Citizen Kang: The 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates

• Miss u Russell Martin
• Can Pedro Alvarez play 1B/not suck?
• Was Josh Harrison's 2014 a fluke?
• First-half Starling Marte or second-half Starling Marte?
• Are there any starters beyond Cole and Liriano? Does AJ have anything left?
• Will Gregory Polanco come correct? Is Andrew Lambo a major leaguer?
• Are the Cubs for real?
• Can Jung-Ho Kang play SS? Can he hit MLB pitching?

My NL rooting interest for the year (tentative).

three rivers stadium was imploded 14 years ago today

happy anniversary everyone

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-TN2a8IUAAbNn7.jpg

It's all in how it goes, but I'm curious to see how good the Pirates are going to be this year. I'd think they are the NL dark horse club.

http://www.clickhole.com/quiz/it-date-1909

BP annual author bullishly predicted 95 wins today

that seems rather optimistic

i bought her argument that they could maybe win the division but reaching that win total is complete cokedreams

yeah esp given unproven Marte and Martin's departure

not that concerned with the offense, although harrison/walker are coming off career years that may not be duplicated and martin's absence has far-reaching consequences. but alvarez cannot be worse than last year (or worse than the pirates' 1b options the last several years), marte tore it up in the second half and seems poised to break out, cervelli's actually pretty serviceable, and polanco and kang have 'upside'.

starting pitching, tho . . . cole's good, liriano's good if inconsistent. then there's a whole bunch of aj/morton/locke/worley that does not inspire confidence.

guess i should never doubt ray searage tho

http://i.imgur.com/IaJ7FoI.png

uh oh

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-3sdvxUEAAxEa2.png

"...in this *old* photo. and the hat doesn't even fit his stupid head. and for all we know he could be wearing a Brewers t-shirt. probably Yankees, but you never know."

relevant cross-reference: yankess fans = hoodlums

jung-home run

The Psychiatrist.

http://i.imgur.com/f70LyaP.jpg

"Okay, let's go out and pirate some wins!"

it's true that the pirates wear the black third unis too much, but at least they don't wear green shit on 3/17

matte helmets are cool too

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA91WZ3UUAARu5l.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBB5i8iWYAAvKl5.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBB6JeIW8AA1yR0.jpg

so McCutchen's haircut benefited the Lollipop Guild?

pretty sure the mccutchen hair money went toward the pirates signing more prospects like:

http://i.imgur.com/wMGeOk9.png

http://www.3riversstadium.com/about/images/score.gif

The Three Rivers Stadium website from 1998 is still up and untouched

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBnqlLMUsAAqkQZ.jpg

what is carlos villanueva doing on this thread?

johnny cueto in 27 career starts against the pirates: 18-4, 2.21, bucs hitting .202/.262/.329

at least he lost the 2013 wild card game i guess

first run allowed scores on a balk

four-year deal + two club options for josh harrison

dispiriting

jeff locke and the pirates' directive to pitch inside

josh harrison is the first pirate to hit a leadoff homer in the team's home opener since . . . r.j. reynolds off dwight gooden in 1986

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCmG_d_W4AQE27F.jpg

<3

flummoxed by shane greene and alfredo simon

No Pirate drew a walk in that series.

haven't since saturday even

'pounding the zone'

pirates enter action tonight batting .207/.255/.338 as a team

@Sawchik_Trib
Pirates' walk drought at 44 innings as we head to bottom 6th against Jeremy Jeffress (career 4.9 BB/9 rate)

kang!

melansonned

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDSTT8lUUAAGkuV.jpg

pirates have locked up their fourth above-.500 april in the last 20 years

let us celebrate with . . . robertoad clemente

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CD2K3zuWoAAutmp.jpg

That is terrifying and awesome

gerrit cole is the first pirate to be named NL pitcher of the month since . . . randy tomlin in june 1992

five runs in their last five games

how many times has cervelli been hit in the balls over the last few days?

three? four?

that's what he's there for

kaaaaaaaaaang

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/140581828/aj-burnett-injured-might-be-done-pitching

:(

flexor strain, out four-to-six weeks; probably amounts to the same thing

@JohnDreker
With the win tonight, the Pirates avoid a 100-loss season....oh wait, we don't celebrate that anymore. Carry on

what's up with liriano's command? out here looking like a red sox starter

(ok not really that bad most sox starters would've allowed 6 runs based on the same opposing hitting, but still)

liriano is a mystery wrapped in an enigma etc etc

even when he's on he throws a ton of pitches

well, he totally made up for it!

oppo!

lol

79 pitches through three. whip: 3.000

this game is kinda batshit all around, diggin it

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/everybody-shut-up-and-pay-attention-to-jung-ho-kang

against NL central teams on the road: 6-17
all other games: 59-27

last 21 games in st. louis: 3-18

francisco liriano has five RBIs in his last five plate appearances

which is cool, because he hasn't been pitching very well

and into the morning it goes

joe blanton (3-0, 0.68)

okay, jeff locke wasn't going to beat madbum; at least they scored a couple runs this time

joe blanton (3-0, 0.59)

marte partay

435 feet, not too shabby

the pirates have finished the NL east portion of their schedule at 24-9

as they say in canada, thanks for coming oot

Pretty great beanball-out play by Kang just now.

might be worthwhile to give gerrit a start off

seven straight losses to the brewers

looks like the division can be taken

i cherish your optimism

fans are holding up Batman shit for Burnett? how many Dark Knights are there in MLB?

40th anniv of Rennie Stennett's 7-for-7 game.

ooooh that fauxhawk on AJ is saaaad

kang just got his knee blown up

that looked really bad and i wish i hadn't seen it

(clean slide tho)

yeah, looks like kang just forgot to jump over it. :-/ hope it's not too serious.

Cervelli banged up now trying to tag out Rizzo at home.

rip kang

Coghlan strikes again!

On May 22, Iwamura was injured while attempting to turn a double play against the Florida Marlins. After being slid into by Marlins infielder Chris Coghlan, Iwamura fell to the ground and eventually had to be carted off the field. Initial reports suggested this was a serious injury, and the following day it was announced that Iwamura suffered a torn ACL that would require surgery, "involvement" on the MCL, in addition to torn ligaments in his ankle, causing him to miss the remainder of the season.

out 6-8 months

@Pirates
Starling Marte has 13 hits this series; tied for the most in a 4-game series in Pirates history with Pie Traynor from August 2-4, 1928.

also their first four-game sweep on the road since . . . 1997

well that doesn't bode well for next wednesday

― mookieproof, Sunday, September 27, 2015 11

I would recommend sweeping this Cardinals series, then winning the division. Ben Lindbergh has more help:

The Cub-ler-Ross Model: How Pirates Fans Can Cope With Wild-Card Angst

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-pittsburgh-pirates-national-league-wild-card-angst-jake-arrieta/

a good plan; too bad the pirates are already done with the mets part of their schedule

awful plan

yessssssssssssss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=18&v=VUG40Zut8xs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUG40Zut8xs

i can't make b-ref tell me how often a team is shut out after loading the bases four times

but i'll bet it's not that often

Craig Edwards ‏@craigjedwards 1m1 minute ago
Last night's 16 Pirates left-on-base was the most without scoring any runs since September 2, 2001 when Arizona left 19 on against San Diego

in charlie morton's last 11 starts against the cardinals, the pirates are . . . 0-11

most convincing argument of these playoff previews thus far other than the blue birds tbh http://deadspin.com/root-for-the-pirates-in-the-playoffs-1733691307

now doing their best to play the wild card game in chicago

Marte to the rescue

where is the game if theyre tied?

wrigley, iirc

pirates teams with 98 wins: 2015, 1991, 1979, 1909 (110-42!), 1902 (103-36!)

.605 winning percentage is tied for the pirates' fifth-best in the last century

first 40 games of 2015: 18-22
final 122: 80-42

vs. the NL west: 27-6
vs. the NL east: 24-9
vs. the AL: 13-7
vs. the NL central: 34-42

vs. STL: 9-10
vs. CHC: 8-11
vs. LAD: 5-1
vs. NYM: 6-0

vs. MIL: 9-10
vs. CIN: 8-11

extra innings: 12-9
one-run games: 36-17

vs. arrieta: .151/.192/.176 in 36 innings, 1-4 in games he started

farewell el toro, whose 131 homers rank 13th in pirates history

i find that i have no idea what player nicknames are anymore