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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 10.23.25
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Jason Mackey
12:52
Lengthy deal and pay bump. Yep, totally how the Pirates roll.
Poor thing
12:52
Jason who did you make mad to have to work the Pirate beat again ? Seems like more of a punishment than a reward
Jason Mackey
12:52
I asked for it. And I love my job.
Maybe "asked for it" isn't the right term. But the opportunity was there with some other changes going on, and i was more than OK with it.
PrinceBob
12:53
My question about blackout restrictions was more general than specific to me. My son in Missoula would have to subscribe to something other than the MLB package to watch the Mariners even though it's a 9-10 hour drive, I'd need to subscribe to SNP to watch a few Pirate games in Johnstown, seems a bit much if I'm only there for a long weekend. As I said, I keep hearing the restrictions will go away but haven't heard specifics.
Jason Mackey
12:53
I hear ya. I can't answer for every case. I do think they will go away for a lot of this stuff on the other side of the CBA stuff. They need to.
Baseball Hell
12:53
I sympathize for Horwitz. Went from a team playing in the WS to Baseball Afghanistan. He must be absolutely miserable right now
Jason Mackey
12:54
I'm not sure I would compare the Pirates' struggles to serious stuff and people dying. Still only a game.
PrinceBob
12:54
Do you really think there will be significant changes to MLB's money structure if the Dodgers win the World Series and if so what could they be? I cannot see a salary cap and floor come from it.
Jason Mackey
12:54
I don't. Sadly. I wish there was. It's needed. Too many powerful people are against a cap, however. At least IMO.
Nick
12:54
Instead of a cap/floor, could MLB adopt something different, say % of revenue spent on payroll, i.e. minimum 50% of revenue needs to be spent on payroll?
Jason Mackey
12:55
That's something I'd like to see played with. I wrote something to that effect. I don't know if owners would be cool with that. But it makes sense -- tie revenue sharing to performance. If you don't win, you don't get money. Seems logical to me. If you wanna spend on processes and such, OK. But then they have to actually work.
PNC Park
12:55
They play football in Baseball stadiums all the time. Fenway, Yankee Stadium, SF, Arizona. Why not ?
Jason Mackey
12:56
Because the football stadium is next door? I don't understand why it's necessary to get upset at this. Just play the football games at the football stadium. Should they play tennis at PNC Park, too?
BucsBK
12:56
Do you have any sense/reporting as to whether the organization is actually taking a different approach to this offseason than they did entering 2024 or 2025?
Jason Mackey
12:56
Got this onem, earlier. My answer: "I'm not saying I think they're going to send everyone running down to the North Shore to buy season tickets. They're still the Pirates. But, at the same time, I do think the signings will be different than Heaney, Pham and Frazier."
maz01
12:56
Hi Jason, Do you think when Jared Jones comes back that he will be a starter, reliever or begin in the pen and work his way into the rotation? Some feel, he just might be better off in the bullpen.
Jason Mackey
12:57
I think they'll ease back to a degree. Maybe a short-start guy or bulk. That's natural for his procedure. Then I think you adjust from there. Jones as a reliever intrigues me, tho. Has the mentality for it.
PC
12:57
Back to my comment about the Pirates having a winning record when Oneill Cruz was out of the lineup.  Why do teams so often talk about team chemistry if professional athletes can't be affected by the effort and attitude of other players on the team?
Jason Mackey
12:58
I think there are two different things here. Team chemistry, yes. Everyone else going in the tank by one guy loafing is a little extreme.
Tourman857
12:58
Do you think the Pirates would just be better off if Cruz was in a different uniform next spring with both the team and Cruz saying....
Jason Mackey
12:59
No, I think they would be better if he was productive and the best version of himself. In fact, I think the Pirates could be pretty good if you could guarantee me the following:
Cruz grows up & produces
Reynolds matches his '22-'24 production. Would REALLY take '21.
They add actual bats for LF & 3B, either via free agency or trade.
Schreib
12:59
Realistic expectation for Horwitz next season, assuming he stays healthy?
Jason Mackey
12:59
He should crush right-handed pitching. If he struggles against lefties again, I'm platooning him. But he's certainly part of the solution at 1B.
1:00
OK, folks. That does it for this week. Thanks so much for chatting with me. A lot of great questions, as always. Let's do this again next Thursday!
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