Posts

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Give Him A Bus Ticket

Final Score: Pirates 6 Cubs 10

Why The Pirates Lost: Osvaldo Bido gave one of the worst pitching performances of the year and that’s saying something with this staff. Osvaldo started the top of the third inning with the Pirates leading 1-0 and in a short, or should I say long, 2 and 1/3 innings he gave up 8 runs. He gave up those runs, the Cubs certainly did not earn them. In the top of the third he walked 4 batters, 2 of which forced in runs. In that inning, the Cubs scored 3 runs on just 1 hit. Then in the top of the 5th he gave up 5 runs on a walk, 2 singles, a double, and a triple and the Pirates were behind 8-1. The Cubs were able to get those 8 runs on just 5 hits. He did keep the ball in the ballpark. Hopefully this morning he is getting on a bus for Altoona. He doesn’t even belong in AAA let alone in the Majors with his sterling 6.36 ERA. The Pirates tried to make a game of it scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th, 4 of them after 2 were out. The Cubs added 2 in the top of the 9th for enough cushion to take the excitement out of the game. The Pirates are now 3-3 on this homestand.

Key Moment Of The Game: When Osvaldo Bido took the mound, the game was over. Oscar Marin came out and told him to throw strikes, but he did not listen. That should be enough to send him down to Altoona. You have to wonder why they left him in the game. Who knows, only the Shelton knows. I am sure the Cubs wish they had about 10 more games with the Pirates.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. At least today, the Pirates know who is starting, Baily Falter, who has not pitched bad since coming to the Pirates. He had a great outing last time out pitching 6 innings giving up only 1 run on 3 hits. We will see if he can throw strikes at least.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Keller’s Back, Call Overturned, Streak Over.

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 1

Why The Pirates Won: Mitch Keller pitched his best game since the All Star break going 8 innings, not allowing a run, on 4 hits, a walk, while striking out 6. He was quite efficient throwing only 93 pitches. The Cubs only had 2 at bats with runners in scoring position, that’s how dominant he was. He was hit hard in the 8th with four balls exiting at over 100 MPH but fortunately two were right at the right and center fielder. The final one was a sharp comebacker to Keller for the final out. The Pirates were able to scratch out 2 runs in the first inning in an otherwise anemic offensive performance. Things got scary in the 9th but the Pirates hung on to end the 7 game losing streak to the Cubs.

Key Moment Of The Game: David Bednar came in to get the save in the top of the 9th and promptly game up a home run to Ian Happ. What is it with this guy and the Pirates. The last 15 games he is hitting .200 with On Base Percentage of .250 and already in this series he is 3 for 8 with one homer and two RBI’s. Cory Bellinger hit a ball to shortstop Alika (I’m A Triple A Player) Williams which he double clutched, and Bellinger was ruled safe at first base. Long story short, the call was overturned. I did not agree with call being overturned, but the Pirates will take it. You never know what would have happened, but this certainly had to take the sails out of the Cubs momentum. Dansby Swanson hit another ground ball to Williams and this time he rushed his throw but a nice scoop save by Alfonso Rivas got the 2nd out. After a stirring 9 pitch battle, Bedar struck out Seiya Suzuki and the Pirates defeated the Cubs for the first time in 2023

Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. Tonight, Bob Friend, Kent Tekulve, Elroy Face, and Dick Groat will be inducted to the Pirate Hall of Fame. That does not change the fact that it was a disgrace that Bob Friend was not in the inaugural class. He was by far the greatest Pirate pitcher of all time. At least he got in this year. The Pirates are bullpenning again tonight.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: They’re Playing The Cubs

Final Score: Pirates 4 Cubs 5 in 10 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: They’re playing the Cubs. The Pirates did not play a bad game, but it was not good enough to beat the Cubs, losing to the Cubs for the 7th straight time. The offense was not great, but they did manage to score 4 runs on just 6 hits and 5 walks. Josh Palacios crushed a home run into the Allegheny to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the third but did little else the rest of the game. He has had some big moments for the Pirates, but the bottom line is this, is slash line is 207/247/384, with an OPS+ 68. He is 32% worse than a league average hitter. He needs to go. The opener pitching rotation worked pretty well, although I do not know why they did not use Borucki to start the game. He was up during the game, so he was available and has had good success as the opener. Andre Jackson after getting off to a slow start pitched very well giving up just the 2 runs on 6 hits, walking no one, striking out 2. Overall, not a bad performance by the Pirates, but it fell one run short.

Key Moments Of The Game: It may be simplifying things just a bit, but this game boiled down to 2 bloops that contributed to or directly led to Cubs’ runs. The first was by Yan Gomes in the top of the 2nd. He blooped a ball that had an exit velocity of under 60 MPH into right field that got him on base, eventually scoring the 3rd run of the game. The second came in the top of the 10th by a Pirate nemesis, Ian Happ. This blooper was scorched at 71.4 MPH and then was muffed by Connor Joe to let another run score, providing the margin of victory for the Cubs. It would be hard to say if the runner on third, where he would have been if not for the Joe error, would have scored on the fly ball to Suwinski. We will never know. What we do know is that the Cubs continue to beat the Pirates. If this continues the Cubs should send 1% of their playoff checks to the Pirates.

The Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. The other Pirate major league starter Mitch Keller will take the mound tonight. This is Star Wars night. Maybe in another universe, the way the Pirates think would make sense. Will the Cubs make it 8 in a row? Who knows, only the Shelton knows.

Posted on

My Name

Where did your name come from?

I was named after my father, but I did not have to go through that big Bob, little Bob thing, or was not even called Junior. My Dad was always referred to by his middle name, Walter. Few people even knew I was named after him. It was so nice to never hear, which Bob do you want. It was a little thing but did make life so much easier.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Return The Favor

Final Score: Pirates 4 Cardinals 6

Why The Pirates Lost: In the first game of the series the Cardinals started a AAA pitcher who really was not doing all that well, so the Pirates thought they would return the favor. Luis Ortiz was called up from AAA despite the fact that he had not really pitched all that well since being sent down in July. The Cardinals rocked him pretty good, and he did not help himself by walking 5 batters in 3 and 1/3 innings. In that time, he gave up 5 runs on 7 hits and was fortunate that it was not worse. His fastball never came close to 100 MPH which it did many times last year. After falling behind 5-0 the Pirates tried to fight back, getting the score to 5-2 with the 2nd run coming on a Ke’Bryan Hayes home run. Although the Pirate offense did score 4 runs, they were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men stranded. No big two out hits yesterday.

Key Moments Of The Game: Trailing 5-2 going into the bottom of the 6th the Pirates were able to load the bases with one out. Jason Delay hit a weak ground ball that was able to score one run and move the runners to 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Up steps Ke’Bryan (I Pay Greg Brown 500 A Day To Say All Those Good Things About Me) Hayes to the plate. He gets ahead of the count 2-0 but can only hit a weak ground ball to second to end the inning. At least the pitch was a strike. In the top of the 9th the Cardinals were able to score a big insurance run without hitting a ball out of the infield. Jason Delays protective cup must weigh a ton. It is the only explanation I know of, that could explain on how slow he is to get out, and field a ball out in front of the plate. The Pirates were able to score a run in the bottom of the 9th, but that insurance run took a lot of pressure off the reliever.

Next Game: Tonight, the Cubs in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have lost all six games to the Cubs so far this season. It would be nice to see them turn that around. It will be interesting to see how a team that has a lot to play for performs against a team that is just playing out the string. Again, the Pirates do not know who the starting pitcher will be.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Look Out Two In A Row

Final Score: Pirates 6 Cardinals 3

Why The Pirates Won: Johan Oviedo pitched an inefficient but effective 5 innings giving up just 1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk while striking out 5. His fastball did touch 97 MPH occasionally and overall, it was a decent performance compared to his last two outings. It took him 97 pitches to throw 5 innings. The Pirate batters, after going 9 up and 9 down against Adam Wainwright, put up a run in the 4th and put a big 5 spot in the bottom of the 5th. The score was 2-1 in the bottom of the 5th with 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd. Bryan Reynolds lined a double down in the right field corner, followed by a line drive home run into the left field seats by Andrew McCutchen to quickly make the score 6-1. The bullpen was shaky again but was able to preserve the win. The Pirates have won 2 in a row. The next thing you know you will be hearing about hurricanes in California.

The Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirate bullpen already had given up a run in the top of the 6th inning to make the score 6-2. In the top of the 7th the Cardinals really got things going. With 2 outs the Cardinals singled home a run to make the score 6-3. Out goes Dauri Moreta and in comes Colin (I Don’t Like To Throw My 100 MPH Fastball) Holderman. He promptly gives up a single and a walk to load the bases for Willson Contreras. Contreras had just doubled his last at bat to drive in run number 2. The first pitch was close and called a strike. The second pitch was ball. The third pitch was simply a ball that was called a strike. It was at least 4 inches low. Now in the hole 1-2, Contreras struck out on a high 99 MPH fast ball and then was ejected from the game. A nice break for the Pirates. Holderman pitched a clean 8th, which was more surprising than the Pirates winning 2 in a row. Bednar got the save and the Pirates will be looking for the sweep today.

Next Game: In about 90 minutes, Cardinals in Pittsburgh. The desperate for starting pitching Pirates are going with Luis Ortiz today, who has not been lighting up at AAA. It will be interesting to see if his fastball his back to being close to 100 MPH. Could these Pirates possibly win 3 in a row. Who knows? Only the Shadow knows.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Show They Can At Least Hit AAA Pitching

Final Score: Pittsburgh 11 Cardinals 1

Why The Pirates Won: The Cardinals put a AAA pitcher, with not that great of a record, on the mound and the Pirates lit him up for 8 runs on 8 hits, 4 walks, with the Cardinals making an error to help things along. Everybody had a pretty good day except the horrendously slumping Jack Suwinski. He struck out 3 times, once with the bases loaded where he took all 5 pitches, a Turtle move by the way. With only 2 legitimate starting pitchers on the team the Pirates went the piggyback route this time and did well. Thomas Hatch pitched the first 3 innings giving up 2 hits and one walk. Bailey No Falter Insurance, sorry I just couldn’t help it, pitched the final 6 innings only giving up 1 run, 3 hits, walking 2, while striking out 8. He picked up his first win of the season. The pitching was more impressive than the hitting since they did it against major leaguers. It was a nice touch to see Josh Palacios have a big game, a home run and 5 RBI’s in front of his family.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Cardinals did have some traffic on the base paths in the first 2 innings of the game. Looking like the Pirates, they could not get the big hit or fly ball to knock in at least one run. Starting with the 3rd inning, other than giving up the home run, the Pirate pitchers retired the next 13 batters in a row. The Pirates broke it open in the bottom of the 4th highlighted by the Palacios 3 run home run. Similar to the Pirates the home run was preceded by a mound visit by the pitching coach, that did not help whatsoever. It is easy to see why the Cardinals are in last place similar to the Pirates.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals are sending Adam Wainwright to mound tonight, and he has really been struggling. Maybe the Pirates should bat Jack Suwinski all 9 times and see who comes out of their slump first. Johan Oviedo, one of the two starting pitchers the Pirates have, takes the mound. Which Oviedo will we see? Only the Shadow knows for sure.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: This Time 19 In A Row

Final Score: Pirates 0 Twins 2

Why The Pirates Lost: This time the Pirates started the game with 19 up and 19 down as Dallas Keuchel was perfect through 6 and 1/3 innings. Bryan Reynolds doubled with one out in the top of the 7th to break up the perfect game and no hitter. Reynolds got the other hit in the top of the 9th, an infield single where the pitcher was late covering the bag. The bullpen pitched a credible game giving up only 2 runs on 5 hits, one walk, while striking out 16 batters. The Pirates were pretty much punchless the whole game. The Pirates end this road trip 2-4 losing both series to the Mets and the Twins. They head home now to play the Cardinals and the Cubs. They have had some success against the Cardinals going 5-2 and no success against the Cubs losing all 6 games they have played.

Key Moments Of The Game: Both the Twin runs scored because of some luck and questionable play by the right fielder Henry Davis. I do not fault Davis. If this was the plan by the Pirates for him to play right field, why was he not playing this position all year in the minors? He has struggled out there from day one but hopefully he will start to improve with more experience. You have to figure that this is probably affecting his hitting also, trying to learn a new position, AT THE MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL. ALL I CAN SAY IS THE PIRATE MANAGEMENT TEAM GETS A BIG EFFING F ON PLAYER DEVELOPEMENT. TWO PITCHERS THAT LOOKED SO GREAT LAST YEAR ARE STRUGGLING IN THE MINORS AND DAVIS WHO IS A CATCHER WAS PUT OUT IN RIGHT FIELD AFTER PLAYING ABOUT 1O GAMES AT AAA. A THIRD PITCHER CAME UP AND THROUGH 6 STARTS HAD AN ERA OF OVER 9. You have to figure that Paul Skenes is a train wreck waiting to happen with this crew. Wouldn’t it be nice to see one player who seems to be improving. What exactly are they looking at on those I pads. Whatever it is, it sure isn’t helping the players perform better.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in Pittsburgh. The Pirates do not know who is starting tonight as I write this. Do they know that the game is in Pittsburgh? I heard that someone spotted Derek Shelton in St. Louis this morning. It is a shame to see this team disintegrate right before our very eyes. I thought they might get to 70 wins. Now I see 100 losses again.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Turning Back The Clock

Final Score: Pirates 7 Twins 4

Why The Pirates Won: Andrew McCutchen turned back the clock and had a big game going 2 for 5 with a home run and 5 RBI’s. Mitch Keller pitched a solid, but not brilliant, 6 innings giving up 2 runs, 7 hits, walking 1, while striking out 12 batters. The bullpen was shaky throughout but managed to get through the game, preserving the win to even the series. I admit, the way this game started, it looked to me like the Pirates were just going through the motions. They went down in order the first 5 innings with 4 of the first 6 batters striking out. Andrew McCutchen showed what veteran leadership is all about.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates made the first out in the top of the 6th for the 16th consecutive out. They had just come off of a very frustrating game the night before where they could not drive in any runs. They were trailing 2-0 going into the 6th inning. After they made the first out, things started going their way, big time. Liover Peguero hit a dribbler down the third base line and went to second on a throwing error by the 3rd baseman. Jason Delay hit a little bloop in no man’s land in left center field to put runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Then, stop the presses, Ji Hwan Bae walked. In fact, double stop the presses, he walked twice in this game, which may be the most significant thing that happened. Bryan Reynolds who had a tough day at the plate struck out on 3 pitches, 2 of which were out of the strike zone. You had to feel that here we go again, another missed opportunity. However, McCutchen found a hole just to the left of the 2nd base bag and it tied the game 2-2. Ke’Bryan (If Bae Can Walk Maybe I Can Start Too) Hayes lined a sharp single to left field and Bae’s speed beat the slightly off target throw, giving the Pirates a 3-2 lead. The Pirates added a run in the 8th and McCutchen hit a huge, in more ways than one, 3 run home run which proved to be the margin of victory. The bullpen barely hung on but did, and the Pirates have a chance at a .500 road trip.

Next Game: This afternoon, Twins in Minnesota. It’s a rubber match today with Pirates looking like they are doing a bullpen game and the Twins trotting out of all people, Dallas Keuchel. Let’s hope he does not find his form today. Even with Keuchel pitching I will be surprised if the Pirates take the series. Those are the kind of surprises that you like however, and my heart is strong.