James McDonald climbs the mound tonight against Kyle McClellan. The game starts at 8:15 PM and will be aired on Root Sports.
The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Matt Diaz RF, Jason Jaramillo C, Ronny Cedeno SS, James McDonald P.
Some selected early number crunching:
-- Joel Hanrahan is picking up where he left off last season, when he had 100 K in 69-2/3 innings (12.9 K/9 innings) of work. He's got five whiffs in 3-1/3 frames early on, averaging 13.5 K per nine.
-- The Pirates pitching staff is fourth in the NL with a 2.83 ERA (5.00 in 2010), but the peripherals are still shy; they're fourth in hits surrendered, second in walks allowed, slightly below average in K's, and their WHIP is 1.457; only three teams allow more runners. The saving grace is that they've only given up one long ball, Alphonso Soriano's solo shot, in 35 innings.
-- The hitters seem to doing OK under Clint Hurdle and Gregg Richie. They average 4.5 runs per game and have a .269 team BA (3.6/.242 in 2010), both a little above league average. His more aggressive plate approach so far has the Bucs leading the league in walks (13) and strikeouts (39).
-- Darren Rovell of CNBC's Sports Biz checked out two essential benchmarks of the baseball industry, ticket and beer prices. Pittsburgh is among the lowest for both.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Bucs Hold Off Cards 4-3
Except for one inning of everything going wrong that could, the Bucs got solid pitching and four RBI from McCutch and the Pittsburgh Kid, and it was enough to take a 4-3 victory from St. Louis.
Charlie Morton and the plate weren't on speaking terms; he walked five batters. But only one came around to bite him, and he went six strong frames. CM threw 97 pitches, and gave up a run on three hits, five walks and whiffed a pair. He also worked himself out of a couple of jams, showing that his head was in the game.
Morton stuck to a play list of two and four seamers and did a good job of keeping the ball down; every out he recorded was a K or a grounder. When he did elevate a pitch, it was either on a corner or out of the strike zone. The big righty didn't spin his curve often, and that was a good thing; he hung a couple that he got away with.
He's keeping his comeback spring performance going, and that's welcome news for a staff that's looking to prove itself this season.
The Cards went ahead in vintage Tony LaRussa fashion, getting a lead-off walk and hit-and-run single that led to a 1-0 lead in the second, and for awhile, it looked like it might hold up.
Kyle Lohse was masterful over five innings, keeping the ball down and corkscrewing batters with his change. The Bucs only had a pair of knocks off him before they finally figured him out in the sixth.
Ronny Cedeno singled, and a bunt later, Jose Tabata walked. Neil Walker, batting lefty, took an above-the-belt heater on the outside corner the opposite way, dropping it into the left field corner for a two-run double. McCutch followed with his second long ball of the year, pounding a sinker over the wall in left center, and the Pirates were up 4-1.
Jose Veras got through the seventh. The Bucs blew a shot at adding on in the eighth when Tabata, on third with one out and going on contact, was thrown out at home. It was the prelude for Evan Meek time.
Meek had more bad luck than bad pitching, but the results were the same as the last outing. A broken bat single, walk, and bouncer into right made it 4-2 with nobody out and runners on the corners, thanks to Garrett Jones throwing home instead of holding the runner at second. Visions of another come-from-ahead loss, ala Chicago, had to be dancing in Bucco heads.
Surely it rang a bell in Clint Hurdle's mind; he went out and yanked Meek. Rookie Mike Crotta came in, and gave the Bucs just what the doc ordered, a tailor-made DP ball grounded to Cedeno. He dropped it, his second late-inning error in four outings, though he recovered in time to get the force.
The redeemed runner, the generally lead-footed Allen Craig, stole second (his first MLB swipe) on swung-through hit-and-run; Dewey actually made a strong throw, but Craig had too much of a jump off Crotta. No matter; he K'd the batter.
Two down, and out came Hurdle again. He tapped the right arm for Hanny, and he made the unorthodox move (well, compared to the JR era, anyway) look golden when Hanrahan nailed the third out.
A walk, a broken bat knock, giving up a guy's first steal, a mental error, and a botched DP ball all in the same inning...hey, what's new? The Pirates were on the road, after all. But they survived with the lead. Joel Hanrahan made it hold up in the ninth, earning his third save in three outings.
-- Pedro started a pair of around-the-horn DPs and made a nice play on a slow chopper; maybe he plans on holding the hot corner job for more than a minute.
-- Neil Walker had a three hit night; he's hitting .412 with a team-high 7 RBI. And he's not even the Pirate leader in BA. That would belong to Jose Tabata, who's hitting .429 and scored six times from the leadoff spot. Both run numbers lead the league right now; Jose gets on and The Pittsburgh Kid brings him home.
-- Steve Pearce got into his first game tonight and made a nifty play at first; Josh Rodriguez is the only position player still waiting to step between the lines.
-- A lot has been made of Morton's mental state after dealing with Joe Kerrigan, but more important may be Ray Searage's two adjustments - getting CM back to being a power pitcher, and adjusting his arm slot from over-the-top to three quarters. He's still a work in progress, but the early results are promising.
--J-Mac will make his first start of the season tomorrow as scheduled after missing the last couple of weeks of spring ball with a muscle pull.
Charlie Morton and the plate weren't on speaking terms; he walked five batters. But only one came around to bite him, and he went six strong frames. CM threw 97 pitches, and gave up a run on three hits, five walks and whiffed a pair. He also worked himself out of a couple of jams, showing that his head was in the game.
Morton stuck to a play list of two and four seamers and did a good job of keeping the ball down; every out he recorded was a K or a grounder. When he did elevate a pitch, it was either on a corner or out of the strike zone. The big righty didn't spin his curve often, and that was a good thing; he hung a couple that he got away with.
He's keeping his comeback spring performance going, and that's welcome news for a staff that's looking to prove itself this season.
The Cards went ahead in vintage Tony LaRussa fashion, getting a lead-off walk and hit-and-run single that led to a 1-0 lead in the second, and for awhile, it looked like it might hold up.
Kyle Lohse was masterful over five innings, keeping the ball down and corkscrewing batters with his change. The Bucs only had a pair of knocks off him before they finally figured him out in the sixth.
Ronny Cedeno singled, and a bunt later, Jose Tabata walked. Neil Walker, batting lefty, took an above-the-belt heater on the outside corner the opposite way, dropping it into the left field corner for a two-run double. McCutch followed with his second long ball of the year, pounding a sinker over the wall in left center, and the Pirates were up 4-1.
Jose Veras got through the seventh. The Bucs blew a shot at adding on in the eighth when Tabata, on third with one out and going on contact, was thrown out at home. It was the prelude for Evan Meek time.
Meek had more bad luck than bad pitching, but the results were the same as the last outing. A broken bat single, walk, and bouncer into right made it 4-2 with nobody out and runners on the corners, thanks to Garrett Jones throwing home instead of holding the runner at second. Visions of another come-from-ahead loss, ala Chicago, had to be dancing in Bucco heads.
Surely it rang a bell in Clint Hurdle's mind; he went out and yanked Meek. Rookie Mike Crotta came in, and gave the Bucs just what the doc ordered, a tailor-made DP ball grounded to Cedeno. He dropped it, his second late-inning error in four outings, though he recovered in time to get the force.
The redeemed runner, the generally lead-footed Allen Craig, stole second (his first MLB swipe) on swung-through hit-and-run; Dewey actually made a strong throw, but Craig had too much of a jump off Crotta. No matter; he K'd the batter.
Two down, and out came Hurdle again. He tapped the right arm for Hanny, and he made the unorthodox move (well, compared to the JR era, anyway) look golden when Hanrahan nailed the third out.
A walk, a broken bat knock, giving up a guy's first steal, a mental error, and a botched DP ball all in the same inning...hey, what's new? The Pirates were on the road, after all. But they survived with the lead. Joel Hanrahan made it hold up in the ninth, earning his third save in three outings.
-- Pedro started a pair of around-the-horn DPs and made a nice play on a slow chopper; maybe he plans on holding the hot corner job for more than a minute.
-- Neil Walker had a three hit night; he's hitting .412 with a team-high 7 RBI. And he's not even the Pirate leader in BA. That would belong to Jose Tabata, who's hitting .429 and scored six times from the leadoff spot. Both run numbers lead the league right now; Jose gets on and The Pittsburgh Kid brings him home.
-- Steve Pearce got into his first game tonight and made a nifty play at first; Josh Rodriguez is the only position player still waiting to step between the lines.
-- A lot has been made of Morton's mental state after dealing with Joe Kerrigan, but more important may be Ray Searage's two adjustments - getting CM back to being a power pitcher, and adjusting his arm slot from over-the-top to three quarters. He's still a work in progress, but the early results are promising.
--J-Mac will make his first start of the season tomorrow as scheduled after missing the last couple of weeks of spring ball with a muscle pull.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Pre Game & Notes
The Bucs visit the Cards as they continue their inter-divisional road trip. Charlie Morton will take on Kyle Lohse at 8:15 PM; Root Sports will televise the game.
Lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1b, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, Charlie Morton P.
-- The Pirates announced their Low-A West Virginia roster today. Pitchers you may recall from the draft are Zack von Rosenberg, Colton Cain, Zach Dodson and Brooks Pounder. Position players of note are Matt Curry, Mel Rojas Jr. & Drew Maggi.
-- The KC Royals signed the recently waived Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal as both an insurance policy and mentor today.
Lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1b, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, Charlie Morton P.
-- The Pirates announced their Low-A West Virginia roster today. Pitchers you may recall from the draft are Zack von Rosenberg, Colton Cain, Zach Dodson and Brooks Pounder. Position players of note are Matt Curry, Mel Rojas Jr. & Drew Maggi.
-- The KC Royals signed the recently waived Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal as both an insurance policy and mentor today.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Thank God For The Cubs
That the Bucs are very much a work in progress is obvious; the only thing they do consistently is play inconsistently. But they are trying to get it down pat. You can see flashes of it on the field. But hey, before the critique, let's enjoy today's show, a come-from-behind 5-4 Pirate win.
The Bucs jumped ahead 2-0 after Pedro scored in the second on Ronny Cedeno's knock into right and Pedro singled home Jose Tabata in the third. Ohlie was cruisin' through the first three, needing just 31 tosses and holding Chicago to a hit.
Then in the fourth, the Cubs started off with four straight hits off Ohlendorf, one nearly leaving the yard, to tie things at 2-2. But with runners on second and third with no outs, he got the next three batters quietly, without allowing another Cubbie to plate. The Bucs regained the lead in the fifth when Lyle Overbay rolled a single to left to bring in Tabata, who had a three hit day.
The Cubs tied it again in their half of the frame when Darwin Barney hit a sac fly to score Starlin Castro, who led off the inning with a three-bagger. Alphonso Soriano went deep in the sixth, and the Windy City crew was up by a 4-3 count.
Ohlie went six innings, gave up four runs on eight hits and four walks while whiffing three. He threw 92 pitches, and his fastball command was a no-show; he was up and over the plate way too often. But it was better than any of his spring outings, so today will be something he can build on, warts and all.
Mike Crotta got his first taste of the bigs as Ohlie's caddy in the seventh, with his mom and dad from Florida in the stands. It was a nice, clean 1-2-3 inning; he even collected his first K and a trophy ball. The Bucs tried to give him a shot at the win in the eighth, but fell short.
Jason Jaramillo and Cedeno led off with singles; Johnny Bowker pinch-hit and got JJ to third. And where exactly was Jaramillo's pinch runner? Well, probably at Indy. Either Clint Hurdle didn't want to use his extra catcher or decided that JJ was as fast as his possible replacements, Dewey, Steve Pearce and Josh Rodriguez, so what would be the point?
The decision would come into play when Tabata lifted a lazy fly down the right field line. Tyler Colvin threw a one hop strike home, and the tagging Jaramillo was out by a step. Jeff Karstens kept the game in hand with a perfect eighth, and the Pirates were down to their final three outs.
Carlos Marmol, who mowed down the side yesterday, took the hill. Garrett Jones drew a 3-2 walk to start the frame, and Neil Walker spanked a single to right to get things rolling. Then Overbay - the cleanup hitter, holy JR! - laid down a perfect bunt to third to move the runners up and set the stage for Pedro, as good an RBI machine as Pittsburgh has.
Alvarez will probably tell his grandkids that he blasted a rope off the wall to win the game, but in fact he rolled a bleeder past the mound. It went all of 75 feet, squibbed far enough to score Jones easily with the infield at DP depth. Castro made an off line throw to first; Carlos Pena blocked it and came up firing. But the Pittsburgh Kid had kept on a rollin', and his hard slide under the high throw beat the rap to give Pittsburgh the lead.
Give both Walker and third base coach Nick Leyva big props for the hustle run; Walker didn't ho-hum the play and Leyva wasn't gun shy about waving the windmill even after losing JJ the inning prior. The result was two runs on a ball that never reached the infield dirt.
The excitement wasn't quite over. Josh Hanrahan came on, and K'ed the first Cubby he saw. But Castro singled - he had three knocks during the afternoon, including two triples - and the drama deepened when Cedeno threw Barney's hopper into right to put runners on the corners.
Hanny didn't try to overpitch his way out of the jam. He got the next hitter, Marlin Byrd, to roll one to Cedeno, just as the baseball gods would draw it up. This time, he fed second in text-book fashion, and Walker's turn was just good enough to edge Byrd at first for the game-ending 6-4-3 DP.
Now about those inconsistencies. The Bucs had sixteen knocks, all singles, and stranded ten runners (two DPs, a caught stealing, and the throw-out at home didn't help). This points out the two areas that Hurdle and his staff are trying to address, plate mentality and aggressive base running.
There were a couple of balls that were bopped into right that begged for the runner at first to sail into third; it didn't happen. The Bucs were station-to-station mode today.
That probably has less to do with Leyva in the third base box than with balls hit behind the runners; they still hesitate, leaving Nick no choice but to keep them safely stashed at second. Add in the fact that except for McCutch, Tabata and Cedeno none of the guys have plus speed, and its not an ideal teaching situation.
It's not to say they aren't trying; guys on first and second tagged up successfully on a long fly today, and the winning run was scored on a hell-for-leather sprint, so the concept is in their minds; it's just getting the theory to translate into reality that will be the trick.
The batting mentality, from what we've heard from Hurdle, is to go after strikes rather than obsess over going deep into counts, a turnaround from the JR philosophy. Today, they were aggressive at the dish early and late in the game, but in between, there were an awful lot of 0-2, 1-2 counts on Pittsburgh hitters.
Heck, 13 Bucs struck out; Matt Garza set his personal high with a dozen K's in seven frames today. So we'll see if Hurdle and Gregg Ritchie can turn that around.
But hey, it's early. Even though the Cubbies were Pittsburgh's personal punching bags last season, let's enjoy the start. They even took a road series; they had lost the last eight in 2010. Laissez les bons temps rouler.
-- To illustrate that a new brand of leadership is in town, Hurdle argued a call at first to protect first base coach Luis Silverio even though the replay showed the man in blue was right. He even went out to chat with the umps earlier in the game to discuss a beer that got dumped on Garrett Jones as he tried to make a catch (The Cub fan not only lost his suds, but his seat - he was relocated). In three games, it seems like he's already exceeded JR's trips between the lines during all of last season.
-- McCutch ended up sitting out today with a sore neck; after being penciled into the lineup, he was pulled after looking uncomfortable during BP.
-- Neil Walker has a twelve game hitting streak against the Cubs, and that's not even team-high. McCutch has an 18-game on-base streak against Chi-Town.
-- Hanny had a bad spring and was only 6-for-10 in 2010 save conversions, but he's 2-for-2 so far. Guess that shows how much camp is worth as an omen of the upcoming season.
-- The Pirates won four road series in 2010. Two of those were at Wrigley Field.
The Bucs jumped ahead 2-0 after Pedro scored in the second on Ronny Cedeno's knock into right and Pedro singled home Jose Tabata in the third. Ohlie was cruisin' through the first three, needing just 31 tosses and holding Chicago to a hit.
Then in the fourth, the Cubs started off with four straight hits off Ohlendorf, one nearly leaving the yard, to tie things at 2-2. But with runners on second and third with no outs, he got the next three batters quietly, without allowing another Cubbie to plate. The Bucs regained the lead in the fifth when Lyle Overbay rolled a single to left to bring in Tabata, who had a three hit day.
The Cubs tied it again in their half of the frame when Darwin Barney hit a sac fly to score Starlin Castro, who led off the inning with a three-bagger. Alphonso Soriano went deep in the sixth, and the Windy City crew was up by a 4-3 count.
Ohlie went six innings, gave up four runs on eight hits and four walks while whiffing three. He threw 92 pitches, and his fastball command was a no-show; he was up and over the plate way too often. But it was better than any of his spring outings, so today will be something he can build on, warts and all.
Mike Crotta got his first taste of the bigs as Ohlie's caddy in the seventh, with his mom and dad from Florida in the stands. It was a nice, clean 1-2-3 inning; he even collected his first K and a trophy ball. The Bucs tried to give him a shot at the win in the eighth, but fell short.
Jason Jaramillo and Cedeno led off with singles; Johnny Bowker pinch-hit and got JJ to third. And where exactly was Jaramillo's pinch runner? Well, probably at Indy. Either Clint Hurdle didn't want to use his extra catcher or decided that JJ was as fast as his possible replacements, Dewey, Steve Pearce and Josh Rodriguez, so what would be the point?
The decision would come into play when Tabata lifted a lazy fly down the right field line. Tyler Colvin threw a one hop strike home, and the tagging Jaramillo was out by a step. Jeff Karstens kept the game in hand with a perfect eighth, and the Pirates were down to their final three outs.
Carlos Marmol, who mowed down the side yesterday, took the hill. Garrett Jones drew a 3-2 walk to start the frame, and Neil Walker spanked a single to right to get things rolling. Then Overbay - the cleanup hitter, holy JR! - laid down a perfect bunt to third to move the runners up and set the stage for Pedro, as good an RBI machine as Pittsburgh has.
Alvarez will probably tell his grandkids that he blasted a rope off the wall to win the game, but in fact he rolled a bleeder past the mound. It went all of 75 feet, squibbed far enough to score Jones easily with the infield at DP depth. Castro made an off line throw to first; Carlos Pena blocked it and came up firing. But the Pittsburgh Kid had kept on a rollin', and his hard slide under the high throw beat the rap to give Pittsburgh the lead.
Give both Walker and third base coach Nick Leyva big props for the hustle run; Walker didn't ho-hum the play and Leyva wasn't gun shy about waving the windmill even after losing JJ the inning prior. The result was two runs on a ball that never reached the infield dirt.
The excitement wasn't quite over. Josh Hanrahan came on, and K'ed the first Cubby he saw. But Castro singled - he had three knocks during the afternoon, including two triples - and the drama deepened when Cedeno threw Barney's hopper into right to put runners on the corners.
Hanny didn't try to overpitch his way out of the jam. He got the next hitter, Marlin Byrd, to roll one to Cedeno, just as the baseball gods would draw it up. This time, he fed second in text-book fashion, and Walker's turn was just good enough to edge Byrd at first for the game-ending 6-4-3 DP.
Now about those inconsistencies. The Bucs had sixteen knocks, all singles, and stranded ten runners (two DPs, a caught stealing, and the throw-out at home didn't help). This points out the two areas that Hurdle and his staff are trying to address, plate mentality and aggressive base running.
There were a couple of balls that were bopped into right that begged for the runner at first to sail into third; it didn't happen. The Bucs were station-to-station mode today.
That probably has less to do with Leyva in the third base box than with balls hit behind the runners; they still hesitate, leaving Nick no choice but to keep them safely stashed at second. Add in the fact that except for McCutch, Tabata and Cedeno none of the guys have plus speed, and its not an ideal teaching situation.
It's not to say they aren't trying; guys on first and second tagged up successfully on a long fly today, and the winning run was scored on a hell-for-leather sprint, so the concept is in their minds; it's just getting the theory to translate into reality that will be the trick.
The batting mentality, from what we've heard from Hurdle, is to go after strikes rather than obsess over going deep into counts, a turnaround from the JR philosophy. Today, they were aggressive at the dish early and late in the game, but in between, there were an awful lot of 0-2, 1-2 counts on Pittsburgh hitters.
Heck, 13 Bucs struck out; Matt Garza set his personal high with a dozen K's in seven frames today. So we'll see if Hurdle and Gregg Ritchie can turn that around.
But hey, it's early. Even though the Cubbies were Pittsburgh's personal punching bags last season, let's enjoy the start. They even took a road series; they had lost the last eight in 2010. Laissez les bons temps rouler.
-- To illustrate that a new brand of leadership is in town, Hurdle argued a call at first to protect first base coach Luis Silverio even though the replay showed the man in blue was right. He even went out to chat with the umps earlier in the game to discuss a beer that got dumped on Garrett Jones as he tried to make a catch (The Cub fan not only lost his suds, but his seat - he was relocated). In three games, it seems like he's already exceeded JR's trips between the lines during all of last season.
-- McCutch ended up sitting out today with a sore neck; after being penciled into the lineup, he was pulled after looking uncomfortable during BP.
-- Neil Walker has a twelve game hitting streak against the Cubs, and that's not even team-high. McCutch has an 18-game on-base streak against Chi-Town.
-- Hanny had a bad spring and was only 6-for-10 in 2010 save conversions, but he's 2-for-2 so far. Guess that shows how much camp is worth as an omen of the upcoming season.
-- The Pirates won four road series in 2010. Two of those were at Wrigley Field.
Lineup
Ross Ohlendorf faces Matt Garza today. The game begins at 2:20 PM, and wll be aired on Root Sports.
The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Matt Diaz RF, Jason Jaramillo C, Ronny Cedeno SS and Ross Ohlendorf P.
Notes:
-- As promised, platoon guys Matt Diaz and Jason Jaramillo will get starts today.
-- There was a brief thought of holding out McCutch today; he had a sore neck after taking a bounce off of Wrigley's outfield yesterday. But with a little trainer TLC, he's in today's lineup.
-- Who woulda thunk it? Ben Goessling of MASN reports that the Nats are thinking of using Sean Burnett as their closer, at least until Drew Storen grows into the role. Who would have ever guessed that Burnie and Hanny would become team hammers while Nymo and Lastings would be spare outfielders when the deal was swung?
The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Matt Diaz RF, Jason Jaramillo C, Ronny Cedeno SS and Ross Ohlendorf P.
Notes:
-- As promised, platoon guys Matt Diaz and Jason Jaramillo will get starts today.
-- There was a brief thought of holding out McCutch today; he had a sore neck after taking a bounce off of Wrigley's outfield yesterday. But with a little trainer TLC, he's in today's lineup.
-- Who woulda thunk it? Ben Goessling of MASN reports that the Nats are thinking of using Sean Burnett as their closer, at least until Drew Storen grows into the role. Who would have ever guessed that Burnie and Hanny would become team hammers while Nymo and Lastings would be spare outfielders when the deal was swung?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Bucs Blow Late Lead, Bow 5-3
Buc fans have seen it all before; no lead is sacred for their sad-sack Pirates. Paul Maholm gave the team 6-2/3 shutout innings, with a line of five hits, two walks and three Ks, and a 3-0 lead going into the eighth. Then the roof fell in with just six outs to go.
Evan Meek was called on to hold the lead. He promptly violated the cardinal rule of relievers by walking the first batter; it was followed by an RBI double. Meek coaxed a grounder to first, which clanged off Lyle Overbay's mitt, the surest piece of leather in the infield.
One hit, two outs and two strikes later, a single tied the game, and Chris Resop came on to serve a two-run double to give the Cubs the late lead, one that Carlos Marmol would have no trouble holding. He struck out the side.
Walks and porous infield defense combined for a come-from-ahead loss...sound familiar? Those are the kinds of ghosts Clint Hurdle has to exorcise to get the Pirates to win on the road, or anywhere, for that matter.
It started off well enough. Maholm was rarely in any trouble, and Pedro gave the Bucs an early lead with a RBI knock in the first, scoring Jose Tabata. Tabata came around again in the third on Neil Walker's double. Garrett Jones gave the Pirates more insurance with a solo shot in the seventh.
But on the road, no lead is safe *sigh*.
-- Christina Kahrl of ESPN has a piece called "Cubs and Pirates Play With Fire at Second," comparing the all-bat, no glove of Neil Walker to the Chicago trio of Blake DeWitt, Darwin Barney and Jeff Baker.
-- Both Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie will start the year in extended spring training. The Pirates want to limit their innings to between 90-100 this season, so rather than shut them down at the end of the minor-league year, they opted to keep them in Florida before worrying about their pitch counts.
Taillon is expected to go to West Virginia when the FO is confident the workload is manageable; no decision has been reached on whether Allie will be assigned to West Virginia first or State College.
-- Joe Beimel and Chris Snyder were the battery for BP in Pirate City, so both are progressing, although no date has been set for their return.
-- Altoona announced their roster today. The big fish are Tony Sanchez, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Bryan Morris and Jeff Locke.
Indy's hasn't been announced, but by the process of elimination Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, Daniel Moskos, Tony Watson, Chase d'Arnaud, Matt Hague and Josh Harrison made the step up.
Evan Meek was called on to hold the lead. He promptly violated the cardinal rule of relievers by walking the first batter; it was followed by an RBI double. Meek coaxed a grounder to first, which clanged off Lyle Overbay's mitt, the surest piece of leather in the infield.
One hit, two outs and two strikes later, a single tied the game, and Chris Resop came on to serve a two-run double to give the Cubs the late lead, one that Carlos Marmol would have no trouble holding. He struck out the side.
Walks and porous infield defense combined for a come-from-ahead loss...sound familiar? Those are the kinds of ghosts Clint Hurdle has to exorcise to get the Pirates to win on the road, or anywhere, for that matter.
It started off well enough. Maholm was rarely in any trouble, and Pedro gave the Bucs an early lead with a RBI knock in the first, scoring Jose Tabata. Tabata came around again in the third on Neil Walker's double. Garrett Jones gave the Pirates more insurance with a solo shot in the seventh.
But on the road, no lead is safe *sigh*.
-- Christina Kahrl of ESPN has a piece called "Cubs and Pirates Play With Fire at Second," comparing the all-bat, no glove of Neil Walker to the Chicago trio of Blake DeWitt, Darwin Barney and Jeff Baker.
-- Both Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie will start the year in extended spring training. The Pirates want to limit their innings to between 90-100 this season, so rather than shut them down at the end of the minor-league year, they opted to keep them in Florida before worrying about their pitch counts.
Taillon is expected to go to West Virginia when the FO is confident the workload is manageable; no decision has been reached on whether Allie will be assigned to West Virginia first or State College.
-- Joe Beimel and Chris Snyder were the battery for BP in Pirate City, so both are progressing, although no date has been set for their return.
-- Altoona announced their roster today. The big fish are Tony Sanchez, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Bryan Morris and Jeff Locke.
Indy's hasn't been announced, but by the process of elimination Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, Daniel Moskos, Tony Watson, Chase d'Arnaud, Matt Hague and Josh Harrison made the step up.
Pre-Game Stuff
-- The Lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronnie Cedeno SS and Paul Maholm P. Carlos Zambrano will take the hill for Chicago.
-- The 1:05 PM game will be shown on Root Sports.
-- The Bucs will see six straight righties on their opening road trip, but Clint Hurdle plans to work his platoon guys into the mix. Both Matt Diaz and Jason Jaramillo are expected to start in tomorrow's get-away game.
-- Accountability has been a theme much preached but little practiced (at least in public) during the JR years. Jen Langosch of MLB.com reports that may be changing. She says Hurdle had a little chat with Pedro today about yesterday's fielding misadventures, both mental and physical. It may be a small touch, but one that establishes who the team's alpha dog is - the manager.
-- The upcoming draft may be more of a horse race than originally thought. Buster Olmey of ESPN tweets "Talked to a couple of GMs who think that Anthony Rendon is sliding on the draft board -- but only because pitchers like Cole are climbing."
-- The 1:05 PM game will be shown on Root Sports.
-- The Bucs will see six straight righties on their opening road trip, but Clint Hurdle plans to work his platoon guys into the mix. Both Matt Diaz and Jason Jaramillo are expected to start in tomorrow's get-away game.
-- Accountability has been a theme much preached but little practiced (at least in public) during the JR years. Jen Langosch of MLB.com reports that may be changing. She says Hurdle had a little chat with Pedro today about yesterday's fielding misadventures, both mental and physical. It may be a small touch, but one that establishes who the team's alpha dog is - the manager.
-- The upcoming draft may be more of a horse race than originally thought. Buster Olmey of ESPN tweets "Talked to a couple of GMs who think that Anthony Rendon is sliding on the draft board -- but only because pitchers like Cole are climbing."
Ex-Buccos on the Move...
Some moves involving ex-Buccos/prospects:
-- The Giants gave Freddy Sanchez a one-year, $6M extension, carrying him through 2012.
-- C Hector Gimenez made the Dodgers' MLB roster.
-- RHP Fernando Nieve was signed by the Astros.*
-- RHP Eric Hacker was signed by the Twins.*
-- RHP Romulo Sanchez signed with the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
-- SS Luis Cruz was outrighted to AAA by the Brewers.*
-- RHP Ty Taubenheim was released by the Rangers.
-- RHP Jeff Sues was released by the White Sox.*
-- RHP Kyle Bloom was released by the Tigers.*
-- RHP Jonah Bayliss was released by the Rays.*
(* from Baseball America)
-- The Giants gave Freddy Sanchez a one-year, $6M extension, carrying him through 2012.
-- C Hector Gimenez made the Dodgers' MLB roster.
-- RHP Fernando Nieve was signed by the Astros.*
-- RHP Eric Hacker was signed by the Twins.*
-- RHP Romulo Sanchez signed with the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
-- SS Luis Cruz was outrighted to AAA by the Brewers.*
-- RHP Ty Taubenheim was released by the Rangers.
-- RHP Jeff Sues was released by the White Sox.*
-- RHP Kyle Bloom was released by the Tigers.*
-- RHP Jonah Bayliss was released by the Rays.*
(* from Baseball America)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Joy In Mudville...
Two away, three-two count, the bases jammed...and The Pittsburgh Kid struck one deep. That was ball game, although the mighty McCutch added a two-run, two-out blast two innings later for good measure.
The Pirates played long ball and the pitching was good enough as Pittsburgh took the opener in Wrigley Field by a 6-3 score this afternoon.
Kevin Correia fell behind 2-0 early on, but was able to go six frames, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walking one and striking out three. He got by with an economical 92 pitches, and the Bucco bullpen did the rest.
The seventh was a little dicey. Greg Olson yielded up a hit and got a K, and Jose Veras finished the frame while surrendering another knock, but the Cubs didn't score. (They stranded ten runners today; all eleven of their hits were singles.)
Evan Meek gave up a hit and whiffed a pair in the eighth, while Joel Hanrahan put himself in a little hot water in the ninth with a walk and knock, but a pair of punchouts kept the Cubs in hibernation. Hanny was hitting 98 on the gun, and that was plenty of heat for a chilly April outing.
The Bucs had a pair of hits in the first four frames against Ryan Dempster, no-blood doubles by Lyle Overbay and McCutch. But Neil Walker didn't let him wriggle off the hook in the fifth.
Dewey (single), Ronny Cedeno and Jose Tabata (walks) were on the sacks when Walker drove a 3-2 heater out of Wrigley onto Sheffield Avenue, the first opening day grand salami by a Pirate since Roberto Clemente nailed one against the Phils way back in 1962.
The Pirates added another pair in the seventh. With two away, Walker doubled. McCutch took a two seamer down the middle, and when Dempster followed with the same pitch, McCutchen dropped it into the left field stands.
The Pirates made noise again in the ninth, loading the sacks for Overbay with one away, but he lined a shot to short, and it turned into a DP. But Hanny made the missed opportunity moot.
-- Walker and McCutch both had a pair of hits, each doubling and going long; they had 6 RBI and 3 runs scored between them.
-- Cedeno drew one walk in 62 spring at-bats, but was key in the fifth when he worked a free pass off Dempster despite being behind 0-2 in the count.
-- Maybe all the emphasis on the running game in the spring did do some good. Pittsburgh was 2-for-2 stealing, with Pedro and Tabata picking up swipes, and Ryan Doumit threw out Darwin Bailey, the only Cub runner with larceny in his heart.
-- Maybe a little more emphasis should be made on the infield defense; a couple of Keystone Kop moments in both the first and third innings contributed greatly to denting Correia's line. He came out to start the seventh, but got the hook after a pop-up in front of the plate fell between three players. Ouch!
The game was played in a steady, breezy drizzle, and hopefully the mushy track and Wrigley wind had more to do with the miscues than the talent.
-- John Grabow pitched a scoreless frame against his former running mates, striking out one and walking one. A-Ram had two hits against his old squad, but left five runners on base.
-- Don't pop the corks quite yet. The Pirates have now won five straight opening day games; it's the other 161 that seem to give them problems.
-- The Pirates are still a bunch of puppies. It was the first MLB opening day game for Pedro Alvarez, Steve Pearce, Josh Rodriguez, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker, Michael Crotta, James McDonald and Garrett Olson. In fact, it was the first day on a MLB roster for Rodriguez and Crotta.
That's three everyday players and almost a third of the roster making their opening day debut. Four of them got into today's game.
The Pirates played long ball and the pitching was good enough as Pittsburgh took the opener in Wrigley Field by a 6-3 score this afternoon.
Kevin Correia fell behind 2-0 early on, but was able to go six frames, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walking one and striking out three. He got by with an economical 92 pitches, and the Bucco bullpen did the rest.
The seventh was a little dicey. Greg Olson yielded up a hit and got a K, and Jose Veras finished the frame while surrendering another knock, but the Cubs didn't score. (They stranded ten runners today; all eleven of their hits were singles.)
Evan Meek gave up a hit and whiffed a pair in the eighth, while Joel Hanrahan put himself in a little hot water in the ninth with a walk and knock, but a pair of punchouts kept the Cubs in hibernation. Hanny was hitting 98 on the gun, and that was plenty of heat for a chilly April outing.
The Bucs had a pair of hits in the first four frames against Ryan Dempster, no-blood doubles by Lyle Overbay and McCutch. But Neil Walker didn't let him wriggle off the hook in the fifth.
Dewey (single), Ronny Cedeno and Jose Tabata (walks) were on the sacks when Walker drove a 3-2 heater out of Wrigley onto Sheffield Avenue, the first opening day grand salami by a Pirate since Roberto Clemente nailed one against the Phils way back in 1962.
The Pirates added another pair in the seventh. With two away, Walker doubled. McCutch took a two seamer down the middle, and when Dempster followed with the same pitch, McCutchen dropped it into the left field stands.
The Pirates made noise again in the ninth, loading the sacks for Overbay with one away, but he lined a shot to short, and it turned into a DP. But Hanny made the missed opportunity moot.
-- Walker and McCutch both had a pair of hits, each doubling and going long; they had 6 RBI and 3 runs scored between them.
-- Cedeno drew one walk in 62 spring at-bats, but was key in the fifth when he worked a free pass off Dempster despite being behind 0-2 in the count.
-- Maybe all the emphasis on the running game in the spring did do some good. Pittsburgh was 2-for-2 stealing, with Pedro and Tabata picking up swipes, and Ryan Doumit threw out Darwin Bailey, the only Cub runner with larceny in his heart.
-- Maybe a little more emphasis should be made on the infield defense; a couple of Keystone Kop moments in both the first and third innings contributed greatly to denting Correia's line. He came out to start the seventh, but got the hook after a pop-up in front of the plate fell between three players. Ouch!
The game was played in a steady, breezy drizzle, and hopefully the mushy track and Wrigley wind had more to do with the miscues than the talent.
-- John Grabow pitched a scoreless frame against his former running mates, striking out one and walking one. A-Ram had two hits against his old squad, but left five runners on base.
-- Don't pop the corks quite yet. The Pirates have now won five straight opening day games; it's the other 161 that seem to give them problems.
-- The Pirates are still a bunch of puppies. It was the first MLB opening day game for Pedro Alvarez, Steve Pearce, Josh Rodriguez, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker, Michael Crotta, James McDonald and Garrett Olson. In fact, it was the first day on a MLB roster for Rodriguez and Crotta.
That's three everyday players and almost a third of the roster making their opening day debut. Four of them got into today's game.
Opening Day Notebook
-- The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, Kevin Correia P.
-- The weather: According to the National Weather Service, Chicago should expect a high of 46 degrees with a 70% chance of precipitation. Oddly enough, that's just about Pittsburgh's forecast, too.
-- The game will be shown on Root Sports - today is when the new name for FSN Pittsburgh kicks in - at 2:20 PM.
-- The payroll: What would the season be without seeing how low the Bucs can go on salary? According to USA Today, the Pirates 29-man MLB lineup (25-man roster + DL) is $45,047,000, in the ball park with San Diego and higher than Tampa Bay and Kansas City's pay-outs.
That fits in with a couple of estimates that put the 40-man payroll at about $46M this season; it was $39M on opening day last year, according to Cot's Contracts.
-- The rotation: With J-Mac back in sorts, the Bucco rotation will be Correia, Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton and James McDonald.
-- Non-tenders: The arb guys that the Bucs let go last year were Andy LaRoche, Lastings Milledge and Delwyn Young. LaRoche (Oakland) and Milledge (White Sox) made the roster as bench players; Young (Philadelphia) was the Phils' last cut, losing the utility spot to Peter Orr.
-- The weather: According to the National Weather Service, Chicago should expect a high of 46 degrees with a 70% chance of precipitation. Oddly enough, that's just about Pittsburgh's forecast, too.
-- The game will be shown on Root Sports - today is when the new name for FSN Pittsburgh kicks in - at 2:20 PM.
-- The payroll: What would the season be without seeing how low the Bucs can go on salary? According to USA Today, the Pirates 29-man MLB lineup (25-man roster + DL) is $45,047,000, in the ball park with San Diego and higher than Tampa Bay and Kansas City's pay-outs.
That fits in with a couple of estimates that put the 40-man payroll at about $46M this season; it was $39M on opening day last year, according to Cot's Contracts.
-- The rotation: With J-Mac back in sorts, the Bucco rotation will be Correia, Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton and James McDonald.
-- Non-tenders: The arb guys that the Bucs let go last year were Andy LaRoche, Lastings Milledge and Delwyn Young. LaRoche (Oakland) and Milledge (White Sox) made the roster as bench players; Young (Philadelphia) was the Phils' last cut, losing the utility spot to Peter Orr.
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