Pirates @ Astros: 8.30.11

I've really been lacking in posts recently and for that I am sorry. I didn't deliver on the draft pick post or posts concerning the trading deadline. I also have been struggling to get up series and game previews and honestly its unacceptable. Now that football is getting started and the pirates are officially in the tank and playing some really bad baseball, I'm looking at you bullpen, writing about them is tough. I will try to power through and that begins tonight. Charlie Morton take the hill against some guy named Sosa looking for his 10th win. Morton struggled in his previous outing but before that had been pretty special in the month of August. I think the pirates really need a win tonight because losing a series to the Astros is just flat out unacceptable. With that being said, look for Morton to be special and for Presley and Walker to have big games. Bucs win 6-1.

Pirates @ Cardinals: 8.25.11 - Live Blog

We will be live blogging tonight for Charlie Morton's start against the Cardinals.  Party starts roughly at 8pm.  See you there...

8:29pm - OK.  I lied.  There will be no live blog tonight as I am now firmly entrenched in watching the Little League World Series game that features Pennsylvania.  It also features a crowd of over 33,000 fans.  Unbelievable.  Go over to ESPN 2 and check it out and Let's Go Keystone!

Pirates vs. Brewers: 8.23.11

Sorry I have been absent from posting lately.  Yesterday my dad and I took in the doubleheader against the Brewers and if you want to know what I thought about it.  Check me out on twitter (@bfollett21) since that is how I was reacting while I was at the game last night.  Tonight's game sees Ross Ohlendorf return to the team to make his first start since April 8th (wow).  He will be opposed by Marco Estrada who shut down the Pirates the last time they saw him, going 5 innings while allowing no runs on 1 hit.  I don't expect Ohlendorf to be very good, but hopefully he pitches like the power pitcher he can be rather than the sissy pitch to contact guy that he has shown in the past.  I know the guy can ramp it up into the mid 90's so that is what I want to see from him tonight.  Hopefully that, and the Pirates pitchers continue to dominate Prince Fielder who was 0 for the doubleheader last night.  In the end, tonight's game is about building on the momentum and the feeling of success that the ballclub has from finally beating the Brewers (and doing it pretty handily, I might add) and allowing that one game success turn into something I like to call a winning streak.  Let's Go Bucs.

P.S. If you haven't heard, Jose Tabata signed an extremely team friendly 6 year contract that buys up all his arbitration years.  The deal will pay Tabata $500,000 this year, $750,000 in 2012, 1 million in 2013, 3 million in 2014, 4 million in 2015 and 4.5 million in 2016.  The deal also includes team options for Tabata's first THREE free agency years.  Those would be 6.5 million for 2017, 7.5 million for 2018 and 8.5 million for 2019.  Talk about a deal.  Wow.  Tabata loves playing in Pittsburgh and this deal should allow the talented outfielder to patrol right field in PNC Park for many years to come.

Draft Recap

I know this is going to come pretty late but I want to make sure I hit everything that I want to since what the Pirates did on draft day frankly hasn't ever been done in the history of baseball.  The Pirates spent 17.4 million dollars on 24 draft picks and gave a record 8 million to 1st overall pick Gerrit Cole and another record 5 million to 2nd round pick Josh Bell.  I plan to recap the top 2 picks and the rest of the draft class and what their signing with the Pirates mean to the organization.  All of this will come over the weekend, stay tuned...

Pirates vs. Reds: 8.19.11 - 8.21.11

Series: Pirates vs. Reds; PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

TV, radio: Root Sports (Fri/Sun) & FOX (Sat), WPGB-FM (104.7).

Facts/Reaction: The Pirates enter their weekend series with the Reds after winning 2 of 3 games against NL Central rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals.  This series victory comes off the heels of a series sweep at the hands of the NL Central leading Brewers.  The Pirates have won 2 of the last 3 series after losing 10 straight games.  The team also now has won more games this year (58) than all of last year (57).  The Pirates are now entering a stretch where they will play 20 of their next 21 games against NL Central rivals, with the lone out of division game coming in the form of a rain makeup game on  September 1st against the Dodgers.

Pitching Probables:

Friday, August 19 - Kevin Correia (12-11, 4.62 ERA) vs. Homer Bailey (7-5, 4.43 ERA)

Saturday, August 20 - Charlie Morton (9-6, 3.43 ERA) vs. Dontrelle Willis (0-3, 4.08 ERA)
 

Sunday, August 21 - James McDonald (8-6, 4.20 ERA) vs. TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Stats and Matchup: The Pirates enter this weekend's series 13.5 GB in the Central and 1.5 games behind the 3rd place Reds.  The Pirates took 2 of 3 from the Reds in the series played at PNC Park in a series that had the Pirates 7 games above .500 and in 1st place.  How fast and far the Buccos have fallen since then.  However, the Pirates are 7-2 against the Reds this season and have won every series that they have played against them.

Friday - The Pirates will face Homer Bailey for the first time this season.  Bailey has been good as of late, going 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA in his last 3 starts.  Jones, Doumit and McCutchen have averages over .300 in their career against Bailey.  Opposing Bailey is Kevin Correia who is 0-3 in his last 3 starts but pitched 7 innings while only giving up 1 run in a 1-0 loss to the Brewers last Saturday.

Saturday - Charlie Morton looks to put together his 4th good start in a row.  Morton is 1-0, with a 0.40 ERA and 16 strikeouts in his past 3 starts.  How crazy is it that after last season where Charlie was 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA, he is going for his 10th win of the year and has an ERA under 3.50.  All I can say is, unbelievable.

Sunday - James McDonald against who knows since the Reds haven't announced it year.  Up in the rotation would be Mike Leake, who the Pirates have already beaten this year.  So whether it is him or someone else, we will see.

Prediction: Pirates win 2 of 3 in front of huge home crowds.  Charlie wins his 10th game of the year and the Pirates go to 9-3 on the season against their NL Central division rivals.

Pirates vs. Cardinals: 8.15.11

I decided not to write today because let's be honest, the weekend in Milwaukee sucked.  The Pirates return home to play the Cardinals after getting swept by the Brewers (although they could have pretty easily won 2 of 3 if they would have gotten ANY offense).  Anyways, Pirates vs. Cardinals tonight.  McDonald vs. Westbrook.  Lastly, for the Pirates to win they must get some offense from Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker who were a combined 2 for 23 in the series against the Brewers with both hits coming off the bat of McCutchen.  As we have seen, this team has very little offense and in order to win their "best" offensive weapons need to step up.  Let's go Bucs!

Pirates @ Brewers: 8.13.11

Friday night's game against the Brewers was just about the same as any other game against the Brewers over the past 4 or 5 years so I'm not really even going to talk much about it.  The Pirates lost 7-2, only had 6 hits and struck out 9 times against Zach Greinke.  Same stuff, different day with the Pirates vs. Brewers, now on to today's game.

Programming Note: Today's matchup is @ 4:10pm and will be on FOX as their Saturday Game of the Week.  I wonder how pissed FOX is that they are wasting their time on a Pittsburgh team that was flying high and in first place when they made their game choice for this weekend but is now 11 games back in the NL Central after going 2-12 in their last 14 games.  Oh well.

Kevin Correia (12-10, 4.78 ERA) vs. Marco Estrada (2-7, 4.80 ERA)

Well Correia has been flat out bad recently, going 1-2 with a 8.36 ERA and only 8 strikeouts in his last 3 starts.  However, there is a bright side, Correia is 10-2 with a 2.74 ERA in 13 starts away from PNC Park this year.  So there may be a little bit of hope for his prospects of pitching well against such a potent Brewers lineup.  Correia hasn't exactly pitched well against Milwaukee but those were seasons past.  Opposing Correia is Marco Estrada, who was injected into the starting rotation as a spot start for Chris Narveson.  He has been in the bullpen for most of the season and hasn't made a start since early May when he gave up 7 runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Braves.  In order for the Pirates to win, they need to play from ahead.  To do this they will need to get to Estrada early and often and hopefully during that time, Correia can hold off the Brewers potent attack.  In the end, all I want is for Hanrahan to enter the game in a meaningful situation and since Hurdle refuses to use him unless it is a save situation, the Pirates are going to have the lead going into the bottom of the 9th.  Hanrahan has made 12 consecutive scoreless appearances and has posted a 0.63 ERA in his past 42 appearances.  The Pirates are 50-0 this season when leading after 8 innings, let see if they can make it 51-0.  Let's Go Bucs!

Off Day & Brewers Series Game 1

Today the Pirates spend their off day enjoying their first series victory since taking 2 of 3 at home against Cincinnati July 18-20.  Their recent series against the Giants saw the Pirates return to the recipe of success that had them 7 games over .500 and in 1st place only 2 1/2 weeks ago.  In their 2 victories against the Giants the Pirates starters allowed 2 runs in 14 innings pitched and the bullpen didn't give up a run in 4 innings of work.  On top of the pitching's strong outings, the Pirates got timely hitting on Monday from Garrett Jones (4 for 5) and Ryan Ludwick (2 for 3, 2 RBI) as well as on Wednesday from Andrew McCutchen (1 for 1, 2 RBI, 4 R) and Ludwick again (3 for 4).  It is good to see both Jones and Ludwick starting to hit and hopefully they will be able to provide a spark behind McCutchen in the lineup until Tabata or Pressley return.

With the success of the Giants series now behind them, the Pirates will turn their focus to their upcoming 3 game series in Milwaukee.  The Pirates have struggled mightily at Miller Park over the last few years going 3-33 since 2007, which includes 0-3 this year.  The Pirates pitchers have a 6.61 ERA at Miller Park and have surrendered 59 home runs so in order to win any games against the Brewers the Pirates must pitch well and the first player put to the task will be Friday's starter Paul Maholm.

Friday's Matchup:

Paul Maholm (6-12, 3.54 ERA) vs. Zack Greinke (10-4, 4.21 ERA)

Paul Maholm takes the mound Friday at Milwaukee in his first start since giving up a season high 7 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.  Maholm is 3-7 in his career against Milwaukee with a 4.41 ERA.  Surprisingly, Prince Fielder is a career .071 hitter against Maholm with 0 home runs and 3 RBI in 42 at bats.  However, the Brewers first baseman is hitting .407 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI during the month of August.  Hopefully the Pirates and Maholm can play well and possibly even win a game.  After their current 10 game losing streak, I would have to think that a 3-3 road trip against the Giants and Brewers would be considered wildly successful.  Let's Go Bucs!

Pirates @ Giants: 8.9.11

James McDonald (7-5, 4.23 ERA) vs. Madison Bumgarner (6-11, 3.71 ERA)

The Pirates finally got off the snide with one of their most complete wins of the season.  Last nights 5-0 win against the Giants will hopefully get the Pirates back on track towards a .500 season now that the division race is out of reach.  Not to dwell on the past but the Pirates were in first place 13 short days ago and have fallen to the point where they are now 9.5 games out of first.  No other team has fallen so far, so fast in the history of baseball.  Not exactly a part of history that you want attached to your team.  With that being said, the Pirates have a chance to start a winning streak and build on the success of last night.  Let's see if they can do it.  Let's go Bucs.

Pirates @ Giants: 8.8.11

Charlie Morton (8-6, 3.80 ERA) vs. Ryan Vogelsong (9-1, 2.19 ERA)

Well I am back even though I said I wouldn't be until the Pirates broke this dreadful losing streak.  The streak has now reached 10 games with no end in sight now that the Pirates have road series with the Giants and Brewers.  Vogelsong earned his first win of the season in late April against the Pirates.  During that game I said that the Pirates would be able to get to Vogelsong.  Boy was I wrong.  He went 5 2/3 innings while giving up 1 run and striking out 8.  In order for the Pirates to have a chance to win tonight, Charlie Morton is going to have to be just as good as he was in his last start against the Cubs.  Morton threw 7 shut out innings in which he struck out 7 and only allowed 5 hits.  This losing streak is at the point where it is not only about the team being bad or struggling, but also about the mental aspect of losing 10 games in a row, with 7 of them coming at home to teams which the Pirates had won series against earlier in the year.  The Pirates need a win, bad...hopefully they can get back on the right foot tonight in San Fransisco.  Let's Go Bucs.

I'm not posting again until after the pirates win and break this losing streak...until then, let's go bucs.

Pirates vs. Cubs: Must win...?

Dear Pirates,

For my sanity, you NEED to win tonight.  Get in the lead and play good, all around baseball to get the taste of losing 4 straight out of your mouths.  The guy who is on the mound for the Cubs has a 6.16 ERA.  Score some runs and leave no doubt in the game.  Let Hanrahan pitch the 9th even though it isn't a save situation.  We all need a win.  Now go out and do it.  Thanks.

Ben

P.S. If you could also win the next 2 against Chicago and then sweep the weekend series with San Diego, that would be great.  Thanks.

Pirates vs. Cubs: 8.1.11

Trying to do a live blog tonight so I can not only give you game reaction but also some thoughts about the trades and the direction of the ballclub.  7:05pm start time, be there or be square...

Pirates (54-52) vs. Cubs (43-65) @ 7:05 PM, PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Lineups:

Pirates:                                                                    Cubs:

Andrew McCutchen, CF                                     Reed Johnson, RF

Garrett Jones, RF                                              Starlin Castro, SS

Neil Walker, 2B                                                 Jeff Baker, 3B

Derrek Lee, 1B                                                  Geovany Soto, C

Ryan Ludwick, LF                                              Marlon Byrd, CF

Pedro Alvarez, 3B                                             Alfonso Soriano, LF

Ronny Cedeno, SS                                            Carlos Pena, 1B

Mike McKenry, C                                               Darwin Barney, 2B

Paul Maholm, LHP                                            Carlos Zambrano, RHP

Game Updates:

7:10pm - Quick inning for Paul Maholm getting two groundballs, with one going for a double play.  Nice inning.  Bucs turn to bat and hopefully we see Lee and Ludwick get their first cracks in the bottom of the 1st.

7:19pm - Pirates go down nice and quick against Zambrano in the 1st with Derrek Lee's debut a strikeout.

7:29pm - Maholm has walked two and struck out two in the top of the 2nd and now is ahead 1-2 on Darwin Barney, will the two walks come back to haunt him...?  Now a passed ball and a full count to Barney.  Runners on 2nd and 3rd, need a big pitch from Maholm with Zambrano, an excellent hitting pitcher in the on deck circle...

7:32pm - Barney pops up and Maholm gets out of the inning.  He has attacked hitters all year and he got away from that in Pena's at bat.  Need to go right at him, can't be afraid to make a mistake.

7:37pm - Pedro is up and I would like to see a stat showing how many first pitch fastballs he fouls off to the seats down the left field line.  I think he is pulling off the ball, needs to stay on it all the way through...in my humble opinion.  Well, he didn't strikeout but did GIDP.  Baby steps.

7:48pm - Bucs get behind 1-0 on a sac fly with a real strong throw from Ludwick in left field.  Run scoring got on by HBP.  Free passes will kill you.  Paul is struggling with his control and he either needs to find it soon or the Bucs need to score a couple runs for him.

7:55pm - Cutch just walked, if he doesn't steal with 2 outs I will be pissed.

8:00pm - Jones flies out.  After three, Cubs up 1-0.  Also, nice looking crowd tonight for a Monday.  Good to see people supporting the club after a tough roadtrip.

8:05pm - Maholm retires the Cubs in order including going after Pena and getting him to fly out to center.

8:13pm - As I was typing the fact that the Pirates were quietly getting no hit in the middle of the 4th inning, Derrek Lee launches one into the left field bleachers, tying the score at 1-1.  Neil Huntington = smartest man alive.

8:16pm - Pedro swings at 1st pitch fastball and drills it up the middle, followed by a base hit for Cedeno.  Fort McKenry up with a runner in scoring position and 2 outs.

8:19pm - How the hell did Pedro just get picked off at 2nd.  Unbelievable.

8:27pm - Another double play as Maholm gets out of the 5th after giving up a base hit to Zambrano.

8:35pm - McCutchen hits a ball to the notch that is caught and Maholm gets hit by a groundball that probably would have been an out anyways...no luck tonight.  1-1 after 5 innings.

8:44pm - Maholm gives up 2 singles and a double and now the Bucs are down 2-1 with runners on 2nd and 3rd.  Gonna need some magic to get out of this without much more damage.

8:50pm - A slow roller that can't be turned into a double play and a sacrifice fly and the Pirates now trail 4-1 at the end of the top of the 6th.  Need some runs and need them soon.

9:01pm - Pirates string two hits together but all with 2 outs.  Cedeno swings at ball four (surprise) and the Bucs are still down 4-1.

9:08pm - Grilled cheese goes 1-2-3 in the 7th.  Bucs need to cut into the lead.

9:18pm - Pearce is worthless as a pinch hitter.  Big, long swing and doesn't know how to lay off a curveball in the dirt.  Worthless.

9:29pm - Bottom of the 8th, Need. Runs. Now.

9:32pm - Holy Derrek freakin' Lee.  Hammers a ball into the right centerfield seats.  Neal Huntington = genius.  Keep it going.

9:41pm - Ronny strikes out again on a 3-2 pitch way out of the zone.  Learn plate discipline Ronny.  Bucs now down 4-3 heading to the 9th.

9:51pm - Daniel McCutchen hangs an 0-2 slider and it is drilled into left field for a double scoring a run.  Bucs now down 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 9th.  McKenry, a pinch hitter and then the top of the order will face Marmol.  Need some baserunners.

10:01pm - Bucs lose their 4th straight game and fall to 54-53.  Not good.  Maholm struggled to throw strikes and get ahead of hitters while the offense really couldn't string any hits together.  Only runs scored tonight for the Pirates came on 2 home runs from Derrek Lee who was awesome in his debut.  Ryan Ludwick was ok.  He played really well in left field and put some good swings on the ball.  Bucs need to get healthy against the Cubs over the next few days or they may really go into a free fall.  Until tomorrow sports fans...

Well last night wasnt very good. Tonight will be different. Just win baby. Let's Go Bucs!

East Meets West: Part II

I love when the Pirates play @ the Phillies because really the entire series we are playing with house money. If we lose 2 of 3, well we weren't suppose to win a series against the best team in their yard anyways. Buy if we somehow win 2 of 3, the Pirates have not only won an important series but have also stuck to our in state rivals, a team that most would consider to be far superior in talent. I am not sure how the series will play out, but one thing I am sure of is that this young group of Pirates does not have the word quit in their vocabulary. They will play hard every game and make the Phillies earn everything they get. Let's just hope that for one more weekend, heart outweighs talent.

Tonight Charlie "Halladay Lite" Morton goes up against Roy "Doc" Hallway. Charlie obviously doesn't have nearly the stats or stuff that Halladay does but now their delivery and pitches are identical. Tonights game should be the most difficult of the three to win so I am not expecting to much. However, the Phillies lineup doesn't scare me all that much so if Charlie can locate his tinker and spot his fastball and curve then he should pitch well. With all that being said I think Morton will pitch well but the Pirates hitters will struggle against Halladay. Phillies win 4-2. As always though, let's go Bucs!

Just win baby. Let's go Bucs!

I AM P-IRATE...

I stayed up for all 19 innings.  I saw Jerry Meals call Julio Lugo safe at home plate BEFORE he even actually touched home plate.  I saw Clint Hurdle and Mike McHenry turn red while arguing the call.  I saw Lugo slump his shoulders because he knew he was out.  I watched the Braves telecast replay and heard their announcers shocked and astonished at the initial call.  I heard those same announcers speechless when they saw the replay.  What I didn't see was the umpires going into the clubhouse to review the call...that's because baseball doesn't have instant replay.  Now I am not saying instant replay should be used everywhere in games, the games are long enough as is.  But when runs are scored (plays at the plate, home runs, foul balls) an umpire with the "human element" just isn't good enough.  Here is a quote after the game from home plate umpire Jerry Meals, "I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the shin area. I'm guessing he might have got him."  Are you freakin' kidding me?  It APPEARED like he may have tagged him, I'm GUESSING he might have got him.  Umpires need to be defiant and sure of their calls and this guy surely isn't too sure of anything giving his performance in last nights game.  He was bad all over the place for and against both teams.  Last nights game was an epic show of grown men giving in their all for 6 1/2 hours, too bad Jerry Meals had to ruin it.

This type of loss is one that can either cause a team to rally and drive forward or stumble and fall down, hopefully these young Pirates can rally around each other and overcome this injustice (too much...?).

*Oh by the way, Meals will be umpiring 3rd base tonight, directly in front of the Pirates dugout, yeah that should go well...*

Pirates @ Braves: 7.26.11

Did not see that victory coming.  James McDonald was spectacular for 5 innings and then ran into some trouble in the 6th before being yanked for Chris Resop who promptly dominated and got out the the bases loaded jam.  The rest of the bullpen shut it down to give the Bucs a 3-1 win, allowing them to keep pace in the NL Central.  Tonight, Jeff Karstens (8-5, 2.28 ERA) goes against Tommy Hanson (11-5, 3.06).  Both pitchers have been fantastic as of late so I expect another low scoring game.  I also think Pedro Alvarez will square up a ball against Hanson and drive it somewhere either for a double or home run.  This game could go either way for me, but I think that Karstens pitches well but the Bucs fail to figure out Hanson.  Braves win 4-1.

Pirates @ Braves : 1992 NLCS Rematch

Today the Pirates travel to Atlanta and in doing so embark on a 7 game road trip against the cream of the crop in the National League.  The Pirates (52-47) look to remain relevant in the NL Central race and in order to do that must play exceptionally well over the next week.  Tonight, the Pirates send James McDonald (6-4, 4.15 ERA) to the mound against the Braves Tim Hudson (9-6, 3.39 ERA).  Tonight's game will also be the first since early July that the Braves will have their full compliment of starters at their disposal with the return of Chipper Jones.  McDonald has been sharp as of late and in eight starts since the beginning of June, he has gone 6-2 with a 3.22 ERA.  Tim Hudson has been equally good for the Braves over the past month going 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA in 4 July starts.  Look for Garrett Jones to get a start in right field tonight against Hudson as he is a career .500 hitter against the Braves starter in 6 AB's. 

*During the time that I was writing this post, Alex Presley was put on the 15-Day DL with a bruised thumb.  To take his place on the 25 man roster, ladies and gentleman from Vanderbilt, Pedro Alvarez...it's about damn time.*

For those of you watching the ESPN broadcast of the game tonight (since it is blacked out in Pittsburgh), let me know the amount of times ESPN shows clips from the 1992 Pirates season.  I say O/U 11.

I wish I could predict a Pirates win tonight, but I just don't feel great about it.  With that being said, it wouldn't surprise me if JMac pitches really well and the Pirates are in it in the late innings.  However, if they are down going into the 7th they are in big trouble with Venters, O'Flaherty and Kimbrel at the back end of that bullpen.  In the end, Braves win 3-2.  (Yes that is the same score as Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, sue me.)

Pirates vs. Cardinals: 7.22.11 - 7.24.11

*Update* - The Mets just beat the Cardinals with a walk off homerun by Angel Pagan in the bottom of the 10th.  The Cardinals remain 1.5 games behind the Pirates.

Series: Pirates vs. Cardinals; PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

TV, radio: Root Sports, WPGB-FM (104.7).

Facts/Reaction: I am not going to say a whole lot about the Reds series.  The Pirates scored only 4 runs in 3 games, yet were able to win 2 of 3 games.  That is a testament to the remarkable job that the pitching staff (both starting and relief) has done throughout this year.  Today's game against the Reds was one of those days when the Pirates look like the team that won only 57 games all of last year.  But the past is the past and this weekend's series against the Red Birds is huge.  The series marks the 3rd time this season where the Pirates will play the "biggest" series in PNC Park history.  The previous two series (Phillies and Red Sox) equated to great crowds, great baseball and most importantly, series victories for the Pirates.

 

Pitching Probables:

Friday, July 22 - Paul Maholm (6-9, 3.06 ERA) vs. Chris Carpenter (5-7, 3.69 ERA)

Saturday, July 23 - Kevin Correia (11-7, 4.04 ERA) vs. Jaime Garcia (9-4, 3.11 ERA)

Sunday, July 24 - Charlie Morton (8-5, 3.62 ERA) vs. Kyle Loshe (8-7, 3.45 ERA)

Stats and Matchup: As I write this preview the Cardinals are tied with the Mets heading into the top of the 9th inning.  The Cardinals started the day 1.5 games behind the Pirates in the NL Central and even with a win would enter their weekend series with the Pirates at least .5 game behind the Buccos in the standings.  Both the Pirates and the Cardinals will send their best pitchers to the mound (except for Jeff Karstens who took a tough luck loss today against the Reds) in this series which could lead to a bunch of low scoring games.  Over the past few years the Cardinals have owned the Pirates and leading that charge is their game 1 starter Chris Carpenter.  Carpenter is 11-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 108 K's in his career against the Pirates.  Even though Carpenter has historically dominated the Bucs, he took the loss in a 3-1 Pirates victory back in early April.  Each game of the series features great pitching matchups but the matchup that I am most interested in is Game 2.  Of all the Pirates pitchers in the series, Correia has had the most success going 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA and 23 K's in his career.  Opposing Correia is Jaime Garcia who has made only 2 starts against the Pirates and owns an 0-1 record with a 0.96 ERA in those starts.  This is a game that I really think Correia exerts himself and gets back to his early season form, working both sides of the plate and mixing his pitches with great effectiveness.  As far as the hitters in the series go, I truly believe the stars of the series will be each team's best player.  Albert Pujols has killed the Pirates in his career, hitting .372 while belting 45 long balls and driving in 136 runs in 159 career games.  For the Pirates, my player to watch has to be Andrew McCutchen.  I know he has struggled as of late but he is starting to drive the ball more consistently and something tells me he is going to have a huge series in front of three huge home crowds.  McCutchen is a career .322 hitter against the Cardinals with 11 doubles and 17 runs scored in 24 career games.  He only has 1 career home run against the Cardinals so this weekend will be as good as any for him to add to that total.  Also, look for the return of Ronny Cedeno to the starting lineup as well as the possible return of Steve Pearce who may see some action at the hot corner.  However, it does not look like we will see "El Toro" Pedro Alvarez just yet, but I am hopeful that he will return sometime around the trade deadline.

Prediction: Pirates win 2 of 3.  I think they lose game 1 to Carpenter, there is just no way that they beat him twice in one year after losing something like 15 straight decisions before that.  With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if they win Games 1 and 2 again and they go into their shell for Game 3.  Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if they only won Game 2.  I am sticking to my guns.  Pirates win 2 of 3.  Let's Go Bucs.

Programming Note: I will be in Deep Creek, MD for a "bachelor party weekend" so there will be very few if any updates over the weekend.  Hopefully I will get to see a few innings while enjoy a beverage at one of Maryland's fine drinking establishments.

Pirates vs. Reds: 7.20.11

The Pirates look to finish off a 3 game sweep against the Reds today as Jeff Karstens goes against Johnny Cueto.  Per STATS INC, the Pirates have scored 7 runs and hit .187 in 5 games at home in which they have tried to close out a 3 game sweep.  In those games they are 0-5.  Hopefully the Pirates stay hot and can raise the jolly roger.  Let's go Bucs!

1st place in the NL Central on July 20, 2011...are you kidding me?

Raise the jolly roger, the pirates are 7 games over .500, can you believe it...

Jmac is dealing, 7 k's thru 6 innings, now we need some insurance runs...1 isn't going to be enough.

Brandon wood has twice lollipoped a throw to first on a double play and both times the runner was safe, where is a real shortstop when you need one.

Brandon wood has twice lollipoped a throw to first on a double play and both times the runner was safe, where is a real shortstop when you need one.

Way to drive in a run by cutch but he really needs a hit tonight to break out of this horrid slump.

On Location: Pirates vs. Reds

I will be attending tonights game against the Reds with my brother. Hopefully I will have some in game posts on all things PNC Park during tonights contest. James McDonald is the only pirates pitcher to lose to the reds this year and tonight he looks for redemption. I say he gets it. Let's go bucs!

Pirates vs. Reds: 7.18.11

Stats/Matchup: After a successful albeit tumultuous weekend series against the Astros in which the Pirates were able to win 2 of 3 games, the Pirates return home to begin a stretch of games which will prove whether or not the Pirates are truly contenders for the NL Central division crown.  Over the next 13 games the Pirates will play home series against NL Central foes Cincinnati and St. Louis while going on the road to play series' against Atlanta and Philadelphia.  Those 4 teams are a combined 45 games above .500 and so far this season the Pirates are 9-5 in games against them.  Tonight, the Pirates begin a 3 game series at home against the Reds.  So far this season the Pirates are 5-1 against the Reds with all the games being played in Cincinnati.  Taking the hill for the Pirates will be Charlie Morton who is 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 2 complete games in 2 starts against Cincy this season, while Dontrelle Willis will throw tonight for the Reds.  Willis is making his 2nd start of the season after going 6 innings while giving up 2 ER in his season debut against the Brewers.  Willis is 2-5 with a 3.74 ERA in his career against the Pirates. 

What to look for: Willis throwing a ton of balls and walking batters, while Charlie gets back on track and throws more than 6 innings in a start since June 4.

Prediction: Buccos get to Willis and send him to the showers early, Pirates win 7-2.

The 2010 Pirates...?

Tonights game reminded me a lot of how the 2010 Pirates would lose ballgames. The Astros took the lead ok the bottom of the 8th on a walk, groundout, stolen base (McHenry not even attempting a throw), Pence being safe at home on another groundball (blown call by the ump), an error by Brandon Wood and then finally the first hit of the inning to put the Astros ahead for good. Veras is just brutal and has been since his last good outing against Boston. The buccos really should be looking at someone to bridge the gap between Resop in the 7th and the hammer in the 9th. A solid arm for the 8th inning would be huge in addition to the obvious addition of a power bat. In other news Walker had a big night and both presley and mccutchen were 0 for 5. Oh well, this one got away and so did a chance to go 6 games over .500 and remain in 1st place. If the Pirates want to stay in contention for the division crown they have to beat bad teams like the Astros, the good thing is that the rubber match of the series is tomorrow and we could really use a bounce back game in which we absolutely tattoo the Astros. Here's hoping that sentiment comes to fruition. Let's go Bucs!

Pirates @ Astros : 7.15.11

I have owed you, all 10 of my faithful readers, a first half recap and up until now I have not delivered and I am sorry to say that I am not going to be able to deliver before the beginning of tonight's game.  I know that technically the recap would mean less if it came after the 2nd half of the season started but you will all just have to get over it.  Now, on to a little preview of tonight's matchup against the Houston Astros.

Jeff Karstens (7-4, 2.55 ERA) vs. Brett Myers (3-9, 4.88 ERA)




The last time the Pirates faced Brett Myers, the touched him for 5 runs on 13 hits in 5.1 innings.  Myers had struggled since then as well, lasting on 4.1 innings against the Marlins in his last start giving up 6 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks while taking the loss.  Karstens last start happened to be against these same Houston Astros and in that start he went 7 innings while surrendering 1 run on 7 hits including 1 solo home run, the 17th he has allowed in 15 starts.

The last time Brett Myers faced the Pirates both Chase d'Arnaud and Alex Presley had huge games and I look for them both to contribute in tonight's contest.  I also think tonight is a good a time as any for Andrew McCutchen to begin his persuit of the NL MVP award (yeah, I said it).  The Pirates play well and continue their season long dominance of the Houston Astros behind another great outing from Jeff Karstens.  Buccos win 5-2.

This Day In Pirate History: July 12, 1997

This Day in Pirate History is a semi-annual piece that will focus on significant events in the history of your Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club.  Today's feature has as much to do with this blog and its title than any other player/event that has taken place in Pittsburgh baseball since 1992.  In the 5 preview years, the middle of July was a tumultuous time for the Pirates.  Most years they were already out of a division race and were relegated to the back pages of the sports section as Steeler's training camp was about to begin.  However, the summer of 1997 was different.  

The "Freak Show" Buccos as Greg Brown dubbed them after a late May comeback against the Expos, were 43-43 at the All-Star break with a team that was predicted to lose 130 games (that is what a 9 million dollar payroll does to a teams season outlook).  These young Buccos (sound familiar?) were coming off back to back losses to begin the 2nd half of the season dropping them 1 GB in the NL Central.  These young Bucs couldn't afford to be swept in their first series after the All-Star break and more importantly, didn't want to be swept by the division leading Houston Astros.  Charged with halting the skid, manager Gene Lamont sent 25 year old Francisco Cordova to the mound in what would prove to be one of the greatest games in Pittsburgh Pirate history.

The size of the crowd at Three Rivers Stadium that night would have made one believe that the Pirates had been a good team for years.  Not the case.  The crowd of 44,119, lured by a Jackie Robinson tribute and fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics.

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fireworks

Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to
..... Click the link for more information. show, was the Pirates' first non-Opening Day sellout since June 5, 1977.  They had no idea of the magnitude of what they were about to witness.

Entering the game the Pirates had not only lost back to back games to the Astros, but had also managed to get shut out both times and from the way the game was playing out, it seemed like not scoring a single run in the entire series was a real possibility.  Throughout the first 9 innings of play that Pirates were only able to muster 5 hits, including 2 singles from starter Cordova.  They hadn't come close to scoring but the good thing was, neither had the Astros.  Throughout his 9 innings pitched Fransisco Cordova had allowed only 3 baserunners (2 by walk and 1 by HBP), while surrendering 0 hits and striking out 10.  After his final batter in the top of the 9th inning, Cordova had thrown 121 pitches, 75 for strikes and an amazing 11 for swinging strikes.  He would leave the game to a standing ovation after throwing 9 no hit innings, earning him a no decision.

The Pirates would muster little offense in the bottom of the 9th and Ricardo Rincon would enter the game in relief in the top of the 10th inning.  He would face 4 batters, walking one but would get through the half inning without giving up a hit, setting the stage for a possible combined extra innings no hitter.  In the bottom of the 10th the Astros brought on right-hander John Hudek to face Dale Sveum, Jason Kendall and Jose Guillen.  Sveum would strikeout swinging, while Kendall would walk and Guillen would fly out to centerfield.  With a runner on first and two outs, Turner Ward was brought in to pinch hit for Lou Collier.  Ward, famous for running through the outfield wall at Three River Stadium, would draw a five pitch walk moving a runner into scoring position.  Gene Lamont then brought in pinch hitter Mark Smith to face Hudek.  Smith a utility man who appeared in 71 games for the Pirates in 1997 had never faced Hudek in his career and was not known for his power.  However, on an 0-1 pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning, Smith created the most dramatic moment for the Pirates in the mid-90's when he launched Hudek's fastball into the left field bleachers.  Smith's home run capped the first and only combined extra innings no hitter in the history of baseball.  

Here is the only video I could find of the end of Cordova's no hitter and Mark Smith's pinch hit 3-run home run in the bottom of the 10th. 

What a game.  What a moment.  The Pirates would finish 79-83, 5 GB in the NL Central making the 1997 season the closest the Pirates have come to finishing above .500 in 19 years.  Hopefully, the 2011 Pirates can one up the "Freak Show" Buccos and make another improbable run at .500 and the division title.

Programming Note: Look for a Pre All-Star Break recap coming in the next day or two.