OK, so we all suffer some when the Bucs go to the left coast. GW was not inclined to stay up until 1AM to watch the game, and even less inclined to get up at 5AM to post the sad results. So we're stuck with an after-work bit of blogging for the next day or two.
The Pirates were convincingly whupped by the G-Men 9-3, as Brian Burres did not bring his cape with him from Indy. He gave up six runs and eight hits in four innings, with two walks and two hit batsman (well, OK, only one - Aubrey Huff - but he did bean him twice).
The Pirate fielding follies continued, as the outfield put on a radical shift towards right, allowing a few balls to drop in left field that otherwise may have ended up in Lasting Milledge's mitt. Craig Calcaterra of Hard Ball Talk even posted about it and called it "rather ridiculous."
Adding to the madcap scene was Aki Iwamura losing a pop-up hit a short Sunday stroll behind him that fell in for an RBI knock.
On the plus side, Joel Hanrahan made his first appearance and tossed a scoreless inning despite loading the bases with two walks and one hit batter. Iwamura had a pair of hits, one a double, and drove in two; Andy LaRoche a had a pair of singles, walked, and scored twice.
Hey, maybe it's time JR gives up on the hocus-pocus of overshifts, pitchers hitting eighth, Andrew McCutchen batting neither first nor third, playing the bench every other game, and all his other bag of tricks strategies and have his boys play some straight up baseball. Now there's a concept.
And it doesn't get easier; Paul Maholm takes on Matt Cain tonight.
-- Hey, they just don't "tweak" pitchers mechanics; the coaches like to play with the hitters, too. Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review has a piece on Don Long trying to quiet John Raynor's foot.
-- A whisp of a rumor: Pro Football Talk says that it hears that the NFL will add a Sunday night game to its schedule...one that would go head-to-head with the World Series. Oh, the ignominy!
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