I think he just lost his spot because we were chocked full of right handed relievers to start the season.
Yeah. Going off memory I think he had solid Spring numbers but was just lost in the numbers game. Having an option left can be a blessing and a curse.
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“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile, but that it is indifferent. If we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death, our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.” - Stanley Kubrick
walks the bases loaded then Jones goes up there and swings at the first pitch
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johannes Climacus
Correia should no longer be in the starting rotation.
never should have been to begin with. He had the worst ERA among full-time starters in the Majors the year we signed him. He was one of those signings where the pirates just try to get someone that people might know his name for marketing purposes. He's serviceable, but not as a full-time starter. Should be used in the pen and as a spot starter.
I think they want to see what Gilbert can do at LT. It's where they drafted him to play. If he bombs they still have Starks, who I think they'd love to fallback into a backup, swing tackle role this season. We also have Adams to develop into a LT if Gilbert doesn't get it done.
I expect Dejan's lineup to be what we go with this season. I think by the season after it will look more like
Adams Colon/Gilbert Pouncey DeCastro Colon/Gilbert
Just depends whether they'll move Colon to guard at some point if the two young tackles pan out.
A guy on third with no outs on two separate occasions (and second and first in the latter occurrence) with nothing to show for it.
That's unacceptable on so many levels.
Poor McDonald. Even when he helps his own cause with the bat (first time that's ever happened...Norris flubbed it for an error, but that was a perfect bunt by a guy who has a legitimate claim as worst hitting pitcher in baseball, so I'll take it) he just sits at first base for 20 minutes watching Tabata whiff at the perfect pitch, McLouth being his useless self, and McCutchen choke up on the bat a little too much.
On that note...the Pirates right now have four guys who's name starts with Mc. That's a little weird.
After showing signs of life for two weeks, Pedro is now in a 0-18 spiral.
Pirates roster reads like that of an 1890's era club with all those Irish sounding names.
Charlie Morton may also be the worst hitter/fielder of his era and one of the worst of all time in context. His slash stats are all under .100 (slugging% is just over it but will almost guaranteed to be below .100 in a couple of at-bats) and his fielding percentage looks like a good save%, being in the .920's for his career, which is just awful. He would have tied for next to last in 2010 if didn't miss qualifying by a little and already has 3 errors this year so his fielding percentage is a nearly demonic .667. Fielding percentages are useless for real defenders but for a pitcher, he's usually only playing bunts or throwing pickoffs yet Morton has 7 errors in under 280 IP the last few years. His poor hitting and fielding passes the eye test as well, as I though he was one of the worst hitters/fielders at pitcher I have ever seen and all the numbers bear that out. 76 K's in 155 at-bats, one career walk (how did that happen?) for an career OBP of .080. He has a real chance of being the second worst hitting pitcher of the modern era. Don Carman is the anti-Gretzky of pitcher hitting with numbers that are likely never to be approached. Pretty amazing in a way.
Ugh, send in pinch-runner, pinch-runner then gets picked off.
EDIT: Lee made that slow chopper to 3rd a close play. Some good hustle. Decent for a guy that size. Still can't believe that Walker couldn't beat out that slow ground ball deep into the SS hole, with a long slow rainbow throw to 1st.
McLouth really isn't a Major League player at this point...I would love to know what the **** happened to him. He was never as good as that pre-All Star Game hot streak a few years back had some people thinking, but he was still a solid third outfielder with solid pop and a decent glove...now he's just a minus everywhere.
This is the kind of game that just kills you. McDonald dominated and the offense just actively lost the game. We're getting to the point where a move has to be made or else attendance is going to bottom out. You have to give the fans a reason to go to the games, and 2.5 runs a game of offense isn't going to do it. Everyone wants to see a 2-1 pitchers duel...no one wants to see a 1-0 game with the offense on one side just blowing everything possible. When Rod Barajas accounts for half your offense on a night, you've got problems.
And get McPedro the hell away from the 4 hole. That move somehow killed his confidence. 3 more strikeouts tonight.
Turning to other things...BA had their first mock draft of the year yesterday and had the Buccos taking SS Deven Marrero out of Arizona State.
I'm not a fan of the pick just because Marrero doesn't have enough of a bat to warrant a top 10 pick in my eyes. The Pirates are probably screwed unless someone goes off the board, but with the new draft rules that's going to be much less likely. In the days of old the top 7 prospects in the draft could span 61 draft picks...now they'll likely go 1-7.
Unfortunately for the Pirates top prep pitching prospect Lucas Giolito suffered an elbow injury in March and is a total wildcard because of it. Because he's a prep arm he's not going to budge from his asking price, which would already take about 2/3 of the Pirates' draft budget, so the risk of drafting him becomes two-fold because of signability and injury...I'm highly doubting he goes in the first round because of it (it's not a major injury...but outside of those first couple picks no one is going to be able to afford him in the new capped draft, and with there being about 7 other very good prospects at the top of the draft the injury concern will drop him). If the Pirates hadn't gone pitcher the past couple years I may say Giolito may be a possibility just for the home run factor, but we may be better off looking elsewhere and spreading the bonus money around instead of trying to hit a home run and being left with peanuts for the rest of the draft. The only good thing about the capped system is that teams like the Yankees and Braves have no hope of signing him...but the Cardinals and Red Sox have more bonus money to give out than the Pirates, so even that one minor positive is instantly destroyed.
The Pirates won't draft for need...no team is stupid enough to draft for need in the baseball draft. If the Pirates are desperate for a short stop in the coming years, which we will be since rising prospect Alen Hansen, a SS right now, doesn't project to that position in the majors, but it is far easier (and smarter) to trade from a strength to fill a weakness than to reach on an amateur in hopes that he'll solve your problems in 3 years. Hansen will likely be forcing the Pirates into an interesting decision with Neil Walker in 2-3 years since he's as natural a 2B as they come. The Pirates have enough pitching at the Major League level and the minors that a trade will be inevitable eventually, the Pirates SS of the future will be coming from the outside, of that I have no doubt.
I think the Pirates will eventually settle for drafting a bat this year, just because there isn't going to be anyone with ace potential available at the #8 spot this time around, but the position of the player will have no bearing on who they pick. Huntington has made it abundantly clear in the past that position doesn't matter to him, only talent. If it's an outfielder...so be it. Deal from a position of strength and you hold all the cards.
