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Bill Brink's noon Pirates chat: 7.11.18
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Bill Brink
12:00
Good morning and welcome to today's Pirates chat. Only 35 minutes until first pitch, so send those questions!
ALB
12:00
Bill, After last night, would one more loss before the break pretty much ensure that the Pirates are sellers?
Bill Brink
12:03
I'm of two minds. The skeptic in me, along with what I've heard about their scouting minor league affiliates and two reports about preparing to trade away players, tells me they might have already made up their minds. If that were the case, one more loss could cement it. But a five-game sweep against the Brewers, coupled with some help from Milwaukee (unlikely, as they're playing the Marlins) could change the calculus. I'd lean more toward the former.
Aaron
12:03
Will the Pirates move Chad Kuhl to the 60-Day DL after second opinion?
Bill Brink
12:05
Not necessarily, but possibly. He's shut down for four weeks, meaning at least through Aug. 10. Then he'll need to build up his pitch count, which could take him through August. So it would make sense that the first time they need a 40-man spot, they could move him over there.
Kyle
12:05
Does Josh Harrison have any trade value? He has been pretty bad lately and a decent sized contract
Bill Brink
12:06
The contract is large, but it has a $1 million buyout of his two options after this year. The .292 OBP isn't helping his trade value, but a team that needs an infielder with some versatility to cover for an injury for two months could use him.
Doc
12:06
I used to think the Pirates  failures were because they could not identify minor league talent properly. But given the success of players away from Pirates, is it more because t they do not DEVELOP it properly?
Bill Brink
12:09
I think that's part of it, as evidenced by Polanco and regression from Bell. I'm reluctant to assign all struggles to player development -- sometimes guys are banged up, sometimes they're getting pitched well; Bell has made several alterations, to the point where Hurdle has mentioned the need for him to stay in a lane -- but I'd agree with the premise.
Bill
12:09
When do Newman and Kramer come up? After deadline? Would they commit to these two guys even if Mercer/Harrison arent moved?
Bill Brink
12:10
I'd imagine Newman comes up if they trade Mercer, or after rosters expand in September. Kramer I'm not sure. That could depend on Harrison. I don't envision them giving either one of them playing time without moving Mercer or Harrison, given Neal Huntington's comments regarding Newman a few weeks back.
Bill
12:10
The Pirates have a ballpark that favors LH pitchers and hitters, yet outside of Vazquez, we don't have any solid LH pitchers (Brault not cutting it). Will they ever address this in your opinion?
Bill Brink
12:11
We've asked them about an all-righty rotation for two years now and they have not seemed concerned about it, instead saying they'd like the five best pitchers regardless of handedness, so I don't see any rush to get a lefty in their eyes.
Austin
12:12
At or before the trade deadline who do you think is the first to go? Who will bring the Pirates the best return?
Bill Brink
12:13
It's a tie between Mercer and Freese, and it could come down to whether a contender has a sudden need for one or the other. But Huntington made a good point Sunday when he said that to trade players, teams have to want your players. At least with what I've heard and what's been reported, there isn't a sense of urgency -- yet. Everything will change July 29.
Guest
12:13
can We afford to lose Cervelli and go 100 percent with Diaz? It seems pitchers do better with Francisco
Bill Brink
12:16
This is a source of debate among the beat. Cervelli is having a nice year with a revamped swing and good catchers are hard to find, so he'd have a lot of value. But would he, given his injury history? And if you move him, and Diaz or Stallings gets hurt hurt, then what do you do? You're back to the halcyon days of 2011 with Dusty Brown and Wyatt Toregas. I think they could manage without him, the game calling might take a hit but if they're trading him they're OK with that and it would give Diaz tons of experience. But it would be risky.
Hippo
12:16
When Neal spoke he mentioned he had pegged the team to win between 78-82 wins. So why doesn't he build a damn team that he pegs to win 90 games? Seriously Bill us fans, we are sick and tired of his spin and lies. Do you agree?
Bill Brink
12:18
I agree that that projection, which he volunteered, surprised me; my follow-up was, why not either A) continue to sell and get a rebuild started or B) add and try to win? He said they believed in the young core. But baseball people will tell you, the middle is nowhere to be, especially in today's environment with the draft bonus pools.
Chris
12:21
Are the Pirates not allowed to DFA someone that’s on the DL? How else can they seriously entertain bringing Sean Rod back to the major league roster. Why not bring up Newman or Kramer instead and look to the future instead of living in a spilled Gatorade past?
Bill Brink
12:23
The continued use of Rodriguez despite a lack of production for the first half of the season, and the issues it causes with the team, could continue if they bring him back. At first, he wasn't producing when the team is nominally in contention; now he could take plate appearances from young players that might need the experience for the team to contend in the future.
Hippo
12:23
When is it time to maybe just maybe hold the coaching staff accountable for the regression of pretty much all our hitters and pitchers? Since Benedict left who has Ray Searage made better? And this Branson guy, who has he made better? Look at Josh Bell. He looks nothing like the player from last year or in the minors.
Bill Brink
12:25
I think the time is now. The team is not performing well in really any aspect of the game, other than not striking out, since mid-May. There are bright spots here and there, like Polanco in the last two weeks and Vazquez and Crick, and Cervelli's nice year, but pitching has regressed, defense has regressed. I would imagine there could be some changes made at some point, though Huntington on Sunday shouldered the blame and said he believed in his coaching staff.
Steve
12:25
Do you think the Pirates will part ways with Hurdle at the end of the season?
Bill Brink
12:25
No, because he's on a four-year contract.
Hippo
12:26
Why don't you in the media keep pressing the team executives to tell us where the $50 million BAM money Nutting got went? Do you think he pocketed it all or most of it?
Bill Brink
12:27
Every time we've talked to him, we've asked him about it, and the answer he gives is that it is a one-time payment (which we know) and that they hadn't decided exactly what to do with it (which I cannot imagine is the case, though we haven't talked to Bob in a while). What's baffling is the privacy regarding its use given the fanbase's frustration with the team's spending.
Never going to Win
12:28
Bill, why for a low budget team run poorly by ownership & management have they kept Huntington?  If you aren’t going to spend money you better draft & develop,  Huntington has done NEITHER.
Bill Brink
12:29
Nutting indicated by giving him an extension that he felt confident in the direction he was taking the team, and Nutting knows better than anyone the constraints under which Huntington works because Nutting and the ownership group set play a large role in setting those constrains.
Ty
12:29
Thoughts on the 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates? Any better chance?
Bill Brink
12:31
Only in the sense that some players could play better. I can't imagine they'll have a ton of money to spend after attendance this season and outside of Keller there aren't a ton of high-impact prospects close at hand. Newman should help but there's no Acuna or Vlad Jr. type player.
Jordan Luplow
12:31
Why am I starting today?
Hippo
12:31
Meadows has been on the bench 5 of the last 6 games. He pinch hit last night and went 2 for 2. Why on earth is Jordan Luplow playing today over Austin and Dickerson when supposedly the next 8 games are of importance??? Hurdle and his lineups drive me crazy.
Bill Brink
12:34
Jordan, you're starting today because Gio Gonzalez is left-handed, but the point stands: If you're going to be a first-round draft pick and top prospect, you'd like to think they can hit lefties. Hang on a minute ... Meadows is hitting .308/.368/.596 against lefties. Well, that's a small sample size, so let's look at his Indy stats ... .340/.373/.546. Hmmm. Last year was rough in the minors, but he has been much, much better this season, and with the stated importance of this week, this seems odd.
Crimson
12:35
Bill do you think they should give Tanner Anderson another chance? I read all about him and he seems like he can help.
Bill Brink
12:35
The 1.5 walks per nine and one home run in 26 games would make him a candidate to help, certainly.
Guest
12:35
What is the history behind #TeamChester? #TeamOliver #TeamHannah all the way!!!
Bill Brink
12:37
When I was an intern at the PG in 2010, and the building was across the river, we'd go into Market Square on Thursdays and get pierogies out of the truck. The only kind I liked, having not been from here, were the cheese ones, so I rooted for Chester. When I tweeted about it, it angered some fans (@BrinkPG STOP TWEETING ABOUT PEEROGEES THE PIRATES STINK FIRE GREGG RITCHIE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE SALE THE TEAM BOB!!!!) so naturally I kept doing it. Here we are.
#TeamChester
Same Old Same Old
12:38
Don’t we see this same scenario every year?  The team isn’t good enough to seriously contend and so they are sellers at the trading deadline. They cut payroll $
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