It’s the day before the day before Opening Day! (No, tomorrow doesn’t count - there is only one game between teams nobody cares about. Shut up.)
It’s officially Spring! The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the smell of peanuts and hot dogs fills the air. The voice of Vin Scully (for the 64th year!!!) greets the fans with “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”
The world is bright and new again.
Oh, and
Fuck the Giants!
I have a haiku:
Baseball is awesome.
Baseball, baseball, more baseball.
I just love baseball.
Verlander got signed, which is nice. That’d be a helluva distraction going into the year, I think.
I’m really looking forward to this season. First of all, this is shaping up to be a year where the usual big market teams aren’t going to dominate with the possible exception of the Dodgers. Last year I was so busy with my move I didn’t have enough time to follow baseball during the first couple of months of the season.
I’m going to get to the New Comiskey this year, so I can add another ballpark to my list. I’m hoping also to maybe make a baseball road trip to hit at least one other park in the Midwest.
Another year, another record-setting sub-.500 season for the Bucs. Hoping we can pull it together and compete sometime soon, but I don’t think we’re quite there yet.
They just barely missed .500 last year and things seem to finally be going the Pirates’ way. Is there a reason you think they’re going to take a step back?
Well, I’ve been a little casual in keeping up so far this spring, but last I checked the Central wasn’t sitting on their hands, so it’s not so much a step back as it is we’re treading water. Two years in a row we jumped out of the gates and racked up wins like crazy, then we’d collapse in the last two months. There’s no satisfactory explanation for that. They collapsed entirely, as a team.
First base:
Garrett Jones is what he is, and I’m just hoping he doesn’t regress. A platoon with Gaby Sanchez might help us out, so there could be improvement at 1st, though probably not a lot.
Second base:
Walker, I think, pretty much played at his ceiling, so I’m hoping he doesn’t regress. Good in the field, solid at the plate.
Shortstop:
Clint Barmes. Glove man. If you’re gonna have a glove man, SS is the place to have him, and it’s not like we’ve got a choice in the matter. No change from last year.
Third base:
Pedro Alvarez . . . he’s gonna strike out a lot and hit a lot of home runs. Would be nice to see his SO’s improve or his average creep up to .275, but I wouldn’t count on either happening, and I would guess another season hovering around .250 is in the works. Maybe he can improve on his 30 HR’s.
Catcher:
Catching. Don’t talk to me about catching. We’ve got catchers, and that about covers that. Well, OK, Russell Martin supposedly frames pitches very well, which is just one of the things we’ve been missing from that position. One is better than nothing.
Outfield (it gets interesting here):
McCutcheon has done so well it’s unrealistic to ask for more. He’s like the second coming of Barry Bonds, but not a complete ass and not on steroids. What would be WONDERFUL is if he learned how to use that incredible speed of his and not get CS all the time.
Starling Marte is the real wild card on the team. The guy could be a starting outfielder for the next decade, with a few All-Star appearances and/or Gold Gloves - or he could fizzle. Has an absolute cannon for an arm, has great speed, plays center field and does it well, but won’t while McCutcheon is there. That’s OK, PNC Park has a HUGE left field. Has a strikeout issue, but has also made some improvements. Could be another Alvarez, which isn’t bad, but I just can’t get the idea that he COULD be another McCutcheon out of my head. I really should, though, 'cause it ain’t happening. If this guy pans out, he’ll be a key to our competing in the coming years. If he doesn’t he’ll be the key to us NOT competing. Personal opinion, of course.
Travis Snider and Jerry Sands platoon. Well, let’s hope for the best.
Jose Tabata will be outfield depth, but here’s a guy who many hoped would be a starter. Great speed helps him make up for some miscues in the field. Should be a terror on the basepaths, but an injury spooked him. Has little power, so with his batting average dropping and running like he’s going to break something, he’s reduced to 4th outfielder. We could use a good leadoff hitter and he looked to be one for awhile. You don’t usually want a leadoff hitter from the outfield, but I’ll take contributions where I can find 'em.
Pitching:
I’m gonna get lazy here and just say that there’s no reason to think it’s improved greatly. We have a couple guys who might help once they’ve rehabbed by mid-season, but our two big pitchers we’re waiting on, Cole and Tallion, won’t be up this year. Cole’s a possibility after his super-two time has passed, but that’s not a lock. Even if he does make it, it’s his first time in the bigs: most need some learning/adjustment time.
Yeah, we could break .500 this year. There’s no good reason why they didn’t last year, or the year before. We didn’t, so therein lies the futility of predictions. I just know this isn’t a team we can get to the post-season with, and until I see that team, I won’t count on .500.
How do you KNOW MCucheon isn’t on steriods? (I agree he PROBABLY isn’t but only he knows)
How do we know ANYONE isn’t on PEDs? They’ve tightened up the testing, some players get caught (see Braun, Ryan) even if they aren’t punished (see Braun, Ryan), but we can’t be sure some aren’t slipping through. Cutch isn’t rumored to be on them, he doesn’t show any signs of being on them, and he isn’t breaking monstrous records. That’s all we’re ever going to have to go on.
Besides, he’s a Buc, and we’re well overdue for a break, so you just step off Cutch. 
McCutcheon is awesome. While the CS’s might be frustrating, really, it’s not a very big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Don’t be surprised if his average drops a little this year, but I think he could actually add even more power.
Aaaaaaand… we already have a bad call! That was a steal, umpire moron. But, it’s Astros/Rangers so, meh.
As Babe Ruth said, “The only real game, I think, in the world is baseball.”
Agreed on both average and power. The CS is just stupid. The guy is fast as hell. Either get him the instruction he needs, or don’t greenlight him. I agree it’s no big deal now that it’s in the past, but it should be worked on in the present & future. No team can afford to give away outs, and his CS% says he needs to fix it, or stop entirely.
It bugs me is that with all the fast players that have passed through in recent years, they can’t figure out stealing. Can’t figure out how to stop the steal either. Teams ran at will last year.
Houston’s squishing them. Go figure.
And it is time for my first rant this year about God Bless America.
I like Lyle Lovett, but even Lyle Lovett cannot make that song anything but a shitfest.
Ladies and gentlemen, your major league-leading Houston Astros.
Huh. Word out of Cincinnati is that they’re shifting Chapman back to the rotation, and he’ll be starting Opening Day.
Go Nats!
Not only was it Houston’s 4000th win, they’re in sole possession of 1st in the AL West and the only undefeated franchise in AL history.
Fitting this is all true on April 1.