PNC Yark(GMBC Burner)

@JimStamm22 They mist habe stretched him an inch lol

@JimStamm22 Poor Termarr

🤯🤯🤯🏴‍☠️ mlb.com/news/bold-pred…

@Bucfish67 Such a weird take from a guy that took a team friendly extension from Oakland. I mean ya if every single player would do what he did maybe there wouldn't be a need for a cap. Imagine the concession they could get in return for a cap?

@eYARKulation And yet teams in KC are able to compete and succeed against teams in LA and NY. And the reason the Jets suck is not because of money. It’s because of incompetence.

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@GMBCSuperfan @SteelCityBucs30 🤣

@eYARKulation @SteelCityBucs30

Endy Rodriguez shouldn't be going to Indianapolis What a bummer. After a spring performance that reminded the team why Endy Rodriguez was once a top-three prospect in this system, he is sent down to Indianapolis to start the 2026 season. He is not the third-best catcher on this roster, and everyone knows it. The Fallacy of 'Playing Everyday' I've seen a lot of justification for this move with people saying that "he needs to play everyday," forgetting that Rafael Flores is also likely going down to Indianapolis and Endy will need to split time behind the dish with him. "That's fine," people say. "He can DH and play 1B." And the reality is, he could do that in Pittsburgh as well. This is really about the Pirates' inability to find a taker for Joey Bart, whose $2.53 million contract is modest but still too much for a guy hitting .138 this spring, with 12 Ks in 32 PA. He sucks as a catcher defensively and now can't hit. This is the player the Giants were glad to be done with. The correct move would be to take Hank and Endy north, pay something to be done with Joey Bart, and let Flores be the full-time catcher in AAA. The Importance of a Fast Start That's also the correct move if you believe, as I do, that starting strong this April matters. If we get off to a slow start, the chances of recovery are low. That isn't idle fan conjecture -- it is evidence-based. As I posted elsewhere this morning: I wrote an entire column on this a few weeks back that is based on this Fangraph research: community.fangraphs.com/how-much-does-… A couple data-supported items to lift up: "April has proven to be a good proxy for the team’s chances going forward that season... Two-thirds of all playoff teams start the year solidly (.530+ ), the vast majority (78%) are at least .500 + and fully 95 % of all playoff teams have avoided disastrous (sub. 400) Aprils." But even more to the point when considering the Pirates in 2026: “As can be seen, prior year good teams (90+ wins) with good Aprils have had twice the chances of making the playoffs as an average team (30%). On the other side, prior year sub-.500 teams with sub-.500 Aprils have had very little chance of making postseason. Only 9 of 138 such teams have overcome their bad starts.” Getting off to a strong start and its connection to season success is actually data-supported, and for prior year sub-.500 teams, it is essential. It's Time to Trust the Data I've seen it said the last few days that "too much is made about the opening day lineup" and that we should all have patience. But I'm here to tell you folks, that conventional thinking is dead wrong. Fangraphs did the research and a slow start dooms this team. Only 9 of 138 teams coming off a sub.-500 season overcome a bad start of performing worse than .500 in April. That's a 6.5% chance. Does it unequivocally doom the Pirates? No. But why put forward anything but our very best lineup right out of the gate? Why screw around in a season where we have all the ingredients to be successful? Why?

@GMBCSuperfan @SteelCityBucs30 Endy wasnt even a good catcher when his arm was in 1 piece and he certainly wasnt good anywhere else. All while not hitting since 2022.

@eYARKulation @SteelCityBucs30 Yes, including his aberration half-season of 2024, which he hasn't been able to replicate before or since... I won't rest until you admit Bart is a sack of rotten potatoes and Endy is God's gift to catching. It'll happen. Just give me some time...

@GMBCSuperfan @SteelCityBucs30 Funny I think bwar sucks but even then Bart has 2.7 bwar the kast 2 seasons and a full win more than Endy last yr. +0.5 to -0.5. Bart deserves more grace than Endy at this point hes actually done stuff in the majors. Not just racked up some good A ball stats

@eYARKulation @SteelCityBucs30 See my other post - fWAR sucks in general, but especially to highlight what a horrible defender Bart is. UZR is garbage. DRS is the best data point for evaluating defense IMO.

@GMBCSuperfan @SteelCityBucs30 And yet he managed to have back to back 1.3 fwar seasons. Endys career war is 0. It would be - if he hadn't thrown out like 7 runners in a month of work. Pre arm injury

Bart had a -6 DRS in 658 innings last year. If he was the starter, he'd be giving you -10+ DRS. He's the Oneil Cruz of catching. He ranks with Shea Langeliers and Logan O'Hoppe at the bottom of the league defensively. Not quite Salvador Perez or Agustin Ramirez, but about as bad as you can be and still have a role. But, you know, unlike those guys, Bart isn't hitting 30+ HR annually. Or really doing anything positive offensively. It is clear 2024 was an outlier. Nearly 1,200 PA later and he has a .689 career OPS with garbage defense. In a world where defense-only catchers are a thing, Joey Bart is about the most useless catcher we could be carrying.

@GMBCSuperfan @SteelCityBucs30 Also dont think Barts defense is nearly that bad while Endys is still tbd considering it was carried solely by his ability to throw out runners. Meh receiver poor blocker etc.

@GMBCSuperfan @SteelCityBucs30 👍🏼

@GMBCSuperfan @SteelCityBucs30 Joey Barts 2025 in MLB was better than Endys best yr in AAA his 2024 was great. Hes only 29 yrs old. Bart > Endy it might not be close tbh

But Joey Bart... has? If he is your alternative, which way do you want to go? Because you can shout down Endy as you've done for weeks, but how about advocate for an alternative. I'd be happy if Flores was the backup. Anyone but Bart. This is the Pirates deciding to take a worse option north because of sunk cost fallacy.

@SteelCityBucs30 @GMBCSuperfan And this. Endy seems like a great kid but this fan infatuation with him is way over the top. Hasn't done anything at the major league level except throw a few guys out before blowing out his arm. Hasn't done anything of note at any level since 2022.

@GMBCSuperfan Counter point

@GMBCSuperfan Cuz hes not that good hasnt been for 3 yrs and decent ST has very little meaning

@BuccoBantr Great show. Little behind on my pods. Have to put that 6 high to the test on April 3

BANTR BAG! W/ JIM STAMM x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@Jason_Shetler I think people remember Endy differently than his reality. He was a good hitting prospect in 2022 struggled in 2023 but still got his call up since then its been bad ball and injuries. Not sure why folks think hes so much more than he is

With Davis & Bart on the roster, it’s no surprise. Truthfully, Rodriguez could use regular catching reps with Indy, as he works his way back from injury. If Rodriguez performs well, then perhaps at some point in the season the Pirates make Bart expendable.

I cant state enough how much this is best for player and team.

Quick Seth Hernandez story: I was over at Pirate City earlier. Seth noticed a fan bummed she missed an autographed she wanted ... then decided to go over to say hello, meet her family & pose for a picture. Suffice to say, the Sekeliks (Dave, Don & Sara) were ecstatic. Well done.

@Bucfish67 @KG_55VFTG @colin_beazley A month is nothing. Hes basically Jack Suwinski at this point. Unless someone gets hurt he'd have to be babe ruth to deserve a promotion over anyone. He wont be. He got his do over last yr now hes at start over.

@eYARKulation @KG_55VFTG @colin_beazley I am not saying he needs to be on the opening day roster. But I don’t see why he doesn’t merit a promotion if he performs well in the first month and the incumbents continued to suck.

Endy to AAA is the least surprising thing this Spring. From @colin_beazley chat... "Endy told us he's treating spring like a rehab assignment. He's looked solid at catcher and is hitting better, but he needs more time to ramp up and can get that in Indy."

@Bucfish67 @KG_55VFTG @colin_beazley Why do we think this guy whos accomplished 0 needs every excuse and reason to pushed onto the roster? Its mind boggling tbh.

@Bucfish67 @KG_55VFTG @colin_beazley Ya he got his promotion because of it. Then has done nothing in baseball for 3 yrs. Not sure why you keep comparing KG when there isnt 1.