.
Looking ahead to first pitch …
Game: Pirates (17-20) vs. Washington Nationals (23-14)
Time: 7:10 p.m.
Site: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Here is the live box score. Rob Biertempfel brought a bat.
And here is the Pirates’ lineup …
- Jose Tabata, LF
- Neil Walker, 2B
- Andrew McCutchen, CF
- Pedro Alvarez, 3B
- Garrett Jones, RF
- Casey McGehee, 1B
- Rod Barajas, C
- Josh Harrison, SS
- James McDonald, RHP
Better line up than last night… hope they can shake it off
DK: They’ll all be better than last night’s.
I wonder how much more time McGehee has before they try Fox, Clement or Hague at first. It can’t get much worse, can it?
Oh, and here’s today’s chat transcript: http://triblive.com/sports/1808571-74/dejan-kovacevic-pirates-think-team-really-trade-penguins-chance-hitting
With that lame lineup last night they scored 4 runs.
Anyone want to make a wager that this lineup doesn’t score that many?
Zimmerman’s ERA is 2.14. Sounds like Cy Young to me.
Everyone seems to be Cy Young against the good guys
You’re right, Biz. We probably lower his ERA to 1.14 automatically, although I think Gonzalez’s went up last night.
Ronny Cedeno – remember him? – just blasted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to just about seal the deal for the Mets against Cincy.
It’s good to have a reliable hitting SS.
DK
Have you been drinking your coffee with that Steelers guy from the other paper. Sure are taking on some of his sarcasm. Not to say that you don’t have sarcasm in your own right, but it reminded me of a Eddie chat.
BTW, the best Q and A from the chat:
“LG: why doesn’t Pittsburgh have an NBA team, it seems a good sports city?
Dejan Kovacevic: I think you answered your own question.”
DK: I’m pretty sure I limited the sarcasm to the single recurring theme. Was there more?
@Bob
Speaking of sarcasm, I sure hope your RC comment was it.
And by reliable you mean .219 instead of .155. Barmes does have 1 more HR than RC, so we do have some power at SS….insert my sarcasm.
Hey wait, if Pittsburgh did get a basketball team, what would the name be???
BTW, where’s Playoffs with the daily over/under. Pretty sure I’m dominating that.
@Ryan
I thought for sure that would be the first comment today.
Everyone was so disgusted at how bad last nights lineup looked that they forgot to notice it doubled their season average output.
@ Ryan – I am pretty sure you are as well, but remember not how you start but how you finish!
Speaking of finishing the mantra that Clint has preached since Bradenton, have to question some of his moves and the lack of sense they make at times. I can’t quite figure out if he is by the book or not by the book. Strategies of late with the pen seem odd, using Watson in situations where there seems no benefit and than not having him available when needed….it LaRoche. I know Meek was brought up to pitch but had he earned that type of confidence already in a four game AAA stint when a week or so ago they named multiple things he needed to work out. Blind loyalty some non performers and the list goes on.
On sports radio and in the paper today here in Phoenix the main story is on Dbacks GM Kevin Towers and the impatience he has and that he and Gibson are meeting in Colorado today and expect changes to be made. Talk about doing more the “trying” the word of the day, that team is run on expectations, accountability and not excepting sub par performance. Only reminds me how different our “Dream Team” Mangement team is, when Huntington states earlier this week there is no help forthcoming, standing pat, history indicates there will be a correction, blah blah blah.
Time for Leaders somewhere, anywhere to step up especially given that through it all this team is still very much in the thick of things in Mid-May.
Ok enough ranting, Let’s Go Bucs time to snap the losing skid.
Yup, Reliable Ronny.
How we all long for the good ole days of watching our shortstop pick dandelions while grounders dribble past 10′ to his right…
@NMR
Hey, he did finish 2nd in Gold Glove voting last year…just sayin’
@JRay
That’s just the thing though dude, they won the west last year and should expect to do the same again this year…..so they need to make changes.
The Pirates on the other hand……are still the same.
The Giants up here are doing the same thing……
Question:
How would you react if this was the answer from the Pirates front office when asked if they would sign Andrew McCutchen to a long term deal:
“Sure, why not? We’d like to keep him.”
Let’s open the window!!!
Tonight’s OVER / UNDER (always just for fun of course)
Total Pitches Thrown by James McDonald
Line is 101.5
Anyone can play!! What’ll ya have!! What’ll ya have!!
CURRENT PARTICIPANT TOTALS
Ryan (Nor-Cal Stlrfanrc) +120
RobertoForever +80
JaxBuc +70
Nate83 +60
Bizrow +60
Steve J Smith +30
Officer Mancuso +20
jeffsbar +20
cosmo +20
JRay3 +5
JohninOshkosh EVEN
Milo Hamilton EVEN
That would be too easy of an answer. NH doesn’t answer things that way…
Playoffs
20 on the under please….I lost yesterday? Crap I don’t remember the category now.
Ryan, you got it, good luck!!
For all the complaints about last night’s lineup, they scored 4 runs, which is above average for this crew. And pretty much all of those runs came from the maligned bottom of the order. I stand by the point I made yesterday, that group of guys hitting yesterday are no worse than the group of guys hitting today. They just aren’t the ones we are used to seeing on a daily basis. Other than Pedro not playing last night, there was nothing there that makes today’s lineup any better.
@Ryan
Exactly!
Neal has the need to discuss every question in detail, and more often than not it ends up biting him in the ass, even if its the truth.
By the way, that quote was from the Brewers owner when asked if he was going to resign Zach Greinke.
I’ll take the under for 20
No, the over for 20
Yup the over
Great over/unders BTW playoff
Can I bet 20 that your moniker is false?
Cmon gang, TRY
Just state where you currently reside
Dejan’s Lunatic Nation – at the Trib,
Arizona – Tucson, Chandler, Phoenix
Arkansas – Rogers
Austrailia – Mackay
California – Bakersfield, San Francisco, UNION CITY, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Yuba City
Canada – Toronto
Colorado – Ft Collins, Estes Park, Denver
Connecticut – Cos Cob, Bridgeport, Wallingford
Costa Rica
Delaware. Newark
District of Columbia
Florida – Palm Harbor, Orlando, Valrico, Gainesville, Daytona Beach, Oviedo, Tampa, Jacksonville, Sarasota
Georgia – Marietta, Atlanta
Germany – Leverkusen/Cologne
Hawaii – Honolulu
Idaho – Mountain Home, Coer d’Aline
Indiana – Indianapolis, Burns Harbor, South Bend
Iowa – Bettendorf, Humboldt
Illinois – La Salle, Peru, Payson, Chicago, Palatine (3 inmates there), Lincoln Park, Grayslake, Lincoln Park, Chicago
Japan – Tokyo
Kentucky – Louisville, Bowling Green
Louisiana – Slidell
Maryland – Arnold, Odenton, Severn, Baltimore, Waldorf
Massachusetts – Boston
Michigan – Kalamazoo, Eaton Rapids, Lansing
Mississippi – Biloxi
Nebraska – Omaha
New Hampshire – Barrington
New Jersey – Chesterfield, Princeton, Roxbury, Lebanon
New York – New York, Smithtown
North Carolina – Asheville, Hickory, Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, Wilmington, Chapel Hill
North Dakota
Ohio – Cincinnati, Columbiana, Westerville, Green, Hilliard, Toledo, Louisville, Columbus, Perrysburg, Pickerington, Youngstown, Cleveland, Olmsted Township, Liberty Township
Pennsylvania – Downtown, Hopewell, Indiana, North Wales, Franklin Park, Forest Hills, Lansdale, Philadelphia, DuBois, Reading, Crafton, Arnold, Wexford, Mt Lebanon, Canonsburg, Lancaster, Huntington, York, Boiling Springs, Philly suburbs, Morningside, Harrisburg, Lawrenceville, Bradfordwoods, Norristown, Hanover, Clearfield, Sewickley, DuBois, Plum Boro, Slippery Rock, Wilks-Barre, Sharpsville, Bessemer, Greensburg, Washington, Imperial, South Side, Duncansville, Newville, Sheppton, Grove City, Butler, Allentown, Ross Township, Blairsville, Flood City (Johnstown), Overbrook, Dannys Hoagies
The Philipines
South Carolina – Duncan, Longs, Columbia
South Korea – Seoul
Tennessee – Smithville, Nashville
Texas – Tyler, San Antonio, Belton
Vermont – North Bennington
Virginia – JAL, Hampton, Rescue, Richmond, Front Royal, Woodbridge, Suffolk, Warrenton, Springfield, Virginia Beach
Washington – Seattle, Nine Mile Falls, Spokane, Sammamish
West Virginia – Martinsburg, Morgantown
Wisconsin – Madison, Oshkosh, Hortonville
174 locations represented in the blog,
5/17/2012 5:28 PM
DK: We still have no one from Manitoba. That’s got to change.
@ Playoffs – another toughie tonight… I have teetered on this one for too long so I will go on 25 on the over staying positive that J-Mac has a strong performance and goes deep into the contest.
But that was the owner, don’t ever hear any quotes from Nutting unless its about accountability and championship play.
@Playoffs
I’ll have 25 on the under please. Thank you.
Dejan, maybe that field trip next hockey season would change that?
Bizrow, I got you 20 on the over.
JRay, I got you 25 on the over.
Milo, I got you 20 on the under.
BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL!!
@Bizrow, thanks for the compliment, and yes it looks like my moniker will not be a prophesy this year.
@Playoffs
That should be 25. Probably digging myself a deeper hole.
“DK: I’m pretty sure I limited the sarcasm to the single recurring theme. Was there more?”
The biggest focal point of your sarcasm seemed to the Pirates effort of “trying.”
I sensed it in a lot of answers though..I enjoy sarcasm.
Milo, it has been corrected, thanks, good luck tonight!!
IMO pretty much anything about this current FO deserves some sarcasm
Ok, pitching is pretty good, but it takes many talents to be a good ballclub.
Neal has not proven he’s one of 30 in the world to run a Major League Club.
Slick Frank hired him
Its on them, always has been, always will be
Harry Truman – “The buck stops at the top”,
Or something like that, IMO this FO has the theory that “S&^% rolls downhill”
Maybe its “The buck stops here”
I’ll take 20 on the under, thanks.
Ryan, where do I send the KWood sign to?
I’m serious, no strings attached
Nate, you got it, good luck!!
@Playoffs:
I’ll take 20 over, if you please.
There was nothing reliable about Ronnie Cedeno other than his unreliability.
No thanks.
All things considered…I like this lineup. Actually, I like any lineup that doesn’t have a SS named Barmes in it. A break could do him some good too.
@Playoffs – can I get some of that action? 20 on the over if I may.
Go Bucs.
Bizrow, you can add Baldwin, PA to that list (I am currently a quick five minute drive from Danny’s Hoagie’s, were I not at work!)
John, you got it, good luck!!
Pattonbb, welcome to the window, you got it, good luck!!
@playoffs
Not much time to think about it, and the o/u is another very good one.
So I will go light and go 10 units on the under.
Let’s hope instead, J-Mac goes 110 pitches in a CGSO!
#LetsGoBucs
Roberto, you got it, good luck!!
That’s 4 homers in the last 10 days for McCutchen. He’s one hit shy of hitting .500 in that span.
Driving into work, I was listening to 93.7 FM The Fan and those morning guys were saying how the Pirates just *had* to go out and make a deal with Boston to acquire Kevin Youkilis. I about wrecked my car when I heard them discussing the idea of trading 27-year old pitcher James McDonald for the 32-year old infielder.
I would be ok with the idea of trading McDonald but not for a rental. They need someone who will be around for 3-5 years, not one year.
@Eric
Wow – I mentioned Youk the other day, but certainly not for James McD.
In those same 10 games that Cutch is hitting almost .500, Pedro is hitting .125 hitting directly behind him. Protection is overrated.
DK: It’s disturbing that we think that much alike, Milo …
http://www.sulia.com/source/S-797781/
DK,
Frightening. Where’s NMR ? I agree with the folks in sabermetricland on something.
Back when Glenn Davis played for Houston is when I jumped off that train. He was the only guy in that lineup that could hurt you. And he did.
JMac with 6 straight strikeouts.
It took the pitcher to stop that K-streak.
Who gave Pedro the 3-0 green light to pop out to left…make Zimmerman work or you better rip the ball. Cutch goes to show why he is a 51 M star and the cost of getting players that actually can hit.
I have read a lot of chatter about shopping J-Mac for Youk or something foolish like that… Is that just typical? How about the talk that J-Mac may be developing into a front of the rotation starter and locking him up long term since he is what 27 and about to hit his prime years.
Hello Mr. Barajas, nice to finally meet you.
BOOM
And maybe now someone will acknowledge what I have been saying – Barajas is the hottest hitter on the team.
WTG Hot Rod!
Barajas crossed the Mendoza line with that HR.
How about that Barajas goes bomb! @ Roberto said earlier in last 10 games he is one of the hottest hitters on team and just provides some cushion with that blast!
I take it all back – I love my new best friend Rod Barajas. I KNEW he would come around to being himself
Barajas is the 2nd hottest hitter on the team. And to quote Bill Cowher, “And what is wrong with that ?”
Through 4.5 and Indy still hasn’t scored. Clement has their only 2 hits. He’s at .310. Presley is 0 for 2 with 2 K’s.
@bob
haha – love it! He has been a true killer bee for two weeks. Hope he makes it several more weeks.
Thats sweet, but thats the only way he seems to be able to help us with the stick
I’ll take a taters shot
Baldwin in the books, thanks
Danny’s, um, gotta go there this weekend
The team record for K’s in a game is 16 by Bob Veale vs. Philly in 1965.
Most K’s by a righthander is 14. Bob Moose in September, 1969 vs. Philly (he had a great September in 1969 – no hitter at Shea.) and Jose DeLeon in 1985 vs. NY Mets.
J-Mac with 2 more K’s to make in 9 in 4 innings.
Keep it up J-Mac.
what was that stat about the Bucs winning when they score 2 or more runs?
52 pitches thru 4
@Bizrow
Are you talking about Barajas only helping with the HR’s?
He has raised his average from .067 to over .200 in his last 15 starts.
I guess that’s the only way to get that @#%^&*&$ out.
@Roberto
Yep, he’s like cholesterol in the arteries on the basepaths, and he swings for the fences every single pitch.
90-100 games at most for him.
Dingers or nuttin
That’s 69 pitches through 5 innings.
If this were hockey, James McDonald could pitch a no hitter & be the #2 star.
Just another day at the office for CUTCH… Second blast of the night and that was crushed!
@Dejan
I liked you linking your sulia nugget on the blog here. Very nice for lazy fans like myself.
I don’t think I ever heard Casey Stengel say, “…his batting average on balls in play is unsustainable.”
DK: If you ever find me in a coffee shop someday, Milo, ask me about Bobby Cox and Charlie Morton’s xFip rating.
Yup, pop ups usually don’t fall for hits
Awesome piece from the New York Times on baseball’s so-called “unwritten rules”: http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=951403&f=119 . Executive summary: Cole Hamels is an illiterate thug.
IMO, you don’t get excited about a no-no till the 8th
Now we are in a quick pickle
DK,
Maybe on our Winnipeg trip. I’ll buy.
What’s Tabby doing out there?
Jose Tabata used to be fast and a pretty good outfielder. He’s neither of those things now.
Crap, good tidings am going to the bedroom with the pups to finish this off
Sign up, TRY
86 pitches for McDonald. Pay the man, Shirley.
Hard to believe how this game went for first five innings that Zimmerman actually outlasted J-Mac.
Jhay giving us some offensive production from the SS position…big leadoff double!
@Milo:
That’s a Norman Chad line is it not. Did he lift that from something in pop culture? I like it.
@Oshkosh
Or maybe one of his ex-wives was named Shirley.
Wow, did not see McDonald’s night falling apart like it did so quickly. Anyways, the UNDER wins. Thank you to everyone who played. See you again tomorrow night.
CURRENT PARTICIPANT TOTALS
Ryan (Nor-Cal Stlrfanrc) +140
RobertoForever +90
Nate83 +80
JaxBuc +70
Bizrow +40
Steve J Smith +30
Milo Hamilton +25
Officer Mancuso +20
jeffsbar +20
cosmo +20
pattonbb -20
JRay3 -20
JohninOshkosh -20
See post #80.
Teams cannot win on a consistent basis when your outfielders are dropping balls, misplaying balls off the wall or missing the cutoff man.
Indy shut out again on 5 hits. Clement had a double, but all the rest singles. Not much better at Altoona, but they did score 3 runs so far in 8 innings.
Did the Nats just double-switch out their best hitter and a ‘very-good’ defensive first baseman?
As I said before –
Barajas is the Pirates hottest hitter.
LaRoche left a man on base last inning. Now that is the LaRoche I remember. The Nats better get used to that LaRoche the rest of the summer.
And the Killer B’s starting some more in the 9th inning.
Wow, I couldn’t see or hear that Tabata GIDP. But I can’t imagine he was hustling much if he got thrown out 3rd to 1st on the back end of the double play.
first it was #freematthague
now it should be #freegreggritchiefromhiscontract
Let’s Go Hammer!
Not hustling at all, Roberto.
And the Buccos knock down the Nats 5-3 to earn the series split and take the season series over Washington and there was noooooooo doubt about it. 2-2 through the first four of the roadie on to Detroit…Let’s go bucs!
We had ‘em all the way.
ANZE KOPITAR !!
DK: Just had an automatic feel about it, didn’t it?
I got back in time to the Tabata play–just unlucky–swung and topped the ball, went straight down and stayed about an inch in front of the plate. Ball goes foul 99% of the time/ Catcher just picked it up and started the DP. Anyone would have been doubled up on that one.
Barajas has his BA over .200
Raise It!
Oh, and for those negative nellies out there, THIS Bucco lineup DID outscore last nights and collected 10 hits off the Cy Young candidate tonight.
Including 4 hits from the Killer B’s. Oh and 2 HR’s from the 2nd hottest hitter on the Pirates as well.
I guess that means that there will be no Pirates-Nats highlights on the mothership in the morning, since the Buccos beat the new fair-haired boys of the Bristol Set.
@JAL
Thanks for the description. I always appreciate some context.
24/7 tweeted a few minutes after the play that he thinks Tabata will be benched tomorrow.
Nice win. Thank the good lord there is no more Nationals for this year. No more LaRoche, and no more insufferable Nationals broadcasters. Raise it!!
@JAL
You may be right that anyone would have been doubled up on that Tabata play. But that’s no excuse for the lack of hustle down the line. I don’t know where his head was tonight, but it clearly wasn’t in DC. The George Hendrick impression is not appreciated here. With McLouth already in the game, he should have been pulled from the game.
I tried to tell everybody that Neal Huntington was a genius.
The combined winning percentage of the teams the Pirates have played this year is .534, and they have managed to stay close to .500 at 18-20. Unfortunately the schedule through June isn’t that much easier. As it stands currently July looks to have an extremely easy schedule.
I don’t think this team will ever bat .260 or .270 as a ball club but I have to imagine it will come up to something around .250 just based on the careers of the players they have on the team currently. There are just too many guys batting 40-80 points below their career average for it not to level off to a certain degree. If the pitching holds up maybe .250 and 3.5 runs a game would be enough.
FYI I’m attending Friday night game in Det. Im wearing a 1960 Pirates Jersey. Hope I make it out alive. LOL.