The Pirates added some minor league coaches yesterday, which John Dreker reported on over at Pirates Prospects.
Player development is huge for any team, but it’s a big topic for the Pirates with their shortcomings in the area over the years. Adding people from the Tampa farm system is a solid move, as they’ve been known to be much better than the Pirates at developing prospects — including with former Pirates prospects.
Today, Ethan Hullihen will have a lockout update over here at No Quarter, while Wilbur Miller will have part two of a series looking at under the radar pitching prospects over at Pirates Prospects.
Check out all of yesterday’s articles below, along with a new daily section at the bottom of First Pitch.
Daily Links
**Pirates Add a Group of Noteworthy Minor League Coaches
**Some (Way) Under-the-Radar Pirate Pitching Prospects – Part 1
**Winter Leagues: Roberto Perez Will Begin Playing on Sunday
**PBN Podcasts Way Up North: Our Conversation With Owen Kellington
**How Much Playing Time Goes to Replacement Level or Negative-WAR Players?
**The One Who Got Away: College Pitching Star Owen “Ownie” Carroll
**This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 20th, Jose DeLeon and a Big Trade with the Yankees
PBN Updates
First Pitch: PRE-SALE for The 2022 Guide and The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys Books
Song of the Day
Off-Topic Theme of the Day
Every day in First Pitch, I’ll aim to provide a discussion topic that’s not about the Pittsburgh Pirates or the lockout. Tuesday’s topic is streaming choices on TV.
Last week, one of the most talked about shows in the comments was The Expanse on Amazon Prime. I had actually watched the first episode before, but didn’t realize that until the discussion. I had the same reaction each time — definitely wanting to watch more, but with six seasons, I’d hold off until I could watch more episodes in a row.
My first episode impression each time was that I loved the aspect of the asteroid belt being mined, and having its own class of people working those mines. I’ve had a similar concept for a book, where the asteroid belt is actually an exploded planet, and there’s been a crew doing cleanup for billions of years, before they were all hired to oversee the Pennsylvania turnpike construction. The last part isn’t part of the idea, but it should be.
I’ll be adding The Expanse to my watch list for the holidays.
Right now the only active show that I’m streaming and caught up on is Hawkeye, along with all of the Marvel shows. I’ll talk about those on Thursdays, and I’ll make it a rule to avoid spoilers for two weeks. I am really looking forward to the Hawkeye finale after the big reveal at the end of the last episode.
Have any streaming suggestions or shows you’ve watched recently? Discuss them in the comments!
FIRST PITCH TOPICS
MONDAY: MLB Fans
TUESDAY: Streaming Choices
WEDNESDAY: Site Updates
THURSDAY: Comic Books/MCU
FRIDAY: Debate
SATURDAY: Music
SUNDAY: Life
