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Golf: My 2025 Season So Far

My 2025 golf season is winding down. It has been a typical year, with lots of ups and downs. I would say there have been more ups than downs. Nothing new on how to play the game, but there are a few changes. There was not as much traveling for golf this year. Many of the guys I play with had tough years with injuries and, in some cases, illnesses. Everybody made it through the year, but some better than others, to say the least. The best way to go through this year is to take a page from the classic western The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. I would say there was enough to go around for all three.

There was plenty of good. I have already broken my record for rounds played in a year. I have played 158 rounds, which eclipses my old record by 6 rounds. Right now, we have a weather break, but things are looking up to play Thursday through Sunday this week. With any luck, this year I may make the 170 mark. I have shot my age, 75 or better, 48 times so far this year. Last year I did it only 22 times. Of course, I had to shoot 74 or better last year. I did shoot a 73 from the white tees this year. Most of my rounds were played from the gold tees. My best round of the year was a 2 under 70, the same as last year. I started the year with a 5.0 index and currently, it is 4.9. I did have a much more consistent year. The highest I went was 6.3, and the lowest was 4.5. I also won my age group in the South Park Seniors and tied for the 4th best score of the day with a 75. My driving was still the stalwart of my game. My putting was up and down, so I will still put it in the good. I have actually been putting very well lately after having a downturn with putting during October. My other big improvement this year has been my sand play. I am not great, but I am not costing myself 2 or 3 shots when I am in a bunker. The weather had its ups and downs also. It was very windy and wet in March, April, May, and the early part of June. Then we went through a blistering hot spell that left a lot of courses in terrible shape. The rain we did get in this time frame was more in the form of a deluge. Beginning about the 2nd week of August, we went through some of the best weather I have ever experienced in Western Pennsylvania. Temperatures ranged from 66 to 84. It never got too hot or too cold all the way through the 3rd week of October. We could have used more rain, but we did get just enough to help some of the courses recover. Right now, we have hit a bit of a cold spell, but milder temps are on the horizon.

Next the bad, and there was plenty of that. My iron game continues to give me problems. It was the biggest reason my handicap did not go down. My iron play was especially bad from the 9-iron on up. I would have some good days with the irons. I have pretty much given up on figuring it out. My irons now consist of just the 6-iron through the lob wedge. Even though my handicap did not change much, I did have some really bad rounds this year. It wasn’t quite as bad as last year, but I had 14 rounds between 84 and 90. All of these rounds were brought on by bad iron play and a terrible short game. My problems with my irons did not have just one issue. Sometimes I would hit them fat, other times thin, and short irons just skulled low line drives. Those three shots could occur in just one round. There were some days that I had no finesse with them at all. I would have days where I did everything well with them: hit cuts, draws, high, and low shots at will. These were the days I shot my best rounds, as long as the putter behaved.

Now for the ugly and we all know where this is going. THE CHIP YIPS. Plus I added the shank chip, which I believe is nothing than a form of the chip yips. Even my good round in the South Park Seniors had a chip shank on the 17th hole. I admit I was choking down the stretch as I was just 2 over par after 16 holes. I somehow managed to hit 2 very good shots on the Par 5 and was almost green high on the left. The pin was on the front right but the green is narrow at the front. I tried to get too fancy and shanked it right out to the middle of the fairway. From there I putted from about 20 yards short of the green to avoid another shank. I putted it about 8 feet past and missed for a bogey 6. I played 18 better than I thought I would and had a 10-footer for bird but made a horrible putt but parred the hole to stagger in with my 75. The putting yips for now seem to be under control. I will be writing about that later this week. I have tried various things when it comes to the chip yips and just go back and forth with it. Some things seem to work and then everything just goes haywire. Fortunately, at times they just seem to go away. They are there more than they are not. I may discuss them further in another blog, but I don’t know. If I have a big breakthrough, I will be writing about that.

There is still some golf to be played this year, and where there is golf, there is hope. I will do the end of season right near Christmas when the year will be ending. I will be blogging some more over the next two days. The next one will be about my favorite subject: putting. Not too sure what the second one will be; most likely something about the mental game.

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Pirates Morning Report: If I Was The Czar Of The Pirates

Now that baseball season is over, I was going to start doing some golf blogs. I decided to get this blog out as soon as possible. I could also title this “what the Pirates should do but won’t.” I also wanted to get this out while I still feel there is a glimmer of hope for the 2026 season. There are some things that the Pirates could do that would end all hopes for the 2026 season. If they sign Andrew McCutchen—I love Andrew McCutchen—they should have never let him go. They should have re-signed him after the 2018 season. He unfortunately hurt his knee, but at the time, who could have predicted that? The facts are this: he was the 29th ranked DH in baseball. The Pirates can’t afford this from their DH for another season. You can say the same thing about two other players, Jack Suwinski and Alexander Canario. If they are on the 13-player opening day roster, this season is over before it even starts. I am not even wasting my time showing their stats; I have done it way too many times before. Before it is too late and the Pirates take all the fun out of it, this is what I would do if I ran the Pirates.

The number one priority for the off-season should be to sign Paul Skenes to a long-term contract. I feel that he would take a 6-year, 200 million dollar contract. However, if he would go for it, I would offer him 15 years at 600 million, making him a Pirate forever. Both of these deals could be done without increasing the current Pirate payroll all that much. You would trade Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller, which frees up 31 million. Look at it this way: if some other team had Paul Skenes and they said they would give you Paul Skenes for Reynolds and Keller, you would make that trade in 1 second. The Pirates have already freed up 25 million in salaries by getting rid of Tommy Pham, Andrew Heaney, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Adam Frazier, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. That is 56 million, more than enough to do either deal. Is the 15-year deal risky? You bet it is. To me, it’s worth the risk. You are dealing with most likely a once-in-a-lifetime pitcher. Of course, Skenes would have to be willing to take the deals. The 6-year deal might have more appeal; who knows? I think either deal would have a good chance of getting the job done. What would be the starting rotation and what would the bullpen look like for 2026? My rotation would be Skenes, Bubba Chandler, Johan Oviedo, Braxton Ashcraft, and Hunter Barco. Barco is by far the least experienced, but I like him as the left-hander in the rotation. I can’t imagine him being any worse than who they had for the 5th and even the 4th starter last year. Where is Mike Burrows? I would put him in the bullpen and make him my new closer. He has the closer arsenal: fastball and changeup. I know that this would be a new role for him, but I think he would do just fine. Dennis Santana would go back to being the setup man. Justin Lawrence and Isaac Mattson would do 7th and 8th inning work also. That gets us up to 9 pitchers. The final 4 spots would be down to 7 candidates, in order of most likely to least likely to make the roster: Carmen Mlodzinski, Dauri Moreta, Chase Shugart, Evan Sisk, Kyle Nicolas, Eddy Yean, and Thomas Harrington. Then, there is the case of Jared Jones. I do not know what his timetable is exactly, but what better way to bring him back than to start him in the bullpen? You can never predict how injuries are going to affect your pitching staff, but this looks pretty solid to me. This staff looks pretty deep and could weather a few injuries here and there. Does anyone see a need to keep Mitch Keller on the team? I do not.

Now on to the position players. Besides trading Reynolds, I would also trade Jared Triolo. His defense makes him attractive to a lot of teams that have high-powered offenses, something the Pirates do not have. A lot of what I would do here is going to be predicated on not knowing what we might get in a trade for those three players: Keller, Reynolds, and Triolo. I will discuss the free agent market and trades at the end of the blog. I am going to look at this position by position with what the Pirates have after trading those players. At catcher, we have Joey Bart, Henry Davis, and new entry Rafael Flores. I would trade Joey Bart, but I would also be open to trading Davis. For now, the catchers would be Davis and Flores. The first baseman will be Spencer Horwitz. The last 62 games of the season, Horwitz’s slash line was .305/.395/.520. You hope he doesn’t turn out to be Triolo II, but you have to go with him a full season. Obviously, I would not have him lead off. Second base will go to Nick Gonzales. Gonzales slumped the last six weeks of the season to have solid regression from 24 to 25. Right now, he is the only viable option at the moment, but that could change. Hopefully, he will find his groove again. His ankle-foot injury could have been a factor, but time will tell. Hopefully, it will be fully healed by spring training. Third base, Jared Triolo is the only guy that can play third. Cam Devanney and Malcom Nunez are other options. Who is Malcom Nunez? I don’t think even the Pirates know who he is. He is 24 years old and has been with Indianapolis for the last four years. He got hurt this past year, and that could be an issue. In 874 at-bats, he has hit 21 homers at the AAA level. I would rather see Devanney play shortstop. The other possibility is Tsung-Che Cheng. Both he and Devanney are excellent glove men. This is what the shortstop position needs. Even though Devanney had awful batting stats, I am not ready to give up on him yet. Of the two positions, third base is where the biggest hole is, even if the Pirates would decide to keep Triolo. That leads us to the outfield. The first thing I would do is get Oneil Cruz out of center field and put him in right field. I would have Billy Cook and Nick Yorke play left field. Conner Griffin would be my opening day center fielder. I would see no need for him to go to AAA. Then you have three wild cards, all for different reasons. Can Endy Rodriguez, who has had severe elbow issues to say the least stay healthy for a season. Who knows how he will do even if he stays healthy? Even when he has been healthy, he has never had a chance to play regularly. To me, he would make the perfect DH replacement. He can also catch and play first base. Being a switch hitter makes him even more appealing as a DH. The next wild card is Esmerlyn Valdez, soon to be 22-year-old outfielder. He put up insane numbers at the Arizona Fall League. In 77 plate appearances, his slash line was .370/.519/.870. That’s right; he slugged .870. He could be on the team as soon as June. Finally, we have Tremar Johnson, the no. 1 pick of 2022. He had an okay year at AA Altoona, but with a young player—he just turned 21 in June—maturity and development can sometimes come fast. He’s got speed, and he does seem to be able to get on base. It might be too big of a jump, but he should at least start in AAA.

A lot of the lineup will be dictated by what the Pirates would get in return for Keller, Reynolds, Bart/Davis, and Triolo. Hopefully, they would get nothing but position players. They do not need to add pitching. Their biggest need is third base and outfield. As far as the free agent market is concerned, I would not delve into that at all. Having said that, I would consider three players if the contracts are not too big: the Japan star Munetaka Murakami, who has played third base, Bo Bichette, and Kyle Tucker would be the only other two free agents I would even consider because they are under 30 years old. I know there are players on the Pirates that are up for arbitration that will increase their payroll some. With 55 million gone from the payroll, the Pirates could do the six-year Skenes deal and sign one of the three free agents mentioned. It would still keep their payroll manageable at around 120 million. These are the things I would do during this offseason. I think the best bet is to improve the team through trades. Any one of those three free agents would be a big help also, but it would increase the payroll more than what the Pirates are comfortable with. One thing does not change: I finish every article of this type with the same sentence. We all know that this is what the Pirates should do, but we know that they won’t do it. They just do not have a high interest in bringing winning baseball to Pittsburgh.

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Pirates Morning Report: Game 7, An Unlikely Hero And Missed Opportunities

Final Score: Dodgers 5 Blue Jays 4 in 11 innings

Why The Dodgers Won: The Dodgers became the first team to win back-to-back World Series since the Yankees won 3 in a row from 1998 to 2000. You have heard of bullpen games. This was a starting rotation game. The Dodgers used all of their 4 starting pitchers. Shohei Ohtani went 2 and 1/3 innings, Tyler Glasnow went 2 and 1/3 innings, and Blake Snell went 1 and 1/3 innings. Last but certainly not least, Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 2 and 2/3 innings the day after he went 6 innings in game 6. He was the winning pitcher in 3 of the Dodgers’ 4 wins. The Dodgers used only 2 pitchers out of their bullpen, and one of those, Emmet Sheehan, made 12 starts during the regular season out of 15 appearances. It was a sad last 2 games for the vaunted Blue Jay offense. In the last 2 games of the World Series, they were 4 for 26 with runners in scoring position. They left 22 men on base, including 14 in game 7. It is going to be a very long offseason for the Blue Jays.

The Key Moments Of The Game: In the bottom of the third, with a runner on 3rd base and one out, the Dodgers decided to intentionally walk Vlad Guerrero. They paid the price when Bo Bichette took an Ohtani slider and hit it 442 feet into the seats, giving the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead. The Dodgers started chipping away with a run in the 4th and a run in the 6th. Mookie Betts opened the 6th inning with a walk and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly. Both Dodger runs scored on sacrifice flies. In the bottom of the 6th, the Blue Jays scored a run on a single and a double. Then the Dodgers long balled the Blue Jays to victory. Max Muncy in the 8th made it 4-3. In the top of the 9th, Miguel Rojas took a 3-2 slider and lined it over the fence to tie the game. Rojas, who is 36 years old, had hit only 7 home runs during the regular season. He did not start in the first 5 games of the series. He is at the end of a 3-year, 15 million dollar deal. He is a free agent in 2026. I wonder if anyone will sign him. He is one of the most unlikely World Series heroes of all time. Will Smith, who is 30 years old and has a 10-year, 140 million dollar contract, hit the go-ahead homer in the top of the 11th. It is just too painful to go through all the missed chances the Blue Jays had since the 6th inning of game 6. In the last 15 innings of the World Series, the Blue Jays had a runner on 2nd with no outs 4 times and a runner on third with less than 2 outs 3 times and did not score a run. They could not do what the Dodgers did 2 times in game 7: hit a sacrifice fly. If they could have just done it one out of 3 times, they would be the World Champions. On one final note, I think the bench-clearing incident, as ridiculous as it was, did not really have any bearing on the outcome of the game. It is a little ironic that the most fortunate play of the game for the Dodgers was the line drive by Andres Gimenez that Max Muncy snared, even though he was playing in for the bunt. Gimenez needlessly instigated the confrontation. Just like the Blue Jays, you could say it was not his night.

The 2025 baseball season has come to an end. Even though I did not think they would, I have to give the Dodgers credit for going full bore to try to win two World Series in a row. It took them 11 innings into Game 7, but they got the job done when it needed to be done. As mentioned before, this will be a long offseason for the Blue Jays. It is what I always say: hitting is always a sometime thing. In spring training 2026, I expect the Blue Jays to be practicing hitting fly balls deep enough to score a runner from third base. It was a great season for baseball. This was probably the best postseason baseball has had since the 1986 season. In the coming weeks, I will look at what the Pirates should do but probably won’t do in 2026. I think you will find it to be a bit of a surprise. Not as big of a surprise as the Pirates having a winning season, but surprising nonetheless.

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Pirates Morning Report: We Have The 7th Elimination Game Of This Post Season.

Final Score: Dodgers 3 Blue Jays 1

Why The Dodgers Won: The Dodgers were able to put 3 runs on the board after 2 were out in the top of the 3rd. They were able to make it stand up for a 3 to 1 win over the Blue Jays to force a game 7. The Blue Jays did everything they wanted to do except score runs. They were able to get Yoshinobu Yamamoto out of the game after 6 innings. The Blue Jays had chances to score in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th but failed every time. They were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left 8 men on base. The Dodgers were even worse overall in hitting, getting only 4 hits. They got 3 of those in that 3rd inning. It does not take a math major to figure out they got only 1 hit in the other 8 innings. They got 2 walks in the 3rd and another 2 walks for the rest of the game. The Dodger bullpen barely hung on, but hang on they did.

Key Moments Of The Game: In the top of the 3rd, the Dodgers had a runner on 2nd with 2 outs. Then came the dreaded intentional walk to Shohei Ohtani. Will Smith followed that up with a double, making the score 1-0. Freddie Freeman walked on 5 pitches, bringing the slumping Mookie Betts to the plate. He fell behind in the count 1-2 but lined a single to left on an up-and-in fastball. This scored 2 runs and gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. The Blue Jays bounced back in the bottom of the inning when George Springer got a big 2-out single to make the score 3-1. Then came the heartbreaking bottom of the 9th for the Blue Jays. Roki Sasaki got out of a 1st and 2nd, one-out jam in the bottom of the 8th. The bottom of the 9th got even worse. He hit the first batter, Alejandro Kirk. Addison Barger got a ground rule double that turned out to be a bad break for the Blue Jays. Even so, this put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. The Dodgers brought in Tyler Glasnow. Ernie Clement swung at the first pitch that was up and in off the plate. He blooped it right to Freddie Freeman. This brought up the light-hitting Andres Gimenez. On the 2nd pitch of his at-bat, he swung at a pitch that was just off the outside of the plate. He went with the pitch and blooped it out to left field. That is when Addison Barger made the cardinal sin of breaking too far down the line toward third. The throw by Kiki Hernandez beat Barger to the bag, and the game was suddenly over. Glasnow got out of the inning by only throwing 3 pitches with none of them being in the strike zone.

Next Game: Tonight, in Toronto, game 7. This 7th game of the World Series is really difficult to get a read on. The Dodgers, even though they won game 6, are still in a team hitting slump. The Blue Jays, on the other hand, may be psyched out by not cashing in on all the opportunities they had to tie and win the game. Both pitching staffs are running on fumes. The game could go either way. It could be a wild scoring affair or a close, tight, low-scoring game. The most interesting part of the game will be how each team manages their pitching staffs. This will be the key to victory. I still like the Blue Jays’ chances. No matter what happens, I expect it to be a great game to end one of the best postseasons in the history of baseball. Let’s just hope that some umpire does not screw it up.

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Pirates Morning Report: Blue Jays Do It Again.

Final Score: Blue Jays 6 Dodgers 1

Why The Blue Jays Won: The Blue Jays overcame the 1st pitch home run jinx by starting the game with not one but two home runs to jump out to a 2-0 lead. It was 3 pitches and 2 home runs by Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Unlike a lot of games where a team has led off with a home run the Blue Jays won this one. They got an outstanding, record-breaking pitching performance from 22-year-old Trey Yesavage. He went 7 innings, giving up just 1 run and 3 hits. He struck out 12 and walked no one. The Blue Jays’ bullpen gave up only 1 hit and a walk while striking out 3 more. As great as Yesavage was, the Blue Jays played some great defense behind him. They have not made an error in the Series. After the home runs, Blake Snell pitched pretty well for the 6 innings. The Blue Jays were only leading 3-1 going into the top of the 7th. They had scored another run in the top of the third when Teoscar Hernandez misplayed a liner down the right field line, allowing Daulton Varsho to open with a triple. Ernie Clement immediately drove him in with a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 7th, the Dodger management team continued to make bad decisions.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Dodgers made what I call an Aaron Boone panic move by changing the batting order for game 5. One of the oldest sports sayings is to go with what brought you here. Messing with the Dodger top of the order proved to be disastrous. Snell had thrown 93 pitches through 6 innings. I saw no problem on allowing Snell to come out for the 7th inning. Addison Barger opened the inning with a ground ball single down the left field line on a 5-pitch at-bat (98 pitches). The ball was not hit hard but was placed perfectly down the left line. During the Isiah Kiner-Falefa at-bat, Snell wild-pitched the runner to second. IKF, showing his Pirate roots, grounded out to short on 6 pitches (104) not advancing the runner. Snell walked the weak-hitting Andres Gimenez on 7 pitches (111). Even though he does strike out Davis Schneider, he wild-pitched Barger to third base. At this point, he has thrown 119 pitches. This is where the Dodgers decide to take out one of the best pitchers in baseball and bring in 23-year-old Edgardo Henriquez with 1st and 3rd and two outs to face Guerrero. Snell had gotten Guerrero to ground into a double play in his last at-bat. Henriquez threw the 3rd wild pitch of the inning to allow in the 4th Blue Jay run. He walked Guerrero and Bo Bichette singled to make the score 5-1. Henriquez was taken out and replaced by none other than Anthony (Are You Kidding Me) Banda. Miraculously, he gets out of the inning. Even more dumb founding, Banda comes out for the 8th. The Dodgers are not so lucky this time; he gives up a run on 2 hits. To show how bad this guy has been, his ERA actually goes down after this performance. Where in the hell was Roki Sasaki? I would have brought him in after the walk to Gimenez. The Blue Jays, thanks to some questionable moves by the Dodgers, go home with a 3-2 lead in the series.

Next Game: Tomorrow night, in Toronto. Can Yoshinobu Yamamoto do it one more time? Will the Dodgers continue to tinker with their lineup? I know Mookie Betts is in a slump. So was Shohei Ohtani before he had one of the greatest games in postseason history. Will the Dodgers admit their stupid mistake and put Betts back in the No. 2 spot? You have to go with your best in their accustomed positions and hope they figure it out. The other big plus for the Dodgers is that they are getting a day off. If ever a team needs to regroup, it is these Dodgers. Between this and Yamamoto starting, I think the Dodgers have the advantage in Game 6. That is not to say they will win. The one place Yamamoto does seem vulnerable is the 1st inning. It has been a back-and-forth series so far. The only really exciting game was the 18-inning marathon that the Dodgers won. It’s funny, that game may have cost them the series.

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Pirates Morning Report: There Will Be A Game Six

Final Score: Blue Jays 6 Dodgers 2

Why The Blue Jays Won: Both teams had to be tired coming off the 18-inning marathon on Monday night. Only the Dodgers really showed it. Two of their hottest hitters, Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith, went 0 for 7 with a walk. The team only scored 2 runs on 6 hits, and one of them was a garbage run in the bottom of the 9th. Shane Bieber pitched a nice 5 and 1/3 innings, but he did not have overwhelming stuff or command. He threw 81 pitches, with 33 being balls. He gave up 4 hits and walked 3, giving up 1 run. The Dodgers were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. The Dodger bullpen imploded in the 7th. The Blue Jays by far looked like the fresher team. It was a close game through 6 innings. The Blue Jays had a 2-1 lead thanks to a 2-run homer by Vlad Guerrero Jr. in the top of the 3rd. Then came the 7th inning, where a lot of questionable decisions were made.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Dodgers sent Shohei Ohtani out to start the 7th inning. In the previous inning, he had a couple of hard-hit outs. He did strike out the last batter, but his last two fastballs dipped to 96 MPH. Dalton Varsho put the first pitch of the inning, a 97 MPH fastball middle in about belt high, and drilled it into right field for a base hit. Ernie Clement took pitch number 3 of the inning, a 96 MPH fastball that was down and in, and doubled into left center field off the wall. Then the Dodgers decided to go with two of their most ineffective relievers in the postseason, Anthony Banda and Blake Treinen. They paid the price. They finished the inning by giving up 3 hits and a walk, allowing 4 runs to score. If you could have limited the damage to 1 run in that inning, you would have still been in the game, they wound up getting rocked. When the inning was over, Banda’s postseason ERA was 10.38 and Treinen’s was 8.31 even though he was not charged with giving up a run in 1/3 of an inning. This should be their last appearance in the postseason. If it is not, the Dodgers will deserve whatever the results are. The game was broken open 6 to 1, and the Dodgers never really threatened after that. They scored 1 run in the bottom of the 9th, but it was traded for an out. A solid win for the Blue Jays.

Nest Game: Tonight in Los Angeles. With the win, the Blue Jays assured themselves of going back to Toronto for a game 6. After game 2, I wrote that I thought the winner of this series would be the team that would win that close, hard-fought, down-to-the-wire game. What I did not know was that the game would go 18 innings. This 18-inning win seemed to have an adverse effect on the entire Dodger organization. You could argue whether they should have even stayed with the planned battery for game 4. At least consider giving Will Smith a rest after catching 18 innings the night before. Then, with the game on the line, why pitch Banda and Trienen? There were obviously other options. Jack Dreyer was one of them, pitching 2 innings no less. The Dodgers showed their age after the game 3 marathon in more ways than one. No matter what happens tonight, the Blue Jays accomplished their goal of getting back to Toronto. If they win tonight, they have an excellent chance of keeping the Dodgers from winning back-to-back championships.

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Pirates Morning Report: An Eight Game World Series

Final Score: Dodgers 6 Blue Jays 5 in 18 innings

Why The Dodgers Won: The much-maligned Dodger bullpen held the potent Blue Jay offense scoreless for 11 innings. Will Klein shut out the Blue Jays over the last 4 innings. He gave up 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 5. He appeared in 14 games for the Dodgers this year. In a game that featured 5 home runs, 31 hits, 19 walks, 6 of which were intentional, 2 hit by pitches, and 2 Dodgers errors, it was amazing that only 11 runs were scored. Shohei Ohtani was 4 for 4 with 5 walks. The scoring opportunities were numerous, and both teams were just as inept in bringing in runs. The Blue Jays were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left 19 runners on base. The Dodgers were 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left 18 men on base. There were 49 runners on the base paths during the game. Only 6 of those runners scored. Only 4 runs were driven in by hits that were not home runs. There were only 2 runs driven in by singles, one of which was only because Bo Bichette can’t run. The Blue Jays used 9 pitchers. The Dodgers used 10 pitchers. The other surprising fact about this game, besides the Dodger bullpen, was that the Blue Jays struck out 16 times. After 17 and 1/2 grueling innings, the game ended suddenly with Freddie Freeman taking a center-cut 3-2 sinker over the center field fence to walk it off for the Dodgers.

The Key Moments Of The Game: There were too many to mention. The bottom of the 13th had to be an analytical nightmare. Tommy Edman led off the inning with a double. Then the Dodgers bunted, heaven forbid, him over to third base. Eric Lauer then got pinch hitter Alex Call to pop out on a 2-0 pitch. Then the Blue Jays decided to do the cardinal sin of intentionally walking the batter not once but twice to load the bases. Of course, those batters were Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. They did this to face Freddie Freeman. On the 2nd pitch, Freeman hit it hard but right at the center fielder to end the inning. It was a victory for old school baseball. Freeman would get his revenge in the bottom of the 18th.

Next Game: Tonight, in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see what effects last night’s game will have on both teams. There could be physical and psychological effects. The Blue Jays’ offense has to be down from having so many chances to win the game but not coming through. The Dodgers’ bullpen all of a sudden has to be feeling real good about themselves. The Dodgers are going from one extreme to the other. They went from possibly being over-rested to the point of exhaustion. This is a team that is a little bit long in the tooth. Even though they won and it is a good thing, you have to wonder a little bit just how much they might have in the tank for games 4 and 5. Then there is the injury to George Springer. Will he miss a game or the entire Series? This would definitely hurt the Blue Jays’ cause. This was by far the most exciting and intense game of the Series so far. Will a win like this give the Dodgers momentum, or will they be running on fumes for the rest of the series? We will find out tonight.

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Pirates Morning Report: Yamamoto Shows It Can Be Done

Final Score: Dodgers 5 Blue Jays 1

Why The Dodgers Won: Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched his 2nd straight complete game. He gave up just 1 run on 4 hits. One of the hits was a pop-up that should have been caught. He struck out 8, walked none, and hit a batter. He got stronger as the game went on. In the 8th inning, he struck out the side on 14 pitches. He retired the last 20 batters in a row. He threw 103 pitches. Blake Snell threw 100 pitches in a little over 5 innings. Kevin Gausman almost matched Yamamoto pitch for pitch. At one point in the game, he retired 17 batters in a row. It was the top of the 7th that did him in. He gave up two solo home runs to Will Smith and Max Muncy that gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead that they never relinquished. They added 2 more runs in the 8th and won easily 5-1. The good news for the Blue Jays is that Yamamoto cannot pitch every game.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The tone of this game was set in the very 1st inning. The Dodgers scored a run on simple 2-out lightning. A double by Freddie Freeman and a single by Will Smith. In the bottom of the 1st, George Springer opened the inning with a double down the left field line that was scorched 106 MPH. On the very next pitch, Nathan Lukes fisted a little blooper into left field for a single, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. coming to the plate. The game could not have gotten off to a better start for the Blue Jays, especially coming off that offensive performance in game 1. In an at-bat that may be looked at as the turning point of the series, Yamamoto struck him out on 7 pitches. He threw 4 splitters in a row and finished him off with an 81 MPH curveball. Then the Dodgers got a little luck. Alejandro Kirk on a 2-1 pitch hit a soft liner but right at Freddie Freeman for the 2nd out. Yamamoto struck out Daulton Varsho, and the inning was over. The Blue Jays could not take advantage of a pop-up that was not caught in the infield in the 2nd inning. They put runners on 1st and 3rd with one out in the 3rd. They were able to tie the game but could not put up a crooked number. From that point on, Yamamoto mowed them down, not allowing a base runner the rest of the way.

Next Game: Tomorrow night in Los Angeles. The series switches to L.A. on Monday. This series has shaped up as expected, strength against strength. The Dodgers’ starting rotation against the Blue Jays’ foul ball, making contact offense. The Blue Jays won round one, knocking out Blake Snell in the 6th inning. The Dodgers won round two with Yamamoto pitching a complete game gem. The Blue Jays will need to win one in L.A. to get back to Toronto. The good news for the Blue Jays is that both Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, while great starting pitchers, are not length guys. It will be surprising if either one goes over 6 innings. These next two games will really put that shaky Dodger bullpen to the test. The other big question is, does Max Scherzer have one more game left in the tank? Will Shane Bieber be effective is another big factor? The first two games were solid wins for both teams. There was not a lot of late excitement in either game. To me, this series is going to boil down to who is going to win that close, hard-fought one-run game. They are back at it tomorrow.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Blue Jays Way Prevails

Final Score: Blue Jays 11 Dodgers 4

Why The Blue Jays Won: After 3 and 1/2 innings, the Blue Jays trailed the Dodgers 2-0, but you still had to feel really good about the Blue Jays’ chances. They were playing Blue Jays offense They had made Blake Snell throw 56 pitches and struck out only 3 times in the first 3 innings. Over the next 2-plus innings, things would only get worse for Snell and the Dodgers. Snell would have to throw 44 more pitches and gave up a 2-run homer to Daulton Varsho. The bottom of the 6th was a complete disaster. The Blue Jays started the inning by getting the first 6 men on base. The first 3 against Blake Snell and the next 3 against reliever Emmet Sheehan. They took the lead 5-2. The Dodgers were able to get the first out with a force out at home. The bases were loaded with one out when Addison Barger was announced as the pinch hitter. The Dodgers countered with left-hander Anthony Banda. On the 4th pitch of the at-bat, Barger took an up-and-in slider and parked it in the stands for the first pinch-hit grand slam home run in World Series history. This game was history too. Both teams added 2 more runs for the final score of 11-4. The Blue Jays only struck out 4 times in the game. They hit 3 home runs. The Blue Jays played their game to perfection and blew the Dodgers away.

The Key Moments Of The Game: In the bottom of the first, Snell had just gotten out of a bases-loaded situation with no runs scoring. Blue Jay starter Trey Yesavage did not have his best stuff. He walked Will Smith to start the inning. After a force out, he gave up back-to-back singles, and the Dodgers took the lead 1-0. An infield single loaded the bases. Andy Pages worked the count to 3 and 2. He struck out on a slider that was down around the ankles. Shohei Ohtani grounded out to first base to end the inning. A potential big inning ended with just one run scoring. In the next inning, the Dodgers started out with 2 walks and a single to plate their 2nd run. Freddie Freeman was thrown out trying to go to third. Bo Bichette made a great play up the middle, on the left field side of 2nd base, and threw out the batter. That was the defensive gem of the game. It was Bichette’s first game in the Majors at 2nd base. So much for being a defensive liability. Max Muncy struck out to end the inning. Again, the Dodgers could score only 1 run. Yesavage retired the side in order in his last inning, the 4th, but what a line. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. It could have been so much worse. Then the Blue Jays did their thing in the bottom of the 6th, scoring 9 runs and essentially ending the Dodgers’ chances in game 1.

Next Game: Tonight, in Toronto. The Blue Jays put on a hitting clinic last night. It is something that Pirate fans can only dream about. Their two-strike approach was phenomenal. Game 2 will see if they can continue their kind of baseball. It looks like the layoff did affect the Dodgers somewhat. Blowout losses are not all bad. It is still just one loss. The Dodgers did not have to use any of their A-squad bullpen. There is no question that the Blue Jays have to be feeling really good right now. In the strength-against-strength showdown, the Blue Jays won the battle easily. The Dodgers should be worried.

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Pirates Morning Report: World Series Preview

It will be the No. 1 seed Toronto Blue Jays going up against the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. All the expanded playoff worriers can breathe a sigh of relief. No low seeds are getting into this World Series. Again, it is a big boy series. Maybe not quite as big as last time when the top two payrolls made it. The Blue Jays are no slouches when it comes to spending with the 5th largest payroll. Even being 5th puts you almost 100 million dollars behind the Dodgers. The Dodgers made a huge financial commitment to win back-to-back World Series. They are at the doorstep of making this all come true. What these teams did during the regular season seems to be pretty meaningless right now. The Brewers beat the Dodgers in all 6 meetings during the regular season. They were not competitive in the Championship Series and were swept by the Dodgers. Position by position these teams are pretty evenly matched. The Dodgers have the edge at catcher, second base, third base, shortstop, and DH. The Blue Jays are better at first base, all three outfield positions, and pinch hitting. We all know who the Blue Jays are. They are a team that puts the ball in play, walks more than the average team, and yet still hit for power. With the Dodgers’ new starting well-rested rotation, they have 4 pitchers that have some of the highest strikeouts per nine innings for starting pitchers in the majors. If they had enough innings, they would all be in the top 10. This will be one of the keys to the series. Can the Blue Jays continue to make contact against this elite rotation? Then there is what I call the X factor. How will having 7 days off affect the Dodgers? We talk about hitters being affected by this when they don’t face live pitching for longer than normal. Remember the Dodger bats were not exactly on fire in the Brewer series. The pitching could be affected also. Pitchers are a process and routine oriented bunch. Starting pitchers go through a routine every 5 to 6 days. Now that routine will be stretched to 7 days and beyond for some. Only time will tell. If the Blue Jays win the first two games of the series, many people will be pointing to the long wait the Dodgers had to go through. If the starting rotation of the Dodgers gets rocked in the first two games, it will really be brought up. The Dodger rotation was so dominant in the NLCS. In my view, this long delay for the Dodgers will be a factor. The Blue Jays could win the first two games, but it does not guarantee them a series win. The defending champs will not go down easily. I will be rooting for the Blue Jays. I still think it will be a hard-fought, exciting series that will go the distance. At this point, I think it is a toss-up.

I will go back to my Pirates Morning Report format for each of the World Series games. I will give the final score, tell why the team won, and what the key moment of the game was. It will boil down to which team can overcome the other team’s strength. If the Blue Jays can keep their strikeouts to 6 or below, then I think they have a real shot. The Dodgers are riding high. If I am wrong about this delay and the Dodgers grab game 1, then it is going to be very difficult for the Blue Jays to keep the Dodgers from repeating. If that happens, then the Dodgers have spent their money well. It all starts tomorrow.