Bucs Impressive in Home Opener

The Pirates dominated the Astros today in their home opener by a final score of 7-0. Impressive were the Pirate hitters, as every starter collected at least one hit, 7 of the 14 total hits went for extra bases and the team combined to strike out twice, while drawing 5 walks. A solid, all-around performance, with stand out games by Freddy Sanchez (3 doubles, 2 runs scored) and Adam LaRoche (single, double and home run). But, that wasn't even the real story today. Zach Duke, he of the 18-37 record and 4.82 ERA from 2006-08, tossed a complete game shutout, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Granted, this was against a seriously struggling Astros' lineup, but with 2 very good games to start the season, you can't help but wonder if the classic Duke of '05 is back. I really hope that's true, but it will definitely take more than a couple starts to make me a believer. Remember, Duke shut out the Giants last year, and no one will confuse the '08 Duke with the '05 Duke, so let's be patient. Duke's next start is scheduled for Sunday against the Braves, a team that features some pretty heavy hitters. If Duke can at least put up a quality start then, I might start thinking about getting back on board.

After seeing Saturday's game in person, I was able to catch Sunday's on FSN. It looks like the Reds are considered the home team locally, at least as far as televising games is concerned. Though the game was dominated by Aaron Harang, it was nice to see Ian Snell pitch. Aside from the first inning homer by Brandon Phillips, Snell's numbers for the game looked pretty good, and he did appear to grow stronger as the game wore on. But watching it, though Snell's stuff looked good, his command was off a bit. He missed Doumit's target a number of times, most notably to Phillips on that home run. Doumit set up just off the inside corner and Snell's pitch crossed just left of the middle of the plate. Still, it was a great rebound from his first start and I'm hopeful that Snell, like Duke, is on the right track to regaining his more dominant form from seasons past.

I also want to mention the Reds' broadcasters. They called a very fair game and offered much praise for individual Pirates. They were very impressed with Nyjer Morgan and they said Jack Wilson may be the best defensive shortstop to never win a Gold Glove. I'm assuming they meant the best current shortstop, but that's still high praise. The announcers stood out to me because I'm used to Mike Krukow's antics in the Bay Area. While I appreciate his energy and excitement for the game, most of his asides regarding the opposing teams are gross generalizations and assumptions.

Also, PEDRO WATCH '09 is up and running. In the top right hand corner of this blog is a little running statistical total for Pedro Alvarez. Even though he won't make it to Pittsburgh this year, I'm still very excited about him and I'm looking forward to following his progress all season.