The Pirates announced Tuesday that they’ve recalled infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned righty Ryder Ryan to Triple-A in his place. (Noah Wiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported Bae’s looming promotion). It’s the third straight season with some MLB time for Bae, but this time around he’ll be looking to carve out some staying power on the heels of a big start to his season in the International League.
Through his first 122 plate appearances of the season, Bae has turned in a ridiculous .367/.479/.551 batting line — about 72% better than league-average production, by measure of wRC+. He’s clearly earned himself a look in the majors, though there’s ample reason to take those rate stats with a grain of salt. For instance, Bae has been set down on strikes in 28% of his plate appearances so far. Were it not for a comically high .525 average on balls in play, his slash line wouldn’t look nearly so strong. Fans should temper their expectations, gaudy Triple-A stats notwithstanding.
That said, there are also some encouraging signs. Bae is drawing walks at a mammoth 17.2% clip through his first 27 Triple-A games. He’s popped four homers after only hitting three in 120 games (MLB and Triple-A combined) last season. He’s 7-for-10 in stolen bases as well, showing the speed that helped him swipe 24 bags for the Bucs just last season. At the very least, he’s deserving of an opportunity to try to show he’s better than 2023’s .231/.296/.311 slash in 371 big league plate appearances.
Bae has experience at second base and in the outfield, but the latter seems a likelier landing spot. The Pirates only recently called up second baseman Nick Gonzales in another effort to spark a tepid offense, and he’s already ripped a couple of homers while posting a solid enough .265/.297/.471 line in 38 turns at the plate.
One option for the Bucs would be to displace struggling first baseman Rowdy Tellez, pushing right fielder Connor Joe to first base in place. Tellez has managed only a .181/.250/.233 line in 128 plate appearances since signing a one-year, $3.2MM deal over the winter. Meanwhile, Joe — who’s played 750 big league innings at first base — has mashed at a .280/.350/.476 pace. With six long balls, he’s already more than halfway to his 2023 total (11) in just one-third the playing time.
Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette took a look at Tellez’s significant struggles yesterday, noting that players like Bae and minor league signee Jake Lamb (.342/.438/.514 in 137 Triple-A plate appearances) have earned a look with their play thus far. Mackey speculated in an appearance on 93.7 FM The Fan in Pittsburgh this morning that a move involving Tellez could be nigh, though he’s since more concretely reported that Tellez is expected to hang onto his roster spot for now and to be in uniform for tonight’s contest.
Assistant general manager Steve Sanders appeared on The Fan this weekend as well, touching on Lamb’s success in Indianapolis and whether the club might be tempted to make a move (link via Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Sanders sidestepped, calling Lamb “an incredible professional on and off the field” as well as “one of the toughest outs in the minor leagues right now.” Sanders praised Lamb’s leadership and work with young Pirates prospects in Triple-A but wouldn’t commit to a promotion in the near future, only stating: “It gives us a really good feeling knowing we have a quality bat there.”
Pittsburgh has received strong offensive output from the aforementioned Joe, from Bryan Reynolds and from catcher Joey Bart, in addition to a handful of roughly league-average batting lines (Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, Edward Olivares). They’ve also seen 2023 breakout slugger Jack Suwinski struggle tremendously, however, while top catching prospect Henry Davis has already been optioned to Indianapolis in an effort to get back on track at the plate. Opening Day second baseman Jared Triolo has hit just .212/.297/.265 and could see his playing time dry up once Ke’Bryan Hayes is ready to return at third base. Triolo has shifted to the hot corner for now to cover for the injured Hayes and in deference to Gonzales.
Currently, Pittsburgh is tied with Oakland for the third-fewest runs in the majors (180). Pirates hitters collectively rank 27th in batting average (.226), 26th in on-base percentage (.301) and 28th in slugging percentage (.353). At 24.7%, they have the game’s sixth-highest strikeout rate, although to their credit, the 9.4% team walk rate is also tied for fifth-highest in MLB. For now, they’ll hope that the recent additions of Gonzales and now Bae can be a catalyst for better run production, but more significant changes likely loom on the horizon if the lineup continues to sputter.
I seen Rowdy dahn Rivers Casino Sportsbook. Hopefully Manfred and Co. look into these serious allegations. Very concerning.
He was just there for the all you can eat buffet.
“All you can eat buffet”…That’s why I always went to casinos. Most of them have excellent, reasonably priced buffets. I’m generally not interested in risking my life’s savings on a craps table or on the spin of a roulette wheel.
But there’s nothing like a sandwich with the yinzers at Primanti Bros.
I’m sure JasonKendall knows.
There isn’t a single person from Pittsburgh that doesn’t know about Primanti Brothers
Of course not. And lots of folks not from there.
A+ for casino buffets. Much better than golden corral or pondagrossa. Grossa F. Corral D. Chinese C. Solid dinning with a salad and soup bar B. Casino A.
A educated player with self control can really clean house at the casino with the comps if until they realize they aren’t making much off you. Give me food drinks a room I will risk losing a bit of $ on a bad weekend. Usually have great pool spa gym as well.
Actually, Primanti’s has expanded to other areas away from Pittsburgh
There’s one that I know of in Lancaster Ohio and another in Hampton Roads Virginia
2 in Fort Lauderdale.
He’s not in tonight’s lineup and they’re facing a right handed pitcher
I am wondering how much longer they will give him to produce at the plate before admitting it was a monumental mistake to sign him
Yinz jagoffs goin dahntahn? Worsh yer feet before yinz leave da hahs.
And pick me up some arn and gumbands.
Eating out with the orange cheetoshitzinuypants. Aren’t you?
Huh? Who’s that?
I had some faith that Rowdy Tellez could be a solid platoon bat, but he’s been the worst non-pitcher or Austin Hedges hitter I have ever seen. He had a good week and a half to two weeks to start the year and has an OPS below .400 since April 9th. At least when we had Hedges, he gave the team one of the best defenders in baseball and a guy all pitchers loved to throw to. Tellez has been dreadful for over a month an a half now and is a meh defensive 1B.
I remember when the fans were riding Hedges hard, but the deal with him is the defense and game calling, with any offense being a bonus.
Tellez is all bat, with nothing else. And if he’s not hitting, then I have no idea how he’s on anyone’s roster.
He does not hustle and is 30 pounds overweight.
I thought that he had a chance for at least 20 home runs this year
The reason that he is being kept is his salary.
They need to bring Lamb up or sign Brandon Belt.
There’s probably a reason why all 30 teams passed on Belt. I don’t think he’d be a true upgrade at this point. Even if you did sign him, you’d still be stuck without a first baseman for 3 weeks until he gets ramped up.
Rowdy was signed because they needed a first baseman and he was available
If Cherington had a decent player development system in the minors they might be able to draft one and turn him into a potential power hitter but instead they seem to only draft infielders and pitchers
He had overcome shoulder surgery last year but his current swing suggests the injury to his shoulder permanently damaged him
You are right about Belt but they could get him cheaply and Joe and Triolo could play first in the interim.
Rowdy has had plenty of time but his habits have not changed and perhaps his injury has really affected him but he has to be the worst hitting first baseman in the League and the Pirates need hitting very very badly.
I’d like to see them rid themselves of matchstick Williams.
Triolo should be the next player to see Indy and not as a spectator
He has regressed from last year at the plate
Williams is batting a paltry .102 for the month of May
He should have been sent to Indy, not Ryan
They know that he is a much better shortstop than anybody else that they have.
Except that this team lacks in the run scoring ability and Williams brings nothing substantial to that aspect
Cruz committed his 9th error by misplaying a fly ball that he had no business of trying to catch but he did get a hit in his first plate appearance
Williams has problems doing that at the plate
I’d much rather have Cruz than a little leaguer, williams, at short.
Give 1b to Jake
Multiple games in Milwaukee last week where fans cheered/yelled loudly that “We love you Rowdy” during his at bats. Not sure if that was due to small crowds or true fanatics. Sad that Rowdy has been replaced in MKE
Davis and Gonzales haven’t been too impressive so far. It’s still early but with such high picks you gotta get some results eventually.
You must’ve not watched Gonzalez much. Solid contact nearly every AB. A big improvement over last year.
what game are you watching? Gonzalez has been quite effective at the plate since being recalled
It’s 34 at bats.
In 34 plate appearances he’s hit 2 homers and drove in the winning runs on Sunday against the Cubs
He’s a 7th overall pick that was drafted nearly 4 years ago out of college. My team is picking 7th in this year’s draft and I sure as heck hope they do better than this. If he ends up being a good player then great but he’s behind what was expected of him at this point.
I’m not disagreeing with you. Blackink, but he’s played in minimal games this year, which was my point
Player development has been an issue with the Bucs for at least a decade now
Gonzales has an over 900 OPS for his minor league career and this despite not playing in 2020.
Three years in the minors isn’t a long time, not even for first round picks out of college.
Hey you got Skenes. Definitely picked the right guy between him and Crews so that’s good. I am a Cardinals fan but I like the Pirates being competitive. Ownership there kinda sucks but the Pirates have good fans for sure.
The Cardinals took Masyn Winn and Jordan Walker out of high school and both have had more big league playing time than Gonzales has had.
Looking at that draft there are a lot of guys looking like busts from the early first round picks. And that doesn’t necessarily include Gonzales he’s just behind where you would expect him to be.
And Walker hasn’t hit a homer yet and has only played in 20 games this year which means he was in the minors until recently
Walker had something like 400 at bats in the big leagues last year. And I believe he will be called back up soon but Burleson has actually played really well he leads the team in OPS.
Each player has his own timeline and it can be affected by good minor league competition,injuries,and hitting development personnel,of which the Pirates are poor.
Not all first round players even make the MLS.
One would hope that three years is plenty and hopefully it is.
The Pirates had great luck and that is how they got Skenes.
Really my comment was directed more at Davis than Gonzales. Davis was first overall and they chose to cut a deal instead of picking the guy who most thought was the best player in the draft Mayer. But Gonzales is behind expectations at this point and Johnson isn’t looking too impressive either.
It was luck that the Pirates got to pick first overall for sure. But many people had Crews at number 1. But I don’t care what Crews does from here on out I am convinced Skenes was the best player in the draft. He very well could be the best pitcher in baseball at some point.
And that point could conceivably be within a couple of months.
I have been a fan since 1961 and they could have the best top three rotation that the Pirates have had since then barring injuries.
If they actually greatly improve in hitting and the bullpen comes around they could be very tough in the playoffs if they make it.
Blackboard pink….Gonzalez has been a breath of fresh air. I suggest that you do some statistical research, before you make a fool of yourself. And whi is YOUR TEAM? And quit trolling
Gonzalez drove in the winning run in last night’s game
I can’t believe Lamb is still in baseball. He’s stayed in the game because, for some reason, he’s known as a HR hitter. He hit 30 in 2017, then 37 since then. He’s also not known for his glove and is basically a sure out at the plate.
Because a veteran bat in AAA can make a really decent living. And if he gets called up he gets a big pay jump.
There has to be a better source than Mackey. I’m convinced he has little to no inside sources. Most of what he writes is Twitter speculation. He back tracks on statements all the time.
Even the most basic of baseball fan knows that the Pirates need to shake it up if they want to contend this year.They should fire Haines and hire Nunnaly.Lamb may be mediocre but even that level is much better than Tellez who has been a major disappointment.Suwinski needs to go down to AAA where he has never played and a reliever needs to come up.They can keep Triolo but only as a utility man.Davis is starting to hit in AAA where he has little experience and has played catcher long enough to show that a change to right field may be in order.Cruz needs to learn not to strike out on breaking balls and if he continues making stupid errors needs to be moved to first base like Alvarez was.Gonzalez needs a full time chance to show whether his swing changes are permanent.If they do not show improvement then Shelton needs to go in favor of Don Kelly in a change like the Phillies made two years ago that got them to the World Series.
Why hire Nunnally? He’s been fired more than Haines.
because he is responsible for Hayes’ power during last season
Yet he remains unsigned by 30 MLB teams
Yet the Bucs signed Andy Haines days after being fired by the Brewers for the same reasons that the Bucs are near the bottom in runs scored
Thank you Paul.
Great-We could hire the Great White Angus and improve the situation over Andy Haines.
Shelton needs to go and take Haines with him and if Nutting is feeling generous, can Cherington too
Pirates are known for signing veteran hitters who have next to nothing left to give, and then holding onto them like they’re a winning lottery ticket. Tellez is just the latest example of this.
Based on how they dealt with Yoshi, JVM, Hedges, etc., don’t expect Tellez, MAT, or Grandal to be DFA’d until August, if at all. Being in the bottom 10% of MLB in runs scored won’t affect these decisions.
Can’t get rid of them. Would make it harder to land free agents in the future. I came here to bounce back and you didn’t even give me 2 months? Tellez had a good spring and good opening week or two. Same with MAT. You can cut back on their playing time and that should have been done a while back. Tellez has a few things going for him, give him 3 months at least. MAT has been exactly as I expected so no reason to get rid of him as he is doing as projected. Grandpal hasn’t played enough to even have a conversation about but appears fine enough for what he is.
The Pirates are not exactly a haven for free agents.Grandal and Taylor came cheaply at the end of the offseason.They hired Tellez early in the off season.Free agents will go where the money is.The better ones want to win.The Pirates have not established that yet.Cherington cannot get rid of mistakes too early because of the even modest amounts of money involved.
Teller is killing them and may very well no longer be a ML player.Grandal and Taylor are providing what they were signed for.
Rowdy should’ve stayed in Miami, alongside his one and only home run. He’d make a pedestrian Marlin that’s for sure. That’s average for them
It’s easy to use hindsight and play the what if game, but they should have never jumped on Tellez so early into the offseason. They did with Perez and he’s been as good as you can expect. However, if they instead saved their money, maybe didn’t sign Chapman and/or Taylor, and got Hoskins on a 2 year deal and brought in Tommy Pham, imagine how much better the offense would be?? Yes, Suwinski or Pham won’t play the best cf but the offense would be so much better.
Players have to want to come here to be able to sign them. Knowing that you will probably get traded at the deadline, a custom this franchise uses, players might object to signing here
Ehhhhh, If we just let Joe play 1B most of the time he’s just a fine as Hoskins, for much less money.
I’d prefer a LH power hitter in PNC Park but we know Bob ain’t payin for one, not a good one anyway
Come on, we have Suwinski and his LH power hitting bat
I am being sarcastic
If you watched Tellez last season, what we’ve seen this year is no surprise. Bringing back Santana made more sense if a veteran voice was the idea
Perez has provided about what was expected. Shame that Chandler has been shut down due to arm soreness and Solometo has been getting rocked or Perez would be a good candidate to drop or dangle
But please, no more Priester
These off season signings came from the lunatic fringe. Only Grandal now makes some sense
Santana wanted to come back but he cost more money than BC was willing to spend.
Instead he signed the most worthless first baseman this team has had in several years
Trade Rowdy Tellez back to Milwaukee Brewers for some Ballpark hotdogs and beer please. I’d say a bag of balls as well, but don’t want to sound to greedy or desperate
You misspelled Vogelbach.
Brother from a different mother.
The trouble is that Rowdy would eat the hot dogs and drink the beer before they got to Pittsburgh.
Might be onto something there.
Bae is a nice start. But Lamb should be here. If Davis continues to hit, bring him up and put him in RF. Tell him this is his spot and quit messing with his head.
And don’t lose track of Peguero
They needlessly signed Tellez, Taylor and Chapman this off season. Fine. The first two should be on the next train out of town
And Chapman will hopefully bring back a prospect who can hit at deadline time
If they’re contending come deadline time, I doubt they’ll trade Chapman. I would think they will be adding major league ready players not subtracting them
This comeback in last night’s game could be a sign of things to come
If he brings back a bat, which is unlikely because a contending team trading for him isn’t going to give up strength, then they should pull the trigger
Last night’s win was a nice story. But you can’t lost in the euphoria and think that this anemic offense is going to scratch out runs from here to deadline time unless of course the NL Central is just a logjam of similar teams. And that’s entirely possible
Signing him at $10M made little sense with guys like Bednar and Holderman on the back end and a promising kid like Hernandez as a left hander. But they’re largely stuck with him right now, and hoping it’s all justified
That money should have been used on a strong outfield bat
And with all of this in mind, Davis homered again last night. He’s raised his average something like 90 points. Have to think in retrospect that they drafted the kid because of his bat
Hopefully they give the kid another shot in RF without messing with his head. Again.
I don’t disagree Tired, they should have signed a strong outfield bat, but BC traded for Olivares and probably with the thought that with regular playing time, he would become that outfielder we’re talking about now
We, however, are in dire need of another first baseman. Joe is playing there now every day with Rowdy on the bench, and it’s showing in Joe’s offensive numbers. And Triolo isn’t the answer either. His offense is worse than Joe’s right now.
It’s obvious playing every day while Hayes is on the IL, Triolo’s average has taken a toll
I wouldn’t play Davis in RF, he’s terrible there and showed he doesn’t have the instincts to play it. He did well defensively at catcher. That’s his spot along with DH.
If you call Davis back up it’s to play catcher (maybe to replace Grandal if he’s headed for the IL again). In the future he can always share catching duties with Rodriguez and DH when he’s not catching. I think playing him in RF would be messing with his head as he’s clearly a better catcher defensively.
Looks like Munson already fixed him in Indy, so the next time he comes up I expect he will hit well (and ignore any Andy Haines advice like several others have started to do). Cutch is getting less days off than normal recently, so Davis can spell him at DH while also doing some catching.
Buc, the bat is obviously his strong suit and why they drafted him. His time here has been mismanaged twice. It’s almost exactly how you *wouldn’t* handle a young player
Not a moment of catching time. Throw him in RF for a spell. Sit him for a few games. DH him. Put him back in RF
Is it any wonder he never got acclimated out there. Has anyone seen Gregory Polanco?
Then before the season, we get multiple Cherington comments about giving him a lot of catching time in Bradenton, Endy gets hurt, and you sign two catchers to go with he and Delay
He does well in spring training and when Delay goes down, you trade for Bart
It’s ridiculous.
Glad to read your words about his defense improving at Indy but jeez, find a place for the kid, keep him there and play the kid. For God’s sake, they need bats
I wasn’t referencing his defense at Indy, I was referencing his defense in Pittsburgh. His defense was average to slightly above average this season in the Majors, and he proved defense isn’t an issue at Catcher if he hits well. The problem is that Haines tinkered with his stance (moved his hands and closed his stance off) and it essentially eliminated a lot of his power and didn’t allow him to cover the entire plate. If you watch his highlights since he’s been sent down to Indy and compare to Pittsburgh, you’ll notice his stance is open again and his hands are a little lower and more relaxed prior to his load (the way he hit prior to Pittsburgh last year).
Taylor is a good defender in center field but can’t hit to save his life
The idea that Davis is a defensive liability playing right field when the team lacks serious offensive production is ridiculous
Cruz is a defense liability at shortstop but pulls his weight at the plate, yet no one is suggesting he should be benched because he leads the league in errors
His stance was only part of the problem, Buc. He had a great deal of difficulty picking up pitches and knowing the strike zone, which is somewhat amazing for a catcher
Way too many called strikes. Way too easy to strike him out by mixing speeds
Defensively, he’s a catcher who seemed to have difficulty in knowing where to have his glove on low pitches. Oftentimes, his placement angle looked remarkably off and it seemed to lend itself to pass balls
Look, I like the kid. I think he has upside and that he has been mismanaged
Don’t tell me he’s a defensive liability when he’s been given little time out there consistently
I’d have thought that if the franchise believed Endy to be the catcher, Davis would have received a lot more opportunity in RF or 1B. But then, this is the Pirates. Player development amounts to clicking their heels together three times and hoping a player is ready-made for MLB
It’s because of the hitting philosophy of Haines and Shelton. They have a one size shoe fits all approach and demand everyone takes a lot of pitches. The biggest issues with Davis were his stance and just getting him away from Haines and Shelton so he can let it rip.
Davis is more than fine defensively at catcher. He’s destined to get his at-bats at a combination of catcher/1B/DH moving forward.
My prediction is that he continues to crush the ball in AAA getting back to how he’s always hit, he’s called back up, and he starts ignoring Shelton and Haines like many others and becomes a very good MLB hitter for a long time. I don’t know how many players will seek outside council and then improve before Cherington fires the losers on the bench, but I can’t wait for Davis to be added to the list.
Btw, I know for a fact players have stopped listening to the coaches, so it’s not a surprise they’re starting to hit and win a little bit recently (just look at the swing and pitch data, plus I still have a couple of contacts in the know).
Glad to see Bae back. He’s a fun player. I’ve always thought he’ll hit for average and eventually become an above average defensive outfielder who can play some second base in a pinch. Definitely an upgrade over several on the current roster, but Tellez needs to go and Suwinski needs to go to AAA so Munson can fix him like he’s done others.
I’m glad Munson is fixing people
Of course, the flip side is they’ll come here and go backwards.
Gorski and Nunez heating up. Maybe there’s some hope
With the exception of Cruz and Cutch ( only because he’s been around the block for years), every hitter on this roster could be sent to Indy to get their swing and plate approach back
Something happened to Reynolds, whether it’s his swing or inability to put the ball in play for a hit. His .247 average is well below his career average, and his power potential has regressed.
It might be time to move him down in the lineup and move Gonzalez up
Definitely. Reynolds was a .300 hitter with some pop. He’d hit you 20-25 homers. Suwinski hasn’t improved anything while losing his home run power. Jeez.
The stance is the issue with Reynolds. He’s too crouched from the left side. This has literally happened every year since Haines has been the coach. All Reynolds has to do is stand more upright like he does from the right side and he’ll start hitting up to his abilities again from the left side. I think I even posted videos last year about this, and the moment he stood up taller and more relaxed he started crushing the baseball again. His back problems also also occur when he’s crouched.
Technically, Suwinski has improved everything except the hitting part. He’s walking more and striking out less, but at the expense of his best attribute (power). Haines has totally ruined him mentally. I have no doubt he’d go to AAA and within a few weeks be crushing the ball again once Munson gets a hold of him.
It’s embarrassing for the organization that Shelton and Haines haven’t been able to fix anyone over the last three years, and that outside help of minor league coaches have to fix struggling hitters. It’s just flat out embarrassing that they’re both still employed.
40 strikeouts is hardly an improvement considering he is limited in his playing time
He’s batting 50 points lower than last year which even with a .224 average, it still lacks consistency
And it’s not just his power numbers that are down, 14 rbi is a ridiculous amount since he doesn’t need to hit a homer to drive in runs
I just find it hard to believe that management above Shelton doesn’t see how everyone has regressed from last year except those guys who run the team on the field
Suwinski has improved nothing and while I agree that whomever has been tinkering with him, Reynolds, Triolo and previously, Davis, should be let go immediately, the only thing changed with Suwinski is his confidence, as you note. It’s shameful
His plate discipline has only been tweaked in terms of how he hangs in against left handed pitching more so than last year. Great.
But you don’t seek to turn a guy who hit 27 homers into a contact hitter, which seems to have been the emphasis.
He still has a difficult time picking up pitches and still is largely a guess hitter where the strike zone is concerned
That’s fine. When the opposing pitcher is hitting 95 on the gun, most hitters *are* guess hitters in reality. But this is where plate discipline comes into play. Knowing where pitchers are throwing, the umpire’s strike zone, situational hitting
Agreed. It’s not in the curriculum here
Tellez is in the lineup today and Jack isn’t which baffles me because Joe has been in a slump and probably needed to sit this one out.
I am sick of hearing about how good Joe is with runners in scoring position by the announcers then watching him strike out on three pitches
I get it that they want the viewers to get into the game but the failures of this offense makes it difficult for me to be a rah rah fan
I’m trying to have a good faith conversation, but if you say something like “Suwinski has improved nothing” you aren’t conversing in good faith. I’ll give you a pass on that.
His strikeouts are down by 7% and based on his batter ball data and what pitches he’s swinging at, it’s clear Haines and Shelton were trying to make him hit for average. On this point I agree with you 100%. Suwinski needs to do what he does best, and that’s be a quasi-three true outcomes player that has good speed once he’s on the bases.
If Suwinski hits .230 with a .350ish oBP with 30 homeruns not a person should complain. With his speed and solid defense that’s a pretty darn good baseball player.
I’m not a hitting expert, but a lot of the changes that Munson made with Bae, Nick G, and Davis are common sense changes. I don’t even think he’s a great hitting coach, he’s just competent. That’s how sad this all is. The Pirates are willing to have incompetence on their MLB coaching staff. and literally send players to AAA in order to be fixed. Isn’t that the job of Haines and Shelton?
I don’t care how good Taylor’s defense is, when more often than not, he strikes out with runners in scoring position, he should be DFA.
His bat didn’t make contact with any of the pitches thrown to him
Two of them were right down the middle of the plate and he still couldn’t make contact
And this has become a common theme for him
Cruz certainly likes his errors
Rowdy will get dfa and join the WWE as a bigger wiff as Mr. Kennedy. And Jake the snake lamb will be ripping up mlb pitching?
when a team strikes out 15 times, it’s unlikely that they will win
Taylor needs to go, another first baseman needs to be signed or traded for, Oliveras isn’t consistent enough against lefties, if Cruz can play against lefties, why couldn’t Bae?
Andy Haines’ time in Pittsburgh is past its prime and should be discarded like spoiled milk
Lamb is hitting around .350. How in the world is he being warehoused at Indy?
Davis pinch hit last night and doubled but he’s being kept there to continue the work on his swing even though Grandal has a sore leg
Peguero is still hitting around .290 but let’s keep him there because Triolo and his .210 average is the only viable back up at 3rd
Gorski is hitting around .280 but let’s keep Taylor because he’s a glove
I dunno. It’s not rocket science
How to successfully lose a game in 10 innings
Strike out 15 times
Manage only 6 hits
Call a slider against a team not swinging at those pitches and repeatedly
Allow one of your most expensive relievers to walk the bases loaded
Your batters being retired without getting on base, 18 consecutive plate appearances
Blow a 5 run lead
Not only blowing a 5 run lead but giving up 9 runs to the opposing hitters
Keeping the worst hitting coach on the payroll
To some, Chapman was an A+ signing even at $10M
Tell you what. Give me Hernandez in that same situation last night. Bet it doesn’t play out to the same way and he $9M cheaper
If the Pirates come out of their coma and give Chapman, Tellez and Taylor their much deserved walking papers, please let me know. I’ll be happy to help them load the moving vans
I would do more than help load their moving trucks, I would drink a beer, something I haven’t done since 1992
Their departure would be worth falling off the wagon for
Jack has been optioned to Indy and Hernandez has been promoted so maybe the hitting coach can work his magic on Suwinski
I can think of other players that need fine tuning
The announcer claims that Joe is selective about his swings then strikes out on a pitch out of the strike zone is what I mean when they try to get fans excited
Joe is now in an 0 for 19 slump. They couldn’t have sent Williams down and promoted Lamb?
It’s almost as if Shelton wants to lose
Rowdy Tellez makes me pine for the Van Meter days…