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[penguins2946*]

It really seems like the only reason Locke is even in the MLB as a starter at this point is because of that good half year he had.

 

[ColePens]

I've followed baseball but never played the game. Too busy playing hockey. What is the difference between good and bad Locke? Like what is he struggling with right now?

 

[ColePens]

My levels of hate for Pedro... ****ing eh

 

[cheesedanish87]

I've followed baseball but never played the game. Too busy playing hockey. What is the difference between good and bad Locke? Like what is he struggling with right now?

For Locke to be successful he has to have almost perfect control of his pitches, his stuff isn't that good, he has to pitch to the corners of the strike zone all the time.

 

[Cherpak]

Is the game blacked out on Extra Innings?

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Jeff Locke is a very bad pitcher. His stuff is borderline and he cannot consistently throw strikes, which means he's only capable of putting up passable starts when he's getting lucky and/or getting a liberal strike zone from the umpire. There's no reason he should have a number 5 job locked down with **** starts like this.

 

[clefty]

Jeff Locke is a bad pitcher who makes bad throws.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Locke really needs to go away.

His stuff isn't nearly good enough to compensate for his atrocious control. At least Chuck can reach back and throw it 95 when his control is taking a night off.

Worley and Locke should be switched...I get wanting a lefty over a righty, but not when the righty is clearly the better pitcher. Worley is what he is, a #5...Locke is more of an emergency pitcher.

 

[cheesedanish87]

I'm happy with the 2 wins out of this series.

Splitting a 4 game road series against an average team without pitching your ace in the series isn't a bad result.

You would think this would be Locke's last start, but the pirates seem to like Locke, he should of been out of the rotation a long time ago.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Oh, I'm right there with you. The Padres are a solid team, splitting a 4 game set at their home is perfectly fine.

I'm just not a fan of being out of it by the 3rd inning. That happens with Locke far too often to make up for those ~12 straight batter retired rolls he gets on.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Agreed, split is a solid result. We can still end up with a great road trip if we win both of the next two series. With the pitching, we have to win in San Francisco, and maybe we'll miss Shelby Miller, though it would be funny if we, his old nemeses, are the ones who bring him back down to earth.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Oh, I'm right there with you. The Padres are a solid team, splitting a 4 game set at their home is perfectly fine.

I'm just not a fan of being out of it by the 3rd inning. That happens with Locke far too often to make up for those ~12 straight batter retired rolls he gets on.

I'm kind of happy Locke got crushed, i'v wanted him out of the rotation for a long time.

You have to think this start either gets him out of the rotation or at least puts him on a short leach.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Locke is the guy with the naked photo's of Hurdle.....He's not going anywhere soon IMHO. He's AJ's sidekick (Robin) and seems to have some sort of aura that props him up with the big club despite his disastrous results.

Last night was a perfect example of why Worley should be in there as the #5. Yeah, V Dub will have an occasional **** start, but he's also capable of going 5-7 innings and not getting shelled. Last night was over before the 1st inning ended which is a shame, and quite frankly a recurring trend when Locke starts.

Locke doesn't deserve to be in the majors. Period.

We also lost another game on the Cards (and Cubs) btw......

Edit....is nice to see some power coming for El Coffee. He's far too big a body not to be able to barrel up some pitches and send them out....

 

[Winger for Hire]

Locke's future as the long guy in the pen is creeping closer. Either by Vance forcing himself back into the rotation or the arms that are coming up from the minors. Worse case scenario, we have to put up with Locke in and out of the rotation until the end of the year. Best case, Worley gets put back in and between that and someone like Sampson getting the call Locke is either dealt or banished to long relief.

 

[Asuna]

Bring up Sampson!

 

[cheesedanish87]

I'd leave Worley in the bullpen, he wasn't very good as a starter either, hes been good coming out of the bullpen, hes an improvement over Liz.

I'd give Sampson Sadler or Richard a shot to be in the rotation, whichever one of those players NH thinks is the best option right now.

 

[Winger for Hire]

NH picks up the phone, calls Indy and tells them...

 

[WickedWrister]

What can/should we target in the trade market? Outside of the bullpen, this team doesn't have any glaring holes. Cervelli has fit in nicely as a replacement for Martin and his contract is very affordable for the value he provides. I've seen people throw Cole Hamel's name around, but do we really need to upgrade our starting pitching? Cole/Liriano/Burnett is probably enough to get it done in the palyoffs, barring injury.

 

[penguins2946*]

What can/should we target in the trade market? Outside of the bullpen, this team doesn't have any glaring holes. Cervelli has fit in nicely as a replacement for Martin and his contract is very affordable for the value he provides. I've seen people throw Cole Hamel's name around, but do we really need to upgrade our starting pitching? Cole/Liriano/Burnett is probably enough to get it done in the palyoffs, barring injury.

Even the bullpen may not need much upgrading. The bullpen has settled down significantly in recent weeks. Yeah, there's a few blown games here and there (Scahill letting up the walk of grand slam, for example), but it's not exactly a glaring issue. Watson and Melancon are performing well right now, so I'm not sure how much of an upgrade we need to our bullpen. What we should go after really depends on how players like Polanco, Kang, Burnett and such look like later in the season.

 

[Winger for Hire]

What can/should we target in the trade market? Outside of the bullpen, this team doesn't have any glaring holes. Cervelli has fit in nicely as a replacement for Martin and his contract is very affordable for the value he provides. I've seen people throw Cole Hamel's name around, but do we really need to upgrade our starting pitching? Cole/Liriano/Burnett is probably enough to get it done in the palyoffs, barring injury.

I'd be targeting the following, in no particular order:

1. A steady back of the rotation guy (Locke/Worley insurance). Someone that can also move into the bullpen if needed. Odrisamer Despaigne is a guy I'd be calling the Padres about, possibly Jorge De La Rosa in Colorado though he's the rare Rockies pitcher who pitches better at Coors than on the road.

2. Possibly an upgrade over Mercer, but Alen Hanson looks like he could be ready around midseason (if they want to push him a little early- he took Verlander deep yesterday, FYI). So Hanson could be a nice addition that can be called up. And an added bonus with Hanson, unlike Mercer, can play both middle infield spots so you get a little extra maneuverability in the late inning defensive moves that Hurdle loves.

3. An upgrade over Corey Hart. I don't think this is a huge need, as he's doing pretty well as a pinch hitter (.368/.381/.526 in 21 plate appearances as a PH... I know, small sample size) and hopefully with versatility everywhere else, he won't be needed anywhere else other than the spot start here and there. But if there's a good deal to upgrade over him, I wouldn't be shy about replacing him with someone that has a similar bat but isn't a liability in the field.

Other than those I don't see a whole lot a needs on the team, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be listening to offers.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Taillon is the big wildcard for me this year, hes a guy who could solve there starting pitching depth issue they have right now.

If Taillon isn't ready for Pgh this year then i think NH should try to add a starter to the back end of the rotation.

It doesn't have to be anybody great, just someone who can save the bullpen and give you 6 or 7 innings and give the team a chance to win.

 

[penguins2946*]

I just looked. Wow, Hanson is hitting .311 with Indy right now. He's also pretty good at stealing bases, he's gone 14 for 19 this year. His numbers this year are pretty similar to Polanco's from last year, so he may be ready pretty soon. I don't know if the Pirates will be in any rush to recall him though. It's not like last year with Polanco where they had a gaping hole in right field, all the positions Hanson plays (2B, 3B, SS), we have pretty solid players there. I think they'd rather just keep him playing in the minors instead of just being a bench player here.

Kingham going down for the year due to TJS puts a thorn in our side. Yeah, it probably won't hurt us, but it would have been nice to have him as an option to recall.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I don't entirely trust Burnett to keep it up all season. He's been great, and there's very little to suggest a decline is coming, but at his age, you never know.

I'm not sure we have the pieces to get Hamels, or if it would be worth it, but I think a top flight piece is the only really significant trade that could be made. The team as it stands is good enough to flail around a bit and end up with a WC spot. Winning the division, which has to be the goal, will take a big splash (but obviously, unloading two or three excellent prospects is dumb... one excellent one and another good one or two, and I'm all for it).

Improving the bench spot or maybe a lesser starter would be fine moves if they didn't cost much, but the market has been so crazy every year that I'd just as soon try to shock the world with a Hamels trade than look for mediocre improvements. Plus, Ruben Amaro Jr. is a world historically bad general manager, so you never know...

 

[ImporterExporter]

The problem we have in our system is we've got a guy who's still finishing up rehabbing a TJ surgery (Taillon) and another who just went under the knife (Kingham). Those are the 2nd and 3rd rated pitching prospects in our system. Glasnow is hurt as well now (ankle).

Polanco is up with the big club so that leaves Meadows and Bell as your premier hitting prospects. I just don't see us having the ability to give up the stupid amount of prospect talent for a rental.

Do i think we could win a WS with the current roster? Yes. Do i think it's all that likely though? No.

And 1 or 2 rentals is not likely to make a difference and also cost us a lot in the long term.

Bell certainly looks like a good bet to have some success at the ML level hitting the ball. He does only have 1 HR this year in 175 AB's which is slightly troubling to me, but he has K'd just 16 times (10.9% rate). He's walked 23 time and is on base well over 40% of the time. The only thing that he is lacking at this point in time is the long ball power, which i hope would come....he's a big boy at 230 lbs.

Meadows mirrors Bell's type of numbers and he has shown an advanced approach at the plate to take a walk and not K at high rate like most lower level guys.

Obviously Bell's going to be a 1B and the likely heir to Alvarez's spot when he leaves in FA (or hopefully a trade). Meadows gives us some leverage with Polanco IMO. El Coffee still flashes the big time talent and i'm hopeful he can become an impact all star. And obviously Cutch may or may not be back depending on how much he wants in his next contract, which i fear will be to rich for Pittsburgh...

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Yeah, I agree that conditions don't look right for any kind of impact trade... and if the price for an ok piece is something like Hanson, no thanks.

Tonight is an important game - winning the first game on the road is especially crucial, and this game is wedged in the middle of what could still turn out to be a fine 6-4 road trip, rather than an ok 5-5 split or a kinda-bad 4-6 result.