Also not a fan of polanco in leadoff.. Despite his speed i think he would be better off trying to tap into his overall hitting ability .. Batting leadoff kind of forces him to tone down the SLUGG capability he is trying to tap into consistently..i dont neccesarily mean homeruns but xtra base hits n general he should be a doubles machine.. Rather him focus on that then working counts... He strikes me as a see ball smash ball guy and when those guys try and think to much the they turn into mental midgets..i realize he has some leadoff tools but he also has overall hitting tools...
exactly why I made this thread and we will keep it going throughout the year. I follow the Pirates VERY closely and I know a few other around here do too...
So lets keep this thread going and anyone that has a feel for the pirates or think they are a good fade, post it. lets make money...and hopefully the pirates roll this year
Spring Training Game Notes.........................
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Drew Smyly and the Rays' bullpen kept the Pirates' bats quiet and Desmond Jennings homered in a 5-1 Rays win.
Smyly looked sharp in his second start of the spring, allowing no runs on two hits and striking out three in 3 1/3 innings. Of the 51 pitches he threw, 35 were strikes.
"I'm feeling great, my arm feels great right now," Smyly said. "I'm just trying to get my work in, work on my pitches, just go out there and compete and have fun."
Jennings put the Rays on top when he homered with Logan Forsythe aboard in the third off of Pirates starter Francisco Liriano.
Corey Dickerson added an RBI single in the fifth to push the lead to 3-0. The Rays extended the lead to 5-0 when Cameron Seitzer plated two on a sharp single to right field in the bottom of the seventh.
Jennings, who was limited to 28 games in 2015 due to an assortment of injuries, is off to a hot start this spring hitting .500 (5-for-10) with a home run and seven RBIs in five games.
Liriano, who will pitch at the top part of the Pirates' rotation this season, allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three in three innings. He threw 49 pitches of which 33 were strikes.
"It feels good. Just missed a couple pitches. I think I was rushing a little bit the first couple innings," Liriano said. "You feel too fresh, the body feels great, just trying to overdo things, trying to rush, going forward too quick and not executing pitches."
The Pirates got on the board when Michael Suchy socked a solo shot off of Adam Wilk in the top of the eighth.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Drew Smyly and the Rays' bullpen kept the Pirates' bats quiet and Desmond Jennings homered in a 5-1 Rays win.
Smyly looked sharp in his second start of the spring, allowing no runs on two hits and striking out three in 3 1/3 innings. Of the 51 pitches he threw, 35 were strikes.
"I'm feeling great, my arm feels great right now," Smyly said. "I'm just trying to get my work in, work on my pitches, just go out there and compete and have fun."
Jennings put the Rays on top when he homered with Logan Forsythe aboard in the third off of Pirates starter Francisco Liriano.
Corey Dickerson added an RBI single in the fifth to push the lead to 3-0. The Rays extended the lead to 5-0 when Cameron Seitzer plated two on a sharp single to right field in the bottom of the seventh.
Jennings, who was limited to 28 games in 2015 due to an assortment of injuries, is off to a hot start this spring hitting .500 (5-for-10) with a home run and seven RBIs in five games.
Liriano, who will pitch at the top part of the Pirates' rotation this season, allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three in three innings. He threw 49 pitches of which 33 were strikes.
"It feels good. Just missed a couple pitches. I think I was rushing a little bit the first couple innings," Liriano said. "You feel too fresh, the body feels great, just trying to overdo things, trying to rush, going forward too quick and not executing pitches."
The Pirates got on the board when Michael Suchy socked a solo shot off of Adam Wilk in the top of the eighth.
i just have to wonder where the power is coming from this year, but i'm still optimistic. pedro will probably hit 40 for the O's this year. walker will probably hit .300 with 25-30. just the way it'll roll. can't wait to hit opening day, i'm moving back to the burgh in 2 weeks.
JC - why does forum life rule real life for you? i just don't get it. if somebody came into my thread that i didn't know personally, i couldn't give a fuck less what they're saying. if i disagree, i'll let them know they're an idiot and move on (not saying anybody in here is an idiot, obviously.) why chase people all over the internet to let them know you're upset?
JC - why does forum life rule real life for you? i just don't get it. if somebody came into my thread that i didn't know personally, i couldn't give a fuck less what they're saying. if i disagree, i'll let them know they're an idiot and move on (not saying anybody in here is an idiot, obviously.) why chase people all over the internet to let them know you're upset?
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Clint Hurdle says this is the best group of on-the-verge prospects he's seen in Spring Training since he became the Pirates' manager.
GM Neal Huntington said it's up there with the class that included Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker.
It's hard to argue. Potential big leaguers are all over the Pirates' clubhouse at McKechnie Field. What makes the group of position players even more interesting? They're all over the field, too.
• Spring Training: Schedule | Tickets | More info
Almost every infielder in big league camp who's bound for Triple-A Indianapolis this season can field multiple positions.
Max Moroff is a shortstop, except when he's a second baseman or third baseman.
Adam Frazier is a shortstop, too, unless he's working in the outfield. Dan Gamache was a second baseman then a third baseman, and he's seeing some time at first base.
Gift Ngoepe can pick it anywhere. Alen Hanson is settling in at second base, but he's played shortstop and started to work at third last year. They're trying to turn non-roster inviteeCole Figueroa into a super-utility player. Pedro Florimon has played all over the infield and in center.
The Pirates have Sean Rodriguez, who can fill in at any position. Josh Harrison is likely locked in at second base, but he could play third or either corner outfield spot, too. All three of their starting outfielders can play center.
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</figure>"It's a sign of a Major League team that's becoming better, because it's harder to break in front of [ex-Pirates second baseman] Neil Walker or now Josh Harrison. It's harder to break in in front of Jordy Mercer or Jung Ho Kang," Huntington said. "For a guy to make his way on to the Major League team, it's easier for him if he can play multiple positions, if he can start in a role and earn something bigger."
Hurdle pointed out last week that he's not putting anyone in an entirely unfamiliar position. Rodriguez has played everywhere but catcher. Figueroa has played the outfield, where he's spending more time this spring as the Pirates try him out as a Rodriguez-esque "Super U" player.
Gamache has played first. Frazier played center field last year. It's been a while, but Florimon has lined up in the outfield before.
"We're just looking for different opportunities to get them involved," Hurdle said. "If we've got a position that we may not have as much depth in, it gives them an opportunity to go out and get at-bats."
The key, Huntington said, is finding players with the athleticism it takes to move around so often. That's why so many of their roaming infielders started out at shortstop, the most demanding infield position.
"It's harder to take a first baseman and ask him to go play shortstop," Huntington said. "It's easier to take a shortstop and be able to move him around the diamond."
There's another factor at play. The Pirates are one of the Majors' most aggressive teams when it comes to shifting their defense. If a shortstop has experience at second base, or vice versa, he might feel more comfortable moving to the other side of the field when a shift calls for it.
"The versatility because of the shifts, the versatility to make our club, there's a number of reasons why we do it," Huntington said.
GM Neal Huntington said it's up there with the class that included Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker.
It's hard to argue. Potential big leaguers are all over the Pirates' clubhouse at McKechnie Field. What makes the group of position players even more interesting? They're all over the field, too.
• Spring Training: Schedule | Tickets | More info
Almost every infielder in big league camp who's bound for Triple-A Indianapolis this season can field multiple positions.
Max Moroff is a shortstop, except when he's a second baseman or third baseman.
Adam Frazier is a shortstop, too, unless he's working in the outfield. Dan Gamache was a second baseman then a third baseman, and he's seeing some time at first base.
Gift Ngoepe can pick it anywhere. Alen Hanson is settling in at second base, but he's played shortstop and started to work at third last year. They're trying to turn non-roster inviteeCole Figueroa into a super-utility player. Pedro Florimon has played all over the infield and in center.
The Pirates have Sean Rodriguez, who can fill in at any position. Josh Harrison is likely locked in at second base, but he could play third or either corner outfield spot, too. All three of their starting outfielders can play center.
<figure class="poster has-video " style="margin: 26px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; max-height: 600px; position: relative; background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">
</figure>"It's a sign of a Major League team that's becoming better, because it's harder to break in front of [ex-Pirates second baseman] Neil Walker or now Josh Harrison. It's harder to break in in front of Jordy Mercer or Jung Ho Kang," Huntington said. "For a guy to make his way on to the Major League team, it's easier for him if he can play multiple positions, if he can start in a role and earn something bigger."
Hurdle pointed out last week that he's not putting anyone in an entirely unfamiliar position. Rodriguez has played everywhere but catcher. Figueroa has played the outfield, where he's spending more time this spring as the Pirates try him out as a Rodriguez-esque "Super U" player.
Gamache has played first. Frazier played center field last year. It's been a while, but Florimon has lined up in the outfield before.
"We're just looking for different opportunities to get them involved," Hurdle said. "If we've got a position that we may not have as much depth in, it gives them an opportunity to go out and get at-bats."
The key, Huntington said, is finding players with the athleticism it takes to move around so often. That's why so many of their roaming infielders started out at shortstop, the most demanding infield position.
"It's harder to take a first baseman and ask him to go play shortstop," Huntington said. "It's easier to take a shortstop and be able to move him around the diamond."
There's another factor at play. The Pirates are one of the Majors' most aggressive teams when it comes to shifting their defense. If a shortstop has experience at second base, or vice versa, he might feel more comfortable moving to the other side of the field when a shift calls for it.
"The versatility because of the shifts, the versatility to make our club, there's a number of reasons why we do it," Huntington said.
i don't think any of those guys hurdle mentioned are anything more than ORG role players at peak.. even hanson though ima reevaluate him.. but moron frazier ganache i think they are role players .. they have an outfielder that was in high a probably plays AA that has potential to be better than that but he's not ready in 2016.. the team has some very very nice pieces , can't put my finger out but i feel they're incomplete.. if they had 1 player in the middle inf better, 1 better starter (a #2).. and 1 or or 2 better bullpen arms.. felix as the setup to watson scares me allot and speaks to a lack of talent in the pen/arms coming up thru the system..should be some young studs cutting their teeth by now in the pen
having said that , this is a fun team to watch in 2016 and they can be dangerous , there will be some fireworks especially if mcutchen is fully healthy and returns to previous form .. and if Polanco turns up 2 ticks.. marte has arrived , not sure if he exceeds 20 bombs but even at 15 with the everything else he does with bat still an excellent player and piece
