Pedro Promoted, and Other News

I've been out of town, visiting family and friends being a part of a wedding (which was beautiful), so I haven't had the chance to update much. A fair amount has been going on the past week or so however.

Pedro Alvarez was just promoted to AA Altoona after putting up some decent numbers in High A (see sidebar). His strike out total was high, as was his error total, but hopefully those were just a product of the poorer fields and worse pitching down in the low minors. I'm very excited to see how he performs at this next level. I'm guessing Alvarez will remain in Altoona the rest of this season and begin 2010 in AAA.

Also, 2006 first rounder Brad Lincoln was promoted to AAA Indianapolis. He has been pitching very well for Altoona, with a 2.28 ERA in 75 innings. It's very exciting seeing 2 of our top prospects performing well and moving up a level. Don't expect Lincoln to reach Pittsburgh this year, but he may be competing for a starting rotation spot next Spring.

In other transaction news, Craig Monroe was designated for assignment and Steve Pearce was recalled. Part of Monroe's DFA was accredited to his lack of hustle on a play in Minnesota last week, but really, does that matter too much? Monroe had no future in Pittsburgh and Pearce might. So I'm glad to see this change. With Adam LaRoche likely to be traded in 5 weeks or so, Pearce will be the logical replacement, at least in the short term.

What else? A rough road trip through Minnesota and Colorado. And that sweep in Denver was especially painful against Jim Tracy. But on the plus side, Andrew McCutchen is all kinds of awesome.

2009 Draft is Complete

After 51 selections, the Pirates have completed their participation in the 2009 first year player draft. Here's the MLB site's draft tracker, which lists all the Bucs' picks.

Of course, much has already been said about their first pick, fourth overall, catcher Tony Sanchez from Boston College. Most of what has been said is criticism, or at least it was at the end of Tuesday's portion of the draft. One complaint that amused me was that the Pirates essentially drafted Yadier Molina in the first round. Granted, Molina is no superstar, but I will be very pleased if Sanchez turns out as good as Molina.

Anyway, here's a little theory on the first round talent (Note: I am far from an expert on amateur baseball, so bear with me here): So after Strasburg and Ackley, there didn't seem to be much of a consensus on the next best player. Perhaps the drop off in talent was pretty substantial. So maybe the Pirates though they could sign a Yadier Molina type catcher at a nice price, rather than any number of pitchers who fit into the Joe Blanton or Randy Wolf mold, someone with decent/average big league starter potential. But these Blanton-Wolf types are asking for twice what the Molina type is. And knowing that there are a number of more intriguing high school pitchers with college plans that will be available later in the draft, why not take the Molina type now? Now I know some of the pitchers selected shortly after Sanchez are actually pretty highly regarded, with more potential than this Blanton-Wolf hybrid I created. Okay, my point is that even if Sanchez was a reach, based on projections, the difference in talent between him and players like Aaron Crow and Tyler Matzek might not be that great. So judging the first round on its own (which is a little foolish, especially mere days after the fact), and disregarding Neal Huntington's strategy, I don't think this pick is all that bad. It's not great, but not nearly as bad as the Wieters/Moskos debacle.

One of the reasons the Pirates did pick Sanchez was signability, which doesn't necessarily mean that the Bucs were going cheap. Judging by their selections later in the draft, primarily early on day 2, the Pirates will certainly be needing to sign some large checks to lure these high school players away from their beckoning college scholarships. If the Pirates end up spending $8 or 9 million on signing bonuses this year, they really can't be called thrifty, since they spent in that neighborhood last year, much to the delight of Pirate fans everywhere. So if the Bucs end up signing 4 or 5 of these high-ceiling high schoolers, to go along with Sanchez, and a couple dozen others right around slot, then I would have to call this a pretty successful draft.

So let's reserve judgment until August 17 (signing deadline) on this draft. And also, let's keep in mind that we won't really know if this draft was a success for a few years.

Also, today the Bucs defeated Atlanta 3-1, to force a split in their 4 game series. Paul Maholm and Javier Vazquez had themselves a nice pitcher's duel, striking out 20 batters between them. However, Andy LaRoche singled in 2 runs in the 9th off reliever Rafael Soriano to give the Bucs their second consecutive win.

Up next, some interleague play, as the Tigers come to town. And, fortunately, Justin Verlander will not be pitching in the series.

A Busy Night for the Pirates

The 2009 Draft began tonight, and the Pirates selected Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez with the 4th overall pick. Though Sanchez was probably the top rated catcher, selecting him at the 4th spot was considered a reach by many. And of course the more cynical Pirate fans are already calling Neal Huntington and Co. cheap. Though it seems the Pirates are taking the approach that they'd rather spread their money out over the entire draft than dedicate a substantial chunk to one pick. I don't really know enough about college baseball to know if Sanchez is worth this spot or not. I'm willing to give the team the benefit of the doubt for now.

With their second pick, the compensatory one for not signing Tanner Scheppers last year, the Bucs selected RHP Victor Black from Dallas Baptist University. Black was rated the 16th best righthander by Baseball America.

In the second round, the Pirates picked RHP Brooks Pounders, from Temecula Valley High. Though he wasn't highly rated, Pounders does sound intriguing. Also, he has a scholarship to USC, so this might be a case where the Pirates will have pay over slot to get Pounders signed.

In the third, the Bucs picked CF Evan Chambers, from Hillsborough Community College in Florida. Baseball America projected him as a 5th or 6th rounder, so this could be a reach.

With 47 picks to go over the next 2 days, we have a long way to go before we can properly evaluate the Pirates' 2009 draft.

Morton Debuts: Charlie Morton, acquired last week in the McLouth trade, makes his Pirate debut tomorrow, getting the start against the Braves. To make room for him, Tom Gorzelanny was optioned to AAA and Jeff Karstens will head to the bullpen, where he belongs. I'm very excited about this. Though Morton struggled last year with Atlanta, I'm hopeful that he can carry over his minor league success and become a solid member of the rotation.

Speaking of the McLouth trade, Jeffrey Locke, also acquired in said trade, made his debut tonight for Single-A Lynchburg. In 4 innings, he allowed 5 hits, 2 runs and 3 walks with 4 strike outs. Nothing too impressive, but it's nice to see another quality arm in the system.

In Big League action tonight, the bullpen failed to hold the lead for Ross Ohlendorf, as the Pirates fell to Atlanta, 4-3. Ohlendorf pitched fairly well, lasting into the 7th, before Sean Burnett and Jesse Chavez allowed the Braves to score 2 runs and take the lead. Robinzon Diaz, making his first start at catcher in a very long time, doubled home 2 runs for the Bucs.

2009 Season, So Far

Here we are, just over a third of the way through the 2009 season. The Pirates currently sit at 26-30, in fifth place, just a half game ahead of Houston. I want to take this time to mention some aspects of the season so far that stand out to me.

Nate McLouth: How could this not be the first topic? Though I fully support this trade, at least the idea of it, it still was quite unexpected. In fact, it still seems odd that McLouth is gone. However, with the Bucs very unlikely to contend this year, and possibly next year too, trading a player at his peak value makes tremendous sense. McLouth is a very solid hitter and a hard-nosed player, but it's not like the Cardinals trading Pujols, or even the Padres trading Adrian Gonzalez. McLouth is definitely in a much lower tier than those sort of players. And with Andrew McCutchen now up, it really softens the blow.

The Improved Defense: By any measure, the Pirates' defense in 2009 is vastly superior to the 2008 version. Much of this has to do with the outfield, with Nyjer Morgan replacing Jason Bay and Brandon Moss, among others, replacing Xavier Nady. Andy LaRoche, at third, is also an upgrade over Jose Bautista. There's a great piece over at Buc's Dugout analyzing this. And now with McCutchen taking over for McLouth, an even greater improvement should transpire. As the Buc's Dugout piece mentions, the defense has played a large role in the Pirates' pitching staff's turnaround. Though, replacing the likes of Matt Morris and JVB with Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens has a lot to do with that as well.

With the McLouth trade, and the unusual positioning of Morgan in left field, it appears that the Pirates' brass is placing a premium on defense, as they rebuild the team. If the newer defensive statistics can be trusted, and I think they can, then a cost-conscious team like the Pirates can become more competitive by focusing on defense, which is much less costly, as much as offense in order to help them outscore their opponents. It's this kind of progressive thinking that gives me confidence in Huntington and company.

The Minor Leagues: After the Pirates' most aggressive draft in recent memory, and the acquisition of some intriguing players in last year's trades, much more attention is being paid to the team's minor league affiliates. The results, so far, have been mixed, but the fact that there is some legitimate talent around is certainly exciting.

Pedro Alvarez, last year's #1 pick, is doing alright at High-A Lynchburg. Though he has hit 10 home runs and driven in 42 runs through 54 games, his 57 strike outs stand out, as do his 11 errors at third. However, since the pitchers at that level do not possess the control that they do at higher levels, and the fields in the minors can be a little questionable, those two statistics should not be of major concern. I still expect Alvarez to be called up to AA-Altoona by the end of July.

Some other high profile picks from last year are performing fairly well this year. Jordy Mercer, Chase D'Arnaud, Robbie Grossman and Calvin Anderson are all doing okay.

Two high profile acquisitions from last year, outfielder Jose Tabata and pitcher Bryan Morris, have spent much of the season out of commission with injuries. Tabata has been out since very early in the season with a hamstring injury and Morris made his season debut just last night. Both are highly regarded and were possibly the key components of the two trades last summer.

Brad Lincoln, the Pirates' first round pick from 2006, has been pitching tremendously for AA-Altoona this year. In 11 starts, covering 64 2/3 innings, he has an ERA of 1.95 and a WHIP of 1.01. Lincoln has walked 15, struck out 60 and held opponents to a batting average of .215. This is especially encouraging after Lincoln has missed so much time to injury already in his young career. And the Post Gazette reported yesterday that Lincoln will be promoted to AAA-Indianapolis very soon.

The Future: The 2009 amateur draft begins tomorrow, and the Pirates have the 4th selection. I really don't follow college, or high school, baseball so I have no insight to offer on the talent available. This year's draft class is supposed to be fairly weak, at least compared to last year's. I still expect the team to draft aggressively and probably pay over slot for some later picks. However, the more intriguing signing this summer could be that of Dominican teenager Miguel Angel Sano. The 16 year old is widely regarded as the best international prospect this year and the Pirates seem to have the inside track. Sano is expected to cost $4 million to sign. While that is clearly a risky investment for a 16 year old, a move like this is crucial for the Bucs. Acquiring the top player in the DR will put the Pirates on the map down there, thus making them more recognizable to top prospects in years to come. With this year's amateur draft likely taking less money than last year's, and with the little bit of money saved in the McLouth deal, the Pirates have no excuse, at least financially, not to make this happen.

I fully expect more trades to happen before the season is over, most likely involving John Grabow and Adam Laroche. With the continued improvements of relievers Sean Burnett, Jesse Chavez and Evan Meek, the loss of Grabow would not be felt too much. And with Steve Pearce the most likely candidate to replace LaRoche should he be traded, I feel at least some offense will be provided. At the very least, in that scenario, we'll get to see just what Pearce can do. However, with the unexpected sell-high trade of McLouth, other players, such as Freddy Sanchez, Zach Duke and Matt Capps, could be moved as well, provided an attractive return is offered.

Though it is somewhat sad to see beloved players shipped out of town, and I'm guilty of becoming emotionally attached to players, Huntington and company have done nothing so far during their reign to make me explicitly doubt their intentions. When, not if, these next trades happen, it will kind of suck, in the short term at least, but it will only make the organization stronger. That's important to keep in mind. I don't want the Pirates to be built to be contenders in 2010, or 2011. I want them to be contenders every year. And that will mean that the team will always be trying to improve, which will mean that there will always be unpopular trades. It sucks, but that's how our team works.

Charlie Morton's Debut

Up the road in Indianapolis tonight, Charlie Morton has made his first start for the Indians. I had no clue he was scheduled to pitch so soon after yesterday's trade for Nate McLouth. Well, Mr. Morton, as he will now be known, pitched 7 scoreless innings in the game. He allowed 2 singles, 2 doubles and 1 walk, while striking out 7. The game in still in progress (0-0 in the 8th) as I type this. Mr. Morton's performance tonight should be no surprise as he has been pitching quite well at the AAA level this year: before tonight, 2.52 ERA in 64 2/3 innings, with 16 walks and 55 strike outs. Mr. Morton also dominated AAA last year, but struggled horribly in the majors. I'm sure he'll be pitching for Pittsburgh before too long, and hopefully the extra AAA experience this year has helped make him into a pitcher more capable of success in the bigs. I get the feeling that if Ian Snell doesn't show marked improvement over his next start or two, he could be switching places with Mr. Morton. We shall see.

Nate Who?

Okay, not really. But I am incredibly impressed with Andrew McCutchen's major league debut today. Granted, it's just one game, but the Holy One was fantastic today. McCutchen singled and scored in his first plate appearance, walked and scored in his second, flied out in his third, grounded out in his fourth, and singled home a run, stole a base and scored again in his fifth. And the Pirates won 11-6, sweeping the Mets in this truncated three game series, much to the chagrin of Carlos Beltran.

As for Nate McLouth, my initial reaction to the trade was shock, followed by disappointment. Looking at the trade as impartially as I can, I do think the Pirates did okay. Of course, there's no guarantee that any of the three players acquired will ever have meaningful major league careers, but based on potential, and McLouth's value, it could turn out to be a very good deal. And just because McLouth was the best Pirate does not mean that he's a great player in the grand scheme of things. He was "Pirate great", not "Good Team great." He's a good ball player and I hope he thrives in Atlanta. It still stings a little though.

One reason there's a special place in my heart for McLouth, and Freddy Sanchez for that matter, is that he represents a bit of an Eff You to Jim Tracy and his horrid managerial tenure in Pittsburgh. McLouth and Sanchez were both deemed, at least initially in Freddy's case, as bench players by Tracy. And they both went on to prove him wrong, which makes me happy.

As for McCutchen, he can be as good or better than McLouth in almost every way, though that might not end up completely showing this season. But comparing the 2009 club before and after the trade, the Pirates are not necessarily worse off. Of course, and outfield comprised of McCutchen and McLouth (and Moss) would look quite a bit better than one with McCutchen and Morgan (and Moss). Though what would Nyjer Morgan have brought in a trade? A hell of a lot less than McLouth, for sure.

Pirates Trade McLouth!!!!!!!!!

Wow! I did not see this coming. I am seriously at a loss for words. Here's ESPN's summary of the deal.

I can't even process this deal right now. I know Charlie Morton is supposed to be a pretty solid pitcher and Gorkys Hernandez looks like a speedy singles hitter. Morton has been pitching in AAA this year and Hernandez has been in AA. The other player acquired, pitcher Jeffrey Locke, I know nothing about. Looking at his stats it seems like he's a pretty good strike out pitcher, currently in High A.

The other news here is that Andrew McCutchen is being called up. I expected the day Cutch gets the call would be a happier day. I guess not.

Johan Is No Match For The Bucs

How strange does that sound? Well, tonight it happened. After Johan Santana retired the first 10 batters, 9 of the 15 hitters he faced the rest of the way reached base as the Pirates overcame a one run deficit to win 3 to 1. Zach Duke pitched very well once again, scattering 8 singles over 7 innings.

Another aspect of this game that I found particularly interesting was the lineup John Russell employed. Against probably the best left-handed pitcher in the game, Russell used what could best be described as his standard lineup when facing a righty. And if you had to set a Pirates' lineup based on the best overall talent, it would be this lineup. What's unusual is that Russell generally plays the lefty-righty matchups religiously. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of playing these matchups so much. And it's especially important in regards to someone like Brandon Moss, who has been protected from left handed starters in recent weeks, despite the fact that he's been hitting much better since a rough start to the season. If Moss is going to be a key component of this team, now and in the future, he has to learn to hit lefties. Tonight was a step in the right direction.

Pirates Rally To Top Mets

The Pirates overcame a five run deficit to win the opener of this 4 game series against the Mets tonight. Down 5-0 early, the Bucs picked up 3 in the fourth to keep the game close. After some nice work by the bullpen, the Pirates entered the 8th still down 5-3. Three Mets' pitchers and ten Pirates' batters later, the Bucs led 8-5. Most of the damage was done against JJ Putz, who allowed 4 singles and an intentional walk without recording an out. Great resiliency and clutch hitting by the Pirates tonight. This was certainly a feel good win, which was much needed coming off three straight lost series. It's Zach Duke against Johan Santana tomorrow.

I do have to mention tonight's starter. Ian Snell struggled yet again, allowing 5 runs and 6 hits in 6 innings. Snell walked 5 and struck out just two. He did retire 10 of the last 12 batters he faced, after the Mets had already scored 5 runs through 3 innings. Many fans are calling for Snell to be optioned to AAA, or traded, or released, or worse. Granted, Snell has not pitched well, overall, this year or last year. But he should not be released, obviously. And trading him now, when his value is minuscule, would be foolish. A stint in the minor leagues might be the answer. Or maybe he can work it out with Joe Kerrigan where he is now. But Snell is still just 28 years old, and he has very good stuff and a competitive spirit, though sometimes in a misguided manner. The Pirates should exhaust all possibilities with Snell before they even think about moving him. There is not nearly enough pitching talent in the system to cast someone off so easily. I'm still a fan of Ian Snell. I've been following him for quite some time (since the Oquendo days) and I really want him to succeed. It just may take some time though.

Doumit on the Mend

Cather Ryan Doumit is making great progress in his recovery from a fractured right wrist. Here's the Post-Gazette piece. So, he'll start throwing this weekend and then gradually resume other baseball activities. He is currently on schedule to return to the Pirates in mid June, about 2 weeks ahead of schedule from when the initial diagnosis was made. This is, of course, great news for the Bucs. Though Jason Jaramillo and Robinzon Diaz filled in nicely, it will be nice to have the menacing Doumit back in the middle of the lineup.

Speaking of Jaramillo and Diaz, it's been very refreshing to see that the Pirates have 2 capable backup catchers available. Both of these two rookies played quite well, so well that if (when?) Doumit goes down again, I won't be too worried about the drop off. As for which one is optioned when Doumit does return, I would guess Diaz. Though Diaz is a better hitter, his shortcomings behind the plate swing this decision to Jaramillo. Plus, Jaramillo proved he's no slouch with the bat.

The Curious Case of Benching Sanchez

In yesterday's 5-2 loss to the Cubs, manager John Russell opted to give a couple of starters the day off. One of which was Freddy Sanchez, who had 8 hits in 9 at bats the previous two games. Russell said that he wanted to give Sanchez a day off, and with Thursday's off day, here was a chance for two consecutive days without playing, which could be important since on Friday the Pirates start a stretch of 17 games without an off day. However, the chance for a winning road trip, a winning series against the Cubs, and a crucial win over a division rival should take priority. Granted, the Pirates will probably not make the playoffs this year, or even have a winning record, but you never know.

There has been talk (amongst fans and bloggers and such) that Sanchez being benched periodically is due to a clause in his contract that calls for his 2010 option year to kick in if he reaches 635 plate appearances, or 600 along with an All-Star appearance. Pirates' President Frank Coonelly thinks it's offensive to even speculate that the Pirates would intentionally prevent that from happening by not playing Sanchez. I think it's doubtful that that's what's happening here, but it's perfectly reasonable to broach the subject. I think the current management teams knows what they're doing, and they've given us no reason to doubt them too much, but how can a Pirate fan not be suspicious after so many years of questionable moves by the organization in general?

Back to the day off, Sanchez's last day off was May 10, against the Mets. This came 3 days after his previous day off. It was, of course, these two days off that led to the Coonelly tirade mentioned above. Now, since that May 10th game, Sanchez had played in 15 games, without a day off, so the timing of this off day is not too suspicious. And coupling it with Thursday's off day is not out of the ordinary at all. Manager's frequently use a scheduled off day to give a player 2 day's rest. However, I do think the benching had a little more to it than just resting the team's best hitter.

2009 might be a rebuilding year to some degree, or at least a figure-out-what-we've-got year. I'm sure the team isn't sure if they want Sanchez to return next year. Since this year will most likely be a losing season, and 2010 might not be much better, management has to figure out if it's worth keeping a player like Sanchez around for this entire season, as well as the next. And since that's the case, the Pirates need to see what other options they have at second. So in steps Delwyn Young, for what I believe is his third start at second this year. Young, however, did very little to put Sanchez's job in jeopardy, watching a third strike three times, popping out on the first pitch with a runner at third and no outs, and botching a throw on what should have been an inning-ending double play, thus allowing the Cubs' second run to score. Another possible replacement for Sanchez could be Shelby Ford, currently playing for AAA Indianapolis. Ford is stinking up the place though, hitting .186, with 6 extra base hits in 32 games. He also has struck out 26 times, with only 2 walks. So, I'm hoping the Pirates' management will see that the team does not currently possess a suitable replacement for Sanchez, should he depart at some point.

Back to the conspiracy theory: If the Pirates really do not want Sanchez back next year, with his $8.5 million salary, they would trade him at the deadline. Letting him walk after the season would garner the Bucs a draft pick, or two possibly, but they could get a lot more in a trade, provided that Sanchez keeps hitting like he is. Here's where Coonelly and company win: if Sanchez hits, they play him, save a day off every 2 weeks or so, and then trade him in July or keep him and his option. If he doesn't hit, they can get away with benching him more often, seeing what the trade market brings, and if the offers aren't good enough, they possibly let him walk after the season if he doesn't meet the PA requirements, or keep him. For the record, Sanchez currently has 197 plate appearances through the Pirates' first 47 games. At that pace, Sanchez will end the season with 679, easily surpassing the option threshold.

As for the financial aspects, with Adam LaRoche and John Grabow almost certain to be gone next year, and with Jack Wilson likely to be, the Pirates' payroll should remain fairly similar to this years' total, even with Sanchez earning $8.5 million. Unless the Pirates are planning to reduce their payroll by a noticeable margin, they should certainly be able to afford Sanchez.

As for where I stand, I am a huge fan of Freddy Sanchez. I understand that it's possible at some point that his salary could exceed his worth, but with no replacement second baseman around, at least until 2011 if Jim Negyrch (AA stats: .301, 21 walks, 9 strike outs) proves to be worthy, keeping Sanchez seems like a must.

I Think Freddy's Slump Is Over

In tonight's 10-8 win over the Cubs, Freddy Sanchez became the first Pirate since Wally Backman in 1990 to have 6 hits in a single game. Sanchez singled 4 times, doubled, homered, scored 4 runs, drove in 3 and even stole a base. The Pirates totaled 18 hits, 7 of them for extra bases. After coming from behind to defeat the White Sox on Sunday, and in doing so snapping a 5 game losing streak against the Sox, it is especially nice to see the team get a win against the Cubs in the series opener. These Cubs, along with the Brewers, and all American League teams for that matter, have had the Bucs' number the past few years. The win tonight also clinched a .500 record on this 10 game road trip, the Pirates' longest of the season. A split or better in the remaining two games would give the Bucs an impressive winning trip.

There was some bad news, however. Closer Matt Capps left the game in the 9th after taking a Geovany Soto line drive off his right hand. No word yet on the severity. Losing Capps for an extended period would certainly be costly for the Bucs, especially after he has seemed to regain his form of late.

Up next, Ian Snell versus Sean Marshall on Tuesday, followed by Zach Duke against Carlos Zambrano on Wednesday. A nice gauge as to Duke's improvement this season will be in how he fares against Alfonso Soriano. Soriano is hitting .560 in his career against Duke, with 3 doubles and 2 home runs, in 25 at bats.

Even Under My Watchful Eye, the Pirates Lose

Tonight's Pirates/White Sox game was televised on WGN and I can't say that I've seen too many White Sox games before and I may not care to again. Not because the Pirates can do nothing against them. Well, not just because of that. What I really can't stand is their horrible announcers. Well, one of them at least. I didn't really pay attention to their names while I was watching, but I think Ken Harrelson is the guy. He does the play-by-play but he sounds like a color commentator. He's obnoxious and annoying and the general feel for the broadcast is amateurish. Plus, though this is no fault of the announcers, though maybe the broadcast team in general, I could hear heckling like never before during a televised game. Seriously, it went on, very audibly, for the first four innings, and then occasionally thereafter. It was mostly harmless, like "Hey Wilson, your helmet's on backwards!" or "Andy LaRoche, you suck!" which was said while Adam LaRoche was batting. However, I did hear a heckle of Jason Jaramillo that sounded a bit racist. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan of WGN's Cubs coverage either, but at least Bob Brenley and whoever else they have are fairly professional.

As for the game, well, a fellow named Clayton Richard completely dominated the Bucs tonight. He was one of the players in the potential Jake Peavy deal that fell through. Richard did look very sharp out there; it wasn't just the Pirate hitters' incompetence, though there was a bit of that. On the plus side, Ross Ohlendorf pitched pretty well, nearly throwing a complete game. Ohlendorf was especially sharp early on, but then got beat a bit, as the game wore on, by leaving too many pitches up. There were actually a handful of balls hit very well off him that fortunately found their way into the gloves of Pirate defenders, though a fastball that stayed up to Alexei Ramirez and a hanging curve to Jermaine Dye both ended up in the seats. Still, it was nice to see another solid start. Andy LaRoche looked very good today, making a number of fine plays at third, singling twice, drawing a walk and stealing a base. And we did reach that point in the ninth, with Andy due up and 2 outs. I was very worried that John Russell would send up good ol' Ramon Vazquez to hit for him. Fortunately, Andy was allowed to hit and, in perhaps a "This is what happens when you don't pinch-hit for me" moment, he roped a single to left. Of course he was stranded and the Bucs lost 4-0, their third consecutive defeat. Perhaps their fortunes look better tomorrow, when they have a clear disadvantage in the pitching match up: Jeff Karstens vs. Mark Buehrle. Because having a better starter sure doesn't seem to matter.

The One Quarter Mark (roughly)

So, the Pirates sit at 19-23, just over one fourth of the way through the season, following last night's 2-0 loss to Gavin Floyd and the White Sox. Anyway, yesterday I planned to write something ominous about how the Pirates have won 7 of 10 games, and 3 consecutive series, and were headed to their second stop on a road trip, a stop with bad memories for the team. Rewind a bit, back to late April. On Monday, April 27, the Pirates had won 7 of their last 9, and three consecutive series. They were about to make the second stop on a road trip, at a place where the Pirates have no luck recently. Well, that first place was Milwaukee, and that game began the Bucs' worst stretch of the year, losing 12 of their next 13. Last night, the Bucs lost to the Sox, of course, and these are the same White Sox who trounced the Pirates last June by a combined score of 37 to 15 in a sweep. You see, I worried that even comparing the current Pirates to the late April Pirates would alert the baseball gods to this apparent cycle and condemn the Pirates to return to their patented sorry ways.

Well, though the Pirates did lose last night, I'm happy that Zach Duke continued to pitch well, tossing the complete game. This a day after Ian Snell was decent, though very inefficient with his pitch count, against the Nationals. Though both of these games featured very poor hitting by Pittsburgh, not so much the leaving men on kind, more like the not even getting them on to start with kind. And apparently, according to the Post-Gazette, John Russell was not happy about this.

Also, the Pirates completed their trade with the Dodgers for Delwyn Young yesterday. All it took was sending the Dodgers AA reliever Eric Krebs and a crisp $1 bill. Actually, I'm not sure if the dollar had to be crisp. And in this situation, where the deal called for 2 players to be named later or 1 and cash, and the 1 and cash was chosen by Los Angeles, how does the $1 get to LA? Do the Pirates just wire it? Maybe LA sets up a direct deposit account with the Pirates. Or do the Bucs give it to Krebs with instructions to make sure Frank McCourt receives it? By the way, this McCourt is the Dodgers owner and not the writer of Angela's Ashes, but if anyone knows the value of $1, it's the second McCourt.

Lately much has been made of John Russell pinch hitting for Andy LaRoche late in the game. First off, I'm not sure there's much benefit to this strategically, aside from maybe having a left-handed hitter face a right-handed pitcher, which doesn't always mean a lot. Since the first 2 weeks of the season, LaRoche has been a much better, and more consistent, hitter than Ramon Vazquez. And, if LaRoche is meant, or at least hoped, to be such an integral part of the Pirates' future, I don't know why you would want to send him a vote of no confidence. I did a little research and came up with some stats: Ramon Vazquez, as a pinch hitter in general, is 2 for 9, plus some walks. Pinch hitting for Andy LaRoche, he is 0 for 3. Anyone else pinch hitting for LaRoche, 0 for 1. This does not include when a player, usually Vazquez, is brought in on a double switch, or just given the start over LaRoche. So, based on the results, Vazquez hitting for LaRoche seems like a bad idea. Just in case, I checked out the batter-vs-pitcher stats for the last couple of situations where Vazquez hit for LaRoche:

May 21, vs. Joel Hanrahan. Coming in, Andy LaRoche: 1 for 1. Ramon Vazquez: 1 for 2
May 15, vs. Huston Street. Coming in, Andy LaRoche: N/A. Ramon Vazquez: 0 for 1

Neither case provides an obvious advantage in pinch-hitting Vazquez for Laroche. Maybe Russell's a little too in love with lefty-righty match ups.

Last month I posted Adam Laroche's current statistics, along with where he was at at the same point in 2008 and 2007. Now that his early hot streak is clearly over, it's only fair that I give a little updated comparison:

Through 42 games,
2009: .227, 7 HR, 20 RBI, .777 OPS
2008: .191, 4 HR, 16 RBI, .606 OPS
2007: .204, 4 HR, 20 RBI, .674 OPS

It's starting to look like things are evening out. Unfortunately.

Pirates Win 4th Straight, Barely Climb Out of Cellar

With last night's ugly, ten-inning victory over the hapless Nationals, the Pirates picked up their fourth win in a row, and sixth win in their last 8 games. The win, coupled with the Astros loss to Milwaukee, moved the Pirates into fifth place, albeit by only percentage points. I make a point of this because there's no telling how long the Pirates will be ahead of anyone in the standings. It's a good feeling, too. And, in what may actually be somewhat of a pitcher's duel, the Pirates can win their third consecutive series, and fifth straight game, with a win today. Paul Maholm starts for Pittsburgh against John Lannan. Though these two are arguably the best starters on their respective teams, their career numbers against one another are not pretty. Maholm vs. Washington: 0-2, 6.12 ERA. Lannan vs. Pittsburgh: 0-2, 7.00 ERA. So, maybe that pitching duel's off.

Also, I'd like to take a quick look at the Bucs' offense. Most people, myself included, felt that this year's offense would be noticeably worse than the pre-trading-deadline offense of 2008. With Jason Bay and Xavier Nady being replaced by Nyjer Morgan and Brandon Moss, that made perfect sense. Well, thus far in 2009, through all 39 games, the Pirates have scored 182 runs. Through 39 games in 2008, the Pirates scored 185. The difference is negligible. But can the Pirates of 2009 sustain this level of offensive fortitude? Certainly if they keep playing the Nationals and Rockies. But, seriously, as a team, they can. If you look over their individual hitting statistics for the season, no one is clearly outperforming their own capabilities, and I'm including Morgan here, since it's no shock that he can hit .300 and steal bases, though his gradually increasing walk total is a pleasant improvement. If anything, some players are performing below their own standards: Adam LaRoche we know will pick it up later this year, but Eric Hinske is homerless in 59 at bats and Ramon Vazquez is hitting just over .200. And don't forget, Ryan Doumit will return around the All-Star Break.

So, yes, the offense can keep it up. That I'm not too worried about. And the starting pitching, that's sustainable too, as Maholm hasn't gotten it going yet, and I still think Snell will find some consistency. What troubles me is the bullpen. Can they keep it up? It's entirely possible, which is a horrifying prospect.

The Long and Not Too Winding Road

The Pirates embark today on their longest road trip of the season. Longest in terms of games scheduled, but quite short in terms of mileage. (The team actually finishes up the first half with a 9 game, 10 day trip to Miami, Houston and Philadelphia, which may end up seeming like the longest trip.) They play 4 in Washington beginning today and then head to Chicago for the final 6 games of the trip, 3 each against the White Sox and Cubs. A very odd scheduling quirk here.

This comes after some complaining has been done in recent years by the Pirates' management and fans about the team's schedule being created solely to make life more difficult for the Pirates, with multiple long trips to the West Coast, and such. I never believed the Pirates were the unfair victims of preferential scheduling, but looking over this year's, there do seem to be some minor improvements over recent seasons. In 2008, the Pirates played 5 series on the road against NL West teams, including one stretch with 3 in San Francisco bookended by 3 in Cincinnati and 4 in Houston, without a day off, and another with 3 in Phoenix after 3 in Chicago and just prior to three more in Philadelphia. Rough stretches for sure.

As for 2009, the Pirates have already played at San Diego, which was the first leg of a 2 city road trip, with days off at the beginning and end. In June, the Pirates play at Denver as part of a 6 game trip which begins in Minnesota. Also, that trip is bookended by days off as well. Late July sees the team travel to both Phoenix and San Francisco on the same trip, which concludes with a day off. The Pirates play at Colorado again in August, part of a 6 game trip and begins with a day off and ends at Chicago. The Pirates' penultimate road trip of the season takes them to Houston and Los Angeles, and, once again, it is bookended by off days. Clearly, this year's schedule gives the Pirates nothing to complain about.

As for the games themselves, I am very hopeful that the Bucs can keep this offense going against a very bad pitching staff in Washington. The trip ends with a couple of weak spots for the Pirates. They have had quite a bit of trouble with the Cubs in recent years, and inter-league play has just destroyed the team. With 10 games, we'll see the entire rotation twice through, and I'd bet that each position player gets at least one start over this stretch. The Bucs will get the first taste of the DH this weekend in Chicago. 2 lefty's are scheduled for the White Sox, so Craig Monroe might get himself a pair of starts. It should be fun. Well, it might be fun.

Busy Morning for the Bucs

The Pirates try to win their second successive series today against the Rockies. Zach Duke is on the hill for the Bucs, against Ubaldo Jimenez for the Rockies. Just looking at the batter vs. pitcher stats on ESPN, the LaRoche boys are a combined 7 for 12 against Jimenez. And a number of Rockies have had success against Duke, most notably Matt Murton (10 for 25).

Anyway, the Pirates have also placed reliever Tyler Yates on the 15-Day DL this morning and recalled Tom Gorzelanny. Here's the PBC Blog piece on it. So, apparently Gorzelanny will pitch out of the bullpen, which finally gives Pittsburgh a long reliever. Gorzelanny had been pitching okay in Indy. In 40 2/3 innings, 40 hits (only 2 homers), 16 walks and 36 strike outs. Nothing spectacular, but decent. Yates, of course, has been struggling a bit this year and it looks like right elbow inflammation is at least partially to blame. Gorzelanny in the 'pen is interesting. I doubt the Pirates would pull Karstens from the rotation too quickly, since he has been pitching pretty well, but having Gorzelanny around might make it easier to make that switch, if and when the times comes.

Also today, the Bucs made a couple of small trades. They acquired outfielder Jeff Corsaletti from Boston and pitcher Randy Newson from Cleveland. Both were acquired for players to be named later and both are to be assigned to AA Altoona.

Doing a little research, I see that Coraletti is 26 years old and bats left-handed. Splitting time between AA and AAA last year, he hit .285 with 14 homers and 65 RBIs, with a pretty respectable BB:K ratio of 71:93. He's even stolen some bases in the minors. Though at that age, and having not yet seen the majors, I doubt the upside is too high.

Newsom is a 27 year old right-hander. He's been a reliever his entire pro career, reaching the AAA level this year and last. In his minor league career, in 275 innings, he has an ERA of 3.17, with 115 walks and 166 strike outs. Not especially impressive numbers. Both of these acquisitions were, most likely, just organizational moves aimed at increasing the overall talent in the system. Neither players will likely have an impact in the Majors.

5/16/09 Pirates vs. Rockies: LIVE!

7:01 PM: Here we go folks. Since I didn't figure out a legitimate live blog technique, there will have to be a lot of refreshing to get the full experience. Someday I'll do this the right way.

First a little Bucs' news: The team made a trade today with the Yankees, acquiring minor league starter Eric Hacker for Romulo Sanchez. Also, Nyjer Morgan will be out for a couple games with a sore hamstring.

7:07 PM: Here's ESPN's live box score for the game.

7:09 PM: I know it's early, but Snell's looking pretty sharp.

7:11 PM: I spoke too soon. Now Snell's getting squeezed a bit.

7:15 PM: 2 on, 2 out. Hopefully Snell can bear down and get out of this. I'd hate to see a 2 out walk turn into some 1st inning runs for the Rocks.

7:18 PM: I'm jinxing him, apparently. 2 run double for Spilborghs.

7:21 PM: I excited to see Delwyn Young. I haven't seen him yet with Pitt.

7:24 PM: C'mon, Nate. My fantasy team needs you too.

7: 28 PM: Nice little bit on the charity baseball thing with Freddy. He seems like a good guy. Someday we'll be friends.

7:29 PM: Homer for Barmes, on a hanger. Snell's stuff looks decent tonight, aside from the hanger, so I hope this is one of his starts that begins ugly and only gets prettier.

7: 33 PM: Ian finishes the 2nd strong, but 46 pitches through 2 doesn't bode well. How tall is Fowler? 6'7"?

7:35 PM: Hit for Adam. For some reason cleanup hitters kill Cook. Hitting like .600 against him.

7: 36PM: Hit for Moss. All the sudden he's good. I like that.

7:37PM: 3 straight hits and the Pirates are on the board. Nice to see big Adam chugging around 3rd. 3-1 Rocks.

7:40 PM: Bases juiced. It's Jack Wilson time! (no double play, please)

7:41 PM: Slow ground out, 1 run scores, everyone else advances. 3-2 CO.

7: 45PM: DELWYN! 2 run, 2 out hit gives the Bucs the lead. This is the clutch hitting absent from the last 2 games, and the dozen or so games prior to Tuesday.

7:47PM: I guess the rain is picking up, and here comes the tarp. Announcers say it shouldn't last long. I hope that's the case, what with the Bucs putting a nice rally together. 2 outs, Young on first, Sanchez due up, whenever the game resumes.

8:03 PM: When you only get to watch maybe 10 Pirate games a year, "bonus" coverage of the Orioles and Royals just doesn't cut it. Maybe if Greinke was pitching it would be ok.

8:25 PM: The weather forcasts shows that the rain will pass, I'm just not sure how quickly. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

8:37 PM: This rain delay has given me the opportunity to make a roster move on my fantasy team. Placed Frank Francisco on the DL and added Scott Downs. Oh, the excitement.

9:16 PM: Game should resume soon. I've spent the delay catching up on last night's The Soup ("Take it."). I wonder is PNC has a mound indoors, you know, to keep the pitchers loose. I'd hate to see the bullpen have to absorb 7 innings tonight. That might mean Donnie Veal, which is almost as bad as Matt Capps. Oooh.

9:24 PM: First play after the delay and the Bucs get a borderline call in their favor on Young's steal.

9:28 PM: Snell is out. Sean Burnett is in. Maybe he can go 3 innings.

9:32 PM: Not a good start for Burnett: leadoff walk, single to Helton. 1st and 3rd, no outs. And now Hawpe's up.

9:33 PM: Sac fly, 4-4. And Helton advanced to 2nd. The ball carried really well. We could be in for some fireworks the rest of this game.

9:36 PM: Another break for the Pirates as Helton ran into an out at third. Now, 2 outs and a runner on first.

9:43 PM: Oliver Onion build a bear? What the?

9:46 PM: Belisle is bit concerned with Nate at 1st. Perhaps enough so to groove a fastball to Moss?

9:48 PM: McLouth steals second, now let's see if Moss can bring him in...nope. Ground out, McLouth to third.

9:51 PM: I'm getting sick of this Speed Stick commercial. What's my pit type? Itchy? Hairy? Sweaty? Lonely? Grumpy? That's too personal a question.

9:53 PM: Apparently bobbleheads of specific players debuted in 1960. Who knew? Also, Jack Wilson is a stud.

10:02 PM: Clemente, Mays, Mantle and Maris were the first 4 bobbleheads. Interesting.

10:05 PM: Burnett gets a very rare at bat and grounds out. Looks like he's going 3+ tonight.

10:08 PM: Leadoff double for Tulo. Helton and Hawpe up next. Can Burnett bear down and get some outs? Well, Helton just grounded out, Tulo to third. One out.

10:09 PM: Infield is in, the Bucs don't wont to allow a run here since their odds of scoring the rest of the night is slim, if recent history is any indication. Hawpe just grounded out, runner held at third. Now, 2 outs. Very nice.

10:11 PM: Line out to center, three outs. Nice pitching by Burnett, keeping that leadoff double from hurting. Maybe this will be a momentum builder. I'm too optimistic. And again with the freaking pit ad!

10:15 PM: Turns out this is Delwyn's first time batting lead off in pro ball. At least as far as he can remember.

10:16 PM: It's my new BFF! Best Friend Freddy!

10:17 PM: The Miracle League field is awesome. It's designed for kids with disabilities, with a synthetic turf so kids in wheelchairs and walkers and play.

10:19 PM: Home Run for McLouth!! On his bobblehead night too! 5-4 Bucs!

10:20 PM: Way to kill the high LaRoche. He just struck out on a pitch that I believe was just below his left foot. Like, directly below. And, again with the pits. I might have to write a strongly worded letter to the MLB Net. Though I think they only have three different commercials total here. The Pit, Ken Burns and themselves.

10:22 PM: Hannah wins the pierogi race. Well done.

10:24 PM: Evan Meek is pitching now. And Iannetta just threw his bat about 20 rows into the crowd on a swing. It looks like no one was hurt.

10:26 PM: Easy play, but Jack Wilson rushes his throw and pulls LaRoche off first. E-6.

10:31 PM: How often will Adam LaRoche outrun Dexter Fowler? Well, I guess if Adam has a 50 foot head start.

10:32 PM: New pitcher, Jason Grilli, and Moss greets his first offering by drilling it into the notch. Moss is like 9 for his last 15. Sweet. Now, a wild pitch. Moss to third.

10:35 PM: The Bay Boys (named for Jason Bay trade) are getting things done tonight. Andy Laroche just singled in Moss. 6-4 Bucs. Still no outs.

10:37 PM: The Pirates look like a real team right now. Hit and run single by Jaramillo, LaRoche to third. No outs. Jack Wilson time!

10:41PM: Sac fly for Wilson, 7-4 Bucs. And apparently Jason Grilli and Jim Leyland are not friends. Pitching change now.

10:44 PM: In ex-Buc news, Jason Bay just homered for Boston. He must have heard that Moss and LaRoche are having good games and he needs to make sure that it is known that he is superior to both of them combined. Also, our good friend Jose Bautista had the game winning hit for Toronto today.

10:46 PM: Blass is talking about Matt Capps. That's making me nervous.

10:52 PM: I always get excited when I see that commercial with Tim Lincecum in a Pirates hat. I know it was when he was like 9 years old, but the Pirates could use a 9 year old Lincecum in their rotation.

10:54 PM: Jesse Chavez is now pitching, top of the 7th. Who would have though back in spring training that Chavez would be the most reliable reliever the Bucs have. I was just trying to remember which trade the Bucs got him in. I was thinking the Sean Casey one maybe, but the announcers just said it was the Kip Wells deal. I would call that a good trade for Pittsburgh.

10:57 PM: Chavez just made Helton look foolish on a wicked change up. . Now a fly out to center ends the Rockies half of the 7th.

11:02 PM: Really nice to see Adam drill a double off a lefty. Now Moss is up and...fly out to center. Boo.

11:13 PM: Andy LaRoche called out on a close pitch to end the 7th. He argued some but wasn't tossed. It was close, too close to take with 2 strikes. Grabow in now.

11:17 PM: Pretty quick 8th for Grabow. They just showed footage of Kerrigan working with a partially blindfolded Capps on his delivery. Perhaps Capps will use the blindfold in the 9th tonight.

11:21 PM: First Burnett, now Grabow with an at bat. Exciting day for the bullpen.

11:22 PM: Really nice sacrifice bunt for Grabow. I'm impressed.

11:23 PM: Capps coming in. Here comes twubble.

11:27 PM: Leadoff walk. Capps looks to be having a little trouble with location. Shocking.

11:28 PM: 6-4-3 double play. What a relief. Seriously.

11:30 PM: Ground out to short, Pirates win 7-4! Save for Capps, win for Burnett, nice all around game. Clutch hitting, great job by the bullpen pitching 7 innings after the rain delay. Zach Duke pitching tomorrow, going for the series win, and once again needing to eat up some innings.

If anyone was out there tonight, thanks for dropping by for my first ever live-ish blog. Have a good night.

Who's Ready for a Live Blog?

Thanks to my new favorite channel, the MLB Network, the Pirates' game on Saturday against the Colorado Rockies will be on TV here in Indiana. And I'm taking this opportunity to do a little live blogging experiment. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 pm Eastern, so don't be late. Just in case any of you might possibly have something better to do on a Saturday night (but really, what's better than a Pirates/Rockies game?), the complete transcript will be available afterward. Actually, realistically, the actual live blog will probably just be a regular entry that I continuously update, unless I can figure a more fancy professional way to do it. Anyway, I'm excited about it.

The game itself features Ian Snell pitching for the Bucs against Aaron Cook for the Rockies. Cook's a good pitcher, but he doesn't have great numbers against the Pirates in his career (4.83 ERA in 31 2/3 innings), though Snell's are not much better (4.78 ERA in 26 1/3). Snell does have a little history with the Rockies though, with the infamous "I will kill that dude" sign-stealing incident from 2 years ago. I'm pretty sure enough time has passed that that won't be an issue at all, however.

As for this Rockies series in general, it begins a stretch of 7 games against teams that might just be worse than the Pirates (3 vs. Colorado, 4 at Washington). It presents a nice opportunity for the Pirates to build on their series win against the Cardinals. With Nyjer Morgan and Freddy Sanchez apparently slump-proof, and with Adam LaRoche and Brandon Moss starting to hit, the Bucs' offense appears to be getting things going again, if you consider yesterday's abysmal hitting with men on base an aberration. So, hopefully the team can pull off a couple more series wins before their first taste of Inter-League play begins next Friday (followed by their first games against the Cubs, another crux of the Bucs).

Off the Schneid

A tale of two games:

Game A: A home game. Brandon Moss hits an RBI triple off the center field wall. Andy LaRoche homers. The Paul Maholm pitches superbly. Matt Capps tries to close it out in the 9th.

Game B: A home game. Brandon Moss hits his first homer. Adam LaRoche homers. Zach Duke pitches wonderfully. Matt Capps finishes it off in the 9th.

Game B was last night against the Cardinals. The Pirates won 7-1, ending their 8 game losing streak. A very well played game, completely dominated by the home team. Game A took place just 8 days prior. From a superficial perspective, many of the same things happened in this game that happened in last night's, but each was to a lesser degree. And, of course, Game A was played against the Brewers. What a difference a week makes, and what a difference the opponent makes.

Another interesting note about last night's game is that it was the Pirates' first win in a series opening game since April 20, against the Marlins. Actually, the Pirates had won the first game of each series up until that point, and they've lost the first game of every series since, prior to last night's game. This does not necessarily mean the Bucs are about to embark on some epic winning streak, it just means that last night may have marked a return to their winning and, more refreshingly, competent style of baseball that they began the season with.

Ross Ohlendorf takes the hill tonight, against Joel Pineiro for the Cards, looking to give the Bucs their first series win since late April in San Diego. On Thursday, Jeff Karstens faces Mitchell Boggs, hopefully going for the sweep. It should be a good series.

Jack Wilson Returns

Prior to tonight's home game against the St. Louis Cardinals, shortstop Jack Wilson should be activated from the disabled list, and fill-in Brian Bixler will be returned to Indianapolis, where he belongs. Now, it's no secret the Pirates have been struggling horribly the past 2 weeks, losing 8 games in a row, and 12 of their past 13. And, though I don't think Jack Wilson alone could have prevented this losing streak, I feel that the Pirates would have perhaps won another game or two in this span, or at least, not looked quite so bad, if Wilson had been here. To be fair, I should add that the Wilson was placed on the DL prior to the game in San Diego on April 26. The Pirates won that game, so, technically, they lost 12 of 14 with him gone.

Speaking just of the team's record, with Jack Wilson on the disabled list this year, the Pirates are 2-12. In 2008, Wilson also missed time due to injury. While he was on the DL last year, the Pirates went 22-24, which is actually a better winning percentage than they're accustomed to. However, the primary fill-in for Wilson the past two seasons has been Brian Bixler. Though Bixler has performed well in AAA, the Majors does not seem like his cup of tea.

Covering parts of the last three seasons, Bixler has hit a combined .280 with 12 home runs and 95 RBIs in 988 plate appearances for the AAA Indianapolis Indians. Decent, but unspectacular statistics. Bixler has stolen 53 bases in this time, but his strike outs-to-walks ratio is a poor 2.74:1. With the decent average and the speed and some extra-base-hits, it would appear that Bixler is performing very well in AAA, and perhaps that performance would translate to the Bigs. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

In these past couple of weeks, where Wilson was injured and the Pirates turned a solid start to the year into the usual sad routine, Bixler made 8 starts at shortstop for the Bucs. In those 8 games, Bixler hit .200, with 1 walk and 18 strike outs. Among his 5 hits, he did manage 3 doubles, and he did drive in 3 runs. But striking out in 18 of your 25 at bats? Absolutely horrid.

In 2008, Bixler was just as bad. Though he only struck out 36 times in 108 at bats (by the way, that's still a pace of 200 K's for a 600 at bat season, which is Mark Reynolds territory), Bixler hit just .157 with 3 extra-base hits and 2 RBIs. Aside from his 2004 campaign, Jack Wilson has never really been thought of as an offensive shortstop. However, compared to his backup, Wilson is a regular Luke Appling.

Now, much has been made of the fact that Wilson's contract runs out after this season (he does have an option at around $8.5 million that the Pirates will absolutely NOT pick up). Wilson has stated that he would like to remain in Pittsburgh, even at a lower salary, for at least one more year. Just how low? I don't know. I've said it before, if Wilson will take something in the $3-4 million range, he would be well worth it.

Though Wilson's not the long term answer at short, he is the best option for this year and next. Bixler has proven, thus far, that he's not capable. There are a number of other intriguing shortstops in the lower levels of the minors (AA: Brian Friday, High A: Jordy Mercer, Low A: Chase D'Arnaud, Injured/Out for Year: Jarek Cunningham) but only Friday would have a legitimate chance of being major league ready at some point in 2010, though if he were to have to wait a little longer in AAA, or share time in the Bigs with Wilson, I doubt his growth would be too stunted.

I get the rebuilding, or whatever you want to call it, and I'm all for that. I would have no problem with saying so long to Wilson, and letting Bixler flounder around out there for a full year if I thought he would get it figured out and become a competent shortstop. However, I don't see Bixler reaching that level and he's probably looking at an uninteresting, and somewhat disheartening, career in the mystical in-between world of 4A.

Karstens Pitches Well (!), but Moss and Offense Fail Again

The much maligned Jeff Karstens pitched a very solid game tonight in New York only to be let down by his bullpen and offense, in a 7-3 loss. The Dynamic Duo of Tyler Yates and Sean Burnett combined to allow 5 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in the 8th before being bailed out by Donnie Veal, of all people. And, once again, the Pirates' offense did very little in this one, leaving 9 runners on base and failing to get the clutch hit. The dreariness continues.

Brandon Moss continued to make a case for a trip to Indianapolis with another 0 for 4 game. Moss is 3 for 22 this month and is hitting only .185 on the year. Now with AAA pitcher Jimmy Barthmaier scheduled for Tommy John surgery, and a trip to the 60-Day DL, a 40-man roster spot will soon open up. I can't help but think this could mean Andrew McCutchen could be coming up. However, if we are to believe management, McCutchen's call-up will be based on when he's ready, not on any other factors. Still, I think a move of some sort could be coming. I'm pretty sure Moss still has a minor league option, so he could be sent down for a bit to get himself straightened out. Maybe the more likely replacement would be Steve Pearce, who, by the way, hit his 6th homer tonight for Indy. Or possibly Jeff Salazar, who is not on the 40-man, but now could be added. Although, Moss could just see some more time on the bench, with capable outfielder options in Craig Monroe, Delwyn Young and Eric Hinske currently on the active roster. I'm not sure if the bench is the best spot for Moss though. Or for the team, for that matter. Maybe a little roster shuffle could help motivate the hitters. And with Jack Wilson due back on Tuesday, perhaps two moves might do the trick.

Correction: Moss is, in fact, out of minor league options. So, scrap all that I wrote above here. I made a miscalculation.

Malaise

A close loss to the Cardinals, one in which many a runner was left on base, should upset a Pirate fan like me. For some reason, it doesn't. Maybe it's nice to lose to a team other than Milwaukee. To lose a game that does not extend some dreadful streak (though, to be fair, versus St. Louis: it's 2 and counting). The Pirates usually lose to the Cardinals, but the Bucs always beat them occasionally, so losing the first of two can't be shocking, or especially disappointing. It's business as usual again, with no Brewers games on the schedule until after the All-Star Break. There will be wins. There will be losses. Probably more of the latter. But no games against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates' one bane. Except for Inter-League Play, of which the Bucs play 15 games between now and the next series with the Brewers, and which the Pirates are 63 and 103, the worst in the Majors, since its inception in 1997. Oh.

On the bright side, I'm actually kind of excited about the Bucs' lineup for today's game in St. Louis:

1. McLouth, CF
2. Young, 2B
3. Monroe, LF
4. Hinske, 1B
5. Moss, RF
6. Andy LaRoche, 3B
7. Diaz, C
8. Bixler, SS
9. Ohlendorf, P

The team has lost 8 of 9, so it's really time to give some guys a day off and get some other players involved. I like seeing McLouth back at lead off, for today, anyway, not permanently. And I like seeing Delwyn Young getting some more playing time. I worry about having 2 pitchers hitting at the end of the lineup, but hopefully the top 7 can create some runs.

Heartbreaking

If I were a Brewers fan, Monday night's game in Pittsburgh would have been such a thrilling contest. Our best hitter was not even in the stadium when the game began, yet he appeared on the field at the most opportune time, delivering a pinch-hit double to tie the game in the 8th. But, oh no! Our bullpen gives the opponents the lead right back and we have to face the Pirates' closer in the 9th. But then, we score 4 runs and win! Our 16th consecutive victory over the Pirates, even. What a game!

Unfortunately, I am a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, and last night's game was horrendous. So many things were going right in this one. Paul Maholm out pitched Yovani Gallardo, who completely baffled the Bucs last week in Milwaukee. Brandon Moss drove an RBI triple off the center field wall in the second, give him a whopping 3 RBIs on the year. Andy LaRoche hits his first homer of the year, and the Pirates' first home run since big bro Adam hit a pair just over a week ago in San Diego. Everything was going so well until the 8th. After one out, Maholm walked JJ Hardy. With Rickie Weeks due up, John Russell called on the eratic Tyler Yates to relieve Maholm. Even though Yates would eventually strike Weeks out, I found it unnecessary to pull Maholm at this point. He was pitching well, the Bucs had a 2 run lead and he had only thrown 98 pitches. Though that's not exactly a low total, Russell allowed Ian Snell to throw 130 last week in an even closer game. Anyway, so Weeks strikes out and Russell brings in John Grabow to go after Prince Fielder. Grabow has been struggling, but I felt confident he could get Fielder. However, the big guy singled to center and then Grabow walked Mike Cameron, bringing up Chris Duffy. But wait. Ryan Braun, who was in Milwaukee earlier in the day to have an MRI, is called on to pinch hit. This isn't quite Kirk Gibson dramatic, but close enough. So Braun then dumps a 2 run double into shallow right and the game is tied. Gut-wrenching. Heartbreaking. Pathetic. Whatever you want to call it. So, even though the Pirates took the lead back in the bottom of the 8th, it was no surprise that this one ended up being a loss, as Matt Capps allowed 4 runs in the 9th. Horrible, horrible game.

This past week, culminating in last night's loss, has sucked all the excitement and optimism out of the season, at least for right now. ESPN, who ranked the Bucs 7th in their Power Rankings 8 days ago, have dropped them back where they belong this week: 19th. Tonight the Pirates try to avoid their 17th consecutive loss to the Brewers. As we all know, the Pirates are also trying to avoid their 17th consecutive losing season this year. Will tonight's game be a sign of things to come?

Also, it appears that the aforementioned Mr. Capps is suffering from minor discomfort in his right elbow, possibly brought on by guilt. He is expected to rest for a few days. I get the feeling that the pain is at least partially related to his performances the past two games he's pitched. Perhaps rust, perhaps overcompensation. But I don't feel the loss of Capps will hurt the Bucs too much for the next few days.

Watching Karstens Pitch = Torture

I know he's had some success in the Majors, even with the Pirates, but in today's game against the Reds, Jeff Karstens was almost unbearable to watch. Granted, many a Pirate has had a worse pitching line (5 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 1 strike out), but few have been as methodically and deliberately bad. I cringed with every pitch he threw, knowing that he had nothing that any Reds hitter couldn't at least put in play, if not drive hard. And, of course, his one strike out was of opposing pitcher Johnny Cueto, he of 4 career hits and an OPS that would make even Brandon Moss blush. I know that Karstens is better, or at least more capable, than previous number five starters the Bucs have sent out there; the names Morris, Van Benschoten and Vogelsong immediately come to mind. I was just hoping for more today, since this was only the Pirates' second televised game of the year here in Indiana. The other was also a loss, though far less dreary (Harang shutting out the Pirates 2-0, while Snell pitched pretty well).

Aside from Karstens, the Bucs' offense did next to nothing today, in the 5-0 loss. Though, to be fair, much of that had to do with Cueto, who pitched brilliantly. After getting roughed up by the Bucs a few weeks ago in Cincinnati (and in my presence), he held the Pirates to 4 singles and a walk in 8 innings, striking out 9. He mixed speeds and locations well, and the Pirate hitters were constantly off balance. Aside from not being able to adjust to Cueto's pitching, the only blatant blemish for the offense today was Nyjer Morgan breaking for second way too early and getting thrown out by an alert Cueto. This is the second time I've seen this happen in the two televised games I've watched this year, and I find it a little distressing. I've always been a Nyjer supporter, and I'm incredibly pleased with his performance this year, but getting picked off like that is very aggravating.

Oh, I suppose another area of concern for the offense is the play of Brian Bixler. Though he did have a clutch hit last weekend in San Diego, he still looks as over matched as he did last year, when he struggled with a .157 average and 36 strike outs in 108 at bats, while primarily filling in for Jack Wilson. Speaking of which, it's looking more and more like it's a bit too soon to anoint Bixler as Wilson's heir. Jack's no slugger, but he can put the ball in play and provide solid to spectacular defense. If his asking price for 2010 is low enough, I think the Bucs' management should seriously consider keeping him around another year.

Another bonus today (for me) was seeing Evan Meek pitch. I hadn't seen him yet this year and I'm not too sure I saw him at all last year. Meek pitched the 6th, 7th and 8th to help minimize the usage of the Bucs' pen in this fairly one-sided affair. And Meek looked pretty good out there, though compared to Karstens fumbling his way through 5 excruciating innings, Meek was a regular Greg Maddux. Also, Jesse Chavez saw some action in this one, pitching a scoreless ninth. Chavez has been a very pleasant surprise, out pitching most all Pirate relievers. He's probably getting closer to supplanting Tyler Yates as the top right handed set up man, which at this point, I fully support.

Up next is a quick little two game series against the Brewers. As everyone knows, the Pirates have lost an obscene number of consecutive games to the Brewers overall (plus an equally obscene number at Miller Park, though these 2 are in Pittsburgh). The match ups for this pair of games are Paul Maholm against Yovani Gallardo on Monday and Ian Snell versus Jeff Suppan on Tuesday. I have nothing too insightful to add here. Clearly the Pirates need some wins in general if they are to stay competitive early in the season here. Also, it would be a huge relief to the team, and us fans, to break this Brewer streak.

Pirates Score, And Win!

Though it's been less than a week, tonight's Pirates' win over Cincinnati feels like the first victory in such a long time. It felt excruciating to watch, even on Game Cast. Grabow allowing the run in the 8th and Matt Capps, out of action for 8 days, giving up hit after hit in the 9th before finally getting the bases loaded strike out to end it. Speaking of Capps, I'm not a fan of not using your closer for such a long time. Granted, the six consecutive games he did not pitch in were either losses or blowout wins. But still, you want your closer to be sharp when you need him and I think it's important to make sure he gets work, even in non-traditional situations. This past week marks the second time this season that Capps has been on the bench for a full week. And the rust certainly showed tonight.

Anyway, regardless of how ugly the win was, a win is a win and the Bucs definitely needed this one. And now, the Pirates are tied for second once again, with a chance to win this series against the Reds. I'm never excited when Jeff Karstens is the starting pitcher, but he could be due for a decent game tomorrow. Johnny Cueto is pitching for the Reds and the Bucs have already beaten him this year, so it could happen. Hopefully, with this messy win, the Pirates can put their mini-slump behind them and start playing some good baseball again. With the hated Brewers in town for two starting Monday, it would be nice to have some positive momentum heading in to that series.

Minor League Recap: April

Indianapolis Indians (AAA): Of course, it's all about Andrew McCutchen. He has gotten off to a pretty solid start this year, hitting .282, with 11 extra-base-hits, 17 runs scored and 4 steals. He will be in Pittsburgh this year. It's just a matter of when. I'm guessing not until there's not enough games left in the season to make him eligible to be a Super-2 player in arbitration in 3 years. It sounds petty, but whatever.

Other potential Pirates of the future include Brian Bixler (currently filling in for Jack Wilson) hitting .327 with 8 RBIs for the Indians. Shelby Ford is hitting .208 with a homer and 4 RBIs, and no walks. (What happened to the Pirate fans that were calling for Freddy Sanchez to get traded so Ford could take over?) Steve Pearce is hitting .246 with 3 homers and 14 RBIs, but I bet he's looking at a major league career as a 4th or 5th outfielder/first baseman at this point. And Neil Walker is only hitting .205, though he does have 3 homers and 12 RBIs.

Pitching wise, Tom Gorzelanny is doing pretty well, aside from the walks (11 in 22 innings) which has not helped his 4.91 ERA. I'm still hoping he can get things straightened out some day. Daniel McCutchen has done pretty well (3.74 ERA), though he's also a bit high on the walks (10 in 21 2/3). I'm not sure if the team has high hopes for Virgil Vasquez, but at least he can throw strikes (4 walks in 22 2/3).

Altoona Curve (AA): The most notable player for the Curve, Jose Tabata, is out 4 to 6 weeks with a hamstring injury. With his mysterious wife stealing babies and now this (plus Tabata's .250 BA with no home runs prior to the injury), it's been a rough year for him.

Second baseman Jim Negrych is off to a hot start, hitting .373, with twice as many walks as strike outs. A couple of notable pitchers are in Altoona are '06 1st round pick Brad Lincoln and '07 first rounder Danny Moskos. Lincoln has a 4.26 ERA in 19 innings, but his 16:6 strike out to walk ratio is impressive. Moskos has a 5.94 ERA in 16 2/3 innings, with 8 walks and 8 strike outs.

Lynchburg Hillcats (High A): Pedro Alvarez has been a little inconsistent so far. He's had a number of clutch hits, but also some serious droughts. His average is currently .219, but he has drawn 15 walks already. He's also struck out 22 times and committed 7 errors at third. His 4 homers and 20 RBIs are nice though.

Jordy Mercer (SS) has done pretty well so far. He's hitting .246 with 2 homers and 13 RBIs, but he also has 7 doubles and 2 steals. He's probably not much more advanced than Chase D'Arnaud (at Low A) but they may always be playing a level apart so both can play short.

West Virginia Power (Low A): Speaking of Chase, he's hitting quite well so far, with an average of .355, with 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 4 steals. Young Robbie Grossman is getting some hits, but the 25 strike outs in 69 at bats doesn't look too hot. Another '08 draftee, Calvin Anderson is hitting quite well. His average is .318 and he's hit 3 homers to go along with 13 RBIs.

One Month In

Here we are, one month into the 2009 season, and the Pirates are 11-10, tied with Cincinnati for third in the NL Central. Before the season began, I would have been pretty pleased if you told me that's where Pittsburgh will be on May 1, but after the sweep in Milwaukee to close out the April schedule, 11-10 almost seems disappointing. But all things considered, I am happy about the way the team has played, and even the games against the Brewers were close. I'm not sure the Bucs can keep up this pace for the full season, but they could remain in the middle of the division, provided some other teams continue to struggle. And with Nate McLouth scheduled to return to the lineup tonight against the Reds, I'm hopeful that the team can put the Milwaukee series behind it.

There's been a lot to like about the team as a whole this season. The Pirates currently lead the majors in ERA, with a mark of 3.41. Of course, last year the team was 28th, and since most of the staff this year was here last year, at least some credit must be given to new pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

The Pirates defense has shown considerable improvement this year too. Bucs Dugout offers some details on the Pirates' first place Defensive Efficiency ranking from Baseball Prospectus. I am a fan of the newer wave of defensive statistics, I just don't know enough about them to add anything here. For the old-schoolers, the Pirates currently rank 9th in the MLB in fielding percentage, so any way you slice it, the Bucs are definitely improved in that department.

As for the offense, the team batting average of .264, currently ranks 15 (last year, .258, 22nd) and the Pirates have scored 4.81 runs per game this year, versus 4.54 in '08. Last year's team, of course, had Jason Bay and Xavier Nady for nearly 4 months and this year's has been missing Ryan Doumit for 9 games and Nate McLouth for the past 6. Clearly, as a unit, the offense has been more productive from top to bottom. And because a decent amount of this has been done without two of the Bucs' top hitters, I'm a little optimistic that it can continue. The pitching? Not at the level it has, but better than last year, easily. The defense? Maybe.

My April Awards:
Offensive Player: Freddy Sanchez
Starting Pitcher: Zach Duke
Relief Pitcher: John Grabow

Series Finale in Milwaukee a Watershed Game

The Pirates wrap up their first month of the season with the final game of this 3 game series in Milwaukee. After losing the first two, with Jeff Karstens struggling a bit in the opener and the bullpen (particularly Tyler Yates) giving the game away in the 8th and Paul Maholm not able to hold a 4 run lead last night, the Pirates have now lost 14 consecutive games to the Brewers and 17 straight in Miller Park. Ian Snell takes this hill this afternoon, hoping to lead the Bucs to a very much needed win.

This game today feels a little extra significant to me. Not that one game in April can decide a season, but I think today's might be a bit of an indicator as to whether the Pirates can maintain their strong start.

A loss, and the Pirates fall to 11-10. It would be yet another loss to the Brewers, just like last year. The Bucs would limp into May, coming off a 2-4 road trip, and tied with the Brewers in the division, heading into a tough stretch in the schedule, with the Reds, these Brewers again, Cardinals and Mets being the opponents for the next 13 games.

But a win today would propel the Pirates into the next month with a record of 12-9, which sounds a lot better than the alternative. The Bucs would have broken two significant losing streaks and knocked the Brewers a little further back in the standings. The Pirates would head into a short home stand with a little momentum. And maybe, just maybe, Nate McLouth would return Friday.

Okay, so McLouth might return Friday anyway. But still, it does feel to me that this game will set the tone for the coming weeks of the season. And Ian Snell does actually have good numbers against the Brewers. In 5 career starts, Snell is 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA and 32 strike outs in 34 innings. I knew he had a winning record against them, but I did not realize his numbers were that good. Of course he's facing Yovani Gallardo, the Brewers only legitimately good pitcher. And Gallardo has pretty good numbers against the Bucs, which I won't print here, so our spirits can remain high.

Pirates Look to Exorcise Another Demon

So far this young season, on their way to an 11-7 start, the Pittsburgh Pirates have received excellent starting pitching, good relief pitching, clutch hitting and solid defense. The Bucs rarely have 2 of these going at the same time, so having all 4 certainly explains their start. Well, if the Pirates' odds-defying season is to continue, they must start beating the Brewers.

In 2008, the Pirates lost 14 of their 15 games against the Brewers, including all played in Milwaukee. The Bucs also lost 10 of 16 in '07. Speaking of just the previous 2 seasons, the dominance by the Brewers, along with an 11-22 record against the Cubs and the decade-plus-long struggle in Inter-League play, has been a key contributor to the Bucs' awful win-loss records. Taking at least 2 of 3 this week in Milwaukee would be nice. The Brewers, who got off to a slow start this year, have been playing much better of late. However, the Marlins were the hottest team in baseball one week ago until they visited Pittsburgh, so...

In other news: The comic strip Mallard Fillmore look at jab at the Pirates today. See it for yourself. I'm not a fan of this strip; it's like a quieter version of Lewis Black, or a less (ironically) funny version of Andy Rooney. Anyway, it's also not very timely, since the Pirates currently reside in second place and are off to their best start in 9 years. Plus, if you're three years behind Jay Leno, of all people, with your jokes, maybe humor's not your thing.

Jack Wilson Joins His Pals Doumit and Hansen on DL

Shortstop Jack Wilson's sore middle finger apparently is not healing too quickly, and with Nate McLouth resting his oblique, the Pirates are essentially playing with a 3 man bench. So, today the Bucs placed Wilson on the 15 Day Disabled List and recalled Brian Bixler from AAA-Indianapolis. I would expect Bixler to get the majority of the starts at short, rather than Ramon Vazquez. Bixler played pretty horribly for Pittsburgh last year, but he impressed in Spring Training, so hopefully that will carry over.

Though maybe it doesn't really matter who's in the starting lineup, since the Pirates crushed the Padres last night 10-2, without the services of Wilson, McLouth or Ryan Doumit. Zach Duke dominated on the mound and the Pirates' offense was relentless. 5 different players had at least 2 hits and 6 different players drove in at least 1 run. The Pirates go for the series win this afternoon. It'll be Ross Ohlendorf versus Jake Peavy.

Meek Gets the Call

Reliever Evan Meek was recalled from AAA today to take the roster spot of Craig Hansen, who was placed on the 15-day Disabled List. I'm happy for Meek since he pitched great this Spring and only missed out on the Opening Day Roster due to illness, and a bit of a tired arm. With Jesse Chavez pitching better than expected, I wasn't sure when, or if, Meek would get called up. Hansen has neck spasms, which might be code for "We'd rather have Meek active right now." I really don't know the severity of the neck spasms, so I'm just speculating.

In other injury news, Nate McLouth is out of the lineup again tonight, with his strained oblique. I think the Bucs are just being cautious with him and he'll probably be back Monday in Milwaukee, if not tomorrow.

Pirates' Late West Coast Loss Affects My Sleep

The Pirates played their first Pacific Time Zone night game since my move to the Eastern Time Zone, and apparently I am incapable of falling asleep while the Pirates are playing. The 11-inning game ended around 1:40 am locally, and I stayed up until the end, following along on GameCast, which is kind of a sad way to "watch" a game. I do actually prefer the ESPN one, versus the MLB one, because it retains a little drama. Though I do like MLB's pitch analysis, when a ball is put in play, they suck the few split seconds of excitement out of the game cast with their "In Play, Out(s)" or "In Play, Run(s)" statements. ESPN shows the little white dot head from the mound to the plate and then back to the field. What will happen next? A hit? An Out? I can't wait to find out! It's so exciting!

Anyway, the game itself was obviously disappointing, as Ian Snell struggled with his command, walking 5 and allowing 3 runs in 5 innings. The Pirates scored 2 runs to tie it up in the top of the sixth and I started to get the feel that some '09 Pirate magic was about to unfold. The bullpen held the Padres in check for a number of innings and the Bucs looked like they were about to get something going in the ninth, as Nyjer Morgan led off with an infield single. But after Jack Wilson couldn't get the sacrifice down and Morgan was picked off first, the game was starting to look like a vintage '93-'08 Pirate affair. Matt Capps, he of the impeccable control, walked 2 in the 11th prior to Brian Giles game-winning hit, giving the Padres a 4-3 win.

The Bucs were without Nate McLouth, who sat out with an oblique strain. Thankfully, it's not considered to be too serious. On the bright side, the bullpen pitched very well, aside from Capps, and Lil' LaRoche extended his hitting streak to 8 games, during which he's hitting .357.

It's another late one in San Diego tonight. And it's the big Bounce-Back game for Zach Duke. Right? Who's with me?

Marlins Claim Davidson, And Other News

Pitcher Dave Davidson, whom the Pirates placed on waivers last week to make room for Delwyn Young, was claimed today by the Florida Marlins, reports the PBC Blog. Davidson, who played for Team Canada in the WBC, appeared in only 9 games in AAA, 3 this season, in parts of seven seasons in the Pirates' system. His numbers weren't bad, but he probably would never have been more than an average middle- or long-reliever. Not a huge loss, though the Pirates still do have to send 2 players (or possibly cash) to the Dodgers to complete the Young deal, so hopefully Young will pay off.

The Bucs start a three game series tonight in San Diego, as I try to adjust to the Eastern Time Zone for baseball games. It still seems odd to me that games can start at 10pm here. Anyway, I'm hopeful Pittsburgh can continue their recent strong play and at least take 2 of 3 from the Padres. San Diego got off to a surprisingly good start this year, before struggling a little lately. Fortunately for the Pirates, Chris Young will not be pitching for San Diego. Young is a notorious Pirate killer. In 5 starts over the past three seasons, Young is 4-0 against Pittsburgh, with an ERA of 1.51, allowing only 17 hits in 35 2/3 innings. The Pirates will face longtime Giant Kevin Correia, former National Shawn Hill, and ace Jake Peavy, who is actually about as tough on the Bucs as is Chris Young. But Peavy has been hittable this year, so you never know. The Bucs are starting Ian Snell, Zach Duke and Ross Ohlendorf. I'm very curious to see how Duke follows up his horrible start against Atlanta last weekend. Hopefully, that was just an aberration.

Adam "Mr. April" LaRoche Update: Let's take another look at how his stats this year compare to his previous 2 seasons in Pittsburgh (each through 15 games the team has played):

2007: .100 AVG, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, .490 OPS
2008: .143 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, .472 OPS
2009: .304 AVG, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, .939 OPS

Clearly better numbers this year, but if we look a little further, we see that LaRoche has struck out once every 4 plate appearances this year. Though not exactly impressive, in 2008 he struck out once every 3.36 PAs, and in 2007, once every 3. A noticeable improvement. However, this year LaRoche has walked once every 15 PAs, versus once every 9.4 PAs in '08 and once every 6.67 PAs in '07. (Note: I am just comparing the first 15 games for each of these years.) So, is LaRoche hitting better because he's being more aggressive, or is he being more aggressive because he's hitting well?

Break Up The Pirates!

After today's 7-4 win over the Marlins, the mighty Pittsburgh Pirates sit at 9-6, which is the Pirate equivalent of being undefeated. This is the Bucs' best start, through 15 games, since 2002, when they were 10-5, and on their way to 12-5, before the wheels fell off and they ended up 72-89 for the year. Here a quick look at the Pirates' records through 15 games each season since PNC Park opened:

2001: 6-9
2002: 10-5
2003: 8-7
2004: 7-8
2005: 4-11
2006: 4-11
2007: 6-9
2008: 7-8

As we all know, the Pirates ended up with a losing record in each of these seasons so I'm trying not to get too excited by their start this year. But one aspect of the Bucs' impressive start that I am feeling good about is the way they're winning games. For the most part, the Pirates look like a legitimately good team. They're playing fundamentally well, with good base running and clutch hitting. Their starting pitching has been excellent, which in turn means the bullpen has not been overused, resulting in effective relief work. It seems that in previous seasons, whenever the Pirates would put together a winning stretch, many of their victories would be of the scrappy, come-from-behind variety. Which is nice, don't get me wrong, but the Pirates of 2009 seem to finally be playing as if they expect to win. Not in an arrogant way; just confident. Maybe this "confident" start will turn into a "diffident" stretch at some point, and the losses will begin to outnumber the wins. Actually, it will probably happen. But for now, I'm just gonna enjoy the ride.

Bad News, Pirate Fans: Doumit Out With Broken Wrist

Our worst fears were realized this afternoon as it was announced that catcher Ryan Doumit will miss 8-10 weeks after having surgery on his injured right wrist.

Here's the report from the official site.

And here's a little more info from the PBC Blog.

What this means is that the tandem of Jason Jaramillo and Robinzon Diaz will share catching duties until roughly the All Star Break. Jaramillo has looked pretty decent so far this year in his limited playing time, and Diaz had a very nice Spring, at least with the bat. Neither will come close to matching Doumit's offensive capabilities, but they should both be adequate. Unfortunately, there's just not a whole lot of power in this lineup to begin with and now we're looking at the Pirates having a pretty weak bottom half of the order, with Andy LaRoche, Jack Wilson and whichever catcher occupying the 6 through 8 spots. Actually, the five spot's not too great either, with Brandon Moss or Craig Monroe sharing that.

I doubt a trade will be made for an experienced catcher, other than possibly to fill in at Indianapolis. There's no need to panic too much in this situation and there's probably not too many catchers available that are much better than Jaramillo or Diaz.

Maybe the most discouraging aspect here is that this is yet another injury for Doumit. He misses time every year with various injuries. There's no reason to think that it won't happen next year too. He's a tremendous hitter and he's improving behind the plate a bit, but it might be time for the Bucs' brass to start thinking about a new long-term option at catcher.

Bucs Blank Fish

The hottest team in all of baseball comes to town and get dominated by Ross Ohlendorf? Hard to believe, but it happened. Ohlendorf held the Marlins to 2 hits over 7 scoreless innings in the Pirates' 8-0. This was the Bucs' fourth shutout in 13 games this season, and also their fourth win by a margin of 7 or more runs. So far, when the Pirates are on, they're very on. For a little comparison, the Pirates' 4th win by seven or more runs last season occurred on May 2. Their 4th shutout, August 1.

Due to the very light night of MLB action, including a couple of rain outs, the Pirates did get some decent coverage on the MLB Network's recap show. They even had Mr. Ohlendorf himself on the phone talking about his start. However, Mitch Williams tried to offer some insight on the Bucs' "anonymous" rotation, saying something like "the rotation is having success now because nobody around the league has seem them yet. Things could change once teams face these pitchers 2 or 3 times." Sure, for Ohlendorf, but Maholm, Snell and Duke have about 100 career starts each. Mitch Williams is an idiot. He adds nothing to their show, and I'm not just saying that to protect my Pirates. Luckily Harold Reynolds is there too, to add a little sanity to the proceedings.

So anyway, we've got Jeff Karstens pitching Tuesday night against Anibal Sanchez. I really have no idea what to expect at this point.

Duke Shelled; Braves Avoid Sweep

Count me among those feeling a little overconfident after the Pirates shut out the Braves over the first two games of this series. A nice 3-0 win on Friday, led by a solid Paul Maholm start, and a 10-0 beat down on Saturday, with Ian Snell pitching well and Craig Monroe jacking a pair of three-run homers. I figured red-hot Zach Duke could keep it up against this weak Braves lineup. I was sorely mistaken. Today, Duke had what would have been considered a bad start for him in '07, the nadir of his career. Duke allowed 6 runs and 12 hits in 6 innings. He was even helped out by 2 double plays and a couple of base running errors by the Braves, so it could have been worse. The final score, after Craig Hansen and Donnie Veal relieved, was 11-1. Ugly.

I'd be hard pressed to come up with any positives from this game. Let me think...Um, no injuries occurred. And all 13 position players entered the game. Delwyn Young got another at bat and played some center field. Andy LaRoche now has a 4 game hitting streak, which ties his Pirate high from his one hot streak last year. So, yeah. Not much. And now the 11-1 Florida Marlins come to town for three games. Eep.

Duke and Maholm and Three in the Loss Column?

That phrase was mentioned by someone, I think it was in a Post-Gazette Q&A, around the end of the 2005 season, the season in which Zach Duke and Paul Maholm made their terrific debuts and made Pirate fans giddy with excitement, at least for the top 2 spots in the rotation. A number of different variations of this phrase were offered, but this was the most memorable. Perhaps the best of its kind since "Burkett and Swift and pray for a snow drift." Anyway, the 2006 through 2008 seasons made the phrase quickly fade from memory, primarily due to Duke, though both pitchers struggled in '06, and at least in parts of '07.

However, here we are, 10 games into the 2009 season and the Pirates stand at 5-5. The starting pitchers for the 5 wins: Duke and Maholm. And for the five losses: the other 3 starters. Okay, that's hardly fair, since Ian Snell pitched pretty well last Sunday in Cincinnati and Ross Ohlendorf's first start, last week in St. Louis, was decent. I don't actually expect this trend to continue. I'm sure Duke and Maholm will lose games this year. Snell and Ohlendorf will win some games. And Jeff Karstens, well...he'll try really hard.

It's funny looking back on 2005, and how so many Pirate fans were filled with optimism for these two young starters. Little did we know then that we were to endure three more losing seasons, during which our two young phenoms struggled at times, to reach this point: A young Pirates team, led by two kind-of-young hurlers. I'm not saying history's repeating itself, it's just that I think where the Pirates are now is where we thought they were going to be in '06, fighting their way toward respectability behind some solid young starting pitching.

Delwyn Young Joins the 25-Man Roster

The PBC Blog reports that the Pirates have optioned Luis Cruz to AAA to make room for newly acquired Delwyn Young on the active roster. Young has primarily played in the outfield the past 3 or 4 years (including time in the majors as well as the minors), at least partly due to his shaky defense at second base, which was his original position. Because of this, I thought, initially, that this would mean the end of Craig Monroe. I mean, that would make more sense in terms of the overall balance of the big league roster, since Ramon Vazquez would be the only legitimate reserve infielder. But one thing I didn't consider, which I should have, is that the Bucs' current management team puts at least as much focus on the strength of the 40 man roster, and the entire organization in general, as they do on the 25 man active roster. By designating Dave Davidson for assignment, thus clearing a spot for Young on the 40 man, the Pirates risked losing a player who has marginal upside and who may even clear waivers and rejoin the AAA roster. This way, the Pirates can add Young without sacrificing a current player (This is aside from the 2 players to be named later, or cash, owed to the Dodgers). Now, the Pirates can just option Cruz, clearing a spot on the 25 for Young, and, for the time being at least, improve the strength and depth of their top 2 levels. The Big League club now has a little more offense, though a bit less defense and flexibility. However, with Brian Bixler and now Cruz available in AAA, should an injury occur to Jack Wilson or Freddy Sanchez, the Pirates have at least 2 major league ready substitutes.

Back End of Rotation Exposed, As Pirates Lose First Series of Year

Starting pitching was the Achilles' heel of the 2008 Pirates, but through seven games this year it was looking like a strength. Unfortunately, that was because Jeff Karstens had not yet pitched. Karstens got the nod today in the final game of a three game series against Houston, with the teams having split the first two. Zach Duke was brilliant on Monday, as the Bucs won 7-0. Ross Ohlendorf, not so good on Wednesday, as the Astros won. Today, Karstens showed his rust as he struggled through 4 innings, allowing 3 runs, 4 hits and 5 walks. This forced the Pirates to use their bullpen for 5 innings, a day after needing 4 innings from the 'pen, and Sean Burnett gave up a tie-breaking 3-run homer to Lance Berkman, as the Astros held on for a 6-3 win. The Pirates now sit at 4-5.

There were some positives in this game though. Nyjer Morgan continued his hot start with 3 hits, including a double and a triple. Andy LaRoche recorded his very first hit of the year, though he did ground into a double play to end the eighth. Hopefully with the first one out of the way, Andy can relax and get it going a bit. Speaking of LaRoches, big brother Adam continued his nice start to the year with 2 doubles. He's currently hitting .294, which is Hornsby-esque for LaRoche this month. Also, Jason Jaramillo made his big league debut, spelling Ryan Doumit for the day. Jaramillo collected his very first hit in the fourth but, unfortunately, was 0-2 throwing out would-be base stealers. The Braves come into town tomorrow for three games, and the timing might work out for the Bucs as Chipper Jones is nursing a sore thumb and may miss some of the series.

Just for fun, here's a little look at how Adam LaRoche has fared through 9 games each of his three seasons with Pittsburgh:

2007: .097 BA, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, .426 OPS
2008: .129 BA, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, .487 OPS
2009: .294 BA, 3 HR, 6 RBIs, .961 OPS

Okay, now that I've officially jinxed him...