Beat 'Em Bucs

Just a not-so-quick wrap up of the weekend that was in Pirates baseball:

The Bucs took game 1 Friday night against the BoSox behind some stellar pitching performances. The offense left a bit to be desired, scrapping together 3 runs on 9 hits, but leaving 7 on base. I was told after the game that I am too hard on the team and need to enjoy the Bucs being for real; this was because I pointed out that we left a lot of runs on base that night. The Sox starting the scoring off in the top of the first, notching their only run of the night when Jacoby Ellsbury scored on a Kevin Youkilis groundout. The Bucs then loaded the bases in the 3rd with nobody out and manged to get a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. Tabata hit a ground ball that hit the bag and took a strange bounce on Youkilis, preventing a double play and allowing a run. Chase d'Arnaud was up next and grounded into a Walker-esque run scoring double play. The Bucs added another run after a Walker single followed by a Youkilis error and an Overpaid RBI base knock.

The Sox had 2 runners in scoring position in the 8th when Big Papi was called upon as a pinch hitter during a steady rain. Since the national media can't fathom the Pirates beating the Red Sox, the rain turned out to be the deciding factor in this at-bat and ultimately the game. Ortiz grounded out to end the inning and after a 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th the Hammer worked a perfect 9th for his 21st save in 21 attempts. RTJR! Bucs 3 Red Sox 1.

Interesting fact of the game: James McDonald's cousin Darnell batted 5th for the Red Sox in this game despite a .108 batting average. The Sox didn't have Carl Crawford available due to injury and David Ortiz didn't show up until the 8th because he is too fat and unathletic to play the field.

Saturday night, the Bucs looked to notch another W and take the series from the Sox. I was actually on hand for this one as I broke my boycott in order to attend my cousin's bachelor outing. It was well worth it as the Bucs managed to take the game and the series by dispatching the Red Sox in one hell of a baseball game.

The Sox started the scoring off in the first yet again, with a Pedroia walk that turned into a triple when Fort McKenry pegged him while stealing 2nd. The ball went into the OF and Pedey moved to 3rd base. Adrian Gonzalez, one of the big money free agents SmizBlog doesn't mention, grounded out to SS but got Pedey home. Gonzo would also account for the next Sox run, driving a Karstens offering into the LF bleachers for a 2-0 lead. However, that would quickly be erased on one swing when Overpaid smashed a 3-run homer into the RF bleachers for a 3-2 lead. The Bucs added to the lead when Karstens singled home Suckdeno and it was 4-2 after 4.

In their next at-bat, the Bucs looked to put the game out of reach. d'Arnaud beat out a grounder to SS and GI Jones doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd and  0 outs. This is where the "Nobody believes me when I say it but it happens all the time" portion of the game takes place. If you've followed this blog since inception, you'd know that I feel the Bucs have been as lucky as they have been good this year. You will also know that I like to point out their failures to drive in runs as proof that they are living on borrowed time this year. With 2nd and 3rd and no outs, holding a 4-2 lead, Cutch hit a ground ball to former AL MVP Dustin Pedroia. As in the Orioles game Wednesday afternoon, the ball went 5 hole and we had another run. We also still had 1st and 3rd and 0 outs. The Pride of PR was up next but couldn't capitalize, continuing to struggle at the plate. Overpaid drew an IBB and Suckdeno grounded into an inning ending DP. Bucs 5,Sox 2 after 5.

Josh Reddick led off the Sox 7th with a solo home run off of Karstens and after getting Scutaro out, Karstens was lifted for Daniel Moskos. I read unlimited comments on SmizBlog saying that it was no big deal to take Moskos over Wieters because Wieters isn't batting .580 with 46 HR and 218 RBI's through 70 some odd games. That made me laugh. Anyways, Moskos got Cousin of James McDonald to fly out but couldn't keep Jacoby Ellsbury from going yard and cutting the lead to 5-4. In the bottom of the 7th though, GI Jones blasted a solo shot to restore a 2-run cushion. I totally called that by the way and I have witnesses to prove it.

The Hammer came on in the 9th up 6-4 and faced Big Papi to start things off. After a lengthy battle, the Portly One grounded out to 1B for the first out. Ellsbury was next and he flew out to Tabata for the second out. Then, a hilarious adventure occurred to bring about the end of the game. With 2 outs, Pedroia drove a ball to right and Xavier Paul went up the wall to get it. He appeared to have it for a second before hitting the fence, popping the ball loose. As Pedey sprinted into 2nd, fireworks were shot off signifying the end of the game. I thought out this as a bad omen and even worse when Gonzo was up next. In another long at-bat, one that featured a "THANK GOD" foul ball that would have been a home run 20 feet left, Hammer got the K to end it. RTJR. Bucs 6, Sox 4.

Sunday's game was nothing write home about so I will say as little as possible. The Pirates made 4 errors in the game. We had the bases loaded and no outs and got one run out of it at one point. When the Bucs took a 2-1 lead during that inning, I got a text from my overly excited Bucs fan friend who asked me if I believed yet. When we lost 4-2 and made 4 errors, I didn't hear a peep. This guy texts me up a storm when the Bucs win, rubbing it in my face because I am hard on them and too often point out that errors gave them the game or where they failed in their victory. When the Bucs lose, I never hear a word. I mean, the Bucs are halfway through a decent season and on pace to go about 82-80, which would be THEIR FIRST WINNING SEASON IN 19 FREAKING YEARS! It's not like I am down on this franchise strictly for the sake of being down on this franchise. I have more than enough reason to feel the way I do and a 39-38 record in June isn't going to make me cream my pants.

But that's how it is right now, people are getting WAY too far ahead of themselves with back slapping ,glad handing, and $h!t-eating grinning about a team that is 1 game over .500 in June. The Bucs have certainly improved. No doubt about it, and I am excited about that too. But like my cousin said to me after Saturday's W, you don't start scoreboard watching until September. Don't get me wrong, we were elated with the win and the current record. But this team isn't 47-30. They're not 42-35. They're 39-38 and it's still June. They haven't been closer than 2.5 games out of first, and that was for about 30 minutes Friday night. It's been a 3 game margin all along and in order to win the division, we are going to have to beat St. Louis and Milwaukee more often than not. The harsh truth is that this team is certainly playing better baseball, but SO MANY out there are suffering from delusions of grandeur because EVERY PITCHER ON THE STAFF IS HAVING A CAREER SEASON.

It's nice to win, I love it. But I don't put too much stock into it  just yet for 2 reasons: 1.) I have learned over 19 years to not get my hopes up and 2.) this team is playing beyond their potential. Maybe they'll be Villanova from 1985 or George Mason from 2006. Or maybe they'll be one of those low seeds who gets a first round knock out only to lose in the second round when they come crashing back to earth. I was asked my opinion on the best methods for sports betting and my suggestion was to get a time machine. There are so many variables that you can't possibly predict an outcome with enough confidence to put real money on it. And nobody, realistically, could have predicted the Pirates pitchers would have us above .500 late in June.

Hopefully, they'll have us there in July and August and September and October, too. The operative word there is hopefully.