Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Bucs Bombed; Claim Resop & Park

Hey, GW took his annual pilgrimage from work today with brother peons Tommy DiNuno, Frank Garnett, and Andy Kubitzki, to catch the Bucs in action. Not only did the home town nine get run off the field, but we didn't even get a stinkin' bobblehead or T-Shirt.

We won't bore you with the usual play by play. Everything the Reds hit fell (16 times; seven for extra bases), nothing the Bucs hit did, and the result was a 9-4 drubbing. And it wasn't even that close. Jeff Clement homered in the eighth and Pedro in the ninth to turn a rout into a mere laugher.

McCutch went long in the first for the other run; it was good to see him back in center after last night's beaning.

The news was the pitching, or lack thereof. Jeff Karstens, like Paul Maholm last night, managed to keep the game in hand. But JK only went five innings, giving up three runs, and the Reds clocked the Pirate pen in the seventh.

Sean Gallagher gave up a run, Wil Ledezma surrendered three more, and Steve Jackson tossed a three-run home run to the eight hitter, a liner that dropped just inside the foul pole.

The Pirates have completely gutted the bullpen in July, starting with Sean Gallagher's pick-up July 7th and ending at the trade deadline, replacing five of the original seven members. It may yield some long-term depth, but it sure ain't doing much for the short term.

James McDonald gets his first Pittsburgh start against the Rox and Jeff Francis tomorrow night.

-- The Pirates claimed RHP Chris Resop off waivers from the Atlanta Braves, and he'll report tomorrow. Resop, 27, went on the disabled list in June with a strained oblique and was outrighted after his rehab.

He pitched fairly well as a starter at AAA Gwinnett (6-3 with a 2.09 ERA in 15 starts), but wasn't known for getting deep into games. His future is probably in the pen, and he's hit 94 MPH as a reliever.

Resop’s also pitched for the Marlins (2005-06) and Angels (2007). He spent part of 2008 and all of 2009 in Japan. He'll be under team control until 2014, being up for his first arbitration season in 2011.

-- The Bucs were busy little bees in the front office today. They also claimed veteran righty Chan Ho Park, 37, off waivers from the Yankees; he'll join the team on Friday. He was 2-1 with a 5.60 ERA and OK peripheral numbers. Park earns a base salary of $1.2M and will hit free agency this fall.

-- Pittsburgh DFA'ed Steven Jackson after the game to make space for Resop. First baseman Steve Pearce was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, which opened a spot for Park on the 40-man roster; still one more move to go on the 25-man roster.

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