Pathetic Pitching Perturbs Patient Pirate Partisan

Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny figured to be the two horses in the Pirate’s starting rotation this season. They were easily the two most consistent starters a year ago and they’re young. I figured the only way they wouldn’t pitch just as well, if not better, than last year would be if they got injured. Well, two months into the season and neither one is hurt. Unfortunately, they’ve pitched much worse than I could have imagined. Gorzelanny has had some trouble with bases on balls in the past, but this seems new to Snell. Four walks in a game would have been ridiculously high for him the last couple years. He’s already surpassed that on a few different occasions this year. And Gorzo? I hate to hit someone when they’re down, so I won’t.

Through April and May, Paul Maholm has pitched about as well as he did in the first third of 2007. Last year, he turned that so-so start into a very consistent and efficient 15 starts or so from June through August. Perhaps more of the same is on the way.

Zach Duke has looked very good at times this year, but quite awful at others. But this year, the good innings appear much more frequently than they have the last year or two. At least with Duke, we know walks will never be much of a problem.

Phil Dumatrait has looked very good in almost every one of his starts. Very good for three or four innings. Very bad for one or two. He’s still young and he’s only made a half dozen starts for Pittsburgh, so I remain optimistic.

Breaking news: Bryan Bullington, the first overall pick in the 2002 draft and very infrequent member of the Pirate’s pitching staff, was called up today from AAA Indianapolis. Marino Salas was sent down, so it appears Bullington is here for long relief, at least for the time being. He has had little success in his two previous stints in Pittsburgh. I seriously hope the third time’s the charm.

Tonight’s game: Speaking of pitching, Phil Dumatrait delivered perhaps the best pitched game by a Pirate this season: 7 innings, 2 infield singles, 0 earned runs, 2 walks, 9 strike outs and, most importantly, a win.

Watch out for the Bucs!

If I were to judge the Pirates based solely on the just completed three game series against the Giants, I would have to consider them a playoff caliber team. Impressive hitting (one huge offensive game, one with just enough, and one come-from-behind win with some nifty clutch work), solid starting pitching (Duke pitched very well up to the eighth, Dumatrait was fantastic, and Maholm was decent, save one bad inning), and exceptional defense (no errors *, a handful of double plays, and some highlight reel catches). Unfortunately, this series may have been the exception to the rule. But I’m very glad that I was able to watch a dominant three game sweep by my Bucs.

In the larger scheme, there were certainly some specific positives to take from the series:

Two struggling key players starting to come around: Freddy Sanchez, now hitting from the leadoff spot, had seven hits in the series. Adam LaRoche, always a slow starter, had a couple big hits, including a home run and the go ahead RBI single on Thursday. I’m very encouraged by the fact that the Pirates offense has been fairly decent this year despite Sanchez and LaRoche struggling, along with Jose Bautista and whoever is playing shortstop. I realize that Nate McLouth will not hit 50 home runs this year and Xavier Nady will not drive in 162 runs, but even if those two come back to earth a bit, we’ve got Sanchez and LaRoche waiting to take their place. Barring injury or trade, the Pirates could easily finish in the middle of the pack this season in most offensive categories. I know that doesn’t sound very impressive, but for this team it is.

The backend of the rotation improves: Zach Duke, who is very crucial to the starting rotation being better than average, had his second consecutive strong start on Tuesday. Granted, the opponents for these two games were Washington and San Francisco, but the fact that he did pitch well against anyone is good enough for me. And Phil Dumatrait, who pitched three fine innings against Washington last week before a power outage caused a delay, followed that up with a terrific 5 2/3 on Wednesday against the Giants. Dumatrait nearly pitched 6 scoreless innings in that start, which I believe gives him more scoreless innings pitched than Matt Morris this year (I just made up that stat, but seriously, it might be true). If Duke and Dumatrait are capable of this, at least on occasion, it takes a lot of pressure off Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny. And those two could probably use that to help them get back on track.

The bench improves: I love Nyjer Morgan. He seems like a great person and he plays very hard. But languishing on the bench and starting once every three weeks is no way for him to develop as a ballplayer. Now he has the chance to play regularly, I assume in left field with our lord and savior Andrew McCutchen in center, for the AAA team. So to fill the roster spot, the Pirates acquired Jason Michaels from the Indians. Michaels is a veteran who can play anywhere in the outfield (center may be questionable however) and can provide a more imposing bat off the bench. Since Nate McLouth is superhuman, most of Michaels starts should be in left or right field, as Jason Bay and Nady will surely need more days off before long. With open spots on the 40-man roster and a small price to pay for acquiring Michaels (an insignificant player to be named, plus the Indians will pay a large chunk of Michaels’ salary), this deal has little downside. It helps the team this year and it allows Morgan to progress as a player.

Next up: 4 games against the Atlanta Braves. Now we find out if the Pirates are turning the corner and becoming a better team, or if a lesser team just made them appear better.