"Pittsburgh Isn't a Baseball Town." (Morton: house, office)

[gmagoo]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Only if ownership adopts a dedication to winning.

Farewell to a great season.

Would a $125 million contract to Josh Hamilton be a sign of dedication to winning? He finished the season with a .250 average. Of course there`s the $212 million owed to Albert Pujols who went on the DL with his .258 average. Throwing money around isn`t necessarily the answer.

[Copanut]

I like Byrd as well, but he might be too expensive. Marneau was a bust IMHO, but a nice guy.

It was a great season.

[Tinare]

I really Marlon Byrd too. He just seems like a really good guy in addition to being a good player. Definitely a fun year and really looking forward to next season.

[dbsteel]

People are busting on Morneau, and somewhat rightfully so becasue he didn't hit for home runs when here, or RBIs for that matter..... but he did somewhat solidify 1st base which was a mess with Jones and Sanchez. He played good defense, worked counts, and actually hit .300 in the NLDS.

The problem was the top of the lineup and Melancon falling apart. I'll give Marte a pass because he was a rookie and quite frankly I thought he was their catalyst all year. But he should be hitting 2nd or 6th, and Walker should probably be a 7 hitter. I'd consider trading him for a scrappy guy that gets on base. Walker seems to not improve. The Cardinals follow the moneyball theory a little more in that they have a lot of high average, high on base percentage guys.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by gmagoo

would a $125 million contract to josh hamilton be a sign of dedication to winning? He finished the season with a .250 average. Of course there`s the $212 million owed to albert pujols who went on the dl with his .258 average. Throwing money around isn`t necessarily the answer.

but NUTTINGS R CHEEEEEP!!!!!!!!1

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by gmagoo

Would a $125 million contract to Josh Hamilton be a sign of dedication to winning? He finished the season with a .250 average. Of course there`s the $212 million owed to Albert Pujols who went on the DL with his .258 average. Throwing money around isn`t necessarily the answer.

Time will tell. Had they signed Hamilton he may have fit it in here and made a difference. We'll never know.

[greg42]

This is the sort of thing I'm talking about when I say people who know a lot more about baseball than I do suggest this is not in any way a fluke.

How the Pittsburgh Pirates Have Proven They're Here to Stay | Bleacher Report

(Link courtesy of post in another thread.)

[Impala26]

Here's hoping that the Nuttings go against their typical stingy spending habits in regard to players... at least a little bit, right? You gotta think if they have a shot a signing Byrd and/or Burnett they'll at least ATTEMPT to offer a bit more money to them for the sake of consistency.

But who knows, their farm system looks really promising, and if Huntington continues his serendipitous signings (e.g. Frankie, AJ, Russell), maybe it won't be as important as I (or many) seem to think.

[erieguy]

Time will tell. Some people's standards are lower than others and accept subpar. In this case 20 years. Pirates fans are so desperate to see success that they will argue this 1 year as a turning point till they're blue in the face. Until proven otherwise its only 1 for 20. I hope its the start of many years of success, however, I'm not naiive enough to bet on it.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Time will tell. Some people's standards are lower than others and accept subpar. In this case 20 years. Pirates fans are so desperate to see success that they will argue this 1 year as a turning point till they're blue in the face. Until proven otherwise its only 1 for 20. I hope its the start of many years of success, however, I'm not naiive enough to bet on it.

Don't you mean 73 for 131?