tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post1596506794834797346..comments2024-02-15T03:08:19.233-05:00Comments on Bob Walk the Plank: The Difference Between Liking and UnderstandingBobWalkthePlankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-47104741300406262172015-12-14T08:17:13.952-05:002015-12-14T08:17:13.952-05:00The money doesn't really even bother me anymor...The money doesn't really even bother me anymore. MLB teams make so much that it has to go somewhere. I guess it is better that the cash stays on the field. The scary thing is the Pirates will have to deal with McCutchen in a couple of years. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-46374028968137901062015-12-12T15:09:22.123-05:002015-12-12T15:09:22.123-05:00Great post Matt! I live too much in the past. Th...Great post Matt! I live too much in the past. The days are so far behind us now when starting lineups were on a field together for even a few years. I'm addicted to the game though. At the end of every season, I say to myself - I'm done. I'm appalled by player contracts for ridiculous amounts of money. Spring comes and I find myself watching again. It took months this year tho to forgive Scherzer. Like he needed my blessing.acrackedbathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05056658025780679689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-54796952415534432532015-12-12T13:18:59.640-05:002015-12-12T13:18:59.640-05:00They don't seem to be in any hurry with Bell a...They don't seem to be in any hurry with Bell and I'm not convinced they see Hanson as an everyday player. It would be cool to see him get a chance, but I'm not holding my breath. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-87273028191463001062015-12-11T16:12:14.366-05:002015-12-11T16:12:14.366-05:00I'm going to miss Walker and hope that by June...I'm going to miss Walker and hope that by June, we are forgetting about this trade when the Bucs are in 1st place with a lineup sorta like this<br />Hanson<br />Polanco<br />Cutch<br />Kang<br />Marte <br />Bell<br />Harrison<br />Cervelli<br />ColeCollecting Cutchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18066493614914957891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-65899799850835153762015-12-10T22:35:20.860-05:002015-12-10T22:35:20.860-05:00The Pirates have a tv deal coming up soon. That sh...The Pirates have a tv deal coming up soon. That should allow us to have more money to play around with. Fortunately it is right when Cutch becomes a free agent.....BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-864603280205626892015-12-10T22:34:37.954-05:002015-12-10T22:34:37.954-05:00Walker really struggled batting right handed last ...Walker really struggled batting right handed last year to the point where the Pirates were platooning him most of the second half. All his power is on the left side of the plate. If I recall he only had one homerun right handed in the past couple of seasons. He more than makes up for it with what he can do against the righties. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-72515089520811964242015-12-10T22:33:04.060-05:002015-12-10T22:33:04.060-05:00It's true for every team its just harder for t...It's true for every team its just harder for the Pirates to replace someone like Walker. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-72188526811207863572015-12-10T22:31:23.307-05:002015-12-10T22:31:23.307-05:00He fits the mold of Pirate pitchers. A guy that re...He fits the mold of Pirate pitchers. A guy that relies on fastball and gets groundballs. The Pirates also shift more than the Mets so that should help his numbers. <br /><br />oh god...Kevin Correia. I'm having flashbacks. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-70791680887665249042015-12-10T22:30:04.631-05:002015-12-10T22:30:04.631-05:00Walker is about as steady as they come. While he t...Walker is about as steady as they come. While he tends to get banged up every year, you can pretty much count on 15-18 homers a year. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-84221620719299612912015-12-10T22:28:49.788-05:002015-12-10T22:28:49.788-05:00Walker was the longest tenured Pirate. He was draf...Walker was the longest tenured Pirate. He was drafted in 2004 and Cutch was 2005. It will be weird not having him in the lineup. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-49113282650112006412015-12-10T20:44:03.966-05:002015-12-10T20:44:03.966-05:00Technically the Pirates have a ton of money. Every...Technically the Pirates have a ton of money. Every team does (even the Rays), but Pirates ownership is cheap and uses the small market team excuse to keep costs down. They could afford every marquee on the free agent market if they wanted to.Zippy Zappyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695389359056056119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-34421550759026397002015-12-10T19:10:22.228-05:002015-12-10T19:10:22.228-05:00Neise Is a fighter,Matt.Playing In N.Y. his entir...Neise Is a fighter,Matt.Playing In N.Y. his entire career has hardened him.I think he'll excel In Pittsburgh.It's sad to see him go,though.I've watched him since day 1 with the Metsies.The fact that he was one of the few to stick around N.Y. for so long says something.I think what I like most about Walker Is his switch hitting ability,although I've heard that he hits righties better.We haven't had a decent switch hitter since Reyes and Beltran. Big Tonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03159094809763970868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-71832387238426437452015-12-10T18:37:19.034-05:002015-12-10T18:37:19.034-05:00Good analysys, on a separate note
Those big market...Good analysys, on a separate note<br />Those big market teams trade away favorite players just as much, it seems. Stealing Homehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03818879297909675392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-78862487621140627112015-12-10T17:44:25.160-05:002015-12-10T17:44:25.160-05:00Yeah, It's tough for small market teams. I act...Yeah, It's tough for small market teams. I actually worry more when a team starts to spend a lot of money rather than relying on their farm system (like the Twins throwing money at Pelfrey, Nolasco, Kevin Correia, Ervin Santana, etc.).<br /><br />I think Niese should do well in Pittsburgh - he doesn't have to be a mentor to anyone, he doesn't have to be the #1 guy, he can just go out and pitch when called upon. Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03580716283983922689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-50854611976416442852015-12-10T17:04:44.390-05:002015-12-10T17:04:44.390-05:00As a Mets fan, I am happy to get Walker as a bridg...As a Mets fan, I am happy to get Walker as a bridge to our next prospect. I don't think they expect him to be a long term acquisition.<br /><br />As for Niese, I still like him and he can still be a good pitcher. There was a really interesting article on metsblog.com earlier this week (maybe even yesterday) talking about how even as a reliever making spot starts, that his salary is now a bargain for those three years and that the Mets didn't need to trade him. He is a good team guy and better suited to a team with a better infield than the Mets have generally been playing with. I wish him all the best with the Pirates.Angushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11652380890985105416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-81455216498810887042015-12-10T16:05:06.706-05:002015-12-10T16:05:06.706-05:00While the Cubs aren't a small market team, I c...While the Cubs aren't a small market team, I can definitely see where you're coming from. Since we had to deal our longest tenured player in Starlin Castro to free up payroll for Zobrist. You don't realize how attached you become to a player until they're gone.Tony Burbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17916383902665781661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-30065965358172079202015-12-10T15:43:58.844-05:002015-12-10T15:43:58.844-05:00This can play out in a lot of different ways. I ju...This can play out in a lot of different ways. I just hope one of those ways is beneficial to the Pirates. The Pirates are just not in the business of letting guys play through their contracts without getting some type of value at the end. <br /><br />BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-75143753617814721432015-12-10T15:41:24.306-05:002015-12-10T15:41:24.306-05:00No doubt that Walker is about as consistent as the...No doubt that Walker is about as consistent as they come. His bat will be missed as his power from the 2nd base position is a rare commodity. I've read that the plan is to start Harrison at 2nd so the drop off in overall production should be minimal, but the depth will take a huge hit. <br /><br />I think everyone has pretty low expectations for Niese and rightfully so. Just hope we can work some magic so people don't get all bent out of shape. BobWalkthePlankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16011292576523365641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-24930392145091529062015-12-10T15:32:52.603-05:002015-12-10T15:32:52.603-05:00Good post. It's tough to deal guys who have be...Good post. It's tough to deal guys who have been with the team for a while and enjoyed success. <br /><br />Walker always seems to end up on my fantasy team. He seems remarkably consistent for a 2B, providing a very solid bat. Seriously, go look at at 2B now versus like 2000 when everyone was juicing.<br /><br />Hopefully Niese provides you guys with some good value.The Lost Collectorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07281282785351456790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504646615318477533.post-4737887842166609242015-12-10T14:37:12.710-05:002015-12-10T14:37:12.710-05:00I think you summed it up pretty well. It becomes ...I think you summed it up pretty well. It becomes a game of maximizing value and minimizing risk. Let's look at Pedro for example. I've heard a lot of people saying, "why didn't we try to trade Pedro instead of letting him walk?" The truth is, they did, but, at this point, he had no value as a trade candidate. So, we had to let him go for nothing. Walker could have a great 2016 season, but what if he gets hurt? What if he couldn't throw to first all of a sudden? The Pirates would be left holding the bag again. 3 years of John Niece could end up helping the Pirates rotation. He's not as sexy as a prospect, but prospects come with no guarantees. At least with Niece they know they have something.<br /><br />These are the hard decisions that come with being a GM of a small payroll team. It's a chess game and you have to be able to see 2 moves ahead. The Pirates probably should have traded Pedro the offseason after he made the all star team. But, we bet on Pedro continuing to improve. He didn't and we got nothing for him.<br /><br />If we kept Walker this year, I think you have to go all in for one last run with your core. But, as we've seen, that's just not this management team's style. Hopefully Niece will work out and they will look like geniuses.Micahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00601944951201139436noreply@blogger.com