Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

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12HankQB
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by 12HankQB »

there's no fire, no spark. 
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by knowitall »

Drunk Ho may have hit two or three home runs and driven in two or three runs.  He would have also booted two ground balls and thrown another away.  At least Pedro didn't drink and drive.
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by Crimson's Ghost »

Frazier and Mercer have booted enough balls themselves without the home runs.  They need Kang. 
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by knowitall »

I don't thing Kang will be there anytime soon. They need McCutchen and Polanco to start driving the ball. It would be nice to have a better bench bat. Austin Meadows is off to a 1-21 start in Indianapolis with nine strike outs.

It's early.
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by Crimson's Ghost »

If Kang had 2-3 homers, that would match the rest of the team's HR production through 7 games.  Pirates have 3 total right now.

The Pirates have scored 3 runs the past 18 innings.  One on a bases loaded walk, one on a double steal, one on an error.  Marte's homer was the last time the team drove in a run.

Gotta find some offense somewhere.
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by Manfred »

But gee. You said the Reds were a bottom level team. Kinda like the Bucs, except they're 5-2 and score a BUNCH.
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by Crimson's Ghost »

I mean, we're less than 1/16th into the season.  The Cardinals are in last place.

I still think the Reds are going th to lose 90ish games. I'm not sure beating the Pirates in the third series of the season validates the Reds as a good team. 
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by 12HankQB »

I think it's just frustrating watching our talent suck. I firmly believe that the talent is all there and we should be able to compete with anyone at the plate, but gosh darn to they just disappoint.
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by pahntr »

At what point do we as fans decide that the current Pirates leadership has failed? I know it's early in the season and A LOT can (and hopefully does) change. However, we are seeing the same issues that we've seen for the past few years....inconsistent starters, lack of power up and down the line up, "prospects" that fail to live up to the hype, constant base running blunders and ZERO ability to get clutch hits with runners in scoring position. Winning modern baseball seems to tie to two things--dominant starting pitching and hitting home runs. All pitchers make mistakes, even the best ones. Good and great teams have hitters who make those pitchers pay when they make a mistake by going yard. The Pirates have zero threats in their lineup this season that fit that description. No one wins in the MLB without being able to hit home runs. It gets even more amplified when the playoffs come around. The scary thing is Neal Huntington has stated over and over that 2017 was the year they were waiting for. All of his prospects are coming of age and are in the bigs together. The current management group's finger prints are all over the personnel of this organization at this point and it seems like we may be headed for a monumental failure. I have grown very tired of hearing about how great the Pirates outfield is....can anyone recall an extended period of time when Polanco, Marte and McCutchen have all been playing well at the same time? There always seems to be at least one of them that is hurt or slumping. Yet, we are always told about how talented their outfield is. Is the club house too relaxed? What position group has the management of this organization been good at developing? They haven't had top notch corner infielders for years, drafted and developed starting pitching is inconsistent at best, catchers have always been filled with acquired talent. What position group do they develop from within? I have traditionally defended Neal Huntington but I think I am about out of patience. It seems like they have actually gotten worse since the "break through" years of 2013,14 &15. I hope I am wrong, but it sure feels like we are headed for another year of mediocrity at best. 
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Re: Pirates vs. Reds Open Thread

Post by Crimson's Ghost »

It's been 7 games.  Let's see where things are after 30 games before we hit the panic button.  

The Pirates are well constructed organization given the constraints the owner puts on the team. 

They aren't ever going to win if they don't spend money.  Neal Huntongton is a good GM, but if your owner isn't willing to kick it up financially, this is what you're going to get.  A competive team most years, but never a serious threat to win it all. That's where they are.  

2015 was probably a good enough team to win it all talent wise, everything came together except for the fact the Cardinals happened to win 102 games the same year they won 98. But they had a good lineup and a good rotation and a good bullpen. Second best team in baseball, and they got stuck in a wild card situation.  It is what it is. 


They aren't ever going to be better than the Cubs in the next 10 years and that's just reality. 
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