2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

[iamjs]

Vasquez will be gone because financial flexibility

[Freddy Rumsen]

[Dickie Dunn]

Not too long ago I read message board rumblings elsewhere that internally Crick was doing his damnedest to make sure he wasn't brought back next season and that all of this misbehavior ties into the previous Kela suspension. Hurdle is doing a hell of a job with his clubhouse.

[Dickie Dunn]

This is Crick’s second incident with a member of the Pirates organization. This summer, Crick and bullpen coach Euclides Rojas were involved in an altercation that resulted in Rojas’ suspension. Crick also was suspended three games this season for his role in the benches-clearing brawl against the Reds in Cincinnati.

Hurdle expressed concern about the third known incident within the Pirate clubhouse.

“I have concerns about three individual incidents that have gone on this year. I’ve been here nine years and we’ve had none,” Hurdle said. “Now we’ve had three this year. Two that resulted in suspensions and one that had fines involved. We’ve spoken to the club today. We had a conversation. We revisited internally as a family about how we meet challenges and rise above them.”

According to Crick, it was nowhere near the first time that he and Vazquez had a disagreement.

“I don’t know if anything really started it,” Crick said. “Things happen over the course of a season. It’s been a tough season. Frustration is pretty high. It got to a boiling point and it tipped over.”

Vazquez declined the opportunity to comment on the situation.

[DigitalGypsy66]

I'm surprised that Crick said anything at all. One report had him calling over the media during the post-game scrum.

I think Hurdle retires to a front office position, but I doubt anything else will happen above the managerial level.

[Morkle]

“I have concerns about three individual incidents that have gone on this year. I’ve been here nine years and we’ve had none,” Hurdle said. “Now we’ve had three this year. Two that resulted in suspensions and one that had fines involved. We’ve spoken to the club today. We had a conversation. We revisited internally as a family about how we meet challenges and rise above them.”

Seems like he's being a pretty awful parent then. I'm ready for the Hurdle, GMNH experience to be over. Lose with someone else.

[Freddy Rumsen]

This stuff is just nuts.

[Dickie Dunn]

Yea, Crick really seemed to want to talk about the incident. Apparently the multiple Crick incidents and the Kela incident stem from other players being pissed about Vazquez getting preferential treatment.

I hadn't realized that last night was loss 82. 8 seasons out of 12 below .500 for this management group. A real franchise would can them all and attempt to completely overhaul the roster.

[Morkle]

Want preferential treatment? Be as good as Vazquez.

[MR25]

He's really put himself up **** crick

[Kane]

Solid pun.

[Dickie Dunn]

Due to injury the Cubs recalled SS Nico Hoerner, their first round pick in the 2018 draft. He batted 284/344/399/743 in 70 AA games this season and in the EXTREMELY SMALL SAMPLE SIZE of 2 MLB games is makin an immediate impact at 444/500/667/1167. 15 spots before Hoerner was taken the Pirates selected their self-proclaimed “best college bat in the draft”, Travis Swaggerty. How the hell does the “best college bat in the draft” spend the season struggling in A+ (265/347/381/728), a minor league level that Hoerner never even played at?

Swaggerty batted 318/457/506/963 in his college career, greatly boosted by his excellent sophomore season 356/484/571/1055. He “slumped” to 296/455/526/981 against the wonderful competition provided by the Sun Belt Conference. In comparison, Hoerner batted 303/351/408/759 in his college career at Stanford and put up an impressive 345/391/496/887 in his final season.

The only other college bat drafted between Swaggerty and Hoerner was RF Trevor Larnach, who was taken 20th overall by the Twins. He batted 311/428/517/945 in his college career at Oregon State, including 348/463/652/1116 with 19 HRs and 77 RBI in 315 PAs in his junior year. He batted 316/382/459/842 with 6 HRs and 44 RBIs in 361 A+ PAs and 295/387/455/842 with 7 HRs and 22 RBIs in 181 AA PAs this season. He also really likes striking out.

Now, Hoerner is obviously an outlier given his age and is only in the majors due to injury, but how the hell does this always happen? Drafting players is admittedly difficult and complicated and a complete crapshoot, but at some point you have to hit on someone, you have to get it right or else you become the Pirates instead of being the Cubs.

[Morkle]

I believe they're evaluating players at a spend level. Swaggerty could have been considered the best "value" bat in the draft.

I refuse to believe that the Pirates really even take even the "best overall player" available. I would wager if they did that based on just the ranking lists, they'd have a better success rate than they do now.

[robbiestoupe]

They also draft players believing they fit into their system. But once they hit their system, any talent/potential is wasted away.

For all we know if the Pirates would have drafted this Hoerner character and the Cubs drafted Swaggerty, we'd still be having the same conversation with different names.

[willeyeam]

For all we know if the Pirates would have drafted this Hoerner character and the Cubs drafted Swaggerty, we'd still be having the same conversation with different names.

this is the issue imo

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

when all of the pitchers that come through the system have the same problems-no secondary pitches, no fastball command (what do they have)-it is a philosophy problem

[willeyeam]

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pir ... 1909110143

[Dickie Dunn]

Crick was probably playing some honky ass music. Also,

“I was in my shower shoes during the scuffle, and the shower shoes ripped off a callous on my foot,” Crick said. “I’m healing up. I’m doing a little bit of rehab on this toe. It’s day-to-day. I’m trying to see where I stand in all of this.”

Baseball players are such **** dodints.

[shafnutz05]

Crick was probably playing some honky ass music. Also,

“I was in my shower shoes during the scuffle, and the shower shoes ripped off a callous on my foot,” Crick said. “I’m healing up. I’m doing a little bit of rehab on this toe. It’s day-to-day. I’m trying to see where I stand in all of this.”

Baseball players are such **** dodints.

I've said this before, but baseball players are so. fcking. weird. I don't know when that weirdness begins, but there are so many strange things about the sport and its players.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

I am a defender of baseball players with wimpy injuries, but a ripped callous? not sure about that one

[Morkle]

Sounds like Crick got worked. I'm not prepared to say who's more at fault.

[willeyeam]

if Vazquez suckered him it sounds like it's pretty clear who's at fault

[Morkle]

All we've heard was Crick's side, right? Up until yesterday, he was rumored to be trying to do all he can to get off the team.

[Dickie Dunn]

Vazquez getting fined four times as much as Crick pretty clearly shows who the team considered to be at fault.

[willeyeam]

All we've heard was Crick's side, right? Up until yesterday, he was rumored to be trying to do all he can to get off the team.

The story I posted last night was from clubhouse sources, not Crick