OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: New season of plundering begins

[Empoleon8771]

 

[td_ice]

Whew. Let's face it, that would have been a tough one to lose. Granted it was a heck of a come back, but the maddening base running decisions during extras was tough to watch. And would have been a "what could have been?", if we had lost.

But that aside, lots of good things in that come back. Including the continuation of the ST Pirates long ball prowess. Surviving "not good" Keller, and putting up offense was great to see. Kudos to the Pen!!!

Good to have real games back, and start off with a win.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Ugly win. Errors, basebath blunders, which once again show the bush league staff we employ.

But a win is a win.

Bullpen deserves the game ball.

1-0

I just smoked me a fat bowl and life is good.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

What I think was most noticeable was that, even though there were a lot of Ks and several bad PAs, the offense really had a lot of chances to punch back and keep us in it and did so multiple times. The bottom of the order is passable and there are legit options for Shelton's game of mix and matching.

Bullpen definitely stepped up in a huge way but this kind of offensive flash is something we haven't seen in a while. All things considered, Cutch and Davis both had terrible games but it was overshadowed because there's enough depth to help us win an ugly, punch it out type game. That's encouraging and it's something we're going to need to stay afloat.

 

[BusinessGoose]

For sure, it's only one game etc etc

But it's one they so often would have lost 5-1

 

[Shrimper]

Good to see Triolo respond to his fumble with the game winning RBI. McCutchen didn't look great but only the first game. Base running needs work for sure.

 

[OnMyOwn]

How was Chapman’s velocity?

 

[DJ Spinoza]

For sure, it's only one game etc etc

But it's one they so often would have lost 5-1

It's also a bit indicative because I think even for many of us who are pessimistic that we'll really break out of the 75-79 win band, there are still expectations with this team.

A year or two ago, I would have been perfectly content with the absurd Cruz opposite field HR even if his Ks weren't ideal. But that thought didn't really occur to me in this one.

Still just one game that means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I think we have a seriously great chance to try to jump out to a 5-2 early record, or at least 4-3, as taking this one puts us in ok shape to at least make sure we get the split.

 

[Coastal Kev]

That was a helluva game, thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

He won't be touted for our spot from a projectability / position / athletic perspective, but I want us to draft Tommy White for the swag alone, as well as the possibility of just fast tracking him at 1B.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Charlie Condon at Georgia is putting up unbelievable numbers. Makes Babe Ruth look like a bum.

He's the 1OA after a month of college baseball.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Yeah, Condon has made a very clear and decisive case early on. I think a great scenario for the Pirates would be local product Wetherholt falling into their lap due to his early injury, a bit like what happened with Chase DeLauter a few years back.

But that's probably a bit of a pipe dream, and in any case we are too far away to be able to say much of anything. It's a unique player group this year because there isn't quite the classic SS-type, and besides Condon, a lot of the big college types probably don't profile at a premium position from what I've seen. Throw in different orgs having different approaches to drafting pitchers high and it's hard to even guess much yet.

I saw a Joe Doyle mock that had White towards the latter half of the draft, which would make more basic sense given that he projects as a 1B. My hazy sense early on is that I'd love to take White at a bit of a slot discount and then go for prep upside or buy a falling player in the comp round and second round, but yeah, probably time to pump the brakes on draft talk on March 28.

 

[Empoleon8771]

What I think was most noticeable was that, even though there were a lot of Ks and several bad PAs, the offense really had a lot of chances to punch back and keep us in it and did so multiple times. The bottom of the order is passable and there are legit options for Shelton's game of mix and matching.

Bullpen definitely stepped up in a huge way but this kind of offensive flash is something we haven't seen in a while. All things considered, Cutch and Davis both had terrible games but it was overshadowed because there's enough depth to help us win an ugly, punch it out type game. That's encouraging and it's something we're going to need to stay afloat.

I think one thing that stood out was that the Pirates were showing extremely good plate discipline today. That may sound weird considering they had a lot of strikeouts, but they weren't really chasing and were completely willing to take walks when they had the chance. Getting Luzardo's pitch count high and having him get pulled in the 5th really helped them.

How was Chapman’s velocity?

He didn't even hit 100 on any of his pitches but was relying heavily on the splitter and slider today. He only threw 1 fastball in his 3 batters.

Beyond him, I think Ortiz looked amazing out of the pen. Even if he's not a starter for this team going forward, he's going to be a filthy multi-inning reliever. I think they should be grooming him to be Bednar's replacement.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

One other thing for those with MiLB tv -- Skenes will pitch on Saturday at 2pm. So that Skenes in the afternoon, Jones' MLB debut in the evening. Not a bad Saturday.

 

[sovietsanta87]

I think one thing that stood out was that the Pirates were showing extremely good plate discipline today. That may sound weird considering they had a lot of strikeouts, but they weren't really chasing and were completely willing to take walks when they had the chance. Getting Luzardo's pitch count high and having him get pulled in the 5th really helped them.



He didn't even hit 100 on any of his pitches but was relying heavily on the splitter and slider today. He only threw 1 fastball in his 3 batters.

Beyond him, I think Ortiz looked amazing out of the pen. Even if he's not a starter for this team going forward, he's going to be a filthy multi-inning reliever. I think they should be grooming him to be Bednar's replacement.

Didn’t hit 100 but he was at 99.7 lol

 

[td_ice]

He won't be touted for our spot from a projectability / position / athletic perspective, but I want us to draft Tommy White for the swag alone, as well as the possibility of just fast tracking him at 1B.

Yeah I am no draft guru so I have no idea where he would slot, but kid can rake. He definitely caught my eye when watching all those LSU games last season when viewing Skenes and Crews.

 

[td_ice]

Good to see Triolo respond to his fumble with the game winning RBI. McCutchen didn't look great but only the first game. Base running needs work for sure.

Yeah, super glad to see Triolo make up for that error. I am sure it was nerves, as the kid has the silky mitts. Just gonna take a little learning curve to make the exchange/turning a DP, a sure thing.

Although 2B is new to him, I have no doubt he will do well there.

 

[Factorial]

How was Chapman’s velocity?

Muy bien.

It was a short appearance.

 

[ChaosAgent]

I saw a Joe Doyle mock that had White towards the latter half of the draft, which would make more basic sense given that he projects as a 1B. My hazy sense early on is that I'd love to take White at a bit of a slot discount and then go for prep upside or buy a falling player in the comp round and second round, but yeah, probably time to pump the brakes on draft talk on March 28.

From LSU watching last year, I thought White was going to be a great player.

I'm totally cool getting a 1B that can rake that can come up in 2025. We are very thin on hitting beyond Termarr.

 

[td_ice]

One other thing for those with MiLB tv -- Skenes will pitch on Saturday at 2pm. So that Skenes in the afternoon, Jones' MLB debut in the evening. Not a bad Saturday.

Was listening to the Pirates pre game show. And I forget the two people who were quoted, but they relayed two very different "takes" on Skenes' '24 season arrival. One said, "if you are in the Indianapolis area, and want to see Paul Skenes, get your tickets in April, because he won't be here in May".

The other was, "Skenes will join the Pirates AFTER the All star break".

I think the guy doing the show was Dan Z, fwiw. (I just forget who he was quoting.) But I remember the quotes, as he was pointing out the two very different "reports".

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think it's far more likely that he's not up until June or July, but Skenes coming up in May wouldn't be that crazy of a surprise to me. While I've been adamant about him needing to get used to working on a 5 day schedule, I also think that LSU used him so much that they don't need to worry about working up his inning count. Skenes threw 130 IP last year between LSU and the minors, which is actually more than Jones threw in AAA last year.

With Skenes, it's really just about getting him used to pitching in the professional sequence rather than what he has pitched in the past. At LSU, Skenes pitched once a week on only Thursday, Friday or Saturday. The MLB schedule is just fundamentally different, but it really depends on how Skenes can adjust.

 

[OnMyOwn]

Muy bien.

It was a short appearance.

Thanks. I was able to find video of the pitches he threw. Seemed like a good inning of work.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Apparently Passan said that Skenes could be up in May. There's a world where it happens, but I'll believe it when I see it honestly. The Pirates are not going to run the risk that he could earn a full year of service under any circumstance, but in principle it's possible that he comes up in mid-May or so, is solid but has some bumps, and then is sent back to AAA around the ASB to manage innings and also to give a shot at being super two ineligible, and then back up a few weeks after to rejoin the rotation.

In that scenario, I think he likely doesn't have enough momentum to take one of the ROY spots. There's always a possibility that he is so electric from the very start that he runs away with the award and makes it impossible to even think about sending him down, but it's too many ifs and buts right now. If that scenario emerges and the Pirates are decent enough in these early 6 weeks, then you are perhaps talking about Skenes leading the Pirates to a division W. I think that's the only scenario where they might be fine chucking the service time game out the window, but it's extremely improbable.

The major thing that is giving me pause in terms of pessimism is that he is starting in AAA. We'll see what kind of management he's on, but they sort of have to put him on a 5-day schedule given what they've said. That's not always the case in the minors, though I guess it often is for AAA pitchers given that they are your emergency reservoir for MLB. In any case, I think they could buy themselves a slight bit of time if they have Skenes out there for a couple of 4 IP type starts, but to be a betting man about it, I really just don't see a scenario where he picks up extreme momentum for a call-up before the calendar says May 1.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Curious how the lineup shapes up today. I'll preface this by saying that I am of two minds about Shelton. I often hate some of the lineup changes that he makes, but at the same time, I think his in-game adjustments and decisions are often phenomenal. In fact, I think you can make the argument that he was the major x-factor in winning that game yesterday. His pinch hitting and the deployment of the bullpen all worked out to perfection.

If I were drawing it up, I would basically run it back except that I would slide Joe to 1B and put Olivares in the OF. That may create some defensive issues with how big the Marlins OF is, but I don't see how you aren't rewarding Olivares for a pinch hit HR vs. a lefty today.

That would potentially give you the option of a pure pinch hit spot for Tellez and/or Suwinski, depending on the situation, and obviously Suwinski could be pinch hit + stay in the game for a defensive upgrade. It's hard to tell a lot about Puk and how long he'll stay in the game, but he did have decent splits, so I think I would just make this one switch to get another righty in the lineup. I'm hoping we don't see Shelton go full line change and get Olivares in there but also at the cost of swapping Cruz for Williams. Williams should not start more than 1 game per week and really shouldn't be much more than a glove trickle down effect (i.e. Joe or Olivares pinch hits for Cruz vs a LHP reliever who is locked in the game, and then Williams takes over at SS for 2 innings, etc).

 

[WickedWrister]

3rd worst accuracy and most favoritism displayed towards one team in the 15 games played so far.