Comments on: The Pirates lineup of the moment

By: clarknaddison

clarknaddison — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:59:20 +0000

who cares about their OBP this year?? THey are signing stopgaps in order to contend a year or two out…

By: hushbrother

hushbrother — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:10:04 +0000

Last year the Bucs had a very good first half, and McCutchen was playing at an MVP level. In the second half McCutchen slumped, and the team went into a tailspin. If Andrew can put together a full season of MVP play, he can make up for the holes at the bottom of the lineup.

By: dan1111

dan1111 — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 14:48:16 +0000

I agree that they have room to grow. Anyway, the only they would compete this season is if a lot of their young players break out. There is no sense spending money on decent placeholders instead. It’s better, for example, to see if Alvarez finally figures things out than to hire some mediocre 3B.

Barmes and Barajas may not be great hitters, but they’ve probably done the best they could to improve at those positions, under the circumstances. It would cost a lot of money to hire someone better, which probably wouldn’t be well spent at this point.

By: matthewtrueblood

matthewtrueblood — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:31:34 +0000

Does anyone really think the lineup will be the problem with this team? They’re going to MISS Paul Maholm. That rotation is three years from playoff readiness.

By: Brian Donohue

Brian Donohue — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:41:59 +0000

Agree with above: if they stay healthy, this could be a surprising lineup. Tabata playing a full year will deliver better numbers, and Presley could be the wild card here. I think that kid showed something late last year that bodes really well for them at the top of the lineup. Barajas is a solid addition, and I also have a feeling about d”Arnaud, who could become another pleasant surprise. But any upward movement they make will mainly be made from the bump, and I don’t think they’ve made any significant moves there. They’ve got a good-to-excellent pen for their division, and a couple of their starters could be solid. But I wouldn’t expect #1 pick Cole to be ready till 2013, so it seems like the Bucs will be a pesky team again, but probably 3rd place at best.

By: florida76

florida76 — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 23:15:48 +0000

Bucs definitely need to build on the progress made last season, but injuries are every bit as important as OBP. In August, seven Pirates were on the disabled list, and that played a role in the slide out of contention in the NL Central. Pedro Alvarez must finally start producing at 3B.