Man, those White Sox must have the best dang pitching in baseball! Or not. Either way, the Bucs couldn't hit the broad side of a beach ball with a cricket paddle again and went down to the Comiskey Crew 4-0.
The Big O pitched well enough to keep the game in hand, but when the good guys don't cross the plate - again - well, even the Big Train would have trouble. Zero runs on five hits, four walks, and thirteen strikeouts isn't a very good day at the office.
It seems the Pirate philosophy of patience and working starters into deep counts works fine against teams like Washington that don't have a bullpen. Unfortunately, the Sox do.
When the Buc batters have two strikes, they're hitting .168 with an OBP of .228. They've struck out 299 times in 777 two-strike plate appearances, a .384 K average. And that doesn't include tonight. Maybe it's time to let the dogs loose.
Donnie Long has a lotta work ahead of him.
-- Tyler Yates started some light throwing, but still has pain in his elbow. He's due back May 31st; we're not sure he'll make it back by then.
-- We told ya that Dave Davidson's recall to the Marlins would be short, but geez. The Marlins DFA'ed the lefty when he gave up four hits and four walks in one inning against the Rays last night. Maybe Indy doesn't look so bad now.
-- Altoona will continue to be a Bucco affiliate for the next five years, at least, as the Pirates extended their contract until 2014. The Curve has been a Pittsburgh farm team since it started in 1999.
-- The Pirate Charities bandwagon continues to roll. Josh Gibson Field (the old Ammon Field) in the Hill District is set for its grand opening on Tuesday, May 26th. Donations from Pirates Charities and Ian Snell helped renovate the ballyard. Bob Nutting, Steve Blass, and mayor Luke Ravenstahl will be among the celebs present at the 4 PM ribbon-cutting.
Alas, the Pirates just aren't very good at hitting the baseball, and that's all there is to it. Methinks the best hope is that Ryan Doumit comes out swinging when he presumably makes it back 100% (?) from his torn-up wrist, and that Adam LaRoche has his usual torrid second half. If all that comes together, and if Nate McLouth and Andy LaRoche keep hitting, we'll have just enough offense to keep things mildly interesting past the All-Star break. If not, not.
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