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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 03.11.20
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Winchester
12:25
The bullpen believe it or not looks to be impressive. Kela, Crick, Burdi, Santana, and RRod. But will the absence of a reliable lefty be an issue? Doesn’t look like any of the lefty’s they brought to camp are working.
Jason Mackey
12:26
I agree with you on both counts. Howard, Erlin and Jerez have all been terrible. Brault's injury puts Holland in the rotation, and robs them of a lefty in the 'pen. That said, Richard Rodriguez has reverse splits, and I do think their bullpen could be halfway decent. Would be great, though, if one lefty stepped up and did something. Nik Turley has looked good thus far. Probably a long shot, but he's been the best of the bunch.
thomastown
12:26
I believe the Pirates lease for PNC expires in 10 years. My concern is that the owner (I refuse to say his name) will continue to milk the team until then. At that point, he will look for a big payday by reaching a sweetheart deal with another city to move the team. Or perhaps, he will sell to someone who will overpay and who will then move the team. Of course, he will blame this on low attendance and lack of support.
 I would like to get your thoughts on how credible this scenario is and if so, what could be done to head this off.
Jason Mackey
12:28
I don't think Bob Nutting will do that. Many will disagree, and plenty others probably want him to sell, but I do think he wants to continue to own the Pirates, in Pittsburgh, maybe to his detriment. Selling a major league baseball team could net a ton of cash. He could walk away right now and do extremely well for himself. I think he stays because he likes it and wants to continuing doing it.
Ben
12:28
who is leading the race for the back up catcher position?
Jason Mackey
12:28
I think it's Luke Maile's job to lose. The offense is OK at best right now, but if he can hit just enough, he's been much better defensively than John Ryan Murphy.
Mike
12:28
Jason, who do you see as the position players who make the team as bench players this year, and who are the odd men out?
Jason Mackey
12:29
My bench right now would look like this: Guillermo Heredia, Luke Maile, JT Riddle, Jose Osuna and Erik Gonzalez. I wouldn't want to have Cole Tucker up here to sit, the same for Ke'Bryan Hayes. I'd maybe think about giving Phillip Evans a chance or moving Colin Moran to a bench role if Hayes hits his way into the big leagues.
Dingo
12:29
Do you think being in the home run derby last year “messed” with Josh Bell’s swing?    I remember he started the second half very slow.  Do you think he would participate in the derby again in 2020 given the oppurtunity.
Jason Mackey
12:30
I don't know if it was the Home Run Derby, but something did. I talked to Bell about this at the start of spring training, and he never found his timing in the second half. I also don't know if there's a magic bullet here, other than he simply never got comfortable. I know it's a convenient theory to blame the Derby, but I do think it was more than that.
Winchester
12:30
If the pirates do extend Hayes this spring, does that guarantee he’s the opening day third basemen?
Jason Mackey
12:31
It depends. It could, provided he continues to hit. Or maybe they structure the deal so it kicks in next season. My guts tells me, yes, if they do that, it would make him your opening day third baseman, although I can't say that with great authority.
Colts Corral
12:31
Pirates finish with the worst record in Baseball history ? Correct ?
Jason Mackey
12:32
I don't agree with that. I think they're going to be a decent amount better than they were last season, which I've said in this space for weeks.
PhillyJake
12:32
Why kind of limitations is Chad Kuhl on, coming off of TJ surgery?  Santana?  I realize they differ as one is a starter, the other a reliever.
Jason Mackey
12:33
Santana, none. And he's been tremendous this spring. He'll have a regular bullpen role out of spring training. I'd look at him to pitch the seventh with a lead, bridging the gap to Crick and Kela. Kuhl has built up to a two-inning sim game the other day. He's a little behind other pitchers. I don't think that's overly concerning, but coming out of spring with a job in the starting rotation? That's probably a little much to expect at this point.
Winchester
12:33
In your honest opinion, what is the short term and long term outcome for Cole Tucker?
Jason Mackey
12:34
Short-term I think he goes to Indy. He needs to play and hit. He needs to strike out less and hit for more power. I think he can do both things. His defense plays at the major league level, but there's work to be done with the bat. Long-term, assuming those things happen, I think he's probably one of your middle infielders of the future.
Winchester
12:34
Do u see the pirates being aggressive with Cruz in the minors? If he performs well, any chance we see him in September?
Jason Mackey
12:35
I don't. I think he's tremendously talented, but I think he's at least a year away. Maybe by September, because of his ability, but I think the Pirates should be worried about doing this right as opposed to trying to fast-play his development. I also don't know if I see him sticking at short.
Jeff
12:35
Good afternoon!  I enjoyed your article on Tyler Glasnow.  It was apparent we needed a change in philosophy when it comes to pitching.  I assume Marin has been working on mechanics with our guys.  I've heard Keller has looked pretty good so far this spring.  Has Marin provided any changes to Keller's delivery?  Or is it due to Keller getting experience at the big league level?
Jason Mackey
12:37
Marin has not changing anything substantive with Keller's delivery, other than refining things. Keller has looked quite good this spring, I agree. But I think a lot of that has to do with his own maturity more than anything. As for Glasnow and that whole mess, I had known this for quite some time. It's one of the reasons I feel like they'll be better, though I couldn't mention it because it was told to me off-the-record by a former Pirates pitcher. The former regime did a lot of good things, but they just never evolved beyond pitching in and pounding sinkers.
Colts Corral
12:37
When will someone the local government or local media have the guts to drag or called for him to be dragged Bob Nutting in from of a State committee or City Council and demand he open his books or face criminal charges ?
Jason Mackey
12:39
I probably wouldn't hold your breath. I broached this issue with Bill Peduto back in October, in an interview that was actually scheduled before the first article about the Pirates and local politicians came out. I would encourage you to read it: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2019/10/17/bill-peduto-pit...
Winchester
12:39
I agree the previous regime deserved a lot of blame for Glas/Cole/Morton development. But Cole and Morton at least had some success and started playoff games here. Is it a bad look by Glasnow to burry the pirates on his way out and then again this week when it was rare for him to make it out of the first inning here?
Jason Mackey
12:39
I don't think so. I also don't think Glasnow was "burying" the Pirates as much as he was answering questions about his time here. As I just typed, he's not the first Pirates pitcher -- current or former -- to feel this way. He's just the first one to say it publicly.
Sammy
12:40
Your rankings on players to most likely be extended before the season starts?
Jason Mackey
12:40
  1. Musgrove ... 2. Hayes ... 3. Reynolds ... 4. Newman ... 5. Bell.
Winchester
12:40
You mentioned Cruz not sticking at short, so is first base an option? I know pirates have struggled defensively transitioning guys to first (Pedro, Jaso, Bell) But could Cruz, coming from a challenging defensive position like SS be a good first basemen?
Jason Mackey
12:41
I think he could. I would also like to see what he could do in the outfield. And I'm not saying he CAN'T play short. I'm just saying that I have some doubts whether that will ultimately be his long-term home. I should have been more clear with that.
PhillyJake
12:41
How's Brault's bat looking ?
Jason Mackey
12:42
Ha. I have not seen it. Maybe I should've mentioned him as a bad off the bench. ... Seriously, though, they've had a DH in games. I've literally not been able to see him take swings, other than through a fence in the batting cages at Pirate City ... which obviously didn't tell me much.
Guest
12:46
I think it is unreasonable to assume that Reynolds and Newman have as good a year with the bat as they did last year. Major league pitchers and coaches are just too good to not adapt a different approach to pitching to them. With that said and the fact that their best hitter (Marte) is not there, I don’t see the Pirates scoring enough to overcome any small improvement in the pitching
Jason Mackey
12:47
Devil's advocate ... if that's so easy, why didn't opposing teams and managers ever adjust last season? Do you think it's a months-long process to pitch to these guys differently? They could just be decent players.
Winchester
12:47
Does the DH coming to the NL make Bell more appealing when it comes to an extension?
Jason Mackey
12:47
I think he should be plenty appealing already, personally, but I do think the Pirates would really stand to benefit if the DH came to the National League. They could DH Bell and use Will Craig at first, if he earns it, or even Colin Moran, if he winds up hitting the ball but just can't field it.
Colts Corral
12:48
I disagree. Mr Nutting gets tax money for his resorts. He should be required to submit to yearly State audits
Jason Mackey
12:50
You're perfectly welcome to disagree. As a tax-paying and voting citizen, you're perfectly entitled to (legally) express your opinion and vote for who you want to vote for. I'm just relaying the opinion of the people in charge. The City of Pittsburgh isn't going to put a lean on Bob Nutting just because the Pirates have been bad at baseball. Again, as Peduto said -- and nobody has to agree with it; I'm just relaying the thoughts -- it would be like him taking Giant Eagle to task because he thought they charged too much for groceries.
Winchester
12:50
I’m not gonna name names. But does it get tiresome trying to describe or defend the Pirates to talking radio heads in this town?
Jason Mackey
12:53
Not at all. And you can name names if you want because I have an exclusive contract with the Fan. It's a free country. It's my job to cover the Pirates, which means writing about them, doing these chats and talking on the radio and TV about them. I try to be fair. I also try to respect the opinions of others. The same as beat reporters covering teams, where we're not fans and we get paid the same whether they win or lose, I get paid the same whether they make great moves or idiotic ones. It's my job to write and talk about those in a professional and insightful fashion.
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