Pittsburgh Pirates (62-73) vs. Houston Astros (46-90)
8:05 at Minute Maid Park
James McDonald (8-6, 4.22) vs. J.A. Happ (4-15, 6.03)
Liveblog:
Gameday:
Pirates vs. Astros, Game 136
Comments
Pittsburgh Pirates (62-73) vs. Houston Astros (46-90)
8:05 at Minute Maid Park
James McDonald (8-6, 4.22) vs. J.A. Happ (4-15, 6.03)
Liveblog:
Gameday:
Pirates Trade Matt Diaz
Comments
Neil Huntington found a way to get something for Matt Diaz, pretty incredible.
Diaz has been shipped back to Atlanta for a player to be named later. That is better than outright losing him for nothing, and he certainly didn't do much to help the team this year.
After posting a .305/.353/.461 triple-slash line in five seasons with Atlanta, he hit .259/.303/.324 in Pittsburgh. That just doesn't make sense. We're already past the curious stage with these free agents the Pirates keep signing, none of them ever play well and they don't stay with the team past August. Lyle Overbay was the other absolutely worthless free agent signing of the Pirates this year, and in years past we have seen Craig Monroe, Eric Hinkse, Ramon Vasquez, Jeromy Burnitz, and a few others do absolutely nothing in a Pirate uniform after previously having successful major league careers. Is it that the players aren't motivated to try very hard in Pittsburgh? I don't know really see how that could be possible, since they should be auditioning for other teams as their deal have only been one-year contracts for the most part.
Whatever the reason, the Pirates just can't find a quality free agent. Diaz was probably the worst of the bunch, and it'll be interesting to see what he does in Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there, hit a home run in his first three games and have a very successful last month of the season and help the team in the playoffs, that'd just complete another losing season for the Pirates.
Anyways, Diaz's departure leaves room for the possible call up of Matt Hague, who has played extremely well in AAA this year and deserves a look. He will have to be added to the 40-man roster first, so it's not a sure thing that the Pirates will call him up, but there will be some new players on the roster come tomorrow when the rosters expand.
Matt Diaz is a great guy, and I have a lot of respect for him, but it's hard not to harbor some ill will towards him after he was completely worthless playing for the Pirates this year.
Diaz has been shipped back to Atlanta for a player to be named later. That is better than outright losing him for nothing, and he certainly didn't do much to help the team this year.
After posting a .305/.353/.461 triple-slash line in five seasons with Atlanta, he hit .259/.303/.324 in Pittsburgh. That just doesn't make sense. We're already past the curious stage with these free agents the Pirates keep signing, none of them ever play well and they don't stay with the team past August. Lyle Overbay was the other absolutely worthless free agent signing of the Pirates this year, and in years past we have seen Craig Monroe, Eric Hinkse, Ramon Vasquez, Jeromy Burnitz, and a few others do absolutely nothing in a Pirate uniform after previously having successful major league careers. Is it that the players aren't motivated to try very hard in Pittsburgh? I don't know really see how that could be possible, since they should be auditioning for other teams as their deal have only been one-year contracts for the most part.
Whatever the reason, the Pirates just can't find a quality free agent. Diaz was probably the worst of the bunch, and it'll be interesting to see what he does in Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there, hit a home run in his first three games and have a very successful last month of the season and help the team in the playoffs, that'd just complete another losing season for the Pirates.
Anyways, Diaz's departure leaves room for the possible call up of Matt Hague, who has played extremely well in AAA this year and deserves a look. He will have to be added to the 40-man roster first, so it's not a sure thing that the Pirates will call him up, but there will be some new players on the roster come tomorrow when the rosters expand.
Matt Diaz is a great guy, and I have a lot of respect for him, but it's hard not to harbor some ill will towards him after he was completely worthless playing for the Pirates this year.
Charlie Morton August 30 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes/% |
| 4-Seam | 90.4 | -4.63 | 3.48 | 3 | 3/100.00% |
| Change | 82.2 | -4.55 | 0.84 | 7 | 6/85.71% |
| Curve | 79.0 | 9.36 | -6.92 | 23 | 11/47.83% |
| Cutter | 87.1 | 0.16 | 4.15 | 7 | 5/71.43% |
| 2-Seam | 89.5 | -7.47 | 1.27 | 48 | 33/68.75% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 91.8 | -4.25 | 5.24 | 6.8% | 63.3% |
| Change | 85.5 | -6.75 | 1.59 | 5.3% | 42.4% |
| Slider | 85.1 | -1.42 | 1.31 | 3.6% | 50.9% |
| Curve | 78 | 8.43 | -7.0 | 12.2% | 61.5% |
| 2-Seam | 91.8 | -9.06 | 1.97 | 72.2% | 65.4% |
Rudy Owens' Tough 2011
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In 2009, Pirates prospect Rudy Owens threw 124 innings combined with West Virginia and Lynchburg (both A affiliates) and compiled a 2.10 ERA while compiling an 8.2 K/BB ratio. That season kind of came out of nowhere, but Pirates fans were pleasantly surprised to see him nearly replicate that success again in 2010. In 26 starts with Altoona, Owens posted a 2.46 ERA with another sparkling K/BB ratio of 5.74; those numbers put him in the discussion to compete for a starting job in the major league rotation at some point during this 2011 season. However, what we have seen from Owens this year has been thoroughly discouraging.
Rudy has played the entire season at AAA Indianapolis, and has made 21 starts. He has thrown 112.1 innings in those starts and has an ugly ERA of 5.05. His normally sterling K/BB ratio has diminished down to 2.22 (71 K, 32 BB). His career average K/9 is 7.3, and it sits at 5.7 this year. His average BB/9 is 1.8, and that's at 2.6 right now.
Owens seems to be suffering from a bit of bad luck, with a 4.11 FIP (adjusted ERA based on only what the pitcher can control) and a .317 BABIP, but those numbers still don't take away the fact that he has struggled a lot this year and really doesn't look like a major-league caliber pitcher anymore.
He has had some injury issues this year, he was just up in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago getting his shoulder looked at, but the report was that there was no structural damage and he would be fine. His last start was August 5th, so he's missed some significant time. The minor league season is wrapping up soon, so I wouldn't expect to see Owens pitch again. The Pirates might choose to get him involved in some winter ball, but I'm not entirely sure what they are thinking on that issue.
At the young age of 23, there's no reason to write Owens off and say he'll never be a major league pitcher, but he's fallen quite a ways from where we thought he was a year ago.
Rudy has played the entire season at AAA Indianapolis, and has made 21 starts. He has thrown 112.1 innings in those starts and has an ugly ERA of 5.05. His normally sterling K/BB ratio has diminished down to 2.22 (71 K, 32 BB). His career average K/9 is 7.3, and it sits at 5.7 this year. His average BB/9 is 1.8, and that's at 2.6 right now.
Owens seems to be suffering from a bit of bad luck, with a 4.11 FIP (adjusted ERA based on only what the pitcher can control) and a .317 BABIP, but those numbers still don't take away the fact that he has struggled a lot this year and really doesn't look like a major-league caliber pitcher anymore.
He has had some injury issues this year, he was just up in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago getting his shoulder looked at, but the report was that there was no structural damage and he would be fine. His last start was August 5th, so he's missed some significant time. The minor league season is wrapping up soon, so I wouldn't expect to see Owens pitch again. The Pirates might choose to get him involved in some winter ball, but I'm not entirely sure what they are thinking on that issue.
At the young age of 23, there's no reason to write Owens off and say he'll never be a major league pitcher, but he's fallen quite a ways from where we thought he was a year ago.
Pirates vs. Astros, Game 134
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Pittsburgh Pirates (62-71) vs. Houston Astros (44-90)
8:05 at Minute Maid Park
Ross Ohlendorf (0-1, 7.24) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (9-9, 3.41)
Liveblog:
Gameday:
An Early Look At 2012
Comments
After a very exciting first half of the 2011 season, the Pirates have fallen back under .500 with little hope of getting back to it, and are headed towards their 19th straight losing season. The good news is that the Pirates will be back to 0 wins and 0 losses at the start of the 2012 season, and there should be some pretty high expectations for that club. Let's take a look at what it should look like:
Catcher:
With Chris Snyder missing almost the entire 2011 season due to injury and being scheduled to hit free agency after this year (he has a $6.75 million option), I would doubt that the Pirates will bring him back. That leaves Ryan Doumit, who has been the Pirates catcher for the last handful of years. Next year could be the first year he isn't on the roster. His contract is up, but he has a $7.25 million club option with a $750K buyout. There's a chance that the team will consider picking that option up, especially with Tony Sanchez struggling in the minor leagues this year. If I had to guess, I kind of doubt that the Pirates bring Doumit back, and they explore a cheaper free agent option while crossing their fingers for Sanchez to turn it around and develop into the player he can be. Here are the scheduled free agent catchers for 2012:
Rod Barajas, Josh Bard, Henry Blanco, Ramon Castro, Ramon Hernandez, Jason Kendall, Gerald Laird, Jose Molina, Yadier Molina ($7 million club option that will most likely be picked up), Dioner Navarro, Ivan Rodriguez, Brian Schneider, Kelly Shoppach, Matt Treanor, and Jason Varitek.
I honestly have no clue what the Pirates are going to do with the catching position. It really doesn't make sense to pick up options for Doumit or Snyder and I really don't think the Pirates look at Michael McKenry as a starting option, so there's a good chance that one of those guys above could be starting for the Pirates next year, I just have no idea who it could be. We'll keep you updated not his one.
First Base:
This is another tough one. Derrek Lee has just this year on his contract and there's really no way in my mind that the Pirates even consider trying to work a deal with him. Garrett Jones will almost certainly be back on the roster in 2012, but I don't know if the Pirates are confident with him being the every day starter. The big name free agents are Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, but there's no way the Pirates will be anywhere near the bidding war for them. That leaves names like Russell Branyan, Michael Cuddyer, Ross Gload, Brad Hawpe, Casey Kotchman, Mark Kotsay, Xavier Nady, and Wily Mo Pena as reasonable free agent options. I don't see the Pirates signing another free agent to play first next year, I think they'll probably start the year with Jones and see if they can turn Matt Hague into a major league starter. Hague is 26 years old already, so he's not exactly a top prospect that we should be expecting to be an everyday guy for years to come, but he could definitely help the team with his bat if he develops a little further. I still think Pedro Alvarez should eventually be at first base, but with his performance this year, there's no reason to be really confident that he'll actually be a major league player someday. I'm saying that Jones is the guy at the beginning of the year and they see what they have in the minors before making a decision for the future.
Second Base:
This one's easy, Neil Walker has continued to show that he's an everyday major league second baseman. There's no need to look anywhere else, and Josh Harrison has shown that he's a good option as a backup.
Shortstop:
This is a position where there are always some question marks, but I don't see many this year. Ronny Cedeno has had another unspectacular year, but has shown valuable ability at defense and has had a few hot streaks that keep his offensive numbers somewhat respectable. His contract is up but he has a $3 million option that I see the Pirates picking up. Chase d'Arnaud will also most likely be on the major league roster on Opening Day and should be the back-up while getting some starts there and possibly at third base.
Third Base:
I really wish this was another short one, but unfortunately it's not. Pedro Alvarez has had a horrific 2011 season and now we have no idea what's going to happen with him. He is technically out of options, but there is little doubt that he will be granted the 4th option year and the Pirates will be able to do what they want with him next year. If he can start to hit the ball better through the rest of this year and do some positive things in winter ball (if he plays), he could be back on the Opening Day roster to be the every day guy. However, I wouldn't put any money on that happening. My guess is that he starts in AAA and third base is manned by a combination of Harrison and d'Arnaud. Brandon Wood is another interesting name here. He is only signed through 2011, but it appears that the Pirates really like what they've seen from him this year, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him back with the team next year in bench role. If he plays well for the rest of this year and in spring training, he could be the starting third baseman next year.
Left Field:
Alex Presley is the most likely name here. The Pirates have three speedy outfielders that get on base a lot, and I think this team will be content with starting all 3 of those guys to begin the year. I would rather see them get a power hitter to play one of the corner spots, but it might not be the best option right now. There are names like Laynce Nix, Jonny Gomes, Jason Kubel, Cody Ross, and Nick Swisher that could be available in free agency to help out with the bats a little bit, but I am doubting the Pirates sign a free agent outfielder. Presley should be the starter in left field on Opening Day.
Center Field:
Andrew McCutchen.
Right Field:
Jose Tabata has been extremely hot since returning from the DL and with his new 6-year extension, he will be a starter in the outfield for years to come. Right field could be his future with the defense Presley brings, and he'll be a good option out there on both sides of the ball. We're still hoping Tabata develops some more power, but either way he should be a very good player next year.
Bench:
The bench is a crapshoot right now. I'm going to say that Josh Harrison and Chase d'Arnaud are locks, and there's a good chance that Brandon Wood could be there as well. That leaves them with some need for outfielders. I don't see them bringing Matt Diaz back, so they will have to go out and acquire a player or two in free agency. I mentioned some names above that could start, but some cheaper options includes Juan Rivera, Willie Harris, Xavier Nady, and Josh Willingham. Again, there's really no way to say what they are going to try to do right now, but it's a pretty good bet that the Pirates will be signing a free agent or two this offseason to fill some bench spots.
Starting Rotation:
The sure things in the rotation are Charlie Morton, James McDonald, and Jeff Karstens. Karstens still doesn't excite me, but after what he's done this year it would be ludicrous to not make him a starter for 2012. Paul Maholm could be back if the Pirates pick up his $9.75 million option or rework his deal, which I would say happens. That leaves them with another spot, which could be filled by Brad Lincoln, Ross Ohlendorf, or even Kevin Correia if they bring him back. Rudy Owens has taken a few steps back this year and doesn't look to be ready for the big leagues yet, although he could be called up pretty quickly if he returns to form. Jeff Locke has had a very good season and is showing great signs at AAA, so he could be in the rotation midway through 2012. There are a ton of guys that could fill these final 2 spots, and none of them are exactly ace-caliber. The Pirates really just need to do what they can to fill the spots until 2013 when they see Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole reach the majors (hopefully).
Bullpen:
I don't even want to get into this too much, just because it's so unpredictable. Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek, Daniel McCutchen, and Tony Watson should be fixtures in the pen next year. Danny Moskos will be either in the big leagues or AAA, and should factor into as well. We don't know if the Pirates will bring back Jose Veras and Chris Resop, but I wouldn't be opposed to either one. Joe Beimel should be gone and we'll see what Bryan Morris turns into in the first few months of the season. This team has a pretty strong core of bullpen arms, and could have another solid unit if they can add another power arm in the offseason. Possible free agent targets could be Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, and Matt Capps. I doubt they sign any of those three, but we definitely aren't going to see them go after Heath Bell, Jonathan Broxton, or Jonathan Papelbon.
All-in-all this team is going to have some good upside. It doesn't look like a World Series team yet, and I kind of doubt management sells out to make this the best possible big league team in 2012. They are still waiting for 2013 when these young players are closer to fully developed and they start getting these ace-calibur arms closer to the big leagues. I'm not going to make any predictions about 2013, but it should be an exciting year.
Catcher:
With Chris Snyder missing almost the entire 2011 season due to injury and being scheduled to hit free agency after this year (he has a $6.75 million option), I would doubt that the Pirates will bring him back. That leaves Ryan Doumit, who has been the Pirates catcher for the last handful of years. Next year could be the first year he isn't on the roster. His contract is up, but he has a $7.25 million club option with a $750K buyout. There's a chance that the team will consider picking that option up, especially with Tony Sanchez struggling in the minor leagues this year. If I had to guess, I kind of doubt that the Pirates bring Doumit back, and they explore a cheaper free agent option while crossing their fingers for Sanchez to turn it around and develop into the player he can be. Here are the scheduled free agent catchers for 2012:
Rod Barajas, Josh Bard, Henry Blanco, Ramon Castro, Ramon Hernandez, Jason Kendall, Gerald Laird, Jose Molina, Yadier Molina ($7 million club option that will most likely be picked up), Dioner Navarro, Ivan Rodriguez, Brian Schneider, Kelly Shoppach, Matt Treanor, and Jason Varitek.
I honestly have no clue what the Pirates are going to do with the catching position. It really doesn't make sense to pick up options for Doumit or Snyder and I really don't think the Pirates look at Michael McKenry as a starting option, so there's a good chance that one of those guys above could be starting for the Pirates next year, I just have no idea who it could be. We'll keep you updated not his one.
First Base:
This is another tough one. Derrek Lee has just this year on his contract and there's really no way in my mind that the Pirates even consider trying to work a deal with him. Garrett Jones will almost certainly be back on the roster in 2012, but I don't know if the Pirates are confident with him being the every day starter. The big name free agents are Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, but there's no way the Pirates will be anywhere near the bidding war for them. That leaves names like Russell Branyan, Michael Cuddyer, Ross Gload, Brad Hawpe, Casey Kotchman, Mark Kotsay, Xavier Nady, and Wily Mo Pena as reasonable free agent options. I don't see the Pirates signing another free agent to play first next year, I think they'll probably start the year with Jones and see if they can turn Matt Hague into a major league starter. Hague is 26 years old already, so he's not exactly a top prospect that we should be expecting to be an everyday guy for years to come, but he could definitely help the team with his bat if he develops a little further. I still think Pedro Alvarez should eventually be at first base, but with his performance this year, there's no reason to be really confident that he'll actually be a major league player someday. I'm saying that Jones is the guy at the beginning of the year and they see what they have in the minors before making a decision for the future.
Second Base:
This one's easy, Neil Walker has continued to show that he's an everyday major league second baseman. There's no need to look anywhere else, and Josh Harrison has shown that he's a good option as a backup.
Shortstop:
This is a position where there are always some question marks, but I don't see many this year. Ronny Cedeno has had another unspectacular year, but has shown valuable ability at defense and has had a few hot streaks that keep his offensive numbers somewhat respectable. His contract is up but he has a $3 million option that I see the Pirates picking up. Chase d'Arnaud will also most likely be on the major league roster on Opening Day and should be the back-up while getting some starts there and possibly at third base.
Third Base:
I really wish this was another short one, but unfortunately it's not. Pedro Alvarez has had a horrific 2011 season and now we have no idea what's going to happen with him. He is technically out of options, but there is little doubt that he will be granted the 4th option year and the Pirates will be able to do what they want with him next year. If he can start to hit the ball better through the rest of this year and do some positive things in winter ball (if he plays), he could be back on the Opening Day roster to be the every day guy. However, I wouldn't put any money on that happening. My guess is that he starts in AAA and third base is manned by a combination of Harrison and d'Arnaud. Brandon Wood is another interesting name here. He is only signed through 2011, but it appears that the Pirates really like what they've seen from him this year, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him back with the team next year in bench role. If he plays well for the rest of this year and in spring training, he could be the starting third baseman next year.
Left Field:
Alex Presley is the most likely name here. The Pirates have three speedy outfielders that get on base a lot, and I think this team will be content with starting all 3 of those guys to begin the year. I would rather see them get a power hitter to play one of the corner spots, but it might not be the best option right now. There are names like Laynce Nix, Jonny Gomes, Jason Kubel, Cody Ross, and Nick Swisher that could be available in free agency to help out with the bats a little bit, but I am doubting the Pirates sign a free agent outfielder. Presley should be the starter in left field on Opening Day.
Center Field:
Andrew McCutchen.
Right Field:
Jose Tabata has been extremely hot since returning from the DL and with his new 6-year extension, he will be a starter in the outfield for years to come. Right field could be his future with the defense Presley brings, and he'll be a good option out there on both sides of the ball. We're still hoping Tabata develops some more power, but either way he should be a very good player next year.
Bench:
The bench is a crapshoot right now. I'm going to say that Josh Harrison and Chase d'Arnaud are locks, and there's a good chance that Brandon Wood could be there as well. That leaves them with some need for outfielders. I don't see them bringing Matt Diaz back, so they will have to go out and acquire a player or two in free agency. I mentioned some names above that could start, but some cheaper options includes Juan Rivera, Willie Harris, Xavier Nady, and Josh Willingham. Again, there's really no way to say what they are going to try to do right now, but it's a pretty good bet that the Pirates will be signing a free agent or two this offseason to fill some bench spots.
Starting Rotation:
The sure things in the rotation are Charlie Morton, James McDonald, and Jeff Karstens. Karstens still doesn't excite me, but after what he's done this year it would be ludicrous to not make him a starter for 2012. Paul Maholm could be back if the Pirates pick up his $9.75 million option or rework his deal, which I would say happens. That leaves them with another spot, which could be filled by Brad Lincoln, Ross Ohlendorf, or even Kevin Correia if they bring him back. Rudy Owens has taken a few steps back this year and doesn't look to be ready for the big leagues yet, although he could be called up pretty quickly if he returns to form. Jeff Locke has had a very good season and is showing great signs at AAA, so he could be in the rotation midway through 2012. There are a ton of guys that could fill these final 2 spots, and none of them are exactly ace-caliber. The Pirates really just need to do what they can to fill the spots until 2013 when they see Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole reach the majors (hopefully).
Bullpen:
I don't even want to get into this too much, just because it's so unpredictable. Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek, Daniel McCutchen, and Tony Watson should be fixtures in the pen next year. Danny Moskos will be either in the big leagues or AAA, and should factor into as well. We don't know if the Pirates will bring back Jose Veras and Chris Resop, but I wouldn't be opposed to either one. Joe Beimel should be gone and we'll see what Bryan Morris turns into in the first few months of the season. This team has a pretty strong core of bullpen arms, and could have another solid unit if they can add another power arm in the offseason. Possible free agent targets could be Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, and Matt Capps. I doubt they sign any of those three, but we definitely aren't going to see them go after Heath Bell, Jonathan Broxton, or Jonathan Papelbon.
All-in-all this team is going to have some good upside. It doesn't look like a World Series team yet, and I kind of doubt management sells out to make this the best possible big league team in 2012. They are still waiting for 2013 when these young players are closer to fully developed and they start getting these ace-calibur arms closer to the big leagues. I'm not going to make any predictions about 2013, but it should be an exciting year.
Jeff Karstens August 28 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| Sinker | 88.6 | -11.11 | 4.49 | 31 | 21/67.74% |
| Change | 78.9 | -11.44 | 1.42 | 4 | 2/50.00% |
| Slider | 77.0 | 1.67 | -2.49 | 19 | 13/68.42% |
| Curve | 69.7 | 6.34 | -7.35 | 9 | 6/66.67% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 88.8 | -3.99 | 7.81 | 24.6% | 72.5% |
| Sinker | 87.8 | -8.28 | 5.40 | 33.0% | 70.6% |
| Change | 80.0 | -6.91 | 3.19 | 11.7% | 54.1% |
| Slider | 78.5 | 5.01 | -0.71 | 17.5% | 70.4% |
| Curve | 69.9 | 9.65 | -5.93 | 13.1% | 67.8% |
Pirates vs.Cardinals, Game 133
Comments
Pittsburgh Pirates (62-70) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (69-64)
2:10 at Busch Stadium
Jeff Karstens (9-7, 3.09) vs. Kyle Lohse (11-8, 3.73)
Lineups:
| Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) RF 2. Alex Presley (L) LF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Neil Walker (S) 2B 5. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 6. Josh Harrison (R) 3B 7. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 8. Michael McKenry (R) C 9. Jeff Karstens (R) P |
Cardinals Lineup: 1. Jon Jay (L) CF 2. Allen Craig (R) RF 3. Matt Holliday (R) LF 4. Lance Berkman (S) 1B 5. David Freese (R) 3B 6. Skip Schumaker (L) 2B 7. Ryan Theriot (R) SS 8. Gerald Laird (R) C 9. Kyle Lohse (R) P |
Gameday:
Brad Lincoln Shines As Pirates Shut Out Cardinals
Comments
Brad Lincoln was called into the rotation when Paul Maholm when on the DL, and in his first two starts he was asked to face the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, not exactly an easy challenge. However, Lincoln looked pretty good in the start against the Brewers and he looked very good this afternoon against the Cardinals.
Lincoln pitched 6 innings and gave up six hits and no runs. He walked 1 and struck out 4 while lowering his season ERA to 3.42. He threw only 78 pitches and threw 55 of them for strikes. His strikeout victims were Jon Jay, Matt Holliday, Skip Schumaker, and Chris Carpenter.
The fastball wasn't overpowering, and it never will be from Lincoln. He threw 46 4-seam fastballs with an average velocity of 92.2 miles per hour. He mixed a couple 2-seamers that averaged 91.7 miles per hour. He threw 16 change ups, 12 curveballs, and a slider. He labored a little bit in the 6th inning, throwing 24 pitches, which is one of the reasons he didn't come out for the 7th. Here are his pitch locations for the start:
For the year, Lincoln has now thrown 23.3 innings and gave up 21 hits and surrendered 9 earned runs. In his starts, he's thrown 18 innings giving up 12 hits and 4 runs, that's an ERA of 2.00 as a starter.
I still don't know if Brad Lincoln will ever be a fixture in the rotation for the Pirates, but what we have seen at the big league level so far has been pretty encouraging. He's got hit around a little bit coming out of the bullpen, but has been very strong in his starts. His minor league numbers are discouraging as well. In 19 AAA starts he had a 4.19 ERA. That said, his BB/9 was 1.7 and his K/9 was 7.6, both of which are very good numbers to see.
It's been an up and down season for Lincoln, but starts like today are exciting for Pirates fans. We'll see what the Pirates do this offseason, if they try to bolster their rotation through free agency or trades, but if not, Lincoln has a very good chance to make the Opening Day rotation and could help the team in a back of the rotation role. It will be interesting to see Lincoln pitch the rest of this season, and we'll be keeping a close eye on him here at The "Mc" Effect.
Lincoln pitched 6 innings and gave up six hits and no runs. He walked 1 and struck out 4 while lowering his season ERA to 3.42. He threw only 78 pitches and threw 55 of them for strikes. His strikeout victims were Jon Jay, Matt Holliday, Skip Schumaker, and Chris Carpenter.
The fastball wasn't overpowering, and it never will be from Lincoln. He threw 46 4-seam fastballs with an average velocity of 92.2 miles per hour. He mixed a couple 2-seamers that averaged 91.7 miles per hour. He threw 16 change ups, 12 curveballs, and a slider. He labored a little bit in the 6th inning, throwing 24 pitches, which is one of the reasons he didn't come out for the 7th. Here are his pitch locations for the start:
For the year, Lincoln has now thrown 23.3 innings and gave up 21 hits and surrendered 9 earned runs. In his starts, he's thrown 18 innings giving up 12 hits and 4 runs, that's an ERA of 2.00 as a starter.
I still don't know if Brad Lincoln will ever be a fixture in the rotation for the Pirates, but what we have seen at the big league level so far has been pretty encouraging. He's got hit around a little bit coming out of the bullpen, but has been very strong in his starts. His minor league numbers are discouraging as well. In 19 AAA starts he had a 4.19 ERA. That said, his BB/9 was 1.7 and his K/9 was 7.6, both of which are very good numbers to see.
It's been an up and down season for Lincoln, but starts like today are exciting for Pirates fans. We'll see what the Pirates do this offseason, if they try to bolster their rotation through free agency or trades, but if not, Lincoln has a very good chance to make the Opening Day rotation and could help the team in a back of the rotation role. It will be interesting to see Lincoln pitch the rest of this season, and we'll be keeping a close eye on him here at The "Mc" Effect.
Brad Lincoln August 27 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 92.2 | -9.43 | 5.06 | 46 | 32/69.6 |
| Change | 84.5 | -7.52 | -1.00 | 16 | 13/81.25% |
| Slider | 84.6 | 3.55 | -5.43 | 2 | 2/100.00% |
| Curve | 83.2 | 4.93 | -6.18 | 12 | 8/66.67% |
| 2-Seam | 91.7 | -12.68 | 3.77 | 2 | 0/0.00% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 92.5 | -6.80 | 6.97 | 53 | 35/66.04% |
| Change | 85.0 | -6.25 | 0.52 | 7 | 5/71.43% |
| Curve | 82.4 | 9.11 | -6.17 | 15 | 9/60.00% |
| 2-Seam | 92.3 | -9.99 | 2.96 | 1 | 0/0.00% |
| Curve | 70.5 | 9.53 | -5.05 | 16 | 10/62.50% |
Pirates Offense & Starting Pitching Update
Comments
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have not shown up to play against the tougher teams in the division. They are now 2-10 against Milwaukee and 5-6 against St. Louis. That's a total of 7-16 for all you math folks.
You can't really point to one thing to explain the recent poor play, injuries have had a lot to do with it, and the pitching staff has struggled at times, but has still shown strength pretty consistently. The offense is scoring some runs, averaging 4.3 runs per game over these last 10 contests. They just haven't been able to put many good full games together and they have blown a couple leads later on in the game. It's looking like the Pirates will have their 19th consecutive losing season after such a promising first half. Disappointing, yes, but there are many things to be positive about and the 2011 team is shaping up to look pretty decent.
That said, here's the update on the spreadsheet I have ben keeping all year long.
You can't really point to one thing to explain the recent poor play, injuries have had a lot to do with it, and the pitching staff has struggled at times, but has still shown strength pretty consistently. The offense is scoring some runs, averaging 4.3 runs per game over these last 10 contests. They just haven't been able to put many good full games together and they have blown a couple leads later on in the game. It's looking like the Pirates will have their 19th consecutive losing season after such a promising first half. Disappointing, yes, but there are many things to be positive about and the 2011 team is shaping up to look pretty decent.
That said, here's the update on the spreadsheet I have ben keeping all year long.
Pirates vs. Cardinals, Game 132
Comments
Pittsburgh Pirates (61-70) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (69-63)
4:10 at Busch Stadium
Brad Lincoln (0-0, 4.58) vs. Chris Carpenter (8-8, 3.57)
Lineups:
| Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) RF 2. Alex Presley (L) LF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Ryan Doumit (S) C 5. Neil Walker (S) 2B 6. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 7. Josh Harrison (R) 3B 8. Chase d'Arnaud (R) SS 9. Brad Lincoln (L) P |
Cardinals Lineup: 1. Jon Jay (L) CF 2. Rafael Furcal (S) SS 3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B 4. Matt Holliday (R) LF 5. Lance Berkman (S) RF 6. Skip Schumaker (L) 2B 7. Yadier Molina (R) C 8. Daniel Descalso (L) 3B 9. Chris Carpenter (R) P |
Gameday:
James McDonald August 26 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes/% |
| 4-Seam | 92.8 | -5.56 | 10.46 | 41 | 25/60.00% |
| Change | 81.8 | -3.83 | 2.65 | 22 | 14/63.64% |
| Curve | 76.8 | 2.65 | -6.53 | 6 | 4/66.67% |
| 2-Seam | 93.1 | -8.84 | 8.72 | 22 | 13/59.09% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 93.0 | -3.10 | 10.11 | 44.0% | 71.0% |
| Change | 81.6 | -3.76 | 4.63 | 6.7% | 52.6% |
| Curve | 76.5 | 5.73 | -7.59 | 26.6% | 58.7% |
| 2-Seam | 92.8 | -6.61 | 7.32 | 22.7% | 60.9% |
Pirates vs. Cardinals, Game 131
Comments
Pittsburgh Pirates (61-69) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (68-63)
8:15 at Busch Stadium
James McDonald (8-6, 4.21) vs. Jake Westbrook (10-7, 4.70)
Lineups:
| Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) RF 2. Alex Presley (L) LF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Ryan Doumit (S) C 5. Neil Walker (S) 2B 6. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 7. Josh Harrison (R) 3B 8. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 9. James McDonald (L) P |
Cardinals Lineup: 1. Skip Schumaker (L) 2B 2. Allen Craig (R) CF 3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B 4. Matt Holliday (R) LF 5. Lance Berkman (S) RF 6. David Freese (R) 3B 7. Yadier Molina (R) C 8. Rafael Furcal (S) SS 9. Jake Westbrook (R) P |
Gameday:
Charlie Morton August 25 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes/% |
| 4-Seam | 88.3 | -3.47 | 3.76 | 7 | 5/71.43% |
| Change | 83.5 | -3.40 | -0.00 | 6 | 2/33.33% |
| Curve | 79.5 | 4.84 | -6.44 | 18 | 9/50.00% |
| Cutter | 87.5 | -2.21 | 2.51 | 1 | 1/100.00% |
| 2-Seam | 90.2 | -11.43 | -0.01 | 52 | 33/63.46% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 91.8 | -4.25 | 5.24 | 6.8% | 63.3% |
| Change | 85.5 | -6.75 | 1.59 | 5.3% | 42.4% |
| Slider | 85.1 | -1.42 | 1.31 | 3.6% | 50.9% |
| Curve | 78 | 8.43 | -7.0 | 12.2% | 61.5% |
| 2-Seam | 91.8 | -9.06 | 1.97 | 72.2% | 65.4% |
Pirates vs. Cardinals, Game 130
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Pittsburgh Pirates (61-68) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (67-63)
8:15 at Busch Stadium
Charlie Morton (9-6, 3.42) vs. Edwin Jackson (9-9, 4.03)
Lineups:
| Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) RF 2. Alex Presley (L) LF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Neil Walker (S) 2B 5. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 6. Josh Harrison (R) 3B 7. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 8. Michael McKenry (R) C 9. Charlie Morton (R) P |
Brewers Lineup: 1. Skip Schumaker (L) 2B 2. Allen Craig (R) CF 3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B 4. Matt Holliday (R) LF 5. Lance Berkman (S) RF 6. David Freese (R) 3B 7. Yadier Molina (R) C 8. Rafael Furcal (S) SS 9. Edwin Jackson (R) P |
Gameday:
Pedro Alvarez Update
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The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Pedro Alvarez down to AAA Indianapolis less than 2 weeks ago. Let's take a quick look at what he's done since then. Here are his game logs with Indy:
August 18: 1/4, 2 K
August 19: 0/3, 2 BB
August 20: 0/4, 3 K
August 21: 1/4, 1 K
August 22: 0/3, 2 K
August 23: 1/4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
August 24: 0/3, 1 BB, 1 K
So that makes Alvarez 3/25 in the 7 games he's played at since the demotion. That's a .120 batting average. Two of his three hits were singles, and he's not drawing too many walks either. His struggles at the big league level seem to have followed him to Indianapolis.
That's certainly not good news for Pirates fans. Chances are that we will see him in a week or so when September call-ups roll around. I would think the Pirates would want to get him as many at bats as possible at whatever level they can for the rest of this year before deciding what to do with him this offseason. The Pirates had a lot of bright spots this year, but the performance of Alvarez has not been one of them. He has single handedly made me less confident about the future, and it will be extremely disappointing if he doesn't turn it around and become a good major leaguer.
August 18: 1/4, 2 K
August 19: 0/3, 2 BB
August 20: 0/4, 3 K
August 21: 1/4, 1 K
August 22: 0/3, 2 K
August 23: 1/4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
August 24: 0/3, 1 BB, 1 K
So that makes Alvarez 3/25 in the 7 games he's played at since the demotion. That's a .120 batting average. Two of his three hits were singles, and he's not drawing too many walks either. His struggles at the big league level seem to have followed him to Indianapolis.
That's certainly not good news for Pirates fans. Chances are that we will see him in a week or so when September call-ups roll around. I would think the Pirates would want to get him as many at bats as possible at whatever level they can for the rest of this year before deciding what to do with him this offseason. The Pirates had a lot of bright spots this year, but the performance of Alvarez has not been one of them. He has single handedly made me less confident about the future, and it will be extremely disappointing if he doesn't turn it around and become a good major leaguer.
Aaron Thompson August 24 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 88.2 | 6.23 | 9.18 | 32 | 21/65.63% |
| Change | 84.2 | 9.09 | 5.47 | 9 | 4/44.44% |
| Slider | 83.7 | 2.54 | 3.11 | 12 | 9/40.00% |
| 2-Seam | 83.3 | 9.24 | 5.26 | 15 | 6/40.00% |
Brewers vs. Pirates, Game 128
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Milwaukee Brewers (77-53) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (60-67)
7:05 at PNC Park
Marco Estrada (3-8, 4.28) vs. Ross Ohlendorf (0-0, 7.27)
Lineups:
| Brewers Lineup: 1. Corey Hart (R) RF 2. Nyjer Morgan (L) CF 3. Ryan Braun (R) LF 4. Prince Fielder (L) 1B 5. Casey McGehee (R) 3B 6. Yuniesky Betancourt (R) SS 7. Jerry Hairston (R) 2B 8. Jonathan Lucroy (R) C 9. Marco Estrada (R) P |
Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) LF 2. Xavier Paul (L) RF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Ryan Doumit (S) C 5. Neil Walker (S) 2B 6. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 7. Josh Harrison (R) 3B 8. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 9. Ross Ohlendorf (R) P |
Jose Tabata's Hot Streak
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Since returning from the disabled list, Jose Tabata has been the Pittsburgh Pirates best hitter. He has 12 hits in 29 at bats with 2 doubles, a triple, a home run, and 3 walks. That's good for a .414/.469/.655 triple-slash line.
Here's his spray chart for the 7 games he's played in since returning from his injury:
These are the locations for the pitches he has swung at; you can see that Tabata is really working the counts to get the pitches he likes. There's a lot of stuff right where a hitter likes it, and he's taking advantage of it.
And here are the pitch types and information for what the pitchers he's been facing are giving him. He's doing a great job against the fastball and really not missing any of them (whiffing only 2% of the time).
Tabata is absolutely on fire and it has come at a great time, right after he was extended for 6 years. This is the kind of player that he can be all the time (he's not going to hit .414, but you get it), and it would be a huge boost for this franchise if he could turn into the all-star that he has the potential to become in the next 5-10 years.
Here's his spray chart for the 7 games he's played in since returning from his injury:
Tabata is absolutely on fire and it has come at a great time, right after he was extended for 6 years. This is the kind of player that he can be all the time (he's not going to hit .414, but you get it), and it would be a huge boost for this franchise if he could turn into the all-star that he has the potential to become in the next 5-10 years.
Pirates Split Double Header With Brewers
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After getting embarassed in the first game of the double header by the score of 8-1 and falling to 0-9 on the season against Milwaukee, the Pirates finally played like a major league team against the beer makers and won by the score of 9-2.
The Pirates got great starting pitching in both games. First, Jeff Karstens went 7 innings and gave up just 2 runs on 6 hits. After that, Brad Lincoln went 6 innings and gave up 2 earned of his own while striking out 1 and allowing just 3 hits, bouncing back from a 2-hit, 2-run first inning. I think Lincoln was the story of the night. He was absolutely fantastic from innings 2 through 6 and put the Pirates in position to win.
The offense didn't show up for the first game outside of an 8th inning solo home run from Ryan Ludwick, his first as a Pirate. The team collected just 8 hits, 3 of which came from Jose Tabata who is absolutely on fire (.429 since returning from the DL), and scoring just the one run. The second game was a different story fortunately, as they scored 9 runs and collected 10 hits (6 of those hits and 7 of the runs coming in the 7th inning) on the back of 2-hit performances from Tabata and Ryan Doumit (who homered in the 2nd game).
It was definitely a feel good win for the Pirates tonight, even with the bad loss to start the day. The Pirates are now 1-9 against the Brewers this year, which is still horrid, but at least they know they can beat this team. There's 2 more of these games here in the next couple days, so we'll see if they can make it a win streak.
The Pirates got great starting pitching in both games. First, Jeff Karstens went 7 innings and gave up just 2 runs on 6 hits. After that, Brad Lincoln went 6 innings and gave up 2 earned of his own while striking out 1 and allowing just 3 hits, bouncing back from a 2-hit, 2-run first inning. I think Lincoln was the story of the night. He was absolutely fantastic from innings 2 through 6 and put the Pirates in position to win.
The offense didn't show up for the first game outside of an 8th inning solo home run from Ryan Ludwick, his first as a Pirate. The team collected just 8 hits, 3 of which came from Jose Tabata who is absolutely on fire (.429 since returning from the DL), and scoring just the one run. The second game was a different story fortunately, as they scored 9 runs and collected 10 hits (6 of those hits and 7 of the runs coming in the 7th inning) on the back of 2-hit performances from Tabata and Ryan Doumit (who homered in the 2nd game).
It was definitely a feel good win for the Pirates tonight, even with the bad loss to start the day. The Pirates are now 1-9 against the Brewers this year, which is still horrid, but at least they know they can beat this team. There's 2 more of these games here in the next couple days, so we'll see if they can make it a win streak.
Brad Lincoln August 22 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 92.5 | -6.80 | 6.97 | 53 | 35/66.04% |
| Change | 85.0 | -6.25 | 0.52 | 7 | 5/71.43% |
| Curve | 82.4 | 9.11 | -6.17 | 15 | 9/60.00% |
| 2-Seam | 92.3 | -9.99 | 2.96 | 1 | 0/0.00% |
| Curve | 70.5 | 9.53 | -5.05 | 16 | 10/62.50% |
Jeff Karstens August 22 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 89.3 | -4.96 | 8.25 | 14 | 7/50.00% |
| Sinker | 88.7 | -8.44 | 4.84 | 42 | 27/64.29% |
| Change | 80.2 | -6.14 | 2.30 | 10 | 7/70.00% |
| Slider | 77.6 | 4.95 | -0.98 | 17 | 14/82.35% |
| Curve | 70.5 | 9.53 | -5.05 | 16 | 10/62.50% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 88.8 | -3.99 | 7.81 | 24.6% | 72.5% |
| Sinker | 87.8 | -8.28 | 5.40 | 33.0% | 70.6% |
| Change | 80.0 | -6.91 | 3.19 | 11.7% | 54.1% |
| Slider | 78.5 | 5.01 | -0.71 | 17.5% | 70.4% |
| Curve | 69.9 | 9.65 | -5.93 | 13.1% | 67.8% |
Kevin Correia Joins Paul Maholm On The Phantom DL
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Not surprisingly to me, Kevin Correia has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. The reason the Pirates gave was a "left oblique strain".
This happens after Correia compiled a 7.74 ERA in his last 6 starts and has eclipsed his 2010 innings total by more than 10. Last week, Paul Maholm went on the DL with a "left shoulder strain" 2 days after pitching a game in which he got roughed up but didn't look injured at all, and one day after he golfed at a charity event.
These guys can't really be injured. Sure, they might be hurt a little bit like all professional athletes probably are at this point of their season, but I'm not buying that these two are not in shape to pitch. This is just a team move to give them some time off to recoup from their high innings totals and recent poor performance without embarrassing them by sending them to the bullpen or benching them.
There is definitely nothing to be worried about here, and it should be interesting to see Brad Lincoln and Ross Ohlendorf get some starts at the big league level again.
This happens after Correia compiled a 7.74 ERA in his last 6 starts and has eclipsed his 2010 innings total by more than 10. Last week, Paul Maholm went on the DL with a "left shoulder strain" 2 days after pitching a game in which he got roughed up but didn't look injured at all, and one day after he golfed at a charity event.
These guys can't really be injured. Sure, they might be hurt a little bit like all professional athletes probably are at this point of their season, but I'm not buying that these two are not in shape to pitch. This is just a team move to give them some time off to recoup from their high innings totals and recent poor performance without embarrassing them by sending them to the bullpen or benching them.
There is definitely nothing to be worried about here, and it should be interesting to see Brad Lincoln and Ross Ohlendorf get some starts at the big league level again.
Comments
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Doubleheader at PNC Park starting at 5:05 PM
Chris Narveson (8-6, 4.49) vs. Jeff Karstens (9-6, 3.12)
Zack Greinke (12-4, 3.92) vs. Brad Lincoln (0-0, 5.40)
Liveblog:
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Doubleheader at PNC Park starting at 5:05 PM
Chris Narveson (8-6, 4.49) vs. Jeff Karstens (9-6, 3.12)
Zack Greinke (12-4, 3.92) vs. Brad Lincoln (0-0, 5.40)
Liveblog:
Pirates Home Run Log
Comments
The Pittsburgh Pirates have found their home run stroke on this most recent home stand. I figured I'd update the home run tracker to check out the new numbers. So here it is, click on it for a bigger picture:
James McDonald August 21 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes/% |
| 4-Seam | 92.4 | -2.79 | 9.99 | 58 | 37/63.79% |
| Change | 81.2 | -0.46 | 2.52 | 12 | 9/75.00% |
| Curve | 77.6 | 5.77 | -5.52 | 15 | 13/86.67% |
| 2-Seam | 92.2 | -5.74 | 6.70 | 8 | 2/25.00% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 93.0 | -3.10 | 10.11 | 44.0% | 71.0% |
| Change | 81.6 | -3.76 | 4.63 | 6.7% | 52.6% |
| Curve | 76.5 | 5.73 | -7.59 | 26.6% | 58.7% |
| 2-Seam | 92.8 | -6.61 | 7.32 | 22.7% | 60.9% |
Reds vs. Pirates, Game 125
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Cincinnati Reds (61-65) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (59-65)
1:35 at PNC Park
Mike Leake (10-8, 4.00) vs. James McDonald (8-6, 4.20)
Lineups:
| Reds Lineup: 1. Brandon Phillips (R) 2B 2. Fred Lewis (L) LF 3. Joey Votto (L) 1B 4. Jay Bruce (L) RF 5. Todd Frazier (R) 3B 6. Drew Stubbs (R) CF 7. Ryan Hanigan (R) C 8. Paul Janish (R) SS 9. Mike Leake (R) P |
Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) RF 2. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Ryan Doumit (S) C 5. Neil Walker (S) 2B 6. Ryan Ludwick (R) LF 7. Brandon Wood (R) 3B 8. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 9. James McDonald (L) P |
Gameday:
Charlie Morton's Domination Against Righties
Comments
Charlie Morton has been having a very good season for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year. Much of that success has come as a result of being extremely tough against right-handed batters.
Morton has faced a right-handed batter 324 times this year. He has surrendered just 58 hits and recorded 53 strikeouts in that span. Right handed batters are hitting just .201/.267/.235 off Ground Chuck; ridiculous numbers. The problem is that lefties are hitting Morton very well with a .366/.449/.518 line, but that's not what we're here to talk about.
Morton had a rough month of July (4.97 ERA in 5 starts) but has bounced back in a big way in this month of August. In 4 starts he has a 0.95 ERA and has allowed just 22 hits in 28.1 innings while striking out 18 and walking 8. At one point, Morton retired 20 right handed batters without allowing a hit. Check it out, here's the breakdown:
The only semi-blemishes in there were walks to Ryan Braun and Geovany Soto, who aren't exactly terrible guys to walk.
This isn't anything new, Charlie has been nearly unhittable against righties all year long, but it has really been on display recently. The stuff is no joke, and if Morton can keep his confidence up and continue to attack hitters, he's going to be a fixture in the Pirates rotation for some years to come.
Morton has faced a right-handed batter 324 times this year. He has surrendered just 58 hits and recorded 53 strikeouts in that span. Right handed batters are hitting just .201/.267/.235 off Ground Chuck; ridiculous numbers. The problem is that lefties are hitting Morton very well with a .366/.449/.518 line, but that's not what we're here to talk about.
Morton had a rough month of July (4.97 ERA in 5 starts) but has bounced back in a big way in this month of August. In 4 starts he has a 0.95 ERA and has allowed just 22 hits in 28.1 innings while striking out 18 and walking 8. At one point, Morton retired 20 right handed batters without allowing a hit. Check it out, here's the breakdown:
The only semi-blemishes in there were walks to Ryan Braun and Geovany Soto, who aren't exactly terrible guys to walk.
This isn't anything new, Charlie has been nearly unhittable against righties all year long, but it has really been on display recently. The stuff is no joke, and if Morton can keep his confidence up and continue to attack hitters, he's going to be a fixture in the Pirates rotation for some years to come.
Charlie Morton August 20 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes/% |
| 4-Seam | 89.7 | -4.01 | 4.45 | 6 | 1/16.67% |
| Change | 83.5 | -5.88 | -1.21 | 5 | 4/80.00% |
| Curve | 79.4 | 7.11 | -6.98 | 21 | 12/57.14% |
| Cutter | 88 | -0.60 | 2.42 | 6 | 5/83.33% |
| 2-Seam | 90.5 | -8.33 | 0.21 | 51 | 31/60.78% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 91.8 | -4.25 | 5.24 | 6.8% | 63.3% |
| Change | 85.5 | -6.75 | 1.59 | 5.3% | 42.4% |
| Slider | 85.1 | -1.42 | 1.31 | 3.6% | 50.9% |
| Curve | 78 | 8.43 | -7.0 | 12.2% | 61.5% |
| 2-Seam | 91.8 | -9.06 | 1.97 | 72.2% | 65.4% |
Offensive and Pitching Statistics Update
Comments
Haven't done this in over a week, so here's the update:
Paul Maholm Mysteriously Goes On DL
Comments
Paul Maholm has been placed on the 15-day Disabled List with a strained shoulder. This will be his first stint on the DL in his career, which is pretty impressive. However, it looks to me like he really doesn't isn't very "disabled" at all.
Maholm made a start Wednesday night against the Cardinals, and despite getting hit around a little bit, looked perfectly healthy. His fastball velocity was down a little bit, but there was no reason to believe that he was injured after the start. Then on Thursday, Maholm played in a Pirates golf event. I don't know about you, but when I play golf, I use both of my shoulders pretty often.
So there are 2 options here. One option is that Paul strained his shoulder while playing golf. The other option is that he's not really hurt, the Pirates are just looking for a cheap way to get him some time off and lessen his workload as the season winds down.
My guess would certainly be the latter. Maholm has thrown a ton of innings this year (162.1 innings in 26 starts), which puts him on pace to throw right around 200 innings in a full season, which would be right up there with his career highs. Also, Maholm has been getting hit around a lot since the all-star break, so there might be some arm fatigue in the mix already. There aren't definite signs of that, but it's certainly a possibility. If the Pirates were still in the division race, I don't think that this DL trip would be happening.
This "injury" could also cost the Pirates a chance to trade Maholm. There have been talks about waiver trades and things with Maholm, which certainly make sense considering the team's current standing and the money they will have to give him this offseason, but those talks are pretty much thrown out the window now as Maholm will be sitting on the shelf for 2 weeks. Saying what I've said about this "injury" already, it looks like the Pirates still had no interest in trading Maholm, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them work a deal out with him this offseason.
The Pirates wanted to get Maholm some rest and it clearly can't hurt him, his last handful of starts have been really discouraging. They'll get to skip a couple starts for Paul and have him finish the season strong before figuring out what to do with him this offseason. Until then, expect Ross Ohlendorf to come up and make some major league starts again. Oh boy.
Maholm made a start Wednesday night against the Cardinals, and despite getting hit around a little bit, looked perfectly healthy. His fastball velocity was down a little bit, but there was no reason to believe that he was injured after the start. Then on Thursday, Maholm played in a Pirates golf event. I don't know about you, but when I play golf, I use both of my shoulders pretty often.
So there are 2 options here. One option is that Paul strained his shoulder while playing golf. The other option is that he's not really hurt, the Pirates are just looking for a cheap way to get him some time off and lessen his workload as the season winds down.
My guess would certainly be the latter. Maholm has thrown a ton of innings this year (162.1 innings in 26 starts), which puts him on pace to throw right around 200 innings in a full season, which would be right up there with his career highs. Also, Maholm has been getting hit around a lot since the all-star break, so there might be some arm fatigue in the mix already. There aren't definite signs of that, but it's certainly a possibility. If the Pirates were still in the division race, I don't think that this DL trip would be happening.
This "injury" could also cost the Pirates a chance to trade Maholm. There have been talks about waiver trades and things with Maholm, which certainly make sense considering the team's current standing and the money they will have to give him this offseason, but those talks are pretty much thrown out the window now as Maholm will be sitting on the shelf for 2 weeks. Saying what I've said about this "injury" already, it looks like the Pirates still had no interest in trading Maholm, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them work a deal out with him this offseason.
The Pirates wanted to get Maholm some rest and it clearly can't hurt him, his last handful of starts have been really discouraging. They'll get to skip a couple starts for Paul and have him finish the season strong before figuring out what to do with him this offseason. Until then, expect Ross Ohlendorf to come up and make some major league starts again. Oh boy.
Kevin Correia August 19 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 90.9 | -2.56 | 8.02 | 26 | 20/76.92% |
| Change | 85.5 | -4.94 | 4.58 | 7 | 2/28.57% |
| Slider | 87.8 | 2.50 | 4.93 | 18 | 10/55.56% |
| Curve | 79.3 | 5.87 | -2.04 | 7 | 3/42.86% |
| Cutter | 90.3 | 1.14 | 7.72 | 17 | 7/41.18% |
| 2-Seam | 91.0 | -6.05 | 6.52 | 15 | 10/66.67% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 90.6 | -2.42 | 8.38 | 29.1% | 66.7% |
| Change | 86.4 | -6.58 | 4.87 | 10.3% | 57.6% |
| Slider | 87.5 | 3.00 | 4.46 | 21.9% | 64.5% |
| Curve | 77.8 | 7.32 | -5.35 | 12.4% | 56.3% |
| Cutter | 90.6 | 1.42 | 7.64 | 7.6% | 60.5% |
| 2-Seam | 90.5 | -6.82 | 6.62 | 17.5% | 65.9 |
| Fastball | 88.6 | -6.65 | 6.07 | 1.2% | 43.5 |
Reds vs. Pirates, Game 123
Comments
Cincinnati Reds (60-64) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (58-64)
7:05 at PNC Park
Homer Bailey (7-5, 4.43) vs. Kevin Correia (12-11, 4.62)
Lineups:
| Reds Lineup: 1. Brandon Phillips (R) 2B 2. Fred Lewis (L) LF 3. Joey Votto (L) 1B 4. Jay Bruce (L) RF 5. Todd Frazier (R) 3B 6. Drew Stubbs (R) CF 7. Ryan Hanigan (R) C 8. Paul Janish (R) SS 9. Homer Bailey (R) P |
Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) RF 2. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Ryan Doumit (S) C 5. Neil Walker (S) 2B 6. Ryan Ludwick (R) LF 7. Brandon Wood (R) 3B 8. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 9. Kevin Correia (R) P |
Paul Maholm August 17 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 85.5 | 7.84 | 7.01 | 11 | 7/63.64% |
| Change | 81.5 | 8.75 | 2.23 | 21 | 14/66.67% |
| Slider | 84.1 | 3.55 | 4.62 | 7 | 4/57.14% |
| Curve | 71.4 | -5.46 | -6.46 | 18 | 10/55.56% |
| 2-Seam | 87.1 | 9.92 | 4.70 | 25 | 15/60.00% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| Fastball | 85.5 | 9.96 | 2.80 | 0.7% | 76.9% |
| 4-Seam | 87.3 | 6.79 | 7.80 | 15.1% | 62.0% |
| Change | 81.8 | 9.17 | 2.23 | 18.3% | 62.7% |
| Slider | 81.6 | 0.45 | 2.09 | 16.4% | 63.4% |
| Curve | 72.2 | -4.81 | -5.65 | 12.1% | 57.0% |
| 2-Seam | 87.3 | 10.6 | 4.24 | 37.4% | 65.6% |
The Difference Between The Pirates And Brewers
Comments
275 Foot Sacrifice Fly
I have nothing else to say.
Cardinals vs. Pirates, Game 122
Comments
St. Louis Cardinals (65-58) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (58-63)
7:05 at PNC Park
Kyle Lohse (10-7, 3.37) vs. Paul Maholm (6-13, 3.60)
Lineups:
| Cardinals Lineup: 1. Rafael Furcal (S) SS 2. Allen Craig (R) RF 3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B 4. Matt Holliday (R) LF 5. David Freese (R) 3B 6. Yadier Molina (R) C 7. Ryan Theriot (R) 2B 8. Jon Jay (L) CF 9. Kyle Lohse (R) P |
Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) RF 2. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Ryan Doumit (S) C 5. Neil Walker (S) 2B 6. Ryan Ludwick (R) LF 7. Brandon Wood (R) 3B 8. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 9. Paul Maholm (L) P |
Gameday:
Kevin Correia's Home/Road Splits
Comments
Any 2011 Pittsburgh Pirate fan knows that Kevin Correia has been a much better pitcher on the road than at home. I'm really intrigued by this, because it frankly doesn't make much sense to me. So let's take a closer look at it.
Basic Splits:
Home: 11 GS, 59.1 IP, 2-8, 7.58 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 12 HR, .350 BAA, 547 SLGA, 4.6 K/9, 2.12 BB/9
Away: 14 GS, 88.2 IP, 10-3, 2.64 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 9 HR, .235 BAA, .373 SLGA, 4.7 K/9, 2.43 BB/9
Game Logs:
Home:
4/13 vs. MIL: 6 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
4/24 vs. WAS: 4.2 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
5/10 VS. LAD: 6.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
5/21 VS. DET: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
6/7 vs. ARI: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
6/12 vs. NYM: 7.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
6/22 vs. BAL: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
7/9 vs. CHC: 3.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
7/23 vs. STL: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
8/2 vs. CHC: 2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 HR
8/13 vs. SD: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Road:
4/1 vs. CHC: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
4/6 vs. STL: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
4/18 vs. CIN: 9 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
4/29 vs. COL: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
5/4 vs. SD: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
5/15 vs. MIL: 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
5/27 vs. CHC: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
6/1 vs. NYM: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
6/17 vs. CLE: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
6/28 vs. TOR: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
7/3 vs. WAS: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
7/17 vs. HOU: 6 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
7/28 vs. ATL: 6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
8/13 vs. MIL: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
The next question I have is if there is anything to this home/road thing with the other starters. The answer is, there isn't. Here's the other pitchers ERA/WHIP splits:
James McDonald: Home - 3.09 ERA, 1.31 WHIP | Away - 5.43 ERA, 1.70 WHIP
Jeff Karstens: Home - 3.21 ERA, 1.15 WHIP | Away - 3.03 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
Paul Maholm: Home - 3.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP | Away - 4.19 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
Charlie Morton: Home - 3.84 ERA, 1.48 WHIP | Away - 3.07 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
So McDonald and Maholm have been significantly better at home than on the road, Morton has been better on the road, and Karstens has been pretty much equal.
PNC Park isn't an extreme pitcher's or hitter's park, so it's strange to see such ridiculous splits from Correia. You would have expected him to be much better at home in previous years pitching in the pitcher friendly Petco Park, but the strange part is that his career home ERA is 4.92 while his road ERA is 4.24, showing that he was worse at home even when pitching with San Diego.
I don't see how there could possibly be anything you could point to as a reason for this, but this year's sample is big enough where it's tough to call it random. If I had to answer the question, I would still say it's more random than anything, but that's just because I don't have any other answers for it.
Basic Splits:
Home: 11 GS, 59.1 IP, 2-8, 7.58 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 12 HR, .350 BAA, 547 SLGA, 4.6 K/9, 2.12 BB/9
Away: 14 GS, 88.2 IP, 10-3, 2.64 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 9 HR, .235 BAA, .373 SLGA, 4.7 K/9, 2.43 BB/9
Game Logs:
Home:
4/13 vs. MIL: 6 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
4/24 vs. WAS: 4.2 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
5/10 VS. LAD: 6.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
5/21 VS. DET: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
6/7 vs. ARI: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
6/12 vs. NYM: 7.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
6/22 vs. BAL: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
7/9 vs. CHC: 3.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
7/23 vs. STL: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
8/2 vs. CHC: 2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 HR
8/13 vs. SD: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Road:
4/1 vs. CHC: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
4/6 vs. STL: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
4/18 vs. CIN: 9 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
4/29 vs. COL: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
5/4 vs. SD: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
5/15 vs. MIL: 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
5/27 vs. CHC: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
6/1 vs. NYM: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
6/17 vs. CLE: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
6/28 vs. TOR: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
7/3 vs. WAS: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
7/17 vs. HOU: 6 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
7/28 vs. ATL: 6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
8/13 vs. MIL: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
The next question I have is if there is anything to this home/road thing with the other starters. The answer is, there isn't. Here's the other pitchers ERA/WHIP splits:
James McDonald: Home - 3.09 ERA, 1.31 WHIP | Away - 5.43 ERA, 1.70 WHIP
Jeff Karstens: Home - 3.21 ERA, 1.15 WHIP | Away - 3.03 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
Paul Maholm: Home - 3.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP | Away - 4.19 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
Charlie Morton: Home - 3.84 ERA, 1.48 WHIP | Away - 3.07 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
So McDonald and Maholm have been significantly better at home than on the road, Morton has been better on the road, and Karstens has been pretty much equal.
PNC Park isn't an extreme pitcher's or hitter's park, so it's strange to see such ridiculous splits from Correia. You would have expected him to be much better at home in previous years pitching in the pitcher friendly Petco Park, but the strange part is that his career home ERA is 4.92 while his road ERA is 4.24, showing that he was worse at home even when pitching with San Diego.
I don't see how there could possibly be anything you could point to as a reason for this, but this year's sample is big enough where it's tough to call it random. If I had to answer the question, I would still say it's more random than anything, but that's just because I don't have any other answers for it.
Late Home Runs Beat The Red Birds | Pirates 5 Cardinals 4
Comments
On the same night that Lyle Overbay had a game winning hit for the Diamondbacks off of Roy Halladay, Neil Walker and Garrett Jones hit home runs in the 9th and 11th innings to tie and win the game.
Jeff Karstens made the start for the Pirates and did a pretty nice job, going 5.1 innings and allowing just 3 earned. He struck out 5 and walked 2. The bullpen did a good job up until the 9th, when Joel Hanrahan gave up the go ahead run (his first run allowed in his last 14 innings). It didn't look good for the Pirates heading to the bottom of the 9th and Cardinals closer Fernando Salas coming in with a 2.20 ERA, but Walker wasted no time in depositing a pitch over the right center field wall to send the game into extra innings. Chris Resop did a great job pitching 2 scoreless innings of free baseball and earning the win when Jones bounced a ball into the river to walk it off for the Bucs 58th win of the year.
Andrew McCutchen homered earlier in the game, a 3-run shot, so the Pirates had a rare 3 home run game. Jose Tabata had a hit in his return from the DL and should provide a boost for the offense. Alex Presley is also progressing and could be back for the weekend series.
Tonight was a big night in a couple ways. The Pirates locked up a series win against a division rival and a very solid baseball team in the Cardinals, and they also officially clinched improvement from last year. The team was 57-105 last year, and right now they are 58-63, quite a bit better.
They'll look for their first 3-game home sweep of the season tomorrow as Paul Maholm faces Kyle Lohse at 7:05.
Jeff Karstens made the start for the Pirates and did a pretty nice job, going 5.1 innings and allowing just 3 earned. He struck out 5 and walked 2. The bullpen did a good job up until the 9th, when Joel Hanrahan gave up the go ahead run (his first run allowed in his last 14 innings). It didn't look good for the Pirates heading to the bottom of the 9th and Cardinals closer Fernando Salas coming in with a 2.20 ERA, but Walker wasted no time in depositing a pitch over the right center field wall to send the game into extra innings. Chris Resop did a great job pitching 2 scoreless innings of free baseball and earning the win when Jones bounced a ball into the river to walk it off for the Bucs 58th win of the year.
Andrew McCutchen homered earlier in the game, a 3-run shot, so the Pirates had a rare 3 home run game. Jose Tabata had a hit in his return from the DL and should provide a boost for the offense. Alex Presley is also progressing and could be back for the weekend series.
Tonight was a big night in a couple ways. The Pirates locked up a series win against a division rival and a very solid baseball team in the Cardinals, and they also officially clinched improvement from last year. The team was 57-105 last year, and right now they are 58-63, quite a bit better.
They'll look for their first 3-game home sweep of the season tomorrow as Paul Maholm faces Kyle Lohse at 7:05.
Jeff Karstens August 16 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 88.5 | -4.73 | 8.79 | 10 | 6/60.00% |
| Sinker | 88.7 | -8.25 | 5.63 | 43 | 27/62.79% |
| Change | 79.6 | -6.63 | 2.79 | 8 | 3/37.50% |
| Slider | 77.4 | 6.22 | -0.16 | 17 | 10/58.82% |
| Curve | 70.0 | 9.50 | -4.66 | 13 | 8/61.54% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 88.8 | -3.99 | 7.81 | 24.6% | 72.5% |
| Sinker | 87.8 | -8.28 | 5.40 | 33.0% | 70.6% |
| Change | 80.0 | -6.91 | 3.19 | 11.7% | 54.1% |
| Slider | 78.5 | 5.01 | -0.71 | 17.5% | 70.4% |
| Curve | 69.9 | 9.65 | -5.93 | 13.1% | 67.8% |
Cardinals vs. Pirates, Game 121
Comments
St. Louis Cardinals (65-57) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (57-63)
7:05 at PNC Park
Chris Carpenter (8-8, 3.68) vs. Jeff Karstens (9-6, 3.04)
Lineups:
| Cardinals Lineup: 1. Jon Jay (L) CF 2. Rafael Furcal (S) SS 3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B 4. Matt Holliday (R) LF 5. Lance Berkman (S) RF 6. David Freese (R) 3B 7. Skip Schumaker (L) 2B 8. Gerald Laird (R) C 9. Chris Carpenter (R) P |
Pirates Lineup: 1. Jose Tabata (R) LF 2. Xavier Paul (L) RF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Ryan Doumit (S) C 5. Neil Walker (S) 2B 6. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 7. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 8. Josh Harrison (R) 3B 9. Jeff Karstens (R) P |
Gameday:
Pirates Sign Gerrit Cole... and Josh Bell
Comments
That's right the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed their first and second round 2011 draft picks.
Both negotiations went down to the wire but the Pirates were able to get both guys. Nobody was expecting them to not sign Cole, but almost everyone was expecting Bell to wind up at Texas this fall.
We don't know how much these two signed for, but you would have to think the Pirates spent 12-15 million total in these deals. I don't think anybody will be complaining, these two guys will instantly be top-5 prospects in this system and probably top-50 guys in the major leagues. These signings were absolutely huge for the organization and make our future even brighter. We'll have more details when they are available.
Update: Josh Bell got $5 million dollars in his deal, and Cole got $8 million. That's less than I was expecting for both players, great deals. Let's go Bucs.
Both negotiations went down to the wire but the Pirates were able to get both guys. Nobody was expecting them to not sign Cole, but almost everyone was expecting Bell to wind up at Texas this fall.
We don't know how much these two signed for, but you would have to think the Pirates spent 12-15 million total in these deals. I don't think anybody will be complaining, these two guys will instantly be top-5 prospects in this system and probably top-50 guys in the major leagues. These signings were absolutely huge for the organization and make our future even brighter. We'll have more details when they are available.
Update: Josh Bell got $5 million dollars in his deal, and Cole got $8 million. That's less than I was expecting for both players, great deals. Let's go Bucs.
Ryan Doumit Shows Up | Pirates 6 Cardinals 2
Comments
James McDonald went all 2nd Half MVP on us and basically shut down the Cardinals for 5.2 innings tonight. He gave up just 2 runs, one was tagged to him after he left the game, and struck out 4 red birds while walking just 2 and giving up 6 hits. It was unfortunate that he couldn't go deeper into this game, but the bullpen did the job and McDonald got his 8th win of the year.
Ryan Doumit did the heavy lifting on offense, collecting 4 hits and driving in 3 runs. His 3-run home run in the 4th inning broke a 1-1 tie and put the Pirates on top for good. I have really liked what Doumit has shown us at the plate all year long, and I'm a lot higher on him than most people. I understand that it would be kind of foolish for the Pirates to pay him $7 million or whatever it would take to keep him around after seeing how much trouble he has staying healthy, but I think Pittsburgh fans are going to miss his bat more than they think.
Anyways, Neil Walker also had 2 hits and drove in a run, and Xavier Paul drove in the other run with his lead-off home run in the first to deep left center field which just sneaked into the bullpen.
At the end of the day, the Pirates had 11 hits and the Cardinals had 9 and the Pirates outscored their division rivals by 4 and got their 57th win of the year.
Ryan Doumit did the heavy lifting on offense, collecting 4 hits and driving in 3 runs. His 3-run home run in the 4th inning broke a 1-1 tie and put the Pirates on top for good. I have really liked what Doumit has shown us at the plate all year long, and I'm a lot higher on him than most people. I understand that it would be kind of foolish for the Pirates to pay him $7 million or whatever it would take to keep him around after seeing how much trouble he has staying healthy, but I think Pittsburgh fans are going to miss his bat more than they think.
Anyways, Neil Walker also had 2 hits and drove in a run, and Xavier Paul drove in the other run with his lead-off home run in the first to deep left center field which just sneaked into the bullpen.
At the end of the day, the Pirates had 11 hits and the Cardinals had 9 and the Pirates outscored their division rivals by 4 and got their 57th win of the year.
James McDonald August 15 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes/% |
| 4-Seam | 92.8 | -3.58 | 10.04 | 50 | 36/72.00% |
| Change | 81.4 | 0.65 | 1.48 | 11 | 9/81.82% |
| Curve | 78.2 | 4.57 | -4.55 | 13 | 6/46.15% |
| 2-Seam | 92.15 | -6.35 | 7.03 | 18 | 7/38.89% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 93.0 | -3.10 | 10.11 | 44.0% | 71.0% |
| Change | 81.6 | -3.76 | 4.63 | 6.7% | 52.6% |
| Curve | 76.5 | 5.73 | -7.59 | 26.6% | 58.7% |
| 2-Seam | 92.8 | -6.61 | 7.32 | 22.7% | 60.9% |
Alex Presley vs. Chris Duffy
Comments
Alex Presley has been tearing up AAA pitching for a couple of years now, and that got him a promotion to the big leagues this year, where he continued to hit extremely well. In the 20 games he played before going on the DL, Presley hit .333/.402/.494 and provided a serious spark for the Pirates offense.
His success was so great that a lot of people around Pittsburgh expect him to be the savior for this struggling offense when he comes off the DL. However, I'm not as high on Presley as other people. You can't argue with what he has done the last 2 years in every level he's played at, but it's just too small of a sample for me to be really excited about. Honestly, Presley reminds me of a former Pirate who was also a speedy outfielder. His name is Chris Duffy, I'm sure you remember him.
Duffy started his Pirate career in 2005 at the age of 25 (which is how old Presley was at the beginning of this season), and he hit .341/.385/.429 in 39 games (126 at-bats). Pirates fans were excited, thinking that Duffy was going to be the long term solution in centerfield. However, 2006 wasn't too kind to Duffy. He started the season in center for the Pirates and hit .194/.255/.276 in his first 98 at-bats before being sent to AAA on May 15th. After hitting .349/.415/.509 in the minors, he was recalled on August 1st and finished out the year in the majors, hitting .282/.345/.366 and giving fans a little more optimism. That was enough to get another opening day start in centerfield in 2007. Duffy almost made it the whole way through June with the Pirates, but was sent down again after hitting .249/.313/.357 in 241 at bats, ending his Pirates career. He tried to find his way back up to Pittsburgh but couldn't ever do it, hitting .266/.336/.413 in 2008 with Altoona and Indianapolis before ending up with the Brewers for the 2009 season, where he found the majors but his .125/.222/.156 in 19 games to end his major league career.
A sad story indeed, and one we have heard far too many times about young Pirate players. So will Presley be the same way? Well there is really no way to tell. I can tell you that Presley and Duffy have a lot in common.
Both of these outfielders were 8th round picks by the Pirates, so neither of them was really supposed to be a major league starter. Their career minor league triple-slash lines are very similar as well (.292/.362/.411 for Duffy and .290/.345/.435 for Presley). Presley has a little more power than Duffy did, and has drawn more walks per game (by a very small margin), which are both favorable signs, but Presley has been a strike out victim in his career, going down on strikes .713 times a game in his minor league career.
Another interesting name that is in the same boat as Duffy is Tike Redman, another Pirate centefielder. Redman hit .330/.374/.483 in 56 games with the Pirates in 2003 and was the everyday center fielder the entire 2004 season and most of the 2005 season. After his hot start in 2003, he hit .280/.310/.374 in 2004 and .251/.292/.332 in 2005 before leaving the organization.
I'm not saying that Presley is going to end up like Duffy and Redman and be back in the minor leagues for good next year, I'm just saying that we haven't seen nearly enough of him for extreme confidence to be warranted. It's the same with Pedro Alvarez, except the other way around. A lot of Pittsburghers are giving up on Alvarez because of a really bad showing this year (in just 212 plate appearances), but history has shown us that you have to be really patient with young hitters and get a very large sample before you can say what kind of player they will be.
Presley has been one of the Pirates best hitters in the short time he's been up here, and I hope it continues, but I'm not ready to pencil him in as the starting left fielder for years to come.
His success was so great that a lot of people around Pittsburgh expect him to be the savior for this struggling offense when he comes off the DL. However, I'm not as high on Presley as other people. You can't argue with what he has done the last 2 years in every level he's played at, but it's just too small of a sample for me to be really excited about. Honestly, Presley reminds me of a former Pirate who was also a speedy outfielder. His name is Chris Duffy, I'm sure you remember him.
Duffy started his Pirate career in 2005 at the age of 25 (which is how old Presley was at the beginning of this season), and he hit .341/.385/.429 in 39 games (126 at-bats). Pirates fans were excited, thinking that Duffy was going to be the long term solution in centerfield. However, 2006 wasn't too kind to Duffy. He started the season in center for the Pirates and hit .194/.255/.276 in his first 98 at-bats before being sent to AAA on May 15th. After hitting .349/.415/.509 in the minors, he was recalled on August 1st and finished out the year in the majors, hitting .282/.345/.366 and giving fans a little more optimism. That was enough to get another opening day start in centerfield in 2007. Duffy almost made it the whole way through June with the Pirates, but was sent down again after hitting .249/.313/.357 in 241 at bats, ending his Pirates career. He tried to find his way back up to Pittsburgh but couldn't ever do it, hitting .266/.336/.413 in 2008 with Altoona and Indianapolis before ending up with the Brewers for the 2009 season, where he found the majors but his .125/.222/.156 in 19 games to end his major league career.
A sad story indeed, and one we have heard far too many times about young Pirate players. So will Presley be the same way? Well there is really no way to tell. I can tell you that Presley and Duffy have a lot in common.
Both of these outfielders were 8th round picks by the Pirates, so neither of them was really supposed to be a major league starter. Their career minor league triple-slash lines are very similar as well (.292/.362/.411 for Duffy and .290/.345/.435 for Presley). Presley has a little more power than Duffy did, and has drawn more walks per game (by a very small margin), which are both favorable signs, but Presley has been a strike out victim in his career, going down on strikes .713 times a game in his minor league career.
Another interesting name that is in the same boat as Duffy is Tike Redman, another Pirate centefielder. Redman hit .330/.374/.483 in 56 games with the Pirates in 2003 and was the everyday center fielder the entire 2004 season and most of the 2005 season. After his hot start in 2003, he hit .280/.310/.374 in 2004 and .251/.292/.332 in 2005 before leaving the organization.
I'm not saying that Presley is going to end up like Duffy and Redman and be back in the minor leagues for good next year, I'm just saying that we haven't seen nearly enough of him for extreme confidence to be warranted. It's the same with Pedro Alvarez, except the other way around. A lot of Pittsburghers are giving up on Alvarez because of a really bad showing this year (in just 212 plate appearances), but history has shown us that you have to be really patient with young hitters and get a very large sample before you can say what kind of player they will be.
Presley has been one of the Pirates best hitters in the short time he's been up here, and I hope it continues, but I'm not ready to pencil him in as the starting left fielder for years to come.
Charlie Morton August 14 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strikes/% |
| 4-Seam | 89.0 | -4.09 | 4.04 | 3 | 1/33.33% |
| Change | 81.6 | -6.61 | 2.06 | 1 | 1/100.00% |
| Curve | 79.8 | 4.33 | -6.61 | 17 | 11/64.71% |
| Cutter | 87.0 | -1.55 | 3.27 | 3 | 3/100.00% |
| 2-Seam | 91.2 | -9.73 | 1.38 | 75 | 44/58.67% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 91.8 | -4.25 | 5.24 | 6.8% | 63.3% |
| Change | 85.5 | -6.75 | 1.59 | 5.3% | 42.4% |
| Slider | 85.1 | -1.42 | 1.31 | 3.6% | 50.9% |
| Curve | 78 | 8.43 | -7.0 | 12.2% | 61.5% |
| 2-Seam | 91.8 | -9.06 | 1.97 | 72.2% | 65.4% |
Pirates vs. Brewers, Game 119
Comments
Pittsburgh Pirates (56-62) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (69-51)
2:10 at Miller Park
Charlie Morton (9-6, 3.56) vs. Shaun Marcum (10-3, 3.62)
Lineups:
| Pirates Lineup: 1. Xavier Paul (L) RF 2. Garrett Jones (L) 1B 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF 4. Neil Walker (S) 2B 5. Ryan Ludwick (R) LF 6. Pedro Alvarez (L) 3B 7. Ronny Cedeno (R) SS 8. Michael McKenry (R) C 9. Charlie Morton (R) P |
Brewers Lineup: 1. Felipe Lopez (S) 3B 2. Nyjer Morgan (L) CF 3. Ryan Braun (R) LF 4. Prince Fielder (L) 1B 5. Mark Kotsay (L) RF 6. Yuniesky Betancourt (R) SS 7. Craig Counsell (L) 2B 8. Jonathan Lucroy (R) C 9. Shaun Marcum (R) P |
Gameday:
Kevin Correia August 13 Pitch F/X
Comments| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Count | Strike/% |
| 4-Seam | 91.1 | -2.71 | 9.03 | 25 | 18/72.00% |
| Change | 86.0 | -7.34 | 5.88 | 6 | 5/83.33% |
| Slider | 88.0 | 1.98 | 5.12 | 15 | 9/60.00% |
| Curve | 78.4 | 7.64 | -3.77 | 9 | 2/22.22% |
| Cutter | 90.1 | 0.99 | 8.42 | 10 | 6/60.00% |
| 2-Seam | 90.3 | -6.61 | 6.68 | 16 | 10/62.50% |
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | H-Break | V-Break | Selection | Strike% |
| 4-Seam | 90.6 | -2.42 | 8.38 | 29.1% | 66.7% |
| Change | 86.4 | -6.58 | 4.87 | 10.3% | 57.6% |
| Slider | 87.5 | 3.00 | 4.46 | 21.9% | 64.5% |
| Curve | 77.8 | 7.32 | -5.35 | 12.4% | 56.3% |
| Cutter | 90.6 | 1.42 | 7.64 | 7.6% | 60.5% |
| 2-Seam | 90.5 | -6.82 | 6.62 | 17.5% | 65.9 |
| Fastball | 88.6 | -6.65 | 6.07 | 1.2% | 43.5 |
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