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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 05.27.22
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Jason Mackey
1:54
Ethan Hullihen, everyone ... thanks Ethan!
Just Play
1:54
I realize its a different sport but Steve Kerr insisted on pontificating the other night even though no one asked him. Why do athletes feel the need to think we care about their opinions on issues and would MLB tell players not to engage in that sort of thing ?
Jason Mackey
1:56
It's Steve Kerr's platform. He can do with it what he wants. And if the issue is no longer having our kids shot in schools, I can get behind that. Feels like that's something we can all agree on, no? (And I'm not getting into a gun debate here. Simply saying that we should all be talking about/asking questions about how to make our schools safer.)
1:58
As for the "Just Play" thing. Absolutely not. I love seeing athletes use their voices for good. Major League Baseball players amplified some important race-related discussions and the glaring need for equality, and I'm glad they did. Because those issues need addressed, and they have the followings to do that. They can choose to address such things or not, as far as I'm concerned. But I'm never going to tell someone who's compelled to speak out against something that he/she is wrong. Professional athletes and coaches are very, very smart. Why waste that intelligence or perspective by shutting up and just playing or whatever you're suggesting?
Brian
1:58
Mike Burrows. Really impressive. We’ve aeem
1:59
Mike Burrows. Really good. We’ve seen the Altoona to PIT pipeline recently, does he fit in that category in the next month or two if he keeps it up?
Jason Mackey
1:59
Eh, I wouldn't push it. He's been great, no doubt. But -- and maybe I'm just skittish here -- I would prefer pitchers don't make that jump. I think it's a little easier for position players.
Camden
2:01
Any reason vanmeter is playing everyday?
Jason Mackey
2:01
In his defense, he's hitting .286 with an .896 OPS over his past 12 games. That said, there could absolutely be more of a rotation than there's been.
Zack
2:01
Personal question. Since you’ve been covering the team do you ever get the chance to make it to the ballpark as a fan with the family perhaps?
Jason Mackey
2:02
Funny you ask, we're actually going to start doing that this summer once my son is out of school. We have a couple trips that we're all going on as sort of a family vacation sort of thing. It's been tough the past two years with COVID, but with things open again, it's absolutely something we plan on doing. My older son LOVES traveling, and I can't wait to bring them along.
Paul
2:02
I know the Pirates knew what they were getting when they signed Vogelbach, but do you think they have a plan to get him into better condition? He hurt himself badly simply running the bases in Milwaukee, and his latest injury seems to have been the result of a triple. Isn't more expected of professional athletes as far as conditioning?
Jason Mackey
2:03
Daniel Vogelbach has played a lot of years at his current build. Greg Allen is in as good of physical shape as any pro athlete I've covered, and he had a worse hamstring injury. I don't think Vogelbach got hurt because of his body build. I think it's just a freak thing. They play every day. They put a lot of stress on their bodies. Injuries are unfortunately part of the game.
LeeInSC
2:04
Hilarious that those spouting their opinions in this forum get pissed at Steve Kerr using his Freedom of Speech to speak about something FAR more important than sports.  Just hilarious hypocrisy that is writ large in America.  Oh, as for sports?  Why to ex-Bucs pitchers preform lights out elsewhere - who's to blame on the Bucs for this?
Jason Mackey
2:05
Address this a little before, but I think there are a couple things at play. One, development is hard to predict. Sometimes you give up on a guy and he pops elsewhere, like Clay. I also think it's a tough bag to play in Pittsburgh, when you're not as competitive as other teams. Sometimes leaving gives the player a new lease on life, so to speak. It can also be just bad luck. I think they probably cut bait too soon on Holmes.
Just Play
2:05
I don't see a lot of hockey players doing that. Never saw Sid answer questions about social or political issues. They're pretty intelligent guys. I mean these people by and large live in a bubble. They don't have the same experiences everyday Americans have
Jason Mackey
2:06
That doesn't make those who tackle those topics wrong, because hockey players don't do it. To each their own. Hockey has a different culture. And it's not always for the best. I commend any athlete who's unafraid to be themselves in public.
Bill
2:06
Are Pirates fans the only ones with such narrow viewpoints? Pirates management is made up of idiots because of Clay Holmes but Bednar and Quintana are accidents because they became good here? It's just baseball - I think the Dodgers would probably like to have Clemente back, too. It's not science. But... if AAA pitchers strike out Martin more than once every three times up, major league pitchers are going to eat him up and he'll make Cole Tucker look like a contact hitter. He needs some work before he comes up.
Jason Mackey
2:07
Completely fair points, Bill. But, he may just be a high strikeout guy. If you wait and wait for the strikeouts to be less, you may be waiting awhile. To Martin's credit, he has still be productive despite the strikeouts. And if they want to wait a little longer, I do get it.
Phil
2:07
Not to be that guy, what did Oscar Marin bring to the table to be hired to this position? Joel Hanrahan seemed to have more success and they let him walk? Haven’t seen any pitcher become better like we did with Searage at times.
Jason Mackey
2:08
Fair point, Phil. I give Marin credit for the new strategies they've implemented and some of the stuff they've done to drag the pitching program into this century. They've also made some good developmental hires under Marin -- Hopper and Dewey, to name a few. But it is also fair to ask pitchers to improve on his watch, and that hasn't really happened much, unfortunately.
2:09
OK, folks. That does it for this week. Thanks so much for participating. Look forward to doing this again next week from L.A.!
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