Toggle sidebar

OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: Let the Kids Play

Status
Not open for further replies.
ImporterExporter

ImporterExporter

"You're a boring old man"
Jun 18, 2013
18,866
7,901
Oblivion Express
DJ Spinoza said:
Knockout punch time.
Click to expand...


giphy.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: DJ Spinoza
DJ Spinoza

DJ Spinoza

Registered User
Aug 7, 2003
25,352
3,874
Needed the swing and miss there – Musgrove was getting more of them as the game went on, but this is what can happen if it tapers off a bit. He still becomes a noticeably different pitcher when he's up to about 85-90 pitches IMO. Hopefully Crick can lock this down.
 
cheesedanish87

cheesedanish87

Registered User
Jun 27, 2012
10,797
2,157
Pittsburgh
Lots of bad luck for the Pirates, but to Arizona credit when you make contact sometimes they find holes.

I feel like the Pirates have been pretty lucky with balls in play this year for the most part.

Stupid decision to pitch to Walker instead of Flores.
 
DJ Spinoza

DJ Spinoza

Registered User
Aug 7, 2003
25,352
3,874
Hopefully that isn't a season/longer than season ender for Burdi, but looks pretty brutal. This game is a kick in the teeth, and a reminder of how brutal this sport can be. We were probably two hits away from the score being 8 or 9 to 1, Polanco is looking great, another strong outing from Musgrove, very solid chance at a 5-2 homestand, etc., and not only do we give up a billion runs in the 7th inning again, but we face yet another injury.

Credit to the Diamondbacks for making the most of their chances. That bunt by Murphy was probably the key turning point which opened the door for a giant crooked number. We couldn't make some key plays and got some bad luck, but that's how it happens. The focus now shifts to getting even in this series and going from there – can't let anything get away from us.

Feel absolutely awful for Burdi.
 
DJ Spinoza

DJ Spinoza

Registered User
Aug 7, 2003
25,352
3,874
Pretty much couldn't design a more disheartening night. In baseball there's (almost) always tomorrow, and hopefully we can rally around whatever the prognosis is going to be for Burdi. Whatever it is, it's hard to imagine it being very good.

Going to be a tall order too, because Luke Weaver is many times better than Godley. He hasn't been untouchable this year, but I think it's fair to expect that the small margin for error is right back in play.

Not much point in trying to generate any takeaways from this one, but Polanco looks mostly good even if he's clearly not fully going all out. Assuming Burdi is gone for at least a long time, if not the season, there's more room for despair about the bullpen. We need to see Kela really turn on a dime, but I have a feeling that this will continue to be a major concern.
 
DJ Spinoza

DJ Spinoza

Registered User
Aug 7, 2003
25,352
3,874
Sort of an insane stat I found randomly browsing twitter:



Maybe gives a little bit of perspective, although I am still of the mindset that basically all of the non-Vazquez relievers are pretty touch and go. That seems to be the case everywhere in the league – even Hader, who was basically unhittable to start the year, is getting crushed. The sooner we can get some lopsided victories where the pitching is a bit irrelevant, the better. Tonight could easily have been more like 6-0 or 6-1, and if that's the score, maybe the sequence of plays is different.

At the risk of being trite, though, even brutal losses with gutwrenching serious injuries just count as 1 tick in the loss column. Cards beat the Brewers by a lopsided number tonight, so maybe the opposite happens tomorrow, and we can even this series up and establish some momentum around Burdi. The word seems to be that they will still gather information, but if it's something like a bicep tear, I'd assume he's done until at least August or September.
 
JimmyTwoTimes

JimmyTwoTimes

Registered User
Apr 13, 2010
19,958
5,281
Lost 3 games all of last season past the 6th inning....already 4 on the year so far. Surprised there werent more than 3 last year after that bad stretch...and now 4 already yet still 12-8.

Have to bounce back...1-6 against them last year. These 4 game series are what killed us. Already a bad start to this one.
 
DJ Spinoza

DJ Spinoza

Registered User
Aug 7, 2003
25,352
3,874


Not surprised at all to see this take rolling around, but the twin propositions here are hysterical. I can't imagine Kimbrel agreeing to a setup job, and even if he would, I can't imagine the Pirates paying 15 or 20 million dollars for a setup man.

I have some trust that the bullpen is going to improve as the season goes on, because that often tends to happen, even if the exact path is a little bit hazy. I still expect Kela to be sharper. The blown saves are really bad to watch, but I think for the most part Hurdle's take on them is the correct one. We are missing spots and hitters are crushing pitches. While we can play "what if" games all day long, it's still sort of a testament to the underlying talent of the pitching staff that we are in first place. It's not difficult to imagine a scenario where our record is more hovering around .500 like the Cubs, or even a bit worse.

We're 2-2 on the current homestand, and so I think the best attitude is just to treat the remaining games in this series as a fresh start. Don't want to make too much about this, but maybe the potential huge tragedy with Burdi gives the team something to rally around and turn things on a dime. Arizona is always a brutally pesky opponent, so I think we'd all take a series split in a heartbeat. Peralta and Walker are both among the leaders in BABIP, and last night we saw a combination of 1) an excellent bunt play, 2) poor defensive execution, and 3) a bunch of strange BABIP luck from others, before 4) the knockout blows. That's how 7 runs get stacked up in an inning.

Anyways, I'm probably just mostly repeating myself at this point, but I don't see this early success as a house of cards. If anything, I think there's a better case to be made that a sharper bullpen probably nets us at least two more wins than what we have, and the overriding point in all of it for me is that besides the two games where things rapidly got away, we have been competitive in every single game. That makes for nerve-racking viewing, but it's also the type of thing that should forestall any extended slides in the standings. Even if we lose 3/4 in this series, then we'd be facing some slight adversity, but our record would still be 13-10, which is basically exactly the same as the Cards and Brewers at this moment.

Gotta stay in it for the long haul.
 
  • Like
Reactions: td_ice
pistolpete11

pistolpete11

Registered User
Apr 27, 2013
11,594
10,402
DJ Spinoza said:


Not surprised at all to see this take rolling around, but the twin propositions here are hysterical. I can't imagine Kimbrel agreeing to a setup job, and even if he would, I can't imagine the Pirates paying 15 or 20 million dollars for a setup man.

I have some trust that the bullpen is going to improve as the season goes on, because that often tends to happen, even if the exact path is a little bit hazy. I still expect Kela to be sharper. The blown saves are really bad to watch, but I think for the most part Hurdle's take on them is the correct one. We are missing spots and hitters are crushing pitches. While we can play "what if" games all day long, it's still sort of a testament to the underlying talent of the pitching staff that we are in first place. It's not difficult to imagine a scenario where our record is more hovering around .500 like the Cubs, or even a bit worse.

We're 2-2 on the current homestand, and so I think the best attitude is just to treat the remaining games in this series as a fresh start. Don't want to make too much about this, but maybe the potential huge tragedy with Burdi gives the team something to rally around and turn things on a dime. Arizona is always a brutally pesky opponent, so I think we'd all take a series split in a heartbeat. Peralta and Walker are both among the leaders in BABIP, and last night we saw a combination of 1) an excellent bunt play, 2) poor defensive execution, and 3) a bunch of strange BABIP luck from others, before 4) the knockout blows. That's how 7 runs get stacked up in an inning.

Anyways, I'm probably just mostly repeating myself at this point, but I don't see this early success as a house of cards. If anything, I think there's a better case to be made that a sharper bullpen probably nets us at least two more wins than what we have, and the overriding point in all of it for me is that besides the two games where things rapidly got away, we have been competitive in every single game. That makes for nerve-racking viewing, but it's also the type of thing that should forestall any extended slides in the standings. Even if we lose 3/4 in this series, then we'd be facing some slight adversity, but our record would still be 13-10, which is basically exactly the same as the Cards and Brewers at this moment.

Gotta stay in it for the long haul.
Click to expand...

THAT'S what Kimbrel is waiting for. Someone to promise him the 8th inning role. Dunlap is such a jabroni.

I think it's reasonable for the pen to improve some, but it will probably coincide with the rotation slipping some. To be a serious contender, they need to start scoring some more runs. Obviously they deserve a little slack given their injury situation to start the season.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Latest posts

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom