In this week’s roundtable, we talk about the surprising story of the 2011 MLB season, and perhaps any season in this millennium, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The OC staff also talks about the biggest star that will be dealt at the trade deadline and in light of the Sox and Rays recent 16 inning 1-0 game, the age old debate of slugfest vs pitcher’s duel.
Strike 1: PirateMania is sweeping the country. Where would you rate a possible NL Central division title for the Pirates this year in the great surprises in baseball since 2000?
Garrett Wilson: I refuse to rank it because it isn’t going to happen. I know it is a fun story to have the hapless loser Pirates finally becoming temporarily relevant again, but I just don’t see them pulling off the actual division title. They’ve hung around and had their fun, but they are still the Pirates and they will fall on their face once the going gets tough. I will tell you what is scary though, I saw at least four random Pirate hats/jerseys being worn this weekend. Did I mention I live in Seattle? Pirate fans in Seattle?!?! Something tells me the bandwagon is running out of vacancies already.
Daniel Moroz: Oh, it would be pretty high up there. I don’t think it’ll happen because the Pirates aren’t a particularly good team, but sometimes flukes occur – even improbable ones. It would be a pretty great story though.
Matt Lindner: IF it happens, this ranks right up there with Jose Bautista’s emergence last year and the Rays’ miracle run to the World Series in 2008. That being said, I think the Pirates are going to need to make a major acquisition at the deadline in order to make things happen, something along the lines of the Brewers getting CC Sabathia en route to the Wild Card a few years back. Look, the Pirates have been one of the most moribund franchises in all of professional sports over the past twenty years. Even if they finish in second place in the Central with this ragtag bunch of misfits, this is still one of the best surprises we’ve seen in recent memory.
Joe Lucia: it would be one hell of a surprise, given the star power of the offense in the division. Andrew McCutchen is becoming a household name, which is great for the sport.
Pat Lackey: I honestly can’t think of a bigger surprise on the scale of a team (individual players, like Bautista, are a different story). The Rays were obviously a pretty big shock in 2008, but anyone that was paying attention knew they were going to be pretty good that season, if not nearly as good as they ended up being. Mostly everyone know the Pirates would be better this year, too, but that’s because it’s hard to be worse than a 57-win team. I think the most optimistic projection system put them at about 72 wins and no one thought they’d win more than maybe 75.
Ben Duronio: It would be pretty freaking surprising. Not sure exactly where to rank it, but it was difficult to predict them finishing the season with a better record than the rest of the teams in that division. Entering the year the Brewers had made some big pitching acquisitions, the Cardinals had a solid rotation and lineup, and the Reds’ defense and offense were superb. It has been a crazy season for the Pirates, and I hope it continues to go well for them.
Strike 2: Will K-Rod be the biggest star traded at this year during the season? If not, who will it be?
Matt: K-Rod won’t even be the biggest star to be traded by the Mets this season. That particular distinction will go to All-Star Carlos Beltran. Beltran is still a game-changer who can make an impact down the stretch. The big question is whether the Phillies are willing to give up enough to get him or if Brian Wilson’s beard can persuade Giants management in to making a run. Both of these teams could use his bat and defense in their lineups, and especially in Philadelphia, a guy like Beltran could be what turns a contender to a team that can start printing World Series tickets right now.
Joe: I think Carlos Beltran will be the biggest name spun off. I cant think of anyone else who is a bigger name that could get dealt.
Ben: I doubt it. It will probably be Beltran. He will almost certainly be moved before the deadline and can provide a huge boost for the team that acquires him.
Daniel: Carlos Beltran does sound like he’s going somewhere and will probably be the best player dealt (he’s definitely above any number of relievers that’ll be moving). On the very small chance Ubaldo Jimenez gets traded, I suppose it’d be him, but I don’t think that’s likely.
Garrett: I guess it depends on who you think is a bigger star, K-Rod or Beltran, because Beltran is definitely going to get traded. Jose Reyes would be the biggest, but I don’t think the Mets have the stones to deal him away and alienate their entire fanbase in the process. On a related note, how funny is it that teams are clamoring to get their hands on the “core” players of a Met team that has done nothing but underachieve the last several years?
Pat: Beltran is obviously a huge name that’s almost certain to be traded, though the Rays could move BJ Upton and James Shields and those two could arguably be better acquisitions, if not bigger names.
Strike 3: Sunday Night Baseball went 16 innings this week with the Red Sox beating the Rays 1-0. How do you prefer your baseball – double digit slugfest or classic pitcher’s duel?
Ben: I like a good mix with back and forth scores. I like when a team is out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth and then the other team hits a three run shot. Then bullpens come in and the score continues to go back and forth. Those are the most exciting and fun games to be at for me because every run scored is really important at the time it’s scored, which really gets the fans at the game into it.
Pat: I love pitcher’s duels. For me, the roar of the crowd when a team escapes from a jam with a 1-0 lead is way more dramatic than a home run in a 10-9 game because of the way that tension builds with runners on base in a close game where runs are hard to come by.
Joe: I love offensive explosions. Whenever I’d go to a game with my dad, win or lose, he’d be happy if we saw a home run. Thus, the love of offense has been ingrained into my head for years.
Matt: Maybe I’m old school, but I prefer a pitcher’s duel. It’s the same reason why the NFL is more popular than the Arena Football League despite the fact that scoring is significantly higher in the AFL. At the end of the day, people want to watch people who are light years better than them putting some effort in to scoring. If you want to watch a slugfest, come to the ballpark a little early and catch batting practice, when guys are openly taking aim for the fences. Pitchers’ duels are what makes baseball great.
Garrett: The politically correct baseball fan answer is to say pitchers’ duel, but I have attended a few of those one-hitter versus a three-hitter type of games and truth be told, they are actually kind of boring. Actually, I should say that the first six or seven innings are mind-numbingly boring, the final innings do get very exciting though since every baserunner suddenly becomes a rare and precious commodity. Ultimately, slugfests get my vote since they provide more drama and entertainment over the course of the entire game.
Daniel: It depends on the quality of the game really. A pitchers’ duel because of two hapless offenses isn’t that entertaining, but two pitchers really dealing is very fun to watch.
