I am not sure what caused it, but it seems that folks were unable to post comments on the blog posts in recent weeks. I am also not sure what happened to resolve it, but it now appears that the problem has resolved itself.
That being the case, please fire away with your comments.
The Grandstander looks forward to having people, in the words of Myron Cope, back in the store!!
Testing to see if comments can be posted.
ReplyDeleteAnd I see that Yes, they can!
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteA reminder the following comments were made on June 7th in response to your June 6th posting, I reserve the right to change my humble opinion at any time.
Thanks, The Legend
I will address your 16 points on the Bucs here as I was unable to post at a previous time, in 3 parts. Sorry I got a little long-winded. I may be a little more on the negative side than you on some. But that comes with all these years of losing and the B.S. that comes from the front office.
1--I am like you that I believe this team needs more bats in the organization. But also like you I will not be disappointed in this pick if it is Cole. It seems like you can acquire good bats much easier than good pitchers. Notice I did not say arms. How many times have we heard the crap about this newly acquired pitcher having a great arm? Far too many.
2--Yes the draft is a crapshoot for the most part. It just so happens that the Pirates have been the ones acquiring the crap over the years. Maybe this will be changing. Certainly hope so. But I cannot get on this front office's bandwagon when it comes to the past few drafts. It didn't take a rocket scientist to draft and Alvarez, Taillon or Allie. When you continue to choose at or near the top each year, you can make your 1st selection by just picking up a Baseball America if you don't want to scout. So no credit from me there.
3--Enjoy yourself at the party. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the '09 draft by a friend of mine who is a season ticket holder. That was the Tony Sanchez year. When he was chosen you could hear a pin drop. And my friend walked out right then. Tony may turn out to be a fine pick. But he was chosen way too high that year. Bottom line is they were cheap that year. On the other hand, the food was ok.
4--Yes I think it was a good weekend for the Bucs. Definitely a step in the right direction. We need more of that for sure.
5--The Friday Night win was a great one also. Crowd was electric. Of course when half the crowd is Phillies fans that may happen.
6--Yes you always hear people saying the record now is the same as in whatever year and they ended up with this record. But there seems to be something different. But will that continue? I believe we will find out at the trade deadline. I believe deep down Huntington is hoping the Cards and/or Brewers start to pull away. Neal doesn't want to have to deal with being a contender at the trade deadline. I still believe they will be sellers and not buyers at the deadline. And I don't mind that, if they deal the right players. But even if this team is not contending but continue to be playing at or near .500 I think Neal should attempt to improve the team. And I don't mean the Minor League teams. Enough with acquiring prospects. We here in Pgh. need you to improve this team. We are the ones paying for tickets to watch the Pirates. Not the West Virginia or State College teams. Take a cue from Penguins G.M. Ray Shero. This year the Pens had no chance to win the Cup without Crosby and Malkin. But he still attempted to improve the team. It may not have worked out like he wanted. But it showed the players in the locker room that he wasn't giving up and neither should they. Add a few MAJOR LEAGUE ready players to this team and it might give the players the idea that their front offfice thinks they are closer to contending than they think
7--The Bucs must have loved seeing all the walkup sales over the weekend. This puts more money in their pocket with the hike in prices on gameday. Then again I mentioned earlier about all the Phillie fans all weekend. Just like a few weeks ago when hordes of Tiger fans were down there amongst us Bucco fans. The same is going to happen when Boston comes to town.
ReplyDelete8--But it does feel good to have some excitement in the stadium. And I don't mean pierogie races, hot dog and t-shirt launches, and those annoying contests on the scoreboard, If you want to be a major league team, act like one. I'm ok with the pierogie races. But stop everything else. When I was in Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field a few years ago I don't recall some annoying guy on the scoreboard asking a fan what he thought A-Rod's favorite color was. Leave the gimmicks to Altoona and the rest of the minor league teams.
9--Hadn't you seen enough of Zach Duke? I would stay away. The last thing you need is to be leaving that stadium after Zach mows down the Bucs. Look at what Ryan Vogelsong is doing for the Giants.
10--I would also keep Moskos here. Although that may go down as one of the worst 1st round picks ever, he belongs in the pen. Not Moskos's fault. The Pirate regime at the time was beyond cheap. You don't draft a middle reliever in the 1st round.
11--Ascanio must go. Neal is trying to justify the trade in which we acquired him. Although we didn't give up much. It's what you receive not what you gave up, Neal. Maybe Harrison will workout.
12--Garrett Jones has been a big disappointment. So has Matt Diaz. This may be the worst platoon in the majors. And these guys are facing the pitchers they are supposed to be pounding. I'm looking for one or maybe both to be traded, so we can bring up Alex Presley and see what he can do. And I don't mean a game a week. Give him the job and let him play 5 days a week.
13--Also agree about the bunting. Maybe this tean doesn't have to be a small-ball team anymore. Let the 'stars' swing away. If getting to .500 is not a big deal then neither are the wins. Let them play.
14--As for Root Sports......I despise everything I've seen so far. I won't give them credit for dumping the 'yinzer' guy. They created him didn't they? I would love to be in the marketing meetings. Start promoting the players. Not the all-you-can-eat section. That is one section of the stadium. You need to fill up more seats than that section. Talk up the guys you have playing on the team. I don't care about fireworks and giveaways. Please get rid of those annoying people on the 'Home Shopping Club' commercials. I will disagree with you about the crowd shots. Enough already. I know little kids are down there eating ice cream. When I go to a game I am watching THE GAME. Not looking around the crowd seeing who is there wearing a Pirate shirt. Just give me the game. No other teams do this. If I want to people watch I won't buy a ticket to PNC. I will sit at a mall.
ReplyDelete15--I also agree about these idiotic text polls. The announcers should be talking about the game. If they have nothing to say, then be quiet. Quit shilling for all of this other crap. Wait til this friday when they have the auction. This is the worst game of the year. The auction takes precedent over the game. If you wanna give to Pirate Charities, why doesn't Nutting donate a few millions of his Seven Springs money he pockets because his ballclub's entire salaries are payed for by revenue sharing.
16--Just a few comments about Brown, Walk, and Potash. I have never liked Brown's announcing from Day 1. His constant screaming during a big play or Pirate's win is over the top. Act like you have been there before. I know it must be tough broadcasting for a losing tean year after year, but the 'Gus Johnson' screaming has got to go. It's as if he is trying to make MLB's great play broadcasts. Also PLEASE stop forcing nicknames for the players. 'The Real Deal Neil' is just plain corny. But when he nicknamed Josh Harrison Jay Hay I was about to throw up. That's not even clever. Now to Bob Walk. I was a big fan of his.....until this year. He has gone from a 'tell it like it is' announcer to a cheerleader. I don't know if the front office told him to do this. But I wish he would stop. You just have to tell the truth. Not look for that silver lining in everything. I saved the worst for last. Dan Potash. This 'Kermit the Frog' sounding 'broadcaster' is beyond terrible. We could do without his 2 'pop-ins' per game with scripted info. I also believe we can do without Lacee Collins. What does she add to the broadcasts? Absolutely nothing. But I guess they had to hire a woman to do something. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for hiring women. But give her a pre-game show or have her handle the post-game with Teke. Even her talents are wasted with a couple of pop-ins. I know everyone does this. But why do we have to be followers? Start a new treand. Your announcers announce and don't cut away to somebody hanging around the dugout spouting off some inane stat or story.
Thanks Bob for the time and the place to allow me to vent.
The Legend