Wow. 1 Blowout, 2 blown games in extra innings and one blown gasket for Ian Snell. That's what you call a productive weekend.
But seriously, Ian Snell rocks. He - get this - wants to win. And he plays for the Pirates. There's the rub. His tirade was priceless - here's part of it:
"I [f*&%ing] hate losing. I hate when the team doesn't bring out its full potential. And if they fine me, fine me. I don't care. Because this is getting stupid. We're better than what we're showing."
Folks, that's emotion from a Pirate player.
Protest
So, as everyone now knows, there's a protest planned for Saturday's Bob Walk bobblehead night. In principle, I am with this group - but I just don't see their method proving fruitful. Buying a ticket, watching the game get blown out of hand in the first 3 innings, then walking out for an inning, then RETURNING to your seats? Sorry guys, the only way to protest is to NOT buy tickets and protest outside the venue. I've stood by my stance to not purchase anything from the Pirates this year. I've gone to several games, but only on my company's tickets and parking pass.
Altoona Curve
Altoona split a series this weekend with Reading, playing the 4th game at 9:30AM Monday.
Friday: W 4-2, Pearce: 2/3 - 2B, 3B, RBI; Cutch 1/4
Saturday: L 3-1, Brazelton took the loss (4 IP, 3ER, 2BB, 2K), Walker: 1/3 - 2B, BB; Cutch 0/4
Sunday: W 5-4, Herrera gets the W (5IP, 6H, 2ER, 5K, 1BB), Walker: 0/2 - 2BB; Cutch 1/3 - BB
Monday: L 4-3, Walker: 0/3 - BB, Pearce: 1/4, Cutch 1/4
A good weekend for the Pens
The Pens drafted Angelo Esposito at 20 on Friday night, which is about 19 spots lower than he would've gone about 3 months ago. The Pens really seem to have gotten a steal with this pick. If Espo shows up ready for camp in a few months, I think he'll find himself alongside Sid for years to come.
And the old heads return:
Recchi & Roberts sign on for another year. Rex at an incentive-laden 2M deal and Roberts for 2.5M. Hearing Roberts' comments about staying with the Pens gave me chills this morning on the ride to work. He was saying that he couldn't see himself in another jersey & he understands the risk it would be for the Pens to extend him for more than 1 year at a time. (It's amazing that some professional athletes actually understand the business.)
My prediction for the night: The Pirates don't lose.
6.25.2007
6.22.2007
Back to Back Blankings
Mariners 3
Pirates 0
Well, at least we're consistent? John Van Benschoten's arm didn't fall off yet? King Felix's ERA wasn't double-digits prior to the game? Masumi Kuwata actually knows how to throw strikes? These are the only positives I can draw from this game. Thank goodness FSN didn't broadcast it. Not much to write home about on this game.
This weekend's series will be ugly. I'm not sure the Pirates can pull one game out of Anaheim. Here are the matchups:
6.22: Joe Saunders vs. Zach Duke - ouch.
6.23: Kelvim Escobar vs. Ian Snell - AWESOME pitching matchup. Can't wait to see this game.
6.24: John Lackey vs. Tom Gorzellany - Another great matchup. I've heard rumblings that Lackey may sit this one out. Stay tuned.
Milton Bradley?
No, not this one. The crazy one. He was DFA'd by the A's & the Pirates are apparently interested (per Rotoworld). Let me just say that I would love this move. Having said that, I recognize that David Littleyield will botch it. But it would be great to get Bradley in CF for the Bucs & put an end to the Tike Redman, errr, Chris Duffy experience. Maybe some of the other Pirates would learn that you don't have to swing at everything the pitches throws in the general direction of homeplate.
Another Curve Double-Header
The Curve were swept this time. (2-1, 12-3)
Pearce: 2-5 with a 2B
Walker: 2-4 with a 2B, 2BB, SB (nice to see him getting a better understanding of the strike zone)
Cutch: 1-6
No pitchers of note threw in these games for the Curve, but Nate Robertson on a rehab stint for the Tigers went 6 hitless innings in the first game. Nice.
Nix a Panther
Nate Nix's "little" bro Lucas will be joining him at Pitt in 2008. He's 6-6, 300# D-lineman from Thomas Jefferson HS. Pitt supposedly beat out ~ 50 other scholarship offers. Too bad Terrell Pryor won't be joining the recruiting class.
Pens Draft this weekend
No Fluery, Crosby, Malkin or Staal coming out of this year's. But hopefully the Pens can extract a quality D prospect out of this class. Hopefully some word comes out soon about Gary Roberts sticking around for '08 and then can add a Top-4 type D-man (two may be in house already in Goligoski & Letang) and a scoring winger for Sid's line.
Pirates 0
Well, at least we're consistent? John Van Benschoten's arm didn't fall off yet? King Felix's ERA wasn't double-digits prior to the game? Masumi Kuwata actually knows how to throw strikes? These are the only positives I can draw from this game. Thank goodness FSN didn't broadcast it. Not much to write home about on this game.
This weekend's series will be ugly. I'm not sure the Pirates can pull one game out of Anaheim. Here are the matchups:
6.22: Joe Saunders vs. Zach Duke - ouch.
6.23: Kelvim Escobar vs. Ian Snell - AWESOME pitching matchup. Can't wait to see this game.
6.24: John Lackey vs. Tom Gorzellany - Another great matchup. I've heard rumblings that Lackey may sit this one out. Stay tuned.
Milton Bradley?
No, not this one. The crazy one. He was DFA'd by the A's & the Pirates are apparently interested (per Rotoworld). Let me just say that I would love this move. Having said that, I recognize that David Littleyield will botch it. But it would be great to get Bradley in CF for the Bucs & put an end to the Tike Redman, errr, Chris Duffy experience. Maybe some of the other Pirates would learn that you don't have to swing at everything the pitches throws in the general direction of homeplate.
Another Curve Double-Header
The Curve were swept this time. (2-1, 12-3)
Pearce: 2-5 with a 2B
Walker: 2-4 with a 2B, 2BB, SB (nice to see him getting a better understanding of the strike zone)
Cutch: 1-6
No pitchers of note threw in these games for the Curve, but Nate Robertson on a rehab stint for the Tigers went 6 hitless innings in the first game. Nice.
Nix a Panther
Nate Nix's "little" bro Lucas will be joining him at Pitt in 2008. He's 6-6, 300# D-lineman from Thomas Jefferson HS. Pitt supposedly beat out ~ 50 other scholarship offers. Too bad Terrell Pryor won't be joining the recruiting class.
Pens Draft this weekend
No Fluery, Crosby, Malkin or Staal coming out of this year's. But hopefully the Pens can extract a quality D prospect out of this class. Hopefully some word comes out soon about Gary Roberts sticking around for '08 and then can add a Top-4 type D-man (two may be in house already in Goligoski & Letang) and a scoring winger for Sid's line.
EDIT: Apparently, all I had to do was mention Roberts & Recchi for the Pens to re-up with both these guys. Sweet.
Stillers extend Hoke
Chris Hoke will be sitting on the Steeler's bench for 4 more years. I actually like the guy & think he and Casey Hampton could be a stud DT combo in a 4-3 set with Keisel & Smith on the outside.
6.21.2007
Poppin' the blog
A quick foreward before starting my blogging life:
I'm 23 years old & Pittsburgh through and through. I was born here, grew up here, went to school here & plan to live here the rest of my life. I love everything about this town, well, maybe not everything - but most things, especially it's sports teams. I've played baseball since I could grip a ball & have been obsessing over it since. The Pirates, however, have done nothing but torture me since I was 9. More on them later. I also was enamored with the Penguins & hockey, only to have them go through a similar dryspell to the Bucs. That's over now. I shouldn't have to say anything about Steeler, excuse me, Stiller football - I did mention I was from Pittsburgh. I'm a Pitt guy as well, but have been teased by both football & basketball teams in recent memory. But, like I said, I love sports. And that's where I'll go from here.
Mariners 7
Pirates 0.
Honestly, who didn't see this one coming? As soon as I saw Jeff Weaver and his massive ERA were taking the mound Wednesday night, I just KNEW the Bucs were going to get blanked. Being that this game took place on the Left coast and my 6 month old TV is on the fritz, I didn't see any of it firsthand (luckily).
-Freddy Sanchez at least had 2 hits in this one to raise his season average to .302, unfortunately his OPS still is a meager .714, but at least it's on the rise as well (increased 24 points in the past 14 days/10 games). The big difference is the doubles - Freddy was a doubles machine last year (53), approaching the Pirate club record for doubles in a season held by Paul Waner (63). In 2006, Freddy averaged about a double every 11 ABs, while in '07 he's at a 2B per 18 at bats.
-Paul Mahom continues to rack up the losses. In all honesty, he's not a terrible 4/5 starter, but I really thought the ceiling was higher for this guy. The scary part about his stats, along with Zach Duke, is the Opponent's BA & WHIP. Opposing teams are hitting .289 against Maholm, which is actually better (marginally) than his '06 numbers (.295), while his WHIP is considerably better - 0.2 runners/IP better than '06. Basically, what I'm saying is that Zach Duke & Paul Maholm would throw back to back no-hitters against the Bucs.
Altoona Curve 3, Erie Seawolves 4
Altoona Curve 4, Erie Seawolves 1
Todd Redmond made his AA debut, and pitched well: 5 IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K. Redmond's an intriguing guy, yet another soft-tosser in the Bucco organization, but the guy at least has decent K/BB ratios throughout the minors, unlike some other people...
Andrew McCutcheon struggled in the double header, going 0-8. ugh. Still, he's 20 in AA and could outplay Chris Duffy in his sleep.
Steve Pearce went 2-7 with a 3-run HR. His AA stats now read .313/.385/.579. Wow. Say it with me: "He's a Pirate power hitting prospect...?" I'd like to see the Curve get him some time in the OF to see how versatile he is in the field. I've heard good things about his D, but I'd like to have options if Adam LaRoche gets off his schneid and turns into a building block for the big club.
(Pine Richland's) Neil Walker went 1-7 and is hitting .314/.371/.541.
Adam Boeve hit a HR and went 2-6 with a HR. Adam, I hope you enjoy Altoona, you're the new Adam Hyzdu.
Pitt Panther gets "Queer Eye for the Mascot" make-over.
Let's just say that as an alum, I'm not too happy with the new logo. Maybe it'll grow on me. But I know that if a panther that looked like that attacked me, I wouldn't be afraid to do this.
I'm 23 years old & Pittsburgh through and through. I was born here, grew up here, went to school here & plan to live here the rest of my life. I love everything about this town, well, maybe not everything - but most things, especially it's sports teams. I've played baseball since I could grip a ball & have been obsessing over it since. The Pirates, however, have done nothing but torture me since I was 9. More on them later. I also was enamored with the Penguins & hockey, only to have them go through a similar dryspell to the Bucs. That's over now. I shouldn't have to say anything about Steeler, excuse me, Stiller football - I did mention I was from Pittsburgh. I'm a Pitt guy as well, but have been teased by both football & basketball teams in recent memory. But, like I said, I love sports. And that's where I'll go from here.
Mariners 7
Pirates 0.
Honestly, who didn't see this one coming? As soon as I saw Jeff Weaver and his massive ERA were taking the mound Wednesday night, I just KNEW the Bucs were going to get blanked. Being that this game took place on the Left coast and my 6 month old TV is on the fritz, I didn't see any of it firsthand (luckily).
-Freddy Sanchez at least had 2 hits in this one to raise his season average to .302, unfortunately his OPS still is a meager .714, but at least it's on the rise as well (increased 24 points in the past 14 days/10 games). The big difference is the doubles - Freddy was a doubles machine last year (53), approaching the Pirate club record for doubles in a season held by Paul Waner (63). In 2006, Freddy averaged about a double every 11 ABs, while in '07 he's at a 2B per 18 at bats.
-Paul Mahom continues to rack up the losses. In all honesty, he's not a terrible 4/5 starter, but I really thought the ceiling was higher for this guy. The scary part about his stats, along with Zach Duke, is the Opponent's BA & WHIP. Opposing teams are hitting .289 against Maholm, which is actually better (marginally) than his '06 numbers (.295), while his WHIP is considerably better - 0.2 runners/IP better than '06. Basically, what I'm saying is that Zach Duke & Paul Maholm would throw back to back no-hitters against the Bucs.
Altoona Curve 3, Erie Seawolves 4
Altoona Curve 4, Erie Seawolves 1
Todd Redmond made his AA debut, and pitched well: 5 IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K. Redmond's an intriguing guy, yet another soft-tosser in the Bucco organization, but the guy at least has decent K/BB ratios throughout the minors, unlike some other people...
Andrew McCutcheon struggled in the double header, going 0-8. ugh. Still, he's 20 in AA and could outplay Chris Duffy in his sleep.
Steve Pearce went 2-7 with a 3-run HR. His AA stats now read .313/.385/.579. Wow. Say it with me: "He's a Pirate power hitting prospect...?" I'd like to see the Curve get him some time in the OF to see how versatile he is in the field. I've heard good things about his D, but I'd like to have options if Adam LaRoche gets off his schneid and turns into a building block for the big club.
(Pine Richland's) Neil Walker went 1-7 and is hitting .314/.371/.541.
Adam Boeve hit a HR and went 2-6 with a HR. Adam, I hope you enjoy Altoona, you're the new Adam Hyzdu.
Pitt Panther gets "Queer Eye for the Mascot" make-over.
Let's just say that as an alum, I'm not too happy with the new logo. Maybe it'll grow on me. But I know that if a panther that looked like that attacked me, I wouldn't be afraid to do this.
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