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Golf Diary

Rounds played 3: Rittswood Score 80 Greens In Reg. 5 Putts 31

Quicksilver Score 78 Greens In Reg. 8 Putts 31

Highland Springs Score 76 Greens In Reg. 12 Putts 34

The Good: My driving was the best of the year. Not only in straightness but in distance. I did hit some bad drives here and there particularly at Quicksilver and in the early going at Rittswood but other than that, I hit some really good drives with some extra distance. My iron game improved with every round and was really good at Highland Springs where I hit 13 greens. I had some short irons into some large greens but overall my iron game was very good. My short game was neither good or bad as I got up and down 4 for 13 at Rittswood, 4 for 10 at Quicksilver and 3 for 6 at Highland Springs.

The Bad: Putting, Putting and more Putting. Even though the numbers do not look all that bad I could not make anything. The best putting day was at Quicksilver as I did make some nice par saves and two nice birdie putts. The worse was today as I had some very good birdie looks and could not make a thing. I had 5 putts under 15 feet for birdie, and none were made. If I had had a good putting day I would have shaved off 2 to 5 strokes in each round.

Luck Of The Rounds. I had two lip outs today on those birdie putts that could have gone in. Overall though, luck was not much of a factor in any of the three rounds.

Next Round: Saturday, at South Park.

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Pirates Morning Report: Welcome To The Big Legues

Final Score: Pirates 0 Guardians 11

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates brought up 3 players yesterday, Quinn Priester, Endy Rodriguez and Liover Peguero. It was a rude reception. Priester gave up 7 runs in 5 and 1/3 innings. Both Rodriguez and Peguero were hitless, striking out 5 times between them. It was a blowout loss as the Guardians scored at least 1 run in each of the last 6 innings, while the Pirates took my challenge of getting shut out for an entire series, like the Reds, seriously, and are a third of the way home. There were things the management team did in this game, while it would not have affected the outcome, is mind boggling, nonetheless. I do not understand leading off with Suwinski. He is 0 for post All Star break and this is his MO. He goes through some long hitless streaks. This is not the man you want at the top of the order. It was hard to believe that they left Priester in as long as they did, to take the beating he took. After pitching a solid opening 3 innings where he sent 9 batters down in a row, you could see for whatever reason he was starting to lose command. In the beginning he was throwing nothing but strikes and did have this ridiculous low pitch count after 3 innings. He would up throwing 73 pitches and only 47 wound up being strikes. Granted the big hits came fast and furious but you could see it coming if you were paying any attention, which apparently the Pirate dugout was not. Of course, when you don’t score any runs, it doesn’t really matter what you do managerial wise.

Key Moment Of The Game: There was none. Once the Guardians started teeing off on Priester this game was over. The Pirates did get a one out double in the bottom of the 5th inning with score 3-0 but failed to do anything. The Pirates have now lost 4 in a row.

Next Game: Tonight, Guardians in Pittsburgh. Despite the disastrous game, I like all the moves the Pirates made to bring up the young players. Mitch Keller pitches tonight and he has pitched only 1 inning since July 8th. Why, I don’t know. If he has a bad outing tonight, I am sure they will blame it on being rusty. The last time the Pirates were blown out they followed it up with a 6 game winning streak. Could it happen again. Listen, when you are a Pirate fan you grab for straws.

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Pirates Morning Report: Lost Weekend

Final Score: Pirates 4 Giants 8 10 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: Another frustrating day at the plate for the Pirates. They managed to score 4 runs, but it took 8 hits and 6 walks to do it. They left 11 runners on base and were 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Osvaldo Bido could only go 2.2 innings, so this turned into a bullpen game, and they did very well until the blow up in the 10th inning by Yerry De Los Santos. Where do the Pirates come up with these relief pitchers with the long names. The bullpen had pitched fantastic the previous 6.1 inning, giving up 0 runs on just 2 hits and 1 walk. There were a lot of good things that happened this weekend for the Pirates, but they could not do the things that you have to do to win ballgames, while the Giants did. The Giants had only one more hit and one less walk than the Pirates but produced 8 runs. They came up with the big hit when they needed it and swept the series.

Key Moment Of The Game: In the bottom of the 8th the Pirates loaded the bases on a single and two walks with nobody out and trailing in the game 3-2. Jared Triolo hit a sacrifice fly that not only scored a run but moved the runner over to third base. Tucupita (I Think I Will Try To Bunt Even Though It Did Not Work The Last Time In The Exact Same Situation) Marcano, after getting ahead in the count 2-0 fouled off not one but two bunt attempts and then struck out on a pitch outside the zone. What made this even more frustrating is the infield was playing in and a ground ball has a good chance of getting through. Gonzales gets hit by a pitch to reload the based. Then Jason Delay puts on a little league exhibition. Takes a strike, swings at two pitches outside the strike zone, luckily fouling off one. He does take a pitch that almost hits him. Then tops off this great at bat by swinging at a pitch in the dirt to end the inning. In the last 30 games Delay has a lower batting average than Hedges. A pinch hitter may have been in order here, do you think? The Pirates should have taken the lead, and not had two of the worst at bats possible.

Next Game: Tonight, Guardians in Pittsburgh. Quinn Priester makes his major league debut, which will add some interest to the game. There are reports that other players are being brought up. It will be interesting to see who goes down. This was a tough weekend for the Pirates but hopefully one in which they learned something. I must toot my own horn a little bit as I just mentioned how offense in baseball can be a sometime thing. This weekend the potent Red’s offense got shut out 3 straight times by the Milwaukee Brewers. At least this gives the Pirates something to shoot for. I’m talking about what the Reds did.

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Pirates Morning Report: Three Hits Are Enough When You Are Playing The Pirates

Final Score: Pirates 1 Giants 3

Why The Pirates Loss: This was another game where the good team wins, and the mediocre team loses contributing to their own loss in a big way. The Pirate bats were particularly bad this game. They did get 7 hits to along with 3 walks but were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 9 men on base. I think it is time to get Suwinski out of the leadoff spot. His last two at bats were particularly discouraging. With runners in scoring position, he took first pitch fastballs that were right in the middle of the plate both times. The first at bat the pitch might have been inner third, but it was the perfect pitch to drive. If you do not swing at it, that is not going to happen. It was a great performance by Johan Oviedo as he gave up only one hit, unfortunately it was a home run, struck out 10 and did walk 3. It was nice to see him get back on track and hopefully we will see this kind of performance the rest of the season.

The Key Moment Of The Game: In the top of the 8th the Pirates brought in Carmen Mlodzinski in to pitch. After getting one out, he walked the next batter on 4 pitches. Then on a 0-2 count he throws Joc Pederson a pitch out over the plate just above the knees and he drills it into right field for a single. Then the Pirates make the right move, and it still doesn’t pay off. They bring in David Bednar when the game is on the line. He strikes out the first batter he faces. He gets ahead of Michael Conforto 1-2. He out does Mlodzinski by throwing the next pitch out over the plate, except this time it is belt high. Here, have a hit. Conforto drives the ball into right for a single, then the Pirates throw the ball around(Do the Pirates have a catcher than can throw the ball to 2nd base) that allows the Giants to score a 3rd run, which was critical. In the bottom of the 9th the Pirates got a runner to 3rd base with one out. With a 2 run cushion the Giants did not have to play the infield up. The Pirates made 2 outs and the game was over sending the Pirates to 10 games below .500.

Next Game: Today at Noon, Giants in Pittsburgh. Friday night the Pirates were on Apple TV and today they are on Peacock in what they call the opener or something like that. All I can say is these streaming services must think that baseball fans want some comic relief or why would you keep televising the Pirates. The Pirates have been on Apple TV 3 out of the last 4 Fridays. I am not complaining. It is such a pleasant break from the Pirate announcers. These announcers on the streaming services are not that great but they talk about what’s going on during the game, rather than how a guy grips a ball or stands in the batter’s box or God knows what they talk about up in that Pirate booth. I swear, I do not think they even watch the game. By the way, the Pirates have called for a throwing practice at 9 AM.

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Pirates Morning Report: Defining Game

Final Score: Pirates 4 Giants 6

Why The Pirates Lost: As Forest Gump would say the Pirates lost for no particular reason. This was the type of game that good teams win, and mediocre teams lose. The Giants scored 5 or their 6 runs on hits. The Pirates scored 1 of their 4 runs on hits, and that was a home run. The Giants bullpen protected a lead, the Pirates bullpen did not. Rich Hill had the mediocre “quality” start giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, walking 2 and striking out 2, over 6 innings. Holderman and Borucki came in the game to ensure that the Giants would score three runs. There was too much made of the error in right field by Henry Davis. As the rest of the inning unfolded, the run would have scored anyway, on the two out single. It was the 2nd straight change up that Borucki threw, and it was right down the middle. Another great pitching sequence by the Pirates. It was essentially the lack of the big hit that sealed the Pirates fate, and some awful catching by our defensive, pitch framing, waste of cells Austin Hedges.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates had the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 6th, trailing 3-2. A sacrifice fly, a walk, and another sacrifice fly had the Pirates up 4-3 with runners on 1st and 2nd with two out, and Nick Gonzales at the plate. On the first pitch he ripped a drive down the left field line that was not pulled enough, and Mike Yastrzemski made a nice running catch to end the threat. Holderman crapped the bed the next inning and the Pirates never really threatened again, starting the 2nd half with a typical loss.

Next Game: Tonight, Giants in Pittsburgh. Oviedo starts for the Pirates tonight, another young pitcher going in the wrong direction. In his last 3 games he has given up 14 runs. If I was Paul Skenes, I would be worried. There were many good things about the game last night for the Pirates, but winning was not one of them. Let’s see if they can check that off the list tonight.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Final 72 Games

The Pirates begin the second half of the season tonight against the Giants at home with Rich Hill starting on the mound for the Pirates. That may tell you more about the remaining 72 games than anything else. It does not appear that management is going to do much to help this team. I say to hell with management and let’s have some fun. What would I do if I was running the Pirates right now. One thing is for sure I wouldn’t be starting Rich Hill to open the second half of the season. Keller pitched one inning in the All Star game on Tuesday. I can see him not pitching on Friday, but he is not scheduled to pitch this weekend. Here is what I would do with the team right now.

My trade chip would be Ke’Bryan Hayes if and when he ever gets healthy. If he does not get better, then that shoots that all to hell. I would send down Castro and Marcano. Bae has to come off the IL, then I would send him down also. I would bring up Ryan Vilade and Endy Rodriguez. I would be pitching Quinn Priester on Sunday. I would have Vilade play shortstop, Rodriguez would play 1st and left field. If and when Castro, Marcano or Bae start to show they are learning something by picking their games back up, I would bring up whoever that is, and then cut Hedges and/or Delay, with Rodriguez and Davis moving behind the plate where they belong. Once Hedges and Delay are gone then I think this is a lineup that can score some runs.

As much as that would be nice to see, we all know that this is not going to happen. There is no question the Pirates have had lots of hard luck with injuries from Cruz to McCutchen. The bullpen has had many on the IL. They have lost 3 starting or potential starting pitchers to Tommy John surgery this year. Max Kranick should be making a return during this 2nd half and should provide a big boost to the pitching staff no matter how they decide to use him. In February I wrote about what I called the unknown factors that would affect the season of the Pirates as it unfolded. First would management try and win games this year. Certainly, the first half they have but they could go back to losing on purpose in the 2nd half. Starting Rich Hill is an indication they just might. The 2nd unknown was just how good a manager Derick Shelton is? Right now, it doesn’t look like he is all that good. If fact. the whole coaching staff has really looked bad. The hitting has been awful and the digression of Roansy Contreras and Luis Ortiz is a big black eye to the staff. The final unknown was how these players would respond to playing meaningful games in August. It looks like they had major problems playing meaningful games in June and July. It definitely got too hot in the kitchen for a lot of the Pirate players. Maybe they will learn from this as they start the 2nd half.

I do not see much positive happening for the Pirates right now. They will get some players back in August and they may make a run for respectability. This season did start with such promise but injuries and managements lack of belief in this team after the injuries, by not providing any help to improve the team, turned the season into a downward spiral. If they play .500 ball the rest of the way I will be shocked. If they do make some of the moves I discussed earlier, then I may change my mind. But it is best to be prepared for the really down dog days of summer, as far as the Pirates are concerned.

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Pirates Morning Report: At The All Star Break

It’s time to look at these Pittsburgh Pirates at the 90 game mark, which just coincidently comes at the All Star break. Even though this has been an erratic year, the end point is very consistent. There is not one part of the Pirate game that is really bringing the team down or a part that is keeping them from being worse. In fact, it is rather freaky how the whole team is exactly where they belong. I don’t know if that is good or bad, but no one at least can point any fingers. The team is 23rd in baseball in the loss column. The Pirate offense is 22nd in runs scored, 21st in on base percentage, and 24th in OPS+. The Pirate pitching is 21st in giving up runs, 20th in Fielding Independent Pitching, and 17th in ERA+. Their Defense Efficiency Rating is 23rd. Overall, you could say that the pitching is the best part of the Pirate team, but they are still below league average. The concerning part of all this at the present moment is, the pitching seems to be in disarray. The next blog will cover this when I discuss what to expect the rest of the season. The Pirate team for the moment seems to be right where they belong in 23rd place out of a 30 team league.

Looking at the Pirates on a position by position basis shows a completely different story. You can see exactly where the problem is with this team and who the culprits are. In order to evaluate the Pirates position players, we will use Wins Above Replacement or WAR. Now I know WAR is not infallible, but it does a good job of evaluating the overall play of any player. It is a great comparison stat. It takes in all aspects of his game, hitting fielding, and running the bases. It is also adjusted for the ballpark he is playing in, the competition, and the amount of time he is on the field. When you compare the Pirates players with other teams the worst positions are catcher(29th), Right Field(26th), 2nd base and shortstop(25th). The Pirates best positions are 1st base(9th), DH(13th), 3rd base(14th) and Left Field(15th). None of this is surprising. Despite managements propaganda on pitch framing, pitcher handling and clubhouse presence, the Pirate catchers stink. Jason Delay since June 1 has had 4 hits in 31 at bats to go along with 3 walks. Austin Hedges has not hit all year but what is a bigger mystery to me is where did all his power go. In 2017 and 2018 he hit 32 home runs in 211 games in San Diego, in a ballpark that was not considered a hitter’s park. He has hit 1 home run this year with the Pirates. The sad thing is that the Pirates have two young catchers that could infuse a lot of offense into this team, and they refuse to use them. Henry Davis is up now, but he is not allowed to catch. With the two present catchers in the lineup, the Pirates may as well not even have a DH, because they hit worse than pitchers. The other big problem for the Pirates is 2nd base and shortstop. These positions have been manned mostly by Rodolfo Castro, Ji Hwan Bae and Tucupita Marcano. Marcano is the only above average fielder and all of them are all well below average hitters. The mystery man here is Bae. In the minors this man was a walking machine. In 315 minor league games he walked 144 times for an on base percentage of .373. In 86 major league games he has walked only 20 times for an on base percentage of .315. What the hell is going on? Does he need glasses? He swings at a lot of pitches outside the strike zone but unfortunately does not get the results that Yogi Berra did. The bottom line is none of these players can hit and hopefully they will be playing for Indianapolis by the end of the month. They are all young, so it is way too early to give up on them, but they need to work on their games at the AAA level, especially Bae.

So, is all lost for the Pirates? Well, maybe, maybe not. Here is one interesting stat that has nothing to do with the Pirates. The division leading Cincinnati Reds pitching, and defense are ranked 27th and 25th respectively. There is no question why the Reds are leading the division, hitting, pure and simple. As we all know, hitting can be a sometime thing. Will the Reds make a big move to improve their pitching at the trade deadline. I would hope so, but you never know about management teams. Speaking of management teams, the Pirates’ management could do a lot of things to help this team. That will be subject of the next blog, as we head to the final 72 games. The Pirates have a lot of good parts but are they going to get rid of the very bad parts? Only time will tell.

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Golf Diary: Three Rounds

Rounds: No. 1 North Park Score 85 Greens In Reg. 6 Putts 35

No. 2 Hartmans Score 83 Greens In Reg. 4 Putts 34

No. 3 South Park Gold Score 75 Green In Reg 14 Putts 35

The Good: My iron play at South Park was as good as it was all year with 14 greens in regulation. I drove the ball well. It was good to get back to playing after a 10 day layoff with the grandkids that I loved. My driving was decent most of the time particularly today at the Park. I had some good short game shots all three days.

The Bad: Obviously my putting was pretty bad. I had 5 three putt greens in the 3 rounds and missed many short putts some for birdies. My short game was not good and my driving at Hartmans was very erratic. My irons at North Park and Hartmans were bad as I could not get my irons on line which I corrected today at South Park.

The Luck Of The Rounds: Mostly bad luck on the greens. At Hartmans especially I had many lip outs and edge burners The last 6 holes on the front 9 at Hartmans are very tight and when my drives went off line just a touch I wound up with shots to the green that were not normal. I either had to keep it low or bend it around something. The ball striking really improved today so there is future hope.

Next Round: Thursday South Park.

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Pirates Morning Report: Diamondbacks Acting Like Pirates.

Final Score: Pirates 4 Diamondbacks 2

Why The Pirates Won: The Diamondbacks took a page out of the Pirate offense by not being able to take advantage of opportunities. Twice they led off innings with doubles and could not score despite being able to move the runner over with less than 2 outs. Four other innings they got the leadoff man on and could not score. They were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. They scored their 2 runs on a home run and the Pirates throwing the ball around again. Does anyone know of any 8 foot tall infielders around? If you do, contact the Pirates immediately. The Pirate offense was not great, but everyone contributed in a small but effective way. Ji Man Choi hit a 2 run home run and every position player either got on base or contributed to scoring. As you will see, even Austin Hedges. It was a bullpen game for the Pirates, and they came through, shutting out the Diamondbacks over the last 6 innings and limiting them to only 4 hits for the game.

Key Moment Of The Game: With the score tied going into the 5th inning, the Pirates actually manufactured a run. Tucupita Marcano and Nick Gonzales started the inning by each getting singles. Austin(Designated Sacrificer, DS For Short) Hedges bunted the runners over to 2nd and 3rd. Jack Suwinski hit a fly ball deep enough to score Marcano easily and the Pirates had a 3-2 lead that they protected the rest of the way until adding on in the top of the 9th, to make the score 4-2. They finished the road trip 2-5 and are 41 and 49 at the All Star break.

Next Game: Friday, Giants in Pittsburgh. This week there will be 2 blogs on analyzing what the Pirates did over these first 90 games and what to expect the rest of the season.

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Pirate Morning Report: Half The Losing Formula

Final Score: Pirates 2 Diamondbacks 3 10 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: The normal formula for Pirate baseball is to have poor starting pitching with very little or no hitting to ensure a loss. Mitch Keller messed that all up yesterday, by pitching a stellar 7 innings, shutting out the Diamondbacks on 1 hit. The only thing negative about his performance was that he walked 5, that pretty much kept him from going more than 7 innings. Bottom of the 8th and enter Colin Holderman the man with 99 to 100 MPH fastball. What does he throw for his first two pitches? Two rinky dink cutters, the 2nd one right down the middle, and Alek Thomas knocks it in the stands, tying the game. The Pirate offense kept up their end of the bargain of the losing formula. In 10 innings they got 4 hits, struck out 15 times and managed just 2 walks. It’s good to know that at least one aspect of this team won’t let you down.

Key Moments Of The Game: It all came down to the 10th inning. The Diamondbacks played some defense and the Pirates did not. In the top of the 10th the Pirates got the runner on 2nd home and had 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Josh Palacios hit a hot smash down the first base line, that first baseman Christian Walker made a spectacular diving stop, and with the pitcher covering got the final out of the inning. In the bottom of the 10th the first Diamondback batter bunted to move the runner over to third and the Pirates botched the play. You can argue that Gonzales was late getting over to 2nd but the bottom line was the Diamondbacks were giving the Pirates an out and they refused to take it. That’s why they call it a sacrifice. That runner scored the winning run of the game sending the Pirates to their 5th loss on this road trip.

Next Game: This afternoon, Diamondbacks in Phoenix. When the Pirates embarked on this western road trip, I wrote I would be mildly surprised if they won 2 games and shocked it they won 3. These Pirates do not disappoint. If they lose today (if?), they will be 20-42 in their last 62 games for a grand winning percentage of .322. This is the last game before the All Star break, Thank God.