Good morning, Pittsburgh!
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And get a load of the new food products available. Me thinks they're trying too hard. Like they want to continue gracing the top of the list of ballpark foods. Seriously, kielbasa in a batter mounted on a cone? Chocolate covered giant marshmallows on a stick served on a bowl of 'nilla ice cream. Yoi
Seems like parks around the country are always trying to find new ways to make up for the fact that the product on the field sucks more often than not. Seems like it works to some degree as every time I go to a game only about half of the people around me are actually paying attention to the action.
It's all minor league marketing. Entertainment gimmicks and crazy food to lure you to the ball park. Because the on field product is so poor, you have to find some other reason to go there. I would be more than happy with a hot dog and some popcorn if they tried to field a competitive team.
I know, Hate Nutting. OK, so do I. That's out of the way.
Now, this year's team.
The starting pitching staff is solid. Maybe the best in the Central.
When healthy, the OF is solid. Dickerson, Marte and a healthy Polanco are fine.
Starting catcher Cervelli if he can stay healthy is solid. A healthy Diaz is a good backup.
The closer is one of the best in baseball, and the back end of the pen is solid.
SS is probably going to be OK.
However, much to prove at the corners. Kang and Bell are huge question marks. Their defense goes from barely OK to atrocious. Kang showed some pop in the spring, but now it counts so he has a lot to prove. Bell HAS to hit for power and drive in runs. The verdict is out on him after his superb rookie season. He has a lot to prove.
Second base, Frazier, again has a lot to prove. Can he play the position? Can he hit enough to stay on top of the lineup?? Huge question.
Bench, when everyone is healthy, looks adequate, but who knows?? Someone will overachieve, someone will underachieve.
Hurdle is still Hurdle, so meh, but as long as he doesn't leave pitcher in too long, he'll be mostly an annoying non factor.
They'll be an interesting team to watch. They could surprise, or they may play out like last year, a .500 team.
They won't win 100, they won't lose 100. There you go.
Now, this year's team.
The starting pitching staff is solid. Maybe the best in the Central.
When healthy, the OF is solid. Dickerson, Marte and a healthy Polanco are fine.
Starting catcher Cervelli if he can stay healthy is solid. A healthy Diaz is a good backup.
The closer is one of the best in baseball, and the back end of the pen is solid.
SS is probably going to be OK.
However, much to prove at the corners. Kang and Bell are huge question marks. Their defense goes from barely OK to atrocious. Kang showed some pop in the spring, but now it counts so he has a lot to prove. Bell HAS to hit for power and drive in runs. The verdict is out on him after his superb rookie season. He has a lot to prove.
Second base, Frazier, again has a lot to prove. Can he play the position? Can he hit enough to stay on top of the lineup?? Huge question.
Bench, when everyone is healthy, looks adequate, but who knows?? Someone will overachieve, someone will underachieve.
Hurdle is still Hurdle, so meh, but as long as he doesn't leave pitcher in too long, he'll be mostly an annoying non factor.
They'll be an interesting team to watch. They could surprise, or they may play out like last year, a .500 team.
They won't win 100, they won't lose 100. There you go.
[ Too many ifs on this team. A few critical injuries and it's all over.
QUOTE="FreeportPanther, post: 2650089, member: 448"]I know, Hate Nutting. OK, so do I. That's out of the way.
Now, this year's team.
The starting pitching staff is solid. Maybe the best in the Central.
When healthy, the OF is solid. Dickerson, Marte and a healthy Polanco are fine.
Starting catcher Cervelli if he can stay healthy is solid. A healthy Diaz is a good backup.
The closer is one of the best in baseball, and the back end of the pen is solid.
SS is probably going to be OK.
However, much to prove at the corners. Kang and Bell are huge question marks. Their defense goes from barely OK to atrocious. Kang showed some pop in the spring, but now it counts so he has a lot to prove. Bell HAS to hit for power and drive in runs. The verdict is out on him after his superb rookie season. He has a lot to prove.
Second base, Frazier, again has a lot to prove. Can he play the position? Can he hit enough to stay on top of the lineup?? Huge question.
Bench, when everyone is healthy, looks adequate, but who knows?? Someone will overachieve, someone will underachieve.
Hurdle is still Hurdle, so meh, but as long as he doesn't leave pitcher in too long, he'll be mostly an annoying non factor.
They'll be an interesting team to watch. They could surprise, or they may play out like last year, a .500 team.
They won't win 100, they won't lose 100. There you go.[/QUOTE]
QUOTE="FreeportPanther, post: 2650089, member: 448"]I know, Hate Nutting. OK, so do I. That's out of the way.
Now, this year's team.
The starting pitching staff is solid. Maybe the best in the Central.
When healthy, the OF is solid. Dickerson, Marte and a healthy Polanco are fine.
Starting catcher Cervelli if he can stay healthy is solid. A healthy Diaz is a good backup.
The closer is one of the best in baseball, and the back end of the pen is solid.
SS is probably going to be OK.
However, much to prove at the corners. Kang and Bell are huge question marks. Their defense goes from barely OK to atrocious. Kang showed some pop in the spring, but now it counts so he has a lot to prove. Bell HAS to hit for power and drive in runs. The verdict is out on him after his superb rookie season. He has a lot to prove.
Second base, Frazier, again has a lot to prove. Can he play the position? Can he hit enough to stay on top of the lineup?? Huge question.
Bench, when everyone is healthy, looks adequate, but who knows?? Someone will overachieve, someone will underachieve.
Hurdle is still Hurdle, so meh, but as long as he doesn't leave pitcher in too long, he'll be mostly an annoying non factor.
They'll be an interesting team to watch. They could surprise, or they may play out like last year, a .500 team.
They won't win 100, they won't lose 100. There you go.[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
Lots of ifs for sure. But ifs are pretty much the name of the game in baseball.
Aside from a few superstars, last year is no guarantee for this year.
Starting pitching SHOULD allow the Pirates to stick around a while.
