Series Thread: Pirates at Rays

[element1286]

Need another series victory.

 

[sychmd]

nice to see us actually have a decent early lead.
eases the stress on our staff.
every inning isn't a high leverage inning for momentum.

hopefully watson and melancon get a rest as they will be pulling heavy duty now. hopefully hughes and pimentel can be the 3 and 4 guys on the backend and leaves grilli and wilson as situational or when we are behind in mid innings.

 

[sychmd]

mlb just had all 4 of those pitches on pedros K were off the plate.
he swung at one and took 3

 

[element1286]

Need a win tonight, will be tough to get that last game v Price.

 

[Darkstone42]

When Pedro gets into one, it's a thing of beauty.

Marte has been playing with a little extra energy since Polanco was called up. He looks like he's having fun again, too. Polanco, of course, has shown a lot of what he was touted for, too. He looks so comfortable every at bat, the walks are starting to pile up, he's getting hits even though he really hasn't started to drive the ball yet, and he's shown his speed on the bases.

And tonight we get Walker back. We won't have to worry about what to do with Harrison, either, since we have the (ban the) DH tonight, and clearly Harrison will still be in the lineup one way or another. Here's my prediction:

Polanco RF
McCutchen CF
Marte LF
Davis 1B
Walker 2B
Martin C
Harrison 3B
Alvarez DH
Mercer SS

Hopefully, Walker gives them an extra boost and picks up where he left off offensively.

 

[sychmd]

letting harrison play against LHP for alvarez.
spelling each OF once every 14 games.
spelling mercer and walker every 10 games.
that will get him about 8-9 starts every 14 games depending on the LHP we face.
then we have him on the bench as the first PH/sub.

we can even play him at 1B if we feel what he brings is better than davis against RHP. a super sub and versatile player can easily handle 1B. just not a big target.

 

[Darkstone42]

letting harrison play against LHP for alvarez.
spelling each OF once every 14 games.
spelling mercer and walker every 10 games.
that will get him about 8-9 starts every 14 games depending on the LHP we face.
then we have him on the bench as the first PH/sub.

we can even play him at 1B if we feel what he brings is better than davis against RHP. a super sub and versatile player can easily handle 1B. just not a big target.

I wouldn't use him at first, but I agree, as long as he's hitting, he should be getting 3-5 starts every week, and he'll give us the option to spell our regulars often and keep them fresh all season without costing our offense too much.

 

[Darkstone42]

Bucs cashing in on their chances early, 2-0 so far.

 

[Darkstone42]

Archer paid all sorts of attention to Marte at first, but then his pitch got away from Molina, and Marte took second easily. Really, though, that one looked like it was on Molina to me.

 

[Darkstone42]

4-0 now after a 3-run third.

Archer coming in hadn't given up more than 2 in his previous 7 starts.

 

[Darkstone42]

Locke looks good so far.

 

[HammerDown]

Go Pirates!

That fruity little manager in the stupid-ass glasses for Tampa Bay still claims his team is in the thick of hit? Bitch, please!

Tuning in now.

 

[Darkstone42]

I don't think that first base umpire knew what he was doing. Polanco was called for interference on a Marte popup. I didn't think it was, he bumped Loney, but it wasn't much contact, and it was on his way back to the bag, and he even went out of his way to avoid Loney at least a bit.

Loney caught the ball, but Marte was awarded first base.

Attempting to steal, Marte was thrown out, but he took a knee to the face, and he's not doing well. Coming off the field.

 

[Darkstone42]

Polanco lost one in the ceiling. I'm sure this is his first (or at least one of his first) experiences playing indoors. That's an adjustment he'll have to make.

In any case, it did cost us a run, but only one run, and we still have a nice lead.

 

[Darkstone42]

Rodriguez has made a couple sparkling defensive plays today to rob the Bucs of hits.

 

[Darkstone42]

Harrison drives in Davis after the latter doubled, and Guyer trying to throw the ball home looked to me to slip and fall, and the throw fluttered far from the plate.

But we got that run back.

 

[Darkstone42]

The first base umpire apparently got that call right, assuming you think Polanco actually did interfere, based on how the rule is worded.

 

[Darkstone42]

Well, it was only just barely, but we held on. Raise it! And another series victory!

 

[sychmd]

outside of watson, our shark tank is scaring us.
every nite its an adventure.

 

[stillmatic32]

I'm liking this lineup a lot better with Walker at cleanup. Ike is, I guess, serviceable at 1B, but I don't like him at cleanup at all. There's no ideal cleanup man on this team, but I think Walker is the best option.

And yes, the bullpen....yikes. Outside of Watson of course.