Fifth Avenue Forum

Also leaguewide, the average is 242. 8 hits, 8 strikeouts per game. Awesome sport

Gross

Cruz at short kind of reminds me of Alvarez at third. It's the routine throws where you hold your breath, at one point yesterday, on back to back plays to short, the first one, Cruz had to make a nice charging play to scoop the ball and throw the guy out. Then, next play is a routine grounder right at him, and Chavis has to do some acrobats to catch the throw and keep his foot on the base. Then, I noticed later on about Chavis at first, he is good.

Putting Yoshi back at first would be a disaster, who is both a statue and sucks at catching the ball.

I honestly don't think cruz is that bad at short based on watching him actually play a few times at Altoona.

I'll take a few errors in exchange for plays like the one LL posted. It's like when Jordy had the record for most games without an error or whatever but had basically 0 range. And I liked Jordy, it's just a misleading stat to just look at Es imo

I honestly don't think cruz is that bad at short based on watching him actually play a few times at Altoona.

Yeah, glove and range seem more than able.

The arm is just such a cannon, things go bad when it's offline.

His play at short is always going to be unfairly scrutinized because he's 6'7 and that's not what a SS is "supposed" to look like

He makes the game exciting honestly. Him and Reynolds yesterday were the two bright spots. I was also there for Hayes like 4th home run of the year.

Shelton keeping Crowe in there for almost two innings made no sense to me either. Dude was out of gas like 1 batter into the second inning he pitched.

I've watched enough games to come to the conclusion that the organization as a whole has some cutting edge strategy with relievers

Historically, you put a reliever in, and if they give up a baserunner or two, you warm another guy up to replace him.

Several times this year, relievers have been left in there way too long. Yes, there is a 3 batter minimum. But last weekend, Crowe gave up 3 straight baserunners in a one run game....and no one started to warm up until the fourth batter got to the plate. Same exact thing happened when Stratton struggled in the very next inning.

It seems to me like the organization has a theory that they want guys to finish out innings come hell or high water. The pirates lost that game I was talking about because both crowe and Stratton faced more batters than necessary. And it was also obvious they didn't have their best stuff.

This strategy makes it seem like the team doesn't care about winning. Big picture we know this team isn't trying to win. On a micro level, it seems like they aren't trying their hardest to win, too.

Yeah, when you call up a washed up scrub to start a random game and have the gall to interview their best starting minor league pitcher during the resulting blowout loss (from his apartment in Indianapolis), it's obvious they don't want to win right now. When they start a DH with a sub .200 batting average in that same game, just because he's the only right handed hitter available, they don't want to win.

Winning is scary and expensive. I think they will eventually come around to winning, but staying competitive is going to be very difficult with current ownership and management. Constantly trading veterans for prospects, restocking the minor league system, and developing those prospects is a tall task. I just hope they are up to it.

I think they will eventually come around to winning...

Why?

Theyll "win" at some point but I doubt they'll ever be "winning" if that makes sense. I'm thinking culturally

I thought he was an infielder.

So Lonnie White Jr. is on the 60 day DL for eternity and Nick Gonzales is probably done for the year. Fun!

He's an infielder and pitcher. And QB.

Look forward to him being Chris Weinke in 10 years.

It's fun having some exciting young guns up

Follow up

Jack resembles a former Pirate

Park makes the throw to first from third like one of my middle school kids that have to wind up to get it there then you just hope it comes down in the general vicinity of the first baseman

99% sure Madris is the best player on this team.

Park needs to go away

So I know these things just have a tendency to work themselves out anyway. But in the next two years, 4 of the Pirates bigger prospects should be up and all play middle infield

Cruz
Piguero
Gonzales
Bae

OF seems to be in a good spot with Reynolds and Suwinski, so I suppose a spot is open there for one of them if needed. But I guess we're getting close to the point of the prospect crunch TL has mentioned coming to fruition. Hopefully they all keep developing and turn into valuable pieces. We need pitching imo and being able to flip one for a similar level starter would be nice

This is what prompted that post. I didn't realize how good Bae has been

Interesting that Bae has primarily played in CF this season.

If everything turns as we irrationally hope, I think you see Piguero at SS, Gonzales at 2B, Bae in the OF apparently, and Cruz in RF. Hayes sticks at 3B, 1B will be an untalented journeyman scrub, as is Pirates tradition.