Good Morning to all our loyal few. It has been a while since my last posting, as I took a 4 day weekend while Pucks_and_Pols headed to camp. The Bucs went 2-2 Friday through Monday, now losing 11 of their last 17 games with another L to the Mets last night. I will attempt to wrap up the extended weekend that was in Pirates baseball.
Friday- the Bucs took on the Cubs at Wrigley Field in an afternoon showdown. After taking 2 out of 3 in the season opening series, the Bucs were hoping to find the offense and get on a roll, they got plenty of help along the way. The Bucs threatened in the first, with Tabata leading things off with a single and a stolen base. After a Pearce strikeout, Cutch singled Tabata to 3rd giving the Bucs first and third and one out with Neil Walker coming to the plate, batting from the right side. Although enjoying an excellent season, Neil was 0 for his last 17 prior to this at bat and he failed to improve that stat by hitting a one hopper to former Bucs Aramis Ramirez. A-Ram was playing even with the bag and fired home to catch Tabata, who made an incomprehensible decision to try and plow catcher Koyie Hill. Tabata was out by a country mile and laid wincing at the plate. I am not sure if it was his body or his ego that was hurting, but it looked like typical Buccos baseball at it's finest. Matt Diaz, the righty brought in to hit lefties but is only batting .205 against lefties, grounded out to end the inning. The Cubs managed a baserunner in the bottom of the 1st after a Steve Pearce error, but they were unable to capitalize.
In the top of the 2nd, it was the Bucs who would get some production via errors. If you have read my recaps or my glossary here at the Mutiny, you are probably aware of my position on the Pirates inability to manufacture a run without giving up 2 outs and all their baserunners to do it. Today, they found two new ways to "Manufacture a Run the Pirates Way". After Chris Snyder walked and Overpaid singled, Ronnie Cedeno bunted to the pitcher. Davis made a terrible play on the ball and all baserunners safely moved up a station. Kevin Correia was the next batter and he hit a major league ground ball to 3rd, but A-Ram could not come up with it and the Bucs were on the board with the Bases still loaded and nobody out. Tabata was next but he went down looking. Pearce followed with a sac fly and the Bucs had a 2-0 lead. Correia cruised through the 2nd and 3rd innings, bringing the Bucs to the plate in the 4th in what would be another embarrassing inning for the Cubs.
After Overpaid flied out, Cedeno walked and Correia bunted him over to second. Tabata then walked and Pearce was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Cutch, who also walked to bring in the third run for the Bucs. Neil Walker followed with an "infield single" that was more like a fielder's choice in which Steve Pearce beat A-Ram to the bag. Either way, the Bucs took a 4-0 lead. The action was pretty uninteresting the rest of the way until the bottom of the 9th when Jake Taylor called on Joe Beimel to hold the 4 run lead for the squad. Beimel, as has been the case recently, failed miserably to do so, walking Carlos Pena and surrendering a 2-run home run to Soriano. At this point, it looked like the Bucs were going to give another one away that had been handed over on a silver platter. However, Hanrahan jogged out of the pen and absolutely dominated the Cubbies, striking out the side and earning his 14th save in 14 attempts. When you are struggling to score runs, take 'em any way you can get 'em. Final tally: Bucs 4 Cubs 2.
Player of the Game- Kevin Correia- 7.1 IP, 4 H 0R, 2 BB, 2 K. Hanrahan gets an honorable mention for his save, striking out the side after Beimel let the Cubs back in teh game.
Headscratcher of the Game: Take your pick if you're a Cubs fan, anything in the 2nd or 4th innings would suffice.
Facepalm of the Game- Beimel letting the Cubs back into the game in the bottom of the 9th, not even getting an out!
Saturday, the dormant Bucs bats woke up and finally they did it for Paul Maholm and never has a pitcher been more deserving. If I were to recap this entire game, it would take an hour or so, thus I will give a condensed version:
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Fact Vs. Fiction
The Pro-Nutter crowd came into this season praising the Pirates offense as if a reincarnation of the Lightning and Lumber Company that came along before my time. It was the starting pitching everybody was worried about. Cutch was so confident in this team's offensive potential, he uttered this phrase :
So, count Cutch amongst those who are puzzled with the Bucs lack of offensive production. He also looks as if all of his limbs are securely intact, but maybe Dr., Patrick Demeo should check him out. Even though the widely used excuse for this is that all MLB teams are pitching fairly well, the Bucs are still 26th out of 30 teams in batting average with an anemic .236. They are 4th in strikeouts (not in a good way), 22nd in OBP, 26th in slugging %, 23rd in HRs, and 27th in runs scored. Even if this is another " Year of the Pitcher", this unstoppable line up is performing well below even the middle of the pack. I just wander what made people believe so firmly this offensve was going to be so oustanding? Last season, not one player in this season's starting line up hit over .300. That is unfair because Tabata hit .299, but the point holds true. Only one returning player had over 20 HRs last season, Jones with 21, and only 2 had more than 15 (Jones again and Alvarez with 16). The big weapon added was Overpaid , who did hit 20 HR last year, but also batted .243.
Since this juggernaut of an offense currently lays dormant, the Nutters prefer to point to a perceived positive instead of an obvious negative: the starting pitching is stellar in their eyes. However, that is not entirely true. The Bucs are an astonishing 11th of 30 in team ERA and 7th of 16 in the NL. BUT they are 21st in runs allowed ( 12/16 in the NL), 26th in Strikeouts, a solid 16th in BB allowed,13th in HR allowed and 17th in hits. Those numbers are not bad overall but certainly not at the level of the praise being heaped upon the bunch. I have been pleasantly suprised by the performance of the pitching staff, but when you take an average pitching staff and a far below average offense, you get a bunch of L's.
The Bucs hope to exorcise some demons tomorrow against the Cubs at Wrigley, where they have put up good numbers over the past 2 seasons. Maybe that "too big to fail" offense will finally show up. DK has been predicting it for a few days now and feels he is due to be right strictly based on the law of averages. But does the law of averages apply to everybody or just those who are average? If so, we could be in for a long slumber of sleeping bats.
So, count Cutch amongst those who are puzzled with the Bucs lack of offensive production. He also looks as if all of his limbs are securely intact, but maybe Dr., Patrick Demeo should check him out. Even though the widely used excuse for this is that all MLB teams are pitching fairly well, the Bucs are still 26th out of 30 teams in batting average with an anemic .236. They are 4th in strikeouts (not in a good way), 22nd in OBP, 26th in slugging %, 23rd in HRs, and 27th in runs scored. Even if this is another " Year of the Pitcher", this unstoppable line up is performing well below even the middle of the pack. I just wander what made people believe so firmly this offensve was going to be so oustanding? Last season, not one player in this season's starting line up hit over .300. That is unfair because Tabata hit .299, but the point holds true. Only one returning player had over 20 HRs last season, Jones with 21, and only 2 had more than 15 (Jones again and Alvarez with 16). The big weapon added was Overpaid , who did hit 20 HR last year, but also batted .243.
Since this juggernaut of an offense currently lays dormant, the Nutters prefer to point to a perceived positive instead of an obvious negative: the starting pitching is stellar in their eyes. However, that is not entirely true. The Bucs are an astonishing 11th of 30 in team ERA and 7th of 16 in the NL. BUT they are 21st in runs allowed ( 12/16 in the NL), 26th in Strikeouts, a solid 16th in BB allowed,13th in HR allowed and 17th in hits. Those numbers are not bad overall but certainly not at the level of the praise being heaped upon the bunch. I have been pleasantly suprised by the performance of the pitching staff, but when you take an average pitching staff and a far below average offense, you get a bunch of L's.
The Bucs hope to exorcise some demons tomorrow against the Cubs at Wrigley, where they have put up good numbers over the past 2 seasons. Maybe that "too big to fail" offense will finally show up. DK has been predicting it for a few days now and feels he is due to be right strictly based on the law of averages. But does the law of averages apply to everybody or just those who are average? If so, we could be in for a long slumber of sleeping bats.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Slip Sliding Away
The Bucs let another get away, this time in 11 innings. Steve Pearce, who was 3-4 with 2 RBI coming into the 9th hit into an inning ending double play with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 9th and the game tied 2-2.
Jeff Karstens surrendered a 2 run job to Brooks Conrad in the top of the 11th and the Bucs went down in order in the bottom of the inning to take the loss 4-2.
Jeff Karstens surrendered a 2 run job to Brooks Conrad in the top of the 11th and the Bucs went down in order in the bottom of the inning to take the loss 4-2.
Just Not Their Night
I will ignore the fact that more people turned out to watch Hines Ward win the Mirrorball Trophy than watch the Bucsc and Braves do battle last night. Actually, I had to mention it.....
Anyways, the Bucs were blanked for a second straight game, this time by Bravos ace Jair Jurrjens, once rumored to be 'Burgh bound in exchange for Jack Wilson. Charlie Morton was good enough to win, but couldn't get any run support, even inflicting damage on himself by failing to get a bunt off properly. The Bucs had their chances, but couldn't capitalize.
Morton got through the first with relative ease, walking Larry Jones but fanning Brian MCann to end the inning. The Bucs went down in order in the first, with GI Jones hitting what appeared to be a singled up the middle but SS Alex Gonzalez was positioned perfectly behind 2nd base to record the out. After getting Eric Hinske to ground out to begin the inning, Morton surrendered a single to Gonzalez and another to Freddie Freeman with a nice piece of hitting with a runner on the move. A-Gon moved to third and was sac flied home by Brooks Conrad. Morton retired Jurrjens to end the inning down 1-0, recovering nicely from having 1st and 3rd and only 1 out.
The Bucs would threaten in the home half of the 2nd, with Overbay singling with one out and Chris Snyder singling after a Brandon Wood K. With 2 on and 2 out, Ronnie Cedeno smoked a line drive up the first base line but was snagged on a tremendous diving effort from Freeman. The Bravos doubled their lead in the 3rd when Jordan Shaefer drew a lead off walk and scored on a Prado double to left. Although Shaefer is very speedy, I felt Tabata's effort on this play was lacking as he appeared to lolly gag his way to the ball. 2-0 Braves.
As expected, the game was pitchers duel and not much happened until the 5th. Morton allowed Jurrjens to reach base on a leadoff single, but seemed to work his way out of it by getting Shaefer to line out to Cedeno and Prado to hit into what could have been an inning ending double play. Overpaid made a nice diving stab and throw to Cedeno for 1, but Prado beat Ronnie's relay to Morton. The next batter was Larry Jones and he almost make Morton pay big time, crushing a drive to deep right center and appearing to leave the yard. However, a less than brilliant fan reached over the wall in an attempt to catch the ball and Jones was awarded a double as a result of fan interference. Replay upheld the ruling and Morton got McCann to ground out to Overpaid.
In the bottom of the 5th Wood flied out but Snyder and Cedeno singled to put 2 men on for Morton, with one out. Morton's attempt to bunt failed miserably as he pooped up to 3rd, forcing Larry Jones to put his aging body on the line to make a tremendous diving grab in foul territory. Cutch was up next and followed one all too familiar lack of fundamentals with another: attempting to pull an outside pitch. The result was a harmless fly out to 2nd base.
After this, and I am not kidding, I fell asleep and woke up in the bottom of the 9th to see the Pride of Pine Richland fan to start things off. Overpaid followed with a ground out and Doumit K-ed to end the game. Final count- Braves 2, Pirates 0.
Player of the game- Jair Jurrjens 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1BB, 4K , 0 R
Play of the Game- Freddie Freeman's snag in the 2nd and his single to move Gonzalez from 1st to 3rd on a hit and run.
Headscratcher of the Game- Brandon Wood almost allowing Larry Jones an infield hit after focusing too long on looking Gonzalez back to 2nd on a routine grounder
FACEPALM of the Night- Morton's botched bunt followed by Cutch's popout.
The Bucs have had trouble bunting and hitting outside pitches to the opposite field for years. Tonight, both of those issues plagued the team on consecutive plays. Up next is an afternoon tilt with the Bravos and a chance for the Bucs to walk away with a split. J-Mac vs some unknown Braves pitcher who has 9 career MLB starts and a 10.38 ERA on the year named Mike Minor. He will probably throw a no hitter.
Anyways, the Bucs were blanked for a second straight game, this time by Bravos ace Jair Jurrjens, once rumored to be 'Burgh bound in exchange for Jack Wilson. Charlie Morton was good enough to win, but couldn't get any run support, even inflicting damage on himself by failing to get a bunt off properly. The Bucs had their chances, but couldn't capitalize.
Morton got through the first with relative ease, walking Larry Jones but fanning Brian MCann to end the inning. The Bucs went down in order in the first, with GI Jones hitting what appeared to be a singled up the middle but SS Alex Gonzalez was positioned perfectly behind 2nd base to record the out. After getting Eric Hinske to ground out to begin the inning, Morton surrendered a single to Gonzalez and another to Freddie Freeman with a nice piece of hitting with a runner on the move. A-Gon moved to third and was sac flied home by Brooks Conrad. Morton retired Jurrjens to end the inning down 1-0, recovering nicely from having 1st and 3rd and only 1 out.
The Bucs would threaten in the home half of the 2nd, with Overbay singling with one out and Chris Snyder singling after a Brandon Wood K. With 2 on and 2 out, Ronnie Cedeno smoked a line drive up the first base line but was snagged on a tremendous diving effort from Freeman. The Bravos doubled their lead in the 3rd when Jordan Shaefer drew a lead off walk and scored on a Prado double to left. Although Shaefer is very speedy, I felt Tabata's effort on this play was lacking as he appeared to lolly gag his way to the ball. 2-0 Braves.
As expected, the game was pitchers duel and not much happened until the 5th. Morton allowed Jurrjens to reach base on a leadoff single, but seemed to work his way out of it by getting Shaefer to line out to Cedeno and Prado to hit into what could have been an inning ending double play. Overpaid made a nice diving stab and throw to Cedeno for 1, but Prado beat Ronnie's relay to Morton. The next batter was Larry Jones and he almost make Morton pay big time, crushing a drive to deep right center and appearing to leave the yard. However, a less than brilliant fan reached over the wall in an attempt to catch the ball and Jones was awarded a double as a result of fan interference. Replay upheld the ruling and Morton got McCann to ground out to Overpaid.
In the bottom of the 5th Wood flied out but Snyder and Cedeno singled to put 2 men on for Morton, with one out. Morton's attempt to bunt failed miserably as he pooped up to 3rd, forcing Larry Jones to put his aging body on the line to make a tremendous diving grab in foul territory. Cutch was up next and followed one all too familiar lack of fundamentals with another: attempting to pull an outside pitch. The result was a harmless fly out to 2nd base.
After this, and I am not kidding, I fell asleep and woke up in the bottom of the 9th to see the Pride of Pine Richland fan to start things off. Overpaid followed with a ground out and Doumit K-ed to end the game. Final count- Braves 2, Pirates 0.
Player of the game- Jair Jurrjens 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1BB, 4K , 0 R
Play of the Game- Freddie Freeman's snag in the 2nd and his single to move Gonzalez from 1st to 3rd on a hit and run.
Headscratcher of the Game- Brandon Wood almost allowing Larry Jones an infield hit after focusing too long on looking Gonzalez back to 2nd on a routine grounder
FACEPALM of the Night- Morton's botched bunt followed by Cutch's popout.
The Bucs have had trouble bunting and hitting outside pitches to the opposite field for years. Tonight, both of those issues plagued the team on consecutive plays. Up next is an afternoon tilt with the Bravos and a chance for the Bucs to walk away with a split. J-Mac vs some unknown Braves pitcher who has 9 career MLB starts and a 10.38 ERA on the year named Mike Minor. He will probably throw a no hitter.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
If You Can't Take The Heat.......
Yesterday, the Bucs PG beat writer Colin Dunlap admirably resigned his post citing his desire to pursue other goals as well as spending more time with his 3-month old twins. I don't know Colin Dunlap at all, but I can tell you right now he is a great father to do that for his kids. He should be commended for doing something of such a magnitude and his reasons are as good as any. The title of my post has nothing to do with Colin, it has to do with the open position the PG must now fill the opposition from Pro-Nutters to a potentital candidate.
BucsDugout, a blog that is highly Pro-Nutter, has interpreted John Perrotto's recent tweets as proof he would like to throw his hat into the ring for consideration for the PG beat position. The BucsDugout staff seemed to be vehemently opposed to this possibility, citing Perrotto's outward distaste for Nuthouse and the FO as proof he is unfit for this position. The same John Perrotto that writes for Baseball Prospectus, ESPN Insider, is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and thus holds a Hall of Fame vote is not fit for the PG Bucs beat?
On what grounds, I ask? Is it because of his flame out during his time writing the Pirates Report when he refused to lie? Maybe it's because he does not worship the ground Nuthouse, Opie, and Lying Liar walk on? Hell, it could just simply be that he doesn't spin everything in the FO's favor to distort their true intentions to deceive fans, take from MLB welfare, and line their fat cat pockets while playing in a tax payer funded venue. I think the Pro's just don't like hearing the truth.They have become so enamored with the FO and their endless web of lies and deceit of this loyal fan base that the Pro's just LOVE to be taken advantage of by the BMTIAB. Look at the turnout over the weekend; I know somebody who actually was turned away Saturday night!
I, for one, am not entirely sure what Nuthouse and FO have ever done to earn so many people's trust, but there must be something I am truly missing. Perrotto writing for the PG would be great for us Anti's, finally someone on the beat who isn't afraid to call it like he sees it. As of late, DK has seemed to me like he is becoming a full-fledged Pro-Nutter. Friday night he tweeted that nobody in the press box was talking about the Stroll Inn and it should be a dead issue. The next night, he was excited over the Pirates fans chants drowning out Tigers fans chants. That would be impressive if we were playing Detroit, but at a home game the home team should have more, louder ( if not drunker) fans. This is wasn't a Pens-Thrashers game in ATL after all.
Those of us in the Anti camp should be fully behind someone like Perrotto getting that job but the reality is he doesn't have a chance for all of those reasons that BucsDugout cited. Nobody wants to step on anybody's toes, call anybody's mistakes out, or hold them accountable for their actions. Unless of course that somebody is a Mom n Pop bar in Kennedy Twp.
BucsDugout, a blog that is highly Pro-Nutter, has interpreted John Perrotto's recent tweets as proof he would like to throw his hat into the ring for consideration for the PG beat position. The BucsDugout staff seemed to be vehemently opposed to this possibility, citing Perrotto's outward distaste for Nuthouse and the FO as proof he is unfit for this position. The same John Perrotto that writes for Baseball Prospectus, ESPN Insider, is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and thus holds a Hall of Fame vote is not fit for the PG Bucs beat?
On what grounds, I ask? Is it because of his flame out during his time writing the Pirates Report when he refused to lie? Maybe it's because he does not worship the ground Nuthouse, Opie, and Lying Liar walk on? Hell, it could just simply be that he doesn't spin everything in the FO's favor to distort their true intentions to deceive fans, take from MLB welfare, and line their fat cat pockets while playing in a tax payer funded venue. I think the Pro's just don't like hearing the truth.They have become so enamored with the FO and their endless web of lies and deceit of this loyal fan base that the Pro's just LOVE to be taken advantage of by the BMTIAB. Look at the turnout over the weekend; I know somebody who actually was turned away Saturday night!
I, for one, am not entirely sure what Nuthouse and FO have ever done to earn so many people's trust, but there must be something I am truly missing. Perrotto writing for the PG would be great for us Anti's, finally someone on the beat who isn't afraid to call it like he sees it. As of late, DK has seemed to me like he is becoming a full-fledged Pro-Nutter. Friday night he tweeted that nobody in the press box was talking about the Stroll Inn and it should be a dead issue. The next night, he was excited over the Pirates fans chants drowning out Tigers fans chants. That would be impressive if we were playing Detroit, but at a home game the home team should have more, louder ( if not drunker) fans. This is wasn't a Pens-Thrashers game in ATL after all.
Those of us in the Anti camp should be fully behind someone like Perrotto getting that job but the reality is he doesn't have a chance for all of those reasons that BucsDugout cited. Nobody wants to step on anybody's toes, call anybody's mistakes out, or hold them accountable for their actions. Unless of course that somebody is a Mom n Pop bar in Kennedy Twp.
Monday, May 23, 2011
These Pirates cannot tell a lie...
Just as he was starting to seem to come around, Kdro went down with a quad strain and was placed on the 15-Day disabled list. In the name of "position flexibility,” and finding a guy named Pedro who would have an even more difficult time adjusting to big league pitching, the Pirates have called up Pedro Ciriaco from AAA Indianapolis, who was hitting a whopping .190 for the Indians at the time of his promotion.
That’s right folks, .190 at AAA is good enough to get you a promotion to the big league club. Of course, being the Pirates, they couldn't even handle a simple injury replacement without some espionage and bizarre cover up operation being involved.
An entire convoluted story was fabricated in Indianapolis about Ciriaco goofing off and being lazy in batting practice, taking a ground ball off his leg, and being injured was given as the reason he was scratched from the Indians lineup on Friday night, not an impending Major League callup. Given his .190 batting average and 9 errors in the field, do you think fans and media in Indy would really question him being sat out for a game if they didn't make up such an intricate story in the first place? Bizarre lying is apparently part of the Pirates much touted "organizational depth."
Opie was furious about the lack of honesty, as the man who was given the Top Secret Contract Extension that wasn’t announced to the public for 6 months, he understands that only at the highest levels of the organization, should information about the ballclub be hoarded and spun in peculiar Machiavellian fashion.
"If it was a blatant attempt at dishonesty, there will be some consequences," he said. Of course being the Pirates, the information about the punishment for deliberate and deceitful information will be under stricter top secret classification than the raid that took out Osama Bin Laden.
"We're in the midst of looking into what happened, how it happened, why it happened," Huntington said. "Blatant dishonesty is not something we will tolerate as an organization. We're going to be protective of information. We may not disclose information ... for competitive reasons, for personal reasons, for the player's sake. But we're never going to just flat-out lie about something."
You heard it right there folks: blatant dishonesty WILL NOT be tolerated in the Pirates organization. They WILL NOT flat out lie to you. War is peace, Love is hate, and losing baseball is hope for the future. But don’t you dare accuse the lying liars of lying.
When they say that this is the core group of young players going forward to bring the team back to respectability and contention, and they will keep this team in place and make the needed additions to fill in the holes as the team gets better, this time they really, really, really mean it. Promise.
That’s right folks, .190 at AAA is good enough to get you a promotion to the big league club. Of course, being the Pirates, they couldn't even handle a simple injury replacement without some espionage and bizarre cover up operation being involved.
An entire convoluted story was fabricated in Indianapolis about Ciriaco goofing off and being lazy in batting practice, taking a ground ball off his leg, and being injured was given as the reason he was scratched from the Indians lineup on Friday night, not an impending Major League callup. Given his .190 batting average and 9 errors in the field, do you think fans and media in Indy would really question him being sat out for a game if they didn't make up such an intricate story in the first place? Bizarre lying is apparently part of the Pirates much touted "organizational depth."
Opie was furious about the lack of honesty, as the man who was given the Top Secret Contract Extension that wasn’t announced to the public for 6 months, he understands that only at the highest levels of the organization, should information about the ballclub be hoarded and spun in peculiar Machiavellian fashion.
"If it was a blatant attempt at dishonesty, there will be some consequences," he said. Of course being the Pirates, the information about the punishment for deliberate and deceitful information will be under stricter top secret classification than the raid that took out Osama Bin Laden.
"We're in the midst of looking into what happened, how it happened, why it happened," Huntington said. "Blatant dishonesty is not something we will tolerate as an organization. We're going to be protective of information. We may not disclose information ... for competitive reasons, for personal reasons, for the player's sake. But we're never going to just flat-out lie about something."
You heard it right there folks: blatant dishonesty WILL NOT be tolerated in the Pirates organization. They WILL NOT flat out lie to you. War is peace, Love is hate, and losing baseball is hope for the future. But don’t you dare accuse the lying liars of lying.
When they say that this is the core group of young players going forward to bring the team back to respectability and contention, and they will keep this team in place and make the needed additions to fill in the holes as the team gets better, this time they really, really, really mean it. Promise.
Bucs vs. Tigers Series Recap
Happy Work Week to our weary followers! Seeing that we have all survived the Rapture, here is a recap of the series that was the Pirates versus the Detroit Tigers:
Friday night, the Bucs kicked things off in glorious fashion. Jeff Karstens was excellent on the mound, perfect through 4.2 IP, retiring the first 14 batters in a row. Cutch ended the 5th with a spectacular sliding grab in CF, preserving the 1-0 lead. The Tigers notched their only run of the game in the top of the 6th when #8 hitter Ramon Santiago swatted a Karstens "fastball" into the RF bleachers, but despite giving up an Austin Jackson double with 1 out, Karstens ended his night by retiring the next 2 batters.
Lyle Overpaid then got the Bucs the lead right back by driving a Brad Penny pitch, one of the few that qualified as a strike, into the left center field bullpen. Penny would proceed to walk Brandon Wood and surrender a single to Cedeno, prompting Jake Taylor to call on veteran Matt Diaz to pinch hit. This is where the game turned as Diaz hit into what should have been a Taylor made inning ending double play. However, in Pirates like fashion, Tigers 2B Scott Sizemore did not make a perfect throw to lard-ass 1B Miguel Cabrera and the ball got past him allowing Wood to score and Diaz to be safe at first. Cabrera's effort on that play reminds me why he longer players 3B as he makes Kdro Alvarez look like he has Ozzie Smith type range. Cutch was up next and drew a walk closing the book on Penny. Smokey the Manager called on Brayan Villareal who picked up right where Penny left off, walking Tabata and loading the bases for GI Jones who thrashed a double to left, scoring 2 and increasing the lead to 5-1. The Pride of Pine Richland was up next and he made it count, driving a double to LF, scoring Tabata and GI Jones. The man who started the fun, Overpaid, would fly out to deep left to end the inning with bucs in control 7-1 after the Tigers couldn't convert an easy DP that could have left the score at 2-1.
The next inning and a half was uneventful but the Bucs managed to widen the gap further in the bottom of the 8th when the Pride of Pine Richland drove a Jose Valverde offering into the RF bleachers. Jose Ascanio came on for the Bucs to work a scoreless 9th, ending the game by fanning the Pride of Mt. Lebanon/Point Park Donny Kelly to end the game. Final Score: Bucs 10 Tigers 1.
Player of the Game: Neil Walker 2-5, 2B, HR (6), 5 RBI (29). Karstens was a close second going 6 IP giving up only 3 hits and 1 ER.
Play of the Game: Cutch's diving snag in the 5th, which also was #7 on ESPN's Top 10 for the night
Head Scratcher of the Night: Had to be the botched double play ball that let the Bucs open the game up. The effort, or lack thereof, from Cabrera was abhorrent on that play.
Saturday
Friday night, the Bucs kicked things off in glorious fashion. Jeff Karstens was excellent on the mound, perfect through 4.2 IP, retiring the first 14 batters in a row. Cutch ended the 5th with a spectacular sliding grab in CF, preserving the 1-0 lead. The Tigers notched their only run of the game in the top of the 6th when #8 hitter Ramon Santiago swatted a Karstens "fastball" into the RF bleachers, but despite giving up an Austin Jackson double with 1 out, Karstens ended his night by retiring the next 2 batters.
Lyle Overpaid then got the Bucs the lead right back by driving a Brad Penny pitch, one of the few that qualified as a strike, into the left center field bullpen. Penny would proceed to walk Brandon Wood and surrender a single to Cedeno, prompting Jake Taylor to call on veteran Matt Diaz to pinch hit. This is where the game turned as Diaz hit into what should have been a Taylor made inning ending double play. However, in Pirates like fashion, Tigers 2B Scott Sizemore did not make a perfect throw to lard-ass 1B Miguel Cabrera and the ball got past him allowing Wood to score and Diaz to be safe at first. Cabrera's effort on that play reminds me why he longer players 3B as he makes Kdro Alvarez look like he has Ozzie Smith type range. Cutch was up next and drew a walk closing the book on Penny. Smokey the Manager called on Brayan Villareal who picked up right where Penny left off, walking Tabata and loading the bases for GI Jones who thrashed a double to left, scoring 2 and increasing the lead to 5-1. The Pride of Pine Richland was up next and he made it count, driving a double to LF, scoring Tabata and GI Jones. The man who started the fun, Overpaid, would fly out to deep left to end the inning with bucs in control 7-1 after the Tigers couldn't convert an easy DP that could have left the score at 2-1.
The next inning and a half was uneventful but the Bucs managed to widen the gap further in the bottom of the 8th when the Pride of Pine Richland drove a Jose Valverde offering into the RF bleachers. Jose Ascanio came on for the Bucs to work a scoreless 9th, ending the game by fanning the Pride of Mt. Lebanon/Point Park Donny Kelly to end the game. Final Score: Bucs 10 Tigers 1.
Player of the Game: Neil Walker 2-5, 2B, HR (6), 5 RBI (29). Karstens was a close second going 6 IP giving up only 3 hits and 1 ER.
Play of the Game: Cutch's diving snag in the 5th, which also was #7 on ESPN's Top 10 for the night
Head Scratcher of the Night: Had to be the botched double play ball that let the Bucs open the game up. The effort, or lack thereof, from Cabrera was abhorrent on that play.
Saturday
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Week In Review
As we head into the final weeked of humanity as we know it, at least according to the same whackjob who predicted the world would end 17 years ago, I decided to recap the week that was in the screwed up world of Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball:
Sunday- The Bucs took on the Brontosaurus and his Crew in an attempt to actually win a game in Milwaukee. After being shellacked 8-2 the previous night, the Bucs were looking to save face at a ball park that has been nothing but a House of Horrors for them. In typical Bucs fashion, they were handed another deflating loss at the by the Brew Crew, this time snatching defeat from the jaws of potential victory, nearly mounting an impossible comeback. Trailing 6-0 heading into the 5th inning, the Bucs managed to put together a 5 run inning to cut the Brewers lead to 1. It was, as is almost always the case, all for naught as All-Star Candidate Chris Resop surrendered a 2 run HR in the bottom half of the inning effectively squashing any chance of getting back into the game and avoiding another sweep.
Series Recap- The Brewers took all 3 games in this one, outscoring the Pirates by a total score of 22-10, which is a vast improvement over last year's living nightmare at the JotNS where the Pirates appeared to finally hit bottom for the 426th time since 1992, being outscored 36-1 over the 3 home games. That's right folks: 36-1, I couldn't make that up if I tried.
This series also featured the "Take $1 off the ticket price for every run scored during the series" promo. I wonder if a.) it was a coincidence the FO chose a series being played in a Park where the Bucs typically suck it up and b.) Nuthouse wanted to bench the players who drove in 5 runs in the 5th inning Sunday.
Monday- The Bucs moved on to the Nation's capital to take on an equally terrible Nationals team for a 2 game set. It was another day in the life of Christian Husband Paul Maholm, who pitched well enough to win but got no run support in return. As a result, his season record plummeted to an undeserved 1-6 for the season. The Bucs left 9 men on base total and 6 in scoring position. They also managed another mind numbing failure when they attempted to have Maholm squeeze home catcher Chris Snyder, he of the ZERO CAREER STOLEN BASE variety, ending in a caught stealing home in the box score.
Tuesday- This turned out to be a fruitful day for both sides of the warring Bucs fans factions. For the Pro's it was a good day because the Bucs didn't lose thanks in part to a rain out. For the Anti's, it was an even better day thanks to the Lying Liar's upholding of his employee's First Amendment rights and yet another drop in the endless bucket of FO stupidity. I am not going to elaborate right now on the events of the Tuesday, but it was the impetus for us at the Mutiny to finally start this blog.
Sunday- The Bucs took on the Brontosaurus and his Crew in an attempt to actually win a game in Milwaukee. After being shellacked 8-2 the previous night, the Bucs were looking to save face at a ball park that has been nothing but a House of Horrors for them. In typical Bucs fashion, they were handed another deflating loss at the by the Brew Crew, this time snatching defeat from the jaws of potential victory, nearly mounting an impossible comeback. Trailing 6-0 heading into the 5th inning, the Bucs managed to put together a 5 run inning to cut the Brewers lead to 1. It was, as is almost always the case, all for naught as All-Star Candidate Chris Resop surrendered a 2 run HR in the bottom half of the inning effectively squashing any chance of getting back into the game and avoiding another sweep.
Series Recap- The Brewers took all 3 games in this one, outscoring the Pirates by a total score of 22-10, which is a vast improvement over last year's living nightmare at the JotNS where the Pirates appeared to finally hit bottom for the 426th time since 1992, being outscored 36-1 over the 3 home games. That's right folks: 36-1, I couldn't make that up if I tried.
This series also featured the "Take $1 off the ticket price for every run scored during the series" promo. I wonder if a.) it was a coincidence the FO chose a series being played in a Park where the Bucs typically suck it up and b.) Nuthouse wanted to bench the players who drove in 5 runs in the 5th inning Sunday.
Monday- The Bucs moved on to the Nation's capital to take on an equally terrible Nationals team for a 2 game set. It was another day in the life of Christian Husband Paul Maholm, who pitched well enough to win but got no run support in return. As a result, his season record plummeted to an undeserved 1-6 for the season. The Bucs left 9 men on base total and 6 in scoring position. They also managed another mind numbing failure when they attempted to have Maholm squeeze home catcher Chris Snyder, he of the ZERO CAREER STOLEN BASE variety, ending in a caught stealing home in the box score.
Tuesday- This turned out to be a fruitful day for both sides of the warring Bucs fans factions. For the Pro's it was a good day because the Bucs didn't lose thanks in part to a rain out. For the Anti's, it was an even better day thanks to the Lying Liar's upholding of his employee's First Amendment rights and yet another drop in the endless bucket of FO stupidity. I am not going to elaborate right now on the events of the Tuesday, but it was the impetus for us at the Mutiny to finally start this blog.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Win One Tomorrow
And that's called a winning streak. It has happened before.
The Bucs are in the process of stringing together a couple of W's. Consecutively, no less. The Pride of Pine Richland and Cutch have done a nice job driving in runs so far this season and they continued that trend today with Walker doubling in a pair w/2 outs in the 5th and Cutch knocking in another in the 8th. Kdro managed to go hitless but all is not lost as he did not strikeout and managed 2 walks, which is probably a career high. J-Mac pitched well, giving up 1 ER over 6.2 IP fanning 4 and only walking 1. Joel Hanrahan worked a rocky 9th to earn the save, settling down after giving up a leadoff HR to Jay Bruce.
Now, the Bucs will come home to face a 2nd Place Tigers team and their Interleague Play hating manager who just happens to be revered around these parts for his success during the Glory Years and his chain smoking in the dugout. As we have witnessed pretty much anytime the Bucs come home with anything that could even remotely be considered momentum, they seem to crap themselves. That is never more apparent than when theyre facing an AL opponent. The Bucs were a whopping 2-13 last year in Interleague play and .372 lifetime. Even for a horrible franchise, those are horrible numbers.
Hopefully, people will not be duped into buying tickets solely for the Pride of Pine Richland bobblehead and stay the hell away from the JotNS this weekend. The Bucs corporate brass supports boycotting a local mom and pop bar because they can't take a joke, I think Pittsburghers should return the favor and boycott their fraud of an MLB team. After all, turn about is fair play and we are all entitled to our own opinions. Just ask the Lying Liar......
The Bucs are in the process of stringing together a couple of W's. Consecutively, no less. The Pride of Pine Richland and Cutch have done a nice job driving in runs so far this season and they continued that trend today with Walker doubling in a pair w/2 outs in the 5th and Cutch knocking in another in the 8th. Kdro managed to go hitless but all is not lost as he did not strikeout and managed 2 walks, which is probably a career high. J-Mac pitched well, giving up 1 ER over 6.2 IP fanning 4 and only walking 1. Joel Hanrahan worked a rocky 9th to earn the save, settling down after giving up a leadoff HR to Jay Bruce.
Now, the Bucs will come home to face a 2nd Place Tigers team and their Interleague Play hating manager who just happens to be revered around these parts for his success during the Glory Years and his chain smoking in the dugout. As we have witnessed pretty much anytime the Bucs come home with anything that could even remotely be considered momentum, they seem to crap themselves. That is never more apparent than when theyre facing an AL opponent. The Bucs were a whopping 2-13 last year in Interleague play and .372 lifetime. Even for a horrible franchise, those are horrible numbers.
Hopefully, people will not be duped into buying tickets solely for the Pride of Pine Richland bobblehead and stay the hell away from the JotNS this weekend. The Bucs corporate brass supports boycotting a local mom and pop bar because they can't take a joke, I think Pittsburghers should return the favor and boycott their fraud of an MLB team. After all, turn about is fair play and we are all entitled to our own opinions. Just ask the Lying Liar......
Running Blog of Pirates-Reds Radio Broadcast
05/19/2011
12:35- We get the team of Tim Neverett and The Rock, John Wehner on the call. It’s a shame we won’t get the unintentional comedy of Greg Brown, but I love the way Neverett really sounds exactly like Bob Uecker from Major League. Very fitting radio guy for this team. Juuussst a bit outside. I Wonder how long till we start getting philosophical musings from the Rock.
James McDonald (2-3, 6.20 ERA 35K, 22BB in 8 starts) gets the start for the Bucs. Johnny Cueto will take the mound for the Reds (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 9K 3BB in 2 starts)
12:42 Top of the 1st- Garret Jones Strikes Out to end the first, 1-2-3. First K for Cueto for the game.
12:50 Bottom of the 1st- Cutch makes a spectacular catch in center field of a slicing line drive by Edgar Renteria. The Reds leadoff hitter is doubled off after rounding 2nd. Great play by the Bucs Centerfielder.
12:52 Bottom of the 1st- That’s the good news. The bad news is the Reds have hit McDonald very hard twice, and have now drawn a walk to get another runner on with 2 outs. Rock says that McDonald’s fastball does not look very good today, which may be trouble.
1:04 Top of the 2nd- Pirates threaten early, Walker draws a walk, and Overbay singles to Center. 1st and 2nd, no outs. Ryan Doumit up.
1:13 Top of the 2nd- Doumit sac fly, Walker to 3rd. Pedro actually draws a walk off the wild Cueto. Ronnie Cedeno comes up in a huge situation, and strikes out looking. Cueto retires his mound opponent McDonald . Pirates needed to come away with a crooked # that inning.
1:17 Bottom of the 2nd- 1-0 Reds: Jay Bruce takes McDonald yard. 9th homer of the year for Bruce. I’m expecting a slob-knocker of a game with two wild pitchers and this bandbox of a ballpark.
1:28 Middle of the 3rd- McDonald gets out with no further damage, Bucs go down 1-2-3 in the top of the 3rd, with Xavier Paul going down on Strikes. The Nutting Empire informs us during the commercial break that they would like us to try golfing at their 7 Springs “shot-gun” course.
1:41 Top of the 4th- Both pitchers seem to have settled down a bit. Doumit rapped a 2 out single for the first runner in for either team, but Pedro pops out to end the inning.
1:46 Bottom of the 4th- McDonald Strikes out Bruce on 3 straight pitches. Good to see him come back aggressive on the guy who dinged him last time up. It’s the first K on the game for J-Mac. Doumit then proceeds to gun down a stolen base attempt to end the inning. Forecast for Hell tonight: a bit chilly.
1:51 Top of the 5th - Cedeno whiffs for the 2nd time this game. McDonald follows and goes down on 3 straight pitches. Cueto was mowing through the bottom of the lineup, but Cutch lines a two out double into the gap, Xavier Paul has a bit at bat here with 2 outs and a guy on 2nd.
1:53 Top of the 5th- Pirates 1-Reds 1: Paul produces some two out lightning and drives Cutch in with a double of his own. Big conversion there with two outs.
1:55 Top of the 5th- Jones draws a walk, 1st and 2nd, two outs for Neil Walker.
1:59 Top of the 5th- Pirates 3-Reds 1: The Pride of Pine-Richland comes through in a huge way for the Bucs, he takes a 3-2 pitch off the wall in Center Field and drives in 2 with a 2 out 2 bagger. Pirates in command now heading to the bottom of the 5th.
2:08 Bottom of the 5th- Cuedo may be done for the day, a pinch hitter is in the on deck circle with a runner on 2nd.
2:11 Bottom of the 5th- Cuedo is in fact done, Johnny Gomes comes in to pinch hit after McDonald sits down Hernandez with his second K of the game.
2:13 Bottom of the 5th- Gomes is caught looking, as McDonald’s 3rd K victim of the game. Pirates rolling through 5.
2:15 Top of the 6th- Jordan Smith comes in relief for the Reds. 16 Apperances, 5.40 ERA on the season. Giving up a .361 average against, walked 6 and struck out 12.
2:17 Top of the 6th- Pirates 4-Reds 1: Ryan Doumit is the first batter to face Smith and takes him deep to the opposite field. Nice insurance run for the Bucs to pick up there.
2:19 Top of the 6th- Looks like Hurdle is sticking with McDonald, as he is batting here in the 6th.
2:22 Top of the 6th- McDonald managed a single up the middle, Cutch draws a walk. Two on, two out again. Xavier Paul can ice the game here.
2:23 Top of the 6th- Dusty Baker gets Smith the heck out of the there. Homerun, hit to the pitcher, and a walk after getting ahead in the count 0-2. Not a good outing for the reliever Smith.
2:25 Top of the 6th- Jose Arredondo comes in to try and finish out this inning for the Reds.
2:27 Top of the 6th- Rock brings up the infamous ‘downward plane’ that Oppie loves to opine about. Paul goes down on strikes to Arredondo’s downward plane pitching.
2:31 Bottom of the 6th- McDonald continues rolling late in this game, fanning his 4th for the game and 3rd in a row faced.
2:34 Bottom of the 6th- McDonald gets the Reds down 1-2-3 for the inning.
2:38 Top of the 7th- Arredondo stays in for the Reds. Jones goes down on strikes, but Walker drives another double off the wall. Pine-Richland is really feeling it.
2:44 Bottom of the 7th- Rock gives us a little ode to sunshine and pressing matters of weather are discussed. He then starts gauging the river levels of the Ohio.
“It looks a bit swollen, My geography isn’t great, I think the Ohio eventually runs into the Mississippi.”
Neverett: “I think so, yah”
The braintrust then tries to determine the city where the Ohio does intersect the Mississippi. This is why I love tuning into games with the Rock on the mic.
2:48 Bottom of the 7th- While such crucial subjects are being discussed, The Reds get guys on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Hurdle gets McDonald out of there, Daniel McCutchen will come in to try to get the Bucs out of this mini-jam.
2:53 Bottom of the 7th- McCutchen induces a groundball up the middle to get the Bucs out of the inning unscathed.
2:58 Top of the 8th- Alvarez draws his second walk of the game. Good to see him drawing out pitches and counts more as the season progresses.
3:02 Top of the 8th- On a botched fielder’s choice, the Pirates get guys on 1st and 2nd with no outs.
3:04 Top of the 8th- Pirates 5 – Reds 1: Cutch drives in another run with yet another double. Cutch and Walker have been double machines. Alvarez scores, 2nd and 3rd, one out. This could be it folks.
3:07 Top of the 8th- And the rally fizzles with a Xavier Paul strike out and a Matt Diaz grounder. Still, good to see the Bucs holding a grand slam lead with only 6 outs to go for the bullpen.
3:10 Bottom of the 8th- Jose Verez starts out the bottom of the 8th for the Bucs.
3:15 Bottom of the 8th- Veras gives up a walk, one on and one out for Edgar Renteria with the heart of the Reds lineup coming up.
3:18 Bottom of the 8th- Verez get Renteria down on strikes, then Hurdle brings in Joe Beimel to try to match up lefty on lefty against Joey Vatto.
3:22 Bottom of the 8th- Pirates 5 – Reds 2: Beimel gives up an RBI single to Vatto after a passed ball moves the runner to 2nd. The Bucs really need Beimel to bail them out of this inning now. He gets Phillips to bounce into a ground ball with the lead still at two runs heading into the last inning of play.
3:33 Bottom of the 9th- Joel Hanrahan looking for save #12, should be a pretty easy one for him to pick up.
3:36 Bottom of the 9th- Pirates 5 – Reds 3: Jay Bruce plays long ball again, 2nd of the day and 10th of the season for Bruce. Hanrahan nneeds to stay composed and just keep throwing strikes here.
3:37 Bottom of the 9th- Cedeno handles a ground ball for out #1 in the 9th.
3:38 Bottom of the 9th- Line drive to Tabata in left in left, 2 away, Ramon Hernadez comes up for the last gasp of the Reds.
3:39 Bottom of the 9th- Cutch makes a diving catch on a line drive to put an exclamation point on a quality win.
PIRATES WIN 5-3!!!
12:35- We get the team of Tim Neverett and The Rock, John Wehner on the call. It’s a shame we won’t get the unintentional comedy of Greg Brown, but I love the way Neverett really sounds exactly like Bob Uecker from Major League. Very fitting radio guy for this team. Juuussst a bit outside. I Wonder how long till we start getting philosophical musings from the Rock.
James McDonald (2-3, 6.20 ERA 35K, 22BB in 8 starts) gets the start for the Bucs. Johnny Cueto will take the mound for the Reds (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 9K 3BB in 2 starts)
12:42 Top of the 1st- Garret Jones Strikes Out to end the first, 1-2-3. First K for Cueto for the game.
12:50 Bottom of the 1st- Cutch makes a spectacular catch in center field of a slicing line drive by Edgar Renteria. The Reds leadoff hitter is doubled off after rounding 2nd. Great play by the Bucs Centerfielder.
12:52 Bottom of the 1st- That’s the good news. The bad news is the Reds have hit McDonald very hard twice, and have now drawn a walk to get another runner on with 2 outs. Rock says that McDonald’s fastball does not look very good today, which may be trouble.
1:04 Top of the 2nd- Pirates threaten early, Walker draws a walk, and Overbay singles to Center. 1st and 2nd, no outs. Ryan Doumit up.
1:13 Top of the 2nd- Doumit sac fly, Walker to 3rd. Pedro actually draws a walk off the wild Cueto. Ronnie Cedeno comes up in a huge situation, and strikes out looking. Cueto retires his mound opponent McDonald . Pirates needed to come away with a crooked # that inning.
1:17 Bottom of the 2nd- 1-0 Reds: Jay Bruce takes McDonald yard. 9th homer of the year for Bruce. I’m expecting a slob-knocker of a game with two wild pitchers and this bandbox of a ballpark.
1:28 Middle of the 3rd- McDonald gets out with no further damage, Bucs go down 1-2-3 in the top of the 3rd, with Xavier Paul going down on Strikes. The Nutting Empire informs us during the commercial break that they would like us to try golfing at their 7 Springs “shot-gun” course.
1:41 Top of the 4th- Both pitchers seem to have settled down a bit. Doumit rapped a 2 out single for the first runner in for either team, but Pedro pops out to end the inning.
1:46 Bottom of the 4th- McDonald Strikes out Bruce on 3 straight pitches. Good to see him come back aggressive on the guy who dinged him last time up. It’s the first K on the game for J-Mac. Doumit then proceeds to gun down a stolen base attempt to end the inning. Forecast for Hell tonight: a bit chilly.
1:51 Top of the 5th - Cedeno whiffs for the 2nd time this game. McDonald follows and goes down on 3 straight pitches. Cueto was mowing through the bottom of the lineup, but Cutch lines a two out double into the gap, Xavier Paul has a bit at bat here with 2 outs and a guy on 2nd.
1:53 Top of the 5th- Pirates 1-Reds 1: Paul produces some two out lightning and drives Cutch in with a double of his own. Big conversion there with two outs.
1:55 Top of the 5th- Jones draws a walk, 1st and 2nd, two outs for Neil Walker.
1:59 Top of the 5th- Pirates 3-Reds 1: The Pride of Pine-Richland comes through in a huge way for the Bucs, he takes a 3-2 pitch off the wall in Center Field and drives in 2 with a 2 out 2 bagger. Pirates in command now heading to the bottom of the 5th.
2:08 Bottom of the 5th- Cuedo may be done for the day, a pinch hitter is in the on deck circle with a runner on 2nd.
2:11 Bottom of the 5th- Cuedo is in fact done, Johnny Gomes comes in to pinch hit after McDonald sits down Hernandez with his second K of the game.
2:13 Bottom of the 5th- Gomes is caught looking, as McDonald’s 3rd K victim of the game. Pirates rolling through 5.
2:15 Top of the 6th- Jordan Smith comes in relief for the Reds. 16 Apperances, 5.40 ERA on the season. Giving up a .361 average against, walked 6 and struck out 12.
2:17 Top of the 6th- Pirates 4-Reds 1: Ryan Doumit is the first batter to face Smith and takes him deep to the opposite field. Nice insurance run for the Bucs to pick up there.
2:19 Top of the 6th- Looks like Hurdle is sticking with McDonald, as he is batting here in the 6th.
2:22 Top of the 6th- McDonald managed a single up the middle, Cutch draws a walk. Two on, two out again. Xavier Paul can ice the game here.
2:23 Top of the 6th- Dusty Baker gets Smith the heck out of the there. Homerun, hit to the pitcher, and a walk after getting ahead in the count 0-2. Not a good outing for the reliever Smith.
2:25 Top of the 6th- Jose Arredondo comes in to try and finish out this inning for the Reds.
2:27 Top of the 6th- Rock brings up the infamous ‘downward plane’ that Oppie loves to opine about. Paul goes down on strikes to Arredondo’s downward plane pitching.
2:31 Bottom of the 6th- McDonald continues rolling late in this game, fanning his 4th for the game and 3rd in a row faced.
2:34 Bottom of the 6th- McDonald gets the Reds down 1-2-3 for the inning.
2:38 Top of the 7th- Arredondo stays in for the Reds. Jones goes down on strikes, but Walker drives another double off the wall. Pine-Richland is really feeling it.
2:44 Bottom of the 7th- Rock gives us a little ode to sunshine and pressing matters of weather are discussed. He then starts gauging the river levels of the Ohio.
“It looks a bit swollen, My geography isn’t great, I think the Ohio eventually runs into the Mississippi.”
Neverett: “I think so, yah”
The braintrust then tries to determine the city where the Ohio does intersect the Mississippi. This is why I love tuning into games with the Rock on the mic.
2:48 Bottom of the 7th- While such crucial subjects are being discussed, The Reds get guys on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Hurdle gets McDonald out of there, Daniel McCutchen will come in to try to get the Bucs out of this mini-jam.
2:53 Bottom of the 7th- McCutchen induces a groundball up the middle to get the Bucs out of the inning unscathed.
2:58 Top of the 8th- Alvarez draws his second walk of the game. Good to see him drawing out pitches and counts more as the season progresses.
3:02 Top of the 8th- On a botched fielder’s choice, the Pirates get guys on 1st and 2nd with no outs.
3:04 Top of the 8th- Pirates 5 – Reds 1: Cutch drives in another run with yet another double. Cutch and Walker have been double machines. Alvarez scores, 2nd and 3rd, one out. This could be it folks.
3:07 Top of the 8th- And the rally fizzles with a Xavier Paul strike out and a Matt Diaz grounder. Still, good to see the Bucs holding a grand slam lead with only 6 outs to go for the bullpen.
3:10 Bottom of the 8th- Jose Verez starts out the bottom of the 8th for the Bucs.
3:15 Bottom of the 8th- Veras gives up a walk, one on and one out for Edgar Renteria with the heart of the Reds lineup coming up.
3:18 Bottom of the 8th- Verez get Renteria down on strikes, then Hurdle brings in Joe Beimel to try to match up lefty on lefty against Joey Vatto.
3:22 Bottom of the 8th- Pirates 5 – Reds 2: Beimel gives up an RBI single to Vatto after a passed ball moves the runner to 2nd. The Bucs really need Beimel to bail them out of this inning now. He gets Phillips to bounce into a ground ball with the lead still at two runs heading into the last inning of play.
3:33 Bottom of the 9th- Joel Hanrahan looking for save #12, should be a pretty easy one for him to pick up.
3:36 Bottom of the 9th- Pirates 5 – Reds 3: Jay Bruce plays long ball again, 2nd of the day and 10th of the season for Bruce. Hanrahan nneeds to stay composed and just keep throwing strikes here.
3:37 Bottom of the 9th- Cedeno handles a ground ball for out #1 in the 9th.
3:38 Bottom of the 9th- Line drive to Tabata in left in left, 2 away, Ramon Hernadez comes up for the last gasp of the Reds.
3:39 Bottom of the 9th- Cutch makes a diving catch on a line drive to put an exclamation point on a quality win.
PIRATES WIN 5-3!!!
Raise the Jolly Roger
Believe it or not, the Bucs got the W last night! Although it had been more than a full week between W's, with 6 L's (and a potential 7th rained out) in between them, we should rejoice. Hell, the Pro's will no doubt find cause to break out the champagn after this 5-0 blanking of a Reds team who came in on a 5 game winning streak.
Charlie Morton showed off his great stuff going the distance for a CG shutout.Kdro Alvarez doubled his season HR total with a 3 run jack and managed only one K on the night, slashing his season K/HR ratio to an astounding 21:1. Cutch was a mildly disappointing 1 for 5 but that 1 was a 2-run HR, boosting his team leading total to 8 on the year. All 5 runs came from HR's a the Bucs managed 8 hits, leaving 5 men on base. The bullpen had the night off thus Chris Resop, who one Pirates announcer and a local blog** actually suggested as an All-Star candidate last month, wasn't given the chance totally implode for the umpteenth time this month.
Also good news for the bullpen was the Evan Meek pitched well at AAA Indy and Jake Taylor expects to see him back with the big club next Tuesday. In a shocking revelation, Teke revealed after the game that Meek's return is a signal the Bucs are finally turning it around. He rationalized this by saying it will be a tough decision as to which reliever is going to be sent down and that is a good problem to have. Clearly, we are only months away from a Division Title. We are hitting below average, not manufacturing runs, our starting pitching is Good for the Pirates, but incredibly average overall. I say, why wait to reserve World Series tickets?
**From Pirates Prospects:
Chris Resop could be a strong candidate to represent the Pirates in the All-Star game this year, based on his early season stats.
http://www.piratesprospects.com/2011/05/the-second-best-bullpen-in-the-majors.html?wpmp_switcher=mobile
Charlie Morton showed off his great stuff going the distance for a CG shutout.Kdro Alvarez doubled his season HR total with a 3 run jack and managed only one K on the night, slashing his season K/HR ratio to an astounding 21:1. Cutch was a mildly disappointing 1 for 5 but that 1 was a 2-run HR, boosting his team leading total to 8 on the year. All 5 runs came from HR's a the Bucs managed 8 hits, leaving 5 men on base. The bullpen had the night off thus Chris Resop, who one Pirates announcer and a local blog** actually suggested as an All-Star candidate last month, wasn't given the chance totally implode for the umpteenth time this month.
Also good news for the bullpen was the Evan Meek pitched well at AAA Indy and Jake Taylor expects to see him back with the big club next Tuesday. In a shocking revelation, Teke revealed after the game that Meek's return is a signal the Bucs are finally turning it around. He rationalized this by saying it will be a tough decision as to which reliever is going to be sent down and that is a good problem to have. Clearly, we are only months away from a Division Title. We are hitting below average, not manufacturing runs, our starting pitching is Good for the Pirates, but incredibly average overall. I say, why wait to reserve World Series tickets?
**From Pirates Prospects:
Chris Resop could be a strong candidate to represent the Pirates in the All-Star game this year, based on his early season stats.
http://www.piratesprospects.com/2011/05/the-second-best-bullpen-in-the-majors.html?wpmp_switcher=mobile
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Man behind the Myth
A very common argument of the Pro's is that Nuthouse has only been in charge since 2007 and therefore he has not had very long to implement an upswing in results. Like many assertions made by the Pro's, this is only a half truth. Bob Nutting became principal owner of the Pirates prior to the 2007 season but served as Chairman of the Board beginning in 2003. That means that the Littlefield Era occurred mostly under Nutting's watch. That means that the firesale trades occurring between 2003 and now happened on his watch. That means that the Pittsburgh Pirates have never had anything even close to a winning record on his watch.
So why are people so quick to defend Nuthouse, saying he has only been in charge for a couple of years and he needs time to to put his imprint on the ballclub? I am here to tell you his fingerprints are now, and have been, all over this ballclub, for a considerable amount of time and nothing has changed for the better. Not even remotely, not one iota.
Even since 2007, we have seen Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, and Jack Wilson traded away for nothing. We did have a profitable trade involving Nady and Marte, but surely that has been overshadowed by the countless other terrible personnel decisions. Jose Bautista, anyone? Spare me the " Did anybody really see that coming" because when Jose Bautista was here, he was more valuable to the team than many everyday players. He was better then, and certainly FAR better now, than his replacement Andy LaRoche. If you recall, Andy LaRoche did absolutely zilch to warrant being named the starter over Bautista. That was all rendered moot a short time later when Bautista was traded for a slow, unproven 3rd string catcher.
Nobody may have seen 54 home runs on the horizon for Bautista, but he definitely displayed raw power during his time here as well as good plate discipline, even if he struck out a lot he walked a lot as well. As Pucks_and_Pols will cover later, a small adjustment and some good coaching saved his career. Bautista has 16 HR already this season and his OPS is a redonkulus 1.365. Andy LaRoche is gone and our current 3B, the second coming can't miss Kdro, has 1 HR and 7 RBI, an OPS of .563, and 41 K's in 34 games.
Does anybody recall the promise to drastically increase the 2011 payroll versus 2010? Yeah, it went up $2 Million bucks and is almost $6 million short of the $50M figure the Lying Liar and Nuthouse spoke of during the offseason. Who is to blame for that? Not Dave Littlefield or any of the current FO's predecessors, that is for sure. This was just another ploy to try and drum up hope and get some dolts to buy season tickets. This was just another example of the FO demanding the fans open their wallets before they would ever consider doing as much. This was another PR gaffe, another misstep by the top brass. And it probably isn't even the worst thing they are going to do to the fans this year.
Since 2007, the team has lost nearly 400 games. 204 over the past two seasons and there is no clear end in sight. I have not seen any reason to believe things are going to change. The FO makes the same statements and the same half-ass promises. They aim to sign Cutch to an extension but they are really just trying to buy up his arbitration years so they don't get taken again like they did with Ohlendorf this past season. There is no real commitment to the future and no immediate help on the way. The FO believes they should get a pat on the back for drafting players in the first round that were no brainers, bragging about how much they spent on the draft. What would impress me is if they did what most other MLB clubs do and spend on both the draft AND the MLB club.
So tell me, what has changed since Bob Nutting went from Chairman of the Board to Principal Owner and chairman of the board? Based on what I have seen on the field, in the books, and in the press, it's more of the same. I have heard the definition of insanity is attempting to do the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Trade proven talent for mid-grade prospects, rinse, repeat as necessary. This Nuthouse fella is driving me insane.
So why are people so quick to defend Nuthouse, saying he has only been in charge for a couple of years and he needs time to to put his imprint on the ballclub? I am here to tell you his fingerprints are now, and have been, all over this ballclub, for a considerable amount of time and nothing has changed for the better. Not even remotely, not one iota.
Even since 2007, we have seen Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, and Jack Wilson traded away for nothing. We did have a profitable trade involving Nady and Marte, but surely that has been overshadowed by the countless other terrible personnel decisions. Jose Bautista, anyone? Spare me the " Did anybody really see that coming" because when Jose Bautista was here, he was more valuable to the team than many everyday players. He was better then, and certainly FAR better now, than his replacement Andy LaRoche. If you recall, Andy LaRoche did absolutely zilch to warrant being named the starter over Bautista. That was all rendered moot a short time later when Bautista was traded for a slow, unproven 3rd string catcher.
Nobody may have seen 54 home runs on the horizon for Bautista, but he definitely displayed raw power during his time here as well as good plate discipline, even if he struck out a lot he walked a lot as well. As Pucks_and_Pols will cover later, a small adjustment and some good coaching saved his career. Bautista has 16 HR already this season and his OPS is a redonkulus 1.365. Andy LaRoche is gone and our current 3B, the second coming can't miss Kdro, has 1 HR and 7 RBI, an OPS of .563, and 41 K's in 34 games.
Does anybody recall the promise to drastically increase the 2011 payroll versus 2010? Yeah, it went up $2 Million bucks and is almost $6 million short of the $50M figure the Lying Liar and Nuthouse spoke of during the offseason. Who is to blame for that? Not Dave Littlefield or any of the current FO's predecessors, that is for sure. This was just another ploy to try and drum up hope and get some dolts to buy season tickets. This was just another example of the FO demanding the fans open their wallets before they would ever consider doing as much. This was another PR gaffe, another misstep by the top brass. And it probably isn't even the worst thing they are going to do to the fans this year.
Since 2007, the team has lost nearly 400 games. 204 over the past two seasons and there is no clear end in sight. I have not seen any reason to believe things are going to change. The FO makes the same statements and the same half-ass promises. They aim to sign Cutch to an extension but they are really just trying to buy up his arbitration years so they don't get taken again like they did with Ohlendorf this past season. There is no real commitment to the future and no immediate help on the way. The FO believes they should get a pat on the back for drafting players in the first round that were no brainers, bragging about how much they spent on the draft. What would impress me is if they did what most other MLB clubs do and spend on both the draft AND the MLB club.
So tell me, what has changed since Bob Nutting went from Chairman of the Board to Principal Owner and chairman of the board? Based on what I have seen on the field, in the books, and in the press, it's more of the same. I have heard the definition of insanity is attempting to do the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Trade proven talent for mid-grade prospects, rinse, repeat as necessary. This Nuthouse fella is driving me insane.
Abandon All Hope, Ye who Enter Here
I generally consider myself a pretty reasonable fellow. I take alot of things in stride and try to handle situations as they arise in a calm and rational manner. However, there is something about the major league team absolute joke of a pathetic franchise that inhabits my fair city that drives me to the point of stark, raving lunacy.
I grew up loving the Pirates and the sport of baseball. I am not ashamed to admit that as an 8 year old lad, on October 14th, 1992, at 11:52 PM, I bawled my eyes out when He Who Shall Not Be Named hit a line drive into left field and BLB couldn't throw out The Mustachioed Gimp With Two Bad Knees.
My world came crashing down that night, but as a young boy I was encouraged that there would always be hope for next year. Yes, the team would change, and maybe have to rebuild with some of my favorite players leaving, but that in baseball, spring training and a new season always meant a new hope.
We here in Pittsburgh have been robbed of such hope. Anybody who conjures up lofty expectations for this team every April is either delusional or on the payroll. This is not the fault of Major League Baseball, the fans, or the players the team currently employs until they are inevitably dumped off for more prospects.
So please understand that we here of the Mutiny are not anti-baseball, anti-Pittsburgh, or even anti-Pirate. We are anti-Pirate Management, plain and simple. We despise them for their lies, hypocrisy, greed, and manipulations that allow them to continue to drag a profit out of the team while never, ever trying to field a competitive major league club.
The Pirates front office is full of lying liars who lie about lying. I do not believe a single word that exits any of their yap-holes. Every year it is the exact same message about how they have turned a corner, and this is the year the upward trend begins, blah, blah-blah, blah-blah.
This is from the Lying Liar at the start of the 2011 season, but it can be cut and pasted with a few words changed around each year of the past 18: "This is the first time I've gone into a season excited about our major-league team," he said. "Our first year, there was a little uneasiness about where we were going. If that team had shown us it was ready to compete, we were ready to add to it. It didn't, and we knew the transition had begun."
This particularly drove me nuts. It reeks of overarching smug, unjustifiable arrogance that permeates the organization. That they know something that we don’t, us peons, us peasants who line their fat-cat pockets with shillings and sheckels from peanuts, popcorn, and beer at their inflated prices inside the confines of their pristine slaughtering ground upon the Allegheny. They view us as cattle who will line up willingly for another season of losing, hope, and empty promises about a future, that I am more and more convinced every year is never coming from them. There is no future. There is no hope. It is doom and dread, a lifeless corpse of a once proud franchise that inhabits our fair city.
Here is another example of the management's true intentions to always dangle hope out there, but at the end of the day, they pull the rug out from underneath their most committed (and by that I do mean insane) fans:
Pirates Prospects: ``Would the Pirates be able to afford a $70M to $80M payroll, in present-day worth, if this current group of players were competitive enough to merit additional outside free agents?’’
Lying Liar: ``Today, no, but we will be able to support that payroll very soon if our fans believe that we now have a group of players in Pittsburgh and on its way here in the near future that is competitive. We need to take a meaningful step forward in terms of attendance to reach that payroll number while continuing to invest heavily in our future, but I am convinced that the attendance will move quickly once we convince our fans that we are on the right track.’’
Being a Pirate fan is like living in a dystopian world where Love is Hate, War is Peace, and Losing Baseball is Hope For the Future.
This is a disingenuous, deceitful franchise that is well vested in using Orwellian goodthink to continue upon its drifting aimless course of constantly futile major league baseball with vague assurances of a future that is always, always, always, at least 5 years away.
When I imagine the future, I imagine a boot stamping on a human face- Forever.
I grew up loving the Pirates and the sport of baseball. I am not ashamed to admit that as an 8 year old lad, on October 14th, 1992, at 11:52 PM, I bawled my eyes out when He Who Shall Not Be Named hit a line drive into left field and BLB couldn't throw out The Mustachioed Gimp With Two Bad Knees.
My world came crashing down that night, but as a young boy I was encouraged that there would always be hope for next year. Yes, the team would change, and maybe have to rebuild with some of my favorite players leaving, but that in baseball, spring training and a new season always meant a new hope.
We here in Pittsburgh have been robbed of such hope. Anybody who conjures up lofty expectations for this team every April is either delusional or on the payroll. This is not the fault of Major League Baseball, the fans, or the players the team currently employs until they are inevitably dumped off for more prospects.
So please understand that we here of the Mutiny are not anti-baseball, anti-Pittsburgh, or even anti-Pirate. We are anti-Pirate Management, plain and simple. We despise them for their lies, hypocrisy, greed, and manipulations that allow them to continue to drag a profit out of the team while never, ever trying to field a competitive major league club.
The Pirates front office is full of lying liars who lie about lying. I do not believe a single word that exits any of their yap-holes. Every year it is the exact same message about how they have turned a corner, and this is the year the upward trend begins, blah, blah-blah, blah-blah.
This is from the Lying Liar at the start of the 2011 season, but it can be cut and pasted with a few words changed around each year of the past 18: "This is the first time I've gone into a season excited about our major-league team," he said. "Our first year, there was a little uneasiness about where we were going. If that team had shown us it was ready to compete, we were ready to add to it. It didn't, and we knew the transition had begun."
This particularly drove me nuts. It reeks of overarching smug, unjustifiable arrogance that permeates the organization. That they know something that we don’t, us peons, us peasants who line their fat-cat pockets with shillings and sheckels from peanuts, popcorn, and beer at their inflated prices inside the confines of their pristine slaughtering ground upon the Allegheny. They view us as cattle who will line up willingly for another season of losing, hope, and empty promises about a future, that I am more and more convinced every year is never coming from them. There is no future. There is no hope. It is doom and dread, a lifeless corpse of a once proud franchise that inhabits our fair city.
Here is another example of the management's true intentions to always dangle hope out there, but at the end of the day, they pull the rug out from underneath their most committed (and by that I do mean insane) fans:
Pirates Prospects: ``Would the Pirates be able to afford a $70M to $80M payroll, in present-day worth, if this current group of players were competitive enough to merit additional outside free agents?’’
Lying Liar: ``Today, no, but we will be able to support that payroll very soon if our fans believe that we now have a group of players in Pittsburgh and on its way here in the near future that is competitive. We need to take a meaningful step forward in terms of attendance to reach that payroll number while continuing to invest heavily in our future, but I am convinced that the attendance will move quickly once we convince our fans that we are on the right track.’’
Being a Pirate fan is like living in a dystopian world where Love is Hate, War is Peace, and Losing Baseball is Hope For the Future.
This is a disingenuous, deceitful franchise that is well vested in using Orwellian goodthink to continue upon its drifting aimless course of constantly futile major league baseball with vague assurances of a future that is always, always, always, at least 5 years away.
When I imagine the future, I imagine a boot stamping on a human face- Forever.
Glossary of Terms
In order for the readers of this blog to better understand my diction as it pertains to the subject matter, here is a working list of terms/nicknames that will be commonplace in my posts:
#'s:
3RS- Three Rivers Stadium- The former stomping grounds of the Pirates and Steelers. Some of the greatest teams in MLB and NFL history played their home games there. 3RS was the predecessor to the JotNS, which the Nuthouse/Fall Guy regime swindled out of the Tax Payers by promising a better on field product if given a shiny new stadium to display it in. The Steelers and Pens also got new, tax payer funded venues, but have likely generated more revenue for the city and county in a single season than the Bucs in the last 10 years.
.500- the Pirates unicorn. The winning percentage not seen in nearly 20 years. That figure is likely to double.
A:
AAAA player or 4-A Player- refers to the majority of players on the Pirates roster. Not really MLB caliber, but slightly above AAA level.
Anti's- refers to the lunatic fringe Pirates fans who, for some unknown reason, believe the franchise is underachieving.I stole this from SmizBlog
AVS- Andy Van Slyke, Pirates great CF during Glory Years. Suffered career altering injury, referred to by BLB as Great White Hope because he actually tried on every play and people appreciated his effort. AVS once punched BLB in the nose and refused a Canadian flag sticker on this batting helmet because they are "a bunch of socialist pacifists."
B:
Bob Smizik- Former PG writer and current PG blogger who is openly critical of everything, ever. He has oft drawn the ire of the Lying Liar as well as Pens fans and most esepcially Mark Madden (whom he actually got fired at one point). He should, however, be viewed as history's #1 Pirates fan as he is the only person who was alive for all 5 World Series wins. He also wants exactly what we here at the Mutiny want: a competitive and potentially prosperous baseball team.
Brontosaurus- refers to Brewers portly 1B Prince Fielder. He is the world's largest vegetarian, owns the Pirates, and always rubs it in. He is also very fat.
Bucs- a nickname for the Pirates. Short for Buccaneers, rhymes with sucks. Also synonymous with the name of the Tampa Bay NFL team that once went 2 games shy of losing EVERY GAME for 2 consecutive seasons.
BLB- Barry Lamarr Bonds- refers to the candy arm who couldn't throw out Sid Effing Bream on the Day the Franchise Died. Bonds naturally left the team soon thereafter and in his late 30's ballooned from 185 lbs to 250 lbs and improved his stats. He clearly did not do steroids. He is also seen by many Pittsburghers as an albatross around the Pirates' neck as his departure was the beginning of the end.
C:
Cutch- refers to Andrew McCutchen, the Luke Skywalker/Obi-Wan of the Pirates franchise. i.e. believed to be Our Only Hope.
Cleveland- the city that every Pittsburgh sports fan is glad that we are not.......
D:
the Day the Franchise Died (DFD)- refers to October 14, 1992. If you do not know what that date refers to, then honestly why are you even here?
Dynasty- what the Lying Liar envisions for the Pirates in the not too distant future.
DK- Dejan Kovacevic. The very talented PG reporter who had the unreal job of being the Bucs beat writer for a very long time. He is very realistic and honest.
E:
Evil Empire- refers to the New York Yankees. But honestly, at least they want to win.
#'s:
3RS- Three Rivers Stadium- The former stomping grounds of the Pirates and Steelers. Some of the greatest teams in MLB and NFL history played their home games there. 3RS was the predecessor to the JotNS, which the Nuthouse/Fall Guy regime swindled out of the Tax Payers by promising a better on field product if given a shiny new stadium to display it in. The Steelers and Pens also got new, tax payer funded venues, but have likely generated more revenue for the city and county in a single season than the Bucs in the last 10 years.
.500- the Pirates unicorn. The winning percentage not seen in nearly 20 years. That figure is likely to double.
A:
AAAA player or 4-A Player- refers to the majority of players on the Pirates roster. Not really MLB caliber, but slightly above AAA level.
Anti's- refers to the lunatic fringe Pirates fans who, for some unknown reason, believe the franchise is underachieving.I stole this from SmizBlog
AVS- Andy Van Slyke, Pirates great CF during Glory Years. Suffered career altering injury, referred to by BLB as Great White Hope because he actually tried on every play and people appreciated his effort. AVS once punched BLB in the nose and refused a Canadian flag sticker on this batting helmet because they are "a bunch of socialist pacifists."
B:
Bob Smizik- Former PG writer and current PG blogger who is openly critical of everything, ever. He has oft drawn the ire of the Lying Liar as well as Pens fans and most esepcially Mark Madden (whom he actually got fired at one point). He should, however, be viewed as history's #1 Pirates fan as he is the only person who was alive for all 5 World Series wins. He also wants exactly what we here at the Mutiny want: a competitive and potentially prosperous baseball team.
Brontosaurus- refers to Brewers portly 1B Prince Fielder. He is the world's largest vegetarian, owns the Pirates, and always rubs it in. He is also very fat.
Bucs- a nickname for the Pirates. Short for Buccaneers, rhymes with sucks. Also synonymous with the name of the Tampa Bay NFL team that once went 2 games shy of losing EVERY GAME for 2 consecutive seasons.
BLB- Barry Lamarr Bonds- refers to the candy arm who couldn't throw out Sid Effing Bream on the Day the Franchise Died. Bonds naturally left the team soon thereafter and in his late 30's ballooned from 185 lbs to 250 lbs and improved his stats. He clearly did not do steroids. He is also seen by many Pittsburghers as an albatross around the Pirates' neck as his departure was the beginning of the end.
C:
Cutch- refers to Andrew McCutchen, the Luke Skywalker/Obi-Wan of the Pirates franchise. i.e. believed to be Our Only Hope.
Cleveland- the city that every Pittsburgh sports fan is glad that we are not.......
D:
the Day the Franchise Died (DFD)- refers to October 14, 1992. If you do not know what that date refers to, then honestly why are you even here?
Dynasty- what the Lying Liar envisions for the Pirates in the not too distant future.
DK- Dejan Kovacevic. The very talented PG reporter who had the unreal job of being the Bucs beat writer for a very long time. He is very realistic and honest.
E:
Evil Empire- refers to the New York Yankees. But honestly, at least they want to win.
Welcome Aboard
Let's get a few things out of the way:
The purpose of this blog is for the many, many jaded Pittsburgh Pirates fans to voice their opinions on the franchise. Since 1992, the Pirates have been a much maligned franchise and while some people are still inexplicably optimistic year in and year out that somehow this team will catch lightning in a bottle, most of us living in reality know that just isn't going to happen without some DRASTIC changes to the organization. Also, have you ever tried to catch lightning in a bottle? That's damn near impossible! Odds are something like 1 in 775,000 of getting hit by lightning alone, I am sure actually catching it would be like 1 in 2,000,000. What's ironic is that if you add those 2 up, that is precisely the same odds of the Pirates having a winning season under the current ownership group.
If you know me, and chances are you do because you are just reading this as a favor to me ,you know I love irony almost as much as I love my wife and my dogs. So a little bit of irony is what lead me to finally starting this blog. Yesterday, I learned that the Pittsburgh Pirates organization has had yet another Public Relations SNAFU ( situation normal: all f***ed up). If they could count PR blunders as wins over the years, we wouldn't have a losing streak in place old enough to legally vote. Yesterday's mishap, however, was the straw that broke the camel's back for me as a (disenfranchised) Pirates Fan.
Upon learning that a local bar in Kennedy Twp, The Stroll Inn, runs a promotion of 5 cents off a pitcher of beer per Pirates loss ( cumulative for the season) employees of the Pirates conjured up the brilliant idea to initiate a company wide boycott of the this little bar in the suburbs. News of the boycott eventually reached the owner of the establishment, Estelle Aversa. who was justifiably angry at the thin skinned nature of supposed professionals.While I side with Ms. Aversa, I would have cautioned her that an organization who can't bother to put a team of professionals on the field shouldn't be relied upon to do the same with their administrative staff as well. Moreover, it was later discovered that team President Frank Coonelly, referred to from here on out as the "Lying Liar", contacted Ms. Aversa. According to her account of the conversation, he was rude, unprofessional, and discourteous to her. He said he supported his employeess' right to freely express their opinions. This is from the same organization that just a year ago fired a Pierogi Racer for making disparaging remarks about the teams' win/loss total via his facebook account.
With that in mind, it occurred to me that the Lying Liar is a hypocrite. Actually, he is a fascist. You are free to speak your mind as long as what's on your mind is something that he agrees with. It reminded me of an early episode of The Office when Michael Scott tells Toby Flenderson: "This is an environment of welcoming, and you should just get the hell outta here." because he didn't agree with his practices. But that is the nature of the beast when dealing with the Pirates, assume the worst, most inept, idiotic situation will occur and then watch it unfold before your very eyes. With the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, if you hope for the epitome of embarrassment, bottom dwelling, hall of shame level performance, you are in luck because you are going to get it in spades.
This organization can't take a joke because they are one. From top to bottom and every person in between, it's like a comedy of errors day in and day out. The only problem is, to fans who want to be something more than a punchline, this joke isn't funny anymore.
The purpose of this blog is for the many, many jaded Pittsburgh Pirates fans to voice their opinions on the franchise. Since 1992, the Pirates have been a much maligned franchise and while some people are still inexplicably optimistic year in and year out that somehow this team will catch lightning in a bottle, most of us living in reality know that just isn't going to happen without some DRASTIC changes to the organization. Also, have you ever tried to catch lightning in a bottle? That's damn near impossible! Odds are something like 1 in 775,000 of getting hit by lightning alone, I am sure actually catching it would be like 1 in 2,000,000. What's ironic is that if you add those 2 up, that is precisely the same odds of the Pirates having a winning season under the current ownership group.
If you know me, and chances are you do because you are just reading this as a favor to me ,you know I love irony almost as much as I love my wife and my dogs. So a little bit of irony is what lead me to finally starting this blog. Yesterday, I learned that the Pittsburgh Pirates organization has had yet another Public Relations SNAFU ( situation normal: all f***ed up). If they could count PR blunders as wins over the years, we wouldn't have a losing streak in place old enough to legally vote. Yesterday's mishap, however, was the straw that broke the camel's back for me as a (disenfranchised) Pirates Fan.
Upon learning that a local bar in Kennedy Twp, The Stroll Inn, runs a promotion of 5 cents off a pitcher of beer per Pirates loss ( cumulative for the season) employees of the Pirates conjured up the brilliant idea to initiate a company wide boycott of the this little bar in the suburbs. News of the boycott eventually reached the owner of the establishment, Estelle Aversa. who was justifiably angry at the thin skinned nature of supposed professionals.While I side with Ms. Aversa, I would have cautioned her that an organization who can't bother to put a team of professionals on the field shouldn't be relied upon to do the same with their administrative staff as well. Moreover, it was later discovered that team President Frank Coonelly, referred to from here on out as the "Lying Liar", contacted Ms. Aversa. According to her account of the conversation, he was rude, unprofessional, and discourteous to her. He said he supported his employeess' right to freely express their opinions. This is from the same organization that just a year ago fired a Pierogi Racer for making disparaging remarks about the teams' win/loss total via his facebook account.
With that in mind, it occurred to me that the Lying Liar is a hypocrite. Actually, he is a fascist. You are free to speak your mind as long as what's on your mind is something that he agrees with. It reminded me of an early episode of The Office when Michael Scott tells Toby Flenderson: "This is an environment of welcoming, and you should just get the hell outta here." because he didn't agree with his practices. But that is the nature of the beast when dealing with the Pirates, assume the worst, most inept, idiotic situation will occur and then watch it unfold before your very eyes. With the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, if you hope for the epitome of embarrassment, bottom dwelling, hall of shame level performance, you are in luck because you are going to get it in spades.
This organization can't take a joke because they are one. From top to bottom and every person in between, it's like a comedy of errors day in and day out. The only problem is, to fans who want to be something more than a punchline, this joke isn't funny anymore.
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