OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: The Condemned of Altoona

[Return of the Paek]

Strangely, the worst thing for the Pirates would be if Trevor pitches lights-out tonight because it would probably buy him 4 more starts. I think he is proving to be a right-handed Jeff Locke and with Clint's long-leash, he will be pitching into mid-July if tonight is a good start. Obviously, I hope he pitches well, but fear the fall-out. It should be Kingham up here in Trevor's spot. I would honestly give Glasnow a shot before Trevor if he falters again.

Really hope Polanco is turning a corner with yesterday's great day at the plate. I can't understand why Osuna is not up and they aren't shutting Bell down for a couple weeks. He has been a nightmare at the plate (maybe he has been better lately, but I haven't watched much since the DBacks debacle). Plus, Osuna has been mashing at AAA.

Not sure why, other than the fact we are paying him $5m, that we haven't cut our losses with SROD yet. I would love to see Moroff, Newman or Kramer (in addition to the obvious Jung Ho) get a shot with the big club. I think those guys aren't really getting much benefit at AAA, other than the extra ABs...

Will Craig is tearing it up recently at AA. Maybe I was wrong about him...thought he was a complete bust.

Who does everyone think is gone at the deadline? I think the following (in no particular order) all have a shot of being traded based on value, salary (Bob Nutting special), role moving forward and/or suitable replacements in the system (Cervelli, Jay Hay, and Nova, assuming he keeps pitching well, would be the worst losses):

1. Jay Hay
2.Cervelli
3. Nova
4. Jordy
5. Dickerson
6. Freese
7. SROD-----To a local Men's league softball team where he would ride the bench


The worst thing about losing the first 3 above-listed guys, is that it would more or less be a purely financial move. I think those guys have value, but I highly doubt the Pirates really get a great offer for any of them. I would be fine if the money saved was re-invested in the team; however, we know it won't be. Instead the fans will be blamed for the Pirates having to make cost-cutting moves. In sum, I would rather those guys stay and we make a run at it in '19 (you could add Dickerson to guys I would still want even if he's a 4th OF).

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Bell's been a lot better lately, though for me the jury is still out in terms of what kind of player he'll be. He's regressed this year when we need to see him advance.

I don't really expect much activity at the deadline. If we continue treading water enough, I could see something marginal like a bullpen arm. If we regress a bit, I could see Harrison or Nova being dealt, which would essentially be salary relief and moving towards younger players. Maybe Freese as a veteran bench bat would garner some B prospects.

I'm a little indifferent about the idea of moving players. If Kang produces, then Harrison becomes somewhat moot. If he doesn't, I'd just as soon keey Harrison as a catalyst. If Nova could bring back some decent prospects, then it might be worth it from a depth perspective, but in general I don't expect any of these guys to command a big return. Cervelli's a real darkhorse. If we go full seller and a team gets desperate enough, then getting a very good return on a catcher who's having a career year becomes something hard to turn down.

But I expect the team to play just well enough to stay relevant, which means maybe a small upgrade somewhere.

 

[Return of the Paek]

Cervelli's a real darkhorse. If we go full seller and a team gets desperate enough, then getting a very good return on a catcher who's having a career year becomes something hard to turn down.

What would you consider a "very good return."

 

[DanielPlainview]

If Kang returns and plays SS well, then Mercer could be moved. If he plays 2B, Harrison. Any other moves I can't see really mattering, and I don't buy into the idea they want to move Dickerson this year.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Hard to say in the abstract, but something including a top-100 prospect or otherwise good young player. If it's not there I'd just as soon take the chance that Cervelli stays healthy and performs in his contract year. It's so difficult to find good catchers, and I think there's enough worry about trading for them that nobody is going to pony up something unless they are desperate.

I guess the fits would be the Red Sox and Twins, but neither have too much in the way of a system. In any case, I don't see the Pirates in the position where they need to do many trades. There's depth and young talent spread around, but our problem is that we need it to either perform better or take it to the next level. The kinds of things we need to get this team to the next level won't be acquired by trade, which is why I'm fine standing pat except for maybe Nova.

The exceptions to that would all be adding at the deadline, but those options range from wildly unrealistic (Thor, DeGrom) to exceedingly unlikely (Fulmer). Fulmer would definitely be somewhat worth targeting, but who knows what kind of trade it would take, or why the Tigers would seek to move him now.

 

[cheesedanish87]

No Meadows in the lineup.

This will be the 3rd game in the last 6 that he isn't in the lineup.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Dickerson is definitely due for a game down, and Polanco will be as well. Important to keep an eye on whether that happens in the remainder of the series.

Looks like a cluster of moves today too: Osuna back up, Rodriguez activated, Neverausaks and Stallings to Indy. I guess this opens the door for Osuna to be replaced with Kang in a couple of weeks.

 

[DanielPlainview]

Glad to see Osuna up. About time

 

[Return of the Paek]

Agreed. I would be giving Osuna at least 1 of 3 games in the near term. Unless Bell gets really hot which doesn't look like it is going to happen this year...

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Chacin could pitch the rest of the series at this rate.

Way to get some runs for Williams. They have no problem doing that when hes letting up 4 or more runs every game.


6 hits and no runs so far because of being caught trying to steal twice.

 

[lordstanley91]

That hasn’t been a strike all game.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Mercer gets them on board.

Still no faith in Rivzquez to close it out in the 9th. Id rather skip him this game. Cant lose after this.

Or at least pull him when he lets two batters on with no outs this time. You know hes gonna be nervous. Brewers had 1 hit all game. Odds are theyll get their 2nd hit in their first at bat against him.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Lol hurdle.

So easy to predict

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Dont know what the Brewers were doing there after Yelich. Vazquez had one pitch in the zone in all 3 of those at bats. If they laid off he walks 2 at least.

We got lucky there. But great start by Williams. Glad to see Brewers bailing out Vazquez(Hurdle) at the end.

 

[DanielPlainview]

Nice to see Williams finally right the ship. It'd been a long time coming.

I suppose tomorrow will be Dickerson's turn to sit, and it might be good timing. He's been in a bit of a slump the past week or so, and the Pirates need to do everything they can to get to 2-0 in this series. That's probably the only change I'd make to tonight's lineup. They'll have Taillon on the mound, whose been pitching well lately. It's a big opportunity.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Just caught up on the game. Missed it live, and was genuinely on the fence about whether to watch it without commercials. Really, just a great game all around. Probably Williams best start of the season, combining his longstanding efficiency with the strikeout stuff... if he can tap into that some more, it will be a huge boost, but I think performances like this are what make him a very useful player to have around. I'm willing to be proven wrong with some peripherals or something, but I've not understood this Williams as a right-handed Locke sentiment that's been going around. Locke's stats are probably boosted because of that insane run he had, but to me, Locke was always pretty much a disaster, while Williams is more of a steady backend guy. More often than not, he's able to get about 6 innings and keep the team in the game. His previous starts were disasters, but earlier in the season, he was rattling off 6 IP, 2 R starts like they weren't even a challenge. Hopefully he's broken out of it.

The things that left a sour taste in my mouth were the stolen bases. I guess Cervelli just missed a sign, and it's probably not the worst call in the world. Polanco's was bullshit - some of that technique is on him, but it seemed more like the kind of gummed up fluky play that shows the limitations of replay.

I don't think Vazquez got lucky, as stressful as he is to watch at this point. His slider is a very good pitch, and it bodes well that he's using it in key spots. Besides the pitch tipping, he seems to get into trouble when he's tryng to force the fastball and changeup combination to work. Even his curveball is very useful, despite Yellich putting a good swing on it for the hit if memory serves.

The other, obvious sour taste is still that loss yesterday. We'd be another full game up, and really exerting a little more pressure on the Brewers. But, that and hopefully the streak of disaster baseball are behind us, and what we've got to do now is consistently win some series. This game seemed like an incredible longshot, so it's amazing that we're in a very strong place to take two out of three.

 

[Brandinho]

More of that kind of pitching, please. Last I checked, we were 8th in total offense, but 22nd in pitching.

 

[Brandinho]

Strangely, the worst thing for the Pirates would be if Trevor pitches lights-out tonight because it would probably buy him 4 more starts. I think he is proving to be a right-handed Jeff Locke and with Clint's long-leash, he will be pitching into mid-July if tonight is a good start. Obviously, I hope he pitches well, but fear the fall-out. It should be Kingham up here in Trevor's spot. I would honestly give Glasnow a shot before Trevor if he falters again.

That's really harsh on Williams. His WAR from this half season alone (14 starts) is higher than Locke's career WAR, 0.6 versus -1.1 (-0.1 if you only count his Pirates career).

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I'm hoping the pitching is contagious. A lot rides on Taillon and Musgrove, but if the solid Williams is back and Kuhl keeps it up, the starting pitching should at least tick up above average, and combined with the matchups, might be enough to get us winning a good number of series before the break. If we can do that and avoid any slides, we'll be at least right in the thick of things, even if we're at the bottom. A well-timed 5 game winning streak or something would be a nice jumpstart, as would making up the decifit so that it's just two games or so at the break, but getting back to winning a good number of series will be plenty to climb back into relevance.

Don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but this sure would be an amazing series to sweep. I expect more struggles from the offense, but we have Taillon going, and then Kuhl, who definitely had his best start of the season vs Milwaukee when we were on the road there several weeks ago.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Good morning.

 

[cheesedanish87]

No Meadows again.

I hate this team.

Just go head and send him down NH, we know that's what you want to do so you can avoid the super two.

 

[Return of the Paek]

No Meadows again.

I hate this team.

Just go head and send him down NH, we know that's what you want to do so you can avoid the super two.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Typical. Polanco has a couple good games and Meadows is relegated to the bench full time.....trash manager.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Will Craig has 5 dingers in his last 6 games. 11 on the year. Down in Altooooooona.

 

[DanielPlainview]