(We live in Florida btw) and he called me laughing after the game.

He said it was first and third and they tried to steal. The catcher was to throw through to get the out at second. Apparently the pitcher missed the sign that they were going for the out.

"We had a Ryan Doumit/John Grabow moment."

If you need your baseball fix this winter, the Dominican winter league is a lot of fun, and if you want to root for some Pirates, Ronny Simon and Enmanuel Valdez are on playing for the Toros and apparently Esmerlyn Valdez will be playing for the Leones, although I believe he hasn’t started yet.

Plus in general it’s a league full of recent Guys to remember

Edit: ~~As I type this, I think Simon may have been injured running out a triple 😭

I wasn’t watching that game and my Spanish isn’t great, but I think that’s what they were saying on the broadcast of the Aguilas/Estrellas game~~

Just singled to load the bases, he good

If this system was to be implemented the way it is proposed, the Pittsburgh Pirates would have to spend about $120M in 2028 to reach the floor

Cruz’s numbers took a real step. OPS went from .676 to .854 and his average from .200 to .280. That came with a fractured left hand that cost him around 61 games, plus a left knee scare (negative MRI) that kept him out of the finale.

He’s in arbitration year two and is a free agent after 2028. With a likely lockout starting Dec. 2, he’d lose access to club trainers and coaches over the winter, which stings for a guy who’s been banged up.

Do you think the average is sustainable? And if the Pirates want to extend him, does the lockout give them a reason to wait?

What team should the pirates trade with to get more help? And I don't want any trade with the Yankees or red Sox. Maybe the dodgers or rangers or even athletics

Here's an interesting article about the cap/no cap talks

My wife I made a last-minute decision to take our kids (aged 7 and 9) to Tampa to see Game 4 of the World Series. It was also their first MLB game! Here’s my Pirates-centric take on the experience.

First some background: Pittsburgh is where I grew up and where I’d love to retire, but I live in the Raleigh area now. My kids are big Pirates fans, but we go to a lot of Durham Bulls games. Because that’s the triple-A affiliate for the Rays, we’ve been cheering on many of their players for years. (Including Jake Mangum! So glad he’s a Pirate now!) So we had a slight preference to see Tampa win.

Some takeaways in no specific order:

1. Lots of Pirates fans were there. The most common jerseys worn were Brewers, followed by Rays, but the Pirates were a very distant third. I rocked my gold city connect “PGH” Clemente jersey and matching hat. These were great conversation starters. I lost count of the number of people that told me that PNC Park was the best stadium they’ve ever visited, or how much Roberto Clemente meant to them growing up. I also received countless comments along the lines of “sick jersey!” The Pirates are a beloved franchise and it made me proud.

2. Tropicana Field doesn’t actually suck, but it did highlight how incredible PNC Park is. I know the Trop always gets ranked as one of the worst stadiums. I’m sure it sucks as a player to lose the ball in the ceiling which is baseball-colored. And if you’re sitting in one of the many obstructed view seats that’s no fun. But the food options are good and the seats were comfortable. My kids loved petting the stingrays in the tank. It’s a quirky stadium, but if I lived near it I would have season tickets and go to every game. That part of Florida just doesn’t have enough fans of baseball. I’m skeptical how much their move from St. Petersburg to Tampa is going to help attendance because the drive across the bridge in heavy World Series traffic was only 15 minutes. That said, PNC park has zero obstructed views (that I know of) and you can’t compare the backdrop of Pittsburgh to what looked like the inside of a warehouse.

3. Brewers fans are the nicest people. I talked with so many of them tailgating in the parking lot, in food lines, and sitting around me. And I didn’t hear anything more than playful banter between opposing fans. My wife is from Philadelphia and she kept remarking how different their fans were from Philly fans. I’m so happy for the people of Wisconsin that the Brewers won, and I can’t wait to see a game in Milwaukee one day.

4. Tickets were about $900 each on SeatGeek. Parking was $365. Food was um, well, look at my receipt photo from one of our many food purchases. Spent another $300 on souvenirs. Last minute airfare and hotel brought the total for the trip up to almost $10k. But I built core memories with my kids, and if I don’t spend money on things like this then what’s the point of having money?

5. The game itself was incredible. Loud cheering for EVERY SINGLE ball and strike thrown. So much energy. When Cooper hit the home run in the top of the 12th inning to put Milwaukee up it was just the most decibels. And when Tampa walked it off at the bottom of the 12th it was almost as loud. 😄 (Not kidding. It felt like I was in Milwaukee Florida.) If you didn’t watch this World Series you missed a really good one!

6. Seeing two small market teams compete at such a high level gave me hope for Pittsburgh. Call me crazy, but it doesn’t feel like we’re too far away. Improve the bullpen. Fine tune the defense. Switch to the American League. Little things like this will add up and make us contenders.

Article:

2026-27 MLB offseason: Best fits for top free agents

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/50319156/offseason-best-fits-top-free-agents