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?