Hey, the Pirates took their show to Philadelphia tonight to finish their spring training with a pair of games against the Phils. Tonight's game looked a lot like the Florida games.
Ross Ohlendorf got beat up some again,giving up a pair of homers in five frames, the Pirate attack lasted for one lusty inning, and at least three balls escaped Pirate gloves, resulting in a 5-3 loss to the defending NL champs. They're now 7-20 in spring ball.
Andrew McCutchen and his bud Lastings Milledge have looked sharp so far; McCutch is hitting .345 and Milledge .300. No other Pirate still on the roster is batting higher than .269.
Hey, we understand when you play more than half your games against the Yankees, Red Sox, Phils, Rays, and Twins, well, you better be good. And Pittsburgh isn't, yet. In 72 hours, we'll find out if the tough schedule got the boys ready for the real thing or just beat them down early.
-- Pittsburgh traded RHP Virgil Vasquez to the Tampa Bay Rays for the ever-popular PTBNL. The 27-year-old Vasquez went 1-2 with a 7.62 ERA in Florida, and in 14 games with the Pirates, half starts, he went 2-5 with a 5.84 ERA.
-- Still two cuts to go. Three guys widely thought to be on the bubble are John Raynor, Steve Pearce, and Ramon Vazquez. Raynor's hitting .244, Pearce .184, and Vazquez .176. Guess no one wants the job.
Ohlendorf is beginning to worry me. This team's defense is noticeably worse than last year's version. Looks like a long year coming up, Ron, though I expect a strong second half, after Pedro, Lincoln, and Tabata get here.
ReplyDelete