2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

RonnieFranchise
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby RonnieFranchise » Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:43 pm

Think I’ll settle in for an evening of baseball.

Sigh.

Dickie Dunn
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Dickie Dunn » Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:57 pm

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli denies he wants to stop playing the position, saying Saturday it "was a misunderstanding."

Last Sunday, Cervelli was quoted as telling DKPittsburghSports.com "that's enough" after suffering his sixth documented concussion in the major leagues.

"This time is different," Cervelli was quoted as saying. "I can't live like this."

On Saturday, however, Cervelli said he was misquoted and that he "never had an official interview."

"I never said that I don't want to catch," Cervelli told reporters Saturday after saying the same in an Instagram post Friday night. "That was a misunderstanding. It never came from my mouth."

Dejan Kovacevic, who wrote the initial Cervelli story for DKPittsburghSports.com, stood by it Saturday.

"Cervelli and I have communicated countless times over the years and in all kinds of forms, and we've done so year-round," Kovacevic wrote. "When he's wanted to go off the record -- which he's done a ton -- he'd say so in the clearest terms. In the case of our conversation last week, he passionately stated the following: 'That's enough. This time is different. I can't live like this.' He also offered vivid, excruciating detail of what he'd been through in his most recent concussion. And he never added that he wanted anything off the record."
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/271 ... want-catch
#Pirates Hurdle was asked if Cervelli had ever specifically told him he was giving up being a catcher.

“No,” Hurdle said. “Never.”
Francisco Cervelli on getting interviewed without a recording device: "You’re going to do an interview, you better pull out your cell phone. I believe if you do something more than one minute, you don’t have a computer in your head. You’re not going to use the right words."

LeopardLetang
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby LeopardLetang » Sun Jul 14, 2019 7:24 am

Oliva second half: 20g 69ab 9bb 13k 12sb 0cs .406 .481 .580 1.061


Bae last 5g 10-21 with 4bb and 5sb. Has his season average back up to .312 in 166ab and a .401obp


Davis 3-5 with another hr. Crazy turnaround for him. If his first half went this way he'd have been moving way up prospect lists


Since his 2 false starts Thomas is 14.2 12h 3r 1bb 20k in Bristol. So thank God


Pie has crapped out so far though. 6-45 but he does have 7bb to 11k so he's not completely overmatched


A lot of the 2019 picks are doing decent but the better numbers are coming from older guys. Nobody to really latch onto yet. Another good outing from Priester would be very nice though

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:13 am

Those numbers for Thomas are encouraging.

Altoona, Bradenton and Greensboro are all going to be filled with interesting prospects next year.

The pipeline, at least on the hitter side, will be churning for years. I know that should and will are different concepts, but there is a gap in the pitching depth that should be filled through free agency. They have money come off the books from Dickerson and Cervelli, the pitching staff requires reinforcements

MrKennethTKangaroo
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Sun Jul 14, 2019 11:08 am

EGon apparently hurt his hamstring during his rehab, so i think that pretty much means he wont be sporting the black and gold until september if at all. I understand why GMNH acquired depth in the middle infield, but boy oh boy did this move suck

The obvious move when polanco returns is sending osuna down. WHo would you rather have on the team right now-Osuna or Polanco? It has to be osuna, right?

James Marvel got touched up last night against the Columbus clippers. Hayes had two more hits including a home run. Will Craig had a golden sombrero and left 6 men on base in a game that the Indians scored 17 runs :slug:


Not that anyone cares or is surprised, but this team does not belong in a postseason discussion

MrKennethTKangaroo
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Sun Jul 14, 2019 11:35 am

Anyways, lets make this another sunday morning bucco rant for the kangaroo.

My gf was doing some cleaning this week and dug up a Pirates Prospects guide by Tim Williams from 2014. Woooeeeee what a book that is. Some tidbits:

Guys on the roster right meow: Polanco (1) Taillon (2) Bell (8) Clayton Holmes (12) Frazier (28) Dovydas (is he on the roster? Who the hell knows? Anyways, 41) Kuhl (42) Osuna (44) Elias Diaz (not ranked) Dario Agrazal (not ranked, 18 at the time) Luis Escobar (signed as a free agent 2013)

Top ten prospects: Polanco, Taillon, Glasnow, Meadows, Hanson, Kingham, McGuire, Bell, Luis Heredia, Harold Ramirez. Why are the 2019 pirates a rudderless ship floating around 500? Look no further than this list of misses, disappointments, jabronis, and Josh Bell.

Though i will say that there are like 10 guys on that list that are on the team right now, which isnt a bad haul. Plus you have guys like Newman and Marte that aren’t on the list but were signed/drafted by the pirates and are major contributors.

But at the end of the day, not enough of these guys have met expectations.

Andrew lambo was the 2013 minor league POY

They had a list of the 2013 top prospects. Zack Von Rosenberg, Hayden Hurst, and Tyler Gaffney were all ranked in the 40s. I suppose Williams didnt get the memo that this was supposed to be a baseball propspect ranking and not a football ranking.

Latin American free agent singnees in the top 20: Polanco, Hanson, Luis Heredia, Harold Ramirez, Michael De La Cruz. Do we need to be reminded that the pirates have spent decades swinging and missing in Latin America? Though i will grant them that Jose osuna was ranked 44 and Elias diaz was not ranked at all.

Adam Frazier was ranked 28, sandwiched between Stetson Allie and Jaff (f that guy and his stupid name) decker.

Dickie Dunn
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Dickie Dunn » Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:16 pm

Some minor additions to the information provided by the leopard and the marsupial:

- Will Craig really sucks. Batting 135 in his last 10 and is now 9 for 72 with 1 HR in his last 19 games.
- JB Shuck pitched again on Friday. 1 IP, 2 H, 3 Ks, and still has not allowed a run this season.
- Cody Bolton got lit up again for Altoona. His K numbers are still solid and he's throwing a ton of strikes, but the average against is high so I'm going to assume he's throwing fastballs 95% of the time.
- In one of the BD comment sections from yesterday Brian Cartwright had a breakdown of his Major League Equivalents for DSL players. As you would expect the Pirates are well represented at the top of the board, but Alexander Mojica on DSL-2 is right at the top. One of only 29 players in the league in their age 16 season and he's batting 348/474/652/1126 with 7 HRs, 22 BBs, and only 17 Ks in 92 ABs. It's super early in his development, but he's showing a ton of potential and is the only guy on the team with more than 2 HRs and is tied for 2nd in the league. The league leader is 18 years old, hit 6 HRs last year as a 17 year old, and didn't play as a 16 year old.

As far as the big club goes:
- Kela started his AAA rehab yesterday.
- Osuna has no business being demoted to make room for Polanco. Osuna has actually played his way into a more prominent role.
- Bell is hitting 223/326/536/862 in his last 30 games. The power numbers are obviously still there, but this team needs him to be more than Adam Dunn.

Hopefully this terrible start to the 2nd half cements them as looking to sell instead of pretending to buy. Homer Bailey ain't fixing this pitching staff. See if you can get a king's ransom for Vazquez.

Also, we're still in small sample size territory here, but Nick Kingham is 2-1 in 9 games with the Blue Jays. His first game was a disaster (still had that Pirates stink on him) but since then he's at 14 IP, 3.21 ERA, 1.36 ERA, and a 250 average against. He's still a bit of a mess, but after his first two outings with the Jays (stop me if you've heard this before) he's no longer throwing a two-seam fastball (thrown 15% of the time as a Pirate; 400 avg, 733 slugging against) or slider and is instead relying on his four-seam and curveball while throwing his changeup more and reintroducing a cutter.

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:55 pm

Not surprising about kingham, they have figured out how to get the absolute worst from every pitcher they have in the organization this year.

I wish someone would get fired, like a coach or analytics guy

MrKennethTKangaroo
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:38 pm

The eye test with kingham indicated that he had a tendency to throw the ball right down the shtter, resulting in balls travelling long distances. Perhaps he was grooving the two seamer like every other pirate throwing a two seamer.

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:53 pm

You mean he was pitching to contact

MR25
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby MR25 » Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:26 pm

Why are they leaving Williams in

Morkle
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Morkle » Sun Jul 14, 2019 5:00 pm

Not surprising about kingham, they have figured out how to get the absolute worst from every pitcher they have in the organization this year.

I wish someone would get fired, like a coach or analytics guy
Absolutely time to get rid of Searage, but if the overall message didn't change, it doesn't matter.

Dickie Dunn
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Dickie Dunn » Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:58 am

RIP 2019 Season. I enjoyed the good times when they happened and expected the bad times to come more frequently, but it is painfully obvious that this team doesn't have the pitching to even pretend to contend.

- Kang was horrific to start the season but since returning from injury is bating 254/286/610/896 with 10 of his 15 hits going for extra bases. For July he's at 304/333/829/1159. He's not walking and is striking out a lot, but on a team with limited power he does provide a lot of pop.

Dickie Dunn is Concerned About our Top Prospects:
- Mitch Keller: Believe he should be pitching tomorrow.
- Ke'Bryan Hayes: 3 for 5. Triple short of the cycle. 371/421/686/1107 in July. I hope he's starting to play his way into a September call-up.
- Travis Swaggerty: 0 for 4 with a R, BB, K, and SB.
- Oneil Cruz: 2 for 5, with a K and SB. He's still striking out a ton but has been very productive at the plate since returning from injury.
- Cole Tucker: 1 for 5. Has had a rough July at the plate.

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:03 am

The royals traded bailey to the a’s for their 2017 first round draft pick. So the equivalent there would probably be like a will craig. I think pitching is a premium this year and a guy like Dickerson would not be a hot trade commodity, but Liriano would fetch a decent return.

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:18 am

RIP 2019 Season. I enjoyed the good times when they happened and expected the bad times to come more frequently, but it is painfully obvious that this team doesn't have the pitching to even pretend to contend.

- Kang was horrific to start the season but since returning from injury is bating 254/286/610/896 with 10 of his 15 hits going for extra bases. For July he's at 304/333/829/1159. He's not walking and is striking out a lot, but on a team with limited power he does provide a lot of pop.

Dickie Dunn is Concerned About our Top Prospects:
- Mitch Keller: Believe he should be pitching tomorrow.
- Ke'Bryan Hayes: 3 for 5. Triple short of the cycle. 371/421/686/1107 in July. I hope he's starting to play his way into a September call-up.
- Travis Swaggerty: 0 for 4 with a R, BB, K, and SB.
- Oneil Cruz: 2 for 5, with a K and SB. He's still striking out a ton but has been very productive at the plate since returning from injury.
- Cole Tucker: 1 for 5. Has had a rough July at the plate.
Good to see Hayes pushing his way on to the ML roster picture. I like that Moran has stepped up this year, but I think he maxes out as a bench/platoon guy. He can be the starter for stretches, but he isn't a franchise 3B, but will provide value off the bench.

Tucker is probably wearing down a bit. He played in the AFL league last year and might need the offseason to rejuvenate. He has body mass issues and the grind could be taking a toll on his frame. He could probably use the offseason for eating hamburgers and lifting weights.

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Mon Jul 15, 2019 12:59 pm

Priester looking sharp today, so far, 5 ip, 0 r, 3 h, 0 bb, 7 k.

willeyeam
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby willeyeam » Mon Jul 15, 2019 10:28 pm

Indy lost 20-1 tonight

MrKennethTKangaroo
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Mon Jul 15, 2019 10:31 pm

Shuck .1 ip 7 runs woof

MrKennethTKangaroo
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Mon Jul 15, 2019 10:37 pm

Brooks pounders pitched for the sky chiefs hahhaha

And the lineup featured Gregor blanco, Reuben Tejada, Rene Rivera, Danny Espinosa, Dilson Herrera, rajai davis, with a PH appearance from Tim Tebow.

How shitty is your minor league system if you have to stuff your AAA roster with washed up dudes like that

Dickie Dunn
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Dickie Dunn » Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:54 am

Bad team is bad. Sell sell sell. The one bright spot is that Reynolds keeps hitting. The league is adjusting to him and he's having some more ups and downs, but despite having a mortal slash line of 271/407/396/803 in his last 15 games, he's still at 350/438/515/953 over his last 30. I hope he develops some more power (ISO is 62nd among the 108 OFers with more than 200 ABs), but I'm not gonna whine too much about a guy with hits in 51 of 71 games and 23 multi-hit games.

I am however going to continue whining about Josh Bell. Another 0fer last night with 2 Ks. His EXTREMELY SMALL SAMPLE SIZE post ASB numbers are horrific so I think we can just go ahead and say that the HR Derby ruined him for the rest of the season. Since June 1 he's batting 219/315/511/826 with his K-rate at a career high of 22.8%. Also on the suckass list is Crick who got lit up again last night. Since June 1 he's has a 6.14 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 241/443/517/960 against, and has served up 9 HRs in 14.2 IP.

Dickie Dunn is Concerned About our Top Prospects:
- Mitch Keller: Pitching tonight.
- Ke'Bryan Hayes: Got another hit in last night's disaster.
- Travis Swaggerty and Oneil Cruz: Bradenton was rained out.
- Cole Tucker: 1 for 4, with a K. I support TL's belief that he's probably getting Tuckered out. Played a lot of baseball since last season once you factor in the AFL.

As the marsupial already shared, Indy got lit the **** up and JB Shuck had his perfect 2019 as a pitcher ruined. His ERA went from 0.00 to 10.50 in a third of an inning of work. Pablo Reyes was the only real bright spot, going 2 for 4 and hitting his 4th HR in the past 3 game. Kela also got roughed up in his second rehab outing. After a rough start to the season at MLB and AAA he's up to 263/305/549/855 in AAA and is 2nd on the team with 9 HR. Needs to work on getting on base more, but he could still have a future as a utility guy.

After an absolutely horrific start to the season, Jared Oliva is up to 275/367/420/787 on the year. Hit 296/378/480/858 in June and is at 462/553/667/1220 in July.

Alex Manasa had his worst start in a long while, but Greensboro battled back for the win. Bae went 2 for 5 and is at 313/396/398/794 for the season. His defense at SS has not been great this year (and most of his time has been at 2B), but I could see him getting a late season promotion to Bradenton off the strength of his bat. I'm also wondering the when the hell they're going to promote Kyle Mottice. He was undrafted, which seems almost impossible to do in baseball, but after hitting 283/472/330/802 in Rookie ball last year he's hitting 404/528/474/1001 in 114 ABs in Greensboro this year while also committing only 1 error in 260 innings split between SS and 2B. He has negative power and he wasn't drafted so they feel no need to prioritize his development, but how long does a dude need to hit 400 for before he gets promoted?

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:30 am

Greensboro lost last night.

I can be DD"s fact checker. You can send me the draft of your morning post before submitting.

MrKennethTKangaroo
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby MrKennethTKangaroo » Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:32 am

If bae cant hang at SS through Greensboro, I got not time for him.

Troy Loney
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Troy Loney » Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:40 am

That does suck about Bae's defense, but if he continues to hit, he will move up the system.

Pablo is a free swinger, so the low obp and basically never walking come with that. He might be another Josh Harrison, which would be fine.

Dickie Dunn
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Dickie Dunn » Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:52 am

Greensboro lost last night.

I can be DD"s fact checker. You can send me the draft of your morning post before submitting.
Blah. I'm still barely awake. When I read the headline it said "Greensboro edged Hagerstown 6-5." Now it says they were edged by Hagerstown. That's what I get for not paying attention for the top of the box score.
If bae cant hang at SS through Greensboro, I got not time for him.
It's a concern for sure. Perfect fielding % at 2B and .897 at SS. .882 at SS last year. Dude's only 19 so I wouldn't bury his SS future yet. Kaiser has been getting most of the time at SS and his experience at the position shows.
Pablo is a free swinger, so the low obp and basically never walking come with that. He might be another Josh Harrison, which would be fine.
I'd be fine with that as well as long as they don't sign him to a long term deal after one good season. He has good pop for a tiny dude. His OBP in June was 400 and to date in July it's at 346 (54 points higher than his BA). Due to injury he's still had more AAA ABs in May than June and July combined, so it's still an uphill climb to erase the 211/250/395/645 he put up to start the season.

Morkle
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2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Thread

Postby Morkle » Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:52 am

Fan morning show made comments this morning to put Bell back in the outfield and promote Craig to first base. Everyone lambasted Bell for the defense last year, and he's gotten passable as his bat has made up for deficiencies, and now they want to completely scrap everything because the Pirates suck in the outfield on one of the corners, lmao.

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