Tag: Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Pirates Morning Report, Tough One For The 2023 Pirates

Final Score: Pirates 5 Cardinals 7

How The 2023 Pirates Did: The 2023 Pirates did pretty well but Will Crowe had another poor outing which led to the defeat. J. T. Brubaker pitched ok but his old nemesis the long ball came back to haunt him, as all 3 runs he gave up, came via the home run. The Pirates had leads of 3-0 and 4-3 but could not hold on to them. The 2023 position players had very good games. Oneil Cruz continues to swing a hot bat going 2 for 4 with a home run and a walk. Jack Suwinski really woke up with the bat, going 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI’s. Rudolfo Castro hit a home run and everybody else in the lineup got on base via a hit or a walk. The 2023 Pirates played themselves a very good game but were done in by the fact that management refuses to believe that Will Crowe is just plain worn out. In his last 7 appearances he has an ERA of 8.53 and a WHIP of 2.05. Now, that’s the guy you want to bring in the top of the 9th with the game tied. There were many other options out there.

Key Moment of The Game: The first pitch just on the inside middle of the plate, belt high thrown to Nolan Arenado with 2 outs and the base loaded in the top of the 9th. Who did Will Crow think he was facing Ke’Bryan Hayes? Arenado lashed it into the left field corner for a bases clearing double to give the Cardinals a commanding 7-4 lead. It was a tough way for the 2023 Pirates to go 4-5.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cardinals in Pittsburgh. Right now, the Pirates have the third worse record in baseball as the Oakland A’s have been really slumping. They are now 3 ahead of Oakland and 4 ahead of Washington in the loss column but the Pirates have plenty of time to fall to the worst in baseball. It will be interesting to see if the 2023 Pirates take the field for the 6th straight game. There are not that many 29+ year old rejects to play. All that is left is Gamel, Newman, Heineman, and Allen. I don’t know how much we are going to see of them since the bullpen is doing such a good job of keeping the No. 1 pick in the draft in play.

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Pirates Morning Report, Gas House Gang Meet The Gaffe House Gang

Final Score: Pirates 8 Cardinals 2

How The 2023 Pirates Did: From the mid 1920’s to the mid 1930’s the Cardinals had one of the winningest teams in baseball that was nicknamed the Gas House Gang. The current Cardinals met a Pirate team that could be termed the Gaffe House Gang. They made more gaffes in the field and on the bases in this one game than most teams do in an entire month. They even turned a single into an inning ending double play. You don’t want to know. Despite all the miscues and mental errors, the 2023 Pirates came through with a resounding victory over the 1st place Cardinals. They pounded out 15 hits lead by Oneil Cruz’s triple, double, single and 3 RBI’s. The entire lineup got at least 1 hit each. Cal Mitchel got 3 hits. I can even stomach Ben Gamel as the DH. I only have to reach for the Pepsid when he puts a glove on. I can see Gamel being the DH next year, so this was a 10-man 2023 team. Roansy Contreras pitched well again despite some defensive gaffes including one of his own by not catching a toss from Michael Chavis at first base. The bullpen held up well and the Pirates had the nice 8th inning to sew the game up. The 2023 Pirates evened up their record to 4-4 with this badly played game. Are they really that good that they can make that many mistakes and still beat the Cardinals by 6 runs. Hell yeah!

Key Moment of The Game: In the top of the 4th with the Pirates leading 1-0, Contreras got Goldschmidt and Arenado to ground out to start the inning. Then it looked like things might start to unravel. Corey Dickerson doubled, Contreras walked the next batter, and then Jason Delay butchered this little chopper in front of the plate to load the bases. Contreras then got Andrew Knizner to pop out to Oneil Cruz to end the threat. The Pirates scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th and never looked back.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in Pittsburgh. Will the 2023 Pirates take the field tonight, only The Shadow knows. Youth was served last night, and the young Bucs set baseball back about 100 years but won anyway. Will they have the opportunity tonight.?

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Pirates Morning Report, Day-Nightmare Doubleheader

Final Score: Day Game: Pirates 1 Mets5 Night Game: Pirates 0 Mets 10

How The 2023 Pirates Did: Too bad the Pirates had to start 7 of the 2023 Pirates in both games, which saw them miserably sink to a 3-4 record. Even though both losses were mostly due to poor pitching from pitchers who are probably not going to be here in 2023, the 2023 Pirates failed to score a run for 18 innings. The run that was scored in the 1st game was solely the work of the 29- to 30-year-old rejects. I blame this day on the team’s shock and dismay when word got out that Josh Van Meter was DFA’d. The morale in the clubhouse had to be at an all-time low. I equate this with the Brewers when they heard that Josh Hader was traded. There were a few bright spots. Oneil Cruz got 3 hits for the day. Miquel Yajure had a nice 2 inning outing giving up 0 runs on 1 hit, striking out 3 in game 1. Former Pirate Daniel “The Turtle” Vogelbach has only had 4 hits in his last 34 at bats. This proves the theory you can take the boy out of the Pirates, but you can’t take the Pirates out of the boy. The Pirates did not commit an error all day. There isn’t much left to say about a day like today. Forget about it and just move on.

Key Moment of The Day: When the sun came up. There cannot be a key moment to a game when one team is never a threat to win the game. The Pirates were behind 5-0 after the 4th inning in game 1 and behind 7-0 after the 4th inning in game 2. The Pirates rarely threatened to score in either game.

Next Game: Friday night, Cardinals in Pittsburgh We do have our 3 starting pitchers for 2023 going in this series. We can only hope that the young bats find a groove with a much needed day of rest.

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Pirates Morning Report, 2023 Pirates Go 3-2 In a Big Way

Final Score: Pirates 8 Mets 2

How The 2023 Pirates Did: Pretty damn good. Let me count the ways. Oneil Cruz 3 for 5 with a home run, 2 RBI’s and 2 runs scored. Bryan Reynolds 2 for 3, 2 walks, a run scored and an RBI. Rudolfo Castro 1 for 5, a home run and 2 RBI’s. Ke’Bryan Hayes returned to the lineup going 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Michael Chavis did not get a hit but drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Jason Delay went 1 for 4 and an RBI. Finally, Jack Suwinski went 2 for 4. Mitch Keller threw 6 scoreless innings giving up 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out a pair, another solid performance. The 2023 Pirates did not commit an error, as they crushed the Mets.

Key Moment of The Game: The Mets had 2 runners on base in each of the first 3 innings and failed to score a single run. They went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position for the game. Keller was tough when he had to be and the Mets could not score in the early going as the Pirates stretched their lead to 4 runs after 6 innings. Mitch Keller has become a major league pitcher.

Next Game: Day-Night double header with the Mets in Pittsburgh. The Mets appear to be ripe for the taking as they may be starting their swoon a little later than usual. The Pirate brass is worried that this could affect their chances at the number 1 pick. There is talk that the Pirates may use a position player as a starting pitcher using the excuse that the doubleheader is too much for their staff and they won’t have any chance with De Grom pitching anyway.

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Pirates Morning Report, DUJ Does It Again

Final Score: Pirates 3 Blue Jays 4

How The 2023 Pirates Did: It was another game where the 2023 Pirates did not fare too well. There were 6 in the starting lineup and the group only had 3 hits. Oneil Cruz did hit a home run. Cal Mitchell got a hit and a walk. Jack Suwinski got the 3rd hit. Reynolds, Marcano, and Casto went 0 for 11, striking out 5 times. Marcano has really been struggling lately. After having a really good start, his hitting is coming into question again. In his last 51 plate appearances his slash line reads .146/.192/.229. He needs to somehow turn this around. J. T. Brubaker pitched ok, giving up 2 earned runs in 5 and 2/3rds innings.

Key Moment of The Game: Yes, DUJ lost another game as the Pirate manager hoped he would. He gave up 4 hits and 1 run in the top of the 7th, as the Blue Jays took the lead 4-3. You could see the stark differences in the bullpens. The Pirates brought in 4 relievers with ERAs of 1.86, 4.60, 3.46 and 6.17. Contrast that with the 3 relievers that the Blue Jays brought in, sporting ERAs of 2.87, 1.38, 2.06. The Pirates made it interesting in the bottom of the 9th, getting runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. The Pirates then struck out 3 times to end the game. At least this time Newman swung at strikes, so all that reading on the strike zone must be paying off.

Next Game: Early Afternoon, Mets in Pittsburgh. Another contender comes to town to show the Pirates how real baseball is played. The Pirates have that No. 1 pick really in sight now. Josh Van Meter will probably start the next 10 out of 12 games. Dwayne Underwood Jr. is warming up as I am typing. Kevin Newman is continuing to study the strike zone. Greg Allen still thinks stealing first base is possible. Ben Gamel is practicing diving for routine fly balls. Could the Pirates take the 2nd best team in the NL down to a series defeat like they did with the Dodgers. The Mets could be ready to take the swoon. They just lost to the Nationals yesterday.

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Pirates Morning Report, 2023 Pirates Fall to 2 and 1

Final Score: Pirates 0 Blue Jays 4

How The 2023 Pirates Did: They went up against one of the better pitchers in the league in Alek Manoah who is sporting an ERA+ of 158 and a WHIP of 1.01. Jack Suwinski had a decent game going 2 for 4, as did Cal Mitchell going 1 for 2 with a walk. The rest of the group could not figure out Mr. Manoah going a nice round 0 for 20, striking out 9 times. Castro and Reynolds struck out 3 times each. Despite the lack of success, I did like the Pirates aggressiveness at the plate in certain innings. Manoah was throwing strikes and the Pirates went after them, but just did not get the results. They played good defense, and they had a couple of opportunities in in the 2nd, 3rd, and the 7th but could not get the big hit. All in all, not a good day for the 2023 Pirates as they went up against a very good team and pitcher.

Key Moment of The Game: When Alek Manoah took the mound. He was in command from the very beginning of the game. The Pirates kept the game close with some great defensive plays. Chase DeJong got out of a big jam in the top of the 8th. The Blue Jays had 1st and 3rd with no outs and then the bases loaded with one out, but Dejong got a short fly ball to center field, a strike out, and a fly out to left to hold the score at 2-0. Even though this was a loss, the 2023 Pirates showed some grit that the 29- to 30-year-old rejects lack.

Next Game: Tonight, Blue Jays in Pittsburgh. This is the Hall of Fame induction night and who ever elected this team had a big miss by not putting Bob Friend on the inaugural team. The man pitched 15 years for the Pirates and threw 3480 innings. He had a lifetime ERA+ of 108, Fielding Independent Pitching of 3.33, and WHIP of 1.287. His W-L record was 191-218 but he pitched on the early 50’s teams that were as bad as the 2022 Pirates. I know that is hard to believe, but it’s true. He was a main cog of the 1960 World Champions and was a pitching work horse 2nd to none. This was just a huge oversight, and just shows how little the electors knew about Pirate history. Then I have one final question that I might have missed on the telecast last night. Is Michael McHenry’s baby due in November or December?

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Pirates, 32 Games to Go, Can They Do It

The Pirates have one month and 32 games to go to complete this awful by design season. The statistics speak for themselves, and I will quickly go through them. On the hitting side of things, the on base percentage is .287 ranking 28th. They have scored 3.56 runs per game ranking them 28th. Their OPS+, which is a league comparison of overall hitting, is 81 ranking them 29th. They are 18th in hitting home runs which is the only category they’re not in the bottom 10. The pitching is not much better. They allow 5.11 runs per game which is 27th. Their Fielding Independent Pitching is 4.28, ranking them 24th. In ERA+, the comparison stat on pitching, they are 90 ranking them 27th. They continue to be the worse fielding team in baseball. The only good stat for team is they are 18-19 in one run games. That is a pretty amazing stat considering they are 32 games under .500 overall and have lost 25 games by 5 or more runs. This is a team that is going for the number 1 pick in the draft next year.

The other goal of the 2022 season has been to keep as many players as possible under team control until the 2028 season. That goal has been accomplished. The following will not be free agents until the 2028 season, with the number of games played in parenthesis: Oneil Cruz (58), Cal Mitchell (44), Jack Suwinski (74), Diego Castillo (84), Tucupita Marcano (45), Rudolfo Castro (71), Bligh Madris (39), Hoy Park (66), and Jason Delay (37). This obviously will be core for next year’s team. Pirate management has made plenty of excuses for the way they reduced these players playing time. Player development is the big one, but we all know it is simply about player control. Despite the fact, that this team for the most part, has been an embarrassment to the game of baseball, management has had a great season.

Fortunately for baseball fans, the Pittsburgh Pirate season is drawing to a close. I was surprised to see for tonight’s game there will be 8 of the 2023 Pirates in the starting line up with only Tyler Heineman at catcher to desecrate the game. This will be the third time this year that 7 or more of the 2023 Pirates have been in the starting lineup. Currently the group is 2-0. With overall number 1 pick in the 2023 draft (they are only 5 ahead of the Nationals in the loss column) in managements sight, it will be interesting to see what Derek Shelton will try to do to thwart the 2023 Pirates from going 3-0. Josh Van Meter will be ready to pinch hit from the 1st inning on. The big question for the remainder of this season, will be whether or not the Pirates will settle for the 2nd or 3rd pick. Who knows? Only Derek, The Shadow, Shelton knows for sure.

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Pirates Morning Report, Routine Plays And Throwing Strikes

How The 2023 Pirates Did: There were 6 of the 2023 Pirates in the starting lineup and none of them really distinguished themselves. This was probably the worst game that the group has played. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz each committed errors on routine plays. The group only got 2 hits, with Cruz, Hayes, Delay, and Chavis going 0 for 14, striking out 6 times, with no walks. All in all, it was not a good day for the 2023 Pirates. Zach Thompson pitched a nice 4 innings but why he was taken out after 62 pitches, with an overworked bullpen, I will never know. Even though it was not their fault the left-handed relievers scoreless streak ended at 8 and a 1/3 innings. The bullpen gave up 8 walks and 5 hits but only gave up 4 earned runs, and 2 of those were walked in with the bases loaded. This was one gift wrapped win for the Brewers.

Key Moment of the Game: The entire bottom of the 7th when the Brewers scored 4 runs on just 3 hits and were walked 4 times. Two of the batters had 2 strikes on them when they walked. It was a painful inning to watch. From the 5th inning on, the whole game was painful to watch. The failure to make routine plays and throw strikes, makes you not want to watch the Pirates on a full stomach. In fact, it makes you not want to watch the Pirates on an empty stomach.

Next Game: Friday, Blue Jays in Pittsburgh. The roster will expand to 28 so there is no telling what the Pirates will do. Right now, they are in a dead heat with the A’s and just 5 up in the loss column with the Nationals, in the battle for the worst record in baseball. The overall no. 1 pick in the draft is not out of the question. It will take some doing, but Van Meter, Allen, Newman, Gamel, and Heineman are ready. The Pirate brass will have 24 hours to think of ways to put more scum on the field. They may not even have to try that hard, because 15 or the next 18 games are against playoff contenders and division leaders. Despite the bad game yesterday I still would like to see about 10 games this year where the 2023 Pirates take the field.

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Pirates Morning Report, 2023 Pirates Win Again

Final Score: Pirates 4 Brewers 2

How The 2023 Pirates Did: For the 2nd time this year, there were 9 out 10 2023 Pirates in the starting lineup. For the 2nd time they won, with the group playing an excellent game against another playoff contender. They got all the hits and drove in all the runs. Oneil Cruz went 2 for 4 with a walk, driving in 2 runs and scoring another. He drove in the big insurance run in the 9th. Michael Chavis came out of his funk with 2 hits including a home run that tied the game. Bryan Reynolds had 2 hits and Rudolfo Castro got a hit and an RBI by walking with the bases loaded. The rest of the bats unfortunately were silent. Mitch Keller had a great comeback start striking out 10 in 6 innings and hopefully his arm fatigue is fine, since the Pirates allowed him to throw 105 pitches. The left hand relievers stretched their scoreless streak to 8 innings, be still my beating heart. But the game ending scintillating double play pulled off by Castro and Cruz said it all. Not only was it a great way to end a great win, but do you think the opening day 2b-SS combo of Kevin Newman and Hoy Park would have pulled that off. Only one guess allowed. Here is my guess. NOT A CHANCE IN HELL.

Key Moment of The Game: It was the aforementioned magnificent double play. It was not a hard-hit ball, but Castro made a great throw to 2nd and Cruz’s bullet like throw to first made the play not even that close, leading to my first fist pump of 2022. Go Bucs Go!

Next Game: This afternoon, Brewers in Milwaukee. It is unlikely we will see 9 of the 2023 team this afternoon but you never know. Delay probably won’t catch being a day game after a night game. The other 29-30 year old slugs shouldn’t play but probably will. There has to be at least 7 in the starting 9 for me to consider it a 2023 game. Right now, the 2023 team is 2-0. I can hardly wait for the 3rd win opportunity.

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Pirates Morning Report, As The Ball Flies

Final Score: Pirates 5 Brewers 7

How the 2023 Pirates Did: There were 7 of the 2023 Pirates in the lineup last night thanks to a late scratch, which put Jason Delay behind the plate, who drove in one of the five runs. They got 7 of the 10 hits and drove in all 5 runs. The big blow was the 3-run homer by Oneil Cruz, which gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead. In the next inning Rudolfo Castro hit a solo blast to extend the lead to 5-3. Michael Chavis had a tough night going 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts. The left-handed relievers extended their scoreless streak to 5 and 2/3 innings. Unfortunately, the backend of the bullpen failed.

Key Moment of The Game: When Will Crowe was brought into the game. I think he has just run out of gas. He has seen a lot of high leverage situations this year and for the most part has performed well. This is his first year as a full-time reliever and I think it has taken its toll. He faced four batters, with one getting a single and two hitting home runs to win in walk off fashion 7-5. There were certainly other options out there, but The Shadow chose not to use them.

Next Game: Tonight, Brewers in Milwaukee. The 29 to 30 year old rejects were back in the lineup with the exception of Greg Allen. Tyler Heineman almost started, and I am sure we will be lucky to see 6 of the 2023 Pirates in the lineup tonight. Mitch Keller goes to tonight and I think he needs to have a good start. Even though he had a horrible looking line in his last game, he did seem to come back ok from his “arm fatigue”. Let’s hope there are good results tonight.