Category: sports

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Pirates Morning Report: Over Before They Took The Field.

Final Score: Pirates 0 Guardians 3

Why The Pirates Lost: Even with Paul Skenes pitching, this game was lost before it started. The Pirates could not have put a worse team on the field if they tried. They had 4 players who did not have batting averages over .150. They had 2 players with batting averages between .203 and .194. Surprise, surprise, surprise, they got shutout. These illustrious 6 players went 3 for 21, with a pinch hitter hitting .100 adding to the cause. They struck out 6 times and did not walk. Why would they? Pitchers just threw the ball right down the middle. No IKF, McCutchen, or Joey Bart. They never pinch hit when a good opportunity arose. Someway, somehow, the Pirates were more pathetic yesterday than they were the night before. It would seem impossible, but they managed to do it. As you will see, Derek Shelton sat on his hands again.

Key Moment Of The Game: Even with this putrid lineup, the Pirates managed to threaten. Believe me, this lineup was enough to make a buzzard puke. In the bottom of the 6th, Oneil Cruz opened with a walk. Bryan Reynolds singled to left with Cruz hustling to 3rd. Ke’Bryan Hayes battled out an 8-pitch at-bat. He was called out on strikes on a ball that was outside. Enmanuel (I Like Scoring Meaningless Runs) Valdez walked to load the bases. At this point in the game, many players said they heard snoring in the dugout. This explains the absence of a pinch hitter for Tommy Pham. Pham has had 1 hit in his last 11 at bats and is hitting .127 overall. He promptly grounded into a double play on the first pitch of the at-bat. Valdez had the base running blunder in the 9th, getting thrown out at third when trailing 3-0. Everything about this game is questionable. From the starting lineup to base running failures, the question remains: what the hell were they thinking?

Next Game: This afternoon, Guardians in Pittsburgh. The Pirates will try to avoid getting swept today. They will send Mitch Keller to the mound. Keller has not seen the Pirates score a run in his last two outings. Will Jack Suwinski get his third straight start? Strike out three times in a game, you’re startin’ today. Hit a home run and a triple, you’re sittin’ today. You need a rest after all that hard swinging and running. What a thought process this team has. Easily explains why they are 8-14 and just getting worse by the day.

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Pirates Morning Report: Quite A Contrast

Final Score: Pirates 7 Guardians 10

Why The Pirates Lost: This one is easy. One team had a manager. The other team did not. Stephen Vogt, manager of the Guardians, made various moves throughout the game. I may not have agreed with every move he made, but he managed the game. Derek Shelton did nothing. He has that chart in front of him. I think it is a racing form, quite frankly. No pinch hitters when situations were screaming for them. He left Kyle Nicolas in to take a beating when the game was still in doubt. I have always been in Kyle Nicolas’s corner. For whatever reason, the Pirates did not think he should be on the opening day roster. They felt that his spring was not good enough to be on the team. At AAA Indianapolis, he had an ERA over 11.00. What made them bring him up in the first place? It had nothing to do with performance. The Pirate offense came to life after the game was pretty much over. They scored 7 runs on 11 hits. Everyone got at least one hit except Jack (Please Pinch Hit For Me) Suwinski. Suwinski had a stretch where, over the course of two at-bats, he did not swing at 5 strikes in a row. One of them was called a ball. The Pirates did the best they could, considering they don’t have a manager.

Key Moment Of The Game: Going into the top of the 7th, the score was 5-2 Cleveland. Kyle Nicolas came in to pitch. It was obvious to everyone but Derek Shelton that Nicolas just did not have it. He gave up a single and a walk. He did strike out the next batter, who swung at a pitch almost in the dirt. He walked the next batter to load the bases. This is when he should have been taken out of the game. The Pirates did not even have anybody warming up at this point. They could have brought in Justin Lawrence, who pitched a meaningless 9th. Nicolas gave up 4 runs. Tim Mayza then gave up a hit that scored the 5th run of the inning. This made the score 10-2. If the move had been made earlier, the Guardians might have scored only 2-3 runs. The late Pirate rally would have had more significance. Shelton was too busy trying to figure out how much to bet on the 6th race.

Next Game: This afternoon, Guardians in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes pitches today on his own bobblehead game. I felt last night’s game was one of the most discouraging of the season. When will they get Carmen Mlodzinski and his 7.41 ERA out of the rotation? When will they send down Jack Suwinski? The Pirates want Bednar and Holderman back as soon as possible. Why? Other than Nicolas’s blowup last night, the bullpen has performed admirably over the last 3 weeks. This management team is atrocious. Enough said.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitching Reigns Supreme

Final Score: Pirates 1 Nationals 0

Why The Pirates Won: Oneil Cruz took the second pitch of the game and smashed it 442 feet for a home run. It was the only run of the game. Trevor Williams and two other relievers gave up only 4 more hits while walking 4. Andrew Heaney gave up 5 hits and walked 2 but did not allow the Nationals to score over 7 and 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 4 batters. The bullpen of Ryan Borucki and Dennis Santana covered the final 1 and 2/3 innings without giving up a hit or walk. The pitching staff won this one for the Pirates.

Key Moments Of The Game: Both teams missed some golden opportunities to score. Since the Nationals lost the game, theirs were more significant. The Nationals open the 2nd inning with 2 singles putting runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Luis Garcia Jr. hit a ball right back to Heaney. He had trouble getting the ball out of his glove which cost him the double play. This put runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Jacob Young hit a liner but right at IKF for the 2nd out. Never hurts to be a little lucky. Riley Adams grounded out and the threat was over. In the top of the 6th the Nationals tried to get a little two out lightening going. Amed Rosario singled and Nathaniel Lowe doubled after two were out. Dylan Crews flew out to right to end that threat. The final threat came in the top of the 8th. Nasim Nunez walked on 7 pitches to start the inning. He was sacrificed to 2nd for some reason and the Pirates were glad to get the out. Borucki came on in relief. He got James Wood to ground out to shortstop with Nunez advancing to third. Rosario hit a ball down the 3rd base line that Ke’Bryan Hayes made a great play on to easily throw out Rosario. The Nationals went quietly in the 9th. The Pirates had their second series win of the season.

Next Game: Tonight, the Guardians in Pittsburgh. Luis Ortiz will face his old teammates tonight. He has not been lighting it up with an ERA over 6. The same could be said about Carmen Mlodzinski, who carries an ERA over 6. If these team weren’t so bad offensively I would expect to see a lot of scoring. Most likely we will see very few runs scored. Despite winning the last two games the offensive woes continue. Cruz’s long balls and great pitching were the difference. I don’t see this offense picking up. I hope I’m wrong.

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Pirates Morning Report: Falter, Cruz Lead The Way

Final Score: Pirates 6 Nationals 1

Why The Pirates Won: Barry Falter had a solid start for the Pirates. It was not his best start as a Pirate as Greg Brown kept repeating. Last year Falter took a no hitter into the 7th or 8th inning. I would say that would rank better. It is amazing how little a broadcaster knows about his team. He must not get any help from the truck. Falter had some other starts last year that were just as good. Thanks to two double plays and a caught stealing he did face just 21 batters over 7 innings. This seemed to mesmerize Brown. The offense was mesmerized for most of the game also. Through 6 innings they could only muster 1 run on 4 hits and a walk. The first four batters started the game by striking out. Then came the bottom of the 7th.

Key Moments Of The Game: Jorge Lopez came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th. In just 4 pitches he gave up 2 singles to IKF and Enmanuel Valdez putting runners on 1st and 3rd with no outs. Henry Davis, whose homer gave the Pirates their run, hit a broken bat ground ball to third driving in run no. 2 and putting a runner on 2nd. Hayes grounded out to short for the 2nd out. Then the fun began. Bryan Reynolds got nailed by the very first pitch. On the 3rd pitch to McCutchen, Lopez came dangerously close to McCutchen’s head. Apparently he did not like the home runs they hit off him in September when he was with Cubs. The benches cleared but no fisticuffs ensued. He was rightfully tossed from the game. McCutchen eventually walked to load the bases. Oneil Cruz wasted no time taking Eduardo Salazar’s first pitch and parking it into the right field seats for his first career grand slam. This broke the game open 6-0, allowing the Pirates to cruise to victory.

Next game: This afternoon, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. Andrew Heaney goes for the Pirates today. The Pirates have some interesting decisions to make concerning the bullpen. Since both Bednar and Holderman have left for various reasons the bullpen has been holding its own. Right now the Pirate bullpen is ranked 13th in the league. This is up 11 places from last year. Bednar has been tearing it up in AAA and Holderman is almost fully recovered from a knee injury. You know the Pirates are eventually going to add them back to the roster. What the Pirates should do is only use them in low leverage situations and not when the game is on the line. You know that is not going to happen. They will be plugged into their normal roles. Bednar may not close but he will be a setup man right away in tight games. Pirates always mess up a good situation. Right now the bullpen is performing well. Bednar and Holderman are going to get the opportunity to change that.

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Pirates Morning Report: World Back To Normal

Final Score: Pirates 0 Nationals 3

Why The Pirates Lost: Once again the Pirates proved that their offensive outburst the game before was just a fluke. Last night they were shut out on just 4 hits. No extra base hits. They struck out 10 times, with 1 walk. They only had 2 at bats with runners in scoring position. The only players that got hits should not have been playing. Jack Suwinski Tommy Pham and Henry Davis had the 4 hits. In the top of the 9th there were 6 players on the field that had batting averages of .200 or less. Despite getting hits Davis and Pham brought up the rear with .154 averages. Cruz, Reynolds and IKF had awful nights going 0 for 11 with 7 strikeouts. The defense committed one error but overall was just horrible. Every fly ball in the outfield was an adventure. The beneficiary of all of this “great” play was Mitch Keller. The Pirates have not scored in his last 13 innings of work. They fell to 6-12 very quietly.

Key Moment Of The Game: The lineup was just as bad as I thought it would be with no McCutchen. However the bad players did have some production. In the top of the 6th Keller quickly got the first 2 outs on just 7 pitches. Unfortunately he hit Paul DeJong right in the face. Keller was visibly upset. I think he responded well but you can’t control luck. Keller’s was all bad. Dylan Crews hit an 86 MPH blooper for a single sending pinch runner Amed Rosario to 3rd. Dylan Crews stole 2nd uncontested. After a 10 pitch battle, Nasir Nunez sent an even softer 81 MPH liner to shallow center field scoring both runners to make the score 3-0. This game was over.

Next Game: Tonight, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. Barry (Can They Make The Strike Zone Bigger) Falter will go for the Pirates tonight. Hopefully he has solved the control issues he had in Cincinnati. The Nationals are throwing a lefty so there will be some heavy thinking by The Shadow to come up with a goofy lineup. Maybe Pham leading off. IKF batting cleanup. McCutchen batting 9th or again not playing. I bet he was up all night. The big question with a lefty pitching will be, who’s on first?

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Offensive Explosion

Final Score: Pirates 10 Nationals 3

Why The Pirates Won: For the second time in 17 games the Pirate bats produced a lot of runs. The first time did not create a lasting effect. We can only hope that this time it will. For the first time this season everyone in the starting lineup that had an opportunity got a hit. Endy Rodriguez suffered a laceration on his finger and did not get to bat. The Pirates went 8 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Paul Skenes, stats wise, had a solid outing. However, he is developing a 6 inning jinx. Even when he went 7 innings the 6th inning was his worst inning. I know it is only 4 starts but I am going to keep an eye on that one. The Pirates scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to squelch a potential Nationals’ comeback. The only negative of the game was the Pirates made 4 errors.

Key Moment Of The Game: The score was 5-3 going into the bottom of the 8th. The way this bullpen has been performing you felt the game was in jeopardy. The Pirates open the inning strong with a base hit and a walk. Enmanuel Valdez doubled in a run to make it 6-3. The Red Sox reject batting cleanup no less, went 2 for 2 with 2 walks. He drove in 3 runs and scored 1. He probably won’t start tonight. Even though the Pirates would go on to score 4 more runs, you felt a lot better when that 6th run crossed the plate.

Next game: Tonight, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. After the Pirates scored 8 runs in a game, they went on to score 9 runs in the next 5 games losing 4 of them. With the exception of Rodriguez the Pirates should start the exact same line up. You know it won’t happen. McCutchen won’t be able to play two games in a row on the field, which is ridiculous. Will Valdez get the start? He should since there is no one else to play first base. I can’t wait to see the starting line up tonight. It will be the key to the outcome of the game.

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Pirates Morning Report: You Can’t Steal First

Final Score: Pirates 0 Reds 4

Why The Pirates Lost: They only got 2 hits. They had 10 hits for the entire series. The last 23 batters did not get on base. At the end of the game, 7 of the 9 starters did not have a batting average over .200. This could be one of the worst offenses in the history of baseball after it is all said and done. They have 6 players on their active roster that have batting averages under .150. You have heard of the Mendoza line. This is the the Pirate line. As long as you can hit over .125 you can play for us. The rest of the Pirates’ game was not bad. They did not commit an error. The bullpen threw shutout ball over the last 3 and 2/3 innings. The Pirates are solidly in last place with a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs. It is April 14th. Congratulations to the Pirate organization.

Key Moments Of The Game. In the first two innings the Pirates had scoring opportunities. In the 1st they had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. In the 2nd they had a runner on 3rd with one out. Hunter Greene was able to keep the Pirates from scoring. Little did we know at the time that the Pirates would not get a man on base the rest of the game. The Reds scratched out 2 runs in 3rd and 2 runs in the 5th. For the third consecutive game walks haunted the Pirates’ pitching staff. Every game the Pirates offense haunts this pitching staff.

Next Game: Tonight, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. I am sure the Pirates will be happy to get home to a packed house of their adoring fans. Paul Skenes will pitch tonight. For the first time in his career he will have to have a bounce back start. How long will it take the Pirates to get their first man on base. What ridiculous lineup and batting order will The Shadow cook up tonight. Let’s start with the leadoff hitter. Let me make one suggestion. ANDREW MCCUTCHEN. You don’t even have to pay me for that no brainer suggestion.

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Pirate Morning Report: Experiencing Ground Hog Day

Final Score: Pirates 2 Reds 5

Why The Pirates Lost: Just read yesterday’s blog. In a very similar game the Pirates gave the Reds another win. How similar? The games were within a minute of each other time wise, around 2:18. These Pirates although awful are at least efficient. Pitching wildness contributed to the loss. This time the Pirates just decided to hit batters rather than walk them. Andrew Heaney and company hit 3 batters and walked 3. The Pirates committed one error each game that allowed the Reds to score. These errors were basic baseball plays, throwing and catching the ball. You can see why this would give the Pirates problems. Each team got 4 hits. Thanks to the Pirates the Reds were able to score 5 runs on those 4 hits, in both games. In the bottom of the 8th the Pirates again had 5 players on the field with batting averages under .200. I hear that Bill Murray may attend today’s game.

Key Moment Of The Game: The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the 3rd. After one out Santiago Espinal doubled to left center field. After the 2nd out, T J Friedl was hit by the 2nd pitch of the at bat. Blake Dunn was hit with the 3rd pitch of his at bat. As I mentioned before if nothing else the Pirates are efficient. This brought Elly De La Cruz up with the bases loaded. On a 3-2 pitch that was up and in Cruz was able to muscle it into the left field seats for a grand slam home run. You knew the game was over.

Next Game: This afternoon, Reds in Cincinnati. Hunter Greene with his 1.31 ERA is starting for the Reds. Paul Skenes is not starting for the Pirates. Need I say more. The only question remains who is The Shadow going to choose to be led to slaughter. Henry Davis was called up yesterday. The headline read, “Right where I want to be”: Davis gets the call, eager to prove himself. He went 0 for 3. He never got a ball out of the infield. If the Pirates win today it will be a miracle. I can’t wait to see today’s starting line up.

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Pirates Morning Report: Defining A Scheduled Day Off

The Pirates had the day off yesterday. It makes you wonder what they do on this off day. I have never read this any where but do they go through a rigorous day of practice. Do they take prolonged batting and fielding practice? Do they do 4 to 5 hours of base running drills. Maybe they play a secret baseball game where they bet a lot of their own money. Now I know they have to travel. This time they are only going to Cincinnati. Why am I curious about this?

I have not heard this yet during the early part of this season. I admit I try to listen to the Pirate broadcast booth as little as possible so I might have missed it. In previous seasons including last season the Pirates would announce that they were giving a certain player a “scheduled” day off. It is one of their main players like Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds Oneil Cruz or Andrew McCutchen. My first question would be when do they schedule this. Do the Pirate “brain trust” sit down at the beginning of the season or the beginning of the month, take a look at the games and write down so and so is not playing that day. We don’t care who the other team is pitching or how hot this player is at the time. He is not playing that day by God. You have to figure it is at least two weeks in advance if it is scheduled. You have to wonder, do they tell the player in advance. It’s like really play your ass off these 3 games because the next game we scheduled you for a rest.

In my view you only give a player a break for a few reasons. Rest a nagging but minor injury. You could use the team day off as one of the days. In other words rest him a game before the day off and a game after for a nice 3 day rest with only 2 games being missed. Resting a player for a game or two can help bring some players out of a slump. Sometimes you may have a bench player who has a really good record against a certain pitcher. You may start him that day over your regular. I really have no clue as to why a player who is under 34 years old would need or want a scheduled day off. I know it is a long and sometimes grueling season, but there are days off. The Pirates have had the last two Thursdays off. It would be different if the 162 game season was played in 162 days. But it is not. It is far from it. I don’t know if other teams do this rest thing. I do know the Pirates do this. Just another reason to say, “What are they thinking?” Who knows, only The Shadow Shelton knows.

One final note, I will be in San Diego through April 18th. The morning report will be a later morning report. One of the many great things about spending time in San Diego is I will get to watch Padre games. The pleasure is getting to listen to the Padre broadcast booth. They are one of the best in baseball, a pure joy. It gives me that brief respite from one of the worst broadcast booths.

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Pirates Morning Report: Offensive Incompetence Equals Victory

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cardinals 1 in 13 innings

Why The Pirates Won: It was hard to tell. Did the Pirates have great pitching, or were the Cardinals just as bad as the Pirates offensively? Keller did have a solid 7 and 1/3 innings, giving up 0 runs on 4 hits. The bullpen was just as good, going 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up 0 earned runs on just 3 hits. Neither team scored a run in the first 9 innings. The Pirates did not get a hit until the 7th inning. The Pirates had only 5 hits for the game. They did receive 9 walks. Both teams struck out 10 times. Both third base coaches made terrible decisions sending runners home. The Cardinal third base coach was worse since there was nobody out when their runner was thrown out. Neither team scored in the 10th or 11th inning with a runner on second and no outs. The game mercifully ended in the 13th with a 2-1 Pirate victory.

Key Moments Of The Game: In the top of the 8th, the game was still scoreless. The Cardinals had 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. Wilson Contreras hit a high pop-up just in front of home plate. Joey Bart could not really locate the ball. Endy Rodriguez came crashing in from 1st base. Bart and he had a horrible collision, and the ball pop-out onto the ground just in front of home plate. The runner on second was running all the way. Ke’Bryan Hayes managed to pick up the ball and tag him out at home. A strange but decisive play that kept the game scoreless. Tommy (I Only Get Big Hits In Extra Innings) Pham got a 2-out single in the bottom of the 12th. This tied the game at 1-1. The Pirates received their 8th and 9th walks to start the bottom of the 13th to load the bases. Andrew McCutchen had a rough 0 for 6 game. He hit a rocket right at the shortstop. The shortstop bobbled it just enough to prevent a double play. The Cardinals might have gotten the runner going to third, but the catcher looked the wrong way. Joey Bart came through with a deep fly ball single on a 3-2 count. The Pirates had an ugly victory, but it was their first series win of the year.

Next Game: Tomorrow night, the Reds in Cincinnati. Barry Falter will be looking to have a bounce-back start like Keller had yesterday. Only the Shadow knows who will be playing on Friday night. Tsung-Che Cheng started yesterday. I was right that Adam Frazier was still at 2B. Cheng had what I thought were two pretty good at-bats. Then, the Red Sox reject pinch-hit for him for some unknown reason. For some unknown reason, Derek Shelton is still managing this team. Maybe the Reds will play as badly as the Cardinals did and we can win another series.