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The Lazy SlawoI didn't really get a chance to check out the last two games, but going today felt great. For the real hard-core Pirate Fans game anemia is torture, and it was rejuvenating to sit in the stand again. It was a good win so I don't feel like analyzing the play on the field but I did notice a couple things sitting in center field for the first time.Nobody told me about the new scoreboard introductions. The Pirates all paint their names and then they are introduced with their painting during their second at bat. Matt Lawton wrote Law-dog on two separate lines with his number around it. It sort of looked like 5LAW0, hence his new nickname today and from now on - Slawo. What really stunned me is how out of it the other Pirates fans were. Two outs, bottom of the tenth, winning run on third. Nobody is standing. I'm up screaming for Ty Wiggington not to make me look like an idiot. I can understand folks not getting up then, it's Ty Wigginton, but when he walks and Sanchez comes up, why is everyone still in their seats. I got about ten people around me to get up and cheer, but it was like getting Tike to catch a fly ball, that is to say more difficult then it should. Was it just a lazy afternoon, or is this part of a general trend? I'll find out tomorrow. posted by Rory at 6:58 PM | |
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Baby I'm Coming HomeNot much to say about the game, although I thought it was a good one to watch and we played well minus Matt Lawton being lazy twice. I beleive I said something about that too. I can't write much more since I have to run to the airport, I'm coming home for the weekend. I should be at the games Monday and Tuesday, so if any of you guys (Pat, Jeremy, others) want to talk baseball in person, hit me with a comment and I'll email you my cell phone number.posted by Rory at 10:30 PM | |
I'm On a RollDidn't I say something before about Fogg throwing up meatballs.posted by Rory at 8:55 PM | |
One More Note About YesterdayLast night marked the end of a 16 game stretch in which we did not give up a run in the first inning. This after everyone made a big deal about allowing a run in the 8 straight game before that.posted by Rory at 5:17 PM | |
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Another Step on the Road to RecoveryOliver Perez tonight managed to push his K/9 up 8.56, that's enough to put him in the top ten in the NL. I mention this because it seems to be the tell-tale stat of Perez's season last year. Personally, when I think of pitcher effectiveness I think of WHIPs (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched) I consider it the OPS of a pitcher.His K's don't mean squat unless he can start going more then six innings, especially when given an early lead. The walks are a problem only in that it's making him throw more pitches. In his last two games Perez's WHIPs are at 1.35, which is alright. If he can trade some of those walks for hits, he'd pitch longer and probably lower that number. When he starts averaging a 1.2 or better over a three or four game span I'll officially declare Perez back. I think a lot of it is still in Perez's head. It was obvious that Perez went on a stretch of trying to strike out Reds, walks be damned. In his last game he didn't give up a hit until the 4th inning and after that he started trying to be a little less perfect and threw more strikes. Once he stops trying to be a dominant pitcher, he may actually become one. And if he is going to throw that hard-biting slider for strike three Cota needs to start catching it. Watching him throw to first to complete the strikeout is getting old fast. posted by Rory at 11:02 PM | |
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Put It Behind UsThis is going to sound wierd, but it almost feels good to get blown out. I love the fact that the Pirates have been as competitive as they have been, but after so many close games without being satisfied at the end: for lack of a better word, I'm exhausted. Keeping up that level of intensity with no return has just taken a lot of fire out of me. We've played terrible today, but had we played better it wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome. I don't have to bother getting frustrated about Jack's ugly at-bats or Wigginton's shitty defense. This give's me as well as the team a chance to regroup and come back strong against Cincinnati.posted by Rory at 10:24 PM | |
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Hooray Kip!I want to applaud Kip Wells for getting through the first inning with less then twenty pitches. I think that might be the third straight game. I'm not sure about it though, I think the guy doing the Gamecast died after two pitches to Lawton.posted by Rory at 8:28 PM | |
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My Overlooked Play of the GameI tend to get upset about the little things that nobody else notices. Tonight the defense has stunk, hitting hasn't been timely, but my key play: a foul ball by Yadier Molina in the six. Lawton, Castillo, and Ward were all converging on the ball, they all had a chance, and they all let up because they were running at each other. Had someone taken charge of the situation (Lawton) and called for it they could have made the catch. Instead they laughed about it and Molina went on to hit a single to start a 3 run six.Then the next inning, had Cota been running up the line to back up the play at first we might have been able to catch Tagutchi at second on Castillo's throwing error. Don't tell me it's too much to expect from a catcher, the questionable defense of Jason Kendall made that exact play in Seattle last month. posted by Rory at 10:09 PM | |
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Sorry TikeI always thought Tike Redman got a bad rap for his defense ever since that game he lost for us against Texas last year. Not anymore. Whatever supporters he had, he definately just lost with that botched catch.posted by Rory at 2:40 PM | |
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End of the 3rd NotesDespite the three walks so far, Oliver Perez really looks to be in or around the strike zone, and the ump is not giving him the inside corner.I don't have the numbers, but Humberto Cota seems to be hitting when it counts. He's a good clutch guy. I think we can proclaim Jack Wilson back. I think one of the reasons he doesn't walk much is because when he's rolling he is just too good at making contact. Jason Bay, looks terrible, his strike out in the first was just ugly and his ground out to end the second was meak, at best. posted by Rory at 7:50 PM | |
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Truth vs. PerceptionI hate how Pittsburgh reporters absolve McClendon of all blame when it comes to loosing games, but it's just as bad when fans accuse him of being a bad manager based completely on hindsight. His decisions in the ninth innings of these two Cubs games were wrong, but they were wrong because they didn't work, not because he's an idiot. For once Bob Smizik wrote exactly what I've been thinking for the last two days. Bob also talks about Jacks GIDP to end the game on the first pitch of his AB:"Finally, Jack Wilson also took some criticism for swinging at the first pitch with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth. He grounded into a double play.Bob must read our blogs, because it was scary how much I agreed with him in this article. When the Pirates started their last road trip I started keeping track of how they hit after taking a pitch or swinging at one. I was trying to prove some grand point about patience proving success, but I abandoned this process after the fifth game because I was proving myself ridiculously wrong. After Thursday's debacle I feel it might be worth it to share my findings. As I paid attention to what was upsetting about first pitch swings it became clear what was annoying me about it. It's good to take if you're trying to wear down the pitcher or if you're going to ground into a double play, but otherwise it didn't really matter. There's also the case of being in a first pitch hitting slump (ie. Tike Redman) but that's something else. It was hard to accept that I didn't need to be as mad about it as I was being. I would encourage anyone who is a fan to actually document the facts of what you think a depressing trend is, you might be surprised. The numbers: during that five day stretch the entire Pirate team batted .222 when taking a first pitch strike; when jumping on the first pitch they hit a whopping .523. So can we say from this that the hitters should always swing at the first pitch? Obviously no. The reason the numbers are so different is because more then 50% of the time that we swing on pitch 1 it's because its something the hitters are looking for and can actually hit. A good manager doesn't take that away from his players, even if they are Tike Redman, and certainly not when they're Jack Wilson. posted by Rory at 5:21 AM | |
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A Reason to CheerIt's Ironic that I was sitting in a Quizno's before the game today reading an AP article about Jose Mesa's save ability in an era of the blown save. Yes today was a heartbreaking loss, but before we all go disowning the Pirates again, let's put some things in perspective:The point is this team has proved that's it's fun to watch. Coming into this season did you expect much more. The Pirates aren't going to win every series they play, but they can stay in every game until it's over, they can fight and scrap and give us a reason to watch everyday, and they are. posted by Rory at 10:35 PM | |
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Sunday News and NotesCraig's a good guy, "For any information on my hand, you need to go to my Web site and look it up." I'm going to miss him when he gets traded next year.If you need context, the proceeding quote from Craig Wilson aims to make fun of Barry Bonds who is directing all inquiries about his injury status to his website: www.barrybonds.com/ On the topic of steroids, I think it would be good not to throw out accusations of every player who seems to shows high caliber ability: I saw Goody Johnson using steroids! What the hell is this? Yeah, that Abraham Nunez! Ian Snell, bringing the pain. posted by Rory at 9:29 PM | |
Anti-Dumbf***eritisThere's another little syndrome going around the Pirates's pitchers, only this is a good one. I call it The Jon Lieber Effect. Named after, obviously, Jon Lieber, who in my dozen years following the Pirates is the pitcher who pioneered the idea. Somewhere in the middle of the 1998 season, mired in a funk that had him with a terrible record and an ERA over 5, Lieber decided to take a new approach. He would go out and pitch as quickly as possible. After each pitch he waited for the ball, got set, and pitched again. He didn't go on a tear, but he did pitch much better then average. That winter the Pirates rewarded his discovery by trading him to the Cubs for Brant Brown. Please pause and allow me to smack my head on my desk.This change in approach resulted in a number of good things. Besides quickening the game he was keeping batters on their heels and the defense on their toes. He also found himself throwing a lot more strikes, which obviously meant less walks, and he just ate innings. Lieber does not have amazing stuff, I would liken him to Josh Fogg, but he discovered a way to get an advantage that had nothing to do with ability, and he forced the other team to beat him instead of beating himself. This is notable because Mark Redman, Josh Fogg, and Dave Williams are all pitching with The Jon Lieber Effect. The three of them have been pitching well all season, but over their last seven starts they have gone 5-1 with a combined 1.98 ERA and averaged 7+ innings a start. Here's the kicker, over that time they have thrown 13.8 pitches per inning. Check out the numbers for yourself, they're fun to look at: PITCHER DATE GAME W L ERA IP H R ER BB SO NP -SYou would think this attitude would completely pervade pitchers throughout professional baseball, but it doesn't for various reasons. Strike out pitchers need to think a few pitches ahead, and guys with great stuff can do whatever they want. The issue arises with guys who think they have great stuff. Take the case of former Pirate and resident whiny ass Kris Benson who was quoted in today's PG after (surprisingly) having a rough start to the season, "I need to get my mind into what I'm doing [on] every pitch instead of losing track of what my goal is." You're goal is to win, if you forget that you shouldn't be pitching; what you need to do is take your mind off of every pitch and just throw the damn ball over the plate. Forget about him though, he's in New York. As far as our pitchers, this won't last forever. Josh Fogg WILL go back to throwing meatballs up in the strike zone. Williams is still young and has mistakes yet to make. Redman might be able to keep it up for a while if he can keep up one statistic: in 8 starts this season, he has surrendered 1 HR. That is beyond good, I don't even know an adjective to describe how awesome that is. Kip Wells, who has more talent then all these guys, needs to take note. posted by Rory at 9:04 AM | |
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Lawton's Bad HabitHas anyone else noticed how Matt Lawton loves to just pause and watch the ball for a moment after he makes contact. It's not that he doesn't hustle, you can just tell that his eyes are fixed on the ball before he starts running. He just did it on this almost homerun he just hit, but I've seen him do it on weakly hit balls up the line, and it probably costs him a few infield hits.posted by Rory at 8:45 PM | |
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Pirate DiseaseIf you know me, then you know that by in large I'm a happy guy. I try to find the bright side of thing, I'm pretty upbeat, and I rarely swear. I'm going to step out of that role for a moment, the following is something that actually drives me pretty mad.Before it was revealed that Oliver Perez is hurt, Pat had wrote about how this could be a possibility, or he might be trying to pitch too fine to account for sloppy defense (he calls it McClendonitis). I think both of them are symptoms of something else, Dumbfuckeritis (you can tell I'm upset because of my use of 'fuck')! It's not a rare disease: Jason Schmidt had it, Kris Benson had it, Sean Burnett had it as well as many of our other minor league pitchers. What I don't understand is that if you see someone else come down with it and you see it putting a major obstacle in their careers, why would you allow yourself to be afflicted. If you go out there to pitch, and you're too bullheaded to let your teammates back you up, and you try striking everyone out, you're not part of the team and I don't want you here. Furthermore, if you go out there and try this and give up seven runs and four walks in five innings or work and then somehow decide that it's a good idea to try it again the next time you pitch, you are a DUMB FUCKER! Then, if you repeatedly see your teammates pitching hurt and lying about it to the coaches and trainers only to aggravate it more while pitching and go on the DL for a year and a half, but you somehow decide to do the same thing when you get hurt, well then my friend, you have Stage II Dumbfuckeritis. I don't put the onus on the managers for the individual players, but at some point you have to notice a trend of idiocy running through your organization's pitching staff and do something about it. I'm glad Lloyd sat Perez before he admitted to being hurt and that got Oliver to mention that he had been feeling "stiff" lately. posted by Rory at 3:41 PM | |
Pirates Acquire RestovichStory here.This guy called it. I guess this is our answer to the Ray Sadler nay-sayers. posted by Rory at 3:25 PM | |
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A Few Game NotesDaryl Ward absolutely never ever deserves to start against left-handers, the deserving party is Freddy Sanchez. If you insist on playing Ty Wigginton in these situations, he can play first.You don't pull your starter out of the game when he's only thrown 60 pitches, especially if he's already thrown six innings; even if you have the opportunity for a big inning (which I'm pretty sure you weren't playing for when you sacrifice bunted your lead-off double to third with the pitchers spot in the hole). Jack Wilson has uncanny ability to draw 0-2 counts, much like Kip Wells' ability to throw more 3-2 pitches then anyone else in the history of baseball. posted by Rory at 11:46 PM | |
A Rip and a RantTop of the third, runners on first and second, nobody out, Daryle Ward up to bat. Ward strikes out, his inability to at least move a runner to third cost us the game. Ward has been smacking the bejebus out of the ball lately, but he also likes to ground into double plays and strike out when runners are on the basepath. If he makes a productive out there, we might win this ballgame.Also who would have rather seen Bobby Hill bat second today? Ty Wigginton and Tike Redman need to prove that they belong in the lineup; they do not deserve the benefit of the doubt. Bobby Hill has played his way into the lineup and warrants a majority of the games at third base. Until Redman or Wigginton prove otherwise, Mackowiak ought to be starting in center and Hill at third, and Freddy Sanchez be considered next in line if someone needs a day off. posted by Rory at 12:41 AM | |
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Now That's Investigatory JournalismAn associated press article reports that Latin American players are failing MLB steroid tests at a disproportionate rate. The articles points out a communication gap as well as the availability of drugs over the counter in Latin American countries. It also mentions the influence of "buscones" who are characters that most Pirates fans will be familiar with thanks to Raul Mondesi.There is some debate about these groups being unfairly targeted or whether they just like to get juiced, either way this has an impact on the Pirates. In an article about McClatchy defending his ownership practices it's noted: "He said the team has boosted spending on scouting to the point it ranks in among the upper third in all of baseball and that the team has increased its presence in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela."If the Pirates do have an increased and vested interest in these areas they will need to be careful about who they sign. They could be nabbing players that only look good because they're on drugs, or players that will be marked by steroids policy in their career. posted by Rory at 6:32 PM | |
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A PredictionJose Castillo will deserve every start at 2B he gets this year. Looking at his spray chart from last year, Jose primarily liked to ground out to the left side and fly out to the right side. Most of his offseason work was spent trying to hit the ball to all fields. If all goes well, by the end of the year we could have a hitter that bats .280 and has 15 HR. As for today, let's all cross our fingers and hope he gets one more at bat.posted by Rory at 11:34 PM | |
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Trigger HappyRoger Clemens has us completely out-matched. I was going to commend our ability to wear him down, taking 83 pitches through the first four innings, but then in the next two: 19 (8 in the 6th). Eight pitches! He's walked five guys people! Take a few.posted by Rory at 9:55 PM | |
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I Called ItSince getting hit by a pitch to end the April 27th game against Houston, a span of 14 plate appearances, Craig Wilson is hitting .555/.714/1.000.posted by Rory at 9:56 PM | |
Bite Your Lip McClatchyAfter reading my last post, some might assume that I am a consummate sucker, and they might be right. But I took great offense to some McClatchy quotes in today's PG:The problem, he said, is baseball's skewed economic system that has the New York Yankees at one extreme with a $197 million payroll and the Pirates currently at $33.6 million.It's about seven years too late for that argument to work on me, and quite frankly I'm tired of hearing it. I can believe everything else you said about wanting to win and investing in the team, but not the disparity excuse. You're the owner take action to fix whatever you think needs fixed, but stop blaming others for your failures. I mentioned before how moving into PNC Park was a blown opportunity, well the 2006 All-Star Game is another one. If there's no hope by that time next year, and we don't have two or three players on that team, it's going to be... I don't even know, it's just going to suck. posted by Rory at 2:29 AM | |
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Bob Smizik is My Best FriendAlthough, I respect him and am readily entertained by his writing, I rarely agree with him. I have a natural tendacy to play devil's advocate as well, but when it comes to Smizik, I go though extra mile.Smizik, this time, editorializes about the responsibility of Pirate's ownership. The centerpoint of Smizik's article is the promise that McClatchy made to the fans of Pittsburgh: Implicit in the construction of what was to become PNC Park was the promise -- made by McClatchy -- that the Pirates would field a competitive team. We heard time and again the new stadium would be a panacea for what ailed baseball in Pittsburgh. The revenue it produced would allow the Pirates to not just compete but to be a contender.Which part of that was the lie Bob, that the Pirate's would field a competitive team, or that PNC Park would bring in enough revenue for the Pirates to compete? It's an important question. Obviously the rest of your article is based on the fact that the Pirates DO have enough revenue, so I assume you feel cheated on the competitive team. To understand why this promise was made lets go back to a front office discussion in the fall of 1996: Kevin: I'm going to do whatever I can to get a new stadium built in this town. We're not going to come close to winning a championship with the roster we got, so I want you to get rid of them for the best young stuff you can get.Argue if you want about winning being McClatchy's true hope, but running off his popularity of saving the franchise, everyone in Pittsburgh buys into McClatchy's idea. What went wrong? Cam Bonify botched the plan. He started comprimising the future so that the team could look competitive, he made trades like Jon Leiber for Brant Brown, and Jose Guillen for Joe Oliver, that not only are big miffs in hindsight, but were obviously boneheaded at the time that they happened. When we did move into PNC Park, not a single one of those original prospects had panned out. To make up for it he bought the services of Pat Meares and Derek Bell, and overpaid for Kevin Young, and Jason Kendall. The Pirates learned a harsh lesson that year, money doesn't win ballgames. Moving into PNC Park was a wonderful opportunity for both the Pirates and the city of Pittsburgh, it was blown. So why spend $50 million to lose a hundred games when you can spend 30 and lose ninety. That's where we find ourselves now kiddies. One of the things you will constantly hear Dave Littlefield say is, "We are not a championship caliber team." While that may not be the best thing to say in public, he is trying to make a valid point. He now has a plan, I'm not sure what the plan is, or time frame, but I imagine it culminates in fielding a championship caliber team, and Littlefield is not going to waiver from that plan for any short term cosmetic fix. Littlefield is building a team, it takes time. I commend him for sticking to it, much unlike his predecessor. Let's face it, the Pirates are never going to buy a team [I will write one day about how I don't want this anyway]. At best we could fill two holes with decent free agents, or one hole with a great one. The current Pirates have way more then two holes. Think also about what Littlefield has to deal with that opposes this plan: A controlling ownership group, a fan base that wants higher payroll and playing time for it's prospects [a contradictory wish, that again will recieve it's own post], and the reputation of being the GM of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I am by no means nieve however, and I'm not going to believe that we have a well thought out plan based on faith, that would be stupid. Like a bitter ex-girlfriend, I've given the Pirate's my trust for way too long and gotten burned too many times to count (we broke up for a while after the Ramirez trade, but eventually got back together); I need a freakin bone. There's a few things they can do. The Nuttings can make a statement, wave to the city, be seen in public, anything that let's people know they exist. We can stop the practice of drafting cheap players and go after the best player available. Never again make any trade remotely resembling the Aramis Ramirez salary dump for nothing in return. Reward promising prospects like Bay and Perez and any other player who is the best thing to happen to Pittsburgh since Pierogies. Lastly, open the books, prove that you really did loose 30 million; I don't so much care what you're pocketing right now as long as you can assure me through these actions that there is a plan with goal in mind. posted by Rory at 5:36 PM | |
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5IP, 7H, 6ER, 5BB, 1SOOne strikeout! That's all you got, one goddamn strikeout?posted by Rory at 4:19 PM | |
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This is a blog about the Pittsburgh Pirates. My vision: to write about the games at the games. Want to email me? Make it out to rory at bleache... you know the rest. |
