Hot-lanta, Hot-Mess

Things didn't start off quite as well as we thought, to say the least. The Pirates were absolutely pathetic this weekend, looking nothing like the team that won 9 of the previous 13. They couldn't field (Doumit's passed ball, LaRoche error, Castillo's throwing error); they couldn't hit (Wilson 0-4, 2 K's and 6 LOB including the tying runs in the top of the 9th on Saturday, Bay, Nady, LaRoche going 4-31 in the series).

Snell was pretty bad on Friday night. That however can be excused, how often does he allow 3 home runs in a game? Looking back on it though, the Pirates should never have been down 3 after the first inning. In the bottom of the first, Snell quickly got the first two batters out. Then Chipper Jones hit a weak ground ball to first that LaRoche simply botched. Still 2 outs, Chipper on first and Andruw Jones walks after Chipper had stole second. The Braves have first and second with 2 outs and All-Star catcher Brian McCann at the dish. He hits a home run just inside the RF foul pole and suddenly the score is 3-0 in an inning which should have ended 1-2-3.

I thought Maholm pitched really strong again yesterday. He went 6 innings, allowing 2 ER. A case could be made that perhaps the wild pitch that he was charged with should have been a passed ball on Doumit. He called for a pitch inside and Maholm threw it up and away. Doumit reached up but it ricocheted off his glove to the backstop allowing a run to score. Granted Maholm's pitch wasn't where it was supposed to but it wasn't that far outside or up that Doumit shouldn't have caught it.

In light of this weekend's misgivings, I still have a positive outlook on the team. With each start that Maholm makes, it appears more and more than he's putting it all together and really solidifying that third spot in the rotation. If you add him to Snell and Gorzelanny, that's a pretty good top of the rotation. If you can trot out three guys in your rotation that you're reasonably sure will give you quality starts, that's 60% of your games that you have some confidence.

Jason Bay's slump is really beginning to reach epic proportions. His average on June 1st was a season high .314. He's now sitting at .249. At this point I have a tough time choosing who will have a higher batting average at the end of the season; Bay or LaRoche. Jason's been really slow at the plate, taking too many pitches (especially with two strikes) and he just seems lost. Smarter people (well, debatable) are getting paid a lot more than I am to find a solution so I don't really know how to fix it at this point but somebody needs to figure out something. This is a guy who was/is the face of the franchise. He was guy you could always count on to hit 30 HR's and drive in 100 RBI's a season.

Tonight starts a series against the Colorado Rockies. Their record might only be around .500 but they are a very dangerous team. Jeff Francis is a good pitcher and the Rockies have some really quality hitters. Matt Holliday, who was an under the radar guy until the Home Run Derby, is a leading favorite for the National League MVP this season. Let's hope our boys can take 2 of 3 to make up for this weekends debacle.

We're back and better than Zach Duke!

Hello and welcome to the new and improved CrossingTheClemente.com...or the blog formerly known as "Pittsburgh Baseball Guy". That's the causes of the delay since the last post but I should be back regularly again and now onto the ranting.

It's the All-Star break already. Wow. A lot of people hate the game, think it's pointless, stupid, boring, etc. I personally love it. I get excited to watch it and focus my whole week on it. Think of all the great All-Star game moments people remember:

1) Torii Hunter robbing Bonds of a home run in 2002 (my favorite AS moment)

2) Cal Ripken playing in 2001, his last AS game. A-Rod gives up short to take third and let's Ripken move to short where he should be. It was a momentary image of class from A-Rod. People also forget that Cal also jacked one out too.

3) Hank Blalock dialing yard in the 2003 game and the American comes back from being 4 runs down.

4) Last year in Pittsburgh, Michael Young's 2 out, 2 run triple gives the AL the 3-2 win.

5) The indelible scene from this years game (at least for me) is Ichiro flying around the bases on his way to the first ever inside-the-park home run in All-Star history.

I said it before, if Ichiro was on the Pirates, they'd be fighting for the division. That's how close I think this team is to competing. Then again, Ichiro is a HOF player and they don't grow on trees (or our farm system apparently).

I love the homerun derby almost as much. I don't know how people can't! Especially when guys like Alex Rios, who I knew of but didn't really KNOW, puts on a show like that. I'll be looking at Toronto's box scores now and keeping an eye on him. The PG reported this weekend that last year the Jays wanted to trade him to the Bucs for Paul Maholm. Passing on that deal could be a big mistake.

Onto the Pirates talk. We're already half way through the season and several things have become apparent in the first 81 games. This team has some holes...but they also have a lot of promise and have some decent building blocks in place. Now here's my take:

First Half Awards

MVP
Xavier Nady

Best Pitcher
Ian Snell

Second Half Guesses

2nd Half MVP
Adam LaRoche

2nd Half Cy
Ian Snell

Prediction
The Bucs pull within 6 games of .500 and finish 78-84. Snell and Gorzelanny finish with over 15 wins each. Maholm doesn’t lose 20 games, in fact goes 7-2 in the second half to finish 11-12. Capps continues his rise to one of the prominent young closers in the game, finishing with 31 saves. Xavier Nady will continue his fine season with 32 HR and 105 RBI’s. Meanwhile Adam LaRoche is really going to turn it on (as is his MO) and get to around .275/.340/31/115. And finally the easiest prediction of all…atleast one Pirates pitcher will require major surgery at some point.

Player Grades

Pitchers

Tony Armas: F
What else can you say about these stats: 8.96 ERA, 1 HR allowed every 4 inning.

Matt Capps: B+
I wish he’d bring his hits allowed down but 8 saves in 9 opportunities is good to go along with a 2.37 ERA and a K:BB ration of 3:1.

Shawn Chacon: A-
With the exception of his two starts, he’s been great out of the bullpen. He’s really settled into the 7/8 inning spot nicely. He’s also prime trade material.

Zach Duke: D-
Simply put, he needs to be sent down. He can’t locate his pitches and when he does locate a pitch it gets hit; hard. He’s taken a huge step back and has no business being up with the big club. These problems need to be worked out in Indy. The problem is if you send him down, who takes his spot in the rotation? The Pirates need Bullington or Burnett to get healthy to possibly take Duke’s spot.

Tom Gorzelanny: A
7th in NL in ERA, on the Final Vote for the All-Star game, anchoring the #2 spot in the rotation. Pleasant surprise so far. I was surprised he didn’t make the All-Star game. More strikeouts might have gotten him there (never mind pitching for a better team might have helped).

John Grabrow: D
Injury rumors keep cropping up. Could he be hurt? Could this explain his lack of effectiveness this season? So far he’s been junk.

Masumi Kuwata: C
He was rolling along until the Brewers lit him up for a TD on the 7th. Still though he throws strikes and is a real crafty guy to have out of the bullpen. Plus he’s one of the few guys you can trust.

Paul Maholm: C
Weird first half for Paul, he had a terrible first 6 weeks of the season and a pretty good second 6 weeks. He’s gone at least 7 inn in his last 5 starts and 7 of his last 9. He hasn’t given up more than 4 ER since May 15. If he keeps pitching like this the top 3 of the rotation can really become something special.

Damaso Marte: A
He’s established himself at the premier lefty specialist in baseball. Could be traded but he’s really helped settle a once unstable bullpen. Along with Chacon he’s fit into the 7/8 inning spot nicely.

Ian Snell: A
The only thing that Snell’s done wrong this year is trying to cook chicken for his salad. He’s only given up more than 4 ER once all year and he has 13 quality starts already this year. He’s become one of the unnoticed aces of baseball this year. You could make an argument that he should have made the All-Star team over any of either Chris Young, Ben Sheets, Roy Oswalt, Brandon Webb and maybe even John Smoltz.

Salomon Torres: D
He did much better when he was moved out of the closer role. He was rumored to be nursing an injury coming out of spring training. Hopefully after taking about 6 weeks off he can come back and really turn this bullpen into a strong point with Chacon and Marte coming through. You have to wonder though about those 75+ games pitched in each of the last 3 seasons.

John Van Benschoten: I
So far, not so good but he’s only started 5 games. We’ll give him 3-5 more before passing judgment…but I’m not optimistic.

Ronny Paulino: D-
A real disappointment so far. Defense is down, hitting is down, effort appears to be down. Seems like half the player he was last year. His hitting is up as he's hitting .262 in the last month.

Jose Bautista: B
He's played a great third base, is leading the team in runs, .739 OPS and filling in nicely as an untraditional leadoff hitter. He's showed great patience at the plate, gap power (going to come close to 40 doubles) and a knack for getting on base.

Adam LaRoche: C-
The good so far: going to come close to 40 doubles and 100 RBI's. The bad: Low .200's average for much of the season and will have over 150 K's. Has really shown recently though signs of breaking out (.304 over the last 30 days).

Freddy Sanchez: B+
The average is back up around .300, the gap power is back (20 doubles so far) and will be close to 200 hits again. Still learning second base but is slowly getting more comfortable at the position. Starting to make plays that he wouldn't have made earlier in the year.

Jack Wilson: D
Great defense, terrible hitter. The guy never sees more than 3 pitches in an at-bat it seems. He turned one .308 season into $38 million and lots of mediocrity since then. The sooner he leaves the better. I loathe Jack Wilson. All the Stepfords at PNC Park though love him so I’m sure he’ll stay.

Jason Bay: C
Talk about the slump of slumps 14 for his last 109, bringing his average from .308 on June 1 to .250 today. He’s too good a player to not break out but he seems to be too tentative at the plate. He’s been striking out watching the third strike quite a bit. People get on him saying he doesn’t seem pissed about the slump but you know it eats at him. He’s a quiet guy, it’s not in his demeanor to break bats, throws helmets, etc. He’ll be ok. My fearless prediction is that he’ll finish like this: .270/.365/29/105

Ryan Doumit: B
We got to get this guy in the lineup more. He just hits the hell out of the ball. Unfortunately now he’s got another hamstring problem. With the emergence of Nady, right field is out of the question and same with first. Catcher would be an option but Tracy seems to be sticking it out with Paulino. I think he’ll be a semi-regular the rest of the year and then in the off season the Bucs need to pick between Paulino and Doumit.

Chris Duffy: F
Let’s see…leadoff hitter with a .249 AVG and a .313 OBP but he does play a great centerfield. As far as I am concerned, the Chris Duffy experiment is over. He’s proven that he does not have the ability to lead off for the Pirates. Plus he quit on them last year only to come back and actually get the job done. Now he’s back to his very average self. He’s another one I wouldn’t mind seeing leave town.

Nate McLouth: C+
He’s a great bench player but is electric when he does get in. The guy is just hustle and energy. I’d love to see him start over Duffy but that won’t happen. He certainly can’t be worse though.

Xavier Nady: A
Where would we be without him? Coming into the season we expected Nady to platoon, hit 15 HR’s and just be another body. What he’s done this year is simply turned himself into the leader of this team. According to all reports his hamstring is killing him but still he plays on it and not only that but he stretched out a triple last week on that bad hammy. Before this season the knock on Nady was always that he killed lefties and couldn’t hit righties. Well this season he’s hitting .313 against LHP but up to .284 against RHP. He’s now a guy to build this team around now, too bad we had to give up Oliver Perez to get him.

Straight from the McLouth

Anyone else find it ironic that the Pirates had Franco Harris speak to the team before the game, only for the Bucs to go out and lose by a touchdown? Maybe he also shared the secrets of avoiding contact and running out of bounds like a girl.

On to more serious topics, Jesus Christ we have some terrible pitchers.

Exhibit A: Zach Dookie, the latest in a long line of Pirates pitchers to have arm trouble. He's initial assessment came back as just being a tender elbow. However he is scheduled to fly to Alabama to meet with the illustrious Dr. Andrews this week for a second opinion. I don't know about you but in my opinion when players go to see Dr. Andrews for a second opinion, they tend to come back needing Tommy John surgery or some other kind of invasive surgery. How much says Dookie boy has something more serious going on?

John Van Benschoten is terrible. The guy can not locate a pitch to save his life. The problem is that you can't send him down because who are you going to bring up? He's the best of the crap that's down in AAA. I just looked at AA and saw that Dewon Brazelton is there. Remember him? Young hotshot pitcher the Devil Rays rushed up to the majors only to watch him get slammed. He's now at our AA affiliate after cruising from team to team for the last couple of years. He's pitching relief at Altoona. Now that we've brought up Youman there really is nothing left in the minors that we can bring up. Burnett and Bullington need more time to come back from injuries, Armas is not an option...the only other idea is to give it back to Chacon. I think the Pirates are hesitant about doing that because of two reasons:
1) It leaves the bullpen really short
2) They are getting ready to trade him and want to showcase him as a reliever where he'll have more value.

Now some good news. Nate McLouth needs to start. He plays with a reckless abandon that Duffy NEVER shows. His slide last night into home was beautiful. He's one of the few players on this team who gets me excited. I love nothing more than when I go to a game and he's in the lineup. That's probably why I love going on Sundays, Nate Dog and Doumit usually always start. He's about the only motor guy on this whole team and it says a lot about the Pirates that they didn't follow his lead last night. I've never seen a team look more comatose. It's unbelievable. Jason Bay looks like he's just riding out the next 2.5 years of his contract uninjured so he can sign a big deal somewhere else or get traded in the summer of 2009.

I love how the Pirates Bandwagon is trying to build up the next 7 games as "make or break". Make or break what? .500? Do people actually believe that this team can contend for the Central? Obviously people do and that amazes me. Perhaps it's because it's been so long since people have seen good baseball that they can't remember what a good team looks like. There's no way this team can catch the Cubs, let alone the Brewers. I believe that both teams will be in the playoffs; Brewers as the division winners and Cubs as the Wild Card.

I am going to the game tonight, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I must be a masochist...or a baseball fan. (Aren't they the same though?)

A Really Big Load of Waste of Time

I know I said before I wouldn't comment on the strike, on ownership, etc but I feel the need to tonight. This will be the last time that I comment on the off the field.

Congratulations Pirates fans! Plain and simple. The protest was a flop. Sure before the game there was a lot of people with shirts and hanging out in the vicinity of Hi-Tops. Then came the walk out and no one left. Sure a couple hundred did but it wasn't enough to make a noticeable difference in the stands.

The most shocking thing about the protest was the amount of ANGER...and not from the people leaving but from the people STAYING! I saw people yelling at people leaving, telling them, "Get the hell out and don't come back loser!". That just shocks me. That's like the people who call you anti-American if you speak out against the President. It reminds me of the Iraqi Minister of Defense who was in the middle of Baghdad, missiles destroying the city, declaring, "There is nothing wrong. There are no attacks, it's a lie. Everything is fine." I never want to hear another Pirates fan complain about ownership. You've had your chance, you had the national media's eyes turned to Pittsburgh for once and you blew it. Well, maybe not blew it but you let your opinion be known loud and clear. You accept this administration, you accept 70+ giveaways a year. Pirates "fans" have spoken and they have loudly declared that they will happily give up good, quality baseball in exchange for fireworks, bobbleheads and coin nights. Congrats you, you deserve Nutting.

In the post-game show, Jack Wilson was asked about the fan protest. He said that he was heartened by the fact that most of the fans stayed in their seats and booed those who were leaving. He said it was nice to know that most of the fans "had our back" and he called those who did not leave, "the Pirate Faithful."

Seriously, Jack Wilson can just go *%@&@\! off at this point. Though he did have a big at-bat in the 4th, what the hell else has he done since signing that big contract? He's an average player and is part of the problem, not the solution.

Zach Dookie

Opponents are hitting .362 off of Zach Dookie. That would win the batting title by a mile most years. I am at the point now where I WANT to see that average get up to .400. I really am interested in finding out what is the highest opponent's batting average a starting pitcher gave up while starting over 25 games. The problem with Duke is his stuff. Like I wrote about Paul Maholm, Dookie pitches to contact, he let's his fielders do their work. The difference is while Maholm has induced weak, little, nubby grounders recently, Dookie has been giving up hard hits all over the place. These just aren't balls that get by fielders, these are rockets that he's giving up. Very few have been fluke hits. He lacks confidence and command right now. The major leagues are not the place for a pitch missing one, if not both. That's what Indianapolis is for and that's where Duke should be. He is killing this team right now. Everytime he starts you just know, know that it's going to be a loss.

Loathin' Van Benschoten

Wow, John Van Benschoten was terrible last night. He had absolutely no control over any of his pitches. He went to three balls on 9 of the 19 batters he faced. That's terrible. He was really lucky that the Marlins must lead the league in pitches swung at. They put a lot of balls into play that they had no business swinging at. That's why Van Benschoten's line of 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER looks somewhat decent. It should have been worse, much worse. He walked 5 batters, that number could have easily be double that. However the Marlins kept swinging and in cavernous Dolphin Stadium, that usually equals outs. Van Benschoten needs to have a better outing in his next start on Monday against Milwaukee because the Brewers will take those walks and will put up a lot more than 2 ER's against him.

The All-Star game voting ends tonight at midnight. If I was to vote for the Pirates All-Star and make no mistake, there will be only one, it would have to be for Xavier Nady. He's a been a really pleasant surprise for this team. He has approximately 60 less at-bats than Jason Bay (who will probably get the call for the game) but is one ahead in HR's, 4 back in RBI's and their OBP are nearly identical. Nady is this team's All-Star. I personally believe that either Snell or Gorzelanny should also get the nod but LaRussa is never going to take two Pirates, let alone one of them being a pitcher, no matter how much they deserve it.

Jose Bautista. Just listen to how the name rolls off your tongue. Jose Bautista. Jose Bautista did not make one out last night. He was 1-1, with 3 BB's. I think if he could make homemade meatballs and sauce like my wife that I'd have to leave her for him. He's incredible and he'll be at the PNC Bank on Ft Couch Rd Saturday from 12-1 signing autographs. I'll be there and I may scream like a little girl seeing N'Sync in concert for the first time. In fact my wife may have to catch me from fainting. My man crush turned into an all out love affair last night. I love a man, I can admit it. I have a problem and I need help.

Game #76: Pirates @ Marlins: Who are you and what have you done with Paul Maholm?

Um, will the real Paul Maholm please stand up? The man who's been an enigma the entire season (and his career) appears to have settled down and become a real life big league pitcher before our eyes. He'll never been an ace or even a #2 pitcher but he's certainly become a very good pitcher for this team. He's gone atleast 7 innings in 5 of his last 7 starts (and went 6 2/3 in another) allowing 4 ER or lower in each start. Don't be shocked, those are great numbers. They are put into even great light when you figure that (as noted in the MLB.com Wrap of the game) that the Pirates are 24-15 this season when they score at least four runs.

The difference I see more than anything in that 7 game stretch is Maholm's sinker and control. He will never be a dominating, top of the rotation pitcher. That's not his style. He pitches to contact and let's the fielders do their job. However since he's found his control and his sinker has become a really good out pitch, it's easier for him to keep the ball down. Keeping the ball down means ground balls and those usually equal outs. This is evidenced by the fact that in his first 9 starts, when he was atrocious (the one CG shutout withstanding) he allowed 10 Hr's or a little over 1 per game and in three of those starts allowing more than one HR. However in his last 7 starts he's only allowed...4 home runs. It's really tough to jack a ball out when it's consistently hitting the bottom of the strike zone. The average player can't do anything with that pitch but hit a grounder. In short, Paul Maholm has become Jamie Moyer (minus about 20 years). That's a return I'll take for the eighth pick in the first round. Let's hope he can keep up, the future is bright for this team if Maholm can team with Snell and Gorzelanny at the top of the rotation. Now if Zach Duke can just figure it out...

If I was Jim Tracy (and thank God I'm not)!

I hate Chris Duffy, as a player and as a person. I think he's obnoxious, spoiled and a crappy ballplayer (and person).

I do not know Chris Duffy personally but here is what I do know:
1) After being demoted last season to AAA, he went AWOL for 2 weeks. He went home to whine and pout. Sure he spun it as "I'm not sure if I want to continue playing professionally". PLEASE. Spare me. This sudden change happened to coincide with you getting sent down and you want me to believe it's coincidental? (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06143/692339-63.stm)

2) He thinks his place as starting CF and leadoff hitter are secure, despite his mediocre play. After Rajai Davis was recalled last month Duffy was asked if he thought he might lose playing time and if his performance might have been the reason. Duffy replied that he thought he was playing fine. (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07157/791815-63.stm)

Playing FINE!! FINE!! Someone wake up Chris Duffy and inform him that speedy lead off men should have higher OBP than his lofty .313. That's terrible, not just for a leadoff hitter but for a major league player in general and we have this clown as our leadoff hitter! Come on! No wonder the Pirates have problems scoring runs! Duffy is an excellent centerfielder but he should be nothing more than a bench player...and certainly not a leadoff hitter.

Which brings me to the point of today's post. The lineup. It's time to make some drastic changes. This is a team who's scored 13 runs in the last 6 games. That's unacceptable. Luckily Tracy was wise enough to see this and installed Jose Bautista as lead off hitter about 6 weeks ago. After he was penciled in as the leadoff hitter, he led MLB in runs scored for about 6 weeks. Right now he stands 10th in the NL. Tracy was really thinking out of the box for this decision to move Bautista to #1 (the first clear sign that he does actually think and has a brain). Bautista's not your prototypical leadoff hitter in that he's not fast and doesn't steal but he's ok on the bases and has an OBP over .350. He gets on base, which is all that counts! You can't score if you're not on.

However, something more needs to be done. It's time to move Bautista back to CF, a position he played 57 times last year. He was a decent outfielder and I think this might be where his future lies (especially with Neil Walker 1st round 2004 pick) coming up this year, probably in September. So move Bautista to center and move Freddy Sanchez back to third base. He obviously doesn't have the range to play 2nd. He's too slow and doesn't have the instincts. He looks very awkward out there at times. He was a gold glove quality third baseman last year. This might not be fair to Bautista since he has played an excellent third base but he's skills are needed elsewhere. Bautista is a team player and he's a quality player. He knows what is needed of him. By moving him there I think the next step is go with a lineup like this:

Jose Bautista - CF
Freddy Sanchez - 3B
Jason Bay - LF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Xavier Nady - RF
Jose Castillo - 2B
Ronny Paulino - C
Jack Wilson - SS

I am not a huge Castillo fan but he's still 26 and has three years of full-time MLB experience. He seemed to come back from his season long benching this year like a man with a chip on his shoulder. He sparked the team and we actually played with some life when he was in there. Plus he plays a MUCH better second base than Sanchez. I wish he would learn to be more selective at the plate but he's the best we've got right now. Maybe that discipline will come with more maturity. Next year I think you keep Bautista in CF, have Walker at 3B, trade Jack Wilson (that's a post soon to come, the futures of Bay, Wilson and Sanchez) and put Brian Bixler at SS (.399 OBP, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 17SB at AAA Indianapolis this year).

2008 Lineup:
Jose Bautista - CF
Brian Bixler - SS
Jason Bay - LF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Xavier Nady - RF
Neil Walker - 3B
Jose Castillo - 2B
Ronny Paulino - C

Then down the road in 2009 you have 2005 1st round pick Andrew McCutcheon coming up. He's a CF as well but we can deal with that when it comes. By then though Bautista will be almost 30 and maybe he'll be ready to move to LF. Who knows, left field will probably be an open position by then since Bay is a free agent after 2009 and most likely will have been traded by that point (which would be the right move but again, that's a topic or a future post).

Littlefield is the Anti-Christ

Oh happy day! Oh happy day!

Jonah Bayliss has been sent down! What a day to rejoice. That is until you see that the move was done in order to bring up the equally inept John Wasdin. He of the 5.97 ERA and opponents batting average over .290 at AAA. Where have you gone Kent Tekulve?

Dave Littlefield made, what I consider, to be the utmost dick move I've ever seen by a GM. He called up Brad Eldred on Saturday from Indy, had him in the lineup that night in Anaheim, only to demote him on Sunday and ship his ass back on the next plane across country back to Indy. A one day call up. It's not wonder that guys like Sean Burnett come out in the papers and say that they are really just auditioning for 30 other teams since the Pirates seem to toy around with them.

Game #75: Pirates @ Angels

Sheryl Crow sang "Leaving Las Vegas" and I think the Pirates are happy singing "Leaving LA" and loving it. Thank God this series is over. I've never been more frustrated watching a three game series and that includes the debacle in New York several weeks ago.

First thing I noticed to start the game was how fat Bartolo Colon is now. He reminded me of Kirstie Alley in the last season's of Cheers.

After 2 straight games of swinging at almost anything and everything I charted the pitches the team took today against Colon. Here's the breakdown by pitches per PA:

Duffy: 3.33 P/PA (1 BB, 2K's)
Sanchez: 3.8 P/PA
Bay: 4.8 P/PA (3K's)
LaRoche: 6.0 P/PA (1K, 3BB's)
Nady: 2.8 P/PA (1K)
Doumit: 5.8 P/PA (4BB's)
Phelps: 2.6 P/PA (3K's)
Castillo: 3.8P/PA (2K's)
Wilson: 2.6 P/PA

No wonder this team struggles so much. The team averages around 3 pitches per plate appearance. That unacceptable, especially from Duffy. He's the leadoff hitter. He's supposed to get on base and get the pitcher to throw as many pitches as possible, allowing the hitters after him to see what the guy's got. He did nothing of the sort. Duffy should not be leading off. He can't do either job.

Doumit was impressive today, which is good coming off his terrible game the other day when he was 0-4 with 4K's. He was constantly working the counts. His P/PA would have been higher if he didn't take a 4 pitch walk in one at bat.

Another good game by Tom Gorzelanny and boy can he can pitch out of trouble. Amazing that he got out of the first with no runs allowed. That's what makes him the best pitcher on this team. I am getting worried about his pitch counts though. He threw 123 pitches in his last start in Seattle. Today he threw 103. He's averaging 104 pitches per appearance. He's thrown over 110 pitches in 5 of his last 8 games started. That's a lot for a young pitcher. I would normally say I hope what Tracy's doing but in this case, I don't think he does. I think he's only worried about keeping his job and throwing Gorzo out there inning and inning is the way to get that done.

Like I mentioned yesterday, the Angels are demons on the base paths. Again in the bottom of the 3rd, fly ball to center and Figgins doesn't think twice about tagging up to third. No doubt that the ball was going to be caught, it was the right play and Duffy throws the ball no where near the base. Safe by a mile. Normally when guys tag up from second with 1 out of less I go nuts since the play should be to go half way in case the ball isn't caught but there was no doubt about that in this case.

And finally, FINALLY someone on this team is not only playing the Angels but studying them. Top of fourth, Phelps singles to center and Doumit take a BIG turn around 2nd. Looked like he was thinking about it though it wouldn't have been a good decision since the ball was taken in such shallow center. However, GOOD!! GOOD! Someone on this team is paying attention to what a good team does!

Why does Jason Bay love to watch the third strike? Can someone tell him that when he has 2 strikes he needs to protect the plate. Top of 5th, bases loaded, nobody out and he watches strike three. Again. I am usually Bay's biggest defender but this is getting old, really old. He needs to be aggressive with 2 strikes.

Why would Tracy have Nady steal second with 2 outs in the ninth of a game you just tied up. I love the aggression but this is especially dumb since Nady is the runner. I understand that K-Rod was slow to the plate but Molina is a very good defensive catcher and even with the great jump it was still close. I understand that by doing it he puts the runner into scoring position in the 9th but with a hitter like Doumit up it doesn't make any sense especially with how wild K-Rod was. Nady stole and luckily the throw was off and he was safe. I could accept this aggressive move if Tracy managed like this all the time but he doesn't.

What is really driving nuts about this team now is Jim Tracy. The man has absolutely NO FIRE. Top of the 7th, Bay grounds to third and beats throw but the ump calls him out. The play wasn't even close and Tracy should have blew a gasket. This team takes the personality of it's manager and that's what it is now; passive and disinterested. What this team really needs is a Larry Bowa type. A guy who will light a fire underneath their asses. I am tired of players like Bay and LaRoche seemingly accepting failure. I love Snell's comments yesterday that they aren't happy with their performance so far. Fine do but something about it. Get into the game, play balls out every play. Nady could have dove for Kendrick's bloop double down the line. Instead he let it bounce and hoped it landed foul. It didn't and Kendrick got a ground rule double, the next hitter singles and Kendrick scores. This team doesn't seem to play hard and it all starts with the manager.

Game #74: Pirates @ Angels

Let's just say it now. The Angels are going to win the World Series.

The other thing about this game tonight is that it really exemplified everything wrong with the Pirates. It was men versus boys out there. The Angels do everything right and are so fundamentally strong. Is there a better base running team than the Angels? How many times did the take extra bases because they know when to tag up versus going halfway, they always take the best path to a base and always look to go from first to third on hits. In one particular play, Willits was on first with a base hit to left. He rounded second and instead of making the proper throw, which would be to the cutoff man, Bay throws it to second and Willits slides safely into third without any trouble. Unbelievable how different these two teams are.

I find it incredible that Jack Wilson has a few bad games in New York and is benched for several games and yet Paulino has been terrible all year and gets off free. There was a play with a weak single to left field. Bay throws another wounded duck to home that is way off the mark, the runner never should have scored on this hit but Bay's throw is so off he slides in safely. Paulino stays frozen in place. Bay caught the ball in middle-shallow left field, he threw a duck that didn't even come close to getting to the target and Paulino just stands in front of the plate not even making a move for the ball.

Another play at home and Wilson throws a strike on the relay home after tagging second basse, it should be an inning ending double play...except Ronny can't hold onto it and the runner is safe. Another mental mistake in a season full of them and he needs to sit. He needs to be taught a lesson. Catch the ball, then tag. Wake the hell up. FUNDAMENTALS.

Snell can say all he wants that the blister didn't affect him but it sure did appear that he wasn't throwing his normal arsenal of pitches. His slider didn't have much bite and he left a lot of pitches up and the Angels were just slapping them all over the place.

Tracy is inept. In the 8th, bases loaded, one out, down by 5. Duffy up and the infield playing back he has him swing away. They are GIVING you the run. They have absolutely no respect for the Pirates. They are playing everyone back. The common sense play is to drop the bunt. Instead Duffy swings away, line drive back to the pitcher, double play, inning over, threat averted.

Then these outrageous announcers are defending Ravenstahl over the US Open "sneak in". What's he doing in SoCal tomorrow for any way? How much says he gets drunk and arrested like at Steelers games? I hate Ravenstahl. I think he's over his head and is clueless about how to run a government. He lucked into a position and now Pittsburgh is going to pay. How can this clown run unchallenged in November is beyond me. What has he ever proven? Sorry to get political. Rant over.

Game #73: Bucs @ Angels

What is there to say? The bullpen stinks. Bayliss needs to go.

I would comment more but again, for the second day in a row, the game wasn't on TV. What's the point in the Pirates traveling to cities like Anaheim and Seattle if we don't get to see the games? What's the sense in blacking out away games?

Typical Pirates.

Pirates Protest 6/30

There is a protest happening at the 6/30 game against the Washington Nationals. I think the organizers of this protest have the best intentions and I believe that their mission is admirable.....HOWEVER, they are going about this the entirely wrong way. The current plan is to have people meet at the Honus Wagner statue at some point before the game (I think around 5:00pm) and protest the current Pirates ownership and their cheap, incompetent ways. They are asking people to make tasteful signs against the administration and also wear green t-shirts (to signify money, as in what the owners pocket around $25mil last year in). Now is where this whole idea becomes pointless. Around 7pm their plan is to walk into the stadium making a scene, then watch the game and leave in the 3rd to watch the game from the concourse. Then in the fifth people can either go back to their seats or leave for good.

To me this is the equivalent of going on strike at work but then going in once 8am starts. It's ridiculous. The Nuttings probably hopes this carries on every weekend, it's just more money in their pocket. The organizers should realize that a better protest would be to have more people outside the stadium than inside the stadium. Have people outside the Wagner statue chanting for change, wave signs and do it from outside. They should also position themselves on the Clemente Bridge so they can be seen from the field, seen from the seats and most importantly seen on camera. Whoever organized this whole thing really should have put a lot more thought into what a protest is and how to try and accomplish your goals. If your goal is to get the owner to stop pocketing millions every year, why would you contribute against your cause by buying a ticket to the game?

Game #72: Bucs @ Mariners

One of my biggest adjustments to living here in Pittsburgh is not being able to see every Pirates game on TV. We get every Phillies game back home so it never occurred to me that other cities weren't as lucky. I hate that every Thursday Pirates game is not televised. To make matters worse, tonight's game isn't on TV either. What's the point of these interleague games, against teams the Pirates rarely play, if we can't watch the freaking game?? What also really pisses me off is that I paid over $100 for the MLB.TV package. I understand blackouts and I understand they want you to watch your local feed of the game but if the local team chooses to not broadcast the game, why the hell should I be blacked out? I'd rather watch Greg Brown and Bob Walk call the game but I can't. So why can't I watch the Angels feed of the game?

However, I may have put the maloik on Ryan Doumit and Jose Bautista. I pay up to sponsor their pages at baseball-reference.com and Doumit goes 0-4 with 4 strikeout and Bautista goes 0-3. So far since sponsoring: 0-7, 4 K's. We'll keep this a running tab as I sure the slide will continue because of me.

I listened to last nights game while playing MLB 07: The Show. It sounded like King Felix, unlike Weaver the night before, we shutting down the Pirates because he's just THAT good. I would elaborate more but I can't because like I said, it wasn't on TV.

Good call Bucco's. Save us from watching one of the biggest pitching stars in baseball. Thanks.

Game #71: Bucs @ Mariners

It's been covered ad nausea in all the papers and websites but it can't be said enough. Once again a pretty bad pitcher throws a gem against the Pirates. Coming into the game last night, opponents were hitting .413 against Weaver and he had an ERA of 10.97 this year...then he plays the Pirates and rolls through the team on his way to a 4 hit shutout.

Thanks to www.pittsburghsports.net's "Scotts Turf Builder Hall of Fame" thread for the list of names this year who've been terrible and yet "mowed" down the Pirates:

Claudio Vargas (Brewers)
Randy Wolf (Dodgers)
Randy Keisler (Cardinals)
Braden Looper (Cardinals)
Matt Belisle (Reds)
Kyle Davies (Braves)
Chuck James (Braves)
Scott Olsen (Marlins)
Kyle Lohse (Reds)
Matt Chico (Nationals)
Kameron Loe (Rangers)

Don't get me wrong, he pitched well, but not good enough for a shutout. He was consistently hanging his slider all game. In the fifth, in one at-bat to Ronny Paulino I noticed that he hung at least 2, maybe three sliders over the plate. Paulino watched them sail over for strikes on his way to a strike out. These pitches had no bite and just looked like they were moving at 50mph with no curve. Any other team would have been salivating at the sight of it. Not the Bucs, they took them for strikes all night.

I was going to start writing today's blog praising Jose Bautista. He's quickly becoming my favorite player. Plus I sponsor his page at www.baseball-reference.com now.

Of course, this was in the first when he threw and absolute bullet to get Lopez at first. However then in the second inning he sailed a throw over LaRoche's head allowing the Johjima to take second with one out. You knew what was going to happen next as Beltre singled and weak throwing Bay commits an error allowing Beltre to take third. Ugh.

What's interesting is that this immediately reminded me of Tuesday's game when Richie Sexson botched the McLouth grounder on the hop at first allowing Nate to take second. The Bucs wound up scoring two runs that inning just like the Mariners did in the second last night. It really is amazing how important defense is to a team. Right before this Bob Walk was talking about how the Pirates have committed the 3rd least errors in the league. For all the faults this team has, defense is not one of them. Bautista, LaRoche, Wilson, Duffy are all very good fielders. Sanchez is a terrible defensive second basemen and Bay isn't great but those are the only two weak fielders on the team.

How the hell does Jack Wilson get picked off? He appeared to be surprised that Weaver even decided to throw over to first. He was caught flat footed and didn't even slide in. Bad momentary lapse of attention. I'd love to know if a hit and run was on or if Wilson was stealing.

To keep going with the Ichiro man crush...last night showed why he's the best player in baseball. It's the third inning; Mariners are up 2-0. Ichiro comes up with 1 out. He hits a soft ground ball to short, nothing special. Wilson bare hand's it and yet Ichiro beats the throw for an infield single. So now he's at first with Jose Lopez up. He goes on the very first pitch and steals second (not that Paulino had a chance as Maholm threw it into the ground). The count gets to 2-0 and Ichiro goes and steals third. He turned his little infield single into really, a one out triple. Lopez then grounds out and Ichiro scores to make it 3-0. Best player in baseball...tell me who is better? He might not hit the homeruns but he's an excellent fielder, he's got a cannon arm and he just creates runs.

Game #70: Bucs @ Mariners

*I really don't understand how or why Jonah Bayliss is still on this team. There has to be SOMEONE available better than him. He's crap. He pitched about 1/3 of an inning yesterday and walked one, gave up a HR and nearly blew the game. Thank God that Kuwata and Chacon came in and bailed his ass out. I really only have faith in Chacon, Capps and Kuwata at this point out of the bullpen. Something has to be done.

*Anyone else notice how great Ichiro is? He is so underrated as a player. That's crazy to say because he's won an MVP and a ROY but he is. He gets out of the box faster than any player I've ever seen. Tonight I saw him literally start running to first WHILE he was still swinging the bat. It's truly incredible and must be the reason why he gets some many infield hits. He should be mentioned as one of the 3 best players of this era. He's in his 7th season in the US and he already has 1,500 hits. At 34 you have to figure he's got 3-5 really good years left. In that time he maintains his career average of 225 hits a season it's not unconceivable that he'll reach 3,000 but it is very likely he'll get to between 2,200-2,700. That's amazing figuring he didn't come here until he was 28. What's more amazing is that his game relies mostly on his speed. Usually players like that start fading off as the get into their 30's but he's getting better. He's Pete Rose...a hit machine and it's time he gets that credit. He's a free agent after this year and if I was a GM I wouldn't hesitate to give him $10-$15 mil a season.

*I saw a surprising stat during the game yesterday. It said that since May 15, Jose Bautista has lead MLB in runs scored. That's amazing really. Obviously he benefits from batting leadoff most of that time but still it proves that he's getting on base, making things happen and the guys behind him are getting him in. He's really proving his worth. I think he's got a really bright future with the club. I think we're seeing this upswing in Jose's progress this year because he was a Rule 5 player whom the Pirates lost. Most of those players tend to have their development hindered because they're moving to a whole new organization; sometimes only for one year as well then back to their original club. Very good for Jose. I hope he stays at third because defensively he's been brilliant.

*I am so tired of (insert whoever is playing CF) batting #2. Why doesn't Tracy wake up and realize that Sanchez has no power and no business batting #3?? Usually I snicker when fans think they're more intelligent than the manager, in that case, they're are.

*I think McLouth should get AB's over Duffy. I hate Duffy, thank God he's hurt.

Secrets of PNC Park

I thought I'd post some of the hidden "secrets" of PNC Park and the surrounding area. There are lots of places to go, things to eat and things to drink in the area that people don't know about.

First off is the Outback in PNC Park. Do you know they are open everyday, year-round? Do you know you can buy a table to watch the game from there? Do you know beer is cheaper in the Outback than in the stadium? Do you know that during a game you can get Outback To Go and bring it to your seat? Do you know they don't raise prices for games? Do you know that you can take beer out of the Outback with you?

http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/pit/ballpark/outback.jsp

Another good place, this time for parking, is to go to the garage across from the Clemente Bridge. It's only $4 for a game and it's a short walk over the bridge to the stadium. On your way pick up a water and some peanut about for 1/4 the price than they are in the stadium from one of the vendors on the street.

Another great place to get food in the stadium is in Buccaroo's Corner. It's in Legacy Square (where the Negro League tribute is) and in there you can get $1 hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn, chicken nuggets, ice cream and candy. The sizes are smaller that the regular concessions but it's still a way better deal than the ripoffs at the other concession stands.

As you're walking over the bridge, enjoy the saxophone player. Whenever I am walking over there and I have a Phillies hat on, he plays Rocky for me.

When looking to buy tickets, I think the bleachers are WAY overrated. They don't offer a good viewpoint of the game. I think for the same price you're much better off getting LF/RF Grandstand seats. The view is better, it's relatively low to the field and if you get first row (row K) in certain sections, you're golden.

Finnigans Wake (down a bit from Hi-Tops) is a decent place to go after the game. Beer is reasonable, they occasionally have a band and will often times have seating for plenty of people.

Ugly is really good as well. The beer is cheap and it has bubble hockey, always a key game in any bar.

I tried Jerome Bettis' restaurant for the first time this weekend. I came away really impressed. Jerome was there with Smokey Robinson. Jerome came out of his VIP room and said hellos and took pics. The beer was fair priced and the bartenders were excellent. I had the steak salad and it was incredible and it was HUGE. Jerome Bettis' 36 Grille will be my post game hangout from now on.

Know anything that I haven't? Let me know!

My First Post Introduction

I moved from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh before the 2007 baseball season. I am a teacher during the day and work part-time at PNC Park at night. I never followed the Pirates until this season but now I see almost every home game and watch a lot of the other games on TV. I've really enjoyed the season so far and think they are closer to being respectable than most people here think.

What is your favorite teams and why?
Growing up in Philadelphia, I was born and raised a Phillies phan. They are still my favorite team. However now that I live in Pittsburgh I really follow the Pirates quite a bit and they have endeared themselves to me this season.

What are your least favorite teams and why?
Without a doubt I hate the Yankees more than any other team. Their fans are obnoxious and ignorant. I used to casually follow the Red Sox but since winning the World Series, the attitude of much of Red Sox Nation has changed to the point where most Red Sox fans resemble Yankees fans. Both have a sense of entitlement and self righteousness. Of course I also despise the Blue Jays because of Joe Carter's home run in 1993.

Favorite blogs:
Mondesi's House, The Soul of Baseball

Your most memorable Major League moment(s):
-Game 5 of the 1993 World Series, Curt Schilling throws a complete game shutout to send the series back to Toronto for Game 6.

What would you be doing if you weren't blogging?
Either sleeping, eating, sitting at PNC Park or playing MLB 07: The Show.

Last MLB item you bought:
My MLB.TV subscription so I can follow the Phils while living out here in Pittsburgh.

Who are your favorite MLB players?
I am a big fan of the history of the game so the best way to answer this would be to split this question up into two categories; current and all-time.

Current:
Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Xavier Nady, Ian Snell, Nate McLouth, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Grady Sizemore, Kevin Youkilis, Ichiro, Russell Martin and Vladimir Guerrero

All-Time:
Ted Williams, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn, Rico Brogna, Pete Rose, Jimmie Foxx, Lenny Dykstra, Curt Schilling and the rest of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies

Happiness in...
Pups in the Park night at PNC Park with my dog Dante and my wife!