You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 10.28.20
powered byJotCast
Jason Mackey
11:08
Hello, everyone, and welcome to my Pirates chat. Been a couple weeks, but with my trip to Bradenton and the World Series now in the rearview mirror, figured it was a good time for one. Leave your questions here. I'll be back at noon to answer them. Thanks!
11:58
OK, gang. Just put away some leftover wings from The Saloon in Mt. Lebanon. Let's do this.
Donna
11:58
Hi Jason.  Do you know when Stallings and Frazier will learn if they have won gold gloves?  Thanks!
Jason Mackey
11:59
Hi Donna. The announcement is Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. It'll be broadcast on ESPN.
Yuri
11:59
Hello Jason.  Is it safe to say the Pirates will draft Kumar Rocker?  Does he have an agent and if so, do you think there will be any problems signing him?  Thank you.
Jason Mackey
12:00
Hi Yuri. Yes, I think they will draft Rocker -- or the best player available if for whatever reason say Rocker takes a step back and Jack Leiter becomes the guy. Unlikely but at least possible. He likely has an adviser, but I don't know who that is. And no, I don't think there will be an issues signing him. I really don't think someone like Ben Cherington would agree to come here and start this over the way he has without some sort of guarantee from Bob Nutting that they will financially support drafting the best player available. I think the compromise is likely not throwing a bunch of money after the current on-field product and instead focusing on the future.
Rich
12:01
Do you think we could get John Smoltz or someone else who pays attention to every pitch and helps me learn the intracacies of the game to be our announcer or color commentator? Is their spring training for announcers where their coach helps them improve their focus?
Jason Mackey
12:04
Ha. Hi Rich. I don't think the Pirates are going to hire John Smoltz and convince him to give up a national TV deal to be on AT&T SportsNet. I do understand what you're saying, though. I like the Pirates announcers. They're really good people. But they do tend to ramble at times. Now, it's baseball. That's gonna happen. But I would not complain if they narrowed the focus and more closely dissected some of the action. I think one of the issues they run into, too, is the number of losses or blowout games and the unfortunate reality that TV broadcasts in this day and age have basically become marketing tools; they don't talk enough about the negative stuff. And I give Wehner a lot of credit in that regard. Like Phil Bourque on Penguins, he's honest. Have to respect that.
MjB
12:05
I say it every year, but MLB has to adopt some sort of salary minimum and maximum, or we will be subjected to more of the same every year, Yankees, Dodgers, etc.   However, in this year's WS, you do NOT see a ton of free agents on both teams.  Instead, you see a bunch of home grown talent, with some coming from smart trades, i.e., TB.   Does MLB or anyone have a listing of how much money each team spends on scouting and development?  I would love to know where the Pirates stand on that front.   The Yankees and the Dodgers always pick after us, and always seem to have better prospects.  I would like to know why that is.
Jason Mackey
12:08
Couple things, MjB: The Yankees and Dodgers have done a better job than the Pirates of developing young talent. I think that's fairly obvious, but you're asking why they have better prospects, that's it. But that also something that's exclusive to spending money. Anyone can do that. Look at the Rays. To my knowledge, it's not possible to find out how much teams spend on scouting and developing. I wish it was. But that's akin to asking baseball teams to open their books, and that almost never happens. (For background, people want to scream about the Pirates being a public company because PNC Park was built using taxpayer money. While I think they should be forced to open their books, that's not how it's viewed legally. They're seen as tenants at PNC Park, a renter if you will.) Anyway, anecdotally, I can't say I've ever had a discussion with anyone about the Pirates skimping on developmental things like equipment, scouts, processes, infrastructure or whatever when it comes to development. cont'd
Where they fail to spend is with major league players.
Scott
12:08
jason- Do you think the Pirates will make any legitimate moves or acquisitions this off season or is it time to seriously time to throw in the towel and not wastE anymore time on this team and ownership?
Jason Mackey
12:10
It depends on what gets you excited, Scott. I'm not here to advertise for the team. That's not my job. Watch and care or don't. (Although I do hope you read our stuff, but if you're not gonna care about the team, you're probably not gonna read about them. Anyway ... ) What I will say is that they're at an interesting place. No, competing in 2021 is probably not likely. I think many of us -- me included -- overshot the talent they had at the major league level. They might be OK next season, but they're well-behind every other team in the Central at least on paper.
12:11
Where it gets interesting for me is team development and building. They have prospects. Look at Gonzales, Hayes, Cruz, Peguero, Oliva, Siani, Mitchell, etc. Pitchers such as Priester, Malone, Rocker, etc. With likely more to come. What do they do with it? Can they avoid the mistakes of the previous regime? Can they make enough shrewd moves in the interim? I think it's possible to win on a tight budget, but you have to be smart. I'll be curious to see how this new group handles that.
Prince Bob
12:11
I've got two questions. One is what kinds of things minor league players do for money in the off season. I read that salaries range from $6,000 a year for Single A to $15,000 for AAA and you aren't paid in the off season. That's not enough to survive unless you got a fat signing bonus but a late round guy who got four figures to sign?  And what kind of jobs can you get when an employer knows you'll be gone the next February?                            Another question came to me as I watched the Series and it's whether you think baseball should try to do something to change how the game is played so that there are a lot more balls in play. I love the game but it seems like nearly every batter either strikes out, flies out, walks, or homers. I read that TV ratings keep dropping and I can't help but think that watching batter after batter get to 2-2, 3-2, foul off 3 pitches then walk or strike out isn't drawing or keeping a large audience. Glad you're doing another of these.
Jason Mackey
12:14
Hey Gunner. Lemme take the second one first: Yes. Absolutely baseball needs to do something. I love the sport. Played it my whole life. Obsessed over it in high school and college. Spent many nights watching bad Pirates games as opposed to going out with my friends. And this product sucks. Games are too long. Action is scarce. There's no flow. I have trouble connecting with it, to be honest with you. I have two young kids. The amount of time I can sit in front of a TV for 3 1/2 hours at a clip are extremely rare. If it was 2:15 or 2:30 -- the length of a hockey or basketball game -- that would be much more doable.
12:16
That said, I don't know what you do. Tell guys to take fewer pitches? No. The cosmetic fixes baseball has made haven't worked. Honestly, I would not have an issue with seven-inning games, although I think traditionalists would. But baseball absolutely needs to be concerned about its lost foothold on the mainstream audience. ... As for offseason jobs, I think you're low-balling their salaries. There are also signing bonuses. And also, you make it work. It's not like I can sit here and tell you that 35% of minor league players work at Home Depot and 16.5% drive for Uber.
Sports Harder
12:16
Is there a way we can blame Bob Nutting for Snell getting yanked early last night ?
Jason Mackey
12:16
Absolutely. I don't know how it hasn't happened already.
Mr Bright Side
12:17
Be honest. Your trip down to Pirates development camp. There's no talent there of any kind. And if there is Nutting will sell it for ski equipment ?
Jason Mackey
12:18
There actually is talent down there. It's a couple years away, mind you. And I think this group will develop it appropriately, although nobody knows that for sure. You can hate Nutting. I see why people might be angry about that. But Cherington didn't do anything wrong. It's not fair to hold the owner's history over people who are just trying to do their jobs.
The Happy Warrior
12:18
The Pirates never break .500 again. Ever. Let alone make the postseason. Correct ?
Jason Mackey
12:18
I don't see that happening.
wvpirate
12:18
How soon will we see Gonzalez at 2nd and Peguero at shortstop 2022? And at what level do you think they will start this year?
Jason Mackey
12:19
I think they might start both at High-A Bradenton. Maybe Gonzales goes to Class AA Altoona, but that's probably a little aggressive. In that scenario, I could see Gonzales making the jump quickly.
V. Fontaine
12:19
Your 20 observations about the Pirates after your trip to Bradenton genuinely made me a little upbeat about the future of the team. Of the all the players you saw, who would be the one hitter and one pitcher that you think has the best chance of becoming a solid Major League contributor? Obviously, some players may have much higher ceilings than others. I'm more interested in the guys that have high floors.
Jason Mackey
12:21
Thank you for reading, V. Fontaine. It was long. Thank you for sticking with it. I'm really high on Quinn Priester. I think he's gonna be a stud. Great head on his shoulders. Velocity is excellent. Same with the curveball. He has the want-to to figure out his changeup, and I like the way they're having him pitch. Hitter might be Mason Martin, whom I wrote about yesterday. Same thing about his desire and want-to. Dude is gigantic but can move and throw. He needs to make more contact and strike out less, but the power is absolutely there.
rs
12:21
Great article on Mason Martin yesterday. Good to read about positive things with the Pirates. I know the Pirates never want to rush players development but do you get the sense that this management team will promote young players a little faster than the old regime? I know this goes hand in hand with player development and hopefully the Pirates get it right with Larry Broadway's replacement. Any rumors on who that might be or who you would like to see?  They definitely need a new approach to player development. Thanks!
Jason Mackey
12:28
Thanks for the kind words, rs. One name that was floated to me in Florida was Joe Sclafani. Look him up. Young. Believe he went to Dartmouth. Assistant minor league guy in Toronto. Smart, up-and-comer. Fits the profile. Blue Jays know what they're doing, and this would be a step up for him. ... And no, I don't think they're going to rush guys. I also don't agree with the assertion that the former regime did that. I think they rushed some and kept others buried for too long. If anything, I just think they lacked a feel or sense for when guys were actually ready. ... Granted the sample size is small -- Hayes and Cederlind, basically -- but if anything, we've seen them wait on guys. We've also seen them have a pretty good feel.
Harold
12:29
Question on the draft...is it a strong draft for catchers?  Stallings had a nice season and deserves to be the starter, but the Pirates need to groom someone to take his place in a few years.
Jason Mackey
12:30
Hi Harold. I don't have a great sense on the draft's strengths, other than pitching at the top and a bevy of high school position players. I agree with you that I'd like to see them have more catching prospects in the system. I was surprised they didn't take one this past summer, although I can't disagree with stocking up on pitchers either.
Raymond
12:30
What are the long term plans looking like for right field? Polanco clearly isn't panning out, are they just going to keep hoping that he will?
Jason Mackey
12:33
For next year, yeah. They don't really have another choice given he's under contract and I really doubt the Pirates are going to pay him to go away. The only thing they can do is just hope that he finds something, anything, and maybe they're able to flip Polanco at the deadline. Long-term, I think it's TBD. Jared Oliva could fit somewhere. So could Anthony Alford. Cole Tucker is up in the air. Bryan Reynolds will be somewhere. They don't yet know enough about Jason Martin. Further down, you're looking at Oneil Cruz if he would switch positions or maybe guys like Sammy Siani, Cal Mitchell or Travis Swaggerty, depending on who progresses the most.
wvpirate
12:33
What minor league outfielders are you excited about for the future?
Jason Mackey
12:35
I'll go way down: I actually liked what I saw from Sammy Siani and Cal Mitchell last week at Pirate City. Granted, the sample size is small. But they definitely have some projectable tools. I'm excited to see how they develop in 2021.
Realist
12:35
It’s been suggested as a viable strategy and has been used as a return in recent transactions, And with at least 2 (Cruz & Peguero) possibly signed through this...can you, in layman’s terms and in summary, detail how the international signing pool monies work?
Jason Mackey
12:39
We could really fall down the rabbit hole with this one, but I'll try to keep it simple: Teams are given a set amount of money to spend each offseason on international free agents. There's a yearly period where this money can be used. Earlier this year, the Pirates received their bonus pool allotment of nearly $6 million. Unlike previous years, they can't trade it. That's the gist. If you have any more specific questions, happy to answer.
Tina
12:40
Jason, hope you enjoyed Florida as much as possible under the circumstances.  Do you have any injury updates and the latest  on O’Neill Cruz?  Thanks Jason.
Jason Mackey
12:41
Hi Tina. No injury updates. I'm assuming you mean on guys like Archer, Burdi and Feliz? In any case, all quiet. With Cruz, not much new. He's working through a couple things, GMBC said, without elaborating. Pirates also insist they have no reason to believe that alcohol was involved in the fatal crash. This was a weird one because the Dominican originally sent a press release saying alcohol was involved, then backpedaled on its assertion. We're awaiting his trial, which should tell us more.
Randy
12:41
Where do stand on making this season’s changes permanent?  I like the dh rule for both leagues and have heard good and bad about the other changes.
Load More Messages
Connecting…