Saturday 6/30 Minor League Roundup

AAA Indianapolis | Indianapolis 10 Louisville 3
Just like their major league squad, the Indians brought their bats with them to Louisville this weekend (no small feat since Louisville's name is the Bats, well that's two terrible puns in two days so I'll just move on) and destroyed their International League opponents on Saturday by a touchdown. The Indians pounded out 13 hits, all by the top five players in the batting order. Jeff Clement and Starling Marte continued their respective pushes for promotions to the big leagues with huge days. Clement hit his 10th home run of the season and tripled to raise his average to .297 and OPS to .898. Marte finished his torrid June with three more hits, all singles. Marte's June numbers look National League-ready: .325 average, 4 home runs, 28 RBI, 10 walks (!!!!!!) and a .944 OPS. We might as well just get the #MarteWatch trend started. Also, Matt Hague, who has played mostly third base since getting sent down earlier this week, homered for the second time this season and also had three hits. Gorkys Hernandez recorded a double among his three hits to raise his season average to .278. And Chase d'Arnaud, who has mostly struggled all season long, connected with two hits and stole his 20th base in 20 attempts. No other Indian player recorded a hit. The notable omission remains Tony Sanchez, whose 0-for-4 performance dropped his AAA average to .180 in 61 at-bats. Regardless, veteran Daniel Cabrera silenced the Louisville bats (Bats?) by giving up only one run over six innings of work. He struck out five. Evan Meek did give up two runs in an inning of relief, raising his ERA on the season to 2.45.

AA Altoona | Altoona 8 Binghamton 2
The Curve roughed up top New York Mets prospect Zack Wheeler for six earned runs in 6.2 innings to achieve the victory. Matt Curry again was the star, whacking two doubles as part of his three hits and two RBIs on the day to raise his season average to .302. Brock Holt, Stefan Welch and recent waiver addition from Boston Oscar Tejeda all had two hits apiece. Holt is knocking down the door of Indianapolis, hitting nearly .400 in June. Welch's average is up to .391 and his OPS to 1100 after his two singles and two walks. Tim Alderson earned the victory with a solid six innings of two-run ball. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out two. Mike Colla pitched the final three innings for the save.

A West Virginia | Delmarva 9 West Virginia 3
Alen Hanson and Gregory Polanco couldn't save the Power against Delmarva today, although each recorded a hit. The problem was that the rest of the team combined for only two more hits in the 9-3 drubbing. All four Power hits were singles, with Willy Garcia and Dan Gamache providing the help. Despite Hanson's 1-for-5 night, he's still hitting .444 and an OPS of 1340 in his last ten games, and bounced back nicely in June overall after an average May. Polanco did steal three bases, giving him 25 on the year to go with his 11 home runs thus far. Nick Kingham had another disappointing start, giving up five runs with four walks and four strikeouts in five innings.

A Bradenton | Palm Beach 6 Bradenton 2
While the Pirates' two affiliates followed in the footsteps of their big brother, Bradenton looked more like a Pittsburgh Sunday lineup from 2008 with Luis Rivas and Chris Gomez in it. The Marauders only scored two runs on four hits and fell to Palm Beach. Colton Cain showed mixed results through 5.1 innings, giving up three runs and a home run but walking two and striking out seven hitters. After a rough April, Cain is slowly turning things around. He's now allowed 4 runs in his last 17 innings, spanning three starts. Cain exited this game down 3-0 in the sixth innings, but Bradenton added two runs in the bottom of the seventh on catcher Kawika Emsley-Pai's (I know, great name right? Too bad he's a backup high-A catcher) first home run of the season. But Kenn Kasparek continued to get bombed out of the bullpen and gave up 3 runs in the top of the ninth to seal the game for Palm Beach. Kasparek's ERA is up to 8.59 since he was signed as a minor league free agent last month. Dan Grovatt, Gift Ngoepe, and Elevys Gonzalez, who is heating up finally since his demotion from Altoona, had the only other hits for the Marauders.

A State College | Mahoning Valley 3 State College 1
This was a hard knock life for the boys of Centre County. They combined for only four hits on the night with D.J. Crumlich, Jacob Stallings, Ryan Hornback and Walker Gourley being the cogs of the lackluster offense. The Spikes combined for seven whiffs as a team and also were not able to capitalize with runners in scoring position, going 0 for 4. 2011 seventh-round pick Jake Burnette rolled after a shaky first inning by allowing a tater with two outs. He was pegged his second loss in only his third start of the season, surrendering five hits and two earned runs in five innings of work. So there was no joy in State College, the mighty Spikes have bowed out. The show goes on.

McCutchen Day to Day with Wrist Sprain

Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review reports that Andrew McCutchen had x-rays on his wrist after being removed from the game, and there are no breaks. He is listed as day-to-day with a sprained wrist and won't play tomorrow in the series finale with the Cardinals.

That's certainly good news; not much worse could happen than to lose that guy for an extended period of time. I'm sure the Pirates will be careful with him and not play him again until he's 100%. Again, they really don't have much of a chance without him.

6/30 Jeff Karstens Pitch F/X

7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
Sinker	90.9	-9.12	5.86	49	63.27%
Change	82.7	-8.36	2.22	9	66.67%
Slider	81.2	1.59	-1.84	20	65.00%
Curve	71.8	6.42	-705	16	75.00%
Cutter	82.7	1.91	1.20	1	0.00%

6/30 Recap | Pirates 7 Cardinals 3

After an offensive explosion Friday night, the Pirates picked up right where they left off with a series win over the Cardinals. Jeff Karstens pitched for the Pirates and looked like the Jeff Karstens we saw last year, throwing seven strong innings, allowing only two runs on four hits. Tony Watson allowed a run in the eighth and Jared Hughes closed the game out, and collected his first career save.

With two outs in the first inning, Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones singled and Neil Walker followed with a walk to load the bases. It brought Pedro Alvarez up who absolutely crushed a 3-2 fastball over the right field wall for his second career grand slam and the Pirates first grand slam of the year. The Pirates scrapped up two more runs in the fifth as Neil Walker and Clint Barmes collected RBIs and Drew Sutton drove in Jose Tabata in the ninth inning.

A series win and a potential sweep opportunity against a division opponent is a beautiful thing. The Pirates play tomorrow at 2:15 and will head back to Pittsburgh to open up a four game series against the Houston Astros.

Pirates (41-35) vs. Cardinals (40-37), Game 77

Pirates (41-35) vs. Cardinals (40-37)

June 30, 2012

Jeff Karstens (0-2, 6.35) vs. Lance Lynn (10-3, 3.23)


Game Notes:

The Pirates Lead the Majors in June Runs, No Seriously

After scoring 14 runs in St. Louis last night, the Pirates enter June's last day with more runs scored in the month than any other Major League club.

They have a slim 139-137 lead over the Mets.

Don't believe me? I don't blame you. But here's proof.

You can't predict baseball eh? The Pirates had the least by far in April and May, and turned it around 180 degrees in June.

Friday 6/29 Minor League Roundup

AAA Indianapolis | Indianapolis 4 Toledo 2
Jeff Locke locked down (I know, booooooo) Toledo over six innings, not yielding a run and only allowing four hits and two walks while striking out six. The strong start lowered Locke's ERA to 3.05 on the season, with a 78:20 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Indianapolis' offense mostly sputtered with only six hits, but a three-run first was all the Indians needed. Starling Marte remained smoking-hot in June, going 2-for-4 and raising his season average to .277 and OPS to .815. In June, Marte has torched pitchers with a .310 average, four home runs, 27 RBIs and a .921 OPS. Brandon Boggs added a double as part of his two hits and Gorkys Hernandez stole his 12th base. Daniel McCutchen continued to struggle and could wind up designated for assignment before long; he gave up two runs and four hits in 1.2 innings. But Tim Wood bailed him out to grab his 11th save.

AA Altoona | Altoona 11 Harrisburg 3
Just like the Pirates tonight, the Sultans of Swing came to play tonight and the Curve had their big boy pants on. They were definitely hitting the weights hard lately. Combining for 14 hits collectively, seven of them being the extra-base variety, they split the four game series with the Harrisburg Senators taking the final two games with authority. Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? The offensive outburst was led by none other than Robbie Grossman, who went 4-for-6 at the plate with two doubles and extended his hitting streak to 13 games. His comrades at the top of the order, including recently announced Eastern League All-Star Brock Holt, joined the hit barrage. Holt continued his dominant season at the plate, putting his average at .319 on the season, going 2-for-5 tonight raking his 18th double of the season. The man with one of the coolest first names ever, Jarek Cunningham, went 3-for-5 with a “Trip, Trip, Triple” and three McRibs. The Aussie Animal himself Stefan Welch remained white hot since being promoted to Altoona on June 15th. He went deep for a two-run home run for his second of the season and put his average at .372 with the Curve. Recently acquired outfielder Oscar Tejada touched up Senators starter Daniel Rosenbaum for a solo shot in his Curve debut and finished the night 1-for-2. He also showed a lot of patience at the plate in his debut by drawing three walks on the night. Phil Irwin had a great night on the bump and notched his first win of the season allowing one earned run on seven hits and striking out six in seven solid innings. His only blemish on the night was a solo shot to Senators outfielder Chris Rahl in the fourth inning.

A West Virginia | West Virginia 7 Delmarva 2
Guess who put the team on their backs tonight? If you guessed Alen Hanson and Gregory Polanco, then you can pat yourself on the back and get a shiny nickel for your psychic abilities. It's turning into a broken record with those two offensively. Just like the Pirates and the Curve, the Power put double-digit hits on the board with 13 tonight. Hanson followed up his 3-for-4 game last night going 2-for-4 tonight and clubbing his 13th home run of the season. That puts his average at a dominant .333 on the season. The physical specimen Polanco slugged two doubles on the night and went 2-for-6. The "Dominican Duo" continues to torment South Atlantic League pitching. But they obviously need more cowbell, that's all. Seriously, if you get the chance to go watch the Power play sometime, go do it because of Hanson and Polanco. Taylor Lewis also put together back-to-back three hit games going 3-for-4 tonight which puts his average at .321 on the season. Zack Von Rosenberg threw an absolute gem on the mound going a flawless six innings allowing no runs while only walking one and surrendering six hits. He notched his first win on the season and showed signs tonight of what Huntington and Co. were looking for when they signed him to an above-slot deal in 2009.

A Bradenton | Bradenton 7 Palm Beach 5
After the long ball gave the Marauders a 5-0 lead through three innings, a Junior Sosa 2-RBI infield single in the eighth inning won the game for Bradenton after Palm Beach battled back to draw even. Alex Dickerson and Elevys Gonzalez both homered in the third inning. Dickerson's, his sixth, was a solo blast, while Gonzalez's first home run since his demotion from Altoona also scored Kirk Singer. Gonzalez finished with three hits, while Dickerson and Singer collected two apiece. Converted reliever Casey Sadler got the start and breezed through the first four innings allowing only one hit, but ran into trouble in the fifth and allowed four runs and six hits in his five innings. Sadler struck out three and walked one. Former bonus baby Quinton Miller pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings for the win with two strikeouts, which lowered his ERA on the season to a still astounding 6.29

A State College | Mahoning Valley 3 State College 2
State College blew an early 2-0 lead, allowing three runs combined in the seventh and eighth innings to fall to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (another great Minors nickname). The Spikes wasted an effective pitching performance by Joely Rodriguez. Rodriguez was very wild in his first two starts of the season, but calmed down by allowing no runs, three hits and one walk in five innings and striking out three batters. Recent fifth-round draft pick Adrian Sampson appeared in his first professional game and allowed two runs in two innings of work that tied the game. He did whiff four batters though. Jordan Cooper was tagged with the loss, giving up an unearned run in the eighth. Seventh-round pick Jacob Stallings went 1-for-4 with a double, the team's only extra-base hit.

6/29 Kevin Correia Pitch F/X

5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	91.2	-3.08	7.64	15	66.67%
Change	85.6	-7.22	1.76	9	33.33%
Slider	87.8	1.39	2.29	14	64.29%
Curve	78.5	5.28	-6.01	12	66.67%
Cutter	90.3	1.96	4.10	2	0.00%
2-Seam	92.1	-6.96	6.78	36	66.67%

You can view all the season's pitch f/x posts by clicking here

6/29 Recap | Pirates 14 Cardinals 5

After a mediocre start by Kevin Correia, a huge fifth and sixth inning for the Pirates helped guide them to their third straight win. Correia allowed five runs through five innings and he was lucky the offense bailed him out after allowing a three run homer to Allen Craig in the third inning, which gave the Cards a 5-2 lead at the time. Brad Lincoln added onto his solid relief numbers with three scoreless innings and Chris Resop closed the game out.

Neil Walker had a two out, two run single in the top of the first to give the Pirates an early 2-0 lead. The Pirates wouldn't put up too much offense until the fifth inning when Pedro Alvarez had a huge, two out, bases clearing double off of Adam Wainwright to tie the game up. The sixth inning though would get even better as Clint Barmes lead off with his fourth home run of the year and was immediately followed up by Alex Presley who hit a pinch hit home run, the first pinch hit home run for the Bucs on the year. A few batters later Garrett Jones hit a two-run homer, giving the Pirates three home runs in one inning for the first time since 2009. The Pirates put two more runs on the board in the eighth on a RBI single by Casey McGehee and a bases loaded walk to Pedro Alvarez. Andrew McCutchen, who had four hits on the day, hit his 15th home run of the season in the top of the ninth, a three run shot, which capped off one of the better offensive games of the season for the Pirates.

The Pirates posted season highs in runs scored and hits and are currently leading the National League in runs scored on the month. Hopefully the Bucs can keep up the big offensive numbers tomorrow and Sunday.

Pirates (40-35) vs. Cardinals (40-36), Game 76

Pirates (40-35) vs. Cardinals (40-36)

June 29, 2012

Kevin Correia (3-6, 4.03) vs. Adam Wainwright (6-7, 4.32)


Game Notes:

Pittsburgh Pirates Trade Deadline Target Tracker

Pirate fans have been clamoring for a trade basically all season long, and we are now finally drawing near the time where discussions are actually relevant. There have been a bunch of names mentioned this year in terms of hitters that could be traded at the deadline, and I'm going to do my best to monitor all of them. So from now until the deadline, I hope you find my trade deadline target tracker helpful. If you have any other names you think should be added, leave a comment here, e-mail me, or tweet me @McEffect.

All statistics are as of Friday morning, June 29th
The Pirates are going to be looking for a first baseman or a corner outfielder, with a bigger need being in the outfield. Jose Tabata and Alex Presley have not gotten the job done to this point and the Pirates don't look like legitimate contenders with guys like Josh Harrison, Garrett Jones, and Drew Sutton covering the corners. There is a possible internal solution in Starling Marte, but you don't want to put too many of your chips on him at this point in his career.

Ideally you would like a guy the Pirates could get by just providing some salary relief. We don't want to lose big time prospects like Cole, Taillon, Heredia, Marte, and I'm just not sure how much we could get with names like Rudy Owens and Jeff Locke. It's going to be interesting to see. The Pirates need a guy that can hit home runs, and a left-handed bat is preferred in PNC Park. Right now Chase Headley makes the most sense to me, it just depends on if they can get him without losing too much from the farm system.

Lots of baseball to be played before the deadline still, and things no doubt be changing consistently until then. Keep checking back for updates.

**edit** I may soon have to add Jed Lowrie to the list. The Pirates haven't been rumored to have interest in any shortstops, but you can certainly see that becoming a big need down the stretch. Lowrie doesn't have the best stick, but could certainly help the club out, and the Astros don't have him under contract after this year.

Edwin Encarnacion Emerging as Possible Trade Target

The Toronto Blue Jays are falling out of contention and the Pittsburgh Pirates are not. Let's start up the Edwin Encarnacion trade speculation. Jon Heyman does the honors...

Clipped from: www.cbssports.com (share this clip)

Edwin Encarnacion is 29 years old and having a fantastic season for Toronto. He's hitting .285/.360/.574 with 22 home runs and 14 doubles. He put up a .272/.334/.453 line with 17 homers last year in 134 games, so this success isn't shocking. He's a legitimate bat that would undoubtably help this offense. He plays third base and first base; it's kind of disappointing that he doesn't play the outfield, because that looks like the Pirates major need at this point. However, help at first would certainly be taken, I don't know how long we expect Casey McGehee to mash for.

Encarnacion is a free agent at the end of this year, so the Blue Jays would be foolish to not trade him if they aren't in contention. Right now they're 8.5 games out of the division and their rotation is in bad shape, which doesn't bode well for their month of July. There will be a lot of competition for Encarnacion, as he will be one of if not the best bat on the market when the deadline rolls around. The Pirates would definitely have to give up some pretty good prospects for him, but it's not out of question to think he could be had.

Nothing is happening until the end of July, especially in this case. The Blue Jays will only trade him if they are sure they aren't in contention, so I guess you guys should start rooting against the Blue Jays.

Greg Brown's Radio Call of McGehee's Catch

Casey McGehee made a spectacular catch to end the 8th inning yesterday, and Greg Brown once again lost his mind during the call. Great stuff:

Jose Tabata On Verge of Demotion (Hurdle Audio)

Clint Hurdle made it clear in his pre-game press conference on Thursday that Jose Tabata no longer has a guaranteed job at the major league level. He is frustrated with his performance and realizes that the team can not go much longer without getting anything out of him. Here's the audio:
I would go as far as to say that this move could come as soon as Monday before the team opens up their seven game home stand with Houston and San Francisco. Of course, there is the chance that they'll just wait it out until the all-star break and give him the full ten games to prove that he belongs here. Honestly I think that would be waiting too long, the sooner they send Tabata down, the better.

As for what they will do when he's no longer around, it will just have to be a mix and match. Starling Marte has been crushing the ball lately but I still don't think management is ready to bring him up. It's possible, but not likely. Assuming it's not Marte, you're going to see a lot of Alex Presley and Garrett Jones at the corners against righties, and then probably Josh Harrison and Drew Sutton filling in against lefties. Casey McGehee has shown that he deserves to be the everyday first baseman and that's going to help a lot. They will also probably call up Gorkys Hernandez to take Tabata's spot, so he can fill in there as well. Also, Jeff Clement becomes a possibility, which would overload first base and make Jones strictly an outfielder. No reason to put too much thought into it until it happens.

Thursday 6/28 Minor League Roundup

AAA Indianapolis | Indianapolis 10 Toledo Mud Hens 5
First off, congratulations to Rudy Owens, Starling Marte, and Jordy Mercer on being selected as the representatives for the Indians in the International League All Star Game on July 11th.

All eyes are now fixated on Starling more than anyone else in the system. As result by Jose Tabata's overall struggles and Alex Presley's inconsistency at the plate, people are clamoring for Starling Marte more than during Spring Training. He continued his torrid month of June at the plate (.304 average/.919 OPS) by going 2-for-5 with a double and five RBI against Toledo tonight. In addition, Marte touched up Mud Hens starter Andrew Oliver with a go-ahead three-run home run in the fourth inning. But the most impressive Marte stat for the night was all five of his RBI, including his double and three- run home run, came with two outs. For those who are curious on how Marte's stats are now, tonight's performance brought him to a .274 average and .812 OPS. Okay, all of you Pirate fans (or Starling Marte enthusiasts) can clean up your drool from your keyboards, smartphones, or iPads now. I know you are all probably thinking "So, uhhh, he's hitting good now when is he getting called up to take over for that "lazy bum" Tabata?"

Indians starter Rich VandenHurk had a rather sub-par outing on the hill allowing five earned runs, three walks, and nine hits through only five innings. But with the help of the offense, specifically on the shoulders of Starling Marte, he notched his seventh win of the season. This is probably the one slight blemish on what has been an outstanding season for VandenHurk. He improved his record to 7-0 on the season and has posted a 2.96 ERA.

Among other notable performances was Bryan Morris throwing two flawless innings in relief after his quick cup of coffee on the Pirates 25 man roster. Chris Leroux continued his rehab assignment by punching out one and allowing one walk en route to a scoreless ninth inning. The "Hit Collector" Matt Hague joined the Indians' hitting party with a 2-for-5 night with two RBI. Additionally, Jeff Clement raised his average to .300 for the season with a 2-for-5 night with two doubles.

AA Altoona | Altoona 4 Harrisburg Senators 2
Once again, congratulations to the Altoona Curve players selected to the Eastern League All-Star Game on July 11th: catcher Ramon Cabrera, pitcher Brandon Cumpton, and shortstop Brock Holt. First baseman Matt Curry continued his tear since returning from the Disabled List, as he hit his third home run in his last five games to lead the Curve past the Senators. Curry has hit .345 in eight games after missing nearly a month with a hamstring injury. The offense struggled overall, recording only five hits with no player having more than one. But Brandon Cumpton shut down Harrisburg with six shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out four. Cumpton, who was named to the Eastern League All-Star team earlier in the day, doesn't have sexy peripheral numbers (23 BB, 59 K in 92.2 IP) but he lowered his season ERA to 3.21 and has been a steady presence in a rocky Altoona rotation all year. Jeff Inman pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, and Victor Black struck out one in the ninth for his fourth save. Black has been quietly effective for the Curve, with a 1.36 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 33 innings. Brock Holt remained on fire with a triple, and Robbie Grossman went 1-for-4.

A West Virginia | West Virginia 6 Lakewood Blueclaws 7
Well, no harm in losing to a team called the Blueclaws, am I right? What an awesome name! Anyways, Alen Hanson's persistent domination of the South Atlantic League was on display tonight as he went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double. This is after coming back from a minor wrist injury yesterday. Instead of playing his usual position at short, he was put in the DH spot tonight for precautionary reasons. As he continues to open up more eyes around the baseball world and ascend up the Pirates top prospect list, his average is now at .331. Fellow South Atlantic League All-Star and big bopper Gregory Polanco added to the 11 Power hits by going 1-for-4 with a double. The "Dominican Duo" of Hanson and Polanco have made this West Virginia Power squad a great team to follow all season. Jose Osuna brought his big boy bat tonight and touched up Blueclaws starter Colin Kleven for a two-run home run; his fifth on the season. Taylor Lewis also had an outstanding game going 3-for-4 with a double. Starter Ryan Hafner went four and two-thirds giving up three earned runs on five hits and two walks, raising his ERA to 6.46 on the season.

A Bradenton | Bradenton 4 Palm Beach Cardinals 10
Matt Benedict got bombed in his second straight start since being promoted from West Virginia, giving up six earned runs in five innings and taking the loss. His ERA rose to 9.64 with eight walks and only 2 strikeouts in his first two High-A starts. Four of the runs came in the first three innings, and Benedict couldn't get anyone out in a 6-run sixth inning. The bullpen couldn't pick him up either, as Kenn Kasparek gave up four runs in his only inning of work. The offense mustered a mere four hits, but somehow scored four runs out of it. Elevys Gonzalez, who was recently demoted from Altoona, hit a 2-RBI double in the seventh inning, and Kirk Singer doubled him home. Dan Grovatt and Mel Rojas Jr each went 1-for-3 with a walk.

A State College | State College 5 Mahoning Valley Scrappers 6
Jason Creasy struggled in his third appearance for the Spikes this season. The lanky 20 year old righty gave up four earned runs on six hits, two free passes, and allowed one home run in four and a third innings. That rose his ERA to 5.73 on the young but rather successful State College season. Speedy Gonzalez himself, aka 2012 Supplemental pick Barrett Barnes, was finally cooled off by the Mahoning Valley pitching staff going 0 for 4 tonight after going 4 for 5 yesterday. 2012 Ninth Round pick D.J. Crumlich continued his hot start to the season by going 1-for-4 and putting his average at .417 on the season. Let's start chanting in unison "Go D.J., that's my D.J., Go D.J., that's my D.J." 2008 Dominican signing Jodaneli Carvajal also finished the night 2-for-5 at the plate putting his average at .350 on the season.

Follow the McEffect Minor League Roundup team on Twitter @rinsana11 and @baseballzchak42.

6/28 A.J. Burnett Pitch F/X

6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	93.5	-6.07	8.06	22	72.27%
Sinker	93.0	-9.95	5.08	39	61.54%
Change	87.9	-8.23	1.93	5	60.00%
K-Curve	82.2	3.09	-5.23	35	71.43%

You can view all the season's pitch f/x posts by clicking here

6/28 Recap | Pirates 5 Phillies 4

After losing the first two games of the season, the Pirates were able to win yesterday and today to not only split the series, but win the season series against the Phillies. AJ Burnett won his eighth straight start and stands at an outstanding record of 9-2. He pitched 6.2 innings and allowed three runs on six hits, while fanning seven. He certainly didn't have his best start, but the offense was able to back him up with a huge first inning. Juan Cruz (13) and Jason Grilli (18) had holds and Grilli's eighth inning featured an amazing running catch into the stands by Casey McGehee to end a huge threat. Joel Hanrahan converted his 20th save of the season.

The Pirates had a huge first inning off of Kyle Kendrick. All five of the Pirates runs were scored and Garrett Jones drove in Drew Sutton, and was followed by Casey McGehee who hit a three run home run, which is his second straight day with a homer. Pedro Alvarez followed McGehee with a solo home run, his 14th, and the Pirates only collected three hits the rest of the game.

After two tough games to start the series, a split was great to see. Kevin Correia, Jeff Karstens, and Erik Bedard are set to pitch in St. Louis this weekend, a huge series for the National League Central standings.

Pirates (39-35) vs. Phillies (36-41), Game 75

Pirates (39-35) vs. Phillies (36-41)

June 28, 2012

A.J. Burnett vs. Kyle Kendrick


Game Notes:

Jose Tabata with Men On Base

Jose Tabata has arguably been the least effective Pirate player this year. He is tied with Clint Barmes for the lowest WAR (-0.3 fangraphs) of anybody on the roster right now, and only Nate McLouth has posted a worse number (-0.6) than him in a Pirate uniform thus far (Yamaico Navarro posted the same -0.3 in his time here as well).

Run production has been a big problem for him. He's fourth on the team with 28 runs scored tenth with 11 RBI despite having the third most plate appearances.

Tabata has spent a lot of his time in the lead off spot. That has led to 70% of his at-bats being with nobody on base. In those at-bats, he's hitting .232/.295/.363 with ten doubles, three triples, and two home runs. For the year, Tabata is hitting .226/.288/.339, so he hasn't been better or worse with nobody on.

The issue with Jose has been getting hits with runners on base. Obviously you aren't looking for him to be a big RBI guy, but you still look for your players to drive in runs when they're on the bases. With runners in scoring position, Jose hits .194/.275/.306. With men on base he hits .211/.273/.282, just really poor numbers.

I did some messing around with Microsoft Excel this morning and came up with a pie graph that breaks down Tabata's at-bats with runners on. You'll see the frequency of every possible situation and how he hits in those situations. Here's the graph:

Home Run Log Update, June 27

Wednesday 6/27 Minor League Roundup

AAA Indianapolis | Indianapolis 9 Toledo 6
Justin Wilson made the start for Indianapolis and pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out EIGHT and walked just one. It was really a good start for Wilson despite giving up those runs. He continues to impress and looks to be getting closer and closer to major league ready. Despite that, the story of the night for Indy was the offense. Anderson Hernandez, Starling Marte, Jeff Clement, and Jordy Mercer all had two hits a piece. Marte had a triple, and Clement homered and drove in three runs. Mercer joined Yamaico Navarro and Tony Sanchez with doubles on the night. The Indians had 13 total hits in their win.

AA Altoona | Harrisburg 5 Altoona 2
Kyle McPherson was back on the hill for the Curve and pitched a decent game. He pitched six innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He only struck out one but it was good to see him get through some good innings as he continues to work his way back into the swing of starting every five days. Kris Johnson pitched two innings of relief, giving up one run. Matt Curry, Charles Cutler, and Jarek Cunningham all had two hits, and one of Curry's hits was a homer. Robbie Grossman drove in the other Curve run in a 1/2 performance, he also walked twice.

A West Virginia | West Virginia 7 Lakewood 2
Willy Garcia had two hits, and Alen Hanson was 1/2 before leaving the game after being hit in the head with a pick off throw. He walked off the field on his own power and we are awaiting further word on the injury. The Power got a lot of production from the bottom of the order, as each of their bottom five hitters had RBI. Dan Gamache, Francisco Aponte, and Ashley Ponce all had RBI singles.

A Bradenton | Bradenton 5 Dunedin 3
Jameson Taillon gave up two home runs but made it through five innings allowing just three runs. He walked two and struck out four and improved his ERA to 4.18 on the year. Jason Townsend threw three no hit innings and Doug Salinas added another one to boot. The offense came from Dan Grovatt, Andy Vasquez, and Junior Sosa, who combined for six hits and three RBI. Alex Dickerson had a disappointing 0/4 night but has been hot all month.

A State College | State College 6 Batavia 2
Barrett Barnes had four hits, all singles and an RBI while scoring two runs and leading the Spikes to another win. Ryan Hornback also added three hits and two doubles with four RBI. As a team the Spikes had 14 hits. They also did a nice job on the mound, allowing just five hits and two runs. Clay Holmes pitched five innings without giving up an earned run. He walked five but struck out four.

McPirates Bring the McWood

The "Mc" Effect has never been stronger than it was tonight. The Pirates beat the Phillies 11-7 with four of the main contributors being guys in the banner above.

James McDonald was on the mound for the Pirates and had one of his worst starts of the year, which isn't saying much because he's been so good this year. He gave up four runs in 5.2 innings, but got his seventh win of the year. He struck out just three and walked two as he was able to bounce back from a first inning in which he gave up two home runs. J-Mac did a nice job silencing the Phillies for the majority of his start and deserved the win the offense got him tonight.

The story of the game was the offense. Michael McKenry got it kicking it in the 2nd inning with a big two out, three-run homer. That was McKenry's second homer in two games as he's carrying a flaming hot bat. Casey McGehee was the next McContributor with a bomb to centerfield in the fourth inning. That would be his only hit of the game. McDonald helped his own cause with a big two out RBI single later in that inning, becoming the third Pirate "Mc" to drive in a run on the night. McKenry added another RBI with an infield single in the fifth.

The Mc's weren't done there though, as Andrew McCutchen decided to join the party in the eighth with a two run homer that drove in Drew Sutton (who had two hits and an RBI on the night). Between the four Pirate McStarters tonight, there were four runs scored, eight RBI, six hits, and three home runs. A pretty good McNight.

Another big story of the night was Brad Lincoln coming up huge in a crucial spot in the seventh inning. The Pirates were up 8-2 at one point and let the game get to 8-6 with runners on first and second and nobody out. Things were looking very grim and this would have been a devastating game to lose. Lincoln came in, got a strikeout, a flyout, and another strikeout to end the threat. The team would put up three more runs the next half inning to make the bullpen's jobs a bit easier, but those outs were still absolutely huge for Lincoln. Call him McLincoln tonight.

You know it was a good game when I write this long of a recap. Series finale tomorrow at 1:05.

6/27 James McDonald Pitch F/X

5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	93.2	-5.78	11.63	16	68.75%
Change	81.1	-8.09	5.61	5	60.00%
Slider	80.1	-0.81	0.78	10	50.00%
Curve	77.3	2.73	-6.78	21	52.38%
2-Seam	92.6	-8.61	9.35	48	66.67%

You can view all the season's pitch f/x posts by clicking here

The Pirates Can Get Better

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Pirates (38-35) vs. Phillies (36-40), Game 74

Pirates (38-35) vs. Phillies (36-40)

June 27, 2012

James McDonald vs. Raul Valdes


Game Notes:

Jameson Taillon Gives Up 2 Homers in Win

Gerrit Cole had a rough go of it last night in Altoona, and now we see Jameson Taillon struggling a bit in his start on Wednesday afternoon.

In five innings, Taillon gave up three runs on two home runs while walking a pair and striking out four. Obviously that's not a horrible line, but you don't like seeing your big time prospects give up home runs. His season ERA is at 4.18 right now, which you have to take with a grain of salt, but the news around Taillon has been more negative than anything lately.

Hopefully he'll rebound and join his buddy Gerrit Cole in Altoona soon.

Jose Tabata's Spooky Splits

Here are a portion of Jose Tabata's home/away splits from this year:

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	H	BA
Home	35	30	129	117	26	.222
Away	32	28	129	117	26	.222

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/27/2012.

Weird.

6/26 Erik Bedard Pitch F/X

6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 K, 2 BB

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	90.8	3.54	11.32	24	62.50%
Change	77.4	3.19	5.65	7	85.71%
Curve	75.4	-8.56	-6.47	29	68.97%
Cutter	87.8	0.50	9.30	6	33.33%
2-Seam	90.0	8.17	8.05	26	76.92%

Pirates (38-34) vs. Phillies (35-40), Game 73

Pirates (38-34) vs. Phillies (35-40)

June 26, 2012

Erik Bedard vs. Vance Worley


Game Notes:

The Struggling Erik Bedard

Erik Bedard started Opening Day for the Pirates this season and did a fantastic job, giving up just one run in seven innings but losing to Roy Halladay and the Phillies. After that start, he rolled through his next six starts and looked set to have a career year. In his first seven starts, he pitched 35 innings and gave up just 10 earned runs while striking out 37, walking 14, allowing one home run and posting a 2.57 ERA. Truly great numbers.

Then on May 9th, he pitched a scoreless inning and left the game with back spasms. The injury didn't seem to be too much of a big deal, and he missed just a couple of days before he was back out on the mound. Since then, the back has been fine, but his numbers have not.

Bedard has made seven starts since coming back from that minor injury, and hasn't been good in those starts. He has pitched 37 innings, allowed 23 earned runs on 36 hits, struck out 32 and walked 18. He has allowed four home runs and posted a 5.59 ERA. Hitters aren't hitting for a much better average against him since the injury (.258 compared to .250), but they are racking up the extras base hits.

There's a pretty good chance that the difference in the numbers have very little to do with the injury at all, but it's interesting that that seemed to be the turning point.

Looking at the pitch F/X for the two time spans, Bedard has been throwing a lot more two seam fastballs since the injury. In his first seven starts, he threw curveballs 27.8% of the time and two-seamers 27.3% of the time. In his last seven, those numbers have changed to 37.5% two-seamers and 26.9% curveballs. He's thrown his four seamer and changeup considerably less. His change went from 16.5% to 9.9%, which is interesting. Bedard was a four pitch pitcher before the injury, but since then he's been pretty much a three pitch guy (two-seam, curve, four-seam).

The whiff numbers show that he's getting around the same amount of swings and misses on the curve, but less on the two-seam and the four-seam. In fact, his whiff rate has decreased 6.3% on the four seamer since the injury.

It doesn't really make all that much sense that the four seamer has been getting a lot less whiffs, the velocity has been the same the whole time and he's throwing it at about the same rate, so there's probably not much to this besides just a factor of a small sample size.

Again, I'm not saying that the bad numbers are a result of the injury. I would guess that they're just kind of random and maybe a result of National League hitters having more tape on him (especially recent tape on him, since he just hasn't been pitched much in past years). Hitters tend to get better as we get deeper into summer, so that too could have something to do with it. Who knows, maybe Erik has started becoming more worried about staying healthy instead of just pitching.

I can't tell what's been happening with him. Don't bother asking him either, because he's gonna tell you less than I will. All I know is that the Pirates need Bedard to be more like the guy they had in the first seven starts and less like the guy they've seen in the last seven. His health is the most important thing, but he might as well be injured if he's going to post a 5.00+ ERA the rest of the way out.

Tonight's a big start for him, trying to help this team avoid a three game losing streak after playing some great baseball during the homestand. Keep a close eye on him.

Tony Sanchez Update

The Pirates got their first big injury scare yesterday when Rod Barajas left the game after the first inning with a knee injury. Recently we have found out that he is just day-to-day with a bone bruise, so there isn't too much of a reason for worry, but it still made us reminisce back to last year when the Pirates used 89 different catchers.

About two years ago, we would have thought that Tony Sanchez was going to be the Pirates everyday catcher by now, but those thoughts have become a memory. I hit the stat sheet to see how the catcher is coming along this year. All I can say is, I don't think he would be considered to be called up if Barajas had been knocked out for an extended period of time.

Sanchez started the year in AA, which already said a lot about how his career has gone to this point. He hit .277/.370/.390 in 40 games before getting promoted. He got off to a bit of a slow start, so his recent numbers at the time of the promotion were pretty good, and nobody really argued against moving him up. Since the move, he's played 13 games in AAA Indianapolis and has hit just .213/.245/.255 with 15 strikeouts in 47 at bats. He has just two extra base hits, and they're both doubles. No homers, no triples. Not very impressive.

All I can say defensively is that he's thrown out 17 of 48 base stealers this year, a 26% clip that makes him look like a gold glover from what we've seen in Pittsburgh this year. There's really no other way for me to say anything about his defense without seeing him play a whole bunch, and I haven't done that.

Sanchez's calling card when he was drafted was his defense. He didn't have the best defensive season last year, but a lot of that might have been from recovering from the injuries. There have been reports that say he is playing better defensively this year, but you really don't know without seeing it for yourself. He certainly doesn't have the bat that his 4th overall draft selection may suggest. The Pirates drafted him for signability and Sanchez made them look very good in his first year in pro ball hitting .309/.409/.539 in 48 games in A ball. However, he's been bad since and looks like an iffy prospect at best.

You certainly never want to miss completely on your first round pick, especially if it's in the top five, but I don't look at this as a huge deal. They didn't have to give up a whole bunch for him and they stocked the system with some really good high upside players later in that draft with the money they saved from taking him, so you can't point to him to call the 2009 draft a bust. However, it would certainly be nice if he could at least be the defensive catcher we thought he could be and hit even a little bit. He could definitely help this major league team at some point, but he has a lot of work to do. I don't think there's any chance we see him at all this year, but if he stays healthy and keeps improving, he should have enough AAA experience next year to make a push.

Only time will tell what Tony Sanchez will do with his opportunity, but for now it's not a real positive story.

6/25 Recap | Phillies 8 Pirates 3

Jeff Karstens made his return to the Pirates tonight and was smacked around the ball park, resulting in the Pirates losing 8-3. The first inning consisted of three errors by the Pirates, all on throws. Two were made by Jose Tabata and one was made by Pedro Alvarez which resulted in the Phillies putting up four runs in the first. Doug Slaten allowed a run after walking three men and Jared Hughes threw a scoreless inning.

Jose Tabata made up for his errors by hitting his third home run of the season, and Andrew McCutchen and Clint Barmes contributed the other RBIs. Rod Barajas was injured in the first inning and pulled from the game, which is never a good sign seeing your starting catcher haved to be pulled. Pedro Alvarez and Michael McKenry each had two hits.

The Pirates dropped the first game of the four game series to the Phillies, and look to win tomorrow with Erik Bedard on the hill.

Pirates (38-33) vs. Phillies (34-40), Game 73

Pirates (38-33) vs. Phillies (34-40)

June 25, 2012

Jeff Karstens (0-1, 4.50) vs. Joe Blanton (6-6, 5.04)


Game Notes:

6/24 Kevin Correia Pitch F/X

6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	90.2	-2.98	8.22	22	72.73%
Change	86.6	-5.89	5.29	11	54.55%
Slider	87.1	3.23	4.45	19	47.37%
Curve	76.7	7.44	-5.44	20	85.00%
Cutter	89.8	0.49	8.33	2	50.00%
2-Seam	90.02	-5.77	7.65	10	90.00%

You can view all the season's pitch f/x posts by clicking here

Tigers (34-37) vs. Pirates (38-32), Game 71

Detroit Tigers (34-37) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (38-32)

June 24, 2012




Game Notes:

Addition by Subtraction - Pirates Shopping Kevin Correia

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Interview with Pirates Prospect Rinku Singh (Audio)

I did a phone interview with Pirates prospect Rinku Singh for TribLIVE Radio. If you don't know Rinku's story, I'd suggest you read up on him. Here's his wikipedia page with the story on it (the information there is good I promise).

Basically, Rinku Singh won a baseball throwing contest in India in 2008 without knowing anything about the game of baseball. He then came over to throw in front of scouts and the Pirates ended up offering a contract, which he accepted. Everyone just saw it as a move to possibly open up a new market for finding talent, and nobody actually expected him to find much success. However, Rinku has proven all the doubters wrong to this point, as he has been one of the Pirates best relief arms in the system this year. It's a truly remarkable story, and I was very excited to have my chance to talk to him. From what I gathered, he has a remarkable personality and mindset and has his head in the right places. You can listen to the interview below:

6/23 Brad Lincoln Pitch F/X

6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	93.3	-4.31	8.23	49	77.55%
Change	84.9	-4.22	0.16	7	85.71%
Curve	83.7	8.41	-6.64	20	70.00%
2-seam	92.7	-8.46	3.91	2	50.00%

You can view all the season's pitch f/x posts by clicking here

6/22 A.J. Burnett Pitch F/X

6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	92.7	-5.52	6.28	45	71.11%
Sinker	92.9	-8.82	3.59	16	75.00%
Change	88.4	-6.23	2.25	3	33.33%
K-Curve	81.3	5.40	-6.23	21	42.86%

You can view all the season's pitch f/x posts by clicking here

6/23 Recap | Pirates 4 Tigers 1

Your Buccos are streaking once again as they won their third straight game to push their record to six games over .500 on Saturday night.

The story was Brad Lincoln, who pitched five no-hit innings to start the game and ended by pitching six plus innings giving up just one run on two hits. He struck out a career high seven and got the Pirates another series win. Juan Cruz, Tony Watson, Jason Grilli, and Joel Hanrahan finished out the game with three innings of scoreless relief.

Andrew McCutchen was once again the offense. He hit a three run homer in the fourth inning to give the Pirates all they would need in terms of runs. Neil Walker added an insurance run on a single in the seventh which drove in Casey McGehee who doubled ahead of him.

Just another great team win, and there was never any real doubt about it.

Tigers (34-36) vs. Pirates (37-32), Game 70

Detroit Tigers (34-36) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (37-32)

June 23, 2012




Game Notes:

6/22 Recap | Pirates 4 Tigers 1

After a brilliant outing by James McDonald Thursday night, AJ Burnett took the hill for the Pirates and decided he wanted to win his seventh straight outing. AJ pitched six solid innings of two hit ball, while striking out four. He worked out of a huge jam in the sixth inning getting two of the most feared hitters in the league, in Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, to ground into a double play and pop out with nobody out. Jared Hughes allowed the only run of the game for the Pirates pitching staff, and was followed by Juan Cruz, Jason Grilli, and Joel Hanrahan who all threw scoreless outings for the Bucs.

Neil Walker and Garrett Jones drove in runs in the bottom of the first, and the only other runs for the Pirates came in the second inning on a two-error play by the Tigers. Rod Barajas had two hits and Andrew McCutchen continued his hot hitting with three hits of his own.

The Pirates now have a chance to win the series tomorrow and Sunday with a 4:05 start tomorrow, a game that will be televised on FOX.

Tigers (34-35) vs. Pirates (36-32), Game 69

Detroit Tigers (34-35) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (36-32)

June 22, 2012




Game Notes:

Alex Dickerson Heating Up

With their third pick in the 2011 draft, the Pirates took first baseman Alex Dickerson. They signed him quickly and got him to State College where he played 41 games. In those games he hit .313/.393/.493 with three homers and 20 extra base hits. That got people mighty excited about him and earned him a promotion to Bradenton for the 2012 season.

April wasn't kind to Dickerson this year, as he hit just .256/.319/.349 with two homers. That was a discouraging site as the Pirates failed to get much offensive production at any of the upper levels of their system.

Things got a bit better in May as Dickerson hit .281/.363/.365, however he didn't hit any home runs. He slowly started to figure things out near the end of the month and has had a monstrous month of June.

This month, Dickerson is hitting .375/.437/.578 with two homers, five doubles, and a triple. All of that in 17 games. For the year, Dickerson is hitting .297/.367/.415 with four homers, two triples, 13 doubles, and 43 RBI. He seems to be figuring it out and looks to be a good hope for the future.

The Pirates don't have a lot in terms of power hitting prospects, and not much in terms of first base prospects either, so Dickerson is extremely important to this club's future. He and Josh Bell seem to be our only hopes to see some home grown home run hitters in Pittsburgh in the next few years. The start to his year was disappointing, but this month of June has him close to a promotion to AA.

Thursday 6/21 Minor League Roundup

AAA Indianapolis | Indianapolis 4 Gwinnett 2
Starling Marte had two hits including a double, Brandon Boggs did the same and drove in two runs, and Rudy Owens had yet another solid outing, going six innings and giving up just two runs. He struck out four and walked one. Evan Meek pitched a scoreless inning and Bryan Morris and Tim Wood finished out the game with scoreless frames.

AA Altoona | New Britain 5 Altoona 3
After all the hype of Gerrit Cole died down, the Curve lost a baseball game despite playing pretty well. They had nine hits but could only scratch across three runs. Matt Curry and Evan Chambers had two hits a piece and Chambers tripled. Kyle McPherson made his first start of the year and didn't find his 2011 form right off the bat. He gave up five runs in six innings on seven hits and struck out three. He only walked one, which is good to see. Hunter Strickland and Jeff Inman pitched three scoreless innings together.

A West Virginia | West Virginia 9 Lexington 4
Big offensive day for the Power. They got 11 hits and nine runs. Taylor Lewis led them with three hits including a triple and a homer. He drove in four runs. Eric Avila also ahd two hits and three RBI. Alen Hanson had two hits including a double, and Jose Osuna added two his as well. Zack Dodson made the start and gave up three runs on nine hits in six innings. He struck out five, walked two, and gave up a home run.

A Bradenton | Bradenton 10 Charlotte 3
Tyler Waldron pitched five innings and gave up three runs. He walked two and struck out five. Eliecer Navarro pitched three scoreless innings of relief. The story was the offense however, as the Marauders pounded out thirteen hits. Kirk Singer and Alex Dickerson had three hits a piece. Dickerson's average is up to .297 this year. Mel Rojas hit a grand slam, and they got hits from five other players to boot.

A State College | State College 8 Williamsport 0
Luis Heredia made his A ball debut and pitched four really strong innings. He gave up two walks but struck out four and allowed just one hit. He looked mature and ready to dominate this year. Should be fun to see him pitch up in there in State Collge. The rest of the names in this paragraph aren't familiar names whatsoever. Jodaneli Carvajal and 2012 second pick Barrett Barnes had three hits. Barnes drove in two. D.J. Crumlich and Walker Gourley had two hits a piece and the Spikes got an impressive win.

6/21 James McDonald Pitch F/X

9 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Pitch Type	Veloc	H-Break	V-Break	Count	Strike%
4-Seam	91.7	-3.10	10.46	72	65.28%
Change	81.6	-7.82	8.12	5	20.00%
Slider	79.3	1.59	0.67	10	60.00%
Curve	76.4	5.92	-8.05	24	58.33%
2-Seam	91.5	-6.06	8.05	9	88.89%

You can view all the season's pitch f/x posts by clicking here

6/21 Recap | Pirates 9 Twins 1

The Pirates dominated a baseball game on Thursday night. It started off early as the Pirates scored four runs in the first two innings, all thanks to Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen tripled and scored on a Garrett Jones infield single in the first, and then McCutchen drove in three more runs with a bases loaded double in the second inning. He would complete his big day at the dish with a single in the seventh.

Pedro Alvarez, Garrett Jones, and Rod Barajas all hit home runs. Alvarez’s was one of the furthest shots I’ve ever seen hit at PNC Park, hitting the top rail of the Clemente wall in left center field. A true blast. Alex Presley had two hits of his own, and Casey McGehee and Josh Harison also added hits to give the Pirates 12 on the night.

That was only half the story though. James McDonald pitched a complete game for his sixth win of the year. He gave up one run on six hits and struck out five. That lowered his ERA to 2.19 on the year, which is the fourth lowest mark in the National League.

You can’t dominate a game much more than the Pirates did yesterday, and they will look to carry this momentum into their weekend series with the Detroit Tigers.

Twins (27-40) vs. Pirates (35-32), Game 68

Minnesota Twins (27-40) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-32)

June 21, 2012

Liam Hendriks vs. James McDonald


Game Notes:

Why is Brad Lincoln Starting Saturday?

The Pirates waited until yesterday to announce that Brad Lincoln would be making another start for the Pirates as they await the return of Jeff Karstens. It was interesting why they waited until Wednesday to make the decision, but I have an idea as to why they did it that way.

Last week, I wrote this post detailing why I wanted to see Rudy Owens come up and start for Lincoln on Saturday and then eventually take Kevin Correia's job. Personally, I think the Pirates were considering doing just that until Correia won his start on Wednesday (which actually wasn't a great start, throwing nearly 100 pitches in less than 6 innings). If Correia would have gotten roughed up in that start, I really do think Owens would be up here starting Saturday and then competing for Correia's job.

This is something that I could easily be wrong about, it was just weird that they waited to decide until after Correia's start. The team can't actually feel comfortable with Correia starting, and they have to realize that Owens could very well do a much better job than him in the rotation, but for some reason they insist on leaving him in the rotation. His start on Wednesday saved his job for a couple more weeks, in my eyes.

The other possibility is that they might have been thinking that Karstens could return early and start a game this weekend, and they were just waiting for that option to be out of the running to give the ball back to Lincoln. I doubt that's true, because Huntington has said the last thing he wants to do is rush a pitcher back from injury.

Rudy Owens isn't going to come up in a spot start situation, which is probably what this Saturday would be, but I think it should be more than that. He should start this weekend and move Lincoln to the bullpen, and then move Correia to the bullpen or off the team entirely when Karstens returns. For whatever reason, the Pirates aren't fielding their best team right now, and I'm confused by it.

6/20 Recap | Twins 2 Pirates 1

The Pirates hot bats were cooled off today after a great pitching performance by Francisco Liriano and the rest of the Minnesota Twins.

Erik Bedard had a rough first inning allowing one run but was able to pitch six innings, and allow only four hits, while fanning seven. Jared Hughes and Doug Slaten threw scoreless outings out of the bullpen and Jason Grilli suffered the loss after allowing a run in the eighth inning.

After scoring 25 runs in three games, the offense was held to just one today. Josh Harrison, Casey McGehee, Andrew McCutchen, Clint Barmes, and Matt Hague all had hits and the only run was pushed across on a sacrifice fly by Rod Barajas.

The offense had to cool down eventually and they picked tonight to do it. They look to heat back up and take the series tomorrow at 7:05.

Non-Contention is the Opposite of Desperation

Everybody in the world that calls themselves a Pittsburgh Pirates fan has been saying for weeks that the team needs to go out and add a hitter to push them closer to being a legitimate contender. Nobody would argue that; not even myself. However, I've been saying for all of these weeks that it's just not going to happen because there's no trade market this early in the season. Pirates GM Neal Huntington has been saying the same things. Recently Huntington unveiled another quote that sheds more light on all of this:

"We've been told by some clubs that they're going to hold on as long as they can to sell tickets and try to keep their fans engaged, so that may take an obvious seller off the market""
Two names that have come out have been Chase Headley and Bryan LaHair, who are available because their teams are not contending for anything this year. Those teams have made it public knowledge that they are willing to trade their guys so teams will have them in mind when they need to make a trade, but that doesn't mean the Padres and Cubs want to make deals now.

By trading their good hitters in June, those teams would only be hurting themselves. I'm not sure what people don't get about that. As we get closer to the deadline, those players values automatically go up because of the urgency to get a deal done. When there's a month and a half until the deadline, the Padres and Cubs have no reason to trade now when they can hold out and get a better deal in the future.

Now for that Huntington quote. Why would a team that isn't contending want to start trading their fan favorites right now? The fans aren't coming out to see a competitive baseball team; one of the reasons they're actually coming to the games is to see these guys that they love to watch. Trading them now will make them lose out on ticket sales, which certainly doesn't interest any general manager in any sport. Just another huge reason that teams like the Padres and Cubs would be foolish to make a trade now.

The only trades that happen this early in the year involve all major league players. They involve two competing teams that have different needs. The Pirates aren't interested in trading Burnett/Bedard/McDonald right now, which is what they would have to do to get a major league bat. No team is going to give up a major leaguer for a minor leaguer at this point in the year, it just doesn't happen.

Kevin Youkilis may be a different story. The Red Sox simply don't have a spot for him in their starting lineup and may be better off without him on the roster as they move forward. It would be a salary dump for them that a team could take advantage of. The Red Sox best interest is not to start him, but another team might have that interest. That's the only trade I could possibly seeing before the end of July.

So stop thinking that the Pirates have any chance of trading for Headley/LaHair types anytime before the trade deadline.

Pirates of June Actually Know How to Hit

Clipped from: rumbunter.com (share this clip)

Twins (26-40) vs. Pirates (35-31), Game 66

Minnesota Twins (26-40) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-31)

June 20, 2012

Francisco Liriano vs. Erik Bedard


Game Notes: