Eulogy: Here Lies The 2011 Pirates

It is with my deepest regret and most humble sorrow that I greet you here under these circumstances. Times like these are never easy, no matter how many times you have experienced it before.Last night, August 30, 2011, at 10:58 PM EST, the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates lost their recurring battle with baseball respectability. After suffering a series of major setbacks following the All-Star break, the Pirates fell to the ML worst Houston Astros for the second straight night, this time by an embarrassing 8-2 count.

The 2011 Pirates had an out of nowhere run but appeared to be greatly slowed by an epic umpiring mistake by Jerry Meals on that other fateful night in Atlanta. Up until that point, though, the 2011 Bucs seemed as if they were going to beat the odds. They were given little chance coming into the season after being diagnosed as Pirates, official medical name baseballii suckitus, which is believed by most to be an incurable and untreatable form of a professional sports organization. But the 2011 Bucs were resilient and started the season strong by winning a series in St. Louis, the NL Central juggernaut that is a considered a small market in hockey and football, but does not seem to effect them in baseball; or the complete opposite of Pittsburgh.

The Bucs continued to play inspired baseball before dropping 6 straight games and receiving a second opinion from local experts saying that Small Market Syndrome was beginning to set in as well. This is also believed to be a debilitating disease, especially remarkable for a team playing the in the same town as two teams that are at odds trying to get UNDER the salary cap each year in their respective sports. But on May 18th, the mighty Bucs pushed back!

There was no quit in this bunch, who won 33 out of 54 games between May 18th July 20th. But as the outlook of a full recovery from being the Pirates was about the made, reality began to set in. The Bucs dropped 2/3 to the Cards before heading to Atlanta for a 4 game series. The Bucs took the first game and appeared poised to do so many times in the second game but they couldn't pull away. 19 innings later, the Braves went for the W, but the Bucs looked as if they were able to hold them off. Sadly, it only appeared that way. The Braves received a favorable call for umpteenth time in series history and the Bucs battle for hope began slip from their grasp.

These brave and admirable 2011 Pirates would lose 11 of their next 12 games following the Jerry Meals debacle. Despite taking 2 out of 3 from defending World Champ Giants, it appeared as if the Bucs had officially taken a turn for the worst. Smack in the middle of that 12 game nightmare, the Bucs sought reinforcements, only to see both of the acquired players be sent to the DL. The ugly pace continued by losing 3 straight in Milwaukee but there was a slight glimmer of hope after taking a series from the Cards. However, the Bucs lost a tough series to the Reds, again with some fishy umpiring, and then dropped 2 out 3 to Milwaukee again. With a series loss last weekend in St Louis, the Bucs were on life support and the prognosis was grim.

After dropping the first game of the Astros series in a come from ahead, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory fashion, the Bucs were in need of real miracle ( not a  phony "Texas' one) to put off the inevitable. But game 2 against the Stros only made it worse and machines have since been turned off. It is now that I somberly ask you to offer your memories of this special season, the one we all hoped, but never fully believed, would be different.

Also, IT WAS A FLUKE.

Lincoln gets first W of season

After two tough outings against St. Louis, Brad Lincoln and Co. helped Pittsburgh to a convincing 7-0 shutout over the Cardinals Saturday in St. Louis.
Lincoln pitched six innings of shutout ball for his first victory of the season. He also did it against the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter (8-9).
Carpenter hasn't had a Cy-Young calibier season, although he is still tough to beat, especially for the Bucs.
Pittsburgh (62-70) had 11 hits and took control of the game in the fourth when it put up four runs.
Lincoln got into the act in the fourth with a two-run double. Neil Walker hit his 11th homer of the year.
The Cardinals (69-64) are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, and can't afford to lose any ground on the division-leading Brewers.
The Pirates have 11 shutouts this year, which are the most since 2005, when the club had 14. The pitching has been strong this season if you take away the 10 game skid towards the end of July.
Jeff Karstens is on the mound this afternoon for the finale.
It was also nice to see the Bucs showcase some of their young talent on national TV. It would be nice to see them on FOX in about three years in October.
For those of you who are keeping score, Pittsburgh would have to go 22-10 in the final 32 to break .500.
It won't happen.

A simple question

If the Pirates fail to win 82 games this year, will you consider 2011 a success due to the fact that they have surpassed last season's total?

Acquisition versus Utilization of Resources

The discussion the other day mentioning Tim Alderson got me thinking about the operating model the Pirates are using. They are doing an above average job of stockpiling young, talented prospects. And while they should rightfully be congratulated for no longer drafting the 2011 equivalent of Bryan Bullington; they cannot, as some fans would seem to suggest, merely flip the switch to autopilot, nudge these talented young players through the minor leagues a year at a time, and watch the pennants start rolling in around the year 2015 or so.

The truth is the Pirates have had talent in their system before. Yes, Dave Littlefield’s draft strategy can only be described as a ‘1980s New York Jets’/ ‘1990s Cincinnati Bengals’ level of horrendousness. That doesn’t mean however that over the past two decades the farm system has been nothing but a barren wasteland of filler has-beens with nary a legitimately talented major league prospect anywhere in sight.

(Pirate Farmland before Albert Einstein Neal Huntington’s Coronation)

It is not my belief that the Pirates had only a talent acquisition problem. I believe they have actually had a player development problem. To be sure, a few actual top-flight 1^st round picks, and an infusion of talent from Latin America would have certainly be a welcome addition. Championship rosters are not solely assembled from near can’t miss 18 year olds however. To sustain any level of consistent success, you need to have an assembly line level production output of mid-range players and backups who can do their job, and do it well. How many of those type of guys have the Pirates brought along in recent memory? Burress suggested Nate McClouth, and that is about it. And I can tell you they have never found the occasional diamond in the rough type player who comes out of the late rounds of the draft and turns into a perennial All-Star.  I know that situation is exceedingly rare, but the division rival Astros grabbed Roy Oswalt in the 23^rd Round in 1996 and the Cardinals only had to spend a 13^th Round pick in 1999 to acquire sure fire hall of famer Albert Pujols.

 Both team’s scouts should be lauded for these unreal finds. But their stories did not end on the day the selection was made. Houston and St. Louis developed and groomed these guys into the players they are today. How much credit can be given to the club’s minor league and player development staff, and how much was an internal and immeasurable desire within those players to become the champions they are cannot be quantified. I am reminded here of the old coach’s saying however that “luck is the residue where talent meets hard work.” I question whether the Pirates management of the past, and by extension he current group of geniuses in charge, have been willing to put in the effort to really provide every opportunity to utilize the vast reserves of talent that has now been so heralded as a sign things are finally turning around for this beleaguered franchise. Here is hoping, but I remain cynical.

A Breath Of Fresh Air

With their 2-0 shutout of the detestable Brewers yesterday afternoon, the Bucs managed to split the 4 game series as well as the 10 game homestand. That is a vast improvement over the direction the team was heading coming into that stretch and they weren't exactly playing the dregs of the NL, either. The Bucs went 5-5 against the 3 teams they are currently looking up at in the standings and had just one of the two awful calls in the Reds series gone their way, they would have gone 6-4 and would be 62-67 instead of 61-68, not that it is a huge difference. But at this point, when you're playing to avoid adding to your own record of retched play, every win helps.

The big surprise yesterday was the performance of LHP Aaron Thompson in his MLB debut. Thompson was a first round pick by the Marlins many moons ago and the Bucs picked him up off waivers from the Nationals in December. He went 4 1/3 IP, allowing 4 hits and 2 BB, but no runs. Jason Grilli earned his first MLB win in roughly 2 year by pitching 2.2 PERFECT innings and Veras worked a scoreless 8th. The Hammer came out for the 9th and struggled yet again, putting the arrogant Ryan Braun on via a single to lead things off and walking the Brontosaurus before striking out the side to end the game.

The Bucs offense did not manage a whole lot, collecting only 4 hits and scoring both runs on sac flies by Cutch and Walker respectively. But those 2 runs were enough to win it and give the Bucs a well earned split before moving on to St. Louis tonight. There is something cathartic about splitting with the Brewers at this point and I nearly taunted their fans walking to their cars in the North Side as I was driving home from work yesterday. But then I realized I was a Pirates fan and have no room to make fun of any ML team, even Cleveland.

In other Bucs related news, John Perrotto thinks the FO needs to loosen the purse strings more in order to make any real noise. Ok, that isn't exactly news, but his point is obviously well taken. I agree that Nuthouse does need to spend more on the ML club, but I think he also needs to spend wiser, too. With Overpaid and hopefully Diaz off the books, and the possibility of Doumit and Snyder as well, that takes over $21M off the books based on what they would be owed under their 2012 options. Add in Maholm and that number goes to $30M. That amount of cash available, whether they extend Maholm or not, could greatly help improve the MLB club if of course they find the right guys at the right time when the stars align and the moon is in the second house and the right baseball people agree the right baseball move can be made if the guy agrees that he is willing to take a paycut to play for a team that is coming off it's 19th straight losing season.

Shake, Rattle, and Rolled Over

According to the PG and DVE's Sean McDowell yesterday, an earthquake with a 5.9 magnitude rocked Pittsburgh. If you are not a newspaper trying to over sensationalize an event or a 50+ burned out hippie pothead ,who is also one of my favorite DJs ever, you realized that the epicenter of the earthquake was nearly 300 miles away. I personally felt the quake in my office in Oakland and know of many others around town who did as well. But on the North Shore last night, it was the Brewers' bats providing the shaking and the Bucs' pitchers providing the quaking.

The detestable Brewers took the 3rd game of the 4 games series by crushing the Buccos by a final of 11-4. Ross Ohlendorf was on the hill for the 1st time in months and looked no worse for the wear, giving up 7 runs in the second innig ( 4 earned) and allowing 11 hits over just 5.0 innings of work. Games like this need not be recapped, so I am going to toss a changeup and  give the floor to our readers with a list of questions that you can answer in the comments section. I suggest copying and pasting the question or at least putting the correpsonding number with each answer. You should all know the drill by now anyways, this is a total SmizBlog ripoff anyway!

1.) Why can't the Bucs beat the Brewers?
2.) Which NL Central Squad do you loathe the most?
3.) Which NL Central player do you loathe the most?
4.) What will the Bucs final record be for 2011?
5.) Which player on the current Major League roster will have the best career, either as a Pirate or otherwise?
6.) Which player currently in the Bucs minor league system will have the best Major League career?
7.) What was Huntington's best move as GM and why?
8.) What was his worst?
9.) What the worst roster move of the last 19 years?
10.) Who should the Bucs target in free agency during the upcoming offseason?

Splitsville

While it didn't look too promising after the day game, the Bucs were able to split last night's double header against the detestable Brewers. Despite Karstens pitching 7 strong innings, giving up 2 ER and fanning 5 while walking only 1, the Bucs weren't able to help him out and he left the game trailing 2-0. Tony Watson then surrendered 4 runs in the 8th and the ever arrogant Ryan Braun slammed a 2 run HR off of Joe Beimel for good measure. Ryan Ludwick did manage to launch his first Bucco homer in the 8th but the solo job wasn't enough as the Bucs fell by a final of 8 to 1.

With a 7 run loss fresh in their minds, the Bucs didn't have much time to dwell as game 2 started promptly after the end of the first and featured former Cy Young winner Zach Greinke vs Mike Brad Lincoln. The Crew jumped out to and early 2-0 lead in the first, but the Bucs got one back in the bottom of the inning with a Walker RBI single and then tied it with a Doumit solo shot in the 4th. Lincoln would cruise the rest of the way and after the Guy Who Cried got out of a jam after surrendering a single and walking the pitcher Greinke in the 7th, the Bucs offense took over. GI Jones started off the fun with a  leadoff single and he scored 2 batters later when Josh Harrison doubled him home after Diaz had been HBP. After Suckdeno fanned for the 1st out, Cutch was called upon to PH and he was able to draw a walk as well as see Diaz trot home on a wild pitch to make it 4-2. Tabata then plated Harrison with a double, putting him and Cutch on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Paul singled Cutch home and Walker was walked to load the bases for Doumit, who singled home Tabata to open it up to 7-2. Seeing the Bucs do a number like this on the Brew Crew felt pretty great and GI Jones came up for the 2nd time in the inning, hitting a sac fly that looked as though it was going to be his first career grand slam. Walker then scored on another wild pitch and the Bucs had a 9-2 lead.

I feared that the game was from over at the point, but Chris Leroux pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings to give the Bucs a much needed 9-2 W. This is their first win over the detestable Brewers this season and also the first for Jake Taylor as the Bucs skipper. Of course, he doesn't notice things like that.

With KC gone to the DL, Ohlendorf will take the hill tonight looking to ensure the Bucs at least a split of the series. Ohlendorf had gone just 8.2 IP in his 2 starts earlier this season before going down to injury and will be looking to lower his 7.27 ERA.

With the solid performance from Lincoln last night, you have to wonder where he fits in the Bucs rotation for next season? Leave  your thoughts and opinions in the comments as always.

Back In Black

Once again, I would like to start off by apologizing for the lack of content over the past two weeks. Between family events, work, and then vacation, I was unable to set aside time to post anything on the Mutiny. While there were some who saw fit to take shots at the Staff here for having other commitments besides this blog, we do appreciate our loyal and understanding readers who were able to empathize with out conflicting schedules. This blog is a labor of love, to steal a line from Mondesis House, and therefore it is pretty far down the to-do list from time to time.

Although this may be a BIT of an understatement, a great deal has transpired in the world of Pirates baseball since my last post:

- The Bucs were swept at the House of Horrors, then came home to take 2 out of 3 from the Cardinals.

- #1 Pick Gerrit Cole and 2nd Round Pick Josh Bell both signed with the Bucs.

- Jose Tabata received a lengthy contract extension that could keep him here through 2019

-The Bucs dropped 2 out of 3 to the Reds, both losses seeing TERRIBLE calls go in the Reds favor, aiding their victories. The Curse Of Jerry Meals may now be the Curse of Jerry Layne

I won't bother recapping any of the series, especially the sweep by the detestable Brew Crew in Milwaukee. We've won like 3 of the last 40 games there, so coming away with a W was unlikely in the first place. Speaking of first place, the detestable Brewers are coming to town tonight 8.5 games up on the Cards for the NL Central lead. The Bucs and the detestable Brewers start off their current series with a double header tonight, with game 1 starting at 5:05 where Smallmouth Bass Karstens takes on Chris Narveson.

In case you haven't noticed, my allergy to the F***ing Brewers has returned.  I absolutely abhor the Brewers and the very sight of some of their players makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Be it Ryan Braun's Ultra Cocky demeanor or the World's Largest Vegetarian stomping around acting like his team has won something, well, ever, I hate the guts of them. It would be nice to see the Bucs get at least a split out of this series, but I think I am dreaming there. I would just settle for a fastball lodged in Prince Fielder's earhole.

Moving on......... The Bucs were able to come to terms with #1 pick Gerrit Cole and 2nd round pick Josh Bell before the deadline and just like everything else, that is great news for some TBD future season. Both Cole and Bell are guys who could have a major impact on this organization, as Cole shouldn't require a wealth of time in the minors and Bell was believed to be one of the best offensive players in the draft. The fact that the Bucs signed Bell has lead many Pro Nutters to walk around freely with their erections in full view because it cost first round money to sign him. I say: The FO did their job, it's what they are paid to do. How many of you go to work every day, do exactly what you are supposed to do, and get a great big slap on the back? No, most of the time, you do what you are told, and your Boss still finds something wrong with it on top of blaming of you for something THEY did wrong in the first place.

But that is what happens in the Real World and far too many people prefer to live outside of reality in some sort of Fantasyland I thought only existed in Central Florida. BUT, I digress.

The most recent big news from the Federal Street Cash Cow is the signing of Jose Tabata to a contract extension.This is the opening line of the PG article on the subject and it tells you all you really need to know: Jose Tabata is happy in Pittsburgh, and he was willing to take less money to prove it. I am sorry, but when I read that lead in, I laughed out loud. But that is what the FO expects, guys to take less money to stay here. Now, that isn't out of the realm of possibility, the Penguins and Steelers get guys to give them hometown discounts all the time because some guys are willing to take less money if they have a shot to win.......... OK maybe that's not the best example.

Don't get me wrong, signing Tabata for the long term is great for the Bucs. If we can lockup Cutch for the same length, it would be even better. But once again, this is the Bucs FO doing what they are SUPPOSED to do. But maybe that was part of the plan all along, do things ass backwards for an extended period of time so that just doing the average, everyday things makes you look like a genius! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Odd are against Pirates to break .500

After checking out the standing following the Pirates' 11-8 loss to Cincinnati Friday night, Pittsburgh has a great deal of work to do if it wants to avoid a 19th straight losing season.
The loss to the Reds saw Joel Hanrahan have a rare poor outing, and the Bucs sit at 58-65 heading into today's game on Fox at 4:10 p.m. EST. It's unfortunate that the Pirates weren't on national TV in early July when they were hot.
With 39 games remaining, Pittsburgh would have to finish 24-15 to win 82 games. A 23-16 finish would put that exactly at .500.
I know it's simple math, although it will be a tough stretch, and personally, I don't think the Bucs can do it.
That have had a decent season considering what manager Clint Hurdle has to work with, but the pitching has come back down off its high and the offense is terrible. Not power, no average and they don't always do the fundamentals.
Hurdle is doing all the right things, but you can't make chicken salad out of chicken (enter expletive here.) I will not use foul language on here.
With 58 wins, the Pirates have already surpassed last year's total, but that's not saying much.
What hinders Pittsburgh's chance to break .500 is the schedule. The Bucs still have seven games against the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers, including three at Miller Park to close out the season, seven against St. Louis and five against the Reds.
They get a reprieve with six games against Houston and three against the Chicago Cubs, but the last time the Cubs played Pittsburgh was a series to forget for Bucco fans.
It appears everything will even out, although the Pirates will fall just short of breaking .500. I guess we'll have to wait another year. Maybe I will see a winning season before I die.
What has happened to Kevin Correia? The guy started off so well, he still has equaled his career high with 12 wins, but he has 11 losses and continues to struggle, especially at home.

Sorry for the lack of posts

As a contributor to this blog, I can't speak for everyone involved, but I want to apologize for the lack of posts by myself. I have been very busy attempting to manage a full and part time job, and haven't had the opportunity to keep you up to date on our Buccos. They took two out of three from the Cardinals after being swept by the Brewers. The shot at .500 is still a possibly, but they are definitely out of the division race. Last time I checked, they are losing to the Reds, 6-3, after five innings. Part of the game was delayed by rain. I hope to figure it out in the coming weeks and have more posts for the stretch run. Thanks for the feedback and sorry for the lack of posts. If you guys pay us, I would write one post everyday, I promise.

How bad is the Pirates' collapse?

It is almost as sickening as last year.
Yes, the Pirates are playing so much better, and will definitely, although it is pretty easy to surpass 57 wins, but the way they have been playing lately is disconcerting.
Most will say the downward spiral started with Jerry Meals' call in Atlanta, but I will say it was when the Chicago Cubs took four straight from the Bucs at PNC Park.
Couple that with Milwaukee and St. Louis playing well, and Pittsburgh fell out of the division race rather quickly. I can almost accept being swept by Philadelphia, but the seven straight losses, at home no less, are unacceptable.
You can't fault Clint Hurdle. He has been tremendous. The thing that makes me scratch my head is that Pittsburgh came back to take two of three from the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants.
The Bucs have dropped the first two at Milwaukee and I would be willing to put up some good money on the Brewers completing the sweep. Milwaukee has owned the Bucs and they are starting to pull away in the NL Central race.
The next goal is to avoid a record 19th straight losing season. I really thought they had a chance, but the pitching hasn't been as strong as it once was, and I don't see Pittsburgh putting together a five or six game winning streak.
As of this writing, I would say the Bucs will win around 75 games this season. It isn't great, but it is improvement. I don't know if it will ever happen, but they need a proven commodity.
I'm not saying Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker aren't legitimate big league players, because they are, but they need to sign a guy that is in his prime. Why not go for broke? What have you got to lose? I'm sick of hearing the "stay the course" speech. We heard it enough when George W. Bush was our President.
In the words of President Obama: "Yes we can."

Brief Respite/Ticket Prices

To our loyal followers:

I apologize for the lack of content over the past week. The 10 game skid, combined with the West Coast Swing and me scrambling to get ahead at work leading into my vacation this upcoming week has detracted from my posting.

Ticket Prices:

According to the  Trib today, the Bucs will be raising ticket prices in 2012. This comes as no surprise on multiple fronts. #1, ticket prices are far below the league average and haven't been raised significantly in quite some time. and #2, the Bucs have had a good season, attendance has been up, and it is a good business move to do this while the team is starting to find a few believers out there.

#1: The average price of a ticket to a Pirate game is indeed below league average, but then again, so is the product. You don't go to McDonald's and expect a Ruth Chris steak, right? You wouldn't pay for an Armani suit and be satisfied if the clerk then handed you a Haggar, would you?

#2: Yes, a few months of respectable baseball has been nice.But this season is still a long way from being over and the Bucs are now heading to the House of Horrors losing something like 15 of their last 20.

The bottom line is this: if you are going to raise ticket prices, you had better give the fans a reason to pay more to watch your club play.   The fans are expected to make the investment while the owners sit back and wait until their coffers are filled enough for their liking in order to make a move. That isn't how most businesses work, you don't sell a product you don't have, right Kenneth Lay? Most fans are still harboring some level of skepticism in regards to just how committed this FO is to winning at the major league level. The too little, too late acquisitions of Lee and Ludwick are low risk, low reward. But it is at least something.

Is it enough to prove to some of the naysayers that the tides have begun to change over on Federal Street? That is still to be determined.

At Last

  5   1

Holy crap, I don't know where to begin. The Bucs are finally back in the win column after 10 excruciating losses in a row. 7 of those 10 came at home to NL bottom feeders after I predicted the Bucs would 5-2 in that stretch. But thats been the way the cards have fallen this season. When we started this blog on May 18, railing against the FO for another disastrous season of baseball on the cheap, the Bucs halted their 6-game skid and went on a tear. Once I stepped out and said the Bucs SHOULD have won both series vs. the Cubs and Padres, they completely flatlined.

Yesterday morning, I was preparing to write the Bucs eulogy. It was going to be titled "Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding". It was going to be twice as long as the song. Now, 1 win out of the last 11 games is not enough for me to say there is a turnaround on the horizon, but I am going to stave off that post for a little while longer.

The Bucs got off to a good start last night, plating 2 runs in the 1st when The Pride of PR doubled home GI Jones and scored on Ludwick's RBI single. They added to their lead in the 3rd when Kdro drew a bases loaded walk to tilt the ledger to 3-0. In the 5th, the Bucs essentially put the game away when Ludwick singled Jones home and scored on a Brandon Wood single. Great Stuff continued his Jekyll and Hyde ways, this time with a second straight solid start, pitching 8 scoreless innings and surrendering 6 H and 3 BB to along with 4K. Veras worked a scoreless 9th to close it out. Final count Buccos 5, SFG 0.

Since the game was on the West Coast, and the whole little 10 game losing streak, I had little interest in staying up late to watch. Last time that happened, it was Jerry Effing Meals  stealing the show.

Player of the Game:  GI Jones- 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored. Jones got Bucs off on the right foot, doubling in the first and scoring the first run.

Morton also has a good argument.

As I stated, I didn't watch the game so feel free to submit your opinions for Head Scratcher and Face Palm of the Night.

The Bucs and G's are back at it again tonight with J-Mac versus Bumgarner.

The Pirates are out of the division race

I haven't checked the standings lately, but I do believe at 6:58 p.m. EST on Saturday, August 6, 2011, the Pittsburgh Pirates are out of the race for the division title in the NL Central.
Basically, that means they will not make it to the playoffs for the 19th straight year. I was starting to think they had a shot, although I shouldn't be so naive.
I still believe they can finish above .500, which would be nice if they could build on that, but I don't know if they can.
Since the horrible stretch of losing season began in 1993, the Bucs have finish five games under the .500 mark twice.
In 1997, they were 79-83 and finished second to Houston in the division race. They had the opportunity to win it, but faded in the last month of the season.
In 1999, Pittsburgh was 78-83 after not playing a makeup game because it had no relevence in the standings. I believe it was against Milwaukee. The Pirates were 78-80 going into the final series against the New York Mets, but were swept.
I always go back to that year because that was the first year of my life that I started to watch baseball. I was about 13 back then. I attended two games live that year and they split.
In my youth I was more positive. I thought to myself, "they will turn the corner next year and break .500, then make the playoffs in the first year at PNC Park, and with all the revenue generated, win the World Series in a few years."
I think I took Greg Brown's announcing too much into account because none of that has happened.
The Pirates have dropped eight in a row and are three games under .500. If they can squeeze out a few series here and there, they will be back at .500. Although, they don't have what it takes to win the division. It would be nice, but it won't happen.
I give Clint Hurdle credit. He still deserves the manager of the year award for what he's done with this rag-tag bunch, but I guess teams like this only win divison titles in the movies.

The Curse of Jerry Meals

19 years ago this October, the Pirates franchise was set back to the Stone Age by an agonizing loss in Atlanta. In eerily similar fashion, the Bucs 2011 season took a turn for the worst after another close play at the plate in Atlanta. Sid Effin Bream was safe, Julio Mother Effin Lugo was not.


The Bucs are now something like 1-9 since Meals screwed us to the wall, taking all of the wind out of the team's sails. Obviously, I am not blaming Jerry Meals for any loss other than the one pictured above. But his call certainly killed the Bucs momentum. Imagine taking the first 2 games on the road in Atlanta, winning 3 out of 4 in that series heading to Philly. We might be exactly where we are right now. But my gut tells me things would have been a little bit different. The Bucs that came out that next night against Atlanta looked defeated for the first time this season. They looked completely over matched against a Phillies team they had taken 2 of 3 from earlier in the year.

Now, the Bucs have been swept by the lowly Cubs and found new ways to lose the game each time. The first game was a fairly average loss; outside of Lee, we couldn't get the big runs home when we needed them. The second game was a putrid performance by the smug Kevin Correia, who didn't seem to care that he gave up 8 ER and like 50 HRs in 2+ IP. Wednesday's game was a bone jarring 1-0 loss in which Great Stuff pitched his heart out, only to have it stomped all over buy offensive ineptitude. Last night's loss was the worst of them all.

Disheartening. Disgusting. Soul crushing. Those are some of the words I could use to describe last night's come from ahead, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory loss. The Cubs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead when 3 of their first four hits were home runs. But in the bottom of the 4th, the Bucs broke through for the first time in what seemed like eons.

GI Jones lead off with a double to right center and moved to third on a Walker ground out. Ryan Ludwick then notched his first hit and RBI as a Bucco, singling to score Jones. Kdro and NoMitt followed with back to back singles to load the bases and the great Xavier Paul bounced into a FC to score a run and put runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs for Brandon Wood, who walked. Jake Taylor decided to allow J-Mac to bat, drawing my ire and few choice words that included "Purple Son of a Bitch", only to see James get ahead in the count 2-1. J-Mac then wisely sat on a fastball, slashing a base clearing double to give the Bucs a 5-4 lead. Cutch was up next and hammered a double to score J-Mac, increasing the lead to 6-4. GI Jones, who started it all off, then drove a shot to the base of the right field wall, looking as though it was going to be a 2 run homer to put this baby to bed, but falling just short.

J-Mac then hummed through the 5th, 6th, and believe it or not 7th innings. McDonald was so pumped that he made it 7 IP that he even did a comical celebration. The team was having fun while holding a 2 run lead. Too bad it was all just foreshadowing for an epically disastrous ending. Jake Taylor sent The Guy Who Cried out to pitch the 8th inning. I immediately threw up in my mouth when I saw that. I don't know what it is, but I have never been a fan of D.Cutch. Maybe it is because he cried in the locker room after losing a regular season game last year. But he is to the Pirates pitchers what Xavier Paul is to hitters/fielders: the guy who I am eternally looking at to fail and blame for everything that goes wrong on their watch.

I will make my description of the 8th inning as brief as possible, while still getting the message across. The Bucs had a 6-4 lead. The Guy Who Cried was on the hill and exited without getting an out, so did Grilli, and so did Beimel. Veras, the person who should have started the inning, then came on to set down all 3 batters he faced in order. It took 4 pitchers to get the first out of the inning. ' Nuff said.

The Bucs were unable to mount any sort of comeback because asking them to score in more than one inning per game is like asking Congress to do something productive: Not gonna happen. Final Count- Cubs 7, Bucs 6.

This was the first time in 19 years that I have thrown something ( my remote control) out of genuine anger directly related to a Pirates game. I wanted so bad for this season to be different and it still could be, but I am not nearly as hopeful as before. I used to look forward to writing these recaps every morning but now it feels like writing a Death Row Pardon request in Texas. I understand that there are always going to be hard times when following a sports team, but it would be nice to see the  Pirates and their  fans catch a fucking break for once! Excuse my language, but I am coming apart at the seams.

This Losing Shit is Getting Depressing…

I won’t harp again here on the laundry list of things that have gone badly for the Bucs since 14 October, 1992. But it has certainly has been almost nothing but misery for the franchise since then. There have been brief glimmers of hope: 1997's ridiculous run. Late summer of 99’s swoon. The Opening of PNC Park. The 1^st month of 2003. Mid-June of 2005.

This year, however, up through this past weekend it felt like the most legitimate reason to have faith in the local ballclub around these parts for a very long time. I came into this season in a state of absolute fatalistic dread. But then a weird thing started happening: they were winning ballgames.

For once the Bucs were getting some above average performances, a couple of timely breaks, and were making sound and smart decisions; from the front office, to the manager’s intuitive moves. Although I would have preferred they go for broke and acquire Hunter Pence for this year plus two additional seasons, I was very satisfied with the rental of Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick. Exactly the infusion of veteran right handed power hitting potential this lineup needed. I was on board. They had me buying in. Hook, line, and sinker.  

And then they went out and lost three straight to the worst team in their division. Absolutely disgusting. And depressing. If this is a sign that we are going to be blowing things up in the offseason, and going into spring training next year talking about breaking an onerous burden of 19 straight losing seasons, it will be a miserable state of affairs for everybody. Pro, Anti, or Indifferent, we all want to see that longest stretch of utter futility in all of professional sports end, right?

We have come to far to give up now. This HAS to be the year we finally start to turn things around. Who knows what next year will bring, but for one mother-shining moment, this city really needs a winning baseball team.

I’m not saying this because I’m giving up or jumping off the band wagon. I bitching about it because I’m still here. Pittsburgh Pirates: I JUST CAN’T QUIT YOU. I hope I look back at this as another over-reactionary moment and C-Hurd levels the guys off and gets them back into contention for at least .500, if not the division. Because I am sick as hell of all this losing.

Circling the Drain

I don't know what to say after last night's disgusting performance. I do know that I wanted to wipe that smirk off of Correia's face in between Soto and Soriano's HRs to put the game completely out of reach. The Bucs are treading water and the sharks are circling, mouths watering, waiting for that first drop of blood.

There is still time left for this team to turn it around, after all: It's always darkest just before the dawn, right?

Maybe not........

When the Levee Breaks

Well, I wrote up a whole recap. I detailed Lee's near heroics and the Bucs outside of him, Walker, and McKenry trying their damnedest to help us lose. But for whatever reason, Blogger gave me an error message, causing me to lose everything but the title of my post.

I am guessing that you could surmise from the title what the post was all about: ineptitude on the basepaths, pitching beginning to backslide, and the general sucktitude of this team after Jerry Meals killed their dream season last week. A bit extreme, you might ask? Perhaps, but we've won only once since that night and all of the magic this team previously had  has since evaporated into the atmosphere with Warren Morris and Kevin Polcovich's careers.

The pitching staff has been forced to carry the load too long and too far. It took too long to get offensive reinforcements into the lineup and we are seeing the Bucs revert to the tactics that lost them 105 games last year. Wondering off second base, cutting off a throw home instead of covering 3rd base, or failing to get a big hit when the team REALLYneeded a run. And that was just Kdro. Then there was Maholm getting hit with a batted ball after failing to sac bunt a guy over and nibbling at the corners because every strike he threw got pounded. Depressing stuff, actually.

Cutch actually raised his post ASG average to .188 with a 1 for 4 performance last night, but struck out to end the game. Maybe if Hurdle and the local media bitch to the high heavens and Bruce Bochy enough , Cutrch will start to finally get something done at the plate. Neil Walker has been pretty awesome lately. He went 2 for 4 last night, improving to .357 since the break but did strike out on a ball 4 that would have been high on Andre the Freaking Giant. The next batter was Derrek Lee, who drove a solo shot into the bleachers for the first of his 2 home runs in his Pirates debut. Lee was first Bucco to homer in his debut since Matt Morris and now is the first Bucco to home TWICE in his debut since Shawon Dunston. We REALLY could have used him 10 games ago!

Losing 9 of their last 12, the Bucs are starting to slowly spiral out of control. Hopefully, a big win tonight can help right the ship before absolute disaster mode sets in. That is, if it hasn't already begun.

Point of Know Return

After a tough weekend in Philly, the Bucs need to dig in with 56 games remaining in their season. With their record currently standing at 54-52 and 4.5 games out of first place, the Bucs have 7 games against the lowly Cubs and Padres. I think it would be an understatement to say that each of these series needs to be won for the Bucs to stay serious. Luckily, as we sit here right now, the Bucs are a better team than they were yesterday. Are they a far better team? Maybe not. Are they suddenly going to start scoring 5 runs a night? Not likely. But the additions of Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick instantly make the Bucs a better offensive team. Even though it isn't 2008 Derrek Lee and 2008 Ryan Ludwick, neither are strangers to the Central Division and both add some pop to the lineup.

As it currently stands, Ludwick would be tied for the team lead in RBI wiht 64 and Lee is coming off a July that saw him produce a .805 OPS. Lee is also known to be a good producer in the late months of the season as well as a defensive stalwart. Ludwick's career OPS ion August is .791 and .800 in September. The Bucs gave up little to get these 2 guys, but hopefully the return is that of 2 proven middle of the lineup MLB bats.

With a lot of baseball left to be played, the Bucs have a chance right now to pick up some much needed W's and a fair amount of momentum heading into a tough road trip including SF followed by The House of Horrors.  After going 5-8 in the tough 13 game stretch against NL contenders and top teams, losing 7 of their last 10, the Bucs have to rally together and get back in the win column tonight.

I am not going to bother recapping the Weekend series in Pihlly. Amazing, both Kdro and Overpaid homer in the same weekend. Sadly, that was Alvarez's lone hit in 12 at-bats for the series, striking out 4 times and dropping his season average to a depressing .195. Can you say OUCH? That is a 13 point drop since the man who was supposed to resurrect the offense returned from the DL. His 55 K's in 43 games equals to about 207 K's over 162 games. That is just plain ugly. Overpaid's HR was also his only hit of the series, in 7 at bats. His season average is .227 and his fielding has been subpar as well.

Cutch went 1 for 10 in Philly, putting a cap on a disappointing July in which he hit .255, but only .183 after the break. Walker hit .366 in July but only knocked in 13 runs and scored only 11. The Bucs pitching was still stellar for most of July, despite getting knocked around by the highest payroll in NL history over the weekend.

All-in-all, the Bucs are far from out of anything just now. It may seem unlikely to some that this team can still make a legitimate run at the Central Division title. But it probably seemed unlikely that 2011 would be the season that is has been so far. Although I certainly would have liked to see a big risk/big reward type trade made at the deadline, it's too late now. That was never going to happen in the first place. Once again, the Bucs are a better team today than they were 24 hours ago. Are they good enough to compete? That is up to the players right now.