Overall, this past weekend was a really good showing for the team as a whole. Cutch has been on a tear, Walker looks like he is coming out of his slump, Jones is hitting the ball well, Overpaid has been getting the timely hits you need from a $5M player, and the pitching continued to be steady as a rock. KC notched his 11th win, good for a 3-way tie for 1st in the NL and Karstens continued his stellar season shaving .01 off of his ERA and lowering it to 2.65, 5th in the NL. Since any recapping here would require covering 6 games, I am going to scrap it altogether and it give out my belated Midseason awards. I will also try to insert some pictures to break up the monotony.
TEAM MVP:
Andrew McCutchen- When the biggest knock on a guy is that he misses the cut off man, he must doing a lot of other things right. Cutch leads the team in Average, Home Runs, Stolen Bases, Runs, OBP, OPS, and SLG %. That's basically every offensive category except for RBI's. His snub from the All-Star Game is unforgivable as his OPS is 5th among NL outfielders. He is 6th in the NL in doubles, tied for 8th in OBP, and 12th in Runs scored, not bad for a guy playing on a team 12th out of 16 NL teams in scoring. These numbers are worthy of significant praise and certainly of an All-Star game appearance.
TEAM CY YOUNG:
Joel "The Hammer" Hanrahan- WOW. 25 for 25 in saves before the All-Star break. Isn't that enough right there? Ok, I'll go on: 1.37 ERA with 33 K's to 8BB. Right now, without question, I would call him the best closer in baseball. He doesn't need a fancy write up here because he isn't a fancy guy. He trots out of the 'pen, throws gas, and gets outs. There is no doubt that you trust going to him when the game is on the line as he has proven he is more than capable to finish big Wins.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER:
Charlie "Great Stuff" Morton- This one wasn't as clear cut as the other 2 in my mind. Karstens made an excellent case for this award and so does Maholm. But I guess when you reach the level of suck that Morton attained last year, being 7-4 with a 3.63 ERA at the midway point is something of a miracle. His BB and WHIP still leave a lot to be desired, but he's come along way from making the early shower a gamely tradition.
BIGGEST SURPRISE:
Holy Crap. These 5 guys. The Bucs were the worst pitching team in all of baseball last season. For the love of God, we had an ERA of 5.00. That is not a joke, that is all too real of a stat. But this year, wow, the turnaround has been something out of a Disney movie. Only instead of a recovering alcoholic begrudgingly taking over a ragtag team of misfits, it's a bunch of guys making six and seven figure salaries digging deep to rediscover their love of the game. The pitching staff's ERA is 8th in all of baseball, 5th in the NL, and 1.58 runs per game lower than last season. That a 31.6% reduction.
DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR:
Jose Tabata- Maybe this a little bit harsh, but disappointment and expectations go hand in hand. I don't expect the same out of Mental Midget Ronny Suckdeno as I do out of somebody with as much talent as Tabata. From his end of season stats in 2010, his average is down 34 points, his OBP is down 15 points, his SLG % is down 46 points and his OPS is down 41 points. He doesn't seem to have the explosive speed or even the drive and desire that was present last season and with the way Jones and Presley are performing right now, his only saving grace upon his return is his right handed bat.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON:
Bucs 2, Phillies 1 in 12 innings. It was the first weekend in June and the Bucs were flirting with respectability. Many fans were questioning whether this team was for real and only one day prior they had blown a 7-0 lead to lose 9-8 in New York. But this resilient bunch showed that in their minds, they are absolutely for real and that is all that matters. This game had it all: Karstens outdueling Hamels, late game heroics, and beating a Filthy team who thought they merely had to show up to win. The Bucs won the series and used it as a springboard to back up some W's and get rolling for a whirlwind June.
LOWLIGHT OF THE SEASON:
The Bases Loaded Bunt. HOLY $H!T. You're probably wondering how I can pick one single moment from 84 games to qualify as the #1 LowLight. I mean, it turned out to be a foul ball anyway. No harm. After all, this team blew a 7-0 lead to lose a game 9-8. They made 4 errors in a game last Sunday. But calling this THE Lowlight does it little justice. Bunting with the bases loaded is like punting on first and goal. At least that's how I see it. I have never seen it before and hope to never see it again. I wish I didn't see it in the first place. But it's merely another entry in the Ronny Cedeno book of How Not To Play Fundamental Baseball.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
Pitching; A+. 3.42 ERA. 25 for 25 in saves. What a job Searage and these pitchers have done.
Batting: C- . Team average and runs scored should be a lot higher. If this past weekend is any indication, perhaps the slumbering bats are awakening
Fielding: B-. Inconsistent overall. Some spectacular double plays and game savers are marred by poor fundamentals and lack of concentration or baseball knowledge.
Coaching: B-. This should be higher as Clint Hurdle is a marked improvement over RoboRussell. But the base coaches, base running, strange bunts, and lack of plate discipline leaves alot to be desired. Searage's work with pitchers is an A, hitting coach a D, baserunning an F, and Hurdle a B+.
Overall: B. Hey, anything above an F is noteworthy and this team has greatly improved overall. While the hitting is still slow to come along, the pitching has been tremendous and the team's ability to pull out wins that they would normally find mind numbing ways to lose shows progress.
44-41. I can't even put that into words. Hopefully, the Bucs can maintain and make this a truly memorable summer for the long-suffering faithful in the Steel City.
Oh, and one last thing: F*** YOU JAGR!
"Only instead of a recovering alcoholic begrudgingly taking over a ragtag team of misfits, it's a bunch of guys making six and seven figure salaries digging deep to rediscover their love of the game."
ReplyDeleteGreat line! Loved it.
Caught some of Mike & Mike this morning, and Buster Olney & Jayson Stark were in agreement that to this point in the season, Clint Hurdle is the league's Manager of the Year for completely turning around the mindset and attitude of the clubhouse. An interesting tidbit, anyway.
I was camping at a concert festival this past weekend, and it was crazy to see all the other Pittsburghers in attendance constantly checking their phones for the Pirates' scores. Can't say I ever saw that even when I lived in Pittsburgh.
At this point in the season, it's starting to get into the realm of serious contention. I am trying to still maintain my excitement at arms' length cause I don't wanna get crushed. But that is what being a fan is all about really. I mean 29 teams go home disappointed in each sport every year. The thrill of the chase is equally enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteAll along, I think we have made it clear that we want nothing more than to see winning baseball here in Pittsburgh. It's nice to watch meaningful game with meaningful at-bats. I just REALLY hope that it lasts. REALLY HOPE.