Wednesday, July 22, 2009

10 days in review

After being sick for the past week and having my computer blow itself up multiple times I'm finally able to sit here and blog to you.


Adam Laroche gets traded.

Today during the Brewers-Pirates game, Adam Laroche was traded to the Boston RedSox for 2 mid level prospects. Now Neil being able to acquire 2 players for Laroche is a miracle in itself.

Adam has been horrible this year. Yea i know he usually sucks until the start of the 2nd half but the way he has produced has made his other years in Pittsburgh look like All-star seasons.

I liked Adam himself, he seemed like a good guy. He never rubbed me the wrong way until he picked up his batting helmet. I wish him the best of luck in Boston and hope he turns it around but i don't expect him to amount to much.

Some people see this just as a salary dump, which it more than likely is. Jason Bay was a salary dump. Freddy Sanchez will be salary dump.But its not a salary dump if the player isn't producing, its called taking out the trash. While not to many people dis agree with this trade/dump its hard to imagine Steve Pearce being the 1Bmen for the rest of this season. Who IMO is a bigger waste of space than Laroche was. The only difference is about 7 million dollars.

Garrett Jones should be at first base to replace Adam. but no, we get to see more free swinging and backwards K's. Lastings Milledge should be taking over in LF but again no, we get to hope and pray for our Major League Starting 1B to just make contact with the baseball.

I will say this about Niel, he doesn't seem to want any players who were brought here by Dave Littlefield and he doesn't seem to have a lot of patience for Littlefields players. So hopefully this Steve Pearce siting is just short notice until Lastings is fully healthy and capable of roaming LF.


The Pens Sign Goalie Brent Johnson.

The Pens signed goalie FA Brent Johnson to a 1 year deal worth 530k. Johnson is believed to battle Curry for the final backup goalie spot but I'm pretty sure this job is just Johnsons now.

I think this is a great pick up for Ray Shero. Johnson is more than capable of being a backup and much better then Garon and his 1.1 million we had last year.

Johnson is 32 years old and has played in 247 career games in his 9 seasons. He has a Record of 111-94-13-12 2.63 GAA and a .903%SP.

He started his Career in St. Louis before being traded to Phoenix in 2004. Then signed as a FA to back up Olie Kolzig in Washington before the 2005 season.

This signing leaves the Pens with 1.63 million left in salary cap. Its believed that Shero is still trying to work out deals with other teams to try and shed some salary. I sorta expect that Dupuis and Godard will be gone before the season starts.


Jack and Freddy tell Front Office to Shove it.

A few days ago Pirates fans were stunned to hear that the Front Office wanted to try and extend the contracts of Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson.

Well the excitement didn't even last 24 hours. The Pirates offered Jack a 2 year 8 million extension. Then offered Freddy a 2 year 10 million extension.

While the offer to Jack Wilson seems more than fair the offer to freddy was beyond low ball. So what did Jack and Freddy do? They said a big "Fuck You". Now they didn't quite put it like that. but its pretty much what i would have done. Freddy is set to make 8 million next year alone, so why would he buy that out only to take a 6 million dollar pay cut the 2nd year.

Now both players say they still wanna try and work something out, but its not gonna happen. They will both be shopped vigorously until the trade deadline. There might not be much of a market for Jack, but someone is going to want Freddy.


Ian Snell is Still a Douchebag.

After 5 impressive starts in AAA Indy. Ian Snell refused to be called up to replace Vergil Vasquez. He said he didn't wanna be apart of the Pirates team anymore and wanted to remain in AAA.

Now in all seriousness. What the kind of loser wants to stay in AAA instead of playing in the Major Leagues. Is he that much of head case that he cant take the criticism of all 12,000 pirate fans when he pitches. WTF does he think is gonna happen if he gets traded to a winning team? Does he think that all is well and other fans don't BOO bad players? Does he think other locker rooms and new teammates will ignore him when he throws them under the bus? What kind of city is Ian Snells kind of city anyway? How much douchebag can 1 person have in them?

This kid has so much talent but has no heart what so ever. He has no brain and no respect to go along with that hole in his chest. I know the Pirates suck, but they have to be better than playing for a last place AAA team. If he prefers all night bus rides, crappy hotels and groupies with herpes and no teeth then by all means Ian, get yours.



Don't hate the Playa, Hate the...

Earlier in the week Big Ben was charged with Sexual Assault. Apparently some girl doesn't appreciate the fact that Big Ben was allowing her to try out as his new center.

yea i know that's wrong, but this chick is a headcase. there's not much in details i can give for this but this bitch is just crazy. This problem will resolve itself and Ben will be fine. I fully expect nothing to happen and this chick be locked up in the loony bin for bein a dumb bitch.

Quick Minor league Round About
.

Lasting Milledge was named player of the week and has been tearing the ball of the cover in AAA Indy. Hes batting .400 with an On base % of .511.

Pedro Alverez finally seems like he is becoming comfortable in AA. Hes raised his BA from .250 to .280. Hes hitting over .338 the past week. and hes only striking out about once a game instead of 2-3x a game.

Jose tabata has been a machine lately. Hes raised his BA to .297. He has hit safely in something like 17 out of 18 games. he is also batting over .400 for the past 10 games.

These 3 players are just great to see preforming like that have been. I expect Milledge to be called up soon. Tabata and Alverez MIGHT get moved up to AAA before the seasons out just to give them a taste. I'm pretty sure tho they will finish the season in AA and start in AAA next season tho.



1 last thing.

Jason Kendall is a fuckin turd nugget.

Dave Kerwin would whoop his ass any day.

go buy some Dave Kerwin shirts here

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Zach duke gets all star nod

After Matt Cain got hit with a line drive last night, Zach Duke was chosen to be his replacement in the 2009 all-star game to join teammate Freddy Sanchez.

Duke was chosen over Braves ace Jair Jurrjens and Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo. Now some might see this as a bush league choice by Charlie Manual to take Duke over talent such as them, but people dont see what Duke really has done this year.

Duke is 8-8 with a 3.29 ERA 1.21 WHIP 65k:32BB.
Hes 4th in innings pitched with 126 innings. Tied for 1st with 3 complete games(2 of which were losses). Duke has been nothing short of a horse for this Pirates team and is pitching the best since his rookie campaign.

Dukes record doesn't reflect just how good hes been this season. In his 18 starts 13 of them were quality starts. In his 8 losses the Pirates offense got a total of 10 runs. He has reached the 6th inning all but once this year and has gotten to the 7th or later in 11 starts. Hes tied for 3rd in double plays with 15 while sporting a .94/1 groundball/flyball ratio. Duke deserves this all-star nod just as much as the next person but being a Pirate may have hindered an all-star spot from the get go.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

little issues

i have encountered a little problem with my desktop and it wont be fixed until Tuesday. i will have some updates from time to time just maybe not everyday.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Doumit to rejoin team

Jen Langosch reports that Ryan Doumit will rejoin the Pirates tonight for the final series of the 1st half against the Phildelphia Phillies. It looks like Robinzone Diaz will be the extra catcher that is sent down.

Having Doumit back adds much more to the pirates lineup. He does hit for more power than JJ/Diaz, better batting average and after working with Joe Kerrigan in the off season seemed to handle the pitching staff rather well before his injury.

Now who knows if Doumit can stay healthy the rest of the year because health is always an concern with him. Adding a catcher who has the ability to hit .315 20hr power and leadership always helps out a team. Its also up in the air what his place in the lineup will be with the erratic changed that John Russell makes on a nightly bases. This should tho drop everyone down 1 spot into a more comfortable role. Also adding Freddy Sanchez back tonight will drop Jack back into his 8th spot. I don't know for sure if Freddy is playing tonight it was just speculation that he would be ready for tonights game.

Penguins to announce signing of Jay Mckee

The Pens are set to announce of the signing of Dman Jay Mckee at some point today. According to Andy Strickland the deal is worth 800k for 1 year. Mckee is a physical Dman whos game relates to one Brooks Orpik who already scowls the Pens blue line.

Mckee was bought out of his contract by the Blues worth over 4million a year. He will receive around 2.6 million this season from the buyout.
Last year Mckee had 1 goal and 8 assists while being a +11 for the St. Louis Blues. For his Career hes played in 740 games scoring 20 goals with 95 assists and is a +49.

Hes not going to wow you for his offensive skills but he will make us forget about losing Rob Scuderi to LA.

This gives the pens awesome balance at the blue line with puck movers and stay at home dmen.The Defensive lines should look something like this considering no injuries to start the season

Gonchar-Orpik
Letang-Mckee
Gologoski-Eaton.

This signing shows just how good Ray Shero is. He talked a multi-million dollar dman into a 800k dman for 1 season. Giving Mckee the chance to play for a championship and up his value and play for the last contract of his career. This signing also gives younger pens such as Ben Lovejoy and Brian Straight a full season to get fixed to the NHL game. Lovejoy is already seen by most as NHL ready now after his season last year in WBS for the Baby Pens. Straight is coming out of his junior season at Boston College and has a chance to make the Pens roster out of camp but more than likely will play the season for the Baby Pens.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Pirates Struggles Continue..

The Pirates and Astros 3 game set finished this afternoon with another ugly loss for the Buccos. They seem to really be missing Freddy Sanchez in the field and batter box. The last 11 games the Pirates are 3-8 and slowly slipping into obscurity at the bottom on the NL Central. They are still 8 games back from 1st place but the problem is that they are now 4 games back of 5th place. While every team in the Central is staying steady and keep a close eye on each other the Buccs keep finding ways to lose and slip out of the race.

Now can anyone say they honestly expected this team to compete for a division title? HELL NO! Its just the opportunity this team has and with the talent they do have it is kind of frustrating to watch us get 3-4 hit every other night. They now have scored 1 run or less 23 times this year, that more than 1/4th of the season so far.

1 of the the few bright spots with the bat has been Garrett Jones lately. Seemingly when no one else find a way to hit the ball hes at least getting a hit here and there.

The Pirates play the World Series Champs and 1 of the hottest teams in the majors right now, the Philedelphia Phillies the next 3 games. The Phillies have been killing teams lately and have 1 of the best offenses in the league. I think its safe to say this is going to be another tough series to watch. Hopefully the Buccs can get Freddy Sanchez back, hes supposed to be back in the lineup on Friday.

The Buccs will throw Duke, Ohlendorf and Vazquez at Blanton, Hamels, and rookie J.A. Happ. The Phillies Stadium is another sandbox and will make it even tougher for Pirate pitchers as they not only struggle on the road but seem to get lit up in all hitter ball parks.

With the trade deadline looming in the coming weeks, who knows whats going to happen. I just know if somehow Adam laroche, Freddy Sanchez, Matt Capps, Jack Wilson, John Grabow get traded this is probably going to be 1 of the worst second halfs pirates may ever watch. If we cant hit with these guys in the lineup, what the hell are they gonna do w/o them. Altho with the way Adam Laroche is hitting it might be an upgrade.

I believe things will turn around but things always have to get worse before they get better. That's just the way it is in life. Hang on Buccs fans, find the positives so matter how few their are. Enjoy baseball for what it is, a game. Games are meant to be fun and enjoyable so lets take it for what its worth and hope for the best.


After the game the Pirates optioned Steve Pearce and Steven Jackson back to AAA. They recalled Donnie Veal because of the rule 5 obligation. They will recall someone else before fridays game to fill out the roster.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Penguins Roster and Salary 2009

To see the contract obligations beyond 2009 Click Here

Steelers Off-season news

Steelers training camp schedule


All but Steelers #1 draft pick Ziggie Hood have been signed to contracts

The Lombardi Trophy, Stanley Cup and Phillies World Series Trophy are all on display today in Harrisburg for a State of Champions get together.

As much as i hate Philly because of the Flyers, it is kinda sweet to have 3 of 4 major sports titles in this state. To bad the Sixers suck and we dont have a BBall team. I really wish we would get a team. It would have to do better than the Pirates......right?

Talbot to miss start of Pens Season


Maxime Talbot is having shoulder surgery that is likely to keep him out 4-5 months. So he will miss the beginning of the 2009 season and will return around november/december. This isnt a massive loss for the pens because it isnt a season ending injury but he will be missed along genos RW. Right now the Pens have no legitimate RW for the Feds-Malkin line. There are still some reports out there that Shero is still in talks with Petr Sykora at a highy discounted rate, i dont see it going anywhere.

The pens still need to add 1 defenseman and a backup goalie to fill out their roster and have just around 3 million left in cap space to do so. Again there have been a few reports citing that Shero is working more the trade route than signing FA route. Shero is probably trying to dump as much salary as possible so he can make that trade deadline splash as he has done the last 2 years. With Mike Rupp being signed and capable 4th liners in Wilks-bare Dupuis and Godard are most likely on the fast line out of Pittsburgh. Dont let the door hit you guys in the ass when u are traded, because your are both as useless as a monkey humping a coconut.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Pirates @ Marlins Series Recap

Well things could have been better but they couldn't have gotten much worse. The buccos started off the series on a high note winning 7-4 on friday night. Then it all went down hill.

Friday Night- Charlie Morton pitched his best game as a pirate going 6 innings allowing 1 hit striking out 4. The movement on his pitches was insane. His 2 seam would start on the left outside of the plate and end up right inside off the plate. when his curve was working it had beautiful 12/6 action and just dropped off the plate. His fastball was hitting 93-95 pretty consistently. He started having a little control issues in the 5th and 6th innings as his pitches were moving to much, if there is such a bad thing. If he can ever get it all together he is going to be unbelievable to watch. He is somthing worthing getting excited about and will make the Nate Mclouth trade worth while all by himself.

The pirate lineup got to Chris Volstad early and often, as he only lasted 3 innings. His stats weren't horrible but the small rain delay at the end of the 3rd made his night a short 1. Brandon moss led off pirate scoring in the bottom of the 1st with a solo home run making it his second of the season. Ramon Vazquez hit a 2 run shot scoring Andy Laroche. It was Vazquez's first homerun as a pirate. In the 3rd Moss grounded into a fielders choice scoring Andrew McCutchen. In the 7th Andrew McCutchen doubled to score Jason Jaramillio directly followed by a Jack Wilson Double which scored Delwyn Young and Andrew McCutchen.

Joel Handthemruns came if relief in the 7th and got 2 quick outs, then he imploded and got knocked around. He ended up giving up 3 hits 2 er's walked 1 batter and struck out 2. Its not like he was getting unlucky, he got hit hard all 3 hits.

Grabow pitched a scoreless 8th striking out 1.

Karstens came in the 9th to close it out getting smacked around a little also. he gave up a 2-run shot to John Baker after Cody Ross doubled. He did strike out 2. while walking none. He almost created a save oppertunity for Capps to come in and save his ass.

Saturday Night
- Zach duke started and had one of his worst outings of the season. He gave up 8 hits 4 er's 4BB's 5k's in 6 innings. This game wasnt on TV so i couldn't tell if he was just getting blasted by good offense or if he just had an off night. By the sound of the announcers I'm going to go with he had an off night.

Andrew Miller started for the marlins and had pretty good night. The pirates offense couldn't do anything against him early which imo has more to say about the anemic pirates offense more then his skill. He did well until the 5th and 6th innings before he was eventually pulled for relief.
he ended up with 6 inning 8 hits 3 ers 4ks 1BB.

Hanley Ramirez started off the battering but hitting a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 1st.
In the 4th Paulino grounded into a double play but Dan Uggla scored as there was no outs.
Top of the 5th we had a rare Andy Laroche solo HR.
Top of the 6th Delwyn Young singled to score Andrew McCutchen
Duke gave it right back in the bottom of the 6th with a wild pitch but should have been a passed ball by Robinzon Diaz who had a horrible night at and behind the plate.
Top of the 7th Garret Jones hit a solo HR to get it back to a 1 run game
Bot of the 7th Hanley hit into a double play scoring Bonifacio to make it the final score 5-3

Sundays Game
- Not much to say about this game so im going to keep it short. Ross Ohlendorf got smacked around giving up 9 hits and 5 er's in 5 innings. His control just wasn't where it normally is and the Marlins made him pay.

Ricky Nolasco just completely dominated the pirates offense. He struck out 12 in 8 innings while only allowing 3 hits and 0 runs. He kept throwing a back foot slider that killed the left handed hitters. Adam Laroche, Ramon Vazquez, and Garrett Jones Struck out 7x between them. Garret Jones had the only hit that actually made it into the outfield. Andrew McCutchen showed off his speed by beating out 2 infield singles.

The pirates defense was just horrible today and didn't help out anyone. They didn't have any errors but they made stupid mental mistakes that cost the team.

The Buccs need to find a way to win the road as they are now 15-28 away from PNC, and it is killing anything they have going for them.They are now 7 games back of 1st place in the division and are now 7.5 games out of the wild card. In the last 8 games are they 2-6 and slowly slipping out of any contention. If it wasn't for the central playing like crap they would be a lot worse off than they already are.

The next 3 games are in Houston and they are an important 3 games. They are 3-6 against Houston so far this year and were swept the last 3 game series they played there. If the team wants to have any glimmer of hope for the 2nd half they need to win these 3 games and not let Houston take an even larger lead over them.

Steve Mcnair killed


Steve Mcnair was found dead yesterday in Nashville Tennessee. Mcnair played 11 seasons with the Titans along with Eddie George helping revive the Houston Oiler franchise that moves in the 90's. He was Drafted out of Alcorn State in 1995 to become the franchises premier face. He took the Titans to the Superbowl in 1999 only to lose to the Rams by 1 yard. In 2003 he shared a Co-MVP with Peyton Manning. He ended his career with the Baltimore Ravens after the 2007 injury plagued season he had.Steve was only 1 of 3 players to ever throw for 30,000 yards while rushing for over 3,500 yards.

I know this is nothing about about Steelers or Pittsburgh but i figured id share my respects to a man who brought his all every practice and every game and never once gave up. He terrorized the Steelers for every single 1 of his playing years. I have never seen a QB take so many hits and get up and do it again the next play like Mcnair did. IMO Mcnair should be in the Hall OF Fame. He may not have been the greatest player ever but he was one of the greatest leaders to ever walk on the field. Very few people in the NFL become as adored and respected league wide as Steve Mcnair had become. I wish well to his family and friends and my heart goes out to Titan fans. God Bless

Doumits Return




Ryan Doumit is making his rehab debut today in Indianapolis. Doumit has been on the DL since Arpil 20th after breaking his right wrist. He will play 5 rehab games for the Indians before rejoining the pirates later this upcoming week.

Ian Snell will also be making his 2nd start for the Indians today after he sent himself on a rehab assignment to get his head straight. His last start he struck out 17 batters and started the game off withe 13 k's in a row.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Half Way There

After tonights game the pirates will have played the 81st game of the season. A lot of people act like there is no hope for this team but we are ONLY 6 games out of 1st place. Now that may is more of a testament to how poorly our division has played but still. Last year thru 80 games we were 38-42(11 games behind 1st), that was with Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and Nate Mclouth patrolling our OF. So even after the so called salary shed last year and everyone up in arms over the deal NH made this team is only 1 game off the pace they were at last year. Now lets look at the difference between and last year.

I compared last years team stats from before the all-star break since i really was to lazy to go back thru every game and add the stats up myself. These are still close enough for what I'm talking about.

The major difference between this year and last year is the pitching staff, all thanks due to Joe Kerrigan. Thru 80 games last year the staff was horrid to give up 442 runs. This year they have allowed 95 fewer runs at 347: and that's with the implosions of Ian Snell. The additions of Ross "The Boss" Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton and the resurrection of Zach Duke have help solidify the pitching staff. Key young relievers such as Jesse Chavez and Evan Meek have pitched well when called upon out of the pen. John Grabow and Matt Capps were roughed up a little in the beginning of the year but are now finding the swing of things and coming back into form. Every pitcher we have is going out and giving us a chance to win on any giving night and we don't have to win 9-8 like we did last year.

Right now the Pirates team ERA is 4.24 as opposed to last years 5.24(thru 95 games). The staff already has 46 quality starts compared to the 66 they had all of last season. Team WHIP is down from 1.61 to 1.39(major difference). Team OBP is down 28 pts from 368 down to 366, that still ranks them near the bottom but it is still much better than last year. OPS is down 70 pts from .828 to .758. While we still seem to walk a lot of guys it is not nearly as much as last year due to the pitchers pitching for more contact instead of trying to pick corners and strike guys out. There is no doubt in my mind what so ever that the pitching staff that is being put together by NH is the lone reason we are only 6 games out. Now if we would have never made the Bay,Nady,Mclouth trades who knows what our starting rotation would look like right now.


When it comes to the batting stats there is going to be a major drop off when you trade away the middle of your batting order and miss Ryan Doumit for most of the year. Other than the missing power in the lineup the categories are pretty comparable. Not much to explain with the obvious hole in the middle of the order. This team has become a little more aggressive on the base paths with the jump in steals. A lot like our pitching staff our offense has become more contact driven, Thus the rise in BA. They still strikeout way to much with the teams lack of plate discipline and they way they swing at everything not in the strike zone.

This years club also has the uncanny knack of ruining great innings fast. A lot of times this year they have gotten pitchers in trouble with 2-3 men on and 0-1 outs and somehow managed not to get 1 run in. The lack of power has translated into more DP's and not enough sacrifice flys to the OF when there are men on 3rd. There will be games we get 15 hits and score 10 runs and look like the best offense in baseball then come back the very next day and face a AAA pitcher just called up and make him look like Cy Young himself.

Ive found that this team has more problems with pitchers that have control problems than anything else. With their lack of plate discipline they always like to chase pitches that are 2 feet off the plate instead of working counts and taking the walk. That is something that really needs to be worked on but it doesn't help when your best hitter(Freddy) does it every at-bat thinking hes Vlad.

Missing Ryan Doumit for most of the year has not hurt us as much as it should have. Jason Jaramillo and Robinzon Diaz have filled in much better than expected. They don't have much power but they have been getting the job done. They have combined for a .273 average, 4 hrs, 36 rbis withe an OBP of .330. If they were 1 player they would be 2nd on this team for rbis which is awesome to see production from 2 rookie catchers. You just cant help but think/hope when Ryan comes back next week it will add a new dimension to this offense and add some more power to it.

With the trade deadline fast approaching who knows what this lineup is going to look like in a month. We could potentially lose Adam Laroche, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, maybe even Ryan Doumit. Leaving 3 maybe 4 major holes to fill not only in the lineup but in the field. Freddy and Jack are the best Double Play combo in the league while Adam is 1 of the better fielding first basemen. Our infield is another reason why our pitching has been the way it is. They are top 3 in fielding defense this year and cover A LOT of ground. So filling in Bixler,Pearce, and Young into those 3 spots would be disastrous for our pitchers.

First Half Awards

Zach Duke-Best Pitcher(he should be in the all-star game)
Freddy Sanchez-Best Hitter
Jaramillo/Diaz- Best Surprise
Ian Snell-Worst Pitcher
Brandon Moss-Worst Hitter( altho coming on lately)
Andrew McCutchen-For being the closest thing to god we've seen in 20 years.


I may have went a little of base from where i started this but the more i typed the more random crap came in my head.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Game 80 Pirates @ Fish

Pens Sign Fedotenko


Some how, some way. Shero pulled a coconut out of his rear end. Feds was receiving offers of 2-3 years over 2 million per, and yet Shero got him to sign a 1 year deal worth 1.8 million. I dont know how the hell he did it but this man is a magician. Feds had an off and on regular season but he came to play in the playoffs. Which is why many teams coveted him. This signing puts the pens cap space at around a little under 3 million left. They still need to fill a defensive spot and a back up goalie. Now if shero believe Lovejoy and Curry can fill those roles then we have enough room to make another splash in free agency.

There are still a few rumors out there that the pens are still shopping Dupuis and Godard. If Shero is able to pull of a trade we would lose almost 2.2 million in salary giving us aound 5 million to work with now during the rest of FA or wait untill the trade deadline to make another move.

The Pens also signed local boy Nate Guenin. Nate is 6'2'' 210 Defensive Defenseman, from the sewicley area. He played in the flyers sytem the last couple years appearing in 12 total games, while recording 2 assists and a +2 rating. He only played in 1 game for the flyers last season.

Tom Fitzgerald will also be moving up back into the front office. After Shero fired therrian last year Fitzgerald was brought down to help be an assistant coach. Now with Chuck Fletcher leaving to be the Wilds new GM, Fitzgerald has claimed his old spot as Assistant to the General Manager.

Make or Break Weekend??




This weekend could end up being extremely important for the buccos. They come into this weekend series with the marlins losing 4 of their last 5 games, 6 out of 1st in the division and 3 games out of 5th behind the astros. If the pirate dont come out winning this series and get swept they will have dug themselves a hole they will never get out of. There is no way the pirates will be able to leap frog 5 division team being 8-9 games back. The only good thing is tho the NL Central is full of ups and downs i would not be surpised if all 6 teams got swept 3 games in a row if they werent playing eachother. It is amazing that to this point in the season the Buccs are only 6 games out of 1st. This team has been held together by team defense and timely pitching but who knows how long those will continue.

The Pirate pitchers for this weekend will be Morton(tonight), Duke(saturday), and Ohlendorf(sunday) baring unforseen circumstances. Volstad(tonight), Miller(saturday), Nolasco(sunday). These all should turn out to be great matchups to watch.

Tonight
Charlie Morton-(0-1) last outting ended kind of shaky altho he started well. He gave up 7 hits 3 er 1hr 0BB and had 3 k's. His control went from inning to innging. Some pitches hit their spots and some completely missed. The movement we are used to seeing on his pitches was also more flat than usual. This kid does have some talent he just needs to learn how to harness is better. In his 2 first starts he made it to the 5th inning both times and kept the pirates close enough to win. What more could u ask of him.

Chris Volstad-(5-7) differes from game to game as what what you're going to see from him. Hes only 22 and has great stuff but sometimes. In 15 starts he has 95 innings pitches, 93 hits, 49ERs, 15HR's, 70k:28BB. He has only gotten out of the 6th inning 4x in those 15 starts and 3 were in his first 5 starts. Hes averaging close to 100 pitches thru innings of work. That can be good or it can be really bad for us. We tend to not work counts as high as other teams and chase balls way out of the strike zone. If we can get him out in the 5th or 6th inning it will be an immense bonus to us because the marlins bullpen isnt the greatest in the world.

Saturday
Zach Duke(8-6)- has become the work horse of this pirates pitching staff. Out of his 16 starts he has gotten into atleast the 7th inning, 5x he has reached the 8th and he has 1 complete game. So far this yearhis stats are: 112 innings pitched, 107 hits, 39 ER, 11HR's(givin up), 54k:26BB. ERA is 3.13 with a whip of 1.19. He is averaging 100 pitches per 7 innings. If Duke has any chance of making the All-Star team i believe he is going to have to become Sandy Kofax and just completely Dominate.

Andrew Miller(2-4)- Has also been up and down this year with his starts.He is a HUGE kid, at 6 foot 7 inches 207 lbs. In 11 starts hes made it to the 7th only twice, 3x he never made it to the 5th and he usually is finished the the end of the 5th/early 6th. hes averaging over 100 pitches per 6 innings. So far thsi season he has, 64 innings, 62 hits, 32 ER, 3 hr's, 51k:30BB which gives him a 4.45 ERA and a whip of 1.42. Some of his games this season he has gotten wild and walked a bunch of batters. Hopefully this happens for us


Sunday

Ross Ohlendorf(7-6)-The Boss has been a much needed pleasent surprise for this pirates pitching staff. He has been tremendous in his last 2 starts. Hes not a flamthrower but he does has that 2-seam and sinker that have been his main out pitches. His numbers arent overwhelming but they have been good enough to keep the team in games. ROss is also a product of the run for/against ratio. In his 6 losses the pirates have only scored 8 runs(while giving up 24). In his 7 wins they have scored 48 runs(while giving up 13 runs). Season Stats:
4.41 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 96 innings, 94 hits, 47 ER's, 14 HR's, 52K:25BB. Averages just around 92 pitches ber 6 innings.

Rickey Nolasco(5-6)-Nolascos numbers are majorly scewed at this point. In the Beginning of the year he couldnt buy an out if it wanted. So the Marlins sent him down to AAA to fix up w/e problems he had and it sure as hell has worked. Since Returning 5 games ago he has a ERA of 1.91 and a whip under 1. 33 innings, 27 hits, 7 ER, 33k:5BB, 2 HR. Since his return he is averaging 100+pitches for 7 innings. The way Nolasco has been since his return i would not be a gambling man in this game.

Like i Stated above this series could break the pirates season of a lot of hope, if any hope they had last. They can not afford to fall behin any futher than they are now. I like how out pitching matchups are set against the Marlins. I believe Morton and Duke should be able to win their games while we might lose the Nolasco/ohlendorf start.

Whos Hot for both clubs
Adam Laroche-The month of June. .344 BA, .423 OBP, .559 SLG, 982 OPS. 8 Dbls, 4hrs, 15rbis

Hanley Ramirez-Month of June. .370BA, .413 OBP, .593 SLG, 1.006OPS, 9DBl, 5hrs, 33rbis

In Shero I trust


Yet another off season of losing key players to free agency and Ray Shero is still playing the calm, cool, collect card. Last year after the Stanley Cup Finals the pens lost Ryan Malone, Ty Conklin, jarko Ruutu, Gary Roberts, Adam Hall Georges Laraque and Marian Hossa. Those were 6 HUGE reasons why the pens made the cup finals(georges doesnt count). So who does ray bring in to replace them? Ruslan Fedotenko, Miro Satan, Matt Cooke and Eric Godard. 4 guys who dont have enough talent together to equal what hossa did for us.

At the beginning of the year the Pens Lost Whitney and Gonchar to injuries for half the season and it really put the pens into a tail spin. They had no one to run the PP, they had a rookie in gogo as their main break out dman along with Kris Letang. So shero did what needed to be done at the deadline for the second year in a row. He traded the down and out Ryan Whitney for hard nosed LW Chris Kunitz and Tough guy Eric Tangaradi who is looking to be a future top-6 forward on this team. He then traded a 3rd round pick for Bill Guerin to play RW with sid.

Now Satan was pretty useless thru out the season and ended up getting demoted at the trade deadline to make space for Guerin and spent the remainder of the regular season in Wilkse-bare.
Also Ruslan was having a pretty slumpy year and was moving around all the lines trying to get jump started. Sykora went 3 months with only scoring 5 goals entering the playoffs.I really felt bad for Malkin because every winger he had decided to take a nose dive sooner or later and it left him to do everything. Which is why its even more amazing he won the scoring title.

Once the playoffs rolled around Skyora ended up getting benched for Satan and who came in to play his best of the season while beating the living snot out of eaves in the ECF while scoring and setting up a couple big goals in the last 2 rounds. Ruslan wasnt a scoring machine but he scored massive goals when they were needed. So all 4 of Ray Sheros acquisitions played a major part in why the pens won the cup. The deal he made to get marian hossa last year is what got us into the finals. So why not give him the benefit of the doubt? Why must pens fans never be happy with what this man is doing and has done for us?

With the cap space the penguins have had to deal with Shero has done nothing that deserves anything but the upmost respect. With Crosby and Malkin makin 8.7 million, Gonchar 5 million, Staal 4 million, Fleury 5 million, hes has to fill 20 roster spots with just around 25 million dollars. What do you expect from this man? Hes not Jesus, he cant turn water into cap space. Untill the Penguins system is filled with talent at the wings we are going to see a revolving door at key positions. Untill we get some home grown talent up here and not have to sign free agents to crazy deals. Penguin fans are just going to have to get over not making room for superstar FA's, not even makin room for B listers. This team is going to be filled every year with the Ruslan Fedotenkos and Miro Satans. And you know what? Im fine with that. We won the Cup once with those guys, so why can we not do it again? If shero makes a mistake and sees it isnt working he'll make that yearly deal at the deadline that helps get us over the hump.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

A Lastings Effect



A lot of people are upset with the trading of Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan for the so called "head-case" that is Lastings Milledge and the under-preforming Joel Hanrahan. I love everything there is about this deal. Nyjer was great for us but can anyone honestly say he was the answer in LF? Nyjer is soon to be 29 years old in his first full season. He was an adventure on the base paths and inconsistant at the plate. Lastings is only 24 years old, formally 1 of the best prospects in the league who the pirates bought low on. If Milledge turns out to be 1/2 of what he was projected to be it will make this deal well worth it 100x over. He has potential to hit 15-20 hr's a year. He can steal 30 bases and in LF along McClutchGod defensively the pirates will be solid. He doesnt have to be great right away, he can bring his game along at his pace without feeling the pressure to be a hero for this team. Altho some pirate fans will scream bust as soon as he makes his first out.

Realitically he has untill 2011 to get his game together and be apart of the up and comming prospects the pirates have in their system. By 2011 he will be 26 just getting into the prime of his career. With him getting older the maturity will come along with his game. Hes going to bring excitment to this team and hes going to give fans another reason to get excited about Pirates baseball.

If the Pirate FO is serious about building a core and buying pieces to fit in around that core then they are well on their way to it. With last years #1 pick Pedro Alverez, Jose Tabata they recieved in the nady trade, Tony Sanchez this years #1 pick, Gorkys Herenandez aquired in Mclouth trade, the pirates are finding those key pieces for the future.

With Alverez more than likely moving to 1st base and Andy Laroche doing pretty well in his first full season our corner IF is looking decent. The lone spot the pirates organization is lacking is the Middle Infield. They have some prospects that could become somthing in a few years but nothing to get anyone overely excited about.

Now can anyone realistically expect Gorkys, tabata,alverez, sanchez, An. Laroche, Milledge and Brad Lincoln to be perennial all-stars? no, not all of them will pan out because thats just what happens in baseball. But we can expect them to all be servicable major league players. The pirates new front office needs a chance to make things happen, and its not going to over night no matter how much pirate fans hope. This team was in shambles from low-a ball to the majors. Niel and Frank are tyring to build a contender from the ground up and its going to take some time. Understandably fans are upset and just want the pirates to go out and spend 90 million dollars but you cant just go out and buy a championship. ask the yankees.

Pens quick hits


The pens signed veteran Mike Rupp to a 2 year deal worth 1.7 million(850k a year) on the first day of NHL fee agency. Rupp is a big body(6'5'' 230lbs) who knows his role. He doesn't score a lot of goals, in fact he only has 27 goals in over 330 games as a New Jersey Devil. He also was stuck in prison known as the trap system where defense is first and scoring is a bonus. Rupp has always played well against the penguins and usually finds a way to score 2-3 of his yearly goals against them. He can play on the PP and park himself right infront of the net, which could be a huge bonus to have. Hes not an amazing skater but he gets around fairley well for someone of his size. IMO i love this signing. He brings another Stanley Cup Ring to the locker room, he brings more physical toughness to the 4th line along with Adams, and he also has enough skill to play in the Pens new up-tempo scheme. Since his signing i think its safe to say that Godards days in pittsburgh might be done.

There has been a few reports to which the Pens are shoping Eaton, Godard and Dupuis to try and make some cap relief. I now expect Godard to be gone along with Dupuis. With Scuderi now in L.A. i dont think this team can afford to lose eaton. People dont give him much credit for what he brings to this team.

Live Pirates Game Blog Chat

Welcome

This blog will be committed to all of the Pittsburgh Sports teams. Ill review all things Pirates, Steelers and Penguins. Along with the Pirates and Penguins i will also cover their minor league affiliates and the prospects in their systems. This will be fun to write and hopefully you enjoy reading my views on our beloved teams.


Site Meter