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Jason Mackey's sports chat: 06.14.24
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Jason Mackey
11:45
Hey everyone. Welcome to my weekly chat. Thanks for stopping by. We'll get started soon, but feel free to fire away now. Will be back shortly to answer.
12:00
And away we go ...
Guest
12:00
Who is starting pitcher for the Pirates today? Jared Jones?
Jason Mackey
12:01
Not sure. Not Jones, Skenes, Keller or Falter. Would imagine either Perez or a bullpen game.
TVC15
12:01
If the Steelers finish below .500, miss the playoffs, and in last place in the AFCN are they just locked into running it back with Tomlin for 3 more years? It very well could happen.
Jason Mackey
12:01
I think they would want that -- not the losing, Tomlin. Isn't that what they said by extending him? I also don't think that's going to happen. But right or wrong, they're telling us how they feel about him.
TVC15
12:01
I've notice lately that Tomlin says "man" in almost every sentence he speaks now. Doe he thinks it's cool?
Jason Mackey
12:02
Umm ... seems to me that's just how he talks. We all say things like that. Not sure I would read too much into it.
Ben
12:02
Hi jason - what do you think is a reasonable price for the pirates to pay for Alonso or Vlad jr.?
Jason Mackey
12:04
Ha. One, I don't think either of those are remotely close to happening. Two, I'm not sure there is a reasonable price to pay for the Pirates. The Mets are gonna want a haul, including young starting pitching. Blue Jays, too. The Pirates can't afford to give that up, IMO. Like the two players, obviously. But I don't think they would be worth what would be an exorbitant cost.
Ben
12:04
How many columns are you writing a week and how do you keep up this pace? I’m worried for you
Jason Mackey
12:05
Ha. Don't worry about me. I'm writing 5-6 per week. It's probably too much. Coming from a baseball beat, it doesn't feel like enough. I'm an oddball. I like this stuff. It doesn't feel like work to me. I need to walk the line in indulging that and pursuing my passion while not annoying everyone around me. Not sure I've been succeeding with that since transitioning.
Ben
12:05
Someone offers you $10k for an intensive reality experience with three guys from the chat. You can either a) drive cross country in an RV together (for as long as it takes) but the chatters can only ask you questions during daylight hours for 30 min every four hours starting at sunrise b) do a continuous session for 10 hours sitting at an Eat-N-Park booth over three meals or c) say no thanks, I’m good. What do you choose and why?
Jason Mackey
12:06
Ha. This is a thoroughly involved question. I'd probably take the Eat 'n Park route. If for no other reason than I like Eat 'n Park. But I promise you I'm never annoyed by the questions, even if snark sometimes comes out.
GMBC
12:06
Am I going to be a buyer at the deadline? And if so, am I going to acquire a bat, an arm, or both?
Jason Mackey
12:07
A buyer, yes. But not a Pete Alonso-level buyer, to reference another chatter's question. I'd be looking to add an outfield bat and a reliever.
Cullen
12:07
It's absolutely inexcusable that Shelton is putting out that lineup yesterday against a division rival in a tight race with the chance for a series win. Im tired of watching him sit guys who are hot to hunt matchups and ends up losing the players momentum and it rarely works regardless. His lineup construction is straight baffling and he refuses to put hot bats in the game in key moments or change things that arent working. That's not even mentioning him seemingly giving up in winnable games or just straight up blowing games due to poor management, we would objectively be decently above .500 if he was anything aproaching competent. Dude is not a serious manager and we will never have winning baseball under his leadership.Talk me off the ledge, why should Shelton be here next year?
Jason Mackey
12:08
"Absolutely inexcusable." -- Cullen, it's June. If Suwinski makes a play he should have made, they at least go to extras. Not explaining away the managing. He should've pinch hit late. But you're acting like Shelton has a couple MVP candidates he's refusing to play. They just as easily could have lost with the other guys.
12:09
Second part: I don't know if he should be here next year. Super nice guy. This is the first time he has had a team with a serious roster/pitching. They're very much within striking distance of a wild card spot. If they do that, yeah, he's not going anywhere.  I understand the criticisms. They're fair, and I'm not defending them. But I just think we need to see more on how this plays out.
Cullen
12:09
Would Madden be a viable option if the Pirates part ways with Shelton?
Jason Mackey
12:10
Mark? Is he giving up his show?
maz01
12:10
Hi Jason, I believe the Pirates are 3 hitters & 1 middle relief pitcher away from being a competitive team, if I am correct in my belief, is it too hard to correct those problems in season?
Jason Mackey
12:12
I'd prefer a back-end reliever, and I don't think they necessarily need 3 hitters. ... Not saying the offense is perfect. It's not. But the Pirates are eighth in MLB and third in the National League in runs since May 11. The offense has been OK.
Philly Phil
12:12
Hi Jason - do you think the Pirates would be better off separating their two young flame throwers Jones and Skenes in the rotation?  How would you order the rotation to provide us with the best competitive advantage?
Jason Mackey
12:12
We might be seeing that -- and yes. Notice Jones is starting Saturday and it's TBA for Sunday. Would imagine they're pushing Skenes to home against the Reds on Monday. Not sure who goes between them, but I do see value there.
Justin
12:13
I think it logically follows that in order to build a consistent baseball winner in Pittsburgh (for more than just the odd good season here and there), a GM and his team must be extremely-above-average in order to win with well-below-average funding.   I'm really trying to be unbiased when i say that i can't give the current group more than an "Average" grade for the work they've done in the past five years.   I can't call them "Bad", but i certainly cant call their work "good" or "extremely above average" either.  Would you agree with that assessment?
Jason Mackey
12:14
Yes, I would. I think that's fair. It can be done (winning) here. But the margin for error is thin. When you spend ~ $33 million this offseason and get back like -1.0 fWAR, that obviously can't happen. You can't let Clay Holmes go for Diego Castillo and Hoy Park or Josh Bell for Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean. They've done good things, to be fair, but "average" is a more than fair descriptor. Maybe too kind, honestly. But they are close to a wild card. So, probably good with average.
Guest
12:14
Injury updates on Bart/Perez?
Jason Mackey
12:16
Todd Tomczyk is due to talk, but I'm not on the trip. Actually not on the Pirates beat anymore, though that hasn't stopped this from becoming a Pirates chat. Last we heard, Perez was close. Wouldn't surprise me if he started this weekend in Denver. Bart is at the end of two weeks no gripping. They should be reassessing very soon. (He's not close.)
maz01
12:16
Jason, why is Jose Hernandez not good enough for the Pirates but he is good enough for the Dodgers, which of course is a better organization?
Jason Mackey
12:17
That was an odd one. You don't often a see a guy who has options DFA'd like that. Makes me think there was something else happening behind the scenes aside from performance. Health? Issues with coaching? I don't know. But it was surprising to see.
Guest
12:17
Hey Jason … w are your thoughts on the Marcano gambling story. I find it hard to believe that none of his teammates knew what he was doing or may have been involved with what he was doing. These guys are very close spending large chunks of their life together. It’s a second family to them
Jason Mackey
12:18
I was extremely shocked. Yes, they spend a lot of their lives together. But nobody expected this, trust me. Of the players and coaches I texted the night it broke, every one of them was shocked. It was understood that he liked to gamble, sure. But this stuff? No way.
TVC15
12:18
Was it tone deaf for Art II to give Tomlin a 3 year extension in light of his underwhelming (3 playoff wins) last 13 seasons? How can he possibly expect the next 4 years be any better?
Jason Mackey
12:20
It might have been tone deaf, but what if they're not even listening for the tone. The Steelers rarely, if ever, make moves based on fan sentiment. Same deal here. My reaction here was that the Steelers reaffirmed the position we thought they held. They don't change coaches.

How can Art II expected something to be different? Well, they've done a lot of different stuff with free agency and the draft. I don't know if it'll work out or not, but it's not like they've run it back with the same stuff around Tomlin.
Greg
12:21
I don't understand why the Pirates DFA promising young arms like Roansy Contreras and Jose Hernandez and replace them with older pitchers whose career numbers are no better (and usually worse) than theirs had been in the bigs. I know that Contreras was out of options, but I have to wonder why the coaching staff couldn't work with him more and spot him in low-leverage situations where he could regain his confidence.
Jason Mackey
12:22
They did that a bunch with Roansy. And I think they're two separate situations. I'm not sure it ever would've happened here with Roansy, who has been a little better with the Angels. They tinkered too much. He wound up wrapped around the axle. It was time to move on. Hernandez, as I typed earlier, was a little bit more of a unique situation.
12:23
Also, it's not defending what the Pirates have done. They haven't had enough young players complete their development at the major league level, which was a criticism of the former group. I'm just explaining what I saw in those two instances.
JoeHa
12:23
Do you feel the Pirates will make some kind of moves soon or wait until closer to the trade deadline   I’m hoping they do something soon. It’s too obvious they need some help to contend
Jason Mackey
12:24
I would be surprised if they did something earlier. Prices are typically much higher right now, and that's not quite their thing. You may have heard.
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