The Swamp

Congrats to all the Swamp Buccos fans.

Congrats yinzers. Tremendous pitching performance by Cole this evening.

Fuck that noise.

I missed the Marte HR transitioning from downstairs to upstairs to get ready for bed. I caught the rest of the 9th on the radio, and almost threw my ipod as poor Greg Brown's heart broke calling the base hit and "Byrd dropped the ball!", but I restrained myself and about 3 seconds later it all worked out. Yay.

Enjoy it, gents.

Can't enjoy it until after the wild card game. Just don't go one and out!

rass wrote:I missed the Marte HR transitioning from downstairs to upstairs to get ready for bed. I caught the rest of the 9th on the radio, and almost threw my ipod as poor Greg Brown's heart broke calling the base hit and "Byrd dropped the ball!", but I restrained myself and about 3 seconds later it all worked out. Yay.

They threw the guy out this time! Exorcising the demons!

BUMP!

Fan jumps off the Clemente Bridge.

BUMP!

Go Pirates! I'll all aboard the Pirates bandwagon unless the Tigers somehow make the World Series and Pittsburgh awaits. (Actually at this point I'd settle for any NL team winning, as long as it isn't the A's or Red Sox.)

brian wrote:Go Pirates! I'll all aboard the Pirates bandwagon unless the Tigers somehow make the World Series and Pittsburgh awaits. (Actually at this point I'd settle for any NL team winning, as long as it isn't the A's or Red Sox.)

Switch A's and Tigers, and these are my rooting interests.

I know it's pronounced Mel-an-sin, but I think it should be pronounced mal-eh-con (like the Spanish world malecon, essentially the beachfront walking area)

It should be pronounced "awmanwhathappenedtoyou".


Fun season. I hope they can do it again.

Don't even really need to bump this, but 82 wins. This is nice.

That's great. I'm looking forward to saying the same thing in 2016.

2016 is supposed to be the year that they are the best team in MLB - but I fear those 2016 Cubs.

Hi, rass!

Man, a lot changes in a year and a half, eh? So weird to look over this thread, to see how disgusted I was with this team heading into 2013. But then I see names like John McDonald and Brandon Inge, and I'm reminded why I felt that way. In retrospect, I think that I was entitled to my negativity.

I felt kind of the same way heading into this season, too, even after a 94-win season. Last offseason was just such a nothing, and they had holes in their rotation and at first base (Travis Ishikawa?), and I figured that they were going to take a huge step back. That didn't happen.

I know that winning changes perception, but I've really softened on Hurdle. When he first got here, his bunting drove me insane. But the fact that the Pirates were ahead of the curve in terms of defensive shifts, and that Hurdle was willing to adapt and go along with it, said a lot about him. I've learned to stop worrying and love the Hurdle. (This article from Grantland, posted today, reaffirmed this.)

And I would be saying this if the Pirates were outside of the playoff picture right now. I know that they've been lucky. Josh Harrison bailed them out when they were getting zero production in right field, then bailed them out again when Pedro Alvarez went in the tank. Edinson Volquez has out-performed his peripherals. They've won a lot of games that were started by Vance Worley and Jeff Locke. Brent Morel started multiple games for them. They had a guy on the roster named Jaff. Etc.

But I don't want to dwell on luck or negativity now. There's a lot to like about this team. Cutch is still awesome. They're 86-71 and heading to the playoffs for the second straight year. That's insane.

This team I think has been unlucky if anything overall.

Is Jared Hughes still on the Bucs roster?

If so, fuc the Bucs.

Sabo wrote:Is Jared Hughes still on the Bucs roster?

If so, fuc the Bucs.

Unfortunately.

On that Grantland link, Bapes - that's why I too have come around on Hurdle. Harmony is so key to sports teams and to organizations beyond sports and I can tolerate some of Hurdle's Hurdling since over the course of the season it doesn't have a huge effect, and since he seems to be doing a magnificent job of handling the team.

Gunpowder wrote:On that Grantland link, Bapes - that's why I too have come around on Hurdle. Harmony is so key to sports teams and to organizations beyond sports and I can tolerate some of Hurdle's Hurdling since over the course of the season it doesn't have a huge effect, and since he seems to be doing a magnificent job of handling the team.

I stopped complaining about Hurdle a long time ago, and I feel badly that I ever did in the first place. This is going to sound condescending, but he's really grown on the job. He manages differently than he did in 2011. And I think that there's something great about a baseball lifer who is willing to change his approach to the game and accept so much information and direction from the office. And not only accept it, but ask for it.

I have no problems with things like bullpen management or line-up construction. And I like the way that he's handled some of the players. Jordy Mercer was terrible the first month or six weeks of the season, but Hurdle let him play himself out of his slump. Now he's turned into a pretty good everyday shortstop. A couple of years ago, Clint Barmes would have taken over, and Mercer would be on the bench or in AAA, and they would be looking for another shortstop for next season.

I used to think that the Penguins were a different kind of organization, and I really liked the way that they operated. But they've been a disaster since the end of last season. Maybe the Pirates have turned into a franchise that's worthy of admiration.

I'm jumping on the Pirates bandwagon for the rest of this season. I grew up as a Yankees fan, but I now find it impossible to root for big market teams in baseball, and basically just pick a small market team to pull for every postseason. I have a soft spot for the traditional NL teams, which is why I picked the Bucs over the Royals and A's for my bandwagon team this year. The Bucs are playing some really good ball right now (especially the pitching staff), and It would be great if they can get the next 2 and steal the division from the Cardinals. It's kind of interesting that McCutchen has put up nearly identical numbers as he did last season, but will probably finish a distant 3rd in the MVP voting this year after winning it nearly unanimously last year.

Joe K wrote:I'm jumping on the Pirates bandwagon for the rest of this season.

Whoo-hoo! The Royals can have Lorde -- we have Seth Myers and Joe K! Best damn bandwagon in baseball.

#savecole

Spring training bump.

There are a few inches of snow on the ground, but I'm listening to a Pirates/Blue Jays game on the radio. Oh, how I've missed baseball. In a few minutes, I'll remember how boring spring-training games are and will find something else to do, like catch up on 'Girls' or 'Better Call Saul.' But for now? This is working for me.

And I'll say it: I've missed Greg Brown's voice. Brown has been here for a while now. (Just looked it up. He's been here since 1994. That's half of my lifetime!) He seems to genuinely love his job, but his enthusiasm can be a little hard to stomach sometimes. I always cringed when he would lose his mind when somebody would hit an RBI-double in the 7th inning for a team that was going to lose 90 games. But winning cures all. Now that the Pirates are actually good, his enthusiasm doesn't seem so out of place. Raise the Jolly Roger, Brownie.

Not too much drama or position uncertainty heading into spring training this year. Huntington hasn't made any moves that make me want to set things on fire. Unless something unforeseen happens, this will probably be the most boring spring training in years. Fine with me. Pedro Alvarez's move to first base is the big story. And I want to see what they have in Jung-Ho Kang. Beyond that, I just want everybody to stay healthy, and I'll wait until April.

Alvarez hit a home run in the top of the 1st, by the way.

On the Giants radio today, they are recounting the role Hunter Strickland played in the improbable course of events last October. Kuiper reminds us he was plucked from the Pirates on waivers.

And as I type, Strickland gives up a home run. But he is working on his splitter, Miller assures us.

I might take even money Nationals versus field to come out of the NL.

Might you? Cause I'll take that.

I guess not in the sense that I'd ignore my ability to get 3:1 to prove a point. More of if I had to assign what I really think the odds are.

They are a great team. But bad things happen to good teams over the course of six months. There's probably a pretty fair chance that Harper takes out himself and Scherzer in a collision as he's reaching for the last chicken salad sandwich in the clubhouse.

C'mon guys, don't the Nats have there own thred somewhere?

There's sadness and anger in Yinzerland this morning. Neil Walker has been traded. Hugely popular player, largely due to the fact that he's from the northern suburbs.

This is tough. He's been a flashpoint for years. Fans wanted him to sign a long-term extension, but the Pirates were willing to take him year-to-year thru arbitration. That seemed logical to me, but yinzers cried disrespect.

Towards the end of last season, it seemed apparent that it would be Walker's last year in Pittsburgh. Then, when Kang hurt his knee/leg, I thought that Walker might come back for one more year because they're suddenly very thin on infielders. Nope.

So. A good, productive player for a number of years. Above-average hitter. Capable second-baseman. (No range, but doesn't commit errors.) History of back injuries. From a baseball POV, I thought that the Pirates handled Walker properly, but there always seemed to be something personal there. It's a shame that he seems to be leaving the team on bad terms. Pirates fans are going to be angry about this for years.

If they're smart, they'll watch Pedroia's breakdown years and consider how much worse it would have been giving a long term, 30-until-retirement contract to a lesser player.

mister d wrote:If they're smart

Being a sports fan has nothing to do with being smart.

And yeah, Walker's production might decline dramatically, but that has nothing to do with the fact that he's been treated unfairly for years now, according to a segment of the fanbase. Go to a Pirates game, and you'll see more Walker jerseys than Cutch jerseys. This one is going to sting.

bapo! wrote:Being a sports fan has nothing to do with being smart.

I want to print this out and hang it on every sports fan's wall.

Just acquire Don Kelly, Walker's brother-in-law, to fill the "local guy" hole.

Sabo wrote:

bapo! wrote:Being a sports fan has nothing to do with being smart.

I want to print this out and hang it on every sports fan's wall.

If you want to see someone emotionally unequipped to handle that fact (and bore your face off), check out my posts on the La Salle basketball board.