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Checking for my Own Shadow

2008-07-31T19:39:00.003-04:00

You might ask, "Rory, what has dragged you out of out of reclusive sleep?" Perhaps you think I have comments on the very large Jason Bay deal, or perspective on the current strength of the Pirates minor league system. No, that'd be ridiculous; we can all recall my inability to write or argue coherently. Of course I'm hear to share and posterize (new word alert) the ridiculous picture on Pirates.com advertising Jeff Karstens NL Debut tomorrow:

Ha, this almost makes those Gorzelanny/Sloth comparisons look... well its kind of on par with that.

My Triumphant Return

2007-04-24T17:19:00.000-04:00

I love fangraphs.com. Whenever people argue for or against the clutch I always think about this site. Someone will say that at the end of the game all the runs count the same, and that's unequivocally true, but during the game they don't. Scoring a run in a scoreless game in the top of the 2nd increases your chances of winning a whole lot less then doing the same thing in the top of the 9th. WPA reflects this, and as you'd expect, the best players have typically had the highest WPA. If there was some sort of comparison of WPA, to what a player would be expected to contribute based on his offensive numbers, then that might be a good idea of just how "clutch" a player has been.

Well some people a hell of a lot smarter then me did this, and came up with a stat called 'clutchiness.' I don't know enough about it to explain it, but the old clutchiness blog does a great job. What I do know, is that a positive number means you've made some clutch hits, negative means you've choked more then your fare share. David Ortiz, who had something like a hundred walk-off homeruns the last couple seasons had clutchiness of 2.91 and 1.48 in 2005 and 2006 respectively, that was good enough to lead the league by plenty in '05. And Jason Bay at -1.93 was third from the bottom amongst qualifying players.

No one will argue that there's no such thing as clutch hitting, or clutch pitching for that matter. The argument stems from the belief that certain players are inherently better in clutch situations than others. I used to believe that, but reading enough blog entries on the topic has enlightened me to just how ridiculous it is to believe that a player can turn on this ability at will. "Clutch" does imply some sort of pressure, and I believe that some players just don't handle pressure well, but at this point, I'm pretty indifferent to the whole clutch or not argument.

So Dejan's off-day piece examines the Pirates personal opinions on clutch, and how that affects strategy. Dejan has expressed a belief in the clutch before, but keeps a neutral opinion here. Charlie writes today about how idiotic it is for a team to base any decision off of "clutch" ability. But even if you accept that they have that philosophy, comparing what they believe to what clutchiness says they should believe, they're still idiots.

First Paulino contends that the key to staving a Cardinals comeback last week was hitting Eckstein and not having to pitch to him. Instead the Pirates had to throw to Pujols with the bases loaded. Jack Wilson says, "Can't let Eckstein beat you there... Eckstein's clutch." Eckstein had a .02 clutchiness last year, Pujols led the freaking league in what I believe is a ridiculous 3.50. This even ignores that Pujols is infinitely better then Eckstein to begin with. In what universe, does it make more sense to face Pujols over Eckstein?

The real bomb drop is Tracy believing "big hits" are the key to winning, and creating his lineup that way. If you are batting Jack Wilson second because you think he's clutch, you need to look at his .07 clutchiness last year, or his atrocious -0.91 from 2005. The only season Jack showed any significant clutch performance was a 1.17 his rookie season, when he batted 8th all year.

Two years ago, when Humberto Cota seemed to get every clutch hit for the Pirates, his 1.27 was good enough for 20th in the league, yet every time he comes up to bat in the a 'clutch' situation under Jim Tracy he's pinch hit for.

I'm not condoning making any decision because of a players supposed clutch ability. It's probably a good idea to pinch hit for Cota with the game on the line, cause Cota sucks. Gives me some hope that what Tracy's saying here about clutch doesn't really affect his game decisions. But it does make it seem like he is just making shit up: "Isn't that what makes teams good?" No, good teams have better players then the other team and don't screw up the easy stuff."

Links:
Clutchiness: What is Clutchiness, The Stat?
Post-Gazette: Is there clutch? Or is it the reverse?
Bucs Dugout: On "Clutch"

Yes or No Would Suffice, You Can Even Nod

2006-12-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

"I would say, at this point in time, we've got some other people who probably fit better,"

This is Littlefield's answer when a reporter asked him if he had any interest in Barry Bonds. How does DL still manage to give the most roundabout answer to the simplest, least PR affecting question anyone could ask in the city of Pittsburgh. Let's break it down:

"I would say" - You are saying it so obviously you would say; this is redundant.

"at this point in time" - The fact that the english grammar makes use of a past, present, and future tense makes this completely superfluous.

"we've got some other people..." - All of this equals not interested. We'll ignore the use of the word probably which implies that he doesn't know that much about his own team

So let's recap. When asked if there was interest in Barry Bonds, it took Dave Littlefield 17 words to say, "No."

Links:
Pirates Notebook: Bay is recovering from knee surgery

That is Scary

2006-10-31T19:49:00.000-05:00

If you don't know, I live in Seattle. On the way to a halloween party this weekend I saw a guy in a referee's costume only this one had black and yellow stripes and had SOLD as the name. He was mocking the Steelers alleged buying of the Super Bowl evidenced by the suspect officiating. This would have been clever had I not heard any semblance of a joke similar to this before and it wasn't NINE MONTHS after the game.

I've been telling people when they bring it up, and they still bring it up, that officiating is l2 on the top ten reasons you lost that game; behind a multitude of things including but not limited to: play calling, clock managements, tight ends that can't catch, and punters who can't drop one inside the twenty. To blame the loss soley on the officials is a disservice to anyone who thinks or wants to think intelligently about football.

Bad calls are like clutch hits in baseball, you remember them because they had such a profound effect on the direction of the game, but they game is pretty well settled in whatever else happened on the field during the other two hours and fifty-five minutes. So imagine my surprise when Dan Freaking Rooney starts complaining about officials after last Sunday's Atlanta game. The most respected and admired football personality East of the Mississippi complaining about officiating. What an embarassment to all the Steeler fans out there. I'm having a hard enough time defending the Steelers based on their play on the field, I don't need you complicating the matters with comments off of it.

Leave it to the rookie, Santonia Holmes to get it right when discussing what he thought might have been pass interference against the Raiders:

The ref didn't make ta call and you have to live with it," Holmes said. "We had plenty of opportunities before that, too, to get in the end zone. One call really doesn't determine a game."

A big hoopla was made about Holmes during all his indescretions between the draft and training camp, plus now with all the muffed punts, but after hearing this, at least the kid seems to get it.

A Hotbed of Acting Talent

2006-09-13T17:24:00.000-04:00

Do the Pirates just have a thing with hiring actors as pitching coaches. First we had Pete Vukovich who played Clue "Ironhead" Heywood in Major League, "How's your wife and my kids?" Then Lanny tells us on the broadcasts that Jim Colborn consulted in Kevin Costner's For Love of the Game and played the 3rd Base Coach.

I'm too lazy to see if Spin Williams is any of these people.

It's About Time

2006-09-05T23:24:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting for this all season and just want to save it for posterity.

Cheers!

2006-08-29T21:17:00.000-04:00

Rajai Davis just got his first Major League hit. Congratulations. Here's to a monster Adrian Brown/Tike Redmon/Chris Duffy type September.

Wait no, that's bad.

Rory Angry, Rory Smash Things

2006-08-10T18:02:00.000-04:00

Smizik wrote this... (I don't know what it is. I wouldn't call it an article since it isn't a good representation of modern journalism) thing Monday listing a bunch of opinions he has about the various sports around town.

It wasn't exactly riddled with fact or you know, informative. So I emailed him to call him out on it. I mentioned that the .391 the Pirates are hitting on the first pitch he quoted is meaningless out of the context of the rest of the league and it didn't matter as long as their OBP was 12th. He didn't bother to respond to that.

He said in his article that "harsh criticisms of Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield for the trades he made last week are way off the mark." I said that the criticism I heard about the trades (mainly here, here, and here) seem pretty well merited to me. Now, I won't repeat verbatim what Bob responded to me with since I didn't ask for his permission to republish the email, and I hear this upsets some people. But he basically told me that most people know what criticism he's talking about and that because I live in Seattle I'm probably not aware.

...

I'm mad. I'm not aware because I don't live in town. I probably read more about the Pirates then 95% of the people in Pittsburgh and I'm not aware? Maybe I'm not aware because I have to read the drivel from reporters like you who don't actually say what they're commenting on. And when someone actually emailed you about it you were so inclined to defend yourself that not only did you not explain what you were writing about, but you didn't even comment on the points that someone was trying to make. I'm unaware. This makes me want to go FJM style on his crappy columns. I never insulted you Mr. Smizik, in fact I went out of your way to bring points to your attention that you may or may not have considered. You went out of your way to tell me I'm ignorant. Thanks.

I also provided evidence disputing his assertation that David Ross would have been a better talent to retain then Cota or Doumit - which he claimed he didn't do? - however, with his walk off homerun yesterday I genuinely loose some of my argument there.

Elsewhere in Baseball

2006-08-05T22:54:00.000-04:00

Oliver Perez gave up seven runs on six hits and four walks over 2 2/3 innings in his first start for the Norfolk Tides yesterday. He has now officially been pounded worse than anything to come out of Pittsburgh since Christina Aguilera. Zing!

My Stomach Still Hurts

2006-08-01T17:36:00.000-04:00

I wanted to wait for the reports to be confirmed and the physicals to be concluded and to wake up to insure it was not a dream. They're all final. The Bucs got hosed. I'm not as hopelessly distraught as I was yesterday about this time, but I'm still ill. Here's my take in "Holy Flirking Schnitt" order.

Sean Casey for Brian Rogers
I've had plenty of time to criticize the GM for not making trades when a players value is highest, so I won't hash that here. Sean Casey is old, injury prone, overpaid, and a free agent in two months. I would think that the best you could do for any person with even two of those four qualities is a middling AA reliever. I don't mind this. If there is one thing the Pirates have done well over the last decade it's put together decent bullpens. If the guy manages to play halfway decent at the major league level he's the type of person you can flip for a Brian Giles or a Ryan Shealy (reportedly). You get a hundred of these guys I won't care, and the moment they go half a season with an ERA around 4.00 you exchange them for a position prospect in AA or AAA

Kip Wells for Jesse Chavez
I had held out some hope that Kip Wells would turn it around in Pittsburgh. I didn't expect it, I didn't admit to it. Whether he did or didn't, I thought there was no way he was coming back next year and that the Pirates would be good to offer him arbitration and use whatever draft picks they get when he walks to pick some decent players. I don't know exactly how that process works, and I know I just said I'd take a hundred AA reliever types, but Kip Wells is probably the least valuable he will ever be and your going to tell me that this guy is better then whatever we can draft near the end of the first round. No.

Craig Wilson for Shawn Chacon
Again, I won't criticize for the team completely effing with Wilson, that's all be going on for a while. I'd like to know why it is they hate him, and its clear based on this last weekend that they really do despise Wilson. I imagine Craig's the kind of guy who actually comes into the office to say when he thinks things kind of suck instead of just pouting about it to the press or letting it fester in him, and the Pirates think that's a bad attitude instead of realizing that 80% of the team feels that way and is just dishonest. If you said that a team traded its backup right-fielder/first baseman for a crappy #5 right handed starter, I'd say that makes sense. But when you find out that he was considerably better then the backup right-fielder/first baseman they just traded for and their return is a pitcher considerably worse then the right handed starter they just shipped out that's when you get the gut starts to wrench. At least I'll enjoy watching the Yankees now.

Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez for Xavier Nady
Typically trades occur where you ship a known commodity and assume the risk associated with a lesser known commodity. We know what we get in Xavier Nady, the Mets don't know what they get in Oliver Perez, although Pirates fans are familiar with what that could be. Obviously, this trade is make or break entirely on what Oliver Perez does in the next three years. The problem with this, is that as the non-contending team it's typically the role of the Pirates to take the risk side of the equation. It's just a dumb move for a team that's building for the future to try and make. Someone said that NY would have to pass Perez through waivers again to put him in AAA, I wonder if the Pirates could just claim him back.

It's weird that the trading deadline is about the same time training camp starts. I can't tell which has traditionally signified the end of the season for me. I think Freddy Sanchez will keep me interested in baseball for the rest of the year, but you'll excuse me if I don't write about the Pirates for a longer then normal period of time.

A Pleasant Surprise

2006-07-18T09:05:00.000-04:00

Pat and I have argued for most of the season over what we may see out of Kip Wells. I've been taking the 'won't succeed as a Pirate' stance. My odds are good. However, I will gladly be proven wrong if it means good things for the team.

Kip was good last night. Please correct me if I'm talking out of my ass, but it seems to me like the tell-tale signs on Kip are the frequency of long at-bats where the batter fouls off a lot of pitches. He only had two of those all night.

The two hits in the second came on 0-2 counts which was frustrating (although the first one probably could have been caught) but then he mowed through that jam.

Interestingly enough, the wrap up page is quoted as, "Kip Wells pitched maybe his best game of the season" By what account on God's green Earth could anyone make the argument of last night not being Kip Wells' best game?

The All-Star Game

2006-07-12T13:10:00.000-04:00

So I was disappointed in the all-star vote. I wanted Pittsburgh to make a mockery of the game til the point that people really start asking questions about what kind of things we practice here. In retrospect, I can't say I imagine things being much difference with respect to the National Press. We get a few articles about ballot stuffing and who's at fault for 14 loosing seasons, and then everyone forgets about them by Thursday.

Locally, I thought the PG did an excellent job of shining a spotlight on the management situation with all the National Media guys around. Although at times I think they were misguided. I mean, I agree that low payrolls should not be a hindrance to winning at least once in a 14 year span, but its a perfectly viable explanation of why smaller markets can't consistently compete. However, asking players about payrolls is pointless. Not one of them is going to suggest that it's a reason teams aren't competitive or that a salary cap would fix the issue, now that they've got their unions. "But Cap'n, you know I'm not a pro-union guy."

I went to the bar last night to watch the game as FOX doesn't come in to well for me. I found myself a lot more interested in this game then other All-Star games. Consider it a combination of low scoring, in Pittsburgh, and always having at least one Pirate on the field. Here's some highlights of my notes.

- First thing I was excited about was how loud the boos would be for Tracy when the bartender conveniently decided to run a blender through that and only that part of the entire game. What happened here?
- I got a little emotional during Freddy's introduction. I don't know what it is about those scrappy, likeable players that have bogged down our team for so long, but we sure do enjoy them. The difference is Freddy is good to. Something about seeing him play makes you believe that you could just pick up a bat and go play Major League Baseball. Freddy inspires hope in all of us.
- I didn't get the same feeling for Bay.
- I love how Joe Buck kept saying that these two managers are going to treat this like game seven of the World Series, right after they show Phil Garner telling his team there's going to be no signs and to do what you want out there.
- In Bay's first AB, you just knew once he got two strikes that he was going to get that breaking ball right off the ground and strike out. That's Bay's crutch right now, he lays off that when he's hot... check that, when he's hot he hits the 1-1 fastball out of the park and never gets to two strikes. But I think he's getting close.
- Nothing happens for a long time and then we pause to honor Roberto Clemente. Bud Selig is the worst orator in existence. Clemente's widow, however, was sweet and heartfelt. It was hard not to get both excited and sad while they showed those images. I don't know much about my Pirate history but know I want to see every highlight I can find from the 60s. Actually, I'd really like to see some games.
- I felt like I was watching a circus with Freddy in the field; he runs over David Wright to make a catch, makes a nice leaping play for the out at shortstop, looses his the ball in his glove while turning a double play, and falls to the ground while running for a fly to right. People at the bar were confused as to why I found all of this so amusing.
- At the end of the top of the ninth, Hoffman's on the mound, two men in scoring position, and up by a run. Michael Young is up and Hoffman throws an Ian Snell style, 0-2 meatball in the middle of the plate. That ball should have been nowhere near the zone, it could have bounced six inches in front of the mound for all I care. People don't seem to be as critical of players for bonehead plays in All-Star games. If the game mattered to me, I'd say that would have been one of the most frustrating things I've ever seen.

That Tracy's a Genius

2006-06-30T18:04:00.000-04:00

What is it about a guy who goes 4 for 5 the previous day, with a walk off home run, and who just happens to be leading your league in batting average, that makes you think, "Hrmm, lets give him the day off today."

So today we get to see Mike Edwards and Jose Hernandez in the same lineup. Damn, I'm psyched.

On Another Plane of Existence

2006-06-28T19:49:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged about games during games in a while. But this is just too much.

Jeromy Burnitz just grounded in to a double play with a runner on third on an 3-0 count. I have never... never in my memory... ever seen such a thing.

I remember Jack Wilson grounding into a double play with the same baserunners on a first pitch to end a game last year. And I remember him getting a lot of deserved crap for it. I think Bob Smizik even wrote an article about how excusable it is (yep). But 3-0. Wow, that's like a new level of suck. Like until now, the Pirates have only sucked in three dimensions; and now we've entered the 4th dimension of terrible.

I Didn't Think it Was Possible

2006-06-27T16:37:00.000-04:00

Every year the Pirates make this marketing push to try and get their players elected to the all-star game. It's a futile effort, or so I thought. Pittsburgh isn't exactly internet savvy and they don't have the attendance to punch enough ballots to make dents in the vote count.

I went to a game in St. Louis a few years ago and the ushers handed out stacks of all-star ballots as you walked into the stadium. With the new Busch being sold out I didn't think there was a chance that any less then five Cardinals would be elected to start the game. Other then competition from the Mets that's pretty much how the balloting was ending up. Until stadium voting ceased.

Then with the internet only vote Bay started rising through the ranks. People started pushing for it more and more. And now he's leading the NL Outfielders. After thinking it was worthless the better part of the season, I went online and started doing my part. I was also reminded why I hate Major League Baseball. Funny, they can remember the eight little boxes I checked in both leagues and the full names of the people I wrote in but the can't seem to remember that I unchecked the box permitting them to send me free information about their services. Bastards.

Anyway, in the long run, Bay starting doesn't mean anything, but it would be nice to have a vested interest in the game, other then wondering if my guy is going to get the chance to pinch hit or not. What's amazing to me is that Jose Castillo (-184,153) and Jack Wilson (-81,988) have legitimate shots at starting as well. And if their pace keeps up I think they'll get it. Which begs the question: Is that a good thing?

Charlie has a post about it. He thinks that's a bad thing. I have to disagree. Although the PR brought on by having three players start the All-Star game is what management wants, it isn't necessarily what's best for them. And if there's one thing our coach, GM, and owner can do well, it's wanting want isn't best for them.

It was my belief that one of the big drawbacks to playing in Pittsburgh is that there's no recognition for what you do, and that makes it tough to make it big in free agency and in endorsements. I think having starters in the all-star game will counter that a bit. And while it may distract people from covering the story of how bad the host team is, the worst team best ballpark has already been beaten to death, and I think the new question will be, how does a team with three starting all-stars suck so much? The answer to that question inferred by the fact that we voted in those three players, is that its not the fans fault and its not the players fault. So vote for Bay, vote for Jack, vote for Jose Castillo and Freddy Sanchez. Don't vote for the guys who aren't them but close in the standings (this is key: if you vote for Bay, Beltran, and Soriano in the NL you really haven't done anything). At that point only the coach, GM, and owner can get the blame, and isn't that exactly what we all want.

D'oh!

2006-06-20T16:26:00.000-04:00

Bart: I feel so full of...what's the opposite of shame?
Marge: Pride?
Bart: No, not that far from shame.
Homer: Less shame?
Bart: Yeah...

I mentioned in the last post that I had felt some semblance of pride in my baseball team. That's gone, particularly after yesterday and how opposite it was from the moment that actually made me proud. Although I'm less ashamed of them enough to actually request Pirate games out at the sports bars now.

I haven't posted much, although I've kept up with the games which is better then the last time I lulled. I'll get back to it once I start getting into the habit of half-assing my career again. That'll be soon.

What's This Called? Right, PRIDE!

2006-06-01T15:43:00.000-04:00

I have a confession. I'm ashamed to be a Pirate's fan sometimes. I'll walk into sports bar and request our oppositions game, just so I don't have to admit I watch the Pirates. "Can I get the Cubs game?" I'd say: this got me into more trouble sometimes then it was worth.

But its a great feeling to be able to take the MLB.tv feed, (which I normally keep hidden in a tiny corner of my desktop underneath some report I'm working on) bump it up to full screen, and force the people who work near my cubicle to watch a great come from behind victory in the ninth where our hottest hitter narrowly misses a walk-off homerun and the under-appreciated catcher gets the game-winning RBI. Good game Buccos.

Weekend Recap

2006-05-30T18:17:00.000-04:00

I was home this past weekend. While in the city I find it much more difficult to keep up on them. I don't know why that is. But I thought I'd hint as to the occurrences of the past four days.

Friday
I had every intention of going to this game, but when I got in and it was pouring with a non-hardcore-Pirate fan as my airport pickup. I stopped by a friends and we left when it was 4-2 by the time we got where we were going it was 12-5, the final score. Bullpen pitched well, Jason Bay hit his eight homerun in as many games, and Jeromy freaking Burnitz gets 3 hits.

Saturday
I really wanted to go to this game, but didn't want to miss the opportunity to go see Foxy Football on the Southside. I thought it was actually pretty cool. Especially my new favorite Pittsburgh receiver, Lori "LJ" Johnson, who had a spectacular game, and defensive end Tia Montgomery who had a ridiculous block on a fourth quarter punt return. However they lost on the last play of the game on a lame touchdown scramble by the Cleveland quarterback.

Now, had I known I could have driven across the bridge and watched a whole nother game, I would have. I made it back to catch until the 17th. Thought the defense was spectacular and that Ryan Vogelsong was the hero. Then had to meet up with friends only to get a call from my niece explaining some ludicrous course of events leading to an eighteenth inning run. It didn't at all match what actually happened except for the Jason Bay collision at home, who happened to hit another homerun.

Sunday
Again, was having a party during the game and missed most of it. Saw the last inning where we lost and about it. That night I listened to people complain about leaving Gonzo in. I don't mind. I don't mind because he's young and he needs to learn how to deal with defeat and how to tell if he has it or not. I don't mind if we lose because a young guy messed up a bit. I'd still watch that everyday. Meanwhile Jason Bay hit a homerun in his sixth straight game.

Monday
While stuck on the airport runway during my five hour delay on the way back I called people for updates on the game. Turns out we crushed the Brewers 14-3. When I got home I would watch what little segments of the game I felt were worth my attention. Turns out everyone was on base twice, except Jason Bay again. Damn, he sucks.

Upcoming Series vs. The Indians

2006-05-19T15:34:00.000-04:00

I'm excited for this weekend. For three days I get to watch baseball and blindly root for my team ignoring the fact that management is either incompetent or greedy or both. I get to cheer for someone on the team who may totally suck and deserves not to play at all under any circumstance just because he's on my team and not the other team. I get to actually care about the outcome of the game because for this weekend I don't care about the team embarrassing itself in order to bring national attention to the plight we're in. I get to do all this because we're playing the Cleveland Indians, and this isn't just some Pittsburgh-Cleveland thing; its because I know a Cleveland fan and he's a butt-faced troll person, and this weekend he's going down!

The "Wonder if I'll Ever Post Again" Post

2006-05-16T13:29:00.000-04:00

2+ weeks ago my server was hijacked and my site was down. Shame too since I was in New York and have many thoughts about the two games at Shea I attended. I'll save them for the next time we play the Mets since its irrelavent now. For about another week I couldn't update it. My server administrator, who is a college friend, and the sole reason why I can bring you such high quality material at so little cost, was awesome in repairing it. Then for another week, I didn't write anything as I would describe my attitude towards baseball as more masochistic then anything else.

I have a lot of thoughts but find myself wanting to comment more on what others say then posting an original idea here. I'm debating the future of bleacherblogger, and any input would be greatly appreciated. For now posts will be more spaced out until I find my schtick.

Two On, No Outs, Pirates Still Suck

2006-05-01T23:12:00.000-04:00

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

I was at the bar, watching the game with my alcoholic friend. She says she drinks because it makes her happy but in the end she just ends up more depressed. I realized I go through the same thing when I watch Pirate's baseball. I guess we all have our vices.

I'm Taking the Day Off

2006-04-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

I've discovered that the more the Pirates suck, the more people... err I want to talk about it. I spent about four hours yesterday just updating haloscan comment windows. It's getting distracting.

So I'm going to take a day off from following the Pirates. Whatever is written in blogs will still be there tomorrow. If something awesome (and therefore ridiculously unlikely) happens at the game today I can always check the MLB.tv archive. I have a job I'd like to keep and need to accomplish something productive, and if following the Bucs is my baseline, that shouldn't be hard.

I'm a Lot Better in Comment Form

2006-04-25T16:41:00.000-04:00

Via Rowdy at HW:

As for Tracy Ball, what do you want the guy to do differently? He has a staff of basically all rookie pitchers, and he lost one of his two top hitters, {Sean Casy} to a freak injury.

Am I mad about how bad are record is, YES! But i dont blame Tracy, yet...
polevaultking | 04.25.06 - 11:25 am | #

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Tracyball? I want the guy to not say things like, "for years I've looked at the Pirates and could not understand how they could loose so much with the talent they have" and then stick his foot up his ass.

I want him not to preach to the fans the importance of getting contact and making productive outs when his team practically leads the league in strikeouts and GIDP.

I want him to walk Pujols if a base is open, I want the fielders to not run into each other on the pitchers mound, I want him to construct a lineup that puts his best and youngest players on the field (which is the same lineup), I want him to win more then 1 game a week...

do you want me to continue?
rory | Homepage | 04.25.06 - 12:55 pm | #

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Bric-a-brac-a, firecracker, sis-boom-bah. Jason Bay, Jason Bay, rah rah rah!

Good point about Tracy sticking his foot up his ass then in his mouth, Rory. After all Tracy's crap about how certain he was that his coaching methods worked in L.A., this team sure hasn't shown that they have learned much from him or Colborn. Not to say either of them is primarily at fault for the team's suckitude, but it is ironic.
Bones | Homepage | 04.25.06 - 1:31 pm | #

Who's On Deck, Bay?

2006-04-22T21:41:00.000-04:00

Who's on deck? It's Jeromy Burnitz! Now I know that in baseball world, you don't allow yourself to think that you have to be the hero. I think Jose Castillo was thinking that last night when he struck out flailing to end the game. But if you come up to the plate, with two outs, and you're the tie run; and your the best player on the team; and Jeromy freaking Burnitz is the guy on deck; Jeromy ".236, 18 strikeouts, and 4 meaningless homeruns" Burnitz. Bay, swing the bat. You took two sliders hanging up in the zone to get two strikes in the first place, then took two fastballs zipping in on the outside corner, either of which could have been strike three, one of them was. A walk doesn't win the game Bay. A walk bring Jeromy Burnitz up to bat! A walk effectively looses the game anyway. You've gotta swing the bat dude. You've gotta swing the bat.

You've Got to Miss the Random Brawls

2006-04-18T12:26:00.000-04:00

The PG Notebook today discusses the bad Pirate-Cardinal blood disseminating from a take out slide on Jose Castillo by Hector Luna. Luna got plunked twice in subsequent series and then there was the infamous coach's brawl during batting-practice.

On the Cards TV feed, they implied (actually flat out said) that after talking to Pirate players after the incident, Rick White in particular, that the Pirate players have no problem with the Cardinals; it was the coaching staff, Lloyd and hitting coach Gerald Perry who demanded some sort of retaliation.

I'm going to miss hating the Cardinals for no legitimate reason. Knowing there was always the possibility of a LaRussa - McClendon knife fight over the pitchers mound always got me just a little bit more excited.