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Golf Diary

The Round: Played South Park: Score 74 Greens In Reg. 12 Putts 32

The Good: My game from 80 yards in was very good. I hit three pitch shots from 60 to 80 yards that all ended up 3 to 5 feet from the pin. I made all 3 putts for birdies. My other birdie came from 120 yards out with a gap wedge to about 8 feet. I hit 12 greens in regulation for a very good iron day. My driving was good if not great. Even though I did not drive the ball far today, none of my drives found trouble. My decision-making process was good which really helped out the results of the shots.

The Bad: This is what made my round interesting in that my putting and short game were not good. I only got it up and down 1 out of 6 times. I made a double bogey from about 5 yards short of the green. I hit a strong chip and then blew a 15 foot putt about 5 feet past the hole and then missed that for the double. I had a couple of yip putts but no chip yips today.

The Luck Of The Round: I had some good breaks today. I hit a thin 6 iron on a par 3 that rolled onto the green. I skulled a wedge on the last hole that is uphill, and it was able to stay on the green. I did not have any bad luck today that’s for sure.

Next Round: Tomorrow Stoughton Acres.

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Pirates Morning Report: It’s Over

Final Score: Pirates 3 Marlins 1

Why The Pirates Won: Luis Ortiz pitched one heck of a game. After giving up 1 run on 3 hits and a walk in the first inning, he shut out the Marlins for the next 7 innings on 4 hits and a walk. He kept the Pirates in the game as they struggled for 8 innings. In the top of the 9th, they rallied for 3 runs to take the lead. Josh Palacios started the 9th off with a little soft liner to left field for a base hit. One out later Andrew McCutchen hit a swinging bunt down the third base line for a hit. The Pirates immediately pulled off the double steal. Then Connor Joe hit a sharp ground ball to the shortstop, and he did not make the play to plate, which allowed the Pirates to tie the game 1-1. That was followed up by a solid base hit by Carlos Santana for the Pirates to take the lead 2-1. Henry Davis and Tucupita Marcano followed with singles and the Pirates had a 3-1 lead. David Bednar pitched a clean 9th for the save and the losing streak had come to an end. Going into the 9th the Pirates had only 2 hits and then got 5 hits to score the 3 runs. Do you believe in miracles?

Key Moments Of The Game: There were two deciding moments to this game. The Marlins had the bases loaded and 1 out in the top of the first with a run already in. They hit into a double play that ended the inning and Ortiz would go on to pitch his gem. Next was the hard hit ground ball to the shortstop in the top of the 9th by Connor Joe. The decision not to try to get the runner trying to score may have cost the Marlins the game. It is something we will never know but it looked to me that he would have thrown him out. Those two plays were the difference in the game.

Next Game: This afternoon, Marlins in Miami. The losing streak is over, but will the Pirates build any momentum off of this thrilling win. If they can get a split in this series, then I would say yes. I know it is a very very very small sample size, but Henry Davis looks like the real deal. He seems to have a focus and drive that this club really needs. I hope I am right about him.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Bullpen Collapse

Final Score: Pirates 4 Marlins 6

Why The Pirates Lost: It was another epic bullpen failure. Duari Moreta faced 3 batters in the bottom of the 8th and did not retire one. To the first and third batter he threw 5 consecutive sliders and the 5th one in each at bat resulted in a double and a single. He threw 15 pitches and 13 of them were sliders. What kind of pitch sequencing is that? The Pirates brought in rookie Carmen Mlodzinski with the bases loaded and nobody out. Not the best position to put a rookie in. He quickly gave up a single on his very first pitch. He got a ground out on the next batter which advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Garret Cooper hit the first pitch, which was about 6 inches above the ankles, for a 3 run homer and in the blink of an eye, the score went from 4-1 Pirates to 6-4 Marlins. The Pirates did not threaten in the top of the 9th, sending the Pirates to their 10 straight defeat. Until the bottom of the 8th there was so much to like about this game. Mitch Keller pitched a strong 7 innings to shut up the morons on Twitter that say he is back to his 2022 form. Henry Davis hit his first career home run to stretch the lead to 3-1. But in the end, the Pirates went down to defeat again.

Key Moment Of The Game: The decision to bring Mlodzinski in with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th. Why not bring David Bednar in? This was the high leverage moment of the game. He would not have to pitch the 9th unless he got out of the jam on just a few pitches. When will teams ever get over this closer mentality. I am not saying that closing is not important but with the game on the line, shouldn’t you want your best reliever in the game. If it did take him a lot of pitches and even if he gave up 1 run, then take your chances and bring someone else in to pitch the 9th. This is progressive thinking. Something the Pirates do not seem to be familiar with.

The Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Miami. After my blog rant of yesterday I am calmer after the 10th loss in a row. It is amazing what has happened to the bullpen. This was the first time the Marlins have seen the Pirates this year, but it made no difference. The bullpen has gone from being the strongest part of the team to the worst part of the team. That’s saying something, considering how bad the offense is. They have 3 games left with the Marlins. Could they lose 13 in a row? Don’t bet against it.

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Golf Diary

The Round: Played Highland Springs Score 78 Green In Reg. 5 Putts 29

The Good: Drove the ball well today. Had one bad drive on the last hole that led to a bogey. The putter was working well as I made a lot of short putts for par. The short game was good getting up and down 6 out of 13 times. I made a good up and down for a birdie on a par 5.

The Bad: The iron game was off today by just a hair. I only hit the five greens and only had 2 good looks at birdie. Had a few chip yips which led to bogies. I hit some good irons that were just a little far left or right. Made solid contact most of the day.

The Luck Of The Round: Really was not a factor today. The round was free of any unusual bounces or tree problems.

Next Round: Saturday South Park

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Pirates Morning Report: The Pirates Got Two Hits

Final Score: Pirates 3 Cubs 8

Why The Pirates Loss: The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates Got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. Do you get the picture? The Pirates have lost 9 in a row and what makes it worse is that it has been against division opponents. How can an offense be this bad? God only knows. They bring up Cal Mitchell, who pretty much proved last year that he cannot hit major league pitching. They have 2 catchers that are horrible. They bring up a catcher and do not play him at the position. In the last 15 games Jason Delay has hit .185. Austin Hedges has not hit that high his entire career. Who gives a shit how good they pitch frame. Then there is the bullpen. Do you think that they will ever pitch 3 innings of shutout ball again? I know this team has had more than their share of injuries, but do they not have any pride? Do the coaches try to help them at all? A season that started with such promise has turned into one big debacle.

Key Moment Of Game: The Ke’Bryan Hayes throwing error that opened the door to allow 2 runs to score to make the score 5-1. This guy is never going to win a Gold Glove. Hopefully he will be traded by the end of July.

Next Game: Who knows, who cares. Can you tell, I’m pissed. Too bad the players don’t seem to be.

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Pirates Morning Report: 24 Innings And Counting

Final Score: Pirates 0 Cubs 4

Why The Pirates Lost: Again, the Pirates scored 0 runs, simple as that. They only had one inning where they had 2 base runners. They had 5 hits, and none were in the same inning. The one inning they had a hit and a walk. They tried to mix up the lineup a little but to no avail. The middle of the order went 0 for 12. The only good thing, these are easy games to analyze. No scoring, no win. The Pirates have not scored a run for 24 innings and fell behind the Cubs into 4th place. Johan Oviedo pitched a decent game giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, walking none and striking out 3 batters, over 6 innings of work. Despite the Pirates woes, the starting pitching has hung in there pretty well considering they get no run support. The bullpen gave up 2 more runs in the last 3 innings, essentially ending the game.

Key Moment Of The Game: When Derek(The Shadow Knows) Shelton filled out the lineup card giving Reynolds and McCutchen a rest. The lineup he put out there really never threatened to score a run. They only had 3 at bats with runners in scoring position. You kind of hope and pray that maybe this is the low point of the season. I am not sure it is, but it would be nice to see this turn this around. Optimism is not running high at this keyboard.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. At least the Pirates will be getting it over with early today, and if you’re a Pirate fan your evening will be pleasant. Forget about winning, the big question is will they score a run or stretch the scoreless streak to 34 innings? Hell, I don’t know if I can wait till around 3pm to find out.

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Pirates Morning Report: Welcome Back Buccos

Final Score: Pirates 0 Cubs 8

Why The Pirates Lost: Another offensive disaster as the Pirates could not score any runs even though they had 5 hits and 6 walks. They loaded the bases twice and could not score. They were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Osvaldo Bido had the so-called quality start, going 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 5hits, 2 walks, striking out 7, while throwing 96 pitches. The bullpen came in the 7th inning to seal the win for the Cubs by giving up 5 runs in 2 innings, aided by a throwing error by Ji Hwan Bae. The Pirates have lost 7 in a row and are now in third place 3.5 games behind the first-place Reds. They will have to snap out of this soon if they are going to salvage the season.

Key Moment Of The Game: This was not so much a key moment but a study in contrast as the Cubs scored their first 3 runs after 2 were out in the top of the 2nd inning. There was a runner on first with 2 out, when the Cubs went single, walk, single, single, to score the 3 runs which pretty much wrapped up the game. The Pirates had traffic on the bases through the first 7 innings but could do nothing with it. The last 2 innings they just said the hell with it and went 6 up 6 down to quietly end the game.

Next Game: Does there have to be? I guess so, because tonight the Cubs in Pittsburgh. Everything must come to an end, but I don’t know if tonight the losing streak will be one of them. Marcos Stroman is pitching for the Cubs, and it would not be surprising to see the scoreless streak stretch to 24 innings. Even when the Pirates were trying to lose games the offense was better than this.

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Golf Diary

The Round: Played Indian Run Score 75 Greens in Reg. 9 Putts 29

The Good: When I planned the right shot, I executed it well. My putting was good. I had 3 birdies. My driving has returned to normal. My swing was very good today. My iron game was good, better than I had been doing.

The Bad: I had one double bogey when I hit it into some high grass and had to take a drop. I bogied 5 other holes as I could only get it up a down 3 out of 9 times. I really butchered an easy par 5 which led to a bogey. The short game was just mediocre but I did not do too bad.

The Luck OF The Round: On the par 5 I butchered I had a 10 foot downhill putt for par. I hit it too firm, but it caught enough of the hole to lip out and stop right at the cup. If I don’t hit the hole I am probably about 8 to 10 feet past the hole. I did get a bad bounce on the ball I hit into the weeds on the 3rd hole but I was a little too far to the right.

Next Round: Thursday Highland Springs.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Team Effort

Final Score: Pirates 2 Brewers 5

Why The Pirates Lost: Even though the this was a team effort the offense outdid themselves in this game. After the Bryan Reynolds home run to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning, the next 12 batters went down in order. Jason Delay, our “offensive” catcher had a particular “good” day. His first at bat he came up with the bases loaded with 2 outs and did not swing at 6 pitches to be called out on strikes. The Daniel Vogelbach philosophy of hitting emerges once again. The next time up he stuck out on 3 pitches but at least he fouled one off and swung at the last one, but of course, it was out of the strike zone. The Pirates got their last 2 hits of the game in the 7th inning and Delay came up with 1st and 2nd and 1 out. He did not waste any time, swung at the first pitch out of the strike zone and grounded into a double play. If they did such things in baseball, the Brewers would have given him the game ball. On the pitching side of the ledger Luis Ortiz pitch an ok 4 and 2/3 innings before being removed in the 5th, for another right handed pitcher, after he had just recorded an out. He had only thrown 84 pitches and with the bullpen struggles you would have thought they would have given him a little more, leeway before taking him out. The bullpen went out and handed the game to the Brewers but at least they pitched ok for 2+ innings.

The Key Moment Of The Game: The bottom of the 8th is just too depressing to go into detail, but the bullpen was instrumental in helping the Brewers win the game. Thanks to 3 walks, the Brewers scored 4 runs on just 2 hits and both were singles. The Pirate staff gave up 6 for the game, but those 3 won the game for the Brewers.

Next Game: Tonight, the Cubs in Pittsburgh. After losing 6 in a row the Pirates find themselves in 3rd place 2.5 games behind the Brewers. They are 2 games below .500. Henry Davis is being bought up. They will need more help than that, but it can’t hurt. Will they snap out of it tonight?

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Golf Diary

The Rounds: Round 1 South Park Score 79 Greens in Reg. 6 Putts 32

Round 2 Suncrest Score 82 Greens In Reg 7 Putts 35

The Good: The weather was gorgeous and I did hit some very good drives. My iron game started to show some life at Suncrest. My swing seems to be improving despite the results.

The Bad: The whole game but particularly the putting. Two 3 putt greens at the Park and three 3 putt greens at Suncrest. The short game was bad, and I could not really make up for it with my putting. This was a weekend of torture with the way I played. Better days are ahead.

The Luck Of The Round: Luck in both rounds even themselves out. I had some good bounces off trees and then some really bad bounces off trees. I had a lot of putts lip out particularly at Suncrest. All in all, it really was not significant with the way I played.

Next Round: Tomorrow at Fort Cherry.