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Bill Brink's Pirates chat: 5.23.18
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Bill Brink
12:01
Hello and welcome to today's Pirates chat. Thanks to those who have already submitted questions, and keep them coming. Here we go ...
Buc'nnutz
12:02
Besides a need for consistency, what glaring roster needs do you feel the Bucs have?
Bill Brink
12:04
I think another starter would help. They haven't gotten as much consistency from the rotation as they'd like. We don't know for sure what Musgrove will provide; Nova has struggled but looked better his past two starts; Williams is consistent but his peripherals indicate regression could occur; and Taillon has been inconsistent.
PhillyJake
12:05
Taillon is supposed to be the Ace of this staff.  Or at least should be.  What's going wrong?
Bill Brink
12:06
Little bit homer-prone thus far. Seven allowed already in 51.1 innings, 11 total given up all of last year. His swing and contact rates are all about the same, so as is home-run rate stabilizes, so should his performane.
BurghBall
12:06
Inconsistency from our starters seems to be our issue. What's the remedy? And, are the Brewers really that good?
Bill Brink
12:09
I would agree, Burgh. Other than Taillon keeping the ball in the park and Nova getting a little luckier, the remedy will be improvement from Kuhl and a strong performance from Musgrove once he joins the rotation. If that doesn't work, Kingham has shown himself to be a viable option.
Al B
12:10
Bill, are we starting to see the beginning of the Pirates fade?
Bill Brink
12:11
I don't think so, but they've been streaky thus far, huh? I will say, this is a key stretch. After the Reds series they have 19 games against good teams (I count the Dodgers and D-backs as good despite the record/recent struggles because I think the quality of their rosters are strong). That'll be a stiffer test than the Padres and Reds, and they just lost three of four to San Diego and always struggle with the Reds.
Steven
12:12
Bill, How about Polanco and Bostick changing teams? Bostick's OPS is 890. Polanco needs retaining in base-running, defense and pitch recognition. Or maybe a change in position to first base for Greg in the minors? Steve
BobbyToledo
12:12
Ultimately is his new launch angle screwing up Polanco's swing? He sure is getting under the ball for a lot of foul outs and pop outs.
Schwifty
12:13
I've been an ardent Polanco defender but he doesn't make it easy.  The talent is so obvious but the results are a total mixed bag. Most of the D issues appear mental because he has the tools to be better.  He's finally managed to stay healthy -- what's wrong with Gregory?
Johnny
12:13
Moving McCutchen to 6th in the order proved beneficial last year. Any chance we see a similar move by moving Polanco down in the order?
Bill Brink
12:16
Let's get into Polanco for a minute here. He's got a .388 OBP and a .518 slug since May 2, with eight walks and 14 strikeouts. The stretch from April 12 to May 1 was real bad, but he's showing signs of getting out of it. They're not moving him to first base. It's not so much launch angle as him not taking his hands directly to the ball and lengthening his swing, and not keeping his front shoulder closed. ... I don't have a good answer on the defense. It's been like this for a while now.
As for moving him down, we addressed that with Hurdle a while back (I think) and he acknowledged that might be something down the road he'd think about, but the way he's going now I don't think that'll happen.
Chuck
12:18
Adam Frazier was such a good hitter when he first came to the Pirates.  David Freeze even said that he expects Frazier to win a batting title some day.  Pirate announcers marveled at how he could hit.   In 2016 Frazier batted 301.  In 2017 he batted  .276.   As of today he is only hitting .230.   What has happened?   Is there any hope that he can be a .300 hitter?
Bill Brink
12:19
He's swinging less, and swinging and missing less, and making more contact, which all seem like good things, so -- without having dived into the heat maps and spray charts during this chat -- my guess would be he's getting into pitchers' counts too frequently and swinging defensively rather than swinging to do damage. The 6 percent reduction in hard contact would support that hypothesis. He's not playing as frequently as last year, so maybe it's tougher for him to get in a rhythm at the plate or get his timing down.
Angry Fan
12:21
Nick Kingham has been the team’s best SP this year and is at AAA instead of bum Chad Kuhl. How much does the rest of baseball laugh at the Pirates for doing dumb stuff like this?
Bill Brink
12:23
They'll give Kuhl some leash because he's coming up on two years now in the rotation and Kingham has only three starts, but you're right, Kingham has been good, and if this continues and they're in contention they'll have to figure that out.
Ralph
12:23
At what point do the Pirates pull the plug on Mercer? He’s been below average for the position with the bat for multiple years and plays a decent, not great, SS (lacks range). Time to see what they have in Newman who’s hitting well in Indy?
Bill Brink
12:24
This has been a question for a while now, with talented young shortstops in the system and Mercer getting more expensive through arbitration. The Pirates like Mercer's dependability in the field and ability to play 150-plus games, but with Newman (and Tucker, later, and Kramer, possibly) on the way, and Mercer a free agent after this season, that decision could be coming this summer.
Uk Pirates Fan
12:26
How long is this losing streak going to last for , and is this the end of optimism for 2018 ?
Bill Brink
12:26
I don't think it should be the end of optimism. Marte will be back soon, the back end of the bullpen is stabilizing and with some better production out of the rotation this team will be good again. With the losing streak, who knows.
BobbyToledo
12:27
I think Meadows should stay; what do you think the market would be for Marte if they dangled him?
Bill Brink
12:28
In a vacuum, the market for Marte would be pretty good, as he's shown he can produce while (presumably) not on steroids. But they won't trade him because A) Meadows has played four games, compared to Marte's seven seasons in the majors and B) Meadows has not exactly demonstrated perfect health in the minors, and if you trade Marte and Meadows gets hurt, Chris Bostick and Sean Rodriguez are your starting center fielders.
Wizie
12:29
The Pirates are off to a nice start, recent slide withstanding, but the NL and especially NL Central looks brutal this year. Should they sell high on the few chips they do have? Cervelli, Dickerson, Harrison, etc.
Bill Brink
12:29
Certainly not now, when they're five games better than .500 and three games out of first.
Davidoff
12:29
Are they any thoughts by the PiratesOrg about switching to a 4 man Rotation all year?
Bill Brink
12:30
The number of off days in the schedule wouldn't support that. It worked for a couple weeks because of the three scheduled off days.
Dinosaur
12:31
Who are the 2018 Pirates? Doesn’t seem like the same team the last 4 games. They are still battling but not getting the timely hits and making errors in the field. Is it as simple as the Pirates are just regressing to the mean?
Bill Brink
12:32
It's four games out of 162. They hit a rough patch. They'll hit more. They'll go on winning streaks too. They're a good, not great, team, better than we thought in spring training (better than I thought, at least) but not as good as the Yankees or Astros.
Schwifty
12:32
MO past few years has poor play against bottom feeders.  Why can't they consistently beat teams which no one else seems to struggle against?
Bill Brink
12:34
I asked Hurdle about this last year and he said with division rivals like the Reds (who really gave them trouble last year) and Brewers, they know each other so well that it's about execution. Which leads to the question, why does the execution lag against bad teams? I'll admit I don't have a good answer for that one.
Dinosaur
12:34
What’s the plan with Meadows when Marte returns? I know the outfield is crowded but if he continues to hit how do you justify not keeping him on the big league club let alone in the lineup everyday?
Bill Brink
12:35
He'll almost certainly go back down to triple-A and play every day. We're talking about a four-game sample size compared to Marte's seven-year career, which I know has had ups and downs. The Pirates want players of Meadows' caliber to play every day.
Satellite Beach Mike
12:35
Who instructs the Pirate base runners?  They never look at the third base coach.  They are always looking back over their shoulder to see where the ball is.  Fundamentals are learned at an early age.  The Pirates are totally lacking in the fundamentals of the game
Bill Brink
12:36
First-base coach Kimera Bartee is also the baserunning coach. Like his defense, Polanco continues to struggle in this area.
just me
12:36
I mean why can't Polanco shorten his swing or bunt in order to hit the ball to left side of diamond.  Does the hitting coach ever address this to him?
Bill Brink
12:37
Jeff Branson had Polanco out on the field before games recently working with a tee high and inside, and Polanco had to get to it without opening his shoulder. Then he set up two tees, inside and outside, with a ball on each and wouldn't tell Polanco which one he was to hit until Polanco had started his swing.
Wayward
12:37
Musgrove up, what other rosters moves could you see happening, absent of that?
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