ITT Ed learns about America's Pastime by following the LOL Pirates this season

I am going to my first game next week. Given the hype I will be disappointed if the opening batsman fails to club himself round the head with his first swing.

School me.

i think i am going to try and do the same w/the LOL Twins

"opening batsman" = leadoff hitter or batter

Hype? For the Pirates?

"running Pierogis between innings"= hilarity

anti-hype

Hype - the free weekly going woe is us can we avoid a 17th straight loosing season?

no

worst team in beisbol by far

i guess maybs the nats

One of the best stadiums! My rustbelt heart beats as one with you Ed in Pittsburgh.

batsman

Batsman

everything you need to know about baseball is contained in this video

nats at least have some semblance of an offense to go with their shit pitching

http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/like/like_off.gif David G00blar likes this.

Seriously though, baseball is the best! If you're patient and learn the game you totally won't regret it.

Also I'd bet the Pirates will do better than the Padres this year so there's that.

i think they could even avoid last place in the central at the expense of the astros

http://pittpeas.mlblogs.com/nyjer-catch.jpg

nyjer seems cool. black guy from cali who played hockey!

At least they ditched the shitty vests for their unis. So they got that going for them...

was it the padres I saw wearing some camouflage atrocity the other day? easily the worst jerseys I have ever seen.

They wear those all the time. Very very ugly.

ugh those camos

I liked these hats-

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45092000/jpg/_45092684_pittsburgh_416_get.jpg

Nice work Ed! I started supporting a no-hope team 2 seasons ago and they got to the World Fuckin Series. It's the best.

LaRoches

There should be a 3rd bro. named Scuzze.

We don't give out our stat lines,
And we don't give out our phone numbers
(give out our phone numbers)
Sometimes our greenies give out,
But not our stat lines or our phone numbers
etc

http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/pbc/archive/2009/06/06/laroche-mets-beltran-has-zero-class.aspx

HOUSTON -- Adam LaRoche responded in kind to New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran's comments Thursday that he was "embarrassed" at being swept in three games by the Pirates.

"I think it shows zero class and zero professionalism," the Pirates' first baseman said yesterday at Minute Maid Park. "When somebody says that, they know what they're saying, and they know it's going to get out. He knows we're not going to be real happy about it. If you go and say that to your buddies, it's one thing. If you go to the media and make that public for us to hear? Yeah, that's no class."

LaRoche paused.

"You know, if we're as bad as he says we are and we swept them, then what's that make them?"

(OOOH, BURN)

LaRoche, the players and the coaching staff read about the remark on PDAs just before their flight took off from Pittsburgh for Houston Thursday night, and it apparently was the hot topic.

If I had the resources, I'd pay someone in Houston to go to the Astros-Pirates game today and hold a sign with a drawing of patch that says "CB" with "'Carlos Beltran' or... 'CRY BABIES'" written beneath it.

Bold text above from me, unfortunately not the columnist.

"I don't want to take any credit away from the other pitcher, but we've faced a lot of guys who seem to get well against us," Russell said.

LOL

And Porcello, who never had swung a bat in the majors before last night, hooked a two-out RBI single into left in the second, another two-out RBI single into right in the sixth. The latter came after a 2-0 count.

Anything to the pitcher thing?

"Nope," Snell replied to that question. "Just one of those things."

Snell took issue with the Pirates intentionally walking .287-hitting shortstop Ramon Santiago to get to Porcello in the second instance. Immediately upon returning to the dugout after that inning, he slammed his fist into a wall.

"I was a little upset that we walked the guy to get to the pitcher," Snell said. "I didn't see any reason to do that, but ... oh, well, then, he got a hit. Karma."

Uh, LOL.

http://insidepittsburghsports.com/story/colorado-rockies-are-shaping-up-as-the-most-likely-trade-partner-for-ian-snell/12665/

Snell has been anything but accountable this season as he has blamed his losses on such factors as teams stealing the catcher’s signs, the umpires having inconsistent strike zones, the catchers calling the wrong pitches and the pitcher’s mound not being well-maintained.

nyjer morgan catch holy shiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ian Snell has found a new home.

Snell Fans 13 Straight In Triple-A
29th June, 2009 - 4:35 pm

MLB.com - Ian Snell struck out 13 straight batters on Sunday in a start for the Indianapolis Indians.

He had a total of 17 strikeouts, a Minor League season-high over seven innings. Snell was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis after struggling with the Pirates.

"I haven't felt like that all year. It's just amazing," Snell said. "These guys are great and these guys are a bunch of goofballs. It makes you want to be here and pitch well here."

carlos marmol has walked more than a batter an inning this year.

the pirates are down two in the eighth. adam larouche leads off and swings at the first pitch, a ball that nearly hit him in the feet.

well done.

Can someone photoshop an image of Lastings dressed as a pirate? Thx.

ugh

Which organization am I supposed to laugh at? Both?

ck out tnite's Milledge catch! also he wears #85.

What have you learned from following the LOLPirates this season, Ed?

...that he should have followed the penguins or steelers instead

Need only 2 wins to avoid 100 losses!

what's up with garrett jones? came out of nowhere to hit like .300/.370/.580 over half a season so far, is this a giant fluke or could he actually be an above average corner outfielder next year?

probably something of a fluke, but he was a first-round pick -- maybe he finally figured it out

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/36939/deshawn_stevensons_new_ink_a_national_treasure

garrett jones: leading the majors in homers

now tied with poo-holes

is this the year milledge is officially declared a bust?

i think that was two years ago, actually

there are some diehards out there

i guess he can still hit vicente padilla tho

Andy LaRoche is on a similar path to bust-dom. Lets see how he hits Padilla.

Or shall I say Ramon Ortiz.

andy laroche doesn't have much time before he's supplanted by pedro alvarez anyway

losing a starting position in the pirates' lineup is a harsh verdict on a player's capabilities

Andy LaRoche had great stats in the minors. Power, plate discpline, etc. Dude had bad luck with injuries but kept getting busted for not doing his rehab like he was supposed to. Getting traded for Manny Ramirez is something to yell your grandkids at least..

Garrett Jones regains the nl lead in hrs

considering bandwagoning this team for a while, i kinda like em

what's not to like about this scrappy, division-leading club

The last two games they played some solid defense and the bullpen looks good. The lineup is also alright, aside from the retarded pitcher batting 8th thing.

dope ass stadium too

Pirates reward my 'good defense' compliment with 3 errors

hayden penn is one of the worst pitchers in the majors -- no idea how he made their team

they picked him up last week after the marlins waived him -- they probably haven't witnessed his suckitude first hand

pitcher batting 8th actually works slightly better math-wise, though its so marginal that it doesn't really matter

Penn today:

Justin Upton Ball, S Drew scored on H Penn's wild pitch, Ball, Ball, Ball, J Upton walked
Adam LaRoche Ball, Ball, A LaRoche singled to right, J Upton to third
Mark Reynolds Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, M Reynolds walked, A LaRoche to second
Chris Young Strike (swinging), Ball, Strike (looking), C Young grounded out to first, J Upton scored, A LaRoche to third, M Reynolds to second
Kelly Johnson Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, K Johnson walked

19 pitches, 4 strikes

And Edwin Jackson just hit his first career HR. 13 runs this inning for the Diamondbacks.

i was following that at the edge of my seat

lol @ Chris Young swinging (and missing at what presumably was a Ball) on the first pitch after 9 straight Balls.

Closers in non-closing situations, part 2490.

Octavio Dotel pitching for Pittsburgh MIL PIT
Craig Counsell C Counsell singled to center 16 0
Jim Edmonds Ball, Strike (swinging), Strike (swinging), Foul, J Edmonds hit a ground rule double to deep left center, C Counsell to third 16 0
George Kottaras Strike (looking), Ball, Ball, G Kottaras hit sacrifice fly to center, C Counsell scored 17 0
Alcides Escobar Ball, Ball, A Escobar singled to left, J Edmonds scored 18 0
Joe Inglett Strike (foul), Ball, Strike (looking), Ball, Ball, Strike (looking), J Inglett struck out looking 18 0
Rickie Weeks Ball, R Weeks singled to right, A Escobar to second 18 0
Carlos Gomez C Gomez safe at first on error by second baseman A Iwamura, A Escobar to third, R Weeks to second 18 0
Jody Gerut Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, J Gerut walked, A Escobar scored, R Weeks to third, C Gomez to second 19 0
Manny Parra Strike (looking), M Parra singled to right, R Weeks scored, C Gomez to third, J Gerut to second 20 0

Dotel is still in the game.

my god 20-0

pirates' record: 7-8

pirates' run differential: -57

lol pythagoras

has anyone discussed pythag's noise/ineffectiveness with teams with a huge drop off in quality after say, their 1-3 starters?

pirates' record against the brewers since the start of the 2008 season: 6-27 (.182)

pirates' runs scored: 107 (3.24/game)

pirates' runs allowed: 220 (6.67/game)

this year: 0-4

pirates' runs scored: 4 (1.00/game)

pirates' runs allowed: 53 (13.25/game)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Fireworks-send-Lastings-Milledge-into-an-ill-fat?urn=mlb,239558

"Milledge thought he had a home run," Brenly said. "(He) was Cadillackin' around the bases with his head down... Play the game. Play baseball. I hate to see that even in the opposition."

Fireworks-send-Lastings-Milledge-into-an-ill-fat?urn

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_mlb_experts__54/ept_sports_mlb_experts-58981829-1273261768.jpg?ymJLgGDDRgBZBS0F

mccutchen laughin' at u

- J. Motte relieved C. Carpenter
- A. LaRoche singled to shallow left
- A. McCutchen singled to shallow right center, A. LaRoche to third
- T. Miller relieved J. Motte
- G. Jones grounded into fielder's choice, A. LaRoche out at home, A. McCutchen to third, A. McCutchen out at home, G. Jones to second
- R. Doumit hit by pitch
- R. Church hit by pitch, G. Jones to third, R. Doumit to second
- R. Franklin relieved T. Miller
- G. Jones scored, R. Doumit to third, R. Church to second on wild pitch
- L. Milledge grounded out to third
- End of Inning (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)

i suppose that's one way to score a run...

in all fairness to Milledge there should be a rule if the fireworks go off it's still an HR. maybe give the unmps or Selig the trigger.

- G. Jones grounded into fielder's choice, A. LaRoche out at home, A. McCutchen to third, A. McCutchen out at home, G. Jones to second

^this was absurd

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B-PQwVCXEPs/SXdM5Y91a2I/AAAAAAAAACY/mKXxT6mE7y4/s400/AfghanWhigsGentlemen.jpg

^so didn't happen u_u

this must be what jail is really like

http://www.theonion.com/articles/pnc-park-sold-out-for-fan-euthanasia-night,17359/

pretty nice way to bust out of a lil slump - mccutchen 5-5 2 steals, 5 runs scored

Jones went 5-6 today also. Two five-hit games in the same game.

Cedeno drew a mustache on himself with eyeblack and is wearing it during the game. It looks fucking ridiculous.

McCutchen has turned a lot of extra base hits into outs today.

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen made his Major League debut one year ago today against the New York Mets, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored. Here are some facts and figures on McCutchen on the one year anniversary of his big league debut.

• Has 185 hits entering tonight’s game, which is the 161st of his career…Only two Pirates since 1930 have collected more hits in their first 162 career games (Dave Cash with 187 in 1971 and Arky Vaughan with 193 in 1933)

• Is tied for fourth in the Majors with 14 outfield assists since making his debut on June 4, 2009 (only Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence and Nate Schierholtz have more with 15)

• Ranks third among all National League players with 35 stolen bases and seventh in the NL in runs scored (104) since making his Major League debut on June 4, 2009

• Is tied for seventh among National League players with 185 hits since making his Major League debut

• Has played more games (160) than any other outfielder in the Majors since making his debut last year

• His 65 extra base hits since his debut ranks sixth among all National League outfielders behind Ryan Braun, Andre Ethier, Jayson Werth, Adam Dunn and Matt Kemp

...This season...

• Ranks eighth overall among National League players with a .310 batting average

• Ranks tied for fourth among all National League players in hits (61)

• Ranks tied for second among all National League players in stolen bases (13)

• Is tied for sixth among National League outfielders with four assists

• Is hitting .429 against left-handed pitchers, which ranks first in the National League

• Ranks third in the Majors with a .388 batting average (19-for-49) in the 1st inning (min: 50 plate appearances)

• Ranks sixth in the Majors with a .336 batting average while batting third

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/112208065.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0ZRYP5X5F6FSMBCCSE82&Expires=1275933845&Signature=ZTzXj6OcQE44r9ZOfNLH93pw3oA%3D

raise the jolly roger

those last two stats are starting to push things a bit.

kinda screwed up the photo link earlier. pretty sure the strasburg start is at night since today was a day game featuring 150 fans:

http://twitpic.com/1ut0ap

embarrassing myself here

http://twitpic.com/1ut0ap

why r u all the way up there?

I just grabbed it from one of the pirates blogs. saw it linked on another site and my mind was blown.

Looks like there were more spectators at my high school district championship IIRC.

PNC Park, home of the free seat upgrade.

i bet it's the type of place with uncommonly angry old retirees who ush and therefore prevent you from taking your free gift

3B Pedro Alvarez, 23, will be promoted Wednesday to make his highly anticipated big-league debut against the White Sox.

just when they are hitting their stride

it must suck for jeff clement to have to see himself tend 1B in that pepsi ad now that he's back in the minors.

If you have access to TV, check out the GLORIOUS throwback jerseys of both the A's and the Pirates, it's seriously the greatest thing ever.

is it better than giants/orioles y/n

hell mofo yes.

pirates stove pipe hats 4eva!

Andrew McCutchen is a pretty killer player. I suppose he will become a star once he signs as a free agent with the Angels, White Sox or Red Sox in about 4 years.

11-38 on the road

fewest runs scored

second most runs allowed (lol diamondbacks)

-184 run differential in 92 games

28th in batting
29th in homers
30th in hits
29th in obp

team ops = mark of the beast

oh yeah?

Pittsburgh Bottom of 1st Inning Summary
- J. Tabata flied out to deep left
- D. Young singled to shallow right
- N. Walker singled to left center, D. Young to second
- G. Jones walked, D. Young to third, N. Walker to second
- P. Alvarez homered to right, D. Young, N. Walker and G. Jones scored
- L. Milledge singled to right center
- L. Milledge to second on D. Bush's throwing error
- E. Kratz safe at first on third baseman C. McGehee's fielding error, L. Milledge scored
- R. Cedeno safe at first on third baseman C. McGehee's fielding error, E. Kratz to second
- B. Lincoln sacrificed to third, E. Kratz to third, R. Cedeno to second
- J. Tabata doubled to deep right center, E. Kratz and R. Cedeno scored
- D. Young doubled to shallow right, J. Tabata scored
- N. Walker doubled to deep center, D. Young scored
- G. Jones flied out to center

The Pirates agreed to sign Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia for $2.6MM, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

pirates on a roll this week with signing good pitching prospects

The Pirates have lost 60 of 82, the most losses they've had in a comparable span since 1953.

The Pirates have been outscored by 283 runs.

That is worse than the combined DIFFs of the second and third worst NL teams.

they are still reaping the rewards of the littlefield draft strategy of 'use our yearly high picks on lots of cheap low-ceiling mid-rotation starters'

may singlehandedly hv given Mets a .500 season

At this point in the season:

'05 Diamondbacks were -284
'03 Tigers were -337
'02 Tigers were -289

who cares about wins and losses, this team is ~profitable~

that was such a non-story since the profits weren't even enough to sign a single star player, on a team which needs to add multiple stars to have any chance

It's a non-story except if you're a fan of the team and then what exactly are you rooting for?

^^^anyone care to address this from a fan's POV?^^^

performance futility versus behind-the-scenes financial solvency?

i guess the 2010 padres is an example of hitting 00s on the roulette wheel but how often is this happening in say, the last decade?

i'm not a pirates fan but i would suspect that as a fan you'd be rooting for a bunch of your drafts/prospects to pan out at the same time such that your team suddenly resembles the 2008 rays.

if the pirates really only have the revenue to make 11 million per year in profits despite a low ~40 million payroll then player development is the only way they can win besides finding an owner who's willing to go into the red significantly.

08 rays aren't even the best touchstone here though since the NL central is winnable with a much more flawed team than that

btw totalzone seems to think that this year's pirates are a historically poor defensive team (-80 runs purely from defense). interesting considering that the '07 rays were about the same.

pirates obviously don't have the pitching talent yet for the 340-run swing in runs allowed that they rays had from 07 to 08 but its interesting to think about just how quickly and easily you should be able to improve your run prevention when you're that bad to start with

Neal Huntington seems like he knows what hes doing tho. Seems like they will be respectable in another 2-3 years. Undoing the damage Littlefield inflicted takes time..

yeah i'm gonna keep playing captain save-a-huntington for a couple more years, i love that he came in and blew up the entire team but now it's gonna take a little while to see if he did it well

i lost a little faith in huntington when he traded for aki iwamura, instantly making him the highest-paid position player on the club. even had that turned out well (which it most certainly did not), why bother?

i also question extending john russell. obviously he is not to blame for their awfulness, but they have actually gotten more awful in each year of his tenure. and even if russell's really good and has great potential, i can't help but think that after hundreds of losses the players are going to tune him out. hopefully there's still time to save andrew mccutchen's soul before the losing and the lastings milledge get to him.

Wasn't sure what thread to post this on, or if everybody already knew about it:

In Bing Crosby’s Wine Cellar, Vintage Baseball

I remember from childhood that Bing was a minority owner of the Pirates.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aq0v0bsD6EIDdEo5OUw2WFgwRHlMSFBRMklVNTE2c0E&hl=en#gid=0

10% ROI over 6 months = way better than my 401k fwiw

I think I saw somewhere that he would have done even better if he hadn't started betting runs and just stuck to the money line.

that's probably poor betting tbh, you're essentially betting on the team to play at a 100-loss level which doesn't often happen even to bad teams. no one projected the pirates for 100+ losses this year even though we knew they'd be bad

Gotta love the old uniforms:

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/global/swapper/201012/101228.11.jpg

leave it to the pirates to lose an arbitration hearing with ross lolendorf

Neyer gives em an outside shot to avoid 90 losses.

pirates opening day starter: kevin correia

what an organization

neil walker! hometown boy

oh, i long for the days when the pirates were a worthy rival to the phillies ...

phillies fans so cocky lately despite their 9,136-10,232 all-time record

Correia had a nice game!

if only this team had any semblance of a rotation

phillies fans so cocky lately despite their 9,136-10,232 all-time record

haha mookie, i actually meant what i said more as a lament and not a taunt. can't turn my post into a heart and all that ... :D

yeah, correia did! if the pirate infield could catch popups he might still be out there.

haha my response was actually due more to listening to the phillies' broadcasters today than your post, eb

OMG - Overbay is hitting cleanup?! i have zero beef with the guy, but lololololololololololololololololol

ah, The Joel Hanrahan Experience is in full swing

first place, bitches

mccutchen better be rocking 'black & yellow' when they get home

took 8 innings for the lol Pirates to show up

a tremendous outing by paul maholm goes by the borads

http://mit.zenfs.com/121/2011/04/spit-and-swing-ii_o_GIFSoup.com_.gif

Correia owns, Carpenter groans.

carpenter was just fine. it's the cardinal offense that's bluuuuuuuuuurrrrrrgh

and defense... who is that guy playing first?

j. hanrahan with his mlb-leading fourth save

let us praise charlie morton while we can!

complete-game five-hitter today at division-leading cincy

2-0, 1.64 era

sure, he's walked 12 and fanned 6 over 22 innings, but he's only allowed 13 hits. i am fully confident that these trends will continue.

he is, dare i say, perhaps more valuable than friend-of-the-borad nate mclouth, for whom he, among others, was traded.

go bucs amirite

morton's k/bb rates were fine last year, he was just giving up home runs by the truckload. don't know whats going on with him now though.

jesus h. christ

Pirates claim Brandon Wood off waivers from Angels

brandon wood's career ops is .454 in 494 plate appearances

he was also an elite SS prospect before those 494 plate appearances, so for a team with nothing to lose...

oh, i'm sure they have nothing to lose. but his elite prospect status was based on playing in the cal league and pcl a long time ago. this year he's swung at 57% of pitches outside the strike zone. in not quite a season's worth of chances, he's been one of the worst hitters of all time.

they've nothing to lose, but i feel there's *someone* out there more deserving of a chance.

jimcaple
Paul Maholm tied Zach Duke for most career wins at PNC Park with 31. 31! And PNC opened in 2001. Sigh. At least co-leaders are both Pirates

http://a.yfrog.com/img614/1875/om2cy.jpg

'Pirates Lose' Beer Special Brings Heat From Team Employees

Two employees of the Pittsburgh Pirates called for a boycott of a Kennedy Township bar that offered to cut the price of beer every time the Pirates lost.

"I've never heard of anything so ridiculous," said Estelle Aversa, who owns the Stroll Inn.

Bucs blazing toward respectability!

by winning two of their last eight games?

homer, double, 5 rbis for hometown boy neil walker against the pirates' bitter rivals, the detroit tigers

the pirates have now won as many road games (17) as they did all last year

i don't want to alarm anyone, but the pirates are in second place

http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/image/composition/4685121/view/1/producttypecolor/404/type/png/width/378/height/378/not-my-america-shirt_design.png

Half a game back, suckers.

if francisco cordero didn't suck they'd be in first

When was the last time the Pirates had more than one All Star.

They sold out PNC park for the first time ever tonight or so I hear.

i thought they sold out the whole red sox series?

they should have had two all-stars this year (or their one should have been mccutchen rather than hanrahan)

McCutchen is going to replace Braun.

MLB announces Kevin Correia to replace Cole Hamels at All-Star Game.

Correia over Tommy Hanson is fucking insane.

He's also besties with bochys son..

so all these dudes -- the replaced and the replacers -- go down in the books as all-stars, right?

i thought they sold out the whole red sox series?

they should have had two all-stars this year (or their one should have been mccutchen rather than hanrahan)

― mookieproof, Saturday, 9 July 2011 20:33 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I don't really know anything I'm just relaying what some bloke in the pub said.

yanks and bucs, both one game out of first at the break

FIRST PLACE

genuinely feel bad for their GM

because...?

because now there will be misguided pressure to buy rather than sell, i suppose

there's incredible financial incentive + fan pressure for them to play out the string, if not acquire more players, whereas they should end up doing the opposite

Jordan, can you elaborate on this^^^

well they're in first place right now but it's more than likely a mirage (they can't hit, and they're pitching is smoke & mirrors), and they try & move guys like hanrahan or garret jones or correia who might have some value at the deadline. but they're selling out the stadium practically every home game now and i'm sure a lot of fans would like for them to go after a playoff spot, or at the very least, their first winning season in 23 years

and they SHOULD try*

so the GM is in a tough spot, cuz they've drafted fairly well & should be focused on increasing the depth in their system, but that's a tough sell for a team that has been "rebuilding" for two decades now

You do realize that is was leaked fairly recently that the Pirates were shockingly one of the more profitable teams in MLB (during a season when they sucked).

So now I might be able to wear my Pirates shirt without US students making fun of me! I'll enjoy this brief blip in the experience of being a Pirates fan; because they will drop back to last, or they'll do well and the owners will sell off anything that's not nailed down.

Also, not sure you're usage of "playing out the string" is correct there. I always thought "playing out the string" was a football term when an out of contention team just coasts in for the remainder of the season, similar to pack fodder or lame ducks.

You do realize that is was leaked fairly recently that the Pirates were shockingly one of the more profitable teams in MLB (during a season when they sucked).

― it's a meme i made and i like (Steve Shasta), Saturday, July 16, 2011 1:52 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

no i don't, but this doesn't surprise me, seeing as the marlins do basically the same thing (spend minimally on the team, rake in the revenue sharing dollars)

xp yeah you're probably right -- what i meant was "play out the season with this team"

which, incidentally, would result in them "playing out the string"

Still don't understand how this invokes sympathy for the GM, dude is one of the smartest and well-paid in the game. The team is a financial success, the stands are full, they're in first place. That's all gravy.

Pirates do have an advantage of playing in the nl central with the cubs and the astros..

If they finish over .500 hurdle is a lock for moty.

similar situation to the padres last year, except that they don't have a top 5 hitter whose trade value shrinks every day that they keep him around

but yeah a lineup that's hitting .246/.314/.363 and a pitching rotation headed by Paul Maholm and Jeff Karstens isn't exactly where you want to be when trading away long-term assets

it really depends on what they're offered. i can't imagine that correia's or karstens' or hanrahan's stock will ever be higher, but they are already cheap and functional and either signed through next year or arbitration-eligible.

lyle overbay is having a terrible season, but surely someone would like some veteran savvy. i like garrett jones, but he just isn't much of a hitter and he's 30 years old. i can't imagine what anyone would give up for either of them, tho

garrett jones splits vs righties are pretty good, i could see a team w/ a weak bench making a play for him

hanrahan is the big piece tho

Hopefully Evan Meek gets back from injury and gets his shit together. He'd be a great bullpen piece to put in a package for a bat.

*alone* in first place

this can only end badly

As a Reds fan, I don't want to see Charlie Morton again. Cincy has not hit that guy AT ALL this year.

I don't buy the idea that the Bucs can't steal the division, and anything can happen after that. What if "it's a mirage" 10 years in a row? You're gonna end up winning one of those years.

you're a sabr dude. can you really imagine the entire pirates rotation pitching this far above its career numbers for another 65 games?

I can imagine them finishing one game ahead of these other teams. I didn't say it was likely.

you're a sabr dude. can you really imagine the entire pirates rotation pitching this far above its career numbers for another 65 games?

― mookieproof, Wednesday, July 20, 2011 3:25 PM (57 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Didn't the Rockies do this a few years ago?

well yes, but that rockies team could also hit the crap out of the ball

The BP odds say 5%, I would go closer to 20-25.

I'm cool if the Pirates won the division and in some ways they are less totally flawed than some of the other clubs. Cards and Brewers both have some serious bullpen issues - no lead is safe with either club. Milwaukees starting pitching is really dicey in the back.

Reds are out of sync, they are not going anywhere unless they have one of those Rockies type come back months, which "might" have a possibility as their schedule is big time back loaded with clubs with losing records. Cards and Brewers haven't yet really played the good clubs in the east yet I don't think.

So that's, what, the Phillies and...?

I'm actually going to look this up (largely NL ignorant this season)

Ok, the Braves I guess.

mike francessa on wfan was talking 2day that the mets should shop jason bay to the pirates and that they should take a chance on him

i always imagine nyc sports radio as the absolute sewer of human behavior

it was p hilarious -- "pick up $18 of the $36 mil due him & dont bother bringing anyone back" -- "have the buc-os plug him in every day and see what happens"

Mike Fatcesa is a shithead, but at least he knows the All-Star Game is worthless

pirates have gone seven games without a homer

cardinals hit six against them in three games this weekend

The B-R version of WAR has McCutchen second in the NL to Kemp

fangraphs has him third, behind reyes & kemp

dam the ump just got his spot blown up on a foul ball ouch

good call of it by dan schulman tho "that's not the high energy play of the day" lol

jesus christ is there no 1b anywhere who can hit better than lyle overbay's .232/.301/.352? i suspect that there are two omaha storm chasers alone who can manage that

San Francisco Giants
Aubrey Huff - 1B
2011 Salary = $10,000,000

.240/.295/.363

good point -- the pirates should not trade for aubrey huff despite his superior ops

back in first! eight games no homers! one walk, 14 ks! why is julio lugo in the majors!

pirates did a good job of taking advantage of that idiot colletti by trading dotel for macdonald.

the dodgers don't really need him per se, but yeah that was a steal by the pirates

well mcdonald is doing it with mirrors too, but yeah, dotel

is... dotel even in the majors?

He is a Blue Jay, yes.

I would rather have James McDonald at 500k or whatever he makes now than Ted Lilly at 12 mil or whatever ridic deal he got this fall..

finish off this game, why dontcha???

overbay 0-for-6 tonight

Chase D'Arnaud?

welcome to the wonderful world of the pittsburgh pirates

Chase d'Arnaud, get it right

his bro travis is in the jays system

i just turned on this game.

they just said Pit's Michael McKenry has seen 48 pitches in seven at bats tonight? that is insane!

on to the 17th

lol now to the 18th

so this Brave pitcher has pine tar on his hat, too obvious.

is this on tv anywhere

or da net

i have the MLB Extra Innings thing

word

this game is going into the 19th inning, no one has scored since, i think, the 3rd. watching the Pirates feed (they are kind of boring tho).

clint hurdle is one of those fucking idiot managers who will only use his closer in a 'save situation'. ITS THE 19TH INNING YOU FUCK.

yeah seriously there need to be an intervention here

the Pirates have thrown 284 pitches

the Braves have thrown 291 pitches

lol at mayor

pirates turning to correia, who is scheduled to start thursday

i think clint hurdle should be barred from winning manager of the year on account of this

he's trying to kill daniel mccutchen

i don't know no one is hitting or a least scoring runs. that is not really the managers fault at this point...

at

oh, some action

scott proctor with a chance to be a hero? i mean i guess you'd normally walk this guy but he's a relief pitcher

HOW HAVE THEY NOT PUT HANRAHAN IN HOWWWWWWWWWWWWW

BULLSHIT

i'm only listening on the radio -- bucs announcers are going nuts

that fucking sucks, that guy should be fired for wanting to go home

what happened

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20110503x/7977.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=TJbNiy4XZxyoSMGio1zuUA--

what happened

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, July 26, 2011 10:52 PM (1 minute ago)

twitter is blowing up in shock but no one is saying what exactly happened

they threw home to cut off the run and the ump called a blatant out safe? is that right?

well the pitcher hit a ball to third, third baseman throws him out by, at least 10 feet, but the umpire called him safe.

yes

Atlanta Inning Summary

- J. Heyward grounded out to second
- J. Lugo walked
- J. Schafer singled to shallow center, J. Lugo to third
- J. Schafer to second on fielder's indifference
- S. Proctor reached on fielder's choice, J. Lugo scored, J. Schafer to third
- End of Inning (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

fuck that guy.

says he did not tag him but DID tag him.

just seemed like the umpire said 19 is enough but this game should not end like this.

that's awful

No appeals to any other umps?

hurdle was yelling at them all as they walked off the field

Umpires: HP--Jerry Meals

this should blow up tomorrow.

no way should this game, with both teams being where they are in the standing, end like this.

just saw it on sportscenter... that's no good

it is right now on MLB Network, judge for yourself.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/full/356934684.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1311747750&Signature=qh9Zck%2BCj6ai1wd%2B4E2eP4e5LBc%3D

if the Pirates don't make the postseason because of this call, than there should be hell to pay!

http://www.sportsgrid.com/mlb/video-wild-19-inning-game-ends-on-contentious-call/

^^

http://i.imgur.com/JiMyv.jpg

http://twitpic.com/5wickc

that's really shitty

if i was hurdle i might've lost my mind and punched the guy, no joke

truly one of the worst calls in baseball history

what was up with proctor taking a header coming out of the box?

http://i.imgur.com/7WOj5.gif

http://www.facebook.com/pages/FIRE-Jerry-Meals-Umpire/176592452407862?sk=wall

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=13062921

It's great how ESPN'S "Highlight of the Night" is the total shock of Sabathia shutting down the Mariners.

The call is actually MORE obvious watching it in action.

RT @Buster_ESPN: Jerry Meals will be the third base umpire on Wednesday, right in front of the Pirates' bench.

Neyer: http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/7/27/2296871/braves-pirates-umpire-jerry-meals

wow. i feel awful for pittsburgh. last year's awful blown call cost a perfect game but it seems worse when you're gifting another team a win. to me it really felt like the umps who just want to go home and start calling everything as a strike.

Probably just cost the Mets Beltran

http://i.imgur.com/PCe1x.jpg

Neyer said that he was skeptical about the call and after watching it a few more times I'm not sure either. The catcher made this wimpy swipe tag and might have pulled his glove away too soon.

It's still a super bizarre call that really makes it seem as though the ump wanted to go home. Reminds me a lot of the Calvin Johnson thing last year where it was like "well, he might have bobbled a little and didn't have complete possession for a split second, so we're gonna call it incomplete" when it looked to everyone else like it was a catch. When I saw the replay I thought it would be clear that he wasn't tagged since the call itself was so blatantly against what appeared to happen.

xposted in case y'all don't look at the Braves thread --

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/670240/jerrymealssign.jpg

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AiZgwPguBc40Z7jVlminWc4RvLYF?slug=jp-passan_pirates_braves_blown_call_replay_072711

meals ready to cheat

i now want the Pirates to take this division.

a split, with a bad call, and they split with the ATL.

*edit

this is gonna be ugly

alright guys

should i buy this

http://mlb.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pMLB2-10568161dt.jpg

or does it look too much like a shirt depicting hulk hogan or something

wau

saw two guys on the subway tonight wearing pirates hats

one was neon lime green and matched his t-shirt

smdh

christ

god forbid that hanrahan could ever be used in a fucking tie game

That shirt should not be purchased.

Welp.

Did Derrek Lee ever make it to Philadelphia?

not that i heard

three extra-inning losses on the 2-5 road trip; hanrahan used in none of them (not that he's so overwhelming but jeez)

Is Ludwick even an upgrade? He's been terrible all season.

He has a ton of RBIs somehow. I'm not saying that's going to continue, just that I'm not sure how it happened.

well he was hitting in the middle of a lineup, wasn't he? and his numbers aren't that horrible for petco, i don't think you even need a .700 OPS to be an average hiter there anymore

That assumes that the guys in front of the middle of the lineup are likely to be on base.

He has been just as bad on the road as he has at home.

i think the acquisition of ludwick and lee is more of a sop to the fans than anything else.

there's been excitement in july for the first time in forever, so they had to look like they were doing *something* . . . but after a disastrous road trip against actually good teams they're 4.5 back and only two games over .500.

they gave up almost nothing to get them and lee *is* probably an upgrade over overbay at first. but the first part is more key than the second.

Yeah it just seems like a ploy to make it look like they're doing something rather than actually doing something

They've got a bunch of games vs. STL and MIL so they can still run hot and win the division but they're definitely not a better team than either. The Reds still aren't really out of it either. Not sure how their minor league system looks but I was sure they'd swing at least one major deal.

they've got some pitchers that might be useful, but the only really kickass one is 19 years old and in single a

hitting prospects aren't too impressive. matt curry looks decent, but one might want a little more out of a first baseman. tony sanchez has regressed hardcore at double-a -- not at all what you want to see out of a guy taken fourth overall.

in a week or so, this guy robbie grossman is going to become the first minor leaguer with 100 walks and 100 runs since nick swisher did it in like 2004. but he also strikes out way too much and i can't imagine that he would walk like that against real pitching.

hanrahan has pitched 3 1/3 innings in the last 13 days, during which the pirates are 3-9 with three extra-inning losses

http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Jeff+Karstens+Los+Angeles+Dodgers+v+Pittsburgh+rhjPvprupyDl.jpg

back to .500

:-(

one under, despite another unreasonably good performance from charlie morton

mccutchen is .194/.316/.313 since the all-star break

hanrahan has pitched 3 1/3 innings in the last 13 days, during which the pirates are 3-9 with three extra-inning losses

This is really unforgivable.

has anyone, uh, asked Clint why he's such an idiot in this regard?

Clint's not an idiot moreso than any other major league manager. That's pretty much the way all "closers" are used. It is really stupid and like 90% tied into the "save" stat but I wouldn't go so hard on him.

sorry, there are a number of mgrs who wd use the closer in an extra-inning tie.

well, that game aside - I mean McCutchen was doing pretty well

castrovince Anthony Castrovince
The Pirates are quickly fading from feel-good status. They're 6.5 games back after dropping 8 of 10. BP gives them 0.4% chance at playoffs.

still can have first winning record since Timberlake was on The Mickey Mouse Club.

they're not even going to make .500 are they

three under shortly, with the pitching exploding and five straight losses against 'bad' teams and eight overall

karstens' era just went up 0.56

now 1-9 since the jerry meals debacle

Yikes, the padres?

Ten in a row. This was fun while it lasted.

outscored 35-10 by the padres in three home games

RIP

next inning, runner on third no outs... gets thrown out at home.

(wrong thread)

According to @STATS_MLB, no 1st place team has ever lost 10 games in the standings in a 13-day span ... until the #Pirates did.

well the Brewers have gone 11-1 in that span too
lets face it Karstens was never that good

for the record, the pirates have won exactly two of their last 36 games in milwaukee

send those fuckers back to the american league

I couldn't help feeling bad for them too. That was such a flukish loss and I don't blame Hanharan for losing his shit

it's a small wonder hurdle actually *used* hanrahan in a tie game, but then there haven't been too many save situations in a while.

when a pirate is on third with fewer than two outs, that pirate *never* scores.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PITTSBURGH-PIRATES-1979-FULL-SIZE-WORLD-SERIES-TROPHY-/170682005275?pt=Vintage_Sports_Memorabilia&hash=item27bd70b71b

on july 25, the pirates were tied for first (with the cardinals)

37 days later they are 18 1/2 out

they need to go 20-6 to finish above .500 and are only 3 1/2 games up on the cubs

19th straight losing season

I'm a Reds fan, but I am sad for how the Pirates have played out. Both are historically classic clubs along with the O's and Royals that have had a couple bad decades.

It will be sad if McCutchen moves on to the Sox or Yanks, that dude is a ball player.