I'd say the Nicolas experiment needs to end. After that atrocity yesterday, his passed ball cost us today's game.
The Buccos
- Thread starter Pittisit4me
- Start date
On the TV broadcast they said the catcher was setting up expecting breaking ball ... hard to fault the catcher when that pitch ends up not breaking at all and crosses the plate at above shoulder height.
Bottom of the 9th. Reynolds. Worst AB of the year. After watching Tellez swing at sinkers in the dirt and needing to lift the ball for a sac fly to win. Swings at a pitch that was never a strike leaving the Cubs pitcher’s hand. Haines just standing there at the corner of the dugout.
It’s a good thing they elected not to re-sign Carlos Santana…
I'm all for firing Haines if people think "we need to do something" but I hope you realize it makes no difference. Most MLB hitters have their own routines/batting drills/private hitting advice/etc that it is unlikely they pay much attention at all to their team hitting coach other than for logistics (soft toss is at 1pm, live hitting at 2pm).
I never thought I would post something so stupid and mean it.
I could manage this team better than Shelton. There I said it, does he actually watch this and not have any intuition as to what is happening right before his eyes?
I could manage this team better than Shelton. There I said it, does he actually watch this and not have any intuition as to what is happening right before his eyes?
The bullpen has put on an absolute masterclass the past two series…
Anyone watching this Bucs/Cubs game? I got it on with a dual monitor at work and Skenes has SIX strikeouts through two innings!
Looks like I jinxed it... only seven strikeouts through three innings now.Anyone watching this Bucs/Cubs game? I got it on with a dual monitor at work and Skenes has SIX strikeouts through two innings!
We can't! If these guys can get the bats going tho, with Skenes, Jones, and Keller, we should have plenty of chances to win ball games the Rest of the season as long as those 3 remain healthy.
Skenes-Jones-Keller is legitimately a championship caliber top three. Like you said, need to score more runs and they’ll at least contend for a wild card spot.
I always think it's a good idea to have pitchers with completely different styles following each other.
Martin Perez might work well in that role too.
When you have a 9-1 lead in the 8th inning, how are you not just throwing the ball right down the middle and saying "here, see if you can hit it?"
Although, scary thought, maybe he can't throw the ball right down the middle even when he's trying to.
Although, scary thought, maybe he can't throw the ball right down the middle even when he's trying to.
So... Rowdy Tellez. It's time, right? I know they optioned Suwinski today and Joe isn't hitting a damn thing, but there's just no way you can continue to give this guy a uniform.
Uh, maybe it's time to move Bailey Falter to the bullpen out of necessity. What a clown show.
Absolutely pathetic what’s happened the past two games. Great starts by our two young aces have gone to waste.
This had to be one of the odder series in a while. The first two games were almost exact inverses of each other (including the costly 9th inning fielding errors). And then the bullpen collapsed yet again today. It was as if they agreed to a deal where the pitchers for the team with the late lead had to throw from 75 feet away.
Thought we finally stole one to make up for some other bullpen disasters, and now we're even more in the hole in that department. Just... Buccos.
The bullpen, thought to be a strength before the season started, has proven to be more useless than tits on a bull.
Joe is slashing .268/.337/.446. That's actually decent. I mean not great by any means, but pretty good.
Don't be messing with us Joes!
I'm talking about lately. He was like 1 for his last 20 or something last time I watched him bat. He's been okay overall, but he was hitting .280-something not long ago.
He also looks like he should be adorning a robe and carrying a candle in a temple someplace, but I can't decide if this temple is Godly or Satanic.
He's been DFA for two seasons if that stands for Disappointing Fat Ass or Dismal F'ing Averages. Wouldn't surprise me if he was a Doughnut Frosting Admirer, either.
It looks like the Pirates answered the question tonight, how big a lead do the Pirates need so even their bullpen can't blow the game.
The answer is 11.
The answer is 11.
For as many disappointments as there’ve been this season, the biggest bright spot (aside from Skenes and Jones) is the resurgence of Nick Gonzales. I’m glad they didn’t give up on him because he’s absolutely killed it since getting re-called.
Right about Gonzales, but don't sleep on Bailey Falter. He has been glue as the 4th starter. No one saw that coming, especially after his disastrous first inning of the season.
That's 4 solid SP's, and Perez is a more than adequate #5.
Now, the bullpen?? Need Bednar back to form.
Then, hope a couple of the others figure it out.
Get Hayes back, hope Swinski turns it around, dump Telez, and they should have a legitimate shot at a WC at least.
I would add, teach some patience to Cruz at the plate. If he can learn to wait and stay back on all the breaking stuff he is seeing, he could be one of the most devastating batters ever. Right now, he thinks everything is going to be a fastball and is completely off balance on the off speed stuff.
Again, I think they are waiting for Hayes to come off the DL and then DFA Tellez. Depending where we are in mid July, I would look to possibly pull off a big trade with bats with some term left from say the A's or White Sox.
One thing that it seems fans forget on a pretty frequent basis is that sometimes guys come up and don't perform well the first time and get sent back the to minors. And then they play a little more, get some more experience, figure some things out, and when they come back up the second time they are fine.
It looks like that may be what has happened with Gonzales (it's certainly too early to say for sure). Now Henry Davis is killing it in Indianapolis (.315/.456/1.197 with 6 homes in 54 abs). Let's hope he's the next one who gets sent down, figures it out, and comes back and plays well.
He has certainly been much, much better than I was expecting. I figured he'd be the rotation black hole until someone was ready to come up from the minors to replace him. Instead he's been about as good as you could have hoped for. Maybe better.
When Davis went to Indy, they immediately changed his batting stance and style back to what it was in college. You know, the one that made him one of the premiere D1 hitters in his class.
When he went to Pittsburgh, they tinkered with his stance and it just about ruined him. Now he's more open, bat flatter, and he's raking again.
I swear the Pirates hitting coach must be working undercover for the Cubs and Brewers!
I've said before, I'm not big on firing assistant coaches. The head guy should be able to hire whomever they want, and the failure of an assistant is a reflection on them as much as it is the assistant. But the fact that the Pirates still employ Andy Haines is every bit as baffling as the Stillers holding on to Matt Canada for as long as they did.
Not that long ago it was totally acceptable for a player to basically say "No thanks" when adjustments were being suggested by ML coaches....not sure if that is still in the culture or not.
While they’re judgement calls passed balls are absolutely on the catcher. Wild pitches are on the pitcher.
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