Author: vet4golfing51

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Pirates Morning Report: Home Opener Thoughts.

The home opener is today. Although only 7 games have been played, fans are more disheartened than ever. I feel as long as Derek Shelton is leading this team that things are not going to get better. It is not so much that the Pirates are 2-5, but how bad they have looked doing it. Missing cutoff men. Base running blunders. Bad throws. Very poor at-bats. Very odd starting lineups and batting orders. Will any moves be made? They made two moves. First, bringing up Thomas Harrington was a good move. Second, optioning David Bednar to AAA was not a good move. Let’s take a look at some of the good, the bad, and the ugly as the Pirates open up at home.

Yes, there is some good news even on the offensive side of the ball. Granted, all of this is a very small sample size. I still think it is good to look at some positive numbers with all the pessimism around. Oneil Cruz, IKF, and Andrew McCutchen are all hitting well above league average. Paul Skenes has been his brilliant self. The other three starters all did well. The waiver bullpen has not been that bad. The Marlins may not be as bad as we thought they were. After getting blown out by the Mets in the first game of the series, they won the next game. They lost a heartbreaker in the rubber match 6-5 in 10 innings.

The bad. There is plenty of that to go around. It is a very fine line between the bad and the ugly, but I will do my best. Management could be blamed for a lot of the early problems. Earlier, I mentioned that McCutchen has been one of the bright spots at the plate. Bryan Reynolds has an arm problem. The Pirates believed the best way to deal with it was to DH Reynolds. They decided to sit McCutchen. The results were not good. Reynolds was 2 for 13 as a DH. Most thought there was something wrong with McCutchen. The Pirates eventually cleared things up. David Bednar and Colin Holderman have not been good since the start of the season. Bednar was sent to AAA to get right. I am not sure he is going to get right facing a bunch of AAA batters. In my opinion, putting him in more low-leverage situations would have been much better. The Pirates will have plenty of those situations. If the Pirates are thinking like that, then they should send Holderman down too. The big concern here is that the Pirates have looked lackadaisical and uninterested for all 7 games.

The ugly. That can be summed up by two players: Ji Hwan Bae and Tommy Pham. Bae, who I had such high hopes for, looks totally lost out there. Bae has not had many opportunities, and I don’t blame the Pirates for that. When he pinch-ran for McCutchen, he did not know what the hell to do. Lack of opportunity is not Pham’s problem, but maybe it should be. Pham has appeared in all 7 games. He has had 27 plate appearances. Here is the ugly slash line: .087/.222/.130 for a 4 OPS+. Believe it or not, he is not the worst. There are 3 Pirates with negative OPS+ who will stay nameless because I am so kind. Despite Pham’s numbers, he has been the leadoff man and once batted cleanup. Finally, the Pirates have had some truly ugly lineup cards. The starting lineups make absolutely no sense. The Pirates spend a lot of money on the analytics department. It is by far the biggest waste of money in the organization. Either that or nobody listens to them. It is the home opener today against the New York Yankees, the most storied franchise in baseball. Will we see some more changes in the team makeup before the first pitch? Who knows? Only The Shadow Shelton knows for sure. Maybe

Right after I finished this, the Pirates did make a move. They sent Ji Hwan Bae back to AAA and activated Alexander Canario, who they just acquired from the Mets. There has been a lot of positive vibe from this acquisition. A lot of people are thinking Joey Bart II. In my view, that is wishful thinking. Still, I do not see how this guy could be worse than Bae or Pham. That could be a positive. I was happy to see Jason Delay get traded to the Braves. Maybe he will get a better opportunity there. Regardless, let’s hope the Pirates can be competitive against the Yankees. Even if they lose all three games, Shelton will be happy.

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Pirates Morning Report: Stop The Presses The Pirates Won

Final Score: Pirates 4 Rays 2

Why The Pirates Won: God only knows. They still had a goofy lineup. Tommy Pham batted cleanup, go figure. They still could not score more than 4 runs. They have not gotten more than 2 hits an inning. They had only 8 hits for the game. They got key hits from Adam Frazier and Endy Rodriguez. Both of them did not play in the game before. Oneil Cruz hit a solo home run. He also hit a big sacrifice fly in the top of the 9th. These actions gave the Pirates a 2-run cushion going into the bottom of the 9th. It did not hurt that Paul Skenes was his normal brilliant self. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 1 unearned run and 3 hits. He “only” struck out six but walked no one. The bullpen was shaky as usual. They were able to protect the lead despite walking a couple of batters during the last two innings. Dennis Santana picked up the save. The Pirates did salvage something from the Rays series. They will go into the home opener 2-5. The Yankees are quaking in their boots.

The Key Moment Of The Game: Going into the top of the 9th, the Pirates held a slim 3-2 lead. The inning opened with Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting hit by a pitch. Adam Frazier blooped a single to center. Bryan Reynolds grounded into a force out at second, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Oneil Cruz, battling all the way, worked the count to 3-2 after falling behind 1-2. On the 8th pitch of the at-bat, he lifted a high fly ball to deep centerfield. This scored the runner on 3rd base, giving the Pirates a 4-2 lead. It was a cushion that made the 9th easier for Santana. The Pirates managed to put the Rays away to win 4-2.

Next Game: Friday, the home opener against the New York Yankees, game time 4:12. The Pirates will not be 1-9 Sunday night. It is really going to be tough waiting to see what the home opener starting lineup will be. You have to wonder how long the Pirates are going to go with Tommy Pham. Even though he got a hit his last at bat the same thing could be said of Jack Suwinski. He has struck out 6 of his last 8 at bats. It was finally revealed yesterday that Bryan Reynolds is dealing with an arm issue. This is the reason he is the DH. Maybe they should rest him entirely because he is not hitting. With the day off will the Pirates make any moves. Bae possibly gone. Will they make some bullpen moves? I can think of many. In my view the Pirates will do nothing which is their normal. An injury could change things. The home opener should be at the very least an interesting day.

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Pirates Morning Report: Shutout Number 1

Final Score: Pirates 0 Rays 7

Why The Pirates Lost: You can’t win if you don’t score. Another bizarre starting lineup. No McCutchen, no Rodriguez. Jack Suwinski leading off. The Red Sox reject playing 1st base again. He played 119 games for the Boston Red Sox and none of them at 1st base. Makes perfect sense to play him at first base his first two games with the Pirates. Moving Tommy Pham and his .095 batting average right into the heart of the lineup, batting 5th. No wonder Joey Bart did not see any good pitches to hit. The Pirates had 9 singles in the game. The Pirates have never had more than 2 hits in an inning after 57 innings of play. The Yankees started a game with 3 home runs. They struck out 15 times. They drew no walks for the 2nd straight game. The Rays pitchers are just throwing the ball over the plate. They did manage to hit 15 balls over 90 MPH. Thomas Harrington made his major league debut last night. Let’s hope his performance was due to first game jitters. It was not pretty. He threw 90 pitches in 4 innings. He gave up 6 runs on 7 hits. Noted for his control of all his pitches, he walked 4, striking out 2. The Rays only struck out 4 times for the game. They walked 6 times while collecting 10 hits. They had 3 extra-base hits, including a home run. The Pirate bullpen proved when the game is not on the line, they do okay. In 4 innings of work, they gave up 1 run on 3 hits. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Rays do not hand out gift runs.

The Key Moment Of The Game: For the second straight game, it was when Shelton handed in the lineup card. Even one of the umpires reportedly said, “Are you sure about this?” The Rays took over the game in the bottom of the 1st, and it was over before it started. The Pirates’ record fell to 1-5. Even with Skenes pitching, all you can hope for today is that the game will go into extra innings scoreless. Losing 9 of their first 10 games still looms as a distinct possibility.

Next Game: This afternoon, Rays in Tampa. Paul Skenes goes today for the Pirates. What goofy lineup are the Pirates going to come up with today? Maybe they will put Oneil Cruz back at shortstop and move Ke’Bryan Hayes to 1st. In the opening game of the series, Endy Rodriguez got his first hit of the season. He hit the ball hard in his other 2 at-bats. He scored the only run of the game. His reward? You’re not playing today, son. What kind of thinking is this? That is the only good thing about this start. Shelton may be gone sooner rather than later. I hope the players at least make him happy today and have a competitive loss.

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Pirates Morning Report: Not Even Competitive

Final Score: Pirates 1 Rays 6

Why The Pirates Lost: After the Marlins series, Derek (The Shadow) Shelton shared his thoughts. He stated that the Pirates were competitive in every game. It was like that was something extraordinary against one of the worst teams in baseball. Their competitiveness ended last night. The offense can only be described as amazing. The Pirates scored one run on 4 hits. They struck out 10 times and did not draw one walk. They hit only 10 balls over 90 MPH, and 7 of them were ground balls. At the end of the night, 7 of the 9 starters had batting averages of .200 or less. This offensive machine is led by Endy Rodriguez .083, Tommy (I Come Cheap) Pham .118, and Ke’Bryan Hayes .125. To be fair to the Pirates, they did play a major league team last night. The Rays racked up Pirate pitching for 6 runs on 10 hits. They did strike out 10 times also but were able to draw 5 walks. What about those competitive Marlins? They lost to the Mets last night 10-4. The Mets scored 4 fewer runs than the Pirates did for the entire series.

Key Moment Of The Game: When the Pirates decided to solve their rotation problem by making Carmen Mlodzinski a starter. They could have chosen a couple of younger players who are starters. Another bad idea by the Pirates just to save money in the long term. Mlodzinski hung in there for three innings. However, he got hit hard in the bottom of the 4th. He gave up 4 runs. Shelton finally took him out. The bullpen gave up a couple of more runs, which is not shocking. The Pirates are 1-4 now and seem in total disarray. This season could be over by April 15th. The Pirates have two more with the Rays and then the Yankees come to town. It is very possible the Pirates could be 1-9 by Sunday.

Next Game: Tonight, Rays in Tampa. Tonight is supposed to be a bullpen game to give Paul Skenes an extra day of rest. Skenes reportedly has said he would like at least 6 more days of rest. He would like to pitch next on April 7th against the Cardinals. How many runs do you think the Rays will score tonight? Which bullpen guy is going to have to take the big beating? Shelton is probably losing sleep over that one. A couple of years back, he allowed a young reliever to throw 48 pitches in one inning before he got the first out. He wound up throwing 55 pitches and finally finished the inning. Shelton said he felt bad about not taking him out. He lost a night’s sleep over it. He would not admit that he fell asleep between pitches 8 and 43. Let’s be real here. We are talking about a small sample size in the big scheme of things. Even so, this has been one scary start to the season.

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Pirate Morning Report: Walk Off Loss Number 3

Final Score: Pirates 2 Marlins 3

Why The Pirates Lost: Wash Rinse Repeat. Bad bullpen, bad offense, and bad baseball all added up to loss number 3. I was right about the weird Sunday starting lineup. I can see giving Bart a rest, but the rest of the team. This lineup had practically no chance of scoring runs. McCutchen had a home run, and another gift run by the Marlins accounted for the Pirates’ 2 runs. They only had 5 hits and few scoring opportunities. They did get 5 walks but did not take advantage, as usual. Andrew Heaney pitched better than I expected. He pitched 5 innings, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits. He threw only 79 pitches but was removed after 5 innings. A strange move considering how terrible the bullpen has been. The bullpen for all three losses couldn’t protect a lead after the 6th inning. The bottom of the 9th summed up the series. The Marlins walked off the win by not hitting a ball more than 40 feet. The Pirates got no one out in the inning. After the swinging bunt single, the runner stole second and went to third on an errant throw by Endy Rodriguez. Three pitches later, Bednar uncorks a wild pitch and the game is over. What the hell did these guys do during spring training? They sure didn’t practice baseball.

Key Moment Of The Game: When Derek Shelton took out the lineup card. No Cruz, no Hayes. How are these guys going to get better if they don’t play? He had Red Sox reject Emmanuel Valdez at 1st base. This was a game the Pirates really needed to win. I guess Shelton did not think so. If there was ever a team that did not want to play for their manager, this is it. The Pirates looked lackadaisical for the entire 4-game series. Bae pinch-ran in the top of the 8th and looked totally lost. The Pirates were playing a team that is projected to be one of the worst in baseball. The Pirates looked worse.

Next Game: Tonight, the Rays in Tampa Bay. Carmen Mlodzinski is going to start for the Pirates. Who knows how long he will go, probably 3 innings at the most. The Rays are a much better ballclub than the Marlins. The Pirates won’t be given as many gifts. It is very possible the Pirates could finish this trip 1-6. There are 4 Pirates who have yet to get a hit this season. There are 5 Pirates who have gotten two hits. Where will the offense come from? Maybe they can sign a free agent. No, wait a minute. There are none left to sign. Can they possibly turn this thing around? Only the Shadow Shelton knows.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Walk Off Loss

Final Score: Pirates 4 Marlins 5 in 12 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: There were coaching blunders, fielding mistakes, bad luck, but oh what an offense. The Pirates got 9 hits to go along with 8 walks but could only muster 4 runs in 12 innings. They were 3 for 18 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base. Ji Hwan Bae looked completely lost at the plate. He should have been pinch-hit for when they brought in the left-hander in the 5th. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jared Triolo went 0 for 9. The Pirates have scored 4 runs in every game. At least one run per game was gifted to them by the Marlins. They only scored one run in the 3 extra innings with the ghost runner on second. The Pirates got a nice start from Bailey (It’s Not My) Falter. He went 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. He struck out 4 and walked none. The bullpen could not protect the one-run lead in the last 3 innings. Jack Suwinski looked better at the plate. He was robbed of an opposite-field home run in the top of the 8th. Neither team played very well. Finally, the Marlins accepted the Pirates’ gifts to win the game.

Key Moment Of The Game: Bryan Reynolds led off the top of the 12th with a sharp ground ball single to right field. The Pirates’ 3rd base coach made a bewildering decision. He sent Tommy Pham, the ghost runner on second home. He was thrown out by a mile, dashing the Pirates’ chances to score and leaving the team and its supporters in disbelief. This miscalculation proved costly. The Pirates could not survive that blunder. It was a trend that seemed to haunt them throughout the game. In stark contrast, the Marlins seized the moment. They scored the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. This was a game of ineptitude by both clubs, showcasing a series of missed opportunities and questionable decisions. Ultimately, it was the Pirates who were just more adept at making crucial mistakes.

Next Game: This afternoon, Marlins in Miami. Andrew Heaney, the free-agent signing to keep Bubba Chandler from making the team, will make his Pirate debut. He did not look great this spring, but we all know that means nothing. If he pitches as well as Falter today, it does not guarantee a win. It would be nice to see the Pirates at least get a split in the series. I am sure we will see the odd Sunday lineup the Pirates are famous for. Shelton is already in midseason form, taking naps during the game and making very strange pitching moves. After all, you don’t want to try and win every game; just about 40% of them.

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Pirates Moring Report: Nice Bounce Back For Cruz And Bullpen

Final Score: Pirates 4 Marlins 3

Why The Pirates Won: Oneil Cruz had a disastrous opening day game. However, he bounced back and led the Pirates to victory. He walked, singled, and hit a 2-run homer. It gave him 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. The overall offense was not great. They did get 7 hits and were aided by 4 Marlins’ errors. Mitch Keller pitched an outstanding 6 innings, giving up only 1 run on 5 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 1. He did have his “at ’em” ball working. After yesterday, it was okay to have a little luck. The bullpen shut the Marlins down in the 7th. They did the same in the 8th. They gave up 0 runs on 1 hit and a walk. Then David Bednar came in to pitch the bottom of the 9th. The score was 4-1 Pirates. In 7 pitches, the score changed to 4-3. Bednar walked the 1st batter. Otto Lopez then parked it in the seats on the first pitch. It looked like we were going to see a repeat of game 1. In the next 5 pitches, Bednar got 2 ground ball outs. He struck out Derek Hill on 6 pitches. This ended the game. The Pirates had their first win of the season. Whew!

The Key Moment Of The Game: In the top of the 4th, Oneil Cruz led off with a walk. He stole 2nd and went to 3rd on a bad throw. Joey Bart walked. Andrew McCutchen doubled to left centerfield. The play at second would have been close. Otto Lopez turned his head to tag McCutchen way before the ball got there. The ball hit him right in the ear sending him to the ground. The look on McCutchen’s face was priceless. It was like, what the hell happened to him? Ke’Bryan Hayes then got an infield hit off the pitcher’s throwing hand. The bases were now loaded with no outs. This was where the Pirates reverted back to their incompetent selves. Endy Rodriguez hit a short fly to left field, scoring no one. Adam Frazier did the same thing to the right fielder. The Pirates sent Joey Bart anyway. They probably figured that no one was going to get a hit. Bart would have been out at the plate, but for some unknown reason, the ball was cut off. This enabled Bart to score. It was a gift run to make it 2-0. Cruz’s home run in the next inning made it 4-0. You could say the gift run turned out to be the margin of victory.

Next Game: Late afternoon, the Marlins in Miami. Bailey No Falter Insurance goes for the Pirates. So far, the Marlins have not done well against the left-handers the Pirates have put out there. The Pirates did improve somewhat last night. The Marlins just returned the favor. They handed a win to the Pirates. Even though he has not done anything at the plate, Endy Rodriguez has looked very good at 1st base. He did boot one ground ball in the 1st game, but he has made some smart athletic plays out there. Let’s hope he can get the bat going. Can the Pirates climb above .500 today? Only The Shadow knows.

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Pirates Morning Report: What An Opening Day

Final Score: Pirates 4, Marlins 5

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates did not shine defensively, they only got 4 hits, Paul Skenes only pitched 5 and 1/3 innings, and the bullpen imploded. The Pirates were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. They left 9 men on base. They struck out 11 times, with 7 of them being called 3rd strikes. They did not take advantage of 7 walks. The Pirate pitchers weren’t much better walking 7, although one was intentional. Skenes walked the last 2 batters he faced. The bullpen did implode, but it was not helped by the defense. Colin Holderman ran into some really bad luck not getting a called 3rd strike that would have ended the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Oneil Cruz misplayed a line drive into a triple. He made a bad decision in the bottom of the 8th. He threw home, allowing a runner to get into scoring position. The runner scored on a game-tying single. It was not a good opening day for Cruz, topping in off by looking bad at the plate.

Key Moments Of The Game: Colin Holderman took over in the bottom of the 8th with the Pirates leading 4-2. He committed the cardinal sin by walking the first batter. It seemed that Holderman would escape his own mess. He got the next two batters out. A runner moved to second on the first out. Then, on a 1-2 count, Otto Lopez looped one into centerfield to score the 3rd run. Cruz made an ill-advised throw to home, and Lopez went to second base. The next batter, Dane Myers, took a 98 MPH fastball high and outside, well within the strike zone on a 1-2 count. The umpire called it a ball. The next pitch, Myers singled to centerfield to tie the score. Neither ball was hit over 86 MPH. The bottom of the ninth was another defensive disaster. The Marlins walked it off on David Bednar without making an out.

Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Miami. The Pirates did not have a lot of luck going for them yesterday. For the last two years, they have won on opening day. Maybe this will be a good omen that they didn’t. The Marlins sure didn’t beat them; the Pirates gave it away. Their weaknesses were exposed in the very first game of the year: shaky defense and a weak bullpen. Tonight, Mitch Keller will go for the Pirates, facing Connor Gillispie. Gillispie has thrown only 8 innings in the Major Leagues. The Pirates will have to do better tonight. Can they get more than 4 hits. Let’s hope for win No. 1 tonight.

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Pirates Morning Report: Today Begins The Journey

Today just has to be every baseball fan’s favorite day, Opening Day. The Pirates open 2025 just as they did in 2024 with a 4-game series in Miami. The Marlins had made the playoffs in 2023, and when the Pirates swept the 4-game series, I was pleasantly surprised. Little did we know that the Marlins would become one of the worst teams in the National League. They lost 100 games. This year, there are some who are expecting the Pirates to sweep the Marlins again. I am not one of them. As I have written before, this is the most pessimistic I have gone into a season for a long time. I will admit this Opening Day roster is not giving me a bad vibe. It’s better than I thought it would be. Except for Nick Yorke, the Pirates kept who I thought they would for the Opening Day roster. The Pirates did not do as good a job when it came to selecting pitchers. They sent 4 solid young arms down to AAA: two starters and two relievers. With the Jared Jones injury, the starting rotation reads Skenes and pray for 4 days of rain. I do not think all is lost for the Pirates, and a contending season is still a possibility. So, why all the pessimism?

Even before the Jared Jones injury, I thought the Pirate rotation was being overrated. There is no question that Paul Skenes is one of the best pitchers in the game. He never had a truly bad start last year, and he may not have one this year. The rest of the pitchers are just average starters, with some a little below. Mitch Keller may break out this year, but there is no sign that he will. Andrew Heaney has a lifetime OPS+ of 94, and last year it was 92. Bailey Falter had an ERA+ of 95. This means that both of these pitchers are slightly below league average. That is not bad, by the way. The problem here is they are pitching on a very poor offensive team. Can three pitchers who are league average or slightly below manage to win? They are most likely going to be in low-scoring games. The Pirates are interesting offensively. Several players had some very good runs, even with other teams. However, they have not been able to recapture that performance. We all know who these players are. It will boil down to whether you think they could get back to their top performance. Obviously, my feeling is no. Even though I feel that way, it could happen. That leaves us with the bullpen and defense, both of which were way below average last year. One of the few moves the Pirates made in the offseason was to hire Brent Strom as assistant pitching coach. He succeeded greatly with the Astros. He also saw early success with the Diamondbacks. He helped their staff to the 2023 World Series. Things went sour for him and the Diamondbacks’ pitchers in 2024, and they let Strom go. Hopefully, he may have a real positive effect on the pitchers. The same thing could be said of new hitting coach Matt Hague. Both coaches may be the wild card for the Pirates.

That brings us to manager Derek (The Shadow Knows) Shelton. He is the biggest reason to feel that this season has the potential for disaster. I have given him the benefit of the doubt every season. What is mind-blowing about Shelton is his rise through the ranks with two of the better organizations in baseball. These are the Tampa Bay Rays and the Minnesota Twins. For whatever reason, he seems to have learned nothing. Maybe he is the proof of the Peter principle. The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence P. Peter. It observes that people in a hierarchy rise to “a level of respective incompetence.” Employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs. Eventually, they reach a level at which they are no longer competent. Skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another. Last year Shelton’s strictly poor judgment and bad managerial decisions cost the Pirates 7 to 8 ballgames. That would have been enough to get them over .500. This was a significant non-move by the Pirates. They allowed him to continue managing this club in 2025. It will be interesting to see if he makes it through the season. It’s play ball later this afternoon with Paul Skenes starting a Cy Young winning year. Let’s hope that he is not the only bright spot that happens this year. Only time will tell. See you tomorrow with the opening game Pirates Morning Report.

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Pirates Morning Report: Planning For Failure

The Pirates made some roster moves over the weekend and proved once again that they have no interest in winning. As I predicted, the 13 best players will not be on the opening day roster. Not all of the moves were bad; they designated for assignment Josh Palacios and optioned Henry Davis to AAA. Unfortunately, they did the same thing with Billy Cook and Nick Yorke. Now, you could make an argument that Cook was not ready, but Yorke should be on the team. Is Yorke better than Adam Frazier? Is Yorke better than some non-roster player that they are going to put on first base? Is Yorke better than Jack Suwinski and Ji Hwan Bae? Yes, to all three questions. They put Hunter Stratton on the 40-man roster. That does not mean that he definitely will make the team. The Pirates have already done a great job of putting their better pitchers in AAA. All of this is done to keep players from getting their major league service to become arbitration eligible. The Pirates are the masters of this. I would love to see the Indianapolis Indians play the Pirates in a three-game series with something on the line. I am sure the Indians would sweep them. Stratton’s stats at first glance look really good. Consider this: in his last 33 appearances of 2024, the Pirates lost 24 of those games. This guy only performed well in low-leverage situations. If he makes the roster, he will replace another young arm. That young arm should make the team. The final 26-man roster of the Pirates will securely entrench them in mediocrity. I just read that the young arm is most likely Kyle Nicolas. Hunter Stratton the king of blow out games is most likely going to make the team. It just keeps getting worse.

You can tell that the Pirate players are pretty much fed up with the organization. They will do anything to try and get off the team. The perfect example of this is the horrible spring that Liovar Peguero had. He routinely booted ground balls in the field, batted .133, and swung at just about every pitch. You could tell he had no interest in making this team. I am sure he would love to go to another team or be DFA’d. Who wants to play for Derek Shelton? He routinely throws his players under the bus to hide his managerial blunders. When he fails to make an obvious managerial move, he will say that the player that was incorrectly left in the game should have executed better. The first sign that this organization is serious about winning is when they show Shelton the door. This is a team that finished last in their division. They will most likely open the season with the same team that finished in last place and somehow be weaker defensively. All of this when you have the best pitcher in baseball. As I have written before, this could all change in a heartbeat if a trade is made. The chance of this happening seems to get less and less with every passing day. I really do hope that I am all wet about this and that they will contend this year. I will gladly eat crow for a playoff run.