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
This game was not televised for some unknown reason. It has NOTHING to do with the Nuthouse/FO holding fans hostage to sell out the game. Actually, it probably didn't because I can't imagine that the 50-100 people who actually watch the Bucs on TV here in the Burgh would have made a huge difference in terms of ticket sales. Ultimately, the Nuthouse/FO got exactly what they wanted and we at the Mutiny got the antithesis: a standing room only sellout. The Bucs rewarded these loyal, naive fans with a 4th consecutive victory by dispatching the Tigers by a final score of 6-2. Despite falling behind 2-0 in the 4th after back to back Tigers doubles, Kevin Correai held steady again. The Bucs then put up a 3 spot in the bottom of the 6th with GI Jones doubling in Cutch and Walker and Overpaid sac flying (is that a verb?) in 2 more, putting the Bucs on top 3-2. Correia would exit with 2 out in the 7th, surrendering just the 2 runs and striking out 4 while issues no free passes. Jose Veras would get the final out of the 7th and in the bottom half, the Bucs would add to their lead After Veras was inexplicably walked in his first ML at-bat, followed by back-to-back singles from Cutch and Tabata, loading the bases. In what would have been seen as the head scratcher of the night, Jake Taylor opted to PH for GI Jones with Matt Diaz. Jones had an RBI double earlier, but Taylor played his hunch and it paid off as Diaz drove in Veras and Cutch with an RBI single up the middle. After Walker sac flied Tabata to 3rd, Overpaid struck out and Diaz ended up hung up in a run down. He managed to stay alive long enough for Tabata to trot home and give the Bucs a 6-2 lead. Bizarre play yet again.
The 9th was a little bit too interesting, although no damage was done whatsoever. Beimel, who relieved Veras, surrendered base hits to the first 2 batters he faced and Hanrahan came on to save the day, only to load the bases by allowing another hit. Hanrahan calmed down, though, fanning Raburn and getting Austin Jackson to ground into a game ending double play and notching his 13th save in 13 chances. Final score: Bucs 6, Tigers 2.
Player of the game: Kevin Correia- 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 K
Play of the Game: I'll go with the game ending double play: Walker-Cedeno-Overpaid
Headscratcher of the Night: Tigers allowing Tabata to score with Diaz hung up in a pickle. It's rare to see the Pirates opponent take this award home 2 nights in a row.
Sunday- A wise man once said: I want you, I need you, but there ain't way I'm ever gonna love you. Now, dont be sad cause 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Marvin Lee Aday was 100% correct, 2 out of 3 ain't bad and neither is 4 out of 5. Sunday, the Bucs 4 game win streak game to an end, being blanked 2-0 and seeing Paul Maholm's record fall to a disappointing 1-7. As much as I despise the team's ownership, I support the players and want little else besides seeing them succeed and that goes especially for Paul Maholm. He is a great person, a positive person, and a competitor. After an inconsistent season in 2010, Maholm has pitched well enough this season to hush most critics who questioned whether he can be an effective MLB starter. He can and his numbers prove it. Dealing solely with stats can lead different people to different outcomes. In terms of a team, I am firmly in the camp that "you are what your record says you are". When a pitcher is 1-7 with a 3.66 season ERA, I beg to differ.
Maholm has started 10 games this season, in those 10 games, the Bucs have scored a total of 13 runs. That's right folks: 13 RUNS IN 10 GAMES. 4 of the 13 came in his only W of the season and the Bucs have score more than 1 run in only 4/10 starts. The records of pitchers with an ERA between 3.6 and 3.84 last season were as follows: 11-12, 10-12, 12-7, 15-9, 10-12, 14-9, 9-10, 14-7. Winning only 10% of his starts and losing 70%, if Maholm makes 32 starts this season, he would be 3-22.
Obviously I didn't watch the game yesterday and my defense of Paul Maholm may come off as that of a Nutter but honestly, 13 runs in 10 starts? Seriously? Bottom line- Tigers 2, Bucs 0. Bucs managed a whopping 2 hits on the afternoon but are coming into a home stand against the Braves winning 4 of their last 5. Could be a lot worse, should be a little better.
Player of the Game: Rick Porcello- 8IP, 1 H, 0R.
Play of the Game: Peralta's HR to put the Tigers up 2-0
Headscratcher of the Game: Lack of run support for Maholm.
This week could be a turning point for the season and if the Bucs don't totally implode in the 2 games against the Bravos, they could stay afloat in the Comedy Central, with the Cardinals only recently starting to distances themselves. If they fold like a house of cards, we could be looking at trading Kevin Correia for a couple 26 year old AA players. We also have 3 games against the Cubs, whose number we have certainly had the past 2 seasons. The Pirates fan in me wants to see this team win, the realist says they wont. The Anti-Nutter in me says they will fall flat, go into a monumental losing streak, and end up with 100 losses again. The Bucs have a chance to prove me and countless others wrong by winning some meaningful games and staying in the race.
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