherington, straight on through Shelton, and ends in the hearts of us Pirates fans.
Makes you wonder what Donnie Kelly and Haddad are doing in the dugout. I support lifting Priester there, shows Shelton at least recognized the great importance of the Vogey AB.
Unless he's injured there is absolutely no reason not to bring Hernandez in to either face Vogelbach or force a move by the Jays. It was a legitimate gripe yesterday as it is today and useless only by the fact that our complaints won't make Shelton any more competent. I'm insulted by most comments they make to the press because they are mostly condescending to fans and is a huge reason they can't get better at their jobs. You can claim you're taking responsibility as Cherington occasionally does but he doesn't follow it up with actions showing he's willing to improve the teams direction.
Not sure they have much confidence in Hernandez right now. Another question though could be why Priester was pulled immediately after he had struck out Bichette for the second out? He was already into the 80's in pitches, so why not allow him the opportunity to finish the 5th?
It's not wasted. Nuttin has to keep the payroll at some minimal level to avoid more union grievances and to mollify other owners who don't like paying their revenue sharing money directly into the Nuttin Family Trust Fund. That's the point of all the useless -- but ultra-cheap! -- veterans Cherington brings in every year. They're cover.
Sadly this is probably correct. It’s just maddening to see a low budget team waste what little money they do have. Beyond Russell Martin, Liriano and a few others this team has rarely signed a free agent of value, but always has money to waste on the Overbays and Chapmans of the league.
That's why I see Cherington as fundamentally different from -- and much worse than -- Littlefield or Huntington. They were basically bunglers, but that's all. They had their moments, mostly Huntington of course, but Cherington's entire tenure looks more and more to me like an intentional scam.
Oh I fully agree. I think Cherington is closer to Littlefield. I honestly think Huntington wanted to build something Rays-like but was limited by his circumstances and some honest mistakes/bungling. Cherington on the other hand…. Well, let’s just say I’m waiting for the Matt Morris trade.
We've now won 6 series, split 4 series, and lost 9 series, which looks worse given that we won our first three series. I forget who it was that said, probably a number of baseball people, that if you can just focus on winning series, the season will take care of itself.
What does that even mean though. You play one game at a time. Focussing on that is the only thing you can actually do. The series are arbitrary.
Win series and the season will take care of itself. That’s true. But you can’t “focus” on them. That’s putting the cart before the horse. It’s a really stupid quote.
It's not stupid. It helps the players be motivated over a marathon season, even when they get drubbed in an 8-0 loss, the goal is to come back in the next game and take the series. You have to break the season down into smaller increments to keep everyone focused and to not carry a defeat into the next game and prolong a losing streak. The quote makes perfect sense.
A dubious achievement! It has been difficult all year to deep dive the box scores of Indy, Altoona, and Bradenton, especially for a franchise that drafted 1st in 2023, 4th in 2022, 1st in 2021, and 7th in 2020. On the positive, Pirate Rotation pieces Paul Skenes and Jared Jones came out of those 4 Drafts, as did second baseman Nick Gonzalez.
Tucu Marcano under investigation for betting baseball while with the Pirates!
4 others under investigation... do we worry? On a related note.... do we make up betting slips with the initials RT?
BC and Shelton are exonerated for the 100 - loss seasons!
About to start this BA podcast "Are First-Round College Baseball Hitters A Risky Demographic?" and feel like it's gonna be extremely my shit.
I listened to it this weekend while I was tooling around, pretending to run errands. It was fantastic.
I don’t know either of the podcasters, but they were engaging and fun. Fairly interesting that from those drafts they looked at (2016-2020), the prep bats are firmly ahead.
bro no spoilers. ;)
Sorry about that!
I hope they highlite that the SEC shockingly is not MLB.
Wondering what people think?
Would anyone consider a straight up trade of Torkelson for Davis? Torkelson has been terrible this year but was an above average hitter last season. Pirates have a little more control over Davis, but Torkelson is a pretty good defender where the hurt is still out on Davis.
At some point going forward with Bart, Grandal, and Endy back next year I feel like Henry is a round peg in a square hole with no place to play other than DH!
No, cause they’re gonna trade for Vlad.
Torkelson mired in a Tellez-like slump, sent to AAA today. Man, how the fortunes of a 31 HR, 94 RBI season have turned.
I just saw this!
Both have had less than 700 minor league plate appearances they are within a month or so apart in age. One is a first base only the other is questionable at multiple positions with a high value position of catcher.
I wouldn't trade Hank for Spencer, I think both were rushed to certain degree but it's to early to tell on either. Tony Gonzales is older than both and is showing strong signs of a breakout. If anything offer a couple mid tier prospects to acquire Tork if you think you can fix him or that he'll figure out but don't swap for something similar with higher position value.
Tork’s MLB challenges are starting to feel very real while I still put Tank closer to developmental / patience so I am a no vote. I also only count Endy going into next year. Bart needs many more ABs to convince me but on that topic would really prefer a Bart / Tank combo for most of the year with some bonus ABs at DH.
I feel Davis has an above average shot at turning it around. Wouldn't be in a hurry to deal him just now
I don't think your last paragraph is wrong and yet still find myself preferring we stuck with the devil we know.
You probably won't like my response on out catcher situation.
Yasmani is hitting .179 and a free agent at the end of the year.
Endy only hit .220 in his 186 at bats last year with little pop.
Bart has held his own in his 60 at bats with the Pirates, to raise his lifetime average to only .224.
Henry is only .201 lifetime.
We don't know who will make it and who will not make it, but I think Henry Davis's ceiling is still the highest. I think it is higher than Torkelson at this point, so I would not trade Davis for Torkelson.
Good question, but I think Davis is worth more than Tork. I certainly would not make that trade. Next season, Grandal will be gone. I don't really see a scenario where Bart is still on the team. I'm guessing, It's Davis and Endy sharing Catcher, with Davis getting some DH ABs when Endy is catching.
Davis will definitely get more AB as DH once Cutch hangs them up.
Nicky Stix now has his expected wOBA up to .273 against breaking pitches, up from just .198 last year.
PLENTY good enough to be a problem if he continues demolishing fastballs.
Unbelievable dev win, super happy for this dude.
Prior to yesterday, Bucco's were 17-0 when collecting at least 10 hits.
This is why it's very frustrating...
-Should have, could have swept the Jays. Lost one game due to Bae's lack of attention. Lost another game due to Shelton's lack of attention.
It’s easy to play MMQB, and in every case is useless. However, this fact won’t stop me from doing a little MMQBing about Shelton’s decision to have Stratton pitch to Vogie yesterday instead of Hernandez. If he’s not going to Hernandez there, then why is he even on the roster?
This is just another in a long line of examples of how Shelton doesn’t give his team the best chance to win. Unfortunately, this is an epidemic in this organization. Starts with Nutting, runs through Cherington, straight on through Shelton, and ends in the hearts of us Pirates fans.
No accountability to be found anywhere!
Makes you wonder what Donnie Kelly and Haddad are doing in the dugout. I support lifting Priester there, shows Shelton at least recognized the great importance of the Vogey AB.
Unless he's injured there is absolutely no reason not to bring Hernandez in to either face Vogelbach or force a move by the Jays. It was a legitimate gripe yesterday as it is today and useless only by the fact that our complaints won't make Shelton any more competent. I'm insulted by most comments they make to the press because they are mostly condescending to fans and is a huge reason they can't get better at their jobs. You can claim you're taking responsibility as Cherington occasionally does but he doesn't follow it up with actions showing he's willing to improve the teams direction.
I'm struggling to see the strategy here...
Stratton's LOB% is not good and it appears Shelton is overusing him. Vogelbach for his career hits lefties at a .128 clip.
The pen is really missing Moreta and Borucki. They'd probably have a couple more wins with those 2 healthy.
Not sure they have much confidence in Hernandez right now. Another question though could be why Priester was pulled immediately after he had struck out Bichette for the second out? He was already into the 80's in pitches, so why not allow him the opportunity to finish the 5th?
A fish rots from the head down
That's a good one. Going to try and implement in a conversation today.
I bet you can find several accountants in Bobby's office pinching pennies.
Are they also counting the $30+ MM wasted in free agency?
It's not wasted. Nuttin has to keep the payroll at some minimal level to avoid more union grievances and to mollify other owners who don't like paying their revenue sharing money directly into the Nuttin Family Trust Fund. That's the point of all the useless -- but ultra-cheap! -- veterans Cherington brings in every year. They're cover.
Sadly this is probably correct. It’s just maddening to see a low budget team waste what little money they do have. Beyond Russell Martin, Liriano and a few others this team has rarely signed a free agent of value, but always has money to waste on the Overbays and Chapmans of the league.
That's why I see Cherington as fundamentally different from -- and much worse than -- Littlefield or Huntington. They were basically bunglers, but that's all. They had their moments, mostly Huntington of course, but Cherington's entire tenure looks more and more to me like an intentional scam.
Oh I fully agree. I think Cherington is closer to Littlefield. I honestly think Huntington wanted to build something Rays-like but was limited by his circumstances and some honest mistakes/bungling. Cherington on the other hand…. Well, let’s just say I’m waiting for the Matt Morris trade.
We've now won 6 series, split 4 series, and lost 9 series, which looks worse given that we won our first three series. I forget who it was that said, probably a number of baseball people, that if you can just focus on winning series, the season will take care of itself.
Bobby Cox said that. Probably wasn’t the first, but he was pretty successful at winning. At least in regular season.
What does that even mean though. You play one game at a time. Focussing on that is the only thing you can actually do. The series are arbitrary.
Win series and the season will take care of itself. That’s true. But you can’t “focus” on them. That’s putting the cart before the horse. It’s a really stupid quote.
No it isn’t stupid. As 79 said, you break the series down in bit size pieces and try to win those.
I just said a fake is a fake. That’s the bit sided piece. I quote bible with the word “focus”.
It's not stupid. It helps the players be motivated over a marathon season, even when they get drubbed in an 8-0 loss, the goal is to come back in the next game and take the series. You have to break the season down into smaller increments to keep everyone focused and to not carry a defeat into the next game and prolong a losing streak. The quote makes perfect sense.
Somehow, the affiliates going 0-14 over a weekend seems like a thoroughly Cheringtonian factoid.
A dubious achievement! It has been difficult all year to deep dive the box scores of Indy, Altoona, and Bradenton, especially for a franchise that drafted 1st in 2023, 4th in 2022, 1st in 2021, and 7th in 2020. On the positive, Pirate Rotation pieces Paul Skenes and Jared Jones came out of those 4 Drafts, as did second baseman Nick Gonzalez.