On the final day of August, it was a most appropriate time for the normal--e.g. like-every-other-month-except-August--Pirates to return. Allow me to count the ways normality has come back with a vengeance.
--Tony Armas, somehow, miraculously, only gave up 3 runs. However, he gave up a home run to a pitcher. I mean, seriously, only 3 runs is most definitely progress. But really, the opposing pitcher hitting home runs? Yes, really.
--The Pirates chip away at the Brewers' lead but leave the bases loaded. I don't bother to hear Mr. Tracy bemoan what he's bemoaned for the past two seasons: an inability to get the "clutch" or "key" hit. Reality: Despite a ridiculous mashing August offense, the Buccos returned to their usual offensive ways--not hitting a pitcher that other teams have managed to light up for several runs. Yes, the Brewers' pitcher was talented (and not just at hitting home runs), but if you want to win games, you need to manufacture more than 2 runs against an inexperienced pitcher.
--And, of course, the Pirates are back at home, alone, in the cellar of the NL Central, which is perhaps the most ugly, but necessary, reality check imaginable.
The standings of the current NL Central are laughable, and it's looking more and more likely that someone can win this sad division with a record just below, just at, or barely above .500. The division isn't even mediocre; it's horrible, and yet the reality is that the Pirates can't even compete in a terrible division.
--Speaking of being unable to compete, for whatever the reason, the Pirates are completely unable of dealing with "pressure." Not that there ever was any real pressure, but as soon as the players start looking at the standings and noticing their still-alive mathematical chance, it just seems like they can't cope--by which I mean they're unable to produce. Sure, that's absolutely a reflection of lack of quality MLB talent, but it's also a reflection on the organization as a whole, and it's a poor reflection at that.
--If anyone (Mr. Nutting) needs to be convinced this organization is screaming for wholesale change, look at the stark mathematical facts. Closer to twenty games under .500 than .500. Seven more losses from assuring a fifteenth consecutive losing season. And, perhaps most pathetically, an inability to escape the cellar in an incredibly poor (performance-wise) division.
--That being said, I still dream that sometime in my lifetime I'll one day get to hear Lanny or Greg or somebody screaming, "The Pirates win the pennant!" rather than the current alliterative phrase I hear in my mind on a continuous loop. That alliterative phrase? The Pittsburgh Pirates are a piss-poor, pathetic team.
--That being said, I'm probably more pathetic than the team. I still want the team to win games, and I still want the young players (e.g. the still-learning pitchers) to show progress and growth. Which is just how it goes when it comes to being a fan of the currently and still, but hopefully someday no longer, pathetic Pirates.
Friday, August 31, 2007
The Good News
No, seriously, there's good news after tonight's 5-4 loss. Seriously.
--I didn't listen to the game. I didn't watch the game. I took a break, a reprieve, and alas, while I was disappointed to read about the loss, I still find slivers of good news.
--The box score reveals that Freddy Sanchez continues to mash the ball. He hit like this for several months last season, so when it comes to him, I don't see a reason why he can't keep hitting like this in September. Plus, he's one of the Pirates I really like, so hitting multiple doubles in games=good.
--The Pirates are back at home in the cellar of the NL Central (and still, ridiculously, "only" 9.5 games out of first place in their joke of a division). Why is this good, you ask? Well, perhaps by the time of next season's draft, the Pirates will bother to draft the kind of prospect that should be drafted with a high pick.
--Perhaps most importantly, all the inanity of uttering "pennant" and "Pirates" in the same sentence can now be left for a season in which the team is not fifteen games under .500 with a month left in the season.
--Oh, and the bullpen apparently resorted to mere mortality. I'm not convinced this is good (remember yesterday's love for Matt Capps?), but then again, perhaps with a new general manager, a better pick gets drafted.
--And the best news of all? Despite being a Bucco fan for what will soon be fifteen consecutive losing seasons, I have yet to lose my capacity to dream.
--I didn't listen to the game. I didn't watch the game. I took a break, a reprieve, and alas, while I was disappointed to read about the loss, I still find slivers of good news.
--The box score reveals that Freddy Sanchez continues to mash the ball. He hit like this for several months last season, so when it comes to him, I don't see a reason why he can't keep hitting like this in September. Plus, he's one of the Pirates I really like, so hitting multiple doubles in games=good.
--The Pirates are back at home in the cellar of the NL Central (and still, ridiculously, "only" 9.5 games out of first place in their joke of a division). Why is this good, you ask? Well, perhaps by the time of next season's draft, the Pirates will bother to draft the kind of prospect that should be drafted with a high pick.
--Perhaps most importantly, all the inanity of uttering "pennant" and "Pirates" in the same sentence can now be left for a season in which the team is not fifteen games under .500 with a month left in the season.
--Oh, and the bullpen apparently resorted to mere mortality. I'm not convinced this is good (remember yesterday's love for Matt Capps?), but then again, perhaps with a new general manager, a better pick gets drafted.
--And the best news of all? Despite being a Bucco fan for what will soon be fifteen consecutive losing seasons, I have yet to lose my capacity to dream.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Freeflowing Thoughts
Following the example of one Bucco pitcher, I figure I'd just get some brief thoughts off my chest.
Thought 1: Ian Snell exasperates me immensely. I wonder if his coaches and teammates find him anywhere near as immensely exasperating as this fan does?
(Afterthought: Probably only when he pitches the way he pitched last night.)
Thought 2: I had a fight with someone before the game. I was distracted. I shouldn't have been distracted. Oh, and yeah, a teammate told me I was tipping my pitches. (Was it the same teammate who told you the Rockies were stealing signs from you, prompting your wonderful outburst about "killing that dude" before subsequently apologizing and being fined by the league?) Seriously, just shut up. I don't care anymore why you didn't pitch well. I just want the bad pitching to stop. I could care less why it happens. Just stop doing it. It's time for the excuses to end. Just do your job and pitch and stop spouting off when you don't do your job.
(Afterthought: Making excuses is a very human trait, and one I've been doing a lot of lately, and as such, I'm very frustrated by it when I see it, incredibly clearly, in someone else.)
Thought 3: Losing big sucks. Losing when there's little good (sorry, still waiting to see if those 2 scoreless innings of relief from the reliever just called up from AA stick the next few times he's used) in the loss tremendously sucks.
Afterthought: Whether they win or lose tonight, I need a reprieve for a bit. Following the Pirates closely enough to write long recaps of every single game might make me, too, like a certain pitcher, "break."
Thought 1: Ian Snell exasperates me immensely. I wonder if his coaches and teammates find him anywhere near as immensely exasperating as this fan does?
(Afterthought: Probably only when he pitches the way he pitched last night.)
Thought 2: I had a fight with someone before the game. I was distracted. I shouldn't have been distracted. Oh, and yeah, a teammate told me I was tipping my pitches. (Was it the same teammate who told you the Rockies were stealing signs from you, prompting your wonderful outburst about "killing that dude" before subsequently apologizing and being fined by the league?) Seriously, just shut up. I don't care anymore why you didn't pitch well. I just want the bad pitching to stop. I could care less why it happens. Just stop doing it. It's time for the excuses to end. Just do your job and pitch and stop spouting off when you don't do your job.
(Afterthought: Making excuses is a very human trait, and one I've been doing a lot of lately, and as such, I'm very frustrated by it when I see it, incredibly clearly, in someone else.)
Thought 3: Losing big sucks. Losing when there's little good (sorry, still waiting to see if those 2 scoreless innings of relief from the reliever just called up from AA stick the next few times he's used) in the loss tremendously sucks.
Afterthought: Whether they win or lose tonight, I need a reprieve for a bit. Following the Pirates closely enough to write long recaps of every single game might make me, too, like a certain pitcher, "break."
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
A Harsh Dose of Reality
In no particular order, my thoughts on tonight's game, including snippets of the pregame and post game shows. But before returning to chronological order in terms of events, I must say this (somewhat snark warning): It was all Shawn Chacon's fault!
Pregame: Stan asks Bob Walk if the team is in a pennant race. Um, the Pirates were thirteen games under .500 before the start of today's game. In any other planet but the NL Central, they already would have been mathematically eliminated from any semblance of a pennant race. Alas, for one more evening, we hear ridiculous discussion of a pennant race that isn't.
I love Matt Capps, too: Being disgusted with broadcasters who should know better when it comes to talking about poor (as in bad records, not just penny-pinchers)teams doesn't mean I'm disgusted with young players who want to keep winning games and believing they're "in this thing" until the math actually dictates that they aren't. Capps speaks well, and he's done his job as a closer this year as well as he speaks--which is, overall, very well. Sure, he still needs to learn offspeed pitches, but he's one of the players of whom I can actually swallow Jim Tracy's label as "special." Athletes who want to win, always a good thing.
What did I miss? I flick off the TV for a brief period of time, and alas, at 7:10 p.m., I turn on the TV and see the Reds are up 3-0. Things would go downhill from that point. Speaking of which...
My Amazing Powers of Predictive Prognostication Prowess: I had been wincing all week when seeing that Snell was due to face Harang. Something about that match-up just screamed, Huge mismatch in favor of the Reds. Unfortunately for a fan still pulling for my team, I was right. Allow me to count the ways.
The Reds Hit Snell Hard: Snell's last outing against the Reds was, er, bad. Tonight's was his worst all season. Whatever the reasons that I'm sure pitching experts could better explain, in order for Snell to have a chance against a hot Cinci lineup, he has to be perfect. And, just as I suspected, he wasn't perfect (reasons for this imperfection will be soon be further discussed.)
The Hot Bucco Bats Cool Off while Facing One of the NL's best pitchers: Being unable to hit Arroyo, an average to above average MLB pitcher at various points this season, should have been a warning. Aside from Jason Bay, the Pirates didn't hit Harang. There's also the fact that Harang is just really, really, incredibly good. A pitcher like that is going to show that the Pittsburgh offensive barrage in August is truly not the offense of the best team in the majors (but I mean, didn't we already know that?)
People Stop Delusional Dreaming about a Pennant Race After a Harsh Loss: One can hope the broadcasters and journalists will shut up about it and not ask the players about it. Better to try to climb closer to .500. I mean, look at where a team 14 games under .500 is in any other division.
Alas, my positive powers of predictive prognostication prowess ended there--I didn't predict another Bautista error or some fly balls that could have been caught not being caught (by this time, however, the game was out of reach). Hopefully, however, the Pirates got all that--bad pitching, inept offense, and lacking defense out of their system. It would surely be nice if that horrifically bad play could only last for a game. Not because I want to believe in the delusion of a pennant race, but rather because it's fun to watch my baseball team win games.
Other Thoughts on Tonight's Game:
--Snell could have been lights out and still lost this game. He could have done what Bob Walk wanted him to do and only given up the 3 runs and lost the game. He could have pitched 7 or 8 strong innings and made 2 minor mistakes and still lost by a 1-0 score. Truth told, I'd feel much better about the loss if Snell had lost his eleventh game in that manner. (Remember, at this point, I'm just looking for progress from these young players with potential.) But he didn't lose that way, which brings me to a question running through my mind the entire game.
--Who is Ian Snell? Seriously, is he the pitcher he was in the first half of the season who threw quality start after quality start, struck out batters, didn't give up many long balls at all, and pitched at an All-Star level? Or is he the pitcher he's been post All-Star break--some good pitches with a lot of bad pitches, a pitcher with good stuff who will never really become anything more than an average pitcher with good stuff? Seriously, was that 2.93 1st half ERA a mere mirage, a la Zach Duke's 1.81 ERA his rookie year? Is Snell a pitcher who can only face certain teams and look good? Who, exactly, is he?
--Despite my questioning of exactly who Snell is, and as exasperated as he made me throughout the game, I'll applaud his post-game comments. He admitted he hadn't pitched well and said he let his team down--which is far better than screaming, for example, about a 2 base Bautista error that blew the game more open than Snell already had. While applauding one portion of Snell's post-game comments, the other admission made in those comments was highly disconcerting (snark: and no, I'm not talking about the fact that Jim Colburn tried to calm Snell) and brings me to a problem with certain Pirates players.
--The Pirates have two major problems. Problem number one is really nothing the players can do that much about because it's a talent problem. The Pirates just aren't very good at baseball. The team doesn't have enough talented players, and of the talented players they do have, despite Harang's charitable post-game comments about the team having hitters who can hit for power and get base hits, they don't have the right mix of talent necessary to win games when facing a very good to great pitcher (tonight) or a good to great team (their losing record against winning teams). But aside from the talent issue, certain Pirates have a problem with emotion.
Emotion? you say. Take me as one who believes that emotion isn't a bad attribute in a ball player. Emotion, used properly, can be an asset to a player and a team. The problem comes when players don't know how to channel their emotions properly.
Exhibit A: Ian Snell is emotional and high-strung, and everyone, save for apparently Shawn Chacon, understands this fact. (Or maybe Chacon was just hoping getting Snell mad would help him pitch well--as that has been known to work in the past.) But Snell admitted to being distracted on the mound tonight, and in that confession, he showed one of his weaknesses as a pitcher: not that he's emotional, but that he has yet to learn how to channel and properly harness and utilize his emotions. (Yeah, practically speaking, don't leave a breaking ball high to mashers like the Reds--but when Snell is locked in, it's a far less frequent occurrence for him to make many, many bad pitches in a game.)
Exhibit B: Just as you want to say that Snell is young (I'm the same age he is, so I don't fully buy that), we have the defending batting champion being so mad at himself for swinging at a 3rd strike in the dirt that goes behind the catcher that he doesn't even run to first base. The way Harang was pitching, it probably wouldn't have mattered. But Sanchez's emotional response and mental lapse fully illustrate a problem some players and young teams have been known to exhibit. It's not the emotion that's bad--it's being unable to control and harness that emotion properly.
Conclusion as in What Matters Now? Every team, even great teams that will win pennants (neither of which are true of the 2007 Pirates), has games like tonight's game. A great pitcher pitches a great game, and you can't manufacture a single run. Your pitcher, who you've seen and know can be good, gets lit up, and gets hit hard. Your coach throws in the towel on the game and gives his regulars a break for the late innings. It happens in a long season to every single team, good, bad, mediocre, or fluctuating somewhere among all three levels.
What matters for the team is the response. Do you still believe you can win every game, as Matt Capps said in the pregame show? Will you continue to do what actually can be done against mediocre pitchers and work them deep in counts? Mr. Sanchez, will you correct the swinging at balls in the dirt? (Your statistics the past two years suggest you will.) Mr. Snell, will you learn from this experience--to the point of gaining emotional control, at least a little more than you showed today, in subsequent outings? Mr. Tracy, will the team you manage still believe your words after the game that what happened tonight had everything to do with a great pitcher and do what's necessary to win the games against pitchers who are less than great? And, perhaps idealistically, did any of these young pitchers learn anything from watching Harang? Because while facing the Pirates had to help, Harang's filthy good, and someone you want pitchers like Gorzy, Maholm, Duke, and tonight's imploding starter, just to watch, to see what you can take away and apply to your own games. Yes, to the point of winning more games.
Because, harsh dose of reality aside, I still want my team to win games. Here's to hoping today's helping of reality is a learning experience that helps to propel certain players to develop attributes necessary for good MLB players--and not a horrific tailspin where players revert to habits (cough, leaving the ball high, cough) we'd hoped they'd--if not yet completely exorcised--would continue at least to manage to avoid more frequently rather than continue to succumb to such habits.
Pregame: Stan asks Bob Walk if the team is in a pennant race. Um, the Pirates were thirteen games under .500 before the start of today's game. In any other planet but the NL Central, they already would have been mathematically eliminated from any semblance of a pennant race. Alas, for one more evening, we hear ridiculous discussion of a pennant race that isn't.
I love Matt Capps, too: Being disgusted with broadcasters who should know better when it comes to talking about poor (as in bad records, not just penny-pinchers)teams doesn't mean I'm disgusted with young players who want to keep winning games and believing they're "in this thing" until the math actually dictates that they aren't. Capps speaks well, and he's done his job as a closer this year as well as he speaks--which is, overall, very well. Sure, he still needs to learn offspeed pitches, but he's one of the players of whom I can actually swallow Jim Tracy's label as "special." Athletes who want to win, always a good thing.
What did I miss? I flick off the TV for a brief period of time, and alas, at 7:10 p.m., I turn on the TV and see the Reds are up 3-0. Things would go downhill from that point. Speaking of which...
My Amazing Powers of Predictive Prognostication Prowess: I had been wincing all week when seeing that Snell was due to face Harang. Something about that match-up just screamed, Huge mismatch in favor of the Reds. Unfortunately for a fan still pulling for my team, I was right. Allow me to count the ways.
The Reds Hit Snell Hard: Snell's last outing against the Reds was, er, bad. Tonight's was his worst all season. Whatever the reasons that I'm sure pitching experts could better explain, in order for Snell to have a chance against a hot Cinci lineup, he has to be perfect. And, just as I suspected, he wasn't perfect (reasons for this imperfection will be soon be further discussed.)
The Hot Bucco Bats Cool Off while Facing One of the NL's best pitchers: Being unable to hit Arroyo, an average to above average MLB pitcher at various points this season, should have been a warning. Aside from Jason Bay, the Pirates didn't hit Harang. There's also the fact that Harang is just really, really, incredibly good. A pitcher like that is going to show that the Pittsburgh offensive barrage in August is truly not the offense of the best team in the majors (but I mean, didn't we already know that?)
People Stop Delusional Dreaming about a Pennant Race After a Harsh Loss: One can hope the broadcasters and journalists will shut up about it and not ask the players about it. Better to try to climb closer to .500. I mean, look at where a team 14 games under .500 is in any other division.
Alas, my positive powers of predictive prognostication prowess ended there--I didn't predict another Bautista error or some fly balls that could have been caught not being caught (by this time, however, the game was out of reach). Hopefully, however, the Pirates got all that--bad pitching, inept offense, and lacking defense out of their system. It would surely be nice if that horrifically bad play could only last for a game. Not because I want to believe in the delusion of a pennant race, but rather because it's fun to watch my baseball team win games.
Other Thoughts on Tonight's Game:
--Snell could have been lights out and still lost this game. He could have done what Bob Walk wanted him to do and only given up the 3 runs and lost the game. He could have pitched 7 or 8 strong innings and made 2 minor mistakes and still lost by a 1-0 score. Truth told, I'd feel much better about the loss if Snell had lost his eleventh game in that manner. (Remember, at this point, I'm just looking for progress from these young players with potential.) But he didn't lose that way, which brings me to a question running through my mind the entire game.
--Who is Ian Snell? Seriously, is he the pitcher he was in the first half of the season who threw quality start after quality start, struck out batters, didn't give up many long balls at all, and pitched at an All-Star level? Or is he the pitcher he's been post All-Star break--some good pitches with a lot of bad pitches, a pitcher with good stuff who will never really become anything more than an average pitcher with good stuff? Seriously, was that 2.93 1st half ERA a mere mirage, a la Zach Duke's 1.81 ERA his rookie year? Is Snell a pitcher who can only face certain teams and look good? Who, exactly, is he?
--Despite my questioning of exactly who Snell is, and as exasperated as he made me throughout the game, I'll applaud his post-game comments. He admitted he hadn't pitched well and said he let his team down--which is far better than screaming, for example, about a 2 base Bautista error that blew the game more open than Snell already had. While applauding one portion of Snell's post-game comments, the other admission made in those comments was highly disconcerting (snark: and no, I'm not talking about the fact that Jim Colburn tried to calm Snell) and brings me to a problem with certain Pirates players.
--The Pirates have two major problems. Problem number one is really nothing the players can do that much about because it's a talent problem. The Pirates just aren't very good at baseball. The team doesn't have enough talented players, and of the talented players they do have, despite Harang's charitable post-game comments about the team having hitters who can hit for power and get base hits, they don't have the right mix of talent necessary to win games when facing a very good to great pitcher (tonight) or a good to great team (their losing record against winning teams). But aside from the talent issue, certain Pirates have a problem with emotion.
Emotion? you say. Take me as one who believes that emotion isn't a bad attribute in a ball player. Emotion, used properly, can be an asset to a player and a team. The problem comes when players don't know how to channel their emotions properly.
Exhibit A: Ian Snell is emotional and high-strung, and everyone, save for apparently Shawn Chacon, understands this fact. (Or maybe Chacon was just hoping getting Snell mad would help him pitch well--as that has been known to work in the past.) But Snell admitted to being distracted on the mound tonight, and in that confession, he showed one of his weaknesses as a pitcher: not that he's emotional, but that he has yet to learn how to channel and properly harness and utilize his emotions. (Yeah, practically speaking, don't leave a breaking ball high to mashers like the Reds--but when Snell is locked in, it's a far less frequent occurrence for him to make many, many bad pitches in a game.)
Exhibit B: Just as you want to say that Snell is young (I'm the same age he is, so I don't fully buy that), we have the defending batting champion being so mad at himself for swinging at a 3rd strike in the dirt that goes behind the catcher that he doesn't even run to first base. The way Harang was pitching, it probably wouldn't have mattered. But Sanchez's emotional response and mental lapse fully illustrate a problem some players and young teams have been known to exhibit. It's not the emotion that's bad--it's being unable to control and harness that emotion properly.
Conclusion as in What Matters Now? Every team, even great teams that will win pennants (neither of which are true of the 2007 Pirates), has games like tonight's game. A great pitcher pitches a great game, and you can't manufacture a single run. Your pitcher, who you've seen and know can be good, gets lit up, and gets hit hard. Your coach throws in the towel on the game and gives his regulars a break for the late innings. It happens in a long season to every single team, good, bad, mediocre, or fluctuating somewhere among all three levels.
What matters for the team is the response. Do you still believe you can win every game, as Matt Capps said in the pregame show? Will you continue to do what actually can be done against mediocre pitchers and work them deep in counts? Mr. Sanchez, will you correct the swinging at balls in the dirt? (Your statistics the past two years suggest you will.) Mr. Snell, will you learn from this experience--to the point of gaining emotional control, at least a little more than you showed today, in subsequent outings? Mr. Tracy, will the team you manage still believe your words after the game that what happened tonight had everything to do with a great pitcher and do what's necessary to win the games against pitchers who are less than great? And, perhaps idealistically, did any of these young pitchers learn anything from watching Harang? Because while facing the Pirates had to help, Harang's filthy good, and someone you want pitchers like Gorzy, Maholm, Duke, and tonight's imploding starter, just to watch, to see what you can take away and apply to your own games. Yes, to the point of winning more games.
Because, harsh dose of reality aside, I still want my team to win games. Here's to hoping today's helping of reality is a learning experience that helps to propel certain players to develop attributes necessary for good MLB players--and not a horrific tailspin where players revert to habits (cough, leaving the ball high, cough) we'd hoped they'd--if not yet completely exorcised--would continue at least to manage to avoid more frequently rather than continue to succumb to such habits.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Wanting to Believe But Not Quite Yet
Seriously, I really want to believe that the 17-10 August record of the Pittsburgh Pirates isn't an aberration. Even though I know all the reasons why said record must be an aberration--hitting jacks like crazy, a bullpen with an obscenely low ERA recently, etc.--I don't want the record to be an aberration. It's fun to be a fan of a team that wins far more often than it loses.
Speaking of winning brings me to tonight's games. The Pirates swept a doubleheader. Momentarily, the Pirates are out of the NL Central cellar and are closer to the Reds than they were at the start of today's games. Statistics that could easily change with a loss tomorrow? Of course. But for tonight, to the games.
Game 1 Thoughts:
First, Tracy Rant: I seriously thought Jim Tracy was trying to lose this game by sending Gorzy back out at the start of the 7th when he was clearly spent at the end of the 6th. Yes, he got out of a jam in the 6th, but as even Steve Blass could tell you, Gorzy didn't have it tonight. Instead, Tracy brings Gorzy back out, and two runners he puts on base end up scoring. Now, perhaps our bullpen would have done the same thing, or far worse, if they'd started the 7th. But beyond the fact that it was idiocy to send out a spent pitcher to start the 7th inning, Gorzy's already had arm troubles this year. Why risk damaging/straining a pitcher who ranks 17th overall in ALL of MLB--for pitchers--in VORP? Seriously, protect your assets. And in this case, pulling Gorzy after 6 would also have been about protecting a lead.
Seriously, who are these guys? This team can't be the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates leave the bases loaded; the Pirates don't hit grand slams. Jason Bay is more often slumping than mashing this season. This team get crucial hits when they need crucial hits and crucial outs when they needs outs. Tell me again, these guys are the Pittsburgh Pirates? Are you sure?
Leave it to a Jim Tracy team to turn a laugher into a nailbiter. Okay, to be fair, the Reds have been hot offensively. They have players who can mash the ball. Blaming the Pirates for turning a 5 run lead into a 2 run lead against the team Mr. Tracy (cough, I have to admit this) correctly labeled a "good offensive" team is really quite silly. Still, despite putting runners on base and doing his best impersonation of recent Bucco closers who always made an adventure out of closing out games, Matt Capps did his job. And ultimately, the end result was the Pirates won a ball game. So that's good. Seriously.
Game 2
Facing a Major League Pitcher is Challenging even for a hot Bucco team: I doubted the Pirates were ever going to get anything going off Arroyo. Say whatever you will of him, but his record and stats (even poor ones this season) leave no doubt that he is a major league pitcher. As any reader of my blog has noted, my team doesn't possess that many major league caliber/ready hitters. I was relieved when Arroyo was pulled, believing the Pirates had a better shot against pitchers who, unlike Arroyo, do not consistently pitch as though they are legitimate big league pitchers.
Who are These Guys, Part Two? I watch the second inning and am prepared to settle in for a long night with Maholm getting hit, and getting hit hard--except Maholm, in spite of being hit, still manages to induce the ground ball outs he has to get if he's to be successful. He gives up a lot of hits, but only 2 runs over 7 innings with a reasonable pitch count. Whether it's plain good luck, Cinci stupidity, or demonstrating pitching maturity, it's a sight for sore eyes.
Speaking of sights for sore eyes, I still wince whenever Shawn Chacon comes into a game. And yet, Chacon doesn't give up a run. By the end of the night, Chacon will again have a winning record. Astounding. Truly astounding.
Freddy Sanchez does what Freddy Sanchez does best--hit the ball. He legs out a triple, and Laroche hits a single to give the Pirates the winning run. And Capps, just as he'd done a few hours earlier, saves another game--not without drama, of course, and this time with a mere 1 run lead.
Overall, however, what is this? The hitters getting enough hits to win games? The infield turning efficient double plays consistently? Getting a timely hit, a RBI single, from a bench player, from a mere pinch hitter? The bullpen bending to increase my heart rate but never breaking to allow the opponent to put runs up on the scoreboard? Seriously, who is this team with the 17-10 August record? Because they surely don't look like the same group of men who stumbled out of the All-Star break with a 2-14 record.
Overall Conclusions from the Night
Limitations: Watching Tracy use three catchers in the span of the last few innings of game 2 was an adventure. The back-up but starting catcher, good defense aside, can't hit--seriously, at all. And we may as well try with Josh Phelps (he didn't get a hit) because his bat needed to be inserted into the lineup there, disregarding his total inability to throw out runners. And finally, as Matt Capps comes on to get the save, Ronny Paulino appears, presumably because he can call the game so well (that's what Tracy says, anyway). Still, the very fact that the Pirates have so many players with such limitations explains their overall record quite easily. It's just that those limitations are less likely to matter when facing another sub .500 team (which the Reds are, despite counting themselves as part of the NL Central race).
I Like Them: I'm probably delusional, but this group of Pirates feels different than other mediocre Bucco teams I've followed during the past 14 losing seasons. Aside from a few players, the team is young, and the team's "core" players are all young/inexperienced enough to be a couple of years away from free agency. While there are still too many mediocre ballplayers of every age on the team, there are a few youngsters who've shown flashes of talent that's just fun to watch--in addition to being intriguing. It's a lot easier to root for a genuinely talented young player with upside than it is to root for a bunch of on-the-downside-of-their-careers old players who were signed on the cheap when no one else wanted them. On days like today, when there are smiles in the dugout and high-fives, this team is easy to root for and fun to watch. And thus comes my confession: I like this team, especially when they play as a team and win games.
Getting What I Wanted: Gorzy didn't give me a quality start, but I blame that on Tracy more than Gorzy (see above rant). After scaring me senselessly silly, Maholm gave another quality start. Gorzy won, and Maholm got a no-decision. Both pitchers looked like big-league pitchers, and more importantly than looking like big-league pitchers, they didn't merely resemble "pitchers filled with promise and potential." In the present moment of tonight, they were good enough to give the Pirates a chance to win the games, and really, despite delusional dreams, that's all I, optimistically but realistically, truly want.
The Empty Ballpark: Too bad there weren't fireworks or a concert because PNC was empty. Count me as someone who would try to buy general admission tickets daily if the team was in a pennant race (yes, seriously). The Pirates threw two good young pitchers at the Reds, and Ken Griffey Jr., was in town, and yet the ballpark was empty. I state this firmly: If the Pirates ever develop a winning team, PNC Park will sell out--yes, even, perhaps especially, in September when the Steelers begin to play. Instead, today I got Dan Potash talking to former Pittsburgh Penguin hockey player Kevin Stevens about the upcoming Penguins season. While I adore my Penguins (see my hockey blog), there was just something sad about fans not coming out to watch two good pitchers sweep a doubleheader.
The Title of this Post: In all honesty, I want to believe that the Pirates are closer to their 17-10 August record than to their putrid 2-14 post All-Star game record. I want to believe Gorzy, Maholm, and Snell are truly who they are when they've been at their best throughout the season. I want to believe Matt Morris can be that veteran who eats innings and gets you a chance to win every game. I want to believe that in spite of the Bucco offensive challenges (in spite of their spate of run scoring in August) that players like Sanchez, Bay, and Laroche can be productive enough to score runs when the starting pitchers give quality starts and the bullpen consistently holds leads. And while I want to believe all those things, well, in spite of the 17-10 August record, I just can't. And I just don't. No way. No how. Not yet.
See, being a fan of the Pirates has me conditioned to expect that one or both of Ian Snell or Matt Morris will implode in the next two games of this series. Not because I want either pitcher to implode, but just because it's the Pirates, and after they win games, they usually don't keep winning games. At some point in time, the freaky, streaky hot bats will go cold, and at some point in time, a pitcher or the bullpen will be victimized. And for winning teams, they halt those incidents at 1 or 2 games. But look, honestly, at the Bucco record. They're many games below .500, and they're not a winning team.
Honestly, if everything had gone right for the Pirates, I think the team might be closer to .500 (probably closer to four or five games under rather than twelve games away from that magical threshold). But make no mistake: A winning record in one month does not a winning team make.
So, much as I want to believe, I'm not going to acquiesce to belief. Not yet. However, I am going to root for the team to win games. (Yeah, I know all the big picture reasons, e.g. management, coaching staff, etc, I perhaps shouldn't do that.) I'm going to root for the players who've shown flashes to have their talent show out consistently in a way that results in more wins than losses. Because, regardless of the general manager and coaches, these players are on my team, and I can't help but want my team to win. Even if I can't bring myself to believe that they are capable of consistently winning games.
Speaking of winning brings me to tonight's games. The Pirates swept a doubleheader. Momentarily, the Pirates are out of the NL Central cellar and are closer to the Reds than they were at the start of today's games. Statistics that could easily change with a loss tomorrow? Of course. But for tonight, to the games.
Game 1 Thoughts:
First, Tracy Rant: I seriously thought Jim Tracy was trying to lose this game by sending Gorzy back out at the start of the 7th when he was clearly spent at the end of the 6th. Yes, he got out of a jam in the 6th, but as even Steve Blass could tell you, Gorzy didn't have it tonight. Instead, Tracy brings Gorzy back out, and two runners he puts on base end up scoring. Now, perhaps our bullpen would have done the same thing, or far worse, if they'd started the 7th. But beyond the fact that it was idiocy to send out a spent pitcher to start the 7th inning, Gorzy's already had arm troubles this year. Why risk damaging/straining a pitcher who ranks 17th overall in ALL of MLB--for pitchers--in VORP? Seriously, protect your assets. And in this case, pulling Gorzy after 6 would also have been about protecting a lead.
Seriously, who are these guys? This team can't be the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates leave the bases loaded; the Pirates don't hit grand slams. Jason Bay is more often slumping than mashing this season. This team get crucial hits when they need crucial hits and crucial outs when they needs outs. Tell me again, these guys are the Pittsburgh Pirates? Are you sure?
Leave it to a Jim Tracy team to turn a laugher into a nailbiter. Okay, to be fair, the Reds have been hot offensively. They have players who can mash the ball. Blaming the Pirates for turning a 5 run lead into a 2 run lead against the team Mr. Tracy (cough, I have to admit this) correctly labeled a "good offensive" team is really quite silly. Still, despite putting runners on base and doing his best impersonation of recent Bucco closers who always made an adventure out of closing out games, Matt Capps did his job. And ultimately, the end result was the Pirates won a ball game. So that's good. Seriously.
Game 2
Facing a Major League Pitcher is Challenging even for a hot Bucco team: I doubted the Pirates were ever going to get anything going off Arroyo. Say whatever you will of him, but his record and stats (even poor ones this season) leave no doubt that he is a major league pitcher. As any reader of my blog has noted, my team doesn't possess that many major league caliber/ready hitters. I was relieved when Arroyo was pulled, believing the Pirates had a better shot against pitchers who, unlike Arroyo, do not consistently pitch as though they are legitimate big league pitchers.
Who are These Guys, Part Two? I watch the second inning and am prepared to settle in for a long night with Maholm getting hit, and getting hit hard--except Maholm, in spite of being hit, still manages to induce the ground ball outs he has to get if he's to be successful. He gives up a lot of hits, but only 2 runs over 7 innings with a reasonable pitch count. Whether it's plain good luck, Cinci stupidity, or demonstrating pitching maturity, it's a sight for sore eyes.
Speaking of sights for sore eyes, I still wince whenever Shawn Chacon comes into a game. And yet, Chacon doesn't give up a run. By the end of the night, Chacon will again have a winning record. Astounding. Truly astounding.
Freddy Sanchez does what Freddy Sanchez does best--hit the ball. He legs out a triple, and Laroche hits a single to give the Pirates the winning run. And Capps, just as he'd done a few hours earlier, saves another game--not without drama, of course, and this time with a mere 1 run lead.
Overall, however, what is this? The hitters getting enough hits to win games? The infield turning efficient double plays consistently? Getting a timely hit, a RBI single, from a bench player, from a mere pinch hitter? The bullpen bending to increase my heart rate but never breaking to allow the opponent to put runs up on the scoreboard? Seriously, who is this team with the 17-10 August record? Because they surely don't look like the same group of men who stumbled out of the All-Star break with a 2-14 record.
Overall Conclusions from the Night
Limitations: Watching Tracy use three catchers in the span of the last few innings of game 2 was an adventure. The back-up but starting catcher, good defense aside, can't hit--seriously, at all. And we may as well try with Josh Phelps (he didn't get a hit) because his bat needed to be inserted into the lineup there, disregarding his total inability to throw out runners. And finally, as Matt Capps comes on to get the save, Ronny Paulino appears, presumably because he can call the game so well (that's what Tracy says, anyway). Still, the very fact that the Pirates have so many players with such limitations explains their overall record quite easily. It's just that those limitations are less likely to matter when facing another sub .500 team (which the Reds are, despite counting themselves as part of the NL Central race).
I Like Them: I'm probably delusional, but this group of Pirates feels different than other mediocre Bucco teams I've followed during the past 14 losing seasons. Aside from a few players, the team is young, and the team's "core" players are all young/inexperienced enough to be a couple of years away from free agency. While there are still too many mediocre ballplayers of every age on the team, there are a few youngsters who've shown flashes of talent that's just fun to watch--in addition to being intriguing. It's a lot easier to root for a genuinely talented young player with upside than it is to root for a bunch of on-the-downside-of-their-careers old players who were signed on the cheap when no one else wanted them. On days like today, when there are smiles in the dugout and high-fives, this team is easy to root for and fun to watch. And thus comes my confession: I like this team, especially when they play as a team and win games.
Getting What I Wanted: Gorzy didn't give me a quality start, but I blame that on Tracy more than Gorzy (see above rant). After scaring me senselessly silly, Maholm gave another quality start. Gorzy won, and Maholm got a no-decision. Both pitchers looked like big-league pitchers, and more importantly than looking like big-league pitchers, they didn't merely resemble "pitchers filled with promise and potential." In the present moment of tonight, they were good enough to give the Pirates a chance to win the games, and really, despite delusional dreams, that's all I, optimistically but realistically, truly want.
The Empty Ballpark: Too bad there weren't fireworks or a concert because PNC was empty. Count me as someone who would try to buy general admission tickets daily if the team was in a pennant race (yes, seriously). The Pirates threw two good young pitchers at the Reds, and Ken Griffey Jr., was in town, and yet the ballpark was empty. I state this firmly: If the Pirates ever develop a winning team, PNC Park will sell out--yes, even, perhaps especially, in September when the Steelers begin to play. Instead, today I got Dan Potash talking to former Pittsburgh Penguin hockey player Kevin Stevens about the upcoming Penguins season. While I adore my Penguins (see my hockey blog), there was just something sad about fans not coming out to watch two good pitchers sweep a doubleheader.
The Title of this Post: In all honesty, I want to believe that the Pirates are closer to their 17-10 August record than to their putrid 2-14 post All-Star game record. I want to believe Gorzy, Maholm, and Snell are truly who they are when they've been at their best throughout the season. I want to believe Matt Morris can be that veteran who eats innings and gets you a chance to win every game. I want to believe that in spite of the Bucco offensive challenges (in spite of their spate of run scoring in August) that players like Sanchez, Bay, and Laroche can be productive enough to score runs when the starting pitchers give quality starts and the bullpen consistently holds leads. And while I want to believe all those things, well, in spite of the 17-10 August record, I just can't. And I just don't. No way. No how. Not yet.
See, being a fan of the Pirates has me conditioned to expect that one or both of Ian Snell or Matt Morris will implode in the next two games of this series. Not because I want either pitcher to implode, but just because it's the Pirates, and after they win games, they usually don't keep winning games. At some point in time, the freaky, streaky hot bats will go cold, and at some point in time, a pitcher or the bullpen will be victimized. And for winning teams, they halt those incidents at 1 or 2 games. But look, honestly, at the Bucco record. They're many games below .500, and they're not a winning team.
Honestly, if everything had gone right for the Pirates, I think the team might be closer to .500 (probably closer to four or five games under rather than twelve games away from that magical threshold). But make no mistake: A winning record in one month does not a winning team make.
So, much as I want to believe, I'm not going to acquiesce to belief. Not yet. However, I am going to root for the team to win games. (Yeah, I know all the big picture reasons, e.g. management, coaching staff, etc, I perhaps shouldn't do that.) I'm going to root for the players who've shown flashes to have their talent show out consistently in a way that results in more wins than losses. Because, regardless of the general manager and coaches, these players are on my team, and I can't help but want my team to win. Even if I can't bring myself to believe that they are capable of consistently winning games.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Off Day Insanity
All right, all right, I really, really do know that I absolutely shouldn't read the official Pirates' web page. The propaganda on the official Bucco homepage can put former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer's press briefings to shame.
That being said, what concerns me about this rather ridiculous article is not the title of the piece. No, it's the quotes from the players that, um, cough, are interesting. I expect inexperienced youngsters like Youman, Capps, and Snell to want to do more than play spoiler--that's progress, and wanting to win, overall, is, obviously, a good thing.
But, really, the manager ought to know better. "We're making great strides." Mr. Tracy, I don't expect the children to understand this, but your team is 9 games out of first place in a pathetic division. Your team is many, many games below .500. Your team, despite their recent hot streak that has Vegas betting on the team, is just not that good at baseball, as evidenced by their record.
Don't get me wrong. I want my team to win baseball games. It's even better to learn how to win games when there's "pressure" of some kind. I just remember how this same team responded to being "closer" to the race right after the All-Star break. 2-14, anyone remember July?
Which all goes to say that for whatever magical veteran presence Matt Morris brings to the team, counter me as one who believes that these Pirates, who can charitably be deemed naively optimistic and harshly be deemed downright delusional, might be likely to respond to the "pressure" of a pathetic but not truly present pennant race by their starting pitchers imploding and by their hot bats going starkly cold. (Such cynicism is par for the course for a Bucco fan.)
Now, of course, would a pennant race be fun? Absolutely. But, in the midst of offering some fascinating quotes (gotta love him), Ian Snell offers that the fans want to see a team at .500 and thinks the team should try to strive for finishing at .500 and not losing 100 games. .500 still seems way out of reach for me, given how these players have responded to pressure in the past, and the truth of the matter is, I just want the few talented youngsters to continue to progress to the point where they're no longer regarded as promising players with potential but as legitimate good MLB players. Not a promising young pitcher, but just a good pitcher any team would love to add to their rotation.
Of course, if all that happened, if Jeff Andrews could somehow straighten out Zach Duke as he rehabs in Indy, if streaky bats could stay hot, if the pitching staff could put up quality starts...yeah, right, it's a dream, and perhaps not even the right one when it comes to wanting David Littlefield to be out of a job before the 2008 season. But, at some point in time, a fan has to concur with the sentiment of this particular group of inexperienced kids: Winning beats losing, every time.
That being said, what concerns me about this rather ridiculous article is not the title of the piece. No, it's the quotes from the players that, um, cough, are interesting. I expect inexperienced youngsters like Youman, Capps, and Snell to want to do more than play spoiler--that's progress, and wanting to win, overall, is, obviously, a good thing.
But, really, the manager ought to know better. "We're making great strides." Mr. Tracy, I don't expect the children to understand this, but your team is 9 games out of first place in a pathetic division. Your team is many, many games below .500. Your team, despite their recent hot streak that has Vegas betting on the team, is just not that good at baseball, as evidenced by their record.
Don't get me wrong. I want my team to win baseball games. It's even better to learn how to win games when there's "pressure" of some kind. I just remember how this same team responded to being "closer" to the race right after the All-Star break. 2-14, anyone remember July?
Which all goes to say that for whatever magical veteran presence Matt Morris brings to the team, counter me as one who believes that these Pirates, who can charitably be deemed naively optimistic and harshly be deemed downright delusional, might be likely to respond to the "pressure" of a pathetic but not truly present pennant race by their starting pitchers imploding and by their hot bats going starkly cold. (Such cynicism is par for the course for a Bucco fan.)
Now, of course, would a pennant race be fun? Absolutely. But, in the midst of offering some fascinating quotes (gotta love him), Ian Snell offers that the fans want to see a team at .500 and thinks the team should try to strive for finishing at .500 and not losing 100 games. .500 still seems way out of reach for me, given how these players have responded to pressure in the past, and the truth of the matter is, I just want the few talented youngsters to continue to progress to the point where they're no longer regarded as promising players with potential but as legitimate good MLB players. Not a promising young pitcher, but just a good pitcher any team would love to add to their rotation.
Of course, if all that happened, if Jeff Andrews could somehow straighten out Zach Duke as he rehabs in Indy, if streaky bats could stay hot, if the pitching staff could put up quality starts...yeah, right, it's a dream, and perhaps not even the right one when it comes to wanting David Littlefield to be out of a job before the 2008 season. But, at some point in time, a fan has to concur with the sentiment of this particular group of inexperienced kids: Winning beats losing, every time.
Juxtaposition
Brief Juxtaposition: In response to being mired in last place of the NL Central division a mere couple of years after a run to the World Series, the Houston Astros have fired both their general manager and coach. Meanwhile, in response to being mired in last place of the NL Central and on their way to a 15th consecutive losing season, the Pirates continue to employ the David Littlefield regime, which has yet to field even a .500 team.
Brief Commentary: Ah, who am I kidding? I don't even have to proffer commentary on this one. The juxtaposition speaks for itself. Or at least it should.
Brief Commentary: Ah, who am I kidding? I don't even have to proffer commentary on this one. The juxtaposition speaks for itself. Or at least it should.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Reality Resumes
If you had told me that the one and only (hint: snark) Tony Armas had pitched into the sixth inning and had only given up 2 runs to that point and would only be charged with 3 earned runs on the day, and if you had told me that the Pirates would have a 4-1 lead at one point of the game, I would have said, Well, let the unrealistic good times continue to roll. E.g., let the winning continue.
Alas, reality resumed today in the form of Shawn Chacon, Jim Tracy, and a few too many strike-outs. Chacon's scoreless work on Friday night would not carry over until today; Wiggington (former Pirate, which makes it worse) hit a 2-run jack off him to give the Astros the 5-4 lead they didn't relinquish. And, of course, Tracy had to put Chacon into the game, though Bautista and Castillo not striking out all the time probably would have helped matters, too. In any case, the Pirates return to Pittsburgh dwelling in the cellar of the NL basement alongside the Astros. Oh, yes, let reality resume, and oh boy, let the good times roll.
Now for other matters about the game, just random thoughts and observations:
--In his first at-bat (which unfortunately resulted in a strikeout), Jose Bautista made the opposing pitcher throw 11 pitches before the unfortunate result. But, I mean, if you're going to strike out, better to do it by forcing the pitcher you're facing to throw you 11 pitches. Whether it's the Pirates facing a dearth of good pitchers (which I believe it to be) or actually learning to lay off pitches (hmm...learning, seriously, is that possible for this team?), it's nice when Bautista makes the opposing pitcher throw that many pitches. It's also nice when Freddy Sanchez walks, though I'm still getting over my stunned surprise every time he walks.
--Another commercial is irritating me (and today, there was no excuse. I had the mute button available and didn't bother to use it). It's the Fox Sports advertisement for "Actober"--as in, you know, the playoffs. The commercial goes through various players who have played or will be playing in October and their ages (all early twenties). It's seriously painful for a Pirates fan to watch. My Bucco team is not THAT young, and the vast majority of our young players haven't even shown flashes of the kind of talent as have the young players featured in that particular commercial. I'm sick of hearing about inexperience and youth because, at some point, talent, if it's there, will show out over inexperience and youth. And when all that shows out is inexperience and youth, well, there's not a whole lot of difference between a bunch of mediocre old ballplayers and a bunch of mediocre young ballplayers save for the millions spent on each group of players due to MLB salary structure where Shawn Chacon gets paid millions of dollars for a somewhat (prior to today) near league average ERA. I hate to sound bitter, but I'm a Bucco fan, and seeing this guy in an ad just makes me wish that I could actually watch these guys pitch in games that matter for more than personal statistics and pride. And then, you know, I remember that back when they had ERA's below 2, the team's record was still below .500. Even when young, inexperienced, if inconsistent talent shows out, there have to be many more players demonstrating such talent in actual on-field performance.
--Speaking of Ian Snell, I seriously do love him, his crazy antics, occasional belligerence, and still infuriating inconsistency (seriously, if you could just stop throwing those one or two ill-timed but misplaced strikes, your statistics, already decent, would be really, really good) aside. Why do I mention Snell in a game in which he didn't pitch? Because he pinch-ran after Xavier Nady walked in the top of the ninth, and even as John Wehner bemoaned the fact that Matt Kata, a position player (yes, seriously, another older guy from the minor leagues who's "versatile" and thus appreciated by Jim Tracy) could have been on base, a part of me liked seeing Snell and the fact that he wanted to help win a game in which he didn't pitch. Wanting to contribute, in whatever way, is very nice. However, the Pirates' lack of speed is truly frightening if our starting pitcher who throws 97 mph heat is the person we want running around the base paths and trying to slide into home for the winning run. I mean, do you really want to risk a pitcher getting injured pinch-running? But despite the fact that Jim Tracy apparently wanted to preserve Kata for another extra-inning extravaganza with the Astros (that we were blessed not to have to endure) apparently he knew well enough to know that Snell would not be doing any sliding into home plate. Not with the other hitters striking out to end the ball game, that is. (To be fair and/or charitable--can you believe it from a blogger?-I don't know how Snell would have been told to run in a close play at the plate. But knowing Ian as I do, I just think recklessness comes into play, and after the Wilson-Wigginton collision yesterday, albeit the fielder being injured, better to stay on the side of caution when it comes to your pitcher--in spite of how much I personally love the fact that a little pitcher who throws heat pinch-runs.)
--It was nice for the Astros to win the game at which they retired Jeff Bagwell's number. For whatever old-school or former schoolteacher reason, I think it's really important for young players, especially young, talented players (the Pirates do appear to have a couple) to see what it means to an organization, to the fans, and most importantly, to athletes who have achieved what Biggio and Bagwell achieved in Houston. Due to free agency and money (as well as the Bucco current ownership), I firmly believe that the concept of single-team-for-career stars is almost relegated to history (it's the exception now rather than the rule it, many long years ago, was). Still, I think players seeing the growth of individual players, along with a team, that it's an important reminder of what makes baseball great--and perhaps, of course, it can serve as an inspiration to our own players. That is, if anyone can even get inspired while sporting the uniform of the pathetically putrid Pirates.
--Speaking of the pathetic Pirates, can the few seriously delusional optimistic fanatics stop dreaming of a pennant? (I mean, even our ever-cheerleading announcers don't do that). Still, Greg couldn't resist noting during game action today that Reds were now fewer games back in the NL Central than are the Yankees from the Red Sox (the Reds are still sub .500, but play in the joke of a division named the NL Central). Well, the Pirates play the Reds next, and much as I'd love to dream of winning games just for amusing kicks at the end of the season, I really just want solid starting pitching from the three young pitchers. You know, something to delude me into thinking that perhaps this team might see the sunny side of .500 next season so I can continue the ridiculous exercise of rooting for a MLB franchise owned by the Nutting family.
Note on this entry: When I taught middle school language arts, my students often had to answer ridiculously constructed questions about the author's "tone." If you had guessed that the tone of this entry is bitter, disappointed, sarcastic, and at least a little demeaning toward certain components of my team, you'd be right. Unfortunately, such is the result of a resumption of reality. I can't deny that, forever much I knew winning wouldn't last, that it was fun to watch my team win some baseball games. But, given that there's still a month left until that glorious The Clarks concert to close out the season, I'm guessing the Pirates can eke out a few more wins, so I'll just have to enjoy the victories, however sparsely they come, and again get accustomed to Mr. Tracy's brilliance when noting that the Pirates didn't get the hit they needed to get or make the pitch they needed to make in tight games, like today's, that they lose--or, you know, that they didn't hit, pitch, or field well in the blowouts still to come that I still don't want to come in spite of wanting someone who will wave a magic wand and turn the team into a .500 team. Because .500 is contending for a pennant in the Buccos' inane, but unfortunately for me, not unreal, division.
Alas, reality resumed today in the form of Shawn Chacon, Jim Tracy, and a few too many strike-outs. Chacon's scoreless work on Friday night would not carry over until today; Wiggington (former Pirate, which makes it worse) hit a 2-run jack off him to give the Astros the 5-4 lead they didn't relinquish. And, of course, Tracy had to put Chacon into the game, though Bautista and Castillo not striking out all the time probably would have helped matters, too. In any case, the Pirates return to Pittsburgh dwelling in the cellar of the NL basement alongside the Astros. Oh, yes, let reality resume, and oh boy, let the good times roll.
Now for other matters about the game, just random thoughts and observations:
--In his first at-bat (which unfortunately resulted in a strikeout), Jose Bautista made the opposing pitcher throw 11 pitches before the unfortunate result. But, I mean, if you're going to strike out, better to do it by forcing the pitcher you're facing to throw you 11 pitches. Whether it's the Pirates facing a dearth of good pitchers (which I believe it to be) or actually learning to lay off pitches (hmm...learning, seriously, is that possible for this team?), it's nice when Bautista makes the opposing pitcher throw that many pitches. It's also nice when Freddy Sanchez walks, though I'm still getting over my stunned surprise every time he walks.
--Another commercial is irritating me (and today, there was no excuse. I had the mute button available and didn't bother to use it). It's the Fox Sports advertisement for "Actober"--as in, you know, the playoffs. The commercial goes through various players who have played or will be playing in October and their ages (all early twenties). It's seriously painful for a Pirates fan to watch. My Bucco team is not THAT young, and the vast majority of our young players haven't even shown flashes of the kind of talent as have the young players featured in that particular commercial. I'm sick of hearing about inexperience and youth because, at some point, talent, if it's there, will show out over inexperience and youth. And when all that shows out is inexperience and youth, well, there's not a whole lot of difference between a bunch of mediocre old ballplayers and a bunch of mediocre young ballplayers save for the millions spent on each group of players due to MLB salary structure where Shawn Chacon gets paid millions of dollars for a somewhat (prior to today) near league average ERA. I hate to sound bitter, but I'm a Bucco fan, and seeing this guy in an ad just makes me wish that I could actually watch these guys pitch in games that matter for more than personal statistics and pride. And then, you know, I remember that back when they had ERA's below 2, the team's record was still below .500. Even when young, inexperienced, if inconsistent talent shows out, there have to be many more players demonstrating such talent in actual on-field performance.
--Speaking of Ian Snell, I seriously do love him, his crazy antics, occasional belligerence, and still infuriating inconsistency (seriously, if you could just stop throwing those one or two ill-timed but misplaced strikes, your statistics, already decent, would be really, really good) aside. Why do I mention Snell in a game in which he didn't pitch? Because he pinch-ran after Xavier Nady walked in the top of the ninth, and even as John Wehner bemoaned the fact that Matt Kata, a position player (yes, seriously, another older guy from the minor leagues who's "versatile" and thus appreciated by Jim Tracy) could have been on base, a part of me liked seeing Snell and the fact that he wanted to help win a game in which he didn't pitch. Wanting to contribute, in whatever way, is very nice. However, the Pirates' lack of speed is truly frightening if our starting pitcher who throws 97 mph heat is the person we want running around the base paths and trying to slide into home for the winning run. I mean, do you really want to risk a pitcher getting injured pinch-running? But despite the fact that Jim Tracy apparently wanted to preserve Kata for another extra-inning extravaganza with the Astros (that we were blessed not to have to endure) apparently he knew well enough to know that Snell would not be doing any sliding into home plate. Not with the other hitters striking out to end the ball game, that is. (To be fair and/or charitable--can you believe it from a blogger?-I don't know how Snell would have been told to run in a close play at the plate. But knowing Ian as I do, I just think recklessness comes into play, and after the Wilson-Wigginton collision yesterday, albeit the fielder being injured, better to stay on the side of caution when it comes to your pitcher--in spite of how much I personally love the fact that a little pitcher who throws heat pinch-runs.)
--It was nice for the Astros to win the game at which they retired Jeff Bagwell's number. For whatever old-school or former schoolteacher reason, I think it's really important for young players, especially young, talented players (the Pirates do appear to have a couple) to see what it means to an organization, to the fans, and most importantly, to athletes who have achieved what Biggio and Bagwell achieved in Houston. Due to free agency and money (as well as the Bucco current ownership), I firmly believe that the concept of single-team-for-career stars is almost relegated to history (it's the exception now rather than the rule it, many long years ago, was). Still, I think players seeing the growth of individual players, along with a team, that it's an important reminder of what makes baseball great--and perhaps, of course, it can serve as an inspiration to our own players. That is, if anyone can even get inspired while sporting the uniform of the pathetically putrid Pirates.
--Speaking of the pathetic Pirates, can the few seriously delusional optimistic fanatics stop dreaming of a pennant? (I mean, even our ever-cheerleading announcers don't do that). Still, Greg couldn't resist noting during game action today that Reds were now fewer games back in the NL Central than are the Yankees from the Red Sox (the Reds are still sub .500, but play in the joke of a division named the NL Central). Well, the Pirates play the Reds next, and much as I'd love to dream of winning games just for amusing kicks at the end of the season, I really just want solid starting pitching from the three young pitchers. You know, something to delude me into thinking that perhaps this team might see the sunny side of .500 next season so I can continue the ridiculous exercise of rooting for a MLB franchise owned by the Nutting family.
Note on this entry: When I taught middle school language arts, my students often had to answer ridiculously constructed questions about the author's "tone." If you had guessed that the tone of this entry is bitter, disappointed, sarcastic, and at least a little demeaning toward certain components of my team, you'd be right. Unfortunately, such is the result of a resumption of reality. I can't deny that, forever much I knew winning wouldn't last, that it was fun to watch my team win some baseball games. But, given that there's still a month left until that glorious The Clarks concert to close out the season, I'm guessing the Pirates can eke out a few more wins, so I'll just have to enjoy the victories, however sparsely they come, and again get accustomed to Mr. Tracy's brilliance when noting that the Pirates didn't get the hit they needed to get or make the pitch they needed to make in tight games, like today's, that they lose--or, you know, that they didn't hit, pitch, or field well in the blowouts still to come that I still don't want to come in spite of wanting someone who will wave a magic wand and turn the team into a .500 team. Because .500 is contending for a pennant in the Buccos' inane, but unfortunately for me, not unreal, division.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Whining in the Midst of Winning
Okay, the Pirates won. Again. This winning thing is becoming habitual. It's somewhat frightening, though I'm certainly confident Mr. Tony Armas has the magical prowess to end a winning streak.
That being said, I have some "whining" to do. It's not the typical whining about minor league baseball players playing on an ostensibly major league team (that whining, I'm confident, shall return as soon as the Pirates resume losing). Rather, I just have some smart-alecky commentary that, I can guarantee, would not see the light of day in the local paper. So, without further adieu, here's the whining in the midst of winning.
--After one of Bautista's homers tonight, Greg Brown was checking to see how many home runs the Yankees have scored thus far this month. And Mr. "Raise the Jolly Roger" Brown was so excited that the Pirates, to that point, were still leading the majors in home runs in August. Of course, my thought was that the Yankees were concerned both with the Boston Red Sox and the AL Wild Card race--and about how the home runs they've hit this month will help them to capture a playoff berth. Somehow I'm absolutely assured the Yankees don't give a flying fig about how their monthly run output compares to that of the perennial sub. 500 Buccos. But, you know, at least Brown could mention the Yankees and the Pirates in the same breath for some apparently similar, if August only, statistic without inducing giggles. Except, oops, I still giggled. The Pirates and the Yanks should not be mentioned in the same breath, similar August run scoring output aside--but I must thank Mr. Brown for endlessly amusing me.
--Usually I mute commercials when watching television, but I was too freaking lazy to mute the commercials today (well, that and I don't actually know where my remote control is, so that made hitting the mute button a more difficult exercise than it typically is). And, as such, I was repeatedly forced to watch an advertisement for a September 29th Pirates-Cardinals game. The game itself wasn't being advertised so much as was the Clarks concert that will follow the game. But seeing that commercial just made me wonder what it would be like to be playing a meaningful game--with playoff implications for both teams--that late in the season. Alas, I get the Clarks concert and not a meaningful baseball game, as I don't believe in miracles when it comes to the Pirates.
--Speaking of not believing in miracles, however, what the heck was going on today? The veteran pitcher just did his job and only gave up one run. But more than that, Jose Bautista hit two home runs in a game? Tracy's love affair with Bautista's "tools" aside, I would've counted those 2 jacks as a miracle--if I didn't see, with my own eyes, one Ronny Paulino on base after every at bat. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a miracle (c'mon, we were playing the team with whom we're competing for cellar dwelling in the NL Central), but it was surely peculiar.
--Crown Josh Phelps as Captain Obvious. Still, I did enjoy Phelps' post-game interview, when pointed out that perhaps the Pirates were playing so well in August (well for the Pirates means a record a few games over five hundred, which tells you all you need to know about what "well" means for this team) because they played so terribly in July. Law of averages, anyone?
--Speaking of Phelps, and of interviews in general, does someone give every television interviewer a standardized list of ridiculous questions to ask? How would one ever expect to get answers that aren't trite, cliche, and boring, if all you ever ask are seriously stupid (or at least stunningly obvious) questions? At least ask about approach to a batter or a pitcher and not just the, "Wow, you're doing well lately, aren't you?" Seriously, however, if all I have to complain about is interviewers asking silly questions, I should probably just shut up (but I have a blog, so I don't).
--Did you hear Jim Tracy's quotes after last night's (oops, this morning's) 15 inning win over the Astros? Tracy beamed with pride and said he was so "proud" of "all" his players. Okay, fine and dandy, I'm happy Tracy got a moment to beam and exalt in his team's win (it surely hasn't happened all that frequently in his Pittsburgh managerial career). But Tracy reminds me of the guidance counselor of a failing student who gets tremendously excited when the kid with F's suddenly pulls one of his F's up to a barely passing D. Sure, a D is better than a flat-out F, but only just. I understand that Tracy's dealing with a team of limited talent and that most of his talented players (e.g. a few pitchers) are young and inexperienced, but the overall Pittsburgh record still warrants a failing grade. Sure, you can offer encouragement that the D is better than the F, just as a win is better than a loss, but in the midst of saying the D is better than the F, you'd dang well better save being proud for when that kid has at least C's--or, in Pittsburgh's case, a .500 record. Really, however, I think this long-winded education analogy is just my way of saying that while there are times when I think Mr. Tracy's emotional enthusiasm and encouragement can be good (especially when it came to developing young pitchers) there has to come a point when you save being proud for consistent production and not just one-time production. Or, of course, it's just my way of saying Tracy still gets on my nerves even in the midst of winning. (Forgive me. I'm a Pirates fan. I'm confused as to how I'm supposed to react when my team wins more games than they lose for almost a month. I'd solicit advice from fans of winning teams, but I just don't think I'm going to need that advice for any length of time.)
That being said, I have some "whining" to do. It's not the typical whining about minor league baseball players playing on an ostensibly major league team (that whining, I'm confident, shall return as soon as the Pirates resume losing). Rather, I just have some smart-alecky commentary that, I can guarantee, would not see the light of day in the local paper. So, without further adieu, here's the whining in the midst of winning.
--After one of Bautista's homers tonight, Greg Brown was checking to see how many home runs the Yankees have scored thus far this month. And Mr. "Raise the Jolly Roger" Brown was so excited that the Pirates, to that point, were still leading the majors in home runs in August. Of course, my thought was that the Yankees were concerned both with the Boston Red Sox and the AL Wild Card race--and about how the home runs they've hit this month will help them to capture a playoff berth. Somehow I'm absolutely assured the Yankees don't give a flying fig about how their monthly run output compares to that of the perennial sub. 500 Buccos. But, you know, at least Brown could mention the Yankees and the Pirates in the same breath for some apparently similar, if August only, statistic without inducing giggles. Except, oops, I still giggled. The Pirates and the Yanks should not be mentioned in the same breath, similar August run scoring output aside--but I must thank Mr. Brown for endlessly amusing me.
--Usually I mute commercials when watching television, but I was too freaking lazy to mute the commercials today (well, that and I don't actually know where my remote control is, so that made hitting the mute button a more difficult exercise than it typically is). And, as such, I was repeatedly forced to watch an advertisement for a September 29th Pirates-Cardinals game. The game itself wasn't being advertised so much as was the Clarks concert that will follow the game. But seeing that commercial just made me wonder what it would be like to be playing a meaningful game--with playoff implications for both teams--that late in the season. Alas, I get the Clarks concert and not a meaningful baseball game, as I don't believe in miracles when it comes to the Pirates.
--Speaking of not believing in miracles, however, what the heck was going on today? The veteran pitcher just did his job and only gave up one run. But more than that, Jose Bautista hit two home runs in a game? Tracy's love affair with Bautista's "tools" aside, I would've counted those 2 jacks as a miracle--if I didn't see, with my own eyes, one Ronny Paulino on base after every at bat. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a miracle (c'mon, we were playing the team with whom we're competing for cellar dwelling in the NL Central), but it was surely peculiar.
--Crown Josh Phelps as Captain Obvious. Still, I did enjoy Phelps' post-game interview, when pointed out that perhaps the Pirates were playing so well in August (well for the Pirates means a record a few games over five hundred, which tells you all you need to know about what "well" means for this team) because they played so terribly in July. Law of averages, anyone?
--Speaking of Phelps, and of interviews in general, does someone give every television interviewer a standardized list of ridiculous questions to ask? How would one ever expect to get answers that aren't trite, cliche, and boring, if all you ever ask are seriously stupid (or at least stunningly obvious) questions? At least ask about approach to a batter or a pitcher and not just the, "Wow, you're doing well lately, aren't you?" Seriously, however, if all I have to complain about is interviewers asking silly questions, I should probably just shut up (but I have a blog, so I don't).
--Did you hear Jim Tracy's quotes after last night's (oops, this morning's) 15 inning win over the Astros? Tracy beamed with pride and said he was so "proud" of "all" his players. Okay, fine and dandy, I'm happy Tracy got a moment to beam and exalt in his team's win (it surely hasn't happened all that frequently in his Pittsburgh managerial career). But Tracy reminds me of the guidance counselor of a failing student who gets tremendously excited when the kid with F's suddenly pulls one of his F's up to a barely passing D. Sure, a D is better than a flat-out F, but only just. I understand that Tracy's dealing with a team of limited talent and that most of his talented players (e.g. a few pitchers) are young and inexperienced, but the overall Pittsburgh record still warrants a failing grade. Sure, you can offer encouragement that the D is better than the F, just as a win is better than a loss, but in the midst of saying the D is better than the F, you'd dang well better save being proud for when that kid has at least C's--or, in Pittsburgh's case, a .500 record. Really, however, I think this long-winded education analogy is just my way of saying that while there are times when I think Mr. Tracy's emotional enthusiasm and encouragement can be good (especially when it came to developing young pitchers) there has to come a point when you save being proud for consistent production and not just one-time production. Or, of course, it's just my way of saying Tracy still gets on my nerves even in the midst of winning. (Forgive me. I'm a Pirates fan. I'm confused as to how I'm supposed to react when my team wins more games than they lose for almost a month. I'd solicit advice from fans of winning teams, but I just don't think I'm going to need that advice for any length of time.)
Say What?
So I watched the first innings of the ball game before going out for drinks with friends. I got to watch the 2nd through the 6th before heading out, which meant I got to see the "good" Ian Snell. You know, the Ian Snell who strikes out batters and manages to get out of a bases-loaded jam only giving up one run. Have I mentioned how much I adore the "good" Ian Snell? Like, seriously, adore?
Then, arriving at the bar (no baseball game in the friend's car radio), I see the Pirates are behind 3-2, and I inwardly groan. I presume that "bad" Ian Snell appeared, though when I later examine the box score, I discovered that Mr. Snell was still throwing heat and not giving up home runs, so I guess that Mr. Snell wasn't really horrifically bad. Just unfortunately not perfect.
Speaking of unfortunately not perfect, until Xavier Nady hit that jack to tie the game, I was about to comment that the hot Bucco bats of August had gone cold, yet again, against a AAA pitcher (not that this is really news, but still and all, it hasn't been customary this month as it was for every preceding month of the 2007 season). And yet, in spite an offense that was mostly inept for most of the night, in spite of appearing to waste, yet again, another quality start from a starting pitcher, I still expected the Pirates to lose this game. Because reality had to crash at some point, right?
Except Shawon Chacon didn't give up a run. Except Shane Youman struck out 3 hitters. Shane Youman. My good friend, who admits to not following baseball very much, told me that she knew it was not a good idea to put in Salomon Torres or Shawn Chacon (she's seen enough sports broadcasts to know that placing these two relievers into the middle of a tight game is more likely a surefire way to lose rather than to win the match). And still--the Pirates won? How? What? What has happened to this team? They now win games they should probably lose? What?
For however nice the win was, and it was very nice, and for however much I enjoyed Mr. Tracy's histrionics (seriously, the animated hand gestures were eminently fun), I offer this helping of reality to fans who have "Comedy Central" disease in hoping the Pirates can win the division. Look at the Bucco record. The Pirates are closer to being the worst team in all of baseball than they are to winning a division. And unlike other teams, which might manage to dig themselves sub. 500 holes and then have enough talent to get out of such holes, the Pirates, at best, have .500 talent. .500 talent is not enough the rest of the way. .500 talent is not enough to overcome months of sub .500 play. The Pirates are still the Pirates, and the adjective pathetic should still precede Pirates, not just for alliterative purposes, but also for factual purposes.
Still, I must admit that watching my pathetic Pirates win games is very, very, very fun. I like this winning thing. And giving the pathetic draft record of this organization, I can't object to seeing more wins the rest of the season (I know all the logical reasons why I should and yet I still want my team to win). How fun it must be to be a fan of the Yankees and expect your team to win. Seriously, it must be fun to be a fan of such a team.
For now, however, I'll just take the unlikely wins, the mostly good performance from the "good" side of my favorite pitcher (be glad you weren't at the bar tonight to hear me rant about all the reasons I adore emotionally high-strung, sensitive athletes), and enjoy winning--all the while knowing that as much as I like Gorzy, Ian Snell, Freddy Sanchez, and the Adam Laroche who has taken to mashing the ball of late, that my team just doesn't have enough talent to sustain winning more often than losing for the duration of the season.
Of course, I'll still tune in and cheer for a victory--such is the disease of being a deluded fan of the pathetic Pirates. But definitely not so deluded enough to think that a very bad baseball team, as signified both by their record and lack of talent, could contend for a division title.
Speaking of which, I found myself jealous when the TV camera panned to show all the recent (this millennium) Houston team honors. It's been a l o n g time since my team won anything. I understand the delusional fans who want to see a pennant, as seeing those banners made me almost want to be delusional myself.
But not until the "good" side of players gets consistently good, and not until there are many more players sporting a Pirates uniform who even have a "good" side to win out over a "bad" side.
Then, arriving at the bar (no baseball game in the friend's car radio), I see the Pirates are behind 3-2, and I inwardly groan. I presume that "bad" Ian Snell appeared, though when I later examine the box score, I discovered that Mr. Snell was still throwing heat and not giving up home runs, so I guess that Mr. Snell wasn't really horrifically bad. Just unfortunately not perfect.
Speaking of unfortunately not perfect, until Xavier Nady hit that jack to tie the game, I was about to comment that the hot Bucco bats of August had gone cold, yet again, against a AAA pitcher (not that this is really news, but still and all, it hasn't been customary this month as it was for every preceding month of the 2007 season). And yet, in spite an offense that was mostly inept for most of the night, in spite of appearing to waste, yet again, another quality start from a starting pitcher, I still expected the Pirates to lose this game. Because reality had to crash at some point, right?
Except Shawon Chacon didn't give up a run. Except Shane Youman struck out 3 hitters. Shane Youman. My good friend, who admits to not following baseball very much, told me that she knew it was not a good idea to put in Salomon Torres or Shawn Chacon (she's seen enough sports broadcasts to know that placing these two relievers into the middle of a tight game is more likely a surefire way to lose rather than to win the match). And still--the Pirates won? How? What? What has happened to this team? They now win games they should probably lose? What?
For however nice the win was, and it was very nice, and for however much I enjoyed Mr. Tracy's histrionics (seriously, the animated hand gestures were eminently fun), I offer this helping of reality to fans who have "Comedy Central" disease in hoping the Pirates can win the division. Look at the Bucco record. The Pirates are closer to being the worst team in all of baseball than they are to winning a division. And unlike other teams, which might manage to dig themselves sub. 500 holes and then have enough talent to get out of such holes, the Pirates, at best, have .500 talent. .500 talent is not enough the rest of the way. .500 talent is not enough to overcome months of sub .500 play. The Pirates are still the Pirates, and the adjective pathetic should still precede Pirates, not just for alliterative purposes, but also for factual purposes.
Still, I must admit that watching my pathetic Pirates win games is very, very, very fun. I like this winning thing. And giving the pathetic draft record of this organization, I can't object to seeing more wins the rest of the season (I know all the logical reasons why I should and yet I still want my team to win). How fun it must be to be a fan of the Yankees and expect your team to win. Seriously, it must be fun to be a fan of such a team.
For now, however, I'll just take the unlikely wins, the mostly good performance from the "good" side of my favorite pitcher (be glad you weren't at the bar tonight to hear me rant about all the reasons I adore emotionally high-strung, sensitive athletes), and enjoy winning--all the while knowing that as much as I like Gorzy, Ian Snell, Freddy Sanchez, and the Adam Laroche who has taken to mashing the ball of late, that my team just doesn't have enough talent to sustain winning more often than losing for the duration of the season.
Of course, I'll still tune in and cheer for a victory--such is the disease of being a deluded fan of the pathetic Pirates. But definitely not so deluded enough to think that a very bad baseball team, as signified both by their record and lack of talent, could contend for a division title.
Speaking of which, I found myself jealous when the TV camera panned to show all the recent (this millennium) Houston team honors. It's been a l o n g time since my team won anything. I understand the delusional fans who want to see a pennant, as seeing those banners made me almost want to be delusional myself.
But not until the "good" side of players gets consistently good, and not until there are many more players sporting a Pirates uniform who even have a "good" side to win out over a "bad" side.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Radio Baseball and Who are These Guys?
When I was a kid, I listened to Doug Drabek's almost-but-not-quite no-hitter on the radio on an hour plus ride back from an amusement park. Ever since then, I've always loved to listen to baseball on the radio. Don't get me wrong, I like going to the games (but I don't like giving the Nuttings money, and yes, I know that by still following the team, I'm an amazingly ineffective hypocrite) and I like to watch on TV, too. But there was something about that night when I was about eight years old. Something about my heart breaking when my then-favorite pitcher lost his no-hitter late in the game. Something that ingrained the fact that baseball, as it was for my father and grandfather before me when they listened to the Pirates capture pennants on the radio, is a great radio sport.
That being said, I turned on the radio to listen to the final game in the Rockies-Pirates series. Fortunately, Bob Walk was the color man today, so I didn't find myself nearly so ingratiated as I was on the previous day by John Wehner. The Pirates do what they have been doing more frequently lately: They jump out to an early lead and get solid starting pitching. Freddy Sanchez even walks (seriously, if this walking thing turns into a habit, that increase in on base percentage has to be good, right?).
But the Buccos make me nervous. After all, it's Coors Field. And Jim Tracy just has to put Chacon into the game when the Rockies still had the opportunity to open the floodgates. Amazingly enough, Chacon doesn't give up a run. Amazingly enough, the Pirates win three out of four games in a series from a .500 baseball team.
Seriously. What team is this? The Pirates were back to some old tricks today, leaving men on base all over the place. But the solid starting pitching, the bullpen not blowing leads, and actually hitting the baseball and scoring runs, it's a very new concept for me. One that makes me want to type out all kinds of funky stuff on my keyboard to signify my utter confusion.
But I don't think my confusion will last long because if following the Pirates since '87 has taught me anything, it's that all of this hitting and pitching is not going to last. Soon enough, reality crashes in the form of the hitting not working (I saw a glimpse today with the runners left on base) or the pitching not working (and I no longer count Armas as one of the "pitchers" despite the fact he takes the ball every fifth day because he shouldn't be back next season). And given that the Pirates have been winning more than losing lately, the only correct conclusion comes, and comes fast: Look at this team's record. Reality should be coming crashing in very short order.
Just, please, not tomorrow. I like Ian Snell. Plus, at least allow me to believe, for another series or two, that the line in this week's Sporting News about Gorzo, Maholm, and Snell all making "big strides this season" and being "bargain" fantasy picks next year is actually true. Still, I know the truth--and being a Bucco fan means reality crashes. I'm just hoping for a soft landing--e.g. still growth with some legitimately "young, inexperienced" players--in the midst of that crash back to earth.
That being said, I turned on the radio to listen to the final game in the Rockies-Pirates series. Fortunately, Bob Walk was the color man today, so I didn't find myself nearly so ingratiated as I was on the previous day by John Wehner. The Pirates do what they have been doing more frequently lately: They jump out to an early lead and get solid starting pitching. Freddy Sanchez even walks (seriously, if this walking thing turns into a habit, that increase in on base percentage has to be good, right?).
But the Buccos make me nervous. After all, it's Coors Field. And Jim Tracy just has to put Chacon into the game when the Rockies still had the opportunity to open the floodgates. Amazingly enough, Chacon doesn't give up a run. Amazingly enough, the Pirates win three out of four games in a series from a .500 baseball team.
Seriously. What team is this? The Pirates were back to some old tricks today, leaving men on base all over the place. But the solid starting pitching, the bullpen not blowing leads, and actually hitting the baseball and scoring runs, it's a very new concept for me. One that makes me want to type out all kinds of funky stuff on my keyboard to signify my utter confusion.
But I don't think my confusion will last long because if following the Pirates since '87 has taught me anything, it's that all of this hitting and pitching is not going to last. Soon enough, reality crashes in the form of the hitting not working (I saw a glimpse today with the runners left on base) or the pitching not working (and I no longer count Armas as one of the "pitchers" despite the fact he takes the ball every fifth day because he shouldn't be back next season). And given that the Pirates have been winning more than losing lately, the only correct conclusion comes, and comes fast: Look at this team's record. Reality should be coming crashing in very short order.
Just, please, not tomorrow. I like Ian Snell. Plus, at least allow me to believe, for another series or two, that the line in this week's Sporting News about Gorzo, Maholm, and Snell all making "big strides this season" and being "bargain" fantasy picks next year is actually true. Still, I know the truth--and being a Bucco fan means reality crashes. I'm just hoping for a soft landing--e.g. still growth with some legitimately "young, inexperienced" players--in the midst of that crash back to earth.
30 Runs?
Wow. I was excited by my team breaking out for 11 runs. But 30? Seriously, I thought it was a misprint when I first saw the box score on yahoo. Thirty freaking runs?
And then I wondered what it would take for the Pirates to score 30 runs. And, you know, stopped. I may be delusional about prospects, but I'm not insane enough to dream about the Pirates actually scoring 30 runs.
I'll enjoy the 11 runs and relish the role of "spoiler." So long as playing "spoiler" doesn't delude Mr. Nutting into thinking that Mr. Littlefield and Mr. Tracy need to return for another season.
Speaking of which. Even if the Pirates somehow score 30 runs (it will never happen), even if 3 of the Pirate starting pitchers finish the year pitching well (I hope against hope when it comes to the three "young" pitchers but doubt it happens as smoothly/perfectly as I wish for), even if the Pirates somehow have a .500 record in August (wow, impressive), David Littlefield and Jim Tracy still bug me. A lot.
(Right now I'm thinking of a post comparing Littlefield's inability to grasp reality and Tracy wanting to focus on the improvement of some tiny statistic to the President's claims about what is happening in Iraq. And since I'm at that point, I've reached the conclusion that it's time to stop blogging for the evening.)
More on the ingratiating idiosyncrasies of Littlefield and Tracy later this summer. But, in the aftermath of a 11-2 victory, may as well "bask in the aftermath of victory" and ignore the GM and manager. At least for this evening.
And then I wondered what it would take for the Pirates to score 30 runs. And, you know, stopped. I may be delusional about prospects, but I'm not insane enough to dream about the Pirates actually scoring 30 runs.
I'll enjoy the 11 runs and relish the role of "spoiler." So long as playing "spoiler" doesn't delude Mr. Nutting into thinking that Mr. Littlefield and Mr. Tracy need to return for another season.
Speaking of which. Even if the Pirates somehow score 30 runs (it will never happen), even if 3 of the Pirate starting pitchers finish the year pitching well (I hope against hope when it comes to the three "young" pitchers but doubt it happens as smoothly/perfectly as I wish for), even if the Pirates somehow have a .500 record in August (wow, impressive), David Littlefield and Jim Tracy still bug me. A lot.
(Right now I'm thinking of a post comparing Littlefield's inability to grasp reality and Tracy wanting to focus on the improvement of some tiny statistic to the President's claims about what is happening in Iraq. And since I'm at that point, I've reached the conclusion that it's time to stop blogging for the evening.)
More on the ingratiating idiosyncrasies of Littlefield and Tracy later this summer. But, in the aftermath of a 11-2 victory, may as well "bask in the aftermath of victory" and ignore the GM and manager. At least for this evening.
Seriously
I am still delusional. I am still hopeful and optimistic. At least when it comes to the fact that Andrew McCutchen's encouraging start in AAA has me checking the box score of the Indy Indians on a daily basis.
I want hope for the future. I know, I really do know, that until ownership commits to winning and until knowledgeable baseball people are in charge of completing remaking the organization that the Pirates have no chance to be a winning team, let alone a winning organization.
But it's just these kids. When it comes to any sport, I love prospects, especially the prospects whose potential, whether that comes in the form of winning everywhere in the minor leagues (Ian Snell, then Ian Oquendo, then Ian Snell again, and don't dare to ask Ian about that, he'll get angry, though maybe you should ask him about it before he pitches just to make sure he's enraged enough to pitch well) or breaking records everywhere (in hockey, one Sidney Crosby), or well--just being able to acclimatize to AAA hitting where other prospects, even ones who will make it the Show, take time to adjust.
I know I'm a sucker, delusional, and ridiculously hopeful. But even if I'm relegated to seeing these prospects as young players in the Show (before they morph into the stars they may one day be for teams willing to pay the price for stars), I just love to watch great players. And I especially love to watch great players at the nascent point of their careers.
Profound Thought*: I'm a sucker. But McCutchen looks good. And, if I can't enjoy a winning team, I may as well enjoy individual players. Because baseball in the summer really should be pleasurable, not painful.
(*Sorry. I can't break my profound thought format. I'll keep trying.)
I want hope for the future. I know, I really do know, that until ownership commits to winning and until knowledgeable baseball people are in charge of completing remaking the organization that the Pirates have no chance to be a winning team, let alone a winning organization.
But it's just these kids. When it comes to any sport, I love prospects, especially the prospects whose potential, whether that comes in the form of winning everywhere in the minor leagues (Ian Snell, then Ian Oquendo, then Ian Snell again, and don't dare to ask Ian about that, he'll get angry, though maybe you should ask him about it before he pitches just to make sure he's enraged enough to pitch well) or breaking records everywhere (in hockey, one Sidney Crosby), or well--just being able to acclimatize to AAA hitting where other prospects, even ones who will make it the Show, take time to adjust.
I know I'm a sucker, delusional, and ridiculously hopeful. But even if I'm relegated to seeing these prospects as young players in the Show (before they morph into the stars they may one day be for teams willing to pay the price for stars), I just love to watch great players. And I especially love to watch great players at the nascent point of their careers.
Profound Thought*: I'm a sucker. But McCutchen looks good. And, if I can't enjoy a winning team, I may as well enjoy individual players. Because baseball in the summer really should be pleasurable, not painful.
(*Sorry. I can't break my profound thought format. I'll keep trying.)
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Profound Thoughts*
In no particular order, here are some profound thoughts on the first three games of the Pirates-Rockies series. Some random profound thoughts on other parts of Bucco baseball are probably going to be included, too.
--Mashing the baseball is fun. With the caveat that it is fun when my team mashes the baseball. Tonight's 11-2 victory was fun (any time the center fielder gets 2 home runs in a game, that's more than fun, it borders on hilarious). Yesterday's mauling at the hands of the Rockies was just not at all fun.
Profound Thought: Mashing good. When my team mashes.
--With the Pittsburgh offense outscoring every other team in the majors in August (I know, I don't believe it, either, but I have read this in various places, and the Internet can't be wrong, can it?), when the team gets adequate to decent starting pitching, more often than not, they're going to win the game. And when Tony Armas pitches or one of the other Bucco pitchers masquerades as Armas, well, there will rarely if ever be enough mashing to compensate for that.
Profound Thought: Scoring more runs than an opponent is an effective way to win baseball games. Having a starting pitcher who regularly gives up less than 3 runs while going six or seven innings is also an important component for any baseball team that hopes to win games.
--Freddy Sanchez made an error tonight--he bobbled a ball that he should have caught. And, due to the mashing that had already occurred, I found myself in giggling hysterics over Sanchez's error. As another fan pointed out, such an error was a "Little League" play. Well, of course, and what compounded my hysteria was the local TV broadcasting team then telling me that Sanchez had only made 6 errors thus far this season and that his then .991 fielding percentage was tops for NL 2nd basemen. (And, of course, the Bucco announcers would never lie to me. Right?) In any case, that moment seemed the appropriate time not to sing the praises of Freddy (who I still adore) but, you know, to make some sarcastic comment about a catch a little leaguer could and should have made.
Profound Thought: When my team is seriously outscoring the opposition and when a particular player is going 4 for 5 on the night while almost hitting for the cycle, I tend to be able to laugh about little league level errors committed on an infrequent basis by said player. If said player made the same error in a tight game while also not hitting or scoring, growling anger and hand-wringing (yes, seriously, remember that I am a fan of the pathetic Pirates) would have replaced hysterical giggles.
--Speaking of the local broadcasting team, Greg Brown and John Wehner make me yearn for the Pittsburgh pro hockey announcing team of Bob Errey and Paul Steigerwald. If you've ever scanned my hockey blog, you know I have almost as much fun mocking the announcers as I do analyzing sports(okay, "analyzing" is a bit of a generous stretch, which should probably be replaced by "blogging intermittently yet incessantly"). In any case, Brown and Wehner get on my nerves. Like, a lot. Like, more than Bob Errey, for all his quirks, ever did. At least Errey, when a player, even a good one, blew an assignment, called a spade a spade. Brown and Wehner cheerlead, and granted, I understand wanting to be optimistic about a team you have to watch for 162 games (or less in Wehner's case), but still and all--it's okay to say that the All-Star second baseman has to make that catch he didn't make. It would be even better to point out that mashing the ball is an August anomaly--an enjoyable exercise, no doubt, but hardly one that can be consistently maintained. And yes, I realize from whom these announcers get their paychecks, but honestly--how about a little dose of reality? (I know better than to expect tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, but oh how I wish...and digress.)
Profound Thought: I do not like to listen to John Wehner and Greg Brown announce games. I usually enjoy Bob Walk's insights, but for the most part, John Wehner and Greg Brown, together, make me waste precious blog space complaining about announcers who annoy me. (Note the semantics--I didn't call the announcers annoying; I just said they personally annoy me. Aren't I a sweet, sweet soul?)
--Two last bits about the announcers (I know, I'm sorry, you don't have to keep reading now, not that I have many readers anyhow, but still and all, continuing, finally). John Wehner talked about how nice it must have been for Jim Tracy just to sit back and enjoy a game that he didn't really have to worry about possibly losing. Regardless of Mr. Tracy's ineptitude, his job title remains manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mr. Tracy's job is to MANAGE the team. And if Mr. Wehner wants the manager to enjoy an off day, I suggest that Wehner work on persuading Tracy to do something to get himself tossed from a game and do something so terrible he'd get suspended by MLB. But since I doubt Tracy will ever order Ian Snell to give into the voices/demons that tell him to hit batters Snell once thought were stealing signs from him, Mr. Wehner and I will just have to deal with the fact that Tracy is still the manager of the Pirates and that means he should MANAGE the team and you know, just do his job.
The last bit about the announcers is more about "analysis." On the post game show (yes, I watched, because that is my sad summer life right now, and the Pirates winning, however occasionally and for however much I know it can never last, does usually give me the nice, temporal feeling of happiness that comes when the nearly impossible occurs), John Wehner said that starting pitcher Gorzo "didn't have his best stuff and still did pretty good." Great. I suppose the analysis comes in "not having his best stuff" and I suppose the 2 runs over six innings, only 1 earned, was "pretty good."
Profound Thought: Analysis of the minutia of MLB games, especially 1 side blowouts, is for the most part a complete joke. Starting pitching horrific=loss. More than half the line up hitting home runs=offensive output good enough to win when going up against horrific starting pitching.
Final Profound Thought: Of course, I, the blogger who proffers profound thoughts on the pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates for free, have no room to talk about the silliness of post-game analysis by sports reporters or complain about announcers who are actually paid a pretty penny to share their analysis with me.
Segue from Profound Thoughts to "Perchance to Dream": I want two sarcastic announcers behind the broadcasting booth for at least one Bucco game this year. I want two seriously sarcastic souls--who I'd like to be fans of the team, too--to offer their running commentary throughout a game. Somehow I think it might prove to be entertaining. But, then, of course, what room would be there be for sarcastic bloggers?
*For the sarcasm-impaired, the title of this post is not to be taken seriously. Having listen to certain "baseball people" this season, far too often, e.g., managers and broadcasters, I think there are many "baseball people" who are sarcasm-impaired, so the asterisk is for you. Not that you're reading, but still.**
--Mashing the baseball is fun. With the caveat that it is fun when my team mashes the baseball. Tonight's 11-2 victory was fun (any time the center fielder gets 2 home runs in a game, that's more than fun, it borders on hilarious). Yesterday's mauling at the hands of the Rockies was just not at all fun.
Profound Thought: Mashing good. When my team mashes.
--With the Pittsburgh offense outscoring every other team in the majors in August (I know, I don't believe it, either, but I have read this in various places, and the Internet can't be wrong, can it?), when the team gets adequate to decent starting pitching, more often than not, they're going to win the game. And when Tony Armas pitches or one of the other Bucco pitchers masquerades as Armas, well, there will rarely if ever be enough mashing to compensate for that.
Profound Thought: Scoring more runs than an opponent is an effective way to win baseball games. Having a starting pitcher who regularly gives up less than 3 runs while going six or seven innings is also an important component for any baseball team that hopes to win games.
--Freddy Sanchez made an error tonight--he bobbled a ball that he should have caught. And, due to the mashing that had already occurred, I found myself in giggling hysterics over Sanchez's error. As another fan pointed out, such an error was a "Little League" play. Well, of course, and what compounded my hysteria was the local TV broadcasting team then telling me that Sanchez had only made 6 errors thus far this season and that his then .991 fielding percentage was tops for NL 2nd basemen. (And, of course, the Bucco announcers would never lie to me. Right?) In any case, that moment seemed the appropriate time not to sing the praises of Freddy (who I still adore) but, you know, to make some sarcastic comment about a catch a little leaguer could and should have made.
Profound Thought: When my team is seriously outscoring the opposition and when a particular player is going 4 for 5 on the night while almost hitting for the cycle, I tend to be able to laugh about little league level errors committed on an infrequent basis by said player. If said player made the same error in a tight game while also not hitting or scoring, growling anger and hand-wringing (yes, seriously, remember that I am a fan of the pathetic Pirates) would have replaced hysterical giggles.
--Speaking of the local broadcasting team, Greg Brown and John Wehner make me yearn for the Pittsburgh pro hockey announcing team of Bob Errey and Paul Steigerwald. If you've ever scanned my hockey blog, you know I have almost as much fun mocking the announcers as I do analyzing sports(okay, "analyzing" is a bit of a generous stretch, which should probably be replaced by "blogging intermittently yet incessantly"). In any case, Brown and Wehner get on my nerves. Like, a lot. Like, more than Bob Errey, for all his quirks, ever did. At least Errey, when a player, even a good one, blew an assignment, called a spade a spade. Brown and Wehner cheerlead, and granted, I understand wanting to be optimistic about a team you have to watch for 162 games (or less in Wehner's case), but still and all--it's okay to say that the All-Star second baseman has to make that catch he didn't make. It would be even better to point out that mashing the ball is an August anomaly--an enjoyable exercise, no doubt, but hardly one that can be consistently maintained. And yes, I realize from whom these announcers get their paychecks, but honestly--how about a little dose of reality? (I know better than to expect tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, but oh how I wish...and digress.)
Profound Thought: I do not like to listen to John Wehner and Greg Brown announce games. I usually enjoy Bob Walk's insights, but for the most part, John Wehner and Greg Brown, together, make me waste precious blog space complaining about announcers who annoy me. (Note the semantics--I didn't call the announcers annoying; I just said they personally annoy me. Aren't I a sweet, sweet soul?)
--Two last bits about the announcers (I know, I'm sorry, you don't have to keep reading now, not that I have many readers anyhow, but still and all, continuing, finally). John Wehner talked about how nice it must have been for Jim Tracy just to sit back and enjoy a game that he didn't really have to worry about possibly losing. Regardless of Mr. Tracy's ineptitude, his job title remains manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mr. Tracy's job is to MANAGE the team. And if Mr. Wehner wants the manager to enjoy an off day, I suggest that Wehner work on persuading Tracy to do something to get himself tossed from a game and do something so terrible he'd get suspended by MLB. But since I doubt Tracy will ever order Ian Snell to give into the voices/demons that tell him to hit batters Snell once thought were stealing signs from him, Mr. Wehner and I will just have to deal with the fact that Tracy is still the manager of the Pirates and that means he should MANAGE the team and you know, just do his job.
The last bit about the announcers is more about "analysis." On the post game show (yes, I watched, because that is my sad summer life right now, and the Pirates winning, however occasionally and for however much I know it can never last, does usually give me the nice, temporal feeling of happiness that comes when the nearly impossible occurs), John Wehner said that starting pitcher Gorzo "didn't have his best stuff and still did pretty good." Great. I suppose the analysis comes in "not having his best stuff" and I suppose the 2 runs over six innings, only 1 earned, was "pretty good."
Profound Thought: Analysis of the minutia of MLB games, especially 1 side blowouts, is for the most part a complete joke. Starting pitching horrific=loss. More than half the line up hitting home runs=offensive output good enough to win when going up against horrific starting pitching.
Final Profound Thought: Of course, I, the blogger who proffers profound thoughts on the pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates for free, have no room to talk about the silliness of post-game analysis by sports reporters or complain about announcers who are actually paid a pretty penny to share their analysis with me.
Segue from Profound Thoughts to "Perchance to Dream": I want two sarcastic announcers behind the broadcasting booth for at least one Bucco game this year. I want two seriously sarcastic souls--who I'd like to be fans of the team, too--to offer their running commentary throughout a game. Somehow I think it might prove to be entertaining. But, then, of course, what room would be there be for sarcastic bloggers?
*For the sarcasm-impaired, the title of this post is not to be taken seriously. Having listen to certain "baseball people" this season, far too often, e.g., managers and broadcasters, I think there are many "baseball people" who are sarcasm-impaired, so the asterisk is for you. Not that you're reading, but still.**
Monday, August 20, 2007
Misery Loves Company
After the Pirates beat the Phillies last night and again today, I couldn't resist taking a gander at some Philadelphia message boards and blogs. Among the interesting tidbits I read were that the Philadelphia manager is a moron, the Philadelphia fans get mad at their bullpen when it blows leads, and perhaps most interestingly, that reigning NL MVP Ryan Howard needs to be banished to the minor leagues and is the worst hitter in the league. Fans who were less harsh on Howard said that he needed, at minimum, a two-game benching.
In any case, I am a twenty-five-year-old Pirate fan. The last time my team had a winning season was 1992. The last time my club sniffed of a pennant race was the "Freak Show" team of 1997 that still finished below .500 and only managed to "contend" due to the pathetic competition in the NL Central Division. (The fact that my team could be .500 and in a pennant race this season, too, stings, but will sting less if Mr. Nutting finally banishes Mr. Littlefield and Mr. Tracy at season's end.) In the short-term of the 2007 season, I have watched my team lose many more games than they have won. I have seen my bullpen blow leads too many times to count. I have seen a former NL ROY (albeit never even a MVP candidate) endure a horrific slump. Aside from Freddy Sanchez, Xavier Nady, Adam Laroche, and Jason Bay, I have watched players who would not be in the offensive starting lineup or the major league roster for a majority of MLB teams. I have watched an inept and anemic offense. Prior to the All-Star break, I watched two pitchers who were at that point in the top ten in NL ERA fail to win games because their offense couldn't manufacture the three or four total runs necessary to win the baseball game (yes, seriously). And, of course, I no longer bother to call Jim Tracy names, as it's not worth the effort; I rather choose to expend my time and energy making snarky comments after one of Tracy's annoying frequent post-loss (not post-game, post-loss) press conferences.
In any case, Phillies fans, on some level, I felt your pain today, because I surely know what it's like to be ready to fire the manager, send your formerly best player somewhere to fix him magically, and to be ready to wring the neck of a pitcher who pitched well for most of the game and then made stupid mistakes which your bullpen just compounded into a horrific loss. Except, of course, on a whole other level, I don't know your pain. I haven't known your pain, really, legitimately, since 1992--the last time my team was truly in contention for a pennant.
See, as a Pirates fan, it's nice when my team functions like a MLB team and wins 2 out of 3 every once in awhile. But for fans of the Phils, well, yikes when you're losing 2 out of 3 to the Pirates. In my team's defense, I'd like to point that you faced three of our pitchers who are maddeningly inconsistent (for my taste) but who have shown flashes, and sometimes more than that, of big-time major league talent. And, of course, my team does have 3 to 4 legitimate major league hitters. But 33% to 40% of the lineup being able to hit at a major league level perfectly explains Pittsburgh's winning percentage, doesn't it?
In any case, to fans of the Phillies distraught about your team: Don't be. Seriously, you have some issues. But you're in a pennant race. Enjoy the pennant race. Enjoy the wild card race. Have some fun.
As for me, well, I would love to enjoy the race for the number one draft pick, but the Pirates don't draft like the local hockey team does, so all I really have are the occasional days like today--when my team somehow gets the chance to make another team's fan base as miserable as my team consistently makes the passionate-for-baseball-and-not-fireworks fan base of my own team. Because, after all, misery does, indeed, love company.
But don't fret. Soon enough, I won't have your company, and until major changes happen, my team, too, is hurtling in a hurry toward 10,000 overall losses.
Remind me, again, why it is that misery so relishes company?
In any case, I am a twenty-five-year-old Pirate fan. The last time my team had a winning season was 1992. The last time my club sniffed of a pennant race was the "Freak Show" team of 1997 that still finished below .500 and only managed to "contend" due to the pathetic competition in the NL Central Division. (The fact that my team could be .500 and in a pennant race this season, too, stings, but will sting less if Mr. Nutting finally banishes Mr. Littlefield and Mr. Tracy at season's end.) In the short-term of the 2007 season, I have watched my team lose many more games than they have won. I have seen my bullpen blow leads too many times to count. I have seen a former NL ROY (albeit never even a MVP candidate) endure a horrific slump. Aside from Freddy Sanchez, Xavier Nady, Adam Laroche, and Jason Bay, I have watched players who would not be in the offensive starting lineup or the major league roster for a majority of MLB teams. I have watched an inept and anemic offense. Prior to the All-Star break, I watched two pitchers who were at that point in the top ten in NL ERA fail to win games because their offense couldn't manufacture the three or four total runs necessary to win the baseball game (yes, seriously). And, of course, I no longer bother to call Jim Tracy names, as it's not worth the effort; I rather choose to expend my time and energy making snarky comments after one of Tracy's annoying frequent post-loss (not post-game, post-loss) press conferences.
In any case, Phillies fans, on some level, I felt your pain today, because I surely know what it's like to be ready to fire the manager, send your formerly best player somewhere to fix him magically, and to be ready to wring the neck of a pitcher who pitched well for most of the game and then made stupid mistakes which your bullpen just compounded into a horrific loss. Except, of course, on a whole other level, I don't know your pain. I haven't known your pain, really, legitimately, since 1992--the last time my team was truly in contention for a pennant.
See, as a Pirates fan, it's nice when my team functions like a MLB team and wins 2 out of 3 every once in awhile. But for fans of the Phils, well, yikes when you're losing 2 out of 3 to the Pirates. In my team's defense, I'd like to point that you faced three of our pitchers who are maddeningly inconsistent (for my taste) but who have shown flashes, and sometimes more than that, of big-time major league talent. And, of course, my team does have 3 to 4 legitimate major league hitters. But 33% to 40% of the lineup being able to hit at a major league level perfectly explains Pittsburgh's winning percentage, doesn't it?
In any case, to fans of the Phillies distraught about your team: Don't be. Seriously, you have some issues. But you're in a pennant race. Enjoy the pennant race. Enjoy the wild card race. Have some fun.
As for me, well, I would love to enjoy the race for the number one draft pick, but the Pirates don't draft like the local hockey team does, so all I really have are the occasional days like today--when my team somehow gets the chance to make another team's fan base as miserable as my team consistently makes the passionate-for-baseball-and-not-fireworks fan base of my own team. Because, after all, misery does, indeed, love company.
But don't fret. Soon enough, I won't have your company, and until major changes happen, my team, too, is hurtling in a hurry toward 10,000 overall losses.
Remind me, again, why it is that misery so relishes company?
Youth, Inconsistency, and Pitching
The Pirates somehow managed to take two out of three games from the Philadelphia Phillies. What held far more interest and intrigue for me was the performance of the three Bucco starting pitchers.
The following paragraph should come with the caveat that I am speaking from the perspective of a somewhat jaded fan who is by no means a pitching expert. Bluntly put, the three starting pitchers in this series gave up far more runs than I would prefer to see the young pitchers give up. Gorzo gave up more runs than he had in awhile, Maholm pulling a "Morris" is not something that I want to see on a regular basis, and Ian Snell needs to stop giving up multiple home runs in games. Frankly speaking, at bare minimum I want quality starts from these young pitchers. While I'm sure there is value in learning how to rebound after being hit hard and I know there is definite value in learning to pitch out of jams you create for yourself or your defense creates for you, I still maintain this standard: I want quality starts, and I want quality starts now. Immediately.
In mentioning the "somewhat jaded" aspect of my fandom, I've heard far too often over the past decade and a half about how this particular group of young pitchers would lead the team to the promised land (the promised land in this case being a .500 record, not the playoffs. Sigh). Names like Steve Cooke, sigh, and too many others, come to mind. And even when I know that it's not fair to put a decade and a half of losing on the shoulders of pitchers who had the misfortune to be drafted and developed by the Pirates (and yes, I do view it as misfortune in most instances), I can't help my cynicism. Is Ian Snell ever going to be more than an average to slightly above average big league pitcher? Is Paul Maholm ever going to be more than an average big league pitcher? Can Gorzo stay healthy long enough to develop into a top-of-the-rotation pitcher or is he destined for being an above-average big league pitcher at best? When can I know the answers to those questions, and how will I know the answers to those questions?
What I am still delusional enough to wonder is what happens if the Pirates actually come to possess four above-average big league pitchers. What happens if Snell and Gorzo can turn into top of the rotation aces? What happens if two above-average third and fourth starters come along and regularly give quality starts? What happens when a quality start is the expectation, not the exception? For sure, there are many other areas in which the team sorely needs improvement, but I can't help but wonder. What happens if four young pitchers suddenly give good to very good to great starting pitching consistently, game in and game out? But beyond wondering if starting pitching could take hold in that way, I wonder when such a happenstance would take place.
Because, at some point, these starting pitchers need to shed the "young" and "inexperienced" label that allows the coaching staff and the organization to chalk up certain issues to "youthful inexperience" and just consistently pitch quality starts. (Note that I did not say win games, for until certain other issues are addressed, giving up 1 to 2 runs over 7 innings can still entail losing with the 2007 Pirates.) My question is, At what point does that happen? At what point can I expect the young, inexperienced, and inconsistent pitchers to become consistently above-average MLB pitchers? Can and should I even hold that expectation for pitchers handled by the Pittsburgh developmental and coaching staff?
Perhaps if I had confidence in the organization's ability to develop and coach and mold talent, I'd have a far better feel for when these young but still-too-inconsistent for my liking starting pitchers could actually become consistent pitchers--and I'd know what level of consistent competence to anticipate from these young pitchers. My current frustration is that I don't know, and I don't trust the organization to do what's best for the players.
For example: How and when does a power strikeout pitcher stop giving up the long ball or at least limiting giving up home runs? (Does the Pirate coaching staff know?) How do "finesse" left handed pitchers learn to handle major league hitters who kill "slow" stuff? (Does the Pirate coaching staff know?) How are arms developed in such a way that surgery is not an expectation of all pitchers at some point in their careers? (Anecdotal evidence suggests the Pirates lack some knowledge in this area, too.)
I am not a scout or a baseball expert, but when it comes time for housecleaning (and please, Mr. Nutting, allow it to be time for housecleaning at the end of this season, pretty, pretty please), I would sincerely appreciate a CEO who will hire a general manager who will hire a coaching and development staff who can begin to answer these questions immediately--rather than after these young pitchers are no longer "young" and are earning millions (because as Matt Morris shows, even mediocre MLB pitchers earn millions).
The following paragraph should come with the caveat that I am speaking from the perspective of a somewhat jaded fan who is by no means a pitching expert. Bluntly put, the three starting pitchers in this series gave up far more runs than I would prefer to see the young pitchers give up. Gorzo gave up more runs than he had in awhile, Maholm pulling a "Morris" is not something that I want to see on a regular basis, and Ian Snell needs to stop giving up multiple home runs in games. Frankly speaking, at bare minimum I want quality starts from these young pitchers. While I'm sure there is value in learning how to rebound after being hit hard and I know there is definite value in learning to pitch out of jams you create for yourself or your defense creates for you, I still maintain this standard: I want quality starts, and I want quality starts now. Immediately.
In mentioning the "somewhat jaded" aspect of my fandom, I've heard far too often over the past decade and a half about how this particular group of young pitchers would lead the team to the promised land (the promised land in this case being a .500 record, not the playoffs. Sigh). Names like Steve Cooke, sigh, and too many others, come to mind. And even when I know that it's not fair to put a decade and a half of losing on the shoulders of pitchers who had the misfortune to be drafted and developed by the Pirates (and yes, I do view it as misfortune in most instances), I can't help my cynicism. Is Ian Snell ever going to be more than an average to slightly above average big league pitcher? Is Paul Maholm ever going to be more than an average big league pitcher? Can Gorzo stay healthy long enough to develop into a top-of-the-rotation pitcher or is he destined for being an above-average big league pitcher at best? When can I know the answers to those questions, and how will I know the answers to those questions?
What I am still delusional enough to wonder is what happens if the Pirates actually come to possess four above-average big league pitchers. What happens if Snell and Gorzo can turn into top of the rotation aces? What happens if two above-average third and fourth starters come along and regularly give quality starts? What happens when a quality start is the expectation, not the exception? For sure, there are many other areas in which the team sorely needs improvement, but I can't help but wonder. What happens if four young pitchers suddenly give good to very good to great starting pitching consistently, game in and game out? But beyond wondering if starting pitching could take hold in that way, I wonder when such a happenstance would take place.
Because, at some point, these starting pitchers need to shed the "young" and "inexperienced" label that allows the coaching staff and the organization to chalk up certain issues to "youthful inexperience" and just consistently pitch quality starts. (Note that I did not say win games, for until certain other issues are addressed, giving up 1 to 2 runs over 7 innings can still entail losing with the 2007 Pirates.) My question is, At what point does that happen? At what point can I expect the young, inexperienced, and inconsistent pitchers to become consistently above-average MLB pitchers? Can and should I even hold that expectation for pitchers handled by the Pittsburgh developmental and coaching staff?
Perhaps if I had confidence in the organization's ability to develop and coach and mold talent, I'd have a far better feel for when these young but still-too-inconsistent for my liking starting pitchers could actually become consistent pitchers--and I'd know what level of consistent competence to anticipate from these young pitchers. My current frustration is that I don't know, and I don't trust the organization to do what's best for the players.
For example: How and when does a power strikeout pitcher stop giving up the long ball or at least limiting giving up home runs? (Does the Pirate coaching staff know?) How do "finesse" left handed pitchers learn to handle major league hitters who kill "slow" stuff? (Does the Pirate coaching staff know?) How are arms developed in such a way that surgery is not an expectation of all pitchers at some point in their careers? (Anecdotal evidence suggests the Pirates lack some knowledge in this area, too.)
I am not a scout or a baseball expert, but when it comes time for housecleaning (and please, Mr. Nutting, allow it to be time for housecleaning at the end of this season, pretty, pretty please), I would sincerely appreciate a CEO who will hire a general manager who will hire a coaching and development staff who can begin to answer these questions immediately--rather than after these young pitchers are no longer "young" and are earning millions (because as Matt Morris shows, even mediocre MLB pitchers earn millions).
Fake Dreams and Real Dreams
Prior to the start of today's rain-delayed Pirates-Phillies rubber match, I am napping. In the midst of my nap, I have a baseball dream that rouses me from my slumber.
Begin Dream: Ian Snell throws a pitch that (shock of all shocks) goes behind Ronny Paulino. Ian Snell runs to cover the plate as an opposing player is rounding the base paths. However, when Paulino throws the ball to Snell, Snell somehow doesn't catch the ball (I'm not sure if the throw was errant or Snell caught Paulino's receiving skills). And in still more insanity, somehow Freddy Sanchez ends up with the ball that Snell didn't catch. And somehow, miraculously enough, Freddy Sanchez tags out the opposing player at home plate. And the umpire waves that's an "Out." End Dream.
As I groggily roused myself, a few things occurred to me. First and foremost, the fact that I was dreaming about Ian Snell and Freddy Sanchez (probably my two "favorites" on the current team) was only slightly disturbing. But Ronny Paulino? Seriously? Ronny Paulino? And, then, of course, there was the knowledge that despite base running miscues and failure to hit the cutoff man that would put little league players to shame, I had yet to see anything quite so ridiculous as a passed ball, an inability of the pitcher to catch a throw from the catcher, and the second baseman somehow ending up at home plate doing the pitcher's job. Who knows--maybe I missed a version of this particular version of incompetence early on in the summer? Or maybe there's just something crazy incompetent even the Pittsburgh Pirates have yet to do?
In any case, a few hours later, in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Pirates either morph into a MLB team, or the Phillies have a monumental breakdown, or perhaps both events occur simultaneously. In any case, I'm really not dreaming. A seven-run seventh inning, and Ian Snell gets his first victory since before the All-Star break despite giving up four runs? Wow. Seriously, I have to be dreaming. Right? Except, well, I already had that fictional dream, and for today, one game out of 162, it's nice to pretend the Pirates are a MLB team.
Begin Dream: Ian Snell throws a pitch that (shock of all shocks) goes behind Ronny Paulino. Ian Snell runs to cover the plate as an opposing player is rounding the base paths. However, when Paulino throws the ball to Snell, Snell somehow doesn't catch the ball (I'm not sure if the throw was errant or Snell caught Paulino's receiving skills). And in still more insanity, somehow Freddy Sanchez ends up with the ball that Snell didn't catch. And somehow, miraculously enough, Freddy Sanchez tags out the opposing player at home plate. And the umpire waves that's an "Out." End Dream.
As I groggily roused myself, a few things occurred to me. First and foremost, the fact that I was dreaming about Ian Snell and Freddy Sanchez (probably my two "favorites" on the current team) was only slightly disturbing. But Ronny Paulino? Seriously? Ronny Paulino? And, then, of course, there was the knowledge that despite base running miscues and failure to hit the cutoff man that would put little league players to shame, I had yet to see anything quite so ridiculous as a passed ball, an inability of the pitcher to catch a throw from the catcher, and the second baseman somehow ending up at home plate doing the pitcher's job. Who knows--maybe I missed a version of this particular version of incompetence early on in the summer? Or maybe there's just something crazy incompetent even the Pittsburgh Pirates have yet to do?
In any case, a few hours later, in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Pirates either morph into a MLB team, or the Phillies have a monumental breakdown, or perhaps both events occur simultaneously. In any case, I'm really not dreaming. A seven-run seventh inning, and Ian Snell gets his first victory since before the All-Star break despite giving up four runs? Wow. Seriously, I have to be dreaming. Right? Except, well, I already had that fictional dream, and for today, one game out of 162, it's nice to pretend the Pirates are a MLB team.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Jim Tracy Annoys Me
If I have to hear Jim Tracy talk about how "special" a particular player is or could become in the future one more time this season, I am going to overreact. I do not know how I am going to overreact, but rest assured, an overreaction will be forthcoming.
Seriously. As the losses accumulate, Tracy always seems to pull out one of his favorite words. That word? "Special." It's special when a player begins his career. It's special when a career minor leaguer has a night where he masquerades as a major league player. And, oh yes, last night, Ian Snell giving up three runs, no walks, and striking out 7 in 7 innings to the New York Mets was special.
Maybe it's just an over-used Tracy-ism, but I'm sick of hearing about "special." Fine, Sanchez's batting championship last season was legitimately special. But really, Tracy has so overused this term that it's become fraught with meaninglessness...to such a point that I do some odd combination of wincing/snickering/being otherwise unable to keep a straight face while I listen to Tracy's verbosity about some event or playing being or becoming "special."
Snell may yet morph into a 20 game winner at some future point, a top of the rotation pitcher, or he may not. But I will be relieved when I no longer have to hear Jim Tracy talking using such terms as "very special" to describe one of my current favorite Pirates. It's almost too preschool-teacher-like for my liking (I taught middle school for three years, and I would've been eaten alive by my students if I ever talked to or about them the way Tracy talks about his players).
Now there's an interesting question. If Tracy were not a manager of an (allegedly) MLB team, what occupation would best suit his soothing use of terms such as "special" as well as his stubborn inability to recognize/admit mistakes? Thoughts?
As for my thoughts, I have two, and really, they're questions.
1.) When will the Pirates get a new manager? At this point, I'm dreaming of Lloyd or Lamont, and I'm pretty sure that's bad.
2.) Why do I even read the PR drivel on the official website of the Pittsburgh Pirates? For the entertainment value of laughing/wincing at hearing about "special" or just to see how deluded the team truly is or at least pretends to be?
Sigh. I guess hearing about "special" is just another part of the self-inflicted torture I must undergo as a Bucco fan.
But, seriously, Mr. Tracy, find a new word.
Seriously. As the losses accumulate, Tracy always seems to pull out one of his favorite words. That word? "Special." It's special when a player begins his career. It's special when a career minor leaguer has a night where he masquerades as a major league player. And, oh yes, last night, Ian Snell giving up three runs, no walks, and striking out 7 in 7 innings to the New York Mets was special.
Maybe it's just an over-used Tracy-ism, but I'm sick of hearing about "special." Fine, Sanchez's batting championship last season was legitimately special. But really, Tracy has so overused this term that it's become fraught with meaninglessness...to such a point that I do some odd combination of wincing/snickering/being otherwise unable to keep a straight face while I listen to Tracy's verbosity about some event or playing being or becoming "special."
Snell may yet morph into a 20 game winner at some future point, a top of the rotation pitcher, or he may not. But I will be relieved when I no longer have to hear Jim Tracy talking using such terms as "very special" to describe one of my current favorite Pirates. It's almost too preschool-teacher-like for my liking (I taught middle school for three years, and I would've been eaten alive by my students if I ever talked to or about them the way Tracy talks about his players).
Now there's an interesting question. If Tracy were not a manager of an (allegedly) MLB team, what occupation would best suit his soothing use of terms such as "special" as well as his stubborn inability to recognize/admit mistakes? Thoughts?
As for my thoughts, I have two, and really, they're questions.
1.) When will the Pirates get a new manager? At this point, I'm dreaming of Lloyd or Lamont, and I'm pretty sure that's bad.
2.) Why do I even read the PR drivel on the official website of the Pittsburgh Pirates? For the entertainment value of laughing/wincing at hearing about "special" or just to see how deluded the team truly is or at least pretends to be?
Sigh. I guess hearing about "special" is just another part of the self-inflicted torture I must undergo as a Bucco fan.
But, seriously, Mr. Tracy, find a new word.
Stop Teasing Me, Part Two
After tonight's 5-4 loss to the Mets, I have a serious question. When comes the implosion? That's right, not explosion, but implosion.
See, against the NL East leading Mets, the Pirates once again resembled an actual MLB team. (An aside for a note of personal bias: I like Ian Snell as a baseball player. I like his passion, emotion, and the fact that he actually seems to care. I like that he wears his heart on his sleeve, and on the pitching end, I love his stuff.) Snell got hit, but he pitched seven innings and gave up 3 runs to a Mets' team that is not, cough, exactly offensively challenged. Whether it was luck or skill, he got out of jams (aside from the unfortunate third run in an inning that still could have ended in an even ickier situation). And despite stranding runners like crazy at the start of the game, the Pirates somehow were hanging with the Mets.
Until, you see, the laws of talent kicked in, and the Mets' hitters managed to score runs off the best pitchers the Pirates bullpen had to offer. (Seriously, who else would have gone into the game? Grabow?) And then, unfortunately, the game ended with the Pirates' best three healthy hitters: Sanchez, Laroche, and Bay--none of whom could hit Billy Wagner despite trying.
The Mets won because they had more talent. Because even though Sanchez got hits early in the game, even though Snell never walked a Met through seven innings of work, because the Mets had the talent to be able to deal with their leadoff hitter's off night at the plate whereas the Pirates couldn't deal with Jason Bay's off night at the plate--and where the hitters in the bottom of the New York order still got on base when the Pittsburgh hitters couldn't even get manufacture a RBI with the bases loaded.
So, whence comes the implosion? When does the Bucco team quit teasing me by hanging close--so close, yet so far--from the division lead and full-of-.300 hitters Mets lineup?
Pretty easy: As soon as the starting pitching is less than stellar. Which should happen, hmm, when? Because the sad truth is, even with excellent starting pitching, the Pittsburgh lineup isn't good enough to beat the lineup of a division leading team.
See, against the NL East leading Mets, the Pirates once again resembled an actual MLB team. (An aside for a note of personal bias: I like Ian Snell as a baseball player. I like his passion, emotion, and the fact that he actually seems to care. I like that he wears his heart on his sleeve, and on the pitching end, I love his stuff.) Snell got hit, but he pitched seven innings and gave up 3 runs to a Mets' team that is not, cough, exactly offensively challenged. Whether it was luck or skill, he got out of jams (aside from the unfortunate third run in an inning that still could have ended in an even ickier situation). And despite stranding runners like crazy at the start of the game, the Pirates somehow were hanging with the Mets.
Until, you see, the laws of talent kicked in, and the Mets' hitters managed to score runs off the best pitchers the Pirates bullpen had to offer. (Seriously, who else would have gone into the game? Grabow?) And then, unfortunately, the game ended with the Pirates' best three healthy hitters: Sanchez, Laroche, and Bay--none of whom could hit Billy Wagner despite trying.
The Mets won because they had more talent. Because even though Sanchez got hits early in the game, even though Snell never walked a Met through seven innings of work, because the Mets had the talent to be able to deal with their leadoff hitter's off night at the plate whereas the Pirates couldn't deal with Jason Bay's off night at the plate--and where the hitters in the bottom of the New York order still got on base when the Pittsburgh hitters couldn't even get manufacture a RBI with the bases loaded.
So, whence comes the implosion? When does the Bucco team quit teasing me by hanging close--so close, yet so far--from the division lead and full-of-.300 hitters Mets lineup?
Pretty easy: As soon as the starting pitching is less than stellar. Which should happen, hmm, when? Because the sad truth is, even with excellent starting pitching, the Pittsburgh lineup isn't good enough to beat the lineup of a division leading team.
Stop Teasing Me
So I watched the Pirates come back against the Giants this past weekend. Now, even when it comes to good teams (last year's version of the Penguins comes to mind), I tend to doubtful cynicism. Perhaps it's my natural temperament, but when it comes to the Pirates, I have to believe my dubiousness is more the result of a decade and a half of ineptitude than anything naturally ingrained in my cynical temperament.
In any case, in four of five games against the Giants, the Pirates resembled an actual MLB baseball team. Seriously, they did. The defending batting champion hit like a defending batting champion, and amazingly enough, the Pirates were able to string together series of hits and score runs. For four games, the pitching did what it needed to do against a Giants lineup (in the Morris start, the bullpen did) that's probably close to the Pirates in terms of comical ineptitude.
So, even as I couldn't believe my eyes as the Pirates mounted a comeback against the Giants, even as I doubted that the team had won 4 games in a row, I realized something very basic, something which baffled the Bucco announcers all weekend when comparing San Francisco statistics to those of Arizona, and here is that basic realization: The Giants are bad. The Giants are very, very bad. Remove Barry Bonds from that lineup, and the Giants are worse than the Pirates. Sure, apparently on a statistical level (see: certain ERA's of young starting pitchers) some things are working appropriately, except for the fact that none of those things that are working are working well enough to win. Look at the Giants' won-loss record. It's putrid. And thus comes the truth.
The Pirates weren't teasing me. They only looked like a MLB team because they were playing a team that, sans Bonds, is, like them, a sad facsimile of a legitimate MLB team and, at best, a AAA plus team masquerading as a MLB team while wearing big league uniforms.
In any case, in four of five games against the Giants, the Pirates resembled an actual MLB baseball team. Seriously, they did. The defending batting champion hit like a defending batting champion, and amazingly enough, the Pirates were able to string together series of hits and score runs. For four games, the pitching did what it needed to do against a Giants lineup (in the Morris start, the bullpen did) that's probably close to the Pirates in terms of comical ineptitude.
So, even as I couldn't believe my eyes as the Pirates mounted a comeback against the Giants, even as I doubted that the team had won 4 games in a row, I realized something very basic, something which baffled the Bucco announcers all weekend when comparing San Francisco statistics to those of Arizona, and here is that basic realization: The Giants are bad. The Giants are very, very bad. Remove Barry Bonds from that lineup, and the Giants are worse than the Pirates. Sure, apparently on a statistical level (see: certain ERA's of young starting pitchers) some things are working appropriately, except for the fact that none of those things that are working are working well enough to win. Look at the Giants' won-loss record. It's putrid. And thus comes the truth.
The Pirates weren't teasing me. They only looked like a MLB team because they were playing a team that, sans Bonds, is, like them, a sad facsimile of a legitimate MLB team and, at best, a AAA plus team masquerading as a MLB team while wearing big league uniforms.
Senior Leadership Council Is The Problem
So I'm late on this, but weeks ago, Jim Tracy summoned his team's "senior leadership council" (Bob Smizik's terminology) to his office to set, wait for it, the then-and-now impossible goal of 82 wins for the season. Why was 82 wins, if not impossible at season's start, an unlikely outcome for this team? Look no further than the team's "senior leadership council."
Look at this list of players. Seriously.
Jack Wilson,Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Salomon Torres, Xavier Nady, Shawn Chacon, and Adam LaRoche.
On what planet where MLB is played are these players a team's "senior leadership council"? Truth told, as human beings, I like the players; they seem affable and decent guys. But as LEADERS on a team? Please.
All of these above players, at best, are complimentary players on a team that has any hope or dream of contending (and yes, in the NL Central, 82 wins is contending).
Sanchez, when healthy, can hit and field quite well. But he lacks speed and his recent power surge aside, he's not a power hitter. Sanchez has an important role to play on a legitimate contender, but it is not as a number three or four hitter.
Bay, when streaking as he so tends to streak, is a lovely supplementary star. He can get pitches to hit, and when he's hot, he's hot. But he never will be a star player whose mere presence catapults a team to contention.
Laroche, when streaking, is also a lovely supplementary power guy. But Laroche was successful in Atlanta perhaps due to the role in that lineup he played. Laroche was not a star clean-up hitter there. But he does hit for power, and on a contending team, Laroche plays a role, but further down in the batting order.
Wilson, despite muffing up that double play tonight and irritating me, can also play a role on a contending team as a number eight hitter and defensively reliable shortstop--or as a bench player.
While I personally like Xavier Nady (partially due to his awesome first name, I know, fan silliness), he is a platoon player on a contending team, and a valuable platoon player at that--or, on a team that is closer to the downside of .500 than the upside of .500 (a la contending teams in the NL Central), he bats further down in the order and provides some offense in that part of the order.
And the pitchers? Granted, tonight's 8th inning is perhaps a bad time to get me started on the pitchers, but seriously? Shawn Chacon who was jettisoned from a team that wanted to win and Salomon Torres, who is having a rough time despite forgiving David Littlefield? I mean, these players are experienced, sure, but are they even good? (Hint: No.) And lately, they've been less than average.
So, in sum, here is the problem: Aside from four young pitchers (Gorzo, Snell, Maholm, and Capps), the Pirates in this "leadership council" amount to the actual MLB talent on the roster. None of these players have any business being key cogs in the wheel of a contender; at best, even our "best" players, a la Sanchez and Bay, would be supplementary/complimentary players on a legitimate contender.
And yet Bucco management is currently stupid enough to believe that if the team builds around this "core" of players, the team might contend in 2009. Right. Sure. In an old kid phrase I'll use, As if.
If the Pirates are to contend in a division that remains as comically inept as this year's Comedy Central, they need to replace all the non-major MLB players in their lineup, or the charitably below average MLB players, with players who have the same level of complimentary skill as do Nady, Laroche, et. al.
And if the Pirates truly want to contend, they'd better start figuring out how to identify, acquire, develop, or obtain by any possible means those players who are not merely complimentary players but are legitimate All-Stars who can win 20 games a season as a pitcher or hit .320 and give you 45 homeruns and 120 RBI's. To legitimately contend, the Pirates need at least one bonafide position star and a few bonafide pitching stars supplemented by above-average MLB complimentary talent.
But, of course, there are currently 2 issues with my analysis:
1.) I'm not a baseball guru by any stretch of the imagination, but I can clearly state something I'm not sure anyone in the Bucco organization knows. No one on your team's leadership council is a star player around whom a lineup should be built--you have a few decent to good to occasionally very good complimentary players. That is all you have.*
2.) Does the team's ownership group even care so long as the team turns a profit? Somehow the team's win-loss record speaks to my doubt far more clearly than does anything else.
*Caveat: You do appear to have some potentially great starting pitching. Potentially great. It's not at the great level yet, and given this organization's horrific record with pitcher injuries, I'm just calling it very good potential. Talk to me about "actually very good" when 2 starters win 15 games in a season.
Look at this list of players. Seriously.
Jack Wilson,Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Salomon Torres, Xavier Nady, Shawn Chacon, and Adam LaRoche.
On what planet where MLB is played are these players a team's "senior leadership council"? Truth told, as human beings, I like the players; they seem affable and decent guys. But as LEADERS on a team? Please.
All of these above players, at best, are complimentary players on a team that has any hope or dream of contending (and yes, in the NL Central, 82 wins is contending).
Sanchez, when healthy, can hit and field quite well. But he lacks speed and his recent power surge aside, he's not a power hitter. Sanchez has an important role to play on a legitimate contender, but it is not as a number three or four hitter.
Bay, when streaking as he so tends to streak, is a lovely supplementary star. He can get pitches to hit, and when he's hot, he's hot. But he never will be a star player whose mere presence catapults a team to contention.
Laroche, when streaking, is also a lovely supplementary power guy. But Laroche was successful in Atlanta perhaps due to the role in that lineup he played. Laroche was not a star clean-up hitter there. But he does hit for power, and on a contending team, Laroche plays a role, but further down in the batting order.
Wilson, despite muffing up that double play tonight and irritating me, can also play a role on a contending team as a number eight hitter and defensively reliable shortstop--or as a bench player.
While I personally like Xavier Nady (partially due to his awesome first name, I know, fan silliness), he is a platoon player on a contending team, and a valuable platoon player at that--or, on a team that is closer to the downside of .500 than the upside of .500 (a la contending teams in the NL Central), he bats further down in the order and provides some offense in that part of the order.
And the pitchers? Granted, tonight's 8th inning is perhaps a bad time to get me started on the pitchers, but seriously? Shawn Chacon who was jettisoned from a team that wanted to win and Salomon Torres, who is having a rough time despite forgiving David Littlefield? I mean, these players are experienced, sure, but are they even good? (Hint: No.) And lately, they've been less than average.
So, in sum, here is the problem: Aside from four young pitchers (Gorzo, Snell, Maholm, and Capps), the Pirates in this "leadership council" amount to the actual MLB talent on the roster. None of these players have any business being key cogs in the wheel of a contender; at best, even our "best" players, a la Sanchez and Bay, would be supplementary/complimentary players on a legitimate contender.
And yet Bucco management is currently stupid enough to believe that if the team builds around this "core" of players, the team might contend in 2009. Right. Sure. In an old kid phrase I'll use, As if.
If the Pirates are to contend in a division that remains as comically inept as this year's Comedy Central, they need to replace all the non-major MLB players in their lineup, or the charitably below average MLB players, with players who have the same level of complimentary skill as do Nady, Laroche, et. al.
And if the Pirates truly want to contend, they'd better start figuring out how to identify, acquire, develop, or obtain by any possible means those players who are not merely complimentary players but are legitimate All-Stars who can win 20 games a season as a pitcher or hit .320 and give you 45 homeruns and 120 RBI's. To legitimately contend, the Pirates need at least one bonafide position star and a few bonafide pitching stars supplemented by above-average MLB complimentary talent.
But, of course, there are currently 2 issues with my analysis:
1.) I'm not a baseball guru by any stretch of the imagination, but I can clearly state something I'm not sure anyone in the Bucco organization knows. No one on your team's leadership council is a star player around whom a lineup should be built--you have a few decent to good to occasionally very good complimentary players. That is all you have.*
2.) Does the team's ownership group even care so long as the team turns a profit? Somehow the team's win-loss record speaks to my doubt far more clearly than does anything else.
*Caveat: You do appear to have some potentially great starting pitching. Potentially great. It's not at the great level yet, and given this organization's horrific record with pitcher injuries, I'm just calling it very good potential. Talk to me about "actually very good" when 2 starters win 15 games in a season.
My Rationale for a Blog: My Own Sanity
So I grew up watching the Pirates. The team last had a winning season when I was ten years old, but those years from 1988 to 1992 were magical, playoff losses aside. In any case, as a child I learned to appreciate Major League Baseball.
By MLB baseball, I mean these things:
--An outfield that usually consisted of Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, and Bobby Bonilla, who, at that time, were all ABOVE-average (at bare minimum) MLB players. Some would say good, some would say great, but to put it mildly, they were better than a lot of other outfielders. Bonilla's occasional adventures aside (I was a kid, so give me a break if I don't remember specifics), the players could HIT and FIELD. In retrospect, it truly was astounding.
--A team that possessed solid MLB pitching. A starting rotation that consisted of Doug Drabek and John Smiley, players who at the time were among the league's elite starting pitchers, supplemented by pitchers who weren't All-Stars but knew how to win baseball games. Really, a Cy Young winner, and a 20 game winner? Talk about bygones of a different era.
--Very importantly, a front office that identified, assembled, and acquired talent (until 1992, anyhow) and a manager who understood his players and the game and who knew how to coach winning teams and All-Star players.
--Most importantly, a team that had the talent to win and that expected to win, each and every night. The MLB team I grew up watching played in a boring stadium, but the players I watched were terrific talents, All-Stars in their time supplemented by solid MLB players. Repeating what's most important: The team had the talent to win, believed it could win, and amazingly, won a lot of games that were pleasant for a young girl to watch.
That being said, I still have those memories of those Pirates teams. Despite trying, I can't bring myself to root for a baseball team with an ownership group (a la the Yankees) who, for however evil, actually has shown concern for winning AND profit rather than just profit. This is perhaps the born-and-raised Pittsburgher in me, or just the delusional aspect of being a fan. Whatever it is, however, it's annoying and ingratiating when it comes to the baseball team I root for, but it is what I have.
So thus, this blog blossoms into being--and really, writing helps keep me sane. So as I enjoy a summer in Pittsburgh and try to maintain my sanity while watching my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates masquerade as a legitimate MLB team in the most beautiful park in America, I must blog. For sanity's sake.
By MLB baseball, I mean these things:
--An outfield that usually consisted of Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, and Bobby Bonilla, who, at that time, were all ABOVE-average (at bare minimum) MLB players. Some would say good, some would say great, but to put it mildly, they were better than a lot of other outfielders. Bonilla's occasional adventures aside (I was a kid, so give me a break if I don't remember specifics), the players could HIT and FIELD. In retrospect, it truly was astounding.
--A team that possessed solid MLB pitching. A starting rotation that consisted of Doug Drabek and John Smiley, players who at the time were among the league's elite starting pitchers, supplemented by pitchers who weren't All-Stars but knew how to win baseball games. Really, a Cy Young winner, and a 20 game winner? Talk about bygones of a different era.
--Very importantly, a front office that identified, assembled, and acquired talent (until 1992, anyhow) and a manager who understood his players and the game and who knew how to coach winning teams and All-Star players.
--Most importantly, a team that had the talent to win and that expected to win, each and every night. The MLB team I grew up watching played in a boring stadium, but the players I watched were terrific talents, All-Stars in their time supplemented by solid MLB players. Repeating what's most important: The team had the talent to win, believed it could win, and amazingly, won a lot of games that were pleasant for a young girl to watch.
That being said, I still have those memories of those Pirates teams. Despite trying, I can't bring myself to root for a baseball team with an ownership group (a la the Yankees) who, for however evil, actually has shown concern for winning AND profit rather than just profit. This is perhaps the born-and-raised Pittsburgher in me, or just the delusional aspect of being a fan. Whatever it is, however, it's annoying and ingratiating when it comes to the baseball team I root for, but it is what I have.
So thus, this blog blossoms into being--and really, writing helps keep me sane. So as I enjoy a summer in Pittsburgh and try to maintain my sanity while watching my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates masquerade as a legitimate MLB team in the most beautiful park in America, I must blog. For sanity's sake.
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