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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 04.29.20
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Jason Mackey
1:12
They use tech. They understand it. While the majority of players couldn't stand Hurdle by the end of it, they almost universally love Shelton. (This isn't a shot at Hurdle, BTW; he has meant so much for baseball in this city, but I think everyone has an expiration date.) ... The Pirates scored runs along with the Cardinals and Brewers last year. They simply fielded and pitched like crap. What if they pitch better -- bringing Santana and Burdi back in the bullpen won't hurt, either -- actually field the ball and make fundamental plays and don't do stupid stuff on the bases while maintaining the same sort of offense? That's why I think they'll win more than 69 games.
Tony
1:13
If somehow the 2020 Pirates become another version of the ‘97 “Freak Show” Pirates  and are in the hunt for a playoff spot...do you think Nutting will spend money at the trade deadline?  Will they be ‘buyers’?   [ sorry, but I’ve been the house for 6+ weeks]
Jason Mackey
1:15
I don't, no. Unless by "buying" we're talking about something very small. And I don't think that's so much Nutting skewing toward the frugal side as it will about building a sustained winner. It's the same reason they need to sign Bell. You have a core. Keep it and build around it. But in having that core, you also need to back-fill spots when you do lose players, which will happen. To do that, you need to stockpile picks and prospects -- and avoid screwing up that process. I don't think the Pirates, under Ben Cherington, will yet be ready to mortgage those sort of assets now if they punch above their weight in 2020.
Drew
1:15
Hi Jason, I'm getting to the chat late, but wanted to say that I enjoyed your article about Josh Bell today.  Under the old regime, it seems like we all assumed that he would be traded or lost to free agency within a year or two, but your article offered a glimmer of hope that he might be here longer.  If you had to put a percentage on it, how likely do you feel it is that a deal gets done?
Jason Mackey
1:17
Thanks, Drew. Don't worry about being late. As long as we have questions -- yours is the last in the queue -- I'm happy to sit here, listen to the Grateful Dead and answer 'em. Glad you liked the piece. I'm gonna say 55-60% that something gets done. And I agree, before Cherington and Co., I don't think the chances were very good. But Boras, in case it doesn't show, really, really likes Cherington. That doesn't mean Bell is gonna take some sort of crazy discount. We're still talking about Scott Boras here. But I do think negotiations will be more productive than they've been in the past. I also think Bob Nutting has learned from some mistakes the Pirates have made, specifically with building a sustained winner. This is a gigantic, demonstrable way of showing that to fans.
1:18
OK, folks. Believe that will do it for this week. As always, thank you. Love these. We'll get back to it next week. Have a good one!
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