OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: The Condemned of Altoona Continued

[DJ Spinoza]

Yeah, it's bad timing. We'll need to stay this hot and deliver a 7-3 stretch out of the break to really even begin to be interesting again. It's not an impossible situation given the opponents. Tough road series vs the Indians is sandwiched between a Reds series and a four game Mets series.

Can't fault Musgrove too much - offense hasn't seemed to be able to do much vs. Chacin all season. This is obviously a great series even if we drop this one late, but just as obviously, we can't give away any more wins.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Ill take 2-2 right now considering we only have 1 hit.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I do not think it's a good idea to leave Musgrove in here. We're at the point of the game where a run probably wins it. Gotta go with fresh arms that these guys haven't seen today. And of course, Yelich immediately gets on.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Musgrove should have been out. Nobody even up in the pen.

Even tho the ump isnt doing him any favors against Aguillar, this one is on Hurdle. The pen has been great all series. No reason to bring Musgrove back out for the 8th.

Could be the difference between a game from .500 or back down to 3 games under.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Hurdle

 

[DJ Spinoza]

The last 15 minutes are Clint Hurdle as a manager in a nutshell. No strategic vision, just gut feeling, randomness, taking the gamble, and refusing to read the situation as it develops. Musgrove did well enough to battle through, but should have been taken out at least twice in that inning, especially when missing badly for a four pitch walk. He lobs the next pitch right over the heart of the plate and it's game over.

Really, it's just one more on the list of miserable losses, and in that sense a fitting way to end the first half. It really sets down firmly that this has just been a nice spurt of games and not much more. There's a massive difference between 3 and 1 game under, even if being 7.5 out of the division is still basically a miracle.

 

[PensFan68]

Hurdle

When are they going to fire him already?

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Huge hit from Marte to at least scratch off a run. 2 vs 3 runs in the 9th is a huge difference, since if just one guy gets on, the closer is under pressure. Not holding my breath today, especially with Brault coming in for the 9th. I think I'd have Marte be aggressive here. Obviously there's some chance of a Polanco HR, but I'd try and get into Knebel's head and see if we can make him work as much as possible this inning. Also, Marte has elite speed, so just f***ing do it.

 

[Winger for Hire]

Futures Game update, Keller starting for Team USA-



It's gonna be really painful to watch him get mis-coached when he gets to the show

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I have said a lot of negative things about Freese over the course of this season, but I'll be damned if that dude isn't f***ing great in clutch situations, analytics be damned.

 

[lordstanley91]

yea let’s put in the rookie that got shelled last time after we tie it in the 9th. Yes I know the bullpen is stretched just so you know.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

yea let’s put in the rookie that got shelled last time after we tie it in the 9th.

Cant tell me theres not a better manager out there.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Yeah this is textbook gamble to snag an inning with the Brewers maybe back on their heels, and this guy is not throwing strikes, which is the easiest way to let a run in ASAP.

There's no reason that Williams or Crick should not be pitching. Especially with this guy already struggling. I'm sure he's earned a callup, but this is so obviously not the time to see him.

 

[lordstanley91]

Cant tell me theres not a better manager out there.

None better

 

[lordstanley91]

Cant tell me theres not a better manager out there.

Why didn’t brault just come back out? I mean he is a multi inning/starting pitcher

 

[DJ Spinoza]

lmfao go bucs

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Lol hurdle tried his best...but players came thru and werent going to lose.

Wish there was no ASB...this team is fired up right now

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Hayes with a 2 run HR

 

[Winger for Hire]

Last time they went into a break like this, they came out and lost like 5 of 7 after the most dramatic series ever against the Cards.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

What would they likely need to get 2nd wildcard..90 wins? 65 games left. Thats 42-23 the rest of the way.

May have dug too deep of a hole. NL is wide open this year too. They should have at least 5 more wins right now, putting them at 53 and right in it.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Austin Meadows development completely f***ed by the usual turds. Very telling article about his situation in The Athletic for those interested.

Cheap and inept handling of him, per the norm here.

This team can't even tank correctly. We'll do just well enough that Hurdle will be kept on and pick outside the top 10 next year.

Just like the beginning of the year, nothing more than a tease going on. I used to feel sorry for people that invested time and energy into this club. Not anymore. You people deserve the constant let downs and piss poor management from Nutting all the way from A to Z.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Last time they went into a break like this, they came out and lost like 5 of 7 after the most dramatic series ever against the Cards.

Yeah, I think a series vs the Reds immediately after the break is pretty foreboding. On paper and totally in the abstract, having 7 games vs the Reds and Mets in the first 10 after the break is pretty close to ideal, but whether the reality will actually bare that out...

I think it's sort of a cop out to just say that it all comes down to the pitching, but it's basically true. We've seen small stretches of very concentrated good pitching, and that lays the foundation for 7-3 ten-game stretches, which we need multiple of in short order. Can the bullpen keep it up? Santana and Crick have turned into weapons, and Vazquez is as good as he's ever been. The rotation is basically built for eating 6 innings, with some guys maybe occasionally tipping over that. Can we get something consistently better from Taillon, Musgrove, and/or Kingham? If so, the foundation is right there to jump back into the thick of things.

I think it's less about the total stretch of games we'll need than it is about the next 40 games or so. We need to catapult ourselves back to 4 games behind or so in the race in the first week and a half or two after the break, and after that, pretty much all of the games besides a handful are with playoff race teams or fringe playoff race teams like us.

We're sitting about where you'd expect for the talent level of this team, except the path has been filled with the usual Pirate dramatics. I think there's enough talent assembled that if everything's clicking, they can get back to a more firmly relevant team, but at the end of the day I still think the 78-82 win range is pretty likely. I very much hope I'm wrong, and if nothing else, the last several games were a nice panacea for so much ugliness in the past two months.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I suppose in absence of El Mechon, this is pretty good:



One last thought headed into the break: it would be really nice to see a power surge out of Bell and/or Moran after the break, and maybe you can toss Dickerson in there too. The offense is running around Marte and Polanco right now, which is fine, but Polanco is definitely going to see some dry spells going forward. Bell in particular seems to have much more talent than we've seen from him, and it's obviously not a stretch to say he's been one of the most disappointing players. He's hit a bit better lately, and especially in the last handful of games, he's really crushed some balls. The rain might account for some of it, but we got plenty of evidence of how good Cain's defense is throughout the series, and he really had no chance at that one.

Even if it's just a quick surge, that would be a nice way to kick start the second half, especially in Cincy where HRs are pretty easy to come by.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Dodgers didnt give up much for Machado. Pirates should have been in on it.

 

[ImporterExporter]

LOL, Dodgets literally get Machado for the #4 Dodger prospect and a bunch of filler. I get he's a rental but for f*** sake, he's one of the 3-4 best players in the game.

I'm probably crying if I'm an O's fan. What a pathetic return.