2017 Pittsburgh Pirates

Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs 6 Dodgers 1

RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!!

Bucs starter Locke (the one who throws first pitch strikes) was perfect thru 5 innings and went 7IP 1R 5H 0BB 3K to get the win and the shark tank finished it out with 2IP 3H 0R 0BB 3K.

Bucco bats have struggled this year to score runs and even though they only managed 5 hits, 3 of them were home runs as McCutchen hit a solo shot and a 3 run shot along with Mercer's 2 run blast to give the Locke plenty of run support.

Dodgers ended a 14 game streak in which they had at least 1 home run in each game.

It only gets tougher as game 3 has the Pirates bringing up Chad Kuhl from AAA (6-2, 2.58 in 14 starts) to make a spot start and facing Clayton Kershaw (11-1, 1.57) in another national tv broadcast.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs 4 Dodgers 3

RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!!

AAA call up Chad Kuhl gives the Bucs 5 effective innings, 3R 4H 4BB 5K, to earn his first MLB win in his MLB debut on a spot start for the injured Cole.

Bucco offense touches up Dodger starter Kershaw for 4 runs on 9 hits, doing all the damage in the second inning when Freese hits a bases loaded double.

The shark tank was outstanding for the Pirates as 3 pitchers throw 4IP 0R 0H 0BB 2K to secure the win for Kuhl. Melancon gets his 22nd save on just 9 pitches in the 9th. Since opening day last year, Melancon leads MLB in saves.

Lets also give a tip of the cap to Adam Frazier, another AAA call up for the Bucs, who since his MLB debut on Friday night has gone 3-6 with 1 RBI and gives the Bucs another option off the bench.

Bucs go for the rare 4 game sweep today as they send out Lirano (4-7. 5.17) to face Kazmir (5-3, 4.53).

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Dodgers 5 Bucs 4

Bucs score 4 runs in the first for their starter Lirano but he only last 4.1 IP 5R 4H 5BB 3K as the Dodgers comeback to salvage the last game of the series to avoid the sweep.

While winning 3 of the 4 games is great, it is somewhat disappointing that the offense got 4 runs in the first and that wasn't enough. Yes, they could have scored more but you would think having a 4 run lead before you even take the mound would be a huge mental boost.

Lirano continues to have major problems that are now dragging from early May thru the entire month of June. His totals for this month 24.1IP 24R (19 earned) 30H 20BB 25K. He is the type of pitcher that wants you to chase his stuff but batters are becoming more disciplined against him. In his last 10 starts for the Bucs, the team is 2-8 and this goes back to the first week of May so this is serious. I would think that if the starting rotation was in better shape, he could miss a start or 2 to work on some things but that doesn't look like it is going to happen.

Some positives from the 4-4 home stand....we bounced back from a 1-3 series vs the Giants to go 3-1 vs the Dodgers. We picked up a couple of games on the Cubs and in the wildcard standings. A good debut for Chad Kuhl. McCutchen is starting to show some life as he went 6-22 with 2 home runs, double and 4 RBI so his average a crept up to .243 but it is still well below his lifetime average of .294. The shark tank, while still shaky at times, appears to be settling down, at least for most of the members as we did blow a big lead in game 3 vs the Giants which should have been a win.

Last road trip prior to the All-star break starts tonight with 2 vs Seattle. They are similar to us and are struggling going 3-7 in their last 10 games while we are 4-6. We need at least a split and a game 1 win makes it easier.

Game 1 we send out Niese (6-5, 4.93). He has given 4 or more runs in his last 3 starts to face Urias (0-2, 4.33).

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Black Panther
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Black Panther »

"You Can Kiss It Good Bye"! Bucs sweep the A's! Now head to stl. for a big four game series this week...


"I have a deep affection for the University of Pittsburgh.It is my University.I am proud to be a Pitt man.”-Jock Sutherland
Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Black Panther wrote:"You Can Kiss It Good Bye"! Bucs sweep the A's! Now head to stl. for a big four game series this week...
And, we came from behind in all 3 games!

We need to go at least 4-3 vs the Cards and Cubs to hold our momentum going into the All-star break.

Game 1 the Bucs send out Niese (6-6, 5.07) to face Martinez (7-5, 2.83). Both teams are coming off winning their weekend series with sweeps and Martinez has been lights out in his last 6 starts even though he has been credited with just 3 wins.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Black Panther
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Black Panther »

Mister Bee wrote:
Black Panther wrote:"You Can Kiss It Good Bye"! Bucs sweep the A's! Now head to stl. for a big four game series this week...
And, we came from behind in all 3 games!

We need to go at least 4-3 vs the Cards and Cubs to hold our momentum going into the All-star break.

Game 1 the Bucs send out Niese (6-6, 5.07) to face Martinez (7-5, 2.83). Both teams are coming off winning their weekend series with sweeps and Martinez has been lights out in his last 6 starts even though he has been credited with just 3 wins.

LETS GO BUCS!!!
I like it...And we came back again today v stl.Polanco with two hr's in the win."How Sweet It Is!"


"I have a deep affection for the University of Pittsburgh.It is my University.I am proud to be a Pitt man.”-Jock Sutherland
Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Game 2 has the Pirates shelving their scheduled starter Taillon to the 15 DL due to shoulder fatigue, like we need another pitcher on the DL, and giving a spot start to another AAA call up.

Lefthander Steven Brault (2-3, 3.00 in 9 minor league starts) takes the hill vs Leake (5-6, 4.13) who has won 8 of his last 9 starts against us.

Bucco bats better be ready and so should the bullpen as I think we will only get around 5 innings from Brault.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs 5 Cards 2

RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!!

Brault gives us just enough in his first MLB start/debut AND collects his first hit in his first at bat.

Bullpen does a great job in relief with 5 scoreless innings. They have given up 1 run in the last 40.1 innings.

Bucco offense does it again as they come from behind for the 5th straight game to gives us our 6th straight win. Everybody is getting into the act and making contributions pitching, hitting and defense right now.

Game 3 and it keeps getting tougher as the Bucs send Locke (8-5, 5.13) to face Garcia (6-6, 3.84). Locke is 2-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 9 career starts vs the Cards and Garcia just shuts us down going 2-1 with an 0.57 ERA in 6 career starts.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs 7 Cards 5

RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!!

Our 7th straight win in a row AND our 6th straight come form behind win. "WE HAD THEM ALL THE WAY!!!"

Bucs give their starter Locke an early 1-0 lead but he can't hold it and only goes 4 innings and exits with us down 5-1. Offense slowly chips away at the lead with some timely hitting and another great performance by the shark tank, the 2nd straight night that they have had to go 5 innings of relief.

Bucs go for the rare 4 game sweep as they send out another rookie pitcher to make his MLB debut but Pirate fans have waited a long time for this one, Tyler Glasnow (7-2, 1.78) will take the hill vs Wainwright (7-5, 4.70). The Cards are 10-3 in his last 13 starts so this will be another hard fought game.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Cards 5 Bucs 1

We started the road trip with a loss and ended it with a loss but in between were 7 wins. 7-2 not a bad record for a road trip.

Cards starter Adam Wainwright was on as the Bucs only managed 1 run on 6 hits so tip your cap to him.

Bucs rookie starter Glasnow, while giving up 4 runs, didn't do a bad job in his MLB debut.

Bucs head home for a 3 game set vs the Cubs before the All-star break. It would be nice to take 2 of the 3 from them.

Game 1 has Liriano taking the mound for the Bucs vs Arrieta. Runs will be hard to come by for the Buccos.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs take 2 of 3 from the Cubs and are now just 7.5 games behind them.

Just a couple of weeks ago we were 14.5 back and 5 games below 500. Now we are 3 games over 500. We got hot and they got cold.

Offense has improved, especially with runners on base. The starting pitching was carrying us for awhile but the bullpen has really stepped it up even though the starting pitching hasn't been very good the last week. So the All-star break should give the shark tank a nice break.

Some good, timely AAA call ups have helped our staff, Tyler Glasnow, Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault gave us some good innings and a look at the future.

Also include utility man Adam Frazier who seems to have earned a longer stay in the majors and future 1st baseman Josh Bell who only got a 3 day call up but made a big impression. Josh will be back for good when the rosters are expanded in September, maybe even sooner. The Bucco farm system, which has earned the title of best in MLB is starting to show some very exciting results.

Staff ace Gerrit Cole is expected back on the hill after the break and Ryan Vogelsong will be back sooner than expected so that will help us out.

Catcher Fransico Crevelli will also return after the break.

GM Neil Huntington said that he expects the Pirates to be buyers before the trade deadline as he is looking for more pieces for our 4th straight run at the post season.

Bucs will be on the road after the break for a short 3 game series vs the NL East leading Washington Nationals on Friday. Neither team has announced it's starting pitchers.

The race for the NL Central crown has turned into a 3 team race and the Cubs don't appear to be a total lock to break the curse of the billy goat just yet.

As always...

LETS GO BUCS!!!


danicalifornia
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by danicalifornia »

The Cubs will have All Star Dexter Fowler back a couple of days after the break. That will be a big jolt back into the lineup, which hasn't been struggling, unlike the starting pitching, which I think everyone knew wasn't going to stay on pace to be the greatest rotation ever lol

Went to the game yesterday, first time at PNC in over a decade and it did not disappoint. My 2nd favorite stadium behind Wrigley. Besides being around some very dumb fans (Cardinals lost to the Rangers in the NLCS last year as an example) it was an awesome experience. They use the scoreboard about 5827x better than GAB uses theirs.

I think that I'll be heading to more Cub games in Pittsburgh than in Cincinnati from now on. It's worth the extra hour each way, IMO. Good luck to the Pirates in the 2nd half.


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs 10 Mariners 1

RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!!

Bucs starter Gerrit Cole was outstanding in getting the complete game as the Bucs end the homestand 5-3. However, the Bucco bats left alot of runners on base in every game and we could have easily gone 6-2 or 7-1. We have to start producing when we have runners on base and in scoring position. I think in game 1 vs Seattle we were 1-13 WISP. Horrible. Last night's 10-1 win could have and should have been around 16-1. To many times we are getting multiple runners on base with 0 or 1 outs and stranding them.

We need our starting pitchers to start chewing up innings and I mean quality innings to help out the bullpen.

McCutchen is hitting 50 points below his.293 career average but he did go 3-5 last night so lets hope he is out of his season long funk. I was ready to bench him for a couple of games to clear his head if I was the manager.

Freese needs to be in the lineup everyday. Infield or outfield, we need his bat. He hammers lefthanded pitching and did so again last night.

Pirate farm system is rated the best in baseball. A lot of good, young players down there but they are a year or two away from being everyday starters, especially the starting pitching like Glasnow (DL) Kuhl and Tallion. More are coming at nearly every postion. It will be interesting to see if we are buyers or not before the August 1st trading deadline. If we go after anyone it should be an established starting pitcher IMHO.

Bucs start a 6 game road trip, 3 each vs the Brewers and Braves. We need to win every series and sweep a couple to have a chance at catching the divison leading Cubs or securing a wild card spot.

Game 1 vs the Brewers has us sending out rookie Steven Brault to make his 2nd start (4IP 1R 4H 2W 5K) in his first start limited to a pitch count to face fellow rookie Junior Guerra (6-2, 2.85) who went 6IP 2R 3H 3W 6K against us on July 20th. We are a miserable 5-13 the last 2 years in Miller Park. Time to turn the tide.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Brewers sweep the Pirates right out of Milwaukee for the 3rd straight series.

Bucs look totally lifeless after the Melancon trade was announced.

Bucco management have lowered the Jolly Roger and raised the white flag even though we are only 4 games out of the 2nd wildcard spot.

Pirate fans came now look at the final 59 games of this year as an early jump on spring training for the 2017 season. There will be a constant shuffling of players up and down from the majors to the minors as players are given their chance of having a "cup of coffee" in the majors. Look for many minor leaguers to make starts and pinch hit appearances for the Pirates the final 2 months of the season.

We can only hope that Pirate management and player pride will help us finish above .500 but I have serious reservations that we will.

Once again, we are playing for next year. I can understand the Melancon trade as they have signed him to a 1 year contract every season. This year it was for 9.6 million and he would again be a unrestricted free agent. No way will Pirate brass offer him the expected 12-15 million he will get next season. Their mistake was to sign him to 1 year contracts but that was all about money and the fact that they didn't think he would be as good as he was. One has to wonder what they will do with their ace starter Gerrit Cole as his 1 year contract is up and he is eligible for arbitration after this season.

3 game series at Atlanta starts tonight. Gerrit Cole takes the hill for the Bucs. Hopefully, our players will fight through management"s lack of faith in them and start winning some serious for the fans.

Clint Hurdle would be on a short lease with most other teams but management is writing this season off due to injuries.

Final side note, late season pickup last year starting pitcher J A Happ, who went 7-2 1.86 for us down the stretch, is 14-3 this season for Toronto. We traded for him and let him go as a free agent and the Blue Jays picked him up for 3 years, 36 million. (Thats the same amout we spent on Liriano who we just shipped to Toronto). Boy, we sure could have used Happ but he was just to expensive for us.

As always...

LETS GO BUCS!!!


danicalifornia
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by danicalifornia »

Hutchison is a flyball pitcher who has had some bad luck, with an extremely high BABIP the last 2 seasons, who is getting out of the AL East could be a major positive for him. I think he has more upside for the Pirates than Nova, but I've never been high on Nova.

I also don't get the white flag waving when there was a serious chance to make another run at a playoff spot, especially since I feel like the Fish and Cards are going to slip and the Mets just aren't good. Lots of PT for the youngsters for sure.


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs start a 3 game series at home tonight vs the hapless Swinging Friars.

Pirates are barely treading water since the All-star break against a schedule heavy on sub .500 teams.

Game 1 has the Bucs sending out Chad Kuhl (1-0, 4.19) to make another spot start vs Luis Perdomo (5-5, 6.67).

Bucs better start taking advantage of their schedule and start winning some series. They started by taking 2 of 3 from the Redlegs this past weekend. They need to continue to win to have a chance for the post season.

Bucs are 2.5 games back from a wildcard spot.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs 6 Swingin' Friars 4

RAISE THE JOLLY RAISE!!!

Bucs starter Kuhl makes a spot start and goes 6 effective innings (2R, 5H, 4BB, 4K) to get the win.

Polanco (El Coffee) gets the game winning RBIs with a 5th inning, 2 on, 1 out, 0-2 blast to right center to break open a tight 2-2 game.

David Freese (this guy needs to be in the lineup everyday) gets 3 hits and Harrison adds 2 more.

McCutchen goes 1-2 and says he is not struggling at the plate this year. ??? You came into the season with a career .294 average (it's now down to .293) and you're hitting .242 this season. Sorry man, you're struggling at the plate. Admit it, own it and your mind will be free of the clutter that is causing the batting average to stink.

Bucs are a dismal 4-6 during their 12 game stretch vs teams that are at least 10 games below .500.

Game 2 has the Bucs sending out Ryan Vogelsong (1-1, 3.25) to face Edwin Jackson (2-2, 5.00).

This will be Vogelsong's 2nd start since being hit in the face back in late May while batting. He started last week vs the Braves and went 6IP, 1R, 3H but didn't get the decision as the Bucs lost 5-2 that night.

Bucco bats need to start producing as the Pirate pitching staff continues to struggle on a regular basis. Winning each series is the only way to get back into the postseason. Bucs are 56-54 with 52 games left to play.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Padres 4 Bucs 0

Bucco starter Vogelsong deserved much better than he got. His line was 6IP, 2 unearned runs, 3H, 1BB and 5K, as he gets stuck with the loss.

The real loser in this game was the Pirate offense which was offensive at best. 2 hits and 3 walks and 0-6 WISP. As Jed Clampet would say, "pitiful, just pitiful."

Pirates try for the series win as they send out Jameson Taillon (2-2, 3.39) to face Freidrich (4-7, 4.76).

Bucs are still 2.5 games back of the wildcard spot.

We need a win before we head west for 3 games each vs the Dodgers and Giants.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

Bucs 4 Swingin Friars 0

RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!!!

Pirate rookie starter Jameson Taillon was outstanding 8IP 0R 3H 2BB 4K.

Bucco bats had 9 hits and they were timely as Freese collects a couple and both times he plates a run. Bucs did a great job with RISP as they were 5-9.

Bucs start a 6 game western road swing with 3 each vs the Dodgers and Giants. We really need to win both series.

Currently, the Dodgers are 1 game back of the Western division leading Giants but the Dodgers have a 4 game lead on the top spot in the wildcard race. Looks like either the Dodgers or Giants will grab the top wildcard slot and they still have 9 games left to play vs each other with 6 of those games in LA but they have a 3 game season ending series in SF. Bucs are 14.5 back of the Cubs in the Central and it looks like our only hope is the 2nd wildcard which we are 2 games back of the Marlins with the Cards in between.

Game 1 has the Bucs sending out former Yankee pickup Ivan Nova (8-6, 4.83) making his 2nd NL start vs Ross Stripling (3-3, 3.79).

I hope the Bucs know that this is October baseball in mid August and we need to get on a season ending winning hot streak. 50 games left.

LETS GO BUCS!!!


Mister Bee
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Re: 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates

Post by Mister Bee »

After a great 5-1 western road trip vs the Dodgers and Giants, should have been 6-0, how can you have 10 hits, 11 walks, leave 18 runners on base and score only 4 runs to lose 8-4 is beyond me vs the Dodgers...the Bucs return home to lay a big fat turd as they go 1-5 vs the Marlins, whom they are chasing in the wildcard race and the Astros.

Gerritt Cole continues to struggle in the month of August with an ERA at 6+.

The offense is uneven at best.

Bucs (63-61) start a road trip tonight in MIlwaukee for 4 games. Since 2006 the Bucs are a woeful 19-68 and have lost their last 9 games in Miller Park.

There are 38 games left in this season for the Bucs and every series is very important. We need to go no worse than 2-2 in Milwaukee and win every series from here on out to have a chance at a wildcard spot. Giants had a half game lead over the Cards for the top spot with the Marlins 1.5 games back and the Pirates 3.5 back. We still have a shot but time is running out.

Hurdle must manage every game like it is the 7th game of the World Series and stop worrying about players playing time and giving them days off.

Game 1 has the Bucs sending out Chad Kuhl (3-1, 3.62) vs Wily Peralta (5-9, 6.00). The Pirates have won 6 of 7 games that Kuhl has started and he is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his 3 road starts this year.

ALL HANDS ON DECK MATES!!! ITS NOW OR NEVER!!! RUN UP THE COLORS AND...

LETS GO BUCS!!!


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