Blog For The Pittsburgh Sports Forum!The Pittsburgh Sports Forum is are looking for Writers/Bloggers to help in providing quality Original Content ......Read More 
Rumbunter Podcast!The BEST Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast on the internet! Check out The Pirates Forum often for new installments from Tom Smith, Cocktailsfor2 and Adam of Rumbunter.com for new Podcasts. ...Read More 
Step Inside The Pittsburgh Sports Forum!You're a click away from entering the Pittsburgh Sports Forum Message Boards. Make the Click and join in the discussion... ...Read More
Reel in the Reds Before This Gets Out of Hand
|
|
How long are the umpires going to keep allowing the Reds pitchers to hit batters on purpose? When is enough going to be enough? I hate to compare two different sports, but the Reds must be taking lessons in dirty play from the Philthy Flyers. Mike Leake hit Cutch in the neck in 2010 with a 90mph pitch. Aroldis Chapman hit Cutch last August with a 101mph pitch. Leake hit Josh Harrison in the leg the following day. Last night, Cutch was hit in the back by Leake in the 4th inning. Chapman then threw a 100mph ball at Neil Walker’s face. (That's just the highlights of this rivalry. Others were hit too.) Mind you, this nonsense that went on last night was while the Reds were WINNING the game. No warnings were given by the umpires. What gives?? Are they trying to have another incident like the Dodgers/Diamondbacks game?? As much as it angered me that Liriano didn’t retaliate, it also made me respect him a little more for not being petty. BUT, we’ve now given the Reds the impression that we aren’t going to fight back. After the game, none of those idiot reporters asked Hurdle about the situation. Neither the Tribune Review nor the Post-Gazette have any coverage about it. Either Hurdle is keeping quiet because he’s going fight back in tonight’s game, or someone better put out the Bat Signal for AJ Burnett to come in and regulate these a$$holes. My friend @matt0323 said that the Reds are like the O’Doyle’s from Billy Madison. They’re picking on us and basically saying O’Doyle RULES!! The sad part is we’re letting them get away with it. Kipper said “now we have to rely on acoustic singer Charlie Morton. Not holding my breath.” I have to say, I’m right there with him because I can’t imagine Charlie will retaliate tonight. I’ve read that Chapman can be an erratic pitcher. Ok, well, AJ can be a little bit wild sometimes too. But you don’t see AJ pitching at people above the waist on purpose. If you didn’t see the Rays pitcher get hit with the line drive this weekend, go check it out. He had a concussion and stitches in his ear and that was from a line drive, not being HBP. It’s awful to watch it and see the way he falls after he’s hit. Last night I was ranting on twitter about this and so was @theangryfan. With all the focus on concussions in sports, it sickens me that... [Read More] |
9 Replies
|
136 Views
|
Jolly Roger.png ... [Read More]
Fans asked, and they received....a new shiny podcast for your listening pleasure. Want to get the heads up as to what I'm spouting off at the mouth about today? WELL, see below for a list of everything I discuss in chronological order. - Steelers - Minicamp Roundup Time to Put Up and Shut Up Expectations for this Season - Penguins - Horrible End to Season Where do the Pens Go From Here? Bylsma and Malkin Extended Fleury Gets Boost While Vokoun Gets Pooped On Letang and the other UFA - Pirates - |
0 Replies
|
41 Views
|
The weakest position in the Pirates lineup is clearly shortstop. Clint Barmes began the year as the starter but recently has been yielding playing time to Jordy Mercer. When it comes to the fan base Mercer is the popular choice to handle the shortstop duties because he has a better stick but once you factor in defensive values most metrics say there is likely to be at most one quarter of a win difference between the two over the remainder of the season. That is really insignificant. The bottom line here is that neither player is really a good option. Teams usually aren't going to have great options at every position but they need to be a little bit more attractive than what the Pirates currently have. Take RF for example, that is probably the Pirates 2nd biggest weakness currently but Snider, Tabata and Sands are all at least interesting players who have the potential to be good options. Barmes and Mercer on the other hand are like Alex Presley a perfectly acceptable bench option but not exactly someone you want to count on starting everyday. The solution is to upgrade the position but that is unlikely to happen this year. The potential trade market for shortstops looks pretty barren with the only attractive potential options being Jimmy Rollins and Alexi Ramirez. It can't even be assumed that the Phillies or White Sox will sell but if they don't the market only gets worse. A guy like Nick Punto from the Dodgers interests me but that is more due to his ability to play 2B and 3B and hit lefties well as he is no longer an everyday shortstop option. So fixing the spot by trade is unlikely to happen. That leaves internal options but outside of Mercer and Barmes the only other real option is Chase d'Arnaud and he really is just more of the same. He has some nice tools but overall really isn't starting material. Josh Harrison and Ivan De Jesus are also down in AAA but they are like Garrett Jones and Brandon Inge are in the outfield. Guys who can sort of play the position but who you don't want there for an extended time period. Realistically upgrading the shortstop position this season either externally or internally isn't going to happen. That leaves us with Mercer and Barmes as really the only options. There are compelling cases for each one. The best case for Barmes is that he probably isn't really as bad at the plate as he has been so far this season. He got off to a terrible start at the plate last season and... [Read More] |
0 Replies
|
74 Views
|
We sat down to chat with NH for 15 minutes yesterday... About 40 minutes later, we had the longest interview we've ever done with the Pirates' GM, and the most information we've ever had packed into one episode! HERE YOU GO: http://rumbunter.com/2013/06/15/pitt...is-hands-full/ As always, your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated! |
1 Reply
|
92 Views
|
AJ Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, Jeff Locke, Francisco Liriano, and Jeanmar Gomez: 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitching rotation. ~Gomez begins his rehab assignment today in AAA Indy. Rodriguez is currently on the 15 day DL. Both are having forearm issues. So the looming question is: When all these guys are healthy, who’s going to make the cut to start, and who’s gonna go to the Shark Tank? I played a little “ask the expert bloggers” today again with @jdunio and @campbellsproul to get their thoughts. Not as funny as last time because I wanted real answers and opinions this time. Justin and Campbell’s predictions were pretty much in line with my thinking. If Gerrit Cole continues to do well, Morton will go to the bullpen, along with Gomez. If things with Cole don’t pan out, he’ll most likely go back to Indy. Rodriguez deserves his starting spot. We think the Pirates are moving towards a starting rotation of Burnett, Locke, Cole, Rodriguez, and Liriano. Campbell says Gomez isn’t a long term solution. Justin said its good that we have options, presumably in case of injuries. |
37 Replies
|
465 Views
Follow Us
Upcoming Games
Recent News & Discussion
Mobile App
Stats
PSF Blog Writers
Online Members: 118
Donate
Twitter
Links
