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Pirates 2021

Punxsutawney

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He'll probably go to the AL, become a DH, and hit 30 homers next season.

I doubt it, at least I definitely do not see another Jose Bautista situation

To what you alluded, I think Polanco has been damaged goods since the shoulder injury, as he's been struggling to hit .200 since.

Even before that, he flashed a nice power/speed combination, but never came close to being consistent enough to put it to full use, save maybe one or two seasons.

I just recall the immense hype when he was called up. He was supposed to be the next Bonds or McCutchen.

Apparently, the Pirates just fired their hitting coach, which probably has more to do with Hayes' lack of development than the terrible play of guys like Polanco.

I'm not really sure why they could not wait until the end of the season to do it.
 

swal75

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I may be wrong, but I just assume we have horrible coaches and lousy people in analytics. Maybe our problem is that we don't cheat enough or something, as Cole and Morton became Cy Young caliber once they left our nest. Like Morton barely broke 7 k/9 in his entire time here and suddenly he's an elite 10+ k/9 guy once he's gone. Just a guess down the line, but Brubaker seems like some guy that will leave us and blossom some day if he can ease up on the home run balls.
 

Ron Burgundy

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I may be wrong, but I just assume we have horrible coaches and lousy people in analytics. Maybe our problem is that we don't cheat enough or something, as Cole and Morton became Cy Young caliber once they left our nest. Like Morton barely broke 7 k/9 in his entire time here and suddenly he's an elite 10+ k/9 guy once he's gone. Just a guess down the line, but Brubaker seems like some guy that will leave us and blossom some day if he can ease up on the home run balls.
I get that the Buccos can't sign big name free agents. Fine, so you draft and develop your own players except they don't do that well either. Most American MLB players come from Florida and until a few years ago they only had one scout in the whole state when most teams had 5 or 6.
 

swal75

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Yeah I’d kill to have the recent success of the A’s, Rays or Indians. They’re all in similar situations to us market wise but we’re full of fail.
 

stillerfaninfl

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Shelton sucks. Kuhl sucks.
 
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Punxsutawney

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Not to add salt to the wound, but Shane Baz, the 1st round pick the Pirates threw in to the Chris Archer trade, has been dominant in his first two starts with the Rays.
 

swal75

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Can Oneil Cruz run a go route? We're down a receiver or two on the football side.
 

Punxsutawney

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Can Oneil Cruz run a go route? We're down a receiver or two on the football side.

Might want to try him as Ben's successor.

In addition to his power potential, the kid has a monster throwing arm.

Hopefully, he's ready to be a regular in the lineup by next summer.

If they can get Hayes going, they might have something between him, Reynolds and Cruz.

They still need to bring a lot more pitching talent into the organization though. Roanys Contreras looked good in his debut, and Quinn Priester is getting closer, but I've pretty much given up on Mitch Keller amounting to anything of quality.
 

Drink IRON City

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I always look to see how far away from .500 ball they are at the allstar break. If we are within 15 games, I always think we have a chance.

I know as well as everyone here what the Pirates recent history is but I still follow them and my love of the game hasn't wondered.



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