Lefty
Zach Duke twirled a four-hit shutout against the Astros to start the
Pirates on an amazing streak of four shutouts in eight days. The
Pirates threw a total of four shutouts in all of 2008, a total equaled
this season by the mind-bogglingly early date of April 20th, 2009.

Let’s look at Friday night’s game…

Coming
off
a tough series loss to Houston, the Bucs’ stopper – ace Paul Maholm
- took the hill against a Braves team which had been struggling to
score runs, having only put up two in their last two games. Maholm,
with
the help of some defensive gems by – of all people – Andy LaRoche, put
the handcuffs on Atlanta’s hitters, limiting them to four hits over
seven innings. The bullpen, holding what was a 1-0 lead until the home
half of the 8th when Nate Mac hit an absolute bomb to make the the
score 3-0, was also solid and Matt Capps came in to nail down his
third save of the year with a perfect ninth. Final score, 3-0 Pirates.

Paul
Maholm delivers his unhittable “sky hook pitch” which was taught to him
at a dojo outside Los Angeles by Sensei Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Now, some awesome facts and figures from Friday’s game:

Since
May of last season, only one left-handed pitcher in baseball has a
better ERA than Paul Maholm. His name is Johan Santana and he signed a
contract before last season that pays him roughly $22million per season
through 2013. Maholm agreed to a contract extension before this season
that will pay him all of $3.5million in 2009 with slight raises each
year until 2011 with an option year in 2012. Not trying to compare
talent here – Santana is the best lefty in the game if not the best
pitcher in all of baseball – but if Maholm keeps up this level of
production, his contract will be the biggest steal in the Majors. Can
you believe that? The Pirates making a shrewd deal with a player who
very much looks to be a rising star? Yeah, it’s pretty crazy, right?

Andy
LaRoche finally seemed to see the ball at the plate on Friday night and
he followed it up with a decent game on Saturday. LaRoche, who seems to
carry the family trait of putting too much pressure on himself, was
mired in a big slump to start the season and committed three errors in
the Pirates’ first two games. Andy was hitless going into the series
finale versus Houston, but he has collected five hits in the past three
games to raise his average nearly 200 points from 0 to .192. LaRoche
also drove in his first two runs of the season, one with an RBI
groundout on Friday and another with a double down the leftfield line
Saturday afternoon. After that three error performance in St. Louis,
manager John Russell benched LaRoche to help him clear his head. It
seems to have worked because since being sat down by J.R., LaRoche has
made some absolutely sparkling plays in the field. That success has now
seemingly carried over to the plate.

Andy LaRoche’s
play in the field has been great of late and he has started to hit.
Perhaps watching brother Adam collect a couple of hits before mid-July
has sparked Andy or at least pressured him to avoid taking Adam’s spot as the “Horrible Early Season LaRoche.”

Saturday
night’s game was more of the same and by “the same” I mean “super
amazing Pirates pitching.” It was Ian Snell’s turn and he in turn
turned in his best start of the season, holding the poor Bravos to just
four hits over seven strong innings while striking out three. Snell got
plenty of run support as the Bucs pounded Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes
and reliever Buddy Carlyle, hammering out nine runs off the two Braves’
pitchers. Mop-up man James Carr also gave up a run and when it was all
said and done, the Bucs had laughed away a beautiful afternoon at PNC
Park. Final score, 10-0.

Buccos’
starter Ian Snell finally looked like his old self as he shut down
Atlanta’s offense and picked up his first win of the season. Snell
needed only 94 pitches to spin seven zeroes against the Braves as the
Bucs’ picked up their second shutout in as many days and their third in
just five games.

 While Snell’s performance probably
gave the most satisfaction to Pirates’ fans, I would be remiss if I
didn’t mention what Craig “Beastmaster” Monroe did at the plate in just
his second start as a Pirate. After flying out in his first at-bat and
grounding into an inning-ending double play in his next, Monroe hit two
tape-measure bombs in his next two at-bats to drive in six of the
Pirates’ 10 runs. The first shot, a towering flyball to dead
centerfield (video here) landed in the Braves’ bullpen and was estimated at 408 feet. Monroe’s second blast was nearly identical to the first (video here) as it also landed in Atlanta’s pen and put the game completely out of reach as it gave the Pirates a 9-0 lead at that point.

 
The
Beastmaster relishes weak sauce from opposing pitchers. So much does
The Beastmaster enjoy a batch of weak sauce that he coats his meals
with it and ingests it gleefully. In other words, Craig Monroe hits
very long home runs.

At this point, I was ok with the
fact that the Bucs got smoked in the series finale on Sunday. The
Braves pounded Zach Duke early and often, though Duke did manage to go
six innings. While Duke had enjoyed a resugence over his first two
starts, his third looked like the majority of his outings from
2006-2008 and he got roughed up: 12 hits, 6 ER, and a very long home
run to Edgar Prado to the deepest part of the park. Craig Hansen was
nearly as bad as he gave up four runs in one inning and a long blast
over the Notch in left centerfield to former Pirates catcher David
Ross. Final score, 11-1.
After their first 12 games, the Bucs sat at 6-6. Right on pace to
finish 81-81 which would put them dangerously close to my preseason
prediction of 82-80.

However, the N.L. East-leading Marlins and
their MLB-best 11-1 record were coming to town for a three-game set
and…wouldn’t you know it? The BUCS SHUT THEM OUT! I mean, I hate to
say I’m getting used to this, but I’m getting used to this!

Ross
Ohlendorf had command of all his pitches tonight and he had the Marlins
hitters off-balance as he allowed only two hits over seven innings
while fanning five. Ohlendorf got a string of defensive gems by Andy
LaRoche at third base and Nate Mac homered into the Allegheny river (a
three-run shot that actually hopped off the concrete River Walk and
into the water) as the Bucs routed the Majors’ best team, 8-0.

Ross
Ohlendorf became the latest Pirate starter to be bitten by the “shutout
bug” as he and two relievers blanked the Marlins at PNC Park on Monday
night, 8-0. Can this insane run of starting pitching continue? Hell yes
it can!

I can’t recall the last time the Pirates’
starting rotation looked this strong. The amazing thing is that these
four shutouts have come from four different starters, each of them
going seven innings. Now if we can only get Jeff Karstens into the
mix…ok, ok…that might be TOO much wishful thinking. No need to be
greedy, not as long as the Buccos keep pitching like this.

13
games in and the Pirates are 7-6, 1.0 game behind the Cards and Cubs
for first place in the N.L. Central. I know it’s early, but I like what
I’ve been seeing so far…

But it was Nyjer Morgan who set the tone. As he has done quite often so far this season, Morgan was an absolute maniac on the basepaths. Morgan was 3-for-4, drove in two runs and scored another. Morgan also drew a walk and stole two bases. Paul Maholm, the winning pitcher who absolutely sparkled while the game was still close, said Morgan accounted for “five extra runs.” I honestly didn’t think Morgan would start out like this, in fact, I thought he would be a hole at the top of the order. I’m glad to say that – so far – he’s proved me wrong. When Morgan gets on base, the Bucs can score runs…and when the Bucs score runs, well…you know the rest!

Nyjer “The Catalyst” Morgan has been the Bucs’ biggest offensive weapon so far in 2009. One can only hope his success lasts for more than the first 7 games.

Which brings me to Sunday’s game…The Bucs got shut out, 2-0. Now, it would be foolish to say that the offense was anything near good enough because it wasn’t, but Morgan again had a huge game…Snell pitched well, but the Buccos ran into the buzzsaw known as Aaron Harang. He completely owns the Pirates when he pitches. And he did yet again to the tune of a complete game shut-out. The only scoring came on Snell’s lone bad pitch of the afternoon, a mistake that Brandon Phillips crushed into the left field bleachers for a two-run homer. That sent the Bucs home to PNC for the opener having split their first two series.

The game did have one historic bright spot for the Buccos: They turned their first triple play in 16 years! (Check out the video here).

Here is the MLB.com write-up on the history of Pirates’ triple plays:

“It was the first triple play for Pittsburgh on the road since July 31, 1968, in, coincidentally, Cincinnati at Crosley Field. The Bucs amazingly turned the feat twice in ’68 at Crosley, also accomplishing it on April 18.

The last time the Pirates turned a triple play was Aug. 10, 1993, vs.
St. Louis when Gregg Jefferies hit into a triple play, Jay Bell to
Carlos Garcia to Kevin Young.”

THE HOME OPENER

Before the game, the Pirates honored the three fallen police officers who were senselessly gunned down in Stanton Heights on April 4th by a deranged idiot who, among other mental problems, believed that the Obama administration was going to “take his guns away.” 

Being home with my two newborn babies has allowed me the opportunity to watch afternoon Pirates games. Now, I would watch them at work, too as I am a faithful subscriber to MLB.tv, but watching on a 42-inch plasma is preferable to a 17-inch Macintosh. Besides, it allowed me to pay attention to all of the pre-game ceremonies. The tribute to the fallen officers was moving. Even though I no longer live in the area, I still feel a part of everything that happens there. The Pirates did the right thing by honoring those brave men with a somber but beautiful bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace.” The Bucs also wore Pittsburgh Police caps in the field. All of it was fitting and tastefully done, but certainly I’m not alone in wishing that such a ceremony would never have been needed in the first place. Those men died protecting their community, but such a senseless act of violence should never have occurred.

Pirates manager John Russell and all of the Bucs wore these caps during the home opener in tribute to the three fallen officers.

After the police tribute, the Buccos honored Steve Blass for 50 years with the team. I love Steve Blass. He is a Bucco through and through and his steadfast dedication to the team first as a player and, for the past 24 years, as a broadcaster is one of the things that makes being a Pirates fan great. All of the losing aside, we have tradition and guys like Blass are everyday reminders of what this franchise once was and what it can be again. If you look at the 1971 World Series, Blass was the best pitcher and if not for Roberto’s amazing series, probably would have won the World Series MVP. Blass pitched two complete games and was on the hill for the final out of the Series…in short, he was absolutely dominant having surrendered only two earned runs in 18 innings pitched. Congrats to Steve Blass for his half-century as a Bucco!

Former Pirates’ ace Steve Blass was honored before the game for 50 years with the team. Congrats to Blassie…here’s to another 50, my man!

ZACH DUKE IS BACK!

I said I’d need to see more out of Zach Duke before I believed he’d regained his 2005 form. Duke is close to convincing me…very close. The lefty threw a complete game shutout in the home opener as the Bucs cruised, 7-0. When I say Duke was efficient, that could qualify as the understatement of the season. The southpaw needed only 120 pitches to cut down the Astros’ order. At one point, Duke retired 15 of 16 hitters. So far this year, Duke has only allowed one earned run in 15 1/3 innings pitched and he became the first Pirates pitcher since “The Candy Man” John Candelaria to throw a shutout on Opening Day. Duke got plenty of offense from the surprisingly hot Adam LaRoche (three hits including a two-run homer) and Fred Sanchez (three doubles).

Zach Duke and Ryan “The Punisher” Doumit celebrate after Duke’s complete game shutout of the Astros. Duke was masterful, allowing only four hits while striking out five.

HOUSTON TAKES THE SERIES

The good times didn’t last long, though as the Astros bounced back to beat the Bucs on Wednesday and Thursday. Though it had been six years since Mike Hampton last faced the Pirates, the oft-injured lefty flashed his usual brilliance against the Bucs, striking out eight over six innings while not allowing a run as the ‘Stros coasted, 4-1. On Thursday, Jeff Karstens looked terribly rusty (his first scheduled start was rained out in Cincinnati) and the righty surrendered an early two-run lead before leaving the game with the score tied at 3-3. Sean Burnett relieved Karstens and promptly gave up a monster three-run homer to Bucco killer Lance Berkman which made the score 6-3. The Pirates tried to threaten a couple of times, but double play balls in the 6th and 8th and a Nate McLouth staring strikeout in the 7th essentially doomed the Pirates to a 6-3 defeat.

Lance Berkman, who holds the third-highest batting average against the Pirates of any active opponent (behind Todd Helton and Albert Pujols) blasted the game-winning three-run home run off Bucs reliever Sean “The Mirage” Burnett. The Bucs have lost three of four and host Atlanta starting Friday.

PENS WIN, PENS WIN!

In a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Penguins hosted the ******** Philadelphia Phlyers for Game 1 of their first round playoff match-up and absolutely destroyed the Broad Street Boylovers, 4-1. The game was a statement, that statement being: “Hey Philly, we’re about to take you out behind the woodshed and Old Yeller your sorry ***. So deal with it.” (Video Highlights of Game 1 here!)

Crosby with the Prince of Wales trophy (not touching it, of course – hockey jinx!) after the Pens demolished the Phlyers in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.

Sid Crosby, Geno “MVP” Malkin, Tyler “The Tiger” Kennedy, and Mark “Instant Once-in-a-Blue-Moon Offense” Eaton all scored to give the Pens a convincing victory on home ice. Call me cocky, but I think the Pens win this series in five games. Fleury was absolutely too strong in net and the Pens dominated every statistical category in Game 1 (hits, faceoffs, shots on goal, power plays, time on attack). The Pens have been the hottest team in the NHL over the past 25 games and the Phlyers have been just the opposite having played their way out of home ice advantage in the season’s last week. The Phlyers were the NHL’s most penalized team in the regular season and they took penalties early and often in Game 1.

It’s about to get ugly, Philadelphia. Be prepared to whine some more…but hey, at least you have the Phillies. What I wouldn’t give to have my team win a World Series in my adult lifet
ime…still, that doesn’t stop me from taking joy in whupping anything and everything Philadelphia. Game 2 is tonight…Let’s go Pens! I will be enjoying both the Pens and Pirates during the 7 pm – 10 pm time slot. I love this time of year!

Brooks Orpik introduces mullet-headed Widdle Scotty Hartnell’s ugly mug to the Mellon Arena glass during the Pens’ Game 1 throttling of the Phlyers.

Chris Carpenter, owning your Buccos for as long as you or I or anyone else can remember.

But
it’s not all bad, baby. The Battlin’ Buccos split with the Cardinals in
the season’s opening series and are perched at .500 after the first four contests of the 2009 campaign (2-2). After a thrilling,
come-from-behind win on Opening Day, Ian Snell got lit up like a Marley
spliff by his nemesis Albert Pujols as the Bucs fell 9-3 on Tuesday night. Wednesday evening’s contest saw Zach Duke circa 2005 emerge and Pittsburgh’s offense came to life, shelling Todd Wellemeyer and the Cards, 7-4.

Remember
Me? Fred Sanchez collected eight hits in the four games against St.
Louis proving that he’s finally healthy for the first time since he won
a batting title in 2006.

Paul Maholm will win 15-18 games this year…
Matt Capps is ready to save 40 (I almost accidentally typed “50″)…
Ross Ohlendorf will be the rotation’s biggest surprise…
Tyler Yates will be in AAA by July…
Nyjer Morgan is capable of getting on base and wreaking havoc…
The LaRoche boys were invisible…except Andy and his three errors in two games…
Brandon Moss is a player…

I NEED TO SEE MORE OF _______ BEFORE I BELIEVE…

Zach
Duke pitching as well as he did on Wednesday night. It was Duke’s first
road win in a decade (at least it seemed that way), but I’m not sold
just yet. Duke’s velocity was in the high 80s-to-low-90s all night and
his command was sharp. He also mixed his pitches well and threw his
curveball with confidence. All of this makes me picture Zach Duke
during his stellar rookie year of 2005 when he posted an 8-2 record and
a sub-2 ERA before Jim Tracy and his d-bag pitching coach Jim Coburn
destroyed Duke’s mechanics and subsequently, his confidence. If Duke is
right, the Pirates’ starters could be a strength and not the liability
everyone expects them to be.

Thinner,
Older, Wiser, Stronger. Zach Duke’s brilliant outing against St. Louis
could be a harbinger of success or a mere hiccup on his continued path
to mediocrity. Only time will tell.

NEXT STOP, CINCINNATI…

In summation, I wasn’t that far off with the assertion that I had indeed endured nearly 1,000 Pirates losses over the past 16 years. But none of that mattered today, friends. Every defeat was suddenly washed away by Jack Wilson’s 9th inning, 0-2, two-out, bases-clearing double against St. Louis to send the Battlin’ Bucs to a tremendous, come-from-behind 6-4 win.

Jackie Wilson Says: “Holy ****, my first clutch hit since ’04!”

All told, there were plenty of mistakes. Three errors, 12 men left on base, a bad showing by the bullpen (Matt Capps’ brilliant 9th through the heart of the Cardinals’ lineup aside), and a collective 2-19 from Nate Mac/Doumit/Adam LaRoche/Andy LaRoche/Brandon Moss. But the win’s the thing and the Bucs got one today.

2009 is off to a great start. Paul Maholm pitched well despite the cold giving him obvious problems with his command and velocity. Nyjer Morgan was a terror on the basepaths and collected three hits and drove in the first two Buccos’ runs. Fred Sanchez and Adam LaRoche had multi-hit games and John Grabow bailed out Tyler Yates to pick up the W. All good stuff…

1-0 is a great place to be…for the moment.

Greatest Bowie album? Yes, I do believe.

But alas, a new year, a new Hope. Sports Illustrated predicted that the Pirates would finish with the worst record in baseball, 64-98…five games worse than next nearest failures San Diego and Seattle.

What
else can I say? Every sign points to the Pirates pushing 100 losses. In
my heart of hearts, I believe they’ll win the World Series and won’t
believe otherwise until it is mathematical fact. So let’s break down
this year’s squad and forget The Man Who Sold the World (Kevin McClatchy). We should concentrate on these Diamond Dogs, for a surprise season out of the Buccos could usher in our long-awaited Golden Years.

Kevin McClatchy during his “experimental phase.”

OFFENSE

That SI preview (written by the respectable Albert Chen) says the Pirates lack “pop”
through the order. Maybe this is a bit optimistic, but I see five guys
who could push 25 home runs for the season. Of course, the old “if
healthy” cliche applies just as much as the “if Adam Laroche’s pulse
starts before July, we’ll be in good shape” proverb applies, but Nate
Mac, Ryan Doumit, Adam LaRoche, Brandon Moss and possibly Craig Monroe
all have power. Of course Monroe is the odd man out for two reasons;
a.) he’ll be a platoon player and b.) righties struggle to hit bombs
out of PNC Park’s cavernous left field power alleys. Andy LaRoche is
also a righty, but I think he’s poised to be a horse for the Pirates.
His debut last year wasn’t indicative of what he can be as a player and I think the Pirates have at least found a decent player to keep third base warm until the Alvarez Era begins.

Nyjer Morgan is the key
and one of the three guys (Jack Wilson and Zach Duke are the others) I feel are on their last chances with the
Pirates. If he can get on base consistently, the Pirates will score
runs. If he struggles the first six weeks, cut him and bring up Andrew
McCutchen. Nyjer has had numerous chances. Sadly, he’s a poor man’s
Juan Pierre and that’s NOT a compliment.

Preseason Grade: C

Dear Opposing Pitcher, Nate Mac will not hesitate to destroy your weak sauce.

DEFENSE

This
is an area where the Pirates can shine. They’re always among the league
leaders in double plays turned, but that stat is misleading because it
means your pitching staff is always working with lots of runners on
base. Nothing could be more true for the Bucs. However, the fielding is
truly a strength. Nate Mac is a Gold Glover, Doumit has really matured
behind the plate and the infield is strong up the middle with Sanchez
and Wilson. If Nyjer sticks around, he can cover the left field cow
pasture with ease and right field is a cakewalk for any halfway decent
outfielder. McCutchen is also a great fielder and I truly believe he’ll
be a regular in the Pirates’ lineup by mid-July.

Preseason Grade: B+

Jackie Wilson Says: “With these teeth, I eat groundballs for breakfast.”

PITCHING

Oh,
dear Lord…I don’t even want to write about this facet of the team.
It’s obviously the most glaring weakness when you look at every
statistic and then look at the team’s W/L record from last season. The
staff ranked LAST in the Majors in team ERA…the most damning number
of all.

Look, I’m not trying to sugarcoat the pitching, but
Snell and Maholm are our Nos. 1 and 2 for better or worse and they’re both capable of double-digit win totals. I do see a
bright future for Ross Ohlendorf, but Jeff Karstens wouldn’t be anywhere near about 26
other rotations around baseball and Duke is a wild card who I honestly
don’t think will be with the Pirates when the season ends.

As
far as the bullpen, the Pirates look surprisingly strong. If Hansen,
Yates, Grabow, and Chavez (I really like this hard-throwing young
righty) can get the game to Matt Capps with a lead, the Bucs stand a
good chance of winning. Of course, bullpen success is indicative of good
starting pitching. The bullpen needs to be placed in situations where they can
succeed and I just don’t have a lot of faith that the rotation can get
them there. I hold out hope, however. That’s what Opening Day is all
about.

Preseason Grade: D

 
Take a guess where this one landed…

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

Let’s Play Ball!!!

Tonight, the best (and most popular) players in Major League Baseball take the field at Yankee Stadium here in NYC for the 2008 All-Star Game. As always, I will be watching for one reason: to see the lone Pittsburgh Pirate — in this case, the venerable Nate Mac — get into the game for his one at-bat and two innings of play.

The Pirates are currently in 5th place in the NL Central with a 44-50 record, 12.5 games behind the 1st place Cubs. Six games under the mystical .500 mark isn’t terrible, but of course it isn’t great either. Below, I have graded the Pirates in all phases of the game using the standard A-F scale we loved/dreaded so much in elementary school.

Hitting: A+

Honestly, I thought about giving the Pirates an “A++” for this category, but that would have looked stupid. As is, the Bucs are absolutely mashing the baseball. Hitting coach Don Long has turned the Pirate offense from laughingstock to leviathan. Consider these statistics:

9th in MLB in runs scored (5th in NL)
10th in MLB in hits (5th in NL)
12th in MLB in home runs (7th in NL)
5th in MLB in doubles (3rd in NL)
7th in MLB in RBI (4th in NL)

The Pirates have six everyday position players on pace for 20+ homeruns and the triumvirate of Nady (.321/12HR/56 RBI), McLouth (.281/19HR/65RBI), and Bay (.287/19HR/53RBI) continue to form the best offensive outfield in baseball and are on pace to be the most prolific Pirates outfield since the Bonds/Van Slyke/Bonilla heyday of the early 1990s.
As Champ Kind would say, “Nate Mac steps to the plate….WHAMMY!”

Pitching: F

You may think I’m being a bit dramatic with that grade, but consider this: Entering the 2008 season, the Pirates’ rotation and bullpen were thought to be the greatest strengths of the team. Instead of fulfilling that potential, they have imploded in a major way and have cost the heavy-hitting Pirates offense an undetermined amount of games with their Major League-worst 5.24 team ERA.

The rotation has been awful. When the Pirates cut veteran cowflop-baller Matt Morris back in early May, I wrote on this blog that I thought management had made the right move. While I will never publicly state that Matt Morris should be allowed back, he couldn’t have done any worse than the current crop of Pirates starters. Ian Snell has been wildly inconsistent, Tom Gorzelanny has been demoted to AAA for his poor performance, Zach Duke has hit a rough patch over the past month, Phil Dumatrait has been decent when healthy, John Van Benschoten has been John Van Benschoten (JVB holds the dubious distinction of having the worst ERA in the HISTORY OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL for any pitcher with 16 or more career starts, 8.96 for those out there keeping tabs on this sort of thing), and so on and so on. Paul Maholm has been the Pirates’ best and most consistent pitcher this season and, nothing against Paul, he’s a No. 4 or No. 5 starter at best on most contending teams.

While I’d like to cherry-pick the positives of the bullpen, there is only one — Damaso Marte. Everyone else has been trash. That said, I still think the Pirates are capable of turning it around on the mound, and if they do, they stand a chance of making a big push in the second half. If the pitching staff continues like this, pitching coach Jeff Andrews should get the ol’ headchop the day after the season.

Starter Ian Snell reacts to his complete game shutout…wait, no, I think, yup, he just gave up another home run.

Defense: C-

Boy, oh boy, did the Pirates miss Jack Wilson early in the year, when the slick-fielding shortstop missed nearly 50 games with a calf injury. Not only was his usual replacement at shortstop, one Brian Bixler (aka, “The Bane of My Existence”) atrocious in the field, it seemed as if the Pirates as a team lost their way defensively without their middle infield anchor. I believe it was for this reason and this reason alone that Wilson was pulled off the trading block about a month ago. Management seemed to finally realize that, a.) they had no suitable defensive replacement for Wilson, and b.), the team played much worse defensively without Wilson in the lineup.

The Buccos started this season looking like the Bad News Bears in the field. They led the league in errors through the first 40 games of the season and it looked as if no game would be complete without a couple of defensive lapses. When Wilson finally returned from the calf injury, the Pirates’ defense improved dramatically. The Pirates are still 6th in MLB in errors and a dismal 23rd in fielding percentage, but their play has certainly improved over the past month and a half. While the “double plays” stat is sometimes an indicator that a pitching staff is usually working with a lot of men on base (and that has definitely been the case with the Pirates this season), the black-and-gold are 2nd in the NL in double plays turned and 5th in MLB. However, the Bucs are dead last in Defensive Efficiency Ratio, a useful and telling stat created by Sabremetrics inventor, Bill James (Check the link for a thorough definition).

With Wilson back, the Pirates have been better, but they’re still below-average and not where they need to be if they are to make a push past .500 in the second half. The brightest spot and most assuredly, the biggest surprise of the defense, has been Xavier Nady’s strong play (and even stronger arm) in right field. The X-Man has complimented his All-Star-worthy offense with a National League-leading nine outfield assists.

Always the gentleman, right fielder Xavier Nady allows his teammates the privilege of touching his golden right arm.

Bench: A

I couldn’t be happier with the performance of the Buccos’ bench this season. Doug Mientkiewicz has been a rock in terms of the veteran leadership, hustle, and grit this team has lacked for far too long. Luis Rivas, when playing second base, has been a solid replacement for the horrendously struggling Freddy Sanchez. Chris Gomez, while older than Father Time, has provided consistent hitting and a decent glove when somebody needs a day off. And Jason Michaels has delivered huge hits — one bigger than the next — while helping the Bucs win as many as five different games with his late-inning heroics.

If this team fails to break .500 this season, it won’t be because they aren’t deep enough on the bench. All of the aforementioned players have gone above and beyond the call of duty and exceeded expectations, both of management and the fans.

Jason Mich
aels is mobbed at home plate by his teammates after a 10th-inning, walk-off home run against the Cardinals on July 12th that capped a ridiculous comeback by the Pirates. The Bucs were down 10-4 in the 8th inning and won the game, 12-11.

Coaching: B-

Ok, there are things I really like about John Russell and his staff and there are things that drive me up the freakin’ wall. First, the things I like:

Stability in the clubhouse and on the field
Holds players accountable for their poor performance and rewards players for their hard work
Sticks with the hot bat/pitcher
Keeps emotions in check

Russell has, by all accounts, been a tireless worker so far this season, his first as the Pirates’ skipper. He is not a glad-handing, massage-the-ego type of a manager like Jim Tracy, nor is he a hellfire-and-brimstone maniac like Lloyd McClendon. He isn’t the fatherly mentor like Jim Leyland or Danny Murtaugh, and he isn’t happy-go-lucky like Chuck Tanner. Nor is he completely hands-off like Gene Lamont. Russell is his own man, his own type of manager, and that is something the Pirates have sorely lacked for many, many years. Also, Russell’s moves of pushing for Morris’ release, promoting Ryan Doumit to No. 1 catcher, and using his bullpen wisely (when they’ve actually pitched well), have all been stellar. However, there are facets of his managerial style that drive me mad, those being:

Doesn’t argue anything, not even horribly blown calls against his team
Stays with the starter too deep into games on occasion
Seemingly lacks the necessary fire to inspire the team
Hasn’t yet put any pressure on Andrews (pitching coach)

Now, I obviously don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the Pirates’ clubhouse, but I haven’t read anything that indicates Russell has chewed anyone out or put the screws to the weak link of his coaching staff. What I have seen is Russell’s sometimes unnerving stoicism in the dugout when a terrible call goes against the Pirates. I can’t recall one time this season that Russell has come out of the dugout to argue a call. I’m not saying he needs to be an Earl Weaver or Bobby Cox type, but I’d like to see him at least come out of the dugout to get an explanation once in a while. That said, I’ve been happy with Russell’s performance thus far.

Russell has kept an even keel in the Buccos’ dugout, the first indicator that he is a closet alcoholic. Of course, I kid.

Ian Snell picked up his third win of the year and first in 11 starts as he beat the Nats on Wednesday night.

Let’s dig into the numbers a little bit, shall we? The Pirates are now 21-15 at PNC Park on the season. This is significant because the Bucs have only achieved one winning record in the seven completed seasons since PNC Park opened. In 2006, Jim Tracy’s club finished the year with a 43-38 mark at home. What’s shocking about this isn’t the .531 winning percentage the Pirates achieved in games played on the banks of the winding Allegheny, but the absolutely horrid record they had on the road. The 2006 edition of the Pirates finished 24-57 on the road. You read that correctly. 24-57. For those of you who like to do long division, that’s a winning percentage of .296. I didn’t look, but I have to assume that was the worst record of any team in ’06 on the road.

During this past homestand, I saw a lot of good-to-great things out of the Pirates. I also saw a lot of lingering problems that management must address quickly if this team is to be competitive this year and in years to come. Matt Capps blew a save against Washington in the first game of the series, but that didn’t bother me as much as Adam LaRoche’s continued  absence in the middle of the order. For as bad as LaRoche has been, Ryan Doumit has been that good. Doumit was an absolute monster against Washington, homering in all three games of the series and four times total in the three-game set, while going 9 for 11 against Nationals pitching and knocking in seven runs. While his offense has captured the headlines, Doumit continues to improve defensively behind the plate. It looks as if the Pirates have finally found a solid No. 1 backstop.

 Ryan Doumit, aka “The Punisher,” trots around the bases following one his four home runs in three games versus the Nationals. Doumit is hitting .365 with 9 home runs and 22 RBI on the season, all while missing 32 games with a broken thumb.

While Doumit, Nate Mac, The X-Man and JBay continue to carry the Pirates offensively, first baseman Adam LaRoche remains a ghost at the plate. Here’s the thing about Adam LaRoche: he is flat-out terrible. I thought of all kinds of interesting ways to break down his numbers, but the fact of the matter is this. He stinks. For two years we’ve heard, “LaRoche is a slow starter.” Yeah, and water is wet. Big deal! He hit .272 last year, mainly because he hit the ball well in the latter part of the season when the Pirates were completely out of it. This year, as of today (Friday, June 13th), LaRoche is batting .213 in 225 at-bats. This is unacceptable from the guy who occupies the 5 or 6 spot in the lineup every single night. LaRoche has 25 RBI on the year, or one more than recently acquired bench outfielder Jason Michaels has in less than half the at-bats. The most telling stat of all, though, is this: LaRoche has come to the plate with 95 runners in scoring position so far this season. He has knocked in 15 of them. It is high time that management makes a decision on LaRoche. Either send him to the minors or bench him for a couple of weeks and try to re-teach him how to hit. Doug Mientkiewicz is a reliable option at first base in the short-term while LaRoche tries to figure out hitting a baseball again. If he continues this pace for the rest of the season, I will be highly disappointed if he isn’t sent packing.

LaRoche covers his face in shame at the sight of yet another strikeout.

Finally, the Bucs start a series in Baltimore today, their first trip to the third-worst city in the country (Philly and Cleveland are worse, of course), since the 1979 World Series. The Orioles started strong, but have fallen back to earth over the past month-and-a-half and sit in last place in the AL East with a record of 32-33. Like the Pirates, they are one game under .500 with a young team that nobody expected much from before the season. Friend and fellow Buccos fan Wibby is heading to the game tonight. He’s going to have a report on Camden  Yards, one of the few parks in this great country that I would really like to visit in the near future.

While a three-game set in Baltimore in mid-June might not seem important to a lot of folks, the players inside the Pirates’ locker room know that interleague play has had a nasty habit of sinking their season over the past three years. Who can forget the infamous 13-inning loss to Tampa Bay in 2005? I certainly can’t. The Pirates had pounded the then-Devil Rays 18-2 the day before to raise their record to 30-30. It was the latest .500 mark for the Bucs since 1992. The Rays held the lead in the bottom of the 9th when Humberto Cota homered down the left field line to send it to extras. in the 13th, the forgettable Brian Meadows served up a gopher-ball to light-hitting third basemen Alex Gonzalez and that was that. The Bucs then hit the road for six against the Yankees (TNons and I went to all three of that series in Yankee Stadium. We watched as the Pirates were robbed in game two of that series on the worst non-double play call I have ever seen. Even Yankees fans around us agreed that the Bucs had been hosed.) and Red Sox and lost five. The Pirates never recovered and they finished the year in last place with a 67-95 record, 33.0 games out of first.

With any luck, the Bucs can start to exorcise their interleague demons and climb above that seemingly unattainable .500 mark all at once.

The last time the Pirates went to Baltimore, they left the city as World Series Champions.

Sputtering Near .500

As you can tell, this bothers me. We just can’t seem to get over the hump. The past couple of weeks have seen the Pirates inch close and fall back numerous times. It’s not like .500 equals a World Series ring. Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather make the playoffs and win a World Series and I’m sure the guys in the Pirates’ dugout would too, but this has got to be as frustrating for them as it is for us fans. Currently, the Pirates sit at 25-28 on the year and 4-6 in their past 10 games. Upon closer examination we find that, over the past 12 games since taking two of three from the Cardinals May 13-15, the Bucs have fumbled away several chances to reach .500. Take for instance a tough 4-3 loss in Chicago on May 18 to the Cubs after splitting the first two games of the series. In what has been a microcosm of the starting pitching, Phil Dumatrait walked seven (yes, SEVEN) hitters in just 4 2/3 innings of work. Four of those free passes came around to score, accounting for all four of the Cubs’ runs that afternoon. And yes, of course Adam LaRoche hit a meaningless late-inning homer that made the game close. That’s when he does his best work.

The Best Outfield in Baseball

In terms of hitting, no doubt about it, the Bucs are the best. Check out this great article from Wednesday’s Post-Gazette by “The Stats Geek” Brian O’Neill. Now that Bay is mashing the ball, the trio of JBay, X-Man and Nate Mac are the most productive (in terms of offense) outfield in all of Major League Baseball.

A familiar sight of late: Jason Bay going deep.

Where Art Thou, Gorzo and Snell?

Coming into this season, I thought the last two guys on the roster who would have question marks next to their names would be the young and talented duo of starters Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny. I thought for sure that these guys would build upon their successes from last year and anchor the rotation while keeping the bullpen well-rested at least two out of every five days. In fact, quite the opposite has been true. It’s hard to gauge who has stunk more and why. Gorzo had an injury in spring training, but swore it wasn’t bothering him. Snell started the season strong at 2-0, but has been garbage in his past six starts. I really don’t know what to say…neither of them has been a stopper. In fact, through the month of May, Zach Duke has been the team’s most consistent starter. The same Zach Duke who has been the most punished starting pitcher in all of MLB the past two seasons in terms of hits allowed and opponent’s batting average. There is still plenty of time for Gorzo and Snell to get right and the Pirates will certainly need them to win some games if the team is going to crack .500, but right now things look dire. Both guys are struggling with their control and sadly, it looks like they’re both fighting themselves when they pitch. I expected as much out of Snell — he’s always had that type of attitude — but I’m surprised by Gorzo’s temper and self-inflicted pressure. If these guys get back to throwing strikes, there is no telling how far the team will go, but for the time being, both hurlers are struggling mightily.

“Maybe if I don’t look at him he’ll walk right past me and I can stay in the game. Yeah, that’s it! He can’t see me! I’m invisible! Just keep looking forward and hold VERY still…”

 
 

So after the Pirates’ 10-inning, 8-4 win that put the team only one game under .500 early in the season, it was hard not to be excited for last night’s game. But Todd Wellemeyer pitched a great game, limiting the Bucs to one run over seven innings and the Cards won, 5-1. Rick Ankiel made a tremendous catch on what would have been an Adam LaRoche homer in the 2nd and the Bucs never threatened again.

So we’re at 19-21, still close to .500 and it’s still early. Today’s 1:15 contest against the Cards features Bucco ace Ian Snell against Joel Pinero for St. Louis. Even though that number doesn’t mean much to most teams, for the Pirates, hitting that .500 target is something they can’t let slip away.

 
Adam LaRoche “Riverdances” across the plate for a run during the Pirates’ three-game sweep of the lowly San Francisco Gigantes.

The Bucs started their streak by laying the beat stick to Los Gigantes de San Francisco during a three-game set May 6-8. It’s hard to get excited, as a fan, by the prospects of your team beating up on possibly the worst team in the N.L., but then you remember you’re a Pirates fan and you scold yourself for taking precious wins for granted. The Pirates returned home after a rough series in Washington where they lost three of four and pitching coach Jeff Andrews issued a challenge to his starting pitchers. Apparently, the guys got the message and during the six-game winning streak, the starters put up a microscopic ERA of 1.33.

Recently inserted into the rotation, lefty Phil Dumatrait picked up his first career win against the Giants, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bucs played well in every facet of the game during the sweep of Los Gigantes. I was most pleased with the starting pitching. Zach Duke pitched very well and got a ton of run support in the first game of the series as he earned his first win since June 12 of last year. I couldn’t have been happier for Duke and I’m certainly glad the Pirates didn’t give up on him after equally rough 2006 and 2007 seasons. I blame former manager Jim Tracy and his pitching coach Jim Colborn for causing Duke’s regression from his phenomenal rookie year of 2005. They screwed with the guy’s mechanics after an 8-2, 1.81 ERA season. Why? To justify their jobs? Whatever the reason, it’s taken Duke this long to get back on track.

 Zach Duke has pitched well this season and has improved a little bit with every start. Duke finally got in the win column for the first time since last June with a victory against the Giants.

Riding a modest three-game winning streak and displaying sustained success in all three phases of the game (pitching, hitting, defense), the Pirates welcomed the Bravos of Atlanta for a four-game, wraparound series at the end of last week. The Bucs jumped out of the gate on Friday night with an exciting 3-2 win behind Ian Snell’s solid start and Freddy Sanchez’s 9th inning heroics. Sanchez, moved by manager John Russell to the leadoff spot at the start of the homestand, knocked in all three runs, including the game-winner on a chopper up the middle in the final inning. Timely hitting, great starting pitching, solid bullpen work and good managing equals the recipe for success and the Bucs followed that formula to a “t.”

Sanchez celebrates with the X-Man and JBay after his game-winning single in the bottom of the 9th during Friday’s win over the Braves. Sanchez knocked in all three Pirate runs on the evening.

After the series-opening win, the Pirates took the next contest from Atlanta, a 5-2 victory on Saturday that featured a great start by Tom Gorzelanny and timely hitting by Jason Bay and Ronny Paulino. Sunday’s game was rained out, but the Monday doubleheader started off on the right note with a 5-0 blanking of the Braves behind yet another quality start by Zach Duke and more offensive fireworks from Sanchez. But the winning streak was halted in the second game thanks to a wretched start by the now-demoted John Van Benschoten as the Braves won easily, 8-1.

Adam “Boom Boom” LaRoche celebrates his Game 1 homer with Ryan Doumit. LaRoche has been mildly better in May proving that, indeed, he couldn’t get any worse.

Two transactions of note…

The Pirates sent Van Benschoten back to Indianapolis and promoted reliever Marino Salas, a 26 year-old righty who came over in the off-season trade that sent Salomon Torres to Milwaukee. Salas will be with the club tonight in St. Louis.

The Buccos also traded for Cleveland outfielder Jason Michaels. The terms of the deal seemed to benefit the Pirates as they gave up nothing but cash and a player to be named later to land Michaels, a 32 year-old veteran and career .277 hitter. Michaels’ numbers aren’t staggering by any stretch, but by all accounts he is a quality character and a positive presence in the locker room. Michaels made the most of his first start as he went 3/4 with two runs scored in Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Braves.

I would be remiss if I DIDN’T mention this…

Nate Mac continues to punish the ball. It’s obvious that McLouth’s breakout season is no fluke. Counting tonight’s dinger against the Cardinals, McLouth now has 10 home runs on the young season. Here are Nate Mac’s stats to date:

.305AVG/10HR/31RBI/.997OPS

Those are definitely All-Star caliber numbers and while his average has dropped a bit since being moved to the No. 2 hole in the lineup, Nate Mac continues to be
the Pirates’ biggest offensive force.

Don’t let his boyish looks fool you, Nate Mac will choke the **** out of you!

The Final Thought…

Jack Wilson experienced a setback in his rehab assignment as he tries to recover from the strain calf he suffered during the first Braves series, all the way back on April 3. The Pirates have certainly missed Wilson, especially in the field, and now they’re back to Bixler at short. While Bixler has played decently over the past four games, I’m obviously still not sold on him as Wilson’s replacement now or our shortstop of the future. It seems as if Wilson is hurt much worse than the Pirates have let on, perhaps trying to keep teams interested in Wilson if a mid-season deal for him is possible. Wilson is finally set to join Altoona for his first round of rehab games. Get well soon, Jack!