Sunday, September 20, 2009

Kids Day, On and Off the Field

Yawn. The Bucs went down without a peep, 4-0, to San Diego. A mediocre outing by Paul Maholm, a stinko effort by the depleted Bucco batsmen, and two throwing errors by Ryan Doumit leading to three runs about covers it. Another day at the office.

With half the Bucs in the tub, the Padres picked a fine time to visit. And they still have another go at the Pirates tomorrow night.

All we're hoping is that when Garrett Ford comes back, they put him at first full-time and use Brandon Moss/Doumit in right. Steve Pearce has pretty well flunked his audition, and with the year winding down, it's time to ease up on Doumit's workload and give Jason Jaramillo and Robby Diaz some dish time.

-- Pittsburgh has scored 18 runs in the past nine games, and only twice have they plated more than a pair. It's tough to win ballgames with an attack like that, no matter how strong the pitching. Not too surprisingly, the Bucs are 2-7 over that span.

-- In spite of their incredibly inept play over the past three months, the Bucs still have drawn over 70,000 to PNC for the Padre series so far, without a firework display or bobblehead in sight.

-- Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette covers a wide range of subjects in the PBC blog today - Ross Ohlendorf being officially shut down, the possible non-tendering of Matt Capps, and the reluctance of the baby Buccos to sign on for winter ball.

-- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review has a piece on the 2007 World Cup, and current Pirate reps for the US: Jeff Karstens, Brian Bixler, Delwyn Young and Steve Pearce.

-- John Perrotto of the Pirates Report reminds us of a little remembered Dave Littlefield deal in 2004 that bit the Bucs big time: Leo Nunez for Benito Santiago.

-- Adam LaRoche is hitting .356 since the Braves traded for him on July 31, and he’s led the team in home runs (12) and RBIs (33) since then. He may re-up with his first team. He's said to be looking for three years, though, and that may be a bit long for Atlanta's liking.

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