Pittsburgh Pirates

voncap · Post by **voncap** » April 10th, 2005, 10:59 pm

The Pirates have shown life in winning two out of four games in San Diego, but they haven't looked sharp even in the wins.

We all know a manager or coach is only as good as his talent, and the Pirates haven't had much talent in the last few years. Based on this, it is tough to blame McClendon for the Pirates troubles, but how much longer can the Pirates' management continue to accept losing and keep him around?

Will he be out the door before the All-Star break, or will he last through another losing season?

neut78 · Post by **neut78** » April 11th, 2005, 1:31 am

Not to say anything bad about the pirates but they usually start a season strong and then they fade away. Go alanta.

fleaflicker · Post by **fleaflicker** » April 11th, 2005, 2:21 am

Dunno, but losing 2 or 3 games to Milwaukee to start the season is pretty bad. And Milwaukee is pathetic, so the Pirates must be even worse. So look for another losing season, no matter who is in charge.

ham55 · Post by **ham55** » April 11th, 2005, 9:08 am

Incase you were wondering fleaflicker, the Brew Crew has one loss thus far after the first week of the season. McClendon will be gone very shortly, I'd say before the end of the month.

AUSTIN_22:22 · Post by **AUSTIN_22:22** » April 11th, 2005, 10:01 pm

lloyd will definately finish the season. i am very certain of this. unless he kills somebody, littlefield will want to see his contract out to the end. if the pirates have more wins than last year, he will be back next season as well. he and littlefield seem to get along rather well. the players like him. there is not a guy out there who the pirates really would want. littlefield will have to have a replacement in mind before he fires lloyd.

the pirates have played very poorly thus far. as of sunday, they had 1 hr as a team. their starting pitchin has been not good. they have struck out and grounded into double plays countless times in key situations. w/ all this, they have 2 wins. the 2 wins have come from good starting pitching. if a pirates starter gives up less than 4 runs in 6 innings, the pirates are in good shape because of their bullpen. they will not be able to win too many games 9-7, so they really need their starters to turn things around.

fleaflicker · Post by **fleaflicker** » April 12th, 2005, 9:15 am

Well ham, keep in mind that as of your post, the Brewers were greatly aided by 3 games against these Pirates to start off the season. By September, it will likely be a fight between the Brewers and Pirates to stay out of last in their division.

JungleJuice2 · Post by **JungleJuice2** » April 12th, 2005, 11:53 am

I don't think Lloyd is the problem with the Bucs. There is only so much a manager can do with his talent around him. I think he makes up a good lineup card with what he has, it is just not producing.

With the exception of Oliver Perez and even Kip Wells, I was impressed with the starts from Mark Redman, Josh Fogg and Dave Williams. If all the starters can pitch like those pitchers did and the Bucs start to get the bats rolling we could be looking at a season of last year or better. If they don't iron out these mistakes then you can expect basically what Fleaflicker said if not worse.

voncap · Post by **voncap** » April 12th, 2005, 12:45 pm

Don't know if Lloyd is the problem, but it doesn't appear he is the solution either. He seems to prepare for each game well by studying the numbers against specific pitchers (maybe sometimes to a fault), but his game management is suspect at times.

Yesterday's game is a prime example. Why does Wells hit in the sixth inning with a runner in scoring position? The game was not out of reach at that time and with the trouble the Pirates have had scoring runs so far this season they can't afford to waste any opportunities. No guarantee a pinch hitter gets a hit but he surely has a better chance than a pitcher.

It would interesting to see if he could produce a winner with a little more talent on the team.

ham55 · Post by **ham55** » April 12th, 2005, 2:30 pm

the first two games were vs. Pittsburgh, then the Pirates went to San Diego.

JungleJuice2 · Post by **JungleJuice2** » April 12th, 2005, 10:18 pm

Wow! What a win for the Bucs tonight! Mark Redman pitched well once again with the exception of the first 2 runs in the 1st.

The big story for me tonight was David Ross with 2 doubles a HR and a clutch throw out at 2nd. Very impressive.

I also was glad to see Daryle Ward come through tonight hopefully he can hit like he did last year when healthy. And maybe a gold glove for Creeg Wilson as he made a tremendous play at the wall tonight robbing that home run which turned out to be crucial.

I smell a good year for the Bucs if they can play solid like they did tonight throughout the tenure of the season.

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