2k13: Your record-breaking Pittsburgh Pirates

[joncarlos]

@BiertempfelTrib
#Pirates send Mercer, McPherson, Presley to triple-a. Locke is No. 5 starter.

[joncarlos]

Final roster set... Liriano and Inge on the DL. Sanchez the #4 and Jeff Locke the #5. Tabata makes it over Presley. J-Hey most likely goes down to AAA when Inge is ready to be activated.

http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130327&content_id=43378740&vkey=news_pit&c_id=pit&tcid=tw_article_43378740

• Pitchers (12): Burnett, Rodriguez, McDonald, Sanchez, Locke, Jason Grilli, Jared Hughes, Mark Melancon, Chris Leroux, Tony Watson, Justin Wilson, Jeanmar Gomez.

• Catchers (2): Russell Martin and Michael McKenry.

• Infielders (6): Gaby Sanchez, Neil Walker, Clint Barmes, Pedro Alvarez, John McDonald and Harrison (Inge likely on DL).

• Outfielders (5): Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen, Travis Snider, Garrett Jones, Jose Tabata.


I assume that the lineup will be:

LF Marte
2B Walker
CF Cutch
3B Alvarez
1B GI Jones
C Martin
RF Snider/Tabata
SS Barmes

[madducks]

Starting pitchers Jeff Karstens and Charlie Morton will also be starting the season on the DL.

I like the top 3 of the rotation (Burnett, Rodriguez, McDonald), but 4-5 (Sanchez, Locke) scares me. Maybe Sanchez regains his old form, but i'm not counting on it. Locke will be out as soon as Liriano is ready by late April/early May. That may or may not be an improvement. I get a feeling the Karstens shoulder injury may be worse than the Pirates are telling us. The competition for the 4-5 spots should renew in the second half with Morton returning from TJ surgery and Gerritt Cole possibly being ready for a call up.

[joncarlos]

So against a RH pitcher, Hurdle gives Gaby Sanchez the start at 1B and plays GFJ in RF. Both Tabata and Snider were benched.

No idea what that's all about.

[madducks]

So against a RH pitcher, Hurdle gives Gaby Sanchez the start at 1B and plays GFJ in RF. Both Tabata and Snider were benched.

No idea what that's all about.

And why bat Garrett Jones 2nd instead of 4th or 5th?

[hombre]

So against a RH pitcher, Hurdle gives Gaby Sanchez the start at 1B and plays GFJ in RF. Both Tabata and Snider were benched.

No idea what that's all about.

I think at least in the short-term it's pretty defendable- ie. Sanchez was clearly the better hitter in Florida than Snider, so maybe Hurdle just wants to ride the "hot" hand for a while. And at least Sanchez has a few reasonably productive years at the MLB level on his resume.

[hombre]

And why bat Garrett Jones 2nd instead of 4th or 5th?

Maybe this was rhetorical- but it was to split up their lefty bats (i.e. not before/after Alvarez or Walker)

[mjl]

How has AJ Burnett been getting all these strikeouts? I haven't actually seen any of his games, but he has six through three innings today and that puts him over 16 K/9 for the season...

[joncarlos]

Phil Irwin, he of the dazzling curveball that sometimes goes into the strike zone, got a spot start over the weekend and did OK. He was nervous in his first couple innings and then settled down. With Kyle McPherson battling arm issues, and Jeff Karstens still absent for the foreseeable future, Irwin is the spot starter du jour. He could be worth a buck in FAAB. Wandy is "iffy" to make his next start.

Francisco Liriano is getting ready to throw a 3-inning rehab start in High-A and could be back in 2-3 weeks.

Josh Harrison was sent down to the minors to make room for Irwin, and probably won't come back up since Brandon Inge could take his spot.

[joncarlos]

J-Mac's velocity was down significantly today and there were reports that he was "scared" to throw his slider. Stay tuned.

[FBP]

What is the outlook for PT for Gaby Sanchez. Seems to be languishing on the bench.

[joncarlos]

What is the outlook for PT for Gaby Sanchez. Seems to be languishing on the bench.

Earned some PT with a hot start. Played like crap and lost it.

Should really be playing 1B against most lefties and probably will once things shake out. Probably won't play much at all against righties.

Sanchez did work out at 3B in the spring, but Inge is coming up soon and Hurdle even played Russell Martin at 3B, so I wouldn't expect much there.

[JudeBaldo]

Phil Irwin, he of the dazzling curveball that sometimes goes into the strike zone, got a spot start over the weekend and did OK. He was nervous in his first couple innings and then settled down. With Kyle McPherson battling arm issues, and Jeff Karstens still absent for the foreseeable future, Irwin is the spot starter du jour. He could be worth a buck in FAAB. Wandy is "iffy" to make his next start.

Francisco Liriano is getting ready to throw a 3-inning rehab start in High-A and could be back in 2-3 weeks.

Josh Harrison was sent down to the minors to make room for Irwin, and probably won't come back up since Brandon Inge could take his spot.

Is the hold up with Cole primarily about money?

[joncarlos]

Is the hold up with Cole primarily about money?

I'm going to say no. It's not ALL about the money.

Could he pitch effectively in the majors right now? Probably. He could certainly outpitch Jonathan Sanchez. Then again so could I. So could Phil Irwin, and he also got sent down.

Will he pitch better if he has another month or two of seasoning? Yes.

So why rush him up when the time in AAA isn't hurting him, and you are also starting his clock?

[JudeBaldo]

I'm going to say no. It's not ALL about the money.

Could he pitch effectively in the majors right now? Probably. He could certainly outpitch Jonathan Sanchez. Then again so could I. So could Phil Irwin, and he also got sent down.

Will he pitch better if he has another month or two of seasoning? Yes.

So why rush him up when the time in AAA isn't hurting him, and you are also starting his clock?

Fair enough. I'm just being impatient lol.