SB Nation - Ramon Vazquez

Should Ramon Vazquez Keep His Roster Spot?

Charlie — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:58:39 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Pittsburgh Pirates' Ramon Vazquez (5) connects for a two-run single against Cincinnati Reds' Micah Owings in the first inning during a baseball game in Pittsburgh Saturday, May 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Interesting tidbit in the Post-Gazette today:

Looks like Rule 5 pick John Raynor will be in a one-on-one battle with Brandon Moss for reserve outfield duty this spring. Locked into the bench for now are Jason Jaramillo, Ramon Vazquez, Bobby Crosby and Delwyn Young. That leaves room for one outfielder, preferably one capable of backing up in center. And Raynor might be better there than Moss.

Unlike Dejan Kovacevic, I can only speculate on what will happen, but what should happen here? Vazquez is vaguely useful in that, you know, he can play a bunch of infield positions and isn't Brian Bixler, but Vazquez hit a sub-Bloomquistian .230/.335/.279 last year, making 2009 the fourth season in the past six in which he failed to top a .620 OPS. I mostly admire Vazquez's patient approach at the plate, but that's really all he had in 2009--he looked like was praying for pitchers to accidentally walk him. I liked the Vazquez signing when it happened, but his strong 2008 campaign with the Rangers now looks very fluky. With Bobby Crosby in the fold, there doesn't seem to be any reason to break camp with another utility infielder, especially since Young can also sort of play second.

There are probably five bench spots available, and one probably will go to a catcher, and another to someone who can play shortstop. Jaramillo, Crosby and Young look very likely to make the bench, at this point. Maybe Kovacevic knows something I don't, but if I were in charge, it wouldn't be particularly likely that Vazquez would make the team next year. Assuming for now that Jeff Clement starts at first base and Garrett Jones is in right field, Moss isn't an ideal fit for the bench because he's left-handed like both of those guys. But Moss is out of options, can remain under team control for several more years if he sticks, and (despite his terrible 2009) has some prayer of hitting in 2010. There's really no upside in keeping Vazquez, except as insurance in case Crosby or Ronny Cedeno gets hurt or doesn't make the team. And even leaving Moss aside for a second, I'd probably rather keep Raynor and Steve Pearce as the last two bench guys than give a spot to Vazquez.

Of course, worrying about the Pirates careers of Vazquez and (probably) Moss is a deck chairs / Titanic situation. If Pedro Alvarez comes up, Vazquez will be gone, and if Jose Tabata comes up or the Pirates acquire another corner player, Moss will probably be gone. In the meantime, though, I think he could be a pretty decent bench outfielder--I think he's a bit better as a hitter than he showed in 2009, and his defense is good. It would be nice to stick with him for a couple more months before dumping him completely.

Fire Everyone! - Mark Shapiro

Jay — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:53:11 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Is just developing a good process enough?

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This is the final installment in a 12-part series.

"A Hit Is A Hit" — The Sopranos, season one.

Christopher has been bankrolling a band called "Visiting Day", who are managed by his girlfriend Adriana. He plays the band's demo to his associate Hesh, an old-timer in the music business.

CHRISTOPHER: So?

HESH: I think it's ... not good.

CHRISTOPHER: Wanna be a little more specific?

HESH: There's good. And there's not good. This is not good.

CHRISTOPHER: Okay, maybe it's not your era — no offense, but ...

HESH: Kid, music is music, talent is talent. I don't care who you are. I seen it all. I seen heavy metal invented by Hendrix at the Bottom Line, he just got out of the army. I told him, "Kid, I don't know what you call it — talent, charisma, magic — whatever it is, you got it." These guys ... [gestures to the cassette] ... I'm sorry, they don't.

CHRISTOPHER: That Vito is a great guitar player, Hesh.

HESH: Good, fine, he's a great guitar player. However, there's one constant in the music business: A hit is a hit. And this, my friend, is not a hit.

CHRISTOPHER: But why?

HESH: Christ. Reasons we can never comprehend or codify, you pitiful schlepper.

Of all the installments in this series, this is the one where it's most tempting to beg off and admit, this might just above my pay grade. I'll be honest, I can't say with much confidence whether Mark Shapiro should be fired. What I can say is that there are definitely good reasons to fire him.

Before we get to that, better face up to some hard facts. If you're going to fire Shapiro, you have to believe that a better option is available. Chris Antonetti is the heir apparent, but you fire Shapiro and keep Antonetti only if you think that in keeping Antonetti, you preserve the best parts of Shapiro while rooting out his shortcomings. Heck, maybe that's actually the case, but I personally couldn't say. It doesn't seem likely. And if Antonetti was the instant front-runner for most any GM opening, what would that make Shapiro if he were available?

Shapiro's calling card is turning walk-year veterans into prospects who become multi-year contributors to the team — a truly staggering haul, including Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Coco Crisp, Shin-Soo Choo, Travis Hafner, Milton Bradley, Franklin Gutierrez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Josh Bard and Kelly Shoppach. Add to that list, potentially, over the next several years, Matt LaPorta, Carlos Santana, Luis Valbuena, Michael Brantley, Lou Marson, plus a half-dozen significant pitching prospects, plus Mark DeRosa, Arthur Rhodes, Justin Masterson and Chris Perez. Even his least successful trade acquisitions — Alex Escobar, Jason Michaels, Brandon Phillips, Billy Traber, Andy Marte, Josh Barfield — have not been entirely bereft of big-league talent.

We've chanted that litany before, but it bears recalling because horse trading is one of the most important jobs of a GM, and it's notably one of the only jobs where success or failure is directly traced to his decision. Shapiro also has had an impressive run with third-tier free agent starting pitchers — Pavano made 33 starts and netted a decent prospect, Byrd completed three serviceable seasons, Millwood won the freakin' ERA title, and even Brian Anderson did okay for a couple of years. And while fans rightly bemoan the dead weight of Hafner's contract, Shapiro has not really made the big, crippling mistakes that befall most GMs — on the balance sheet, Hafner-Westbrook-Dellucci pale before Wells-Rios-Ryan.

If you're going to get rid of Shapiro and his like-minded colleagues, then you have to be willing to live without those exemplary skills — without his leadership, class, and intelligence, his deftness with trades and contracts, the respect he commands within the industry, and especially — especially — his willingness to take the public body blows when tough decisions need to be made. You can't assume that the next guy will excel in all of those areas. I am certain we'd miss those qualities.

Having said that, I can tell you why Shapiro should be fired in one word: Talent.

Baseball is never simple. As a rule, the world's most elite natural athletes cannot succeed as major leaguers. Hitting and pitching are simply too hard. Hitting at this level requires a knack that may be the hardest thing to quantify or characterize in all of sports, and if you don't have it, then all the talk or mechanics and approaches in the world can't save you, even if you have several NBA championships and MVP awards on your résumé. Pitching at this level requires a freakish combination of precise muscle control, huge arm-generated torque, resistance to elbow and shoulder injury under extreme stress, and intelligence.

Running a baseball club may be just as hard and just as unquantifiable; after all, more than a few titans of industry have tried and failed. A brilliant executive can't necessarily run a ballclub any better than a world-class athlete can hit a curveball. The brilliant executive can be an inspiring leader, managing and empowering his charges. He can define what kind of people he wants working in the organization, hire them, set expectations, evaluate them, act on them. He can fire people. He can order case studies and surveys of best practices. He can analyze statistics and devise processes, enact them, evaluate them, refine them, start over from scratch if need be. He can maintain outstanding communication with his staff, with his bosses, with the public. He can do all these things reliably, even predictably, because he simply has the tools and the skills.

For all that, however, the brilliant executive can't necessarily tell you whether it's better to overspend on Raul Ibañez or Kerry Wood. He can't necessarily devise a process to tell you that, and he can't necessarily hire the right person to tell you that, either. Nor can he devise a process to hire the right person to tell you that. It doesn't always come down to objective analysis or having a good process. Sometimes it comes down to talent: the talent to play, the talent to evaluate talent, the talent to develop talent, and the judgment to make decisions about talent.

Sometimes — often, maybe — it comes down to reasons we can never comprehend or codify, pitiful schleppers that we are.

Evaluating talent is a special skill, and here I can speak with some experience. Most of my professional life is centered around my ability to identify genuine talent — musical talent, IT talent, and even writing talent — people who reliably will perform at a high or exceptionally high level, just about 100 percent of the time. I have, on occasion, identified individuals with weak paper qualifications who later went on to excel in their field. In some cases, they thrived in part because I gave them an opportunity and aided their development. In other cases, their success was inevitable, and I just saw it earlier than some others.

I am not suggesting, by any stretch of the imagination, that I have the ability to judge baseball talent. Maybe, if I'd spent 20 years working as a baseball professional, learning from thousands of discussions with scouts and making and testing my own observations — maybe then, but perhaps not even then. For whatever it's worth, though, I can tell you that my ability to assess a person's talents is entirely intuitive. I have no ability to explain it, or to teach anyone else how to do it. I can be highly analytical in my assessments of people, breaking down facts and metrics, making rules and devising grading systems to create rankings — and I can teach these things by rote and by example. However, none of that has anything to do with being able to differentiate reliably between a high ceiling and a low ceiling.

I can't tell you for sure that it's the same for baseball, but I worry that it is. Most of the people reading this could be trained in the rudiments of being a low-level scout — doing your homework and measuring some kid's raw tools on the field. Skills are another thing entirely — evaluating footwork and positioning on defense, observing quality of command across a variety of pitches, intuiting the difference between a bad day and a chronic problem. Beyond these, another level, the crucial, game-changing question: Will this ballplayer develop skills beyond what he's showing today? How does he project to a different level at a different age, or even just to a different ballpark in a different league?

I have no doubt that great baseball scouts learned a lot from the great scouts who came before them, and I have no doubt that a gifted executive can learn immensely from a great scout, purely by his ability to listen and communicate and absorb. At the same time, I am quite sure that the greatest talent evaluators in the game are possessed of something that is innate and ineffable. And I am genuinely concerned that the Indians don't employ any of those people — and that, in fact, Shapiro may have favored others in the organization to the point where the best evaluators left.

Take a look at the AP report of Neal Huntington being hired away by the Pirates:

Huntington formerly was the assistant general manager to the Indians' Mark Shapiro, but dropped behind vice president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and assistant general manager John Mirabelli on the front office depth chart two years ago.

Huntington accepted a different role in 2005, Shapiro said, because Antonetti's skills were in the management and administrative side, while Huntington's were in evaluation and scouting.

"My skill set and passion were more that of an evaluator, but they never technically took me out of the front office," Huntington said. "I was exposed to some incredible things -- rebuilding an organization and being involved in every decision, every tough decision, that was made."

And from the MLB.com report:

As an adviser to Shapiro and vice president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, Huntington was involved in nearly all personnel and staffing decisions, as well as trade acquisition discussions. He also spent the majority of his time evaluating talent on both the Minor and Major League level.

When asked about Huntington, Shapiro responded: "[Huntington is] one of our chief evaluators and one of our strongest voices on every level," Shapiro said.

Here's a guy who was the highest-ranking evaluator in the organization and possibly the best, a guy with a master's degree in sports management from UMass, and essentially, he was passed over — well treated, perhaps, but pointedly not in line for a future role as GM. So too, perhaps, was John Farrell, who upon leaving Cleveland — quite amicably, as Huntington did — was quoted to say that he was looking to have a larger voice in an organization. Farrell had been a major league pitcher and a college pitching coach, and with the Indians he served stints as Farm Director and Director of Player Development. Despite his experience and impeccable reputation, Farrell too was not viewed as the future leader of the organization.

Years earlier, there was Tony LaCava, whom the Indians hired in 2002 as national cross-checker, essentially rescuing him from the sinking-ship Montreal Expos. As the Expos very recent Farm Director, LaCava naturally was instrumental in selecting the prospects to be received in the Colon deal, which is not only Shapiro's signature trade, but arguably the most successful trade of a veteran for prospects by any GM, ever. LaCava, too, was not retained in the Indians organization, moving on to the Blue Jays as Assistant GM in 2003, just one year later, while John Mirabelli continued his string of generally disastrous drafts.

Like Huntington, LaCava is going to be a GM sooner or later, yet he wasn't good enough to be Assistant GM in Cleveland. None of these guys were given large enough roles in the organization to keep them around, and no doubt the Indians were possessed of too much executive talent to keep in-house — a nice problem to have. Still, given how things have gone since, it's telling that the prince-in-waiting anointment, and present-day "co-GM" status, went not to an ace evaluator, but instead to Antonetti, a man whose background and skill set are more or less identical to Shapiro's.

For all the talk about being open to all ideas and all viewpoints, the major player-evaluation talent in the Indians organization was basically told that being a solid administrator was more important, and that their path to bigger jobs would have to be in some other, presumably less enlightened organization — and never mind that it doesn't matter how well administered your organization is if you don't know who the best talent is. (Is it any wonder, then, that when Shapiro hires a former catcher for a manager, he then populates his coaching staff almost entirely with other former catchers? All leaders lead by example, first and foremost.)

This is not to say that an executive without a scouting background cannot be an outstanding GM, but it's noteworthy that other organizations that have gone with the "Ivy League whiz kid" GM model tend to have a "wise old baseball man" figure hanging close by, advising the gifted non-scout executive. The Red Sox had Bill Lajoie attached to Theo Epstein; Allard Baird is in that role now, while Lajoie is now advising Huntington in Pittsburgh. The Rays put Gerry Hunsicker with Andrew Friedman, and down in Texas, Jon Daniels has access to no less than John Hart and Nolan Ryan. But when non-scout-gifted-executives Shapiro and Antonetti huddle to make the big decisions, who are the wise old evaluators in the room — Charles Nagy and Jason Bere?

Later that night, at home, Adriana and Christopher discuss Visiting Day's potential. Hip-hop mogul "Massive Genius" has told Adriana that the band's demos are promising.

CHRISTOPHER: You know how I use the technique of positive visualization?

ADRIANA: I know you talk about it. You're fairly negative a lot of the time.

CHRISTOPHER: I think you should mentally prepare for the possibility that Visiting Day sucks.

ADRIANA: What?

CHRISTOPHER: I think that ... the only reason you've gotten this far with Massive is ... he wants to be in your pants.

ADRIANA: Boy, oh, boy.

CHRISTOPHER: Look, I had some experts listen to the demo ... they crapped all over it. Sorry.

ADRIANA: Who, Hesh? That old synagogue cantor?

CHRISTOPHER: Silvio. Hey, he owned rock clubs in Asbury. You heard what Squid said. A professional engineer.

ADRIANA: What about my opinion? That it's good. That it's special. This is just a way for you to keep me down.

CHRISTOPHER: That ain't fair.

ADRIANA: What's wrong with it, huh? What's wrong with Visiting Day?

CHRISTOPHER: I don't know ... but it's a problem that you don't know.

This series of articles perhaps has only demonstrated the obvious, that a club this bad — which decides in June that it must not only tank the current season but the next season at the same time — has suffered multiple failures in more than one part of the organization. In any one area, we can talk about how much control that one group of people — coaches, scouts, trainers — really had, compared to the influence of the other groups and the whims of the fates. But a systemic failure points ultimately to Shapiro, who hired and is accountable for all of those groups, and the harsh truth is that every club must contend with the whims of the fates — or fail to contend with them, as the Indians have.

Amateur scouting has been a disaster since Shapiro took over; maybe time will reveal that it was fixed two or three years ago, but maybe not. Big-league scouting has been a mixed bag, with veteran acquisitions missing a lot more often than they hit — in Barfield's case, about four times more often. The training staff has won high praise from some in the industry, but they haven't stopped the Indians from being undercut severely by injuries to a half-dozen key players in just two years — in some cases, multiple injuries and disappointing rehab processes have afflicted a single player like Jake Westbrook over and over again. The farm system has been another mixed bag, producing too many players who dominate at Triple-A but can barely perform at replacement level in the majors. If all clubs were like the Indians in this regard, those MLE formulas might look a lot different.

We had a manager whose playing-time decisions often defied any imaginable logic or reason, who thought it was important to have Ramon Vazquez on his bench rather than future 30-30 man Brandon Phillips, and who thought it was a good idea to put Ryan Garko in the outfield, with a rookie flyball pitcher on the mound — scratch that, ever — and we had a GM who let him do these things. It's true that Shapiro fired Wedge, and he may be sincere in saying that bringing in a new manager is an exciting opportunity. Even so, Shapiro made it abundantly clear that he didn't think there was any real, qualitative reason why Wedge shouldn't continue to be the manager — his exact words were, "it's a cop-out."

We had extraordinarily bad — and sometimes historically bad — bullpens in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Those volcanic fiascos were, at least, largely Shapiro's direct creations, and at most, entirely the fault of Shapiro and people who were hired by Shapiro, and who generally have not been fired by Shapiro. They have turned too many contenders into also-rans, too many decent squads into train-wrecks, and too many season ticket holders into non-customers.

The sum of these observations is this one, frightening, inescapable conclusion: Shapiro has not given us any concrete reason to believe that he knows how to put people into critical positions who are capable of evaluating, developing and coaching real talent — the kind that can thrive at the major league level. Without people in key roles who are possessed of that kind of judgment and talent, it doesn't make any difference how good your organizational processes are or how much class-acting you do. We cannot contend on a diet of trade-acquired minor leaguers and recycled starting pitchers alone. If these things weren't clear five years ago, or even one year ago, they ought to be crystal clear now.

I am just a scribe, neither scout nor coach, not a baseball executive and certainly not a former major leaguer. So I don't really know what's wrong with the Cleveland Indians. But it's a problem if Mark Shapiro doesn't know either. And as much respect for him as I have, I'm not at all convinced that he does.

Sweep! Cubs Keep Faint Playoff Hopes Alive With 8-5 Win Over Pirates

Al — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:00:56 -0000

by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Write your own caption.

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SOMEWHERE IN OHIO -- On September 23, 1976, I attended this game at Wrigley Field between the Cubs and Pirates.

Turned around from 2009, the Cubs were bad that year, settling into fifth place (only because the Expos were far worse), and the Pirates were contenders, though they finished second to the Phillies.

The Cubs lost that game 5-4 in 10 innings and the attendance was 2,132, the smallest crowd of that season.

That's what today's 8-5 Cubs win over the Pirates at PNC Park felt like. The announced attendance was 10,899, but in the years since 1976 (in 1993, to be exact) the National League went from announcing the turnstile count to announcing tickets sold. There may have been 10,899 tickets sold for today's game, but there were far fewer than 10,899 people in PNC Park on a nice afternoon when the sun finally broke through in Pittsburgh for the first time since I had arrived late Sunday. There might have been 5,000 people in the park, including a large group that all sat together in the RF corner, one man who sat by himself in the last row of the second-to-last section of the upper deck in left field, and about half of the tiny assemblage was Cubs fans.

What they saw was the Cubs' 9th win in 11 games vs. Pittsburgh this year -- and there are still four games left with the Bucs at Wrigley Field. It was nearly effortless; you'll find out more about the "nearly" below the fold. The Cubs scored in each of the first three innings and Carlos Zambrano threw six solid innings, before apparently having words with Lou upon being removed after going out to warm up for the seventh. Z threw 98 pitches and I could have gone either way on leaving him in, but if you're going to take him out, Lou, take him out, don't make him warm up that way waiting for a pinch-hitter to be announced (Ramon Vazquez) so you could call on your lefty, John Grabow. I can't imagine it makes much difference who faces Vazquez, who is actually hitting better vs. LHP this year -- .308 -- than he is vs. RHP -- .233. Grabow got Vazquez to ground out.

More about the "nearly" -- I, for one, will be very glad when we Cubs fans, and the team, bid farewell to Kevin Gregg. I did predict this coming -- not the HR allowed (13, now leading all NL relievers), but the walks. Gregg issued 37 walks in 68 innings last year with the Marlins, and he's well on his way to matching that this year, with 27 in 64 innings. His lack of control has resulted in many blown saves and he nearly blew this game, issuing a pair of walks and then a three-run homer to our old pal Ronny Cedeno, which was the only time the few Pirates fans who remained until the bottom of the 8th cheered. It wasn't much of a cheer, either.

What it did do was force Lou to go to Carlos Marmol to save the game in the 9th, and credit to Marmol -- since he was officially anointed closer he has posted a 1.93 ERA in nine appearances, has seven saves and no blown saves, and most importantly, he has recovered his control. He's walked six in that time, but three of those were in a lost-cause game against the Nationals on August 26, and I think he's got back to the solid Marmol we knew last year and the second half of 2007. Part of it might have been in his head -- remember that he wasn't happy when Gregg was given the closer job during spring training? Sure, professionals shouldn't let that happen, but it's human nature. Gregg will say farewell when this year is over and the Cubs have their closer for 2010, which will allow them to spend money elsewhere next season.

Micah Hoffpauir, who had a tough go of it most of this year, has made his case in the last two days for a 2010 spot, also. He homered for the second straight day, walked twice and scored three runs. In the absence of Alfonso Soriano, why not platoon Hoffpauir and Jake Fox in LF for a while? Sam Fuld can spell them defensively after the 7th, as he did today. (Fox seems to have gotten into Lou's doghouse for some reason; why he didn't start vs. Zach Duke Tuesday night is a mystery.)

I'm heading back on the road shortly after I write this, having enjoyed the trip and the 4-2 record. I truly do feel sorry for Pirates fans, who have been jacked around for 17 years by three different ownership groups. They do have loyal longtime fans in Pittsburgh who support the team through thin and thin (and that's not a misprint), and with the winners already in town (the Steelers and Penguins), the city would just love to have a baseball winner too. However, right now I'm glad they're just fodder for Cubs victories. After the Bucs used to dispatch the Cubs regularly in the 1970's, they owe us a few.

A Numerologist's Dream -- 09/09/09: Cubs vs. Pirates Preview, Wednesday 9/9, 11:35 CT

Al — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:00:23 -0000

by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Hey, Z. Remember this game against the Pirates? Try to stay calmer today.

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PITTSBURGH -- If you are into such things, here are the Cubs' results for the four "numerologist dates" in this decade (they didn't play on 04/04/04):

08/08/08: Defeated Cardinals at Wrigley Field 3-2. Jim Edmonds hit two homers.

07/07/07: Defeated Pirates at Pittsburgh 7-1. Ted Lilly threw 7.1 strong innings.

06/06/06: Lost to Astros 7-1 at Houston. Nuff said, except that the 2006 team was horrible and probably would have lost no matter what the date was.

05/05/05: Lost to Brewers 6-5 at Milwaukee. Two words describe this game: LaTroy Hawkins.

Lou held a team meeting last night. Which raises two questions: 1) Why didn't this happen two months ago? 2) Why haven't the players called a meeting before now? (Answer to the latter question may be: "Because there aren't any player-leaders on this team.")

[Lou] talked about pride -- "personal and team pride," he said.

"I told them it's been a struggle this year," he added, "but we've still got [25] games to go, and we've got to play as well as we can and as hard as we can until the end of the season, and win as many games as we can."

Well, Lou, that's a great message. Did someone just wake you up? Where was this attitude when the Cubs were going through their 11-17 month of August?

And more reminders that things can always be worse: Yahoo's Gordon Edes lists 17 things about the Pirates over their 17 consecutive losing seasons. My favorite (and you should take note of this one if you think the Cubs have had a lot of losing seasons in your lifetime):

Number of seasons in which a Pirates team did not spend a single day over .500 or in first place: 5. An additional six teams were never more than three games over .500 an entire season.

Site note: I am leaving right after today's game to drive back to Chicago. I am once again going to try to find wifi on the road to post a recap, but if not, today's game recap may be delayed until Thursday morning.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Carlos Zambrano Cubs	vs.	Kevin Hart Pirates

7-6	W-L	4-5
3.80	ERA	4.67
115	SO	37
63	BB	30
10	HR	9
vs. Pit	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Carlos Zambrano	7-6	30	23	0	0	0	0	137.1	131	65	58	10	63	115	3.80	1.41

Note: stats below are for Hart with the Pirates only. See the pitcher box for his full-season stats.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Kevin Hart	1-4	6	6	0	0	0	0	34.0	47	27	24	6	12	24	6.35	1.74

When last we saw Kevin Hart, he was pitching six good innings for the Cubs against the Astros on July 30 at Wrigley Field, after which he was traded to the Pirates. Since then he's been... not so good. He's piled up innings for Pittsburgh, but given up a lot of hits, walks and homers. This will be his first appearance against his old team; let's light him up.

The only time Z has faced the Pirates this year so far was memorable, and not for his pitching; it was on May 27 at Wrigley Field. That was the day he melted down after a close play at the plate and wound up, among other things, flinging a baseball 300 feet into left field. Needless to say, he was ejected. (The Cubs came back and won the game anyway.) The current Pirate who hits him best is Ramon Vazquez (5-for-12); the only current Pirate to have homered off Z is Brandon Moss.

Cable-only for TV today, and Chicago-only (CSN, no Pittsburgh TV). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout.

I'm going to stick to two overflow threads again today; they will post at 12:45 and 2 pm CDT. If things get too busy, please post a FanShot overflow; if I see there's a lot of activity the next couple of days, I may go back to three.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Reds Avoid Sweep With 4-1 Victory Over Pirates

Charlie — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:39:32 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Brandon Moss after striking out in Sunday's game.

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The Bucs' five-game winning streak ended today as the Pirates went back to doing what they do best--making struggling pitchers look good. Homer Bailey entered today's game with a 7.53 ERA but lopped nearly three quarters of a run off it by allowing only one run in seven innings, despite four walks.

When I look at the lineup the Pirates trotted out today, with Brandon Moss in right, Ramon Vazquez at third and Brian Bixler at shortstop, I can't help but feel like they deserved what they got. Even though Bixler hit a nice gap double, it offends my sensibilities to see him starting, and I feel like I've taken a particularly nauseating time machine ride back to 2007. Neal Huntington and company have already gotten rid of the entire back end of the horrible 40-man roster they inherited, except for Bixler, who's now almost 27, still has little control over the strike zone, and has done nothing to show he deserves continued opportunities in the majors, despite what Neil Walker thinks. Ronny Cedeno is out with a hairline fracture in his finger, true, but he should only be gone for a few more days. Until he returns, Andy LaRoche probably shouldn't get any days off.

* * *

Somewhat relatedly, there have been some interesting arguments here in the past couple of weeks about Walker's other favorite person--himself. In fact, it seems like nearly every thread here recently turns into a discussion about Garrett Jones, Nyjer Morgan or Walker, and I guess I'm not really helping by stirring the pot here.

Anyway, one of those arguments goes that because LaRoche has posted only a .714 OPS this year, Walker should get a shot to show whether he can do better.

Surely LaRoche shouldn't be satisfied with a .714 OPS, but it doesn't follow that Walker deserves a chance. Class AAA stats correlate very meaningfully with major-league stats once they're adjusted, so I plugged Walker's numbers so far this year, including his 0-for-5 today, into Minor League Splits' Minor League Equivalency Calculator. The results?

330 AB, 71 hits, 24 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 19 BB, .215 AVG /.259 OBP /.380 SLG

This basically means that if Walker had played in Pittsburgh this year, he likely would have been one of the absolute worst players in the majors. Even accounting for some improvement over the course of the season, what Walker has done this year does not warrant even a September callup, let alone the third base job. Minor league stats matter, and Walker hasn't gotten it done this year. Three good weeks does not change that. Chances at the major league level are not, and should not be, given out at random.

One might argue that Walker should get a chance because we should see what he can do, now that we've seen what LaRoche can do. That's not a very good argument, because it begins from the false premise that Class AAA stats, when used properly, aren't predictive of major league stats. Walker has already shown what he'd do with major league playing time, and it isn't pretty.

Also, though, consider that major league playing time is also development time. LaRoche's .714 OPS this year contains a .336 OBP, which is pretty good. Walker, meanwhile, has posted a .336 or better OBP at only two minor league stops in his entire career, and this year he's struggling to top .300.

The problem, right now, is that LaRoche lacks power, and Walker lacks on-base ability. (Combine LaRoche's on-base ability with Walker's power and you'd have a pretty good player.) Unfortunately for Walker, good OBP ability can sometimes provide a foundation for power to develop, but the opposite isn't true. Guys who have good OBP as young players--think of Nate McLouth here, or Jim Edmonds, or Brian Giles, or Kevin Youkilis--often develop more power as they age. Guys who have good power but lack OBP skills usually just stagnate--think of Brad Eldred, for example.

This isn't to say it's all peaches and cream for LaRoche, or that he'll necessarily develop more power. A .336 OBP isn't really that high, and his .256 average this year is also cause for concern. And I'm certainly not saying he'll be as good as Edmonds or Giles in their primes, or Youkilis now. But I do think that in addition to being a much better player than Walker right now, LaRoche also has much more upside despite being two years older. There's a much better chance that he turns his base of skills into something more as he gets a little stronger. Walker is a hacker now, and while anything's possible, the chances are good that he'll always be one. He might have a burst or two of success in the major league level, but my guess is that pitchers will figure him out quickly and those bursts, if they ever happen, will be short. Then there's also the fact that a .700 OPS with a decent OBP is actually better than a .700 OPS loaded with power. Given the choice, you take the player who gets on base.

So, to sum up, there is no good reason to think that Walker could do better than LaRoche right now. Walker is also unlikely to be the better player over the course of their careers. And LaRoche has done enough this year to warrant more opportunities. A third baseman with a .714 OPS, a decent OBP and a good glove can become a very good player if he adds some power.

So let's please stop greeting every hit Neil Walker gets at Indianapolis with speculation about him replacing LaRoche. Neither of them deserve it. And while I'm at it, let's not accuse people who point out Walker's flaws of rooting for him to fail. That's just silly. He just isn't a very good player. I hope that changes, but I doubt it will.

Andrew McCutchen Launches 3 HR's, Pittsburgh Pirates 11, Washington Nationals 6.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 03:15:12 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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26,855 Pittsburgh Pirates fans* got a glimpse of the future tonight as 22-year-old center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit 3 HR's off 3 different Nationals' pitchers, taking DC starter Craig Stammen to center for a leadoff blast in the first, and following it up with a two-run HR in the fifth off Tyler Clippard, and a 3-run blast off Logan Kensing in the sixth to make it 11-4 Pirates in what ends up an 11-6 win. Stammen can't get out of the fourth. The 25-year-old righty gives up 9 hits, 2 walks and 6 earned runs in 3.0 IP, throwing just 44 pitches, 30 for strikes and surrendering a double, a triple, a HR and 3 singles in his short time on the hill.

The Pirates' center fielder, McCutchen took a curtain call after his third HR, but ground out in his last AB with the whole crowd thinking four. 4 for 5 with 4 runs scored and 6 RBI's on the night, McCutchen's now hitting .293 with 14 doubles, 5 triples, 6 HR's, 33 RBI's and 9 stolen bases in 50 games played...the Nationals combine for 12 hits and 6 runs of their own, with Ryan Zimmerman (3 for 4, 1 RBI), Cristian Guzman (2 for 5, 1 RBI) and Nyjer Morgan (3 for 5), providing the bulk of the Nationals' offense while the middle of the Nationals' lineup (A. Dunn, J. Willingham and Elijah Dukes) were a combined 1 for 9.

The Pirates take two straight from the Nationals in PNC Park...Sunday finale at 1:35 pm EST Sunday. Collin Balester (1-1, 4.00) vs Paul Maholm (6-5, 4.70) on the hill.

(ed. note - " * = Pirates AVG attendance = 19,167, so with a concert after the game, I'm estimating approximately 7,688 of those in attendance were treated to a show by McCutchen as they waited for the Jo Dee Messina concert.")

Pirates win, 11-6 final.

Miss The Game? The Frustrated DC Faithful Were Watching...

Check Out The SB Nation's Pirates Blog: Buc's Dugout GameThread.

BACKPAGE:

• Nick Johnson Blog

• Minor League Minute

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The JUMP...

Nationals now 32-72. (Countdown To 100 Losses Now Stands At....28.)

(photo by Doghouse, sent via iPhone)

BACKPAGE:

• Nick Johnson Blog:

With the game tied at 8-8 after nine, the Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs were in extra innings in Nick Johnson's Marlins' debut at the time this post went up. Wearing #20 and batting second in front of Marlins' shortstop Hanley Ramirez (who was injured in the game), Nick JOhnson went 2 for 3 with a run scored and 2 walks in front of the Florida fans in Land Shark Stadium. Johnson arrived at the park this morning after flying to Florida late last night, and he told MLB.com writer David Villavicencio, in an article entitled, "Johnson joins Marlins, excited to compete", about his time in DC and his excitement about the Marlins' playoff possibilities, "'It was tough,' Johnson said of his time with the Nationals. 'In Washington, we didn't win a lot of games...'":

"'I haven't been in something like this in a while. I'm really excited about it and I'll enjoy it. I've come to a team that has a chance to win, and that's what you play for. You don't play for .500 ball.'"

Minor League Minute...

The Norfolk Tides scored runs in the bottom of the eighth for an 8-6 win over the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) Saturday night. Chiefs' center fielder Justin Maxwell was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored in the losing effort, and RF Kory Casto finished the nigth 3 for 4 with a HR and 5 RBI's...The Harrisburg Senators (AA) beat the Portland Sea Dogs Saturday with former P-Nats' pitcher Jeff Mandel improving to (2-0) since making the jump to Double-A. Sean Rooney, who was tearing up Carolina League pitching with Potomac is 11 for 33 in his first 11 games with the Senators after going 1 for 3 with an RBI in the win. RHP Clint Everts closed out the win for his 3rd save as a Senator...The Winston-Salem Dash shut the Potomac Nationals (Class A) out Saturday, taking a 5-0 victory on the road in Pfitzner Stadium. P-Nats' left fielder Jesus Valdez was 3 for 4 with 3 of the 4 P-Nats' hits...The Hagerstown Suns (Class A) dropped a 2-1 10-inning affair against to the West Virginia Power. Suns' starter Paul Demny allowed just 1 run in 5.1 IP in the loss...The Vermont Lake Monsters (NY/Penn) took an 8-3 decision over the Lowell Spinners Saturday. DC's '08 2nd Round pick Destin Hood was in RF for the Lake Monsters, and he finished the game 1 for 5 with a run scored and 1 RBI...

This has been your Minor League Minute...

GAME REPORT:

Washington Nationals At Pittsburgh Pirates. Game 104 Of 162.

Nyjer Morgan pops up a bunt attempt and Bucs’ backstop Ryan Doumit sprints down the first base line to make the grab. Pirates’ righty Virgil Vasquez on the hill in PNC, Cristian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman single in succession, both up the middle and Guzman’s on third when Adam Dunn steps in. Dunn goes opposite field and into the corner with a fly. Lastings Milledge has to sprint from left center. He can’t get there. Milledge drops it. Guzman scores, 1-0 DC. Josh Willingham takes one on the elbow. Elijah Dukes works the count, fouls off a few and flies out to center, Zimmerman tags and scores, 2-0 DC. Bard flies out to Brandon Moss to strand two, 2-0...Craig Stammen gives up a long fly ball to left that won’t come down, Josh Willingham leaps at the wall but comes up empty, Andrew McCutchen homers to start the bottom of the first. 2-1 DC. Lastings Milledge flies out to Nyjer Morgan. Garrett Jones takes a 1-2 fastball outside to center for a single. Ryan Doumit grounds to short, Guzman to Anderson Hernandez to Adam Dunn, double play.

Alberto Gonzalez pops out foul of first. Stammen K’s swinging. Virgil Vasquez looking for a quick frame. Nyjer Morgan sends a chopper up the middle for a two-out single. Cristian Guzman grounds sharply to first with Morgan running, but Garrett Jones makes the play...Delwyn Young grounds out to Alberto Gonzalez at second. Andy LaRoche pops out behind short. Brandon Ross pops up to the infield, Zimmerman closes his glove on the second.

Ryan Zimmerman singles through short to Milledge in left. Adam Dunn walks to put two on for Willingham. Hammer pops out. Elijah Dukes grounds to short, Ronny Cedeno to Delwyn Young to Garrett Jones, double play...Ronny Cedeno rips a single through short to start the Pirates’ third. Adam Dunn fields and throws into the basepath on a bunt by the pitcher. Andrew McCutchen drops a swinging bunt down and beats the throw to first. Cedeno takes third. Lastings Milledge drills a line drive to left and to the wall, Cedeno scores, McCutchen’s around third and home before the throw in reaches the infield. 3-2 Pirates. Garrett Jones flies to deep right center, Elijah Dukes tracks it and makes the catch as he hits the wall!!! DUKES!!! Ryan Doumit grounds to first, Adam Dunn makes a nice backhand play and toss to Stammen covering.

Josh Bard singles to center to start the fourth. McCutchen goes back to the track to catch Alberto Gonzalez’s flyout. Craig Stammen flies out to Moss in right. Cristian Guzman grounds to short, Cedeno pumps toward second then fires to first, in time...Delwyn Young smacks a low liner up the middle and off Stammen’s foot. Andy LaRoche flies to deeep center and off the wall in spite of Nyjer Morgan’s effort. Delwyn Young scores, LaRoche takes third. 4-2 Pirates. Brandon Moss lines to short center, Nyjer Morgan dives in and misses. Morgan throws home to try for LaRoche, but it’s wide of home and he gets an error. Moss to second. 5-2 Pirates. Tyler Clippard takes over for Stammen. Ronny Cedeno chops an infield single over the mound. Moss to third. Virgil Vasquez pops up a bunt, Alberto Gonzalez charges in to make the catch and the throw to first for a DP. Andrew McCutchen takes Clippard deeep to left and just out into the first row, 2-run HR, 7-2 Pirates. Milledge pops out to end the Pirates’ fourth.

Ryan Zimmerman lines a double to left and it's to the wall before Milledge gets there. Adam Dunn K’s swinging. Josh Willingham walks on four straight. Elijah Dukes flies out to Milledge in left. Josh Bard knocks Zimmerman in with a line drive over Brandon Moss’ head in right, 7-3 Pittsburgh. Alberto Gonzalez lines out to end the inning...Elijah Dukes takes a few steps back to catch a fly ball off Garrett Jones’ bat. Ryan Doumit K’s trying to lay off a sinker in the dirt from Clippard. Delwyn Young chases a fastball up and out of the zone to end the fifth.

Jeff Karstens is on for Pittsburgh. Ramon Vazquez in at second. Anderson Hernandez doubles over Moss’ head in right to start the sixth. Nyjer Morgan "lines" a bunt toward short and beats out the throw to first. Hernandez to third. Cristian Guzman lines to left and just inside the line, Hernandez scores. 7-4 Pirates. Second and third for Zimmerman. Zimmerman lines out to right, Moss throws a laser home to hold Morgan at third. Adam Dunn swings over a two-strike change outside. Josh Willingham tears into a fastball and lines right- into Ramon Vazquez’s glove at second. Willingham’s robbed. 7-4 Pirates after five and a half...Andy LaRoche lines to left off new DC righty Logan Kensing. Brandon Moss sneaks a hard hit grounder under a diving Dunn at first. Dukes throws to third trying for LaRoche, but it’s late. Ronny Cedeno grounds to second to score LaRoche, 8-4 Pirates. Kensing walks Ramon Vazquez. Andrew McCutchen flies to deeeeep left and GONE!! 3-run HR. 11-4 Pirates. Ron Villong on in relief. Milledge flies out for the second out. Garrett Jones hits a fly ball to left, and Willie Harris misses when he dives. Ryan Doumit flies out to end the sixth.

Jeff Karstens vs Dukes in the seventh. Dukes down swinging at a two-strike change outside. Bard grounds back to the mound. Weak grounder to short from Alberto Gonzalez and it’s 11-4 Pirates in the seventh...Ron Villone gets Steven Pearce and Andy LaRoche swinging to start the frame. Villone saws off Moss and gets a pop out to the infield.

Donnie Veal gives up a leadoff walk to Willie Harris and a second straight free pass to Nyjer Morgan before he’s lifted for Evan Meek. Cristian Guzman grounds out to advance both runners. Ryan Zimmerman hits a sac fly to left center to score Harris from third. 11-5 Pirates. Adam Dunn K’s swinging to end the inning...Ryan Zimmerman leaps to snag a line drive from Ronny Cedeno. Villone hits Ramon Vazquez. Andrew McCutchen grounds to short, Guzman to Gonzalez to Dunn, double play.

Austin Kearns leads off the ninth against Evan Meek, who throws four balls. Elijah Dukes walks. Josh Bard gets punched out on a two-strike bender outside. Alberto Gonzalez up. Wild pitch advances both runners. Gonzalez grounds out to short, Kearns scores. 11-6. Willie Harris grounds out to first, and DC drops two-straight to the Pirates.

Nationals now 32-72.

2009 Trade Deadline Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates

Charlie — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:35:54 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Freddy Sanchez could be traded before the deadline, perhaps to Jim Tracy and the Rockies.

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Buyers or sellers?

Sellers, just like every year. The Bucs have already been very active this trading season, shipping Nate McLouth to Atlanta for outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and pitchers Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke; sending Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to the Nats for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan; and passing Eric Hinske to the Yankees for catcher Eric Fryer and pitcher Casey Erickson. The Bucs got younger in all three deals and should continue to do so before the deadline.

Short-term need

The Pirates don't have enough talent to worry much about short-term need. They might, however, seek a young middle infielder or two if Freddy Sanchez or Jack Wilson are traded, because of the inadequacy of all the potential internal replacements (including Ramon Vazquez, Brian Bixler, and Luis Cruz) for those two. Cruz is worthless at the plate, and replacing Sanchez or Wilson with Vazquez or Bixler would turn a good team defense into a mediocre one, which might be a problem for a team trying to develop a number of young pitchers.

Long-term need

Talent. Starters, relievers, batters, bakers, candlestick makers, you name it. The organization that team president Frank Coonelly and GM Neal Huntington inherited less than two years ago lacked talent not only at the major league level, but in the minors as well. In the trades they've made so far, Coonelly and Huntington have grabbed talent without much regard for position or specific organizational need. With the possible exception of the Sanchez/Wilson provision above, that won't change.

Big leaguers on the market

Sanchez and Wilson are signed through 2009 with options for 2010. Sanchez is 31, has a colorful injury history and is having one of his best seasons, so he'd be a great player to deal if the Bucs can find a team willing to buy high, perhaps the Rockies or Giants. First baseman Adam LaRoche and lefty reliever John Grabow are free agents after this season, so the Pirates would surely trade them, but there hasn't been much of a market for LaRoche so far. The Bucs have also probably had enough of starting pitcher Ian Snell, who lost break on his slider, got bombed all season, and then requested and received a demotion to the minors. Snell is signed through 2010, with team options for 2011 and 2012.

Minor league strength

The low levels of the minors, from Class A West Virginia down to the Dominican and Venezuelan teams--you know, the ones where Coonelly and Huntington acquired most of the players--are fairly well stocked with prospects, but the upper three levels (despite the presence of third baseman Pedro Alvarez and pitcher Brad Lincoln) are a bit thin. Several of the most talented players who are at the upper levels (Hernandez, Locke, outfielder Jose Tabata) were acquired by Coonelly and Huntington. This month, look for them to continue to try to fatten the upper levels of the system.

Take on short-term money to win?

Obviously not. But claims that the Pirates are merely dumping salaries have probably been overblown by fans and the Pittsburgh media. While no one but the parties involved can know the team's true motivations for trading many of its best-known players over the past year, the Bucs' new front office has made viable (if not always spectacular, or always successful) baseball trades, and their actions have been suggested they're willing to take some short-term lumps in order to follow through with the type of genuine rebuilding for which the Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield administrations lacked the stomach.

If nothing else, Coonelly and Huntington certainly have shown a willingness to anger the Pirates' dwindling fanbase. This month, they'll probably make a couple more unpopular moves, but if the Bucs are lucky, the fans could end up thanking Coonelly and Huntington later.

For more coverage of the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Much has changed since the last time the Pirates and Rockies met

Poseidon's Fist — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:22:00 -0000

More photos » by John Heller - AP

It sure isn't Nate McLouth pirating flyballs to center these days.

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First, the Rockies had to prove they could win a series (Cardinals). Then they had to prove it wasn't a fluke (Brewers). Then the Rox had to show it could translate at home (Mariners). Then there was the challenge of winning against a world-class offense (Rays). And we've done all that.

So what does a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates offer? How about winning a series while being clearly the better team for once? Believe it or not, this is the first series the Rockies have gone into with a better record than their opponent since April 10th, the first home series of the years against the Phillies. Can we respond now that we are no longer the underdog? It would be our first series win (in two tries) against a team with an inferior record.

Or how about redemption? One month ago, the ~~Pirates embarrassed the Rockies~~ Rockies embarrassed themselves in Pittsburgh (see 10-run, 2-error inning). A dramatic ninth inning home run by Brad Hawpe was all that staved off the sweep. That series more or less sealed the fate of Clint Hurdle. After failing to lose series at Atlanta and Detroit, the move was delayed, but the losing attitude was smothering.

So now's the chance to get back and show the Pirates what real Rockies baseball is. They have treaded water at 15-14 since the series, and the Rockies have gone 19-11, passing Pittsburgh and five other teams in the wild card race in that month. We won't have to face Nate McLouth, who was traded to Atlanta, but Charlie Morton - who came in that trade - is slated to pitch on Saturday.

Also, check out Bucs Dugout, Pittsburgh's SBNation site. Check it out, but be friendly.

Pittsburgh Pirates (31-35, L1, t-5th, 6 GB)

Friday-Sunday : 3-game series at Coors Field

The Bats: D+

A weak offense got weaker when Nate McLouth got shipped to Georgia, but it should be noted that two young players have stepped up in his absence. Delwyn Young (1.120 OPS in June), who Pittsburgh basically got for free from the Dodgers this spring, and top prospect Andrew McCutchen (.849 OPS since his callup June 4) have really excelled with regular playing time. Still, they are only 20th in wOBA this season and 19th in runs, and that ought to be adjusted downward by tossing out McLouth's contributions. Then consider their 40 home runs, second to only the Giants' 38 for MLB futility. Take McLouth's nine out of the equation...and their roster is by far the weakest in the bigs. I mean, the Rockies have six players who have more dingers than Freddy Sanchez, second on the roster.

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI
Andrew McCutchen - CF	.333	1	9
Nyjer Morgan - LF	.256	1	24
Freddy Sanchez - 2B	.314	5	25
Adam LaRoche - 1B	.260	9	32
Delwyn Young - RF	.360	1	11
Andy LaRoche - 3B	.278	3	31
Robinzon Diaz - C	.295	1	15
Jack Wilson - SS	.274	1	20

Ryan Doumit is still on the DL, so Jason Jaramillo will get one or two starts this weekend. Brandon Moss still finds a start about half the time in the outfield, and Eric Hinske, Craig Monroe, and Ramon Vazquez fill out the bench.

The Arms: C-

The Pirates started strong in allowing the fewest runs in the league, but after getting three shutouts in four games April 17-20, Pittsburgh has failed to record another one in the two months since. Their ERA is a bit above average at 12th (4.24), though thier FIP is 22nd (4.51), and their tRA is even higher - 4.63 in the rotation and 5.00 in the bullpen. In fact the bullpen has the fourth worst FIP in the majors, partially due to Matt Dicus Capps having an ERA near 5.00 And yes, that's his real middle name.

Charlie Morton will take Jeff Karstens' rotation spot Saturday, and that may help things in the rotation, but they've still been deceptively below average. We will miss their worst starter so far this year (Ian Snell) but also arguably their best (Zach Duke), so the series will be a pretty fair shake.

The D: A

The Pirates have made just 27 errors, 3rd least in MLB, which has led to 24 unearned runs yet are also tied for the 3rd best UZR/150 rating at 6.6. Replacing McLouth with Andrew McCutchen in center also improves their defensive picture.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 7:10 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Ross Ohlendorf	6-5	4.56	1.27	39	22

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Marquis	8-4	3.77	1.35	41	31

Saturday, June 20, 6:10 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Charlie Morton	0-0	0.00	1.00	0	0

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Hammel	4-3	4.10	1.48	42	15

Thursday, June 18, 1:10 MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Paul Maholm	4-3	4.23	1.41	54	28

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	2-7	5.81	1.49	76	33

Adam LaRoche is really starting to heat up. He is 9 for his last 19 with 2 HR. Delwyn Young, Jack Wilson, Andrew McCutchen, and Freddy Sanchez are all OPSing over .930 over the past week as well. Ross Ohlendorf allowed only one run and two hits in his previous start.

Nyjer Morgan and Andy LaRoche have been the biggest flops recently, each collecting just three hits and one home run over the past week. Paul Maholm was torched for eight runs in his last start.

Ryan Doumit is still on the DL with a wrist injury he sustained April 20, when the Pirates were over .500. Tyler Yates (elbow) and Donald Veal (groin) are on the 15-day, and Phil Dumatrait (shoulder) and Craig Hansen (neck) are on the 60-day.

Poll

What says you for the last June home series?

The real Rockies have shown up. We'll have no trouble with the Pittsburgh. Something tells me Pirates would have trouble in the Rockies anyway

55 votes

We will inexplicably lose a game just because. But a series win is practically in pen now.

77 votes

Time for a letdown. Pirates take the series

6 votes

Aaargh. Jim Tracy must love his old teams too much. A sweep to the Pirates shocks us all.

0 votes

138 votes | Poll has closed

Pirates 11, Mets 6: Andrew McCutchen's Huge Debut

Charlie — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:27:33 -0000

More photos » by John Heller - AP

Andrew McCutchen and Nyjer Morgan celebrate after scoring in the second inning Thursday.

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If any of the unhappiest fans today were able to bring themselves to tune in to the game today, they probably feel a lot better. As much as it may hurt to lose Nate McLouth, his replacement Andrew McCutchen had about as good a big-league debut as we could've possibly hoped for. And to the "fans" who (apparently) booed him--get over yourselves. Like it's McCutchen's fault about the trade. (hisjazziness points out in the comments that some of the booing may have been coming from Mets fans.)

McCutchen singled and scored in his first at bat, and it mostly just stayed good from there. The Pirates drove Mike Pelfrey out of the game early, scoring nine runs against him with a blizzard of singles and walks. After flying out in his second at-bat, McCutchen walked to lead off the fourth and scored again. He also hit a nice 0-2 single off J.J. Putz in the seventh, bringing home Ramon Vazquez for his first big-league RBI, then got his first steal by swiping second without a throw, and he came around to score for the third time when Nyjer Morgan (who might have had an inside-the-park homer if he'd hustled the whole way) hit a long triple to right-center. It was a tremendously exciting and promising game for McCutchen overall.

Oh, and Steven Jackson looked great racking up ground ball outs in the seventh and eighth, and Vazquez had four hits. Also, Andy LaRoche left the game in the seventh after taking a fastball off the knee. (I've seen the injury described as a "bruise" and a "contusion," so it appears he'll be fine.) But today was all about McCutchen, who looked, for one game at least, like he's going to be a big part of the Pirates' future.

Cubs 5, Pirates 2: Bullpen Breaks Down, But Duke Shines

Charlie — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:33:54 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Zach Duke pitches against the Cubs on Wednesday.

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Zach Duke pitched seven strong innings and left the game with the score tied at 2-2, but the normally reliable Jesse Chavez allowed a game-winning homer by Reed Johnson in the eighth. From there, the Cubs added two more runs, one charged to Chavez and the other to Sean Burnett.

As with a number of games this year, the Bucs reached base a fair amount but didn't score much because they didn't generate any power. They had five walks and eight hits (three by Ramon Vazquez), but all were singles.

Regarding Duke: his ERA is a remarkable 2.75. Every aspect of his game has improved. He's striking out more batters, his strikeout to walk ratio is better, and the defense behind him is much better. Duke's stuff is a little sharper than last year (although his velocity is about the same). After using his changeup sparingly for the past three years, he's throwing about the same number of changes as he did in his brilliant 2005 rookie season. The focus on changeups may be causing him to allow somewhat fewer groundballs, but he's also allowing fewer homers than we might expect so far.

The next few months will tell us more about what that means, if anything. Generally speaking, a pitcher doesn't have much control over whether fly balls hit off him fly over the fence, but the percentage of infield flies a pitcher allows is apparently somewhat repeatable. The Hardball Times, evidently using a different data set than FanGraphs, says Duke in 2009 has served up about the same percentage of infield flies as he did in 2005, and about twice as many as he did in 2006-2008. That squares with the increased reliance on his changeup, since if it's deployed well (and it generally has been) it might cause hitters to swing ahead of the pitch.

The infield fly thing is an extremely small sample size, so it's just something to watch going forward and not necessarily something that means anything now. But it's been interesting to watch Duke this year--he looks more like the guy we saw in 2005, who looked like he had about 30 IQ points on most of the batters he was facing and was always thinking a couple of pitches ahead of them, as opposed to the one we saw in 2006-2008, who mostly just looked content to get the ball into the zone.

UPDATE: I had class and missed the end of the game, which is too bad--this is awesome. Thanks to WstCstBucco.