The Bad News Bucs

A Little Clubhouse Magic

2006-10-29T09:29:00.000-08:00

Can a baseball team really be affected by clubhouse chemistry?

This term, “clubhouse chemistry,” is one that’s been thrown around quite a bit. Most sports fans and experts will agree, there’s a little more to the success or failure of teams than pure statistics. There’s sometimes no statistical way to explain the unforeseen explosion of a perennially bad team. Now, I don’t claim to be knowledgeable about statistics, so I may place an unnecessary amount of emphasis on the more social aspects of teams. Still, there seems to be some teams that defy all logical prediction. Take the midseason meltdowns of the Michigan State Spartan football team over the past couple of years. Here is a team who looked to have very few weaknesses, save for their horrifically ugly uniforms. They play in one of the most prestigious college football conferences, the Big Ten. They have a quarterback who’s almost certainly headed for the early rounds of the NFL draft. Even these things pale as accurate predictors when compared to the actual performance of the team in early season games. This year, for example, the Spartans jumped ahead to what seemed to be a blowout lead over the highly ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In the end, Notre Dame came back and won the game following a colossal breakdown by the Spartans. The very next week, the Spartans had gone from a team capable of scoring easily on Notre Dame to a team that had lost to Illinois. I have no doubt that the “clubhouse chemistry,” the morale of the team, the team’s relationship with its coach and the relationships between the players of the team were the cause of this spectacular failure.

Since this is a baseball blog, it’s probably fairly obvious where I’m going with this. The Detroit Tigers, despite eventually losing in the World Series, are just one of those teams you can’t explain with statistics (or I can’t; I’m sure someone could). The whole was greater than the individual parts on this baseball team. Several of the players on the team this year during their domination of the American League were also on the Tigers team, three years ago, that lost 109 games. Certainly, the new additions helped the team; over the course of the years between the 109-loss season and the World Series appearance, the Tigers shed some players who were weighting them down and replaced them with talent. Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones and Magglio Ordonez are examples of these shrewd additions. You still wouldn’t think that a team with so many returning players from that infamous season would become the team to beat in the AL. The only explanation, in my opinion, is that the Tigers found the perfect combination of skills, abilities and personalities to craft a team out of a group of apparent non-stars.

So, can the Pirates pull off what the Tigers have done? I’m not holding out any hope for a World Series appearance in the near future, but I certainly believe that several of the players on the Pirates’ roster currently could help build a contending team; I’d like to see that team be built in Pittsburgh. A number of fairly recent Pirates’ trades have appeared on contending teams. For example: Jeff Suppan. His postseason performance this year makes me wonder what I missed about him when he played in Pittsburgh. Sean Casey, my favorite of Dave Littlefield’s veteran acquisitions before this past season, was the most competent-looking player on the Tigers during the World Series. So when people say that the Pirates’ young pitching staff look to develop into very underwhelming players, I like to believe that there can be a little more than statistics involved in the creation of a competitive player. It might take a little magic. Let’s hope that magic shows up soon.

Chacon vs. Weaver

2006-09-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Shawn Chacon's on the mound today. This is his scheduled "good" start, having given up the usual 7 earned runs against the Astros last week. Jeff Weaver is a match for Chacon, being the weakest part of the Cards' rotation. There's not much else to say. Randall Simon is back in the majors, playing for the Phillies.

Following yesterday's loss, the Pirates are the official owners of a 14th consecutive losing season.

Ollie's Recap

2006-08-31T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yea...

3 IP, 12 H, 7 ER.

Looks like the Mets haven't been able to fix him yet.

Another Ollie Sighting

2006-08-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

Oliver Perez is starting for the Mets today, still searching for that elusive third win. His second win of the season came on May 17th (it's September now...).

Exercise in Futility

2006-08-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

This means nothing, but the Pirates have passed the Devil Rays' win percentage. There's now two teams between the Pirates and the title of "Worst MLB Record." The Bucs are still the worst team in the NL, though, and we learned from the series against the Royals that any team in the AL is probably better than most of the NL Central. The Nationals and the Cubs are not out of reach, however. Screw draft picks; Littlefield can and will squander any of the small benefits of finishing last. Let's just see how many teams the Rats can pass. Also, the tragic number is still 1. Here's to staving off that 834238th losing season for as long as possible.

Ollie Perez

2006-08-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

I can't resist. I have to mention Oliver Perez. Ollie pitched his first major league game since being traded yesterday, wearing Mets "ugly." No word on whether Perez's Posse made an appearance. His start was announced rather late, as Tom Glavine was scheduled to pitch until sometime in the afternoon. (Good news for Mets fans that Glavine isn't having surgery; when you start the season with Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine in the rotation and end with Oliver Perez, your playoff chances tend to look rather dim.) I hope that they made it, because Ollie's start brought back fond memories of when he was in the Pirates uniform (2005-06 era).

He started off the game with 4 innings of hitless ball, 3 walks against 6 strikeouts. He even struck out former teammate Jose K. Then, in the 5th inning, all hell broke loose. Ollie opened the inning with a walk and a fielder's choice: 1 out, Abraham Nunez on first base. No-hitter still intact. Jon Lieber, another familiar face, steps up to the plate and attempts to bunt Nunez over; he is, after all, a slightly overweight pitcher. Ollie, who obviously likes to be unpredictable, walks him. The next play is another fielder's choice, which bumps Nunez to 3rd with Lieber out at 2nd and Scott Victorino on 1st. A single scores Nunez. At this point, Ollie is starting to feel the pressure to defend the remaining 1-run lead (2-1). Showing his nerves, he beans Chase Utley, loading the bases and bringing Ryan Howard to the plate. Ollie's no-hitter is shot since the RBI single. He needs only to get one more out to escape with the lead.

Ryan Howard crushes an 0-2 Ollie lollipop into the stands for a grand slam.

Perez got to stay on the mound long enough to strike out Pat Burrell and end the inning, but he was done after that.

So how did the Mets like their new pitcher's first start?

Despite Howard's slam, Mets manager Willie Randolph liked what he saw from Perez.

"It was an outstanding job by the kid," he said. "He pitched well enough to get the ball again. He'll probably get another start."

You'll see, Willie Randolph. You'll see.

Luckily, instead of Oliver Perez, the Pirates have dependable hurler Shawn Chacon. He'll pitch tonight against the Astros. Unfortunately, he had his "good" start last week, so he's due for another 7 ER performance. Who better than the Astros to fulfill the prophecy? They did it once already this season. Still, Chacon's 6.94 ERA is puny compared to the Astros' starter today. Jason Hirsch, a rookie, has a 12.75 ERA in 3 starts and is coming off a 10 ER performance. Hopefully, the Pirates can beat Hirsch while he's down. Jose Bautista is hitting 2nd with Jack still out, which is a change of pace. Ryan Doumit is also playing in his second game back from injury.

Pirates 5, Astros 3

2006-08-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is three games in a row that the Pirates have scored 5 runs and won. Paul Maholm gave up his 3 runs in the top of the 3rd, off a 2-run homer by Chris Burke and an RBI single by Craig Biggio. My normal, conditioned reaction to this would be, "Here we go again." This time, though, the Bucs surprised everybody and displayed their ability to play small ball. Jason Bay doubled Chris Duffy home in the 4th, and then a flurry of singles-hitting gave the Pirates the lead in the 6th. Freddy Sanchez, Ronny Paulino and Jose Castillo hit RBI singles and Jose Bautista hit a sacrifice fly for another run. Then the Pirates' bullpen stepped in, with Matt Capps, Damaso Marte and Salomon Torres all contributing to maintain the lead. Gonzo stepped in and delivered his 3rd straight dominating save performance, striking out the last batter to slam the door.

Tonight, it's a clash of the titans at PNC Park as Victor Santos takes on Roger Clemens. Ok, so there's only one titan. Clemens has had no problem against the Pirates in his career, and his team has finally started to back him up with some runs. Hopefully Santos can push his last appearance against the Astros (relieving Shawn Chacon in a 14-1 loss) out of his mind and focus on winning. The 'stros are a desperate team, so it should be interesting to see how this turns out.

Pittsburgh vs. Houston, 7:05 EST

2006-08-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

The Pirates start their home stand today against the Houston Astros. Paul Maholm (5-10) takes the mound against Wandy Rodriguez. Paul got mauled in his last start against the Reds, but the start before that was his best outing of the season. I think it's time for another quality start for him, and it'll help that the Bucs are back in PNC again. Also encouraging is the fact that Wandy Rodriguez hasn't gotten a win since July 2, and before that not since June 11th. I guess that you could say that he's due for a win, but I prefer to believe that he's weakened enough for the Pirates to finally get a win against him.

Ryan Doumit Returns!

2006-08-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of WHYGAVS: Ryan Doumit makes his return today to fill the hole left by Jose K. The man known by some as Thor Jr. has been hitting poorly in the minors, but that doesn't seem to be a long term problem.

Pirates 5, Braves 3

2006-08-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight's game shaped up a lot like last night's, in that the pitching really kept any offense to a minimum. Oscar Villareal kept the Bucs pretty quiet and Shawn Chacon returned the favor. This is probably how he maintained a winning record in New York despite possessing completely putrid stats. He mixed performances like tonight (walking 5 but only giving up 3 hits and a run) with performances like his start against the Astros (7 ER in 2 innings). Even so, I will not complain when he can turn in a performance like tonight. I'll take as many walks as are necessary to win games. It definitely helped Chacon tonight that the defense was on, like when Jack and Weapon X bailed his ass out of a bases-loaded jam with a double play.

The offense came alive for the Pirates in the 8th when they trailed 1-2. Chris Duffy and Jack Wilson walked and Freddy came through with one of his patented clutch singles. FSN put up a graphic just before his RBI with the NL RISP batting leaders; Freddy's third. His RISP efficiency ranking would probably be even higher with the inclusion of sacrifice RBIs.

Jason Bay hit a grounder almost identical to Freddy's to score the go-ahead run. Xavier Nady and Ronny Paulino both added insurance RBI singles before Jose Castillo finally hit into a double play and ended the inning. The runs proved to be enough for the win, with Damaso Marte getting his first W (1-7), Matt Capps holding down the fort and Gonzo getting an efficient save.

Jose K Shipped to Philly

2006-08-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after Jim Tracy expressed his undying love for the man known as Jose K, the Pirates have sent him to Philadelphia in exchange for cash. The money will no doubt go into the pockets of the McNuttings. It's interesting, however, that it was Jose Hernandez who was sold. Either Jim Tracy genuinely appreciated having the veteran on the bench, or he was generating some artificial praise to make the man look good. If it's the former, then maaaaybe there's some dissent on the inside. This I could appreciate, because it doesn't matter who wins. Much more important is that either Tracy or Littlefield has to lose, and change is always better than status quo when your team is the Pittsburgh Pirates. Of course, if Tracy really was doing Littlefield's bidding and playing up Hernandez to entice the Phillies, then at least we got some cash.

I have been known to groan in disgust when I see Jose K in the Pirates' lineup or making a pinch-hit appearance, but I'll admit that he is probably a viable option for the Phillies. They were hurting for a bench/utility player, and K did have one or two game-winning hits this season. I was never a fan when he played here, but I wish the him and the Phillies luck. I also look forward to who the Pirates bring up to fill the resulting empty roster spot. It looks like they may be committed to working on the development of their younger players as they continue to purge the team of the remaining journeyman veterans. The team may not improve with the addition of younger players, but it'll at least be exciting to see some new faces.

Pirates 1, Reds 5

2006-08-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Freddy Sanchez: 0 for 4, 2 K

When Freddy's not hittin', I'm not watchin'.

Pirates 7, Reds 3

2006-08-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

I was at Kennywood all day today, so I neither heard nor saw the game. It is enough to say that the Pirates picked up their 15th road win of the season, with Freddy and Weapon X both going 4 of 5. Jack had a home run, aided by the Great American Ballpark. For the final word on how this game went, I leave you with a quote from WHYGAVS:

The game also featured one of the rarest occurences in all of baseball. I don't mean a triple play. I don't mean a cycle. I obviously don't mean a no-hitter. I mean a Ronnie Paulino infield single. Take some time to digest that one.

Digest indeed.

The Saga of Craig Wilson

2006-08-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

We shall not speak of the past two games. The Joker batting cleanup? Jose K playing short? Walking the bases loaded in the top of the 13th to bring David Bell to the plate, the man who has gone 3-4 in the game already? Jim Tracy takes great pleasure in knowing that the fans are forced to watch helplessly while he squanders any hope they had left. It makes him feel powerful.

So, let's talk about Craig Wilson instead. One can never say too much about the man. While the Pirates and their fans continue their suffering, Craig is probably having some of the best times of his baseball career. It's just unbelievable. He has gone, in the space of a few days, from being an often passed-over bench player for the Pittsburgh Pirates to being the starting first baseman of the New York Yankees.

I started the 2006 season with Craig on the bench for my fantasy team, but I dropped him when the Pirates continued to bench him. It was something I should've predicted, but I was being optimistic. I picked up Jason Giambi to fill the void, who became my starter at first base.

Fast forward to the trade dealine, when the Pirates trade Craig for one Shawn Chacon. Ouch me, the Pirates fan. And then, Craig proceeds to take large amounts of playing time from Giambi, thusly damaging my fantasy team on top of that. Double ouch. It's great news for Craig, he's finally getting the appreciation he has long deserved. Bad, bad news for me.

I'm thinking about picking Craig up again. He's still a free agent in my league.

Bucs vs. Brewers, 7:05 EST

2006-08-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'll be at the game today. It's Gorzo vs. Doug Davis. Hard to compare, I don't know much about Davis and Gorzo hasn't played enough. Also, Jack Wilson is out of the lineup with that right hand contusion he sustained yesterday after being hit by a pitch. It looked like he had something growing out of his knuckles; I don't envy him. The infamous Jose K, who we learned has a dog named Brad Pitt, will start at shorstop. Jason Bay is still out of the lineup, so Xavier Nady is playing right field. Joe Randa takes first base, and Chris Duffy and Jose Bautista round out the outfield. I hope there's a mistake in the lineup tonight, because it looks like Tracy has Randa batting 4th. Ronny Paulino is batting all the way up in 6th. Rajai Davis isn't starting the game, but there's rumors that he'll get a chance soon enough.

Complete starting lineup here.

Pirates 4, Brewers 2

2006-08-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Even without the help of Jason Bay, the Pirates turned in a commendable effort. Chris Duffy crossed the plate twice, with Xavier Nady and Freddy Sanchez providing the RBIs. Jeromy Burnitz and Jose Castillo each had a solo homer. Burnitz's bounced off the inside of the foul pole, the only thing between it and the river. Castillo's came a pitch after he took one of his familiar gigantic hacks at an unhittable ball, twisting himself into what looked like a painful position. Miraculously, he got up and launched the next one into the stands in right. Victor Santos did his usual, walking the bases loaded and then working hard to get out of the inning alive. Santos escaped with only 2 ER, with help from good defense. Sanchez continues to work at third, and Duffy is extremely solid in center. Nady had an unassisted double play as well, catching a quick line drive and stepping on the bag to get the runner. Salomon Torres, John Grabow, Matt Capps and Mike Gonzalez all contributed flawless innings of relief to shut down the Brewers.

WHYGAVS has some good links up today. My favorite is this article by the Post-Gazette's Stats Geek, who takes a look at Freddy Sanchez's defensive numbers. It's a good companion article to the one I posted yesterday. You may be (pleasantly) surprised to find that not only is Freddy an excellent hitter, but also currently the best fielding third baseman in the league.

Injury Update: Nate McLouth

2006-08-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Nate McLouth was placed on the 15-day DL today, reported in an Associated Press article. Brought up to replace him, at least on the bench, was Rajai Davis. Davis is second in the International League with 45 stolen bases. Not too shabby.

Jason Bay: Tweaked Hamstring

2006-08-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

Jason Bay fails to make a start for the first time in 307 games today with a "tweaked hamstring," which is Tracyspeak for "Let's end this streak before it gets out of hand." Taking his place in the cleanup spot is X-man Nady, who is capable. Victor Santos is taking Shawn Chacon's spot in the rotation for tonight against Dave Bush. The game already started, and Chris Duffy had a leadoff singled and scored off a Freddy Sanchez sacrifice. Speaking of Freddy, I stumbled across an interesting arcticle about him that was written when he still played for the Boston Red Sox. It implores the Boston ownership to hang onto Freddy because, it explains, he has unproven talent within him. The article compares Sanchez to a young Nomar Garciaparra, who Freddy ironically has battled for the NL batting title this year.

Five years Garciaparra’s junior, who knows what Freddy Sanchez will be when he reaches 30. It was thanks to Nomar’s rock steady presence at short that the Sox moved Sanchez around in the minors, trying him out across the infield.

The writer correctly predicts Freddy's future trade value:

Trust me, he is more valuable to the Boston Red Sox than any fourth or fifth starter, which might be all they can get for him.

The Pirates received Freddy Sanchez, Mike Gonzalez and cash from the Sox in exchange for Jeff Suppan and a couple others.

Also correctly predicted is Freddy's potential to be a batting champ:

Sickles went on to say, stressing it was merely a possibility, a strenuous if, that “a normal growth curve would make him a potential batting champion down the line.” Therefore, that is what Freddy Sanchez could be, a batting champ.

Read the article. It reminded me that sometimes, even the Pirates come out ahead in trades.

Maholm Notches Shutout

2006-08-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

The Pirates downed the Cardinals today, 7-0. Scott Rolen returned after missing the first two games of the series with back spasms and contributed a double, but also hit into a double play. Paul Maholm got his rightful victory over Jason Marquis with another stellar start. He lasted 6 and 2/3 innings. Jason Bay's bat woke up today, when he homered for the Bucs' first run. Joe Randa followed him with another. Also making a big splash today were Chris Duffy with a 2-RBI single and Freddy Sanchez with a 2-RBI double. Sanchez leads the NL in doubles as well as batting average and was 6 for 13 this series. Duffy was 7 for 11, which bodes well for his continued employment in center field. The other notable events today were the HBPs; Duffy got hit once and Jose Bautista was beaned twice. After the second, Bautista turned to the mound and said something. Cards' catcher Bennett followed Bautista towards first base with some unkind words; the announcers on TV were surprised Bennett wasn't ejected. There's no word on the motive behind the HBPs, if there was one at all.

Maholm vs. Marquis

2006-08-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Pirates got the weak end of the Cardinals' rotation. Judging from the past two games and the one that's going to happen today, the Cards aren't even going to hold on to first place much longer. The Pirates managed to avoid Chris Carpenter's start and so Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver and Jason Marquis are all the the Redbirds have to offer. Just like Zach Duke and Ian Snell before him, Paul Maholm far outclasses his opponent on the mound. He has simply been a better pitcher than Marquis this year, despite the fact that Maholm has 4 wins to Marquis' 12. Maholm's ERA is a full point lower, he has considerably more Ks, he's given up less home runs, and his walks are only marginally higher. Maholm's only real problem in his most recent starts is a dire lack of run support; he was the pitcher during one of the Astros games in which the Rats only mustered one run. Albert Pujols almost has more hits than the rest of the Cardinals combined during this series, so it looks like it's Marquis who will be lacking the run support today. A sweep of the Cardinals would be sweet enough to take away the bad taste of the last road trip.

Update on our friend Kip Wells: he twisted his foot during a delivery while pitching for the Rangers and left the game. He had given up three straight hits before that point. No word on his return.
Steve at The Parrot writes about Jose Castillo getting the Craig Wilson treatment from Jim Tracy and the possibility of Chris Duffy taking the cleanup spot from Bay.

Pirates 7, Cardinals 1

2006-08-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

How can the Pirates go 1-5 in combined series versus the Cubs and Astros and produce only 5 runs over the last 4 games, yet immediately demolish the Cardinals? It's because the Bucs faced the Cubs and Astros on the road and the Cardinals at home, of course. At home or not, the game yesterday was a good showing. Zach Duke gave up his customary first inning run, but proceeded to pitch the rest of the game without giving up another. He barely reached 100 on the pitch count, helped by a 7-pitch 4th and a 9-pitch 6th. Approximately 75% of his pitches were strikes. I'm not the first to say it looked like the 8-2 Duke of last season.

Also helping the cause was Nate McLouth, who hit his 7th(!) home run of the year and followed it up with a 2 RBI triple his next at-bat. How about that Nate McLouth? He came up lame partway between 2nd and 3rd, however, and left the game. No word yet on the extent of his injury, which seemed to affect his ankle.

Some other points of interest regarding injuries to Pirates players are discussed in this Post-Gazette article. Shawn Chacon, the prize the Pirates received in return for Craig Wilson (who is now the starting first baseman for the Yankees), reveals that he has spent much of the season with an injury.

"It's been sore all year," Chacon said, "but it's been pretty noticeable the past week."

Great. A bad pitcher who's also injured. Victor Santos is rewarded for his awe-inspiring 5 ER when he relieved Shawn Chacon versus the Astros by Chacon's spot in the starting rotation.
Speaking of injured pitchers, Josh Sharpless turned the ankle on his drive leg and has been placed on the 15-day DL.

"I'm a non-athletic guy trying to make an athletic play," Sharpless said. "It doesn't work."

A non-athletic guy? Wait, I thought Sharpless was a relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a professional baseball team. Non-athletic? Something is awry, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Game Recap: Astros 14, Pirates 1

2006-08-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

I listened to this one off and on. I must admit, after Chacon got pulled, I couldn't help but hope that the Astros would really rack up some runs. At least that would have made it interesting. Fourteen runs is a fair showing, but I would have preferred something closer to thirty. The game really can be consolidated into a few key points, which follow.

The Astros hit a combined 6 home runs. Of those, two were hit by Aubrey Huff and one was hit by Roy Oswalt (the Astros' pitcher, recording his first major league dinger).
Shawn Chacon had his most putrid start since July 4th, when he played for the Yankees. It should be noted that he gave up an equal amount of ER tonight (7) as he did in that start, which was enough for the Yankees to send him to the bullpen. He stayed there until the ever-gullible Dave Littlefield handed him a second chance as a starter and gave away Craig Wilson to boot.
Shawn Chacon is to the Yankees as ______ is to the Pirates. The answer, of course, would be Victor Santos, who was a starter for the Pirates when the season opened but received a spot in the bullpen after a string of bad starts and some time on the DL. He added some of his own creativity to the game by serving up another 5 ER. Imagine, it was just this morning that I claimed the Astros had trouble giving their pitchers run support. Silly me! The Pirates can take any hypothetical statistic and show how meaningless it really is.

Things didn't get better for the Pirates. Josh Sharpless twisted his ankle and left the game with the injury. The one bright spot today was Freddy Sanchez's RBI double, which scored Nate McLouth.

As for tomorrow, Gorzo takes on Roger Clemens in a clash of separate generations. As the guys on the radio pointed out, Clemens has 344 career wins. Gorzo has 2. Let's not get our hopes up, but the fact remains that the Astros have been slacking a bit with Clemens on the mound.

Chacon vs. Oswalt, 8:05 PM EST

2006-08-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

First, some links.

Since I was lax last week, here's one more about the trades the Pirates made at the deadline from Rory at Bleacher Blogger. Another unsatisfied customer who'd rather have Thor than Shawn Chacon, Xavier Nady, Jesse Chavez and Brian Rogers combined.
One of Pat's guest posters at WHYGAVS, apk, did a stellar recap of last night's game. Read it for hilarious takes on Tracy's failure to argue Craig Biggio's fan-aided homer, Jose Castillo's excursions from his hammock and the new nickname for J. Wilson that has resulted from the departure of C. Wilson.
The Post-Gazette's Scouting Report of the series against the Astros. The key to success is to stay close to the Astros until Brad Lidge comes in and then pounce. The Pirates stayed close last night, with the help of Paul Maholm and the hindrance of a bad home run call, but proceeded to hand Lidge three straight Ks to end the game. The intangible is nice, however; apparently, the Astros refuse to give Roger Clemens run support. This could bode well for Gorzo; it's always nice to pick up a win when you're dueling with one of the best pitchers in history. Looks good on the resume.

Today, Shawn Chacon takes on Roy Oswalt. Check out Charlie's take on the matter at Bucs Dugout. As Charlie mentions, Chacon is coming off a win, but unfortunately for his chances tonight, Oswalt is actually good at baseball. Nevertheless, the Astros are horrific at giving their pitchers run support and could make Chacon look good again tonight. If Rat bats can get some breaks and score some runs on Oswalt, all is not lost. The Astros are by no means invincible. The Astros' catcher, Brad Ausmus, even implies that his team is stricken with Jose Castillo Syndrome. That is, they're only good when they work up the energy. So, if a day when the Astros lack drive happens on the same day that the Pirates have a burst of motivation...

Bucs vs. Astros

2006-08-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

I've slacked off lately, so I'll send yinz over to WHYGAVS. Pat has guest writers doing the pre- and postgame posts, and today's by apk is pretty cool. Also at WHYGAVS is a roundup of all of this year's former Pirates and their contributions to their teams. Unsurprisingly, the only guy who's performed like we shouldn't have sent him away is Thor. The fans knew that all along, as Bucs Dugout and Romo Phone Home prove. Unfortunately, the management had the exact opposite opinion. Although Shawn Chacon hasn't done anything bad yet, I have a premonition that he just won't be able to take that special place in my heart away from Thor.

Some highlights from the other guys, also courtesy of WHYGAVS, with my inserted insights:

Sean Casey went 2-16 after that first game, in which he hit a home run and convinced the Tigers management that he was a 15-20 per season type of guy. He's now not even hitting the singles we were used to from his time in the 'burgh. On the other hand, don't ask me what Brian Rogers is doing, because I don't have a clue.
In what has looked like our most immediately rewarding and lopsided move, X-Man has been hitting like Thor, while Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez give the Mets headaches. Hernandez has 2 ER in 2 IP. Here's what some of my fellow Pirates bloggers had to say about Ollie for MetsDaily.
Kip Wells has done well in Texas, getting a win. It may turn out that we regret dealing him more than we regret Ollie, especially if Ollie doesn't ever escape being an enigma.

Oh yea, the 'rats play the 'stros today at 8(!)pm. Paul Maholm, who has been my favorite of the starters lately, takes the mound. Here's hoping for wins against division rivals, like we couldn't muster against the Cubs.

Farewell, Sean Casey

2006-07-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

Although I'm sad to see him go, it had to be done. Cheerful Upper St. Clair native Sean Casey was traded to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Brian Rogers. Casey had spent the last few games on the bench with a mystery side ailment while a colorful cast of characters replaced him at first (Joe Randa, Jose Hernandez, no Craig Wilson in sight). He even sat out his own bobblehead night. It's my suspicion that the only reason he wasn't dealt earlier was because his bobblehead night was coming up, and that's why he sat on the bench. The rumor around the web is that the Tigers sent former Pirate Chris Shelton down to the minors to make room for Sean Casey.

I have absolutely no idea who Brian Rogers is; maybe the son of Kenny Rogers? Brother? This trade feels one-sided because a starting first baseman was traded for one minor league pitcher, but it's certainly better than nothing. The Pirates definitely needed to dump Casey's salary, and pitching is the weakest part of this team. Maybe Littlefield is getting it together.

Playing Catch-up

2006-07-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit lax recently; the Pirates have gone 2-2 since I last updated. They've also won two series in a row, taking 2 of 3 from both the Nationals and the Rockies. I went to the game yesterday, where the Pirates received a 13-4 spanking from Colorado. Gorzo was totally out of control, Jose Bautista fell asleep in center field and Thor hit a solo homer. I watched the game from the Outback, mostly on the television, which was really quite similar to watching the game on television at home. The view wasn't as good as I had hoped. Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and Dennis Miller were all at the game too; I'm not sure why, but they were cheering for the Pirates. I guess the pressure put on them by the presence of celebrities was too much for the Rats, because they did their best to appear like they didn't give a damn about the outcome of the game. They succeeded.

Regardless of yesterday's implosion, the Pirates returned to their post-All Star break form, winning games they would normally have lost. The 6-5 score gave the Pirates the series win, The Duke his first winning start in a month and Gonzo his 15th save in 15 attempts. The latter gave up a run but proceeded to strike out the next two batters with the bases loaded to end the game and the Rockies' hopes for a rally.

Pirates 7, Nationals 6

2006-07-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

After a nail-biter of a victory today against the Nats, the Pirates have won their first series since taking 3 of 4 from the San Francisco Giants way back in mid-June. Ronnie Paulino singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded.

The Pirates' pitching looked wild for the second straight night, but in this case, that never meant a total loss of control. Starter "Insane" Ian Snell gave up a first-pitch dinger to the ex-Expos' leadoff man, Alfonso Soriano, in the top of the first, but Pirate bats took the lead back in the bottom. Several more lead changes took place, but the Pirates were never more than 2 runs back despite pitchers loading the bases several times on the path to walking 8 (6 were Snell's). Gonzo got his third win this season when he shut out the Nats in the 9th.

Again, Thor and Jeromy Burnitz were on the bench; it is rumored that they'll be sent to the Yankees in exchange for youngin Melky Cabrera.

The game MVP was most definitely Jack Flash; he had a pair of sweet defensive plays as well as two ribbies. Murphy notes that, despite having a lackluster first half, Jack has never stopped putting in maximum effort. Remember way back when the Pirates' PR campaign was "110% percent"? It looks like that's always Jack's motto. Rather than let his failed attempt to score the 8th run last night let him down, he bounced back and helped the team again tonight. We here at BNB applaud his effort.

Pirates 7, Nationals 4

2006-07-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

The Pirates win their first game after the break! It's amazing. They also made very few of their normal mistakes. Zach Duke still looked shaky, but also got out of several of the jams he put himself into. He gave up 3 runs, but it could have been more considering he loaded the bases several times. He didn't even give up any runs in the first, which is an unusual accomplishment for him. The Pirates' offense looked pretty good, with Jason Bay going 3 of 4. The lineup was shaken significantly; Freddy Sanchez moved ahead of Bay, and Sean Casey and Jose Bautista were moved down. Bautista batted 8th and had a solo home run, his 11th of the season.

I'm pretty proud of Jim Tracy for moving the lineup around. It could have been better, but it seemed to work for many of the players. Jack Wilson didn't get moved, but he had some key hits and barely missed scoring the 8th run near the end of the game on a particularly aggressive baserunning attempt. In general, I'm pretty happy with the way the game went. Jose Castillo didn't have a good hitting day and represented the final out in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th innings. Even so, he had a pretty awesome defensive play: a sharp bouncer ricocheted off Casey's glove and Castillo fielded it and threw a runner out at second from his knees. Perhaps the team is rejuvenated.

Back From All-Star Break

2006-07-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ahh, a well-deserved rest. Two of this year's All-Stars take the field today for the Pirates, at home against the Washington Nationals. The reordered rotation will start Zach Duke today. There are those who have said that Duke will settle down in the second half; I hope it starts today. The Nationals are also coming off what seemed to be a one-sided trade with the Cincinnati, in which they netted Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez and Ryan Wagner; I think we can expect to see at least one of them tonight.

Maholm vs. Lidle, 7:05 EST

2006-07-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Paul Maholm (3-7) takes on Cory Lidle (4-7) tonight in Philly. Paul's coming off an extremely good start against the Mets, allowing only 1 run in 6 innings. Another of Paul's wins this season was against Lidle and the Phillies. I think things look good for Paul and the Pirates; barring any idiotic lineup choices, today might be the Pirates' first series win since the one with the Giants back in the middle of June. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. One win at a time.

The "Lowly Pirates"

2006-07-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

I really love how often the appropriate adjective to describe the Pirates performance is "horrific." It's almost as common as the "dubious distinctions" the Pirates receive (longest losing streak for the team since the beginning of the modern era, losing 25 one-run games, etc.) Also very common, at least among the Yahoo sportswriters, is referring to the Pirates as the "lowly Pirates". "Today, the New York Mets face the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates." Yes, thanks for that... Someone should notify them that saying "lowly" before "Pittsburgh Pirates" is redundant.

Anyway, the Pirates trot out Tom "Gorzo" Gorzelanny tonight against the guy who is possibly the Mets' most normal pitcher, Steve Trachsel. Expect no Don Zimmer-throwing, unnaturally high career on-base percentages, or controversial birthdates and insane foot-over-head deliveries from Trachsel. Instead, brace yourself for a man known as "The Human Rain Delay".

Pirates 0, Mets 5

2006-07-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

El Duque handed down a domination of the Pirates today. Regardless of his age, be it 36 or 40, the fact remains that he held the Pirates to 4 hits in 7 innings while striking out 7. Pirates' starter Kip Wells, in his 4th start since returning from injury, looked horrific in the bottom of the 1st, giving up 5 earned runs. He then proceeded to pitch 5 innings of no-hitter baseball. John Grabow continued the trend, allowing no Mets to reach base in the 2 innings he pitched. To quote Greg Brown: it was a freak show. Too bad Kip couldn't be freakish in all of his innings; 5 out of 6 just isn't good enough, especially when your offense scores no runs.

There's not much to say about the Pirates' hitters; Jason Bay looked like he had regressed from yesterday's performace and recorded no hits. Freddy Sanchez uncharacteristically went hitless but reached base once by way of a walk. Jose Bautista had a hit and Sean Casey, Jose Castillo and Ronnie Paulino each recorded two.

Thanks to "The Parrot"

2006-07-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Steve at The Parrot for listing Bad News Bucs on his blog. He's a helluva lot funnier than me, so you all should check it out.

Pirates 6, Mets 7

2006-07-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is getting to be a familiar score. The method of losing was not quite as familiar, but in the end, it was the same. The Duke pitched a respectable game but gave up 4 runs. The bullpen really slaughtered the Rats' chance at a win, though. Pirate bats overcame Duke's 4 lost runs and they cruised into the 8th with a 6-4 lead. Brain-numbingly, Salomon Torres walked the next two batters after forcing Carlos Beltran into a ground-out. Roberto Hernandez relieved Torres and promptly gave up a double and a single, scoring 3 runs: one of his own, and two residual from Torres. The go-ahead third run was the backbreaker, especially because a monster throw from Nate McLouth reached Ronnie Paulino in time for Paulino to make the tag. Angel Hernandez, the home plate umpire, called Endy Chavez safe at home.

Jim Tracy was not pleased:

Jim Tracy showed some admirable fire when he argued the call and was ejected. The outcome of the game pissed me off, but at least Tracy stepped up and defended his players when it was necessary.

Pirates 11, Mets 1

2006-07-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Paul Maholm got his long overdue third victory yesterday against the NL's best team. Mets' pitcher John Maine gave up 3 runs and the Mets' bullpen worked together on the other 8. Jason Bay had 3 RBIs, and all of the Pirates hitters looked good.

Today it's Zach Duke (5-7) versus Tom Glavine (11-2).

Pirates 8, Detroit 9

2006-07-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

I went out to PNC Park yesterday to catch the Tigers before they left town. Attendance was almost as good as the day before, when the game was sold out. Unfortunately, it seemed like a large number of the tickets sold were to Tigers fans.

As far as the game goes, there were several weak spots in the Pirates' play. Ian Snell didn't have his best stuff and gave up 4 runs in 5 innings. The middle relievers didn't do much better, with John Grabow setting up 4 more runs in the 7th before leaving Jonah Bayliss with his mess. Bayliss added another ER of his own before finally ending the inning. Like a story we've heard so many times before, the Pirates staged an impressive comeback in the bottom of the 7th but fell one run short.

Tracy made the decision to put Jose Hernandez, Jeromy Burnitz and Humberto Cota in the game; he had Ronnie Paulino pinch-hit but didn't allow him to enter the game at catcher. I can't fathom why Tracy continues to send out lineups like this; doesn't he want to win games? Jack Wilson continued his hitting slump when he replaced Hernandez in the 5th. Cota wasn't too impressive at the plate, either, and was the last out in the 9th inning with the bases loaded. Jason Bay had some hits, but none were really when it counted. Jose Castillo had some success at the plate, but also was the one who hit into the double play that ended the Pirates' 7th inning comeback and struck out for the 2nd out in the 9th.

Game 3: Ian Snell vs. Zach Miner

2006-07-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Ian Snell (7-5)
Pittsburgh

vs.

Zach Miner (4-1)
Detroit

Ian Snell takes the mound, searching for his 8th win. Gametime is 1:35 EST today.

Pirates 9, Tigers 2

2006-07-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight, the Pirates crushed the best team in baseball. Or, I should say, the best team in baseball (who looked remarkably like the worst team in baseball) crushed themselves. The newest member of the Pirates' rotation, Tom Gorzelanny, had a good day. Despite letting quite a few Tigers onto the bases, he let in only 2 runs and recorded 6 strikeouts. This performance was also something to build upon; he walked 3 and it took him only five innings to top 100 pitches. All in all, it was a good outing and we can expect it to get better.

The Tigers' starting pitcher, Jeremy Bonderman, continued to look impressive. He let in only 2 runs before leaving the game with stomach discomfort. The Tigers' bullpen can't really be blamed for the loss, either. The Pirates had a 7-run 7th inning, with Nate McLouth and Jose Bautista singling to open the inning. After Jack Wilson's strikeout, Sean Casey singled in McLouth to give the Pirates the lead, 3-2. Then the fun started. First, Jason Bay hit a hard grounder to the Tigers' third baseman, Brandon Inge. At this point, Pittsburgh fans resigned themselves to the inning being over by way of an easy double play. Instead, Inge threw home in an attempt to prevent Bautista from scoring. His throw was low, and catcher Ivan Rodrizguez could not make the tag. The very next play, Freddy Sanchez reached first base on a fielding error by Chris Shelton, who has been having a fairly bad series. Jeromy Burnitz helped the Tigers extend their error streak to 3 plays, when Plácido Polanco failed to field his grounder. Casey and Bay both scored. Jose Castillo hit a double to score Sanchez. Finally, Ronnie Paulino singled to send Burnitz and Castillo across the plate. With a little help from their friends from Detroit, the Pirates hit all the way through their batting order and scored 7 runs along the way.

Of course, we can't ignore the Pirates' bullpen, who turned in another superb performance today. Matt Capps, Salomon Torres and John Grabow held the Tigers scoreless, with Capps picking up the win.

The weakest point in the Pirates' play today, besides the typically suspect defense that allowed the Tigers two runs, was the hitting of a few key players. Jack Wilson looked fairly weak. Jason Bay, however, was the biggest cause for concern. Three strikeouts? Before the Tigers giftwrapped the game for the Pirates, in the 5th inning, Bonderman intentionally walked Sean Casey and loaded the bases to bring Jason Bay to the plate with 2 outs. Imagine that, loading the bases with an intentional walk to bring up the cleanup hitter. If this were the Jason Bay we know, love and voted into the All-Star game, we would have had anywhere from 1 to 4 runs to show for that. Instead, he struck out to end the inning. It's time for Bay to break out his slump, no matter what it takes. A good start would be to move him from his spot at fourth in the order. A complete batting order shakeup is just what the doctor ordered. Jose Bautista, for example, has been hitting very well lately. He's exhibited power and consistency. Also, though Jim Tracy might disagree, there is no rule that says the catcher must bat 8th. Ronnie Paulino has been pulling his weight, and there's no reason why he can't be shifted a little. Freddy Sanchez was a little off his game tonight, which is unsurprising considering he was out of the game with an injury yesterday. I still think that he would make a good leadoff hitter.

The Pirates wrap up the series with the Tigers tomorrow. Ian Snell (7-4) will take the mound.

Leyland or Tracy?

2006-07-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today, in an article by AP writer Alan Robinson, Dave Littlefield's mistake in choosing not to hire Jim Leyland is revealed.

However, when Leyland decided last year he had the drive to manage again after being out of the dugout for six years, he gladly would have taken the Pirates job. He watched most of their home games as a Cardinals scout and, after Lloyd McClendon was fired in early September, was available daily to talk to Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield, if the GM had so wished.

All it would have taken was one brief conversation, one quick phone call, and Leyland would have slipped on a Pirates cap again. Money wouldn't have been an issue.

Instead, Leyland heard only silence.

Good move, Littlefield.

When Littlefield finally got around to calling, the day after the season ended, Leyland already was driving to Detroit to interview for and, within hours, to accept the Tigers' job.

And so he says to himself, "Dave, Jim Tracy would be an adequate substitute."

Hiring Leyland in late 1985 proved one of the greatest moves in Pirates history. Only history can judge if not rehiring him will prove to be one of their greatest blunders.

I think that we already have the answer. Last year, the Pirates and the Tigers were similar franchises. Both were perenially losing-record teams with some young promising young players. This year, Jim Leyland is the manager of the league's best team. The Pirates, meanwhile, are setting new lows.

That Leyland isn't managing the Pirates now is the source of some unhappiness in a city where the Pirates are two days removed from a 13-game losing streak. When Leyland arrived Friday with a team that owns the majors' best record, some in the stands were asking: Could that possibly have been us, not the Tigers, if the Pirates had hired Leyland and not Jim Tracy?

We have no reason to believe it couldn't have been, though it takes more than a good manager to turn a team around. At the very least, we would have ended up with a manager with a good attitude:

...it took Leyland only a few minutes into his usual pregame news conference to reveal some of the not-to-subtle differences between the two managers.

While Tracy's sessions often are devoted to detailed discussions about the coaching staff's excellence -- and that the players will never perform unless they follow that instruction -- Leyland said this about coaches:

"I'm always careful about bragging about any staff member, because these players are the people who are executing and have done the job," Leyland said. "If you have pretty good players, you're a pretty good manager or coach. I've seen it on both sides, I've been pretty smart a few years, and I've been dumb a few years."

What's the lesson here, kids? Well, actually, there's several. Jim Tracy needs to stop blaming the players and start taking responsibility. It would be nice if he'd cut back on his formulaic style of managing, too, and give the players a chance to prove themselves. Dave Littlefield needs to be able to spot a good thing when it's available. And maybe Pirates fans can have a team away from home this season in the Detroit Tigers. Detroit is stacked with former Pirates players and coaches. Jim Leyland, Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon are all on the Detroit coaching staff. Andy Van Slyke, former All-Star Pirates outfielder, is the Detroit first base coach. And Chris Shelton, former Pirates minor-league prospect, is the starting first baseman.

Game 2: Gorzelanny vs. Bonderman

2006-07-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Tom Gorzelanny (0-0)
Pittsburgh

vs.

Jeremy Bonderman (7-4)
Detroit

Today, Pirates' newly recalled starter Tom Gorzelanny takes the mound to face the best team in the majors. Giving him some time to adjust, I see. Anyway, the Pirates hope to tie up the series. Gametime is 7:05 pm, EST. No word yet on the status of Freddy Sanchez.

Pirates 6, Tigers 7

2006-07-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

Kip Wells gave up 7 earned runs in 2.1 innings to increase his season ERA to 14.34. Despite impressive relief work by the Pirates bullpen, with Jonah Bayliss, Matt Capps, Damaso Marte, Roberto Hernandez and Mike Gonzalez all keeping the Tigers off the board, the 7-run deficit proved too much for the Pirates to overcome. They chipped away at the lead during a big third inning that closed the gap to 5-7, but could only muster one run against Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya, who was regularly hitting over 100 mph with his fastballs. Todd Jones pitched a scoreless 9th inning for the save, allowing Jack Wilson and Jeromy Burnitz to reach base before getting Sean Casey to fly out and Jason Bay to strike out and end the game.

Several performances surprised me last night; Kip's was not one of them. I keep waiting for Kip to become the pitcher that he was once expected to be, but it looks like I'll be waiting a long time. It takes some effort to raise a season ERA from around 11 to 14.34. I like Kip, but I can't say that I believe he's an improvement over Oliver Perez.

Now on to the positive. Newly promoted Jonah Bayliss had some control problems yesterday, throwing a few wild pitches and walking four batters, but he held the Tigers to one hit over the 2.2 innings he stayed in the game. He also had three strikeouts. This kid looks promising. Also putting in a surprisingly impressive performance was Jose Hernandez, who was in the game because of the absences of Joe Randa and Freddy Sanchez. He had three hits in four at bats and made several decent defensive plays. Mike Edwards, who stepped in at third base, also played respectable defense.

Pirates Start Tigers Series

2006-06-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today, the Pirates start their interleague series against the red-hot Detroit Tigers, which is sure to bring more woe to Pirates fans. Among the coaching staff of the 54-25 Tigers are Jim Leyland, Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon. Let us never say that these managers were the whole reason why the Pirates were so bad in the McClatchy years, because apparently they can combine their powers and coach the league's best team. Detroit has risen from the ashes of a team that often rivaled the Pirates for the bottom of the league, and they've done it with several of their young, promising players intact from those hard years. I was reading a preview of today's game, and there's a quote by Jim Leyland that I thought was interesting.

"I'm looking forward to going home, but I'm not looking forward to playing the Pirates," said Leyland, who still maintains a home in Pittsburgh. "I'm sure (the fans will) boo me, but I love them, and I understand."

I say: why will the fans boo Jim Leyland? I guess he left Pittsburgh on slightly bad terms and I may not remember everything that happened when he left. However, I don't see any reason to boo the man who led us to our last three playoff appearances so long ago. If anything, we should cheer and make him feel at home so that we can entice him to tackle the challenge of managing the Pirates again next year after winning the World Series with the Tigers. It's too bad we hired the wrong Jim this year.

Freddy Sanchez: Walk-off Home Run

2006-06-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Pirates win! Pirates win!

Freddy Sanchez hammered Cliff Politte's second pitch of the 9th into the stands for a walk-off home run. Pirates win, 7-6, for the first one-run game they didn't lose in quite a while. Despite a shaky start by Zach Duke, including a 2-out walk to pitcher Jose Contreras that eventually led to 2 runs for the White Sox, the Pirates battled back from two 2-run deficits (whew, that's a lotta twos). Roberto Hernandez gave up a 2-run pinch-hit home run to Jim Thome in the top of the 8th that tied the score at 6-6. Mike Gonzalez picked up the win after pitching a scoreless 9th inning.

Freddy Sanchez has a 13 game hitting streak, while the Pirates snapped a 13 game losing streak today with their win against the defending champions.

Taking Out Some Anger

2006-06-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

It's time to vent a little frustration by picking apart AP writer Alan Robinson's recap of last night's game. But before I start on the inaccuracies in Alan's writing, though, I want to address something Jason Bay said after the game.

"It's starting to get a little unbelievable," Bay said. "Until we get a lucky break, a lucky bounce, get off to a great start in a game, I don't know what the answer is. I know guys are pressing, because I know I am."

I know, I know, the Pirates are unlucky. Still, a lot of what caused last night's loss was independent from "luck." For example, Jim Tracy left Maholm in the game too long, Jack Wilson completely fell asleep while batting leadoff, and oh yeah, Jason Bay struck out with two men on to end the game. Even great players slump sometimes, and I believe Jason Bay has the potential to be a great player, but he didn't even take one ball before he flailed at an 0-2 pitch that was way down and outside.

Now on to Alan.

This record streak is visibly wearing on first-year manager Jim Tracy, who came out of spring training confident the Pirates were close to a turnaround -- even if they weren't a contender immediately.

Is the ineffectiveness of the team wearing on Tracy, or is Tracy weighing on the team? I guess it goes both ways. I know I'm not the first to say it, but it really would have been nice to see Tracy show a little fire last night and stand up for Craig Wilson. It would be nice to see Jim Tracy show a little fire, period. I'm not asking him to become Lloyd McClendon, and I know he won't. It just seems like all Tracy does is sit silently in the dugout, spit on the floor and let his young players flounder around on the field.

"I've felt good about the effort of the club in a number of these games," Tracy said. "But it came down to them coming up with a big hit and we couldn't come up with that hit."

I haven't felt good about your effort, Tracy! Quibbles with the manager aside, I think it's obvious that the best teams in the league don't often need to come up with a big hit like the one Bay failed to get yesterday. That's because good teams don't dig themselves into a hole in the first place. Yesterday's game was like a recurring nightmare; I vividly remember a recent game in which the Pirates were behind by a run with two outs in the 9th and men on base. Ronnie Paulino struck out looking to end that game. I'm sure there's more instances of this, just considering the number of times the Pirates have lost by one or two runs. It's especially painful when the Pirates manage to dig that hole in the 7th inning after spending most of the game ahead, because of how often they dig the hole in the 1st. When they are losing all game, at least it's not a surprise when the game ends with a loss.

The White Sox, by contrast, are playing almost as well as the Pirates are playing poorly.

No, they aren't. It's not possible to do anything that rivals the extreme of the Pirates' inability to win. But seriously, considering that the White Sox scored an average of 9.2 runs in their last 10 games before the series with the Pirates, it could be argued that the Sox are actually playing pretty poorly. Paul Maholm, who came into the game with a 2-6 record, held the Sox scoreless and allowed only 3 hits for 6 innings of the game yesterday. It's quite possible that a managerial mistake (by Jim Tracy) was the only reason why the White Sox mustered enough runs in the 7th to win the game.

Pirates 3, White Sox 4

2006-06-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Another one-run loss. I've come to the determination that the Pirates only stay competitive when I am actively watching the game. Paul Maholm (2-7) had a shutout going into the top of the seventh inning, holding the powerful White Sox offense to only 3 hits in that time. Around that time, a commercial came on and I started to watch Rambo: First Blood on AMC. When I changed back to the game, Maholm had given up three singles in a row and loaded the bases with no outs. On the next pitch, Juan Uribe crushed a ball into left field for a triple, scoring all three Sox baserunners and tying the game. After that, having not yet learned my lesson, I watched a little more Rambo.

Play by play:

The Pirates send Matt Capps into the game for Maholm.
Sylvester "Rambo" Stallone hides behind a tree while a man in a helicopter attempts to shoot him with a high-powered sniper rifle.
Capps manages to force Brian Anderson into a flyout in shallow left field; Uribe opts to stay on third.
Rambo darts from behind the tree and grabs a rock; a bullet narrowly misses his head.
Jim Thome pinch hits for Freddy Garcia.
Rambo waits for the sniper to reload and then throws the rocket directly into the windshield of the helicopter; the sniper falls to his death.
Thome has struck out and Scott Podsednik steps up to bat.
Rambo sneaks down to the fallen sniper and steals his gun.
Scott Podsednik singles in Uribe for the winning run.

I stopped watching Rambo at this point, hoping to bring some luck to the Pirates. They entered the bottom of the 9th down 1 run. Jose Castillo and Freddy Sanchez both made it to base with 2 outs. Unfortunately, Jason Bay struck out to end the game.

In other news, Tadahito Iguchi slammed into hapless Craig Wilson, who got his first start at first base in quite a while, sending Craig to the clubhouse with an injury. To add insult to (literal) injury, the first base umpire called Iguchi safe.

White Sox series continues

2006-06-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well, Ryan "White Flag" Vogelsong has finally retreated (read: was sent) to Indianapolis. Ollie Perez takes his place in the bullpen. Johan Bayliss has also stepped into the bullpen to fill the hole left by Victor Santos.

After a depressing 2-4 loss versus the White Sox yesterday, the Pirates send out Paul Malholm as cannon fodder today.

All-Star Voting

2006-06-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

Jason Bay is currently in first for the starting positions in outfield, and Jack Wilson is second for shortstop.

I really don't even feel like trying to comprehend the Pirates today, so a comparison of the Pirates to Office Space will have to do.

Today, the Pirates begin their series against the defending champion Chicago White Sox. Watch for this losing streak to reach 17.

Kip Wells

2006-06-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Back to the daily grind.

Kip Wells and his 16.20 ERA will make their second appearance today, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maybe Kip will last a full four innings.

Worst. Team. Ever.

2006-06-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

When I left for vacation, the Pirates had been doing marginally well. It was nothing to write home about, but they certainly were playing better than they had in April. I was gone for a week, from Saturday the 17th to Saturday the 24th. During this time, the Pirates lost every game they played. My optimism for a pre-All Star break turnaround has turned into misery. The Pirates were swept by the KANSAS CITY ROYALS. They continued their streak of horrific failure yesterday with a shutout loss to the LA Dodgers.

The Detroit paper described the matchup between the Pirates and the Royals as a battle of the MLB's worst teams. The Pirates are bad, sure, but I never expected them to be in the same realm of suck as the Royals. The Pirates have a genuine All Star candidate in Jason Bay and young, promising pitchers like Zach Duke and Ian Snell. The Royals have... Scott Elarton? I was proven wrong when the Royals strung together three consecutive victories against the Pirates, with Scott Elarton getting his third(!) win of the season. The Detroit paper came to the conclusion that the Royals were the "best of the worst" after this debacle.

In other news, the Marlins somehow turned themselves around and shot past the Pirates despite previously being one of the only teams I could count on to be worse than the Pirates this year. My only source of hope is the Atlanta Braves' current path of self-destruction. I've always disliked the Braves; they symbolized the exact opposite of the Pirates: a good team, consistently, every year. They also have that annoying "Tomahawk Chop." Atlanta and Arizona are the only teams who have come close to the Pirates' horrific slide in the past 10 games, each losing 9.

I've decided I will become a White Sox fan. That 20-run game last week was pretty convincing. I also like the Tigers, a team that used to suck like the Pirates but doesn't anymore.

Pirates 5, Cardinals 6

2006-06-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Jim Tracy didn't start Freddy Sanchez, opting instead for Joe Randa from his son's graduation in California. Ryan Vogelsong was chosen to relieve struggling Victor Santos. Jeromy Burnitz came off the bench to hit his third home run in six pinch-hitting chances this season (maybe he could be a useful permanent pinch-hitter, at least better than Jose Hernandez). A bottom of the 1st, leadoff, line-drive home run by Jose Bautista over the 410 mark was squandered. Cards' Mark Mulder pitched horrifically but picked up the win. Jason Bay hit into the game ending double play in the bottom of the 9th.

It was just that kind of game.

Jose Bautista

2006-06-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

The game isn't over, but so far, Jim Tracy's cringe-inducing decisions to play Joe Randa and Humberto Cota have been balanced out by the fact that Jose Bautista is playing today instead of Nate McLouth. Only four innings have transpired, and Jose Bautista already has a line-drive home run and a big double off the outfield wall from the leadoff spot. That grand slam by Bautista a couple games ago was pretty nice, too.

Day Game

2006-06-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

Early game today. Victor freakin' Santos faces off against Mark Mulder. Let's go, Rats! I smell a series win against the weakened Redbirds.

Pat over at Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? says that Jim Tracy decided to start Joe Randa instead of Freddy Sanchez today. That really pisses me off, because Freddy is on my fantasy baseball team. When are the Pirates going to stop being blinded by the amount of money that they've paid a certain player? There is no way to force a bad decision to become a good one by giving him more playing time.

Pirates: Now 89% Less Cringe-Worthy!

2006-06-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Things continue to look good for the Pirates. The Cubs lost today, so the Pirates now have one more win than Chicago (27 versus 26). That’s still not enough to get out of last place, since the Cubs also have fewer losses than the Pirates, but it’s nice to know. Wins against the first-place team in the division also never hurt.

I applaud Jim Tracy’s decision to leave Joe Randa out of the lineup today; the Pirates’ infield is looking pretty strong and Randa just spoils things. Now, I’ll admit that I base many of my opinions about Pirates players, Randa included, on my gut reactions towards them. This isn’t exactly a foolproof method, considering that baseball is a “numbers game.” Even so, I find that my gut is often right. I always slightly cringe when certain players who have failed my “gut reaction test” step up to the plate for the Pirates.

Equation for Success:
Less cringing = More winning

In past years, I’ve cringed a lot. This season, however, I’ve been doing less cringing. The only batter for the Pirates tonight whom I get nervous about is Nate McLouth. Even without my gut reaction, the numbers don’t lie. Heck, Zach Duke is hitting more dependably than Nate (.241 versus .225), though Nate has obviously been to the plate more often than the Duke. Despite Nate's failed gut test, one player, who receives a less severe cringe than most cringe-worthy players, is better than entire cringeful lineups I've seen in the past.

So far, “Cringes” aren’t an official stat. Let’s see if we can fix that, Bucs.

Zach Duke: The Hitter's Pitcher

2006-06-14T19:44:00.001-07:00

It wasn’t exactly his best start, but Pirates’ pitcher Zach Duke got the win. Despite lasting 5 innings and giving up 5 runs, Duke helped his team to a victory in a different way: with his bat. Duke drove in 2 runs in the 2nd and 1 in the 4th for 3 RBI on the night. After Duke came out, the Pirates’ bullpen stepped up to hold the Cardinals to 5 runs until the top of the 9th, when red-hot Scott Rolen hit a 2-run, 2-out homer off Matt Capps. Mike Gonzalez got the last out for his 12th save of the season.

The Pirates batting order sent Cardinals starter Sidney Ponson to the dugout in the 4th inning after wringing him for 6 runs. Then, in the 5th inning, Jose Castillo hit his 10th dinger of the season with Craig Wilson and Freddy Sanchez on base. Jose had 4 RBI in all. Each member of the Pirates’ starting lineup had at least one hit, and the team combined for 14 hits overall.

Final score: Pirates 9, Cardinals 7.

Slider Sundaes

2006-06-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note before I go out on the "yacht" and listen to the Pirates.

Does anybody remember Slider Sunadaes? I was wondering what happened to those, and the little plastic baseball caps that they came in.

Yeaaaaa, those were so cool.

Zach Duke vs. Sidney Ponson tonight. Jose Castillo back in the lineup? We'll see.

Edit: Yup, Jose played. Considering his performance tonight, maybe Jim Tracy should have let him play yesterday, too.

Mike Mussina

2006-06-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

KFFL writes about RHP Mike Mussina:

Ken Rosenthal, of FOXSports.com, reports New York Yankees SP Mike Mussina does not expect the Yankees to exercise his $17 million option to remain with the team next year and he will most likely have to come to an agreement on a lower salary extension. If he does become a free agent, he said he will not simply sell himself to the highest bidder and that playing for a contender, remaining in the American League and staying close to his home in Montoursville, PA, are the most important things to him. After the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians would be his next two choices while the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies would be his National League choices.

I know that the Pirates weren't mentioned, but Pittsburgh falls into the geographic area that Mike was talking about. Wouldn't that be cool if the Pirates could supplement their young rotation with a really good veteran pitcher? Mike's 8-2 with a 2.76 ERA and 85 Ks versus only 16 walks, by the way.

Wishful thinking.

Player Spotlight: Joe Randa

2006-06-13T23:10:00.000-07:00

Let me start by stating a fact: I really don’t know anything about Joe Randa. Yes, I realize that he has played for the Pittsburgh Pirates multiple, separate times. I know that he plays third base, and I know that he is being paid an inordinate (by Pittsburgh payroll standards) sum of cash to play baseball at PNC Park. However, I couldn’t tell you what teams Joe played for during his hiatuses from the Pirates organization. I don’t know how long he’s been in the league, or why the Pirates signed him again. I don’t even know how good Joe Randa is at the game of baseball.

Unfortunately, I doubt that the people that pay Joe know much about that aspect of his life, either. Sometimes it seems like they’re just not in touch with those minor details of sports management. I think that usually, in the case of Randa especially, they rely on one “tool of the trade” when it comes time to choose which guys in caps and interestingly colored socks they should add to their baseball club. That tool is a single, magical, deciding question: “Have I heard his name before?”

Obviously, this was used in the decision to sign Randa. Kevin McClatchy and Dave Littlefield had both “heard that name before… somewhere…” so Randa was offered a contract. Furthermore, I think that the degree to which the decision-makers are familiar with a name decides how much that player will be paid. This would explain Randa’s outrageously extravagant salary: Joe Randa had a very familiar name because he had played for the Pirates before!

Anyway, there's one thing I do know about Joseph G. Randa (I’ll admit that the aforementioned thing I know is not Mr. Randa’s middle name; the G was just a guess). I know that Joe Randa always has a smile on his face when he’s in the batter’s box. This is no normal smile, however. As far as I can tell, there is no mirth in Randa’s smile. No, this smile is one born not of joy, but of insanity, plastic surgery, or both. It is a smile totally devoid of teeth and completely composed of upturned lips. Think Jack Nicholson’s smile as the Joker in Batman; Randa’s smile most closely resembles that of a man who supposedly fell into a vat of chemicals which disfigured his face and addled his mind. It just creeps me out.

I hope that Randa’s smile is a carefully calculated move designed to intimidate opposing pitchers. Perhaps it is a grin of such supreme confidence that pitchers are automatically compelled to intentionally walk him. Maybe, Joe wants to frighten pitchers with his ghoulish leer so much that they lose their composure and throw wild pitches or collapse into a quivering pile on the mound until their manager drags them off the field. Randa’s smile could even be meant to annoy opposing hurlers so much that they aim for his head and give him a free trip to first base.

Regardless, it looks like I’ll know a lot more about Joe Randa than I ever wanted by the end of this baseball season. And whatever the reason for Joe Randa’s unusual batting ritual, I know that I’ll have plenty of time to see it in action. Considering the dough the Pirates are paying him this year, they can’t afford not to let him play.

Chris Carpenter Strikes Out 13 Pirates Batters

2006-06-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

Chris Carpenter pitched a 13 strikeout, 3-hitter today against the Pirates. Pirates starting pitcher Oliver Perez had a solid outing, allowing 2 runs over 7 innings pitched, but it wasn’t enough for the win. Carpenter’s domination helped the Cards hold a two run lead despite the Pirates’ near-comeback in the bottom of the 9th. Jason Isringhausen held the Pirates to 1 run in the 9th to seal the save, his 21st of the season. Craig Wilson drove newly returned Joe Randa in for the Pirates' only run.

Joe Randa

2006-06-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, what joy! Joe Randa's back in the lineup! Luckily, Freddy Sanchez is also playing tonight. He was moved to second base, and Jose Castillo is sitting out tonight's game due to past trouble hitting against Cardinals' pitcher Chris Carpenter. What does Joe Randa have to do to convince the Pirates' management to put him back on the bench? Stay tuned.

Chris Duffy Reports to Indianapolis

2006-06-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Chris Duffy reported to AAA Indianapolis yesterday, about a month after being sent there by the Pirates management and failing to show up. He was hitting .194 this season, after a .341 average last season. Apparently, Jim Tracy wanted Duffy to hit like a more traditional leadoff batter. There is no comment on the reason why Duffy refused to report to the minors, although I suspect that Duffy was whiny about Tracy’s suggestion that Duffy change his swing.

Duffy lost his spot in center field to Nate McLouth, who is hitting in the mid .200’s this season. Amusingly, Duffy still shows up on the MLB All-Star ballot as one of the Pirates’ outfield candidates. Also making appearances on the ballot are Ryan Doumit and Joe Randa, two oft injured and rarely starting players.

Tonight, Oliver Perez and the Pirates begin their series against the Cardinals. Cards’ ace Chris Carpenter is starting. Carpenter has spent the season on and off the DL; hopefully, he doesn’t bring his best stuff tonight. Ollie Perez needs all the hitting help he can get.

Expensive Journeymen and the Secret to the Pirates' Success (Failure)

2006-06-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

There’s no game today, so I will take some time to discuss the reason why the Pirates have been so horrific over the years that Kevin McClatchy has owned the franchise. The people over at Irate Fans have their own opinions on the matter, and they bring up some interesting points. They refer to the record that produces exactly a .500 win percentage, 81 wins and 81 losses, as “The McClatchy Line.” It is called as such because the Pirates have not had a winning season the entire time that McClatchy has owned the team.

I know that it isn’t as easy for the Pirates, a small-market baseball team, to field a roster the way that the Yankees and the Red Sox can; they can’t just buy stars. However, the blame can’t be placed firmly on the meager payroll. The “moneyball” philosophy that has propelled the Oakland Athletics and the Florida Marlins to successful seasons proves that expensive players aren’t the only key to winning.

I agree with Irate Fans in their opinion that it is the Pirates organization’s penchant for signing veteran journeymen to the team in lieu of cheaper, younger players. Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders are some recent examples of this. Current examples include Joe Randa, Jeromy Burnitz and Sean Casey. These are players who have never been really big stars but are solid players with several years of major league experience. Sean Casey is slightly different; the Pirates are paying him a sizable amount of money, but he’s younger than the others I mentioned. He also has been producing more dependably than those other players.

The place where my opinion differs from Irate Fans is that signing these players themselves is not necessarily the problem. The problem lies in the fact that these players fail to produce once they are on the Pirates roster. They simply can’t carry the weight of an entire team’s expectations on their veteran shoulders. These are players who have spent their lives as traveling utility men, filling holes in lineups while their teams wait for prospects to develop. The Pirates, however, expect these players to be leaders, a role for which they are not prepared, on a team of young players. It is no surprise that they collapse under the pressure, the way Jeromy Burnitz has done (see the incident against the San Francisco Giants in which he took a gigantic chop at a pitch, only to miss and accidentally throw his bat into the stands). If McClatchy and the other Pirates decision-makers would put more confidence in their solid younger players, like Jason Bay, they could save some money and most likely also field a stronger all-around lineup.

Burnitz Injured Against Giants

2006-06-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

Jeromy Burnitz left Sunday’s game against the Giants with a strained calf muscle. It is unknown how serious his injury was, but it is likely that Craig Wilson will get some more playing time in left field. The situation may force the Pirates to abort plans to trade Wilson, which could be a positive development.

Pirates Put Together a Winning Road Trip

2006-06-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

The Rats win the series in San Francisco after a 7-5 victory. The game wasn’t the prettiest; for much of the game, Pittsburgh had the lead, 2-1. However, after several subpar plays in the 6th and Moises Alou’s solo home run in the 7th, the Giants captured the 5-2 lead. That changed in the top of the 8th, then Nate McLouth singled with the bases loaded to score Freddy Sanchez. Two batters later, with the bases still loaded, Jose Bautista hit his first career grand slam.

If it weren’t for a couple mistakes in the first game in San Francisco, the Pirates would have swept the series. They continue to look like a better team than their record suggests, today showing their ability to bounce back from errors. They finish this road trip 4-3, having picked up their first consecutive wins on the road this season.

When the Pirates start their home stand against first place St. Louis on Tuesday, they have a chance to really prove that they can compete. Ollie Perez, getting the nod to start on Tuesday, will also have a chance to prove himself.

The Series So Far...

2006-06-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

I haven’t updated in a while, so let’s catch up.

The Pirates lost the series in Colorado. They started with some good stuff, winning the first game, 6-4. It went downhill from there; they dropped another 1-run game, losing 4-5, and then Ollie Perez was demolished in the final game of the series. The final score of that one was 9-16. That game was especially disheartening because 9 runs went to waste; who scores 9 runs and loses? That question, obviously, is redundant.
The series at San Francisco started badly. The Pirates built a lead early in the game and entered the 7th inning with a 4-2 lead. However, the Giants proceeded to score runs in the bottom of the 7th and 8th to tie the game. Pittsburgh’s batting order failed to produce in the top of the 9th, and it was left up to Damaso Marte to carry the game into extra innings. Unfortunately, several miscommunications by Pirates players allowed the Giants to get men on 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. The first mistake was a fly ball in shallow left field that Freddy Sanchez didn’t reach in time. Jack Wilson was in position to make the play but let Freddy attempt the catch anyway. The next mistake was a similar situation, this time in right field. Jose Castillo attempted to catch a fly ball that would have been an easy play for Jeromy Burnitz; Burnitz didn’t call Castillo off and the ball dropped in for a hit. Matt Capps relieved Marte and got Lance Niekro to fly out. On the next batter, Capps threw a wild pitch past Pirates catch Ronnie Paulino, allowing Eliezer Alfonzo to score the winning run from 3rd. Despite the poor end of the game, several Pirates hit well. Sean Casey recorded 4 hits in the game.
The next game against the Giants was a close one: a rare 1-run win. Sean Casey recorded another 4-hit game and the Pirates win, 3-2.
The 3rd game of the series, yesterday, was a defensive battle. Both starting pitchers performed very well. Ian Snell only allowed 3 hits out of the Giants and the Giants only allowed 4 hits total during the game. Fortunately for the Pirates, two of those hits were home runs. Jose Castillo and Jose Bautista hit homers, the only runs in the game. Pirates win, 2-0.

Spitchokenpuke

2006-06-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Spitchokenpuke: "Dateline, PNC Park, the house that Kevin built! I've been rich and I've been poor. I've been full and I've been hungry. I've been a winner and I've been a loser. And trust me when I tell you that being a rich, full winner is a heck of a lot more fun than being what the Pirates were in April. Note the calendar and bring out the brooms. The Bucs have swept the Milwaukee Brewers in four games. Jeromy Burnitz, Freddy Sanchez and Jose Castillo carry the weight. Paul Maholm pitches like last year. Ryan Doumit singles in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the Pirates, by winning six of their last seven have climbed to within 14 games of .500. You almost felt elated for a moment, didn't you? Let's not stop that feeling. Let's keep it going. Bay homers in six straight games. Castillo homers in five straight games. Sanchez is leading the National League in hitting. And before we give last call on this none-too-frequent Pirates celebration, let's not be remiss to mention that the Chicago Cubs are doing an early season imitation of the Chicago Cubs usual late season swoon and are a mere one game ahead of the Bucs in the National League Central. Look. It's a staircase. I think we may have found a way out of the basement. Final today Pirates walk off, 4-3."

On a Roll

2006-06-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

The Pirates have just completed their first 4-game sweep since July of 2004. Yesterday’s game was also the first time that the Pirates have strung together three wins this season. They extended that season-high streak to four today when they finished off the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. Here's what I said after the Pirates won the first game of the series on Tuesday:

“Next up: three more wins against the Brewers for the longest Rats win streak this season and the first series sweep in almost two years.”

The series win, Sean Casey’s return to the lineup and José Castillo’s hot streak are all reasons to be excited about the Pirates’ prospects. They have proven that they have the bats – and pitching – needed be a successful club (by Pittsburgh baseball standards, at least). Pirates fans aren’t even necessarily interested in the playoffs. Finishing above .500 would be nice.

With the Padres coming to PNC Park tomorrow, I suspect that the streak will continue for at least one or two more games. What's more, the Pirates have their first chance to pull out of last place in their division since the beginning of the season. The Chicago Cubs are on the brink of total self-destruction and the Pirates are only one game away from overtaking them in the NL Central. The only question mark remaining, in my opinion, is the Pirates’ inability to win on the road (4-22). If they can get on a roll on the road like they have at home, this might be the season they finish "rebuilding" and start "improving."

Pirates: 4 Game Win Streak

2006-06-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

I was at yesterday’s game, sitting in the outfield on the 3rd base line. The temperature reached a sweltering 91 degrees in Pittsburgh, but the heat didn’t slow down the Pirates. Despite not scoring double-digits like the first two games of the series, the Pirates’ offense looked sharp. Freddy Sanchez further augmented his team-leading batting average with three hits. Jack Wilson extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Sean Casey homered in the bottom of the 5th, and Jason Bay followed with another homer on the next pitch offered up by hapless Chris Capuano. The most impressive performance of the night came from José Castillo, who hit a homer in his 5th consecutive game. The only real offense the Brewers could muster was a 6th inning home run by Jeff Cirillo. Ian Snell, who picked up the win, held the Brewers to only three hits over six innings.

Today’s game was the closest of the series. The Pirates entered the bottom of the 9th down 2-3; it was the first time in the series the bottom of the 9th was necessary. Earlier in the game, the Pirates’ two runs were both scored by Jeromy Burnitz on sacrifice flies by José Castillo. In the bottom of the 9th, Jeromy Burnitz got on base with a double. José Hernandez replaced Burnitz as a pinch runner. José Castillo drove Derrick Turnbow’s pitch to the right field wall, apparently the game-winning home run. However, after a conference, the umpires declared that the ball had not cleared the wall and rewarded Castillo with a ground-rule double, still scoring Hernandez. Ryan Doumit singled Castillo home for the 4-3 win. Castillo’s five-game streak of consecutive home runs was ended.

The Pirates outscored the Brewers 36-8 in the series. They hope to continue their winning streak tomorrow at home against the San Diego Padres.

Good News?!

2006-05-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Rats have won three of their past four games. Yesterday, they demolished the third-place Brewers, 14-3. Sean Casey has only been off the DL for a day and has already started producing admirably. There isn’t much more that I could ask for, except maybe for the Rats to win enough games to pull out of last place. The Cubs are pretty dismal as well, so it doesn’t seem that out of the question.

The best thing about Casey returning to the line-up is the position changes he causes. Because Casey replaced Craig Wilson at first base, Craig was moved to the outfield. Wilson, in turn, bumped Jeromy Burnitz to the bench. I couldn’t be happier; Burnitz will have some time now to think about what he’s doing wrong. Yesterday, Jose Bautista replaced Nate McLouth at center field. Considering Bautista is not even regularly a starter, his four home runs in May are fairly impressive. He hit another one yesterday.

The game yesterday was an 18-hit domination of the Milwaukee Brewers. Despite a shaky top of the 1st, when Zach Duke allowed 2 ER, the Pirates took control. Milwaukee’s second run scored when Jason Bay lost a fly ball in the sun and let it bounce off the the heel of his glove. The only other run for the Brewers was a monster 471-yard homer hit by rookie phenom Prince Fielder. The ball completely exited PNC Park, bounced off the sidewalk and landed in the Allegheny River. It was the third-longest home run ever in the 6-year history of the stadium.

Jose Castillo and Jose Bautista both had homers. Only one out of the Pirates’ starting nine, Ronnie Paulino, failed to get a hit. However, he had an RBI to make up for it. Even Zach Duke had an RBI single. Jason Bay’s bid for the homers-in-consecutive-games record came to an end, but it was nice to know that the Pirates could win even without a Bay homer to propel them.

Next up: three more wins against the Brewers for the longest Rats win streak this season and the first series sweep in almost two years.

No Game Yesterday

2006-05-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

You know what they say... if the Rats don't play, then they can't lose.

Ineptitude Against the Diamondbacks

2006-05-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

I watched part of the game today. It's not over yet, but once again, several bad plays have most likely cost the Rats the game.

Zach Duke's wild pitch advanced runners and allowed a run to score.
Jack Wilson fielded a bouncing ground ball and threw to Jose Castillo at second. It was a low throw and Castillo had to stoop to make the catch; in doing so, he knocked the ball out of his own glove with his bare hand, allowing the runner to get to base safely.
After the Rats loaded the bases with an intentional walk, they gave up a double that gave the D-backs the 8-3 lead.

Edit: What a surprise. The Rats staged a comeback after falling behind by 5 runs. Unfortunately, the comeback was only worth 4 runs. Final score: 7-8. Deja vu, anyone?

Current record in one-run games: 4-14

Yahoo! Fantasy League

2006-05-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

After watching the D-backs demolish the Rats last night, I decided I would supplement the lagging catcher position on my fantasy team with Johnny Estrada, Arizona's catcher. He was an available free agent, since there's not a lot of people in my league, and I picked him up.

Current lineup:

Batters:

Catchers
- J. Estrada - Arizona Diamondbacks (starter)
- I. Rodríguez - Detroit Tigers

First Base
- N. Swisher - Oakland Athletics(starter)
- D. Ortiz - Boston Red Sox
- J. Giambi - New York Yankees (utility)

Second Base
- B. Phillips - Cincinnati Reds (starter)

Third Base
- C. Blake - Cleveland Indians (starter)
- J. Crede - Chicago White Sox

Outfield
- I. Suzuki - Seattle Mariners (starter)
- M. Ordóñez - Detroit Tigers (starter)
- K. Griffey Jr. - Cincinnati Reds (starter)
- Á. Ríos - Toronto Blue Jays
- M. Holliday - Colorado Rockies

Pitchers:

Starting Pitchers
- M. Mussina - New York Yankees
- J. Vázquez - Chicago White Sox
- J. Contreras - Chicago White Sox
- C. Young - San Diego Padres
- J. Smoltz - Atlanta Braves
- K. Benson - Baltimore Orioles
- A. Harang - Cincinnati Reds

Relievers
- K. Escobar - Los Angeles Angels
- T. Gordon - Philadelphia Phillies

Current record: 64-61-15

Rats and One-Run Losses

2006-05-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Monday’s Rats game was an exercise in hilarity. Why make comedies about fake baseball teams when we have the Pittsburgh Pirates? Incidentally, he Bad News Bucs led for most of the game before making several costly, but absolutely funny, errors. Add another loss in the “One-Run Games” category. The Pirates, by the way, are 4-13 in games decided by a run.

Monday saw Ollie Perez’s best start of the season, pitching six scoreless innings before Jim Tracy decided it would be time to have Ryan Doumit pinch-hit for him in the top of the seventh. Doumit did nothing in his at-bat, and Damaso Marte came in to give up the four runs the Diamondbacks needed to win the game.

The real comedy came in the bottom of the eighth. Arizona’s Orlando Hudson popped a fly ball into right field. Jeromy Burnitz, proving that he is worth $6 million, allowed the ball to hit him in the wrist and fall to the ground. Hudson made it safely to first on Burnitz’s error and the runner scored.

The Diamondbacks, with men on third and first, opted to bunt on the next at bat. Craig Counsell bunted successfully down the third base line. Marte, probably eager to take matters into his own hands, fielded the bunt, despite the fact that Pirates’ third base Freddy Sanchez was in position. Marte’s throw to first was off-target and rolled into right field, giving Burnitz another chance to flounder. He ran to the ball and bent over to scoop it up; however, his momentum carried his legs out from under him and he fell. Two more runs scored during this whole ordeal.

The Rats staged their comeback in the top of the ninth but fell a run short.

At Home In the Rain

2006-05-24T17:01:00.001-07:00

I went to one of the rainy Pirates-Reds games last week and watched the Rats hand Aaron Harang his worst beating of the season. A couple of Reds fans were lamenting how bad their team was.

Reds fan: Man, our team SUCKS! I mean the Pirates are pretty bad, and we're losing to them!

Spitchokenpuke: "Dateline, PNC Park, the house that Kevin built! Some teams are hitting teams. Some teams like to play night games. Some teams are better on the road. After this week's three-game series against the Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates have shown us what kind of team they are. Easy. We're not going for the obvious here. Back off, Mr. Acid Tongue. Just because they're fighting for .400 doesn't mean you can be free and swinging with the insults. The 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates team is a rain team. Notice if you will the ease with which the Bucs disposed of the formerly potent Cincinnati offense the first two nights of this three gamer, in the rain both evenings. It was as if the Reds were the Bucs and vice-versa. Still in the rain, the Pirates jumped on the Reds early today, putting up a six-spot in the bottom of the first, helped along by Jason Bay's grand slam. And then the clouds parted and with that clearing came a new understanding from Cincinnati.
"Hey!" they said in unison. "Wait a minute here. Look out on the mound! That's not Roger Clemens. That's not Greg Maddux. Heck, that ain't even Josh Fogg. That's Victor Freakin' Santos! Dinner is served!" Cincinnati comes back to avoid the sweep. Bucs come back to make it interesting, but with Nate McLouth on third with one out in the ninth in a one-run game, can't get a hit. Yeah, you and Mike Tyson's boy band. Final today, Reds 9, Pirates 8."

Introduction to the Rats

2006-05-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

This blog tracks the hilarious escapades of one of the most perennially horrible professional sports teams: The Pittsburgh Pirates. Some people like to call them the Bad News Bucs; I prefer "The Rats," derived from "Pirates." Get it? One thing everyone agrees on calling them, though, is bad.

The Pirates have the ability to take formerly talented players and turn them into complete failures. For example, just a few years ago, the Pirates acquired Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders, two fairly competent baseball players. During their tenure as Pirates, however, they just mixed in with the nameless rabble of bargain-basement baseballers who inhabit the Pittsburgh dugout.

This ability of the Pirates to drain their players of talent is visible again this year, the 2006 season. The Pittsburgh management raised the total payroll of the team this year by over $14 million and brought in some fairly dependable players, the most expensive of which being Jeromy Burnitz, Sean Casey and Joe Randa. Casey was promptly placed on the DL, just a few weeks after the start of the season, when he sustained a fracture in his back. Joe Randa is also sidelined, due to a foot injury. Despite his several million dollar price tag, it is unlikely that he will get the starting third base job back any time soon: the considerably less expensive Freddy Sanchez has proven himself to be the most dependable bat in the Pirates’ roster and is currently batting over .300. The most miserable disappointment of the year, however, must be Jeromy Burnitz. The outfielder is languishing at the .200 line, having spent several weeks hovering at .180. So far, he even seems unable to predict how a hit off the outfield wall will bounce back, which strikes me as fairly basic outfielder instinct.

The most frustrating thing about the Pirates is how many of their players perform once they leave the team. Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla, players from the last truly respectable Pirates lineup, went on to be stars. More recently, several players who underachieved on the Pirates roster have become assets to their respective teams after leaving Pittsburgh. These include the Cubs’ Aramis Ramirez, the Devil Rays’ Ty Wigginton and the White Sox' Rob Mackowiak.

Even so, Pittsburghers can’t help but cheer for their baseball team. There is something endearing about the continued failure of the city’s only baseball team. Anybody can cheer for the Yankees, but it takes a true fan to stay loyal to the Pirates. Fans of teams in the same league as the Pirates, like the Los Angeles Clippers, know that it’s even more satisfying when their team scrapes together one of those elusive wins. Of course, even the Clippers have had a marginally successful season recently.