Buc Notes: February 16, 2015

The slow week in Pittsburgh Pirates news continues. It’s the calm before the spring training storm.

Andrew McCutchen reminded us all that he wants to be buried in the Jolly Roger, and remain a Pirate forever.  Then RumBunter’s CK dropped the Ace of Spades on the idea, along with an ice cold bucket of reality. The Pirates probably can’t afford him when he comes up for free agency. And McCutchen leaving is bad for the club’s image and standing no matter what the reason.

Jung Ho Kang may be in the starting lineup for Opening Day.  Or at least that’s a bit of speculation that doesn’t seem too far fetched thanks to the reporting in Bradenton coming from Rob Biertempfel.

For followers of Kang, we’ve also learned that the Korean sensation has been boning up on his English. Plus, Adam Berry at MLB.com gave us some Kang-tastic trivia nuggets:  apparently, the shortstop turned third baseman has been busy watching “The Walking Dead,” “Breaking Bad” and “Entourage”.

Of course, some quick RumBunter analysis tell us Steven Yeun, a Korean American, plays the recurring character Glenn Rhee on “The Walking Dead”.  And on the site Subtitleseeker.com, the RumBunter team found no Korean subtitles immediately available for the show’s episodes.  Perhaps, Kang’s English is rapidly improving to the point where incomprehensible post-apocalyptic Zombie shows on basic cable are fun to watch.

Buc’s Dugout released a new podcast.  And it’s good. Host Charlie Wilmoth peels apart the Pirates off season with David Todd, host on ESPN Pittsburgh radio.  During one of the more interesting segments, Wilmoth reminded us all that Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath. I’ve been mentioning them in the same breath for a long time, but Wilmoth’s reprimand has some teeth. The two players situations couldn’t be more different. Taillon’s real status is truly unknown at this point. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything. Ok, Charlie – way to burst our collective bubble. Check out the podcast.

Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects wrote a fun article – really a tour de force 6000 word Lonely Planet-esque guide about what to do in Brandenton, Florida during Spring Training.  We learned that Williams has a real zest for orange swirl ice cream, is willing to wait in line an hour for perfect crab cakes and isn’t ashamed to take a picture of his Mojito at Columbia Restaurant.  He also managed to plug his 2016 Prospect Guide three times in the article – not bad, only one plug for every 2000 or so words.  In all seriousness, it’s a great guide. The Pirates have a top notch system and the 2016 Prospect Guide is an invaluable resource.