The Pirates brought infielder Jake Lamb back on a new minor league contract after granting him his release when he triggered an opt-out clause last week, reports Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He’s headed back to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he spent the first two-plus months of the season.
Lamb, 33, has had a nice season in Indianapolis this year. The 2017 All-Star has appeared in 55 games and taken 234 turns at the plate, posting a .289/.380/.418 slash with four home runs, 13 doubles, a 12% walk rate and an 18.4% strikeout rate. It’s a fairly quick return to the same organization, though that’s not uncommon for veterans in this situation. New minor league deals in these scenarios can often include a larger salary in Triple-A, additional opt-out dates and/or upward mobility clauses that weren’t present in the prior pact from which the player opted out.
A veteran of 10 big league seasons, mostly with the D-backs, Lamb was a former top prospect who broke out as Arizona’s everyday third baseman back in 2016-17, slugging 59 home runs during that two-year peak. Shoulder troubles arose for the 2012 sixth-rounder, however, and he eventually underwent surgery to repair his rotator cuff in 2018. He’s since had calf and hamstring injuries in addition to some lingering issues with that surgically repaired shoulder.
Prior to the surgery, Lamb carried a career .247/.332/.448 batting line in his career — including a heftier .248/.345/.498 output during that 2016-17 run. He’s since bounced from around the league, spending time with the A’s, White Sox, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mariners, Angels and Yankees organizations in addition to this year’s Triple-A stint with the Bucs. In 223 big league games post-surgery, he’s a .199/.306/.363 hitter.
The Pirates stuck with first baseman Rowdy Tellez through an awful April and May stretch, and they’ve been rewarded with a much-improved .362/.413/.552 slash this month (albeit in only 63 plate appearances). That’s likely extended Tellez’s leash, but if he reverts to his early-season struggles and/or incurs an injury, it’s feasible that the Pirates could turn to Lamb and give him a look in the majors. He’s played first base almost exclusively in Indy this year — five games in right field being the only other defensive work he’s logged — so it’ll likely take a change in Pittsburgh’s first base/DH mix to get Lamb a major league opportunity.
Finally. The old heads have been chewing on their towels for 5 days waiting for some Pirates news. Don’t fear. Cherington is hard at work.
yeah, he’s hard at work using analytics to determine the lineup, despite knowing that Morton is a strikeout pitcher and still writes Cruz’ name in the #3 hole and proceeds to strike out 3 times
Yeah, such a hard worker indeed
Lineup doesn’t matter. You got Reynolds and Cutch for sure in the top 6. And that’s it! Rowdy has been top 6 worthy past month and change. 3 other guys have to bat in top 6. Joe? 3 for 40 nah. Gonzales? In May sure. June he has been well below average. Wiffski? Taylor? Bad Back? Olivares? Toe tap Triolo? Bye bye Bae. Davis? Grandpal? Cruz is one of your 3 best hitters. Why shouldn’t he bat 3rd? Rowdy waa brought here to hit hrs but has failed so you know what you are right. Cruz should bat 4th for the 1 day a week he hits a 112 mph blast into the river. Although seems that mostly happens with no one on base.
actually Joe is now 3 for 4 in his last 5 plate appearances including 2 doubles and a walk.
Cruz is on pace to strikeout 211 times over the course of 162 games
Exit velocity only matters when your bat makes contact with the ball and Cruz doesn’t do this often enough for a player batting 3rd.
If he’s really one of the best hitters, why does he strike out so much?
He swung at one pitch in last night’s game that was 3 feet off the plate. Doesn’t sound like a good hitter to me
Putting the ball in play scores runs, striking out 94 times doesn’t
No help is coming. What is Haines gonna fix someone? There’s nothing on the farm coming anytime soon, even more nothing in the outfield department. Trades ain’t happening until after draft. It’s nice that Nutting is prepared but no reason to because he ain’t doing Nutting. When trades do start happening there is going to be a shortage because of so many teams in. By then Pirates might not be as in as other teams. Prices should be sky high. So what are the options? Punt on 2024 even though Skenes Keller are here and ready now. Pay the high trade prices and hurt your farm? Or not make enough trades and or trade for lesser talents that don’t improve your team enough? None of those are exciting options. I guess the third is the best. Then the first one.
I don’t see all these teams being out of the race a month from now. And I would have the Pirates as one of the more likely teams to fall back in the race. You got 3 bats. 1 strikes out a ton. 4 if Rowdy keeps it going. 5 if Joe finds his way back. Hole in 2 outfield spots. Hole at 3b unless Hayes is healthy and vs LHP. Hole at 2b until Gonzales adjusts. Hole at catcher. Ok so they can tread water with 4 holes. I dunno who in here would say that but if they do they forgot rest days! So it’s at least 5 holes.
Jones innings are too high so he is well below half a tank. Cherington said something about help coming from within so the punt option might be where he is headed. See what happens but it’s going to be brutal baseball to watch until Cherington adds at least 2 impact bats.
Strap in. 3 for 4! #SlumpOver
I never said Cruz was a good hitter. You don’t have to be a good hitter to be one of the Pirates best hitters.
Jones isn’t pitching in his usual spot in the rotation according to Shelton because of his increased innings and tonight was his spot so expect a bullpen game
There’s no way they will become a playoff team this year and probably not next either
It takes money to put on a legitimate contender and Nutting isn’t going to allow that to happen
Speaking of slumps, Cruz is 0 for his last 17 plate appearances
he got a single in his first plate appearance in today’s game
Your hero Michael A Taylor did what he does best, he struck out and on a pitch nowhere near the plate
One of the “ old heads” was seriously contemplating being the first commenting on this post as I had never done that before.
I did not know that it had been five long days since.
But one of the “young heads” came through with the first post.
Congratulations Dream GM.
Next time you have a chance to comment first, don’t hesitate.
Quite frankly,I couldn’t think of anything even half way intelligent to say.
Thus I chose to remain silent,and be thought stupid,than to write,and remove all doubt.
Wish he hadn’t gotten hurt. Our third base situation hasn’t exactly been rosy. Escobar was fine but Lamb started out pretty well in his early twenties……
Lamb can play first base. He started at that position once Goldy was traded away, but injuries got to him soon and Christian Walker seized the opportunity.
Can and will in AAA.
Jack could use a trip to Indy to change his swing, as there’s no longer any lift and instead it’s just to make contact
His bread and butter is his raw power. Changing his swing is a result of the failure of the hitting coach and the failed development of this management team overall
It’s hard to fathom a player going from hitting 26 homers and driving in 71 runs to a paltry 6 and 20 without questioning his swing
I suspect that when Bae is activated from the IL, after his rehab stint at Indy, Jack will replace him.
Regarding Lamb, this is a team that lacks any depth of offense and there’s a few current players who aren’t contributing on a regular basis, Rowdy being one, despite his partial resurgence
If this team has wild card aspirations, changes are inevitable
l
The Pirates promise a future that never happens.
By this time next year or early in 2026 they’ll be talking another rebuild because everyone will be a few years older, production, if that’s even possible, will be worse and injuries will start striking the elite pitchers
they moved Skenes back a day and is scheduled to start today rather than tomorrow
But it might not matter since they can’t seem to score enough runs again
At least Cruz isn’t playing and neither is Jack but those automatic outs are now in Taylor’s hands
Michael A Taylor needs to be dfa and Matt Gorski added to the roster then promoted
He can’t be any worse
Taylor couldn’t hit a ball even if it was placed on a T using a whiffle ball bat
I stand corrected, Taylor used his whiffle ball bat and got a single out of it
I could live with the Pirates being below .500 and not making the playoffs, if they weren’t so boring. Sadly, they are both bad and boring. They keep repeating the same actions even though those actions keep failing. Lead off runner on in a close game, what do you do? Why, swing away of course. Doesn’t matter that the next three batters live at the Mendoza line, maybe this time, they magically become better hitters. Really? Playing the game unencumbered by the thought process. The Pirates lack the talent to score with power, so do something different. Make the game exciting even if you lose. Sad, but boring.
You had better live with it because they won’t have a winning record this year, not with an offense near the bottom of the league in runs scored
But you make a valid argument, Skeptical
They fall to play fundamental baseball, bunting is out of the question, trying to move a runner into scoring position or even trying for a bunt single
And no one is held accountable. I do not fault Nutting for not spending money (his money, not mine and spending money is not the only way to make a competitive team), but I do blame him for tolerating a management group that appears not to hold people accountable and that misuses the Pirates’, hence Nutting’s, assets.
Wish the Pirates could bring AJ back to instill a little fire in the team.
They need a manager who can do that.
With all due respect,some of these guys would clearly be better hitters if they lived at my Mendoza Line 215.Or even 200.
the great manager Derek Shelton who uses analytics to pinch hit, chose Oneil Cruz to pinch hit for Connor Joe, despite his getting on base twice with a single and a walk, struck out by violating the pitch count
I partly blame Cruz for his shear ignorance and partly blame Shelton for using him as a pinch hitter in the first place
Cruz now has 96 ks on the season and is among the leaders of this stat
Jack Suwinski, pinch hitting for Taylor, does what he does best
Strikes out on 3 pitches
Shelton isn’t very good at choosing pinch hitters in this game, nor is he good at anything period
0 for 12 with runners in scoring position they deserve to lose and the coaching staff needs to teach these players how to slide into home plate
Olivares should have either started his slide earlier or slid head first
The Braves will sweep this series and the Pirates unless they go on a win streak, their season is yet another one of the losing variety
Gotta be tough being a bucs fan right now
Actually it’s easy. You know the games are going to be boring until they add some bats so all you need to do it watch the 10 min condensed game or check box score. They don’t make major trades. Don’t sign major free agents. Don’t bench lazy or poor performing players. Don’t fire any staff. Easiest team in baseball to be a fan of. Go in a cave for months and come out and it’s the same players, same hitting approach, from the same coaches. You won’t miss a thing. So easy.
It’s been tough to be a Pirate fan for 45 years
The tough part is that many of us knew what changes needed to be made several years ago and nothing has happened.
Impossible. The problem is poor player development on the position player side. You couldn’t know that until recently because Cherington needed time to improve it. Didn’t look like he was going to years ago but you still have to give him the time. Problem is he isn’t a good enough gm. He would be fine in majority of cities but the real problem is Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh at 110 million can’t compete with 200 250 300 without a elite front office and development staff.
Everyone on here just blames Shelton. He has nothing to do with it. Players win games. Not managers. You can blame Haines a little I guess but any hitting coach capable of teaching these scrubs to hit is going to cost more than Nutting is going to pay. If such a coach existed they would have their own business and charge a absurd amount of $.
Managers choose the pinch hitters and his 2 choices are strikeout machines and neither disappointed
Connor Joe who had reached base twice and didn’t strike out was lifted for Cruz who did strike out and on a pitch count violation;
Taylor who I detest, took a pitch to the right field wall and singled in favor of Jack who struck out on 3 pitches
Shelton was also an assistant hitting coach so between him and worthless Haines, someone should be able to teach these players how to swing a bat and learn the strike zone
So please spare me the nonsense that the manager bears no responsibility for losing games.
Dream-Largely wrong.Yes on development.Yes that it takes time.No on major changes should have been done by now
Shelton was fine for the first 2-3 years but many of us have been generally calling for his head since they started having a respectable team.I have said many times that he could never manage a winning team.
Haines is another story.He never really worked here but espouses BC’s hitting mantra evidently.
This “development “ group has never stressed fundamentals.Shelton does not sit players who do not hustle.It is not exactly like he has good replacements,but the manager is responsible to have his players play the best that they can.
You were all excited that they would have.a good team this year.
The “old heads” questioned that.We know the Pirates too well.
You have continually said that the Pirates cannot do better.Maybe not with Cherington but he is middle of the road.Managers and hitting coaches are interchangeable parts.There are plenty of established or good young ones to take their places.
Sometimes change just for the sake of change is the best solution.It tells the players like Cruz and Hayes that the status quo is not good enough.
Nutting did his part by backing his GM and signing three players to long term contracts.He May have to do his part now to intercede as Cherington clearly cannot get out of his own way.
After Matt Canada was fired during the season last year with the Steelers, their overall offense was better
Bart was activated today from the IL and Delay was optioned to Indy. In my opinion, Grandal should have been dfa but I understand why he wasn’t
Joe who is 4 for his last 6 is sitting in favor of Jack whose season consists of either weak grounders or strikeouts
I simply can’t wrap my head around these impotent lineups
You never seen me excited about this season. They are as good as I thought they would be. The rest of the NL is as good as I thought it would be. I thought they could make the playoffs but only because the competition sucks.
Managers don’t do anything in today’s game other than cheerlead and babysit. They don’t handle the bullpen. Don’t make the lineup. That’s all done by the lab rats. I would like to see Cruz running out groundballs but it won’t make any difference in the win column. Maybe one game a year. What games would they have won but ended up losing because Cruz didn’t run out a play? They all the sudden lead the division with a hustling Cruz? I don’t think so. But sure I would bench any player anytime they were lazy. Wouldn’t move the needle for wins but if 37 year old Cutch is hustling they should too. Although if you would have just signed Santana the manager wouldn’t have to say anything and it would be more effective coming from a player. But Cutch just smiles and laughs and Rowdy is even lazier than Cruz. If the entire team is fine with lazy players who am I as a manager to be the one to be the Debbie downer. Might lose the team which would mean losing my job. So second thought I wouldn’t say anything either.
3 for 40 Joe sucks. Needs to be removed from the team. Wouldn’t make any other teams roster. 4 for 6 I demand Joe to be in the starting lineup. I can’t wrap my head around it either.
by not running out grounders, it reveals the lack of discipline by management and this management lacks discipline
It’s not about the potential for winning more games, though breaking up a double play by hustling to first could lead to more runs, it’s about how lazy the selected few are and how the manager lacks leadership in giving out discipline to those players
If sets a bad example for Shelton and his worthless coaching staff
4 for 6 is far better than 2 for 21 with 9 strikeouts like Jack is stuck in
Apparently you prefer swing and miss Jack Dream
your favorite player did what he does with great consistency, Dream, Cruz struck out on 3 pitches
You might not have been excited about this year but us older and long time Pirate fans always look forward to the next season including this one
And what has become an annual tradition, we become disappointed with their performances.
I will always find it difficult to believe that every player is in a hitting slump game after game after game
On occasion they will break out and score runs in double figures but soon thereafter it’s back to the perpetual slump again
You miss my point entirely.
Why constantly give up and not try to get better?
And you were thinking that they were going to get better at the start of the year.
It is Groundhog Day again.
How is the A+ Martin Perez working out?
If the Pirates are being run like you say then the problem is above Shelton.
Good GM’s use analytics because it is a tool but not a way of life.That is what Klentak did in Philadelphia and why he failed but DD mixes the two.
Real fans do not accept continuous losing just because they are a small market team.
I see people downgrade NH on here but at least they had a great run for three years.
Santana should not have been signed just to lead the team.This is still a people’s profession and people do not respond to computers.This is the manager’s job and perhaps both he and BC are frustrated but they signed up for the jobs and need to conduct themselves properly.
I doubt very much that even Bob Nutting is going to be OK with that kind of attitude.You said that he did not in essence say anything in his rare press discussion a few weeks ago but I think that if you read the fine print he said that BC and/or Shelton is on a short leash.
There’s no preferring. Jack and Joe don’t play the same position. Shows what you know….. Not much.
I wanted to dfa Cruz as seen in previous comment after how you told me he couldn’t hit hit RHP because he struck out that one time. I said get rid of him so obviously not my favorite player. Shows what you know….. Not much.
Perez was good before injury so not seeing how that is relevant. He should have pitched another minor league game as 1 obviously wasn’t enough.
What quotes made you believe they are on a short leash? They should be after 5 years and no winning but I didn’t see anything to suggest this.
In fairness,Perez was good in several of his starts except for two really bad ones.
But he hasn’t exactly been an all star.
Not sure that he does not have to right the ship as Tired may get his wish and have Ortiz start.
Nutting mentioned about getting a hitter soon before the trade deadline.That was a big Hint Hint to Cherington.He does not often get involved with the press during the season.That portends to me that something is up.
Nutting never mentioned getting a hitter. He said they need better hitting and they are prepared to make a trade. Every team is prepared. Also said he will make more funds available to base ops. He blamed himself. Didn’t realize he did. But why is he making more funds available. Apparently there wasn’t enough if more is needed.
More is needed because there are 5 players hitting below or at my line.
This was not the way that it was supposed to be.
And Nutting does not like to spend money unless necessary to make a good team.
Dream, you’re wrong about Shelton having little or nothing to do with it. He has everything to do with it. As a leader or manager, one sets the tone and influences the culture.. From the outside, it appears that the Pirates team culture is lackadaisical. There is a lack of hustle, drive, passion, etc. From the outside, the Pirate players often seem to be going through the motions. All that is on Shelton. However, it flows uphill. The failure of Shelton is the responsibility of Cherington and the failure of Cherington is the failure of Nutting.
Oh, good. They called up Bart. Positive. Sent down Delay and kept Grandel. Really? Grandel is a problem, no offense, defense so-so and too lackadaisical
Grandal makes too much money and doesn’t have any options left and with this team, it’s all about the money and not the production
with an off day tomorrow, I’m not surprised that the lineup consists mostly of bench players
Triolo who has struck out twice already today and Jack instead of Joe
Triolo is another one that needs to go back to Indy and learn again how to hit
Skeptical-Being skeptical is a good state to be in.
It does not mean negativity but questions.
I agree that Grandal should easily be gone but they seem to like his work with the young pitchers.
I think that Delay is a comforting presence in AAA as I do believe that he is a decent backup MLB player.
They also do not want to pay Grandal for nothing,and may think that they can actually get something for him at the trade deadline.
My guess is that maybe they are giving up on Henry as a catcher now that they have Bart and Endy coming back next year.Hopefully BC is smart enough to move him to RF permanently.
Paul- Triolo is never going to be a good ML hitter but he is fundamentally sound in the field and can play several different infield positions well
I agree that going back to AAA would be the way to go to see if Munson can make him any better.
Haines certainly cannot.
Mendoza, Noah Scott has a nice article in Rumbunter about how Andy Haines has failed the current batters and their regression from earlier in their careers
Rowdy Tellez for example reached out to a scout he had known since he was a teenager to help him with his stance and approach at the plate. He went rogue from the organization because Haines’ tutelage was making him a worse hitter
This approach by players can’t be well received by management I would think but then I wonder why management hasn’t already determined that Haines is more of a liability to the team
If you believe Bart vs Delay is making or breaking your season then I dunno what to tell you. If you don’t know why they choose Bart over Delay I don’t know what to tell you.
Team seems just as motivated as other teams. Lack of hustle looks to be on par with other teams. Unfortunately this is what baseball has become. You think fat lazy slob Rowdy hustled on his other teams? Sorry but he didn’t.
No one said anything about whether Rowdy hustled or not and because of his size even running as fast as he could, it would still be difficult for him to beat out a hit
Cruz on the other hand, with his long legs and better physical ability, he has a better chance of beating out a hit
why do you insist on defending Haines, Dream?
It amazes me why a change was not made a couple of years ago.He does seem to be following Cherington’s direction.This same thing occurred with Hayes and Cruz.
I realize that he has been here three years but when the whole team is hitting below their capability,and others get results,someone has to take the fall.
Defending Haines? Where? I never wanted him hired. Wanted him fired last year.
Dream-Not sur who you were addressing but my response was to Skeptical regarding Grandal and Delay.
I think that if Bart hits like he has been he will take Henry’s place and split time with Endy next year.
He was one of BC’s few wins this year.
if Haines isn’t the problem with these “ scrubs”, why did he fail doing the same job with the Brewers for 3 years?
I hardly consider their players “ scrubs “
there’s no discipline either. Cruz’ failure to run out a ground ball, his hapless throws to first base as examples
Shelton wants so badly to be a player’s manager, he deliberately refuses to punish his players when they become lazy
Get Shelton some bats and he will win manager of year. Not that he is good just it doesn’t matter. Talent wins games. He isn’t making many pitch hit decisions. That is decided by analytics and by what side of the plate the batters stand.
Shelton can’t help with the hitting unless Nutting opens up his wallet to purchase some speed hitters. Is that what he meant by increasing the baseball ops $ or did he mean a Cherington extension and raise? Personally I would go with purchasing some speed hitters.
If using analytics was key, why did Cherington have all 9 batters from the right side play when Fried’s batting average against was higher from the left side?
Left handed batters were hitting .373 against him and right handed batters hitting .182.
Apparently Cherington doesn’t write the lineup card or both he and Shelton pull names out of a hat
And Shelton made two pinch hit decisions yesterday and both were monumental failures
⁸What Fried did vs other teams in a sss is irrelevant.
But isn’t that how analytics works, using data from the opposing pitcher to determine the lineup?
You want to predict what your players will do against him. His splits are extreme this year but usually closer. Any left bats that are put in a lineup to hit him either hit LHP well or hit his type of pitches well. Cruz is a .151 hitter vs LHP. Do you think he is going to hit .373 against Fried? You want to bench your platoon bats that can’t hit what Fried throws. But Ohtani Freeman Soto mvps super stars etc that bat lefty, well you aren’t going to bench them are you? They win awards because they can hit any pitching. So Fried is facing leftys that teams want in against him. And it’s sss. Last year leftys hit .205 year before .207 If you had Bonds you aren’t benching him. Platoon strike out machine Cruz though? I won’t complain about benching him and his .151 average. Rowdy hitting .095 vs LHP. You think he is a .373 hitter all the sudden just because he is facing Fried? I”ll keep Harper Seager Devers in vs him but Rowdy? Rowdy? Cruz? Your boy Jack? You want to send him back to the minors but now are you telling me if he played every game vs Fried he is going to win the batting title?
Apparently Cruz doesn’t hit right handed pitchers either or else he wouldn’t have struck out against one yesterday and same goes with Jack
Jack is not my boy nor is Cruz
But the all right handed batters against Fried yesterday only managed one measly run so using that approach wasn’t helpful either
Just dfa Cruz already and let another team have him. Dfa all the bats. Start from scratch.
actually Jack hits lefty pitchers this year than he has in the past but what would have been wrong with mixing up the batters considering they weren’t productive from just the right side
This management never changes anything try and win , it’s always the status quo’s
They could still get something good for Cruz.He is the first one that I would send packing in the off season unless he agrees to play first base gladly where his nonchalant attitude would not be as harmful.
Jack and Davis need to be in AAA under Munson where they stay until they learn how to hit again.
Both of these guys have proven that they can hit in the past and that talent should not be wasted,especially on a team like the Pirates.
Meanwhile,Andujar is hitting 310 for the A’s.
I think that Cherington has done a reasonably good job up until this year.
But he has had a very very bad year,and the chickens are coming home to roost.
And if Nutting does not realize that,then Pirate fans really do deserve better.
Dream-What Nutting meant is a GM who can develop young players.
That is the only way that small market teams can compete.
If you want the Pirates to switch to your sss over reaction game planning it’s not going to happen. If you just take a moment to sit back and think on things you might change your mind. Maybe not but it’s worth a try and seems better than just looking at a batting average and saying he is better. Guy has 1 walk vs LHP. 1. He better be batting over .300 or on pace for 50 hrs with that walk rate. Almost a 50 percent strike out right. How many successful players have you seen that strike out half the time? Last use your eyes. Unfortunately he looks lost and overwhelmed vs RHP I don’t have a word to describe how he looks vs LHP. Scouts would say he is much worse vs LHP. They wouldn’t even look at his average but if someone mentioned it they would say it’s sss pure luck.
“Apparently Cruz doesn’t hit right handed pitchers either or else he wouldn’t have struck out against one yesterday” I’m not touching this one. I’m hoping this is just fanatic overreaction and you aren’t actually forming a opinion over someone from 1 single at bat.
It’s pretty standard basic stuff that even the Pirates shouldn’t mess up. Although for them not to have a lefty in lineup is uncommon. Look at all the at bats Cruz Suwinski have vs LHP. They usually play them. The Nutting appearance must have prioritized winning. If trying to win those 2 don’t play vs LHP. Pirates haven’t cared about winning. They have refused to admit that those 2 are platoon players. Tuff pill to swallow. Who wants to give up on that kind of power. When’s the last time you seen a all righty lineup? This is first I am hearing of it. But yeah I agree. Not like righties are crushing Fried. Might as well put a couple lefties in the lineup. Doubt it would matter but this week or next you will probably see Cruz and or Suwinski start vs a LHP that righties actually do hit significantly better. That would have been a better day to rest them. If they are benched again it will signal the Pirates for the first time under Cherington have put winning baseball games over player development.
Personally, I’m tired of settling for mediocrity. The rebuilding is over and this team isn’t much if at all better than last year’s team.
With the exception of pitching, the hitting has been an embarrassment
The only players of the starting 9 that have improved are Reynolds and Cutch, though only because he played with a hurt elbow last year.
Hayes, Joe, Jack and Davis have regressed
Is that the players or the hitting coaches?
prior to the current game, Cruz was 0 for his last 17 with 9 strikeouts and all against right handed pitchers
@Dream, . “Talent wins games.” Sorry, but not true in baseball, sports, war, business or and facet of life. Talent alone isn’t worth squat. You need leadership, team chemistry, talent and some luck. Look at the 2023 Padres and Mets. Stocked up on talent and it got them nowhere. Talent is useless unless properly used. The current Pirates seem incapable of using the talent they have.
If talent won games the WS last year would have been between the Dodgers and Yankees
Hitting coaches make thousands. Players make millions. Think you can come to the answer on that one. Or why isn’t Tellez a jay or brewer? Why is he in a 3m 1 year deal in Pittsburgh. If Suwinski was projected to be a good hitter why would you trade him for Adam Frazier? Why has Joe been with so many teams?
Those teams had 300m worth of payroll but not talent. They did as well as their talent projected.
Those teams weren’t the best teams during playoffs and even if they were mathematics makes it so the best team doesn’t always win.
Tellez was coming back from an injury and was a risk when the Bucs signed him for such a low price
Joe was originally drafted by the Bucs I believe and I have never indicated my opinion that he should be a starter. But because he’s inexpensive he’s playing every day
When was Jack traded for Frazier?
July 2021
except that Frazier was traded for Jack and you said the opposite
Jack has played right field so yes he and Joe have played the same position before
Maybe you should start watching games personally instead of making excuses
There is no opposite. It’s the same trade. Jack for Frazier. Frazier for Jack. Same trade. Doesn’t matter how you say it. The context of my comment was from the Padres perspective so if there was a right well I said it the right way and you were wrong. But anyone with a iq being able to take care of themselves can figure out it’s the same trade.
No Shhhh IT Jack has played rf. But if he plays rf that means Taylor plays cf. Other than late inning defense do you want both those bats in your lineup in favor of Joe who’s been much better? Come on now.
I feel like I need to explain it to you like I am talking to the president or a 2nd grader so here it is. Jack Suwinski was a Padres prospect. If they thought he was going to be a good hitter they wouldn’t trade him for Adam Frazier. See the Padres traded Jack and others for Frazier. There’s no opposite. Go check the Padres transactions. Jack for Frazier. So I said it the correct way. Now if I said Frazier for Jack I think just about everyone could figure it out and wouldn’t bother replying with a snarky gotcha comment. There is no gotcha though. There is no opposite. I said it how it should have been said. You are simply wrong like you are most the time.
except that the Bucs initiated the trade sending in part, Adam Frazier for Jack Suwinski so yes it does matter how its phrased
Have you ever admitted being wrong?
You’re the one who is against Joe being a starter due to your man-love for Jack
Twisting the facts around to justify your opinion won’t work with me
Just admit that you’re not always right and are wrong about this
You said Jack was traded for Frazier when it was the Pirates who were looking for a trade partner using Frazier as bait so in reality, Frazier was traded for Jack
You are a absolute idiot. I really can’t recall talking to someone this stupid.
Where is this article in who initiated the trade? Link please. Because almost always the team looking for veteran help ask the other team if so and so is available. You have the player other teams want therefore they contact you with their offers. Maybe Cherington is the 1 gm who goes around trying to sell his players in desperation giving up his leverage and that’s why his team is below 500 lol. Doesn’t matter in the context of my comment anyways.
Serious you are mentally ill. Seek help. Everyone knew the Pirates were sellers. Everyone knew Frazier was someone they would want to trade. There is zero reason for them to initiate a trade. It was actually a surprise that the Padres traded for Frazier because they already had Crone at 2b. Padres would have been one of the last teams to i initiate a trade with. Not how it works though normally. Teams would contact Pittsburgh and verify that Frazier was available and then trade talks would begin. You actually thing Pittsburgh called them and said we Jack and these other guys and will give you Frazier. So what if you already have a better player do this trade. Lol. What if SD said nah were good at 2b. As everyone thought they were. Pittsburgh would waste all that time scouting their prospects for nothing. You think Nutting pays so much $ he has all these scouts sitting around with nothing better to do? Lol Again even if this fantasy of yours is true and doesn’t matter and it isn’t relative to the context of my comment. Jack traded for Frazier. Right there in Padres transactions.
Stop with the compulsive lies. I never said Jack should start over Joe. Joe isn’t a cf. He can’t start over Jack. Lol. It isn’t possible lol. Jack Taylor CF. Joe Olivares RF. Come on dum dum.
Oh wait better out Cutch in RF too so dum dum don’t say Cutch has played RF! Gotcha! And Davis too because they threw him out there last year. Oh yeah I am wrong because Jack has started some RF. Lets ignore majority and pick these lil sss examples. Hope I covered all your lame comebacks dum dum.
yeah as if Nutting would approve of $50 million in salaries going to waste
Starting from scratch instead should be management, including coaches on the major league staff and ultimately new player development staff for the entire organization
Paul-Much if what you are saying has been consistently said by you,me,Tired,aka the “old heads”,and several of the other younger but fine Bucco posters on this site.
Why do we know but others do not?
Nutting has to strike soon.It has been five years and they are barely mediocre.
This is not rocket science.
both Cruz and Rowdy hit homers and today’s game which is a good sign but as a team they still managed to strike out 12 times
there is not a single chance these swings and misses are all on the players alone
Only managing 6 hits is a pathetic performance from a major league team
Should have been 9 or 10 hits. Moron Shelton put Reynolds and Cutch in the lineup and they both went hitless.
And Jack ( your favorite player ) should have hit 2 homers
Reynolds to his credit did hit successfully in 25 straight games, which is 24 more games than Cruz had managed until yesterday
On Cherington’s weekly radio program on the Fan, he said that the team’s improvement needs to come from within as he expects current players to get better
Which essentially means that the fantasy of trades to improve the team are closer to slim to none
As a team the Bucs are last in batting average and slugging and have the third most strikeouts by an offense
Another disappointing season by the buffoons who manage this franchise and who still think that long time, knowledgeable fans will buy into the nonsense that the likes of Haines and company have the ability of making them better and competitive
They aren’t last in average. They aren’t last in slugging. Shows what you know. Not much.
as of today, at MLB.com, the Pirates team batting average is .227, last in the national league
shows that you aren’t as knowledgeable about baseball that you claim
Wow. Impressive you actually said something that was correct. Unfortunately it was a desperation correction. In the same sentence you used the batting average you also used strike outs and slugging. For both those other stats you included American league teams lol. Same as you originally did with average. Other two stats have NL team so yoi can’t pretend like you meant NL all along. Busted loser! Nice try but I am not a dum dum like you and easily caught it lol. Good save attempt though. In all seriousness you are sad and pathetic and need help. There is something wrong with you mentally. This isn’t normal behavior. You should seek help. There’s no need for all these lies and manipulation. You are human. Humans make mistakes. It’s ok to be wrong.
It’s okay to be wrong
You said that the Bucs weren’t last in batting average
And since you have this idea that I have mental problems, you ignorant arrogant POS, you are now muted
it’s going to be nice to offer my opinion without having to read Nightmare GM’s responses
6 batters faced by Gibson and he’s already struck out 5 Pirates. Swinging at pitches nowhere close to the plate
Andy Haines must be proud
there’s no way this pathetic offense will come back from a 6 run deficit and Grandal can’t just not hit, he can’t throw and can’t catch without the threat of an interference call
Haines and Shelton must be proud
how long before Nutting begins to put pressure on Cherington to improve the offense ?
Striking out in double digits with less than 10 hits, and not drawing walks at any rate, lack of XBH , at some point, Haines has to be given an ultimatum for improving the offense
they are being shut out by a 35 year old pitcher who has an era of over 5
If they have serious playoff aspirations, something has got in change and fast
Other than myself, no one has been in here since June. You muted me. Yet you are still talking. You are talking to yourself. Seriously go see a therapist. No one will know. Nothing to be ashamed of.