Indians-Pirates or Browns-Steelers? Pittsburgh Pirates 10, Cleveland Indians 6 posted by Brad VanFossan

Cleveland Indians at Pittsburgh Pirates

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Carl Pavano vs. Zach Duke

Since I live in the Youngstown television market, I also get FSN Pittsburgh on my cable package, so tonight I’m going to mix things up a bit. Tonight I’m going to watch the game on FSN Pittsburgh and give you a perspective through the eyes of Bob Walk and Tim Neverett, the Pirates tv announcers for tonight’s game. I thought it would be interesting to see what they had to say about the Tribe throughout the game, and what FSN Pittsburgh does a little differently than STO.

Some things that caught my script “I”:

-Bob Walk was pretty complimentary to Grady Sizemore. He said despite the low average this year, he’s a great overall player/athlete when healthy. 

-There was a fan on the right side of home plate wearing a “Irate fan” t-shirt, the t-shirts fans that tried to protest the Pirates losing ways by leaving a game in the 3rd inning a couple years back wore. I almost forgot about that til I saw that shirt.

-FSN Pittsburgh does a few cool things during games, they had a Pirates player mic’ed up, they had a commercial promoting upcoming games that was a spoof of the sham-wow and other infomercials that featured a blue background with the number to call and the credit card logos at the end. And they do a pretty good job promoting current and former players by featuring them in commercials.

-The Pirates rotate tv and radio announcers, when Bob Walk and Tim Neverett are doing the tv play by play, Steve Blass and Greg Brown are doing the radio and vice versa. I think it’s unique, and I think that Blass and Brown are more interesting and funny, and unfortunately tonight they are on the radio.

Braves acquire Nate McLouth posted by Daniel Doyle

Welcome to Atlanta, where the players play, Nate McLouth. Before I break into another ill-fated attempt at rap, I would like to discuss the most recent Braves acquisition, what Atlanta gave up, and the reaction I have heard from many other Braves fans.

I for one am thrilled about the deal. No doubt a win for Atlanta. McLouth is young (27 years old), has a very good bat (9 HR and 34 RBI already), played a Gold Glove centerfield last year, and is signed through the 2011 season at an incredible bargain with a club option for the 2012 season. While he doesn't have incredible power, the 9 homeruns he has already hit lead the Braves. Bobby Cox has penciled him in the third spot in the lineup, behind Yunel Escobar and directly in front of Chipper Jones, with Brian McCann sliding into the five hole. It is pretty safe to say McLouth will see a better selection of pitches hitting sandwiched between those guys as opposed to Freddy Sanchez and the LaRoche brothers in Pittsburgh. 

While there is quite a bit of certainty with the player Atlanta traded for, Pittsburgh is getting three question marks of prospects in return. This is why I cannot understand the constant complaining in Braves forums that we gave up too much. Let me start with the highest touted prospect Atlanta dealt, Gorkys Hernandez.

There is no denying that Hernandez is a freakish athlete. He is extremely fast and covers a ton of ground in center. Even though he has speed, his ability to steal bases can apparently  improve as he has only been successful 10 out of 18 times this year. While he has hit for good average at both A and AA ball his strikeout rate is a major concern. His K/BB ratio is 54/15. He has almost four times as many strikeouts as walks. So for those who thought he could eventually be Atlanta's leadoff hitter that they have so desperately missed since the Rafael Furcal era, wake up. When a guy strikes out that many more times than he walks in AA ball, what is there to believe something will change when he reaches the big leagues? Atlanta also has Jordan Schafer in Gwinnett now, where he needs to be, and most scouts agree that Schafer projects as the better Major Leaguer of the two young centerfielders. That alone made Hernandez very expendable.

Why Pittsburgh Pirates fans should have no faith left in their team and the people that run it. posted by Brad VanFossan

What is the fastest way to alienate an already bitter fan-base? Trade your best young player. Trade a guy who made the all-star team last year, won a gold glove, is still only 27 years old, and the guy you made the center of attention in your marketing and advertising materials? Who would do this? Hint: they have had 16, that’s right 16 straight losing seasons. Kids who just finished their sophomore year of high school have never seen them have a winning season. The answer: The Pittsburgh Pirates.

I think first year General Manager Neil Huntington tried to be too cute with this deal. In return the Pirates received a 21-year-old AA outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, 25-year-old AAA pitcher Charlie Morton and 21-year-old Jeff Locke who is in A. In the Baseball America team by team Top Ten prospects which was done on December 15, 2008 for the Atlanta Braves, Hernandez was #4, and Locke was #7.

Hernandez is hitting .316 in 52 games at AA with 67 hits and 19 RBI‘s, but has 0 HR’s. 54 of Hernandez’s hits have been singles! Do the Pirates have a fetish for trading for former prospects of other teams with no power? (See Andy LaRoche and Brandon Moss). In High A ball, Jeff Locke is 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA. In 45.2 innings, Locke has given up 47 hits, struck out 43, and walked 26. He’s still young, but not the best numbers especially for still being in A ball. Now let’s look at Charlie Morton. Morton’s numbers aren’t bad, he’s 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 64.2 innings pitched in AAA. Morton has struck out 55 and walked 16 batters. Morton is not known as a top prospect and is already 25. Maybe someday he can contribute, I can see getting him in a package for Ian Snell, but for McLouth, c’mon!

150th anniversary of college baseball posted by David

I usually stick to MLB news, but I’d like to share this anecdote about college ball.

Williams College and Amherst College – both Division III schools located in Massachusetts – played each other in the 150th anniversary of college baseball this past weekend.  The very first college baseball game took place on July 1, 1859, and was played between the same two schools.

Among those in attendance – in addition to yours truly – were Pittsburgh Pirates owner Robert Nutting (Williams ‘84) and former Red Sox (and Expos) GM Dan Duquette (Amherst ’80).  Williams won 8-5.

How ‘bout that?

How about Yovani Gallardo?  On April 29th, the Mexican-born right-hander threw eight shutout innings while striking out 11, surrendering just two hits and one walk, and hitting a homerun in the bottom of the 7th inning to account for all the scoring in the Brewers 1-0 victory over the Pirates.

How about Zack Greinke?  I don’t want to jinx the guy, but he’s practically unhittable right now.  The Royals’ ace has a minuscule E.R.A. (0.40) and WHIP (0.844), has not allowed a home run all season, has thrown three complete games including two shutouts, and is 6-0 in 6 starts, averaging 7.5 innings per start.

How about Albert Pujols?  Just when you thought he was your regular superstar, he proves he is THE superstar.  A month into the season, Pujols is slugging an absurd .733 and has more home runs (11) than strikeouts (9).

Baseball says good-bye to another family member

Cards notes before their road trip posted by Ryan Turner

The Cardinals managed to right the shift mid-way through their brief homestand. After allowing The Phillies to score 16 runs against them in just two games, they shut the Pirates down, limiting them to just four runs. The bullpen was responsible for 6.2 innings of work over those two contests, but didn’t allow any runs. They picked up a win in Mitchell Boggs’ start, which was earned by Kyle McClellan and also recorded two saves, both by default closer Ryan Franklin. The bullpen was a liability earlier in the season, but now that it’s managed to take shape around Franklin, it’s becoming a real asset for the club in the late innings.

The Cardinals lineup is still producing on a consistent basis as well. Even in the two-game sweep that they suffered to the defending champs, they managed to produce nine runs. It just wasn’t enough to overcome Philadelphia’s potent offense. If the team can start to get better starts out of Adam Wainwright and eventually get Chris Carpenter back to replace Boggs, who has been good, but just can’t go deep enough into games, they should have no problem remaining atop the NL Central.

The Cards have a six-game road trip coming up, but taking four of six or even five of six shouldn’t be out of the question. The Reds currently have a flu bug going through their clubhouse and it’s been affecting the right side of their infield. Second baseman Brandon Phillips and first baseman Joey Votto are two of the bigger cogs in the Cincinnati offense, so without them at full strength, St. Louis’ pitching staff should have less trouble mowing down the Reds, even at the Great American Ballpark Launching Pad.

All-Star balloting reminds me of the Iowa Caucus posted by David

Someone at MLB must have read my blog post from 5/9/08 and decided that All-Star voting needed to start even earlier this season just to see my reaction.  Keep in mind that the 2009 season began later than the 2008 season.

The one good thing about early voting is that maybe the fans will show some support for Evan Longoria over the injured Alex Rodriguez and vote the reigning Rookie of the Year starting third baseman for the American League.

Longoria is hitting .415 and has already hit five home runs and seven doubles – good for a slugging percentage of .830.

How ‘bout that?

How about the Cleveland Indians?  On Tuesday against the Royals the Tribe infield turned six double-plays.  Still not impressed?  How about when I tell you they did it in SIX CONSECUTIVE INNINGS (3rd-8th)?

How about Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko?  In the second inning of a game against the Tigers on April 13th, the White Sox teammates hit back-to-back home runs – the 300th of each slugger’s career.

How about the Pirates, Mariners, and Padres?  Though the season is still young, these teams hold records of 9-6, 10-6, and 9-6, respectively, after finishing with three of the four worst records in baseball in 2008.  Pittsburgh actually was the least bad, losing 95 games – good for a .414 winning percentage.  San Diego barely avoided 100 losses, finishing at 63-99 and a .389 winning percentage.  Seattle took the cake with a .377 winning percentage, losing 101 games despite wining their last three contests.  As awful as they were last year, this trio is off to a great start in 2009 and will hope to build on their early success over the next several months.

The Sports Don's 2009 NL Central Preview posted by Christian Mielcarek

There are only a few sure things in the National League Central this year. The Chicago Cubs will win, the Pittsburgh Pirates will lose, and Albert Pujols will continue to be the best hitter in the NL. The Cincinnati Reds’ staff is intriguing, as is St. Louis’ if Chris Carpenter has a positive impact in his return from injury, and how much will Milwaukee miss CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets?

To read The Sports Don’s AL East preview, click here, for his AL Central preview, click here, for his AL West preview, click here, and for his NL West preview, click here.

1.  CHICAGO CUBS (97-64, first place and lost in NLDS in 2008)

The Cubs’ pitchers led the majors in strikeouts, and their hitters led the NL in runs scored last season making for a pretty potent team that should produce similar totals in 2009. Oft injured Milton Bradley was signed as a free agent, and the temperamental outfielder was the lone batter added to a lineup that already featured Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto. Chicago’s batting order offers some of the best balance in the league in terms of speed, power and average. If Kosuke Fukudome can hit like he did in the first half of ’08 (.296 average) and not like the second half (.207), he can keep his job and be a dangerous lefty in a right-hander oriented lineup.

On the mound, Ryan Dempster hopes to recapture the magic he experienced in ’08 when he went 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA and finished sixth in the NL Cy Young voting. When Rich Harden is healthy, which he rarely is, he’s filthy. And then there’s Crazy Carlos Zambrano and lefty Ted Lilly who combined to go 31-15 last year with 314 strikeouts. Kevin Gregg stole the closer job for Carlos Marmol late in the spring, screwing up quite a few fantasy teams, but the pair still makes for a scary one-two at the back of the bullpen.

All Mackey Sasser Team: Catcher - Mike LaValliere posted by The Sports Point

http://thesportspoint.blogspot.com/2008/02/all-mackey-sasser-team-catcher-mike.html

For an explanation on what it takes to be a member of the All Mackey Sasser Team please go here. The first position we have selected to start filling out our squad will be the position of the legend himself, catcher.

All Mackey Sasser Team Catcher: Mike LaValliere

Mike "Spanky" LaValliere was a catcher in the major leagues from 1984-95. He was most notably a member of those early 1990's Pittsburgh Pirates teams who could not quite get over the hump. Ironically this fate followed Mike into the world of baseball card trading. He was even a throw in player in a real life MLB blockbuster trade, you know one of those times where real life imitates the art card trading. He and Andy Van Slyke (who became a Pirates legend) were traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Pirates for another catcher you might have heard of, Tony Pena.

What made LaValliere a most attractive baseball card trade option on my block was an infamous game winning home run he hit vs. the New York Mets. You see, one of my friends was at this game and he used LaValliere's one shining moment as a bow to put on trade proposals involving him, and sometimes it worked. When it did work the trader who received LaValliere would come up with a multitude of reasons for trading for the pudgy backstop. We call this acquisition justification, because no young kid wants the rep of getting ripped off in a trade.

Acquisition Justification:

* "His nickname is 'Spanky'" *

Yanks add infield depth, get Hinske from Pirates

Former AL Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske was acquired by the New York Yankees from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday for a pair of minor leaguers.Pittsburgh will receive right-hander Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer for the utilityman. In addition, the Pirates will give the Yankees cash.The 31-year-old Hinske hit .255 in 106 at-bats this season with nine doubles, one homer and 11 RBIs, playing right field, first base and third base. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Indians activate All-Star CF Sizemore

The Cleveland Indians have All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore back.Sizemore, out since May 31 with an inflamed left elbow, was activated from the disabled list Tuesday before the struggling Indians opened a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.Bothered by soreness in his elbow since training camp, Sizemore was batting .223 with nine homers and 31 RBIs in 49 games before going on the DL for the first time in his career. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Braves get All-Star OF McLouth from Pirates

The Braves have acquired All-Star center fielder Nate McLouth from the Pittsburgh Pirates for three prospects, amove to beef up Atlanta's offense in hopes of contending in the NL East.The 27-year-old McLouth was an All-Star last season and set career highs with a .276 average, 26 homers and 94 RBIs. The Braves desperately needed more offense from an outfield that produced only 10 homers through the first 51 games. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB