Jared Jones showed Major league Baseball that he is an Alpha Dog and is ready for any moment. I can't wait to watch him pitch in a Post-Season Blackout.
A couple of thoughts from watching the postgame interviews:
1. Jones gives great interviews, and definitely could become a face of the franchise if his arm holds up (loved the velocity last night but couldn't help recalling a blurb from earlier this season that 9 of the 10 SP with the highest velocities last year were on the IL, many with serious injuries, and we have two on that top 10 list this year).
2. When Suwinski was asked if going to AAA led to a swing adjustment he said something along the lines of 'no, the opposite actually' which sounded to me like he was saying he just needs to play, the demotion wasn't necessary. Last year he was second to Hayes in fWAR and what do they do in the offseason but essentially turn him into a platoon player by trading for Olivares and signing MAT.
Anyway, enjoying the postgame shows now that I can watch them under the new broadcasting arrangement.
A few comments on Jack. First: any professional who had the results Jack had this year and against lefties last year really shouldn't be surprised that he was demoted and that they looked for RH options. As a competitor I am glad he is confident and didn't want sent down, but while accountability (results driven) has not played out many times in this organization, I don't see what his real argument would be. His high WAR last year I agree is highly impressive given offensively he was basically non-existent when he did hit against LH. Second: I couldn't come up with exact numbers for the entire team but Reynolds (basically a full time player with 143 starts) started 48 games against lefties last year, Jack started 25. Jack was basically a platoon player last year accept the times when he was the only CF on the roster so he had (IMO) some default starts against lefties because they had no choice. Net: I still believe Jack can be a strong side platoon starter and also be a good defender in RF, but disagree he was or ever has been truly a full time starter.
Note that Jack wasn't necessarily complaining about being sent down, that was how I heard his comment. Also, while he struggled against lefties last year, this year he has a .739 OPS against them albeit with a K rate of about 40%. It was his performance against righties that got him sent down, and I can see Jack thinking he deserved a longer leash after what he did against righties last year.
You're reading way too much into player interviews. You're wanting them to say something derogatory and it's just not there.
It's like you're trying to decode some secret message.
He wasn't sent down due to needing a swing adjustment. It was his approach...the approach he had wasn't going to work for him. He'll never be a low K guy, with a high average and that's what he appeared to be trying. Trying to cite he is suddenly having success vs lefties is not very accurate. It's luck his babip vs lefties is through the roof and they're manly bleeders and bloops.
Totally fair and I don't see Jack as a complainer - more a competitor. I'd say he was sent down for overall performance this year which basically was fully against RH. 28 AB's against LH falls into the small sample size. A nice trend but given his history a 0-10 in his next AB's against LH's could seem very possible given his much more extensive history.. Good news (I think) is that once MAT is back from maternity leave Jack can hopefully return to the plus hitter / platoon starter against RH the Pirates need. To be clear, I've been fighting the narrative (mostly quietly in my head) with national media and others that Jack was a full time starter last year. Big picture it is a nit.. was just my time to type it again.
1. Bubba-licious. Hope he continues to improve. Really would love for him to be a part of Keller, Jones, Skenes...
2. Rowdy gave the no booing speech. Now the fans are booing him. 🤣
3. Seeing Glasnow give up the HR totally justified the Archer trade. 😐
4. The focus with Jones is on his FB and the movement he gets. Even Roberts talked about it after the game. What gives him the chance to be special, is the off-speed stuff. He got 2 SOs near the end of his outing with a couple of great pitches in the mid/upper 80s. Loved seeing it and hope he continues to develop into a complete pitcher.
Not sure about No. 3. But, Meadows is booking fishing trips and Shane Baz is already 25 and really has not added much for the Rays.
Should Pirate fans have confidence that BN and BC have had serious discussions regarding long-term extensions for a few of these young SP's? Gotta try to suggest an extra year or two at least. Like the fact that they got up to $20 mil/yr in the extension for Keller - they are tip-toeing into the world of teams who make the playoffs annually!
The Pirates also acquired UT Yoyner Fajardo for cash and sent him to Indy. He was originally with them, but they lost him in the MiL R5 a year or two ago.
Bodacious, but if you are correct (and I hope you are), with Chandler being the ACE followed by Keller, Jones, Skenes, Harrington, Ashcraft, Barco. Kennedy, Solometo, Mueth, etc., the Pirates will have the pitching to be in the playoffs for at least the next 5 to 10 years!
If we are going after a player like Robert, there is a lot of value to the very reasonable 4 years remaining on his contract (2 years at $12.5 mil and $15 mil and two Club Option years for $20 mil each year). That's a reasonable investment for the Pirates to a team in need of talent in many positions.
Really glad to see Jack Suwinski taking cuts for the Pirates again. He struggled after a big season in 2023, but not any problems with that swing against an inside corner, belt high, 97 mph FB from Tyler Glasnow. Not the easiest pitch to hit and in slo-mo his head and eyes were right on that ball. Hopefully he is back to stay.
A bit of minutia - On Jun 3, 2023 the Pirates were 30-27. On Jul 1 they were 39-43 after playing 9-16 in Jun. On Aug 1 they were 47-58 after going 8-15 in Jul, and pretty much playing themselves out of the playoff race. Can we play better than 17-31 the next few months? I think this 2024 ballclub is much stronger and deeper than the 2023 squad, especially in Starting Pitching, and the 2024 Bullpen is starting to show improvement with Bednar missing bats again, and Holderman and Mlodzinski both returning from time on the DL. Is Borucki returning soon?
Really good to see Chandler back to the Pitcher he was the 2nd half of last season. Definitely see him and Ashcraft being promoted to AAA this summer and/or being used as trade bait to get an impact bat like Luis Robert.
Robert is exactly the type of player and may be _the_ player we should go after. We'd have him for 3+ years and what better way to support what could be an elite rotation than bringing in an elite CF who should be in his prime. Of course it depends on the cost but if Ben feels like there is some accountability for him to win in the next year or two else be out of a job, he might just make such a move.
Now that Suwinski and Davis have returned to the Pirates, not much to look forward to remaining at AAA, except maybe Smith-Njigba. And at AA we have a group of pitchers who probably feel like they have to pitch shutouts to have a chance to win. Time for possibly 4 or 5 player promotions (including the MI) from A+ to AA? And, if so, how unusual would it be to have Jhonny Severino and Yordany De Los Santos leapfrogging A and being promoted from the FCL directly to A+? Rivas is struggling again at A and not sure Delgado should be a level above Severino/YDLS.
If they are going to back the truck up, then I want Trout
Tank, Solo and Termarr for Trout
Sources say Harrington and Solometo for Starling Marte.
I fear they may do something like that for Marte.
Sources say that’s to get the Mets to eat all the contract.
I'd rather the sources say someone other than Marte period. He's not the answer.
like
Jared Jones showed Major league Baseball that he is an Alpha Dog and is ready for any moment. I can't wait to watch him pitch in a Post-Season Blackout.
I'm praying it's sooner than later. Go get our a boys a big bat and LFG!!!
A couple of thoughts from watching the postgame interviews:
1. Jones gives great interviews, and definitely could become a face of the franchise if his arm holds up (loved the velocity last night but couldn't help recalling a blurb from earlier this season that 9 of the 10 SP with the highest velocities last year were on the IL, many with serious injuries, and we have two on that top 10 list this year).
2. When Suwinski was asked if going to AAA led to a swing adjustment he said something along the lines of 'no, the opposite actually' which sounded to me like he was saying he just needs to play, the demotion wasn't necessary. Last year he was second to Hayes in fWAR and what do they do in the offseason but essentially turn him into a platoon player by trading for Olivares and signing MAT.
Anyway, enjoying the postgame shows now that I can watch them under the new broadcasting arrangement.
Considering all of last season's hoopla, I can't imagine any hitter is going to mention anything about swing adjustments.
A few comments on Jack. First: any professional who had the results Jack had this year and against lefties last year really shouldn't be surprised that he was demoted and that they looked for RH options. As a competitor I am glad he is confident and didn't want sent down, but while accountability (results driven) has not played out many times in this organization, I don't see what his real argument would be. His high WAR last year I agree is highly impressive given offensively he was basically non-existent when he did hit against LH. Second: I couldn't come up with exact numbers for the entire team but Reynolds (basically a full time player with 143 starts) started 48 games against lefties last year, Jack started 25. Jack was basically a platoon player last year accept the times when he was the only CF on the roster so he had (IMO) some default starts against lefties because they had no choice. Net: I still believe Jack can be a strong side platoon starter and also be a good defender in RF, but disagree he was or ever has been truly a full time starter.
Note that Jack wasn't necessarily complaining about being sent down, that was how I heard his comment. Also, while he struggled against lefties last year, this year he has a .739 OPS against them albeit with a K rate of about 40%. It was his performance against righties that got him sent down, and I can see Jack thinking he deserved a longer leash after what he did against righties last year.
You're reading way too much into player interviews. You're wanting them to say something derogatory and it's just not there.
It's like you're trying to decode some secret message.
He wasn't sent down due to needing a swing adjustment. It was his approach...the approach he had wasn't going to work for him. He'll never be a low K guy, with a high average and that's what he appeared to be trying. Trying to cite he is suddenly having success vs lefties is not very accurate. It's luck his babip vs lefties is through the roof and they're manly bleeders and bloops.
Totally fair and I don't see Jack as a complainer - more a competitor. I'd say he was sent down for overall performance this year which basically was fully against RH. 28 AB's against LH falls into the small sample size. A nice trend but given his history a 0-10 in his next AB's against LH's could seem very possible given his much more extensive history.. Good news (I think) is that once MAT is back from maternity leave Jack can hopefully return to the plus hitter / platoon starter against RH the Pirates need. To be clear, I've been fighting the narrative (mostly quietly in my head) with national media and others that Jack was a full time starter last year. Big picture it is a nit.. was just my time to type it again.
"Jones gives great interviews, and definitely could become a face of the franchise"
You should have stopped right there
Some thoughts after last night:
1. Bubba-licious. Hope he continues to improve. Really would love for him to be a part of Keller, Jones, Skenes...
2. Rowdy gave the no booing speech. Now the fans are booing him. 🤣
3. Seeing Glasnow give up the HR totally justified the Archer trade. 😐
4. The focus with Jones is on his FB and the movement he gets. Even Roberts talked about it after the game. What gives him the chance to be special, is the off-speed stuff. He got 2 SOs near the end of his outing with a couple of great pitches in the mid/upper 80s. Loved seeing it and hope he continues to develop into a complete pitcher.
Not sure about No. 3. But, Meadows is booking fishing trips and Shane Baz is already 25 and really has not added much for the Rays.
Should Pirate fans have confidence that BN and BC have had serious discussions regarding long-term extensions for a few of these young SP's? Gotta try to suggest an extra year or two at least. Like the fact that they got up to $20 mil/yr in the extension for Keller - they are tip-toeing into the world of teams who make the playoffs annually!
The Pirates also acquired UT Yoyner Fajardo for cash and sent him to Indy. He was originally with them, but they lost him in the MiL R5 a year or two ago.
I need him to make the majors and hit a double just so I can hear Greg Brown go "DOUBLE YOY!"
I need Greg Brown to go away so I never have to hear is fake laugh again. #fireGregBrown
Bubba is the best pitcher we have in the organization
Bodacious, but if you are correct (and I hope you are), with Chandler being the ACE followed by Keller, Jones, Skenes, Harrington, Ashcraft, Barco. Kennedy, Solometo, Mueth, etc., the Pirates will have the pitching to be in the playoffs for at least the next 5 to 10 years!
Most importantly, we have the pitching depth to deal from it to acquire an impact Major League bat or two.
If we are going after a player like Robert, there is a lot of value to the very reasonable 4 years remaining on his contract (2 years at $12.5 mil and $15 mil and two Club Option years for $20 mil each year). That's a reasonable investment for the Pirates to a team in need of talent in many positions.
Lol, just realized you already brought him up. Great minds think alike. What do you guys think it'd take to get Robert?
too much of an injury risk for the price in prospects but nice salary so it may be one of few ringer options that we can afford
comes down to whether you think he can outmatch Termarr´s productivity over the coming five years
I think we should just roll with Termarr
Prospects are risky too. The key would be if the White Sox acknowledge the risk with Robert and factor that into their asking price.
i suspect that Termarr is a better hitter than Robert
I think White Sox would have too many suitors willing to waive the injury risk factor to lower any price on Roberts.
I'd give up any 8 prospect not on the mlb 26 man to get Robert and Crochet lol.
Luis Robert? Probably too much in prospect capital, but man, wouldn't it be nice to have an actual slugger in the middle of our lineup
Really glad to see Jack Suwinski taking cuts for the Pirates again. He struggled after a big season in 2023, but not any problems with that swing against an inside corner, belt high, 97 mph FB from Tyler Glasnow. Not the easiest pitch to hit and in slo-mo his head and eyes were right on that ball. Hopefully he is back to stay.
A bit of minutia - On Jun 3, 2023 the Pirates were 30-27. On Jul 1 they were 39-43 after playing 9-16 in Jun. On Aug 1 they were 47-58 after going 8-15 in Jul, and pretty much playing themselves out of the playoff race. Can we play better than 17-31 the next few months? I think this 2024 ballclub is much stronger and deeper than the 2023 squad, especially in Starting Pitching, and the 2024 Bullpen is starting to show improvement with Bednar missing bats again, and Holderman and Mlodzinski both returning from time on the DL. Is Borucki returning soon?
Really good to see Chandler back to the Pitcher he was the 2nd half of last season. Definitely see him and Ashcraft being promoted to AAA this summer and/or being used as trade bait to get an impact bat like Luis Robert.
Robert is exactly the type of player and may be _the_ player we should go after. We'd have him for 3+ years and what better way to support what could be an elite rotation than bringing in an elite CF who should be in his prime. Of course it depends on the cost but if Ben feels like there is some accountability for him to win in the next year or two else be out of a job, he might just make such a move.
I could get down with a trade for Lou Bob.
Now that Suwinski and Davis have returned to the Pirates, not much to look forward to remaining at AAA, except maybe Smith-Njigba. And at AA we have a group of pitchers who probably feel like they have to pitch shutouts to have a chance to win. Time for possibly 4 or 5 player promotions (including the MI) from A+ to AA? And, if so, how unusual would it be to have Jhonny Severino and Yordany De Los Santos leapfrogging A and being promoted from the FCL directly to A+? Rivas is struggling again at A and not sure Delgado should be a level above Severino/YDLS.