Well, looks like it's just about over.
Last two games, the bats went silent. A handful of bad pitches got knocked out of the park. Experience and veterans are about to win out over Cinderella.
Disappointing.
Still... they finally broke .500, they finally won over 90 games, they almost won the division and did make the playoffs.
Which leaves the immortal cry:
Wait 'till next year!
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. 90% of the people don’t care, the other 10% are glad it happened.” — Clint Hurdle, 2019
BAN THE DH!
Fudd's First Law of Opposition: If you push something hard enough, it WILL fall down.
Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law: It goes in, it must go out.
Just remember: Abraham Lincoln didn't die in vain. He died in Washington, DC
Cutch 300!!!!!
“Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfed.” — Bernie Sanders
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
Sorry to see that. I wanted a A's-Pirates WS.
Might be me tomorrow night with the WTNY lament.
A's had 'em last night and the bullpen let the game get away. I listened to every agonizing minute. (aaargh!)
Gray v. Verlander tomorrow at the Coliseum. Should be Rockin'!
Wish I was there.
Bottom line is... we're disappointed in the outcome of the last two games. We're not disappointed in the team.
The core of the Pirates are still relatively young players, and they'll be around for a few years yet. There's a few holes to fill (first base & right field come to mind), but nothing that they can't overcome.
I don't expect the three rent-a-players who got brought in in August to stick around. Justin Morneau showed flashes of his past glory, but his bat was not what they'd hoped for. 50/50 he's back. Marlon Byrd did an outstanding job, on a personal level, he's had a great year... first on a lousy team (Mets) and then on a play off run. He's a free agent, and he will probably command a huge salary... I expect the Pirates to be outbid. 10% chance he stays. John Buck? I'm not sure why they brought him in; possibly as insurance for catcher, when Michael "The Fort" McKenry went down for the season with a knee injury. But the barely played him... he was decent when he played, but something about the fit didn't seem right. 25% chance he stays.
I suspect AJ Burnett will retire. He's been saying that if he does one more year, he wants it to be with the Pirates... but I don't know how he feels after being passed over for Game 5 last night (and considering what he did in Game 1, and what he said to the press afterwards, that was the right call, IMHO). He faltered quite a bit down the stretch, so the team may not want him back. And, well, the last 2 years, the Yankees paid the bulk of his salary, as part of the trade. So he would cost the Pirates a lot of shekels to stick around for another year, possibly more than they want to pay him. 1/3 he's back.
And that's probably the worst of it... the "impact" players most likely to be gone.
I think the team will be fine, and will be back in the thick of it next year. They had a taste of a pennant race; they liked it. And a hunger for another taste like that... a well motivated team with some experience... is all to the good.
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. 90% of the people don’t care, the other 10% are glad it happened.” — Clint Hurdle, 2019
BAN THE DH!
Fudd's First Law of Opposition: If you push something hard enough, it WILL fall down.
Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law: It goes in, it must go out.
Just remember: Abraham Lincoln didn't die in vain. He died in Washington, DC
Cutch 300!!!!!
“Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfed.” — Bernie Sanders
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
The taste of the post season thing is dead on. I know that meant a lot to the A's.Originally Posted by W3WN
Here's my spin on your free agents.
Marlon Byrd: He was underpaid at $700,000 but overpaid in his previous contract. No way is he worth 6.5 mil. He'll be lucky to get 3 mil on the open market mostly due to age etc. I think your guys can sign him if his price is at that level, and only on a one year contract.
AJ Burnett: NOT a 16.5 million dollar pitcher, never was. He'll come back if he thinks the team is competitive only, as he will have to take a sizable discount on his current salary. The Bucs MIGHT pay 8 million (like they are now, with the Yankees picking up the rest of the contract) but it probably depends on how they feel about their farm hands or if they can find a Bartolo Colon type starter who is younger and cheaper. This call is all about talent evaluation.
Justin Morneau: I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign with the Blue Jays, since he's Canadian, albeit Western Canadian. At this point in his career with his injury history and production, he's a 5 million dollar player max. As with Byrd, you want to go only one year possibly with a team option. Morneau's previous contract really burned the Twins with his injuries and the concurrent monster contract signed by Joe Mauer. I don't envision the Pirates making a Jay Bell mistake or Jason Kendall mistake here.
John Buck: He was way overpaid at 6 mil a year. When he signed that 18 mil contract with the Marlins, every GM's head started spinning around like Linda Blair. The guy has always been a "prospect", never a Butch Posey, and should command backup money. Of course with the shortage of decent catchers in both leagues, he may be worth more than I think. He does call a strong game and has hit some in the past.
A lot of signing has to do with egos on the part of the players too. You very rarely see someone like Pat Burrell (who came back to the Giants after the 2010 Ws) who took a 8 million dollar pay cut to come back. In that case, it was a good thing because Burrell didn't produce, and either did Aubrey Huff, another major contributor to the Giants 2010 WS win who DID get an outrageous contract and didn't earn it. My point is, unless the dollars are right, you might be better off without some of these guys based on age and injury history.
As the A's have proven, there are plenty of players out there in the bargain bin. It's all about talent evaluation and the recognition that you won't be playing with the big boys like the Yankees and Dodgers on a salary level.
I think it's time to read Moneyball again...
All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.
Sorry it didn't work out, Ron. Now U can cheer on the Cards to do in those DARN DODGERS!
I saw the movie.
...and the reality is, the basic concepts of Moneyball are now being used by most of the teams, especially the smaller market ones...
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. 90% of the people don’t care, the other 10% are glad it happened.” — Clint Hurdle, 2019
BAN THE DH!
Fudd's First Law of Opposition: If you push something hard enough, it WILL fall down.
Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law: It goes in, it must go out.
Just remember: Abraham Lincoln didn't die in vain. He died in Washington, DC
Cutch 300!!!!!
“Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfed.” — Bernie Sanders
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
Cheer on the Cardinals? No, I don't think so.
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. 90% of the people don’t care, the other 10% are glad it happened.” — Clint Hurdle, 2019
BAN THE DH!
Fudd's First Law of Opposition: If you push something hard enough, it WILL fall down.
Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law: It goes in, it must go out.
Just remember: Abraham Lincoln didn't die in vain. He died in Washington, DC
Cutch 300!!!!!
“Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfed.” — Bernie Sanders
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
When I first heard about it, I remember thinking thinking "How the hell are they gonna make a movie out of that?" But not only did Brad Pitt pull it off, he made a movie that even my non-baseball fan XYL enjoyed.
The Padres subscribe to it. In fact, several of their staffers were lured away from the Oakland A's....and the reality is, the basic concepts of Moneyball are now being used by most of the teams, especially the smaller market ones...
All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.
Now that the Jolly Rogers have a lot of time on their hands they ............... wait for it...............
"Friendships come in strange packages
The best ones are opened with a smile"
NA4BH '15
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