Category Archives: Opinion & Analysis

With Pirates Prospects on the Doorstep, Agile Decisions are Key

For the first time in quite a while, the MLB squad looks professional and instead of cringing while projecting an opening day lineup, we’ll instead find ourselves cringing about who we have to bat 7th.

Through The Prospect Porthole: Bubba Chandler

2-2-23 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter) At this point I am sure everyone already knows the story about how the Pirates pried Bubba Chandler away from his commit to Clemson; where he was set to compete to be the starting quarterback, as a Four Star Recruit. And, all it took was aContinue reading “Through The Prospect Porthole: Bubba Chandler”

Pirates Questions – Answered

I get questions all the time. Sometimes I answer them directly on social media, sometimes I make them topics on my show, others still make it into some of my FAQ pieces.

Today, I wanted to get some fresh ones and asked the Twitterverse to pitch in. Here’s what they came up with, and what I have to say about them.

Pirates Offseason Extravaganza

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-zrrtv-137ac47 In this week’s SUPERSIZED episode Craig is joined by Rob Biertempfel-Pirates Beat Reporter for the Athletic-to talk about a myriad of topics to get fans ready for the start of Spring Training; including Reynolds, Derek Shelton’s Future with the team, Rodolfo Castro’s Role and Much More!  Brought to you by ShopYinzz.com! Craig Toth covers theContinue reading “Pirates Offseason Extravaganza”

Top 5 Pirates Prospects: Good With The Glove

1-31-23 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter) When you are a rebuilding team, that currently lacks consistent power, and is filled with a decent amount of young or inexperienced pitchers, one major aspect of the game of baseball that can help your team immensely is being able to excel at the fundamentals; especiallyContinue reading “Top 5 Pirates Prospects: Good With The Glove”

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five

We’re down to a little over 2 weeks until pitchers and catchers report to camp and the next season officially starts. All the talk, all the player moves, all the panic about potential player moves, everything will transition to on the field questions.

A Better Team, but They Still Have Work to Do

All the signs that this team is ready to show some improvement, and win games with much more regularity are there. The players feel it, the coaches feel it, even many fans feel it, but at some point while watching it play out, I can’t help but feel that GPS is going to remind us there’s still some travel to do.

Through The Prospect Porthole: Pirates Rule 5 Logjam Could Continue

1-26-23 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter) Earlier in the week when I wrote about the Power Bats in the Pirates Farm System, the topic of Rule 5 Eligibility was briefly mentioned at the end of the post; which really got me thinking about next crop of prospects that will join the ranksContinue reading “Through The Prospect Porthole: Pirates Rule 5 Logjam Could Continue”