2012 Pirates Season Thread

[Buczilla]

Jeff Clement... now there's a name I haven't heard in years. I didn't even realize he was still in the Pirates' system. I agree though. Barajas is a stiff and has been getting outplayed by McKenry. I didn't like the Barmes signing when it happened. I just refuse to see signing a utility player to a multi-year deal - and at $5M per, it's just not smart spending of limited funds. Mercer at least gives the Bucs a player with some upside.

Just imagine if the Pirates saved the $12M they spent on Barajas, Barmes and McLouth and used it to sign Willingham, Cuddyer or Kubel instead and found cheaper (or in-house) options at C & SS.

Unfortunately, the Pirates aren't spenders. What often happens in the offseason is that they're left to choose from the scraps and even then they need to overpay in order to lure a player their way. It happened here in Philly thru the 90s and early 00s. Being that, the team then tends to give too much playing time to these marginal players simply to justify the sunk cost.

I used to love the Bucs/Phils rivalry when I was a kid. I used to love to hate Ed Ott and Bruce Kison. But I've always respected their once great history. I'd really like to see them get back to that and really become relevant once more.

BTW, I heard thru some local beat writer twitter feeds that the Pirates may have talked to the Phillies about Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino.

All Buczilla wants is an every day player that plays the OF or 1B, who can drop 20-30 bombs and takes walks at a respectable rate. That and a SS, any SS not named Barmes. An OPS+ of 45? It gets better, he is our second highest paid player this season. If you have been paying attention, the only way we get that kind of bopper in our lineup via trade is if the other party decides to go along and pick up a bunch of ones salary. Another thing Neal does and he mentioned learning his lesson(which he hasn't - keep reading) is he over values his systems talent. Over the weekend I believe it was, Neal tried to swing a deal with KC....Billy Butler for Justin Wilson straight up(while Justin was pitching like crap).

[Buczilla]

Just imagine if the Pirates saved the $12M they spent on Barajas, Barmes and McLouth and used it to sign Willingham, Cuddyer or Kubel instead and found cheaper (or in-house) options at C & SS.

Look at those three at home and away. Cuddyer and Kubel call hitters parks home, while Willingham takes his hacks at a pretty neutral ballpark and is nowhere near the player he is at home on the road. All three wouldn't do well at PNC.

[Blue387]

Pirates Contend for Playoffs, and McCutchen for M.V.P.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/sp...pagewanted=all

Nice to see the Pirates getting some national attention from the Times.

[Buczilla]

That is awesome. I have been saying for years that winning changes everything. It is nice to be able to find sports sections, sites, magazines, etc showcasing the Pirates and not just locally because they had to or nationally without being the butt of some joke.

[Buczilla]

Look at those three at home and away. Cuddyer and Kubel call hitters parks home, while Willingham takes his hacks at a pretty neutral ballpark and is nowhere near the player he is at home on the road. All three wouldn't do well at PNC.

I think I was being a bit drastic with my last sentence. All three would be an upgrade over what we have. Willingham would be the better of the three. The Twins have came out and said they weren't moving him. Personally I wouldn't touch Kubel or Cuddyer with a ten foot pole.

[Buczilla]

Kind of an intriguing article here... InsidePittsburghSports.com Perrotto

Personally, I'd rather work something a bit different. I'd rather see a third team get involved where Pence moves to the Bucs, Marte moves to San Diego and Chase Headley goes to Philly. Philly and/or Pitt would maybe have to swing another 1-2 lesser parts to SD. But I think that's the kind of deal that works for all three sides.

I've been a fan of Headley since the day he was drafted and the Philly's took a 3B stiff instead. I'd like to see him here. Pence gives the Bucs that extra power bat in the lineup and would fit nicely at #5 behind McCutchen & Alvarez.

I don't know if you been following tonight, but Marte is the next Babe Ruth, seriously. I heard it all over the FAN from the broadcasters to all the fans. They expect big things and boat loads of homeruns. They stated that the kid has nerves of steel for taking that swing on the first pitch of his career. I can't believe this legend was given the chance to arrive. It was only Sunday our trusty GM told us on the radio that Starling needed to put in more work. He needed to cut down on those strikeouts and become more patient. He needed work on his base stealing. 8 hits later, welcome to the show buddy.

A legend was born tonight. Bigger, better and brighter things are to be expected.

Now that I am done being sarcastic. Marte can hit and hit well in a Manny Sanguillen kind of way. He strikes out alot and as you know by now, there isn't a pitch he is afraid to chase/hit. His whole game revolves around contact, he won't walk much. He can flat out fly, but he is terrible at swiping bases. He is not a monster homerun hitter.

I don't think he is going anywhere now. Alot of folks think Grossman had bigger upside down the road. The reason we didn't see him sooner was because I believe they were trying to deal him, at the same time they were trying to not have him exposed for what he truly is in the majors. Neal probably went big like he always does and got the good old hang up.

Neal has stated numerously over the past couple of weeks that the Buccos aren't looking for rentals. He has also stated that he is looking for players who remain under team control for quite a few years. Which leads one to believe they will snag someone in there 20's. Not a superstar and not a non superstar making superstar money. So I doubt he would touch either of those Philly boys, especially Victorino.

If Neal was smart he would try to land Headley and get it over with and move Pedro to first.

[Buczilla]

With their 57th win last night, the Bucs have as many wins as they had in the entire 2010 season.

Their 112 HR is five more than they hit in all of last year.

The Pirates are averaging 1.13 HR per game. They are on pace to hit 183, 12 more than the team record of 171 set in 1999.

Thus far, the Pirates pitchers 7.32 SO/9 is their highest mark in franchise history.

With that said the Buccos are on pace to break the teams strike out record on both sides of the ball.

By averaging 2.4 TB a game, Cutch is on pace to pick up 379 TB....10 more than Kiki Cuyler team record.

By striking out an average of 1.18 times per game, Pedro is on pace to pick up 182 SO.....passing Craig Wilson's team record of 169.

JMac is 90 K's away from becoming the Buccos first right handed pitcher to top 200.

With 63 more game to go, the Hammer is 15 saves away from Mike Williams team record of 46.

[Buczilla]

With a win in Houston today, the Pirates could win 5 in a row for the second time this month(and for the season). A win today would also give them a .500 record on the road for the first time this season.

Speaking of the road.... With two more homers last night the Pirates have tied the Yankees for the most HR hit on the road this season, 71. The Bucs are tied with Washington behind only the Yankees for slugging away, .423.

The Pirates are road warriors with the sticks, with the ball Pirate pitching has an ERA of 4.60.... 2.23 points higher than their MLB leading ERA of 2.37 at home.

[Buczilla]

With Garrett Jones' HR today, the Bucs have now homered in 19 straight road games, one away from a tie for the NL record shared by the 1953 Dodgers and 2000 Astros.

[Buczilla]

Jmac, 20 ER, 28 H and 19 BB in his past 4 games(20.2 IP). That is good for an ERA of 8.74 and a WHIP of 2.28. He has pitched 4 games in 17 days. Hope they can straighten him out.

On the flip side, with Kevin Correia's body language when the Wandy trade was announced....his constant pouting and now his request to be traded after laying a huge egg today. It's time to cut this cancer before it spreads. This is a close knit bunch, in the run for the playoffs and he wants to put himself above the team. I say trade him tomorrow for cash to the Rockies. As one could tell from earlier posts of mine in this thread, I have never liked Correia.

The Pirates are now 0-5 this season in games Cutch doesn't play or start in(todays game was the only one of the five he entered).

[Buczilla]

Another Bedard start where he is cruising looking amazing and he just loses it and loses it bad all at one time.

[Buczilla]

The Pirates have acquired Travis Snider from the Blue Jays for Brad Lincoln.

[Ben Grimm]

I like Snider a lot. Great power potential. His biggest issue is pitch recognition in the majors. If he figures it out, the Pirates found a nice young middle of the order run producer.

[Buczilla]

I like Snider a lot. Great power potential. His biggest issue is pitch recognition in the majors. If he figures it out, the Pirates found a nice young middle of the order run producer.

I agree, this now keeps McGehee and Presley out of the lineup and we don't have to see much of Drew Sutton....that is if he can be productive with the stick. Snider definately has the power(and the best nickname in baseball: Lunchbox Hero), I don't believe he is as good as his AAA numbers show him to be though. The PCL is notorious for being a hitters league. Hopefully a change of scenary does him a world of good. He is still young and just like Pedro it is still too early to write off his potential with only 242 games played and only 917 PA.

[Buczilla]

AJ was straight dealing tonight. First CG one hitter since Todd Ritchie did it to KC back on 2001. Too bad he lost that no-no. He keeps up his winning ways and he'll be the Pirates first 20 game winner since John Smiley did it back in 1991.

Snider looked good in his Pirate debut. Andrew was great again and Neil went deep for a grand slam. Great game all around. Pedro even picked up his 18th multi hit game of the season.

[Buczilla]

As for the trades, I am satisfied with them. I do wish they would have went after a SS though. McGehee for Qualls was a salary dump. Qualls won't be here next season. Sanchez is a decent bat to play with, especially if he can hit like he did the first half of his rookie season and the first half of last season. He will be under team control until 2016 and he is making peanuts. Gorkys Hernández's slap hitting wasn't gonna make it here. I remember reading in Baseball Prospectus a couple years ago that he was highly regarded, but never enough to hold on to(he finally makes the big time and is now on his 4th organization). I know nothing about that pitcher we got in return from Miami except he has a nice SO/BB ratio(around 4)....it's keeping from getting lit up for hits is where he fails. We'll see what becomes of him if anything.

[BeatEmBucs]

WOW! What a performance by AJ tonight. He's doing what an ace is supposed to do...end losing streaks! It did help he had a 4-0 lead before ever having to throw a pitch tonight, and it's great he tosses the Bucs first 1-hitter since 2001. As for the trades, I think it has helped make the team better. I am wary of Qualls, (he always seemed shaky when he pitched against us with Philly and Houston) but it seemed that trade was mediocrity-for-mediocrity, and it's good that Watson isn't the only lefty in the pen anymore. I'm hopeful Gaby Sanchez can step up at 1st when there are lefties on the mound. Now we enter August, where it all fell apart last year. I'm hoping the Bucs can finish with a winning record for the 4th straight month!

[Blue387]

Burnett pitched very well.

Not sure what Neal Huntington saw in Qualls. He pitched for the Phillies and the Mets were able to score runs off the guy.

[Buczilla]

After 104 games the Bucs have a record of 60-44. At this same point in time last season the Buccos were 54-50. It took the 2011 squad 23 more games to win number 60.

The 2012 Pirates have a winning record for three straight months. The last time that happened was in 1991.

The Buccos are on pace to do something that has only happened three times in the history of Pirates baseball....that is draw two million fans. Thus far they have averaged 26,016 fans per, an average of 22,663.4 fans in their remaining 32 home dates will get it done.

How about this for a coming out party during ones age 25 season. This was also Bonds 1st MVP season.

       G   PA   AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  SB CS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF  IBB oWAR  OWn% ISO wOBA wRC+ BAbip
Bonds 151  621 519 104 156 32 3  33 114  52 13 93 83 .301 .406 .565  .970 170 293  8   3   0  6   15  6.2 .780 .264 .430 171  .301
Cutch 100  421 375  72 140 21 5  22  66  14  7 40 78 .373 .432 .632 1.064 193 237  5   2   0  4   8   6.2 .833 .259 .445 184  .423

[Buczilla]

A big congrats goes out to Cutch for being named the National League Player of the Month for the second month in a row.

We will get to see AJ vs the Reds thanks to Bedard getting bumped for Sunday's game.

[BeatEmBucs]

Well Bucs split 4 with the snakes. Tough series for our bullpen, especially Jared Hughes who gave up some long balls. Hitting is still up and down, but keeping the lead in the WC race, and not letting the Reds get too far ahead. I'm hoping the Bucs can take advantage of this weekend against the Padres, get a little closer to the big 8-2 then get ready for a big 4 against the Dodgers.

[Steven Gallanter]

After 104 games the Bucs have a record of 60-44. At this same point in time last season the Buccos were 54-50. It took the 2011 squad 23 more games to win number 60.

The 2012 Pirates have a winning record for three straight months. The last time that happened was in 1991.

The Buccos are on pace to do something that has only happened three times in the history of Pirates baseball....that is draw two million fans. Thus far they have averaged 26,016 fans per, an average of 22,663.4 fans in their remaining 32 home dates will get it done.

How about this for a coming out party during ones age 25 season. This was also Bonds 1st MVP season.

       G   PA   AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  SB CS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF  IBB oWAR  OWn% ISO wOBA wRC+ BAbip
Bonds 151  621 519 104 156 32 3  33 114  52 13 93 83 .301 .406 .565  .970 170 293  8   3   0  6   15  6.2 .780 .264 .430 171  .301
Cutch 100  421 375  72 140 21 5  22  66  14  7 40 78 .373 .432 .632 1.064 193 237  5   2   0  4   8   6.2 .833 .259 .445 184  .423

Bingo! Yes, McCutcheon is very much like Barry as a Buc.
stevegallanter.wordpress.com

[Buczilla]

The Buccos are now 16-13 since the AS break. If my memory serves correct, from the last time I posted in this thread...a .500 record would get us to 89 wins.

The Buccos are putting 4.6 runs per game on the board in that stretch. Unfortunately so is the pitching staff.

The Cardinals are coming! The Cardinals are coming! I have heard that from the self serving dooms day folks on the FAN all weekend. A quick look at the standings shows the Cardinals are the same 2.5 games behind us that they were prior to the AS break. The Bucs entered the break with a winning percentage of .565. Over the past 29 games it has been .552. Take away a loss and add it to the wins and you have .586, which is ahead of the pace set prior to the break. The Pirates might look like they are headed down the toilet, but they are not.

I don't even know why I listen to the FAN, especially since they cateer to all the whiners and blowhards in town that Mark Madden helped create. I can't believe they still have folks calling in dumping on Travis and Gaby when they have scored 10 runs, got on base 25 times and have driven in 5 runs in the little bit of time they were here. Both have been upgrades. Then again, these same clowns are the same cats who are calling in saying the Haley era is already looking to be a disaster all because of one "preseason" game/loss.

Barmes finally found a little something in his stick.... .333/.357/.519/.876 in his last 9 games.

19 hits, 2 triples and 4 homers, yet Starling Marte hasn't picked up a single double yet. Speaking of doubles.... in his past 132 PA Pedro has picked up only 2 doubles. One of those doubles has been the only extra base hit he has picked up in 66 past PA. 14 hits of his in that span have produced 2 RBI, the same number of runs he has scored in that time with 8 BB added on.

One bit of concern lately has been the Buccos putting the team behind straight out the gate. Our starters have put runs on the board the other way in six straight games in the first inning and in eight of their past nine games. The Pirates have taken an L in 5 of those games.

There is one knock on Hurdle I have and that is stopping the bleeding. One has been able to notice it more now than when I first started to notice it the Friday prior to and after the AS break. It is commendable of Hurdle to let his horses pitch out of jams, having faith in them to do so. I also know that it takes some time to get someone in the pen ready. Each and everytime though you can see that the pitcher has lost it and they aren't yanked until major damage is done(4 to 5 runs). It's not just with the starters either as one can observe the first game back after the break where Watson was left in when early on it was obvious that he didn't have it.....the Cody Ransom grand slam game.

That game also witnessed the beginning of JMac's slide. 5 of the Pirates 13 losses since the break have came with JMac on the mound. In his single win he gave up 9 hits, 4 walks, 2 homers and 6 runs. Something is majorly wrong with JMac. One can say he put down 11 straight at one point, but in his last 6 games he has given up 42 H, 30 ER and 21 BB in his past 31 IP... which is good for an ERA of 8.71 and a WHIP of 2.03. He needs DL'd for 15. Can one honestly say giving one of the farm boys a couple starts can be any worse? Hell, Locke is already up here.

There are only 10 teams that have given up more runs than the Pirates since the break and 7 of them are in the AL. 7 in both leagues for a total of 14 teams have scored more runs than the Buccos in that span.

Buczilla's question of the day.... If a single game playoff determines the wild card, what difference does it make if we are atop the WC leaderboard? First or second and the game is still single elimination.

The next 7 games are huge. The Bucs can put some distance between them and the rest of the WC pack by taking the next two series'.

Tbat's will be a welcomed addition to the deck of cards at Hurdle's disposal when he gets called back up. After a slow start in Indy the kids been hitting well, still no power. I really can't understand how batting Harrison or Presley second can be justified(one of the two have batted 2nd in 8 of the past 16 games).

The Bucs are 64-50. At this same point last year they were 55-59. With 48 more games to play they need only 8 more wins to match their win total from all of last year. With 15 more wins they will match their highest total in the 19 years of playing sub .500 ball(1997). 17 wins will get the Bucs their first .500 season since 1992. As of right now, .500 ball the rest of the way will get the Pirates to 88 wins. Holding the line the rest of the way averages out to 90.9 wins.

[Buczilla]

The Pirates have a nasty streak of 7 games going where they have given up 5 or more runs. We have only won two of those outtings. What makes this stretch sting is it is happening at home where the Buccos are best in the majors pitching wise.

Jeff Locke last pitched for Indy on August 3rd, he went 7.1 innings without giving up a run. The game prior he went 7.0 without giving up a run. He was promoted on the 8th and pitched on the 9th going 2.1 innings without giving up a run in mop up duty. It is now the 14th, where is Jeff Locke? What is the plan for him? Is he remaining in the pen? If so, why isn't he being used? Is he gonna start? If so when? If he is gonna just ride the pine, then send him back down until September.

Since being promoted and starting on July 26th, Starling Marte has as many homeruns as Cutch(1), Pedro(0) and Garrett Jones(3) combined, our top 3 in the HR department. That is over the course of 18 games.

[BeatEmBucs]

Buczilla's question of the day.... If a single game playoff determines the wild card, what difference does it make if we are atop the WC leaderboard? First or second and the game is still single elimination.

I'd rather have that single game at PNC. And say the standings hold pat the way they are right now, Bucs win the "technically it's a playoff game" then would likely take a short flight to DC for the Division Series with the Nats. While the Reds and the West champ would battle in Cincy. While it's still way too early to speculate, imagine if the Bucs-Braves series at the end of the season meant everything regarding home field for the "technically it's a playoff game", Say the Braves won the series, forcing that game to be in Atlanta, then having to go back up to DC after that game. It would be a tall order to win that game, then have to face a new (well rested) opponent the next day or 2. That's why it matters to me. Still too early to speculate, a lot can happen between now and the end of September. But a sweep this weekend would be helpful in trying to put the Cards away.