Month: June 2022

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 4 GIANTS 3

WHY THE PIRATES WON: TWO WORDS, JACK SUWINSKI. A 3 HOME RUN GAME WITH THE LAST ONE BEING THE GAME WINNER IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 9TH. THERE WERE OTHER KEY CONTRIBUTORS AND MIRACULOUS HAPPENINGS. MICHAEL PEREZ GOT A HIT. HOY PARK HIT THE OTHER HOME RUN THAT ACCOUNTED FOR THE 1ST PIRATE RUN. I MAY AGAIN TRY TO TURN WATER INTO WINE. MITCH KELLER PITCHED ANOTHER GOOD GAME. I THINK THAT THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL FOR THAT YOUNG MAN. IF HE CAN FIND HIMSELF IT WILL BE A TREMENDOUS LIFT FOR THIS PITCHING STAFF. THE PIRATES HAVEN’T WON MANY GAMES LATELY BUT WHEN THEY HAVE IT’S BEEN QUITE THRILLING.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: INTHE FIRST INNING, THE FIRST 4 BATTERS FOR THE GIANTS GOT ON BASE AND THE SCORE WAS 2-0. KELLER GOT OUT OF THE INNING WITH NO FURTHER DAMAGE. FROM THAT POINT ON THE GIANTS NEVER SNIFFED THE PLATE. THE GIANTS WILL NEVER BE ACCUSED OF AGGRESSIVE BASE RUNNING AND IN THIS GAME, IT FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH THEM. A NICE FATHER’S DAY WIN FOR THE PIRATES.

NEXT GAME: TONIGHT, CUBS IN PITTSBURGH. IT LOOKS LIKE ONEIL CRUZ IS GOING TO BE CALLED UP BUT REMEMBER THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY WILL PLAY HIM MUCH. UNDER THE NEW AGREEMENT IF A ROOKIE IS CONSIDERED TOP 3 THEN HE GETS CREDIT FOR THE YEAR SERVED. IF THAT HAPPENS WITH CRUZ THEN THE PIRATES WOULD HAVE KEPT HIM DOWN THERE FOR NOTHING. I AM SURE HE WILL GET PLENTY OF REST AS ONE OF THE KEYS TO HIS “DEVELOPMENT”. WHAT A BUNCH OF PIRATE B.S. OH WELL, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER. I WONDER IF THEY WILL BAT HIM 9TH. I DON’T CARE I’M STILL EXCITED. COULD THIS BE THE END OF THE YU CHANG ERA IN PITTSBURGH. IF IT IS, I WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE VIDEO TRIBUTE.

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Pirates Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 5 GIANTS 7

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS WE HAVE SEEN WHAT GOOD TEAMS DO AND WHAT BAD TEAMS DO. IT IS A SIMPLE FORMULA FOR THE BAD TEAM PIRATES. WHEN THEY PITCH, THEY DON’T HIT AND WHEN THEY HIT, THEY DON’T PITCH. TODAY THE PITCHING WAS NOT VERY GOOD. THE PITCHING COMBINATION OF JOSE QUINTANA, WILL CROWE, CHRIS STRATTON, ANTHONY BANDA, AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY LEAST, HEATH HEMBREE GOT TOUCHED UP FOR 7 RUNS ON 10 HITS AND 9 WALKS. SURPISINGLY, THE ONLY ONE TO HAVE A GOOD OUTING WAS BANDA. WITH THE SCORE 6-5, THE SHADOW BROUGHT IN HEMBREE TO PITCH THE NINTH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE GIANTS WOULD GET THAT MUCH NEEDED INSURANCE RUN. IT WAS NICE TO SEE DIEGO CASTILLO HAVE A BIG DAY WITH A 3 RUN HOME RUN AND 4 RBI’S. HE IS IN A HORRIBLE SLUMP. THE KIND OF SLUMP THAT GETS YOU SENT DOWN TO AAA TO SEE IF YOU CAN GET YOUR STROKE BACK. THIS MIGHT GET HIM BACK ON TRACK.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: AFTER THE TURTLE’S HOME RUN TO MAKE THE SCORE GIANTS 6 PIRATES 5, THE PIRATES PUT RUNNERS ON 1ST AND 2ND WITH ONE OUT. CAL MITCHELL THEN LACED A BALL TO DEEP CENTER AND MIKE YASTRZEMSKI RAN IT DOWN FOR THE SECOND OUT. IF HE COULD HAVE PULLED THAT JUST A TOUCH, IT WOULD HAVE SCORED 2 RUNS. THE PIRATES LOADED THE BASES BUT COULD NOT SCORE. THEN SHELTON BROUGHT IN HEMBREE TO ENSURE THE LOSS.

NEXT GAME: THIS AFTERNOON, GIANTS, AT PITTSBUGH. YU CHANG HIT 2 FLY BALL OUTS, SO IT IS PRETTY MUCH A GIVEN HE WILL START AGAIN. I AM SURE IT WILL BE CRAZY LINE UP TIME, AS THE SHADOW WILL GIVE THE GIANTS EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE SWEEP.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 0 GIANTS 2

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THE PIRATE OFFENSE CONTINUES TO BE OFFENSIVE TO WATCH. THEY ONLY GOT 2 HITS AND MOST OF THE NIGHT SWUNG AT THE BALL WHEN IT WAS NOT IN THE STRIKE ZONE. THE HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE OF THE LAST 6 BATTERS IN THE PIRATE LINE UP WAS .212 WITH THREE OF THEM BELOW .200, WHEN THE GAME WAS OVER. THE PITCHING WAS GOOD BUT IT DID NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE WITH THE INCOMPETENT BATS OF THE PIRATES.

THE KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: WHEN DEREK SHELTON HANDED THE UMPIRE THE LINE UP CARD, THE GAME WAS OVER. THE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS WERE NO MATCH FOR THE GIANTS.

NEXT GAME: LATE THE THIS AFTERNOON, GIANTS IN PITTSBURGH. IF THE PIRATES CONTINUE TO PLAY THE SAME PLAYERS IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THE PIRATES MAY NOT SCORE A RUN FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES. YU CHANG, THE TURTLE, AND WHOEVER CATCHES ARE VERY UNLIKELY TO GET A HIT FOR NEXT 2 DAYS. MAYBE IF THEY CAN TAKE 0-0 INTO EXTRA INNINGS, THEY CAN GET A RUN WITH A GUY ON 2B WITH NO ONE OUT.

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Pirates 62 Game Report

When I last analyzed the Pirates 32 games ago their record was 13-17. The next 32 games the Pirates struggled to 12-20, to go 25-37. Most of the downward trend can be attributed to the offense or lack thereof. The pitching and fielding did improve somewhat but not enough to counteract the putrid bats. The Pirate management team continued to sabotage the season with some of their dim-witted moves, that contributed mightily to the June swoon. Let’s take a look at each segment of this downtrodden Pirate team

Hitting: This is where the Pirates team really suffered. Their OBP was 17th in baseball at the 30-game mark and plunged all the way to 28th. A similar situation existed for their OPS+ and their average runs per game, which both fell to 28th in MLB. They were 19th and 23rd. Thank God, the Oakland A’s and Detroit Tigers exist. Just about everyone contributed to this lack of offense. Bryan Reynolds has been hot lately, but for most of this period, he looked very bad at the plate. They have 5 players that could be considered above average hitters and one of them Ben Gamel is on the IL. A lot of these players are not Major League quality hitters and never will be. The Pirates inability to create any offense and score runs is the biggest reason this team is 12 games below .500 and looking like the downward spiral will continue for the rest of the season. There does not seem to be much hope, for these bats to improve given the current roster.

Pitching: The pitching showed some improvement, but again had one bad game where they gave up 18 runs, which does skew the stats somewhat. They did improve during this stretch of games. In runs allowed per game, they went from 29th to 25th. Their ERA+ went from 27th to 24th. FIP rounded out the overall improvement of the pitching, going from being 25th in the league to 23rd. Not great improvement, but improvement none the less. The bull pen has done a nice job, which is why the Pirates are 8-6 in one run games. They have 8 pitchers that have an ERA+ over 100. Overall, the pitching is shaping up ok for Pirates. The starting pitching has been particularly good for the most part. Hopefully, the pitching will continue to hold its own for the rest of the season. They better.

Fielding: Their defensive efficiency rating went up 2 places to 24th from 26th. Some of this was due to the fact that they played outfielders in the outfield. Most of the Pirates defensive issues are caused by players playing at positions they have not had a lot of experience. A great example is Rudolfo Castro. In 22 games he played shortstop in all or part of 19 games. In his minor league career, he played the vast majority of his games at second base. They don’t have as many defensive metrics in the minor leagues but let’s just use good old fielding %. In the minors at second base his fielding % was 961 and at shortstop 912. The Pirates played him at short for all those games when it was unnecessary. They played a lot of infielders out in the outfield for no apparent reason other than to lose games. The Pirates have done nothing to find a first baseman.

Management: I am not even going to get into all the mistakes they have made in player development, that would take an entire blog. The current team is enough to show that this regime has no interest in winning or even being competitive this year. Here is list of the current Pirate players who should not be in the Major Leagues. This list includes many players on the IL. The Pirates are one of the few teams in baseball that when one of their players get hurt, it improves the team. In no particular order they are Michael Perez, Daniel Vogelbach, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Yu Chang, Tyler Heineman, Jake Marisnick, Heath Hembree and Anthony Banda. That is a lot of DFAing the Pirates would have to do if they are really going field a major league team. The sad part is, when these are players are available, they play them all the time. This keeps any young player off the field and can only hinder his development. The perfect example is when they brought up Travis Swaggerty. Why? He only had 9 plate appearances and 6 of those were against left-handed pitchers. They had 4 outfielders for the 3 positions but why couldn’t they have rotated them as the DH. Play 3 of them in the outfield and DH the other one. How did anything that happened to Travis Swaggerty help his development. The answer is nothing. It is the perfect time to find out if Swaggerty can cut it in the majors. There is plenty of room for him on this team. As I wrote before, you could write a book on this regime’s pathetic thinking. Hopefully they can judge talent better than they can handle it. Will the next 30 games be just as bad. I guess you should ask Yu Chang, the key to next 30 games. Or maybe Vogelbach, the Turtle would know. Certainly, any of the eight minor league level players, the Pirates have, will help keep this team heading toward the basement of the National League.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 6 CARDINALS 4

WHY THE PIRATES WON: IT WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPEN IF NOT FOR A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS, THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS. THEY BOTCHED 2 BUNT PLAYS IN A ROW WITH THROWING ERRORS, WHICH ALLOWED THE PIRATES TO SCORE 2 RUNS IN THE TOP OF THE 2ND. ROANSY CONTRERAS DID NOT HAVE HIS USUAL PINPOINT CONTROL AND GOT TOUCHED UP FOR 3 RUNS IN 4.1 INNINGS. A FLY BALL IN THE TOP OF THE 5TH THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT SEEMED TO OPEN THE GATES FOR THE CARDINALS, AS THEY SCORED 3 RUNS TO TIE THE GAME 4-4. DAVID BEDNAR’S SHUT DOWN 8 OUT SAVE PRESERVED THE WIN, ENDING THE PIRATES 9 GAME LOSING STREAK.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: WITH 2 OUT AND NOBODY ON IN THE TOP OF THE 7TH, WITH THE PIRATES LOOKING LIKE THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY TO NUMBER 10 LOSS IN A ROW, TUCUPITA MARCANO SINGLED TO LEFT FIELD. BRYAN REYNOLDS THEN HIT THE GO-AHEAD HOME RUN TO GIVE THE PIRATES A 6-4 LEAD, THAT THEY NEVER RELINQUISHED. IN A GREAT PITCHER-BATTER BATTLE, CARDINAL PITCHER, ANDRE PALLANTE, THREW JUST ONE TOO MANY CURVE BALLS AND REYNOLDS BLASTED THE LAST ONE IN THE RIGHT FIELD STANDS.

NEXT GAME: FRIDAY NIGHT, GIANTS IN PITTSBURGH. THE PIRATES STAND AT 25-37, SO IT WILL BE TIME FOR THE 62 GAME REPORT LOOKING AT ALL ASPECTS OF THIS PIRATE TEAM. THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT WITH CHANG, VOGELBACH, PEREZ, AND HEMBRE LEADING THE WAY.

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Pirates Morning Report:

THE FINAL SCORES: 1ST GAME: PIRATES 1 CARDINALS 3

2ND GAME: PIRATES 1 CARDINALS 9

WHY THE PIRATES LOST BOTH GAMES: I THINK THIS SUMS IT UP BEST. ON THE DAY THE PIRATES HAD 60 AT BATS, SCORED 2 RUNS, ON 8 HITS AND HAD 13 TOTAL BASES. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT OF THE CARDINALS HAD 8 AT BATS, SCORED 4 RUNS, ON 6 HITS, AND HAD 15 TOTAL BASES. THE PIRATES HAD 4 ERRORS IN THE FIRST GAME, INCLUDING 3 THROWING ERRORS BY DIEGO CASTILLO. WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO SEE HIM AND YU CHANG PLAY CATCH? SPEAKING OF YU CHANG, HE HIT A HOME RUN IN THE FIRST GAME FOR THE ONLY PIRATE RUN. IT WAS THE JAW DROPPING MOMENT OF THE GAME, POSSIBLY THE SEASON. IN THE 2ND GAME BRYCE WILSON SHOWED WHY HE IS THE LEADING CONTENDER FOR AAA PITCHER OF THE YEAR. HE SURE AS HELL CAN’T PITCH IN THE MAJORS.

THE KEY MOMENT OF THE GAMES: IN GAME 1, THE BIZARRE BALK CALL THAT EVENTUALLY ALLOWED THE CARDINALS TO SCORE A RUN, AND A 3-0 LEAD. IT DID GIVE THE CARDINALS A NICE CUSHION, THAT THEY DID NOT REALLY NEED. KEY MOMENT IN GAME 2, BRYCE WILSON TOOK THE MOUND.

NEXT GAME: TONIGHT, CARDINALS IN ST. LOUIS. CONTRERAS IS SCHEDULED TO PITCH, SO THE SHADOW WILL HAVE TO WORK EXTRA HARD TO COME UP WITH A LINE UP THAT IS BAD ENOUGH TO ENSURE THE 10TH LOSS IN A ROW. AFTER WATCHING HIM FOR ONE INNING, I AM SURE THE LINE UP WILL INCLUDE THE TURTLE PLAYING 1ST BASE TO START A GAME. YU CHANG WILL BE THERE TOO, TO MAKE SURE THE STREAK CONTINUES. THE PIRATES ARE BACK IN CONTENTION FOR ONE OF THE TOP 3 DRAFT PICKS FOR NEXT YEAR, ALTHOUGH THE CUBS ARE GOING DOWN WITHOUT TRYING ALSO. THE PIRATES ARE STILL IN 3RD PLACE IN THE DIVISION. COULD SHELTON GET MANAGER OF THE YEAR, ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 5 CARDINALS 7

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THE PIRATES BLEW A 5 RUN LEAD THANKS TO A BAD BULLPEN PERFORMANCE, AND ANOTHER QUESTIONABLE DECISION BY THE SHADOW. MITCH KELLER HAD PITCHED A GRITTY 5 INNINGS ON A HOT A HUMID NIGHT IN ST. LOUIS. HE GAVE UP 7 HITS AND WALK, BUT WAS ABLE TO WIGGLE OFF THE HOOK AND ALLOWED NO RUNS. HE HAD THROWN 91 PITCHES, AND SHOULD NOT HAVE COME OUT FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE 6TH INNING, BUT THE SHADOW KNOWS, IT WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT ST. LOUIS COULD GET BACK IN THE BALL GAME. IN JUST 6 MORE PITCHES THE CARDINALS GOT A DOUBLE, A LINE OUT AND ANOTHER SINGLE TO PUT RUNNERS ON 1ST AND THIRD WITH ONE OUT. HE THEN BRINGS IN ANTHONY ( I’M NOT A HIGH LEVERAGE GUY) BANDA TO TRY AND GET OUT OF THE JAM. THE PIRATES AGAIN WENT QUIETLY NOT GETTING A HIT AFTER THE 5TH INNING. YU CHANG IN A STATE OF SHOCK BECAUSE HE DID NOT STRIKE OUT AND GOT A HIT, LET A BALL THROWN RIGHT TO HIM GET PAST, WHICH ALLOWED THE 7TH RUN TO SCORE.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: BACK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE 6TH, AND BANDA ENTERS THE GAME TO TRY AND STOP THE CARDINALS. WHEN HE CAME IN THE SCORE WAS 5-0 AND WHEN HE LEFT WITH HIS NEW SPARKLING ERA OF 6.59, THE SCORE WAS TIED 5-5. HE GOT ONE OUT. HE GAVE UP 4 HITS, AND YES, ONE OF THEM WAS A LITTLE BLOOP DUNKER OVER FIRST, BUT THE OTHER THREE WERE 2 DOUBLES AND THE BIG 3 RUN HOMER BY DYLAN CARLSON TO KNOT IT ALL UP AT 5. CHALK UP 7 LOSSES IN A ROW.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 3 BRAVES 5

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THE PIRATE PITCHERS COULD NOT KEEP THE BALL IN THE PARK GIVING UP 4 HOME RUNS ACCOUNTING FOR ALL 5 BRAVES RUNS. THE PIRATES IN THIS GAME MANAGED TO STIKE OUT ONLY 10 TIMES THEIR BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE SERIES. IN THE 4 GAMES THE PIRATES STRUCK OUT 51 TIMES. THIS WAS THE SECOND GAME OF THE SERIES WHERE IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE GAMES. THE TEAM ON FIRE STAYS HOT AND THE TEAM THAT IS STRUGGLING CONTINUES TO DO SO. THE PIRATES DID NOT PLAY A BAD GAME, IT WAS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH. IN THE LAST 4 INNINGS THE PIRATES COULD ONLY GET 2 HITS AND ONE OF THOSE WAS PICKED OFF FIRST IN THE 8TH INNING.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: THE 2 RUN HOMER BY ADAM DUVAL IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 4TH TO GIVE THE BRAVES A 4-1 LEAD, REALLY SEEMED TO SEAL THE DEAL. IN THE LAST 8 GAMES THE PIRATES HAVE SCORED 15 RUNS, SO ANY TIME A TEAM SCORES 4 RUNS IT SEEMS LIKE AN INSURMOUNTABLE LEAD AND YESTEDAY IT WAS.

NEXT GAME: TONIGHT, CARDINALS IN ST. LOUIS. UNLIKE THE RED HOT BRAVES THE CARDINALS ARE TREADING WATER A LITTLE BIT, GOING 5-5 IN THEIR LAST 10 GAMES. THE PIRATE BATS LOOK PRETTY PATHETIC AND THEY HAVE A DOUBLE HEADER COMING UP, WHICH MEANS THE SHADOW WILL BE IN HIGH REST MODE FOR HIS AGING TEAM. TWO GAMES IN A ROW WE HAVE NOT SEEN YU CHANG START. COULD IT BE THREE. THAT SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY EXCITEMENT LEFT TO BEGIN THIS WEEK.

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Pirates Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 4 BRAVES 10

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: WHAT LOOKS LIKE A LOPSIDED SCORE COULD HAVE BEEN A WIN, BUT THIS WAS THE MOST MISMANAGED GAME OF THE SEASON, AND THERE HAVE BEEN SOME BAD ONES. ZACK THOMPSON AFTER GIVING UP 2 FIRST INNING HOME RUNS, ONLY GAVE UP ONE MORE HIT IN 5 INNINGS, HAD TO GET 4 OUTS IN BOTH THE 4TH AND 5TH, AND HAD THROWN ONLY 67 PITCHES. HE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO COME OUT FOR THE 6TH INNING. WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY. I CAN TELL YOU WHY. THERE IS ONLY ONE EXPLANATION, THIS MANAGEMENT TEAM LOSES GAMES ON PURPOSE. THERE SHOULD BE AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PIRATES BY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FOR THROWING GAMES. THOMPSON WAS DOMINATING THE BRAVES AND WAS TAKEN OUT FOR NO GOOD REASON. HE WAS REPLACED BY ONE OF THE MORE MEDIOCRE RELIEVERS THE PIRATES HAVE, WITH THE PIRATES LEADING 4-2. HE GOT OUT OF ONE INNING BUT THEN THEY MADE HIM PITCH ANOTHER INNING AND ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE, AS THE BRAVES SCORED 8 RUNS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 7TH. THERE WERE MUCH BETTER OPTIONS IN THE BULLPEN, BUT THE PIRATES CHOSE NOT TO USE. THIS WAS THE KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME, NOT ALLOWING THOMPSON TO CONTINUE TO PITCH. THIS WAS NOT NEW TERRITORY FOR HIM. TWO STARTS AGO HE THREW 96 PITCHES AND HIS LAST START HE THREW 84. THIS IS JUNE FOR GOD’S SAKE, PITCHERS SHOULD BE THROWING A 100 PITCHES WITH NO PROBLEM. THE FANS DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS FROM DERICK SHELTON.

NEXT GAME: THIS AFTERNOON, BRAVES IN ATLANTA. I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO WRITE, EXCEPT, SHELTON WILL MAKE SURE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, THAT THIS WILL BE THE 6TH LOSS IN A ROW. IT WILL PROBABLY START WITH YU CHANG BATTING CLEAN UP.

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Pirates Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 2 BRAVES 4

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THIS IS THE KIND OF GAME YOU SEE WHEN ONE TEAM THAT IS VERY HOT IS PLAYING A TEAM THAT IS VERY COLD. THE BRAVES MADE THE PLAYS, THE PIRATES DID NOT. ROANSY CONTRERAS PITCHED OK BUT GAVE UP A HOME RUN AND GOT NICKED UP FOR RUNS IN THE 4TH AND 5TH. THE PIRATES TRIED TO MAKE A GAME OF IT BY GETTING 2 RUNS IN THE TOP OF THE 8TH, BUT ALL IN ALL, ANOTHER BAD DAY FOR THE OFFENSE. SECOND STRAIGHT GAME WHERE THEY STRUCK OUT 13 TIMES. TRAVIS SWAGGERTY’S CAREER MAY HAVE BEEN RUIN BECAUSE HE WAS PINCH HIT FOR BY YU CHANG. NATURALLY HE STRUCK OUT, BUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE TO SWAGGERTY COULD BE CAREER ENDING. YOU ARE PINCH HIT FOR BY A MAN BATTING .071. I HAVE TO WONDER IF THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL AFTER JUNE 1. IT WAS THE PIRATES 4TH LOSS IN A ROW WITH MORE TO COME.

THE KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: KE’BRYAN HAYES LED OFF THE TOP OF THE 8TH AND WAS AHEAD IN THE COUNT 3 BALLS AND 0 STRIKES. HE TOOK THE NEXT PITCH FOR A STRIKE BUT SWUNG AT THE NEXT TWO PITCHES THAT WERE BOTH INSIDE TO STRIKE OUT. THIS WAS FOLLOWED UP BY TWO SINGLES AND A DOUBLE WHICH MADE THE SCORE 4-1 AND THE PIRATES HAD 2ND AND 3RD WITH ONE OUT. IF HAYES WOULD HAVE WALKED LIKE HE SHOULD HAVE, THE SCORE WOULD HAVE BEEN 4-2 AND THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN 2ND AND 3RD WITH NO ONE OUT. THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IN THAT SENARIO.

NEXT GAME: LATE AFTERNOON, BRAVES IN ATLANTA. THE PIRATE MANAGEMENT TEAM CONTINUES TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT CONTRIBUTE GREATLY TO PIRATE LOSSES. I AM SURE THAT WE WILL SEE YU CHANG BACK IN THE STARING LINE UP. THE 5TH STRAIGHT LOSS IS A FORE GONE CONCLUSION. HOWEVER, WE WILL STILL WATCH, JUST TO GET A GOOD LAUGH.