yeah, people said the cards can be caught. No they cant.. Team is wicked awesome. Literally on pace to have their best regular season ever. Our bad luck for being in their division, oh well. Get the home game wild card game and put Cole on the mound. I like our chances..
OT between Alvarez and Polanco don't know who's
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They're finally seeing some of their draft picks and international signings make the upper levels is my guess.
Tabata had a phenomenal 2 months in 2013, but kind of reverted back to the guy that had a decent batting average that was totally empty. Sort of a Ben Revere type, but without the speed to compensate for the lack of on-base skills and power with stolen bases. He hasn't been great in AAA either, at least compared to the other guys in Indianapolis.
He always had age on his side, but now that guys like Keon Broxton, Willy Garcia, Jaff Decker, and (next year possibly) Barrett Barnes are at the level he's both older than his peers and also being outperformed by them.
Tabata was a cancer in the clubhouse, from him marrying the old lady he thought was much younger to being a bad influence on the younger guys. We were trying to get rid of him. Same with Jason Grilli, he was a total horses behind and despite being a fan favorite was someone the Pirates were trying to get rid of due to his personality.
Not in that camp is Polanco... we are giving him every chance to stick, and I think he will have a break out season in 16
I understand everything you say and readily realize you don't know what you're talking about. Also realize that you have no grasp of the history of baseball and consequently gravitate to stats to compensate for this lack of historical perspective and lack of common sense-clear insecurity on your part. I have no animosity toward you except to say that from the outset of this debate you've presented yourself as self-important, pompous and completely detached from reality. Add to that in every exchange you're the one who started throwing stones first-I have simply responded in kind. You're clearly the one who has established the tone of this discussion. No need to feel sorry for me-you're lacking in a big way.
No,
I sound like a man who has watched Nutting first as one of the principal owners of this team and now as THE owner of the team feign trying to construct a championship caliber club. And I see a bunch of fans who are 20 something's who have never seen what a championship caliber team looks like and continuously confuse this dog's breakfast of a team with a championship caliber team simply because they're starved for a winner. Losers of 20 out of the last 23 at Busch, can't beat the teams in their own division, haven't seen a base running blunder they haven' t pulled and this 10 years into the rebuild. That's it In a nutshell..
LOL. Yes, I really threw stones first by pointing out in a logical manner that Marlon Byrd is a mediocre baseball player. What an affront to your honor, Del. I even compounded the transgression by agreeing that the Cubs would pass the Pirates. How dare I just come at you like that.
And you clearly comprehend everything I say with your "I bet you love [insert something stupid that is totally unrelated]". You understand me perfectly, but can't properly convey what I'm saying. There's no logical or intellectual disconnect there at all.
I also like to think I have a decent grasp on the history, fundamentals, and mechanics of the game. I just have enough self awareness to recognize how limited my eye test is. Somebody saying "I think Aramis Ramirez is good/washed up" carries precisely 0 weight without numbers to back it up. At that point it's just a guess.
Baseball was fine in the 50's, 60's, 70's. I enjoy watching the archived games in MLB.com's vault. But, I see no reason to compare post-expansion era teams with pre-expansion era teams -- and that's without getting into the pitching differences, lack of Astro turf, and the banning of greenies/PEDs. Baseball is fine today, too, it's just a different game now. Talent is more spread out, pitching is more specialized, hitters decline faster. I don't see any reason why all variations of the game can't be enjoyed equally.
I like that platoon. Pedro against eighties, aram against lefties. I like that platoon a lot.
Actually I think he's the type of guy who wants to see them lose under Nutting so he can say be was right than win under them and admit to being wrong.
Btw, byrd batted .264 last year, and is around .240 this year. Whoopee.
Only thing he's really done well is bat against the pirates, hitting .339 against us.
Also, the pirates current record in the central is 20-29, so they actually can win against them. The 4-9 mark against the Reds is what's crushing them.
.240 is a solid average with the Pirates in case you hadn't noticed. You have a double standard? Guys on the Pirates who can't hit(more than half the team) are just great?
You do realize that majority of that half are pitchers?
Here's the list, since you obviously don't know
Marte: .285
McCutchen: .299
Polanco: ..258
Harrison: .279
Kang: ..296
Walker: .268
Cervelli: .300
Stewart: .286
Only three regulars are at or below that line: Alvarez (.238). Mercer (.242), Ramirez (somewhere around .240).
Here's the list, since you obviously don't know
Marte: .285
McCutchen: .299
Polanco: ..258
Harrison: .279
Kang: ..296
Walker: .268
Cervelli: .300
Stewart: .286
Only three regulars are at or below that line: Alvarez (.238). Mercer (.242), Ramirez (somewhere around .240).
Potential defensive nightmare. Aramis has NEVER played the position and is going to try to learn it in his last 7 weeks of his career. Pedro is beyond bad. First base has been a black hole of a position since the Pirate's resurgence. They need Josh Bell to win that job permanently next year.
Getting off the off topic here, but those dimensions were accurate. You mentioning it reminds me of a story I was told about Lou Brock's first game in that ballpark (he broke in with the Cubs and was playing center field versus the Mets, who played there until Shea Stadium was built). He misplayed a fly ball and it ended up sailing over his head and rolling to the wall. Now, mind you, this was Lou freaking Brock, in his early 20s no less, chasing after the ball, but by the time Lou tracked the ball down way out there, the batter had circled the bases.
Del,
When was the last time you actually enjoyed watching a sports team? Lord knows you have hated each of the last four pitt football coaches, jamie dixon, and apparently, the pirates.
When was the last time you actually enjoyed watching a sports team? Lord knows you have hated each of the last four pitt football coaches, jamie dixon, and apparently, the pirates.
Good question. Dude just comes off BITTER towards this stuff.. Guy actually has hate running thru his veins in that previous post. Damn, I am pissed we dropped two winnable games to the cards too but im not that nuts..
First, let's mention that the Pirates are 6-7 against the Cardinals. The Cardinals are 67-34 against everyone else.
Of the 18 clubs the Pirates have faced, they have a <.500 record against only 5, and only 2 of those are worse than 1 game under (5-7 CHC, 4-9 CIN).
Their records against the other divisions are 18-8 against the NL East, 14-2 (!!) against the NL West, and 13-7 in interleague, which is 2 more wins than any other team in baseball.
God, how do we survive such an awful season...
Like so many ballparks of that era...they were just built to fit the lot that the team owned or could get cheap in that city. Dimensions be damned.
Actually when first constructed center field was even deeper , but they brought it in when permanent bleachers were added.
I may be Mis-remembering but the lot might have been used initially for Polo Matches...
Also Willie Mays famous whirley bird catch I believe was at the PG.
and he played a shallow center field !!!
The Dodgers and Giants may have made the greatest franchise moves ever by getting out of those dumps in Brooklyn and Quenns for the golden state
The Polo grounds was literally a baseball field played on a football field. A lot of these old stadiums dimensions are crazy but that one takes the cake. 483' in center and 250' down the lines. Think Forbes at one time had such a deep outfield that they would literally have the bullpen on the field of play..
From the film clips I've seen of the Mays catch, the most a-Mays-ing thing to me was not the catch, . . . but the THROW he made from way out there!
Gonna get beat up by old timers here but the Willie Mays catch is extremely over rated.. Jim Edmonds catch is 10x better. Maybe the fact that it was in a big game. That catch today, doesn't even make the daily top 10 plays on sportscenter..
You're probably discounting the fact that Mays ran halfway to Westchester County just to make the catch.
Forbes field, at its deepest corner, was 462 ft. They kept a huge moveable batting cage (open end towards the outfield brick wall)and a flagpole in center field. The ball occasionally got lost in the ivy on the walls and the center fielder (particularly Bill Virdon) would climb up the cage to catch a fly ball. In the early days, they allowed overflow crowds to sit on the outfield grass. The Pirates bullpen was in foul territory along the left field bleachers. The visiting team's bullpen was in foul territory in right field.
As to May's catch, it was great, but those who had the great privilege of seeing Clemente play know who why he was called "The Great One". He absolutely moved like a cat (actually, a panther) in the field, on the bases and at the plate. Just watching him play was worth the price of admission. I recall a long ago interview with Willy Mays and Reggie Jackson where Mays was asked, "Who was the greatest player whom you ever played with?" Without hesitation, he stated "Roberto Clemente".
BTW, I talked with Vernon Law (Cy Young winner, 1960) the year before last, took some pictures and had him autograph a baseball. He looks in great shape and is as friendly and affable as ever.
Edit: Oops, the Visiting team's bullpen was along the LEFT field line.
As to May's catch, it was great, but those who had the great privilege of seeing Clemente play know who why he was called "The Great One". He absolutely moved like a cat (actually, a panther) in the field, on the bases and at the plate. Just watching him play was worth the price of admission. I recall a long ago interview with Willy Mays and Reggie Jackson where Mays was asked, "Who was the greatest player whom you ever played with?" Without hesitation, he stated "Roberto Clemente".
BTW, I talked with Vernon Law (Cy Young winner, 1960) the year before last, took some pictures and had him autograph a baseball. He looks in great shape and is as friendly and affable as ever.
Edit: Oops, the Visiting team's bullpen was along the LEFT field line.
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Perchance, good post. I must be thinking the batting cages and not the bullpen.. What were people thinking with a flagpole in the field of play? Kind of like the old nfl days having the field goal posts at the goal line instead of out of bounds. You don't have to be a genius to realize this is not a good idea..
All college and high school teams had wooden goal posts at that time. Receivers often used it as an obstruction to D-backs
My first Pitt game as a small boy at Pitt Stadium was a victory against Syracuse. At the gun everyone jumped over the high north end wall and attacked the goal posts. The posts into the ground were covered with multiple layers of painted burlap in the vain hope of protected a player from injury. Helping tear down the goals posts and taking a piece of that burlap are a cherished memory.
My first Pitt game as a small boy at Pitt Stadium was a victory against Syracuse. At the gun everyone jumped over the high north end wall and attacked the goal posts. The posts into the ground were covered with multiple layers of painted burlap in the vain hope of protected a player from injury. Helping tear down the goals posts and taking a piece of that burlap are a cherished memory.
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