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.