OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

[ColePens]

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[Cherpak]

Why?

 

[ColePens]

I followed and went to games during the worst of times for the Buccos and I felt like the fan base had more optimism than it does right now. There is a very very dark cloud over the fan base and now more than ever it feels like they have given up.

 

[Brandinho]

This really is the defining moment in NH's tenure. What he does over the next month can get us back on track or close the window for good.

 

[Brandinho]

I followed and went to games during the worst of times for the Buccos and I felt like the fan base had more optimism than it does right now. There is a very very dark cloud over the fan base and now more than ever it feels like they have given up.

Agreed, but I think that's primarily because we finally got another taste of greatness and then watched as the plate was taken away before we ate more than a few bites. That hurts a lot more than just being bad every year.

 

[Cherpak]

I'm starting to really think this may be the last month for McCutchen and possibly Cole.

 

[DanielPlainview]

What did they have, 17 lob? Inexcusable.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I view Gerrit Cole this year the way I viewed Sonny Gray last year...I just see him doing enough damage to his trade value that there's no reason to do so when you don't have to. Kick the can down the road unless someone knocks your socks off.

McCutchen, on the other hand...

 

[Brandinho]

I view Gerrit Cole this year the way I viewed Sonny Gray last year...I just see him doing enough damage to his trade value that there's no reason to do so when you don't have to. Kick the can down the road unless someone knocks your socks off.

McCutchen, on the other hand...

Agreed. Cole is infuriating to watch, but I think it'd be shortsighted to sell low on him and I don't see anybody paying for the ace version of Cole when he's pitching like a bottom of the rotation starter.

With that said, it's really starting to look like 2015 was an outlier and that's pretty scary.

 

[Cherpak]

I view Gerrit Cole this year the way I viewed Sonny Gray last year...I just see him doing enough damage to his trade value that there's no reason to do so when you don't have to. Kick the can down the road unless someone knocks your socks off.

McCutchen, on the other hand...

Agree that Cole shouldn't be sold low. Just hope NH doesn't panic and do something stupid.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

This really is the defining moment in NH's tenure. What he does over the next month can get us back on track or close the window for good.

Yep, it's not an enviable position to be in, but he's gotta be decisive and do something to reshuffle the deck.

More gaudy K numbers for Glasnow, with 11 over 5.2 today. He gave up 2 runs and walked 3, which isn't going to work, but I'm still more interested in pitch selection and location. According to Brian Peloza of PP, he didn't get a close third strike and then gave up a HR to the same guy on the next pitch, which accounts for one of the runs. I was watching the gameday earlier and the one walk I saw was thanks to not getting calls which were right on the edge of the zone, so who knows. Sounds like he was basically sitting at 98 for the whole start.

He needs to be down there basically for good this season, and maybe you reassess for a cup of coffee in September.

Unless the term turns around on a dime, Huntington better be aggressive in selling off the impending free agents, even if it's just for middling assets. Normally I'd be in favor of a more tentative approach with supplementary guys like Freese, but this team is going nowhere even if Cole shapes up and we get Marte back. We've already wasted at least 10 or so extremely winnable games against bad teams, i.e., teams that are as bad as us. The division is going to continue to be a complete joke, maybe the Brewers will make some smart additions and actually walk away with it, or maybe somebody else will get hot and take it. Maybe the Pirates will even do it thanks to something a bit unforseen, like Polanco and Bell lining up for insane hot streaks at the same time or something for two weeks.

But there's no reason to play for it anymore, which means there's every reason to dangle Cutch out there and hope for some blue chip prospects in return. Take the best deal you can get for organizational strength, and then look to how you're going to retool for the immediate future.

I've been bashing them left and right in the irrational hope that they wouldn't go out there and **** all over themselves against the Giants, but this team is so depressingly predictable that I'm not sure any of us is even the least bit surprised at this turn of events.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

In the very small sample size of 4 starts, Glasnow is looking like he's still back to square one with the walks, but has elevated to another level with the K rate. He's a handful of strikeouts away from averaging 2 per inning, which is completely insane. I'd like to see some reports on how he's pitching, but it seems like he still has plenty of question marks. The really high K rate and return of the hard heat are promising signs, and maybe indicate that his fastball is playing better, but it's still hard to tell based only on a handful of stats. On paper about the only thing you can say is that it's nice that the Ks have come back, and that he needs to cut the walks in half, basically.

Almost as a matter of principle, he shouldn't get the next start. Kuhl pitched very well today, all things considered, and I think well enough to stay in the rotation for now. If he can't more or less repeat this kind of start, maybe 6+ innings of 3 Rs, against the worst offense in baseball, then I don't think there's any reason not to give Brault a try after the all star break.

Hoping to at least see Williams enjoy his success. I have definitely underrated him. His workman like presence is a huge boost to this flailing team, and the big velocity coupled with occasional good K numbers suggests that his upside could be fairly reasonable. Normally I'd say that as long as he stays healthy, he could be a reasonable backend of the rotation guy, kind of like what we got from Brandon Cumpton once upon a time before he got hurt, but I think if he does stay healthy, he has more like middle of the rotation kind of stuff. I'd been writing him off as more of a swingman type, certainly still useful in MLB, but I've been really impressed with what he's shown for the most part this year.

 

[Cherpak]

In the very small sample size of 4 starts, Glasnow is looking like he's still back to square one with the walks, but has elevated to another level with the K rate. He's a handful of strikeouts away from averaging 2 per inning, which is completely insane. I'd like to see some reports on how he's pitching, but it seems like he still has plenty of question marks. The really high K rate and return of the hard heat are promising signs, and maybe indicate that his fastball is playing better, but it's still hard to tell based only on a handful of stats. On paper about the only thing you can say is that it's nice that the Ks have come back, and that he needs to cut the walks in half, basically.

Almost as a matter of principle, he shouldn't get the next start. Kuhl pitched very well today, all things considered, and I think well enough to stay in the rotation for now. If he can't more or less repeat this kind of start, maybe 6+ innings of 3 Rs, against the worst offense in baseball, then I don't think there's any reason not to give Brault a try after the all star break.

Hoping to at least see Williams enjoy his success. I have definitely underrated him. His workman like presence is a huge boost to this flailing team, and the big velocity coupled with occasional good K numbers suggests that his upside could be fairly reasonable. Normally I'd say that as long as he stays healthy, he could be a reasonable backend of the rotation guy, kind of like what we got from Brandon Cumpton once upon a time before he got hurt, but I think if he does stay healthy, he has more like middle of the rotation kind of stuff. I'd been writing him off as more of a swingman type, certainly still useful in MLB, but I've been really impressed with what he's shown for the most part this year.

He won the starter job out of ST IMO. Glad to see he is earning some respect.

 

[Steve Durbano]

Agree that Cole shouldn't be sold low. Just hope NH doesn't panic and do something stupid.

I think he dumps Cole. The dust up with Hurdle in the dugout (IMO) is probably just the tip of the iceberg with how Cole is in the locker room. I didn't like him showing up Bell at all, even if it was a terrible play.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Today's lineup is like a brutal embrace of the end of the season. No Cutch, Harrison, or Freese.

 

[Asuna]

i may be one of the few...but it's nice to see moroff in there again. he's been brutal so far this year, but i'm interested to see if he can continue to show the power he showed in aaa earlier this year.

 

[Cherpak]

i may be one of the few...but it's nice to see moroff in there again. he's been brutal so far this year, but i'm interested to see if he can continue to show the power he showed in aaa earlier this year.

He first needs to make contact with the ball before I worry about his power.

 

[Asuna]

He first needs to make contact with the ball before I worry about his power.

for sure

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I don't actually have a huge problem with the Sunday lineup today. The urge I have to complain about it is the (blazingly obvious, given my frequency of posts with these phrases) lingering hope for some kind of winning streak that I have hanging around. This team is done, might as well make sure the tradeable assets get reasonably often rest.

About the only thing worth hoping for in this is that Polanco can continue to get back to the player he's capable of being. And that Williams turns in another solid performance.

 

[TNT87]

Hurdle said that Cutch will remain in CF when Marte returns.

Pirates are hitting the ball well but so far no runs.

 

[TNT87]

And Mercer just hits a two run homer.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Williams is currently pitching like the best pitcher on the Pirates. The Giants are Actually Pretty Bad, despite what we've mostly seen in this series, but this is still pretty impressive. He's consistently executing all of his pitches with great movement and looks to be in total control on the mound at all times. And he's doing this across starts, not really making it look like it's a sudden hot streak. You can basically count on him for 6++ IP of nearly shutout ball, where the opposing team has to be pretty much perfect to even put a dent in him.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

And of course, because this is a garbage team, Williams ends up with a slight control slip against the only good Giants hitters and is now probably going to lose.

What a ****ing joke. There's literally not a more textbook time to go to your best pitcher, and Hurdle pulls Williams, who is probably still fine, for Watson. Any feeling that Watson isn't complete and total trash is a complete illusion. Unreal - swept by the Giants. Hopefully the Phillies will keep it going and we can take our place among the worst in the league, where we belong. We know the Reds will help drag us down there later in the season.

 

[ColePens]

Watson on the struggles.

 

[ColePens]

DJ - you are one of the more positive baseball minds around here. You are pretty fed up right now, eh?