Month: August 2024

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Pirates Morning Report: Take Falter Out, Leave German In Why?

Final Score: Pirates 8 Guardians 10

Why The Pirates Lost: After just 59 pitches and 4 innings Barry (I Don’t Understand It Either) Falter was removed from the game. Granted he had given up 4 runs on 7 hits, walking 1 and striking out 2. The walk was in the first inning. He had had only 4 balls hit over 100 MPH. The way the bullpen has performed I would have at least thought the Pirates would see if he could get through the 5th and the 6th. Wrong, bullpen mismanagement breath. Right on cue the bullpen arrived in the name of Carmen Mlodzinski, and he promptly game up 4 runs which included 2 home runs. The Pirates had just taken the lead in the top of the inning 6-4 and this put them behind 8-6. The Pirates were able to score to make it 8-7. Domingo German was able to hold the Guardians at bay for 2 innings, so the score remained 8-7 going into the bottom of the 8th. We will get to that pathetic inning in a moment. All of this pitching debacle nullified another good offensive performance by the Pirates. Oneil (What Does Greg Brown Have Against Me) Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Rowdy (Rawhide) Tellez, and Andrew McCutchen all had big games. They had 2 hits each and drove in all the runs for the Pirates.

The Key Moment Of The Game: As mentioned previously the score was Guardians 8 and the Pirates 7 going into the bottom of the 8th. With their leader thrown out of the game did anybody on the Pirate bench know what the score was? German was starting his third inning of relief. He got the first batter to fly out to Cruz. He gave up singles to the next two batters putting runners on 1st and 3rd. This was time to remove him from the game. Ok, bench coach Don Kelly come take out German. Kelly are you awake. It is a one run game. GET OFF YOUR ASS AND TAKE HIM OUT OF THE DAMN GAME. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU. Don’t answer that, we already know, you are a Pirate coach. You could argue that he should have been taken out after the first hit. They did not take him out of the game, and bim boom bam, 6 pitches later, it was single, single and before you could say fire all the coaching staff, it was 10-7 Guardians. It was 2 runs that they needed as McCutchen hit a home run in the 9th to make the final 10-8. Three out of the last 4 games the Pirates have given up double digit runs and that game they gave up 9. What a great idea to bring the bullpen in at the 5th inning. Could the Pirates just not play anymore.

Next Game: Apparently, they are tonight, Guardians in Cleveland. Luis Ortiz will start tonight but who really cares. This team has completely fallen apart, and the coaching staff is to blame. Nobody should be back next year, but we will see. What a mess.

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Pirate Morning Report: Mercifully Just 29 Games Left

The Pirates have just about a month of the season to go. Their playoffs hopes have been dashed by going 7-18 in the month of August. This will be their worse month of the season, no matter what they do in Cleveland the next two days. Even after scoring 23 runs in three games, the Pirate offense remains one of the worse in baseball. They are 21st in runs scored, 25th in on base percentage, and 27th in OPS+. This defines putrid. The pitching despite those horrific last 3 games, fares a little better. In fielding independent pitching, they are 12th in baseball. They are 21st in runs allowed and 18th in ERA+. Still in the bottom half of most things, but part of their problem is the Pirates bad defense. In Defensive Efficiency they are 24th in baseball. There was a lot of hype going into the season with talk of the Pirates contending for the division. The young Bucs were ready to play. What went wrong?

I will go into much more detail at the end of the season but here is a list in a nutshell with no expansion of details. I will take them in chronological order. A horrible offseason that included awful free agent signings, no significant trades. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jared Triolo did not come close to the kind of production at the plate that they had during the last 2.5 months of 2023. With the exception of about 3 players the entire offense was way below league average. What looked like a good defensive team on paper, turned out to be one of the worst in baseball. An inconsistent and underperforming bullpen that plagued the Pirates all year. The bullpen was totally mismanaged, and many times players were put in positions where they would most likely fail. The Pirates did nothing to bolster this bullpen at the trade deadline despite their apparent deficiencies. In general, the Pirates do not make basebally plays. They throw to wrong bases, they do not run the bases well, and I believe have no idea what situational hitting means.

Now that the pressure is off, the Pirates may rally and finish close to .500. The other possibility is they may be tired of playing for a manager that is constantly throwing them under the bus to cover up his in game blunders. They may be tired of getting no help from a coaching staff that does not seem to know what they are doing. The latest example is Martin Perez. He has started 5 games for the Padres, and his ERA+ is 153 compared to 81 with the Pirates. The Padres have won all 5 games he has started. They noticed his best pitch is his curve ball and told him to throw it more. I guess the Pirates consider that rocket science. Better luck next year, maybe.

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Pirates Morning Report: How To Blow A 7 Run Lead By Derek Shelton

Final Score: Pirates 10 Cubs 14

Why The Pirates Lost: In one of the strangest 3 game series in Pirate history, the Cubs came back from a 7 run deficit to score 11 runs in the last 3 innings to sweep the series. My words were rather prophetic a couple of blogs ago when I wrote that this bullpen is so well rested, they will forget how to pitch. The bullpen in the last 4 innings gave up 11 runs, 11 hits, and 6 walks. One walk was in the 6th inning, so everything else happened in the last 3 innings. The Pirates scored 23 runs in the series and lost all 3 games. That is because the Cubs scored an unbelievable 41 runs. That is just 1 run short of 14 runs per game. Derek Shelton stated after the game we need to finish games. Here is a tip. Stop putting in David Bednar in the 9th. The problem with Bednar is easy to see but does not seem to be fixable, at least by this coaching staff. Last year before the All Star break Bednar had walked only one batter excluding intentional walks. Ever since then he almost walks a batter every time he comes in. Is there a mechanical issue or is it mental? Who knows, but this lack of command has been why he is getting hit. Yesterday he threw 9 non fast balls out of 28 pitches and only two of those were in the strike zone. Only one time was the pitch swung on. Talk about sitting on the fastball. It is ridiculous that he is still the closer. In a nutshell this bullpen has been shaky all year. The Pirates did nothing at the trade deadline to improve it. Padres added to their bullpen at the deadline. You can see what they are doing now.

Key Moment Of The Game: I felt it was when they did not let Dennis Santana come out for the 9th inning. He had thrown 2 pitches to get out of the 8th inning. This was the perfect time to see what he could do and have Bednar warming up in the bullpen if needed. That is how you finish a game, Shelton.

Next Game: Tomorrow night, the Guardians in Cleveland. Barry (Yesterday Was Not My) Falter will start. The Pirates are now 9 games under .500 and will be hard pressed to win as many games as they did last year. This was a team that expected to contend.

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Pirates Morning Report: Loo-Loo-Loo-Losers

Final Score: Pirates 5 Cubs 9

Why The Pirates Lost: They are a bunch of losers. They do what losers do. Since the Pirates lost 10 games in a row, they have been 8-8. During this stretch of games, they gave up 1 run in 27 innings and yet they only won one of those games. In the last 2 games they have scored 13 runs, and not only have they lost both games, but lost them by a total of 14 runs. Last night they threw in the towel early for the second straight game. Jared Jones was plagued with a lack of command and the home run ball, giving up 5 runs in 4 innings. The score was 5-2, still a ball game. Who does clueless Shelton bring in to pitch the 5th, Jalen Beeks and Ben Heller. They promptly gave up 4 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks and a hit by pitch. Nick Gonzales made an error to help things along. With the game out of reach Shelton then uses Carmen Molodzinski, Dennis Santana and David Bednar. Molodzinski even pitched 2 innings. Why couldn’t he have pitched the 5th. As Ace Ventura pet detective said, “They are loo-loo-loo-losers.

Key Moment Of The Game: It was the top of the 5th when the Pirates decided the game was over even though the score was 5-2. Jalen Beeks gets one out but a single and an error puts runners on 1st and 2nd. Shelton then decides to put Ben From Heller into the game. He strikes out the first batter he faces. In the next 21 pitches he throws 7 strikes which result in a hit batter, 2 walks, a single, and before you could say Derek Shelton is clueless the score is 9-2. After the game is out of reach, he brings in the A squad bullpen and they shut them out the rest of the way without giving up a hit. Great managerial moves.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes goes for the Pirates today. I hear they are going to only let him go 3 innings to improve their position in the draft lottery. A season that was full of hope is spiraling into a mess. To show you how bad this team is, Michael Taylor, who was put on waivers, but nobody wanted him, is 5th in WAR among all the position players on the Pirates. This includes the players they acquired at the deadline and what they did for their previous teams. Let that one sink in for a while.

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Pirates Morning Report: What A Debacle

Final Score: Pirates 8 Cubs 18

Why The Pirates Lost + Key Moment Of The Game: I am combining these two because there is too much of a tie in. What is hard to believe is that after 5 innings the score was 3-2 Cubs. That is when the Pirates decided to throw in the towel. That is the only reason I can think of for leaving Domingo German in the game to take that beating. There were plenty of arms in the bullpen. I wonder when they decided to just give up. They put what’s his name in finally and he took another beating. The Pirates are more interested in creating feel good stories than they are in winning games. Just think in the last 3 games Rowdy (Call Me Shohei) Tellez has made more pitching appearances in the last 3 games than Bednar. Maybe they are considering making him the closer. Speaking of moves the Pirates announced they are moving Oneil Cruz to centerfield. All I can say it is about time, although I would have preferred him in right, but none the less putting him in the outfield should keep down the wear and tear on his body. He DH last night and already Greg Brown was questioning what his effort would be at the plate. This from a man that puts forth no effort in the booth. Henry Davis still looks lost at the plate. He will always be known as Mr. AAA.

Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. Jarred Jones will start tonight after almost a two month stint on the IL. He has been told that he won’t be removed from the game until he gives up 10 runs no matter what his pitch count is. The bullpen is so well rested that none of them remember how to pitch. Domingo German was told he may even pitch tonight if the game is close going into the 7th. David Bednar was told not to come to the park tonight because they are saving him for the Guardian series. In any other organization heads would roll but it is not happening here.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Bullpen Failure, Wait, What? Grandal Hit Walk Off Homer, No Way

Final Score: Pirates 4 Reds 3

Why The Pirates Won: Despite a bullpen disaster inning, the Pirates were able to pull out a victory, thanks to an unexpected walk off home run by none other than Yasmani Grandal. Luis Ortiz pitched a scoreless 6 innings, but he had traffic on the bases every inning except the fifth. He was able to wiggle off the hook every time. The Reds were 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base for the game. A side note, Edwin Diaz gave up a walk off homer later against the San Diego Padres. This may have been the first time in major league history that brothers gave up walk off homers on the same day.

Key Moment Of The Game: Obviously, Grandal’s homer won the game, but it was the top of the 7th where the Reds let the game slip away, negating the Pirates management team’s efforts to give the game away. It was 2-0 Pirates, when Kyle Nicolas came on in relief of Ortiz. After one out Nicolas gave up a single and a double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. This is where The Shadow’s brain spun out of control. There were all kinds of things to do here. What does The Shadow do in this key moment of the game. He brings in Jalen (What’s A High Leverage Situation) Beeks. Have you ever heard of Alroldis Chapman? Beeks takes total control of the game, but for the Reds. To be fair, Elly De La Cruz’s single to score the first run was just a little bloop and he was able to get to second because Rowdy Tellez made a half hearted effort to cut the throw off. However, after that Beeks took over. Intentional walk, booted bunt and walking in the go ahead run is about as bad as it gets. Even The Shadow had seen enough. He brought in Dennis (I Will Never Say Another Bad Word About You) Santana). In what I consider the key at bat of the game, Santana got Santiago Espinal to hit a shallow weak liner to right field that failed to score a run. It was a 7 pitch at bat where only 2 balls were in the strike zone. He could have easily walked. Santana was able to get Dominic Smith to fly out to center field on a 2-0 count to end the inning. The Reds failed to break open the game, which set up the dramatic walk off win for the Pirates. By the way, The Shadow knows that Chapman is on the team. He pitched the 9th.

Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. According to Greg Brown, the Cubs will be facing Mitch Keller, Jarred Jones, and Paul Skenes in the series. I would put my faith in that because he does know we are playing the Cubs and not the White Sox. If this is true, a sweep is a must.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Woodford Curse Continues

Final Score: Pirates 2. Reds 10

Why The Pirates Lost: The Jake (From State Farms) Woodford curse continued and now it seems to have affected every phase of the Pirates game. The Pirates could not hit, field, run the bases, or throw to the right bases, all day. They only had 3 hits. On the pitching side they got hammered for 10 runs, 12 hits, and walked 3. The curse even ended Ben (Go To) Heller’s scoreless inning streak as he gave up 2 runs in 2 innings to keep his ERA at double digits. The Pirates decided to desecrate the game even more by having Rowdy Tellez pitch the 9th inning. This was one of the worst games of the year for this pathetic group of losers.

Key Moment Of The Game: The first inning Woodford was able to get the first out of the inning. Then 8 out of the next 10 pitches were called balls. On the Tyler Stephenson at bat the first two pitches could have been called strikes but the umpire fell under the curse of Woodford and could not raise his right arm. TJ Friedl singled to right to drive in the first run and the Pirates decided to forget about baseball fundamentals for the rest of the game, another result of the curse. A double, steal of third and a sacrifice fly gave the Reds a quick 4-0 lead. At that point you knew two things. The game was over and the Woodford curse had not been broken.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Reds in Pittsburgh. Luis Ortiz goes for the Pirates today and let’s hope there are no curse left overs. It would be nice to see the Pirates get a series win but I do not think this is likely. Neither one of these teams, that seem to have an abundance of talent, are fundamentally sound. Both teams are unlikely to make the playoffs. I wonder why? Do you think the Shelton knows? I doubt it. Talk about a couple of clueless managers.

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Pirates Morning Report: Big Comeback Win

Final Score: Pirates 6 Reds 5

Why The Pirates Won: After 4 innings, the Pirates trailed 5-0 and had not had a man on base. In the top of the 5th Oneil Cruz made a great defensive play on a sharply hit ground ball to end the inning. Things started going the Pirates way in the bottom of the 5th. They opened the inning with 3 hits, but 2 of the hits had exit velocities of under 70 MPH. Two ground outs, a single, and a throwing error by the Reds, you knew they were going to help some way, enabled the Pirates to score 4 runs and they were back in the game. They added 2 runs in the 6th to take the 6-5 lead they barely held onto. Why oh why are they continuing to use David Bednar in the 9th. After giving up an opening double he somehow escaped without giving up the tying or go ahead run, again. Elly De La Cruz hit an opposite field 95 MPH line drive that Billy (Not Just Bill) McKinney was able to make a sliding catch, to end the game. WOW!

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates scored 4 runs in the 5th and 2 runs in the 6th on several hits that were inches from being outs or foul balls. The doubles by the Cruz’s were nothing more than pop ups that were perfectly placed down the right and left field foul lines. Neither ball was hit over 80 MPH and they were just fair by inches. Joey Bart had two singles that were carbon copies of each other that were perfectly placed in center field, again not over 80 MPH. The Pirates scored 2 runs on ground balls because they were weakly hit. It was two innings where everything went right for the Pirates. Aroldis Chapman pitched the 8th and after getting the first 2 outs, gave up a walk and a single to put runners on 1st and 3rd. Thank God, Stuart Fairchild had just watched the Andy Haines hitting video and did not swing at a pitch to strike out on 6 pitches, to end the inning. Bednar got away with his shaky performance and the Pirates had an unexpected come from behind win.

Next Game: Tonight, Reds in Pittsburgh. Jake (Please Don’t Let Me See A Black Cat Today) Woodford will take the mound tonight. If the Pirates somehow win this game tonight, there could be hope for this season. Will the Woodford curse end tonight? Who knows, only the Shelton knows.

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Pirates Morning Report: Skenes + Big 2 Out Crooked Number=Win

Final Score: Pirates 7 Reds 0

Why The Pirates Won: Paul Skenes was his usual brilliant self going 6 innings giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, while striking out 9 batters. In the last 26 out of 27 innings the Pirate’s pitching staff has not been scored upon while allowing 11 hits, walking 4, and striking out 33 batters. Then there’s Bednar. The Pirates put up the big crooked number in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to control issues by Nick Lodolo, a botched run down play, and big hits by the Cruz not brothers, to score 6 runs. Ben (The Pitcher From) Heller watch continues, going another 2 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 10.61.

Key Moment Of The Game: In that 6 run bottom of the 5th, the Pirates had the bases loaded thanks to 2 walks and a hit by pitch. There were 2 outs, with Bryan Reynolds at the plate. He hit a ground ball up the middle that Elly De La Cruz made a nice stop on and flipped the ball to second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa made the unusual move of just running through the bag and not sliding. He was ruled safe and when the Reds botched up the rundown the Pirates still had the bases loaded and led 1-0. The Pirates would have led 1-0, but the inning should have been over. Joey Bart got hit by a pitch to make the score 2-0. The Pirates scored 2 runs up to that point with only 1 hit and it did not leave the infield. Bryan De La Cruz hit a big 2 out double to clear the bases and this game was over. Thank you, Cincinnati Reds.

Next Game: Tonight, Reds in Pittsburgh. Barry No Falter Insurance goes for the Pirates and despite the win last night I can’t really generate much enthusiasm for this team. The win was related more to the Red’s incompetence than the Pirates skill. The Pirates are to the point where they have to win all of these games against the Reds and Cubs before they can even remotely think about being in the playoff hunt again.

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Pirates Morning Report: After Several Missed Opportunities, Bednar Made Them Pay

Final Score: Pirates 0 Rangers 1

Why The Pirates Lost: Despite getting 8 hits, 2 walks, one hit by pitch, and one Ranger error, the Pirates could not push a run across the plate. They were retired in order 3 times, so they did all of this in 6 innings. They were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. They struck out 16 times. All of this wasted a surprisingly strong start by Domingo German. He went 6 innings giving up 0 runs, 3 hits, walking 4, striking out 4 while throwing just 75 pitches. Kyle Nicholas and Aroldis Chapman pitched a solid 7th and 8th striking out 5 of the 6 batters they faced. The Pirate pitching staff had held the Rangers scoreless for 22 innings. So far in this game they had given up just 3 hits. In came David (You Should Have Scored Some Runs) Bednar to pitch the bottom of the 9th. The first pitch was hit between first and second and Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s throw from his knees was off line but a normal 1st baseman would have been able to stay on the bag. Of course, we have Tellez. On the 3rd pitch of the inning Adolis Garcia singled to left to put runners on 1st and 2nd. A long fly to right on the 5th pitch of the inning moved the runner to 3rd. Bednar struck out the next batter just to tease us. Wyatt Langford put the Pirates out of their misery with a single to center to win the game. I will say, it was a pretty good pitch on the inside of the plate that he was able to muscle into the outfield.

Key Moments Of The Game: Top of the 2nd, bases loaded 1 out, no runs. Top of the 5th bases loaded 2 outs no runs. Top of the 7th, 1st and 2nd, no outs, thanks to base running blunder, no runs. There were other chances but these were the worst. It is just too painful to write about this game any more.

Next Game: Tonight, Reds in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes opens the 7 game home stand in 7 days and I can guarantee you he won’t have any trouble making another start before the end of the stand. Enough said, but the pitching staff could not have done much more yesterday. You just can’t overcome an incompetent offense.