Hey, it's a late game tonight. Why not pass the time playing a little Pirate trivia?
1) The Pirates' reaction to a bunt sign:
a) A bunt? What's a bunt?
b) You're joking, right? I'm paid to hit the ball, dude.
c) You mean between the foul lines?
d) They don't have to do this in the American League.
2) When JR calls to the bullpen:
a) They start singing "Won't you come home, John Grabow...?"
b) Me? He wants ME?
c) Everyone in the opposing dugout grabs a bat and raises their hand - even the ballboy.
d) Has anyone seen my Prozac?
3) With runners on, what goes through a Pirate hitter's mind:
a) Better take a couple of pitches.
b) I hope he throws that slider in the dirt. I'll clobber it.
c) What exactly is an RBI, again?
d) Clutch, clutch...dang!
4) A Pirate stolen base is:
a) Something Nyjer Morgan used to get.
b) Something Andrew McCutchen will get once he figures out that darn slide step thingie.
c) Isn't stealing illegal?
d) Why steal when you can bunt?
5) Bases loaded, two outs, one run down in the ninth. The batter you want up is:
a) Nate McLouth
b) Freddy Sanchez
c) Jason Bay
d) Ah, anyone left will do.
6) Neal Huntington's next deal for prospects:
a) Pirates trade PNC Park for Rooney Field, Wolvarena, and Bud Hammer Field
b) Pirates trade the Parrot for the Temple Owl and Big Bird
c) Pirates trade the Allegheny River for Conneaut Lake, Saw Mill Run, and Pine Creek
d) Pirates trade Bob Nutting for Little Richie Rich and Little Orphan Annie
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Path Chosen...
Here's the Bucs first ten draft picks (* - high school): 1, Tony Sanchez, C, $2.5M; 1-Supplemental, Victor Black, RHP, $717K; 2, Brooks Pounders*, RHP, $670K; 3, Evan Chambers, OF, $423K; 4, Zack Dodson*, LHP, $600K; 5, Nate Baker, LHP, $176K; 6, Zach Von Rosenberg*, RHP, $1.2M; 7, Trent Stevenson*, RHP, $350K; 8, Colton Cain*, LHP, $1.125M; and 9, Brock Holt, 2B, $125K.
That's $7.881M spent on the top ten selections from a $10M budget. They have another eleven guys signed, and a little less than $2M left in the draft kitty.
The other signees: 11, Aaron Baker, 1B; 13, Walker Gourley*, SS, $115K; 18, Ryan Beckman, RHP; 21, Phillip Irwin, RHP; 23, Jose Hernandez, OF; 24, Jason Erickson, RHP; 30, Ty Summerlin, SS; 33, Pat Irvine, OF; 34, Zac Fuesser (JC), LHP, $125K; 42, Marc Baca, RHP; 43, Edward Fallon, RHP.
The Pirates have room for a couple more signees; Neal Huntington said they may end up with 1-3 more players.
This year, they had the advantage of not tying up so much of the budget in one player, as they did when they signed Pedro Alvarez for $6M in bonus sugar.
So they targeted they number one commodity in baseball, pitchers. Seven of their top ten picks were spent on arms, and five of them were high school hurlers. And they needed some pitching; Quinton Miller and Justin Wilson are they only two pitchers drafted last year that have a pedigree.
That's the good news. The bad news is even if they guessed right on the youngsters this year, they're all a long way from PNC. Tony Sanchez is the only 2009 draftee to make it to A ball this year. He's zoomed past Andrew Walker at West Virginia, and has Kris Watts and Steve Lerud, at Lynchburg and Altoona, squarely in his sights.
After him, a handful of players are getting their feet wet at short-season State College. Two of them are pitchers, Nate Baker and Victor Black. The others are Aaron Baker, Evan Chambers, Jose Hernandez, Pat Irvine, and Ty Summerlin. None are setting the world afire.
The rest are in the Gulf Coast Rookie League or Florida Instructional League. That's not a surprise, considering how young the class is. But what it does is illustrate why the suits have dumped the MLB team for upper level prospects.
Except for Alvarez, none of the past two draft classes have players that have advanced beyond High A Lynchburg, and that's where they should be at this stage of the careers. But it leaves Altoona and Indy terribly barren of players, and that's what the management chose to address.
If the 2008-09 draft classes pan out (and that's no sure thing), they should start landing in the bigs between 2012-2014, maybe later.
That left the new bosses two options. First, they could wait for the gap between the upper and lower levels to fill in over the years and tie up the roster they inherited, with a free agent or two, until 2013.
Or they could blow up the team for prospects and try to patch the feeder system first, knowing that the MLB product would suffer for two or three seasons. Both choices are iffy propositions.
For better or worse, they decided that the core they were given wouldn't cut it for one more contract, so they opted for Plan B.
The risk with hanging on to the old team was that they had shown no aptitude for winning games and were perilously thin in pitching.
The risk with the prospect route is that you can't be sure that the kids, no matter their upside, will ever develop. You also run a very real chance that the MLB team will have defeatism ingrained in it if its not competitive while waiting for help. And there is that fan thingie...
Well, we know the road they chose. And in 2012, we'll find out if its the right path.
How'd they get to this precarious position? Ted Keith of SI's Inside Baseball starts his column off with this:
That's $7.881M spent on the top ten selections from a $10M budget. They have another eleven guys signed, and a little less than $2M left in the draft kitty.
The other signees: 11, Aaron Baker, 1B; 13, Walker Gourley*, SS, $115K; 18, Ryan Beckman, RHP; 21, Phillip Irwin, RHP; 23, Jose Hernandez, OF; 24, Jason Erickson, RHP; 30, Ty Summerlin, SS; 33, Pat Irvine, OF; 34, Zac Fuesser (JC), LHP, $125K; 42, Marc Baca, RHP; 43, Edward Fallon, RHP.
The Pirates have room for a couple more signees; Neal Huntington said they may end up with 1-3 more players.
This year, they had the advantage of not tying up so much of the budget in one player, as they did when they signed Pedro Alvarez for $6M in bonus sugar.
So they targeted they number one commodity in baseball, pitchers. Seven of their top ten picks were spent on arms, and five of them were high school hurlers. And they needed some pitching; Quinton Miller and Justin Wilson are they only two pitchers drafted last year that have a pedigree.
That's the good news. The bad news is even if they guessed right on the youngsters this year, they're all a long way from PNC. Tony Sanchez is the only 2009 draftee to make it to A ball this year. He's zoomed past Andrew Walker at West Virginia, and has Kris Watts and Steve Lerud, at Lynchburg and Altoona, squarely in his sights.
After him, a handful of players are getting their feet wet at short-season State College. Two of them are pitchers, Nate Baker and Victor Black. The others are Aaron Baker, Evan Chambers, Jose Hernandez, Pat Irvine, and Ty Summerlin. None are setting the world afire.
The rest are in the Gulf Coast Rookie League or Florida Instructional League. That's not a surprise, considering how young the class is. But what it does is illustrate why the suits have dumped the MLB team for upper level prospects.
Except for Alvarez, none of the past two draft classes have players that have advanced beyond High A Lynchburg, and that's where they should be at this stage of the careers. But it leaves Altoona and Indy terribly barren of players, and that's what the management chose to address.
If the 2008-09 draft classes pan out (and that's no sure thing), they should start landing in the bigs between 2012-2014, maybe later.
That left the new bosses two options. First, they could wait for the gap between the upper and lower levels to fill in over the years and tie up the roster they inherited, with a free agent or two, until 2013.
Or they could blow up the team for prospects and try to patch the feeder system first, knowing that the MLB product would suffer for two or three seasons. Both choices are iffy propositions.
For better or worse, they decided that the core they were given wouldn't cut it for one more contract, so they opted for Plan B.
The risk with hanging on to the old team was that they had shown no aptitude for winning games and were perilously thin in pitching.
The risk with the prospect route is that you can't be sure that the kids, no matter their upside, will ever develop. You also run a very real chance that the MLB team will have defeatism ingrained in it if its not competitive while waiting for help. And there is that fan thingie...
Well, we know the road they chose. And in 2012, we'll find out if its the right path.
How'd they get to this precarious position? Ted Keith of SI's Inside Baseball starts his column off with this:
"...the most dedicated fans in baseball trudge...into a... gorgeous ballpark that hosts an annually ugly team. It must be the ballpark, and the view and the misplaced hope of success that is drawing those fans each night, because it sure isn't the baseball."He goes on to cover the moves over the past 17 years that have made the Pirates the Pirates.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Ya Get Better Odds At The Casino...
Zach Duke deserved better. He pitched into the eighth, giving up two tainted runs, and then JR blew it by bringing in Matt Capps. No matter what reasoning he gives in the post-game interview, he had to show some trust in Duke at that point, and didn't.
And Capps made him pay for the quick hook.
With a runner on first and one out, he pumped a 94 MPH heater down the middle to pinch hitter Skip Schumaker, who deposited it in the right field stands. Yah, the same Schumaker with 15 career dingers and four so far this season.
Then Capps plunked Albert Pujols in the ribs with a 95 mile-per-hour fast ball, earning a glare from the Card's big guy, and was promptly ejected by plate umpire Mike Estabrook after his target practice.
If he did hit him on purpose, it was pointless and self-defeating, with the Bucs being behind by just a 4-3 count at that point. And why drill Pujols anyway? He didn't hit the homer, or throw the watermelon to Schumaker. But we suspect that Capps just misfired, an everyday occurrence for Bucco relievers.
Still, it brought on Jesse Chavez, who had no chance to loosen up, and the results - as they've been for the past week - were entirely predictable. By the time the smoke cleared, it was 7-3, as the bullpen continued to pour jet fuel on opponents' embers.
Duke was outstanding. He gave up seven hits, and most were off-the-end-of-the-bat lobs or ground balls with eyes. He gave up a run in the fourth when a pickoff throw went into right field, advancing the runner to third, where he scored on a sac fly.
The Zachster gave up another in the seventh when he picked off Matt Holliday, who was on his way to second. But Steve Pearce couldn't get his throw on line, and Holliday ended up at third, where a single knocked him in.
In the eighth, Duke surrendered a dink single to Mark DeRosa, and followed with a forceout. Then Captain Hook made his way to the mound, and the party was over.
Duke had thrown 97 pitches to that point, and hadn't really struggled, but JR - and we'll give him some credit for thinking out of the box by bringing Capps in the eighth - had seen enough. Have a little faith, skipper, before you lose your staff.
And give Joel Pineiro some credit, too. He was being lit up in the early innings, saved only by a pair of DP balls, and by the fourth, every Pirate position player had a hit.
But that's the inning he wised up; he changed his pitch selection from fastballs to sliders, and the off speed stuff worked its magic on the Bucco bats once again. They didn't have another hit until the seventh. The Pirates got a lead off double that frame, and had runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth. They didn't score.
Ah well, eight in a row at home; the PNC record losing streak is 10, from back in 2005. It's probably a good thing they're going on the road; maybe they can get a fresh start on Tuesday. They're going about as far away as they can, to Colorado. The pitching matchups, from MLB.com, are here.
-- One quiet stat from the series: Tony LaRussa knows his match-ups. He used five pinch hitters in the three games, and they went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.
-- The signing of Zach Von Rosenberg, expected Monday, brings the player total inked this draft to 21, and all of their top nine picks. The Pirates still have about $2M left in the draft budget, and hope to sign 1-3 more players before the August 17th deadline.
And Capps made him pay for the quick hook.
With a runner on first and one out, he pumped a 94 MPH heater down the middle to pinch hitter Skip Schumaker, who deposited it in the right field stands. Yah, the same Schumaker with 15 career dingers and four so far this season.
Then Capps plunked Albert Pujols in the ribs with a 95 mile-per-hour fast ball, earning a glare from the Card's big guy, and was promptly ejected by plate umpire Mike Estabrook after his target practice.
If he did hit him on purpose, it was pointless and self-defeating, with the Bucs being behind by just a 4-3 count at that point. And why drill Pujols anyway? He didn't hit the homer, or throw the watermelon to Schumaker. But we suspect that Capps just misfired, an everyday occurrence for Bucco relievers.
Still, it brought on Jesse Chavez, who had no chance to loosen up, and the results - as they've been for the past week - were entirely predictable. By the time the smoke cleared, it was 7-3, as the bullpen continued to pour jet fuel on opponents' embers.
Duke was outstanding. He gave up seven hits, and most were off-the-end-of-the-bat lobs or ground balls with eyes. He gave up a run in the fourth when a pickoff throw went into right field, advancing the runner to third, where he scored on a sac fly.
The Zachster gave up another in the seventh when he picked off Matt Holliday, who was on his way to second. But Steve Pearce couldn't get his throw on line, and Holliday ended up at third, where a single knocked him in.
In the eighth, Duke surrendered a dink single to Mark DeRosa, and followed with a forceout. Then Captain Hook made his way to the mound, and the party was over.
Duke had thrown 97 pitches to that point, and hadn't really struggled, but JR - and we'll give him some credit for thinking out of the box by bringing Capps in the eighth - had seen enough. Have a little faith, skipper, before you lose your staff.
And give Joel Pineiro some credit, too. He was being lit up in the early innings, saved only by a pair of DP balls, and by the fourth, every Pirate position player had a hit.
But that's the inning he wised up; he changed his pitch selection from fastballs to sliders, and the off speed stuff worked its magic on the Bucco bats once again. They didn't have another hit until the seventh. The Pirates got a lead off double that frame, and had runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth. They didn't score.
Ah well, eight in a row at home; the PNC record losing streak is 10, from back in 2005. It's probably a good thing they're going on the road; maybe they can get a fresh start on Tuesday. They're going about as far away as they can, to Colorado. The pitching matchups, from MLB.com, are here.
-- One quiet stat from the series: Tony LaRussa knows his match-ups. He used five pinch hitters in the three games, and they went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.
-- The signing of Zach Von Rosenberg, expected Monday, brings the player total inked this draft to 21, and all of their top nine picks. The Pirates still have about $2M left in the draft budget, and hope to sign 1-3 more players before the August 17th deadline.
Sunday Stroll Through the System
-- It's been a very good week for the Pirates' future. Chuck Finder of the Post Gazette reports that two-time Mr. Louisiana in baseball, RHP Zack Von Rosenberg, reached agreement Saturday night on a contract valued at $1.2 million or more.
He joins recent signees Colton Cain, Zack Dodson and Trent Stevenson as well-regarded high-school arms joining a pitching-poor Pirate system, all inked for well above slot. Looks like the money they saved on Tony Sanchez did go into the draft and not the team pocketbook.
-- John Perrotto of Pirates Report got JR to admit that trading away the bullpen lefties wasn't exactly a stroke of genius.
"At some point, we're going to have to look to find a left-hander to solidify things, either this season or in time for next season," Russell said. "We'll have to see what's available and see who could help us."
Don't look for an internal answer. Phil Dumatrait is the only left-hander on Indianapolis's roster and Kyle Bloom is the only lefty at Altoona, though an intriguing candidate to get a shot as a major-league lefty relief specialist before the season ends.
-- Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette joins the rate-the-system rush, picking his Top Thirty Pirate prospects. Sure a heck of a lot different than last years, or even the pre-season's list.
-- Altoona's starter RHP Tim Alderson pitched six innings of no-hit ball on Saturday night, allowing one walk. He retired the last 16 hitters he faced, and was pulled after his pitch count hit the low nineties.
We know the Bucco suits are pretty anal about pitch counts in the minors, even suspending managers for allowing their hurlers to exceed the limit. Aside from protecting young arms, the theory is that they'll be more efficient working with a strict count. They're even more careful about setting a season inning limit on pitchers.
We wonder if that's not part of the problem at PNC. Could it be the Pirates are pushing a philosophy that is actually promoting short starts rather than emphasizing getting deep into games?
After all, MLB's golden rule now isn't complete games; it's the nefarious "quality start," which says six innings and three runs is the standard to meet. And we've all seen what equaling that benchmark means to a team: nada. The point isn't to keep your team hanging around; it's to shut down the opponent.
-- Since being promoted to Lynchburg, LHP Rudy Owens hasn't been scored on. He's 1-0 after two starts, lasting 9-1/3 innings.
He joins recent signees Colton Cain, Zack Dodson and Trent Stevenson as well-regarded high-school arms joining a pitching-poor Pirate system, all inked for well above slot. Looks like the money they saved on Tony Sanchez did go into the draft and not the team pocketbook.
-- John Perrotto of Pirates Report got JR to admit that trading away the bullpen lefties wasn't exactly a stroke of genius.
"At some point, we're going to have to look to find a left-hander to solidify things, either this season or in time for next season," Russell said. "We'll have to see what's available and see who could help us."
Don't look for an internal answer. Phil Dumatrait is the only left-hander on Indianapolis's roster and Kyle Bloom is the only lefty at Altoona, though an intriguing candidate to get a shot as a major-league lefty relief specialist before the season ends.
-- Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette joins the rate-the-system rush, picking his Top Thirty Pirate prospects. Sure a heck of a lot different than last years, or even the pre-season's list.
-- Altoona's starter RHP Tim Alderson pitched six innings of no-hit ball on Saturday night, allowing one walk. He retired the last 16 hitters he faced, and was pulled after his pitch count hit the low nineties.
We know the Bucco suits are pretty anal about pitch counts in the minors, even suspending managers for allowing their hurlers to exceed the limit. Aside from protecting young arms, the theory is that they'll be more efficient working with a strict count. They're even more careful about setting a season inning limit on pitchers.
We wonder if that's not part of the problem at PNC. Could it be the Pirates are pushing a philosophy that is actually promoting short starts rather than emphasizing getting deep into games?
After all, MLB's golden rule now isn't complete games; it's the nefarious "quality start," which says six innings and three runs is the standard to meet. And we've all seen what equaling that benchmark means to a team: nada. The point isn't to keep your team hanging around; it's to shut down the opponent.
-- Since being promoted to Lynchburg, LHP Rudy Owens hasn't been scored on. He's 1-0 after two starts, lasting 9-1/3 innings.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Uncle!
It's getting kinda masochistic to watch the Pirates this month. Again, a starter that goes only five innings and one implosion inning by the bullpen were the keys to a 5-3 loss to the Cards.
Charlie Morton went five innings and only gave up a run. But he struggled over the final three frames, giving up six hits, two walks, and constantly falling behind hitters.
His pitch count was up to 93, so he could have gotten another inning or two in, but we have no qualms about JR lifting him for a pinch-hitter. These guys have to learn to get ahead and get some 1-2-3 innings under their belt; these five and six inning outings are killing the team.
The bullpen had to do the Curly shuffle with Indy to recover from the load dropped on it, and it bit them tonight. Chris Bootcheck, a veteran guy, got the ball in the sixth. Control is his calling card; he walked seven batters in 43+ innings at Indy.
Well, he walked three in his lone inning tonight. He walked the batter ahead of Albert Pujols with the bases loaded for one run, and then Sir Albert unloaded them with a double to left. With two outs. Goodbye ballgame, hello, Fat Lady.
The Pirate hitters continue to have growing pains at the dish. And until they master the off speed pitch and indecision at the plate, they'll struggle at the dish. No one in the past two weeks has intentionally thrown them a heater for a strike.
Why should they? On any given night, six of the position players have just a few months experience, and no one to protect them. And frankly, a couple of them don't deserve to be getting many at-bats in 2010, but we'll see how that plays out in the spring.
Andrew McCutchen and Delwyn Young, while inconsistent, have shown signs of becoming professional hitters, but the rest still need a lesson in plate discipline. You can't be batting with an 0-2 or 1-2 count all night and expect success.
One of the two veteran bats, Ryan Doumit, is doing a mighty good impression of Adam LaRoche at the clean-up spot. In 23 games and 96 at-bats since his return, he has 4 homers and 13 RBI, but is hitting just .229 with a .176 average with runners in scoring position. Doumit has struck out 11 times, hit into six DPs, and drawn not one walk.
Ronny Cedeno, touted as a no-stick SS, is hitting .323 in 31 at-bats, with 2 homers and 7 RBI, out of the eight spot. Small sample, but it sure shows who has the bigger hole in their swing right now.
It's a team in a painful transition, and they'll need patience. The pitchers are young, too, but Joe Kerrigan has to get them to attack hitters and the strike zone. A quality start is a misnomer; six innings every night doesn't cut it.
And a final thought: if the suits want a model to copy, forget Cleveland and Oakland; they're both in shambles. Look at the dugout across the field and try to put together a team that keeps its stars, develops pitching, and plays the NL game. Then they'll have a future.
Charlie Morton went five innings and only gave up a run. But he struggled over the final three frames, giving up six hits, two walks, and constantly falling behind hitters.
His pitch count was up to 93, so he could have gotten another inning or two in, but we have no qualms about JR lifting him for a pinch-hitter. These guys have to learn to get ahead and get some 1-2-3 innings under their belt; these five and six inning outings are killing the team.
The bullpen had to do the Curly shuffle with Indy to recover from the load dropped on it, and it bit them tonight. Chris Bootcheck, a veteran guy, got the ball in the sixth. Control is his calling card; he walked seven batters in 43+ innings at Indy.
Well, he walked three in his lone inning tonight. He walked the batter ahead of Albert Pujols with the bases loaded for one run, and then Sir Albert unloaded them with a double to left. With two outs. Goodbye ballgame, hello, Fat Lady.
The Pirate hitters continue to have growing pains at the dish. And until they master the off speed pitch and indecision at the plate, they'll struggle at the dish. No one in the past two weeks has intentionally thrown them a heater for a strike.
Why should they? On any given night, six of the position players have just a few months experience, and no one to protect them. And frankly, a couple of them don't deserve to be getting many at-bats in 2010, but we'll see how that plays out in the spring.
Andrew McCutchen and Delwyn Young, while inconsistent, have shown signs of becoming professional hitters, but the rest still need a lesson in plate discipline. You can't be batting with an 0-2 or 1-2 count all night and expect success.
One of the two veteran bats, Ryan Doumit, is doing a mighty good impression of Adam LaRoche at the clean-up spot. In 23 games and 96 at-bats since his return, he has 4 homers and 13 RBI, but is hitting just .229 with a .176 average with runners in scoring position. Doumit has struck out 11 times, hit into six DPs, and drawn not one walk.
Ronny Cedeno, touted as a no-stick SS, is hitting .323 in 31 at-bats, with 2 homers and 7 RBI, out of the eight spot. Small sample, but it sure shows who has the bigger hole in their swing right now.
It's a team in a painful transition, and they'll need patience. The pitchers are young, too, but Joe Kerrigan has to get them to attack hitters and the strike zone. A quality start is a misnomer; six innings every night doesn't cut it.
And a final thought: if the suits want a model to copy, forget Cleveland and Oakland; they're both in shambles. Look at the dugout across the field and try to put together a team that keeps its stars, develops pitching, and plays the NL game. Then they'll have a future.
Friday, August 7, 2009
One More Time...
Ya know, we're just reiterating another Pirate loss; they do it the same way every night. Flash to the seventh inning, when they're up 4-3.
Paul Maholm got the first two batters out on three pitches. Then he walked Julio Lugo on four straight fastballs. Khalil Greene, he of the Mendoza line, lasers a double into right to bring him in.
In the bottom half, the Bucs have runners on first and second, one out, and Garrett Jones and Delwyn Young, the four-five hitters, up. The runners never moved.
In the eighth, six different Pirate mistakes cost the go-ahead run. Matt Holliday bled a ball towards third, a tough play but one that Andy LaRoche has made dozens of times this year. But this time, he has trouble getting the ball from glove to hand, and Holliday beats out the infield hit. Mistake #1.
Then Holliday takes off for second. Ryan Doumit's throw was shoulder high, and Young tried to snatch it and apply a quick tag. It went off his glove instead into shallow right center. Mistakes two and three.
Mistakes four and five - Andrew McCutchen and Jones spectated on the play instead of backing up, and when the ball squirted free, the lackadaisical pair belatedly charged after it. Then they both stopped, assuming the other had the ball. So in spite of Young falling on top of Holliday, he still managed to get up and rumble into third.
The last mistake was Mr. Jones'. The next batter hit a fly to shallow right, and he airmailed the short toss over Doumit's head. Quite a welcome to Pittsburgh for Jose Ascanio.
The insurance run scored the tried-and-true National League way; leadoff double, sac bunt, sac fly. Cards win, 6-4.
Hey, GW thinks Tony LaRussa is a pompous excuse for a manager, not that he cares. But ya know what? His teams play clean games, move runners, catch the ball, and get ahead in the count. It's a rarity when they beat themselves.
Maybe it's a model the young Pirates should take after.
Paul Maholm got the first two batters out on three pitches. Then he walked Julio Lugo on four straight fastballs. Khalil Greene, he of the Mendoza line, lasers a double into right to bring him in.
In the bottom half, the Bucs have runners on first and second, one out, and Garrett Jones and Delwyn Young, the four-five hitters, up. The runners never moved.
In the eighth, six different Pirate mistakes cost the go-ahead run. Matt Holliday bled a ball towards third, a tough play but one that Andy LaRoche has made dozens of times this year. But this time, he has trouble getting the ball from glove to hand, and Holliday beats out the infield hit. Mistake #1.
Then Holliday takes off for second. Ryan Doumit's throw was shoulder high, and Young tried to snatch it and apply a quick tag. It went off his glove instead into shallow right center. Mistakes two and three.
Mistakes four and five - Andrew McCutchen and Jones spectated on the play instead of backing up, and when the ball squirted free, the lackadaisical pair belatedly charged after it. Then they both stopped, assuming the other had the ball. So in spite of Young falling on top of Holliday, he still managed to get up and rumble into third.
The last mistake was Mr. Jones'. The next batter hit a fly to shallow right, and he airmailed the short toss over Doumit's head. Quite a welcome to Pittsburgh for Jose Ascanio.
The insurance run scored the tried-and-true National League way; leadoff double, sac bunt, sac fly. Cards win, 6-4.
Hey, GW thinks Tony LaRussa is a pompous excuse for a manager, not that he cares. But ya know what? His teams play clean games, move runners, catch the ball, and get ahead in the count. It's a rarity when they beat themselves.
Maybe it's a model the young Pirates should take after.
Player Report
-- Remember when Donnie Veal looked quizzically at his hand the other night? Well, he has a sprained finger, so say the suits, and he's back on the 15-day DL. Up comes RHP Chris Bootcheck, who has been lights out at Indy. He's 3-2-20 with a 3.38 ERA, with seven walks and 55 strikeouts in 42-2/3 innings.
Jose Ascanio was called up for Steve Jackson yesterday, so the Pirates have restructured their pen nicely. And don't worry about Veal; if he's back on the roster by September, he'll be OK under Rule 5.
-- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review has a break-down of Pirate/opponent scoring this year. The Bucs get bombed in the fifth and eighth innings.
-- Some good news from the bushes: Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet has Pedro Alvarez as number #4 on the hit list.
-- Chuck Finder of the Post Gazette reports that the Pirates have signed a pair of highly regarded high-school pitchers from Texas they drafted, Colton Cain and Zach Dodson, and for way over slot. And he expects more to come.
Jose Ascanio was called up for Steve Jackson yesterday, so the Pirates have restructured their pen nicely. And don't worry about Veal; if he's back on the roster by September, he'll be OK under Rule 5.
-- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review has a break-down of Pirate/opponent scoring this year. The Bucs get bombed in the fifth and eighth innings.
-- Some good news from the bushes: Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet has Pedro Alvarez as number #4 on the hit list.
-- Chuck Finder of the Post Gazette reports that the Pirates have signed a pair of highly regarded high-school pitchers from Texas they drafted, Colton Cain and Zach Dodson, and for way over slot. And he expects more to come.
Bucs Behaving Badly
Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette, Rob Beirtempfel of the Tribune Review, and John Perrotto of the Pirates Report all made a post-game point to mention that Steve Jackson wouldn't talk to them and that Kevin Hart escaped their tape recorders, too.
Hey, you can cut Jackson some slack. The kid just got clobbered, giving up a couple of hits that were banged and a couple others that were just well-placed grounders, watched his catcher boot a throw all the way from home halfway to third base, and then got sent back to the bushes as soon as he walked into the clubhouse.
Not much that he could say after that would be fit fare for a family newspaper anyway, we suspect.
Hart, well, he should have hung around. Maybe they do things differently in Chicago; whatever his excuse, we're sure Huntington will set him straight. If there's one thing this team does not need, it's an adversarial relationship with whatever press is still covering it.
DK also notes in his article that the leadership thing is missing. There are, of course, a couple of good reasons for that.
First, no one's left that's been there and done that. It's tough to lead others when you haven't been around the warning track a few times yourself.
And we'd have to think that the Pirate clubhouse is a nest of paranoia right about now. Nobody's buying into the "this is the group" BS from management. It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
What's in the wind is that Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Brad Lincoln, Tim Alderson, Jeff Clements, Gorkys Hernandez, and a whole slew of minor leaguers that are virtually conceded future spots on the big team's roster.
The players also know that the 2008 team has been gutted. What would make them believe that what's left of the 2009 squad is any different? Hey, it's hard to make a commitment to an organization that has no commitment whatsoever to you.
You need to be secure to lead - not Doug Mientkiwicz rah-rah stuff, but bridge-over- troubled-waters leadership - and no one on this team knows that he'll start 2010 as a Pirate with the exception of Andrew McCutchen and the new pitchers.
No, if there's going to be any direction, it will have to come from, as DK noted, the coaches. They'll have to be the father figures, and uproot the defeatism that has to be lingering in every corner of the locker room while showing guys how to grow into pros.
And they better be out there preaching a little tough love, too. As any parent knows, it's easy to lose a troubled kid. If they let this group get away, they may be letting the future of Pittsburgh baseball get away with them.
Hey, you can cut Jackson some slack. The kid just got clobbered, giving up a couple of hits that were banged and a couple others that were just well-placed grounders, watched his catcher boot a throw all the way from home halfway to third base, and then got sent back to the bushes as soon as he walked into the clubhouse.
Not much that he could say after that would be fit fare for a family newspaper anyway, we suspect.
Hart, well, he should have hung around. Maybe they do things differently in Chicago; whatever his excuse, we're sure Huntington will set him straight. If there's one thing this team does not need, it's an adversarial relationship with whatever press is still covering it.
DK also notes in his article that the leadership thing is missing. There are, of course, a couple of good reasons for that.
First, no one's left that's been there and done that. It's tough to lead others when you haven't been around the warning track a few times yourself.
And we'd have to think that the Pirate clubhouse is a nest of paranoia right about now. Nobody's buying into the "this is the group" BS from management. It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
What's in the wind is that Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Brad Lincoln, Tim Alderson, Jeff Clements, Gorkys Hernandez, and a whole slew of minor leaguers that are virtually conceded future spots on the big team's roster.
The players also know that the 2008 team has been gutted. What would make them believe that what's left of the 2009 squad is any different? Hey, it's hard to make a commitment to an organization that has no commitment whatsoever to you.
You need to be secure to lead - not Doug Mientkiwicz rah-rah stuff, but bridge-over- troubled-waters leadership - and no one on this team knows that he'll start 2010 as a Pirate with the exception of Andrew McCutchen and the new pitchers.
No, if there's going to be any direction, it will have to come from, as DK noted, the coaches. They'll have to be the father figures, and uproot the defeatism that has to be lingering in every corner of the locker room while showing guys how to grow into pros.
And they better be out there preaching a little tough love, too. As any parent knows, it's easy to lose a troubled kid. If they let this group get away, they may be letting the future of Pittsburgh baseball get away with them.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Five In A Row, But Who's Counting?
In the first frame, a couple of baserunning blunders cost the Bucs at least a run. After walking Lastings Milledge and Garrett Jones, Mad Max Scherzer struck out Ryan Doumit. Young stole third, but Jones stayed cemented at first, oblivious to the play.
Delwyn Young singled Milledge in, and would have had two RBI if Jones was at second, but instead got thrown out trying to stretch his knock into a double.
The D-backs tied it in the third - Kevin Hart fits right in with the Pirate staff; he gave up three straight two-out hits - but Milledge to Ronny Cedeno to Ryan Doumit nailed the go-ahead run at the plate.
The Bucs came right back. Andrew McCutchen walked, and Milledge lasered a drive off the left field wall to score him.
The high comedy on the basepaths continued in the fourth. With Andy LaRoche at third and Cedeno on first with one one, Hart fouled off a pair of bunts, then swung through strike three. LaRoche was caught charging down the line. No excuse.
Arizona came right back, using a lead-off single, sacrifice, and two-out (!) seeing eye roller through the second base hole to tie it again in the fifth.
Hart ran out of gas in the sixth. He had Mark Reynolds 0-2, threw him three straight balls, shook off Doumit and gave up a 446' blast into the Pirate's bullpen on a 3-2 heater down the middle. Then he fell behind 3-0 and came back with two more fastballs; Miguel Montero drilled the second one into right for a double.
But Hart showed heart, and stranded Montero at third. And the Bucs repaid his effort with a four spot.
Young singled and Bradon Moss drew a walk. Then the teams played a little one-upmanship. LaRoche fouled a pair of bunts, but the runners moved up on a wild pitch, so it all came out even when LaRoche bounced out. Cedeno rolled one off the mound, and both runners came home. It was 'Zona's turn to cry.
Pinch-hitter Steve Pearce greeted reliever Juan Gutierrez with a blast off the right center field wall, scoring Cedeno. Pearce came around when he took third on an ill-advised throw homeand then scored when the toss to third rocketed into left field. The D-backs would boot one more ball, but escape without any further damage done to the score or their pride.
But the inability of Pirate starters to get deep into a game is showing on the bullpen. Jeff Karstens came on, gave up a leadoff homer and two singles after an out. Both were excuse-me dinks with two strikes, but if he's a little fresher...
Jesse Chavez took over, and promptly uncorked a wild pitch. A ground out plated another run before he got out of the inning. He wasn't so lucky in the eighth. Aussie Trent Oeltjen, playing his first big league game, hit a 325' high fly ball down the right field line; the wall, sadly in this case, was just 320' away.
Matt Capps and Clay Zavada exchanged a pair of scoreless frames. For Capps, it was the first time this season that he's gone over an inning of work.
In the eleventh, both teams had a chance to put it away, but why put the fans out of their misery? Steve Jackson loaded the bases, but a K and bouncer got him out of the jam. For the Bucs, McCutch and Milledge led off with singles. But the 3-4-5 hitters, Jones, Doumit, and Young, all fell behind 5o Jon Rausch 0-2 and the runners never moved.
The inevitable finally occurred in the twelfth. Jackson loaded the bases with one out again, and this time, the D-Backs unloaded them. A double, sac fly, single, botched throw home...well, it wasn't pretty. When the night owls quit hooting, it was 11-6.
This is certain - the Pirates need a starter to put together a deep game. They're not off until Monday, and then play ten more games in a row.
And hey, remember 2008's 7-21 August? Well, the Bucs are 1-5 so far - and against the soft part of the schedule. They play contending teams throughout August, except for a series against the Reds starting the 21st. The kids better grow up quick.
Delwyn Young singled Milledge in, and would have had two RBI if Jones was at second, but instead got thrown out trying to stretch his knock into a double.
The D-backs tied it in the third - Kevin Hart fits right in with the Pirate staff; he gave up three straight two-out hits - but Milledge to Ronny Cedeno to Ryan Doumit nailed the go-ahead run at the plate.
The Bucs came right back. Andrew McCutchen walked, and Milledge lasered a drive off the left field wall to score him.
The high comedy on the basepaths continued in the fourth. With Andy LaRoche at third and Cedeno on first with one one, Hart fouled off a pair of bunts, then swung through strike three. LaRoche was caught charging down the line. No excuse.
Arizona came right back, using a lead-off single, sacrifice, and two-out (!) seeing eye roller through the second base hole to tie it again in the fifth.
Hart ran out of gas in the sixth. He had Mark Reynolds 0-2, threw him three straight balls, shook off Doumit and gave up a 446' blast into the Pirate's bullpen on a 3-2 heater down the middle. Then he fell behind 3-0 and came back with two more fastballs; Miguel Montero drilled the second one into right for a double.
But Hart showed heart, and stranded Montero at third. And the Bucs repaid his effort with a four spot.
Young singled and Bradon Moss drew a walk. Then the teams played a little one-upmanship. LaRoche fouled a pair of bunts, but the runners moved up on a wild pitch, so it all came out even when LaRoche bounced out. Cedeno rolled one off the mound, and both runners came home. It was 'Zona's turn to cry.
Pinch-hitter Steve Pearce greeted reliever Juan Gutierrez with a blast off the right center field wall, scoring Cedeno. Pearce came around when he took third on an ill-advised throw homeand then scored when the toss to third rocketed into left field. The D-backs would boot one more ball, but escape without any further damage done to the score or their pride.
But the inability of Pirate starters to get deep into a game is showing on the bullpen. Jeff Karstens came on, gave up a leadoff homer and two singles after an out. Both were excuse-me dinks with two strikes, but if he's a little fresher...
Jesse Chavez took over, and promptly uncorked a wild pitch. A ground out plated another run before he got out of the inning. He wasn't so lucky in the eighth. Aussie Trent Oeltjen, playing his first big league game, hit a 325' high fly ball down the right field line; the wall, sadly in this case, was just 320' away.
Matt Capps and Clay Zavada exchanged a pair of scoreless frames. For Capps, it was the first time this season that he's gone over an inning of work.
In the eleventh, both teams had a chance to put it away, but why put the fans out of their misery? Steve Jackson loaded the bases, but a K and bouncer got him out of the jam. For the Bucs, McCutch and Milledge led off with singles. But the 3-4-5 hitters, Jones, Doumit, and Young, all fell behind 5o Jon Rausch 0-2 and the runners never moved.
The inevitable finally occurred in the twelfth. Jackson loaded the bases with one out again, and this time, the D-Backs unloaded them. A double, sac fly, single, botched throw home...well, it wasn't pretty. When the night owls quit hooting, it was 11-6.
This is certain - the Pirates need a starter to put together a deep game. They're not off until Monday, and then play ten more games in a row.
And hey, remember 2008's 7-21 August? Well, the Bucs are 1-5 so far - and against the soft part of the schedule. They play contending teams throughout August, except for a series against the Reds starting the 21st. The kids better grow up quick.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Catch And Throw
The Pirate batters aren't gonna get a bunch of runs on most nights, we know that. But they wasted Andy LaRoche and Garrett Jones long balls in falling to Arizona tonight 4-3.
Doug Davis was a bad match up for the kiddie corp lineup of the Bucs, especially with Andrew McCutchen and Ryan Doumit out. His collection of off speed stuff baffles veterans, much less guys learning the ropes.
But still, Pittsburgh was leading late in the game thanks to some solid pitching of their own.
It took until the eighth inning for Pirate pitching to melt down, but melt down it did. Ross Ohlendorf left after six frames with a 2-1 lead, and Jesse Chavez struck out the side in the seventh.
He got the first batter in the eighth, and curiously, JR went to Joel Hanrahan. He was probably trying to save an overused pen, but it would come back to bite him.
Hanrahan walked the first batter. and then got a hard one hop come-backer, a sure inning-ending DP. But he bounced the throw to second, skipping it off Ronny Cedeno's mitt, and that opened the floodgates.
In came Evan Meek, who gave up two singles before ending the inning. The tie run came on a bang-bang play at the plate, but Jason Jaramillo couldn't hang on to Lasting Milledge's strong throw. A ground out moved the runners up, and a two out laser brought them home.
As well as Ollie threw - and he had a two hit shoutout going with two away in the sixth - he suffers from the Pirate pitching paradigm. He, like so many of his staff mates, can't get the third out efficiently.
The Big O walked five (and was, in justice, being squeezed on the outside black by plate ump Doug Eddings, as was everyone) and four were with two outs; four were to the bottom third of the lineup. Two of his four hits were with two away. He tossed 104 pitches to get 18 outs.
The Pirate staff as a whole needs to bear down on ending innings. A couple of 1-2-3 innings gets you deeper into the game and saves wear and tear on the bullpen. Oh, three of Arizona's four runs came with two outs, too.
But tonight's game was Pittsburgh's to take if they made the simple catch-and-throw plays in the field. Hanrahan and Jaramillo couldn't, and the light hitting Bucs went down for the fourth straight time.
Doug Davis was a bad match up for the kiddie corp lineup of the Bucs, especially with Andrew McCutchen and Ryan Doumit out. His collection of off speed stuff baffles veterans, much less guys learning the ropes.
But still, Pittsburgh was leading late in the game thanks to some solid pitching of their own.
It took until the eighth inning for Pirate pitching to melt down, but melt down it did. Ross Ohlendorf left after six frames with a 2-1 lead, and Jesse Chavez struck out the side in the seventh.
He got the first batter in the eighth, and curiously, JR went to Joel Hanrahan. He was probably trying to save an overused pen, but it would come back to bite him.
Hanrahan walked the first batter. and then got a hard one hop come-backer, a sure inning-ending DP. But he bounced the throw to second, skipping it off Ronny Cedeno's mitt, and that opened the floodgates.
In came Evan Meek, who gave up two singles before ending the inning. The tie run came on a bang-bang play at the plate, but Jason Jaramillo couldn't hang on to Lasting Milledge's strong throw. A ground out moved the runners up, and a two out laser brought them home.
As well as Ollie threw - and he had a two hit shoutout going with two away in the sixth - he suffers from the Pirate pitching paradigm. He, like so many of his staff mates, can't get the third out efficiently.
The Big O walked five (and was, in justice, being squeezed on the outside black by plate ump Doug Eddings, as was everyone) and four were with two outs; four were to the bottom third of the lineup. Two of his four hits were with two away. He tossed 104 pitches to get 18 outs.
The Pirate staff as a whole needs to bear down on ending innings. A couple of 1-2-3 innings gets you deeper into the game and saves wear and tear on the bullpen. Oh, three of Arizona's four runs came with two outs, too.
But tonight's game was Pittsburgh's to take if they made the simple catch-and-throw plays in the field. Hanrahan and Jaramillo couldn't, and the light hitting Bucs went down for the fourth straight time.
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