Both lower seeds in the National League are on the verge of going to the League Championship Series. Last night the Padres and the Dodgers played one of the oddest games in playoff history. The Padres scored 6 runs in the 2nd thanks to some cagey running by Manny Machado, a routine ground ball where the Dodgers got no one out,and capped off by a Fernando Tatis 2 run homer. The Dodgers came right back with 4 runs in the top of the 3rd on a grand slam home run by Teoscar Hernandez, with one out to make the score 6-5 Padres. For the next 6 and 2/3 innings there were only 4 batters that got on base. Three for the Padres, one being immediately erased on a double play and another was intentionally walked. The Dodgers got a lone single in the 8th. Talk about pitching taking over a ballgame. The Mets beat the Phillies 6-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their series. The National League still has the potential to send the 6th seed to the World Series for the 3rd consecutive year. Oh my! MLB welcome to playoff baseball. On the American League side both series are tied at one game apiece. The Yankees had the audacity to call the Royals lucky when they lost to them 4-2 in game 2. This from a team that received 8 walks in game 1 and could only manage to win 6-5. We will all see how lucky the Royals are over the next two days. The Tigers evened their series with the Guardians by hitting a 3 run homer in the top of the 9th off Emmanuel Clase who in 74 games had an ERA of 0.61. Frankly I am not expecting this but it could be an all wild card final series in both leagues. Wow!
Pirate Morning Report: Playoff Briefing Day 3
There was only one playoff game last night, but it was a doozy. Pete Alonzon hit a huge 3 run home run in the top of the 9th with one out to propel the Mets to a 3-2 lead. They added an insurance run and won the game 4-2 to move on to the division series to face the Philadelphia Phillies. Sometimes the cookbook method does not work. Freddy Peralta the top starter for the Brewers came in to pitch the top of the 8th and mowed the Mets down in order on just 13 pitches. I thought they would just stay with him to pitch the 9th. Instead, it was cookbook closer time and Devin Williams. He is an elite closer, but there were two things. He had not pitched that much this year due to injury and he had a less than stellar playoff history. Needless to say, he got ripped pretty good and was even left in the game after the home run, which allowed the Mets to get a big insurance run. It’s called cookbook strategy, rather than seeing what is happening in the moment. Looks like the Brewers manager may get manager of the year. He certainly wasn’t last night. During the inning the Mets got two gift runners via the walk and hit by pitch. Both runners scored. The visiting team won 3 out of the 4 wild card series for the second consecutive year. Will there be a format change. I think there should be.
Pirate Morning Report: Playoff Briefing Day 2
Three of the four Wild Card series are over. The Royals beat the Orioles 2-1 with the Orioles matching the Rays last year by scoring one run in the two games. The Tigers upset the Astros winning the second game 5-2 as the Astros could only muster 3 runs in the 2 games. The Padres scored 5 runs in the second inning after 2 were out and the bases empty, barely making it stand up, eking out a 5-4 win to take the series with the Braves. We will get one elimination game this year as the Brewers beat the Mets 5-3 to even the series. MLB will be rooting for the Brewers because if the Mets win, which I expect they will, it will mean in 3 years that only two division champions have made it into the division series. So far, the visiting team has won 8 out of the 11 series. It looks obvious right now, that getting home field advantage is not enough of a reward after playing 162 games. If the Mets win you may see a change in the playoff format. My suggestion is to go back to the old wild card games of one and done. Have the 5th and 6th seeds play and the winner plays the 4th seed with the winner moving on to the division series. Either that or shorten the season but you know that is not going to happen. If you lead your division over 162 games, you should at least be into the quarter finals. No other professional league has a season that is even close to playing that many games. If the Brewers win today which is certainly a possibility, you will hear a big sigh of relief from MLB hoping again that next year the highest seeds will do better in the wild card round.
Pirates Morning Report: Playoff Briefing
The four wild card playoff series opened yesterday, and the results have the powers to be in MLB shaking their heads. The visiting team won 3 or the 4 games and the games had that same feel as last year’s first round. The teams that lost just could not score runs. The Astros scored one run, and the Braves and Orioles were shut out. Even the Brewers who scored 4 runs did not get a runner on base the last 5 and 1/3 innings. Last year all 4 series were 2 game sweeps. In fact, in last year’s playoffs there was not an elimination game until the championship series. If all 4 series are sweeps today you can bet that MLB will be taking a hard look at this playoff format. It is only one game, but the Mets are sure looking like they may be the 3rd 6th seed in a row to make the World Series in the National League. Of course, that can all change if 3 of the 4 series go to 3 games. MLB will breathe a big sigh of relief if at least 3 of the 4 home teams can pull out the series win. One thing is for sure, yesterday’s losing teams better find some way to score runs. If they don’t if may be back to the drawing board for Major League Baseball.
Pirates Morning Report: 2024 Season Wrap Up, Team
The Pirates finished 23rd in baseball overall with their 76-86 record. All phases of their game were mostly in the bottom of the statistics. I am going to hit the same basic stats that I went through at various times during the season plus look at some additional stats. According to baseball reference the Pirates were the 7th luckiest team in baseball. They were fortunate to win 76 games with the way they played. The cold hard statistics will bear that out. The overall problem with this team is that they were never a very aggressive bunch. Let’s get to the data.
The offense was pretty much nonexistent all year. They finished 24th in runs scored with 4.1 runs per game. There were only 3 teams in baseball that struck out more than the Pirates. The Pirates struck out a whopping 1,506 times. That is an average of a little over 9 times per game. They finished 17th in walks with 485 for an average of just under 3 per game. The tradeoff for strikeouts is supposed to be home runs. That is the new baseball philosophy to swing for the fences despite striking out a lot. This did not work out for the Pirates. They hit only 160 home runs to place 25th in baseball. Wouldn’t you think management might figure this out and try to stress making more contact. Apparently not. The Pirates were 27th in on base percentage at .301 when the league average is .312. The Diamondbacks led all of baseball with .337. Seven of the top eight on base percentage teams are in the playoffs and the Diamondbacks just missed. In the league comparison stat of OPS+ the Pirates rank 28th with 87 where the league average is 100. One area where the Pirates did well but did not do it often enough was in stealing bases. They stole 106 bases ranking them 16th with an 85% success rate. With that much success, where 75% is considered very good, the Pirates should have been trying to steal more bases. Another management failure. Another indication of the overall lack of aggression with this team. The team needs to find a new identity. I wonder if anyone in the Pirate organization knows this. This is not a power laden team despite what they say in the broadcast booth. This team needs to start making more contact and be more aggressive on the bases to increase the run total next year.
The pitching was better than the offense but not by much. They were 21st in runs allowed. In fielding independent pitching the Pirates had one of their highest rankings coming in at 13th. Overall, they had a league average pitching staff with an ERA+ 101. The starting pitching ranked 7th and the bullpen ranked 21st. The pitching staff gave up 515 walks which was the 11th most in baseball. The bullpen seemed worse losing many games in the late innings. The bullpen will need to be revamped but more on that when I go through the players. A little better year for the pitching staff and at least something to build on.
When the Pirates are evaluated position by position with the rest of the league, they do not come out all that well. The highest ranked position is left field and that is 15th. The rest of their positions are ranked from 18th down to having the worst right fielder in baseball. Their pinch hitters were ranked 27th. On the defensive side of the ball the Pirates were really bad. Their defensive efficiency rating was 24th in the league.
It is obvious by now that the Pirates will need a lot of help if they are going to improve in 2025. This organization is one of the worst in baseball. Since 2000 the Pirates have only had 4 seasons where they won 80 or more games. The next closest to that mark are Colorado and Cincinnati with 6 seasons. There is one team in the American League with 7 and the rest of the teams have a lot more seasons with 80 wins. Bob Nutting has been the owner since 2007. Will he ever loosen the purse strings. With a couple of good free agent signings and building a bullpen the Pirates could go right to the top. They have a good but not great young core. When I evaluate the players in the next blog, you will see that most of the players on the Pirates are overrated thanks to the hyperbole in the Pirate broadcast booth. If you just listened to them and knew nothing else, you would have thought the Pirates won the division by 10 games. I do not see that much hope for the coming year unless Shelton and the coaches are gone. I think it would be really interesting if they gave the players a vote. As long as it would be secret ballot, he would be gone. It is this team’s only hope.
Pirates Morning Report: Thank God, It’s Finally Over
Final Score: Pirates 4 Yankees 6
Why The Pirates Lost: For me the season ended perfectly. The last 4 innings of the game the Pirates only got 1 hit. They struck out 13 times for the game. The bullpen gave up the winning runs. They did this loading the bases, by hitting a batter and walking 2, after 2 were out. Shelton pissed off another pitcher by taking him out. In that bizarre 8th inning, the Yankees sent 7 men to the plate and there was only one ball put in play, which was the single that drove in the 2 runs to take the lead. There were 13 walks in the game, 7 by Pirate pitching. The game took almost 3 hours to play under miserable conditions. A perfect way to put the 2024 season in the books.
The Key Moment Of The Game: In the top of the 5th the Pirates were trailing 4-3. The inning started with what else, 2 walks. Joey Bart ripped a double down the left field line to score the tying run and put runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Josh Palacios struck out swinging on a ball out of the strike zone. Jared Triolo struck out swinging, swinging at 2 balls out of the strike zone. After another walk to load the bases, Billy Cook struck out by swinging at a pitch out of the zone, taking one in the strike zone and swinging and missing on a pitch out of the zone to end the inning. I wonder what Andy Haines thought of that process. The Pirates never threatened again and finished the season 76-86 just like last year. This from a team and organization that was talking about winning the division when the season started.
The Next Game: March 27, 2025, Marlins in Miami. Yes, the Pirates open against the Marlins again. I don’t imagine that Mitch Keller will be the opening day starter. Over the next couple of days, I will do the team 2024 wrap up and evaluate each player in another blog. One thing is for sure, if Derek Shelton is the manager next year, there will be another losing season.
Pirates Morning Report: The Bucco Bombers?
Final Score: Pirates 9 Yankees 4
Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates brought out the long ball hitting 5 home runs that accounted for 8 of the 9 runs. Skenes pitched 2 innings, why, I do not know. Mike Burrows made his major league debut going 3.1 innings giving up 1 earned run on 2 hits but walking 3 while striking out 2 batters. He picked up the win in his debut game. The rest of the bullpen did ok, except the guys who usually don’t, Ryan Borucki and Shelton’s favorite Jalen Beeks. Greg Brown thought this game was one to remember even though it was pretty much meaningless. He gave the name Bucco Bombers to the offense, what a joke, but he was serious. He was all over Juan Soto for his base running blunder late in the game. If he followed baseball at all, which I don’t think he does, he would have known that Soto does this all the time. He is one of the worse base runners in the league. Even though the Yankees are still trying to get the best record in the American League you can tell they are just playing out the string. Aaron Judge struck out 5 times in 5 at bats. The fact that Skenes struck him out in his first at bat is not that big a deal when he wound up having a day like he had. The Pirates did reach 66 wins.
Key Moment Of The Game: The Yankees for the 2nd day in a row could not take advantage of opportunities that the Pirates gave them. The bottom of the 6th the Pirates walked the bases loaded, then gave the Yankees a 4th out, but the Yankees could only score 1 run. In the bottom of the 9th Jalen Beeks gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out. Aroldis Chapman came in and joined the crowd by striking out Judge and getting a line out to end the game. It will be interesting to see today if the Yankees get down to business. With their playoff history could this be a prelude to an early exit. Only time will tell. Still better than the Pirates who exited in August.
Next and Final Game: This afternoon, Yankees in New York. Thankfully this season for the Pirates will come to an end today. No matter what happens today there will be no more watching the Bucco Bombers. After the season I will do a team and player wrap up and then on to the playoffs.
Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Defeat Yankee B Squad
Final Score: Pirates 4 Yankees 2
Why The Pirates Won: The Yankees rested 4 regulars including Aaron Judge which enabled the Pirates to pull out a 4-2 win. The Pirates managed only 6 hits to go along with 5 walks, but only had 2 at bats with runners in scoring position. Bryan Reynolds hit 2 home runs, including a 2-run shot in the top of the 8th to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead, that the bullpen protected easily against the B squad. Jared Jones pitched 4 and 1/3 innings giving up 5 hits, 2 walks and was charged with 2 runs thanks to Joey (There He) Wentz. After Wentz got out of the way the bullpen did not give up a hit over the last 3 and 2/3 innings. Can the Pirates make it to 66 wins? Be still my beating heart.
Key Moment Of The Game: The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the 5th. The Yankees opened the inning with 2 sharp line drives that put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. Jones got the next batter to hit a weak ground ball to short to get the first out, with no advancement of the runners. It was a shame that at that moment Derek The Fox woke up. He decided to walk Juan Soto and then remove Jared Jones, who was visibly upset at the move. He was probably more upset because Shelton was bringing in Wentz. Right away on a beautiful cutter right out over the plate, Jazz Chisholm ripped a single to center driving in 2 runs and putting runners on 1st and 2nd. The Yankees pulled off a double steal and Wentz walked the next batter on 6 pitches with the 4 balls not even close to the strike zone to load the bases. Miraculously, he got Alex Verdugo to pop out to short centerfield. He went 3 and 2 on Anthony Volpe. Wentz pretty much grooved a 94 MPH fastball that Volpe drilled 107 MPH, the hardest hit ball of the inning, but right to Billy Cook for the final out. It looked like the Yankees might put up a big crooked number and wound up getting just 2 runs. Derek The Fox comes through again.
Next Game: This afternoon, Yankees in New York. Paul Skenes makes his final start of the season, and I have the feeling the Yankees will be putting the A team on the field today. Many people are saying that with a big performance here, Skenes could wrap up the rookie of the year. No matter what he does today it will be a close race between him and Padre centerfielder Jackson Merrill. It would be nice to see Skenes mow the Yankees down. Have no fear Joey Wentz and Jalen Beeks are ready to come in when needed.
Pirates Morning Report: Routine Lack Luster Loss
Final Score: Pirates 2 Brewers 5
Why The Pirates Lost: Just a matter of routine. Mitch Keller had a routine outing giving up 3 runs in 5 innings of work. The defense was routine with some kicked balls and plays not made even though no errors were charged. The offense was definitely routine scoring just 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. They were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left 6 men on base. The game almost took 3 hours to play and most of fans had to be woke up after the game was over. Now the Pirates have to take 2 out of 3 from the Yankees to win as many games as they did last year. Big deal. What a miserable season.
Key Moment Of The Game: This game was so boring that there was not a key moment. There was never a point in this game from the very beginning that you thought the Brewers were going to lose. I guess you could say the key moment was when the Pirates lethargically took the field. You could sum up the Pirates effort in the top of the 3rd when Joey Ortiz hit a line drive in right center field and Bryan (I Should Be A DH) De La Cruz tried to stop the ball with his foot. He is also considering inventing the foot glove. I guess it was just too much effort for him to bend over. This resulted in Ortiz getting a triple. De La Cruz has a WAR for the entire year -1.3. Essentially this means a minor leaguer. It is worse than Rowdy Telez and the broadcast booth wants the Pirates to keep this guy. Oneil Cruz had two base running blunders just to top the day off. Not a good day if your name is Cruz, even though Bryan hit a home run to avoid the shutout. Yes, Derek Shelton is the right man to manage this team if you want another losing season. The players could care less.
Next Game: Tonight, Yankees in New York. The Pirates should be thankful the Yankees do not have a lot to play for. They are trying to get the best record and are only 1 game ahead of the Guardians. If the Yankees are serious this could be embarrassing. If the Yankees clinch home field early they may show some mercy on the Pirates. Let’s hope not. Three more days and it will be over.
Pirates Morning Report: Pitchers Win Another One
Final Score: Pirates 2 Brewers 1
Why The Pirates Won: Luis Ortiz pitched 7 terrific innings giving up 1 run on 4hits, walking 1 while striking out 5 to lower his ERA to 3.32. Dennis Santana and Aroldis Chapman closed out the game thanks to Willie Adames trying to stretch a hit into left field into a double and was thrown out to end the game. The offense was its usual awful self with only 3 hits and striking out 11 times. Freddy Peralta was pitching one fine game going into the bottom of the 5th.
Key Moment Of The Game: Peralta got the first two outs in the bottom of the 5th on just 5 pitches. Things got tough after that. On two battling at bats Yasmani Grandal on 7 pitches and Nick Yorke on 6 pitches, both walked. Liover Peguero battled for 7 pitches taking the count to 3 and 2. Peralta, not wanting to walk 3 in a row, grooved a 97 MPH fastball and Peguero did not miss it. He ripped into left center field to drive in the 2 runs to give the Pirates their 2-1 lead that they protected for the last 4 innings. The Brewers only got 2 hits the rest of the way with the last one being run into an out by Adames. The Pirates need 2 more wins to equal last years win total.
Next Game: This afternoon, Brewers in Pittsburgh. PNC Park will be put out of its misery this afternoon as the Pirates play their last home game of the season. Mitch Keller makes his last start of the season, and it would be nice to see him finish on a high note after all of his struggles over the last 6 weeks. He better pitch a good game with that offense. It will be interesting to see if Peguero starts today. He should play all of the remaining games but that is highly doubtful with this organization. Just 4 games to go with the final 3 in Yankee Stadium. There is a merciful God.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 