Jonathan Sanchez takes on Zack Greinke at Dodger Stadium. The game will be televised by Root Sports as part of a Pen-Pirate twinbill, and The Fan 93.7 will air it on the radio. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10.
Pirate Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Neil Walker Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Russell Martin C, Garrett Jones 1B, Travis Snider RF, Clint Barmes SS and Jonathan Sanchez P.
That's a little more like it was in the spring, except Clint has flipped Martin and Walker.
Dodger Lineup: Carl Crawford LF, Mark Ellis 2B, Matt Kemp CF, Adrian Gonzalez 1B, Luis Cruz 3B, Andre Ethier RF, AJ Ellis C, Justin Sellers SS and Greinke P.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Bucs v LA
Jonathan Sanchez, Jeff Locke and AJ Burnett will have their work cut out for them the weekend, dueling against the Dodgers trio of Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and probably South Korean rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Bucs could have opted to keep the rotation short, but decided to get all five guys rolling from the get-go this season.
Like the Bucs, the Dodgers have been on a bit of a chilly streak at the plate, scoring seven runs (four in the opener) while going 2 for 27 with RISP and hitting .176 overall. Of course, that was against the Giants and their top three of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum. The Bucs are even worse off, scoring six runs with a .144 BA even with their comparatively lusty 4-for-22 with RISP. As Clint Hurdle told John Perrotto of the BC Times “We need some guys to slow down in the batter’s box. We’re swinging at balls and taking strikes."
LA gets into the bottom of the Bucco staff in this series until AJ takes the bump on Sunday while trotting out their top three. There's something about the Bucs and April that brings out the other teams' top guns.Of course, there's something about the City of Angels that brings out the worst in the Bucs, period. The Pirates have lost six straight games at Dodger Stadium. The last time the Pirates won a series in Los Angeles was between September 19th-21st, 2006, and they've since gone 4-16 at Chavez Ravine.
Tonight starts a stretch where the next seven series (23 games) are against clubs that finished at .500 or better - LA, Arizona, Cincy, St. Louis (twice), Atlanta, and Philadelphia. The good news is that 10 of those games are part of a homestand running from April 12-21, but it's a brutal start to the year.
Hey, Pittsburgh had a tough row to hoe last April and held on finish 10-12. It's tough to tell what they have after a disappointing series against the Cubs, but this month should give us some idea of what to expect from the Pirates.
Tonight's game could be interesting. The Bucs have had some success against Grienke. He's started six games against them, and though he has a 4-1 record against Pittsburgh, he also has a 5.70 ERA. Zackster also had a funky spring with a sore elbow and is making his first 2013 start. As a long-time Giant, Sanchez has seen his share of the Dodgers. In 17 games (13 starts), he's 3-6 with a 4.66 ERA against the Blue.
Like the Bucs, the Dodgers have been on a bit of a chilly streak at the plate, scoring seven runs (four in the opener) while going 2 for 27 with RISP and hitting .176 overall. Of course, that was against the Giants and their top three of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum. The Bucs are even worse off, scoring six runs with a .144 BA even with their comparatively lusty 4-for-22 with RISP. As Clint Hurdle told John Perrotto of the BC Times “We need some guys to slow down in the batter’s box. We’re swinging at balls and taking strikes."
LA gets into the bottom of the Bucco staff in this series until AJ takes the bump on Sunday while trotting out their top three. There's something about the Bucs and April that brings out the other teams' top guns.Of course, there's something about the City of Angels that brings out the worst in the Bucs, period. The Pirates have lost six straight games at Dodger Stadium. The last time the Pirates won a series in Los Angeles was between September 19th-21st, 2006, and they've since gone 4-16 at Chavez Ravine.
Tonight starts a stretch where the next seven series (23 games) are against clubs that finished at .500 or better - LA, Arizona, Cincy, St. Louis (twice), Atlanta, and Philadelphia. The good news is that 10 of those games are part of a homestand running from April 12-21, but it's a brutal start to the year.
Hey, Pittsburgh had a tough row to hoe last April and held on finish 10-12. It's tough to tell what they have after a disappointing series against the Cubs, but this month should give us some idea of what to expect from the Pirates.
Tonight's game could be interesting. The Bucs have had some success against Grienke. He's started six games against them, and though he has a 4-1 record against Pittsburgh, he also has a 5.70 ERA. Zackster also had a funky spring with a sore elbow and is making his first 2013 start. As a long-time Giant, Sanchez has seen his share of the Dodgers. In 17 games (13 starts), he's 3-6 with a 4.66 ERA against the Blue.
- Brandon Inge played for Indy yesterday, meaning his 20-day rehab clock has started. None of the pitchers on the DL are close to game-ready yet, although the Pirates hope that Francisco Liriano and even Charlie Morton might be five or six weeks away. Jeff Karstens hasn't begun throwing yet, so if someone has to move to the 60 day DL, he's looking like the one.
- Gerrit Cole starts for Indy today against Columbus, and the countdown begins...
- In case you're wondering about the difference between the Pirate organization and Tampa's, consider this: Roberto Hernandez's start today ends a streak of 1,207 straight games without using a free agent starting pitcher. The last FA to start for the Rays was Hideo Nomo in July 2005.
- Maybe GW dissed the Cubbies a little more than deserved; Garrett Wilson of the blog Outside Corner picks them as the surprise team of the season with a possible playoff chance.
- This day in Bucco history: In 1975, the Pirates got OF Bill Robinson from the Phils for RHP Wayne Simpson. McKeesport’s Robinson spent eight years in Pittsburgh as a platoon OF’er, hitting .276 with 109 HR. And last year, opening day drew the largest crowd in PNC Park history, 39,585, as the Bucs Erik Bedard lost a classic pitching duel to the Phil’s Roy Halladay 1-0.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Cubs Top Bucs 3-2
This lots of pitching seems to be a theme, although it's more indicative of the attacks of the Bucs and Cubs. As the fans rose for the seventh inning stretch, the pitching lines were: James McDonald - seven innings, one run on two hits and two walks with four K after 97 pitches. Travis Wood - six innings, no runs on one hit and a pair of free passes; he whiffed four.
The Cubs got their run in the third when the pitcher singled, went to second on a ground out and came home on Starlin Castro's two-out single up the middle. How thin a margin do Pirate pitchers work with? Well, that was the first hit the Cubs had with a runner in scoring position this series.
The Bucs got their hit that frame when Clint Barmes flared a ball into left for a two-bagger. He died at second.
Clint Hurdle was at his best in the seventh. Cutch got aboard on an error and stole second (on a bad throw, not on a good jump). Runner at second, no outs, clean-up guy up...hey, ya know a bunt's comin'. Gaby Sanchez couldn't get that first pitch down, fell in a hole and K'ed against Shawn Camp. Not that getting to third would have made a difference; Pedro popped out and Neil Walker looked at strike three as James Russell easily cleaned up Camp's mess.
Mark Melancon pitched a clean eighth and Kyuji Fujikawa came on for Chicago; he worked a 1-2-3 frame. Jared Hughes took the ball in the ninth and the game got away. He walked Anthony Rizzo on four pitches with an out. With two down, Rizzo stole second while Hughes fell behind Nate Schierholtz 3-1. The next pitch was a 91 MPH sinker over the dish that disappeared into the visitor's bullpen to make it 3-0.
The only good news was that brought Carlos Marmol to the bump. Starling Marte greeted him with a single and Russell Martin never took the bat off his shoulder, walking on a 3-2 slider. Cutch singled a run in, and there were Bucs on first and second. Gaby singled off Rizzo's glove, and just like that it was 3-2 with Pirates on the corners.
But Pedro couldn't tie it; he fished for a slider and went down swinging on three pitches. Neil Walker banged an 0-1 fastball to second, and Marmol had the last laugh as the 6-4-3 DP iced his first save of 2013. So much for situational hitting.
The bad parts: a) J-Mac took the loss instead of Hughes, and b) they really haven't seen great pitching yet, though they will on Friday and Saturday when the Bucs visit LA to meet Zach Greinke and Clayton Kershaw. Oh, and c) they played a bad series against a bad team; no way to sugarcoat that.
The Cubs got their run in the third when the pitcher singled, went to second on a ground out and came home on Starlin Castro's two-out single up the middle. How thin a margin do Pirate pitchers work with? Well, that was the first hit the Cubs had with a runner in scoring position this series.
The Bucs got their hit that frame when Clint Barmes flared a ball into left for a two-bagger. He died at second.
Clint Hurdle was at his best in the seventh. Cutch got aboard on an error and stole second (on a bad throw, not on a good jump). Runner at second, no outs, clean-up guy up...hey, ya know a bunt's comin'. Gaby Sanchez couldn't get that first pitch down, fell in a hole and K'ed against Shawn Camp. Not that getting to third would have made a difference; Pedro popped out and Neil Walker looked at strike three as James Russell easily cleaned up Camp's mess.
Mark Melancon pitched a clean eighth and Kyuji Fujikawa came on for Chicago; he worked a 1-2-3 frame. Jared Hughes took the ball in the ninth and the game got away. He walked Anthony Rizzo on four pitches with an out. With two down, Rizzo stole second while Hughes fell behind Nate Schierholtz 3-1. The next pitch was a 91 MPH sinker over the dish that disappeared into the visitor's bullpen to make it 3-0.
The only good news was that brought Carlos Marmol to the bump. Starling Marte greeted him with a single and Russell Martin never took the bat off his shoulder, walking on a 3-2 slider. Cutch singled a run in, and there were Bucs on first and second. Gaby singled off Rizzo's glove, and just like that it was 3-2 with Pirates on the corners.
But Pedro couldn't tie it; he fished for a slider and went down swinging on three pitches. Neil Walker banged an 0-1 fastball to second, and Marmol had the last laugh as the 6-4-3 DP iced his first save of 2013. So much for situational hitting.
The bad parts: a) J-Mac took the loss instead of Hughes, and b) they really haven't seen great pitching yet, though they will on Friday and Saturday when the Bucs visit LA to meet Zach Greinke and Clayton Kershaw. Oh, and c) they played a bad series against a bad team; no way to sugarcoat that.
- Guess the guys couldn't play hooky twice in the same week. Today's attendance was 11,634.
- Stats are funny: The Cubs were 0-for-13 with RISP in the first two games, but were 2-for-2 today.
- RHP Adrian Sampson made Minor League Ball John Sickel's list of "Sleeper Prospects." He was a fifth round pick in last year's draft.
Bucs v Cubs
James McDonald takes the bump this afternoon, facing the Cubs lefty Travis Wood. J-Mac's line was 12-8/4.21 in 2012 while Wood's was 6-13/4.27 in 2012. Root Sports will televise the contest, and it will be broadcast by The Fan 93.7.
Pirate Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Russell Martin C, Andrew McCutchen CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Jose Tabata RF, Clint Barmes SS and James McDonald P.
Garrett Jones takes a seat against a lefty, so JT gets to play. He's batting seventh so that catcher Martin can hit in the two hole. That's a bit of a double edged surprise; it should be Mike McKenry's day to catch (day game after night game). Clint has really outdone himself in lineup creativity against the Cubs.
Cubs Lineup: David DeJesus CF, Starlin Castro SS, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Alfonso Siriano LF, Nate Schierholtz RF, Dioner Navarro C, Luis Valbuena 3B, Brent Lillibridge 2B and Travis Wood P.
The Cubs have a pretty top-heavy lineup, so hopefully J-Mac can deal with the top four or five guys and give keep the good outings comin'. Except for one bad pitch to Anthony Rizzo in the first inning of the first game, Buc hurlers have been sharp.
Pirate Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Russell Martin C, Andrew McCutchen CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Jose Tabata RF, Clint Barmes SS and James McDonald P.
Garrett Jones takes a seat against a lefty, so JT gets to play. He's batting seventh so that catcher Martin can hit in the two hole. That's a bit of a double edged surprise; it should be Mike McKenry's day to catch (day game after night game). Clint has really outdone himself in lineup creativity against the Cubs.
Cubs Lineup: David DeJesus CF, Starlin Castro SS, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Alfonso Siriano LF, Nate Schierholtz RF, Dioner Navarro C, Luis Valbuena 3B, Brent Lillibridge 2B and Travis Wood P.
The Cubs have a pretty top-heavy lineup, so hopefully J-Mac can deal with the top four or five guys and give keep the good outings comin'. Except for one bad pitch to Anthony Rizzo in the first inning of the first game, Buc hurlers have been sharp.
- Cutch became the 29th Pirate to steal at least 100 bases with his swipe last night. He's the first to hit 100 since Jason Kendall did it in 2001. He likes playing the Cubs. In 58 games against them, Cutch has a .332 BA with nine home runs and 31 RBI.
- With their loss last night, the Cubs have now gone 18 consecutive years without a 2-0 start.
- It's opening day for the minors. Indy hosts Columbus, with LHP Andy Oliver on the mound. Altoona visits Erie and will work behind RHP Brandon Cumpton. Bradenton takes a trip to Fort Myers with RHP Robby Rowland on the bump. West Virginia is home to take on Ashville with LHP Joely Rodriguez doing the honors.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Bucs Win 3-0 Behind Wandy, Watson, Grilli
Hey, another day that the Steelers should be playing instead of the Buccos. And like the vintage Black and Gold, not much offense to speak of in the early going.
Going into the fourth, it looked a lot like a Sandy Koufax-Juan Marichal matchup. But the Bucs broke through in their half against Edwin Jackson. Garrett Jones singled the opposite way to lead things off and rambled home on a Cutch double to the left field corner. Two grounders plated him and it was 2-0 Pirates.
The next couple of frames also went by quietly enough. Through six, Rodriguez was spinning a one-hitter with a walk and four K while Jackson had a three-hitter with a walk and five whiffs through five. Hector Rondon threw a zippo sixth for Chicago, though he did walk a couple of Corsairs.
In the seventh, the Cubs made some big-time noise as Wandy lost his command a bit and plunked a couple of batters; maybe his hand was going numb from the 35 degree temps. Those beanings and an Alfonso Soriano single loaded the bases with an out. Brent Lillibridge ran the count full, but fortunately froze on the tenth pitch, a slow hook that was hung, to take strike three. Prior to that hook, he had banged a couple of heaters for loud fouls, hooking one shot outside the foul pole and another missing the line by inches.
That was it for Rodriguez as Hurdle brought on Tony Watson. He promptly fell behind Alberto Gonzalez 3-0, focused to toss a couple of strikes to run the count full and ended the frame with a pop to Cutch. Mike Bowden took the bump for the Cubs. Clint Barmes led off with a ground rule double, was bunted to third by Watson (we're assuming with a day game tomorrow, Hurdle is being ginger with his bullpen) and Starling Marte singled him home through a drawn-in infield.
Watson took care of Cubs 1-2-3 in the eighth. Shawn Camp took the ball for the Chi-Town nine. He got a pair of pops sandwiched around a smoked single to right by Pedro. Dale Sveum again opted to turn Neil Walker around, bringing on lefty Hisanori Takahashi, one of the Bucs' deadline duds last year. The Kid hit a soft liner to second, and it was Grilli time.
Though he had the pad to work with, the song was the same as Jason was facing the 4-5-6 hitters, just like in his set-up days. He got Anthony Rizzo on a bouncer and made his first save of the year look easy after that, K'ing Soriano and Nate Schierholtz swinging to finish with a flourish.
The Bucs will try to take the series tomorrow afternoon when James McDonald takes on Travis Wood.
Going into the fourth, it looked a lot like a Sandy Koufax-Juan Marichal matchup. But the Bucs broke through in their half against Edwin Jackson. Garrett Jones singled the opposite way to lead things off and rambled home on a Cutch double to the left field corner. Two grounders plated him and it was 2-0 Pirates.
The next couple of frames also went by quietly enough. Through six, Rodriguez was spinning a one-hitter with a walk and four K while Jackson had a three-hitter with a walk and five whiffs through five. Hector Rondon threw a zippo sixth for Chicago, though he did walk a couple of Corsairs.
In the seventh, the Cubs made some big-time noise as Wandy lost his command a bit and plunked a couple of batters; maybe his hand was going numb from the 35 degree temps. Those beanings and an Alfonso Soriano single loaded the bases with an out. Brent Lillibridge ran the count full, but fortunately froze on the tenth pitch, a slow hook that was hung, to take strike three. Prior to that hook, he had banged a couple of heaters for loud fouls, hooking one shot outside the foul pole and another missing the line by inches.
That was it for Rodriguez as Hurdle brought on Tony Watson. He promptly fell behind Alberto Gonzalez 3-0, focused to toss a couple of strikes to run the count full and ended the frame with a pop to Cutch. Mike Bowden took the bump for the Cubs. Clint Barmes led off with a ground rule double, was bunted to third by Watson (we're assuming with a day game tomorrow, Hurdle is being ginger with his bullpen) and Starling Marte singled him home through a drawn-in infield.
Watson took care of Cubs 1-2-3 in the eighth. Shawn Camp took the ball for the Chi-Town nine. He got a pair of pops sandwiched around a smoked single to right by Pedro. Dale Sveum again opted to turn Neil Walker around, bringing on lefty Hisanori Takahashi, one of the Bucs' deadline duds last year. The Kid hit a soft liner to second, and it was Grilli time.
Though he had the pad to work with, the song was the same as Jason was facing the 4-5-6 hitters, just like in his set-up days. He got Anthony Rizzo on a bouncer and made his first save of the year look easy after that, K'ing Soriano and Nate Schierholtz swinging to finish with a flourish.
The Bucs will try to take the series tomorrow afternoon when James McDonald takes on Travis Wood.
- The Pirates drew 27,667 brrr-to-the-bone fans tonight. It should be better tomorrow afternoon for the getaway game, as temps are supposed to hit the mid fifties.
The Buc v Cub Lineups
Bring your mittens; it'll be a cold one at PNC Park tonight. The game starts at 7:05 and is radio & TV. Maybe these guys can help warm it up for ya:
Pirates Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Garrett Jones RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Russell Martin C, Clint Barmes SS and Wandy Rodriguez P.
It's the same order that Clint Hurdle wrote up Monday. It was a bad lineup then and still is. Even if he keeps Snider on the pine for whatever reason, we think the order would work a lot better if Jones and The Kid switched places. Meanwhile, Wandy had a strong spring, and hopefully it'll carry over into the season.
Cubs Lineup: Dave Sappelt CF, Starlin Castro SS, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Alfonso Soriano LF, Scott Hairston RF, Welington Castillo C, Brent Lillibridge 3B, Alberto Gonzalez 2B and Edwin Jackson P.
Jackson is making his Chi-town debut tonight.This is his third team in two seasons, but he should be a Cubbie for awhile. He signed a 4 year, $52M deal with them that kicked in this season. Leadoff hitter Sappelt oddly enough made his MLB debut against the Cubs as a Red in 2011, before he was sent to the Windy City as part of the Sean Marshall deal last year.
Pirates Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Garrett Jones RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Russell Martin C, Clint Barmes SS and Wandy Rodriguez P.
It's the same order that Clint Hurdle wrote up Monday. It was a bad lineup then and still is. Even if he keeps Snider on the pine for whatever reason, we think the order would work a lot better if Jones and The Kid switched places. Meanwhile, Wandy had a strong spring, and hopefully it'll carry over into the season.
Cubs Lineup: Dave Sappelt CF, Starlin Castro SS, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Alfonso Soriano LF, Scott Hairston RF, Welington Castillo C, Brent Lillibridge 3B, Alberto Gonzalez 2B and Edwin Jackson P.
Jackson is making his Chi-town debut tonight.This is his third team in two seasons, but he should be a Cubbie for awhile. He signed a 4 year, $52M deal with them that kicked in this season. Leadoff hitter Sappelt oddly enough made his MLB debut against the Cubs as a Red in 2011, before he was sent to the Windy City as part of the Sean Marshall deal last year.
- Darwin Barney was officially added to the DL. He'll sit while a nasty gash on his knee knits back together.
Bucs v Cubs, Notebook
The Bucs and Cubs go at it again tonight, with Wandy Rodriguez taking on Edwin Jackson. Last year, Wandy was 13-12/3.72 with the Bucs and 'Stros while Jackson was 10-11/4.03 as a Nat. The game begins at 7:05 and will be on both TV (Root Sports) and radio (The Fan 93.7).
We'll post the lineups and game notes this afternoon.
We'll post the lineups and game notes this afternoon.
- The Giants claimed RHP Hunter Strickland off waivers from the Bucs and optioned him to San Jose. So the Pirates swapped him and 1B Clint Robinson (who was claimed by Toronto) out for Jonathan Sanchez and Brandon Inge on the 40-man roster.
- IF Brandon Inge will begin his rehab from a cracked shoulder blade at Indy, which starts its schedule Thursday.
- John Sickels of Minor League Ball rates Tyler Glasnow and Phil Irwin among his Sleeper Prospects.
- Will Carroll tweeted that "(Gerrit) Cole's being matched up with #5 starter for Pittsburgh, which says he won't be around long." That may be, but we still don't expect him in Pittsburgh before June. On the other hand, the Pirates have already made a couple of moves that make us suspect they're all in (for what, we're not quite sure) this year.
- The Pirates have the fifth biggest pool amount of $8,884,600 for this year's draft, largely because they have two first round picks. If you need refreshed, the team can spent that amount in any combination during the first ten rounds (11 picks for the Pirates). Each round has a value, and if you don't sign a guy, his round's value is subtracted from the pool.
- Jeff Oliver of the Tribune Review interviewed Jay Lustig, who was a minority owner of the Bucs until last season. Lustig appreciates how Bob Nutting put the franchise on a solid financial footing, and says “People say he is a cheap owner, but nothing is further from the truth. He allocates the money properly. He wants to make enough money to keep us from going into the red. He is running the business rationally." Reading between the lines, Lustig seems to suggest the only way to get a winner in Pittsburgh is to sell the team to Daddy Warbucks. Maybe he's right.
- Larry Shepherd was born in Lakeland OH on this day in 1919. He managed in the Pirate system from 1953 to 1966, spanning the Sally to the International League, and won three league titles along the road. He returned to the Bucs after a year away in 1968 to replace Harry the Hat Walker at the helm, and in almost two seasons put together a 164-155 record. That was back ion the day when the FO actually had expectations of the team, and Shepherd was replaced by Alex Grammas with a week to go in the '69 season despite an 84-73 slate.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Win Today or Win Tomorrow?
Opening Day has come and gone, and Jeff Samardzija did what Jeff Samardzija does - make fools of the Bucco batters. AJ pitched well; Sam I Am pitched better.
One game doesn't define a season. But it did lead to a perplexing question - why exactly was Garrett Jones batting second and Travis Snider sitting on the bench?
OK, we get that Jones hits better. But basically, it has nothing to do with him; it's a matter of Gaby Sanchez being swapped out for Snider. Neither guy has an edge against righties. Sanchez bats RH, Snider LH, and both are lifetime .250 hitters against RHP. And Samardzija doesn't have a big lefty/righty split; righties actually hit him a tad better (.242/.231). So it's not an entirely outre move.
Here's what we don't get. The Pirates had three guys competing at camp for two spots in the outfield, with a fourth guy, Felix Pie, crashing the party with a hot spring and a young gun they traded for, Jerry Sands, summering at Indy. They sent down the two guys that were playing the best in the spring, Presley and Pie, and kept Snider and JT.
That contest was rigged because of option issues, c'est la vie. But no matter the reason, it seemed predestined that this was the season we would find out if Snider could play or not.
Then come the games that count, and Snider is collecting splinters. Granted, Samardzija made him look sick as a pinchhitter when he came off the bench cold - both figuratively and literally - by blowing 95 MPH heaters past him. Then again, Jones and Sanchez put up 0-fers against him, too.
But here's the point. The Pirate FO loves collecting guys. They also have a manager that is much more comfortable with veteran players. Ergo, a lot of youngsters gather dust and never get the opportunity to show if they do or don't belong in the league. It seems that office management and field management are at cross-purposes in this regard.
The Pirates need to have a franchise commitment to building a sustainable team. If Travis Snider wasn't the option they wanted out of camp, why is he on the roster while guys with MLB pedigrees who outperformed him landed in Indy? The short answer, of course, is that Snider is the guy the FO wanted to play.
He didn't play because the manager thought the team was stronger with Sanchez in the lineup than with Snider. And that may be true in the short term. But to get over the hump, there has to be a master plan. And stockpiling guys at Indy instead of playing them in Pittsburgh isn't it. You can't have a youth movement without playing youth.
So we're hoping this was just a one-time thing with Clint trying to earn Tony LaRussa gold stars by over-managing. But if the lineup indicates a split between the Pirates front-office commitment to a long-term plan and a manager who wants to win today, it's a franchise that's in trouble.
One game doesn't define a season. But it did lead to a perplexing question - why exactly was Garrett Jones batting second and Travis Snider sitting on the bench?
OK, we get that Jones hits better. But basically, it has nothing to do with him; it's a matter of Gaby Sanchez being swapped out for Snider. Neither guy has an edge against righties. Sanchez bats RH, Snider LH, and both are lifetime .250 hitters against RHP. And Samardzija doesn't have a big lefty/righty split; righties actually hit him a tad better (.242/.231). So it's not an entirely outre move.
Here's what we don't get. The Pirates had three guys competing at camp for two spots in the outfield, with a fourth guy, Felix Pie, crashing the party with a hot spring and a young gun they traded for, Jerry Sands, summering at Indy. They sent down the two guys that were playing the best in the spring, Presley and Pie, and kept Snider and JT.
That contest was rigged because of option issues, c'est la vie. But no matter the reason, it seemed predestined that this was the season we would find out if Snider could play or not.
Then come the games that count, and Snider is collecting splinters. Granted, Samardzija made him look sick as a pinchhitter when he came off the bench cold - both figuratively and literally - by blowing 95 MPH heaters past him. Then again, Jones and Sanchez put up 0-fers against him, too.
But here's the point. The Pirate FO loves collecting guys. They also have a manager that is much more comfortable with veteran players. Ergo, a lot of youngsters gather dust and never get the opportunity to show if they do or don't belong in the league. It seems that office management and field management are at cross-purposes in this regard.
The Pirates need to have a franchise commitment to building a sustainable team. If Travis Snider wasn't the option they wanted out of camp, why is he on the roster while guys with MLB pedigrees who outperformed him landed in Indy? The short answer, of course, is that Snider is the guy the FO wanted to play.
He didn't play because the manager thought the team was stronger with Sanchez in the lineup than with Snider. And that may be true in the short term. But to get over the hump, there has to be a master plan. And stockpiling guys at Indy instead of playing them in Pittsburgh isn't it. You can't have a youth movement without playing youth.
So we're hoping this was just a one-time thing with Clint trying to earn Tony LaRussa gold stars by over-managing. But if the lineup indicates a split between the Pirates front-office commitment to a long-term plan and a manager who wants to win today, it's a franchise that's in trouble.
- Jeff Locke hopped a plane to Florida. He'll work a minor-league game to stay on schedule, as the Bucs won't need a fifth starter until next week.
- High Class A Bradenton today officially announced its roster. SS Alen Hansen and OF Gregory Polanco are the names you should recognize.
- April 2, 1963 - The Pirates traded for OF Manny Mota, sending OF Howie Gross to the Astros. Mota spent six years as a Pirate, hitting .297 as a fourth OF’er/pinch hitter.
- April 2, 1997 - For the first time in major league history, the salary of one player was more than that of an entire team. The Chicago White Sox paid Albert Belle $10M for the season, which was $928,333 more than the entire Pirate payroll.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Weather Hotter Than Buc Bats; Cubs Take Opener 3-1
AJ Burnett was workmanlike with a strikeout touch in his first Opening Day start, but Jeff Samardzija was absolutely dominating, and the Pirates fell to the Cubbies 3-1 in front of 39,078 fans at PNC Park on a cold but sunny day for baseball.
Burnett whiffed David DeJesus to open the tilt, and got ahead of Starlin Castro 1-2 when he ripped a slurve into left for a knock. Anthony Rizzo got a first-pitch 93 MPH sinker that stayed up and tailed over the plate and launched it 438' into the batter's eye greenery in right center to make it 2-0.
The Bucs tried to answer in their half. Starling Marte walked on a 3-2 slider, and Garrett Jones got aboard when Brent Lillibridge couldn't handle his grounder. A Cutch force out put runners on the corners, but Pedro and Gaby Sanchez both went down swinging on 2-2 pitches off the plate; El Toro bit on a slider and Gaby on a split finger delivery.
Burnett was in trouble in the fourth when a walk and double to right put Cubs at second and third. AJ was up to the task against the bottom of Chicago's order, coming up with a pair of punchouts and a soft comebacker. He was helped during the sequence by a nice block of a 55' curve in the dirt by Russell Martin to save a run.
He was touched up for another tally in the sixth. With an out, he bopped Nate Schierholtz with a pitch. The next hitter, Welington Castillo, dropped a fly into right that Jones didn't zero in on particularly well, and it fell for a run-scoring double. Castillo was nailed after the throw went home; a head's up look by Martin after taking the relay caught the Cub catcher in a rundown.
Justin Wilson came on to finish the frame. AJ's line was 5-2/3 frames with three runs on six hits with a walk, beanball and ten strikeouts after 98 pitches. That's the most K by a Bucco on opening day since John Candelaria struck out 10 Cards in the 1983 lidlifter. Considering he didn't get a lot of MLB mound time in the spring, it was good to see his stuff working and his control in line.
Wilson worked the seventh and Jared Hughes the eighth; both guys pitched clean frames. Samardzija wasn't to be outdone. He pitched eight scoreless innings, giving up two hits and K'ing nine with a walk, using 110 tosses. At one point he retired 14 straight Pirates, and nary a Bucco hit a fair ball into the outfield until the sixth inning. Sam I Am is 4-0 against Pittsburgh with a 0.92 ERA in 39 IP.
Mark Melancon finished up the ninth, with only a runner aboard by error (ironically by the Minister of Defense, John McDonald) to mar his outing. But Mr. Excitement, Carlos Marmol, came on to close and woke up the Bucs a bit.
Garrett Jones led off the frame by whiffing on a 3-2 pitch that C Castillo had to knock down and toss to first to complete. Cutch got bopped by a pitch, stole second for some reason - probably because they were giving it to him - and scored on Pedro's knock into center. Josh Harrison came on to run, with the tying tally, represented by The Kid, coming to the dish.
Dale Sveum saw enough and gave his erratic closer the hook. LHP James Russell took the ball from Marmol and turned around Neil Walker, who hit a soft fly to right. Then RHP Kyuji Fujikawa made his MLB debut against Martin, who put one in the air to center that settled in DeJesus' mitt to cue the Fat Lady.
The teams are off tomorrow and pick it up again Wednesday night. Wandy Rodriguez will take the bump against Edwin Jackson.
Burnett whiffed David DeJesus to open the tilt, and got ahead of Starlin Castro 1-2 when he ripped a slurve into left for a knock. Anthony Rizzo got a first-pitch 93 MPH sinker that stayed up and tailed over the plate and launched it 438' into the batter's eye greenery in right center to make it 2-0.
The Bucs tried to answer in their half. Starling Marte walked on a 3-2 slider, and Garrett Jones got aboard when Brent Lillibridge couldn't handle his grounder. A Cutch force out put runners on the corners, but Pedro and Gaby Sanchez both went down swinging on 2-2 pitches off the plate; El Toro bit on a slider and Gaby on a split finger delivery.
Burnett was in trouble in the fourth when a walk and double to right put Cubs at second and third. AJ was up to the task against the bottom of Chicago's order, coming up with a pair of punchouts and a soft comebacker. He was helped during the sequence by a nice block of a 55' curve in the dirt by Russell Martin to save a run.
He was touched up for another tally in the sixth. With an out, he bopped Nate Schierholtz with a pitch. The next hitter, Welington Castillo, dropped a fly into right that Jones didn't zero in on particularly well, and it fell for a run-scoring double. Castillo was nailed after the throw went home; a head's up look by Martin after taking the relay caught the Cub catcher in a rundown.
Justin Wilson came on to finish the frame. AJ's line was 5-2/3 frames with three runs on six hits with a walk, beanball and ten strikeouts after 98 pitches. That's the most K by a Bucco on opening day since John Candelaria struck out 10 Cards in the 1983 lidlifter. Considering he didn't get a lot of MLB mound time in the spring, it was good to see his stuff working and his control in line.
Wilson worked the seventh and Jared Hughes the eighth; both guys pitched clean frames. Samardzija wasn't to be outdone. He pitched eight scoreless innings, giving up two hits and K'ing nine with a walk, using 110 tosses. At one point he retired 14 straight Pirates, and nary a Bucco hit a fair ball into the outfield until the sixth inning. Sam I Am is 4-0 against Pittsburgh with a 0.92 ERA in 39 IP.
Mark Melancon finished up the ninth, with only a runner aboard by error (ironically by the Minister of Defense, John McDonald) to mar his outing. But Mr. Excitement, Carlos Marmol, came on to close and woke up the Bucs a bit.
Garrett Jones led off the frame by whiffing on a 3-2 pitch that C Castillo had to knock down and toss to first to complete. Cutch got bopped by a pitch, stole second for some reason - probably because they were giving it to him - and scored on Pedro's knock into center. Josh Harrison came on to run, with the tying tally, represented by The Kid, coming to the dish.
Dale Sveum saw enough and gave his erratic closer the hook. LHP James Russell took the ball from Marmol and turned around Neil Walker, who hit a soft fly to right. Then RHP Kyuji Fujikawa made his MLB debut against Martin, who put one in the air to center that settled in DeJesus' mitt to cue the Fat Lady.
The teams are off tomorrow and pick it up again Wednesday night. Wandy Rodriguez will take the bump against Edwin Jackson.
- Wilson, Hughes and Melancon faced one batter over the minimum while working 3-1/3 frames, and whiffed five Cubbies. Buc pitchers collect 15 K during the game.
- Cutch was the only Buc to get aboard more than once. He smoked a two-out double up the LF line in the sixth and was HBP in the ninth, scoring the only run.
- Rizzo, who didn't hit a home run during Cubbie camp, drilled the first pitch he saw in the regular season out of PNC Park. So much for spring results, hey? Rizzo, like Samardzija, loves playing Pittsburgh. Last year he hit .288 with 4 HR and 15 RBI in 52 at-bats with a 130 OPS+ against the Pirates.
- Looking ahead, Neil Walker told Mike Sanserino of the Post Gazette that the Bucs didn't talk contract to him and he's not inclined to open discussions during the season.
Opening Day 2013
Hey, the hoopla is over; the overheated debates about the back end of the order, bullpen and lineup are decided, and it's showtime. The Bucs take on the Cubbies to open the 2013 season at PNC Park. AJ Burnett was 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA against the Cubs last season while Jeff Samardzija was 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA against the Pirates, so there should be a lot of pitching going on today. The action is scheduled for a 1:35 start and the game is on TV and radio.
Pirate Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Garrett Jones RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Russell Martin C, Clint Barmes SS and AJ Burnett P.
The lineup isn't exactly what we expected; Travis Snider is on the bench and Jones is in the OF. And he, not Martin, is in the two hole. Gaby is at first, hitting fifth against a righty. We thought the point was to let the young guys play and see what they could do given some regular at-bats, silly us.
On a brighter note, AJ is in his 15th season, and today is his first Opening Day assignment after playing second fiddle to guys like Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay and CC Sabathia at his other stops. Hey, it's good to get that bucket list whittled down.
Cub Lineup: David DeJesus CF, Starlin Castro SS, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Alfonso Soriano LF, Nate Schierholtz RF, Welington Castillo C, Luis Valbuena 3B, Brent Lillibridge 2B and Jeff Samardzija P.
In Theo Epstein's second year, the Cubs have a core of offensive players to build with, though the back end still needs some work. But he has brought pitchers Edwin Jackson and Matt Garza (who's on the DL) into the Bruin fold; it's nice to have a $100M payrolls to work with. Darwin Barney was scratched after suffering a gash on his left knee in Chicago's final exhibition game. It took five stitches to close and he may yet end up on the DL.
The Bucs and Cubs finished 8-8 against one another last season, and were 4-4 at each other's park. So rolls the dice and take yer chances; it's an even matchup.
Pirate Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Garrett Jones RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Russell Martin C, Clint Barmes SS and AJ Burnett P.
The lineup isn't exactly what we expected; Travis Snider is on the bench and Jones is in the OF. And he, not Martin, is in the two hole. Gaby is at first, hitting fifth against a righty. We thought the point was to let the young guys play and see what they could do given some regular at-bats, silly us.
On a brighter note, AJ is in his 15th season, and today is his first Opening Day assignment after playing second fiddle to guys like Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay and CC Sabathia at his other stops. Hey, it's good to get that bucket list whittled down.
Cub Lineup: David DeJesus CF, Starlin Castro SS, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Alfonso Soriano LF, Nate Schierholtz RF, Welington Castillo C, Luis Valbuena 3B, Brent Lillibridge 2B and Jeff Samardzija P.
In Theo Epstein's second year, the Cubs have a core of offensive players to build with, though the back end still needs some work. But he has brought pitchers Edwin Jackson and Matt Garza (who's on the DL) into the Bruin fold; it's nice to have a $100M payrolls to work with. Darwin Barney was scratched after suffering a gash on his left knee in Chicago's final exhibition game. It took five stitches to close and he may yet end up on the DL.
The Bucs and Cubs finished 8-8 against one another last season, and were 4-4 at each other's park. So rolls the dice and take yer chances; it's an even matchup.
- As expected, Bradon Inge, Jeff Karstens, Francisco Liriano and Charlie Morton were placed on the 15 day DL. Karstens, Liriano and Morton's start date is retroactive to March 22nd and Inge's to March 26th. The FO is planning on getting these guys back sooner as opposed to later (although they can be moved to the 60-day DL if there are any setbacks.)
- For Pittsburgh, change is the only constant - there are a dozen new faces on the 2013 edition team as compared to last year's Opening Day squad.
- The Pirates expect a crowd of 39,000 or so on hand for the game.
- A random stat - the NL Central payrolls for Opening Day 2013: St. Louis $116,702,085, Cincy $110,565,728, Cubs $104,150,726, Milwaukee $91,003,366, Pittsburgh $66,289,524. And even with that gap, no division club is in the Top 10 of MLB salaries.
- The MLB schedule opened last night with the 'Stros stunning the Rangers 8-2. Houston's big man? None other than LHP Erik Bedard, who went 3-1/3 scoreless frames to earn his first career save.
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