OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: The Condemned of Altoona

[DJ Spinoza]

Game is on TV today, I have it on in the background. Marte hit a very impressive HR and looks like his best self. Possibly more important, Moran just made a pretty outstanding play in deep third base with a really accurate throw to get the out. His range might not be otherwordly, but based on that kind of play, he'll be more than adequate defensively.

Edit: a few more observations which can basically be gleaned from a stats sheet, but nonetheless... both Rivero and Kontos had clean, easy innings (and Rivero was up around 98mph), and Dickerson looks pretty solid, though truly does swing at everything. Moran made at least another nice defensive play. One thing that has seemed consistent in the early going is poor defense, which doesn't bode well.

 

[dogthateats]

 

[DanielPlainview]

Bae <3

 

[Brandinho]

That's really cool, actually. For those that don't know, Bae was one of the prospects the Braves signed whose contracts were voided due to fraud. Originally signed for $300k and the guy who signed him compared him to Trea Turner.

“It’s an elite runner, top-of-the-scale runner,” MacDonald said. “He’s very athletic. He stays at shortstop, he’s going to be a solid to plus defender there. His bat-to-ball skills are really good. There’s more power in the bat. If everything clicks, we have a left-handed version of Trae Turner, who I signed in San Diego. Again, maybe not that much power, but certainly the impact speed and defense, with bat-to-ball skills and a left-handed hitter.

 

[Asuna]

should've just signed turner in the first place!!!

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Bae seems like a nice pickup.

Split squad today, Williams and Kuhl pitching. The latter has given up 3 HRs (Machado, Schoop, Mancini), so maybe I cursed him last week. The Williams game is on TV, and he looks pretty solid. In the Kuhl game, Dickerson and Cervelli both have doubles.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Damn, a lot of pitchers basically getting curb-stomped today. Kuhl ended up getting tagged for several more runs and some walks, looks like Eppler had a bad outing. Rivero gave up a HR to Dansby Swanson, though I'd put an asterisk by it because he was not throwing his fastball with two strikes.

Williams did look pretty impressive - doing his usual, commanding all around the zone and mostly giving up weak contact. I think he had one baserunner over four innings in the form of a HBP. Crick came into the game this past inning after Rivero, and it's the first I'm seeing of him. He's got a pretty live fastball, but I'm not very impressed. Based just on casually browsing, I wouldn't want him coming out of the pen over Neversaukas, for example. Siegrist is scheduled to pitch in today's game, so I'm keeping an eye on it for that reason.

Siegrist looks pretty solid - he gave up a double to Acuna and then struck out the side. His stuff is not overwhelming, really sitting low-90s, but one or two pitches at 93. Some pretty good movement and deception on his pitches, and the changeup still looks like a great out pitch. He definitely seems like he could be useful in the pen, especially if he's being played off of arms like Feliz.

 

[Brandinho]

should've just signed turner in the first place!!!

As frustrating as it is to have drafted him and let him get away due to money, that was the draft where we spent $5 million on Bell so I can't get too upset. The fact that Turner turned out to be the more valuable player is just one of those unfortunate things that happen.

 

[Asuna]

As frustrating as it is to have drafted him and let him get away due to money, that was the draft where we spent $5 million on Bell so I can't get too upset. The fact that Turner turned out to be the more valuable player is just one of those unfortunate things that happen.

haha. i know. i was being facetious. i think that was the cole/bell draft. used up most of the budget on those players

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Looks like the Phillies are getting Arrieta for 3 years, 75 million. Cobb's ceiling is somewhat questionable, but it's hard to argue that he wouldn't be a bargain in this market.

 

[Brandinho]

Looks like the Phillies are getting Arrieta for 3 years, 75 million. Cobb's ceiling is somewhat questionable, but it's hard to argue that he wouldn't be a bargain in this market.

Wait, I thought they fired Ruben Amaro Jr.

 

[Winger for Hire]

Walker to NYY for 1yr/$5m... what a bargain since he doesn't have to be relied on to play every day. Neil lets them ease up on pushing their top prospects and serves as no roadblock if they start tearing the cover off the ball in the first 2 months, making Walker either a perfectly capable switch-hitting, versatile glove/bat off the bench, decent trade chip at the deadline for a lottery ticket, or, at worst, a vet who will cost less than David Freese but spend the same amount of time nursing injuries.

It's scary to see the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, and other big market teams sticking to smart game plans. There's little hope on the horizon for the "walking poor" teams and "business first" ball clubs.

 

[DanielPlainview]

A bargain for him. He doesn't even have to move!

 

[Brandinho]

A bargain for him. He doesn't even have to move!

Sort of like how he plays defense.

 

[WickedWrister]

Whats the timeline for the Korean guy?

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Walker to NYY for 1yr/$5m... what a bargain since he doesn't have to be relied on to play every day. Neil lets them ease up on pushing their top prospects and serves as no roadblock if they start tearing the cover off the ball in the first 2 months, making Walker either a perfectly capable switch-hitting, versatile glove/bat off the bench, decent trade chip at the deadline for a lottery ticket, or, at worst, a vet who will cost less than David Freese but spend the same amount of time nursing injuries.

It's scary to see the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, and other big market teams sticking to smart game plans. There's little hope on the horizon for the "walking poor" teams and "business first" ball clubs.

Among the worst things I can think of relative to this offseason is that the Cubs didn't have to give up picks to sign their players, and will receive picks for losing Davis and Arrieta.

I'm steadfast in thinking that Cobb on a bargain makes too much sense not to just roll the dice. There's so little money tied up, and it basically contributes a bit more to having a relatively deep young team and hoping for some breakouts at the top-end, in order to squeeze into a WC spot and see what happens.

I wouldn't actually be too shocked to see the Phillies move on Cobb, too. They have money to light on fire, and would be even more competitive with a rotation of Arrieta, Nola, and Cobb, combined with the young core.

 

[Brandinho]

Whats the timeline for the Korean guy?

He's 18 (19 in July) and he hasn't played in America yet. He could move quickly, but it's unlikely that we'll be seeing him for a while.

 

[Winger for Hire]

Whats the timeline for the Korean guy?

It'll be awhile... he's 18 and was signed as an amateur international FA. He's been described as raw and was projected to be a KBO 1st rounder and decided to sign with the Braves instead... then got cut loose in the Brave's international contract fiasco and was also barred for 2 years by the KBO because he skipped their draft.

He's impressed a lot in international comps-

Overall in 2017 national competitions, Bae went 40-for-86 (.465) with a home run and 29 steals.
Scouts also grade him out at a 70 speed tool.

Don't hold your breath for power.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Opening Day roster projection for Pirates

Adam Berry weighs in with the off-day prediction of a starting roster. My sense of the notable guesses are Brentz, Crick, perhaps Siegrist, and perhaps Glasnow and Brault.

I'm a bit agnostic about Brentz. Some RH power off the bench is nice, but maybe you have some of it with S-Rod, and much better defense. I think I like Moroff more overall, but there's not a whole lot of harm in seeing what Brentz brings for a little bit.

The bullpen is more interesting. I think Crick is unfortunately a lock due in part to saving some face for the Cutch trade, but from what I've seen, he's much more of an upside risk that is going to need to find footing with Searage than someone who is a reliable cog in the machine. Huntington's comments make it seem like both Brault and Glasnow are a foregone conclusion, and I tend to think the same thing about Siegrist; unless he flames out in a few appearances, he has the mix of experience and a really good out pitch to be a good compliment to Kontos.

Neversaukas had a terrible appearance the other day, and I think has options left. I think Crick may also have options, and if so, I'd much rather go with Milbraith, but this level of nitpicking is basically total guess work. I've continually returned to the importance of Moran and Polanco offensively, and I think I'd add to that a real weapon of a bullpen, and not just a re-emergence, but a step beyond for Marte as a star of the team, as the three factors that are most likely to push the team from 77 wins to something in the low-to-mid 80s, if you are like me and want to grasp at some straws for hope.

So I think the composition of the bullpen is really important, but probably doesn't entirely hover around Crick. Maybe it's foolhardy to be too trustworthy in Feliz, but I think the sequence of Siegrist-Kontos-Feliz-Rivero is going to be strong enough to make winning close games happen as much as it can. The bullpen turns into an actual weapon if that happens, and at least one of Brault or Glasnow can do what Blanton once did in middle relief. Anything on top of that with the other of Brault/Glasnow and the final spot is more like icing on the cake. But, it should be stressed that there really are a lot of small question marks in the bullpen, so like most other areas on the team, it's probably better to temper expectations as solid, like a good vanilla ice cream, as the Yahoo sports writeup declared the other day.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

Anything above 78 wins and I will be completely shocked. That rotation doesn't make me believe they will be anything more than what we've seen in the grapefruit league.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Musgrove is getting his first game action of the spring today, and it's quite the challenge: he's facing a nearly complete Yankees lineup. Meanwhile, the Pirates are lined up more with a lineup lacking many regulars, though Harrison, Mercer, Moran, and Cervelli will play (and S-Rod, who is starting at SS while Mercer DH's... oh spring training).

In any case, it's on Yankees TV, so I'll swoop back later with early reactions to Musgrove. Should be a good challenge for him, as well as the other pitchers set to go: Rivero, Neversaukas, Crick, and Siegrist.

Newman, Kramer, McRae, and Garcia were all sent to minors camp, which is no surprise. I'd rather see Moroff get some more looks at SS if we're going to have Rodriguez there.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

TEAM	BA	R	H	HR	OBP	SLG	ERA	WHIP	BB	SO	BAA	DAY	TURF
PIT	.258	86	166	24	.322	.458	6.39	1.46	65	143	.265	6-11	6-11

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Anything wrong with this picture?

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

TEAM	BA	R	H	HR	OBP	SLG	ERA	WHIP	BB	SO	BAA	DAY	TURF
PIT	.258	86	166	24	.322	.458	6.39	1.46	65	143	.265	6-11	6-11

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Anything wrong with this picture?

Yeah, that anyone cares about team spring training stats?

 

[AverageJoeFan]

Yeah, that anyone cares about team spring training stats?

Pitching. Not saying that is the result the regular season has, but it is a barometer of the pitching situation. You might not want to believe this, but our pitching is not very awesome. Our offense, on the other hand might not be as bad as I thought originally.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Yeah, and team ERA is among the worst options to look at in that or any context. Among the regulars, with the minuscule sample size, perhaps there's cause for concern at the hitability of Kuhl, Williams, and Nova, and Musgrove could end up in that mix (also based on 7-10 innings a week and a half from now, i.e., roughly the end of his spring), but there's not even much that can be drawn from that. Perhaps at most, you have the eye test once the pitchers are stretched out, which for most of them is starting right now (not Musgrove, obviously).

There are just infinitely too many variables to look at the numbers. On offense, some positive things that you can say relative to what's being decided are that Brentz looks like he's able to work counts and draw a walk, and Moroff has looked good in small doses. I think the final spot is really between those two, and will go to Brentz first. Luplow needs at-bats and playing time, and they'll want to move Osuna around to see how versatile he can get.

I haven't seen Milbraith, but he's walked 7 guys, and I think there's too much depth to carry him. I'm expecting Crick, Brault, and Glasnow to all make it, but Smoker's seemed good, and I think would have a spot if it weren't for Siegrist. Unless Crick really does something to stand out, I'd almost rather see what Smoker could do in addition to Siegrist, but I'd be really surprised if he doesn't make it.

I think the 25-man is close to set:

C - Cervelli, Diaz
1B - Bell
2B - Harrison, Frazier
SS - Mercer, Rodriguez
3B - Moran, Freese
RF - Polanco
CF - Marte
LF - Dickerson, Brentz
SP - Nova, Taillon, Kuhl, Williams, Musgrove
RP - Rivero, Feliz, Kontos, Siegrist, Crick, Brault, Glasnow

Musgrove possibly stays in Bradenton for a week, so maybe Smoker or Neversaukas initially makes it.