Category: Dailies
#ElectricStuff
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Last year, one could go to a Pirates game, and
if Charlie Morton was pitching, that person might be leaving PNC Park around
the end of the third more awstruck in disappointment than the kid that gets
picked last in gym glass. Heck, he was the starter when the Bucs got drubbed
for 20 runs against the Brewers. Something this offseason changed, whatever
that may be it has been for the better for Morton. Whoever made this change,
deserves an award for doing what I thought was impossible. Whether it was an
independent coach, Ray Searage, or Charlie himself, that person has created a
carbon copy of Cy Young winner Roy Halladay.
As many of you know, Roy Halladay had his
career nearly ended before it started with his soaring ERA. Roy was a promising
young arm in the Blue Jays organization, by the age of 21 he soared into the
starting rotation, and got an out away from a perfect game in only his second
career start. Roy had just one problem, he relied on his pitch’s speed and
nothing more. His flat fastball earned him an ERA over 10.00 in his second
season and an eventual demotion to Single-A baseball. Roy settled down and
worked on his delivery. He moved from an over the top arm slot to a three
quarters arm slot and made his pitching motion more deceptive and harder to
read from a hitting standpoint. What the three quarters slot and motion did was
change his straight gas fastball into a fastball with sinking motion. This
obviously creates groundball outs and makes it much easier to approach the
hitter.
Sound familiar? Charlie had a flat fastball and
an over the top slot along with a motion that lacked deception. He could, at
times, hit 97 on the radar gun. Electric Stuff, under suggestions from
assistants, moved his arm slot to that of Halladay’s and has adopted the pitching
attributes of a sinkerballer pitcher. As you can see these changes have made an
obvious impact on his ERA and wins. If Morton wins tonight he’ll be tied for
second most wins in the NL. What is more impressive is the number of
groundballs rather than flyballs he enduces. Morton has a huge future ahead of
him, and if he keeps it up, maybe even a Cy Young just like his modeling
mentor, Roy Halladay.
What does .500 mean to the Bucs?
What does .500 mean? In mathematical terms its equal to half, its 50% its a failing grade in school its a sign of futility to most. Baseball is an entirely different ballgame, no pun intended. At .500 in baseball it’s the line between success and failure for most teams. Remember I say most. Six years ago, gas was below $2.00 a gallon, Osama Bin Laden was still alive and well somewhere in the middle east. Ben Roethlisberger had just finished an insane rookie season and was on the brink of leading the Steelers to their 5th Super Bowl title. And the Pittsburgh Pirates were above .500 in June. Since then it has been 6 years the Bucs have gone, all without going above that level later than May. Yes, MAY, the second month of the season, when most teams have less than 20% of their season’s schedule played. So when Joel Hanrahan closed yesterdays win over the Astros, a huge sense of relief calmed Pirate Nation. While most teams fan bases,with success recently chuckled, and turn a cheek to the accomplishment, consider the Pirates re-born. I do, yesterday was a symbol of GM Neal Huntington’s success this far. Every pitcher that entered yesterday’s game, Huntington acquired in his 5 years here. Four of the nine starting position players yesterday, along with two replacement players at the end of the game were brought in by Neal. The coaching staff, all of them, Huntington hires. Not long ago the Pirates used a slogan called “We Will Rise Again”. That slogan is now. .500 now means success down the road. It means this team can prove itself. It means this team is young and will become a contender with time. It really means that they will rise again. The Pirates are back baby, and better than ever. This post was written before the Bucs win tonight, with that win they move to .514 and are the 5th best team in the entire NL. Let’s Go Bucs!
Opening Series Thoughts
Finally I found a way to get on here. Through my senior baseball season, and various computer problems (take a look at my customer profile Dell! Something ain’t right!) I’m finally making a post. So that you know in advance, with my keyboard problem this post may be posted by accident before I’m actually done.
First off before we can even go into my thoughts on the games so far, we’re starting with the obvious new thing to the Pirates. The Pirates are now being broadcasted by ROOT SPORTS. While the presentation is much better, it shows little to no difference to the FSN broadcasts. After doing some research, ROOT is still a production of Fox Sports Net, but the group of channels is owned by DirecTV. Is this DirecTV’s answer to CSN (Comcast Sports Network). If anyone with Comcast could help me out with this one, can you get ROOT sports? Because I do not get the Philadelphia CSN, but I do get the Washington one. I live 45 mins from Philly so that probably has something to do with it.
Secondly, the hitting parade that the Pirates are putting together so far this season is insane. Currently with it being in the bottom of the 5th as I type this, the Pirates have 10 hits. When was the last time we can say we did that? Clint Hurdle is already having an insane impact on this team. Instead of a giddy Pedro Alvarez jumping way to early on a swing on a breaking ball to the outside, he’s sitting back and hitting the baseball. He’s gotten hits on 3 of those such pitches, and 2 RBI’s from it. Everybody is seeming to be getting better on the hitting aspect of the game. Right now, Jose Tabata is 3-3 in today’s game. What can’t we say about Neil Walker this year? My fantasy team is liking his output so far, and he hit the first opening day grand slam since Roberto Clemente. He saw the ball quite well yesterday as well and added another RBI becoming just the 6th Pirate to have 5 RBI in their first 2 games of the season. While I don’t expect his power numbers to jump that much, this is certainly something to look forward to. Also to add, the Pirates amassed 14 free passes at the plate in the first two games, not too shabby, and something that would have never happened last year.
Actually I haven’t been one to disagree with Clint Hurdle at all this year. My only complaint so far was he let Evan Meek throw on consecutive days. I don’t want him to turn into Soloman Torres throwing 100 times in a season. I could tell early that he wasn’t comfortable throwing yesterday. On Friday when he was pitching, it wasn’t any trouble to him to hit the mid 90’s on every pitch. Yesterday he hit the mid 90’s and at most 96 when he threw the ball up in the zone or it got away from him.
As I type, Ross Ohlendorf just put a shot past Starlin Castro for our 11th hit. The pitcher folks!
Anyway, I would have put in Chris Resop instead. He has similar heat, and did not appear in Friday’s season opener. Then again, aren’t we all genius managers in the hindsight!
DAMN YOU SORIANO!
I’m gonna end this post now, maybe it’ll be good luck. GO BUCS!
Cutch’s new(ish) role and OW My EYES!
So if you’ve been following the Pirates, the may have noticed that manager Clint Hurdle has decided to integrate Andrew McCutchen into the 3 hole of the Pirates lineup. While this is not a new role to Cutch, he hit there last year, this is still a surprise for me. I still thought that he would spend the beginning of the season hitting lead-off until the conclusion of the first few months of the season, where he would be more comfortable in the season. This was a place where Cutch struggled slightly at last year. I still contend that he was injured for a good chunk of the season, yet played anyway.
Either way He didn’t let anyone down today with his 3-3 performance from the 3rd spot in the lineup. He lead the charge with a solo shot in the first off of Jamie Shields. He also added a double and a single with three RBI in the game. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Cutch from that position in the line-up. Also hitting a big shot today was Jason Jaramillo in the 8th inning for the Pirates. Other names that made a notable appearance in the box score were Pedro Alvarez who had an RBI double, Neil Walker with a triple and G.I. Jones with two doubles. The Pirates ended up defeating the Rays 10-3 today, flipping the script on yesterdays loss at the hands of the same Rays 9-5.
Some familiar faces that appeared against the Bucs today were J.J. Furmaniak, who once played in the Pirates system. I also believe he was one of the players involved in the Giles trade that got us to acquire Jason Bay. Also appearing in the game for the Rays is former reliever Jonah Bayliss. Bayliss played for the Pirates about 3 years ago if I remember correctly. Pirates reliever Joe Beimel, a Duquense alum, did not appear as scheduled today . He had some elbow soreness that put him into a day-to-day role.
Onto “OW My EYES!”. While I’m far from a fashion expert, even I think that the Pirates new BP jerseys and at this point Spring Training jerseys are absolutely atrocious. The jerseys are brighter than the sun shining on them in Florida. You could see any of them from a mile away, and are probably the last thing you want to be wearing if you’re hiding from anyone. In fact, they look like something security at PNC Park should be wearing instead of the agent polos that they wear (if I’m remembering the correct venue). If they Pirates weren’t a team, I’d might be lead on to believe that they are roadside sanitation workers. Needless to say you won’t see me buying one anytime soon. I’ll stick to getting their alternate jersey, which would complete my collection of jerseys.
“Dude, I can throw a baseball again.”
Wise words from a Pirates prospect. Tim Alderson is the spotlight of the Terminal Velocity article inside the newest ESPN The Magazine. The Magazine is entitled the “Speed Issue”, and nobody in the organization has a bigger speed issue than Alderson himself. Out of High School, this kid had no trouble hitting 93 MPH on a pitch, touching possibly upper 90’s at times. Last year, he struggled to get a pitch past batters at 87. The problem? Somehow, Alderson has lost his once great speed and accuracy, and now is left with accuracy and a ballooning ERA the size of Texas.
He’s not alone, it’s a problem that has plagued players throughout the MLB. The article mentions fellow Pirates pitcher Brad Lincoln, Boston’s Andrew Miller, and Detroit’s Rick Porcello. The article also mentions a few other names that would shock people reading, because of their domination, but Madison Bumgarner and past Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum are mentioned as well.
Getting back to Alderson’s portion of the article, he went to his High School coach and said simply said “Will you be honest with me?”. Alderson went on to throw his bullpen session in front of his coach. As he was looking on, coach Eric Kilber was astonished. He was in disbelief of what he was seeing. After Alderson was done, Kilber, being completely honest said ” You were a better pitcher when you were a freshman in high school.”. Certainly not the words Alderson was hoping for, but something that he [Alderson] was expecting. The truth hurts, but it’s true. Ever since he’s entered the the system from the Giants, his velocity has dropped faster than a penny from the top of the Highmark Building. The reason behind it all seems to really be one thing. Tradition.
Traditional pitching routines, as described in the article include the 120 program. The 120 program, for those who are unfamiliar with it, as I was prior to reading the article, is basically a way of “long tossing” for pitchers. What they do is start at 60 feet throwing, and work their way up to 120 feet by moving up in 30 foot incriments. The article says that this system is employed well inside the Pirates organization. This has been said as even being quite strictly followed in Pittsburgh as well. This article might be a wake up call to the organization. It’s certainly no secret that our organization has killed arms. 5 of the last 7 pitchers selected in the first round by the Pirates have gone on to have surgery, and most have struggled at an MLB level because many of them lack to even touch 94 MPH. Luckily for Lincoln and especially Alderson, there is a solution. It’s much more obvious than you may think.
THROW THE BALL! LET IT LOOSE!
That might just be the solution after all, throw the ball. Long toss. Proof is in the pudding if you take a look at Brewers pitching prospect Mark Rogers that threw triple digits out of high school. Taken in the first round of the 2004 draft. By 2006, Rogers was barely touching 87 MPH on his pitches. After seeing an independant pitching coach, Alan Jaeger, Rogers is again the top prospect for the Brew Crew, and threatining triple digits yet again. The solution was long tossing as far away as 350 feet before coming back to 60 feet to end the workout. While there is certainly a limit to where you will gain velocity to ( you won’t throw triple digits by long tossing at 500 feet every day) but by long tossing on a basis, you may be able to hold your velocity for a good amount of time. It makes sense, the long tossing keeps your arm in good shape if used at certain intervals. If your arm is in good shape, then there should be less injuries too. Jaeger’s had much success with the Rangers’ Dominican Development level has caught the eye of other teams. Not surprisingly, the Rangers reported that pitching injuries are down since they’ve adopted the Jaeger Program.
Unfortunately, I can’t be extremely excited about bringing this news to you. On top of the horrendous Sports Week for Pittsburgh, including the loss of Pens forward Evgeni Malkin for the remainder of the season, questions arising whether captain Sidney Crosby will return, and the Steelers falling to the Packers in Super Bowl XLV, Pittsburgh has lost a legendary sports icon. Former WS Champion manager Chuck Tanner has passed away today. While I never saw him in action, this is certainly sad news to any fan of the Pirates and the entire baseball community. My prayers are with his family for the tough times that they are enduring right now. May he rest in peace.
Is this kid alive?
In case anyone was curious, I am alive, and well too. I’ve been on a turrible hiatus from blogging for quite simply no reason. I don’t think I’ve brought across a post since before the signing on new manager Clint Hurdle. Basically I have no excuse, but my new years resolution was admittedly to have a long lasting relationship with my on again off again girlfriend, but to also blog again.
Before I get into analyzing the Pirates off-season moves, I thought I’d give a heads up on where I stand right now. Basically, the blogging is only going to get better from here. Right now, if you’ve been reading my early posts you would notice that I am a high school senior, and I did mention visiting Robert Morris University in the late summer during my trip to Pittsburgh. Well, put two and two together, add in an application, and just before Christmas 2010, I was accepted into the Sports Management Program at Robert Morris University. So next year, if I can get a car on campus, you can bet I will be finding my way into the bleachers of PNC Park on September Nights and who knows maybe October!
Basically, unless we traded a core player away, the signing of Clint Hurdle to be the next manager of the Pirates, made my grade of the off-season an A+. I was extremely shocked with the addition of P Scott Olson. Basically he’s a fringe player in my eyes, he could be good, or he could be really really bad. Maybe a new manager + new guy, bad attitude = a career turnaround, but it most times, it doesn’t work that way. The Bucs also added another fringe player that I like the addition of, Kevin Correia. He played in a strong Padres pitching system last year, and might be able to continue that success here in Pittsburgh. He’ll be thrown right into the fire, he’s going to be hopefully one of the four sure starters in Pittsburgh along with Maholm, Ohlendorf, and McDonald. Remember Ryan Chruch signing last year, and everyone hoping he’d be a great fringe addition? Well, although they don’t have similar numbers, I compare the signing of Matt Diaz to Ryan Church. Diaz could certainly become a great platooning RF with Garrett Jones, or he could be so bad that Jones has to switch to an everyday player. We’ll hope that he becomes the first possibility. Next, another alright signing in First Baseman Lyle Overbay. He’s expected to become the everyday 1st Baseman, but even I’d rather see Ryan Doumit or Garrett Jones there rather than him. Overbay isn’t a horrible player, but a .243 average in the same stadium where previous nobody Jose Bautista ripped over 50 HRs? Not exactly exciting stats. The Pirates also added a player that I’ve been fond of ever since his entrance to the league, Josh Fields. He entered as a third baseman, but never panned out in Chicago for the White Sox. He’s since moved to first base, but he can play either position. Most recently in Kansas City, I think that if Fields is going to be good, it’ll be here or nowhere. Basically Pittsburgh may be his last option. Lastly, the Pirates added another player that has been out of the limelight for a few years, first baseman Garrett Atkins I’m hoping he connects with manager Clint Hurdle, because that was when he was at his best, In Colorado under Hurdle. That may be why management locked him up to a minor league deal, with a spring training invite.
With our gains, come our losses as well. I really wish we would have kept Lastings Milledge, as he and fellow Florida native Andrew McCutchen were really great friends here in Pittsburgh. Hopefully this won’t derail Cutch’s production. Another player we lost was a valuable bench player in Delwyn Young. I’ve been an avid follower of him on Twitter, and I liked the energy he had off the bench. He’ll be missed, but I’ll miss Milledge more. Finally the obvious loss of Zach Duke, the sad story of the career that never panned out. He had everything, then his pitching mechanics changed, and he was never the same pitcher. He most likely won’t return to that form again, unless Arizona can revive him from the pits of pitching hell. He was a great guy, and from I can gather, grateful of his opportunity in Pittsburgh.
So now I move along, reminding you all that YES I am alive, just in hiding.
First Annual Brettskie Awards!
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As the League Championships
are upon us, we Pirates fans again will be watching someone elses team battle
for the World Series, for the 18th time in a row now. To keep everyone
interested, I’ve decided to give out team awards, thus creating The First Annual
Brettskie Awards. I’ll start with the obvious awards.
Most Valuable Player:
This award could go to
multiple players, granted Jose Tabata had an excellent season in the bigs,
swinging a hot bat for the majority of the season. It could go to Andrew
McCutchen for his hot start and finish to the season. Rumors are also flying
that he played most of the summer injured, which may have led to his drop in
production. This award however goes to a player that had everybody talking. It
wasn’t the talk that I expected to hear about him this year either. I expected
to hear more from Pedro Alvarez offensively. Instead, “The Pittsburgh
Kid”, the same Neil Walker that lives with his parents in Gibsonia has
earned my pick for Team MVP. His adaptation to Second Base, and his batting
average earned him this.
Team Cy Young:
This is obvious. Even though
its not often a reliever recieves this honor, Evan Meek deserves it. One of
Neal Huntington’s Rule 5 pickups, Meek turned from wild thing to All Star in
just two seasons with the Bucs. His sub 1 ERA at the break surprised everyone,
possibly himself. Though his ERA climbed in the second half, he still became a
mainstay in the pen for years to come with runner up Joel Hanrahan.
Least Valuable Player:
This player showed he was not
only least valuable, but also least wanted this season. An 1-30 something slump
comes to mind. Booed after grounding out to the pitcher for the ten thousandth
time. Its Aki Iwamura! He also won most dissapointing player and most worthless
acqusition. A total waste of money even if Jesse Chavez is who we gave away.
Jesse now plays for the same team as Nate McLouth, the Braves AAA team.
Rookie of the Year:
Granted Neil Walker was the
winner of the team MVP, I’m giving rookie of the year to outfielder Jose
Tabata. Jose was second in the league in hits since his june call up, second
only to Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies. Jose never let his average dip below
.200 after his first career game, he started out around .250 for the first few weeks
of his career before going insane and racking hit after hit up. He also
contributed his ability to swipe bags as an advantage this season as well. He
won’t win NL ROY, but he wins Pirates ROY.
Play Through The Pain Award:
This is an easy choice, outfielder
Andrew McCutchen gets this award. He was reportedly playing hurt through parts
of the season, and he still managed to hold a .270 average. Nothing was as
scary as when Cutch rolled trying to make a catch. Luckilly all he tweaked was
his shoulder (that we know of). A healthy Cutch is a Successful Cutch. If he
stays healthy next year, we might have a NL batting champ on our hands.
Most Helpful Acquisition:
Didn’t exactly think through
this name well at all. Granted this might end up as a changed opinion in a year
or two if Andrew Lambo ends up becoming what he was projected to be before his
suspension. For now the award goes to James McDonald. McDonald had Bucs fans
saying I’m lovin’ it after his first start as a Pirate, and continued to
impress. Getting McDonald and Lambo for aging reliever Octavio Dotel from the
Dodgers right now is looking more and more like highway robbery.
Biggest Clutch Moment:
In a season marred with
losses, rookie call-ups, and more reasons for “fans” to hate the
front office, one rookie made possibly the biggest impact one night in August.
In the top of the 9th in an August game against the Rockies, Carlos Gonzalez
hit a homerun to complete the Rockies comeback and to tie the game. In the
bottom half of the inning, Garrett Jones led off the inning with a walk, Andrew
McCutchen moved Jones over with a base hit, and with one out in the inning,
young Pedro Alvarez came to the plate. In one at bat, Pedro went from a player
that was struggling to to prove himself, to straight Clutch. I think this can
only be explained in one way, live video replay. IT’S PEDRO TIME!
Biggest WTF Moment:
Brewers put up 20 on Pirates,
need I say more?
So there you have it, those
are my awards and I’m sticking to them. If you get the chance, check out top
prospect Tony Sanchez’s blog on here about his AFL expirience. He had a great
opening game to the season, I believe he was 3-4. My next update, I’m not sure
where I’m going, still working on getting in on a podcast but I have heard
nothing of the subject at all from my connection.
End of Season Brings Questions and Expectations for Next Season
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In a season that was marred
by failing to meet expectations, and being in the news for all the wrong
reasons, the Pirates are all of a sudden turning out great news for many fans.
Yesterday, Manager, now former, John Russell was relieved of his duties after
leading the Pirates to another losing season. Now Pedro Alvarez was just named
September’s NL Rookie of the Month, only adding on to his Rookie of the Week
award from last week. Even though its a local award, Neil Walker was awarded
the Robeto Clemente MVP Award, which is awarded to the most valuable player to
the Pirates in that season by local sportswriters.
Now getting to business, John
Russell’s reign of embarrassment if you will, is finally over after the Pirates
relieved him of his duties Monday morning. In only 3 years at the help of the
Pirates, Russell eclipsed 100 losses twice, and got to 99 as well. In those 3
years the Pirates earned the number 3rd,2nd, and now 1st overall picks. Russell
really wasn’t given the perfect lineup to work with, as his lineups were
sprayed with inexpirienced rookies. Regardlessly, he still had Jason Bay,
Freddy Sanchez, and Nate McLouth at one point. This was also during Nate’s only
season he hit above the Mendoza line. As the teams got progressively worse, so
did the fan base’s content with the manager. I wish Russell was still part of
the team, maybe a bench coach, because he is a smart man, he just can’t handle
the duties of managing a MLB ballclub.
The search now immediately
moves onto finding his replacement. Right now from various internet sources,
I’m finding that the Pirates are looking at possibly Eric Wedge, the former
Indians manager when Neil Huntington was working in Cleveland. The Bucs will
have to act quickly however, as the Cubs and Blue Jays are also interviewing
him to become their manager as well. Other candidates include Mike Hargrove,
who also managed the Indians before Wedge. In all honesty I’d love to see Lloyd
McClendon come back, but that seems as likely as the Steelers benching Big Ben
next week. I’ve heard a lot of clamour for Andy Van Slyke as well for next
manager. I’m not too sure of his managerial skills, even though he was a great
player for the Pirates. I’d also like to give Phil Garner a shot at the
manager’s position. Scap Iron would be great pick because he has WS expirience
(2005 as Astros Manager I think).
Pedro Alvarez was awarded the
September Rookie of the Month award, and if it weren’t for Mr. September, Troy
Tulowitzki, it’d be for the whole major leagues, not just rookies. Pedro
finished the month with a explosive .311 average, while belting 5 Home Runs and
driving in 26, while scoring 10 runs. He also mounted 16 extra base hits in the
month. With this month’s 11 game hitting steak as well, Pedro raised his
average to .256 on the season, while setting a Pirates 3B rookie record in Home
Runs with 16. His 64 RBI since his June call-up also rank as the highest in
that span for all rookies. It’s clear he has come a long way from the major
slump he was in to start his career. Pedro said ” I’m trying to go out
there and compete everyday, and not worry too much about the results — but
trust in my process and game plan”. He added, “I believe that more
times than not, it will pay of my way”. Lately it has been paying off in
his way, and hopefully, he’ll continue to reap the benefits.
Next, I’ll be making an update about my Pirates awards, There will be lots of serious awards like Team MVP, and also novelties like biggest WTF moment, and Most Disappointing Player. So obviously even Iwamura wins an award here!
Walbeck Fired?
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Well here’s the start to my
various school postings. Today I’ve decided to discuss the dismissal of Altoona
manager Matt Walbeck. Who by the way lead the Curve to an Eastern League
Championship and was also awarded the Eastern League Manager of The Year award.
This is just flat out bad publicity here for the Pirates organization. Most of
the naysayers for the current front office will only call failure once again
and moan about more losing seasons.
The only reported reason that
Walbeck was fired was because he was hoping to advance his career. Walbeck
however, reported he never met with management about a promotion. Walbeck’s job
as a minor league manager is to develop younger players, and he certainly
exceeded expectations on that this past year. Rudy Owens won Organizational
Pitcher of the Year and Alex Pressley won Organizational Hitter of the Year.
Both started, and played the majority of their season (by plate appearances) in
Altoona this season. Walbeck certainly exceeded expectations this past season
with Altoona, and with no legitimate reason for him to be released, it might
leave even the most die-hard fans with their heads spinning.
More importantly, in the
seeming never ending battle of Pirates fans and the critics, this only gives
more ammo to the critics. Fans can refute this all they want, but this is a
tough subject to argue considering Walbeck’s success this season. Certainly the
truth should arise in the near future as to what really happened, but until
then neither side can make a realistic accusation on either account. Honestly
there has to be a legitimate reason Walbeck was let go, but then again if there
isn’t, it’s only more proof that the Pirates may be failing their fans yet
again. What would be even more ludicrous at this point would be to keep the
current coaching staff on the Pirates and reward those that remain after
guiding the Pirates to a hundred loss season. Truth is, with the success that
the younger players are seeing in their rookie seasons might end up keeping
this staff. Either way I’m hoping this isn’t the only organizational coach that
will be on the chopping block this offseason.
Bucs take Cards with them to Land of Lost Octobers
As astounding as it might sound a personal opinion blog is like MLBLogs isn’t blocked by my schools controls. That’s besides the point, and I decided to make a quick post.
Granted most people expected the Pirates to miss the playoffs, and they certainly exceeded expectiations as the landed the first overall pick in the MLB Draft for next season after the Mariners won last night. So, with their season being out the window since pretty much the All Star Break, they moved on, taking another team out of the playoffs along with them. The St. Louis Cardinals, who have been slumping worse than even the Pirates lately, have taken their once great NL Central lead and dropped to second, and kept falling, allowing Cincinnatti to grab the Central Crown. Might I add that Jay Bruce’s Walk Off last night to clinch it was pretty sweet as well. Last night was the Pirates first win at Busch Stadium in 8 games, and with that win last night the Pirates are now 3 for their last 5 against the Cards after taking a three game series in Pittsburgh last week. More importantly, the Pirates finally won on the road for the first time since July!
What is even better to see is the success that reserve OF John Bowker is having in Pittsburgh. Personally, I don’t think we’ll continue to see numbers like this from Bowker, but it is encouraging considering we only gave up an aging bullpen pitcher for him. Hopefully he doesn’t discourage the development of Gorkys Hernandez or Alex Pressley but, it he did it’s be stupid anyway considering Bowker is probably reaching his peak performance years, and Pressley and Hernandez are still young.
I’ve also found a way to revolutionize my blogging, since now I have documents to go on my phone, I can produce updates in my spare time at school, and when I get home I can upload and post them. Hopefully I’ll fit another update in before the end of the season here for the Bucs which is fast apporoaching.
Brett's Bucco Blasts 