Braves at Pirates Series Thread|04/18-04/21

[Darkstone42]

snider hitting and obp has been great, showing some nice power that translate to some homers as he gets more comfortable this year.
how has his defense been? any one with any reports or first hand observations (TV or in person)?

He plays the game hard. He's not a massively gifted defensive player, but he makes up for it with hustle.

On another note, Watson with a very comfortable 8th.

 

[Darkstone42]

Another runner in scoring position for the Bucs.

 

[Darkstone42]

Raise it!

7-2 homestand against the Reds, Cardinals, and Braves. That's a darned good showing.

 

[steelparrot]

Awesome home stand considering the competition, lots of upgrades on the way for the rotation too.

Only one bad thing, we let the Braves steal one

 

[sychmd]

Raise it!

7-2 homestand against the Reds, Cardinals, and Braves. That's a darned good showing.

and we were ahead and hot in the game that got rained out.

could have been 8-2.

i might revise my prediction and start adjusting my october travel schedule!!!

 

[magnumo]

A very nice series and a very nice homestand, indeed.

Here's hoping that taking 3 of 4 from the red-hot Braves gives this team a jolt of confidence.

The bullpen certainly picked up Sanchez today after he took 74 pitches to get through 3 innings. Although Sanchez didn't look quite as bad as in his previous starts, he still fought control problems through his entire 3 innings. I'm wondering whether it might be time to give Wilson a chance to start, with Sanchez backing him up. On the other hand, perhaps they'll just wait for Liriano and Morton to come off the DL.

I had hoped that a healthy Sanchez might return to his 2010 form, but clearly that hasn't happened so far. Maybe they'll give him a couple more starts, but I can't imagine he'll get more than that unless he pitches better.

 

[sychmd]

i think we need sanchez to succeed some in the next 3 starts to at least be a piece in a trade if he cant pan out.

 

[Etrius24]

This homestand has me smiling... And just before the stand started I remember reading an article on Yahoo I think it was stating that things were about to get much worse for the anemic Pirates offense.

 

[Etrius24]

Also wanted to comment on Pedro is really starting to hit better... He had a homerun taken away by Upton.. He is really hitting the baseball well right now.

His streakiness is still very upsettting..How he can look like a bum one week and a stud the next is perplexing.

 

[Burgh Sports Rule]

I have felt all along, that this team has some Real talent on it now & as I said, this Pirates team can play!

This is a key road triip coming up for us here, to try & build on what we did in this past homestand.

I Loved the Snider trade the night that it was made & I still stand by my feelings on the deal now. I feel Snider will develop into a young stud for us & with Marte & Cutch, set our OF up for yrs to come.

Question: is Brad Lincoln even pitching for Toronto right now? I am not sure?

Is he hurt or was he optioned to the minors?

Burgh

 

[Etrius24]

Wow, had not thought about Brad Lincoln in a while.

 

[thedddd]

I don't think Lincoln made the Blue Jays, he is pitching in AAA. Now sure if it is rehab or just optioned there.

Anyway I was in Atlanta during the series and I was listening to their drive time sports radio (AM 680?). Anyway it was the two guys that do the afternoons and they were discussing the Pirates. I guess the one guy says stupid things for rating, not sure hopefully a Brave fan can help out? Anyway he went on about how McCutchen is a good complimentary player and not a star player to build a team around.

 

[Darkstone42]

I don't think Lincoln made the Blue Jays, he is pitching in AAA. Now sure if it is rehab or just optioned there.

Anyway I was in Atlanta during the series and I was listening to their drive time sports radio (AM 680?). Anyway it was the two guys that do the afternoons and they were discussing the Pirates. I guess the one guy says stupid things for rating, not sure hopefully a Brave fan can help out? Anyway he went on about how McCutchen is a good complimentary player and not a star player to build a team around.

No, I really don't like the fact that we're building around an MVP candidate...

 

[Etrius24]

Cutch is still the best kept secret in baseball... Sure some people know about him.. but Ask people in Atlanta, Boston or New York who he is and what he can do... They are for the most part clueless.

 

[magnumo]

i think we need sanchez to succeed some in the next 3 starts to at least be a piece in a trade if he cant pan out.

Seems as though some Sanchez success would be the best possible outcome.

However, I don't see him getting 3 more starts UNLESS he succeeds. Hurdle has announced that Sanchez will make his next start against the Cards on Friday 4/26. If the rotation remains intact, his next turn after that would come on Wednesday 5/1 against the Brewers.

The Bucs have two off days on Monday 5/2 and Thursday 5/6..... which means that Sanchez's 3rd turn would come on Wednesday 5/8.

Since Liriano is due back on 5/5 and Morton on 5/8, it seems likely that either Liriano or Morton will replace Sanchez UNLESS he pitches well. I'm hoping that Sanchez DOES find himself and DOES pitch well, not only because I'd like to see the Bucs win his starts, but also because it sets up a deal from strength, as you indicated.

 

[magnumo]

Cutch is still the best kept secret in baseball... Sure some people know about him.. but Ask people in Atlanta, Boston or New York who he is and what he can do... They are for the most part clueless.

Sounds as though you've asked a significant number of people in Atlanta, Boston, or New York about Andrew McCutchen. Otherwise, what basis could you have for making such a statement?

It seems to me that REAL baseball fans know who Andrew McCutchen is by now, regardless of where they're located..... just as real baseball fans know who guys like Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks are.

 

[Etrius24]

Mags

Anyone who plays roto baseball sure as hell knows who McCutchen is.. but how many people in other parts of the country watch McCutchen play? Sure they know his name..He got mentioned some on ESPN last season second half.. But how many know just how close he was last season to being the NL MVP?

I know all kinds of names of MLB players past and present...Might even know a stat here or there for them... but how about attaching a face to their name? Remembering what number they were? how strong their arm was? how tough they were to strike out?

Yes People have heard the name of McCutchen...How many of them know he had a better year in 2012 than Votto?

Same thing with Giancarlo Stanton... Dude was raking last season! Miami is not a hotbed for baseball, and it does not get the coverage that NY or LA get! Stanton had a .969 OPS last season with 37 homeruns! But the guy is not getting ink like some other young players on other teams.

And as for the Atlanta, New York and Boston reference with a lot of people. I just so happen to own a house a couple of hours from Atlanta... And I do business there and talk to a lot of people. I also own a place a couple of hours from Boston and New York and I spend half my time there.. I have people from all over New England coming to my shop up there for classic automobile parts... SO YES MAGS I DO TALK TO A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM THESE AREAS!!!!

And I have my Pirates hat on all the time and I get a lot of strange looks. I get comments about the team... Some have heard of McCutchen, rarely do they know he is one of the best players in baseball.

A common response I get from baseball fans when they see the bucs hat is: " The pirates they used to be good when they had bonds!" I reply: "Well they have McCutchen and he almost won the MVP last season!" or "The Bucs were above .500 for most of the year! " And then I get that look where they have far away eyes.. Sure they smile and nod, but they are just lost as to what I just said.

Now when dealing with the general public there is no way to know just how much baseball they watch...But when you consider that I have numerous people per day coming into my shops.. over a period of time that is a lot of people...And the sample size starts to matter a little bit. The fact that they comment on my Pirates hat or the bumper sticker on my truck means they care/know a little about baseball!

But thank you for that reply! Would you like to know what colour my underwear are today as well?

 

[magnumo]

Etrius,

Following your long, non-value-adding rant, I repeat and stand behind my previous paragraph.....

"It seems to me that REAL baseball fans know who Andrew McCutchen is by now, regardless of where they're located..... just as real baseball fans know who guys like Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks are."

I maintain that your previous condemnation of people from Atlanta, Boston, or New York as being clueless about Cutch (to which I responded), specifically.....

"but Ask people in Atlanta, Boston or New York who he [McCutchen] is and what he can do... They are for the most part clueless."

.....is either IRRELEVANT (if you're talking about people in general)..... or DEAD WRONG, if you're talking about real baseball fans.

 

[sychmd]

mags, not sure why you are going around about semantics.
it is possible for real baseball fans to not know specific players.
some people love the game, play the game, but only have time to follow certain elements.

your need to argue with him for argument sake is fairly demeaning to yourself and you dont really need to go there as i imagine from your past posts that you have a lot more purpose in life than this game you play with him.

just my 2 cents for your sanity.

 

[magnumo]

mags, not sure why you are going around about semantics.
it is possible for real baseball fans to not know specific players.
some people love the game, play the game, but only have time to follow certain elements.

your need to argue with him for argument sake is fairly demeaning to yourself and you dont really need to go there as i imagine from your past posts that you have a lot more purpose in life than this game you play with him.

just my 2 cents for your sanity.

Thanks for your interest, sychmd, and I agree with a couple of your points. However, I don't consider this particular issue to be semantics, nor am I playing a game with etrius. I have a LOT of experience with people like etrius (including several years of experience with etrius himself on the Pirates' board at ESPN.com).

In general:

- He posts many false (i.e., factually wrong) statements.

- He frequently posts comments which are nonsense and without basis.

- In many cases, he plays the prototypical "captain obvious."

- In short, it's pretty rare that he posts anything which adds actual value. (I invite you to test that for yourself.)

My experience has been that, if he is left unchallenged, two problems result:
1) Others actually believe some of the erroneous stuff he posts.
2) The frequency of his nonsense increases.

In this specific case, I found his generalization (about people in Atlanta, Boston, and New York) to be demeaning to quite a number of people whom I know personally. I'm talking about family members, friends and acquaintances, and former colleagues who live (or used to live) in and around Atlanta, Boston, and New York.

- Some of those folks aren't baseball fans. For those people, etrius's comment represents the epitome of irrelevance.

- On the other hand, many of them ARE baseball fans, and I know for a fact that many are very well aware of Andrew McCutchen.

Bottom line: When etrius posts crap, I will correct and/or challenge that crap.